Denver "Fake-end"

I know you are all curious as to what I have been up to! Well, last week I was recovering from VBS overload, so I didn't do much- other than laundry!

 Sunday was Father's Day, so we spoiled Joel, and then Monday my grandparents stopped by for the night on their way to Missouri.

Joel has this week of off school (although unfortunately, not work!) so we decided to run up to Denver on the only two days he will have off together all summer!

I decided that it wasn't really a "stay-cation", because we stayed in a hotel. It was more like a weekend, in the middle of the week. So, I dubbed it a fake weekend, or a "fake-end"- you like?

We had a wonderful, relaxing time. Joel used part of his Father's Day gift, a gift card to "The Art of Shaving" and he got a professional straight razor shave. He loved it. Kind of like a pedicure for guys.

I shopped. And shopped. And shopped some more! I bought this delicious yellow cardigan. And paid full price! But it was from Forever 21 so it was a whopping $13. I have big plans for this little sweater.

How, I ask you, can you not love a store where the jewelry starts at $1.50?!! I could not resist picking up a couple more pieces to add to my collection. You can hardly buy a soda for that price, and trust me, I get a lot more compliments on my necklaces than my beverage choices.

We also spent some quality time at Ikea. I know that sounds like a funny statement, but when there is free childcare, we consider it quality time. Besides, I found the most perfect curtains for my living room. I have sloooowly been changing things over in there. These were my curtains before:

Hard to see in the picture, hard to appreciate in real life. They are brown, which matches nothing, because I prefer black. Satin, which is so not me, and plain. They were cheap, and they covered the window. But then I found these:

Can I just say love? They need hemming, but they are the perfect colors and they are so much more cheerful and eye-catching than the old ones. They make me happy.

After all our shopping we checked in to our hotel and did some swimming. After that we went to dinner, did a little more shopping (I know, I have a problem) and then came back and did some more swimming. It was a good thing we got all our swimming in the first day, because it was 90 degrees on Tuesday and only 65 on Wednesday morning. Typical Colorado weather!

We went to H&M and trolled the 16th Street Mall. I refrained from buying anything-aren't you proud of me? The kids thought it was fun to ride the trolley, and we all enjoyed some Starbucks-perfect for a slightly damp, chilly, summer morning. Here are my favorite people with their "coffee":

We thought it was hilarious that there was a Starbucks on every corner. There are at least 4 within 3/4 of a mile. And they are all busy! We weren't ashamed to add to the revenue stream.

We headed home, swung by the outlet mall, and finished out our shopping themed trip with a stop at Costco, where I found this:



May I just say that samples work? I don't like cheddar popcorn, but the caramel corn in there is worth the whole bag! Tasty stuff.

Anyway, it was delightful to get away with our little family. Joel won't get a true vacation this year, but it was nice to pretend. The kids thought swimming was the greatest-especially at night when we had the pool to ourselves. We decided we definitely need more fake-ends.;)

One Stop Swap Shop

I love clothes. Shopping is a competitive sport for me, one that gets my blood pumping and my eyes gleaming. I am an excellent clearance shopper-not just cheap clothes, but fashionable, no-one-would-guess-I-only-paid-a-dollar-for-it kind of stuff. I don't necessarily consider myself a "trend setter" but I do love to put together different outfits. However, all this shopping causes one problem: extra stuff.

I have been on a mission to declutter and simplify my house. I am not ever planning on having six shirts and two pairs of pants or anything drastic like that, but I did decide I wanted to get rid of everything that was too big for me and most of what was too small (the dreamer in me couldn't get rid of a few choice items!), and anything I just didn't care for. So I purged:once, twice, three times! And I had a ton of things that I couldn't wear.

I have tried selling my clothes. On Craigslist, at yardsales, to consignment stores. I had a girl on Craigslist who bought my jeans and then decided she wanted to return them. I have marked tons of stuff for yardsales only to return home with 3/4 of it. And I have taken it to consignment stores to be offered $10 for three pairs of jeans (two Gap, one Lucky), never worn New Balance shoes (given to me by a friend) and 6 tops! Ummm, no thank you!

So, what's a girl to do? I could have donated my things to Goodwill. I am a big fan, and I think they have a quality program. But I am friends with lots of non-shoppers. Who often comment on my taste in clothes. So finally, one day while trolling the internet I decided I wanted to have a clothing swap! It would be a great way to give things to people who would appreciate my quality clothes, grab a few new things for myself and have a party! I love a party, too.:)

First, I sent out an Evite. I set the time and date. I also included that each guest should plan on bringing at least 10 things to swap. They were welcome to bring more, but I felt like that would be a good starting point. Believe it or not, I had a few friends who had trouble coming up with that many things! It could include: pants, tops, dresses, shorts, sweaters, jewelry, scarves, accessories, purses, shoes-basically anything you could wear.

A few people were worried that we weren't all the same size, but since most of had clothes that were too big, too small, and also just weren't "right", we had a variety of sizes from 4-12. Definitely something for everyone!

And because I can't resist an opportunity that says "party", I had to do a couple of my own little things! I chose to repeat the colors from my birthday party, so I could reuse the paper lanterns and tablecloth. The party was in the afternoon, so I went with simple food: crackers, cheese, salami and pepperoni, chips and dip, veggies and these delightful cookies! My friend supplied the red velvet cupcakes.

 I also made a really tasty punch. I used 3/4 of a bottle of cranberry-cherry juice, added 1/4 cup lime juice and one-third of a two liter of ginger ale. I made the ice cubes in a muffin tin and floated lime slices on top-thanks, Pinterest! Punch just says "party", doesn't it?

I put together little prizes,too. I decided I would have a prize for: most items, item that had the most ribbons (that meant the most people wanted it) and for best outfit put together from swap pieces. It didn't quite work out that way, but it would have been fun!

The prizes were a big hit. I put in a cute accessory from Claire's (thank you, 10 items for $10 clearance-perfect!), either a ring or a necklace. This one was a ring that I loved so much I bought a duplicate for myself! I also included either a lotion or hand sanitizer from Bath and Body works and for fun-since it was about clothes (which are laundry) I put a different sample of laundry detergent in each one. I send away for free samples all the time, so I had plenty handy. However, it would be really easy to put a Tide Pod, or something like that in each one.

And then it was time to swap! I forgot to take pictures once every one's clothes were out-this is just my stuff, except the green Target bag. Crazy, huh? I used my rolling rack to hang all the shirts, dresses and skirts and then folded the pants, swimwear and layering pieces on the green tub.

I bought ten different colors of $0.50 ribbon from Micheal's and cut off ten 10 inch pieces from each roll. We used these to mark which things we wanted. If two (or more) people wanted the same item, we removed the ribbon and "drew" for it. Basically someone held a piece in each hand and someone else picked a hand. It actually worked out to be pretty fair!

Everyone took their time looking through the items, trying things on, and finding things for other people. They tied the ribbon either on the hanger, on on the belt loop, or wherever. Once everyone had used their ten ribbons, anything else was free game to take. Anything with multiple ribbons we held a drawing for, and I tied up all the leftovers for Goodwill. We had a great time eating, chatting and swapping, and several people said they hoped it would be a semi-annual event! Maybe, but for right now, my closet is pretty clean!

A Little Update

Exactly what I am NOT doing...

I haven't posted in over a week! Craziness! I make myself as busy as I want to be-and I hate it when a post just doesn't seem to be flowing. I had my mind set to write up a couple recently, but when I actually sat down at the computer they seemed contrived and just didn't work. Anyway- in the past 10 days:

1. Joel officially had his last day in uniform. He is on "terminal" leave until the end of October. He also quit his second job (Home Depot, in case you didn't know-he was working nights there) in order to find something that will fit better with his new school schedule. He starts in October.




2. We went to Cheyenne over Labor Day weekend. And I forgot my camera! We visited the most beautiful little park. It had a terrific area called "The Children's Village"- it was so surprising! It had all these terrific water features, and was absolutely enchanting. However, I won't drone on, since I don't have any pictures. My personal favorite part was the labyrinth. I had never walked one before, and it was so peaceful!




3. I started leading Bible study again last week. It is a lot of work, but I love it. I don't know that people realize how much time and energy that kind of thing takes, but I am much more appreciative of all the good leaders I have had in the past. I am really passionate about growing and developing the group this year. I think we are off to a good start.




4. I am cleaning my basement. Our house has sort of a funny lay out, so everything that doesn't have a home ends up in the basement (and is slowly finding it's way out of the house-I love it!). I got a new shelf for my stockpile, and I am doing some rearranging and sorting. I am also prepping for the semi-annual JBF sale-super excited to rid myself of all the kids clothes from last winter!

5. Lots of clearance shopping! This is my favorite time of year for good deals-I stocked up on $0.10 notebooks today, because my little artist (Josie) is using up one every couple of days. My fave recent finds: $6 jeans at the Gap, a free Battleship game (I had a coupon) and an adorable little pencil box that is so perfect for all my pens on my desk!





In addition to all that, last weekend, we had dinner with friends. This weekend we are having a Lifegroup dinner, and the kids start Awana on Sunday. I am praying that goes smoothly, since I won't be teaching and it is at a new church. I am keeping up with laundry, and schooling and all the other million little things. It doesn't seem like much, but it keeps me hopping! I am hoping this week we will be able to ease into a more "normal" schedule. I don't know if I can keep up this pace!:)

Lent Came a Little Late This Year

So, I realized that I had a little shopping problem. My answer: a fast. I know, it seems kind of funny to fast buying clothes but I wanted something kind of dramatic. I think I have the cutest kids ever, so of course, they deserve the cutest clothes. Well, they don't have to have quite so many. My sister is always so generous to hand down all her daughter's things to Josie. Carson has picked up things from Gideyon and Mark both. And of course, Grammy adds to the supply! So it is not like they ever "need" anything (besides shoes, which they both outgrow at an alarming rate!). Also, I have a tendency to "reward" myself by buying new things for me. So, I decided, before it turned into a clinical dilemma to do something about it. Hence, the clothes fast. For the last 2 1/2 weeks I haven't purchased one item of clothing. Not a shirt, pair of pants, jacket, dress, not even a sock! It has been good. It has helped me to realize that we have more than enough. It has helped me to be a little more creative with my own wardrobe. I was especially tempted weekend before last because I was attending PWOC conference and I love to have a reason to get something new! I am sure I personally could make use of some new things, since I only have two pairs of jeans that look decent. But, it is making me realize that I use the word "need" far too loosely! The kids, of course, are doing just fine. Carson has no snowpants, but thankfully it hasn't really snowed. Jocelyn, if she stayed the same size, would be fine for a few more years. (Okay, okay, so she is so much more fun to shop for than Carson! Matching hairthings, cute dresses, fun colors...)

Anyway, I still have another week and some to go. My fast officially ends on Friday, November 13th. But, already it has taught me something important. Just because it is a "steal", and trust me thanks to my mom's fine tutelage I find plenty of those, doesn't mean I have to purchase it. Sometimes it is better to make use of what you already have and be thankful that the Lord is so gracious.It feels good to "just say no!" sometimes. Trust me, my budget has certainly appreciated the reprieve...

Love, Loneliness and Retail Therapy

It's hard to believe it has been over a week since I last posted anything. Joel left this morning. It is hard to know how I feel, it is still so recent. I do know that I had to go fetch milk from the convenience store this evening and it almost made me cry. He is so great to do things like that. Probably what made me most sad is that when he does things like that he always brings me a "happy", mainly delicious Hershey's Truffle Kisses. I love those stupid things! I also absolutely hate going out at night and I was mad at myself for forgetting to get the milk while I was out earlier. I also really missed him when Josie made a big mess earlier and he was here to help me. I am sure that is how the whole time he is gone will go. However, I have made a decision to not just survive this year, but to be victorious. I don't want to be a couch potato, listlessly waiting for him to come revive me. I know that would not honor the Lord. Instead I really want this to be a time for me to learn to completely rely on the Lord. I know that strengthening my relationship with Him will only better my relationship with Joel.
On the other hand, I did decide after I went to two different Kohl's today that there is always a silver lining. He hates Kohl's and I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about devoting plenty of time to each sale rack since he wasn't out in the truck impatiently waiting! I found several great tops for $4 or less and also got Carson some cute things for next summer. Never discount the benefits of retail therapy!