Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Has anyone checked this out?

It's a great site and it's completely free to sign up!

What it is, is a network of consumers who participate in social media programs and receive different products and services. They talk—the world listens.

As a member you get to be among the first people to learn about new brands and products, and in some instances to even try them out.

I just joined myself!

Potential Job offer!

I've been working in retail for the last year, after getting my massage license and being unable to find any work in that field. My friend works at a renal dialysis clinic, and her boss asked me to fill out an application there to become a Patient Care Technician.

I find out the end of this week, if I will officially be offered the job.

This job would mean so much to me and my hubbs. We've been struggling monetarily for months now. My hours at work dropped off, his did too, so we were barely working and not bringing in enough money. 

Please keep your fingers crossed for me! 

I've wanted to begin working in the healthcare field for a while now, and this could be a great step into it for me!

UBP2010 After-Party

So the UBP 2010 is officially over! I had a fabulous time, and I'm very much glad I participated in it! I've gained a few new followers, found a ton of blogs I was excited to follow, and hopefully can form many more friendships through it all!

Blogs I found out about through the UBP:

1 - Chi-Annie: at the table - I haven't had much luck finding bloggers from roughly the same area as I am in, and I came across this blog  :)

2 - Handbags & Handguns 

3 - Bitsy Baby Photography - I love photography and this blog has some amazingly beautiful shots in it!

Now that's just 3, but I have found and begun following WAYYYY more than 3. I look forward to updates from all of you in your blogs!

Tagged!

Kate over at Some Dreams Come True tagged me in a couple of fun posts! I'm going to do what she did and combine them into one post :)

First - a handwriting game. Grab a piece of paper and write down:

1. Name / Blog name
2. Right handed, Left handed or Both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letter to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
6. Write in CAPS-CRAB-HUMOR-KALEIDOSCOPE-PAJAMAS-GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing

 

And Secondly - some questions!

1. Who is your style icon? 

I don't really have one, but I do generally love the way Alyson Hannigan dresses!

2. What is your favorite book?

I'm a big fan of the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty

  And of course the Twilight series (I'm addicted!)

3. Favorite Party Theme?

Luaus are always fun! I love 80s parties though!

Me & 3 of my friends went to Awesome 80s Prom in Chicago before I met my now husband.

  

4. Go to Halloween costume? 

I generally just pull out an old costume and tweak it a little bit. This bee one has been pretty popular for me!

5. Extravagance You can't live without? Not sure if this counts, but my camera!

6. Living person you admire? My best friend David. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006. Went through chemo and radiation for months, and he is doing just fine now. 

7. Greatest Fear? Either losing somebody I love,drowning, or not being able to have children.

8. Trait(s) you deplore in yourself? I am constantly worried about something, sometimes for no reason. This leads to me biting my nails. A LOT. Hate it. Ack!

9. What talent would you most like to have?

I would LOVE to be able to play the guitar.

10. What is your greatest achievement?

Ya know.. I'm not entirely sure I know. If I had to answer right away, I would say passing all of those horrifying anatomy classes during massage school. Ironically now I LOVE reading about anatomy and learning more things, and am debating on going BACk to school :)

Same group of bloggers tagged! Hope to see some fun answers soon! 

2010 Ultimate Blog Party

Heard about this through a fellow July 2009 bride (Go say hi to Kate), and I loved the idea! So here goes!

I'm Vicki, and I'm 27 years old. I married my dear husband On July 10, 2009. As you can see, he hates buttoning jackets. We are currently trying to have a baby. I am a state licensed massage therapist, and a manager for a retail store (SUUUUCKS!), but the economy definitely isn't helping that situation. I do side work as a wedding and event photographer. I'm relatively new to the world of blogging, but I'm having a great time learning and exploring, as well as reading other blogs and getting inspirations for everything. I LOVE photography, and generally wind up posting a lot of pictures in my posts. Since wedding planning disappeared from my world, I've begun crafting to fill the void it left. I love to be creative, and I love planning things. 

We have 2 cats, Glitter (7) and Hendrix (11), who I have had since before I even met my hubbs.

Glitter above, Hendrix below

We also have one dog. His name is Riley, and we adopted him from animal control in Chicago on 4-22-09.  His adoptaversary is coming up! We have loved every moment of having him. Most people think I'm a bit insane for the amount of photos of him I have.

Riley loves playing in the hose when it's hot outside!

In case this post didn't give it away or anything, I have a tendency to ramble...and jump from topic to topic. Keeps my little world interesting!

If there is anything you want to know, do not hesitate to ask, I'm hoping to make some new blogger friends!  :)

Thanks for looking!

XOXO

-V

Top 3 Prizes would be :

US39 -  Be My Guest certificate ($250 value) for one lucky winner, (2 night stay for a family of four) at any Hilton Garden Inn.

USC3 - A $50.00 Target Gift Card.

USC8 - $55 E-Gift Card for Amazon.com Gift code will be emailed to the winner and can be used for purchases from Amazon.com.

Other Faves:

US48, US36, US23, US18

Spring has Sprung!!

The $20 Challenge

My dear husband doesn't understand the joy of couponing. His argument is that couponing just makes people buy things that they don't need, or won't use, just to get a deal. Which I guess could be true, although I know many people that get free items via couponing and then donate them to animal shelters, hospitals, or send them to Iraq. So I don't know. He decided to give me $20 to see what I could do, saying that everything I bought had to be something that we need or would use. I chose Target and Meijer as my stores of choice for this challenge, and off I went.

Meijer

The Goodies:

2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights : on sale for 99¢ each

Used 2 75¢ / 1 coupons (SS 3/28/10)

Cost: 24¢ each

2 Snuggle Exhilarations Sweet Blossom and Pomegranate fabric softener sheets (70 count)

Priced at $3.48 each

Used 2 $3/1 coupons (SS 3/28/10)

Total cost: 48¢ each

3 Boxes Of Barilla Pasta

On sale for 89¢ each

Used Meijer Mealbox coupon for $1 off 3

Cost $1.67

2 V-8 VFusion Juices

On sale 2 for $5

Used 2 $1/1 printable coupons- Found Here

Used Meijer Mealbox $1/2 coupon

Cost: $2.00

Always Pads

On sale for $4.95

Used BO GO (12-22 count) free coupon from 4/4 PG

Register decided to take off the $4.95 for the larger package, rather than the $2.99 for the smaller package

Cost : $2.99 for both packages combined.

Cost Wrap Up!

Meijer Promotions Savings : $2.02

Meijer Ad Savings : $6.20

Coupon Savings: $14.45

Total Savings: $22.67

Final Price: $9.36

Amount remaining from $20 challenge - $10.64

Annnnd onto Target!

The Goods:

4 Banquet Frozen Dinners (yes, healthy I know!) : 

Priced at 89¢ each

Used $1.50/4 coupon - Found Here

 Cost: $2.06 for all 4

Degree Invisible Solid Men's Deodorant
Priced at $1.97 each

Used $1.25/1 Coupon - Found Here (as well as some other good coupons!)

Cost: 72¢

1 Package Ball Park Angus Beef Franks

On sale for $2.49

Used 75¢/1 Coupon found on http://www.coupons.com

Cost: $1.74

4 Pack Activia Yogurt

Price Drop to $1.87 per 4 pack

Used $1/1 coupon from SS 3-28-10

Cost: 87¢

Trial Size Clean & Clear Morning Burst facial scrub

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 3-28-10 SS

Cost: FREE

Trial Size Johnson's Lavender & Chamomile lotion

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 3-28-10 SS

Cost : FREE

Trial Size Tide 2x Laundry detergent

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 4/4/10 PG

Cost: FREE

Tums Extra Strength 750 (116 tablets)

Priced at $3.89 on sale

Used $1/1 printable - Found Here

Cost: $2.89

1 Jar of Ragu

Price Dropped to $1.87

No coupons, had just run out at home!

Cost : $1.87

$0.05 credit for bringing my reusable shopping bag

Cost Wrap Up!

Total saved : $9.55

Final Cost: $10.62

Amount left in $20 challenge : $0.02

I'm waiting for him to get home and see my victory now!

XOXO

-V

Laura's Baby Shower - March 28th, 2010

After a month or so of going back and forth on decor and invite ideas, Laura's baby shower has come and gone. She absolutely loved it, and I got a lot of compliments on the color choices and the decorations. Figured I would share some pictures of it, as I found all my inspiration by peering onto other people's blogs :)

The food and gift tables as well as the banner that I had printed using graphics from My Grarfico - Alisha McConnell

Balloons - We had blue hearts saying "Baby Boy" a handful of Mod Monkey balloons, and some banana bunch balloons.

Plastic Coconut bowls filled with Banana runts

The Welcome posted I designed and printed using vistaprint.com

The favors - cleaned out baby food jars with the labels removed. Hot glued fabric and ribbon to the lid, and printed out labels. The jars are filled with pastel colored Sixlets candies, and more banana runts

The awesome frame my boss made! I didn't get a picture after we put the ultrasound picture in it though :(

The cake was delicious! Bought the sitting baby cake topper at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and the little stuffed monkey from Target's toy section

The centerpieces for the table. The planter pots doubled as prizes for the raffles we held during the shower. I wanted something that was reminiscent of a palm tree, but wasn't one of those tissue paper ones, so ostrich feathers took that place and I love love love how they came out.

A bundle of monkeys for the "head table" i.e. the family table.

Presents galore!

All in all the shower was a success! everyone had a great time and baby Luca has officially been showered! He is scheduled to arrive at the end of the month!

XOXO

-V

Saving Money! Coupon Crazy :)

I know it's been a while :( I've been neglectful to this blog. Life went back to being chaotic again!

This week started K-Marts Super Doubles event. Doubling coupons is fabulous, although their new 5 coupons doubled limit kind of kills it a little. Luckily it's close by home, so it's not out of the way to go up there and take advantage of the sale!

I went to K-Mart this morning with my stack of coupons in my hand. I walked out with this:

I know i know, microwave steamer bags take all the nutrients out of the steamed veggies I love so much, however since we are always on the go, they are more practical for us to use, and we love them nonetheless.

I walked out with:

3 packages of Large Ziploc Zip 'N Steam bags : $2.89 each at the store.

Used 3 of the $1/1 coupons from the 3/28 SS insert
Final Cost: $0.89 each after doubling!

Hartz Crunch N Clean dog biscuits : $3.99 each
Used one printable $2/1 coupon (Found Here)
Final Cost: FREE

1 Dove Ultimate Visibly Smooth deodorant: on sale for $3.79
Used printable $2/1 ( Found Here )
Final Cost: FREE

Left me enough money to pick up that cute red shirt in their $1.99 Winter clearance clothing!
Total Saved: $7.38
Final Transaction Cost : $5.56

Annnnd Walgreens:

 There weren't too many completely awesome deals at Walgreens this week, however I did score a few goodies for a small price!
1 box 30 Tuf trash bags : $2.99 after coupon in Walgreens ad
1 package Pilot Frixion gel pens : Sale for $1.19
Used $1/1 from Walgreens April coupon book
Total: $0.19

Walgreens storage bags:
$0.99 after in ad coupon

Dawn hand soap:
Normal price : $1.99
Used $0.99 coupon in Walgreens ad
Used $0.50/1 coupon from 4/4 PG Brandsaver
Final cost: $0.49

Total savings: $8.70 (includes sales, and coupon savings)
Final Cost: $5.03



So it was fun. I like saving money, especially since we're just not making enough right now! And we will be well stocked on the things we run out of after this week is over :)

I'm working on putting more things up in my Etsy shop as well.

I'm actually thinking about learning how to make soaps and candles, but we shall see.

I wish there were more hours in a day!

XOXO
-V

Fun Times With Etsy!

After having such a blast designing invitations for the two baby showers, I opted to try designing more things. Turns out, I really enjoy it! So I am now starting to offer digital files for sale on Etsy!

Of course I will be listing more items than just digital files in the future, but this is a ton of fun for now!

Hop on over and take a peek if you would like!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anewmrs

Hope everyone is doing fantastical!
XOXO

5 years later....and 4 days early

MY CAR IS FINALLY COMPLETELY PAID OFF!!!

I thought it would never happen! 

I did a happy dance in the bank lobby after I wrote the check.

Just had to share my excitement about that!

Progress

Baby shower #1 has been rapidly progressing! Today I went and booked a room through my city's village hall. It's actually in the basement of the village hall building, and it's a nice big open classroom. Has a wall of mirrors, and glass doors on one side of the room to let the sun shine in. It's beautiful, and with all the decorations we are going to pack in there, it's going to look amazing.

I designed the banner, the welcome sign, and the invites, and ordered them through Vistaprint.com, since I couldn't find any decorations I found suitable to match the invitations in the store.

                                                                  Invitation one side

Invite opposite side

Door Sign

Vinyl Banner

Monkey & Balloon graphics all courtesy of a purchased graphic collection from http://www.mygrafico.com

                                                                              

Overall I am very happy with how things are coming along. The next two steps? Food + cake. Then centerpieces and the remainder of the decorations.

I am also trying to come up with a cd of good songs suitable for a baby shower. Any and all suggestions are welcome!! I would love your help!

XOXO

-V

Baby Fever!

I just recently found out that I will be hosting 2 baby showers, one for each of my best friends (both were my matrons of honor at my wedding as well). I'm very excited to be an auntie x 2.

The first one will be for Laura, and is scheduled for March 28th. She is doing the Lambs & Ivy Cocoa Safari theme as the babys bedroom, and wanted a monkey themed baby shower. She also did not want much of anything blue. I know this makes her sound really picky, but she's not. Just didn't want the generic blue everywhere baby shower for baby Luca.

First off let me tell you. A monkey baby shower, not the easiest thing to find! All the monkey balloons and decor I could find were either for Luau parties, or birthday specific.

Then, in a google search, it happened.

I did a search for "monkey mylar balloons" in google, and lo and behold. Here it is. Granted, it has some blue in it. But it's more of an aqua. And it has the yellow and brown she wanted (she wanted green too).

Then for more searching.

I came across this blog.

www.hostessblog.com

And she had 2 posts for the "Mod Monkey" baby shower. One post had her decorations and setup, and the other one had a lot of downloadable pdf files for others to use (only for personal use, not for reselling)

So I downloaded the pdf files to see if I could make them use the colors she liked as well, since it was a lot of aqua and yellow.

Here is the finished product : a door sign to put on the outside of the door.

 

A HUGE thank you to Jenn at www.hostessblog.com for making a monkey themed baby shower possible for me :)

I personally love the way it came out. I think the colors all work really well together, and give me a lot of room to play with the rest of the decorations. I think she was envisioning paler colors, so I hope she will like this! Though I am still debating on taking the yellow circles out of the monkey and painting them brown to make it more uniform. I'm not sure. What do you guys think? 

I also loved her idea of using banana runts candies in the decorating, so I will probably do the same there.

Along with that monkey balloon, I also found this balloon:

So I will order a few of those for some whimsy as well. My work has helium tanks, so all I have to do is have them blown up there for $0.50 a pop. I'm also probably going to pick up some yellow flower balloons from the Dollar Tree, and then just some plain colored ones for more fun.

Dependant on the venue I want to host it at (still waiting on a call back from my village hall to see their rules and application process) I also wanted to make these in brown, aqua, yellow, and light green to hang from the ceiling.

Above picture courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

The part that I am stuck on is decorations more specific to a baby shower. Maybe an It's A Boy banner or a baby shower banner. I'm worried about this theme looking more like a birthday party than a baby shower.

Does anyone have any cool ideas for handmade banners? Or know of any websites that sell them? All I've been able to find is blue ones, and the occasional full on pastel one, but I want something a bit brighter.

Cut to a few hours later. I came across an AMAZING site with AMAZING graphics for purchase, and found an adorable monkey more suitable for a baby shower! If you are looking for fabulous graphics at fabulous prices check out http://www.mygrafico.com

Here is the door sign in the new design...

 

 now to choose which I like better!

Thanks!

Hope everyone is doing fantastical

XOXO

-V

One Down!

Sunday I went to my mother's house so we could do a test run on one of the purses we want to eventually sell. I needed a new bag, so we made one for me! It turned out great. It's really roomy, and I love that I got to pick the fabric out :)

There is the finished product!

Annnnd a random cute picture of Riley through the screen wanting to come back inside!

New Year, New Business Venture

After many sewing lessons with my mother, and just general crafty experimentation, we have decided to try opening an etsy shop together. I'm very excited about this! I've wanted to have some creative outlet to clear my mind on the days I am off from my other jobs, so this seemed like the best thing for us!

I'm having so much trouble coming up with a name! I didn't think it would be that hard, but it for sure is!

We went and hit Joann Fabrics, and Hancock Fabrics big sales last weekend, to stock up on some fabric, and we are starting the actual sewing tomorrow. We are going to start out with purses. Totes, clutches, and hobo bags. We can watch how that goes, and then expand later on!

Once we have built up a decent amount of items, we are considering entering some of the craft fairs around our area in IL. My boss crochets, and said she would be willing to split booths/tables with us to lower costs for all parties involved if we want, so that was a sweet offer!

I've been slowly catching up on all of your blogs. I'm sorry to have been so absent lately!

Hope everyone is doing well!

XOXO
-V

New Years Resolutions!

My new years resolution is to be a better blog mommy! I've been so busy I haven't had anytime to update since before Christmas! Now that the holidays are over, work and life are slowing down drastically.

The holidays were nice, everyone loved their gifts :)

Here are the neck pillows I made for the ladies :)

Now that it's the new year, me and my husband are talking about all the things we would like to accomplish this year! When the list is done I will put it up here and get to work :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday and new year!

XOXO