A Little Shopping Fun

So, I had a little retail therapy last weekend. I went to T.J. Maxx for the first time and loved it! I was able to find these cute tops/tunics with the ruffle bottom...

I know, I know...they're very similar in color, but I just loved them so much, I had to have two. :) 

Remember when I told y'all about Walmart's free shipping awhile back? Well, I really needed a hanging shoe rack. My closet floor was covered with tons of shoes. I found this one for about $7 and with free shipping, it worked out perfectly! 

Of course, I normally have it hanging on the inside of my closet door, but the lighting isn't that great in there, so for blog purposes only, I snapped a pic of it on the outside of this door. I still have quite a bit of shoes on the closet floor and on shelves, but it sure helped to get the most frequently worn ones in this holder.  

It has 24 openings, so it's supposed to hold 12 pair of shoes. Thankfully, most of my flips could both fit into one opening, so I could fit a lot more. And notice there's still room for a pair of Tieks. ;)

I had a request for Nana's Cookies the other day, so I made a batch or two...

Thank goodness they freeze well. :) 

We've been celebrating lots of birthdays lately, so cupcakes have also been on the menu...

I had to share this fun gift my son made for a friend recently. She loves flamingos and her party was flamingo themed, so he made this for her...

He ordered the wire from Amazon, drew the flamingo shape on foam board and super glued the wire to it. It has a battery pack at the bottom, so she can turn the light on or off. I thought it was so cute!

I keep meaning to do another "favorite things" post, but never seem to have the time. I don't think I've talked about this mascara before, and I did want to share it before I forget...

It's Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes. I'm on my third tube now and it works so well in our heat and humidity. I can highly recommend it! 

I snapped this pic of my backyard the other day. Can you spot my son in his new hammock? Lol. He had to try it out in the backyard before taking it into the wilderness. ;)

He loves that thing and it's actually pretty neat. It packs away into a small pouch so he can easily take it with him. All you need is two branches to secure it and voila...you're suspended in the air enjoying the day. I had no idea how popular they were until he got one. Now I see them everywhere. Seems to be a must-have for the hiking set. 

I'm still working on the pergola cover post and should have it up soon. Y'all have a great week!

~Lisa

Ramblings

Hey, y'all! Thought I'd share a couple of things today. First of all, I got this cute hobnail mug from Walmart...

I really need to go back and get more. Oh, and see that basil back there? I'm getting ready to make my homemade tomato basil soup. It tastes just like the La Madeleine one. I've posted the recipe before, but you can click HERE to see it again. So yummy and easy!

Second, we finished the diy on our patio pergola cover and it only took about 15 minutes to make/install the new one. I'll take pics soon and do a whole post on it. We're so happy with it! Here's a little sneak peek...

I also shared this on IG the other day...

Remember when Target had these cute plates in the dollar spot at Christmas time? I picked up a four pack and finally got around to using them for a little snack the other day. Now that I remembered I have them, they are coming in pretty handy. :) 

Now I have a little money saving tip for you. We recently switched from DirecTV to AT&T U-verse and it saved us about $130 a month! We'll get that introductory price for two years, but here's the thing...even when it shifts to the regular price, we'll still be saving $50 a month! So, it pays (literally) to shop around for service. :) 

One last thing...I haven't really mentioned it on here, but I recently started a little diet. It was time, y'all. :) Anyway, I've lost 10 lbs. since June 10th! I'm not following any special program or anything, and it's basically just counting calories, but if y'all are interested, I might do a post on it sometime. 

Anyway, wishing you all a very happy weekend!

~Lisa 

A Couple of Deals and a Tieks Ballet Flat Question

Hello there! It's been awhile since my last post, hasn't it? My whole family had a nasty stomach virus over the 4th of July and it was not pretty. So glad that's over! I mostly did nothing but watch Gilmore Girls for several days straight. I'm now on season 4. :) 

Well, today is Amazon Prime Day and the deals are popping up all over. And it's not only Amazon...Walmart is jumping on the bandwagon and offering free shipping with no minimum order. I decided to take advantage of that and order another shirred waist maxi skirt I talked about HERE. Only this time, it was on sale for only $5! And with free shipping, it was just that...$5. Yippee!

Here's a link to the $5 maxi skirts if you're interested...

Walmart Shirred Waist Maxi Skirt for $5

And here's a pic of the skirts from the Walmart website.

Walmart Maxi Skirt

I also purchased an open weave cardigan at Walmart yesterday. It's perfect for me because the lightweight material works so well in our hot climate and I love how you can kind of see your outfit through it. I plan on wearing it through fall and winter too. 

Here's a link...

Open Weave Cardigan

And here's a pic from the Walmart website.

Walmart Midi Cardigan

I have to tell y'all a funny story about this cardigan. I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up a few things and decided to swing by the clothing department "just to look." I immediately spotted this and loved it. I even tried it on and almost bought it, but I was in a hurry and decided to put it back. Now keep in mind, there were only 3 left on the rack. I came home and put everything away and kept thinking about it. That's always a tell tale sign that I really want something. 

Then I started obsessing about the fact that there were only 3 and at any moment, someone could swipe them up. So, that very afternoon, I trekked back up to Walmart and practically ran/walked to the clothing department. In my obsessive state, I didn't see it at first. I even tracked down an employee and asked where they could have moved it to. "It was right here a few hours ago! Did they move it or something??? How could they do that? Why would they move my cardigan???" She looked at me a little strange and walked me over to the spot I was just at and pointed to it. Gulp. "Oh, yes...that's it...umm...thanks" I said through my embarrassment. Hee hee! I quickly grabbed it (turns out all 3 were still there) and paid for it and held it close to me all the way to my car and all was right with my world again. Whew! 

So, now for the shoe question. Y'all know I mostly talk about steals and deals when it comes to clothing and shoes, but every once in awhile, I splurge a bit. :) I've been looking for a comfy ballet flat for years now. I don't mind spending more if something truly is comfy and worth it.

So my question is, have any of you bought Tieks flats? Here's a link to their website.

Tieks

And here are a couple of pics from the Tieks website...

Tieks.com

Aren't they darling? I'm leaning toward the more neutral taupe color to start with.

Tieks.com

They are a little pricey, but if they're comfortable, it might be worth it. And they made Oprah's favorite things list, so they must be good, right? O wouldn't steer us wrong, would she? :) So let me know if any of you have splurged on these pretty flats and if you are happy with them. 

In other news, we had to replace the cover on our patio pergola. Here's the state it was in...

Not so pretty, huh? We've replaced it twice with the same cover it came with. We purchased it through the manufacturer and paid about $100 for it each time, and it just doesn't last in our heat and humidity. 

So this time around, we bought a heavy weight $18 drop cloth and we're going to do a little diy. I'll let y'all know how it goes. At only $18, even if it only lasts one season, it'll be worth it. :) 

~Lisa