Salvation Army Haul

I went to one of my favorite places this week.. twice! This place, you ask? Salvation Army!

The first day I went, it was near closing... I headed straight for the books! I filled up a bag of books and picked up few little rabbit knick knacks. The second trip was much longer (lots of time browsing and in the dressing room) and I came home with some new clothing! :) Thrift shopping is great for relieving stress... finding a good bargain really makes ya feel good!

Shopping Day 1:

I got the "fill a bag of books" deal for only $1.99! I also picked up some cute little rabbits to add to my always growing collection of rabbit things. I plan on using most of the books as Christmas presents this year for my nieces and nephew.

These are the books I got for myself! There is also a Sherlock Holmes PC game ($1.99) that my mom bought for me too.  The books are The Secret Garden, 50 Ways to Pamper Yourself, Bloodline, The Nightmarys and a set of 6 Ultimate Puppy training books.

Some of these books are for my nephew. He is always taking his Pikachu stuffy with him, so I saw the Pokemon books and immediately thought of my childhood and him. They are in excellent condition considering they are from the late 90s. All of the coloring books have been untouched and still have all their stickers and tattoos. I might sell a few or keep one too. I'm sure there are some collectors out there that would love them. lol Same goes for a few Star Wars books that I found.

 The two children's books (Unlovable and Eating the Alphabet) are for my nieces and I also found a Spiderman Super Thriller paperback called Warrior's Revenge.

Last, I found these three little bunny knick knacks to fuel my obsession with all things bunny. The mother rabbit reading to her little bun-child was 69 cents and the adorable little pair of rabbits were 59 cents each.

 

Total: $4.09

Shopping Day 2:

I found quite a few things to try on... more than I think ever before. As usual, about half of the things I picked out actually fit me well or looked nice. lol For some amazing reason, everything was 25% off. I got an even better deal than usual. I saved between 37 and 67 cents on each piece of clothing. Overall, it was a great shopping day!

Dark navy blue Eddie Bauer rose sweater ($1.99)

 Green print Paris Sport Club sweater ($2.29)

 DBY Ltd. black lace dress ($2.69)

Dark navy blue and floral Old Navy dress ($2.69)

Navy blue and white floral Faded Glory dress ($1.69)

Dark purple abstract floral Elle top ($1.69)

Minty green pleated vintage rose skirt ($1.49)

Total: $11.28

 

 

DIY Autumn/Halloween Decor

Autumn is here and Halloween is right around the corner! Our house and yard had no decorations around (except the fallen leaves which are taking over the yard). I decided to put my bottle of Mod Podge to good use! I decorated some pumpkins, two flameless candles, and one recycled glass candle holder (not fall themed, will share later!). I also bought some things at Dollar Tree to add some Halloween sass to the yard.

I gathered various crafty stuff from our craft room. Besides the Mod Podge, I used some artsy paper, halloween scrapbook paper, glitter, lace, silk flowers, ribbon, feathers, 3-D paper flowers, buttons, and a glue gun.

I used lace, ribbon, buttons, feathers and silk flowers (all applied with a glue gun) for the pumpkin on the left. For the pumpkin on the right, I used halloween scrapbook paper and glitter (both applied with Mod Podge), ribbon, feathers and silk flowers.

 

For these flameless candles (from Dollar Tree), I used the Mod Podge to apply some green artsy paper. It reminds me of slime or swampy stuff with all the holes in the paper. I also added some left over words that I cut from the Halloween scrapbook paper that I used for one of my pumpkins. I used a little bit of glitter in some of the empty spaces. They look cute in our entry way!

For the yard decorations, I went to Dollar Tree. I bought two strands of mini skeletons and some "keep out" caution table. We also had a few pumpkin signs laying around too. It's not much right now, but it's something! I was thinking about getting some big glow in the dark plastic spiders or something to add to our fence too. Maybe some little bats as well! I'll be updating with more pictures if I add anymore decorations. :)

DIY Dog Birthday Cake!

My dog, Jää, just turned 3 years old on the 13th! I decided that this year I should make him a birthday cake and celebrate with all 4 of our dogs. :) I found a dog safe recipe online! The only ingredient that I had to buy was the whole wheat flour. So I only spent a little over $3.00 to get this cake done! You can find the recipe and directions that I used, here. For the frosting I used peanut butter and a cottage cheese (which makes it harder to spread, just fyi!). You could probably use this recipe for doggy cupcakes too!

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup natural peanut butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 cup shredded carrots
1 egg

I pre-heated the oven to 350 and got started on shredding my carrot and then mixing in all the ingredients. I then put my brownish mixture into a greased 8 inch cake pan. I let it bake for about 30 minutes. Use a tooth pick or knife to slide it into the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done!

I made my little cake into a simple shape... a cat head! lol I cut out a portion on the top for the ears and then cut of all the edges to give the face a slimmer, but still round appearance. It also got off the dryer and crustier edges of the cake. Then I mixed up some peanut butter and cottage cheese for the frosting. I waited a while for the cake to cool, then used a rubber spatula to spread it on. I was a little messy and difficult since the "frosting" is a bit chunky. It also looked gross... but still tasted pretty good. After all, it's only peanut butter and cottage cheese!

The finished and messy product! I used 2 dog bones to make the cat face. :) I wish the frosting mixture was easier to spread, but I figured that the dogs didn't care what it looked like! Maybe if I would have put it in the microwave for a little while, it would have been easier.

Here is the video of my two loves enjoying some of the cake! Jää is the blue merle taking his time licking the frosting and his sister, Tuli, is the black tri-color that is inhaling it. lol

Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Clay Mask

I didn't start using masks until just last year! I don't know what I was waiting for. The first mask I ever purchased was Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque. I bought it at a Dollar General, but I have seen it at a few other places as well. It's really cheap, only $3 I think. It got me hooked on trying masks! I will give a review on it after trying more Freeman Beauty masks! So, skin background... I have combination skin that can be pretty sensitive (thanks to being a fair skinned strawberry blonde) and I have struggled with acne for quite a while. I also have large pores and redness that I despise.

I recently went to Walmart in search of facial masks by Freeman Beauty. They have quite a few kinds! After watching and reading some reviews online and visiting the Freeman Beauty website, I decided on a few I wanted to try. Pictured below is the one I am reviewing right now, Avocado & Oatmeal Clay Mask, as well as two others I wanted to try, Charcoal & Black Sugar Facial Polishing Mask and the Blue Agave Hydrating Paper Mask. I also included the Queen Helene mask in the photo that I mentioned above. I'll review the others as I try them! :) The big tube (6 oz) was only $3.27 and the smaller packages (.5 oz) were $1.37 each. I could only find three of the masks in the larger tubes at the store, but most of the other masks were available in the small packs.

The back of the package says: "Nourish and purify with one amazing mask! Rich clays dive deep to purge dirt and oils from pores. Nutrient-rich Vitamin E, Avocado and Oatmeal moisturize for lasting skin softness. Skin looks and feels squeaky clean and is soft to the touch. Perfect for normal to combination skin."

The directions read: "Apply mask to face and neck, avoiding contact with eyes. Let dry and rinse with warm water. Use two times a week or as often as needed."

Instead of making a mess on my hands, I applied the mask with my e.l.f. foundation brush ($1) and rinsed it when I was done. After my shower and cleansing my face, I applied a thin layer of the mask all over my face and down my neck a little. The mask is a light green color and smells like most oatmeal products I've used... very yummy. lol The consistency is pretty thick, but it didn't seem as thick as the Queen Helene mask. It was easy to spread around my face with the brush.

 

After about 15 minutes, the mask was completely dry. I have a closeup here to show how how weird it is that it allows you to see all your pores! lol They are soaking this stuff up! As the mask dried it didn't burn, but had kind of a cooling sensation. It is very hard to show emotion when the mask is dry since you skin feels tight... as shown in the other photo!

I used a washcloth to rinse my face with warm water. My face felt squeaky clean and soft. It does slightly dry out the skin (might be different for oily skin), so I used a little of my For Goodness Face moisturizer by Mark. I also noticed that a few bumps on my chin that were painful before using the mask, felt soothed once I rinsed it off. I will continue using this once a week (after trying the other masks) and see if it helps with my acne any. Yay for refreshed pores!

So far, I recommended this mask to anyone with oily or combo skin who wants a simple clay mask that gives you a deep clean and soft to the touch skin. Using a mask like this can be quite relaxing and refreshing! I would advise a little moisturizer though if you feel it has that slight drying effect on your skin like it did mine. It's been over 24 hours since I used the mask and my skin still feels so good. I wish it felt like this every day! I should have taken a before picture, but I was so excited that I forgot! Next time!