Nail Art

Yeah nail polish. I do enjoy a nice manicure, but never want to fork out the money for one...so I do my own nails. I have become a huge fan of Sally Hanses Insta-Dri (http://sallyhansen.com/products/nails/nail-color/insta-dri-fast-dry-nail-color), it really dries quick, and my favorite part is the brush. It has a nice thick brush! Anyway, I have collected several colors, but I'm going on a tangent now....

Through Pinterest I found this AWESOME tutorial on creating gradient nails...Super neat, and as I found today EASY!! Check it out...

http://www.makeupwithdrawal.com/2012/04/tutorial-easy-sponge-gradient.html

So I gathered up the polishes I decided to use...

I did not take pics of the process, but I did like it explained!!! Here's my outcome

Crappy iPod pictures, sorry... AND I have yet to clean them up ;)

This is what I will do differently next time...

1. Change the sponge more often, I didn't and several of my nails are very rough...it didn't look like the sponge was disintegrating.

AND

2. I need a thinker top coat...I saw that they recommend the gel top coat from the Sally Hansen 5 minute manicure set... 

I will try again another day, but it was fun and REALLY easy!!! A little time consuming though, clear base coat, dry, color base coat (grey), dry, gradient, quick dry, clear coat, dry....

so yeah maybe another day, I will have a much nicer result and take better pictures of it ;)

Signing off for now...just another blogging mom trying new things and posting them for all to read ;)

<3 br="br" rachel="rachel">

Money Saving Momma - School Clothes Edition

I LOVE saving money, especially when I get to spend it too ;)

SO the kids really didn't need much for school this year, and seeing that the trend is we buy all these school clothes and then come Dec/Jan they have a growth spurt - it can get a wee bit frustrating...

What we did was get them each a three outfits - three pairs of jeans and three shirts (The littlest only got two she didn't need much more). Now with three kids YIKES this all can add up...BUT if you shop well then you can walk away with everything needed, picky kids happy, and even better not much out of pocket!!!!

I have perfected the art of bargain shopping, at least I think I have ;)  I geared up keeping an eye out on the typical stores - Old Navy, Children's Place, Gap, Etc... I knew the price for what jeans and Ts are going for and those were the prices to beat.

We started at TJ Maxx, they had NOTHING I mean NOTHING for the eldest. Yeah jeans but they were 13 to 18 dollars each and I knew we could get them for 10 to 12 - so nope...then they had Ts but they were all 10 or better and our target price was under 10....

The middle one however, we did quite well...We found a pair of Gap Jeans for $8, and they fit perfectly and meet her very strict requirements of being skinny jeans that she likes...Then we found a really cute Justice T shirt for $5 and two more Ts for $6 each...we walked out for under $25 YAY!!!!

Then on to the Gap, we found the opposite here, great deals (after lots of digging) for number 1, but not for number 2! We walked away with a pair of jeans and three nice shirts for under $28! YAY AGAIN!!! We were done for the day (The hubby was spent, but content with what was spent!)

SO I get an email from Children's Place Yesterday....Free Shipping  no minimum order and an additional 20% off... I missed the 25% boat...Darn. BUT I scored 5 more pairs of jeans (1 for the guy and 2 each for the girls) and two T's for number 3 - for less than $48 SHIPPED!!! WooooHoooo that along with the jeans I scored for 50 cents (brand new with tags) at a flea market for #1!!!!!

Leaves me with 8 pairs of jeans and 8 Ts for about $101 TOTAL - Retail Value over $242


...I am happy, the kids are happy, and so is the, wallet carrying, hubby TRIPLE win!!!!


Pictures to follow, as their first day is Thursday!


PS. They each have a LL Bean Backpack, lifetime warranty, so we only pay when we need to upgrade size wise, and that's just the difference in price from their existing backpack! BEST $25 (per back pack) we EVER spent!!! School supplies are provided at school, and what isn't I have an abundance left from last years home school venture ;) #1 did request mechanical pencils - so that was a whopping 50 cents for 10 ;) Yes, another SUPER BARGAIN find!!!!

Lilian.grace its my birthday! {almost} 6k birthday party giveaway!!

Photog friends, and non photog friends alike...head on over to Lilian.grace -http://www.liliangracecreations.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-my-birthday-almost-6k-birthday.html- for her ALMOST Birthday giveaway!!!

Amazing prizes up for grabs and TWO winners!!!

Rachel

Summer Time

So summer is here, school is out, and the weather is BEAUTIFUL!!! The kids and I are spending the week relaxing and cleaning - getting prepared for a busy summer of swimming and fun!! For several years know the kids and I spend our afternoons at our local recreation center, sitting around the pool. I get to spend the summer chatting it up with my Mom friends and the kids are free to play with theirs! Overall a GREAT way to spend our summer. We practice sun and water safety, take swimming lessons, and eat lots of snacks ;)

This summer brings on a few changes too. We are "forced" to consider a second vehicle as we live miles away from our summer time haven, and the husband is super busy with work!!! Right now I am going through the motions of getting things set up for school next year - Change number 2 - Homeschooling.  This is something the hubby and I have batted around for years now, but haven't been ready to take the plunge. With our oldest entering 5th grade and the middle school years looming near by, we new now was as good a time as any! SO we started researching the reality of homeschooling him - Fortunately we have SEVERAL close friends who home school as well and they are a TREMENDOUS help and GREAT resource!!! With the full intention of starting with our oldest and allowing the "middle" child to continue in public school, we felt pretty confident in our abilities. THEN after a bit more deliberation and a check into the reality of the school schedule we decided it would be best for all if we jump in fully. SO I am going from stay at home mom to a toddler and shuttling the older two to school and doing the after school thing to a full time homeschooling mom! WHAT am I getting myself into. Unfortunately our local school has declined in offerings and the reality of my children continuing there makes me sad, nauseous, and a bit frightened. This is the school I attended as a child, and our oldest would have most likely had the same 5/6 grade teacher I had this year! We are in an inanely small community which holds so many blessings, but keeping a good school going that meets or hopefully exceeds national standards, is just not happening. SO here we are staring straight into the eyes of our children's educational future! Mixed feelings abound, but confidence in this decision holds strong!

The Summer Giveaway by Soulographer

CHECK IT OUT!!! - http://www.soulographer.com/the-summer-giveaway/

Head over to Soulographer June 13th - 24th to enter to win a prize package from 25 vendors - more info and details on the site...so what are you waiting for...GO to http://www.soulographer.com/the-summer-giveaway/ NOW!!!!

Another AMAZING Giveaway!!!

To celebrate the opening of I Live 2 Click's new blog, they are throwing a HUGE giveaway - A MUST enter for sure!!! Check it out here!!!

 - http://ilive2click.com/2011/05/22/2100-mega-giveaway-launch-of-i-live-2-click/

"The Big Spring Giveaway"

Wild Hearts Photography is sponsoring a GREAT Spring giveaway!!!! A MUST Enter!!!!!

http://wildheartsphotography.com/blog/?p=4035