Most of my facebook fans already know this, but if you missed it, The Fresh Market opened this morning in Athens.  I was very excited to be invited to the “Parmesan Cracking” ceremony this morning.  It was a great experience and I was very happy to sample all the goodies!

All in all I felt the prices were comparable with other similar stores in the area, but they seemed to have a bigger variety.

I was very pleased to see the grind your own peanut butter and almond butter stand.  That’s always fun for the kids, plus then you KNOW it’s fresh 🙂

My favorite thing of all had to be the okra chips.  They are incredible!  I first tasted okra chips on our trip to Helen and I became addicted.  They are awesome!

I was also impressed with the pink and purple yogurt pretzels.  I think these would be adorable for baby showers!

And then there was the wide variety of sweets!  Again, prices were comparable with other bakeries in the area.  And they looked SOOO good!

And OH THE CANDY!  Anyone who is watching their waist line should avoid this area completely!  Better yet, blindfold yourself!

And finally the “Parmesan Cracking”.  This was pretty neat – a different sort of grand opening celebration.  Side note that this parmesan block cost over $1,000!!!  WOW!  But was it ever tasty!

I will definitely be back to shop more!  Now for the things I’m sure you’re dying to know.  We asked the following to managers today during our shop:

Q: Do you take coupons?

A: YES!

Q: On a Buy One Get One Free sale, are the items half off or buy 1 to get 1 free?

A: They should ring up 50% off.  If it doesn’t, a manager should be able to correct this.

Q: Will you carry Limburger cheese? (okay this was my mom asking for my grandfather!)

A: YES – very soon – shipment was delayed.

And if you want to see the grand opening cutting of the cheese, watch below!

Say “Goodbye” forever to this nasty ivy in my kitchen.  I’m sure at one time it was nice, but now it’s quite yellowed and really not my style.

Ewww… I know.  When we moved here 7 years ago, we just had 1 kid and since then we’ve had 3 more, so really I’ve been busy with babies and kiddos and the house maintenance took the back burner.  Now it’s time to tackle some projects.  I’m so super excited, too.  Can’t wait to show after pics!  I think what really got me motivated is my new countertops from the Giani Granite project.

And I have to say it really warms my heart seeing my 2 boys working hard on the house 🙂 Here they are prepping for painting:

For paint, we are using a 5 gallon bucket of paint that I found at Lowe’s for just $30!  It was in the OOPS section.  I love shopping this section because you never know what fun colors you will find and it’s a fraction of the normal listed price!

Soo… what color do you think the kitchen will end up?  Any guesses?

A friend of mine posted this on facebook and it totally cracked me up! Great way to solve that awkward moment when you’re not quite sure how to eat a cupcake without looking like a pig or without frosting on your nose! Solution in the video below!

A little late posting this, but life happens!  My oldest turned 9 in August and is a HUGE animal lover.  She came up with the idea to have a birthday party but give her presents to the local animal shelter instead of getting gifts for herself.  I was so super proud of her.  I contacted the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter to find out a list of what they needed and when I was talking to them, they said we could come and have a tour of the Animal Shelter with her friends for her birthday!

Here was their wish list:

Last night my friend and I went on a Mom’s Night Out.  As frugal moms often do, we ended up at the thrift store.  We visited America’s Thrift Store in Athens and found quite the bargains!  What’s neat about this thrift store is that from the ceiling, you’ll notice a sign like this:

That means whatever items have an orange, yellow, or white tag are marked down! The thrift store prices are low as it is, but being able to take an additional percentage off is awesome!

Here are some of the deals I found:

• Children’s Place Dress with orange tag – $2.09 after discount
• Girls Boots – $1.99

•  Pink Skates for my 3 year old – $2.99
• Boys Jeans with orange tag $1.04
• Boys Jeans $.99

• Disney Store plush Marie costume for my niece $2.49!

As you can see, I bought CUTE name brand items for a fraction of the cost.  I’m all about buying used and saving the difference, especially that I have 4 kids to shop for!  Also, if you are in Athens, be sure and swing into Ingles to grab one of the gray coupon books before you shop.  Inside is a coupon for 10% off your entire America’s Thrift Store purchase!  My grand total for everything (boots, skates, costume, dress, 2 jeans) after all discounts was just $13.63 with tax!  That’s cheaper than just the skates alone!  Or just the costume alone!

My friend Janet was able to score a shirt for $.79 that had a white tag, which meant 70% off that $.79!!! Only $.24 for a shirt!  You can’t beat that at all!  She also grabbed fleece sleepers for her son for $.59 and $.79 each.  They looked brand new!

Unlike Good Will, everything is all sized and organized by sizes, so it’s easy to find what you are looking for.  I shop here all the time!

My Tips:

• Be sure and shop for items marked down further for additional discounts
• Look for extra coupons in coupon books
• Shop used and save the difference
• Go in the morning when it’s less crowded and more organized
• America’s Thrift Store accept returns within 30 days on clothing items
• Take a friend for more fun and double the eyes looking for the deals

What is your best thrift store or yard sale tip?  What is the best deal you’ve found?

This weekend, my husband, father in law, and I tackled the kitchen counters using the Giani Granite kit.  Our counter tops are the original ones in the house when it was built and they definitely needed a little updating.  (And yes, the walls will be next!)

Here’s before photos:

Prepping took about an hour or so, taping everything up, scrubbing counters, washing counters, and all.  This was probably the longest part of the whole process.  Making sure everything is properly prepared is essential to making the counter tops look great.  We followed the instructions completely.

Here’s the difference as we painted on the first coat:

Makes a big difference!

Next comes the fun part!  Stamping on the colors!

We followed the directions again and stamped the colors all over in the way the instructional dvd suggested.  Here’s how one of my counters looked after the first color:

We got the other colors applied and then it was finally time to seal!

I’m loving it!  Doesn’t it look great?  Here’s a closeup:

And final photos:

(ignore the stuff piled in the sink!  That’s what happens when you have to have everything off the counters! lol!)

My thoughts and tips?  It went much smoother and easier than I anticipated.  Be sure to have an entire weekend free.  It’s best if kids can go to Grandma’s and plan to eat out or prepare meals in advance to be warmed in the microwave.  I LOVE the end result and can’t wait now to finish up the rest of my kitchen so it will be all up to date!

For more information on Giani Granite, please visit the Giani Granite website and their facebook page.  Lots of before/after shots on their facebook page!

HUGE thanks to Giani Granite for my kit to try and for providing this giveaway!  The winner will get to choose between the 7 different Giani Granite colors available.

To enter the giveaway, fill out the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As I’ve posted before, we’ve been working on repurposing a lot of things in our house rather than buying new things for $$$ and less quality.  I had this dresser that we no longer needed that really didn’t match anything in our house.

First we removed the drawers and sanded the dresser down.  We removed the old drawer pulls as well.

Next it was primed and ready for it’s color.

It’s color we bought from the OOPS paints at Home Depot.  I love the color and it was just $5 for the entire gallon!  I love checking the OOPS section for nifty colors!

Next my husband cut plywood to make a top shelf and used braces and brackets to keep it in place.  We put new drawer handles on, cut a hole in the back for cords and it put it back together.

Finished product!  My husband needs to add one more brace in the middle of the shelf to support the weight and then it will be perfect.  We were able to fit all our dvds in the drawers, all neat and organized, and away from little fingers pulling them out every 2 seconds 🙂  I’m very pleased and can’t wait for my next project!

Project total was probably around $15.  The most expensive part was the new drawer pulls.  We had the plywood leftover from a previous project.  Much cheaper than buying new!

My other Do It Yourself On a Budget Projects:

• Repurposing Dresser into Bookshelf
• Padded Headboard

Today’s Weekend Boredom Buster is different than the typical fun and carefree ideas we post to help you get rid of the weekend bores.

Many of you may remember me posting back a few months ago about a sweet little girl in our church named Piper.  Piper passed away from Leukemia in April of this year, after fighting nearly all of her 2 3/4 years of life.  Today Piper would have turned 3.

In Piper’s memory, her parents are planting something special today to remember their sweet girl.  You can read her mom’s blog post HERE about their plan to plant.  Piper’s mom has such an incredible strength that can only be described as God-given, and her faith is tremendous.  If you ever have some free moments, I encourage you to read HER BLOG.  You will be encouraged and strengthened through her words.

Keeping with the spirit, we are joining Piper’s family in planting something special today.  We took the kids to the local plant nursery and they chose a gorgeous butterfly bush to plant in memory of Piper.

Piper was just 5 days older than my Anna.

If you feel led, I encourage you to take a moment and grab something to Plant For Piper today.  If you do, I’d love for you to take a photo, email it to me, and I’ll pass it along to Piper’s family.  If you can’t, head outdoors and weed your gardens, play with your kids in the sunshine, or snuggle with them on the couch.  I also encourage you to keep Piper’s family in your prayers – her mom Susanna, dad Chad, and sister Linley.

Happy Birthday Piper!

A couple weeks ago, I went over to my good friend Ashleigh’s house.  I think Ashleigh is awesome and her house is just gorgeous.  You never find clutter and she has inspired me in many of my “re-purposing” projects.   When I was at her house, and in the middle of canning strawberry jam, I poked around like usual checking our her latest design ideas and I asked her about one problem I have – Where to find room to store all those darned cleansers.  Her answer was simple.  She makes her own and only needs a few ingredients!

On one of her recent blog posts, she has shared her “tried and true” recipes for making cleansers.  I can’t wait to give them a try and toss all my chemicals.  Ashleigh says “Vinegar is my best friend when it comes to making my own cleaning supplies.”

Below is one of her recipes:

Wipe it Away Spray

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar
• ¼ tsp. Natural soap, I often use Dr. Bronners, but dish soap will work fine
• 7-10 drops Tea Tree oil
• 7-10 drops Citrus essential oil or whatever essential oil you prefer. (Optional)

Directions:
Pour all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake well to mix. I use this solution to do most of my cleaning. I use it to clean windows, mirrors, showers, bathroom counters, and toilets. I use it in the same way I would use a conventional disinfectant, spraying down my counter tops, door knobs, and more.

Conventional window cleaners leave a film on your windows and mirrors. The natural soap in this recipe removes the film. Once you go through your first bottle, the soap isn’t imperative, but I usually add it anyway.

I typically add Orange essential oil to this because I like the fresh smell and citrus essential oils lighten earthy essential oils. Tea Tree gives an earthy smell by itself. You can add whatever essential oil you prefer or none at all. Citrus essential oils are energizing and can help naturally cut through grease. Be sure not to apply these oils directly to your skin.

To check out her recipes and to find out how to make your own cleansers, visit her Rose Petal Cottage Blog.    I’m hopeful she’ll share her natural bug spray recipe with us soon!