15 Day Challenge [Day 7]

[Day 7] Recommend a book. Why do you think it's important?

"Like Water for Chocolate:

A novel in monthly installments with recipes, romances and home remedies"

It's been quite some time since I've read this book but it is one of my favorites.

The story is set in Mexico at the beginning of the century during the Mexican Revolution. Tita, the main character, is the yongest daughter in her family and because of that it is her duty to remain by her mother's side for her entire life. She is not allowed to wed and start her own family and yet she falls in love dispite her destiny. Tita uses her emotions, her heartbreak and her anger and her love, in her cooking and causes those around her to experience what she is going through.

"Something strange was going on. Tita remembered that Nacha had always said that when people argue while preparing tamales, the tamales won’t get cooked. They can be heated day after day and still stay raw, because the tamales are angry. In a case like that, you have to sing to them, which makes them happy, then they’ll cook."

The book has 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, and each begins with an authentic Mexican recipe. I loved the classic story-telling in this book and might actually dig out my copy again this summer to re-read it. 

Amazing Savings at Goodwill

When it comes to spending money I'm on the fence. You can't really call me a thrift-er because I only buy new clothes, there are certain beauty related products that I have to use and sometimes certain things just have to be more expensive than name-brand. But then on the other hand I don't go on shopping sprees really ever, I'm all for finding sales and I won't turn down a deal for something that saves me a bunch of moneys! (But then again, who wouldn't!)

Because I am part thrift-er I make occasional stops at Goodwill to see if there is anything to snatch up. I typically stay away from the clothes (unless it's to cut up and use as a craft project!) and shoes and sports equipment and our location doesn't have much furniture at all but I have found some pretty sweet deals and I wanted to show you how a little searching can save you so much. 

Counter-top Wine Rack: 

We typically don't buy wine if we're not planning on drinking it soon but occasionally we do have a few bottles and I wanted a way to show them off. 

Price for a similar @ Target: $20

Price from GW: $3

Savings: $17

Large Wicker Basket: 

When we built our shelving unit in the family room we had an awkward space between the bottom shelf and the floor that we didn't know what to do with but I didn't want it to be a big hole either. This basket is the perfect size to fit with our speaker and holds our spare blankets when we're not using them. 

Price for a similar @ Michael's: $40+

Price from GW: $6

Savings: $34

Paperback Books: 

Even though I have a Nook from Barne's & Noble as well as an iPad with a reader app I still love having actual books for a good price. And at our Goodwill, all large paperback books are the same price regardless of the title. 

Price on back of 3 books: $41

Price from GW: $6 ($1.99 each)

Savings: $35

Fiskers Paper Cutter:

I am planning on doing a lot of the stationary for our wedding myself and if I wanted to try to accomplish Save the Dates, invites, place cards, menus, thank yous, etc etc etc I knew I would have to get a big, fancy paper cutter to make everything crisp. I'm still in awe of the savings from this one!

Price for similar @ Michael's: $60+

Price from GW: $8

Savings: $52

Blue Ceramic Vases/Bowls: 

Now that we have an office/craft space in our house I have accumulated a lot more supplies and have the space to keep them accessible at all times. Gone are the days of keeping things in boxes unless I need them. The decor in this room is still in the process but I knew I wanted blues and I use these two jars almost every time I'm in that room. 

Price for similar @ IKEA: $16

Price from GW: $5

Savings: $11

Totals

Price I could have paid: $177

Price I actually paid: $28

That's a grand total savings of $149!!!

I might even make a trip there this afternoon after work just because I'm motivated to save more awesome money! 

Beautiful Books

After finding this post recently on Living with Lindsay and realizing I have been needing something else to fill the empty wall space above our bed I decided this project was definitely for me! Off to the Dollar Tree I went.

Supplies Needed:

Wreath form ($1)

Cheesy paper back ($1)

Hot glue gun

Lots of glue sticks ($1)

Black Acrylic pain (Optional)

Trashy TV shows recorded on the DVR (Okay I guess that's optional too;-) )

I followed the tutorial here almost to a tee because she does great at explaining the steps so head over there to get more details. (Not that this project is super difficult, I don't want to discourage anyone.) But eventually, with my book page edges painted with black paint, I began tearing out the pages, rolling them up and attaching them to the wreath form.

I would suggest using a foam wreath instead of the kind I used (our dollar store didn't have anything else) because it makes for a more uneven gluing surface which meant I used way more hot glue that I think you might need to with foam. It still worked but it just added a little trouble along the way.

Eventually you get something that looks like this. (This will be the front of the wreath.) You keep rolling and gluing and sticking those pages on in anyway you like and it starts to fill up like this.
A little while later, and with double the needed supplies, you have two awesome wreaths for your bedroom/wherever you want to hang your masterpiece. I used two small brackets I already had to hang them, ribbon will also work if you do it like Lindsay.
Of course I had to get a shot with the pup in it :-) He's just too dang cute. And huge I might add. But I digress.
My wreaths turned out a little more organized/less random/more tightly rolled than the ones Lindsay made (do you think that says anything about my personality) but it just goes to show you that you can make them infinitely yours. I used one whole book per wreath just so you have some idea how much you'll need. So for $4 or $6 I now have some custom art work I'm proud to show off. Who would have thought Doomed Planet would end up being so useful?

Lists Sooth My Soul and Other Unrelated Things

My life has been pretty dang busy lately so that any down time I have is usually spent doing absolutely nothing so my brain can rest, catching up on my DVR shows or spending time with J and the pup. However, I thought it was about time that I checked back into blog-world (I am still reading everyone else's blogs even when I'm gone just FYI) and do a little update.

I've been obsessed/required for my sanity to keep everything in list form lately so that's how this will be too :-)

CONS

- I'm busy, if you haven't figured that out by now

- The vet was wrong about Ollie's flea situation. We followed exactly what she said, Benadryl and all, until Sunday night when we were playing on the floor and I found a live flea on him. This sparked a full body search, spraying with bug spray and finding at least half a dozen more fleas.

- Yesterday I had to Flea Fog our apartment. Talk about stressful! Maybe I was being over-paranoid about it but I was freaked out that something would spark a fire while it was going off so I unplugged everything in our whole apartment. That on top of disabling the smoke detectors, covering anything important, setting off two "bombs" and running, and spending 2+ hours out of the apartment with Ollie. I'm glad it's over.

- I'm making slooooow progress on the secondary application I'm currently working on! I would absolutely love to go to any possible school that will accept me but schools that aren't really high on my list have fallen to the back burner right now. And that needs to change. Today and tomorrow are dedicated to essay writing it is.

- It's only 7 weeks into the semester right now... I can't wait for it to be over already. Hopefully 9 weeks is enough time to get things under control.

- The weather in SD this fall, if you can even call it that, is really making me miss home this year for some reason. I truly miss seasons. This was the conversation at work this morning:

Ashley (age 4): I like fall time because you can jump in leaves.

Brendon (dad): What kind of leaves do you plan on jumping in? Palm tree leaves?

She's clearly influenced by a kids book about weather since leaf piles don't exist here like there are other places.

PROS

- I aced my first ochem test of the semester. I was worried that this class would be more difficult than the first semester but so far so good.

- J and I finally made it to the gym last night and I can happily say that I have a good-workout soreness going for me today. And it feels nice. I really hope I and/or we can make it back again soon.

- The "bombing" incident mentioned above did have it's perks. I got to spend time hanging out with the pup and taking him new places. He loves car rides so we went all over. On the list of course was Starbucks. I was beyond content sitting outside, drinking a mocha, reading my book, and looking at this below me. He likes the Bucks too.

- While at Target today I picked up the candy corn that I've been craving ever since it turned October. I bought the Autumn Mix because I love the pumpkin shaped ones plus the traditional ones. There may or may not have been a splurge for fall-colored peanut M&Ms too ;-)

- Last weekend we went on our first family hike. Granted we only went 2 miles, which amounts to maybe a quarter or a third up the mountain, but it was a great day! If it wasn't so warm here still we would have gone farther but our furry friend was roasting. He climbed like a pro and I was so proud of him.

- It's already 7 weeks into the semester right now. I can't believe were almost half way done. I hope these last 9 weeks go fast so Christmas time can come!

- One of the best times of my whole day, just ahead of when my head hits the pillow, are my morning snuggle sessions with my boy. He looooves our good belly rub and I just adore him.

- I've finally finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and absolutely loved it and can't wait to start the second book. Keep an eye out for a book review on my "I'm Reading What?" page if you want to hear more about it.

Happy Hump Day Everyone

Ahh Mondays

Today is Monday which means I will most likely do nothing productive today. The boyfriend always hassles me that I don't do much on any day but hey, I frankly don't care. School is starting sooner than I'd like and I'll be plenty busy then.

On today's list...

1. Dealt with some cranky, crabby, crying girls this morning at work. I never thought a four and two year old could have such a bad case of the Mondays. Proved me wrong. It took a good "breathe in, breath out" for me to not send the little one to school in her pajamas and pee-filled diaper. Hopefully tomorrow goes more smoothly. *Fingers crossed*

2. I've made some good progress on my newest read, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I've neglected my Nook for the past few days and I plan on doing some more reading this afternoon.

3. I want to watch this movie. We've had it rented from Blockbuster thru the mail for way too long and BF is clearly not interested in seeing it since he said, "oh I thought you watched that already" just last night. I think it looks good, I'll make sure to let you know if you must must must see it, or if you shouldn't bother.

4. Of course I'm playing along with Mingle Monday over at [Life of Meg] and I highly suggest anyone interested in finding new blogs to read and new followers for their own blog go check it out.

5. I may or may not give into my craving for a Carmel Frap from the good 'ol Bucks this afternoon. I have to say that I'm very proud of myself for not going through the super convenient, want to go every day, drive thru Starbucks up the street from our new apartment every morning. I haven't even been once! I know, I'm proud too. But, it's been a while and Fraps are always perfect for hot afternoon pick-me-ups.

6. If you remember from a while ago, I did a post about my newest, fav summer nail polish color and I think it's time for me to use it again. Ooo, I can paint my toes and watch a movie at the same time. Who says I can't check things off my To-Do list today!

7. And of course, I'll spend the majority of the day playing with, snuggling, feeding, loving, and watching this little guy. There's nothing quite like puppy love is there?

What are your Monday to-do's?