Glue gun madness

So this week I had the opportunity to use a glue gun, and was quickly reminded how great it is! I also discovered spray adhesive and all I can say is wow!
So with the glue gun hot in my hand I grabbed the magnets from Jo Ann's and the Abita Beer caps and had some fun!

The tools.



The bottle caps!




Bottle caps flattened with the pliers.




Hot glue glory!




The finished project!

Finishing a project

Something has changed within me. It began with the rearrangement of our downstairs living spaces and has snowballed! Who knew that this simple change would spark some serious home-makeover inspiration and motivation. YouTube and the brilliant and generous DIY bloggers with beautiful photo tutorials have taken those driving forces and actually educated them!
The major goal in my plan to enjoy the house: get the backyard livable and make it a place to be. Small step to attaining aforementioned goal? Build a space for outdoor composting of leaves and what not in the corner of the yard where nothing will grow.
Z and I spent an entire Sunday making countless trips to the orange box and lifting a seemingly endless number of cinder blocks. Ouch.
Here is the photo log of the Vaughn Trap Compost Pile.

Laying it out:

Hard at work:

The fully finished project...

Hello Gotham City

This past weekend Z, M and I headed to New York to visit Nana and Poppy. It is wonderful to see them and amazing to see how busy and active they are. Very lucky. We laughed a lot, ate a lot and had an amazing weekend. And we are exhausted!






We headed into the city on Saturday and roamed the streets. We hit Greenwich, the East Village and almost made it to the lower east side. Mario Batali's market, Eataly was where we spent a good portion of the day visiting with Rusty on the 15th floor Biergarten.



EATALY was spectacular. Gelato, butcher shop, fish market, you name something delicious, they had it in spades.





After we left EATALY we strolled downtown and sauntered through Union Square and the East Village.
We stopped at an adorable sweets shop, BLACK HOUND,


This was our haul...please be aware these truffles made the trek from NYC to Dallas.
M played at a playground in Great Neck, that I played at as a child. It's amazing how things come full circle.



M and Z got to to visit with his cousin in Queens, while Nana and I went into the city to see Book of Mormon. Holy moly. What a show! If you have the opportunity to see it, GO!
Z's cousin has a baby only four months younger, so M had a play date!



The plane ride back seemed to take years, as we were stuck next to a screaming baby the whole time: ours.
Folks without kids...I cannot express how awful it is to be the parent of that screaming baby.


Love traveling, but also love getting home!

Location:NYC

Runners High.

Running has me hooked these days. It consumes every thought and I plan my days around the distance that must be done. I am signed up for two races, the first is the Will Run For Chocolate 15k and then I am entered to run the Rock and Roll Dallas Half Marathon. These will be my first two races since Marigny was born. To be frank I am a little terrified. I am easily a full minute, if not minute and half slower than I used to be.


Yard clean up is priority número uno these days and I have been tackling the backyard inch by inch. It will be a yard that begs to be played in, darn it! There is a very long way to go. Here is what it could look like according to the app iscape.


Landscaping is expensive and as such I must always work bit by bit. Small project by small project. It is very limiting and frustrating and I dearly wish that we had the where we could do everything in one fell swoop or for that matter hire someone else to do it! Anyone have any tips for gardening/landscaping when you are poor?

Playground is where I spend most of my day.

We have been spending a lot of time on the weekends at playgrounds. Marigny is fearless and it is terrifying. Here are some images from the last few weekends.





















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Warm up post

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Coupon Me. Seriously.

It has been a few months since I became a budget-watching mama and it has been an eye-opener! Outside of our mortgage we spent more money on food than I ever imagined.  We apparently are some very hungry people.  Between the grocery shopping and take-out we were spending a ridiculous amount on calories.  The very same calories I run to burn off!  So, I decided to welcome coupons into our lives. Who am I?  If someone had told me a two years ago that I would be excited to cut coupons, I would have told them that they were insane! But I must say, there is some  thrill to the hunt of the discount.  And we could really use the money we are saving,

The web is an amazing place to learn about nearly anything and couponing is no exception.  Two sites were instrumental in helping me to learn how to "coupon".  MoneySavingMom and KrazyCouponLady.
I know you are thinking, I only eat fresh, there are no coupons for anything that I need.  I don't eat processed.  You know why I know what you are thinking?  Because that is EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT!
But on Friday I bought 9 lbs of 93/7 Jennie O ground turkey for $5.  Yup, $5. And today, when I did our weekly grocery run, I saved $76.80.
And on Monday I am hitting CVS with some amazing deals.  Diapers for $3.99?  Yes please!!!! $10 gas coupon for spending $30 on things I actually need that I have coupons for, and I have $10 in the fabulous extracare bucks.  Stayed tuned for the results.

Have you had luck with couponing?

*Do you get the Sunday paper?  Do you coupon? Can you spare your Sunday inserts?  I am happy to pick them up!

Highlighted on one of my favorite blogs!

Oh Happy Day! Thank you to That Pink Girl.  I pink sparkle heart you too!
Check it out!
www.iamthatpinkgirl.blogspot.com

Closet Shopping

Sometimes you forget what wardrobe options you have. A piece will fall to the back of the closet or its hanger will get hooked into another.  Such was the fate for the dress I wore today.  This 7 year old dress from TJMAXX rose like a phoenix from the depths of my dark shoe-filled closet. 

It was everything I was looking for in today's attire and then some.  The light green is such a happy color and I couldn't help but pair it with a super-versatile Banana Republic plum cropped cardi and my cherry red Toms wedges.  You know Tom's donates a pair of shoes to a needy kid for every pair you buy, I wonder if there is a needy kid wobbling around in a pair of wedge heels somewhere in mid continent Africa. 

The bangle on my wrist in this pic is my current obsession and I know I have discussed it here before, but it is the serpent bangle from Stella & Dot and I love it.

It is reminiscent of a bracelet my mother used to wear when I was a child. A new piece that somehow carries a sentimental value for me. Gotta love the new Fall Collection! 

The Downfall of the Trendthrift Part 2!

The whole ensemble

The Stripey Tunic, the Marrakesh and the Bardot Bracelet

The Bardot Bracelet received two compliments today.

Check out the details of my obsession! Handwoven on a silk backing with a ribbon tie.

At first I totally poo- pooed the ribbon tie.  Thought it was too much. But then I tried it on...as I said in the first post. I fell in love with it.  Yep, this bad boy got 7 compliments from people who stopped me on the street. Six separate ladies in Eatzi's and then another on the way out the door. An attention-getter!

A good outfit makes for a good day!

I got the blues

 I have got the blues!  So today was a day to sport them.  My mom bought this wonderful mini-cardigan for me in Atlantic Beach at a tiny little shop that we go to every time we go there, but of course as I type this the name of the shop eludes me. Seashells maybe, oh well.

 The pants I bought in Baton Rouge from Banana Republic in 2005.  Yup, they are white pants that I have owned for 6 years.  Pretty amazing considering what a klutz I am.

The tank is from Anthropologie, not thrifty I know, but it was on sale for $29.99 and I had to have it as it covered my post baby tummy very well. But of course now when I look at the pictures here I think it may actually make me look like I have a bun in the oven, Thoughts?  It doesn't help that my arm is placed in a way so that the bracelet I am wearing might also make the shot but here is the close up of it:

Happy Wednesday, it is good to be back on the blog bandwagon!

The Downfall of the Trendthrift

Ah, how good the intentions were when the challenge began and oh how quickly I crumbled.  But I couldn't help myself...the Boden clearance catalog was calling to me....MV...MV....open me. And I did and then I fell in love. 

If you know me at all, you know that I am a sucker for a stripe.  And my most favorite color is navy and when paired with grey (my old eventing colors) I cannot resist.  If I were a dress, this is the dress I would be.  This Stripey Tunic in Navy from Boden is my article of clothing soul mate.  So I bought it and have been totally ashamed to post under the guise of continuing the Trendthrift blog series. Hence the long blog vacation.  But to be perfectly honest I don't care.  I love this dress, it had to be mine.  Does it help that it was on sale?
So yes, I adore Stella & Dot, and as a stylist I have many fabulous samples, but there is one piece that I covet, not for my business, but for myself. So you are asking, Hey MV
why didn't you get this one as one of your samples? To be perfectly honest, I did not care for it from the image in the catalog, or online or even laying in the case. It wasn't until I put it on a guest at a trunk, I'll call her Ranger Girl, that I knew it had to be mine. 
And tomorrow it will, thanks to a friend selling some samples at amazing prices. 
Here is a sneak peek at the Marrakesh Bib Necklace:

Love it!  Wait until you see it on....
But quick question, can I continue to consider myself the Trendthrift?

The Trendthrift Episode 6- A Medley of looks (okay, 2) from the last three weeks

This Trendthrift thing is hard! I don't have very much and it takes a good chunk of time to shop a thrift store. Ebay may be the best route for me, but I admit, it is not always perfect. Bought a skirt for $1.69 and it looked terrible on me! TERRIBLE! Just not made for my body-type. Nothing personal.

This is what I wore to work yesterday...






The Rundown:
Top- Banana Republic- Ebay
Skirt-Steinmart
Shoes- TJ Maxx
Necklace- Stella & Dot- Cascading Chain Necklace- free shipping on this piece through June 9th....please contact me for more info.




The Rundown
Cardigan- Saint Grace- UAL
T-shirt- Unknown
Shoes- Frye- Rue La La
Necklace- Stella & Dot- Toujours Necklace

Shameless Promotion 1: Nine for Nine for None!

It is time to celebrate the beginning of the hot days of summer!
I am kicking June off with a Stella & Dot promotion for those wanting to look fabulous while sipping boat drinks from a patio!



Checkout the pieces everyone thinks are fabulous!
And if you order directly through me by June 9, receive free shipping!*
Sloane Bangle
Signature Clover Necklace
Bardot Hoops- Gold
The Revival Tassel Necklace- every single one of my hostesses have ordered this necklace!
Riviera Coin Necklace Mixed
Cascading Chain Necklace
Bardot Silver Bangle
Together Forever Necklace
Awakening Charm Necklace

For those interested in a little Summer Fun, book a trunk show with me for the beginning of June and receive free shipping on your hostess rewards! The average hostess receives $250 in free jewelry.

*The order must be placed directly through me. Please contact me by phone or email to order.

The Trendthrift Episode 5...

Can you believe that it is mid-May? Where does the time go?
These $1 Khakis are getting a lot of wear. The beauty of this must-have wardrobe staple is that it can be worn in many different ways. But I wear them in one way...with a cardigan.
This is the first pair of khakis I have worn in a long time. Khakis have neverreally fit me very well and I have tried them all, J.Crew, Banana Republic, Gap, but most were snug through the thigh region. I feel confident when I wear these, the cut is forgiving, and the crop hits just right on my leg.


My favorite high maintenance accessory:

The RunDown:
Cardigan- Banana Republic
Top- Calvin Klein via Off Saks
Pants- Express, Drew Fit via the Plaid Door
Sandals- Frye
Necklace- Revival Tassel Necklace, Stella & Dot