Friday Finds - Coupons!

First I want to apologize, my last 3 posts have not had any pictures (I know that tends to be pretty boring). I will do a better job next week :)

So yesterday I posted about the Restaurants.com gift cards that I found from Hip2Save ("Not Your Grandma's Coupon Site" I love that). That is a great site, but I made the mistake of not reading the guidelines and purchased the $100 for $8 and not realizing that it had a $200 minimum purchase...I hope I didn't steer anyone else that way, I apologize if I did. The good news is that you can get the $25 gift card for only $2 and you in actuality still only paid the normal price for that gift card on their site.

After that, I was in desperate need to redeem myself, so I did some more reading on Hip2Save and decided that with her suggestions, I could make a run to Walgreens. Well I spent $10 and got nearly $50 worth of merchandise! All of which I needed! I felt so much better after that and would encourage you to go to her site and check it out! Watch her videos, she is hilarious and her savings are incredible!

So today's Friday Find...go and stack those Coupons!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Well today marks the date of my 4 year wedding anniversary. In the time that we have been married we have moved 5 times (two of those times were out of state), had 6 different vehicles, changed jobs 11 times between the two of us, and had 2 beautiful children. Needless to say, we have had some heightened stress levels in these first 4 years of our marriage.

And still, everyday is better then the one before. I love him more today then I did yesterday and could not be more thankful that the Lord blessed me with this wonderful man as my friend, my husband, and the father of my children. I love you babe, Happy Anniversary!

Wanna Save Some Money?!?!

So I found this over on Hip2Save and I realize this should really be a Friday Finds post, but I just couldn't contain my excitement to share this with you :)

Over at Restaurants.com you can purchase gift certificates to local restaurants at discounted prices. An example is you can purchase $100 gift card for $40. Well until the end of the month if you use the promo code FLAG you get an additional 80% off...so that means you get a $100 gift card for only $8! Make sure you check it out!

And The Winner Is

It is time to reveal the winner of my first blog give away! Thank you again to Molly over at Tank and Tink for generously giving away one of her prints. Even if you didn't win, please check out her store and get one of her great prints for your home!

The winner was chosen by Random Number Generator and the results are...

ljasinski who said...

"I am looking forward to the warm weather...sunshine and spending time with loved ones."

Thank you all who participated and I hope to have one giveaway a month, so check back often :)

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Mandi32.etsy.com

Friday Finds : A Tank and Tink Giveaway!

Some of you have asked me how the Family Blocks project is going...I'm still working on them and so far I have about half done and about 12 more to go (I have a really large family). Here is what I have completed so far...



I will say, it has been much easier since I began using my little garage sale find (the Cricket!).

Well today is the day I know you all have been waiting for, my first blog giveaway! I found this great store on etsy while I was searching for prints for new decor around my home. I was in search of finding modern ways to incorporate scripture into my decor and these prints were the perfect solution!

This great one is in my bedroom...



And in my living room I have this great one that I gave you a sneak peak of a few days ago...



Aren't these prints gorgeous! Well you are in luck because Molly from over at Tank and Tink is giving one away to one lucky winner! Here are the giveaway details...

Contest ends Monday, May 24th at 6:00pm MST

One entry per person, person chosen at random

Prize is one 8x10 print from Tank and Tink

To Enter: Leave me one comment on this post on what you are most looking forward to this summer!

I want to give a special thanks to Molly for offering this giveaway! Your awesome!

Make sure you check out all Molly's great prints at her etsy store!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Mandi32.etsy.com

The Little Things

If you are anything like my family members, you hate dandelions. I have even heard some call them the "herpes of the lawn care world, you just can't get rid of them." That may be true, but my kids love them! Big Brother likes to pick them and bring them to me ( I never realized how much that action alone would melt my heart)





Even weeds can provide a great background for pictures. Today as my kids played in the grass, I couldn't help but to take photos of their little feet. No, I do not have a foot fetish, but I think that feet so accurately represent the stage that we are in or have been in our lives. When I look back on this photo, I will remember how little they once were and how the simplicity of playing in the grass provided hours of fun and adventure. I pray that they always appreciate the little things that the Lord has provided us with, in the little things is where there is the most joy.

Enjoying The Weather

We have been taking in the beautiful weather this week...doing yard work, playing at the park, meeting up with friends...all the great things of summer. I'm so excited that it's finally here for us in Wyoming, I know most of you have been enjoying it for some time, but we had snow last week!





Can I just say, I am a garage sale freak! I can not wait until Friday evening when the paper comes out with all the garage sales for Saturday morning! So far this year I have already found some great deals! Isn't this vintage flashlight awesome (It was $1)!



I also found a Cricket for $50!!! (I can't wait to break that out for some projects)

And a sneak preview to the giveaway on Friday...

Giveaway Coming Soon!

Giveaway Coming Soon!!!

Friday Finds

About a month ago I found this awesome print on Etsy it was entitled "Bloom Where You're Planted." You can see the print here. It is based off of the scripture, Phillipians 4:11 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

This has really been clinging to my heart lately because I find myself now missing the one place that I swore I never would miss...are you ready for this...I miss Oklahoma...I know shocking! Now, I must say I miss certain aspects of Oklahoma...I wouldn't necessarily wish I was living there over Wyoming, but there are things that I miss about it (my great friends, great activities, an awesome church, and access to great shopping). God really allows us to experience people and places, and sometimes those are only for a season. I didn't realize that while I lived there, but I do realize it now. I hope that by sharing this with you that you will also learn to be content wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

In tradition with my Friday Finds, I want to share with you other great things from Jeanne Winter's store on Etsy...

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Mandi32.etsy.com

On The Mend

Well I think we are slowly but surely getting over these nasty head colds. I seem to have gotten the worst of it, so it has been a very unproductive week here at the Smith house. Here a few pictures I have snapped the past few days. Like I said, nothing real productive:)

Little Sister is working on using a sippy cup



Big Brother wanted his picture taken too, because, "I can use a cup too Mommy"



Daddy also made the kiddos their first blanket fort, they enjoyed playing in there together.



Last week I found this great lamp at Home Depot...it was the last one and a display so I talked them down 40%! How awesome for the room I am redecorating!



And finally, I'm slowly working on the Family Blocks project I told you about a few weeks ago. I'm about half way done so maybe early next week they will make their blog appearance:)

My Project was Featured!

Sorry I haven't been around to post the past few days...my kiddos and I have had a nasty head cold the past few days and it has really taken a lot out of us. We are all starting to feel better and hopefully that means more projects in the near future:)

I wanted to share with you all my excitement! My DIY Yardstick Coat Rack was featured on Shanty 2 Chic!
Check it out here and the other great ideas by such talented women!

Friday Finds - Stamp Out Hunger

Tomorrow across America mail carrier's will be picking up bags of non-perishable foods to help feed families right in our own neighborhoods! Please help support this great cause and give to those that are struggling. Here's what to do:

1. Place non-perishable foods in a bag
2. Leave at your mailbox on Saturday, May 8th
3. Your mail carrier will pick up and deliver to local food banks and pantries

Little Sister's 6 Month Pictures...a little late

Awhile ago you saw that I was trying to take my daughter's six month pictures. Well I finally finished (although she is seven months old now). Unfortunately I still do not have any photo editing software and my good lense is in the shop for repair, so these are not as well done as I would have liked. Still, I hope you enjoy Little Sister!











And I wish I wouldn't have cut the "T" off, but it was still cute and I wanted to share



"Gotcha"

DIY Yardstick Coat Rack

I am super excited about this post! This is my first Do-It-Yourself project that I am posting on this blog, and I am hoping that it is the beginning of something great! Currently I have seven projects on my to do list (with about a dozen more waiting to be put on the list), and I'm hoping that they will all make it on my blog eventually.

Some of you know that I am in the process of redecorating my living room. I'm basically starting from scratch, and with a limited budget that means doing lots of things on my own. I came across these yardsticks at an antique shop for a great price and figured I could come up with something for them.



So here is what you will need for this project if you are interested in making one for yourself:

* 5 yardsticks, make sure they are the same length and thickness
* 1/4" plywood (you can use thicker if you want, I didn't want mine to stick out too far)
* 4 coat hooks (most come with screws, if not you'll need to get some)
* Gorilla Glue
* 2 picture brackets
* Saw
* Drill
* Razor Blade or pocket knife

You may also need Ralph Lauren glaze tinted in "Smoke" depending on how "aged" you want it to look.

I used the hooks off of a rack I already had. If you don't have any lying around, you can find them at any hardware store from $2-$8 per hook.


I had a yellow yardstick that I wanted to use that was fairly new,



so to make it look more "aged" to match the others I applied some of my Ralph Lauren glaze, waited a few minutes until it got tacky and then took a rag and wiped it off. This leaves enough residue that it doesn't look painted. I then took some sand paper and sanded a few
areas.



I placed the yardsticks on the plywood in the order that I wanted them, and then cut the plywood to size.



I Gorilla glued the yardsticks to the plywood and then clamped it for added pressure. Then I drilled four holes spaced evenly for the hooks.

(Note that I clamped the yardsticks using scrap pieces of wood I had around to make sure the pressure was even)



I let it dry and set for about two hours. At this point, you'll probably notice a few glue spots. Since this has the aged look, you can just take the razor blade to it and cut it off. If it scrapes the paint or coating, it's not a big deal, just adds to the overall look.



Attach the picture brackets to the back and your finished! I love the look of this in my living room!