Like a Thief in the Night!

Mysteriously it happens. Baffling even the greatest of figure-outers. This one is a doozie. Gather all your friends to figure this one out cuz it just doesn’t make since. Period.

Let me fill you in…

Welcome to my Wardrobe.

This represents most of my shirts. The items that define my fashion. Beauty.

Beauty from Forever Twenty-One

Beauty from the great thrift stores throughout my region.

Sooner Spirit Beauty

Beauty of Christmas gifts (Old Navy)

These tops although varying in differnt materials thicknesses, types and brands all have one thing in common….holes. Not the good kind. Not what you see on the runway. I’m talking grungy annoying little holes. Let me show you.

See, holes. And if you can’t tell, these holes are not in an inconspicuous place. No, no, no they are front and center. They are a few inches from the bottom of the garment. At least they are at the bottom but obviously there none the less.

Still don’t see it? Let me circle it for you.

See it now? Told you. Annoying right?

More and more and more holes!!!AHHH!!!

You might think the great mystery is how these holes are getting into my clothes. And you would be partially correct. But before you go all Sherlock Holmes on me listen to the rest of the facts.

I have no CLUE how this is happening.

Fact: This doesn’t happen to my girl’s shirts, or Brandon’s. (Although recently, finally one of his shirts got one.)

Fact: It doesn’t happen to any undershirts and normally not PJ’s either.

Fact: My sister’s shirts don’t do this

Fact: This has started happening within the last 2 years

Fact: New shirt or old shirt this happens the majority of the time.

Fact: It doesn’t always happen after the first, second, or third, wash.

Fact: It is always the same place, same basic pattern, and same size.

Fact: Some of the shirts fold in the drawer, some hang in the closet

Fact: I am freakishly to like my mother

Craziest fact of all: MY MOTHER’S SHIRTS DO THE SAME THING!!!!! (Why me AND her, ONLY!?)

Fact: My Dad’s shirts don’t do this

Fact: My mother and I don’t do laundry together

Seriously, it is like a thief in the night...IN MY CLOTHES! I hesitate to buy more. I will not be an enabler of this… this… thing!

Ok, those are the facts. Holes in the shirts is the problem.

Now, go, release your inner Sherlock and report back to me!

I would give you a prize if I could. How about a kiss? No, you’re right that is weird. A hug? Depends on who you are. Hum…I’m thinking… happy dance. Yes, I will do a happy dance for you. And if that doesn’t motivate you then forget I said it. What am I rambling on for? You have serious detective work to do!!! Cuz I can’t fix the problem if I don’t know what it is!

Fact: It is challenging to type shirt this many times in a post correctly each time. I probably didn’t. Sorry in advance for any offensive language. :)

Rachael

Nothing at All

I was going to blog tonight. I tried, I really did. Not sure if I'm not in the mood or if nothing interesting enough has happend. Regardless of reason there's just nothing to say really. Sorry to dissapoint.

Brandon and I went to Dallas last weekend with another couple. It was enjoyable. We saw Dave Ramsey LIVE. He is a great speaker...real entertaining. The trip went by really quickly. Not enough rest time. Saw and toured the Cowboys stadium...amazing.

We all have colds/stuffy/sinus something happening. Not cool! Also, for some reason the time change has really been messing us up. 

See what I mean, nothing really to say. Not even pics. I left the camera with the sitters and we haven't put them on the computer yet. Maybe something will come to me this week. Only time will tell.

Good Night,
Rachael

P.S. Thank you so much for those who cared to come to my CVS confusion aid. Your comments were most helpful in guiding me in my journey. I knew I could especially count on my Aunt D. She is offcially my CVS trainer. Love you Aunt D and other commenters!

CVS Confusion

So, I am a bit confused about something and I was hoping if any of you out there that read this are fellow deal finders you can assist me in my knowledge on the following subject. The topic is CVS shopping. I have been hearing a lot about what a great deal it is and I have wanted to give it a try myself. But there are a couple things that are a little foggy in my brain. Some things are starting to clear up on the subject matter…I think, but let’s just have a simple conversation about it so I can make sure. :) Deal?

So in this week’s ad they have an Oral-B toothbrush for $4.00. BUT you get $4.00 in CVS bucks so it is like the tooth brush for FREE!!! Wow! You might say $4.00 whole dollars to spend in CVS plus a FREE toothbrush! Here is where I feel ripped off. Haven’t I done nothing more than been tricked into buying myself a $4.00 CVS gift card for $4.00? Sure I got a toothbrush out of the deal but who cares? I don’t need a toothbrush and although I would use it eventually I can get it cheaper elsewhere? This part just doesn’t exactly line up in my mind. I have tried my best to justify this and here is what I have come up with. One could argue that I would use the tooth brush eventually and so in reality I have bought a $4.00 gift card for $2.00ish. So is it wise to buy an un-needed item just for the extra bucks? Will I not end up spending more money this way?

A few weeks ago in the ad there was a tube of crest toothpaste for $2.99 but you got $2.00 in CVS bucks. So that is like getting it for 99 cents! But, wait! There’s more!!!! I had a $1.00 off coupon for this particular toothpaste so it was actually as if I were getting paid to take the toothpaste from the store. This makes a little more since to me because now I have bought something I need, at a decent price (I paid $1.99 up front), and I have a $2.00 gift card to CVS. So theoretically I have made money on this transaction.
Had I already done a similar transaction in the past I could have used my “gift card” toward the purchase and got toothpaste plus a penny in my pocket. Am I thinking correctly here? However, take the above scenario without the coupon. Why pay $2.99 for tooth paste? I can kind of understand this but I feel like I am doing nothing more than buying my coupon. It doesn’t seem like a great deal. Am I mistaken? Is it a better deal than what I am understanding it to be?

Also, this week they had 4/$12 on 12pk Pepsi Soda. $3.00 each is a pretty good buy anyways so I would think go for it especially if I am getting $3.00 in CVS bucks. This makes sense.

It also makes perfect sense to me to get CVS bucks for buying CVS brands. Currently you can get 4% back on CVS brands. So if I buy some cough syrup at CVS which is cheaper than the name brand and normally works just as well it sounds good to me to get some CVS buck toward your next purchase?

So here is my conclusion to CVS deal shopping. If you are getting certain bathroom products, and medicine you can normally count on CVS to be cheaper and work well. Plus you get CVS bucks for future visits. Great! As far as food and other bathroom stuff make sure you are paying a decent price to begin with and get CVS buck in addition (such as in the case with the soda). It’s a win-win situation. But do I come out a thrifty saver in the instances with the “free” toothbrush or the overpriced toothpaste? PLEASE HELP fellow deal finders at heart. I know there is help out there somewhere. Can you find it in your heart to come to the aid of this poor confused girl? With a grateful heart for those who lend their aid.

Rachael :)

 

All about Cakes

I had a wonderful time making the birthday cakes for my nieces combine birthdays. This new found hobby is lots of fun but I am quickly learning how pricey and time consuming it can be. You just can’t rush this! Or, I’m just slow. Nevertheless it is bunches of fun and I can’t wait until the next one I do. I have some friends who also like to play around with cake decorating so I had them over for a cake decorating party. Gaining experience is, as with most things, how you get better. Practice, practice, practice. However I don’t have the money to be making cakes for no reason every week and I also don’t want them at my house because yes, skinny ol’ me would eat every last piece. (Working on the self control department there.) Anywho, to avoid these problems when we have cause to get together and make a cake we do. We call it “Cakes for Causes”. Catchy, I know! This cause was a birthday party and a princess and a strawberry shortcake cake were on the menu. I had a blast looking at cakes on line and getting a billion ideas. I love online tutorials! I have always claimed to be a non creative person on every level. I still claim this and I am ok with it but I wanted really bad to be creative. I have discovered I am quite good at being a copy cat in many areas and it has been so much fun!


So here is the cake run down:

I used this pan to bake the cake in. I bought it in the glassware section at wal-mart. I looked up the brand online and came to the conclusion that I thought it was oven safe. The only way to know for sure...put it in the oven. There were no explosions or cracking so I’m going with…it’s oven safe enough for me. It was a bit challenging to get the middle done without over cooking the outside. I was afraid the middle would be to gooey but it was perfect, moist, and delicious!

 I also made one small (I think 6inch) round cake to add height to the dress.

I make the fondant using this recipe http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm. It is better to let it sit overnight for sure and sifting the sugar is also key in my, oh so unprofessional opinion.
Under the fondant I put a thin layer of butter cream. This is good for two reasons. 1.) It works like an adhesive for the fondant and B.) The fondant is really sweet and not that tasty. Most people just peel it off the cake like the peel of an orange. It comes right off but they still have some yummy icing to be the…well...icing on the cake. Hehe.

I undressed the doll and then wrapped her in swaddling clothes, err plastic wrap, to protect sensitive body parts. Seriously how rude to put a nude doll in the cake. Sheesh, that would be a horrible childhood memory for a four year old! I cut a small hole in the cake before covering it with fondant. Then I put on the rolled out fondant and sliced and “X” where the hole in the cake was. After that I stuck the doll inside the cake and began to mold the fondant to look like a flowing gown. One of my great assistants made the extra doll decor.

The back of the pretty little princess.

As for the strawberry shortcake I did nothing more than have the idea and bake the cakes. My other sidekick was the total skill behind this one. I baked two 9inch rounds then we stacked them with icing in between and all around. I had printed a picture of strawberry shortcake and we (meaning she, but I would love to get in on part of the credit) placed the paper on the cake then traced it with icing. After that it was sheer talent of looking at the picture and copying it to the cake. This was done with buttercream icing. Homemade of course!

She looks a little spooky here without any eyeballs!

  

The strawberry on the hat was made out of fondant. I do believe my friend did an amazing job and I am not sure if I could achieve such excellence…but I can’t wait to find out! Maybe next time we have a cause to make a cake I shall give it a whirl!

So yeah, that is pretty much it. Two successful cakes, for which I was very grateful, two INCREDIBLE helper friends, for which I was VERY grateful, and two happy nieces, which made me smile.

A good days work put behind me.

Rachael