Let the Count Down Begin // Christmas + Birthdays

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here at the Five Sixteenths household.  This past weekend, after we all got done with the Thanksgiving feasts, we put up the Christmas tree.  We drank some yummy hot cocoa with peppermint schnaps, listened to Christmas music, watched a few Holiday themed episodes of Futurama, & decorated the mess out of the apartment sized tree.  We assembled it with out directions, figuring that we could tell the length of the limbs rather easily.  Katie & Jason bought some bright LED lights (I feel like I need sunglasses to look at it!) & some other tinsel type decor.  We went at it while Zach sat doing hw, sipping on his drink, on the couch.

Yesterday, I took a trip to see if I could catch some left over Black Friday deals & today will be a day of catching some Cyber Monday deals.  I might splurge for myself & pick up some sweet stuff from the Honeybean shop run by miss Kaelah of Little Chief Honey Bee.

Since both mine & Zach's birthdays fall in December (a weird coincidence!) there is some extra shopping going on.  I've already gotten him a birthday gift but today I will probably buy him the Christmas part.  He wants a new head set with a mic & a black Xbox controller.  We'll see what deals Amazon will give me!

There are still a few things left to decorate.

Hope your Thanksgiving was amazing.

Are you ready for the Holidays?

Sum Up Sundays: Goal Week & a New Challenge

So, Goal week was last week & incase you missed it you can check out all of the posts by clicking here.  Here's an outline of what we learned:

Monday - First, an introduction of what goals are & my 20 before 24 goal book.  Then, Amy from A is for Ampersand showed us how to spruce up a notebook to keep all your goals in.  She also shared with us that she is a list maker to the extreme!

Tuesday - I posted on setting goals & keeping them S.M.A.R.T.  We also saw some cool NOTebooks (notebooks that aren't just notebooks) for this weeks Tempted Tuesday

Wednesday - Megan from Freckled Italian used images from The Wizard of Oz to help us stay positive as we work through our goals!  Then some great DIY's & Buys for Dorm Dec Wednesdays.

Thursday - A post on Staying on Track with some links to create a planner & ways to keep organized.

Friday - To round out Goal Week, Friday's post was on Reaching the Top.  I posted on how sometimes it's more important to learn the lesson of your goal than to achieve it.  Fan Friday's was all about some inspirational & sometimes funny quotes.

In other news, I have found a few jobs....but I don't know which I will take & I have to make sure I can afford the things I need to live.  Like rent, insurance, internet, utilities, gas, food, etc. So I think I've made my last purchase for a very, very long time. This adorable hat:

It was $2 on sale at Claire's.  I recently saw on another blog about going to the thrift store and spending less than $5 (it may have been less).  I think I may be picking up on that little challenge.  I probably won't go every week because I can't afford it but I may set aside a little $2 limit to go to the thrift store for a little pick me up you know.  And if I want to spend more, I'll have to save some over a few weeks. So all in all it would be $8 a month I can spend at the thrift store.  I think in addition to all the money I have to save up...why not start another little something.

I will probably keep track of it all by making a few little envelopes, the old fashioned way.  I really like to keep cash handy these days...just to make sure I know what's going on with my spending!

I keep calculating things out on my calculator just to reassure myself that everything will be fine.  I know it will!! 

How was your weekend?

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Sum Up Sundays: Holiday Style Re-Cap

Now that the fireworks are done & the tree is on this side of being almost ready to take to the curb I thought I'd finally share a little sum up from the holidays.

I baked cookies with my grandmother:

I plan on making some Strawberry Jam with her this summer, too

Opened the stockings Santa brought with my family:

Worked a bit but not quite enough & got some cool gifts!

First off let me say that if you are on a budget another store you should keep in mind for fashion is Claire's.

Loads of people think Claire's is just for young girls looking for style

they also have awesome stuff for grown up fashionistas. 

From working for the company, I totally know that we keep in style.

It's also our goal to make sure you know what is in style!

Icing by Claire's is the older version of the store & they have great bags, make up, decor, & jewelry.

Claire's has awesome sales going on right now some of the bags are I believe like 30%-50% off, 

holiday stuff is 75% off & there is a 10 items for $10 going on with the sale items.

So, with that I'll say that this bag was part of my birthday present from my grandmother:

She also bought me a ring, leggings, & another sale purse from Icing.

Thanks Gramma, money is the best present! :)

This hat was $4:

this is one of the two I have that remind me of Molly Ringwald

I bought these buy one get one 50% off from Macy's with gift cards from my uncle:

I like the blazers because I am going job hunting 

& the blazers can go from fun to professional with a roll of a cuff

My mother & I went to Burlington so I could stock up on dress pants for less.

And this is the other hat that reminds me of Molly a la 80's

I wore this to work on New Year's Eve:

this picture stinks lol but it looks like this minus the scarf

Did I mention that the line at Macy's that these are from is called Material Girl?

My big gift from Santa was a little vacuum & a SEWING MACHINE!!!

Since it snowed & I left my sewing machine at my gramma's I couldn't play around on it

Tomorrow is the day though!

Hope your Sunday rocks! What are you going to be up to?

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Sum Up Sundays: Thanksgiving Feast

Now that I am fully stuffed with turkey, leftovers, & the chili my mother made for dinner tonight, its time to get back to work!  I've got a lot to do to finish up for school in the next two weeks & I've got a lot of work to do on this blog & on etsy.

This post is a sum up post right? Well this past weekend, after I'd finished stuffing my face, I went to a few of my favorite little second hand & consignment shops where my grandmother lives.

First, we took a trip to Two P's in a Pod.  This is a little vintage & handmade consignment shop just down from where we are staying.

I bought three little floral plates that I plan on turning into small cake plates.  I probably won't use them for cakes but instead plan on using them as display for craft shows or storage on my craft table. ("But Moe, you don't have a craft table," you say.  Well I will when I graduate & move. More on that a little later).

Second, we took a trip to a small place downtown.  This street is just down from were my mother grew up so after we visited her old house we went into Urban Gypsy.

via Urban Gypsy

I saw Urban Gypsy as we were driving by & knew I had to go in because of the paper chain front window displays.  So holiday chic, right?  Well even though I didn't buy anything I fell in love.  It is a small boutique that offers some eco-friendly clothing options & unique, trendy styles.  I loved their assortment of clothes & crocheted scarves, headbands, & bags.  I love me some fashion & crochet inspiration!

We also stopped by a second hand consignment shop called New To Me where I picked up an onyx ring like my mother's for Christmas.  Can you tell I love things that other people love & things that were once important to others?

Third, I recently received a table runner/pillow cover something, something that my great grandmother made.  My grandmother was going through a few of her things looking to pass down some odds & ends & my mother asked me if I wanted it.  It has embroidered flowers on either end and looks as if it was a table runner.   My grandmother said that my great grandmother used to use it over the pillows or over the end of the bed.  Since I would probably ruin it if I used it that way, I've decided it would look great draped on the wall over my bed when I move into my new apartment.  (Again mentioning the new apartment.....I'll get to that much, much later)

Finally while on Turkey vacation, I've been working on a blog love page for a few of my favorite blogs. I follow a lot & love every one to death, but I know there are definitely a few that I just can't stop returning to.  I've added a few buttons but I will be adding a load more as soon as I have the time.

I think it might be time for another slice of pie, sorry for the wordy post today.  Enjoy your Sunday!

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Tempted Tuesdays: Jewelery Boxes

If it isn't evident by now I love the Urban Outfitters company.  I love Free People, I love Urban Outfitters, & I really love Anthropologie.  I think I identify with this company because my style changes depending on my mood.  Free People caters to a style that is really earthy, country, & rural (yet chic), Urban Outfitters caters to a style that is more grungy & metropolitan, finally Anthropologie caters to a more feminine, cool, & sophisticated style.

This weeks Tempted Tuesday is from the latter.  Two Anthropologie jewelery boxes that are worth the buy but are also a great inspiration to DIY:

These two boxes found here & here are gorgeous! I love the detail & the femininity of the boxes.

Here's my idea for DIY:
For the first (Blizzard' Bounty Jewelry Box) I'd love to reuse some old denim fabric from some jeans.  I'd cut them into strips about 2" wide, make a running stitch & gather up the fabric. Then, I'd recover the box, padding the top, & sew on the frilly do dads I made with the fabric.  Heck, you could even hot glue them!

For the second (Pearl Essence Jewelry Box) I'd reuse an old sequined top from the thrift store! Find a top with some funky beading & use it to recover the top.  Slip some padding under it for a little cushion, remove some of the beads from the sides where the box would close, & secure.

Both of these are so cute & would look great personalized.  Anthropologie has some wonderful stuff!!