You better watch out

Vera-Ellen, the Santa Claus pinup, c1955
Originally uploaded by carbonated

Christmas time is here! We 'decorated' our apartment this weekend and it looks like a bunch of drunken elves had a decorating party. It looks a lot like one of those Christmas stores that looks like it should be a log cabin. All sorts of teddy bears and stuff. Not really my style at all- but my roommate brought all of his decorations for Christmas since I went a little overboard with Halloween. So now I am knee deep in quilted teddy bear-with-santa-hat place mats. Sigh. At least it is Christmas.

Halloween Shopping Round 1

So I finally caved in and bought some stuff for Halloween. Like many people I am on a budget so I am really trying to get some bang for my buck.

The List:
Black paper plates square and round
'Bone Appetit' Napkins
3 'Poison' Bottles to add labels to and add to the the bathroom
black and orange candy melts (bought molds online- will post when they arrive)
black and orange food coloring (you have no idea how much i am going to bake!)
mini led lights- they will be used somehow...
'Caution' tape- this is going to go across an open door looking into my room which I am going to make into a creepy Halloween scene
'Hocus Pocus'- Best Halloween movie EVER! Had to buy a copy since my old 'taped off of tv on vhs' version stayed at my mom's house

Maybe I spent a little bit more than I planned to for this trip but it is all worth it. Target had some really cute stuff but I just wasn't sure what I would do with some of it.

weekend thrifting

(the smallest one is filled with pumpkin spice kisses!)

This weekend was really good to me- thrift wise. I have become a little obsessed with cake plates and covered plates for all sorts of baked goods and more. Friday at Thrift Store #1 I found 2 'covers' for $2 each! I think they actually may be cheese plate covers but they are really cool regardless of their former use. They did not come with plates but I am thinking of making some Halloween themed ones for my Halloween party that I am convincing my roommate to let me throw! At Thrift Store #2 I found the most adorable mini-glass cover and dish! It was $3 and so darn cute I think I squeaked with delight at finding it.

Sunday I went to Gold Rush which is this huge antiques sale at our fair grounds with hundreds of sellers. They have it a couple of times a year and I go as often as I can. This round was much more sparse than other years but there is always enough stuff to keep you drooling. Gold Rush is usually way more expensive than your average garage sale or thrift sale because these people know what they are doing. But if you are a collector or a very persistent bargain hunter it usually creates some good deals. This time my best deal was the glass cake plate w/cover for $11! I love it so hard. Now I have three different sized covers- which will look amazing with all the fall treats I am going to be baking!!!

4 pieces grand total: $18 - still less than the 1 similar cake stand/cover I saw at a local craft store.

moving into my first apartment

1st Attempt at Moving the New Couch
Originally uploaded by TristanPIpo

No this is not the couch that I (along with 3 friends) moved on Thursday but the situation looks familiar. I am in the process of moving into my very first apartment right now and while we have all the 'big stuff' moved in it will be a slow process moving the rest. The slow process is helped by the fact that my apartment is only a few blocks away from my old house! Now of course I am having anxiety over whether or not this was the right thing to do. Because although living with my family was driving me crazy it was, shall we say, cheap. With a new apartment and soon a new car to pay for along with student loans it is going to be a tight (like corset tight) budget this year.

But I think it will be good for me. It will let me live like an actual adult for awhile and I will see how I am at it. If it is an epic fail I can run home to mom without too much trouble (besides bruised pride). The costs will be shared by my roommate and we will help each other in this little experiment to spend less and make do with what we have.

Hopefully we will have internet at home soon so I can catch up on some things I have been up to. Posts coming soon....pie pops, thrift store finds, and NEW APARTMENT PHOTOS!!!