Trip to 3 different stores..

doesn't sound good.. but it made for a pretty decent shopping trip the other day! It's been a couple of days since i've been on here. Sorry guys! I'm back! I had a English Literature II test on Monday night that I've been studying for and I caught someone's cold over the weekend. I attended baseball games this weekend and cleaned house and cooked a little. I had my first dining experience at Longhorn Steakhouse. It went fairly well.

I was passing down Lakeland Drive one day and noticed this place. It was like you passed one day and it was empty and the next it was built! They built that place in a jiffy! I had the parmesan crusted chicken with a side salad... and... mashed potatoes. :/ It was all very delicious but has earned me some extra hard working out in the gym. I woke up this morning and felt like doing something different; so I went on a walk down by the causeway which ended in 3.5 miles! It was nice and beautiful and loved the smell of the fresh outdoors! Then after work tonight I did 30 more minutes of cardio and some leg workouts. Pretty good day!


Anyways.. to get back on topic.. I had myself a little couponing trip the other day. It's been a couple of weeks since I've been coupon shopping, but I finally got around to organizing some coupons and making my list for my trip. I got away with $55.00 and all of....

THIS!

I am not an extreme couponer.. but I'm learning as I go and all of this probably would have came out to double what I spent.. but we all know those ladies on the show come out with spending as low as 99 cents sometimes. Makes me frustrated, but I do what I can!

My coupon on the ICBINB didn't scan and wal mart has a policy that they can't take a printed coupon if it doesn't scan.. so that was $1.25 I didn't get taken off... and also the cinnamon rolls. I had $1.00 off two and that one didn't work. I get most of my coupons offline because I don't always remember to get a Sunday paper and I'm not paying 10 dollars for inserts from a website.

I didn't have coupons for everything that I bought, but for most. Target had pasta-roni, rice-a-roni, and pasta salad mixes for 96 cents which was a pretty good deal so I snagged a couple of those. Then wal-mart had their hand soaps for 98 cents and hunt's mamwich on sale for 1.00 a can.. which that stuff can be pricey.

Of course my Kroger has a little section they put clearance items in and I got a good bit of things!
sliced mushrooms in a can- .39 cents
leseur's peas- .49 cents
can of carrots- .50 cents
can of rotel- .50 cents
bag of penne noodles- .99 cents
Kentucky southern seasoned breading- .99 cents
pink lemonade koolaid mixes- .09 cents

I have to snag those things when they're there.. or else when I go back they will no longer be there. It's smart to check that section every time you are up for going to the grocery store because they put different things there everyday! They had other things like marshmallows, bisquick, a bunch of different ice cream sundae toppings (fudge,caramel, etc..)- this is at the Kroger at Dogwood Promenade if you live in Flowood, MS.

So I had a decent trip to the store! I was semi-happy with my purchases and my cabinet is overflowing with canned/boxed goods. I'm a happy domestic girl ready to cook away!

I have reorganized my coupon binder and threw out all of the expired coupons! Can't wait for another trip soon!

HAPPY COUPONING,
Lauren

OH Radiology school.. I dream of you someday.

I have been waiting and waiting... and waiting to hear from the two schools I applied to for radiology. I really have my heart set on going to University of Mississippi Medical Center, but if it doesn't work out then I have Hind's to fall back on. I've been at Hind's for three years now and would really like a change.. but I know God has it all planned out for me and whatever happens.. well.. It happens.

Last month I was focusing on getting in everything for my UMMC application and had my interview in the beginning of the month. It went OKAY. The gentleman that interviewed me asked for me to get a couple of things turned into my file for my application so that it would give them more of a reason to look at me for acceptance and give me a better chance! (since there's probably over 200 people who apply and only 25 who get accepted!) Yikes. So I worked my booty off to get everything that I needed in a small amount of time and then had to get my Hind's application turned in by the 31st of January. Man.. Last month was stressful and busy!

So, when I went to my grandma's two weekends ago I got a phone call Friday afternoon and I apparently was supposed to be at Hind's at 1 to do a writing thing for the application to radiology school. WHOOPS! I answered and he said it was Steve. I thought hmm, who is Steve! Oh! My best friend's step dad! I replied, Hi Steve! This is Lauren, Cody's friend. He continued, "Oh yes, this is Steve Compton from Hind's Nursing Allied, did you not receive your letter?" So.. I didn't ever get the letter they sent telling me about this writing prompt thing and so he was so very nice and let me write the two essays and send them through email! anndddd. wait for it....

I WAS ACCEPTED AS ONE OF THE APPLICANTS TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR ACCEPTANCE!

Yes... That was some 1am writing in the bed at grandmaw's that I did. But apparently it was good enough for them! Wahooo. So I have my interview with Hind's on March 9 at 2pm! Wish me luck. That will be a nervous day until it's over. I always stress about small things and then when it's over I wonder why I ever stressed about it. 

So, hopefully something will work out for me in the end. Hind's radiology school starts in May/June and UMC starts in August. OF this yearrr. Hopefully I can hear something from UMC before Hind's calls back after my interview or else I'm going to be freaking out wondering if I ever got into UMC while accepting my acceptance into HInd's.. well this is what I imagine is going to happen. I will pray about it. Hopefully everything falls into place!

The weather is gorgeous today in the SIP and I hope that it stays like this foreverrr. I love spring and it's surely hit here soon. Well it flops back and forth. High of 79 today. Wow. The trees in the yard need leaves.. That's all.

bye guys!
Lauren

Kacie B. goes home..

Have any of you guys been keeping up with the bachelor on Monday nights? Good gosh I am so addicted to the show but it makes me mad every season! They never choose the person I'm going for!

My heart is broken for Kacie B. She gave it her all and was the sweetest girl in the world and just really down to earth! Plus, she was from Tennessee which is a southern state! Had to go for her!! She had the best personality and was really caring! It seemed like her and Ben had this great connection, but boy was I fooled! I was so mad Monday night when she was sent home!!! She was slower in developing a "intimate" relationship with Ben than all of the other girls, but you know what... This all happens within a really short amount of time! Wouldn't that be expected?

It was hometown dates for the girls and Kacie's didn't go to well with her father. I think that's where it all started. Kacie's father was hesitant about the whole situation in general because he is obviously over-protective of his daughter! He's a typical father though.. I think this is what pushed Ben away. My mom said she wouldn't like the situation either. Yes, my mom watched the Bachelor! LOL!

So now we've got Courtney (blahh), Lindzi, and Nikki! I will say that I like Lindzi and Nikki and am praying that one of them finish it off, but the magazines/ruining websites are saying Courtney wins in the end. If that's the case, Ben will just prove to be like a lot of other crazy men in this world. [Notice I didn't say EVERY or STUPID].. because I do believe that there are good guys out there! I was all for Ben before this show though... Just saying..

Now.. if only the waiting time didn't feel so long between shows! aghhh!!

xoxo,
Lauren

February Birchbox!

Hey guys!
I've been meaning to post my February birchbox for forever now.. I have just been extremely busy.. as usual! I received this around the 10th and have been using the heck out of one of the products in it!

I love pink!

ohhh birchbox. Me being silly and playing with instagram!

okayy okayyy I'll stop.

A Picture of the Items in my Birchbox this month.

This is the first birchbox I have received. I was reading a blog months ago and read about this and the girl was getting some pretty amazing stuff like stilla eye liner, opi nail polish samples, etc.. Stilla is a great brand of make up! I bought some stilla powder from Ulta months ago and it was the bomb.com! Of course it was like 36 dollars which equals rediculous! But You get what you pay for. that's a true statement there my friends!

1. Travel Puffs
The little packet of colorescience pro travel puffs I have not used yet, nor have I ever heard of. I'm not too smart when it comes to make up.. I just buy and use. So one of these days when I get around to using this item I'll tell ya'll about it. It has great reviews on keeping the face from being oily and give it some bronze! This small packet costs 10 dollars.. it's a sample pack! Keep in mind the whole birchbox is 10 dollars!
2. Viva La Juicy Perfume
Viva La Juicy is amazinggg! I purchased this one year for my mom and she uses it like a crazy person! I had to buy her another bottle for Christmas because she loved it so much! I'm more of a fruity smelling girl, so paris hilton Heiress suites me just fine, but viva la juicy has the sweetness and fresh smell! I love it! It consists of wild berries with mandarin and soft floral scents! Like I said, sweetness and freshness all in one! What's not to like?
This small sample runs for about 6 dollars.
3. Showstoppers-designer fashion tape
If you're having attire issues, then use these! Girls, you know how when you've got this one shirt that will just not stay up on the sleeve part and it's so aggravating trying to adjust it several times while out and about! I have gotten the invisible style tape before, but show stoppers is better quality and much stickier.. It works for a longer amount of time!
I found that the full size price is just 9.99!
4. eye rock designer liner
This is just a stick on eye liner strips. I tried using one of the styles in there and it does not fit the shape of my eye. I was actually like what the heck when I opened these up. There's like a cat style and some crazy looking liner strips that resemble something someone would wear on a broadway show! no thanks. hahah! It's nice to have for fun though! Go do a little dress up with friends for mardi gras! hahah!
5. Jouer lip gloss in birchbox pink!
I'm not one to wear colored lip gloss. I normally like neutral colors that compliment my skin tone.. I don't know why but the reds and bright color lip stuff is coming back in style so I decided to try it yesterday and it was super cute! I am now a fan of this fuchsia shade gloss and will probably be getting the full size once my sample runs out! I will say that the sample brush doesn't apply much, you have to dip it back into the gloss like 5 times for it to actually show.. but maybe it's just the sample. Gorgeous!

What did you get in your February Birchbox? They have paired up with teen vogue for the month of March and are doing special teen vogue birchboxes! I received an email yesterday asking if I would like the "special" birchbox for the month of march for no extra charge. I don't know if I should or not. If you don't respond they send you whichever one they want. Maybe I will let it be a surprise! Hope you all had a fantabulous weekend! I'm about to head off to work! Have a great day! It's beautiful here!

a little more knowledged about make-up
Lauren

Soft Music on a Sunday!

Relax today! These are just a couple of songs I've been loving!!!

and here's my fav youtube girls covering it. I honestly think they sound better than Taylor Swift! Oopss.

It's Friday!!!

Well.. nearly Saturday, but you get the point.

Today's post is going to be a little different from the High Five ones. I was surfing the internet today and just saw all kinds of things that I wanted and so today is more so a wish list type thing! Why am I doing this? Why do girls always want this and want that? God made us that way! We love to shop and buy new things! I wish there were more thrift stores around.. that's for sure!

1. I would love to get my hands on these ugly/cute rubber boots! These would be perfect for this southern sloshy winter we are having! It has been doing nothing but raining here lately and it's staying kind of chilly! I could also wear these in my large tiny garden! The soil is nice and muddy back there right now. I've got to get a tiller after it when it dries up a little and start preparing it for spring!

2. I could watch these movies over and over again and never get tired of them. These vampire love stories catch my attention to the max! I saw this movie in the theaters and loved it. I will say that this one wasn't as good the previous ones. They made Bella look awful in this movie and it revolved around one thing: her pregnancy and the baby! I can't wait for the next one to come out though!

3. These beautiful colors for spring nail polish! I love busting out the bright and pretty color nail polishes! I remember growing up my best friend would paint her nails a different color every day to match her outfit. I recently started painting my nails a different color every week because between work and me being so hands-on.. they start chipping and looking a little cruddy after a week! I painted them sparkly gold today for mardi gras! I'm ready for Easter now.. according to these colors! haha!

4. The new Tom's flats! Aren't these precious? I love flats. I have about 10 pairs of flats and I love them! I've never been a big wearer of the heels.. Although I need to be because i'm 5'4. I have a pair of Toms now but they're the regular ones that are old news.. I still wear them a lot because they're so comfortable and cute.. but mine are black with white graffiti and I'm the type of person who has to match everything.. ugh. I will own a pair of these flats one day.

5. This urban decay palette needs to be mine! I already have their "Naked" one and I use it almost every day but it has only browns on it.. well it has a black but I don't know how to use black eye shadow without making my eyes look ridiculous.. So I stick to the others. Urban decay is an awesome brand that lasts forever!!! It's really pricey though. eek!

6. Oster Myblends blender! I want this so bad. I made a banana/almond/oatmeal smoothie not too long ago that was to die for.. My blender doesn't blend ice very well though so I need this little gadget! I love orangeeeee! The container that it blends in is the cup itself that you can tote around with you to wherever! It's pretty neat.

7. I want a big jar of buttons. You can put buttons on anything and make it look cute! Especially all of these colorful ones! I am trying to get back into sewing (I just don't have a lot of time on my hands) and so these will come in handy while I'm throwing things together with my sewing machine! I'm currently working on a quilt I'm making out of all of my old t-shirts from high school that no longer fit! It's not going to be perfect because I'm still learning, but it will be special! :D I'll have to do a post about that quilt when I'm finished.. Won't be anytime soon though.

8. Isn't this comforter gorgeous?! It has perfect colors for spring/summer! I have had the same comforter on my bed for over a year now... but that's just because it matches my book shelves, computer desk, carpet, and rugs.. as I stated earlier.. I like to match everything! I need to let this go. It's time for some spoof in my life! Right?

9. Nike running shoes! Justin's mom gave me a pair of white Nike women's running shoes and they're the only shoes I can wear on the treadmill at the gym without them giving me shin splints and what not. However, they are a little uncomfortable because they are a little too small, but I'm stretching them out for what they're worth because I don't want to spend 50 dollars on some new shoes! Do you agree? ughh. The life of a college kid..

10. I want this gorgeous pearl ring! I have been wanting a pearl ring for I don't know how long. hint hint Justin.. Pearls are just gorgeous.. I honestly don't even care if it's real! Of course I would love a "real" pearl ring, but they all are the same to me. I'm not really a designer/materialistic girl. I wear just about whatever. Please come into my life soon, beautiful pearl ring!


While I've been day dreaming on the internet and wishing to have things that I probably will never get, how did you spend your Friday? Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Lauren

Products! Planner, Protein Powder, & a Cup.

Hey guys!
Why am I blogging so late? I should have done this way earlier, that's for sure. I've been a little lazy this afternoon. On my way home from work I had so many things in mind! [gym, car wash/vacuum, dollar store, clean kitchen, homework, etc...] Guess what I did! I came home and took my shoes off and got in the bed and read ONE new blog I found for hours on end. It was such a good blog that I couldn't stop! So, now that I'm finally getting around to my post for the day... I'll try and convince you about these items!

I recently heard about trading some books in on amazon for an amazon credit! What's not to love about that? Especially old college books that the book store won't buy back or either they want to give you next to NOTHING for them! When I paid over 100 dollars for a book and you want to give me less than 20 for it, there's an issue. So, Amazon so kindly gave me a credit of almost 200 dollars for 3 books! I got a couple of things with this money..

1. Click Protein Powder 

This protein powder I read about on another blog. They have their own website (Click does) that they sell different products on, but since I had a credit on amazon and it was cheaper on amazon than on the click website, it was all around a better deal! I think I paid 15 for it. It literally taste just like a cup of coffee! I just started working out and drinking a protein shake after a workout and the one I had prior to this one was a triple chocolate that tasted like... oh.. CHALK! Yuck.. I'm so excited I discovered this! You can drink it on ice, blend it with ice and make a "frappe," or you can heat it up like a regular cup of coffee! How cool! Get you some! 

2. The Eco Friendly Tumblr

I also purchased this little tumblr cup (to the left of the click mix in the picture) on amazon! It was about 8 dollars, which is a good price for a good cup! I saw some at starbucks that were like 20!!!! 20 dollars for a cup.. Are you kidding? No thanks, STARBUCKS! And I'll drink my click shake in my non-starbucks cup and pretend like it is starbucks! How about that one?
ok, seriousness...
I have been wanting one of these "tumblr" cups for a while now, but the ones at ROSS didn't look too long-lasting. They were a great price, but also looked like what they cost. This cup I have carried with me everywhere full of a glass of ice water! It is such a big help when It comes to getting all of the water you need in a day. If I drink 8 cups= 4 of these cups... I'm doing good! I usually drink more than that when I'm at work because we have a delicious water filter machine thing! There's something about the water coming out of that thing! It's SOOOO good. Yep.

3. Erin Condren Life Planner

      

Next, I also read on a couple of blogs about this planner. I love a good planner! I love to write down my daily tasks. I love to write down birthdays so that I can keep up with them and send cards and sometimes gifts! I love an extra section to keep up with bills! I love to log my fitness.. I just love organization in general, and let me tell you! This planner does the do! After reading about it I was totally impatient on getting it. I wanted it that day right then. I knew that wasn't going to happen and surely not free. This planner certainly is not budget friendly. It's actually quite high for a dern planner.. but If you're like me and love planners, It's totally worth it! It lasts a whole year and has lived up to what it costs even though I've only had it a couple of days. I've written all through it. I've stuffed it in my purse and carried it literally EVERYWHERE with me. Am I weird? A friend at work was picking on me about it..  I picked a piece of broken glass out of my shoe and he asked me if I was going to write that in my planner. Are you kidding? Don't judge me. Lol! Anyways, I love this thing and so should you!

Even better, I have been able to check off everything I have written in there that day! I've accomplished my daily goals and am working on accomplishing my goal for the week! Could have finished it today, but due to my lack of feeling well.. I didn't.. but that's okay! I have until Sunday to do it and I'm off until Tuesday! Hip Hip Hooray! 

I hope I have given you a small insight on these few products! If you have a little of extra spending money, order one! They're all well worth it! 

Love you guys to Neptune and back! 

xoxo,

Lauren

Trip to grandmaw's!

Coming home from a trip to grandmaw's is always a recovering stage for me and nothing that I am dying to do.. My Gigi cooks for me, cleans after me, and lets me sleep! She is awesome! For most of you that know me, that's totally opposite from an everyday thing at the house. I love cooking, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to have a break every once and a while. Also, at home... I don't sleep like I should. I will literally stay up til weeee hours of the night cleaning and washing clothes and what not. That's just who I am.. I don't like to go to bed when things aren't done. Time is very short and there's never enough time in a day to complete all that needs done! So, a trip to GIGI'S is niiiccee! ;P

I managed to get out of work Thursday night because they overscheduled and I had homework to finish up too that night. I finished that around 6 and was able to pack and be pulling out of the driveway at 7:09! Go me! I had to stop by work and grab some mail i'd left up there and get gas and I was on my way! It rained Friday, so it was nice to avoid driving in the rain!

....I just returned home yesterday! A nice LONGGG vacayyy to grandmaw's!

My sweet Gigi mixing up peanut butter cookie ingredients!

We love to send boxes to my brother since he's overseas right now! I know he loves to get them too since we make tons of goodies! Reeses are so expensive, but Lane loves the reeses peanut butter cookies! Well, they are the platoon's favorite cookie! She sends them with every box! They have grown on everyone! They're the best!

the favorite cookie

We normally don't buy anything unless it's on sale! That's the way we shop! So there was a box of peanut butter cookie mix on sale and Gigi got it! The reeses however... were not on sale! eeek.. We had to have them though!

Chow Mein noodles!

You use these to make.....

....these! You call these haystacks!

Normally we would make these with melted butterscotch chips and peanuts... but, again with the sale... They had chocolate bark on sale for $1.00!!!! ONE DOLLAR! That's really cheap for chocolate bark. it's normally $3.50 or more. So we did them a little differently this time. Chocolate haystacks!  I would have tried them, but I'm on a healthy eating spree right now, so they wouldn't have fallen into that category. :(  

While I was there, Gigi was nice enough to cook "healthy" for me!

We had this one night! Delish!

Paw paw was loving it! I brought tons of fresh veggies that I had bought and was afraid they were going to ruin while I was gone.. so I took them along for a ride with me! Gigi cooked away!

Needless to say, I enjoyed my time there! I slept a lot, a lot while I was there, but that's okay. It's acceptable there. (like 10 hours a night)... What? Did I sleep that much? no wayy... SHHH! Don't tell anyone. That's kind of lazy huh?

The temperature was also extremely cold at night! It hasn't been that cold since the winter started and now all of a sudden closer to winter ending... it wants to freeze me to death! so.. Pawpaw built a fire for us! It was nice to sit on the couch and watch movies and tv nearly every night and sit by a warm fire!

The PERFECT fire!

My trip was wonderful and I hope to go back soon! Back to work and normal life that never ends! It's ok.. I love it! Keeps me busy and going!

xoxo,
Lauren

"Will you be mine?"

Good morning America!!!

haha.. no.. I decided to wake up early this morning so I could have a little extra time before work to do whatever and it actually feels good! I'm normally not a morning person until I get going. I have been watching the Today show this morning and they have shown the winning dog of the Westminster Abbey dog show.. Would it be wrong for me to say that dog is quite hideous?! butttt... sometimes dogs are so ugly they're cute!

Well it didn't get too cold last night like it has been. I've been at my grandma's for the past like 4 days and when I woke up yesterday I had a text message from Justin saying "Happy valentine's babe! Will you be mine?" He's so sweet! I came home yesterday to

this from Justin's grandma! She always shops for us for every holiday. She loves me!

This is from Justin! That flower, you push a button and it opens up! anddd the bear gives a kiss and says I love you.

This is the flower opened!

I would rather a fake flower that will last forever than one that dies within a few days!! He did great! I love valentine's day! It's full of love and laughter! I never understood why people got so upset on valentine's when they were single. It's not about only loving your significant other... It's about loving friends, family, pets, etc...!

So, I've washed a load of clothes this morning, watched tv, and ate a great breakfast! I  need to get the hang of this!

mwah!
Lauren

High Five for Friday!

Hey guys!
What did you enjoy most from this week? I remembered to bring my computer with me to my grandma's so that I could still keep up with the blogs I follow and keep mine up to date! It's raining today in south Mississippi and cold! It hasn't been too cold all winter! crazy..

Here's five things I enjoyed from this week!

This dark purple nail polish is on my nails now! Gorgeousss!

We cut up an extremely ripe honeydew melon!

My new Nine West wedges!!! I got the brown ones. Super cute!

I watched the princess diaries this week! Loveee. Brings back many memories.

This Lady Antebellum song rocks! They keep amazing me with their songs. Beautiful voices!

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! I'm spending it at my Grandma's!

xoxo,
Lauren

Grocery Storeee

I don't know about some of you, but this girl loves to go to the grocery store! I absolutely love walking in to Kroger and seeing all the beautiful produce! I was looking on pinterest yesterday and kept seeing all of these recipes with fresh vegetables! It inspired me to start eating more FRESH and less FROZEN veggies. My mom always fed us canned veggies because with twins, it was what was fastest for her! ...and I'm not complaining because they were GGGOOOODDD! I love Le Sueur's english peas in the can are my favorite! Put those on top of a pile of mashed potatoes

like so.. and you have you a side dish! It's so good.. but did you ever think about how many calories and unnecessary fats and carbs and sugars are in this? SAY NO TO CANNED VEGGIES!

So, when I went to the grocery store yesterday I wanted to purchase things that were different. I have never really had an opportunity to have a variety of veggies. I always had the usual peas, potatoes, corn, carrots, green beans, and turnip greens and that gets boring after a while. So when I went yesterday I purchased a ton of fresh veggies! I hope they will last until time to cook them! I may have to tote them to grandma's house this weekend with me so we can "put them up"! I got...

These were my purchases at the store yesterday! I'm proud of myself! Now I did buy a supreme pizza that I look forward to eating for my cheat meal of the week.. but other than that, I'm on a eating healthy spree for the most part! I bought some swiss chard about two weeks ago and cooked it.. lets just say I didn't like it. Matter of fact, It was DISGUSTING! I'm not a really big greens person.. I don't eat much turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, etc... I just recently started liking cabbage. I try to eat a little of it just because it's really good for you, but i'm not a big fan! Sad thing is my mom and my grandma had a turnip green garden this fall/winter! I tried to grow carrots, radish, broccoli, and lettuce but nothing made. I'm still learning about gardening so don't judge! :P

On a gardening note, I can't wait until April so that I can plant my spring/summer garden!!!! I had squash, a crap ton of cucumbers, jalapenos, habaneros, tomatoes, and bell peppers last spring! I know to only plant one pepper plant because they make like crazy!!! and we pickled most of the cucumbers because they don't last long after picking for salads..

Hooray for healthier eating!
Lauren xoxox

i GAVE in...

Hey guys!!
If any of you have been reading my blog then chances are you know I'm trying to save a little money here and there! A couple years back I was horrible at managing my money and would be broke before the next work check even came! I'll admit to that. I'm sure most of you can relate. I've learned to wisely spend my money on NEEDS and not always WANTS. It's okay to treat yourself here and there, but not on a daily basis. Here lately all I have been buying are groceries for my healthier eating and paying bills.

Today I went to work at 6am and was off by 11. So guess what?!! Lauren hit the stores! Only two! I also shopped the red tags! It was a little success! I'm happy that I've gone shopping and didn't spend an outrageous amount of money on my new cute things! Shopping makes me very happy! Especially when it involves clothes and accessories!

Have any of you ever heard of Ross Dress for Less? I LOVE THAT STORE! The one here is kept up with well. When I was visiting a family member in Texas a couple years back we went to the Ross there and it was awful! The store was a disaster and stuff was everywhere. I often hear people knocking Ross and saying that they don't have the patience to sort through the things and this that and the other. To me, those are EXCUSES! If you're looking for a bargain, you'll do almost anything to find it! Well... maybe not anything, but you get what I'm saying. Stop by the Ross in Flowood, MS next time you're around Dogwood Mall and get you a bargain!

I also went to Target! Who doesn't love target clothes? They have the cutest things! The bathing suites were out when I went in today, but they aren't on sale! I got all kinds of things with a red tag!

Black sequin top-Target (Originally $22.99, paid $6.88)  Turquoise sleeveless button-up-Ross (paid $9.99)  & Black and White 3/4 length sleeve button-up-Ross (paid $12.99)

Belt on left-target (originally $12.99, paid $3.88) Necklace-target (originally $19.88, paid $9.98)  Earrings-target (originally $16.99, paid $5.08) Bracelet-target (originally $8.00, paid $2.40) & belt on left-target (originally $12.00, paid $5.08)

Lastly, Justin's grandparents keep a "hope chest" for us at their home for when we get married and buy/build a house one day! That way we won't have to buy a lot of things for our home; we will already have it. I buy things here in there when I see a good deal or see something I really like or that's cute. I've already mapped out in my head what colors my kitchen are going to be so I've been buying things for the kitchen for the most part because I love to cook and I love the kitchen in general! I want an extremely large one, one day! I'm dreaming, okay...

These were my finds today at Ross! Hand-held mini strainer = $4.99  Moo Cow sliced cheese holder = $3.49  Moo Cow Ice Cream Scoop = $3.99

Aren't they precious!!! I love little nic naks like that! I will definitely use them.. The cheese holder is amazinggg! I love organization and I hate boxes, plastic wrapped things, etc! I also saw a nice set of a milk and orange juice pitcher. They were glass and beautiful for $8.99 but I didn't get them since I needed to watch my spending! I think I had some great buys today and maybe sometime soon I will work my booty off at work and earn a little extra spending money to do this again! :)

a retired shopaholic,
Lauren

Superbowl Sunday Night!

Two blog posts in one day! WHATTTT?! I'm a blogging machine today and it's safe to say that I finally got my butt up off the couch around 2 and went to wal-mart and came home and grilled out and cleared a few things out the cupboard! 

Tonight was definitely a cheat night for me! Eek.. I haven't been doing to good this WEEKEND on my eating healthier doo-lolly. At least I ran nearly 3 miles on my treadmill today.

Justin wanted steaks for dinner and I wanted chicken, just to play it safe for my healthy eating, but of course that didn't happen. So Justin grilled steaks, hamburgers, and brats; and I made homemade mashed taters, green bean casserole, broccoli and cheese, black eyed peas, and then this delicious no bake cookie! I am stuffed and will not be eating that heavily for a while!

The only pictures I got was after I put it up. Here is steak, mashed potatoes and brats!

cheese covered burgers, broccoli and cheese, and overcooked black eyed peas! Woops, they were almost mush! We cooked them on the eye on the grill so that we didn't have to use the stove gas and that thing must have been super hotttt!!!

green bean casserole! We also put this inside the grill! We were trying to be frugal and use the gas on the grill instead of the oven because it costs like 350 dollars to fill the tank for the house! I hate gas and will never buy gas anything! If you saw the side of this casserole dish you would die laughing! Justin went outside to check on the burgers because they were put on a little later than our steaks and the whole grill was on fire!!!! bahahahah! This white... black casserole dish will make me laugh every time I look at it. Maybe it will wash off! It's in the sink soaking now!

 .....and to my NO BAKE COOKIES, here is the recipe!



Chocolate-Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

• 2 cups sugar    (I used 1 1/2 C raw sugar and only 1/2 C white sugar)
• 4 tbsp cocoa
• 1 stick butter  (I used tub butter and scraped the tub clean! Don't think it was a whole 1/2 C though.)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter     (I used a lighter peanut butter that was crunchy!)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal         (I used 4 cups of oatmeal to prevent runny)
• Waxed paper
   
  In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened. 
  
  
  

  

  Mine made 19 cookies! You can make them as large or small as you want!

  These cookies were/are the bombbbbb! I will be making these again! You can substitute with all kinds of things! I've seen a recipe similar to this one that called for special K corn flake cereal instead of oatmeal, or you could use rice krispies cereal! 
   
  I give all credit to this blog----> Distinctly M
  
  
  and here's to my favorite commercial from the super bowl! 
  so hilarious and cute! 
  
  
  
  
  Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday like I did! 
  
  
  
  
  xoxoxo,
  Lauren