CLUE Party

The entry way decorations - don't we look rich? :-)

I am a huge fan of board games and card games, but surprisingly enough, I never actually played CLUE until I was in college.  But once I did, I was hooked.

In the great style of CLUE, I threw a party.  We had a limited number of guests that were able to make it, but the few of us had a fun evening.

M and I decided to be Professor Plum and Miss Peacock, so we gave the other guests the choice of being the other 4 characters, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, or Miss Scarlett.  As it turns out, our guests decided to change it up a bit, and did their own take on the characters, as you can see. 

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday... It was a pretty good day.  Had to work, but that's life, right?  

1. M sent me flowers at work.  My faves - pink gerber daisies! Awww... isn't he sweet to me?
2. Feeding the ducks at the park.
3. Chilling with my favorite guy after dinner.
4. Birthday dessert - Cheesecake!

For our birthday date, the Hubby and I picked up mexican to go (at Moe's - yum!) and took it to a park downtown.  This may not sound all that fab to you, but it's something we used to do a lot when we were dating, so this particular park is special to us.  They've recently re-landscaped the park, so we had benches to sit on this time.

Apparently, there was a 5K going on that night around the park... so we sat on the bench and watched people run by while eating our burritos.  The irony of it all just gets me.

After dinner, we took a walk around the pond and fed the ducks.  M commented that the ducks quacking sounded like evil laughter... you'd have to be there. But it sort of did.

Cheesecake!  I will be doing a separate post on this in the near future.  It was AMAZING. And yes, I made it myself.  Every year when I mention to anyone that I make my own birthday dessert, I get these sympathetic comments. But really, I enjoy this part of my birthday the most... choosing a different dessert and making it.  YUM.

Another year to thank God for and a fresh year ahead to accomplish great things.  Hope you'll come along for the ride!

On Our Bookshelf

Very excited about my birthday gift... I LOVE these books!

I blame my love for the written word on my parents (thank you!), who are REALLY big into reading themselves.

I was cleaning my office the other day and opened up a storage bin that contained some keepsakes from my childhood... some of which are my favorite books.  There was Mandie staring up at me.  I had to smile. I have fond memories of my mom reading us a chapter in the morning before school if we were able to get ready to go a few minutes early.  That was enough incentive for me to be early.  And at six years old, my love for books began.

The suspense of a mystery, the excitement of a new adventure, the emotion of a love lost or found... I've traveled the world and the centuries through books I've read... and I've loved every second of it.

After we'd been dating a while, M and I started reading books aloud together.  Partially for "speech therapy" for me and partially because it's something we enjoy doing.  While he was in grad school, the reading together really slowed down, but now that he's all done (hurray!) we're looking for a new book to read.  Any suggestions?

No Bake Cookies

I have fond memories a cookie that was the common denominator of church potlucks, family get togethers, homeschool group functions and summer camps as long as I can remember.

There were two varieties:  the classic chocolate/peanut butter combination and the just peanut butter version.  I am a fan of both.

Finds

I took some time recently to go shopping... not that this is groundbreaking information really, as most of us do shop on a regular basis.  I, however, am too much of a tightwad a very frugal person and like to save money so I end up going without or passing up good deals because I just can't justify the investment.

The Hubby is actually trying to get me to shop more.  Shocking, I know. He figures, we have a budget and although it's nice to put extra in savings each month, I should be able to spend the money too if I want/need to.  Especially on items like clothes...which I rarely buy.

I'm a binge shopper... I'll go for months (literally) without buying a single piece of clothing (including accessories, shoes, etc.) then in one fell swoop, I'll buy a whole bunch of things.  Sigh. Need to be more consistent.

Anyway!  I had an afternoon off work recently and decided to go shopping.  I hit up Big Lots and found a good deal on Sunflower oil (you'll see that coming up again in a future DIY post).  $5 for a huge jar! Sweet.

Next, I swung by TJ Maxx and found these AWESOME Merrill Lithe Glove Barefoot Running shoes for $60.

 Ok, so that sounds like a lot. Until you find out that the original list price is $124.95.  They are ridiculously comfy.  Amazing how you walk/run differently in these shoes - it's so much easier on my shins/knee.

Then, over at Target they had some pretty cami's on sale for $6 each, as well as a cute cardigan (similar one here) on clearance for $11.  I'm hooked on cardigans - I wear one about twice a week to work - they are extremely versatile and layer well in the summer so I don't freeze at the office.

Over at Walmart (of all places) I found some gourmet raw milk blue cheese - $2.36 for 4 oz.  Much excitement!  I'll be using that in a future post as well, stay tuned for a fantastic sandwich.

Also, a few days ago, I stopped by Goodwill to look for some party duds (spoiler alert: costume party in the near future) and it just happened to be tax free day on all clothes (including belts, shoes, ties, and suspenders. Yes, suspenders.)  I may or may not have spend $103 dollars.  I may or may not have blown the clothing budget for the next 6 months.  But, I was impressed by how many incredible deals I found.  Almost everything I bought was either brand new (original store tags still on it) or practically new, with no signs of wear and tear.  The few exceptions to that were 1 of the pairs of shoes I bought (a scuff mark on the heel) and the party duds (which I don't care so much about since I won't be wearing them in public).  Here's the line-up:

• 6 belts
• 4 ties
• 1 pair suspenders
• 2 men's dress shirts
• 1 women's sweater
• 1 costume party shirt
• 1 t-shirt
• 4 skirts
• 1 blazer
• 2 pairs heels
• 1 pair flats
• 1 complete set sheets (brand new - still in the original packaging!)
• 1 stoneware baking dish
• 1 leather-look day planner

Any good deals happening in your neighborhood lately?

Not Your Grandma's Tomato Soup

Is there anything more down home American classic than tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich?  I submit there is not...

As a kid, however, I wasn't a HUGE tomato soup fan... I always thought it was kind of blah and preferred chicken noodle.  Although tomato soup accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich was perfectly acceptable.

Here's a soup/sandwich combo that will get your taste buds tingling.  And, sorry grandmas everywhere, this doesn't involve a can of condensed anything...