Bathroom Redo



 I'm redoing a friend's bathroom for her (posts to follow when it's done), and it reminded me of how much I love my bathroom!  My bathroom used to be an old used white.  It had been so long since I painted it that the white was dirty in places and it wouldn't wash off.  This is the inside of the white cabinet that I haven't painted yet.  It gives you a teensy idea of what it was like. 

But below is my new and beautiful bathroom!  I planned on painting the top half green and the bottom half tan. I thought the green paint I bought would look nice and would fit the old style of my 1925 house, but boy was I wrong! It looked horrible! Like a 1914 institution for the insane! Luckily, as I was showing my neighbor how horrible it looked, she offered the remainder of the can of purple paint she had just used in her bathroom. Mind you, I'm not a purple person, but we went over and looked at her bathroom and it looked really nice. The "tone" of the purple even matched the color "tone" of my tan.



Plush towel is Royal Velvet Egyptian Cotton from JCPenneys $8
The more you wash these towels the fluffier they get.
I also bought them in the bath sheets = $15 each




Octagon tinted and clear mirrors
 from Ikea
used to cover tiny holes in wall
$14.99 for 10

 



Gold mirror- $4 at garage sale, flower canvas picture- $10 at Ross.
Hanging white plastic bin is also from Ikea.



Rolling washclothes is a great way
 to organize and look pretty!

Actually a candle holder,
obviously not using it for that
$2 at a garage sale

Not only do the colors work, but I love my accessories!


Over the door towel rack
$12 at Ross

Purple glass "holder"
Holds my brush & mirror
$4 at Ross



 

 

I LOVE MY BATHROOM NOW!!!

Shopaholic Running Rampant

This relates to the previous post...oops!  I did it again this morning!  A coupon came in for 40% off my GAP purchase.  What do I do?  One little tshirt, but I couldn't stand to pay $7 for shipping on a shirt that would cost $8.50.  What is the solution?  Hmmmm....if I spend over $50 I get FREE SHIPPING.  So I headed over to Old Navy since it's the same company and my GAP purchase would count toward my total and Old Navy has almost as cute of clothes, but alot cheaper!

Item Description Size Unit Price Qty Total Return Type Bold graphic T elysian blue S $14.95 1 $14.95 Boys Lightweight-Jersey Zip Teal Squeal S $8.00 1 $8.00 Boys Lightweight-Jersey Zip Medium Heather S $8.00 1 $8.00 Boys Logo Graphic Tees Citric Acid Ne S $10.00 1 $10.00 Boys Double Pocket Cargo Sho Imperial Jade 6 $17.94 1 $17.94

Summary of Charges Order Subtotal: $58.89 Promotions: - $10.73 Shipping & Handling: Free Tax: $0.00 Order Total: $48.16 OOPS!  $48 LATER MY SHIPPING ON A $8.50 PURCHASE IS FREE! TSK TSK! I SHOULDN'T HAVE BUT I'M VERY VERY BORED!

Shopping and Surgery

I had an eventful week last week.  Long story short, I didn't feel well and asked a good friend to take me into emergency.  I ended up having my gallbladder removed and stayed in the hospital from early Thursday until Saturday afternoon. 

As my children remember from my last surgery about 8 years ago,  I was on Percosets for a few days and in that brief time I discovered ebay and the beauty of Coach leather duffle bags at $250 and $300 each.  So I was cautiously aware that my shopaholic tendancies apparently increase on painkillers!  I thought I would do okay this time as there wasn't anything I really needed...famous last words of a shopaholic confined to bed and on painkillers, eh?  Besides, I'd be sleeping most of the time right?

Here's a list of what I bought, with a few brief explanations:  oops, hold on, I have to go back through my emails in order to compile this lengthy list.  :)

First purchase: 
--- 3 sets of bronze double glide shower curtain hooks, 1 set of silver double glide shower curtain hooks  (The shower curtain hooks I order almost every month from JCPenney, and every time they are backordered, and every time they cancel the backorder. It's almost a game I play now!)
--- 1 pair Betseyville enamel owl earring posts
--- green chevron bath rug
--- purple chevron bath rug

Second purchase:
--- Lenovo speakers for my computer (I'm aging and can't hear very well when watching shows!)

Third purchase:
--- 2 maxi dresses from the Avenue

Fourth purchase: (I don't know what the quality of the throws are below so I ordered several and will choose one of the fur ones and return whichever one I decide not to use)
--- white fur throw
--- lustrous steel fur throw (yes, that is the name of the color!)
--- zigzag gray/black microplush throw
--- zebra fleece sheet set
--- zebra fleece pillow cases (extra set)
--- tan leopard fleece sheet set
--- Snowden safari tan high quality cotton sheet set

Fifth purchase:  (two very different styles, I'll choose one and one will be returned)
--- matelasse damask loveseat slipcover
--- royal diamond loveseat slipcover

Sixth purchase: 
--- 2 plush hand towels for my good friend's bathroom  :)

Omg, Seventh purchase: (for my adorable grandson)
--- Little Tykes soccer net
--- Little Tykes adjustable basketball set

I'll just plan on having to have an extra $500-$600 whenever I'm recouperating at home from surgery!

Checking it Twice....

SHOPPING LESSON(S) FOR THE DAY....

 

Lesson #1 - Shopping anticipation can be hazardous.

Lesson #2 - Always anticipate which shoes will be most comfortable for a long shopping trip.

Lesson #3 - If you are over 50 with memory problems, Do NOT, I repeat...DO NOT try one of each shoe on to see which feels best.

Lesson #4 - Don't assume the couple of people taking a second look at your feet is because the black & orange flip flops you have on don't match your sweater. There could be another reason they are looking.

Lesson #5 - When trying on clothes at the second shopping mall today, and you step out of your jeans, try to laugh a little bit quieter when you realize this is the pair of shoes you've been walking around in ALL day long!!!

Cyber Monday - Is it really a good deal?

So here we are.  Cyber Monday is upon us.  All the advertising, all the hype, all people secretly surfing at work...I really don't see that many super-duper good deals (other than all the free shipping offers).

So wow (sarcasm dripping here... -->), Old Navy and GAP are a whole 30% off.  (I've seen that sale before, haven't you?).  While Lane Bryant has 50% off  --- there's still a minimum of $75 before you get that discount.  Macy's has a whole 15% extra off.  Whoop!  Woman Within is 30% off your first item with a $50 minimum.  Yeah baby.  Whoop again.  Even the Avenue, who has 50% off the entire website --- well, that's really a great sale but they've had that all 4 days of this weekend!!! (I know because I've been shopping it and hopefully got my sizes before they went out of stock with you cyber Monday shoppers!  

Here's a good example of why it's good to do the math when a cyber Monday sale sounds really great:

Jessica London's cyber Monday sale is:

Take 50% off your highest item, take 50% off your 2nd item when you buy 3, take 50% off your 3rd item when you buy 5...

So let's say you buy the 5 items. (Remember, you are required to buy 5 items in order to get only 3 of them 50% off.) I'll use numbers that are fairly easy to split for addition purposes.

Item #1 is a heavy sweater. $50 - 50% = $25
Item #2 is another sweater. $40 - 50% = $20
Item #3 is a poplin shirt. $36 - 50% = $18
Item #4 is a silky shirt. $28 no discount = $28
Item #5 is a turtleneck $20 no discount = $20
Regular price total $174. With discount = $111 = only a 36% discount!!!

It's a whopping 36% discount. Whoopee! Now while that's a nice healthy sale, it's not what I would consider a GREAT INCREDIBLE deal worthy of what cyber Monday is supposed to be. What do you think?

OMG I found a FABULOUS deal --- possibly the best one I've ever seen!  AND IT'S ON CURTAINS!  

*******$1.59 per panel********

On the OneStopPlus.com website:

---Go to the "Outlet" tab,
---Click on "Home" as the category
---Browse through the curtains!

I bought "grape" faux suede grommet curtains for $1.59 a panel!!!  Yes, that's right....I said $1.59!!!  They are $1.99 a panel (still an amazing price) and 84" long. By adding the OSPTHANKYOU coupon code when you check out, it will take 20% off your order.

I received my curtains today and they are very nice!


I tried copying a picture off the website to show you, but I think the picture copying is blocked.  But here are two that are similiar in style or color (mine don't have tiebacks).  The darker purple shows you the style I bought, and the lighter purple shows you the color.  

Darnit!

Darnit --- I've been shopping again. Instead of showing you what I've bought....here's what I'm selling on ebay to pay for it!!! I've over-extended myself. I must STOP doing that!



Sighhhhh....purses first.  Dooney on left, patchwork on right....crossbody....  Another one....



Clothes....fall is coming right?!

Absolutely a Shopaholic!

This morning I had an "ahah" moment!  I was really exhausted last night and I fell asleep between 9-10pm, and then I woke up shortly after 2 am wide awake.  So what do I do?  Bring up Model Latina on Hulu.com.  After I watch that, I'm still not tired, but decide the Project Runway show would make me NOT want to sleep, so I decide to see if the Avenue has any new Maxi dresses that I simply must have....Click, Click, Logged onto Avenue.com --- and THEY DO HAVE NEW DRESSES IN!  By this time it's 2:30-2:45 AM and I'm shopping online!  Hehe!  I bought a new Maxi dress, & 2 tops.  I'm very happy and finally able to relax enough to go back to sleep for a few hours before getting up at 6am to get ready for work.  This morning, I thought OMG did I really do that?  Did I really really go shopping in the middle of the night, and then calmly go back to sleep?  ONLY A TRUE SHOPAHOLIC would do that right?!   -->  ME <--.   But here are the results of my late night/early morning foray into the world of shopping addiction!  At least I'll look very nice & colorful for the summer right?!


Okay, first of all, I've tried adding a picture to my review of the "singlet" below.  But it's not working and not letting me edit that post to add a picture, so here's a small picture of the shaper in the review below.

My Review of WYOB Firm Singlet (Sizes 3X/4X)

Originally submitted at Avenue.com

This plus size singlet

WYOB Firm Singlet (Sizes 3X/4X)

Very very small

By Deebs from Portland, Oregon on 6/21/2012

 

2out of 5

Sizing: Feels too small

Pros: Good Support

Cons: Impossible to get on, Uncomfortable

Describe Yourself: Style Driven

Was this a gift?: No

I bought this in both a 3x & a 4x. The 4x arrived first as both of these sizes were backordered. OMG this is tiny tiny tiny! For tops & dresses with the Avenue, I wear between a 22/24 & 26/28, bra size 42D/DD, pant size 24. I am pear shaped and could not even get this on at all! It came to about 6 inches from the top of my thighs. It was so small that I decided to provide you with measurements. The bust measures 15 inches from armpit to armpit, waist measures 13.5 inches from side to side, the hip area at the widest point measures 16 inches from side to side. NOW double those measurements --- are you really expecting to get into this? At 32 inches for the hip, I don't know how any even smaller plus size women could get in it --- much less my size! The material is a very nice quality (only reason I gave it 2 stars), very firm tight material so while it stretches it's absolutely NOT a loose stretch by any means. Needless to say, I returned this one, and cancelled the 3x on backorder as I probably wouldn't be able to get that past my knees!

(legalese)

YES WHAT A SALE!  First of all the Avenue is unfortunately closing out all of their stores in the Portland area except for one in the Gresham suburb.  They are not taking any coupons, no rewards, and not honoring advertised sales like the current BOGOfree.  So after stopping at a store closing out, I figured out I could get WAY better deals at the open store.  Go figure! BUT I really like the Avenue clothes because they fit me well and are not too young for me, so I'm VERY disappointed we'll only have one store here --- although I imagine my Avenue credit card's balance will finally start going down!  :)

Anyway, this dress in the pictures below would've cost me just over $51 at the closeout store....however, by going to the open store, I got TWO of these dresses FOR $31!!!!! (One to fit me now, and of course one if I lose weight --- a size smaller.)  I had a 30% off coupon from shopping online with the Avenue, plus I had a $20 reward, plus the open Avenue store had BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!  BOW-CHICK-A-WOW-WOW!!!  On top of those 2 dresses I bought 2 casual jackets, another black dress (that I'm going to have cutoff & hemmed to top length), 1 white dolman cardigan in the picture below, 1 black dolman cardigan, 1 skirt, and a white semi-dressy tshirt like top.

So that's technically 3 dresses, 1 skirt, 4 cardigans/jackets, & 1 tshirt for......$136!!!!! (Oh, plus since I spent over $50 I got a free makeup bag).  I SCORED SHOPPERS!!!

Review originally submitted at http://www.avenue.com/clothing/Solid-Belted-Maxi-Dress.

Love this dress --- I almost didn't try it on because I have large hips (pear shaped,bubble butt) and I usually only wear empire style dresses. However, I am 5'10" and the waist is about 1/2 way between empire & my waist --- but that was a good thing because it still looks good. What I really love is that the belt is removeable and is elastic. I paired it with Avenue's Dolman Sleeve Cardigan, in white, (still available on their website and in stores) and removed the belt and BELTED it over the cardigan! LOOKS FABULOUS --- and that takes the huge fit of that cardigan (they run really really big) out and makes it perfect! The sizing is about right as I'm usually in-between sizes (22/24-26/28). Gee, since they had Buy 1 Get 1 Free, and I had a coupon and my rewards --- I bought both the 22/24 and the 26/28! I'll wear the 26/28 until I lose 20lbs to fit in the 22/24 more comfortably! I only marked the dress down to 4 stars because with my heighth it's not quite long enough but it'll do as I'm used to that.