goodwill had a shoe sale

Something told me that I needed to go to the goodwill across the street from my work today. I originally avoided it after work heading to the video store to pick up taken for us to watch tonight when my boyfriend gets done with work. on the way back from the video store, i felt the pull and headed over to goodwill. as i was entering the shopping center's parking lot, i thought it was odd how many cars were in my parking lot. as i got closer, i noticed they had about 20 large bins like the size the grocery store uses to sell watermelons in on the sidewalk. turns out they were having a shoe sale and all the shoes were $1.50. too bad, i only had a limited amount of time. i ended up with 3 pair. the sale had been going on since 9 am, and i'm sure a lot of the good stuff was snapped up by the time i arrived around 3 pm. one woman there had a cart full, and boy did i want some of those shoes she had scored. i saw some other cuties too like some faux tortoise shell hells, but alas they were not my size. so, here are my scores.

these white kitten heels i think will be perfect additions to my spring and summer wardrobe.





While i am not usually a fan of square toes or block heels, but I need some strappy heels and make them faux snakeskin and $1.50 and I'm sold.

these were the real bargain. i have to admit that i was not familiar with the brand linea paulo until i picked up these shoes. i decided to look the brand up online when i got home. seems they sell at nordstroms for around $100-$150, and to think i got these for $1.50.

going out on the town on a budget

if you know me at all, you know i love a bargain, but i insist on going out with my friends every tuesday. being on a tight budget, one would think of this as a luxury to cut out. however, for me i find it to be a necessity. spending some time with my pals at least once a week cutting loose helps me stay sane. however, i still manage to do it for just a few bucks literally. there are lots of options for going out on a budget. all of these are free and fun activities unless noted.

• poker-lots of bars participate in poker leagues. some are regional or even just local. one such in my area is the american restaurant poker league. some are national such as the world tavern poker league and the national pub poker league. all of them should be free to play. they usually have prizes for winners and sometimes runners up which can vary from cash to t-shirts to gift certificates to poker paraphenalia.



• open mic nights both for stand up comedians and musicians



• karoke



• darts



• bars are having free or reduced billards nights


• bar trivia like ntn trivia

• many local bands are dirt cheap often with as little as a $5 cover, but remember this usually goes to the band. in my mind, it's worth it to shell out a few bucks to support local musicians.

remember even if just drinking a soda, still tip your server or bartender. the general rule of thumb is to tip at least a dollar a drink. in these hard times, they are still trying to earn a living.

what i love about my town

i'm a follower of my net finds blog by kathie. today, she deservingly won one lovely blog award. she, of course, had to pass on the blog love to other bloggers. being nosy, i felt the need to check out these other blogs and see what they were about. when i saw one was titled always a southern girl, also being member of grits i felt a gutteral calling to check it out. (if you don't know what grits is, well i'm not talking about the food. its the acronym for girls raised in the south.) her very first post had me intrigued. the point of the post was to talk about what you love about where you live and then link up with mr linky. so, i thought i'd give it a whirl.

fredericksburg is my adopted home about 2 hours north of my hometown. however, i've been here for 14 years if you count my college years, so i might as well call this home. and, there's lots to love about here, so i thought i'd list some of my faves.

1. carl's- i know i've talked about carl's before, but it is like an institution here. i'll be in goodwill as i was last week and overhear people talking about whether they've been to carl's so far this year. plus, going to carl's is like time travelling back to the '50s. it's neon lighted sign and design give it a retro feel. and, in this modern drive thru world, it's nice to have a place to slow down the pace about and stand in line outside catching up on goings on with a friend. then, there's the ice cream which just plain rocks for amazingly cheap prices even these days.


2. downtown-downtown fredericksburg is filled with antique shops, historic buildings, and restaurants/bars. it's welcoming to artists with galleries and many places where artists can sell their wares. many of the bars regularly feature local musicians. there even used to be open mic nights for amateur and up and coming comics.


3. my alma mater-mary washington college or now it's now known university of mary washington is located in downtown. i am proud of it and that it brought me to this town.




4. the rappahanock river-i love the water. it has an odd calming effect on me. not sure if can be attributed to growing up on the water and it being part of my heritage, or if it merely matches up with me being a scorpio, a water sign. the river itself here is nice for a boat ride, but there is a sweet spot in the semirapid area where the rocks make little mini whirlpools. i haven't gone there in a few years, but it so relaxing to just sit and be.




5. the history-call me a dork, but there is something cool about all of the historic locations being in my backyard. maybe that's having grown up outside williamsburg, yorktown, and jamestown. we have 4 civil war battlefields, ferry farm(george washington's childhood home), the james monroe museum, belvedere plantation, belmont home to artist gari melchers, and soon to be home to the national slave museum.
   
   
   
   
   
   

my shoe collection part 24

These brown and cream leather and rope heeled sandals were part of the ebay lot i got for less than $2 a pair. I'm really looking forward to putting them to good use this summer.

my shoe collection part 23

these black patent leather flats were also part of the lot i purchased through ebay for less than $2 a pair. even though i already had a pair of black flats, i still get lots of use out of these babies. i love the slightly edgy buckle detailing making them great for casual shopping outtings or just hanging with friends.

1st participant in the swap

i have my first participant in my recipe swap, my dear friend becky. i am looking forward to trying her oven turnip fries and seeing how my devilled eggs work out for her. hope more of y'all will join in.

and the winner is

comment #79 heather m of mamalicious monday and heather's trendy finds. she is the winner of my 1st giveaway for a set of my recycled crayons. she has been notified via email.

i held out on posting this as i was hoping to have my etsy site finished, so those of you who didn't win would have a chance to purchase the crayons. however, i will post when my site is up and running. and, as a special bonus will offer a special discount to anyone who is signed up on google reader as a follower.

today's free stuff 5/15/09

free screening of my life in ruins in select locations

free sample of philosophy's eye hope anti aging eye serum for facebook users

free deep vein thrombosis kit including socks and decorating materials

printable coupon for free salon treatment and blowdry from keratese on may 20th

printable coupon for Two Free Paint Sample Pots
or free Color Sample Quarts for locations see here

free sample boscia moisturizer with promo code alluring

free ola loa mulitvitamin sample

free sample of kotex ultra thin overnights with wings

free bag of popcorn from yahoo

my 2nd blog award

I am super lucky to have been bestowed this cute award from tamela of a brunette making it one day at a time.

So, my Queen duties include:
1. List 7 things that make me awe-summm.
2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that I love.
3. Tag those bloggers to let them know they are now Queens too (and link back to the Queen who tagged you).
So, here goes(and, i must say this is probably one of the most difficult tasks for me as I am not the best at bragging on myself.).

7 reasons I am awe-summm

1. I have fabulous taste in shoes and handbags.
2. I can rock it out in a man's world. I often was involved in male dominated fields like poker and loved kicking the boy's butts ie winning a tournament at binnions casino in vegas.
3. I consider myself a creative person from crafting to writing to cooking to music and usually do it my way.
4. I have no fear of being center stage. Whether its public speaking or karoke or stand up comedy, I do it without fear. Small talk with strangers is another tale all together.
5. I have surrounded myself with some amazing friends. Y'all rock.
6. When I put my mind to something, I can really stick to it. I can't believe I've been a vegetarian for over 11 years now and sober for almost 6.
7. I know how to find some amazing deals. The most I've paid for any shoes in my closet is $20 and most are under $8.

My Newly Appointed Queens:

1. Shell at Stuttering Shell
2. Little Lady Cakes
3. Pour Some Sugar on Me
4. Annette at Fairy Blog Mother Blog
5. GeminiGirl24 at I was never the girl next door
6. Belinda at Mommy World
7. Mimi at Screaming Mimi(I know she's on a vacay and may take a while to get to this.)

about me

I am a thirtysomething female who lives with my boyfriend of over 3 years and my 2 cats, belle and kitty. Belle came with me when i entered into this relationship, but Kitty joined our family almost 2 years ago. I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia which is located exactly in between our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. and our state's capital, Richmond. I ended up in this town when I went to college here at Mary Washington College. I know it's now the University of Mary Washington, but it will always be MWC to me. I've always lived in Virginia though and consider myself a southern girl. As a typical southern girl, I am daddy's little girl; and he can do no wrong in my eyes.

I'm a vegetarian, recovering alcoholic, faghag, shoe horse, social butterfly,and liberal.

My interests include spending time with my friends, crafting, shopping especially for bargains, poker, photography, karoke, stand up comedy, reading, writing, decorating, sewing, knitting, thrifting, crosswords, watching tv, cooking especially baking, puttering around at the driving range, watching football(go cowboys!),and obviously blogging. I love the water and will take any excuse to be there.

Currently, I work as a waitress; but i've enjoyed a varied career path which includes being a deli/bakery clerk, research assistant, debate judge/coach, high school english teacher, bartender, insurance agent, claims adjuster, and poker hostess.

I suffer from manic depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome, yet desperately hope one day to be so lucky as to be a mother.

I pride myself on being brutally honest, unwaveringly loyal, slightly sarcastic and hopefully witty.

I've had quite a difficult past at times, but I wouldn't change any of it even my most painful memories as they truly have brought me to where I am today. I'm very open about many of these painful memories as I felt alone. I've learned that awareness and openess is the only way to survive abuse, mental illness, etc. I've lost many, too many dear friends which has taught me how truly uncertain life can be. Hence, I've embraced the motto life's short, eat dessert first(especially if dessert is an uber cute cupcake).
Me and the boy on our atlantic city vacay back in 2007

Belle

Kitty

my shoe collection part 22

these canvas pointed toe graffiti print heels were part of an ebay lot i got for less than $2 a pair. i have already featured a blue pair like these, but they both have different words and sayings printed on every shoe.

virgin drinks

i've been beyond a tad bit stressed recently with everything that has been happening. i'll catch you up on that later as it is a bit much for this post. so, when i went out with my friend trav for some girl talk, instead of ordering my usual diet coke, i felt compelled to order a virgin beverage. there was zero alcohol in the drink, so i wasn't falling off the wagon. however, it was comforting and felt like i was cheating. i know technically i was doing nothing wrong. however, drinking it made me like i was drinking for real. and, part of that was soothing. old habits may die hard, but if i can't use the coping mechanism of drinking i know i have to develop new coping mechanisms to deal with problems. for me, if the worst thing i do is drink a nonalcoholic beverage, i'm not that worried. but, it does make me wonder if its a slippery slope. any thoughts?

a new use for shot glasses

i hate, hate, hate throwing things away. so,despite having quite drinking almost 6 years ago, i still have some old shot glasses hanging around basically taking up space. now, i've found new uses for some of my old drinking paraphenalia. martini glasses, for instance, are lovely for serving desserts. shakers work well for shaking salad dressing and even tossing individual size salads. i was less than inspired when it came to the shot glasses until recently. my boyfriend has taken to using dixie cups for serving dipping sauces with dinner ie ketchup for fries that way the sauce doesn't get all over the plate and make the food soggy. this was originally okay with me since he had some left over from a project. well, we ran out and he asked me to purchase more. i was horrified when i saw the price. on top of that, i'm not necessarily a fan of disposable dishware. dixie cups are about the size of shot glasses. so, i thought why not use those instead, and it worked out well. here's my lunch today with lite ranch for the pretzels:

i know it is a rather simple lunch of grilled cheese with tomato on rye and pretzels, but i didn't really have time or energy for anything special with all the cleaning i needed to do.

soft green yarn

you don't truly know me if you don't know about my odd obsession with lime green. i've been kvetching all winter about trying to find cheap yarn as i wanted to knit another scarf. so, when i saw this at the dollar store and had to pick up 3 skeins. i'm not sure what i'll make with it, but i couldn't say no. originally, i thought about a scarf, but in all honesty, it will only go with my black winter coats. i was hoping to use a color or colors to go with all my coats. it is so super soft i just want to rub it all over my face, and i have multiple times. any suggestions for someone with limited knitting abilities?

my shoe collection part 21

this bronze pair of heels were an ebay win part of a lot that i got for less than $2 a pair.

today's free stuff 5/14/09

I hope you like the new graphic i made to go at the top of all my freebie posts. now, to the freebies:
free sample of hawaiian tropic
free tatouge design sample
free fancy feast cat food sample or beggin strips dog treat sample
free kelloggs all bran promise pack
free todobebe fiesta pampers kit
free sample of bodycology
free sample of sun crystals sweetener
free digiorno flatbread melts coupon 1st 100k on may 18th
free huggies pure and natural diaper
free sample of lactaid fast acting dietary supplement
printable coupon for free classic taco at del taco expires may 19th
free ice cream at select walmarts may 30th

i've been tagged again

annette from fairy blog mother blog has tagged me for the meme 6 unimportant things that make me happy. the way it works is super simple. i mention the person who tagged me, list 6 unimportant things that make me happy, then tag 6 more lucky bloggers. so, here goes.

my six unimportant things that make me happy are:

1. slurpees-really they are a borderline a problem for me
2. when i get a new comment on my blog
3. shoes especially shoes on clearance
4. daffodils in bloom
5. the soft feel of fleece against my skin
6. suntea which i swear tastes better than any other type of brewed tea in the world. i'm a mission to find another suntea jug with very little luck right now.

and, now for those i choose to tag:

1. shell of stuttering shell
2. kathie @ my net finds
3. mama bear mills of pour some sugar on me
4. belinda of mommy world
5. mimi of screaming mimi
6. tamela of a brunette making it one day at a time

button exchange

i was wondering if anyone was interested in a button exchange. now that i have my very own button as seen on my sidebar thanks to annette at fairy blog mother blog and have a button gadget in the footer of my blog, i was thinking i might like to add some more of my bloggy friends to my footer. just comment and let me know you'd like me to add your button, and that you're adding my button to your blog.

ending soon

my 1st giveaway ends at midnight tonight. so, stop in and enter. while you're here don't forget to check out my giveaways page. i still have dove coupons available as well as 3 entries available to pay it forward to get some handmade goodies for me.

thanks for all the entries i've been receiving. i know i've been making a ton of changes to my blog recently. hope everyone likes them. let me know what ya think.

wordless wednesday-bubbles

i love bubbles. they really are one of my favorite things in the whole world. i take great pride in the fact that i taught one of my cousins how to blow bubbles which i felt was like completion of a cycle since it she is the eldest daughter of my aunt who bought me a giant bubble maker as a present(and i still count that as one of the best presents i ever received.). i always kept a gallon jug of bubble solution in my closet in my dorm room in college just in case. i enjoy taking spotaneous shots, but i also like creating shots. so, i decided one night last summer to play with taking photos of bubbles. i got this one on the first shot. i loved the way the blackness of night really highlighted the irridesence of the bubbles. it makes me think of a ton of ufos bunched together too, but maybe i'm a bit crazy.

my shoe collection part 19

another pair from my target collection. these tan and brown linen kitten d'orsay pointed toe heels are by issac mizrahi for target. i got these on clearance last summer for $7.49. i love a d'orsay shoe and the way it accentuates the foot. personally, i think its a sexy look for the foot.