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Promote your Etsy shop, blog, or website for as low as $7!

Promote a sale or special for only $2!

All the information is available at www.FallIntoSavingsMall.com click on an empty slot or the advertise link at the bottom of the page.

Get your spot now, before they are all gone. Will be sending out marketing in the form of emailing lists, blogging, cross promotion and so much more!

Email me if you have any questions.

Hope to see you there.

House Hunting and the Attack of the Birds

I have been house hunting for the last few months. I am working on figuring out when it becomes pointless to search. Here is my equation so far...

Number of houses searched on the Internet 1,500
Number of houses seen in person 150
Number of houses bid on 15

Number of houses finally purchased ZERO

I think my math may be rusty because the numbers just don't work.

Although I am without a new house I have gained the knowledge of every available floor plan in the city. I am so good, that I can drive past a house and tell you where the kitchen is located, how many bedrooms and if it has an inside laundry room. Well maybe I'm not thaaaaaaaat good, but it sure seems like I've seen EVERYTHING!

Yesterday was another trip out with my wonderful realtor. She has been so patient in this entire process and we have laughed so much. Yesterday was a very entertaining day, as I laughed so much my cheeks hurt, yes the ones on my face....what were you thinking?

After going to many houses we stopped at what looked like promising prospect for a new abode. As the Realtor approached the front steps, an evil pigeon dive bombed her head and I think at that moment my Realtor had a mini heart attack. As she was panting from being spooked, I had to peal myself off the pavement from my rolling laughter. I know, I know, it was bad for me to laugh but you would have to if you would have been there.


As the day went on, and more houses passed we decided to call it an end to the day and head home. The Realtor must have had a past life as a bird, because all the birds in the local vicinity decided they wanted to attack her car when she was driving. Now that is not anything funny. You feel bad when a bird gets hit, but hey, it's not your fault they were flying with their eyes closed. The funny part was when the Realtor closed her eyes and ducked. Now remember, we are INSIDE the car and she is DRIVING. Again I was laughing so hard it hurt.

Have you ever been attacked by birds?

When the owner gets more exercise at the dog park...

Took Chloe to the dog park in town here. First time around she did very well. I was the helicopter parent, always hovering and making sure she was okay.

We've never been to a dog park before, and Chloe has a habit of barking at any dog that just breathes near her. Surprisingly, she didn't bark. She was running around with the other dogs, sniffing all the little furry butts.

Yesterday, we were up pretty early and I took her again. Totally pointless, as she just sat on top of the picnic table the entire time.

I would run around the dog park trying to get her to follow me around. But no go. I was the one getting the exercise. I bet she was sitting on the picnic table thinking "stupid human."

I personally draw the line at sniffing any butts!

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Yes...FINALLY.

Actually got in on Saturday around 3pm. Oh my gosh it was hot and still is. I happened to get in on the hottest day of the year. 114 degrees! Not fair.

Reached the apartment. Now remember this is the first opportunity for me to see this in person. Thank goodness I am not locked into a lease with a deposit. The place is nice enough to work for a temporary home but I am afraid that if I stay there any longer then a month I may be huddled in a dark corner having a melt down.

A few finer points of my new (temporary) home...

• Comes complete with roommates...little crawly ones
• Has it's own perfume...eu du smoker cat b.o. man
• Complete with it's own fine film of dust to give it that aged look
• And to show that this community is super safe, it includes a door that doesn't lock and a landlord that doesn't care to light a fire under his butt to get it fixed.
• Forget having to visit the Grand Canyon, the mattress includes it's own version.

Enough about the apartment. We have driven around Arizona looking at houses and today we will meet up with the realtor to go inside a few. Fingers crossed that today is the day I find one.

We have met up with some family and friends who live here and that was super nice. Although I am starting this adventure on my own (and my little dog to), I feel like I have some great support here.

Off to go drive around for a bit before the sun is at it's hottest and threatens to melt my flip flops to the pavement.

Thank you to all the readers following my adventure. I promise I will try to post as often as possible, but my lovely furnished apartment does not include Internet, nor do I want to make the investment to get a hookup. I will be back soon....

What You Learn On The Road...

But before we get to the list here is a review of some great photos from today...


This is the perfect way to pack. We so did it wrong...

Just what you want to see when you are ordering your Starbucks...


Started in Texas...

Ended up in Texas...

Do you know how large the state of Texas is? It is huge! Driving all day and we are still not all the way through. It got to the point that the GPS Garmin stopped telling us how many miles we had to go. Instead it just said Eternity in the corner of the screen.

In this long drive today, my mother and I have made a small list of what we learned while confined to a small space, in the hot sun together.

In no particular order...

1. When a billboard says Mobiloil on it, it is not pronounced Mobi Loil

2. The company web address www.sucasateam.com is not pronounced Suc As A Team

3. Do not put toothpaste on your face after using face scrub

4. When the GPS Garmin Nuvi with the up to date traffic reports has a picture of a small car upside down on it, doesn't mean the car is sleeping

5. One big wheeler (Mac truck) towing 3 of the same big wheelers does not mean they are all cuddling.

6. When the dog is anxious to get back into the car, she needs to wait until we have unloaded the boxes in her way or she will splat up against them and slowly slide back down.

7. Look down when walking in Texas, or you may kick a headless cockroach the size of a golf ball.

And finally...
If there is a line of cars in the middle of nowhere they probably all have a Garmin they are following.



Tomorrow is the big day. We arrive in Arizona...only after going all the way through New Mexico. Small hurdle but after Texas I feel like we can accomplish anything.

See you tomorrow....

I-Ten-Itis

After 1 hitchhiker, 1 man walking on the side of I-10, and us playing the Alphabet game until I reached the letter M and giving up we have reached Texas.

We started off the morning with our trusty driver....



And this is the view I had for the entire 860 miles...(The dog was stored somewhere back there)


Before leaving my job yesterday for the last day, a Fernandina Beach Pirate gave me some pirate hats just in case we were to be taken over by the Pirates of I-10. We haven't had to use them yet, but we decided to try them on....



The doggy felt left out so we let her borrow my mother's hat.


This is how I felt before we started the trip...


This is what I look like now...

No matter how many times we stopped or where we drove we saw this. They must have been following us...Where they pirates?


Waiting for our Pizza to be delivered to the hotel....already been an hour. May have to put that pirate hat on and head over to the Pizza Hut to get our treasure. I am that hungry and I just may do it.

More to come tomorrow....

Blogging Across America

Good morning everyone!

The time has come and I am moving across the country. Did you know that across the country really means ONE HECK OF A DRIVE?

2,000 miles to go and a sleepy butt to add. We have not yet left, and I writing this from my parent's house in Florida. Sunny, humid Florida. I am trading in the sand and surf for sand and cacti shaped like people. Really, you know you have looked at a cactus before and said to yourself that it looked like a person. Admit it.

I will miss Florida but most of all I will miss the people. My friends and people I have adopted as family.

So with all that said I am off. My mother, my dog and I are ready for our adventure. Lets hope we all get along so no one has been left behind at a rest stop.

Fun In The Sun Expo...Stop By

Have you been stuck in the rainy dreary weather like me for the past 5 days?

It is time to break out and get some fresh air.

St. Mary's, GA is hosting the
Fun In The Sun Expo
Saturday, May 23rd from 9am to 9pm
Howard Gilman Memorial Park


Stop by my Glitzy Gallery Jewelry booth and mention that you saw my blog and receive 10% off your entire purchase!

Some new pieces will be added to this year's collection that are sure to be show stoppers. Stop by and take a look.


Can't wait to see you there!

Beach Walking and the Folks That Look Down

I walked on the beach today...



I was talking to my husband the other night and decided it was time to get off my butt and start getting some exercise. My goal is to walk 5 miles in a week. That is a big accomplishment for me if I can keep up with it. Last week started and I managed to make my 5 miles by the skin of my teeth. By the way, my husband runs 50 miles a week minimum. Show off.

This morning I managed to roll out of bed and was on the beach walking by 7:20am. Unfortunately I have decided in order to reach my walking goal I need to leave Chloe, the dog, home. She is terrified of the beach and it just slows me down. I don't need the furball to keep me from my goal. Momma needs her butt to stop jiggling...so sorry pup you are staying home.

As I was saying, I reached the beach and decided I would walk until I couldn't walk anymore...forgetting I still have to walk back. As I walked on I noticed that fellow beach walkers were not to friendly today. It took a good mile until I even got someone to say good morning back to me. Did I smell or something?

So I trudged on seeing that most beach goers weren't even paying attention to the beautiful waves crashing in from the ocean...they were looking down at their feet trying to find sea shells. What a horrible way to spend your vacation at the beach. Someone may ask, "What did you see at the beach?" And their only response, "my feet". I then took it upon myself to save these unfortunate people from their doomed vacations and started tromping through the beds of sea shells. Mean I know, but someone has to do it.


Then as if it was someone from above's way of saying it was okay to be looking down, I happened to glance at a piece of sea glass. A big piece that has been nicely tumbled by the ocean and was placed on the beach just for me.

My attempt to stay looking at the ocean for the next 3 miles was sometimes thwarted by the need to find more sea glass. I had the gentle reminder of my treasure every time I walked a step and the piece of glass gently poked me in the chest. Where else was I supposed to store my treasure? The sports bra was the best idea at the time. Along with my key and cell phone. I was packing it full. This chest has to be good for something right? How about storage?

But honestly back to the walking part. I have generally been able to make it about 2.5 miles and today I made it 4.5 with the help of my husband who called while I was walking back. As we talked for about 30 minutes I walked past my beach exit. After realizing the sand was a bit deeper and didn't look familiar I had to double back adding more steps. Talk about an over achiever here. 4.5 miles in one day. Now I can take the rest of the week off right?

Tell me about the most interesting thing you ever found at the beach.

Northeast Florida Wedding Tips & Tricks

I got married. Yippee. It's over now and I have all this information just floating around. Surely someone can use it. I sure could have during my planning process. Would have saved me a bunch of time.

Some of these tips may also help you even if you are not from the Northeast Florida area. I am all about saving money.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION


Location #1:
Heritage House Wedding Chapel
Kingsland, GA
They provide small indoor chapel or outdoor garden weddings for affordable prices. Decent place for the quick wedding but honestly it is on the corner of the block in a small residential neighborhood. I wouldn't recommend more than 50 people. They also do walk-ins...in case you are interested.http://www.marriageinformation.com/

Location #2:
Howard Gilman Memorial Park
St. Marys, GA
Absolutely beautiful! On the water with a white gazebo, white pergolas with picnic tables and also a stage area with stairs and the water as your background. All this surrounds a public park with a beautiful fountain. Super pretty and affordable. $300 ($200 refundable)
http://www.kingsbay.net/park/

Location #3:
North Hampton Lofton Creek Outpost
Fernandina Beach, FL
Set on the marsh with lovely decks all over. Includes a kitchen, bathroom and small screened in room. Newly built so it doesn't have that rundown look. You have to be a member of the neighborhood or find someone who is. Costs $125 ($100 refundable)


WEDDING DRESS:

The reason I put location before the dress is because if you have a very formal wedding spot you don't want to show up in a not so formal gown and the other way around.

Personally I got my dress at a David's Bridal clearance sale. Marked down to a third of the original price. And I didn't even have to put a stain on it. (I would NEVER do that lol) It was a little big but a wonderful friend of the family altered it for me. Otherwise David's Bridal was going to charge me $300 to alter it and would take 6 weeks. Rip off.

There are quite a few China based dress makers on eBay with excellent feedback. The average price of a custom made dress was around $175 including shipping. Took about 14 days to complete. This is a great option, however if you are on a time crunch or cannot find a seamstress local, I would not suggest going this route. Be prepared to make alterations once you get the dress just in case.

You have your location and now your dress...well and the groom


RENTALS (TABLES, CHAIRS, LINENS, ETC.)


I called, emailed and checked out every rental place I could imagine for tables, chairs and linens. Either they cost way more than if I wanted to buy the items or they didn't deliver. What bride wants to set up 100 chairs the day of her wedding or make her family do it? Not me.
Drum roll please....
Camden Party Rentals, in Kingsland, GA, took the show. Wonderful staff who is caring and kind. Their prices are super affordable. They also deliver and pickup anytime you need them to. She doesn't have a website but her number is (912) 576-6858

LET THEM EAT CAKE:

I will NOT suggest or name my cake lady, as I was very disappointed the leaning cake she provided us with. I was then disappointed in her unprofessionalism. Oh yeah and did I mention she put wagon wheels on the cake...not flowers. Shew that rant is over. Learn from my mistake.

• Go with someone you trust, word of mouth isn't always the best.
• You don't have to spend a ton of money on a cake that is to big for your party.
  
• Depending on the way the cake is cut, you can get 75 pieces from a layer.
  
• Try your local supermarket. They generally need a 14 day advance notice. Get the cake blank, just frosted, and decorate yourself with fresh flowers.
• Get a cake serving set (knife and server) that you can use in everyday use. Avoid the bows and pearls on the handle. It makes it a disposable wedding favor.

FLOWERS


Supermarket Supermarket Supermarket
Better yet if you have a Publix near you go there. Flowers are $10 for 3 good size bouquets. We ended up purchasing about 12 bouquets of White Mums (the big ones), Carnations, Mini Carnations and for a few bucks extra 2 bouquets of white roses. With all the flowers and supplies to make 8 boutonnieres, 3 small bouquets and 1 large bridal bouquet was about $60. Get your bridal party together with the moms and grandmas, drink some wine, have some laughs and make your arrangements no more than 2 nights before. Place in water in the refrigerator.

CENTERPIECES and DECORATIONS


Think candles. Not flowers. It gets to expensive when you start adding flowers.
Tall, skinny glass candle holders with glass rocks in the bottom and a candle can be done for around $3. Get your supplies from the Dollar Trees wholesale supplier online.
Spend a few more bucks and get floating candles from ROSS department store. I had to dig but I found a 16 pack for $2. Tea candles are on sale at MICHAELS Craft store for $100 for $2.
Forget the toulle. It is a pain in the butt and a waste of money.

We purchased a ton of battery operated paper lanterns in white at the Dollar Tree. They make for good mood lighting...make sure you get good batteries.

We bought white twinkle Christmas lights right after Christmas. Got them for about a $1 per box. Use clear zipties. You can get a bag of them for $1.50 at Walmart.

TUX RENTAL


We used Men's Warehouse. I do NOT recommend them. To begin with they ordered the wrong size tux for my husband. Twice. He didn't get the correct one until the day of the wedding. The store manager also proceeded to inform my then soon to be husband that if the bride was not wearing white this was her second marriage or she was unpure. My husband looked down and saw he had on an ivory vest...not white. How could she say that to him? About me? My dress was Ivory and this is my first and only marriage and pure? what the heck who says that about someone?....Rant over. Brides you are so allowed to have a rant here and there. If you let it fester then you may just blow at the wedding. Who wants pieces of the bride everywhere?

So for tuxes, I have no idea. We had a bad experience.


HAIR


Again, go to someone you trust. I have a stylist that I absolutely adore. She has done my hair for the past 2 years and I totally trust her.

Don't just think that trendy salons can do your formal hairdo. Places like the Hair Cuttery or Supercuts also do them and at half the price. Go in for a pre run through a few weeks ahead of time. Bring your camera. Take photos. This will give you something to look at and also help your stylist remember what she did to your hair. They see a lot of heads, so help her to remember. I paid a total of $70 for both appointments. Not bad at all!

FAVORS


For about 30¢ a piece we made our favors. So easy and affordable.
Glass Magnets with loving sayings...
Love • Cherish • Laugh • Kiss

1. Get Photo Paper, Modgepodge, E600, small round magnets, and small glass rocks. All available online or at Michaels Craft Store or Walmart
   
2. Using your at home printer, print out words in fun fonts (nothing to scrolly) about half the size of the glass rock. Have fun, play with different background colors. We used turquoise since it was our wedding color.
3. Cute out the text. Put a glass rock/marble over one of the words flat side down to gauge the size to cut it.
4. Put a thin layer of Modgepodge on the text size of the words you just cut out.
5. Lie glass marble flat side down over the Modgepodged word. Press firmly to get air bubbles out. Allow to dry.
6. Put E600 on the back of the magnet and affix magnet to the back of the now glass marble and paper sandwich. Press firmly. Allow to dry. Use in well ventilated area. Super stink.
7. The Dollar Tree has toulle circles. Get some of those and some ribbon in your wedding color.
   
8. Put one magnet in the center of the tulle circle and gather at top. Tie with ribbon into a bow.
9. There are your favors.

MISCELLANEOUS THINGS

• Have a drink that is dyed your wedding color. Like Turquoise lemonaide.
• We were not able to do the unity candle ceremony since the wind was so gusty. Prepare for that. Maybe try the sand ceremony.
• Suprise your husband by having the DJ play your man's favorite football teams fight song when you walk down the isle as husband and wife. (Make sure they play the correct one, unlike our DJ)
• Dangle beads and jewels from your bouquets to make it unique.
• Get a photo frame matting for your guests to sign. Kits are available at Michaels craft store.
• Can't find the perfect cake topper? Do a monogram. I found mine on eBay for $7 and it is flat and pretty. We can keep it in our scrapbook.
  
• Keep away from serving meat at your wedding to keep costs down. Try pastas.
• Trade services for your services you need. For example, if you do web design offer to trade for the photography.
• Don't forget about your wedding bands. Try www.infinitytungsten.com for the groom's ring. They run specials and we got his for $90. My band came from Sams Club. Cost $300 and is full of diamonds. Took 5 weeks to get it. Plan on having some time to wait.
• Propaine patio heaters are wonderful if you are having an outdoor wedding and need some extra heat.

All in all, I hope this helps you frantic and not so frantic brides in planning your wedding. I hope to save you the headaches I got from not having this information. It is your day. Everyone will tell you that...along with their opinion of what YOUR day should be. Be strong, stand tall. Don't be rude, but remember not to let anyone tell you what you want. Be reasonable and flexible all at the same time. But don't let people walk on you. And the best thing of all, at the end of the day you will be married to the most wonderful man in the world. So have some fun and get some great pictures to remember it.