Black Friday Steals and Bad Deals

Black Friday is a day known for stores giving outrageous sales on merchandise that most people would not think of buying unless it was highly discounted. It is interesting to me how much people will buy just because it is at a cheap price. I realized as I participated in the Black Friday festivities as well as a few of my friends that there was a reason that some of this merchandise was on such an extreme discount.

In the first store that I visited that morning I went straight for the women's clothing department in hopes of finding some great deals on some dresses. I will say that there were definitely some good steals, but definitely some bad deals. I found two different dresses both of which I believe were of very poor quality and very cheap even though they were not originally so. One dress looked like the fabric used on the front of the dress was cut on a different grain than the back fabric. It also appeared that the fastenings were loose and there was some slight seem-grin. The second dress had mismatched patterns at the seams as well as loose buttons and a sticky zipper. These were both very expensive dresses to start and I do believe that some people had purchased them not on sale and without realizing what poor quality they were buying.

My friend also had a good story about a garment that she found while Black Friday shopping. She was also in the woman's department of a store and had found a very expensive pair of jeans that she wanted. Being so cheap and one of the last pairs she just snatched them up. She did not realize all of the malfunctions until she got home. From what I could tell the fabric on the jeans was not cut on grain so the middle seams kept twisting in towards the front/middle of the jeans, forcing her to constantly be twisting the jeans back to their original position. She also failed to notice that some of the studs and appliques had fallen off or were looser than they should have been being brand new. She realized later that she got so caught up in the Black Friday madness that she failed to pay attention to the quality of the garment. Had she not been in such a rush and had she taken the time to try them on maybe she would have realized that they did not fit how they were supposed to.

I think that many people get caught up in the madness and forget to take the time to look at what they are purchasing and make sure that it is worth what they are paying. So many people get excited that such expensive garments are so cheap but there is usually a reason and you should not have to find that out the hard way!

Lunch perfect for the patio!

So over Fall Break I had the perfect opportunity to try out one of the many recipes that I pin on Pinterest. So that I could try more than one, I decided to do a whole meal!!

Mini cucumber sandwiches with an herb cream cheese on the center (feel free to add dill for extra taste)

A twist on a fruit salad; includes pears, grapes, and apples along with walnuts and sharp cheddar cheese. The dressing consists of apple juice, apple vinegar, oil, salt and pepper

The main meal was shrimp cooked with a lime and cilantro, served over a bed of brown rice. The lime and cilantro added just enough flavor with out the calories (feel free to add garlic for more flavor)

For dessert we made frozen strawberries covered in greek yogurt. I was the perfect healthy dessert that gave you just the right amount of sweet. 

All of these dishes took so little time to make, and were all very healthy. It was the perfect lunch for sitting out on the patio by the pool and conversing with good company. Cooking this meal not only gave me the opportunity to eat and be healthy but also to do something with my boyfriend for his family, and gave us something to work at together. That to me is the real beauty of cooking, you can make something yummy and pretty and bond while doing it! The meal was a huge success and has gotten not only me, but him as well on a cooking kick, so hopefully I stop burning so many things! 

Cool Hunting in Austin, Texas

This Monday I had the opportunity to go to Austin and walk around downtown finding people who I thought embodied a new trend or style. I had so much fun doing this, walking up to people and asking for their picture was exhilarating and all of them were flattered and more than happy to pose for the picture.
Some of my favorite people were:

I am totally loving the midi high boots in army style with dresses!! 

Shirts that are tucked in or hit just at the pant line are definitely a trend down there! 

Probably one of my favorite people, he was adorable, and his outfit was perfection. The rolled up jeans are going to be big for guys!

This is one of my best friends Joe actually embodying the trend I found most exciting for guys! Love the jeans!

This was the last girl I met and I love everything about her outfit, tucked in top and boots! Can't get much better than that!

Being in Austin and getting an opportunity to do this really helped hone my eye for what was new and different but in a way that will really catch on. Fashion is all about expressing ones self and creating an image and that is exactly what these people are doing, and they are most definitely staying ahead of the curve. I plan on going back there on a much more regular basis so that I can keep up with what is around the corner and just to enjoy the people and the atmosphere in one of the most amazing and trendiest cities in the nation! 

Inspired by the two wonderful P's: Pinterest and Picker Sisters

With all that I have going on in my life, I have very little extra free time to just do whatever, so when I do have free time I find it involving either an episode of the Picker Sisters on Lifetime or pinning on Pinterest. I'll just quickly explain what these two things are and how they are going to hopefully relate and inspire me throughout this blog.

Picker Sisters is a show about two best friends who road trip around the south visiting different homes and places of business, and discovering peoples unused "junk." They see the wonderful potential in things that many do not, so they purchase these items take them back to LA and redo them and sell them in their store called I-10. It is such an inspiring show and it helps me to see the potential in things that most wouldn't.

Pinterest is a website that is a mash up between twitter and facebook. You can follow people and post things to certain people, but the main thing you use it for is to creep on all the pictures that people post. Sound familiar? haha. It has all different categories of items ranging from animals to fashion to babies to food, and it is all done with photos. It is amazing to see just what people can do with a budget and an idea. This website is my go too whenever I have a few minutes of free time.

So what's the point of this blog? I want to talk about different things I create in my life. The food, the clothes, the crafts and the memories. We are all people going through this world hoping to live for a better day. I want to spend mine making the most of every second. I want to savor the food, strut the outfits, and express my heart. I love trying new things, I love being crafty and I love living for now.