Shopping Archives - Just Us Four

Mom’s Payday: Spoiling Mom for More than One Day

May 20, 2013 By Shannah Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is always a day when I {and most moms} get completely spoiled. It starts from being able to sleep in and ends with a dinner out where I do no cooking or cleaning. One important thing for me is that we spend the day as a family and enjoy #mealstogether. This Mother’s Day came with a “special” gift of an knee injury for me. Well, technically, the injury happened back in April but got really bad as May progressed. My family totally took over on all the things that I normally do and truly made it like it was Mother’s Day all month.

One big thing I do for our household is most of the cooking. Mathlete is awesome at so many things but kitchen duty isn’t one of them. However, with my big, swollen knee, I haven’t been able to do as much standing and cooking as I usually do. Mathlete and the kids jumped right in and took over.

First, they headed to the store to pick up some supplies: Tyson crispy chicken strips and some yummy sides to go along with them.

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Filed Under: Shopping, Sponsors Tagged With: #MealsTogether, Family Meals, Mom’s PayDay, Sweepstakes, Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips

A Glimpse: Luckett’s Groundhog Day Sale

February 11, 2013 By Shannah Leave a Comment

Every so often I share glimpses into the non-cooking/non-crafting side of my life. As you all know, my birthday was last week. Mathlete totally spoiled me by starting the “celebration” a week early in agreeing to go antique shopping with me at the Luckett’s Groundhog Day Sale.

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Filed Under: Glimpse, Shopping Tagged With: Antique Fun, Birthdays, Photo Glimpses, Shopping, Weekend

A Glimpse: Valentine’s Countdown Fun

February 5, 2013 By Shannah 2 Comments

We’re busy here at the Just Us Four house: school, work, birthday celebrations (Shopaholic’s birthday is the day before mine!) and Valentine’s Day countdowns.
Valentine's Countdown Calender Each one of the little envelopes from our countdown calendar contains a note. Some of the notes are just little phrases but some include activities. Yesterday, we had one that said
Treat card
I stopped at our favorite store, Wegman’s, on the way home to try and find the perfect “yummy treat” for our mini-celebration. There are so many delicious items that it can be hard to choose.
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Filed Under: Shopping, Sponsors Tagged With: celebration, Ice Cream Cake, Wegmans

Inspiration to Create my Own #MomCave

January 30, 2013 By Shannah Leave a Comment

We spent most of last year working on finishing our basement. Mathlete refers to it as his “man cave” since it is equipped with all the stuff most men love: leather recliners, a huge theater screen, a second tv and kick butt surround sound.

Now that his space is complete, I’m looking to create my own space; my #momcave.

We have a sitting room in our master bedroom that is currently unused {well, unless you count storing random stuff as being “used”}.

I think the space is perfect for my mom cave. With all the windows, it gives me a ton of light which is great since I don’t need the darkness for a better tv view.
I recently did a little online and in-person shopping to try and get inspired for decorating this space. I had seen a lot of commercials for La-Z-Boy furniture galleries and so I clicked over to check their website. The online catalog is full of awesome ideas for creating beautiful rooms.

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Filed Under: decorating, Shopping, Sponsors Tagged With: La-Z-Boy, La-Z-Boy chair, La-Z-Boy furniture, La-Z-Boy Pinterest contest

Time to Shop for Furniture!

January 29, 2013 By Shannah Leave a Comment

I always like to let you guys know when an awesome deal or sale is going one. This one is definitely one I had to share!

Looking for some new furniture pieces to liven up your humble abode? Look no further than the One Kings Lane Day of Furniture!

Today through Thursday, 1/31, this event features pieces for every room and has great options for every design aesthetic. From Ottomans & Benches to Headboards & Beds, don’t miss out on this opportunity to grab a great new piece for your home!

Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: Shopping, Sponsors Tagged With: One Kings Lane, Sales, Shopping, Sponsors

Graphic Christmas Lists

November 23, 2012 By Shannah 7 Comments

Making Christmas lists is one of the most fun parts of prepping for Christmas. My kids are a little young to write out their Christmas list in full so, this year, I decided to take a different approach.

I started with a large piece of cork board and a piece of red fabric I found in the bargain scrap bin at Walmart.

Typically, I would have used my staple gun to attach the fabric but it was missing. So, I used little thumbtacks instead.

On the front, I attached letters I had cut out to made the categories of the list: Want, Need, Read

Then, we pinned pictures of the items H had started with for her list into the right categories.

The board is much fuller now that H has picked out more items. She has so much fun cutting out the pictures and putting them on the board.
She has also been putting items she thinks E wants onto his matching board.

How do you do Christmas lists in your house?

Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T., Makin’ You Crave Monday at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, What’s in the Gunny Sack Linky Party at The Gunny Sack, Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou, Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, Making the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Creative Mondays at Clairejustineoxox, Pintastic Monday Link Party at Sarah Dawn Designs, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Market Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff, More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home, Show Me What You Got at Our Delightful Home, It’s Party Time at It’s So Very Cheri, DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff, Calling All Crafters Monday at All Things Fee, Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across, Tuesday Confessional at Crafty Confessions, To Do Tuesday at The Blackberry Vine, Lil Luna Link Party at Lil Luna, Tell Me Tuesday at Me and My Boys, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Tuesday Time Out at Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z, Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog, Nifty Thrift Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Time to Shine Party at a Diamond in the Stuff, Uncommonly Yours Link Party at Uncommon Designs, Homemade by You at Pincushion Creations, Craft and Tell at Cherished Bliss, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Be Inspired at Elizebeth & Co., Tutorial Tuesday at With Hope Studios, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Tasty Tuesday at Naptime Creations, Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie, the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef-N-Training, Open Call Tuesday at Salt Tree, Share It Linky Party at the Winthrop Chronicles. Tiptoe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles, Show & Share at Southern Lovely and Vintage Gwen, Riverton Housewives Roundup at The Real Housewives of Riverton,. Sugar and Spice {Wednesday} at 733 Blog, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show and Tell at Snap!, Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home, We’re Organized Wednesday at Organize and Decorate Everything, The Fun in Functional at Practically Functional, Wow Us Wednesday on Ginger Snap Crafts, Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims, Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday at Frugally Sustainable, Wow Me Wednesdays at Polka Dots on Parade, 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence, Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple, Taking a Time Out Thursday at Mom On Time Out, Hooking up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Link it Up Thursday at Seven Alive, Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff at Something Swanky, Thursdays are Your Days at 52 Mantels, Creative Thursday Link Party at Michelle’s Tasty Creations, Weekend Wonders at Love and Laundry, Look at Me, Live, Laugh Linky Thursday at Live, Laugh Rowe, Thing’s I’ve Done Thursday at Bear Rabbit Bear, Creative Juice Link Party at Momnivore’s Dilemma, Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday, 20 Below Thursday at Christina’s Adventures, Creative Genius Party at The Creative Paige, Blog Stalking Thursday at The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kiss and Tell at I Gotta Create, Craft, , Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside, Thursday Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor, Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Share Awesomeness Thursdays at The 36^th Avenue, Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating, P’Inspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection, Taylor House Thursday at The Taylor House, I’m Lovin It at Tidy Mom, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Friday Happy Hour at Craft, Scappy Happy, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Pity Party at 30 Days, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Freestyle Friday at Happy Hour Projects, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Free For All Friday at Young & Crafty, Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Ln, Fancy This at Truly Lovely Blog, It’s a Hodgepodge Friday at It’s a Hodgepodge Life, Lovely Craft Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home, the Featured Friday Free for All at Five Days, Five Ways, the Featured Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic, Shine on Fridays at One Artsy Mama, the Anything Goes Linky Party at Bacon Time, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Do Something Crafty at The Crafty Nest, the Weekend Link Party at Lolly Jane Boutique, the Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Strut Yourself Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal, Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, the Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime and the Before and After Party at Thrifty Décor Chick.

Filed Under: holidays, Shopping

Basement Reno: A New Family Room

July 10, 2012 By Shannah 12 Comments

The basement reno is moving ahead full force. I’ll have an update on the progress soon. Right now, let’s talk about a side effect of the renovation: our new family room!

When the basement is done, most of the furniture that currently resides in our family room is going down under to live in the newly finished basement space. Buh bye couch, arm chair, coffee table and side tables.

SO, that leaves me with pretty much zero furniture in the room and lots of shopping to do. Of course, I’ve already starting eyeing some items.

You may remember the room is a dark brown color with bright white trim

I won’t be repainting because I am not willing to spend the $$$ to have the guys come back in with scaffolding to paint the 2 store room. So, sticking with the brown for all theoretical plans!

As you can see, the family room is just off of the breakfast area and completely open. There is also pretty much only one wall that makes sense for the tv.

There is my basic furniture layout. We definitely need the long couch and chair. The thing in front of the fire place is actually just a basket. No idea why it looks so huge!

I put together three plans {so far} because I can’t decide what kind of wood I want in there. With the walls being so dark, I hesitate to go with a dark wood again but I don’t want a real country feel either.

We have a kids toy thing that is staying in there fore now that is a dark wood but it isn’t a permanent fixture. It does how up in all the pictures though

In all the options, the following stays the same:
- Curtain color (white cotton linen blend)
- Couch and couch fabric (we just love it)
- Room paint color

Oh, and we still need some storage space in this room which is why all the coffee tables and stuff have drawers, shelves, etc.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

No clue why the coffee table and media center look so different in color. They are really the same in person!

So, thoughts…opinions…suggestions? I am all ears

Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T., Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, What’s in the Gunny Sack Linky Party at The Gunny Sack, I Made the World Cuter Today at Making the World Cuter, Weekend Warrior Party at Ask Anna, Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy, Making the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Creative Mondays at Clairejustineoxox, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Market Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff, the Craft Catwalk and Embellishing Life, More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home, Show Me What You Got at Our Delightful Home, Mauvin’ Monday at Vintage Mauve, It’s Party Time at It’s So Very Cheri, DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff, Insprire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds, Calling All Crafters Monday at All Things Fee, Monday Craft Party at Polly Want a Crafter, Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across, Tuesday Confessional at Crafty Confessions, Tell Me Tuesday at Me and My Boys, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Tuesday Time Out at Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z, Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog, Nifty Thrift Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Time to Shine Party at a Diamond in the Stuff, Uncommonly Yours Link Party at Uncommon Designs, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, Terrific Under Ten Tuesday at At Home with K, One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Be Inspired at Elizebeth & Co., Tutorial Tuesday at With Hope Studios, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie, the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef-N-Training, Open Call Tuesday at Salt Tree, Share It Linky Party at the Winthrop Chronicles. Naturally Nifty Linky Party at Natural Nesters, Tiptoe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles, Show & Share at Southern Lovely and Vintage Gwen, Will Craft For at Tales of a Trophy Wife, Hoo’s Got Talent at Nightowl Crafting, Sugar & Spice {Wednesday} at 733 Blog, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show and Tell at Snap!, Penny Pinching Partyat The Thrifty Home, We’re Organized Wednesday at Organize and Decorate Everything, Wow Us Wednesday on Ginger Snap Crafts, What’s New Wednesday at Grateful Belly, Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims, Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday at Frugally Sustainable, Wow Me Wednesdays at Polka Dots on Parade, 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence, the Crafty Sasse Wednesday Linky Party at the Sasse Life, Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple, Taking a Time Out Thursday at Mom On Time Out, Hooking up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Look at Me, Live, Laugh Linky Thursday at Live, Laugh Rowe, Spread the Love at Love Notes by Lauryn, Thing’s I’ve Done Thursday at Bear Rabbit Bear, Creative Juice Link Party at Momnivore’s Dilemma, Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday, 20 Below Thursday at Christina’s Adventures, Creative Genius Party at The Creative Paige, Kiss and Tell at I Gotta Create, Craft, Scrappy Happy Me Thursday at Craft, Scappy Happy, Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside, Thursday Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor, Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks, Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Share Awesomeness Thursdays atThe 36^th Avenue, Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating, P’Inspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection, Taylor House Thursday at The Taylor House, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Share What You Did Friday at Two Sasters, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Pity Party at 30 Days, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Share Day at Just a Girl, Freestyle Friday at Happy Hour Projects, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Free For All Friday at Young & Crafty, Fresh Friday Link Party at Release Me Creations, Project Party WEekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Ln, Fancy This at Truly Lovely Blog, It’s a Hodgepodge Friday at It’s a Hodgepodge Life, Lovely Craft Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home, the Featured Friday Free for All at Five Days, Five Ways, the Featured Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic, Shine on Fridays at One Artsy Mama, the Anything Goes Linky Party at Bacon Time, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Do Something Crafty at The Crafty Nest, the Weekdend Link Party at Lolly Jane Boutique, the Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal, Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, the Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime and the Before and After Party at Thrifty Décor Chick.

Filed Under: Interior Changes, Shopping

Finding Dresses for Summer

May 3, 2012 By Shannah 3 Comments

I can’t believe that it is May and we are going to have temperatures up near 90 degrees today! It is completely crazy! Of course, the warmer weather has been searching for cooler things to wear to stay comfortable and still look nice.
For summer, I’m a big fan of dresses: modest dresses for work and sun dresses for weekends. Dresses just keep me more comfortable in hot weather than shorts or pants.
Since we’ve been focusing a lot on beauty today, I thought I would share some of the dresses that have caught my eye recently.

[DownEast Basics]

I love the bright color and fun dots on this one. It would be perfect for my office AND to wear out to dinner on the weekends.

[DownEast Basics]

Another brightly colored one that instantly caught my eye. I am really seeing a pattern in my color choices lately. I could easily toss on a cardigan with this one too which makes it really versatile.
Maze Stripe Racerbank Maxi Dress
Or, how about this gorgeous maxi dress? I love the tribal inspired pattern! We go on a lot of picnics and this would be great to wear because I could be in the grass with the kids if I wanted without having to worry about the dress coming up!

Do you do dresses in the summer or do you stick more to shorts/capris? Where are your favorite places to find cute dresses (especially modest dresses that are ok for work)? I would love some new sources!

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views, opinions and dress choices are my own.

Filed Under: Shopping, Sponsors

Craftsy You…Craftsy Me

April 12, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

I was emailing with my package pal for April and she loves to crochet. Now, I have never crocheted anything…ever. It got me to thinking though about how a lot of the blogs I read have something that they really excel at: jewelry, sewing, knitting, etc.
I decided I wanted to learn a more about crocheting so I could be sure to send some great stuff to my package pal. That is when I stumbled upon Craftsy.
Crafty is an online community for Crafters that began back in May of 2011. They have a wide range of stuff but two things really stuck out at me:

The Block of the Month – This is a free, yearlong online class on quilting. The class is broken into 12 installments with a new one posting on the first day of every month. Even though I am not a quilter {at least not yet}, the idea of an interactive online class for a craft like this just seems so cool!

The Pattern Marketplace – This is sort of like the Etsy for patterns! There are literally thousands of patterns for just about all types of crafts available in the marketplace. Craftsy doesn’t charge the designers fees or commissions so the deals tend to be really great too!

In addition to those two big offerings, I also found some pretty sweet deals on yarn (you know I love me some yarn!) and fabrics too. I love finding new things on the web to help me learn more and expand my craft skills/crafting supply stash! I hope you will go check out Craftsy if you get the chance to see what they have to offer!

Filed Under: Shopping

It’s All About the Benjies

March 15, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about money, shall we?
No, not about how much you make or anything awkward like that. We are going talk about things more fun than that!
First, let’s chat about some ways to make money with a heavy emphasis on making money from blogging.
Have you ever noticed some of the buttons on my sidebar? A few of them are actually links to ad networks that I use to generate a {small} income from my blog. Obviously, if your blog is bigger than my little ole thing then you would stand to generate more money!

Rivit is an ad network that I partner with to generate some of the ads you see on my sidebar. They rotate on a regular basis automatically. A simple click on the ad generates a small amount of money for the blog. Rivit also pays on a CPM basis which pays for 1000 page hits your blog gets.

Social Spark connects bloggers with advertisers. Most often, these are done as paid posts on a certain product or website. You get offers and get paid for the ones you accept and complete. Social spark connects with your blog through google analytics and even gives you a recommend dollar amount to ask for per post based on your site traffic.
Other Ad Partners

I also partner with the Clever Girls Collective and Bucks 2 Blog. Most often, these opportunities are where you are asked to write about a subject or try out a product and then blog about it.
I also find affiliate opportunities through Share a Sale, Google Affiliates and the Escalate Network. With these, you simply apply to be an affiliate for a company and, if approved, you put an ad button on your blog. Typically, these pay only per purchase versus per click or page impression.

**This one isn’t blog related but I thought I would share it because it is a great way to generate some extra household income and get free stuff! I have participated in mystery shopping for several companies including:

Shopping for these companies offer benefits like free groceries, pizza or small products in addition to the fee you get paid to complete a shop.
If you ever consider doing mystery shopping though, be wary of any company that requires YOU to pay anything to sign up. These are almost always a scam**

Ok, so now you’ve made some money {or at least know some places to help you with that}. Let’s talk about spending it.
Back to the sidebar we go…see those cool ads for places like these

They are there because they are places I actually shop and so I sought them out for ad partnerships. Want a sampling of some of the great things I just bought from these awesome places to shop? Of course you do…check it out.
Check out this awesome inkwell from One Kings Lane! It’s en route to me as I type.