Post-Subbing Browsing: Part 2

Yesterday's post showed that I exhibited strength by not purchasing anything at Burlington Coat Factory despite the lure of two pretty decent candles. Would I be able to do the same at AC Moore just across the parking lot? Read to find out!

Our AC Moore is no longer a regular store; it's actually an outlet store. That means instead of using coupons most (if not all) the items are 40% off. I think that's a fantastic option for someone who might be in a need for a lot of supplies for a particular project and doesn't have time to buy everything at Michaels on sale with a 50% off coupon. For someone like me, however, the 40% sale just wasn't cutting it. Even so, I browsed my usual aisles just in case there were any clearance items. Plus, AC Moore has a ton of stamps, both rubber and clear, that Michaels does not have. You can see that in the photo, there are a ton of options! It's a beautiful sight for a stamper. I remember when I was younger, I would go through each row and examine the image of each stamp.

I did find this large rectangular stamp for $2, which I definitely would have purchased if I didn't already have it! I don't remember how much I paid for it, but it was definitely more than just $2. It was odd because the rest of the stamps clumped together like this looked to be the $1 ones, so they weren't that nice, so it would've been such a find to come across this one.

I also walked through the paper stack aisle even though I have NO ROOM for any more stacks. I did see that they had a wooden crate filled with older DCWV stacks on sale for $10, which is really 50% off the original price. They had the Guy Stack and the Green Stack, which I've always eyed and adored, but I wasn't willing to part with my money on something I didn't need and would have difficulty using because the prints are the kind I'd want to save!

I don't buy individual sheets of scrapbooking paper especially since I make cards and would cut it into pieces for layers, but I did look to see what Disney ones they offered just in case there was anything spectacular that caught my eye. These were the same ones I've seen in the past, and just like the DCWV paper stacks, I'd think twice about actually using them! Ahh, the problems of a scrapbooker/card maker. I know I'm not the only one!

I did browse the other sections of the store, and some of the things that caught my eyes were these adorable, itty-bitty "pack-packs"! I would absolutely love to get these for my kiddies when they themselves are also itty-bitty.

I thought I was done browsing, but you can see in the above picture that there was a wall of Cricut cartridges. I took a look to see if there was anything there that would've been SUPER cheap since I don't need cartridges anymore due to having the Silhouette that I haven't yet tried! Nothing popped out at me or at least nothing that would really be inexpensive. After purchasing the bulk of my collection via the $10 sale at Michaels in 2011, it has to be a cartridge I really want to warrant anything more than that without going over $20.

Nearby I saw some duck tape, so the Disney fan in me had to take a picture of the Minnie and Mickey ones. They also had a Tinkerbell one too. If I knew of a way to craft with it, I'd totally get some!

My mom was in search of something particular, so we ended up on the kids' craft and toy side of the store. I saw these learning mats and thought about having them for Luke and Leia in the future. Even though hubs and I watch TV shows or Netflix while we're eating now (I guess that's what happens when you don't have a dinner table!), it won't be like that when the kiddies come. I hope that we'd be able to do more fun yet educational activities. Plus, if they practice their handwriting, maybe they'll write more like I do as opposed to how Howard writes, hehe. Sorry, hubs, but you know your handwriting isn't the greatest!

The area near the registers had a few more goodies that I liked. MORE JOURNALS! Seriously, journals are like candy to me. I have to go over and examine them, drool over them a bit, and then force myself to walk away because I shouldn't buy something I don't need. 

The last thing I thought was worth taking a picture of was a Pillow Pet Pee-Wees edition. This moose was the cutest! I mean, it's a MOOSE! And it was small! I think Howard and I would totally let our kids choose a small Pillow Pet and maybe a larger Disney one too! They might be asking us for them when they can't find them since we might borrow 'em once in a while!

So did I make it through without making a purchase? YES! Aren't ya proud? All the subbing money I made yesterday will go directly into my account without being touched. Woohoo! 

Post-Subbing Browsing: Part 1

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that when I sub at my former school, it usually means I will end up spending some of the money I just earned right after work! Since my mom is a para at the same school, we carpool. That makes it easier and more fun to stop at a store or stores since we have company.

The destination for us yesterday was Burlington Coat Factory and AC Moore! My mom needed to return something at Burlington, so we took some time to browse. Man, that store has way too much stuff for a quick browse! It reminds me a bit of Marshalls and TJMaxx, but this was definitely much cleaner and more organized. 

Mom wanted some boot socks, so we were in that section for a bit. Man, they sure did have a ton of choices! I am always drawn to socks that have bright colors like the ones on the left, but I clearly don't need to buy any socks. I rarely wear socks as it is! I really only started wearing them more often this year when I finally got boots for the cold weather because I usually just wore slip-ons and flats. I was helping her look and came across the Ralph Lauren ones on the right. Um, these socks might actually make me want to wear socks every single day. They were unbelievably soft!  

 

They had a good selection of journals there too. What is it about a blank notebook that makes me feel so optimistic and hopeful? I have plenty of notebooks though, and I end up doing most of my writing on the computer anyway. I could easily succumb to a soft-covered journal with lined pages and a strong spine at a super cheap price though, haha.

We split up at one point because she had some specific things to search for whereas I was content just to wander and see what the entire store had to offer. They had such random finds like this cute little car decor. It reminded me of driving an old-fashioned car on a vegetable ... HAHA, I have episodes of Top Chef on in the background as I type this, and I guess someone just said "vegetable," so I ended up typing it. No, I have never driven a car on a vegetable before. It entertained me so much that I typed it so I left it in because clearly I could have just deleted it. ANYWAY, when I was really young, I "drove" this old-fashioned car in an amusement park (possibly Hershey Park?) with my grandpa. I couldn't reach the pedals, so I had to sit in front of him, and the memory is just so distinct in my mind that any time I see old-fashioned cars, I think about my Goong-goong!

I wondered if they had a candle section, and I was pleasantly surprised to see such a wide variety! They had brands I hadn't heard of before, but the majority of them were Yankee Candle. I was eager to see if I could find any citrus scents or anything fresh and clean for spring.

Yes, I did smell a TON of those candles! I already had a sinus headache, and I only took 1 Tylenol just an hour or two earlier. I know sniffing all the scents probably wasn't the smartest idea especially when it wasn't Bath & Body Works candles, but I felt it was my duty, haha. They do have a ton of scents compared to what BBW offers, but after testing so many of them, I really do prefer BBW. There are a few Yankee Candle scents that I do like in the more recent release, but I haven't yet purchased one to test its throw, but I'll hold off on that for a bit especially since these things are luxuries and not necessities.

I did consider the YC Tropical Getaway and this one below ... PINEAPPLE! The $12.99 price tag made me say no though because it definitely didn't smell as nice as the new BBW Pineapple Mango candle! Good try, Burlington, but I won't be buying any candles unless the prices somehow drop even more!

Once I was done with the aisles with home and kitchen items, I browsed the other parts of the store, but I didn't have patience to go through the baby clothes or other clothing items. I did pass by the juniors section and saw this Minnie zip-up sweatshirt. I just had to take a picture of it, you know, because Disney.

I caught up with my mom and we left the store without making any purchases. So far 100% of the money I made while subbing was still safe in my pocket (well, not literally, but you know what I mean). Would it survive a trip to AC Moore? Check back tomorrow!

A Little Treat Box Encouragement

I had the opportunity to sub at my former school again. Since I was only covering middle school classes, I didn't have to spend time making up a craft project for an elementary school class, which is something I just like doing to have on hand in case there's extra time. Instead, I spent my time yesterday making little treat boxes as an encouragement to my former colleagues.

Being a teacher can be draining and frustrating. I definitely understand having done it for the last 6 years of my life! I just wanted to give them a little something to hopefully put a smile on their face at some point of the day in case they were feeling exhausted or stressed. 

I wrote the tiniest little notecards ever! They were 1.75 x 1.75 inch squares, and I just used a simple sheet of yellow polka dot paper as a layer. The sentiment is from Pink by Design's set "Pray." You can see the quick message that I wrote inside the 21 cards.

For the box, I used my new We R Memory Keepers Gift Box Punch Board that I got from Amazon with a $10 bonus gift card and credit card reward points. The instructions were really quite simple especially since I had watched the videos on how to use them on YouTube. I followed the directions to make the smallest box possible.

Scoring the paper was pretty easy as was folding it and putting it together. Unfortunately, a few of the boxes turned out the tiniest bit lopsided because the paper was very thin and I also included a packet of Jolly Rancher Crunch 'n Chew candy. I didn't realize that the ones I had were 2 per pack, so it was a little longer than I thought. It still fit, but in the beginning, I kind of squished them in there. Whoops!

I finished the 21 boxes pretty quickly. They're probably the easiest boxes I've ever assembled since the punch board does all the exact cuts and scoring for me as opposed to when I made the treat boxes last time and had to use the hole punch and tie with ribbon. 

I have to say that I get really excited putting them in everyone's mailbox in the morning. A few of my former colleagues told me they were really appreciative of the effort and sentiment. I was just happy to be able to encourage them in this little way.

A Spicy Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was my mother-in-law's birthday, so we went out for dinner at Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan in Flushing, Queens. My stomach hadn't been feeling the greatest these past two days, so I actually didn't make it out to church. Thankfully, it had somewhat settled by the time Howard and I had to head to my in-laws' house to hop in their car for the drive to the restaurant. I popped on my Sea Bands and actually fell asleep, so I didn't even know that we got stuck in traffic on the way there. After a rather cold walk to the restaurant as it began to snow, I thought I would never warm up. The insides of my ears were hurting, and I started feeling sinus pressure building up. Little did I know that Hunan food would help all of that! 

If you don't already know, Hunan food is known for spiciness, but it's kind of a different spiciness than like, hot sauce. When the food was ordered, it was requested that things not be as spicy. There were definitely different levels of heat, but it actually tasted pretty good! If I didn't have reflux and GI issues, I would've really devoured a bit more than I did. We ordered lamb and cilantro, chicken, shrimp, eggplant, and bok choy. The lamb was tasty, but it was a bit too hot for me. I really enjoyed the shrimp, which my father-in-law specifically ordered for me as he asked, "Is there a shrimp dish that's not spicy?" since my in-laws know I love shrimp! The cumin that was used to make it really reminded Howard and me of the lamb platter we shared in the Morocco pavilion in Epcot. I also really liked the eggplant too because I feel that you can only make excellent eggplant if you have a flame that can get super hot to cook it. The veggies were good too since there was no heat at all.

The last thing that was ordered was a fish head. It looks incredibly spicy, but in actuality, it wasn't. There were many small bones in it, but I was definitely spoiled in that they gave me parts that didn't have the bones.

I didn't eat too much, but the first few bites really warmed me up right away! I was no longer cold, and the heat from the food immediately helped the pain in my ears and in my sinuses. I said to Howard that it must be interesting for people who eat Hunan food all the time because they're probably like, "Eh, winter? Who cares! The cold never bothered me anyway!"

When we left, the snow had already accumulated a little bit. Ahh, New York. Must you? We did hit traffic again on the way back, but all in all, it was a pleasant evening. The more dinners I have with Howard's family, the less awkward I feel because of the language barrier. I still always wonder if I'll ever get to the point where I can understand everything without having Howard translate for me!

Keep on Truckin'

This is just a quick and simple card made for last year's bake sale at church. Most of my cards are kind of more on the girly side, so I kept that in mind when choosing images to cut. This dump truck is from the "B is for Boy" cartridge. 

I actually really like how it looks with the yellow and the light orange. I'm glad Howard encouraged me to buy the "weirder" packs of Recollections colors so that I could use them for cards like this. It definitely wouldn't look the same if I had this yellow and a darker orange.

The sentiment is from Pink by Design's set "Oh Boy." I think this fairly simple card is good for the guys in your life!