SPRING HAS SPRUNG AND WE ARE GOING TO STRUT OUR STUFF

Spring is here and we have waited long enough.  After fighting cold winds and snow, we are so ready right now to put on our spring gear and showcase all the different styles available to us; with all the pastel and bright colors.

Here are some examples that you can create with pieces from your wardrobe or you can use these examples when you shop for your new duds at the Mall.

If you are not a fan of color, these pieces can be toned down a bit or you can create a muted combination of this showcase but using the general idea that is shown here.

Sometimes I like to add color with just my handbag and shoes and that will make a big difference with the whole look.

SHOULD YOU THRIFT SHOP FOR YOUR SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN?

               SHOULD YOU THRIFT SHOP FOR YOUR SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN

By now, you all know about my love for thrifting and my love affair with it.  My Mom used to thrift for us sometimes and there wasn't a great variety of clothing in good condition for school aged children.  At this time, thrifting could be a source of inner shame and resentment because children can be cruel.  The thrift stores of that time were dimly lighted places, that nobody but the people hard on their luck could afford.

You would see people scour through the aisles of faded, out of style clothing that should have been thrown away.

So, here is my opinion about buying used clothing for school aged children.  I think that you should go to some regular discount stores first and pick up a few inexpensive outfits and stop by the supermarket and buy a leading fashion magazine for children and teens, so you can look and see what children are wearing these days.

You can also go to the Mall and just go into some stores that sell kids clothes to see what they are selling and you can do this without purchasing anything.

What you are doing is getting an idea of what's in style and then you will head over to a few thrift stores and look in the kids section to see whether there is anything that looks like the clothing that you saw in the Mall.

If you only see a few tops or pants; grab those up because you are on a quest to build your children's wardrobe but you do not want the clothing to look like it is thrifted.

Always ask your kids whether they like the items and whether they will feel proud wearing them.  If the answer is yes, then, you can continue shopping around in other thrift stores for stylish clothing for your kids.

Make sure that you find out when the sale days are and you want to make almost every sale to shop for your kids clothing.

You will be mixing in some new outfits from discount stores with the thrifted clothes and before long, your children will have a fresh and fabulous wardrobe.

Some of the younger people in my family love thrifting and they are able to find some expensive brand name clothes at the thrift store and nobody knows it but us.

If you have teenagers, give them clips from the magazine to take with them to the thrift store and see if they can create those same outfits on a budget.

Note:  If your kids are totally opposed to the thrift store and it would cause them shame; then, you would just let them shop at discount stores to get their clothes and give them a budget and they must stick to it.

Even if they do not like thrift stores now, they may appreciate it in the future, just like I did.

TOP 5 FAVORITES FROM THE DOLLAR TREE COLLABORATION WITH DARKBERRY32

MUWAE. COM JEWELRY REVIEW

CANDLES ARE THE BEST WAY TO REDECORATE FOR THE SPRING

                                    PINEAPPLE MANGO SCENTED CANDLE


Spring has sprung and now we are putting away all the things we purchased for the winter and now we want to buy new things to revitalize our homes.  You do not have to spend a lot of money to make your house look like spring and full of life.

The first thing that I usually do is; change my bedspread to a lighter color and I purchase flowers and I like to fill the air full of invigorating scents.  I like to go to Bed and Body Works to purchase my Candles because they usually have specials of buy one get one half off or some other deals.

If you are on a budget, you do not have to replace everything in your house to get a spring look.
Just add a few important  things to spruce up your home and get those candles burning and you will achieve the look and ambiance that you are seeking.

I like crisp, fresh scents in my spring candles.   Another good way to buy your candles are when they are on sale and the scent is a bit off season, such as; in the fall because you will really be able to stock up and then you will have plenty when the calendar moves ahead.

SHOULD I PURCHASE AN EXPENSIVE USED CAMERA FROM EBAY

                         Should I Purchase An Expensive Used Camera From Ebay

Last year, I was looking for a nice quality Camera and I was researching different websites to see where I should purchase my new Camera and I decided to go on Ebay.

I searched and I searched and finally I found a nice looking Camera, that I was so excited to get.  The Camera came and I opened the box and I fell in love.

When I turned the Camera on, it worked well but, I decided to try out the video function and when I played it back on my computer, there was a loud hissing sound coming from the Camera.
I started to think that this was a regular part of the video system.

I was very upset and I decided to get in touch with Ebay and follow all the rules regarding this return.

After this experience I decided not to buy my Camera used and I purchased one from another retailer and I am so pleased with it.

I have purchased some smaller inexpensive Cameras from Amazon.com and I am very happy with them and I used them as my back up.


Disclaimer:  This is the experience that I had with buying a used Camera.  You may or not have the same experience.  Research very extensively.

SO, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO PREPARE MEALS DURING YOUR WORK WEEK. NOT SO!

We are so busy grinding during the work week and sometimes we do not feel like cooking and preparing nutritious food for our families.  We owe it to our children and our spouses to not feed them fast food all week. I am going to give you some tips on how you can make this possible and it is so easy.

1. Prepare your vegetables on your day off and put it into the freezer.
2. Make some Stews or Soups, so you only have to add some bread and put in refrigerator or freezer.
3. Bake some Chicken and put it into your refrigerator
4. Make a big batch or rice and you can freeze that also.
5. Make a big pot of beans and put into plastic containers.
6. Cook some Macaroni and Cheese and freeze it.

Next, the night before work I want you to season your meat and put it back in the refrigerator and in the morning I want you to put it in your Crock Pot and by the time you get home you have your whole meal prepared.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD MODEL

 

What you are trying to do is limit the amount of work you have to do when you get home.  All you have to do is warm up your veggies, beans or mac and cheese and you have a full meal.

 

You can swap out some items on some days so that you will not get tired of eating the same thing.

 

NOTE:

You can even freeze cakes and some pies and that way you will have a little dessert to eat after dinner.

On some days you can take that chicken that you baked and shred it and put some mayonnaise and a little of relish and you can have chicken salad.

I have even made Hamburgers in my Crock Pot and it really saves so much time. 


Companies are now making Crock Pots that have different compartments, so you can prepare your entire meal before you get home and I think this is such a blessing.



                                                  Example:

A Crock Pot not only saves you time, but it can save you money because you are not eating out as often.

YOU CANNOT GO TO OR FINISH SCHOOL. WHAT CAN YOU DO?

 

 

 

   

It is not easy to realize that your dream of being a college graduate is not in the near future.  It is something that you have wanted to be since you were a child.  A lot of things can happen that can interfere with you accomplishing your goals, such as; not having enough time because you are working, you have children, you are experiencing sickness or some other issue or may not have the money right now.

There are many things you can do to obtain knowledge and find ways to self educate yourself.  

• You can visit any Library and read books on any subject pertaining to the job that you would want to be in and research, research, research.
• Make friends and associate yourself with people that you can learn from and work in the field that you would like to be in because they can give you a lot of advice and when you hang around successful people, you can be successful also.
• Look online and see if you could go to College online for a lower price or obtain training at home.
• Call your local High School and see if they have classes for training in specific occupations.  They are usually priced lower than Colleges.
• Take one course or two and pay for it and although this will take longer, you will be one step closer to your goal.
• Check your local YMCA and see if they have training.
• Obtain training for free by volunteering your time.
• There is a website called ed2go.com that have courses that are very reasonable. 
• Go to Amazon.com to check out their books that they have regarding occupational training.

There are a lot of resources available, so go online to see what is available in your area.  If you are a Woman or Disabled, you may be able to get grants to help you with your education.  There are also Social Service agencies that can provide you with free training to train you for jobs and if you get a better job, you may be able to afford College.

Don't be embarrassed to talk to people because they can point you in a direction where you can get help.

FINDING BEAUTY IN YOUR PLUS SIZE BODY

I am a plus size woman and I have been for many years.  There was a time when there were not many options the plus size women had when dressing themselves and we had to improvise by adding bits of color here and there in our wardrobe and we did that by adding colorful scarfs, handbags and shoes.

We styled our hair in very beautiful and sophisticated ways in order to stand out and make a style that we could own.
I am so glad that the times have changed and now we have many stores at the Mall and online to shop for our plus size fashions.

We are now living loud and proud in our communities.  I am not saying that we should continue to consume food in a unhealthy way, but, I am saying that we have a right to do what other people do and that is: JUST LIVE!

A lot of times we are ridiculed and made to feel that we should stay indoors and cease to exist but I am calling on all of our plus size ladies to live proudly and make our place in society.

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL TOO!

You can make the best of your figure by dressing the shape of your body and wearing clothes that fit properly.

Wearing clothing that is too tight makes us look larger and wearing clothes that are too big makes us look sloppy and frumpy.



Below I am showing beautiful plus size women strutting their stuff.

                                     Pretty in Florals

                                    Naturally cute in Casual Wear

                                   

                                              Pretty in Lace

                                           Gorgeous in Prints
                                        

                                     Lady like Sophistication
                                        

Standout beauty in black

 

                                            Pretty in the City

SHOULD I BUY NAME BRAND CANNED VEGETABLES OR SHOULD I BUY GENERIC?

I decided to write and ask this question because I have a friend who swears by name brand canned vegetables and she gave me a can of what she calls " The Best Canned Green Beans Ever."  I was anxious to open the can to see what all the hoopla was about.

I made a great steak and rice dinner and I cooked the can of string beans and started to eat the beans and I said to myself " What The Heck." 

The string beans were the same texture of the generic string beans that I always purchase.  My friend called me and she asked me about the green beans and I told her, they were good but they tasted the same way my generic brand tasted and she said "No Way."

I explained to her, that, some of the companies that can the name brand vegetables also can the generics and most of the time, you are getting the same exact product.

My friend told me that she didn't care what I said, the name brands are better. I wasn't trying to convert her to my way of thinking but why pay a higher price for a name.

By the same token, don't purchase a generic product if you try it and it is inferior, just try another brand and if the name brand is the same price, then buy the name brand.

I believe that the healthiest option is to buy frozen when you cannot get fresh veggies.

In order to save money, it is time to break the habit of buying all the brands that these companies advertise on television.  It is just a ploy to convince you that you are getting a better product because it has a bright and enticing label on the front.

Sometimes I will use a coupon and if the product is cheaper than the generics, then I will buy those brands but if not I will get the generic in a quick minute.

If you are on the road to saving money and creating wealth, find ways you can cut corners and save on your food bill.  Sometimes you can save a lot of money without coupons if you just change your thinking.

WINDOW FASHIONS

I like to go to different stores, to see how they display their looks and I get so much inspiration, to include these in my own outfits.

The truth is; You can buy any of these pieces from discount stores and add some of the touches, such as; scarfs, necklace, a nice leather jacket and subtle jewelry.

You can make a scrapbook of these looks and when shopping at the thrift store, you can find similar items to make the look your own.

The Beige Coat is so expensive looking and I would love to own it.