Preparing for a Special Backyard BBQ!

June 18, 2012 By 10 Comments

Have you ever been trying to buy something, but couldn’t seem to find it anywhere? Do you like shopping for goods from all over the World? Do you miss the retro candies & food products you grew up on, or long to use a specific hard-to-find spice?

If you answered yes to any of the above, you need to check out Cost Plus World Market! For over fifty years, World Market has been bringing great finds from all around the World to it’s shoppers. They also sell many original items, all at a low price.

Whole Set up

I’m really excited because in two short weeks, my sister & her two kids will be coming to town & staying for 10 days! I haven’t seen my sister in two years, and even then I only saw her for a day. &My neice and nephew? I haven’t seen them in four years- and since they’re now 8 & 10, I wanted to do something special for when they’re here!

One of the things we want to do when they visit is have a barbeque. Justin loves to grill & it’s just such a Summertime thing to do! To make it more special for the kids, I decided to head to World Market to stock up on some fun accessories!

Drink Collage

I got tiny umbrellas & polka-dotted straws to make our iced tea a bit sweeter.

S'mores

I picked up some retro burger baskets {which you can’t really see in the photo but are really cute in person & are red and blue- perfect for 4th of July!} along with the classic liners!

collage 5

I picked up some grilling skewers to use both for kabobs & as marshmallow roasting sticks, and I got a grilling bowl so we can grill some veggies too! &I couldn’t resist getting those mini condiment bottles!

yellow theme

I got this tray because it matches the pillow I recently bought that I’m in love with, and also to make it easier to bring all of the accessories in & out of the house! It’s melamine & really sturdy- I love it!

BBQ spread 1

While I just threw together a snack of S’mores for Shane, Justin & I, I’m looking forward to serving some hot dogs & burgers in those baskets, along with some fries in the cones & some yummy iced tea!

Pinwheel

While I was at World Market, I also picked up some other fun goodies, like a set of chalkboard stickers, a swimming fish toy & Buzz Lightyear PEZ dispenser for Shane, & a set of four round placemats that I had intended to use for the outdoor table before realizing when I got home just how small my outdoor table really is. I’m probably still going to use them inside, though, because they’re really nice! {&Since we’re thinking about buying a larger patio set, we’ll have them on hand.} We also got this pinwheel that Shane just loves playing with!

BBQ selections

World Market has so much stuff out there right now for BBQ season- I didn’t even know what half of the stuff was! They had a lot of specialty foods &seasonings as well- I may go back & pick some up once I know what the kids actually like!

Screen shot 2012-06-05 at 2.35.57 PM

Need more excuses to shop at World Market? Check out the Buy & Fly promotion, where right now, when you make a $20 or more purchase in the store you will receive a 15% off coupon for Southwest Airlines to purchase a flight anywhere Southwest Airlines flies!

Get Away

&Then there’s the Summer Getaway Sweepstakes-  each week during the sweepstakes World Market is giving away a trip for 4 anywhere Southwest Flies, including hotel accommodations and a $500 World Market gift card.

Both of these promotions run from June 15th- July 13th so be sure to head in soon to get all of the supplies you need for BBQ season & get a coupon to Get Away! &Be sure to enter the sweepstakes as well!

You can learn more about Cost Plus World Market & find a location near you on their website. &Be sure to follow on Facebook and Twitter for updates!

Susie’s Note: This shop has been compensated by Cost Plus World Market. All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: decorating, shopping Tagged With: , , , ,

A Bathroom Makeover {Featuring #GELighting!}

May 30, 2012 By 8 Comments

Justin has a thing about lighting. Before we had even unpacked our boxes when we moved into our house, he went to the store & picked up a new entryway light fixture & a new chandelier. Since then, we’ve upgraded the lighting in our Master Bath, and when we did our Powder Room/Laundry Room Makeover last year, that room got an upgrade as well. But Shane’s poor bathroom has been sadly neglected- until now!

Last week, we decided to upgrade Shane’s lighting fixture, and per usual, it didn’t stop there.

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We picked up a new bath rug, since the one that was in there was a hand-me-down from ours & was way too wide for the space in his tiny little bathroom. It didn’t fit right & left a lot of space unprotected from Shane’s splashes from the tub!

We also picked up a towel bar, since his has been broken for, well, several months. I had been using the brackets for hooks instead until one of those fell off {onto my foot- that was fun}. Ready for the before & after?

Rug Before and After

Towel Bar Before and After

Lighting Before and After

It’s not that easy to tell from the photos, but the lighting fixture makes a drastic change in the room! It doesn’t feel like a neglected room anymore, and it actually matches all of the other bathrooms finally. &Giving Shane a bath has been so much easier now- the room has better lighting, there’s actually a towel bar, and the rug catches {most of} his splashes!

Lightbulb options

Since we were upgrading our light fixture, we decided to upgrade our bulbs, too. There were SO many options to choose from at Walmart- I don’t even know what half of those bulbs are used for! {You can check out all of the options I found & all of the other stuff that distracted me at the store in my Google+ album!}

IMG_2056

We use the Energy Smart bulbs everywhere in our house as they put out less heat & save a lot in energy costs. In fact, if every U.S. Household replaced just one bulb with an Energy Smart bulb, we’d collectively save a total of $600 million per year in energy costs! In fact, I used the GE Energy Smart CFL Savings Calculator to figure out how much I’m saving by using those bulbs, and just for the three in the bathroom, I’m saving $19.71 per year- which is $108 over the life of the bulbs since they last so long!

Having bulbs that save us money is really helpful, especially now that it’s Summer & we’re running the AC all the time. We’re always on the lookout for more ways to save money & energy, so here are a couple we’ve found:

  • Make sure you turn the light off when you leave the room.
  • Unplug any appliances you can- even when they’re turned off, they can still use electricity. Do you really need your toaster, blow dryer or cell phone charger plugged in all day
  • Lower the thermostat of your water heater to 120 degrees.
  • Wash when  loads are actually full: both in the dishwasher & the washing machine.

If you’re ready to switch your lightbulbs, be sure to download your coupon for $1.00 off any  GE Energy Smart CFL lighting product!

new-GE-badge
Be sure to check out GE’s website & follow them on Facebook & Twitter for more energy saving info!

How do you save energy?


Susie’s Note: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE. #CBias #SocialFabric All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: DIY, home, homemaking, how-to Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Set it & Forget it with Febreze! {Review}

October 2, 2011 By 10 Comments

A few months ago, I shared with you my laundry room/powder room makeover. Since then, that room has quickly become our favorite room in the house to show off to friends & family when they come over for the first time. The only problem? Our washing machine smells. Really bad.

We’ve cleaned out the filter, we’ve cleaned the rim, I’ve used a baking soda & vinegar solution {which helps immensely… for a few days.} and nothing has worked. We’re still determined to get to the root of the problem so we can erase the smell entirely, but in the meantime, we needed something to help mask the odor. Enter Febreze Set & Refresh!

Febreze Set & Refresh provides up to 30 days of freshness without the use of plugs and batteries- a major plus, since batteries are expensive & we don’t have any outlets in the powder room {except for the ones the washer & dryer are plugged into.} We also don’t have any counter space in that room, so we knew we’d have to put it on our shelf- which is supposed to be for decoration & as such is a pretty major focal point of the room. But with the Set & Refresh unit’s slender & modern design, it’s not an eye sore like most air fresheners- in fact it actually looks like part of the decor!

Another thing I love about it is that you can choose how strong you want the scent to be. If you want to fill your room with the freshness of Febreze, you just “click” the unit to the open position & let it do it’s thing. But since our powder room is so small, doing that would make it too strong- which is why I love that you have the option to have it closed, and have just a bit of scent come out. It’s the perfect amount for the room- it covers the odors from the washing machine without overpowering your senses.

I loved the one we put in our powder room so much that I decided to get a second one to use upstairs. I put it in Shane’s bathroom- the center room upstairs- and left it in the open position so the scent can travel out into the hallway & drift into the other bedrooms. Because it’s not contained to a small space like it would be downstairs, it’s never too strong- even when I’m standing right next to it. &I love the scent {which is Spring & Renewal} so much, I’m even thinking of getting a third one to put directly in our bedroom!

So if you’re looking for something to freshen up a room or two without ruining your decor, check out Febreze Set & Refresh! Check out the Febreze website for all available scents {&some coupons!}- there’s bound to be one to match your home’s personality!

What odors do you try to cover in your home? What Febreze Set & Refresh scent do you want to try?


Susie’s Note: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Febreze and received a Set &Refresh unit plus refills to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Sponsor Spotlight: Turn Me On Art!

January 17, 2011 By 1 Comment

It’s the little things in life that make a big difference- and it’s the little things in a room’s decor that make it stand out! Turn Me On Art has a huge assortment of fantastic light switch plate covers- something to match everyone’s tastes! Here are some of my favorites:


Alice in Wonderland


I Can Afford This Chandelier


Le Fleur

Turn Me On Art is contributing a switchplate cover of your choice for my A Blogtastic Extravaganza package!

You can come back on the 18th to fill out the mandatory entry, but for now you can nab some extra entries! Just fill in the form below and come back for the mandatory entry on the 18th!

Good luck!

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