Come By and Say "Hi!" ~

 

Happy New Year! I hope your winter holidays were all sorts of wonderful. 

I have been busy posting over on my YouTube channel! I would love to see you over there 😊 While you're there, please take a moment to subscribe and tap on the bell so that you will be notified when I post new videos! 

Thanks for stopping by!

xo, TJ 

Change~

 

 “Change is the only constant in life.”

~ Heraclitus

Hello and welcome back! 

I wanted to pop in and let you know that I have decided to stop writing dedicated posts on my "Frugal Five", opting instead to write about my frugal endeavors by incorporating them within other posts. I came to this decision after much reflection and embracing the conviction that I don't want to focus on and wear "lack" as part of my identity. Although I do believe that frugality can be a useful tool in the creation of abundance and even wealth, I don't want it to be the greater focus here. Knowing that what we focus on and give our attention to grows, I would rather focus on improving and growing the abundance we already do have. 

I sincerely hope that you will consider continuing with me on our never-ending journey, with all of it's ups and downs and detours through life. After all, that's what keeps it interesting, no?

Thanks for stopping by! 

💋xo, 

TJ

Today's Funny~Totally Relatable

😄

 

Dear Santa, ISO~

😆

 

Friday Fave #2~

It's Friday, and time for another Friday Fave!

This week I've chosen the Suave Essentials Rose Water and Aloe Soothing Hand Soap With Aloe.

What can I say? I know everyone enjoys different scents-honestly, scents can be a bit tricky for me as many of them give me a headache or make me feel sick. But this scent, in my opinion, is heavenly, heady...dreamy. 

It isn't overly "rosy" smelling (my daughter will attest to that as she hates most rose scented products. It is just beautiful (am I gushing?!). I love it and have bought bottle after bottle.

And if you don't care for the plastic dispenser, you can always  decant it into a soap pump of your choosing. I don't mind it though since the soap is such a pretty pearly pink!

 

For a couple of dollars, what have you got to lose? Besides, if you are like me, you can give it a sniff in store before you ever bring it home.

I hope you try it and I hope you love it as much as I do. Just be sure to leave a bottle or two on the shelves for me, lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

*this product was not sponsored and is not an ad~just a friend sharing with friends!

Let me Introduce Myself-A Little About Me Video~

Hey y'all! I posted an "Intro/A Little About Me" video over on my YouTube channel if you would like to hop on over there to get to know me a bit better.

See you on over there!

What's in My Bag / Exchanging Handbags for the Fall~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

from this one... 

to this one!

Do you enjoy "What's in My Bag" type videos? I do and so I thought I would film one! Curious? Take a peek at-> What's in My Bag / Exchanging Handbags for the Fall

See you there!~ TJ 

Why I Share "Me" and My Life~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashioned•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

Is it that I think I'm so fascinating?  NO WAY! Honestly, compared to a lot of others, I'm probably quite boring. 

"While you can, DO."

~TJ @ TJ's Sweet Home 

After taking quite the sabbatical from posting however, and a recent wake up call with my health that reminded me that the clock is ticking, the oft refrained, "life is not a dress rehearsal" has new meaning. So, I'm gonna make more of an effort do what I enjoy, and this my dear friends, is one of them. 

I am a homebody that has been placed in a position of being a "homebody on steroids" (the pandemic quarantine was nothing new for us-"quarantine" or something like it, is and has been our normal daily life for a decade now) since my husband became homebound and I became his caregiver. There are no more vacations or even short road trips. Money has been whittled down to one fixed income that seems to shrink with each passing day. I'm not seeking sympathy, it just IS. Our reality, and what I called our NEW normal ten years ago, is now just our normal. So, I flit and flutter from one responsibility, project or interest to another, like a bee to so many flowers, to fill my days.

Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary to see here. But that's kind of the point of why I share. I get ideas and encouragement from peering into the "everyday days" of others by reading their blogs, watching their vlogs and taking in their Instagram posts. And in turn, hope that maybe something I do, or cook or write might be a spark for another. A spark of imagination, a spark of determination, a spark of hope and maybe even a spark that lights a giggle or two.

And then there's legacy. I would love to be able to read my grandmothers, great-grandmothers (and so on) recipes, daily musings and just the general overview of her daily life during her time. It would be nice to read or view my father's, and his father's thoughts, hopes, dreams and daily doings that they carried on their strong backs and shoulders and within the deep recesses of their minds on a regular basis throughout the years.

I'm fairly certain I wrote in some long forgotten post in the past that I considered this space to be a journal of sorts (only... open for the world to read🤯). Someday, my children and their children's children might be curious about that wild, wacky & nutty Mamaw of theirs, and they can come here if they care to. Maybe not. But it'll be there as long as the internet and Blogger hold up. If not, there's always my paper journals and beloved recipes, written in my hand.

"Yeeeeehawwww! Ride 'em Cow-Mamaw!"

~Mamaw (me) to Jesse, my grandson. when driving over a particularly big bump in the road

So...that's why I share. Not to toot my own horn, but to offer up a buffet of bite-sized yummy moments of my life you may or may not choose to take away from this table of my life to add to your own.

Thanks for reading! ~TJ 

Crazy for Coral!

{top, l to r: Sally Hansen Coral Reef #405; Maybelline Peachy Scene #525; Revlon Orange Flip #710. Bottom: Maybelline Coral Glow~I think, label's too small for my vision!}

This season I have been drawn to all the beautiful shades of coral, peaches and and soft apricots. This is highly unusual since I've always been drawn to pinks and roses and berries, feeling that they best set off my naturally pale coloring.

A girl can change her mind...right?

{top, l to r: Chico's blouse; close up of detailing on blouse; bottom: still obsessed with "accent nails" Ulta peach nail polish~can't find the bottle to get the true name/: & OPI Nicole Love your Life on ring finger}

{Revlon Orange Flip on lips; the Ulta brand peach colored nail polish. I am SOOOO impressed with Ulta's polish! Lasts for days with minimal chipping and wear!}

Learn A New Language in 10 Days for only $9.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

I'm gonna try it! Since it has a money back guarantee AND learning Spanish has been on my "To Do" list for years, I'm willing to give it a shot.
It's a limited time offer!
What language have YOU always wanted to learn?

*I am not affiliated with Pimsleur

Multitasking

Each morning, after getting the family off to work and school, I come home and immediately head for the office to take care of emails and other "necessary" online tasks. I thought I would add a little spaaahhhh treatment to the business at hand.

*It's completely coincidental that my polish matches the yoga toes (replica) thingy and not so coincidental that they are in dire need of a redo.

Today's Green Smoothie was Red

Today's smoothie contained beet, which I'm not normally a fan of. But mixed in with other sweet things I do like, I couldn't detect the normally dirt like taste that I associate with eating the red bulbous roots. The results were actually quite good and I will be eating...ahem, drinking my beets more often.

Ingredients: 1/3 of a large beet + the green & red tops, kale, frozen banana, frozen pear (from our tree in the backyard that I froze a couple of years ago), frozen figs (again from the tree in our back yard, frozen two summers ago-I LOVE my Food Saver!) and wulong (oolong) tea.

Spring Break, Louisiana & Life

This past week, my daughter and son were out of school for spring break. After a whirlwind-just-us-girls-road trip to Covington, Louisiana (so whirlwind I don't believe I took one picture!!! Arrrghhh!) to visit my youngest son, explore, shop & eat. We didn't do much relaxing since we left home early Tuesday morning and got back home Wednesday evening. A seven hour drive both ways. But we had a great time.

One "attraction" Ari wanted to see was the K-Mart store since we don't have one around were we live. I don't think she was impressed. And no offense to K-Mart but, after that refresher course, I found I don't miss them. And one of the highlights of my little makeup maven's trip (ok...and mine) was visiting the brand new, three day old baby Ulta. Fresh, clean, and filled with makeup, skin care and fragrance testers that no one had yet touched. Heaven!

{Brand new Ulta}

We rode down narrow streets in the historic part of town, passing a cemetery that reminded me of the movie, "Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil". We delighted in the regional accents of the folks that lived there that varied wildly from mild to thick. And after forcing ourselves to face the fact that we needed to hit the road, vowing that we would come back and visit the places we hadn't had time for this trip, we grabbed a few beignets at the legendary Cafe Du Monde, frappucinos from Starbucks and headed west.

In my own personal beauty department, last night I tried the "accent nail" while giving my nails some much needed attention. I !LoVe!!!! it! I used Revlon's "Opulent Pink" and China Glaze's "Material Girl" on the ring fingers. I think it's so pretty and feminine!

{bracelet from Forever 21}

I have so much other stuff I wanna share and will as time allows. Family comes first though...

Thanks for stopping by!

Old Man Winter is Blowing Hard Down Here!

This morning on our way to Ari's school, it was 23 degrees! I know in many parts of the country that is not so cold, but for us, IT"S COLLLLDDDDD!!!! It's supposed to stay this way for a few more days. Truth be told, I love it! We don't get many days down here to wear actual winter clothes. (I guess that's why I saw so many at my dd's school this morning sorely under dressed and shivering against the brutal cold wind.)

Update: Well THAT was Wednesday, today there is ice on my car, school has been cancelled and hubby went back to bed after checking what the conditions were like. I know it's crazy cold all over the country, but for us, we don't get a whole lot of days like this.

About our week~Monday after school, Ari & I had to go to the Vitamin Shoppe so on the way home we stopped into Juarez Produce Market. I love shopping in places like that! They carried more than produce, and the prices were hard to beat. There's another ethnic market I want to explore nearby one day soon. I think it's more of a Thai type grocery store. There's so many things that we don't see in our typical American grocery stores in the ethnic markets, that it make for a learning adventure in addition to just "grocery shopping".

When the weather gets back to normal, I'm going to take my new pink Schwinn out for a spin. I got it for Christmas and between my foot being in the post op shoe and the c-c-c-cold, I have not ridden it once! Also, I have promised Dollface some way overdue walks. She going to turn from a wiener dog into a corn dog if she doesn't get some exercise soon.

I have been going makeup crazy lately! I just had to get some new nail polishes and lipsticks. They were on sale after all and a girl can never get enough pink lipsticks and new hot & happenin' nail polish shades!

Well, I'm gonna wrap this up and go enjoy my day!

A Lotta Shopping!

I've been spending a lot of time this week...well...um, spending. Mostly on cosmetics since it's been a while since I updated some things. Of course, since I sell Avon, I started there because I know and love so many of the products! I got the new MagiX Illuminator pen which I am loving! And I am prepping my next order as I type.
Then, Ari & I hit up Sally's Beauty Supply for some incidental items, blush (Sally Girl in Flushed~LOVE the color!), Shimmer Stripes (Sally Girl-very inexpensive brand but works well), Beautique lipliner in Dusty Rose (pretty!), eyelashes & glue. (I'm gonna have to take the glue back since I picked up the wrong kind ): )
We also roamed around Burkes Outlet & I got a new red wallet (a lady once told me that she heard if you carry a red wallet you would never be broke!), some pretty sterling silver dangle pearlesque type earrings, and some new face washcloths.
A quick trip inside the Dollar Tree for something, and I walked out with a couple of Maybelline lip polishes in Purple Passion and A Pinch of Pink and a CG Shadow Squease in Chocolate Latte.
Of course Ari had to go to the mall and at Forever 21, the nail polishes were calling my name. I wasn't sure about buying them since I had never tried their makeup before but she assured me she would be happy to take them off my hands if I didn't care for them! The colors I got were Black/Fuschia, Lavender & Nude~all very pretty in the bottles but I haven't actually had a chance to try them out yet.
I love department store cosmetics as well but have absolutely no problem trying less expensive brands if I don't care for them. There's always someone in my life that would be more than happy to help me out in taking things I don't like and there's always the Women's Shelter nearby that I know can put those "treasures" to good use.

On the home front, I've made a couple of yummy batches of whole wheat french bread, managed to kill an attempt at sourdough starter (without yeast) and am trying to organize a bit around here. I purchased one of those closet shelf/shoe organizer thingys and a few bins (for under the bathroom sink and cabinet shelves) and a basket (for my hair tools & accessories) to get the ball rolling.

I'm also giving the "Dr. T's" diet a try again. I did it a day or two before and lost a little over four pounds but I guess my head just wasn't wrapped around it. Mike stuck with it and lost somewhere between 20-30 pounds~so proud of him! Especially since it seemed to help bring his high blood pressure down)I'm into day three and so far, so good. I have added a bit of fruit to squelch my sweet tooth and we'll see how it goes. I'm so aggravated that I gained back the 15 pounds that I had lost last summer...arghhh!

Today, I have a few errands to run, some Avon to deliver and a daughter to pick up from school. It's gonna be a great day! I hope you enjoy yours!~TJ

Dollface

This past Mother's Day, I adopted a new furry baby. It had been two years since we lost a sweet, faithful dog that we had had for thirteen years. I took it hard. And no matter how many times Ari asked if we could pleeeease get another dog...I just wasn't ready. The time wasn't right. But then one day, when I least expected it, (sorta like the day the Grinch's heart unexpectedly warmed and grew)...I was ready. We began looking. Our search didn't take very long when...

we fell in love...

with this face...

this little Dollface.

Thanks for stopping by!

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