Gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

-Melody Beattie

The Best (and Cheapest!) Hand and Body Scrub

When the seasons change my hands really dry out. In college, one of my roommates taught me how to make a really easy, inexpensive and effective hand and body scrub. I've tried much pricier scrubs and like this one best!

First, get out your white sugar and olive oil. You can also use vegetable oil, baby oil, etc.
Next, smear the oil all over your hands.
Add about a tablespoon or so of sugar.
Give your self a good scrub and then rinse with warm water.
I usually don't need lotion after this, but if my hands are really dry I'll follow the scrub with a good hand lotion. My mitts are one of my least favorite features. I can't believe I have posted pictures of them! :)

Redbox=Cheap Movies!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Redbox!

Ever since my first job at 15 working for Mann Theaters, I've loved movies. I got used to going for free at a young age and so now I get sticker shock every time I enter a theater. Redbox is a great alternative to get your fix ... for $1.00. Yes, if you're not familiar with Redbox, that's $1.00 per movie, per night.

These "red boxes" can be found in various stores, etc. and because you can rent and return at different locations, you can pick a movie up on the way home from work and then return it to a location close to your home.

If you want to keep the movie for a second night, no problem, but they do charge your credit card an additional dollar. I love that I don't have to deal with the guy behind the movie rental counter and that I can get the movie while I do my shopping. Super convenient!

Check it out at redbox.com ... you can even search and reserve movies online.

The Gift Stash

I'm a big believer in a "gift stash." Whenever I see something at an insanely good price, I snatch it up and put it in my gift stash. I learned this from my mother. This also makes heading to an impromptu party in a busy week much easier.

Today I have two birthdays, so I just went to the stash, wrapped with old Christmas wrapping paper my sister gave me and da-da! Done! (Obviously, most people aren't as tacky as me with the whole using old Christmas wrapping paper thing, but I feel good about myself for just getting them wrapped!)

Outlet Shopping

You can get great deals on quality purses when you shop outlets. I bought this Dooney Bourke purse in Cabazon, CA. The store price was a little less than $400.00. I paid $70.00. I went with a little more conservative design and leather so I could use it for a long time.