Shop till you drop.... for $11

I know I told you last week that I hit up a discount store in town and was overwhelmed with what I got. It was awesome. For super duper cheap.

A friend introduced me to this store, her "super secret cheap store."

And I about died. It didn't seem like much when we walked in. An hour later, I'd found 2 martini glasses by Libbey that match ours. Cost? $1.50. The set of 4 is usually $16 at Target.

Then, I found Assets (Spanx). Cost? 75 cents each. I got tan and black, different styles.

I even found a bra (Target original also) for $3. I'd never imagined buying a bra at a discount store, but..... for like, 80 percent off? Why not!?!?

Here's that set of loot:

Not bad, huh?

Well, we were about to check out, when I saw BOXES and BOXES of Target's high-end cosmetics!!! I'd never, ever pay $30 for a lip set, but please guess how much each of these Pixi items cost? $1. Yep, I'm totally serious. I was in heaven. I can't wait to go back. Apparently this is where Target discards go. Rock on. I even saw Fiesta dishes at one point, but they were broken. I'll be keeping my eye out.

Here's the Pixi lip palette:

I also got this awesome Pixi Natural Minerals set. It's a flip compact for eyes, lips and cheeks.

Eyes:

Lips:

Cheeks:

And, this awesome smokey eye wand. It's insane. It's a smudgy-thing that presses smokey eye shadow onto the wand from the cap. Brilliant.

My final find was this awesome Pixi set including the case! I mean, darn, the case was worth $1!!!

Inside, it had all this! One is a lip gloss, the other a lip and cheek stain. I haven't figured out the white one.

So, I seriously have my friend from Smile of a thousand secrets to thank for this one! I can't wait to go back!

What do you think of my finds? :-)

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

You've got questions.....

....I've got answers.

Yep, I'm following all my favorite bloggers from the past few weeks and giving you that chance to ask my anything.

What do you want to know? (Hopefully sometime wants to know something.)

I blog and blog and blog, and even if you don't have lots of questions, what do you like about reading this blog? I never really know what people enjoy, or what's useful! While I blog for fun and for me, it's nice if other people get something out of this too!

So, what do you want to know!?!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Menu Monday: Stuffed Mushrooms

If you follow me on Twitter, you've heard from me a few times about making stuffed mushrooms. I've looked at recipes for them, but I basically just came up with how to make them my favorite way.

Yum. These are heaven.

Basically, you need mushrooms, sausage, minced garlic, parmesan cheese and a tiny bit of oil.

- Pull the stems apart from the mushroom tops. Set the caps aside. Chop the stems into diced little bits.
- Brown sausage, mushroom bits, and a small spoonful of garlic until sausage is browned on the stove.
- Mix in as much or as little parmesan as you want. I like sausage-y mixtures more than super cheesy ones. It's easy to mix ingredients however you'd like.
- Spoon the mixture into mushroom caps, and lay in brownie-like baking pan.
- Pour 1/2 cup water and 1 tsp oil into bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

SIMPLE! Then, they come out like this:

I think I made these in less than 40 minutes today, including baking time. I loved them. Mr. Jones' friends loved them. I crave them lots.

Enjoy! I'll give you a full menu again soon. Life has just been soooooo busy here lately!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Beautiful Blogger Award

So, the sweet Brittany at This Momma Has A Latte Love  has given me this award! It totally  made my day yesterday, so thank you Brittany! You can follower her on Twitter too! (@lattelovemommy) She is officially one of the bloggers I want to meet, and I think we'll be taking care of that soon! :-)

Anyways, on to the fun stuff!


Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.
2. Pass on the award to about 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are great!
3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. Say 7 things about yourself.


I don't have quite 15, but here are my pics. I pass this award on to:
@mrsjetplane from Leaving and Loving on a Jetplane
@kbrenckle from Tales of a GRITS
@tmcqueen from She Talks to Angels
@sara_may from This Beautiful Thing
@lawschoolwife from The Life of a (Law School) Wife
@MissMarried from Miss Married: Adventures of the Newlyweds
@blonde_bell from Blonde Bell
A Smile of a Thousand Secrets

And now, I need to tell you seven things about me. Yikes! Seven? That's a lot. Let's see....

1. I should really be cleaning right now for the lunch I'm hosting. Six of Mr. Jones' work friends are stopping by for their lunch break. They have a statewide work day for their company today, and our condo is just down the road from it.

2. I spent $250 on myself shopping yesterday. It about gave me a panic attack. There's a blog coming on what I bought. Good news is, I have some professional clothes for whenever I need them (and one doubles as my Easter dress!) and I feel prepared should anything important happen! Plus, Mr. Jones approved every single purchase! I love that man!

3. Our little dog Eve Belle is my baby, hands down. She has improved life around our place so much. No bad mood lasts long. This little puffball is just too much fun.

4. I am addicted to Starbucks' Mocha Light Frappuccinos. Yes, I probably have 5 or 6 a week.

5. I like cleaning. It's therapeutic and I enjoy it, but it never seems like it is done. Probably because our condo is small, and there isn't a place to put everything..... but I enjoy the process nonetheless!

6. and 7. I want a job, and I want a house. I'm dreaming of these two things SO much. I have applied for my dream job. I've heard nothing so far, but I'm hopeful. If I can get this job, it will mean we will almost surely meet our goal of being settled in a house for the 2010 holiday season. So, I'll take ANY prayers I can get from ya'll on this matter. It really means a lot for us. We want space to not be crowded, and a backyard for Eve Belle to run around in! :-)

Hope you enjoyed this! More soon!
XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Fitness Friday: 2/5/10

Happy Fitness Friday everyone. Well, the beginning of my week got off to a pretty darn good start, but my sister's 18th birthday and subsequent Japanese steakhouse dinner and leftovers have not helped the back half of my week.

On Monday, I weighed myself, and was down 3 lbs overall. I'm worried the back half of this week hurt that, but I'm still chugging along and trying to stick to this.

Here's how the week went:

Mrs. Jones


----


Sunday, Jan. 31
Breakfast - Grande Mocha Light Frappucino - 3 points
Snack - Alternative Bagel "Roasted Onion" - 1 point
Lunch - Frozen pasta - 8 points
Snack - Alternative Bagel "Roasted Onion" - 1 point
Dinner - Cheese bread with marina - about 12 points
Total: 25 points

Workout:
- None

Monday, Feb. 1
Breakfast -  Special K Fruit Crisp - 2 points
Snack - Grande Mocha Light Frappuccino - 3 points
Lunch - Lean Cuisine (Fiesta Grilled Chicken) - 5 points
Dinner - Pasta with parmesan sauce - 12 points; 1/2 piece chicken - 3 points
Total: 25 points

Workout:
- 30 minutes elliptical (398 calories burned)

Weight:
-3 lbs total

---

Tuesday, Feb. 2
Breakfast - Venti Mocha Light Frappucino - 5 points
Lunch - Atkins shake - 3 points; part of Smart Ones frozen meal - 4 points
Snack - Alternative bagel (roasted onion) - 1 point
Dinner - 3 slices homemade pizza - 21 points (BAD, BAD, BAD!!!!)
Total: 31 points (super bad)

Workout:
None

---

Wednesday, Feb. 3
Breakfast - Alternative Bagel - 1 point; Frappucino - 3 points
Lunch - Alternative Bagel - 1 point
Snack - 1/2 slice pizza - 4 points
Dinner - Dinner out @ Japanese steakhouse. Ate 2/3 of meal

Workout:
30 minutes Wii Fit Plus

---

Thursday, Feb. 4

Breakfast - Venti Mocha Light Frappucino - 5 points

Lunch - Leftover fried rice - No idea pts

Dinner - More leftover fried rice - again, no idea

Workout:

None

---

Friday, Feb. 5

Breakfast - Toaster Strudel - 5 points; Venti Mocha Light Frap - 5 points

Lunch - Bits and pieces of stuff - probably 4 points

Dinner - 2 fajitas (homemade) - 12 points
Total should be: 26 points

Workout:
45 minutes Wii Fit Plus

Wishful Wednesday: Updating the list & crossing things off

Well, I know I blogged a while back about my HUGE full wish list. I just got some extra money and then got paid for an old freelance job, so it's time to start marking a few things off! I'm going to hit a few stores today or tomorrow.

Here's what I'm looking at currently. What do you think the most important/useful things are? Let me know. I need some second opinions before I hit the stores!

Old Navy cardigan $26.50

Dansko clogs -  about $100

Target Merona Dress in Berry

$24.99

The Limited Drew Banded Back Flare Pant

$79.50

The Limited Bound Waistband Pencil Skirt

$59.50

XOXO, 

Mrs. Jones

A day in the life of Eve Belle

Good morning everyone! Today I thought I'd share some pics in a funny way. I want to show you a day in the life of my lovely little Eve Belle!

So, here we go! I'll let Eve Belle take it from here!

-----------------

"Good morning. I'm sleepy. Play with me."

"I like playing with my toys."

"Breakfast is my favorite."

"I shove my face all the way to the bottom of my bowl every time I eat."

"I love sleeping more on blankets and stuff during the day."

"But heaven help  me when I get ahold of one of Mom's shoes! These flats are my favorite."

"Nom."

"I love to go outside, but sometimes I run through puddles or mud. Then I get a bath. Yuck."

"If I'm lucky, Daddy will put my barrette in."

"I actually like my barrette a lot."

"When I get bored, I start digging on and pushing around my bed."

"Then I go back to trying to take Mom's shoes off her. 

She needs to get new ones and let me have these."

"Dad has caught me watching tv a few times. I like the tv."

"Then, of course, I love to curl up and sleep some more."

Well, I hope you enjoyed a day in the life of my little Eve Belle!

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones

Randomness..... and hair advice

Good evening lovelies..... What have you been up to this week? It's been a fun and crazy few days for me. Lots of work. Even more housework. And still saying prayers to get that job interview. No word yet.

Anyways, how many of you watched this over the weekend?

I loved it! (Especially being able to skip all commercials and the parts I didn't enjoy!) I thought Miss Virginia was great, even though I was totally cheering for Alabama and a few Zeta girls (like Miss New York and Miss Georgia).... Something about watching Miss America really makes me feel like a little girl all over again. And then, there are the dresses. They are amazing!

On another note, my hair is driving me NUTS! It's almost always cut in a relatively short blonde bob. But my style grows out within a month every time. I keep trying to figure out if/how to deal with it. Got any suggestions? Send me links, pictures, whatever to aRealLifeWife@gmail.com! I appreciate any suggestions.

What do you think about these two haircuts? Not red, obviously, but the cut? Do you think they'd grow out well?

More soon lovelies!
XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

So, my recipes are useful?!?

Imagine my surprise when catching up on blog reading in my Google Reader today when I saw that Mrs. Smith is going to try one of the recipes I've blogged!

Her Menu Monday list of meals for the week features the eggplant parmesan recipe I attempted a few weeks ago on Wednesday!

It was just one of those little things that made my day! Thank you for liking my post enough to try it Mrs. Smith!

How was your day?
XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Menu Monday: WW Pasta

Looks yummy, doesn't it? This is a Weight Watchers recipe that I modified to our taste.

The original recipe was "Fettuccine with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese" from the 20 Minute Recipes magazine-sized cookbook I got this fall.

We didn't really want to try goat cheese, and we had a bunch of feta to use, so I swapped the two out. This is super easy, and is ready in less than 15 minutes. I'm in love. We'll be having this again SOON!

Here's the (altered) recipe:

Fettuccine with Spinach, Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

Points Value: 6 per 1 1/2 cups (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

- 1 (9 oz.) package refrigerated fettuccine

- 1 (6 oz.) package fresh baby spinach

- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 1 (4 oz.) package feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions.

2. While fettuccine cooks, place spinach in a large colander in the sink. Pour pasta and hot water over spinach in colander. Drain well.

3. Combine tomatoes and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl, add hot pasta mixture, and toss well. Crumble feta cheese over pasta. Toss well to coat pasta and vegetables. Sprinkle with extra black pepper if desired.

Calories per serving: 294

Happy Monday,

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones