What does your swimsuit say about you?

Mine says, "Yes, you can eat an entire pan of brownies."

And I will.

I've never had six-pack abs and frankly, I don't see why I should try to get them now. I say let the supermodels keep them and I'll take another pan of brownies...

sounds like an even trade to me.

When I picked out this year's swimsuit I had two goals in mind:

# 1. choose something comfortable

# 2. choose something that will not garner this reaction from my little king,

"Mother! Clothes peease!!"

{okay seriously, it would be worth failing at goal #2 to hear my little man say a complete sentence...words people, I need words!}

Keep this in mind when choosing a suit:

numero uno: Try on the suit! Just like clothing, you can't grab it and go.

numero dos-o: Don't take only one size to the dressing room. Grab the size below AND above the size you picked out.

numero tres-o: Get active in the suit....sit down, cross your legs, raise your arms...do you like what you see??

numero quatro-o: Mix brands. With separates you are not tied to one brand or another. Maybe your top fits one brand best and your lower half another. Most separates have printed tops and solid bottoms so it's easy to mix and match across brand lines.

numero cinco, cinco, seis!: Get a decent cover-up, because even a Snuggie would be better than this...

I purchased my suit at...you guessed it...Kohl's! And the cover-up as well. All on sale, no doubt.

And yes, I used the above tips to pick my fave....well, that and enie, meenie, minie, mo.

What does your suit say about you?

{hop on over to Big Mama's for more Fashion Friday fun}

Rhea Lana addict

I will admit, I am a Rhea Lana addict. In fact, I'm one of "those people" that sign up to volunteer in exchange to shop early. AND, I arrive no less than one hour before the store opens so I can be first in line. AND, I bring my own basket!

I am proud to say I have pulled some good friends down into this dark little hole with me.

Here is one such friend that is a happy RL addict too.

In fact, she rigged up her own fancy schmancy basket to use at the sale. Did you notice the double strength corded twine tied strategically to one end and the "keep the basket quiet while it's being dragged across the floor" pads? She's the real deal.

I had so much anxiety about this sale that I didn't even sleep Friday night...it was sheer torture. I think I finally dozed off around 4:30a.m. I was able to get some great deals for some fam and friends...pack 'n play $12, booster seat $3.50, Britax car seat w/ extra base $65. Woohoo!! Deals, deals, deals!

Sadly though, I was only able to find three items for the little man. That totally took the wind out of my sail. I'm used to really loading up, but I understand that as kids get older they're a little rougher on clothing. There were a few "maybe's" that I'll check out on half-price Saturday. Just not much to choose from in the boy 2T section.

However! Cousin Amber was able to find a ton of things for baby Ashlyn. In fact, when I asked her if she loaded up, she summed it up in one sentence...

"A lady saw my cart and asked, "how many kids do you have?".....

That would be numero uno.

I heart Kohl's

Kelly's looking for recession dressin'....looking cute for $30 or less. And as always, BigMama is asking for Fashion Friday picks, so I decided to combine the two.

I was trained to hit the sales rack first and never pay full price for anything. Who knows when you'll need an extra buck to buy a fudge round and a diet coke? Before I spend an hour talking about my current love, Kohl's, I want to give props to one of my all-time fave stores, Toward Men, or as most people call it, Goodwill.
Talk about a good deal...my fave buy of the moment is a dark denim skirt I got a few weeks ago. It's a Mossimo, which means it likely came from Tar-jay, but it's trendy and comfy and has been on Wednesday night church wardrobe repeat for a month now!

I also like to rummage through the home decor area while I'm there. I bought a few glass bowls a few weeks ago that I'm currently using to house some plants.

I got this bowl and glass stones for .50 cents! For a good deal on vase fillers (glass stones, rocks, etc.) check out Everything's a Dollar. I was in there just this week and they had a slew of them.
Back to clothes...
Here are some sweaters I bought on clearance at Kohl's. I like to dress in layers and these keep me from looking frumpy (or I hope they do). I especially like the waist detail on the blue sweater...gives the illusion of "going in" at the waist. The most important thing in fashion is shape or silhouette. You never want to look like a big rectangle.

Here are a few more I recently purchased on clearance. With last week's warm weather I thought I wouldn't get to cut the tags 'til next year, but for fashion's sake it's cooled down here and I've been able to sport my new digs. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the charcoal grey sweater has some waist detail that once again, gives the illusion of "cinching".

Here's an example of layering....it's what I wore yesterday. I'm not one to show much skin, so I really like to use tissue tanks and tees from Target. They are lightweight and long waisted. Regular price is usually $9, but they're on sale for $7 quite often. Mossimo is the brand and instead of a tag, the brand info/fabric content/washing instructions/etc. is stamped on the fabric. That's good for me because I like to turn the tanks around and wear the back on the front, vice versa. Why? The front of the tank is lower than the back, so by turning it around, it shows less of my chest which is a good thing. :)

Here are a few sweaters I bought for my husband. He refuses to shop, so I basically purchase the store, bring it home for him to try on, then return what doesn't work. Yet another reason I'm in love with Kohl's...they make returns ridiculously easy. I have asked before what their return policy is...how many days, etc., and the response was, "We don't really have one. We'll make it work out for you." And they do every time.

I was sad these sweaters didn't work, seems my hubs is a little more muscular than I had thought. ;) This sweater is 100% cashmere...oh. my. dear. goodness. that's soft! As you can see from the tag, it started at $140 and I paid $23.79 after discounts. So sad to see it go back to the store.

$5.05!!!

If you are a small/medium male, you should go to Kohl's NOW!

I heart Kohl's because of:

selection! (they keep it trendy AND they carry the basics)

the clearance rack!

discounts and promotions! (if you're disciplined enough to keep a zero balance on your credit card, apply for a Kohl's card...they'll send you coupons and discounts weekly)

their return policy!!

Swimming in a sea of clothes.

There's always work to be done at the Stain house. This week I've been prepping clothes and baby gear for the upcoming Rhea Lana sale. I expect to enter 150 items, give or take.

Baby Hayden came to visit today. Raegen was napping while he and momma Angie were here, but I'm sure he'll be coming back soon to play.

After nap and lunch, we met the one and only Kibs and her baby for an afternoon stroll. The weather was wonderful so we "got our stroll on" outdoors. I hate to admit it, but I am sore. Nothing but honesty here.

For dinner I made Kelly's Swiss Stuffing Chicken. I forgot to take a picture, er, we ate it so fast there was no time for a picture. As Rachel Ray-Ray would say-say, Yummo!

Afterwards I continued to work on entering my RL items (yes, I'm still not done!) and finished icing Jordon's cake. He turns 17 tomorrow and I promised him a German Chocolate Cake.

Stop by tomorrow night and have a slice with us!

Girl's Day Out

Today was a heavy heart day. A day of tough memories and one I've been dreading for some time. My solution was to plan a "girl's day out" with my gal pal Treena...she makes my heart happy and I knew she would do well at the challenge of keeping my spirits up.

We had hoped for a warm sunny day, but our hopes were replaced with a cold, wintry day. We started the day downtown, visiting all the boutiques and shops we, as Treena put it, "normally wouldn't know existed". Our pocketbooks aren't deep enough to frequent such shops, but it sure was fun to look!

This was fun too...you know the old saying,

"Keep your friends close, and your port-o-potties closer!"

We grabbed some lunch at a little hole in the wall and Treena ran into a friend she knows from another part of the state. It was also at this point I learned of a little drah-ma it seems I've started (more on this later). ;)

After filling our tummies, we headed to the east side of town for some more shopping. And lo and behold, wouldn't you know it...it started snowing! And you know how much I love snow...I took it as a gift from the Lord and it made my heart smile. It made Treena shiver.

I ran in to some good friends myself...it was fun seeing you Brooke and meeting your husband, Kyle (finally!!). :) And Jennifer, I always love running in to you and baby Bella...glad she's feeling better!
What better to warm us up and give us nourishment after an afternoon of shopping than our fave dessert at Chili's...Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie!! Ooh, it's so good.

What a fun day with a good friend. I even received an early birthday present from my folks...Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me...

Okay, so my birthday is six weeks away, but you just gotta get stuff when it's on sale...not when it's convenient! :) I picked this up at HobLob (from my parents)...

I love it, don't you?? I think it will hold two gallons...maybe more. My current bev dispenser holds 5+gallons.

I think they make a nice pair.

Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck starts today!

I received a pre-sale pass so Amber and I went shopping last night after church. It seems I was too late for a $10 turtle sand box. I'm sure that will make B happy! I did find a few button-up shirts and some new summer sandals for the little man. They also sell women's clothing and the only thing I thought I might remotely be interested in were a pair of Old Navy jeans...but they just weren't worth the effort of me trying them on. Besides, how could I turn my back on my absolute FAVE jeans of ALL time?!! (Will post soon and give you the secret to happy bums and mid sections!!)

Ashlyn loaded up with new church and summer dresses. I could tell Amber was having a hard time deciding what to get and what to leave...I would probably buy the entire rack, and that's not a good thing.

Go check it out if you have time...bargains are always fun and they sell way more than just clothes.

Two Birds, One Stone

Raegen and I took Grandma to have some dental work this morning. While we were out and about we picked up some Rhea Lana marketing materials and distributed them to the local elementary schools. It didn't take long to deliver the fliers and by the time we were done, Grandma was ready to be picked up. So now we are D-O-N-E, DONE!...stick. a. fork. in. us....all that's left now is to shop for bargains!

And for those of you concerned about Grandma, she is in la-la-land getting some well deserved rest. :)