Did you know you don’t have to shop at the mall for clothes, home goods and gifts (weddings, holidays, graduation, etc)?  You didn’t know that? I feel a song coming on…click here and sing along….

Still not convinced? I know all of you Southern women default to Belk for everything from Easter dresses to housewares to Christmas gifts. There may be some of you who think the thrifty alternative to this is heading to Walmart or the Goodwill. Not so!! Come shopping with me for a minute. As my Nana would say, “Grease your elbows, girls! We’re going in!”

I walked into TJ Maxx on a weekday and headed right to the big red CLEARANCE sign. (TIP #1: always shop the clearance rack first). The first thing I found was this lovely serving platter, made in Portugal. The suggested retail price was $26 (what you’d pay at Belk), but it was marked down to $5! This would be a great wedding shower gift, or even a nice addition to your own serving dish collection!

This is not a clearance deal, just a great regular price deal. A stack of 8 very nice washcloths, tied with a pretty polka dot ribbon. This would be a thoughtful addition to a “back to college” gift bag.

16 drinking glasses for $12.99! If you have small children (or you’re clumsy like me), you probably have a hard time keeping a matching set of glasses. This would also be a nice wedding shower gift.

Wedding gifts from Bed, Bath and Beyond (or heaven forbid you’re shopping for someone registered at Williams and Sonoma!) are very expensive. You can find the same stuff  the bride has registered for at BB&B right here at TJ Maxx. Look at all these cool pots! (TIP #2: Stock up on wedding/baby shower/graduation gifts when you find a great gift on sale. This will save you from making a mad, expensive dash to BB&B the day of the shower)

Let’s move to some really fun deals. Check out these lovely red heels, originally $89, marked down to $20! If these had been in my size, I guarantee I would have walked out of the store with them!

In the above picture, the purple top and gray jacket are from Ann Taylor. The gray skirt is from J. Crew (thanks Alli). The brown belt around the other top was $3! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worn that scarf, paid $5 for it. These are all things I wear to my office job. Can you image what these things would have cost at the mall? Gracious me.

Where do you do your bargain shopping?

*Disclaimer: TJ Maxx and Plato’s Closet have not paid me for this review. I just like their stores. But if they want to send me gift cards, I’d gladly accept them 🙂 

Birthdays are BIG deals in the parsonage.  Shouldn’t it be?  That family member was brought into the world on that day, and we are glad!  We usually always serve breakfast in bed to the honoree’, serve them whatever they want for supper, and give them their choice of birthday cake.  Well, yesterday was our Alli’s golden birthday, meaning she was 21 on the 21st!  We celebrated by going to Pigeon Forge for a couple nights to rest, shop and just have fun as a family (+Alli’s boyfriend!). 

Alli’s choice of cake was one of our favorites – Triple Chocolate Cake.  We only eat it on special occasions.  Here’s why – it is a Devil’s Food cake with a HUGE whipped cream layer, chocolate butter cream and chocolate ganache over the icing.  Here’s a peek at what it looks like under the butter cream…

Now with the butter cream and ganache and packed on my Tupperware carrier ready for travel…

And now, how about a slice? 

All this needs is a cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk.  Okay, it’s loaded with calories and fat, but you’re only twenty-one once, and after all, a birthday is a special day celebrating a special person!  So, why not?!  Life is too short not to splurge every now and then!  Enjoy!

If you’re interested in the recipe, you can find it on an earlier post here.

From (outside) my parsonage windows,

Flu, sinus infection, broken limb, pneumonia, gall bladder attacks, migraines, fever, back ache, joint pain, cataracts, heart attack and a million other maladies are all a part of people’s lives every day.  Some people live with chronic pain for years.  Others deal with periodic illness.  Most all of us surely have had our share of sickness.  Even when you read the Scriptures you read about leprosy, fever, blindness, blood issues, lame legs, and so on. 

During a recent recurrence of a migraine, I was awakened after midnight with the nausea it caused.  I rose to fix myself a cup of hot peppermint tea to ease the discomfort in my stomach.  While sipping the steaming liquid in the dim nightlight I’d turned on, I reached for my pad of paper and pen and wrote down some thoughts I’d been thinking during the night.  I wrote: Why God allows us to be sick:

1. It reminds us how weak our flesh is.
2. It makes us run to the Lord.  (Remember the woman with the issue of blood who came to find Jesus and touch the hem of his robe?)
3. It enables us to sympathize and be compassionate with others.
4. It makes us thankful for days when we feel well.
5. It reminds us we’re not home yet.

We may not enjoy being sick, but, as funny as it sounds, it is good for us.

Revelation 21:4 says, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  What a wonderful promise this verse is; I remind myself of it whenever I have a migraine. 

Whatever discomfort you or someone you care about is dealing with today, remind yourself of the truth – One Day all these illnesses will be “former things!” 

With love (and a cup of peppermint tea),

Refresh your Friday by planting a Kiss!  A chocolate one, that is!  I came across a magazine page I had cut out of a Taste Of Home Magazine that had a list of ideas on using Hershey kisses.  Why not try one or two of these ideas?

• Place a chocolate kiss, upside down, at the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent the ice cream from dripping out! 

• Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and pour into muffin cups.  In the center of each muffin cup, place two chocolate kisses.  Bake until the edges of the brownies are done and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

• Wrap a kiss in the center of a small wanton wrapper.  Moisten edges with water to seal.  Deep fry to 2 1/2 minutes in 375 degree oil.  Drain.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar.  Let cool.  Enjoy!

Plant a kiss or two and
Be refreshed,