{reviving a thrifted sweater}

The thrifting Gods were smiling down upon me during my last trip to Goodwill. 

I headed straight to the sweater racks, because I've been hoping to find some great oversized cardigans for the winter season. And what was the first piece I found?

This lovely cardigan...

I was pinching myself over the luck of finding this perfectly oversized, cozy and very on trend right now cardigan. In my size. Serendipity I tell ya. Or maybe just luck. ;)

The only thing I didn't LOVE about this sweater was the buttons. See them up there? Just blending into the sweater and not really saying much? Yeah...I wasn't a fan.

Sooo...I headed over to my local JoAnn store and picked up some great retro-inspired buttons that seemed to fit the mood of the sweater much better...

And after a bit of sewing the sweater now has an extra pop from its fancy new buttons!

And in the last two weeks it has become my favorite cozy companion...

I love how versatile this piece is...so far I've worn it with skinny jeans...

And my chambray dress...

Have you revamped a thrifted piece to make it more you? I'd love to hear about it! 

{December Daily scrapbooking}

Back in the day, I was a HUGE scrapbooker. And I don't mean I was physically large...I mean I was obsessed. ;) In fact, this blog at its birth in 2005 was solely a place for me to share my love for all things paper crafting. But 7 years and two children later, my free time to scrapbook has dwindled down and I hate to say that I haven't created a new page in probably over a year.

*insert heavy sigh*

I still LOVE scrapbooking. I still bookmark inspiration. Last year I was inspired by Ali Edwards to create a December Daily album. I collected lots of fun supplies and took my daily photos. And then guess what happened...

They all sat in a folder until I discovered them last week.

*insert 2nd heavy sigh*

SO...this year I'm determined to create my December Daily album. It might not follow the daily format, and it might just be all over the place, and I might not finish it until February...

BUT I WILL MAKE ONE.

You'll hold me to it, right? I promise to share photos, OK?

I just ordered a few new supplies to help kick my scrapbooking butt in gear.

But for now...here are some inspiration photos from my Pinterest...

Source: reavespartyofthree.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: audreysreflection.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: inacreativebubble.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: aliedwards.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: inacreativebubble.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: inacreativebubble.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Do you scrapbook? What is your favorite way to store and display your photos and family memories?

{PEOPLE Magazine and CVS giveaway}

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own http://cmp.ly/3/KqtZiE.

Everyone needs some guilty pleasures, right?

Well, PEOPLE Magazine is one of mine. I visit their website frequently to get my celebrity style and gossip fix, and splurge on their paper version on occasion when I want to take a little break with a magazine and some coffee.

The celebrity photos and features give me a nice break from reality.

I mean, who doesn't wan to know that Katie Homes is happy in her new single life? ;)

And be reassured that 40 is the new 20, which means 34 is like the new 17, right? *wink*

Celebrity style and gossip aside, PEOPLE Magazine also does a great job at reporting the news, such as this touching and eye opening article about Hurrican Sandy and the devastation it has caused...

On November 15th, PEOPLE Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Issue will be on newsstands. An attractive man on the cover never hurts, right? Here are a few past covers for a bit of...shall we say, inspiration?

Who do you think will be their pick this year? My vote is for Crag. Daniel Craig. {I'm a sucker for James Bond}

Visit PEOPLE Magazine 

So would you like a little bit of cash from CVS to purchase the latest issue of PEOPLE Magazine and some other goodies? Enter below for a chance to win a $20 CVS giftcard!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck friends!

{sunday morning}

Eating donuts and making faces...

How was your Sunday morning?

{inside my makeup bag}

I thought it would be fun to give you all a peek inside my make-up bag today. As a disclaimer...you're not going to see any fancy make-up counter stuff here. I'm a loyal drugstore product user...both because I'm on a budget, and also because I've found products that I love and I stick with.

To be honest, even if I had a larger budget for beauty items, I would still shop at the drugstore because I'm frugal like that. :)

So here are my favorite beauty items...

1. Cover Girl CG Smoothers tinted moisture

I use this instead of foundation and love the tint and coverage it offers. I also use Cover Girl loose powder {not pictured}

2. Cover Girl Invisible cream concealer

3. Cover Girl Natural Lash no color mascara

I have rather unruly eyebrows so this product is a must have for me every day.

4. Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara

LOVE this mascara. It goes on without any clumps and it has a great curved wand that gets every lash. 

5. e.l.f. blush in twinkle pink

e.l.f. cosmetics are really great products for the value. This blush is $3 and the eyeshadow you'll see below was $1 {found it at our Dollar Tree!}

6. Almay Intense eyeshadow trio

I have a lot of eyeshadow kits but this is one of my favorites. The colors are great and isn't the packaging adorable?

7. e.l.f. studio single eyeshadow in coffee bean

I use this rich dark brown as an eyeliner.

8. Wet & Wild Natural Blend Lip Shimmer in cocoa

This lip balm was $2 and is a really perfect shade for fall.

9. Bath and Body Works mentha lip shine

I usually only apply lip color in the morning before work, and use this stuff throughout the rest of the day. It has a slight pink tint and a little bit of shine.

So there you have it! My make-up essentials. I'm basically a walking ad for Cover Girl. :)

What are your makeup staples? Do you splurge at the make-up counter or rely on drugstore buys?

{Instagram Friday}

Happy weekend friends! Technically Friday is almost over, but I'm sneaking in my Inst-Friday post and linking up with Life Rearranged...

It has been a fun week for our family and I had a three day work week which made it even better.

Last weekend I was spoiled by my hubby with this yummy dinner...

I ate SO many of those brussel sprouts. SO MANY. Gah they are delicious. Sauteed with bacon and shallots. Yuuuummmmm. Oh yeah...and the bacon wrapped meatloaf wasn't bad either. ;)

I took the boys out to our favorite coffee shop on Sunday morning for muffins as big as their heads...

I love this one-on-one time with them. They are the sweetest little souls and they were so good for me on this outing. 

I also did some Christmas shopping for the boys...

SO early for us and it feels great to already have some gifts bought. Landon is obsessed with cash registers so this was a no-brainer. It has a little scanner and working microphone. Adorable. And Ben is just a tad addicted to Angry Birds. So this gift was again, a no brainer.

We wrapped the weekend up with some raking...

It was a bit needed.

I got some happy mail from Groopdealz...

Found THE greatest find at Goodwill...

I am still pinching myself over this cardigan. It is SUPER cozy and the design is so trendy right now. AND it was $4. :)

I wasn't too excited about the buttons though, so I took a trip to JoAnn and found these classic retro inspired ones to replace them...

And wore it today...

Today my Mom and I had some fun girl time out together. We went to a new local coffee shop for peppermint mochas...

Thanks to auto correct I have the funniest convo from this photo...

• [ @ ] mandy_ford Waiting on my peppermint Michael at our cute new coffee shop #roscoes   12h
• [ @ ] boermanc Peppermint micheal?   12h  ( X )
• [ @ ] alanandcrystal @mandy_ford I'm guessing "mocha" ? :D   11h  ( X )
• [ @ ] mandy_ford Ha! Yes...mocha :)   10h  ( X )
• [ @ ] emily_morgenstern Haha. I wish I had a peppermint Michael. He sounds fun ;)  
• [ @ ] mandy_ford @emily_morgenstern Ha!!! He does!   9h  ( X )
• [ @ ] katie_seitz Oh he's my favorite Michael   7h  ( X )
• [ @ ] mandy_ford @katie_seitz he's minty fresh :)   4h  ( X )
• [ @ ] emily_morgenstern ;)   2h  ( X )

Hee hee...this cracks me up. Peppermint Michael does sound like a pretty fun guy. ;)

And then we headed to our annual Christmas craft fair where my Mom bought me this really beautiful Baltic amber ring...

I just love it...the color is amazing. And there is nothing better than a meaningful gift from my Momma.

So that was my week in an Instagram nut shell. How was yours?

{a day late}

Happy Halloween from The Hulk and the unmasked Batman :)

The weather here in Indiana was pretty icky yesterday, but we managed to trick or treat and have a fun day. The boys had their first school Halloween party so that was fun. They go to preschool at the college where I work, so all of the kids went over to campus and handed out candy to the college students. It was so cute to see everyone's reactions. It took Ben awhile to warm up but then he really got into it...

Landon was being cranky and wouldn't wear his mask...

Toddler drama. ;)

And pretty much all of the trick or treating photos I have look like this...

But that's OK...they have cute back sides.

How was your Halloween?