My New Kitchen Containers (And a Very Jane Shout Out)

My kitchen needs a real updating and so far it has been a work in progress. One thing I've been wanting to do for awhile now is update my kitchen containers.

We've had the same containers since we were married and they were containers my husband had when he was a bachelor. Yeah. Not cool.

They actually weren't horrible but I am not a huge fan of stainless steel (I know, GASP) so I promised them to my brother. He happens to like stainless steel and he's still a bachelor! :)

So this time around I wanted to go for a more sophisticated looking container. That's when I discovered these simple, yet fabulous glass containers at Hobby Lobby. As soon as they went 50% off, we stopped by to pick them up!

 

I liked them and all but I felt that they could use a little sprucing up. Then I saw these amazing labels on Very Jane one day! If you want to hear more about Very Jane, scroll down to the bottom of this post! 

As soon as I saw them, I knew they were perfect! The best part of it was that they were super cheap! :)

 

Here is what they looked like straight out of the mailing envelope! So fun! Of course I couldn't wait to put them on so I went right to work. 

Here are the steps that I took in order to apply them.

1. First I cleaned the area where they vinyl was going to be. This would be easier to do BEFORE you fill the jar but mine was already filled so I had to make it work! :)

2. I then peeled off the backing and centered the vinyl where I wanted it.

3. Using a scraper from Pampered Chef, I made sure there were no air bubbles under the vinyl.

4. Then I peeled off the clear plastic.

5. Ta da! Now I have some cute labeled jars!

6. Don't they look much more sophisticated? Even this little touch has done wonders for my kitchen already. It's quite amazing what something so simple can achieve! :)

I am hoping to get more so that I can use the rest of my fun labels! Obviously I won't keep all the jars on my counter but they will definitely make my cupboard look much more organized!

Now do you want to know more about Very Jane? If you already know about it, feel free to stop reading here. However, if this website is new to you, you will want to know more. TRUST ME.

 

Very Jane is an online store that has a different featured discounted boutique item listed every single day. Sometimes the savings are up to 80%! I have been extremely impressed with the quality of items that have been listed too! So far I have purchased (including the free items that they had their opening week) 4 different items and they've only been around for a couple of months!

Here's what I've purchased so far!

 This adorable spring printout was absolutely free!

 

As were these adorable cabochon hairpins (which I completely love)!

 

 And just today I bought this fun bib which will have Addison's name embroidered on it! How cute is that?

Honestly, one of the first things I do when I wake up is to check and see what is listed on Very Jane! That is how impressed I have been with the items listed and their prices! The best part about it is everything that is listed is homemade! I love to support small businesses, especially those who create everything by hand! :)

So if you haven't already, stop by Very Jane! I will warn you though, it's a very addictive site and your husbands may hate me for sharing it with you! :)

P.S. I am in no way affiliated with Very Jane, I am just a very satisfied customer!

Amazing Vintage Finds

Long time no post huh? Sorry for the lack of posts recently! Addison and I made a trip to Iowa for Easter and ended up sticking around longer than we expected! It's been great visiting with our family and friends but I am definitely missing my sweet husband! More on that later!

Anyway, today after meeting my family for lunch, I decided to spend some time in town. Here is a little background information about where we are from. I grew up in a small(ish) town in Iowa. It's basically a farming town but it is definitely growing bigger every day. We do have a Wal-Mart and quite a few fast food restaurants but that is basically it as far as major chain businesses are concerned. I had mentioned to my mom earlier this week that I wanted to go antiquing while I was here and she told me about this little shop on our town square.

Seriously? I grew up here and had never heard of it! I have to admit, up until I got married, I had no interest in antiques whatsoever. However, after spending a lot of time with my husband's (and now my) friends, I quickly took an interest in them but haven't been able to invest in them much because of how pricey they can get. So, I decided to head over there to check it out. Boy am I glad I did that! I highly doubt they get much for business because it's a teeny little store with a teeny little sign that you really can't read from the street. I walked in and was instantly in love with the place! The sweet lady greeted me at the door and then left me to peruse through their items. Of course the first thing I did was check out the prices to see if I was getting in over my head. I was shocked.

My eye immediately caught these adorable tin trays. I mean seriously, how cute are they? I picked them up and realized they were being sold in a set of 6. Hmm...what am I going to do with 6 trays? I then looked at the price and discovered all 6 were only $15! After doing my research I quickly discovered that this exact tray is being sold for $8-$12 EACH online! I got all 6 of mine for $15! Of course I decided to take them home. I can't wait to find a place for them!

Then I stumbled across this super cute milk crate with 3 antique bottles in it. I grabbed it and brought it to the counter but saw that it didn't have a price tag on it. I asked the clerk what the price was on it and she said she would take $10 for it! Um...WHAT?!? I have been looking for one of these everywhere so of course that was a no-brainer for me! I have big plans for this crate and I can't wait to share them with you!


Finally, as I was stooped over looking at a vintage suit case I happened to look over in a corner and see this beauty tucked away. I couldn't get a good view of it so I pulled it out and was in shock. It is an antique collapsible egg basket with two real blown Rhea eggs! OH. MY. WORD. It is gorgeous and in fabulous shape! The best part, the entire thing was only $9! A blown Rhea egg alone costs at least $10, not to mention the fact that I see these baskets sell for around $30 on Etsy every day! I am in love. Seriously. This basket is going to fit perfectly in my kitchen! I will have to take a picture as soon as I get home and find a spot for it!

I will definitely be visiting this cute little antique shop more often. There were so many other cool items that I didn't have a chance to check out because of the fact that I was holding Addison while I looked. Not exactly easy to do. I am hoping that I can have my mom watch her sometime so I can stop by there again before we head home to Colorado next week. Maybe I can even get my husband interested in going! :) We will see!

Well, hopefully I will have a chance to post again before we head back. It has been hard to manage an infant and my time while driving back and forth between visits. I couldn't wait to share today's post with you though so I really hope you enjoyed it!

My Wish List: Sewing Books

I'm all about the sewing books lately. Here are a few that I hope to add to my stash in the future! I love the fact that they come with step by step directions as well as the patterns! They are seriously awesome! :D

What a Week(end)!

Wow! Can I just say that this has been one of the craziest weeks ever! First of all, Leanne (my teaching partner) and I headed for Denver Wednesday after school to attend the CCIRA Literacy Conference. We attended the conference on Thursday and Friday and had such a great experience! I love the feeling of coming back to school with a new outlook and fresh ideas. There are so many activities that I can't wait to try with my kiddos! We got to hear from a couple of different authors and other teachers or experts who had some valuable insights to share! Here is a video explaining my experience at CCIRA. Don't mind my ickyness! I woke up feeling ill this morning and haven't done much with myself! :)

Anyway, after the conference got over on Friday, Leanne dropped me off in Colorado Springs where I met Nick. Nick and I always spend the weekend in the Springs for his birthday and it worked out perfectly for that to be this weekend! We stayed at a Sleep In and really enjoyed ourselves!
Nick and I ordered pizza from Dominoes (something we hadn't done since college) and then watched the movie Twister! Haha! What a fun time it was! We were even able to sleep in a little the next morning which was REALLY nice! :) The first thing Nick wanted to do for his birthday was go to Goodwill! Haha! We both LOVE that place so of course I agreed!We found some pretty sweet deals while we were there (like always). I found the Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go". I also found a fantastic book called First Meals as well as the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics game and a really nice diaper bag (which we will hopefully be able to put to use someday). Nick also found some good deals.

After Goodwill we ate some lunch at Panda Express (yum, yum!) where we shared a plate of orange chicken, mushroom chicken, and sweet and sour pork! DELICIOUS!

We stopped by Ross and Target to pick up some stuff and then headed up to Best Buy where Nick bought a sweet Fax Machine/Printer for himself!

I also went to Barnes & Noble while he did his Best Buy shopping. I found some great book deals while I was there so I was pretty excited about it! :D

For supper Nick choose some yummy Chick-fil-a
Nick then ended the evening by giving me a HUGE surprise! He surprised me by taking me to a jewelry shop called "Ultra Diamonds" and told me to go pick something out. WHAT? I couldn't even believe it. He apparently had this $25 off coupon and wanted to use it on me for Valentine's Day since I hadn't received any jewelry since my engagement ring. I WAS SHOCKED! I didn't know what I was going to pick out or how much money I should even spend. He guided me some in the process but we basically shopped at the sale counter where I knew I was sure to find some deals! :) Anyway, here is what I picked out:


Is that gorgeous or what? To make it better, it was 80% off! Woohoo! Score for us! :D I am SO happy with it and keep looking at it over and over! Haha!

So that pretty much sums up our trip. It was a fantastic weekend and, apart from me getting sick, I can ultimately say it is one that will be memorable!

If you want to see the video form of our weekend, watch the videos below!