I love sharing my *CLEARANCE* finds with all of you!

TARGET IS HAVING A

70% OFF SHOE SALE!!

 I ran to Target on Friday and noticed a lot of women hanging out in the shoe department.  As I approached closer, I noticed a big sign saying 70% off on shoes.  Hmm, no wonder everyone was over there...they were trying to grab as many good deals as they could.  I decided to join in on the savings.

 I found these shoes that were regularly priced at $19.99 down to $4.98.  Can you say...

DEAL* SCORE* HAPPY DANCE?

For some kick around shoes, I thought these were pretty cute!  Head on over there if you have time, there were several aisles of shoes, all 70% off! ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO ~Liz

Camping Doesn't Have To Be Difficult: If you follow a few easy steps!

~*~

PREP YOUR FOOD BEFORE YOU GO

 Today, I made Chili Con Carne to be served with Cornbread made in the Cast Iron Dutch oven.  I made it, let it cool, and then placed it in zip lock bags and placed it in the freezer.  Easy enough, right?  All the prep work was done, so all I have to do at the campsite is heat it in the Dutch Oven, very simple!  I will add a little shredded cheese to the top and a dollop of sour cream and a few chopped chives. YUMMERS!

 I then went and made my famous YUMMY meatballs.  I used ground beef and to that I added Parmesan cheese, Italian Bread Crumbs, salt/pepper, red wine, Herbs De Provence, fresh garlic, and one egg. 

 I made Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with fresh mushrooms, red wine, and garlic...I let that simmer and then I added my meatballs.  The meatballs soak up all the tomato sauce and it makes them EXTRA moist.  To die for, seriously!  ;) After I let that cool, I placed it in my zip lock bags and off into the freezer it went. Again, all the hard prep work was done and all that needs to be done is heating it up at camp.

 Below is how my baggies looked, labeled

and ready to go!

I will be making  Beef Stew, but I am going to do something different and let the stew meat marinate overnight in a red wine, olive oil, and a garlic marinade. Oh, and one Bay Leaf! By marinating it overnight, it makes the meat extremely tender and moist.  When I go to make the stew I will take the meat, coat it with a flour and herb mixture, and sear it in olive oil.  Once that's done I can then add my beef stock liquids, veggies, and meat and let it simmer slowly for several hours.  Yum!

Freezing the food also helps when you go to put all your perishables in the cooler, it keeps things colder, longer!

 We just purchased this big

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

off Amazon.com.  My husband can't wait to use it, he's been watching YouTube videos on how to cook with coals and cast iron Dutch ovens, he's too cute!

 It even came with a cookbook.  My hubby can't wait to make the...

COWBOYS ~*~BREAKFAST

 Getting organized is another factor when camping.  If you can't find your cooking utensils, seasonings, etc...it makes things more difficult.

 I've placed things in wicker baskets, or Plastic Bins and then it all goes into a HUGE STORAGE BIN!

 My Seasonings

 The cooler below is awesome.  I bought it yesterday and it's supposed to keep your food cold for up to 5 days.  It's a Coleman 12o Quart Cooler.

 Now here is something you may have never seen before, this is a...

ECCO TEMP PORTABLE TANKLESS WATER HEATER and SHOWER!!

 In our family, we enjoy "primitive" camping, since we do a lot of Off-Roading.  Where we go, there are often no showers, running water, or flush toilets.  So, we have made modifications to bring the comforts of home along with us.

 You hook the water heater up to a 5 gallon bucket of water and a propane tank and you are good to go!  If you are near a lake, or river, all you do is stick the hose in the water and the pump, pumps the water to the shower, and then you have

ENDLESS HOT WATER!!

 You can control the temperature of the water, how cool is that?  The girl's tried it out and didn't want to leave...it was super warm!  The water pressure was even good and steady.  I'm very pleased with this product.

 The Propane Tank

 5 Gallon Bucket of Water

We bought a shower tent enclosure, so all will be good for us girl's out on the

dirty, dusty, muddy trails...

no worries since we have a shower! ;)  Plus, I don't know about all of you, but I despise using

"public showers"...eww!  The women's bathrooms are always dirty and unsanitary looking...it gives me the willies just thinking about it! ;)

So, to recap: Prep your food before you go, freeze it, (freezing the food helps keep the rest of your food colder, longer) and makes cooking at the campsite a snap. Organize your food, dry goods, kitchen utensils, camping gear, etc.. wisely.  If you do these things,

camping is a breeze,

I promise! Enjoy the weekend and I

will be back in a week!

XOXO ~Liz

Mantle Re-Do: Summer Edition

SUMMER   MANTLE

And A New Floral Arrangement

Here's what I started out with:

~A Pot ~

 Purchased from Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts.

   I got it on CLEARANCE for $4.99.  The pot you see was in cream, yellow, and a soft green.

 I like the distressed areas on the pot.

I got out my supplies: Styrofoam, Glue Gun, and Cutters.  I couldn't find my wire cutters, so I had to use the Needle Nose...still worked, though! ;)

All the floral pieces I purchased were on

clearance, and 70% off.

 See the clearance sticker?

I wanted to bring in some pops of yellow into the family room...it needs some color in there.

Done, super easy!

The above picture is

 the Mantle BEFORE!

The BELOW picture is the Mantle NOW!

More pops of color.

I wanted to bring in a few natural looking elements, so I added the moss balls.

More yellow below...I NEED Color! ;)

There isn't much wall space in the family room, so my only way of bringing in color is

through my mantle and wall unit, where I can

display my knick-knacks!

Wood Deco Balls

And there you have it...small changes to the mantle!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend! We are off on vacation starting Sunday, so I will be gone a week!  We are heading deep into the mountains to do some camping and off-roading through the forest, I can't wait! I love being out amongst nature..it's the best!

((Hugs)) And Love,

~LIZ~

***Oh, one more thing...thank you everyone for your sweet comments on my last few posts.  I apologize for not responding to say thank you.  I've been busy, but I want you to know I appreciate every comment more than you know. :)

~*~

***I'll be linking up with Carrie for Amaze Me Monday and with Susan for Met Monday!

HIPPIE CHIC ~ Girl's Room!

It's a...

H I P P I E * C H I C

~GIRL'S ROOM~

 Hi Everyone! Welcome to...

 K o u r t n e y ' s ~ R o o m!! 

I joke with her that she's my little Hippie Chic, because she is always drawn to "peace" decor items. Join me for a short tour of her room. ;)

 Kourtney's favorite color is blue, so we tried to incorporate that color in with her comforter set, which I purchased at Target!  She still needs a bed-side table, but I am waiting for a good deal to miraculously appear. ;)

 In the picture below, I found the cute
 flip flop hanger at Ross. 
I decided to get creative and used the flip flops to hang the curtain tabs from.  Since I only had four places to hang the tabs, I had to loop two sets of tabs together (one on each end) since I had six tabs total.  I used some bendable wire and made a simple loop around the two tabs and hung it from each post.  I think it turned out pretty cute, and it's different, too!

Last week, while at BIG LOTS we came across this adorable light-up NEON GUITAR CLOCK.  I have to get a battery for it, but isn't it cute? 

Ross always sells these hangers there for $3.99.  All my girl's have these in their rooms in different colors and styles.  Usually they have hats, scarf's, and purses hanging from them, but not today! ;)

The girl's like to get into my decor "stuff" and in this case, Kourtney decided to decorate her room with this Topiary!

Yesterday, I decided to get all the girl's Piggy Banks.  Now when they complete chores they get to earn money if they do a good job!  I got this one at Ross, only $7.99.

I love Girly-Girl WALL -ART!  I placed this picture in a plate holder.

I got this lamp at BIG LOTS last week and the...

G L A M O U R sign at Ross yesterday.  The glamour sign was only $2.99.  The little girl signs are so inexpensive at Ross.

Kourtney was watching...

FATHER OF THE BRIDE, don't you just love that movie, I do! ;)

I added two shelves last week, but I am still searching for her cute decor items to display up there.  I still have boxes I need to go through! ;)

I love the girly-girl plates below.

We have...

C A F E  ~*~ G I R L

And...

S H O P P I N G * G I R L

And Lastly...

S P A ~*~G I R L

I found this little rug at Ross for $5.99. It matched her comforter colors perfectly.

Another girly sign  (below) found at Ross, only $3.99.  If you have girl's and are looking to decorate, or change their room, head to Ross...they have some CUTE stuff there.

A look at the shelves I installed...

Another View...

I like the vaulted ceilings in her room, it adds height and character.

The pillows below were all found at BIG LOTS.  The big one was $10.00 and the other two were $8.00.

So, there you have it...

Little Miss Kourtney's Room, 

 I hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO~LIZ

P.S. I made a quick video of her room, please excuse the poor quality. The lighting wasn't very good for a video. ;)

***I will be linking up with Kim for Wow Us Wednesdays and with Sherry for her Open House Party, and with Gina  for Transformation Thursday, and with the Inspiration Friday Party! !