Birthday Shenanigans

This week has been a bit crazy so this post will be a tad bit long. I had a test Wednesday and my 24th birthday was Friday!!!! I absolutely love birthdays!!! the presents, the cake, the celebrating, i just love it all.

My birthday week started with my super awesome mom coming to stay with me for a night. We went to the Marietta Square Farmers Market. Compared to Chattanooga's farmers market i wrote about the other week, it was fairly small; however, it did not disappoint. The little town was super cute and had a nice charm to it. I definitely hope to go back sometime. While there we ate at Pressed Panini Bar. The menu features a variety of fresh paninis, salads, and sides to satisfy every palate. It was delicious and I wish I had one closer. Afterwards we went shopping and I got 4 new dresses for my birthday.

Tuesday was Gotcha's birthday. He turned 4!!!

Wednesday I had my second test for grad school. I'm starting to think that this may not be the right time for me to be taking classes right now but that's a story for another time.

Thursday was my work birthday!! Most people do not work on Fridays so we celebrated Thursday...Unfortunately 3 people were out sick and did not get to attend my lunch but that didn't stop it from being awesome. My super sweet coworkers got me a card and some yummy cupcakes.

Friday! My 24th Birthday!!! I left work early because I was heading down to Athens with my family. We picked up my sister and headed to dinner. After standing around and discussing options forever we finally decided on Buffalos and boy am I glad we did. I got the black bean nachos and they were huge!! My parents had to help me finish them. Before we got our food I was able to open presents, my favorite part. that might sound selfish and divaish, but it isn't the presents, its opening them that I love. Its the surprise of it all! I also got the yummy cake pictured below. props to the great american cookie company.

Saturday my birthday festivities continued with the UGA vs Appy State Game. After the game, we tailgated and made low country boil, my fave. 

I wouldn't have wanted to spend my birthday any other way.

Birthday Countdown!!!

I cannot believe that my 24th birthday is next Friday...In honor of that I've included a couple of pictures from some past birthday parties!!! Enjoy and let the countdown begin!!!

 6 days!!!

16th birthday party

18th birthday...yes we are at wendys. we were heading to NYC

Motivation Monday

Here's what's motivating me this Monday!

• Thursday is Halloween!!! At work, we are having a booberry pancake breakfast...for free. Who can say no to free pancakes?!! We are also having a cube decorating contest with a $20 giftcard prize. I decorated my cube today and I so hope I win

• My mommy is coming to visit this weekend!!! We are going shopping! I'm hoping i can talk her into going grocery shopping with me as well.

What's motivating you this Monday?

savvy sara

So lately I've been researching ways to save and make more money. There are so many resources out there it can get overwhelming. Here are some of the things I've found so far.

• Sell stuff on Ebay! Everyone has extra stuff laying around the house that they don't need and can easily sell. Next time I'm at my parent's house I plan on going through all my old stuff to find things to sell. 

• Do online Surveys/rewards sites There are multiple sites out there that you can earn cash, points, or giftcards from filling out surveys and doing tasks. Be on the lookout for a post about some of the ones I am currently using.

• Direct Selling This is pretty self explanatory. There are tons of companies out there such as Mary Kay, Thirtyone, Origamiowl, pampered chef that are looking for consultants. Most of these require you to purchase a starting package but claim you can easily earn this money back with your first party. I have thought about doing this but haven't quiet decided.

• Coupons using coupons is an excellent way to save money and there are multiple sites that show you what coupons to use in conjunction with sales to maximize your savings. I will be writing more on this in the future.

• Free Samples There are multiple sites out there that list current free samples and freebies. This is a good way to try out new products

• Save loose change a few quarters here and there can really add up. try keeping a jar near an area where you empty your pockets. Also look in your car and in the couch and seats.

• Cut back on unnecessary expenses there are many expenses that you can cut back such as cable. Hulu and netflix make a good alternative and offer most shows.

• Cash envelope budget system I've seen this pop up a lot in some of the blogs i've been reading. I plan on doing more research on this and imlementing it in November.

• Eat at home eating at home and cooking really helps save some money. This one is hard for me as I don't really cook and I definitely don't do leftovers. but i'm trying to eat at home all but once a week. My goal is to get it down to only once per month except for special occasions.

 I'll write more on each of these as I learn more and experiment with them.

ArtsyU

Last saturday we celebrated my best friend A's birthday at ArtsyU. It was a lot of fun so I thought I would give you more information about it.

Location

5084 South Terrace, Suite 15 in Chattanooga, TN. Its located a couple of doors down from Provinos.

The process

You start by going to their calendar and choosing a painting. For A's birthday we did the painting for October 19. You will be given all the supplies and instruction needed to create your painting and you get to take you painting home that night. 

On any night you are allowed to bring your own snacks and beverages and on any night besides family night you are allowed to bring your own wine.

Black Cat and Jack

Special Nights

Every Monday from 5:30pm-7:30pm is $20 Family Night. According to ArtsyU's website Parents are welcome to drop their child off or stay and paint with them. An instructor will take everyone through one painting per class to help them recreate their very own masterpiece! Painting will be done on an 11 x 14 canvas.

Every Tuesday from 7-9pm is $25 Tuesdays. According the website, $25 Tuesdays are the new norm for ArtsyU. We’ve chosen a few simple paintings that can be completed within 2 hours. Groupon Vouchers can be used on Tuesday nights but credits for unused dollar amounts are not given. DAYTIME Living Social Vouchers are not permitted.

Friday and Saturdays are suggested for anyone age 16 and above.

The cost:

$20 to $45 per person. As mentioned above these prices include canvas, paints, and instruction. Usually children's classes are $20, 2 hour adult classes are $25, and the 2.5 to 3 hour classes are $35.

Class length:

2 to 3 hours. They ask that you arrive 30 minutes early to be ready to painting when the class begins.

Great for:

Girls night out, team celebration, memorable date, parents night out, bachelorette party, group outing, parent-teen activity, birthday party

Private Parties:

According to the website, Any spot on our calendar can be transformed into your own Private Party or Birthday Party. With as few as 6 – 12 people, you can reserve any spot on the calendar that doesn’t have customers already registered. You choose the date, time and painting then let us do the rest. Call 423-321-2317 today to check class availability and to reserve your Private Party. You can find more information about private parties here.

Here are the photos from when I went:

The classroom

Blank Canvas

adding purple layers

adding silver layers

it's all about the shapes

drawing the cat

looking more like a painting

adding finishing touches

Our class with our finished pro

Weekend Shenanigans

So i've been a bit behind on writing so i'm going to group the past two weekends together. Bear with me if its a bit long.

October 12, 2013 

Saturday's visit to Ellijay's Apple Festival was quite an adventure. I set off to meet A there and of course got lost. I'm a bit directionally challenged. Once I finally found where she parked, we headed in to the festival. Once inside, A decides she doesn't want festival food, she's a healthy eater. We head to find a shuttle to take us downtown. well it was being super slow so someone told us it wouldn't take long to walk downtown. Haha it took us an hour. We finally found our way to a restaurant, Cajun Depot Grill, a shuttle, and back to the festival. Every aisle had booths full of crafts and other festive things. I got me a yummy caramel apple and apple pie and then we were on our way. I think we both learned how important it is to planning.

October 18, 2013

Bonfire night with the fam!! no further explanation needed.

October 19, 2013 

The morning started out with my mom and I taking Gotcha to petsmart for a costume party. He was dressed like a penguin!! We were one of the first ten dogs there in costume so we received a goodie bag and a stuffed bear.

Next my mom and I went to a baby shower for a lady she works with.

This all leads to the best part of the whole day A's 24th Birthday!!!! We started the night off at chili's. The four of us split their 2 for $35 deal and it was plenty of food. You get an appetizer, two margaritas, two meals, and a dessert. We got chips and salsa, quesadillas, honey chipotle crispers , and the new reese's lava cake. Ohmygosh it was delish!!!! you should definitely try it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten Cake

Next, we went on to ArtsyU! ArtsyU is one of those places where you go and they show you how to paint the picture. It was oh so much fun and I definitely plan on going back. The instructor was super nice and helpful. There really was no way to mess the painting up because she tells you exactly what to do. You can check out my review here.

October 20, 2013

My parents and I decided to check out the Chattanooga Market. They had some neat vendors and we got to try some samples. We then ate at Universal Joint. It was pretty good.

Well that was my past few weekends. Thanks for reading

-Sara Lou 

Subscription Box Reviews Coming Soon!

I received my first 2 subscription boxes in the mail today! I've been so busy studying and working on a take home test that I haven't even gotten a chance to open them. :/ oh the joys of grad school. I hope to have reviews up by the end of the week!

-Sara Lou