Prospecting Saturday

The hubster and I went to a local garden center to get a diagnosis on a sick shamrock of mine.  Little did we know when we went that it was "Expo Day".  A day that all their vendors have booths set up for you to visit and of course lots of free goodies.

Red tulips a sure sign of spring, yeah!!

Hardy purple and yellow pansies making their debut.

I'm a fan of weeping cherry trees. We have a huge on in our front yard that sadly doesn't bloom very long.

This was an interesting table setting with moss chairs and a moss centerpiece.

This was a display from MSU's Master Gardner program.  I want to use this kind of display with my first graders when we do our plant unit.  The person manning this booth gave me several printables to use with my class.We definitely hit gold prospecting  today more than I could have imagined!! Happy prospecting days to you!

St. Patrick's Day Tablescape

Today is one of my family's favorite holidays, St. Patrick's Day. My mother's name was Clancy so we take our Irish heritage seriously.  Here is my Irish tablescape that is ready for the corn beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread.  I got a little help from my maid aka "vacuum cover"!






  

Got this cute little mouse with his blarney stone at TJ Maxx  and couldn't resit him!



I love charger plates.  I got 6 of these gold ones for $1.00 each at Hobby Lobby after Christmas this year.

 Aren't these two cute?  They're salt and pepper shakers I got at a garage sale this summer.  $1.00 for the set, it was a steal! The bunny is a little premature but I couldn't help putting them out with the corn beef and cabbage, it just seemed fitting. The runner I got at Kohl's on clearance last year.



The gold glasses are cast offs from my moms home in Florida.  She was getting rid of things and remembered how I had just started doing tablescapes so she gave them to me as her contribution. This is where the saying "one man's junk is another man's treasure" comes into play, except I would change man to woman! We women are ALWAYS looking for treasures without breaking the bank! For my first St. Patrick's tablescape I learned alot and had an amazing time creating.  I know for sure along with my mother's help I'll be on the prowl for more St. Patrick's decor to add to my tablescape next year!



Prospecting Sunday

My "prospecting" Saturday got moved to Sunday this week due to my Saturday Writers Circle meeting which I try to NEVER miss! So after church today I brought the hubster along with me to see what "treasures" we could find.  TJ Maxx is becoming my new favorite place for bargains.  My sisters and mom LOVE this place and always find deals.   I haven't had that luck until lately, and now I'm hooked.  Here are a few of our finds in preparing for St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a tablecloth I got for a mere $7.99.  I plan to use this for St. Patrick's Day and Easter tablescape.

We've scored big in the gourmet food aisle last time we were here with cranberry and orange pancake mix which was superlicious good, so we knew we'd find something good again.  Score again for St. Paddy's dinner, Irish Soda Bread and of course you gotta have the Bailey's Irish Cream in chocolates for dessert!! Yum, can't wait to try these!

Wow! What a great score for my classroom kids!  Green licorice, WHO KNEW??? They are apple flavored but will be a great "green" treat for Thursday.  My  "prospecting" day was more like a couple of hours.  It was short lived as I needed to tether myself to the computer and get my grades posted for this semester.  Prospecting and Procrastination kinda go hand in hand doncha think? 

This is my massive assessment papers and notebook (pensives as they're called in Harry Potter) that I'm working along with my laptop and my faithful eye drops.  The hubster went out and got me a bigger bottle of eye drops cuz my eyes were drying out from all the focusing on the computer screen!!   He's a saint!

Books! Books! Books!

Saturdays are deemed my "prospecting" day.  I like to find some new haunt or go to an old one and find a treasure.  We have a children's book store named The Book Bug, in my town that I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't been to.  Today I chose to go "prospecting" there and I'm happy to say I hit GOLD!!!  I went with the intent to buy a book for both my granddaughters Ava 3 years old ,  Reece 10 months and one new book for the classroom.  The Book Bug had just had a remodel and expanded its space. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz walking out of her twister blown house into Munchkinland.  A large amount of books not only that I can order from Scholastic but many that I've not seen the titles of before.  Very unique books and a dangerous place for a book junkie like me!! Here are a few of the books I selected.  I had a successful day "prospecting"!! Can't wait to go back!

I LOVE, LOVE Eric Carle books and started a collection for each of my granddaughters.  These stroller touch and feel cards were a must have for my 10 month old.

                                                             

This hard book with riddles of the Michigan flower, animals, Petosky stone, Mackinac Island and the Great Lakes will be perfect for my 3 year old granddaughter that lives in Georgia!! 

I chose this gem, The Seven Chinese Sisters  for my classroom.  This book is a take off of The Five Chinese Brothers.  Same premise, one sister gets in a  jam and each sister has a talent that helps rescue the sister in danger.  Adorable illustrations and a story that would go along well with the Chinese New Year unit in my classroom.