If you know me at all then you know that I love thrift stores. Not just because you can find quirky old things that no one else really has, but because of the low prices! My favourite places to get things are probably thrift stores, sales racks, my grandparent's giveaways, and the end of people's driveways on garbage day (don't judge, I got a pretty sweet free bike last summer after mine had been stolen).

Below are 3 bags I got from my local Salvation Army thrift store. I love the little imperfections in each bag, it gives them more character (in my opinion). It was 50% off all bags and purses so I got these for the combined cost of $5. Awesome.

And while we're still on the topic of bags, the other day when I was walking past Fossil I noticed that their Region E/W Messenger bag looks eerily similar to what my friends call my 'ninja turtle bag' (due the colours). 

The bag was my mum's and upon discovering that I had taken to using it she insisted that I take good care of it because it is apparently a designer bag. I googled 'DVF bags' because that's what is on the front and 'Diane von Furnstenburg came up. To be honest, I have no idea who that is, but Wikipedia tells me she used to be a Princess and became a designer. Wow.

Anyways, this is my bag:

I've been crazy busy lately and haven't had time to do anything creative lately (sad face). I've barely had time to keep up with the rapidly increasing amount of blogs I like to follow for inspiration. So I thought I'd share with you what I have bookmarked on my computer.

In order of what is bookmarked across the top of my Safari window (not including Facebook and Hotmail):

Vanilla and Lace
I've been following Abi Porter's blog for about a year and a half now and I still just love it because of all the variety of inspiration it offers from recipes, DIYs, and just general eye-candy from what been inspiring her and photography from her daily life.  She's a real inspiration and role model to me.

Keiko Lynn
I stumbled on Keiko's blog after falling in love with her boyfriend's blog. Her blog is excellent as well. I go there for inspiration for fashion, hair and make-up.

Strawberry Moth
I just started following the blog Jessica Lynn Matz (I just learned her name now, hah) a few weeks ago. So far it's been full of DIYs and inspiration. Just lovely.

Cakies
This blog by Rubyellen is the most recent to be added to my bookmarks because I added it right before starting this post! I love following Christian bloggers. Well, not just any of them; I really like to follow the crafting creative ones and Rubyellen happens to be one of them. I haven't explored her blog too much yet but the post that led me there was one of a backyard campout she planned for one of her daughters. That's awesome!


Less-than-Perfect Life of Bliss
Julie is a crafty mom who always has simple DIYs to make very affordable versions of very expensive furniture. That is definitely right up my alley. 

Design Sponge
My cousin Stephanie introduced me to this blog a while back. While I will admit, sometimes I have trouble keeping up with all the posts they have daily, this entire site is just awesome. With it's beautiful pictures, before+afters, DIYs, recipes, gorgeous home features and much muchh more, this blog should definitely be given a gander at.

Creature Comforts
One thing I love about this blog is the color blocking photo posts as well as the palettes they post under images. If you don't know what I mean just go look for yourself...okay, go look even if you do. It's worth it.

Fossil 
Out of all the blogs made by stores, this one is my favourite. It's a fun, vintage-inspired blog, just like their product lines! I like how they draw connections from actual vintage pieces and then show the product they have created that was inspired from them. But it doesn't always feature their merchandise, sometimes it just features an artist, trend, or plain ol' inspiration.

Matchbook Mag
 Like a lot of people, I'm a sucker for vintage which is why this blog is just complete eye-candy to me. This blog is actually a branch off of their free online magazine (which I need to catch up on reading as well. Oops!)

The Craptastics
So this blog is the only one that doesn't really 'fit in' with the rest on this list. This blog is actually owned by Nik, a pastor at my church, and lately I've taken to reading it. A lot. I'm already back into the posts from 2006. There's a lot of posts about favourite movies, personal photos, random links, and  even more random funny stories of the adventures in his life. I'm pretty sure I've told him that if he was to become a stand-up comedian I would go to all his shows. Until then, I will just listen to him preach his sermons. Not that I'm saying those are a joke or anything, though I'm pretty sure I laugh the hardest at the jokes he doesss tell. Okay I'm gonna stop now. Go read his blog. 

This list took wayyy longer than I thought it would and I'm real tired so I hope my random explanation of each one makes sense. Even if they don't I think you should give a visit to each of them anyways.

Happy reading (or picture looking...if that's all you like do)!

I just got back from Florida and haven't done any cooking in what feels like the longest time. But with very little ingredients I had to get a little creative with the cookies I made for my cousin's farewell party yesterday.

These cookies were literally made with a box of Devil's Food Cake mix combined with one egg and 3 tablespoons of milk, and 2 tablespoons of margarine (give or take, some days I can't be bothered to use real measuring spoons).  After mixing it together I took oreos and covered the with the mixture and placed them on parchment paper on a tray 3 inches apart and stuck a broken piece of oreo on top to show what was kind was inside. That was an extremely messy task, fyi. Baked for about 15 minutes at 325'f and voila. Cake-oreo-cookies.

I have to admit, this batch was not the best batch of cookies I have ever made, I may have overcooked them ever so slightly and I thought they needed more sugar. But really, to me, everything needs more sugar. I'm trying really hard to cut back for health's sake though.


Anyways, give it a try and maybe change it up a little and let me know how it turns out!