A Dish Mat & The Deal of the Century

(I apologize in advance for the dim pictures. I can't remember the last time we had a sunny day. Such is the life in the winter, in the mid-atlantic states.)

I started this Dish Mat, found on this blog, a couple of weeks ago, but didn't finish sewing it up until tonight. This was a stash buster project for me, didn't buy any new fabrics for this and used an old towel that had a paint stain on one side for the back. I love the way it turned out. I always handwash my pots and pans and leaving them to dryon just a dish towel, often for days on end, so it will be nice to something pretty there instead. My only advice would be to measure the place where you plan on leaving this little beauty before you cut your fabric. I was all concerned about the width of this and double checked that measurement. I should have, however, been concerned about the length of this. It does fit on my counter just fine, just takes up a little more space that I would have preferred. Everyone's kitchen is different, just a warning.

And now onto the deal of the century....

A friend of mine recently called me an opportunistic shopper. Which I suppose is more or less true. During a recent Saturday, found myself shopping the Old Navy clearance racks. All marked down items were an additional 40% off! (I ADORE a good sale!) I came upon a bin of accessories and saw this pair of really cute, yellow beaded sandals that happened to be my size, but found that they were unmarked. I had also found a really pretty scarf (ended up ringing up at under $3.00), so decided to take the shoes up to the register and just see how much they were. I had told myself that if they were under $5, I would go ahead and get them. They rang up at $0.28! As if I needed another reason to look forward to the spring. (I apologize for my un-manicured toes, pictured. I am a stickler for a good manicure, but my feet have been in a boot for the last 3 months, so I get a pass this time. Also, I don't actually have cankles. Apparently, this is what taking a picture of your own foot looks like. Eek.)