Attention! Teacher Appreciation Day at Big Lots!

Do you LOVE Big Lots?!  I sure do!!  I went there today, thinking their Teacher Appreciation Days were going on, only to find out it starts and ends TOMORROW!  Lucky for me, the ladies were kind enough to override the computer and give me the 10% off anyway.  How sweet!

So to be clear:  If you bring your school / teacher I.D. to Big Lots tomorrow, Saturday, August 11th, 2012, they will give you 10% off AND a $10 off coupon to use during your next shopping spree.  And... you can use the 10% off on ALL your purchases - not just school stuff.  Woot woot!

I am linking up with Elizabeth from Fun in Room 4B.  Check out her FUN "Fabulous Find Friday" Linky Party!

Here are some of the goodies I picked up:

On the far left is a jazzy binder - I can never get enough of those!  ($3.60 with the discount)

In the middle is an AWESOME and colorful area rug.  ($17.10 with the discount)  I had a couple of rugs in my Kindergarten classroom, but they were old and worn, so my mom told me to just toss 'em.  And so, I bought a new one!

The other two items are the coolest ottomans!  I love these because my students can sit on them AND they are great for storage.  The pink and white one is cube-shaped ($13.50 with the discount), while the blue, green, and white one is rectangular ($18.00 with the discount).

I picked up a few storage tubs.  Something else I can never get enough of.  These ones are for home - my son's newborn clothes (which I cannot believe he has already grown out of!) and his "big boy" toys.

I have not one, not two, not three... but FOUR sets of friends / family that recently moved.  So I decided to put together some creative, Pinterest-inspired gifts for them.

The first idea comes from Michelle at A Little Tipsy.

Here are my Big Lots goods:

This is an easy one.  A bucket with cleaning supplies!  Who doesn't need clearning supplies!?  All I have to do is tie a ribbon around the bucket, add a cute "est. 2012" tag, and TA DA!

Here is another cute idea for a housewarming gift.  This one comes from Kasia at Dream Home.  She painted the letter herself.

I was hoping to find some monogrammed mats at Big Lots, but no luck.  Therefore, I settled on the traditional "Welcome" mats.

I also plan to order them return address labels and rubber address stamps from Vistaprint.  I love that website!!

This is a SUPER CUTE one from Patricia's Etsy shop.

Yeah, yeah - so it may be Friday, but when you have a young baby at home, it is hard to do things on time.  So I am also hooking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for her 10th Monday Made It. 

Okay, admittedly, I did not make the coupon book above.  My sweet, sweet best friend did and gave it to me as a gift today!  She thought I could use a "pick-me-up," how thoughtful!  The cover says, "Mommy Coupons Just For You!"  I once had my Kindergarten students make coupon books for their moms for Mothers Day.

That's a good one!  Luckily, every other page in the book is good for babysitting.

She wrote me a special message on the back.  I love that girl!

Now here is something I do intend on making this weekend.

This "Seven Days of Love" photo and idea comes from the amazing Dating Divas website.  My husband and I will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  I am going to put this little gift together, so he gets to read a love note and eat a little treat each work day next week.

The friendly gentleman at my local pharmacy gave this to me for free!

I am going to give him sunflower seeds (his favorite), pumpkin seeds, mints, M&M candies, chocolate chips, etc.

*** UPDATE! ***

My hubby loved his "Seven Days of Love" pill box gift.  (I should have taken a photo of the pill box with the lids open.  Silly Amber!)

A heads up:  I will be getting a blog face lift, YAY!  Thanks to Becky at Lesson Plans and Lattes, I found Erin, a creative blog designer, at Creating and Designing.  Erin has thankfully put me on her list and my blog will have a new, wonderful look and design in about 3 weeks - just in time for my birthday!

Oh yeah - one more thing.  Some of you asked me to keep you updated on my job status.  Well, it is official:  I will be working in the ESL department at my school this school year.  I will miss being in a homeroom, but I am excited for this new adventure!

As always, thanks for stopping by!