You know that one of our favorite Christmas traditions is our countdown to Christmas with books. One of the most frequently asked questions is how many books do you have?? and, which are your favorites? I’ve made a list of 20 of my favorites for you today and I’ll include the links to them on Amazon, but some other great resources are the library (so you can see if you love them before you buy!), thrift stores, ebay, half.com, used books on Amazon, etc.
20. Santa Mouse by Michael Brown: this is harder to find these days because it’s an older book. My kids love it~a short, sweet story about a mouse helps Santa out. And now we leave out cheese with our cookies for Santa.
19. The Christmas Alphabet
by Robert Sabuda : this is a gorgeous pop-up book, but the paper tears easily, so it’s a read-with-a-grown-up-book that doesn’t go in the book basket with the others.
A couple of quick deals for the weekend!
Don’t want to cook dinner?
Macaroni Grill: $10 off $20 ONLINE order for pickup only Use Code: PASTA Good thru 12/31!
Papa Johns: 50% off regular price pizza (exp. 12/2) enter code PEPSI50 at checkout.
*Target has all of their sleepwear for 20% off, plus free shipping~click here and scroll down to see the deal. We love nick & nora jammies!
Hellooooo 320 Sycamore friends! Are you ready for a super easy, cheap, quick Christmas project? Of course you are.
Here is my inspiration at Pottery Barn. We’re going to do much better than $50 though.
Happy Cyber Monday! Thank goodness we have this week before December begins~we haven’t brought a lick of Christmas out yet. Working on that this afternoon :) I’m not going anywhere today, so I’ll keep updating as I see good ones. Here are the deals I thought were worth sharing: 

* RUGS USA: 75% off! wahooooooooo!
*American Girl Cyber Monday ~they have sales about twice a year.
*Build a Bear~this seems like the best deal scenario: add 4 of these bears/animals to your cart. Then, they should give you an option to buy a $10 gift card for $5. Add that to your cart. Add code: 97989 for $10 off $30 and you should get the 4 bears, and gift card shipped for about $33. Tip on these: you can request that they come unstuffed, so the kids can take them in the boxes that they come with to the store to watch them come alive :) Also, if you don’t need all bears, think bunnies for upcoming Easter gifts?
*YoYo.com has 40% off any toy when you use code TOY40. Max discount of $40. Works on Legos, Melissa & Doug, etc.!
* Walmart has 20” boys or girls Huffy bike for $39 plus .97 shipping!
*Target has cute ruffled cardigans for $10, with free ship.
* need practical items today?? Staples.com has coupons for the below items that will automatically come off at checkout. Mix and match these items and then use code: 63433 for an additional $5 off of a $25 purchase, plus automatic free shipping!
Item 852192 2 ply Quilted Northern Bath Tissue 30 rolls or item 372352 3 ply 30 rolls
Item 854955 Bounty Basic 12 rolls or Item 900103 Bounty 8 rolls
Item 70427 Glad Forceflex Garbage Bags, 100 count
Item 459366 Finish Dishwasher Tabs 20 count.
Here is what I did:
Quilted Northern® Soft & Strong™ Bath Tissue Rolls, 2-Ply, 30 Rolls/Case
$15.49
Glad® ForceFlex™ Stretchable Strength Drawstring Kitchen Bags, White, 13 gal.
$14.39
Finish® Powerball Dishwasher Tablets, 20/Pack
$3.99
Coupons & Rewards
-$11.50
Subtotal:
$22.37
Delivery:
Free
Estimated Tax:
$1.12
Amount Due:
$23.49
“From my mother, I learned the value of prayer. How to have dreams and believe I could make them come true. I was raised to believe that God has a plan for everyone, and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan. My mother told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan...even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, she said, you didn't let it get you down: you stepped away from it, stepped over it, and moved on."
-Ronald Reagan
Happy Wednesday! We’re cleaning and cooking up a storm here today to get ready for tomorrow, but here are some good deals to share~I updated new ones on Wed in green , Thursday: red, Saturday blue. I’ll try to add deals through the weekend! Happy Thanksgiving to you all~
* free shipping with no minimum purchase on JoAnn.com . Use promotion code ZVGX327 in your online shopping cart. good through Mon., Nov. 26 ~ they have clothes for american girl type dolls, beads and craft stuff, and american girl crafts on sale as well!
*Bed Bath & Beyond and Michaels both have $25 Itunes gift cards available for $20, in stores only. Good through Dec. 1-call your store to verify.
Winners of the Miss Mustard Seed Inspired You books are (randomly drawn) : 
#94 BeverlyPalmer 01: “My master bedroom is no where close to what it could/should be” and #207 bandmstewart: “My bedroom needs tons of help. What a treat this book would be.”
Congratulations, I’ve emailed both of you!
………………………………….
Are you tired of writing the same old letter telling how old everyone is, what dance class Suzy is in, how many A’s Sally got, and how many soccer goals Henry scored? Here are some creative ideas to spice up your Christmas card this year:
12. Do a top 10 list for the year: list your favorite highlights of the year David Letterman style. Or 12 for 2012, etc.
So excited for today’s giveaway! My friend, Marian from Miss Mustard Seed has written her first book! It’s beautiful and I felt like Christmas came a little early when it showed up in my mailbox. Doesn’t the cover alone just make you want to buy it? :)
I knocked over one of my very favorite lamps down in the storage room when I was bringing out Halloween stuff:
THEN, my boys were throwing a ball inside (naughty!) and broke the wiring in another lamp, so I took the wiring from that ^ one top and put it in this one using Lindsay’s tutorial. Yay for reincarnation of lamps!
*first of all, did you know that Pinterest now has secret boards? Because sometimes you don’t want the whole world to know your plans…does anyone know if this is only for the holidays??
There are tons of deals this weekend~I’m sharing the ones I thought were awesome. Happy holiday shopping :)
* my husband’s favorite sale: Jos A Bank buy 1, get 2 free through Monday.
* this is the best deal I have seen on All You Magazine: All You Holiday 2 for 1
~you get 2 subscriptions for $19.95.
*Jo-Ann has a 60% off one item coupon! Have they ever had one of these?
*Sherwin Williams paint is 40% off this weekend!
* Take 30% off your purchase at Gap.com and Gap stores during their Friends and Family Sale. Use coupon code GAPFRIENDS through 11/12.
* Yankee Candle has buy 2 large jars, get 2 free coupon (my Bed, Bath & Beyond lets me use these!) good thru Nov 25.
* Lands End: 30% off and free shipping with code FRIENDS & Pin 3010 Expires 11/18
* the Apple Store has their refurbished ipod touches (8 gb in white or black) for $129! Other sizes also available. This is the best deal I’ve seen and you still get the apple warranty with it.
* and some Amazon deals I spotted:
Feel free to add any others that you know of in the comments! Happy Friday~
disclosure here.
Do you ever come across little things that look like they could belong to SOMETHING? Toss them in a pretty dish and next time you are wondering where the part to the camera tripod is, or why the dishwasher basket isn’t staying in place, or where in the world is the plastic thing-y that controls the elastic on Logan’s fleece pullover, you will know just where to look.
320 Sycamore is 4 years old! How can that be?? When I began, I said it was about “bringing out the charm and potential in our homes and families with a bit of nonsense and good deals scattered here and there.” I’ve tried to hold true to that, but honestly on some days, not posting is the best thing I can do for my family.
As we voted yesterday, I couldn’t help but think, will this even matter? This one vote? But today, I am grateful for a bigger vote I have: the influence in my home.
No matter who leads in national and local governments, the largest movement for good I can or ever will have is right here in my home. I can inspire what goes on here. The mood in our home, how I respond to situations, how we take care of our money, how we deal with struggles and setbacks, what we teach our children about God, helping others, kindness, and love. Even monotonous things that make life a little easier for the ones I love like good food and clean socks. Some days it doesn’t seem like much. In fact, most days I wonder if I am doing any good and that I may be taking us backward. I have to believe though, that when my kids look back at their childhood, this or that election will be tiny compared to the feeling that we had in our home.
I just cleared everything off from Halloween, left the pumpkins, added some wheat bundles from TJ Maxx, a $2 banner from Michaels, and that’s it. Totally under $10 and under 1 hour. :) I’m also sharing a favorite recipe over at Richella’s for her Grace for Dinner series. Come on over!
Happy Monday~

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