Cyber Monday 2009 Offers

This year, despite my better judgment, I braced myself and shopped the early morning Black Friday sales. This was my first year getting to the stores so early and it was a mad house! Although, I should have expected a mad house considering I was at Wal-Mart at 4am amongst a store full of half-asleep shopaholics! I didn't get the new computer I wanted at Wal-Mart, but I did get some great online deals and some great sales at Target later in the day.

If you've checked your email today, you've probably gotten bombarded with a slew of "Cyber Monday" offers. If you're not familiar, Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving where retailers promote special online sales. It's like Black Friday on your computer, without all the long lines or waking up at 3am.

It seems like every online retailer is offering a Cyber Monday sale this year. With so many offers, it's almost as hectic as Black Friday to navigate the sales. To help everyone out, here are some of the best offers I've come across:

Target
I found some great stuff shopping Target in store on Friday and they have some great online offers over the next few days.  Click here for their Cyber Monday offers or check out some of the great gift ideas I found:

 39 piece Pink Tool Kit, on sale for $24.99 - save $5

10 piece Gallery in a box Photo Frames on sale for $99.99 - save $100

13 piece Farberware Cookware Set on sale for $69.99 - save $20

Sensio Margarita and Frozen Drink Maker, on sale for $119.99 - save $30


Wal-Mart
To compete with Best Buy, Wal-Mart has unveiled some great deals on electronics.  These electronics are probably too pricey for most people to dish out as gifts, but if you're in need of a new tv, digital camera, or laptop you can find an excellent deal.





Walmart and Target aren't the only stores running Cyber Monday specials.  These stores are dishing out some great deals as well:


World Market: Save 20% & get free shipping on orders over $50 with code 1DAYAFF
Macy's - Free shipping with $75 purchase
Kohls - 15% off any order 
Sears
Lowes
Toys R Us

Thanksgiving Turkey Shaped Fruit Salad

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  My Thanksgiving weekend was filled with family, good food, and shopping.  So in other words, I had a wonderful holiday!

I didn't host Thanksgiving Day dinner, instead we went to both my in-law's and my sister's house.  I of course brought a few dishes to each dinner.  My favorite Thanksgiving dish to make is my turkey shaped fruit salad.  The recipe is a little late to share for this year, or extremely early for next year's celebration depending on how you look at it, but I wanted to show off my creation!

DIY Newlywed's Famous Turkey Fruit Salad:
Fruit salad is a staple at any holiday dinner but to make it extra special for Thanksgiving, I created a turkey shaped pineapple fruit salad!  With a little creativity, this turkey shaped salad is easy to create and will make a big impact at any party.

To start, cut off the leafy top of a pineapple and one side.  The leafy top will become the turkey's feathers and the one side will become its wings.

With these pieces of the pineapple removed, lay the pineapple on its side and slice out the center of it as shown below.  Cut the removed chunk of pineapple into cubes to use as the edible portion of the fruit salad.

 Next, take the first side you removed and cut it in half length-wise.  This will create 2 turkey wings.  Secure these wings to the side of the pineapple (the turkey's body) with tooth picks.  Then, take the leafy top of the pineapple and attach it to the bottom of the pineapple (the turkey's back) with toothpicks. 

To make the face of the turkey, I sliced a pear in half lengthwise.  I added some chocolate chip eyes and a strawberry beak/gobbley part.  Attach the pear to the front of the turkey pineapple body with another toothpick and fill the pineapple with the fruit of your choice (and mini marshmallows if you have a sweet tooth like me). 

Since the inside of the pinapple isn't very large, I usually lay the "turkey" on a plate and surround it with more fruit.  Tada, your very own turkey shaped fruit salad!

 

(Sorry for the cell phone photos of the finished product!)

A few years ago, I made a variation of this Thanksgiving turkey fruit salad.  Back then, I cut the pineapple differently and used one side of it along with a banana, apple, and marshmallows to make the turkey face.  This year's turkey was easier to make however.

How was your Thanksgiving?  Did you make any special dishes or decor?


This project is shared on Diy Day. I'm also joining the Dare to DIY Party.

Modern Striped Hotel Inspired Bedroom

Between some computer problems and traveling, I've been out of blogging action for a couple of weeks.  But I'm back now and ready to share my latest decorating, and other, adventures.  (I did post my final backyard makeover reveal in case you missed it).  This past week, Rob and I had a belated anniversary celebration trip and traveled to Las Vegas!  It was our first trip to sin city and we were very impressed with the grandeur and magnificence of the city and it's casinos and hotels.

I'll share more of the impressive sights later, but for now here's a look at our hotel.  We stayed at the MGM Grand in the West Wing, their newest addition to the hotel. The room's decor was very modern and made the most of a not-so-large space.  It reminded me of the W hotel in San Francisco which I recently stayed at.

The room featured stripes and modern colors which worked well together.  The carpeting is striped with blue and gray, while a desk chair is striped with shades of red and gray.  A large bolster pillow on the bed pulls the look together with the colors of the carpet on one side and the colors of the chair on the reverse side.  The room is accented with a red upholstered headboard, matching red chair, and modern lamp.

This modern bedroom look is easy to recreate at home:

Headboard:  "Bittersweet" upholstered linen headboard from Target - $249.99
Comforter: 450 thread-count white stripe bedding set from Target - $49.99
Red Pillows: Luxury red decorative pillow from Target - $32.99
Striped Rug: 5' x 7' striped area rug from Walmart - $24.88
Modern Lamp: Brushed steel floor lamp from Walmart - $67.88
Glass Nightstand: Glass side table from CB2 - $149
Glass Work Desk:  Glass computer table from CB2 - $149
Striped Chair: Striped slipper chair from Target - $159.99
Wall Art: Geese wall art from Walmart - $49.99

Total cost:  $933.71  For under $1,000 you can recreate this modern bedroom look from the MGM Grand West Wing hotel.