Favorites and Things

Big News

2010-07-26T20:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry about the long delay in blogging again! You probably thought I'd disappeared. We've been busy this month with vacations and lots of fun family time.

We also finally found our house!! It's kind of a fixer-upper (which is exactly what I wanted) so look forward to LOTS of house before and after pictures. I'm really excited about trying to fix this house and make it mine. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I have this kind of strange feeling that I can do everything I'm dreaming off, but I've never actually done any of it besides painting, which means I'll be showing you a ton of disasters along the way.

Right now we are focusing on moving and finding carpet, if anyone has any ideas or information I would love it! This is the second time we've moved but this will be a much bigger move. When we first moved into this apartment all the furniture we owned was our bed and a bookshelf. I think I'll try this Home Depot Movers thing. It came and just the right time.

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-06T09:05:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Full of family, BBQ's, fireworks, and lots of fun.

We had a blast at my husbands family cabin in Island Park.

I tried out a new soft chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Started reading a old, new to me book.

Back home to normal life. Life is good.

Salon Hair Products for Less

2010-06-29T15:28:00.001-06:00

If you like high end hair products but don't like the price try going to NPS. NPS is a scratch and dent store that has just about everything. I went there yesterday with my mom to check it out, I'm glad we went because they had a shelf of salon hair products for a fraction of the price.

I bought this L'Oreal Professional hair mask a few months back off of drugstore.com for $30. I know that's expensive but I was feeling really desperate. Then I chopped all my hair off and I haven't needed a deep mask. Anyway, this bad boy was at NPS for $6.00!!! I couldn't believe it. I can't say if it's the exact same, I know you're only supposed to buy salon products at salons but I tried it today and it smells, feels and works the same. My mom bought some Biolage products to try, I'll let you know what she thinks. When I was there they also had Redkins, Bumble and Bumble, Kiwi, Bed Head, Paul Mitchell and more.

I love salon products and solely used them before I started caring about how much things cost. Now maybe I can use them and be happy with the price tag. The store is really dirty, the employees are not the most helpful or happy, BUT you could get a good deal. Has anyone else been there? What did you think? What did you buy?

NPS store in Utah:

1600 S. Empire Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84104(801) 972-4132‎

Bountiful Baskets

2010-06-23T22:06:00.001-06:00

Have you heard of Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op? It's a fruit and vegetable co-op where you go online (ether Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on your location) and buy your "basket" of food and then on Saturday you go to your location with your own basket and fill up with produce for only $15! We are talking LAUNDRY size baskets. You can also get organic for $25. My amazing sister-in-law, Kim, told me about this a few weeks ago. She has been doing it and has really enjoyed the produce so far. I think

I'm going to try it out next week, I'll let you know how it goes.

Has anyone else tried this? What do you think? I think this is such an amazing way to make sure you eat your fruits and vegetables and to try out some new ones.

If you live in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Nevada or Washington click Here for more information or click Here to see pick up locations.

Chalkboard Stickers

2010-06-17T19:45:00.001-06:00

Look at these cute chalkboard stickers I got from the dollar store. You get two on one paper and you can write right on the sticker with chalk and wipe it off. I LOVE finding fun things at the dollar store.

I think I'm going to get a few more of these. I already know what I'm going to do with this other sticker.

BYU Mint Brownies

2010-06-14T12:32:00.003-06:00

BYU is my school. I graduated from there, met my husband there and found these brownies. If you have ever been to BYU I'm sure you have noticed these brownies all over the place. They are the perfect balance of mint and chocolate, two of my favorite things. When I was in school there I went on a mad hunt for this recipe because I knew I would want it later. I found the recipe my Junior year in a BYU magazine and saved it ever since. I finally made them, and boy am I glad I did! They taste just like the brownies you get on campus and they are really easy to make.

The only thing I will do differently next time is use about half this amount of frosting. They are supposed to have a thin layer of the mint and chocolate frosting but mine ending up having a TON of frosting on them. I'm not a huge frosting fan to begin with so I didn't love that. I also put mine in the fridge to make for easier cutting, because of all the frosting, and I actually like them better right out of the fridge. They taste almost fudge like, very rich. I hope you enjoy the recipe too!

BYU Mint Brownies

Ingredients:

1 C. margarine (I used butter)
1/2 C. cocoa
2 T. honey
4 eggs
2 C. sugar
1 3/4 C. flour
1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 C. chopped walnuts (optional)
12 oz. Chocolate Icing (use your own recipe or you could use store bought.)

Mint Icing:

5 T. margarine (I used butter)
dash of salt
3 T. milk
1 T. light corn syrup
2 1/3 C. powder sugar
1/2 t. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

Instructions:
Prep and Cook: 90 min. cool 1 hour

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint Icing: soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix, add milk gradually until the consistency is a a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Linked to Tempt my tummy Tuesday.

The Dish Mat

2010-06-11T09:00:00.002-06:00

I saw this cute dish mat tutorial around Christmas time on Life in Grace and I instantly knew I had to make one. Of course that "instantly" has turned into almost 6 months but that is actually a lot faster than I get around to doing a lot of things. Anyway, Darby from Fly Through Our Window created the tutorial, which I didn't follow exactly, more just did my own thing but used the tutorial as a guide line. It turned out great! I'm so excited to start using it, I think I'll end up making an even bigger one next time.

Just line all your dishes in a row when you don't want to put them in the dishwasher. I'll probably just be using this for the larger items that don't fit in my dishwasher but I wanted to make the pictures pretty.

When you're all done just roll it up and store in a drawer, so simple. This is a easy and fast craft. I almost finished the whole thing last night when Reed and Addie had to make an emergency fish taco run.

Click here to be taken to Darby's tutorials and then click "Dish Mat". Did I mention how much I love Fly Through Our Window? It is one of my favorite feel good blogs. I could spend hours reading all of her posts.

Father's Day Food

2010-06-09T10:29:00.000-06:00

Image: Bakerella

I made these adorable cupcakes and fries last year for my hamburger loving husband and dad. They are really easy to make and so much fun! Click here for the instructions from the amazing Bakerella.

I might make these cute grill cupcakes this year, found in Family Fun Magazine. I love all of the fun things you can do with cupcakes!

Click here for the recipe.

Dinner tonight

2010-06-06T16:42:00.000-06:00

We are having this for dinner tonight. Perfect for a hot summer day. Yum!

What are you having?

Fun Toddler Ideas

2010-06-01T21:09:00.000-06:00

Every day I find myself trying to think of fun things for Addie to keep her entertained. I can never think of anything to do at the time so we end up just driving each other crazy. I decided to make a list of toddler activities so I can just hurry and find something fun to do whenever she starts getting antsy. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a bored toddler so I'm listing it on here in hopes that it might give one of you an idea or two.

This will be a running list that I'm going to keep updating as I find more activities. I would love to hear from you, what things do your toddlers love to do.

Blow lots of bubbles. We have this bubble set from Gymboree at nursery and it works great. The bubble wand gives you tons of bubbles with one blow plus the bubble solution is the best I've seen. Addie's cute cousins gave her a bubble gun (like this one) for her birthday which is also a hit.You just push the trigger and the bubbles are blown for you.

Finger Paint. Using regular paints and the edible variety.
Make Cookies, or any other treat. Addie loves to stir all the ingredients and "help" pour everything into the bowl. Plus she gets to taste it as we go along
Play with Playdough, or the homemade variety.
Play with Cornstarch Goop. Place 1 cup of cornstarch in a large flat dish (a metal baking pan works well) and add water a little bit at a time until "goop" is formed. It should not be too watery and not at all powdery – the consistency of clay. The goop will feel hard when the child picks it up and then will turn to liquid in their hands. The activity works best when the dish is a different color from the goop. Try adding food coloring to the goop for even more fun! Found Here.
Have a Dance Party. Turn up the music and dance away. It's not a party unless mom is dancing too.
Read. Some of our favorite books to read together are: Jamberry, Cookie Count, Tails, Napping House, Big Hungry Bear, Peek-a-book, I love you

Play with Sidewalk Chalk outside. Or dip the chalk in water and give it a "paint" feel.
Try out Homemade Puffy Paint. Recipe Here.
Water time at the sink. Pull up chair to kitchen sink and fill with water and bubbles. Use cups and bowls for water fun.
Find Colors all around the house and take pictures of them. Print out pictures and create a color book.

Cute Storage Reuse

2010-05-28T11:01:00.004-06:00

I had a bag of dried black beans that were spilling all over my cupboard. I decided to find something to hold the beans so I wouldn't have an extra mess to clean up. I found this old yogurt carton just waiting to be used so I poured the beans in and marked the container. I then found three more of the same countainers so I decided I could make them all into cute new storage for the kitchen.

I Just covered them with some cute adhesive drawer liner I had left over from my bookcase project. I knew I would find a use for it.

I just cut off a big peace and covered the sides. I then used a sharp knife to trim off the ends. You could use an exacto knife, which would make more sense but I couldn't find mine.

I then just printed off some labels I made.

And glued them on with a good old fashion glue stick.

You could put an extra label on the top but I just decided against it. I think they look cute just like this.

I see many more of these containers in my future. I started walking around the kitchen just noticing how many things would be prefect inside this size container. Chocolate chips? Check! Lentils? Check!

I made the labels into a PDF form so everyone can print them out and use them for whatever you want! Get the labels here.

I'm linking this post to: Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Free label downloads

2010-05-28T10:58:00.001-06:00

Here are the labels I used on this project. Download and print them off here for Free. You could use these for so many projects. I can just see them now, all over my house, everything labeled... what a wonderful dream.

To download and print the labels just click on the image below.

Behold the power of Vinegar

2010-05-27T08:11:00.002-06:00

When I was growing up we used to mop the kitchen hard wood floors with a water/vinegar mixture. I hated the job, it smelled like vinegar (duh) plus I just hated mopping. Still do. Lately I've been reading a lot about household cleaners that can replace all of the products you buy in the store. I've noticed several times vinegar and baking soda are said can clean everything.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. We have had some major carpet stains all over our front rooms beige carpet. I've been procrastinating cleaning them because I thought I would have to use a real carpet cleaner to get the carpet clean again. Boy was I wrong. I was sick of the spots last Saturday and decided to look up a home remedy, I was ready to scrub my little heart out until these spots were gone. It ended up only taking about 15 minutes to clean every spot from my carpet. I just mixed a bowl of one part vinegar to one part water and dabbed each spot. I was amazed to see the spots disappear before my eyes, but I was even more surprised the next day when our apartment smelled nothing like vinegar. I was already prepared to live in a pickle just to make my floors clean, but it didn't take that at all. I'm looking at my carpet right now amazed at how it turned out. Caution: you are supposed to test on an area out of the way to make sure it doesn't harm the carpet. I didn't do that of course, glad it didn't ruin my carpet.

After that amazing experience I decided to try a few more vinegar related cleaning. I just poured vinegar in the "Rinse Aid" spot in my dishwasher and it got rid of my gross foggy white glasses. Without making my clean dishes smell like vinegar. I have now started just pouring vinegar on everything. I probably shouldn't do that because it's bound to ruin something.

Here is a list of a few more favorite uses for vinegar. All of these come from the website Vinegar Tips.com they lists 1001 ideas to use with vinegar so check there if you want more. What do you use vinegar for? Have you tried any of these?

To clean and disinfect baby toys add a good-sized splash of white distilled vinegar to soapy water.
Fabric softener and static cling reducer - use as you would liquid fabric softener.
Absorb unpleasant odors by setting a container (shallow bowl) of vinegar throughout the house.
Conditions dry hair. Shampoo, then rinse hair with a mixture of one cup apple cider vinegar and two cups water. Vinegar adds highlights to brunette hair, restores the acid mantel, and removes soap film and sebum oil.
Soothe sunburn with a spray of white distilled vinegar, repeating as often as you like. Ice-cold white distilled vinegar will feel even better, and may prevent blistering and peeling.
Create your own window cleaning solution by combining 1/2 cup non-sudsy ammonia, 1 cup white distilled vinegar, and 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a gallon of water.
To remove a label, decal, or price tag, cover with a cloth soaked in white distilled vinegar. Leave the cloth on overnight and the label should slide off.
For stained and smelly plastic food containers, wipe them with a cloth dampened with white distilled vinegar.
Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.
Remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.
Get cleaner laundry! Add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. The acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.
Kill weeds and grass growing in unwanted places by pouring full-strength white distilled vinegar on them. This works especially well in crevices and cracks of walkways and driveways.
Preserve cut flowers and liven droopy ones by adding 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar to a quart of water in a vase.
Wash fresh vegetables with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar in 1 ½ quarts of water.
Stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar.
Get rid of foot odor by washing feet well with antiseptic soap daily, then soaking them in undiluted cider vinegar for 10 minutes or so. Remember that cotton socks aid odor control more effectively than wool ones.
Make nail polish last longer. Wipe fingernails with cotton balls dipped in white distilled vinegar before putting on nail polish.
Keep car windows frost-free overnight in winter by coating them with a solution of 3 parts white distilled vinegar to 1 part water.
Loosen chewing gum stuck to carpeting or upholstery by soaking it in white distilled vinegar
Remove pet odors. After cleaning, cover the area with baking soda. Let it stand overnight. The next day vacuum up the baking soda and wash the area with white distilled vinegar. Rinse and let dry.
Remove skunk odors by wiping down the animal with a 50-50 solution of white distilled vinegar and water, followed by a plain-water rinse. Repeat if necessary.
Make onion odors disappear from your hands by rubbing with white distilled vinegar.
Add moistness and taste to any chocolate cake—homemade or from a box—with a spoonful of white distilled vinegar.
If you’ve added too much salt to a recipe, add a spoonful of white distilled vinegar and sugar to try correcting the taste.

And so many more. I'm going to start buying it in bulk.
This is linked to Works for me Wednesday.

Rite Aid Program

2010-05-25T09:45:00.001-06:00

I love getting good deals. We have a Rite Aid around the corner from our apartment so I go there often. I almost always buy diapers there because they usually have really good deals when you combine with coupons. That's why I'm really excited about this new Free Rite Aid Wellness+ Program.

Click Here to sign up for the new free Rite Aid Wellness+ Rewards Program. It's this new free program Rite Aid is doing which seems similar to Smiths Value Card. They will have sale prices for people with the card, and you earn points by using the card. Click Here for more info.

Plus if you click Here now you can get a coupon for $5 off 25 or more.

Favorite Reads?

2010-05-24T18:36:00.002-06:00

Does any one have any book suggestions? After I finished reading These is my Words I haven't been able to really get into any new books. I need to read the sequel Sarah's Quilt but it isn't available at my library yet. I hate that. I started reading Chasing Lincoln's Killer but I just haven't been able to really get into it. I hate the in between book phase. I like to always be in the middle of a book, that way if I have any free time I know exactly what I'm gonna do. I hate starting and finishing a book, they both make me a little depressed. Anyway, any thoughts? New, old favorites?

Also, did anyone go to Old Navy for the flip flop sale? I went around noon and found a line around the inside of the store. They only had a few basic colors left, but I left with a new pair of dark blue for me and gray for the hubs. All in about 15 minutes and $2.

Did you hear.....

2010-05-19T17:52:00.000-06:00

Some styles of flip flops are only $1.00 this Saturday at Old Navy.

Magic Peanut Butter Middle Cookies

2010-05-17T08:25:00.000-06:00

At first these cookies just look like plain chocolate goodness.

Then you take a bite and find.......

A creamy, delicious peanut butter middle.

We love peanut butter in our house, we even eat it on our noodles. I first saw this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen recipe website and I knew I had to try it. I finally made them last night and we LOVED them! They do take a little longer to make because you have to roll the peanut butter balls and then cover in chocolate. I made mine a little smaller by only using 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter filling and 1/2 Tablespoon of chocolate.

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
½ cups Cocoa Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ cups White Sugar
½ cups Packed Brown Sugar
½ cups Butter
¼ cups Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 whole Egg
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:
¾ cups Powdered Sugar
¾ cups Peanut Butter

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. Set aside.
For the peanut butter filling, combine confectioners’ sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Beat together well. Roll filling into 30 small balls. Try to keep the balls all the same size—around 1 inch.
For each cookie, use 1 tablespoon of chocolate dough and roll into a ball. It helps to flour your hands first. Squish the ball of chocolate dough flat and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Wrap the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter ball to completely cover. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass into white sugar and use the cup to lightly flatten the cookie balls. Bake for 7-9 minutes.

Shoe Coupon

2010-05-14T11:20:00.000-06:00

Here is another coupon, one for Shoe Carnival. Right now they are doing Buy 1 get one 1/2 off, plus if you print off this coupon you will get a surprise of ether additional $5, $10, or $15 off 39.98 or more!

I got some really cute boots during the winter there, I wonder if they have any cute spring shoes.

Click Here for the Shoe Caranival Coupon.

Gymboree Coupon

2010-05-12T09:34:00.001-06:00

Here is a coupon code for 30% off at Gymboree. I love the cute clothes they have but I think they are a little to expensive for someone who is going to smear spaghetti and dirt on them. 30% off helps a lot!
I might have to get Addie these cute flip flops for the 4th of July.

The Winner is...

2010-05-10T22:01:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone that entered the Weekend giveaway! The winner was chosen using Random.org.

The winner is....... Julie Sukert

What did you think about the google document format? Was it better than just leaving a comment? I think it's kind of fun, maybe I use it again with my next giveaway.

These is my words

2010-05-10T12:33:00.000-06:00

My new favorite book right now, These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-190 by Nancy Turner.

"A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon form- from child to determined young adult to loving mother- she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and recalls the enduring love with cavalry office Jack Elliot that gives her strength and purpose."

I cannot even tell you how much I loved this book. I had a really hard time starting because the title and cover are just, blah. That doesn't matter at all once you get into this book because it's amazing. Sarah is my hero, she is a strong stubborn woman that does what needs to be done, Period. Several times during this book I was in awe of her and all the trials she had to deal with. I told Reed a number of times that I would have died if I was in her shoes, I don't know how she did it. I got so emotionally involved in this book that it tore my heart out and I cried like I haven't done in a long time. Normally that would make me hate the book but I don't, I expected to cry and that's what I did.

I have to mention the romance between Jack and Sarah, this is probably my favorite romance ever, as of right now. I may change my mind later since I just finished the book about 5 minutes ago, but you will love the connection between Jack and Sarah. It feels like Anne and Gilbert to me, but more. LOVED IT, is all I have to say. I'm going to go back and reread my favorite parts of the book now.

If you are like me just waiting for Mockingjay to come out so you have something good to read, go check this one out and start reading, you will get so caught up in this story you will forget to feed your baby breakfast.

Read it, tell me what you think. I've got to talk to someone about this book!

Weekend Giveaway

2010-05-06T20:59:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: This giveaway is now over.

I've decided to do a little giveaway this weekend to thank any readers who are still out there waiting for me to start posting again.

We've been going through a TON of yogurt at our house lately. Addie eats at least 2 cups of yogurt a day in her smoothies. I have to admit that I've never been a huge fan of yogurt, but I like it when it's creamy and this stuff sure is creamy and thick!

Here is what Yoplait has to say:

With 12 grams of protein -- twice that found in leading yogurts-- new Yoplait Greek nourishes from the inside out. Available in four delicious flavors, Strawberry, Blueberry, Honey Vanilla and Plain, the brand´s newest offering has a unique thick and creamy texture with the unmatched taste expected of Yoplait.

Ready for the giveaway? One winner will receive:

2 VIP coupons for 2 free New Yoplait Greek Yogurt
1 Robe, towel thingy
Slippers and other fun spa items

All you have to do to enter is just leave your name and email address below. Your name and email address will only be used to notify the winner. The giveaway will only go until Monday at 10:00 PM Mountain time.

Anyone can click Here for a coupon good for .30/1 off one!
Thanks to Yoplait Yogurt and MyBlogSparks for the coupons, gift packs and information.

Black Bean and Mango Tostadas

2010-04-26T17:25:00.004-06:00

We love beans in our family. They're cheap, yummy, and really good for you. I'm always trying to find new recipes using beans and I found a new good one. I'd never thought of making tostadas but they turned out to be REALLY easy and fun to make. You don't even have to use the mango salsa, any of your favorite salsa would do, although the mango salsa does give it a really yummy sweet flavor. I think these will be perfect for the hot summer nights since they only cook for about 10 minutes.

Black Bean and Mango Tostadas

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 scallions white and light green parts, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. salt
4 8-in flour tortillas
6 oz. grated Monterey Jack
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice

Preheat oven to 425. Combine beans olive oil, scallions chili powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in bowl. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place tortillas on sheet and spoon bean mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. While tostadas are baking combine mango, onion, lime juice, and 1/4 tsp. salt in a bowl. Remove tostadas from oven, spoon mango mixture on top and serve immediately.

Serves: 4
Cost $1.54

Source: All You, March issue.

Just talking...

2010-04-19T19:54:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. My husband just made a switch in jobs so we had him home with us for the last three week. It was so fun to have him home that it just felt like a nice long vacation.

In other news, we are in the process of trying to find a home. Which is probably the most horrible experience I've ever been through! I've dreamed of the house I would some day own, but right now I just want to curl up in my little apartment and never leave if it means I can stop all of the hassle that goes with house hunting. I'll be back soon with new posts.

Big Girl Bed

2010-04-14T14:18:00.000-06:00

Addie jumped to freedom last week from her crib so we decided it was time for a toddler bed. I found this cute Pottery Barn Bed on CraigsList for a fraction of the price. She loves her new bed. Well, she loves to sit on it and pretend like she is going to sleep. Her bedroom door doesn't stay closed so we are having a hard time figuring out how to get her to stay in bed. Any suggestions? Does anyone have experience in moving a toddler to a new bed?

I love my drawers.

2010-04-08T09:19:00.000-06:00

Are you in the mood to reorganize all of your drawers? I wasn't, until I watched this clip. I then threw all of my clothes on the floor and refolded everything. I love looking in my drawers now, it makes me smile.

I also realized I need more shirts with patterns.

Guest Posting

2010-04-07T09:15:00.001-06:00

Today I'm guest posting over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff. Go check it out!

Elmo and Cookie Monster Cupcakes

2010-04-01T10:10:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time. I just wanted a little break from the computer for the last few weeks. I haven't even looked at other blogs and hardly checked my emails. Well I'm back with a fun post! My little Addie turned two yesterday! I can't believe how fast the time has flown, she has turned into such a fun little toddler.

For her birthday party yesterday I wanted to make Elmo cupcakes, she LOVES Elmo so I knew she would love these. They were really easy to make and turned out really cute.

First you get a cupcake.

Then you frost the top of the cupcake with red. I used the "grass" tip to make the fur.

Then you add the eyes, I used white candy melts or you could use marshmallows or just pipe white frosting into circles.

Pipe on a orange nose.

Add black dots to the eyes.

And don't forget the mouth.

I also decided to do cookie monster so Elmo would have some friends. Just make him the same way only in blue.

Add eyes...

I ran out of black frosting for the mouths so most of them only got small lines, but I don't think Addie noticed.

No Frills Manstyle Peanut Butter Popcorn

2010-03-25T21:10:00.007-06:00

Hey. This is Katie's husband, so if my post is sparse on words like 'cute' and 'cuddly' and 'frilly', you understand why.

I'm hijacking Katie's blog to bring you a movie-night treat that's easy but tasty. To give you an idea of how easy this is, you need to understand that the 3 things I make best are instant pancakes, cereal (Cocoa Puffs is my piece de resistance), and Five Guy's.

So whip out your old fashioned popcorn popper, and let's get started.

The ingredients you need are:

1/2 c light corn syrup

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c super chunky (or not) peanut butter

8 c popcorn

Light up your stove with a medium sized sauce pan. Combine the light corn syrup and sugar and bring it to a slow boil while stirring it constantly. Constantly is the key word here. If you aren't stirring, it means you're burning. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves. At that point, you can turn off the heat on the stove and add the peanut butter to the sugar mixture. The peanut butter will thin out so it's easy to pour. Spread it out over the popcorn and stir it up. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. If you're feeling exotic, you can add nuts or candy pieces. Katie says it's not complete until chocolate is involved, so you can also drizzle some melted chocolate over the top if that's what you crave.

Free Cone Day

2010-03-22T16:30:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day. If you are in Salt Lake they have a location at the Gateway. I think we'll go check it out this year. Click Here for more info.

Gap and Old Navy Coupon

2010-03-19T09:34:00.001-06:00

Here is a coupon for 30% at Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap Outlet, and Banana Republic Outlet. You get 30% off and 5% goes to Feeding America. I'm going to use it to get Addie some cute clothes for her birthday. This coupon is only good until Saturday.

Click Here for the coupon.

Vocalpoint is Awesome!

2010-03-17T17:13:00.000-06:00

Look what I got in the mail today.......

And when you open it up......

A full bottle of Pantene Pro-V Shampoo! I love mail days like this. If you haven't signed up for Vocalpoint yet do so now! I love all of the free coupons and products they send. Click here to sign up.

If you want info on other companies that send you free coupon check out this post.

Oops

2010-03-17T10:14:00.000-06:00

At least it's just the Q, right? In other news: Addie has a new bruise on her forehead that makes her look like she has a unibrow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, make your milk green!

Cupcake Topper

2010-03-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

Cute free cupcake topper download from TomKat Studio. Click Here to download the file.

Color Career Quiz

2010-03-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Take this fun color quiz to see what it says your career should be. It says I'm a creator, I agree. I was surprized to see that is also worked for my husband. Try it out, let me know if it's right about you.

Thanks How about Orange.

Samantha Who?

2010-03-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

If you watched Samantha Who when it was on ABC, and you loved it like I did, you need to get your hands on Samantha Who?: The Complete Second Season. It has three episodes they did not air with a final episode that is amazing. How could they have stopped right when Todd finally asked Samantha out! It always seems like they take off my favorite shows like Pushing Daisies and Samantha Who?.

Easy Homemade Baby Bib

2010-03-09T08:33:00.012-07:00

Here is a really easy and cheap way to make baby bibs, use an old vinyl tablecloth. I bought this tablecloth from Walmart for like $4 about a year ago. It had its fair share of hard use and when it had one to many gross spots we took it off. I love the bright color so I wanted to do something with the extra material that still looked good and a baby bib was perfect!

I traced out my favorite bib making it a little bit longer and wider. I like it to cover Addie's shoulders, she always turns her head and gets her shoulder all gross.

I pinned up the bottom to make a little "pocket" for fallen food and sewed it down.

I then just used this bias tape to go around the edges to give it a more finished look. Finished it off with some Velcro and there you have it.

Here is the finished bottom pocket. I do not sew straight, that is about as straight as it's going to get.

It's really hard to get a picture of the finished project, even if you tempt toddlers with fruit snacks.

I love this because you can make SO many out of one tablecloth. You also don't even have to add the bias tape. To make it even simpler just cut out the bibs (the vinyl material doesn't fray) and safety pin them on. I'm going to do that with the rest of the tablecloth. I'm a very lazy crafter.

Check out The Thrifty Home for more Penny Pinching Ideas.

Bistro Chicken

2010-03-07T18:47:00.003-07:00

I found this recipe a long time ago and filed it away to try sometime. I file away a TON of recipes so pretty soon this one was forgotten. Then this week I was looking on This Week for Dinner and Jane had posted this recipe. We tried it tonight and I'm now sad it has taken me this long to try it! It was really yummy and easy, a winning combination. I think we'll eat it with rice from now on because we loved the sauce/rice combo.

Bistro Chicken
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (there is enough sauce for 6 but I just made 2)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can Campbell's French Onion Soup*
1 can diced tomatoes
A few shakes Italian Seasoning
Swiss Cheese
Brown the chicken breasts in a medium-high skillet in oil or butter. Remove and place in casserole dish.
Cook onions in skillet for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, french onion soup and cook together to reduce liquid for 5 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken in the casserole dish, top with Swiss cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

* I used the whole can of liquid in the soup but only about half of the onions.

Guest Posting

2010-03-05T08:48:00.005-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm guest posting today over at Baby Cheapskate, an awesome blog full of great baby deals. Go check it out!

Buttermilk Pancakes

2010-03-04T09:36:00.001-07:00

My mom used to make these pancakes when we were growing up. I'm telling you they really are the only way to go. I LOVE these pancakes! I can't eat the "just add water" pancakes anymore because they just taste so blah compared to these, PLUS these only take a few minutes to whip together. It's probably the 1/4 stick of butter melted into the batter that makes them taste So good.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1/4 C. butter
1 1/3 C. buttermilk *
1 egg
1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
2 t. sugar
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Melt butter, set aside to cool. Combine buttermilk and egg. In medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined. Stir in melted butter. Batter should be lumpy.
*I don't usually have buttermilk on hand so I just add about 1 T. white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of plain milk.

Visit Life As Mom for more recipes.

Favorite Toddler Snack

2010-03-03T07:59:00.004-07:00

Photo from Manolobig.com

We have a new (to us) snack that Addie has been loving lately. I just fill a sippy cup about half way with yogurt and fill the rest with milk, shake it up and it's good to go. Just don't use the yogurt with fruit chunks; they get stuck in the lid. That can only end in tears.

Does anyone else have any good snack ideas?

Irish Decor

2010-03-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

Look at this cute St. Patrick's Decor. I want to make that Irish Board. Go to Lulu's Tiles for the tutorials.

Awards!

2010-03-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

I've been given some awards that I have never posted. I'm so grateful to get the awards, it made me feel happy and giddy inside. This is exactly why I love blogging so much, you get to reach out and make someone else happy that you've never met. I haven't passed on the awards yet because I've been really lazy but here goes. I don't know any of the rules for these awards so I'll just pass them on.

First, Lori from Peterson St. Louis was so sweet and gave me some awards FOREVER ago. I've been procrastinating posting them because I could not only pick a few blogs that I love.

Give this to: Summer from Sumo's Sweet Stuff. I just love all of her fun ideas and links.

Give this to: Madison from Piece by Piece. Madison is a good friend of mine and I've enjoyed her comments on my blog.

Give this to: Jenny at Have Your Cake. She helps me get motivated to be healthier. I love to read her nutrition and fitness tips.

Ashleigh from Thankfully Thrifty gave me the Sunshine Award.

Give this to: Jessica from Utah Deal Diva. I look at TONS of frugal living blogs but this one is one of my favorites. Not only does she post about coupons and deals but she also posts about free activities and events going on around Utah. Love it!

Meredith from The Powell Pow Wow was so sweet to give me the Kreativ Blogger Award.

Give this to:
Bridget at Bake at 350. Makes some AMAZING cookies! I love to look at all of her yummy creations.

Lulu's Tiles She has some of the cutest St. Patrick Day Decor ideas!
Please visit all of these lovely blogs!

Annie from Annie's Eats. I love her blog, every recipe looks amazing!

Bugaloo Kids Shoes

2010-02-19T12:49:00.001-07:00

I have died and gone to baby shoe heaven. How cute are these shoes? And $12, are you kidding me? For more styles check out Bugaloo Kids.

Cookie Dough Truffles

2010-02-17T09:58:00.009-07:00

I love cookie dough, sometimes more than the finished cookie. So when I first saw this recipe on Annie's Eats, which is one of my favorite food blogs, I knew I had to make it. The picture had me drooling all over my computer!

These little truffles taste just like cookie dough, without the raw eggs. The batter was really easy to put together, the only thing that took some time was dipping the dough in chocolate. I only ended up dipping about half the batch because I knew we couldn't eat them all. The rest are still in my freezer waiting for another day of dipping.

Here are the little dough balls just waiting to go into the freezer. They look exactly like cookie dough, but didn't really taste like it until they were frozen.

You can tell Addie enjoyed them!

Cookie Dough Truffles
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
2¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1½ lb. semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, coarsely chopped
Mini chocolate chips (for garnish)
Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls.
Shape the chilled cookie dough mixture into 1-1½ inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Cover loosely, transfer the pan to the freezer and chill for 1-2 hours.

When ready to dip the truffles, melt the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Dip each chilled truffle, one at a time, coating in chocolate and shaking gently to remove the excess. (If at any point during dipping, the cookie dough balls become too soft, return to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.) Transfer to a wax-paper lined surface. If using mini chocolate chips for garnish, sprinkle on top quickly after dipping each truffle before the chocolate sets. Once all the truffles have been dipped, store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Elmo Socks

2010-02-15T15:55:00.002-07:00

These are the new favorite items at our house. I love how much fun socks can be when you are a two year old. Thanks Aunt Sarah!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T12:34:00.002-07:00

Hope your day is full of love and chocolate.

Easy Valentines Idea

2010-02-13T12:24:00.008-07:00

If the way to your mans heart is through his stomach, this could be for you. I would give it to Reed except I already showed it to him earlier to find out if it's dumb. It is not dumb. He liked it, your man should too.

Take a Jar of Salsa. Homemade perhaps?

Make a tag that says "My Love for You is SPICY"

Tie to Jar.

Don't Forget the Chips!

You're done. How cute is that?

Check out Tatertots and Jello for more fun ideas!

Easy Homemade Salsa

2010-02-13T12:05:00.005-07:00

We love salsa here. It's so fun to sit down with a bowl of yummy salsa and plenty of chips. We usually just have Pace on hand which is fine, but this one is WAY better. I first saw this recipe posted on The Frugal Girls and it's so easy I just had to try it out.

You blend a few ingredients together and TaDa! Fresh yummy salsa. It really is so easy and homemade is always better than store bought.

Easy Salsa

2 Cans Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can Original Ro-Tel {Hot Ro-Tel can be substituted}
1 Clove of Garlic, crushed
3 Green Onions, chopped
Handful of Cilantro {more to taste}
1/2 Small White or Yellow Onion, chopped

Combine all ingredients {excluding the Ro-Tel} in a food processor or blender. Pulse until well blended, then transfer to a bowl. And Eat!

Layers Clothing Warehouse Sale

2010-02-12T10:18:00.003-07:00

Layers is having a Warehouse Sale next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 19 &20) only. I haven't seen anything from Layers for a while now (probably because of the fire they had) but this sale was always my favorite. I hope they have some great deals!

The sale will be in the big building right next to Sun Flower Market, pretty easy to find.

Friday 2/19
Saturday 2/20
9 am to 7 pm

6230 S. State St.
Murray, UT 84107

Click Here for the map.

View Larger Map

Down East Warehouse

2010-02-10T18:48:00.004-07:00

I love Down East Basics clothing. They are cute, modest and priced right. If you like their clothes too and you live in (or visiting Utah) you should stop by the Down East Warehouse. I heard about their warehouse a long time ago when I read about it on a blog. I planned on going and checking it out a lot sooner but never got around to it. Finally today my sister and I went and got some great finds!
They have basics there for $3 or 2 for $5. Skirts and fashion tops are $6 or 2 for $10. They don't have any fitting rooms and sales are final. I ended up trying on a few skirts over my pants.

Also make sure you check for holes in your clothes, unless you are going to make something amazing like this.

365 West Hope Avenue (roughly 1410 South)
Salt Lake City

Thanks to Uber-Chic for Cheap for the info!

Free Brad Paisley Song

2010-02-09T21:49:00.003-07:00

Click Here to download a free copy of Brad Paisley's new single, Letter to me. If you like country music this is awesome.

And yes of course this song almost made me cry, most country songs do.

Thanks Thankful Thrifty!

Tasty Lentil Tacos

2010-02-06T10:26:00.004-07:00

We tried out Lentil Tacos this week and really liked them. I was actually surprised how much we enjoyed eating them. The only complaint we had was that the lentils where still pretty hard. I ended up cooking them a lot longer than the recipes says and they still didn't get soft enough. We didn't want to wait any longer so we just ate them like that.

I halved the recipe and we used soft whole wheat tortillas because I'm more of a soft shell kind of girl. Also Addie loved eating the lentil mixture and rice, that makes this another healthy toddler food.

Now we have healthy and delicious alternatives to hamburgers and tacos. Try them out, let me know what your family thinks of them.

Lentil Tacos

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
12 taco shells
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons fat free sour cream

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.

Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Check out A southern Fairytale, Blessed with Grace, and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for more recipes.

Cheaper than roses

2010-02-05T11:02:00.003-07:00

Another great Valentines idea. I love love love how this Love Note Bouquet looks. For directions look Here. Found on Your Life in Shade.

Sweet Valentines Ideas

2010-02-04T17:05:00.003-07:00

I have been loving all of the fun Valentines treats I've seen around the web. Here is a sample of some of my favorites.

I love love love these iPod Valentines, they are my new favorites. Found Here.

Cute felt fortune cookies filled with kisses. Found on My Petite Purse.

I love these cute Lollipop Topiaries found on one of the cutest blogs, Remodelaholic.

Cute little candy shaped cakes. I love how these look! Found Here.

I love these strawberry roses, I would enjoy these far more than real roses. Found Here.
Cute little Cupid cupcakes, found Here.

Here is a cute heart shaped layered jello. I don't really like jello but I do enjoy a good layered jello every once and a while. Found Here.

A Valentine's Tree

2010-02-01T18:41:00.016-07:00

My mom gave me a little white Christmas Tree this year that she was just going to throw away. We used it during Christmas as another decoration and then put it away. Then I saw on someones blog (I wish I could remember who! Update: It was Laurel's cute tree that I saw, you can find it Here) that they created a Valentine's Tree out of their little white one. Why didn't I think of that?? So here is my first Valentines Decoration of the year.

I was going to make my decorations but then I went to Michale's and found these cute little hearts on sale. The only problem was that they only had red, which really isn't a problem if you have some glitter and Mod Podge.

I just did a layer of Mod Podge (has it always been Mod Podge, I thought it was Modge Podge) and sprinkled the glitter on. Then I cut some ribbon and stuck it to the top of the heart.

Ta Da, pretty cute.

The finished Valentine's Tree. Now I just need to find some little gifts to go under it.

Penny Pinching Party
Blue Cricket Design
Creations by Kara

Menu Plan 18th Week

2010-01-31T18:14:00.004-07:00

Click Here for my favorite recipe from last week. A delicious, juicy, cheap, easy, crockpot rotisserie chicken.

This week I planned my menu and went to the store yesterday for all of the ingredients. Hopefully that will make it easier to actually go through with the menu.

I'm always trying to find new recipes that are meatless and easy, I've found one more this week that I'm going to try called Lentil Tacos. I saw this in the menu of a great blog called The Saved Quarter, the name got me interested so I looked up a recipe to try out.

This week most of the meals are meatless, I think this will make for a easy, money saving week.

Monday: Lentil Tacos
Tuesday: No-Bake Mac and Cheese
Wednesday: Ham Fried Rice and Scallion Pancakes
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Soup
Saturday: Date Night
Sunday: Cheese Enchiladas

cheap healthy fast easy frugal recipes food meatless dinner
easy recipes food recipes cooking recipes healthy recipes crockpot recipes slowcooker quick and
For more menus visit I'm an Organize Junkie.

Grab My Button

2010-01-31T17:57:00.003-07:00

I now have a button! For all of you that have a blog, grab my button! I think it's pretty cute. If you have any question on how to add it just ask!

Shade Warehouse Sale

2010-01-27T18:31:00.002-07:00

If you love Shade clothing this is a great time to buy! The selection is often more limited but I'm always able to find some great basics for cheap!

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken

2010-01-25T21:18:00.005-07:00

Bad picture, I may have accidentally put the chicken in the crockpot upside down. Maybe you wont read this if I make it small.....?

I am always on the lookout for good crockpot meals. I love my crockpot, I love throwing everything together in the morning and knowing dinner is done. I found this recipe on a recipe swap forum and I knew I had to try it.

For my small family I only used 2 potatoes and a hand full of carrots which was definitely enough, I only had french cut green beans so that's what I used but next time I will use the other ones. I thought the chicken would dry since you don't add any liquid but it was falling off the bone. You can also use the leftover chicken anyway you want the next day.

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken

1 whole chicken
3-4 medium Potatoes
1/2 bag baby carrots
1 can green beans, drained
1/2 bag of carrots
Salt/Pepper, spices and herbs to your taste

Put all veggies in bottom of the crockpot, season veggies, place the chicken (washed and patted dry) on top. Season with salt, pepper, any herb you like, and set crockpot on high for 1 hour, then turn to low for 9 hours.

I'm linking this recipe to Crockpot Wednesday.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life

2010-01-25T14:42:00.003-07:00

I finished my second Readers Choice Book a few days ago titled Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo. Here is the synopsis from Good Reads.

English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are.
Denied tenure in the wake of the scandal and left penniless by the ensuing divorce, Emma packs up what few worldly possessions she has left and heads to England on a quest to find the missing letters of Jane Austen. Locating the elusive letters, however, isn't as straightforward as Emma hoped. The owner of the letters proves coy about her prize possessions, sending Emma on a series of Austen-related tasks that bring her closer and closer to the truth, but the sudden reappearance of Emma's first love makes everything more complicated.
In the end, Emma learns that doing the right thing has very little to do with other people's expectations and everything to do with her own beliefs. Laced with fictional excerpts from the missing letters, Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of a woman betrayed who uncovers the deeper meaning of loyalty.

Here is my review:

The title and cover of this book really drew me in, I thought it would be something fun and light to read. In the end I thought it was pretty good. Not great but I didn't hate it. I'm not much of a Jane Austen fan, I never read any of her books (although most of them are on my list for this year) but I have seen the movies. This book is about a professors that knows everything about her life so it was kind of interesting to get a little of that personal information.

This book also has a small amount of mystery as the main character runs around England finding clues to piece together more information about Jane Austen. It also has a little romance on the side, which I always enjoy.

What this book really did was make me crave to go to England, it has always been a dream of mine and the details in this book made me wish to go even more.

Target Diaper Deal

2010-01-23T13:29:00.005-07:00

Here is a great deal for Target if you need more diapers:

$3 off Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers Click Here
PLUS
$2.50 off Huggies Pure and Natural Click Here

That makes them $5.50 off one package! I know I need some more diapers and I love how soft these ones feel.

Save on Groceries at Coupons.com! Click Here

New Blog Design

2010-01-21T22:48:00.003-07:00

Do you like my new blog design? I've been working on it for a little while and I really like it. If' you're reading this post through a reader come check it out, let me know what you think.

Free Cereal Coupon

2010-01-20T14:55:00.006-07:00

I have a really hard time eating breakfast. I don't like eating a big meal right when I wake up; my body just doesn't like that. My husband is the complete opposite, he would have a huge breakfast every morning with pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns.... the whole thing.

Since I don't really like breakfast, I've always just eaten some toast and fruit or something small but my hubby has suffered. I felt bad buying him the real sugary cereal, but he doesn't really like the healthy stuff. So I was very excited when I heard that General Mills would be reducing sugar and making their cereals healthier.

This week General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in childrens' diets.

Other cereal benefits:
Ready-to-eat cereals, including pre-sweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in childrens' diets.

Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.

More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

One thing I like to do is give Addie a bowl of dry sugar cereal when she wants a treat. She loves the taste and she feels like she is getting a candy or a cookie. I love that it still has some fiber, vitamins and other nutrients.

Now for the deals:

You can get a coupon for $1 off a box of General Mills Cereal by clicking Here.

This information, coupon and my free cereal coupons was all provided by General Mills and MyBlogSparks. For more information about MyBlogSpark click Here.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

2010-01-19T18:47:00.003-07:00

I'm really excited to do more book reviews this year. Last year I didn't feel like I had enough time to write reviews for the books I read because I would just hurry onto the next book.

I found this book at my library where they are doing Readers Choice right now. I love Readers Choice because every time you read one of the books involved you get a stamp, when you have enough stamps you get a free book!

Most of my reviews will be short and sweet. I don't know much about reviewing books, all I can tell you is if I liked it or not. So here goes...

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

Here is what Good Reads has to say about this book:

What does an Indian man with a wealth of common sense do when his retirement becomes too monotonous for him to stand? Open a marriage bureau of course!

With a steady stream of clients to keep him busy, Mr. Ali sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs. Ali and his careful assistant, Aruna, look on with vigilant eyes. There’s the man who wants a tall son-in-law because his daughter is short; the divorced woman who ends up back with her ex-husband; a salesman who can’t seem to sell himself; and a wealthy, young doctor for whom no match is ever perfect. But although his clients go away happy, little does Mr. Ali know that his esteemed Aruna hides a tragedy in her past—a misfortune that the bureau, as luck would have it, serendipitously undoes.

Alexander McCall Smith meets Jane Austen in this delightfully charming Indian novel about finding love.

I agree with the Alexander McCall Smith comparison, if you've read any of his books you will notice a similarity in their style. I'm not sure I agree with the Jane Austen comparison but it does have a little romance in it which I love.

This book was fun, clean and interesting. I have never read a book based in India so I really enjoyed reading about the culture there. I did think a few parts of the book got a little boring but not so much that I stopped reading.

Menu Plan 17th Week

2010-01-17T20:02:00.004-07:00

I'm back to meal planning. I've been really slow getting back into my day to day routine after the holidays. Once again our dinners have suffered with no meal plan. We've eaten out a lot more and had lots of grilled cheese sandwiches and cereal for dinner.

I would like to start figuring out my meal plan on Saturday after I see what is on sale and then go to the store so I can get everything I need for that week. I didn't do that this week, I'll try for next week.

Monday: Tortellini, bread sticks and peas

Tuesday: Cranberry Chicken (new recipe, will post if good)

Wednesday:Soup (What kind should I make?)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday:Thai Peanut Noodles

Saturday: Black Bean Burgers

Sunday: Not sure yet, I'll figure it out.

For more menus visit I'm an Organize Junkie.

Play Dough Recipes

2010-01-14T11:05:00.003-07:00

Addie is now getting old enough that I want to start doing crafts and activities with her. We started this week by trying out play dough. I think she is still a little to young to know what to do with it, but it was a good activity that lasted longer than most.

I decided to make the play dough, instead of buying some, because it's so easy and I knew she would want to eat it. I was right, when I first gave it to her she stuck it in her mouth. Here are some fun play dough and clay recipes. The first recipe is the one I used and it came together in literally seconds. I halved the recipes which gave us plenty for Addie and I to share. I'm planning on trying out the other recipes next.

I first gave her some cookies cutters to use but in the end she just wanted a fork to stab it over and over again.

What other crafts or games do you do with toddlers? I could use all the suggestions I can get!!

Play Dough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup water colored with food coloring

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the water and oil gradually. Add more water if the dough is too dry, or add more flour if it is too sticky. The oil preserves the dough and keeps it soft so it can be used many times. Store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Provide rolling pins and cookie cutters to use with the play dough.

Craft Clay

Combine:
1 cup corn starch
1 1/4 cup salt
2 cups baking soda (1 pound box)
1 tablespoon oil

Cook until thickened to doughlike consistency. Turn mixture out on pastry board and knead. Cover with a damp cloth or keep in a plastic bag. Good for plaques and other models. It can be painted when dry.

Modeling Clay

2 cups salt
2/3 cups water
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup cold water

Stir salt and 2/3 cups water over heat four to five minutes. Remove from heat. Add corn starch and cold water. Stir until smooth. Cook again until thick. Store in plastic bag. This clay will not crumble when dry.

Baked Clay

4 cups flour
3/4 cup water
1 cup salt

Press out dough and have child make his handprint on it. Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Will be light brown in color.

I got these recipes from Here, a great source for other fun ideas!

This has been linked to Frugal Friday, on Life as Mom.

Aveeno Baby Review and Giveaway

2010-01-11T17:27:00.004-07:00

As a memeber of Bzzagents I've had the opportunity to try a few different products. The last product they sent me to try was the new Aveeno Baby shampoo and Diaper Cream. I love Aveeno products so I was very excited to try some of their baby line. I had very high hopes and expectations because of the other Aveeno products I have tried.

Aveeno Baby Essential Moisture Shampoo

Here is what Aveeno has to say about it: HOW IT'S DIFFERENT: Not all baby shampoos are created equal. Some formulas may be fine for newborns in need of a basic tear-free cleanser, but fall short when it comes to tackling tangles in older babies. Containing AVEENO^® exclusive ACTIVE NATURALS^®, AVEENO^® Baby^® Essential Moisture Shampoo is unique in that it's gentle enough for infants, yet it gives older children the extra boost of moisture their hair needs.

Review: Addie was born with a full head of dark hair. It has now become very fine, long hair that tangles very easily. I was having a lot of problems with her hair before I started using this baby shampoo. The back of her hair would become a nest of tangles after riding in her car seat for any amount of time. After the first time I used this on her I could noticeably see the difference. Her hair was softer and smoother than ever before. It doesn't tangle as easily and I can now style it better (when she lets me). This shampoo is also tear free so it never causes any problems with her eyes and it smells nice.

Smoothing Relief Diaper Rash Cream

Here is what Aveeno has to say about it: HOW IT'S DIFFERENT: Some diaper rash ointments can be thick, messy and hard to smear on your baby's bottom. Containing AVEENO^® exclusive ACTIVE NATURALS^®, AVEENO^® Baby^® Soothing Relief Diaper Rash Cream is easy to apply and is easy to wash off hands. Did we mention it's fragrance and odor-free? No yucky mess or smell, just pure relief for baby (and peace of mind for mom).

Review: I really liked using this diaper cream. Addie doesn't get a diaper rash very often, but whenever she does have a problem I just smeared a little of this cream on and it does the trick! I love that it doesn't have a fragrance and it feels creamy and nice.

Giveaway: I have three packs of samples for three people that want to try out these two products. In the pack you will get a sample of the baby shampoo and a sample of the diaper cream. You will also get a coupon for $1 off a Aveeno product. If you would like a sample just leave a comment. If more than three people want them I'll draw the names.

Old Spaghetti Factory Deal!

2010-01-11T11:02:00.004-07:00

The Old Spaghetti Factory is celebrating their 41st anniversary with 41% off their pasta classics on January 12 & 13 only. Click Here for more info.

We went to this last year and it was a fun, inexpensive night out.

Thanks The Frugal Girls!

Free Workout Music Download

2010-01-09T12:05:00.003-07:00

The Biggest Loser and Subway have created this 60 minute workout mix, click here to download it for free! I just downloaded it and it almost makes me want to get outside and run. Almost. Instead I'll use it for some power cleaning music.

Some of the songs included are: Bleeding Love, American Boy, Umbrella, Stronger, Love Story, Paparazzi.

Just click here for your free Biggest Loser and Subway Workout Mix.

New Year's Resolution Helps

2010-01-06T20:26:00.003-07:00

I love making New Years Resolutions, I usually don't accomplish my goal but that doesn't stop me from trying again the next year. I found some great blogs to help with your New Years Resolutions.

Mandi at Organize Your Way has started this 31 days of organizing for a better 2010. Each day she is giving tips on how to achieve different goals, like today is "Do more kids' crafts and activities". I've read all of her past posts and they are wonderful!

If one of your resolutions has anything to do with your marriage you should check out Simple Marriage. It's a blog I just found with great tips and articles about making your marriage better. We all know we can improve on our marriages (if you don't, read this article about how a good marriage is the enemy of a great marriage).

More Water

2010-01-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

One of my many goals for this year is to drink more water. I don't like the taste of water (weird I know) so I have a hard time drinking it. I'm trying to get healthier and that means drinking water...so I've made it fun. I bought this bad boy at target for around $3 and all ready I drink twice as much as I did.

I don't know what it is about drinking from this bottle, it could be the straw, the fact that I keep it in the fridge, or because its MINE. Whatever it is I'm glad its helping!

Oven Mitt HOT

2010-01-04T21:58:00.003-07:00

My husband showed me this video. Watch it, you will laugh.

I DID IT!

2010-01-03T21:57:00.005-07:00

I did it. I read 100 books in 2009. I'm so happy that I actually did it. I thought it would be easy because I love to read, and I do it all the time, but it was actually really hard. A lot of the time I didn't feel like reading but felt like I had to read whenever I had any down time, it became more of a chore.

This year one of my goals is to read more of the classics. I read a lot of good books last year but I read even more fluff. They were fun while I was reading them, but I don't remember anything about them anymore. I want to read books that are more substantial this year.

Here is a list of some of my favorite books from last year. The are all different and I enjoyed them for different reasons. If you have a question about one of these or the others I read just let me know!

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire - LOVE LOVE LOVED these books.

They did it with love - Fun mystery, interesting twisted ending

Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Cute and easy book. I loved how clean and simple it was.

City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass - Great books to read when done with The Huger Games. Not quite as good but I really enjoyed reading them.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Loved this book a lot more than I had imagined. Interesting story and cute little romance.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Loved the movie, wanted to read the book.

Murder on the Orient Express - I love Agatha Crisitie. There is a reason why this is a classic Mystery.

Austenland - Fun book for Pride and Prejudice lovers.

Love After All - One of my favorite LDS Romances.

Jurassic Park - First time reading it and I really enjoyed it. Great way to break up the romance mystery pace I had going.

The Help - Really interesting book, I think it should be made into a classic.

The Lovers' Knot - Another fun mystery with a little romance on the side.

I'd Tell You I Love You but then I'd Have to Kill You - Young Adult spy book series that will be made into a movie, I think younger girls would really enjoy reading it.

Princess Academy - Another Young Adult book that I really enjoyed reading.

I'll find you - Great LDS mystery, reread it and enjoyed it as much as the first time.

Time and Eternity - A new LDS Romance to me that I still remember, so it must have been good.

The witch of Blackbird Pond - I love this classic Young Adult book.

Dear John - Nicholas Spark book, so I cried. I didn't love the ending but I enjoyed reading the book.

2009 Recipe Round Up

2009-12-30T10:45:00.004-07:00

I love the posts at the end of the year where they list the top favorites things from that year. I've decided to do a recipe addition. Here are some of my favorite recipes from this year. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Favorite Chicken Recipe

This Chicken California recipe is easy to make and delicious. It has become a new family favorite in our house.

Favorite Easy Cookie

This Lemon Cake Mix Cookie is simple to make and delicious. It's a nice change from the chocolate and sugar cookies.

Favorite New Vegetarian Meal

We LOVE these Black Bean and Brown Rice Burgers at my home. I am so glad I found them. They are fast and easy to prepare and a nice healthy change from a regular burger.

My New Favorite Cookie

I think the title says it all. I LOVE these cookies.

Favorite Noodle Dish

We can not get enough of this Thai Peanut noodle dish. I love the flavor and that it isn't spaghetti, again.

Favorite Bread Dough

This is the best pizza dough recipe if you want it think and delicious. You cook the pizzas in cake pans instead of of a cookie sheet or board. It makes it thick, chewy, and delicious.

Free Shipping Today

2009-12-17T09:29:00.004-07:00

If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping today is the day to do it. Over 700 stores are giving away free shipping today. Plus it will be here by December 24th. Click Here for a list.

Pretty Earrings

2009-12-17T09:16:00.001-07:00

I love the look of these earrings from Down East Basics. Can't wait until they're in stores.

Photography Week 6

2009-12-15T20:14:00.006-07:00

This is what you find looking through your window when you live on the mountain.

Wish I could have taken more closeups but I guess I make too much noise.

Week 7: Shooting Outdoors

Giveaway Winner

2009-12-15T08:37:00.003-07:00

The giveaway is over. Thank you all for entering. The winner was choosen by using Random.org.

The winner is.......

Sarah!

Stay tuned for the next giveaway that will be coming up. I'm REALLY excited about it!

Easy homemade gift bows

2009-12-14T20:41:00.006-07:00

Have you been wrapping all your gifts? I've started and I'm about half way done, now I just have to wait for the rest of them to arrive. My favorite tip about wrapping presents is making your own bow for the top. My mom has made these bows for as long as I can remember and her mom before that. It is one of those things I just kind of thought everyone did, until people started asking me how to make them. So here is the easy bow tutorial.

First use a scrap of wrapping paper that you have left over. I always use a square and fold it in half.

Now just start cutting strips, you can make them as wide or as thin as you want. Making them thicker or thinner will change the look when you are done.

When all of your strips are cut, open the scissors up and glide the paper across the blade. I always start in the middle and go in opposite directions. As you glide the paper it should curl the paper. You may have done this with ribbon, its the same thing. Don't push to hard because you could rip the paper.

Now group all of the strips in the middle.

Secure with a peace of tape with the edges hanging over the paper to attach to the box.

Tada! You're done. Easy, beautiful, and inexpensive.

Click Here for more DIY projects from A Soft Place to Land, and Works for me Wednesday. Click Here for more frugal Christmas ideas of Life as mom.

Menu Plan 16th week

2009-12-13T19:28:00.005-07:00

Click Here to enter my giveaway. It ends Monday night!

My favorite meal from this past week was this Thai Peanut Noodle dish. We love to eat this in our house because it is a little different from our normal and very delicious. I always wish I had more the next day so I'm going to start doubling the recipe.

Monday: Breakfast for dinner

Tuesday: Christmas Party

Wednesday: Beef Enchiladas

Thursday: Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Friday: Guiltless Fettuccine Alfredo

Saturday:Date Night

Sunday: Shepard's Pie

For more Menu Plans visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Coupon Codes

2009-12-12T15:33:00.005-07:00

Are you still doing Christmas shopping? I know I am. Here is a list of some coupon codes that I have found very helpful in saving money. Also if you do shop online don't forget to use Ebates, to get cash back for each purchase. Click Here for more info about Ebates.

Old Navy: Additional 20% off with code ONSAVE20 valid until 12/15
American Eagle: Additional 15% off with code 96852031
Barnes and Noble: In store only, 25% coupon Here
Bath and Body Works: In store only, Free item with any $10 purchase Here.
Express: $15 off of $30 purchase with code 4493 valid until 12/13
Ann Taylor Loft: $25 off $30 purchase with code 106020084 valid until 12/24
JoAnn Fabric: 40% off one item with coupon Here valid until 12/31
Gap: 20% entire purchase with code GAP20 and Here for in
Borders: 30% off one item with code BSL7021A valid until 12/14
REI: 15% off one REI brand or Novara item with code GPMSN9

Click Here to enter my giveaway! It ends this Monday night!

Delicious Thai Peanut Noodle

2009-12-09T17:49:00.004-07:00

This meal has become one of our family favorites. I love the taste of the peanut butter sauce and lime. Sounds strange but they taste so good together. I usually don't add the cilantro because I don't like the flavor and we usually don't have peanuts but it is good without them.

This is also a very easy meal, and most of the ingredients you probably have on hand. It is also awesome the next day for lunch.

Thai Peanut Noodles

1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (I use WAY less of this stuff, it Spicy. I only use about 1/4 tsp.)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites. I love their blog, they have tons of great recipes.

For more quick recipes visit Life as Mom for the Ultimate recipe swap.

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

Photography Week 5

2009-12-08T20:47:00.004-07:00

Did you all read last weeks lesson? I think it had some great information that everyone can use, with any kind of camera. The lesson was all about composition and how to frame your subjects in the picture. Here is a picture my husband Reed took of his two favorite ladies. If you missed that lesson click HERE.

Week 6: Shooting Indoors

Menu Plan 15th Week

2009-12-06T20:24:00.003-07:00

Have you tried the Brown Rice and Black Bean Burgers yet? They have become another family favorite in my house. They are easy to make and a lot healthier than a regular burger.

Monday: Thai Peanut Noodles
Tuesday: Church Christmas Party
Wednesday: Potato Soup
Thursday: N0 Bake Mac and Cheese
Friday: Yummy Sandwiches
Saturday: Date Night
Sunday:Chicken and Rice something

For more menu Plans visit Organize Junkie. Also make sure you enter my first giveaway!

FIrst Review and Giveaway

2009-12-03T21:20:00.005-07:00

I'm really excited to post my first review and giveaway. I hope to do a lot more of these in the future.

I was really excited when the Eco Store USA contacted me about trying some of their products.
The Eco Store USA makes plant based, non-toxic Household Cleaning, Baby and Personal Care Products that contain No Nasty Chemicals. You can purchase their products at any Meijer store or online at theecostoreusa.com.

The Review
I decided to test out the Citrus Spray Cleaner and the Baby Body Wash. They have so many great products I want to try in the future, however, I decided these two products I use anyway.

Citrus Spray Cleaner:
I loved this product. Right before I used this all purpose cleaner I was using a different cleaner and I almost passed out from the fumes. I literally had to step away and breath some clean air. I then tried this one and loved the clean lemon scent. It cleaned as well as other cleaners and I didn't have to leave the room. As minor as this may be, I also loved the packaging. It sprayed really well! You know when you get those bottle of stuff that get clogged or just don't spray evenly, I hate that. This one was perfect.

Baby Body Wash:
This is a very mild baby wash that worked really well in getting my toddler clean. She was able to splash and play as long as she wanted with no eye discomfort or any other problems. She also has sensitive skin but this cleaner didn't bother her skin at all.
The only thing I didn't like about this was the smell. It says on the bottle that it is aromatherapy. I have never really liked aromatherapy smells so I should have known I wouldn't like the smell, but it didn't seem to bother Addie at all.

Now for the GIVEAWAY! The Eco Store has been gracious enough to give away a $25 gift certificate to one reader! To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this post! You can get up to three more entries by doing the following:

Sign up for the No Nasty Chemicals newsletter which can be found at their blog http://blog.ecostoreusa.com, and leave a comment here telling me you did this.
Follow them on Twitter @ecostoreusa, leave a comment here telling me you did this.
Follow them on Facebook, leave a comment here telling me you did this.

The winner will be announced on Monday the 14th. For everyone else that doesn't win you are still in luck! For the rest of this month the Eco Store will be selling their products for %40 off.

Update: This Giveaway is now over.

Photography Week 4

2009-12-01T20:28:00.004-07:00

I'm back! I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of food and family. I didn't really feel like blogging last week, I didn't even feel like reading blogs. I'll be posting the giveaway this week since I was a slacker last week.

Here is the lesson for the next week. Have fun taking picture and practicing. Reed and I took Addie out during the weekend for a fun photo shoot. I think we came away with some really fun pictures. The one above is my new favorite.

Week 5: Composition

Photography Week 3

2009-11-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

The lesson this week is one that everyone can read no matter what camera you have. It is all about using the flash on your camera. I always hate using the flash indoors because it makes everything look yucky. I'm really excited to lean when to use it correctly.

Week 4: The Flash

Menu Plan 14th Week

2009-11-22T18:29:00.004-07:00

This week is going to be super easy. We will have two Thanksgiving dinners and I am not in charge of ether of them.

Stay tuned this week because I will be hosting my first giveaway!

Monday: Sloppy Joes
Tuesday: Black Bean and Brown rice burgers (didn't get to them last week)
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner with my family
Friday: Thanksgiving family with Reed's family
Saturday: Eat out (date perhaps.....hint, hint hubby)
Sunday: Lemon brown sugar chicken and Quinoa

Fore more menu plans visit I'm an Organize Junkie.

Some Favorite Things

2009-11-19T11:36:00.006-07:00

Today is My Favorite Things party over at one of my favorite blogs 320 Sycamore. Given the name of my blog I thought it would be fun to participate. So here is a small list of some of my favorite things at this moment. The list continues to grows and change so I'll keep you updated when I find more favorites.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is seriously the easiest way to have home baked bread everyday. Seriously. I love this book. All you do to make the recipes in this book is add the ingredients to a bowl, stir, let rise, and put in the refrigerator or use right away. It is that simple. There is no kneading and you don't need special equipment. We love the recipe for white bread, full of butter, yum.

Johnson's Bedtime Moisture Wash. I love this baby wash. After Addie has had a bath in this stuff I can't stop smelling her./.

Gold Bond Ultimate Lotion
I have really dry skin, especially in the winter. My legs get so dry that they start to look like I have scales. This is the first lotion that has actually helped make my skin softer, and kept it that way all day!

Jamberry by Bruce Degen. This was one of my favorite books when I was little. Now, it is the only book Addie will actually let me read before she turns the page. It has a fun rhythm that I have memorized and full colorful pictures.

While you were sleeping. Still one of my favorite moves of all time. I love to watch it even more around this time of year.

Burt Bees Lip Shimmer. I love the minty smell, light feel and find of color. This feels like you're wearing chapstick but it looks more like a gloss.

That's the beginning of my list. I have a lot of other favorite things but I also have a toddler crawling all over me begging for attention. What are some of your favorite things?

Photography Week 2

2009-11-17T08:55:00.004-07:00

Well I didn't get to take pictures this last week because my camera battery charger has walked off. I guess that is what happens when you only have to charge the batter every 6 months or so. This week was a great lesson though so if you want to see the pictures that go with the lesson click here.

Week 3: The color of Light

Bookcase Face Lift

2009-11-16T10:41:00.006-07:00

I decided it was time to organize all of my craft supplies. I wanted a small bookcase so that everything would be easy to reach and organized. Whenever I organize something it has to not only be functional but pretty. That night I made my husband go to Ikea with me to find some shelfs that would work. We found this bookcase that had the perfect measurements but it was too plain. So I ran to the store and found some cute drawer lining paper.

If you find paper that is self-adhesive this is all you need. The back of the bookcase, scissors and paper.

Here is the finished product. I love to do this with all different kids of shelves, you can use just about anything on the background and it gives your furniture a lot of color and personality. Here are some picture of it up close with my ribbon organizer.

Here is the hutch I redid with fabric covering the back.

For more DIY products visit A Soft Place to Land.

Menu Plan Monday 13th Week

2009-11-15T19:56:00.003-07:00

Well I'm back to menu planning this week. Last Sunday I just didn't feel like trying to figure it out and we suffered last week. We definitely went out to eat more and didn't have very good meals when I did cook.

Oh and by the way, my husband made my new favorite cookies last night and I think we ate the whole batch in a matter of hours. SO GOOD.

Monday: Breakfast for dinner

Tuesday: Chicken Pockets with broccoli

Wednesday: Christmas Concert with family. I can't believe I'm going to a Christmas thing already.

Thursday: Brown Rice and Black Bean Burgers with Potato Wedges

Friday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Tacos

For more Menu Plan Monday visit Organize Junkie.

And don't forget, if you are interested in learning to take better photos, you can learn along with me. I'm starting a 12 week photography extravaganza. My husband and I are taking the challenge, and so should you!

Old Navy Coats for CHEAP

2009-11-12T12:28:00.004-07:00

If you need coats in your family head out to Old Navy today! Today is the last day for 50% off all outerwear plus you can use this coupon for an extra 30%!! I went in today and got this coat for Addie for only $13.82.

The 30% coupon is good for Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic from November 12 - 15.
Thanks Baby Cheapskate!

Organize Ribbon

2009-11-10T20:36:00.006-07:00

I've been organizing all of my crafting supplies this week. It was time to do something new because they were scattered all over the place and I could never find what I wanted.

I found a bunch of ribbon spools that I didn't know what to do with until I remembered seeing a box like the one above. I didn't want to actually make anything so I decided to improvise. I found this little container lying around and all I had to do was pull some of the ribbon through the slits. Simple! I think I got this container at Walmart for a few dollars and it came in a pack of three.

I know I have some more ribbon lying around, now to find them and put them in their new home. Works for me! For more works for me Wednesday click here.

Week 1 homework

2009-11-09T19:32:00.005-07:00

Well week one is complete. I had a lot of fun going out in the little garden area next to my apartment to test out what I learned from last weeks lesson. In this first week I learned about aperture, or how blurry your picture is.

Here is the first picture. Straight out of the camera, set on automatic.

Here is the next picture notice how the background gets fuzzy.

Here is the last picture with my aperture set as low as my camera can go, it is almost all blur.

Here is the link to this weeks lesson. If you haven't started yet you have plenty of time. The lessons only take a few minutes to read and you learn a ton from them.

Week Two: ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture

Scrapbook Sale!!

2009-11-05T14:24:00.005-07:00

If you are a scrapbooker and you live in the Salt Lake Valley you need to go to the great warehouse sale We R Memory Keepers is having. My sister and I went this morning and I got a TON of great stuff. They have patterned paper by the pound, stickers, rub-on, brads, books, and a lot more. The patterned paper is a great deal at $3.00 for 25 sheets. When we went it was not busy at all and they have a ton of stuff so I don't think they'll run out soon.

Novemever 5th 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
6th 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
7th 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Click Here for directions and to get a coupon sent to your email. (the coupon is for 10% off ONE item, not entire purchase)

Week 1 first try

2009-11-03T09:23:00.003-07:00

Here is some of my homework for lesson 1. This is the straight out of the camera shoot. Look at that blurry background, I love it.

Click Here for more Wordless Wednesday.

Photography 101

2009-11-01T19:16:00.001-07:00

Are you interested in taking better pictures? For my birthday last year Reed gave me a new camera. I was so excited because I have always enjoyed taking pictures but this new camera and having Addie have bumped it up to an obsession.

I have taken a few pictures that I really like but I am always interested in getting better. One of my New Years Resolutions last year was to learn more about photography. I haven't done that yet. I've taken thousands of pictures but I haven't really learned how to take good ones.

So for the next 9 weeks, yes that is all the time we have left until the new year, I am going to work on this 12 weeks to better photos class. I am really interested in this class because it is free and you can go at your own pace.

You are all welcome to join me. I'll post the link to the article and at the end of the week show some examples of my homework. I'm really excited about this. I tried to do this on my own a few months ago but I never got anywhere. I think being accountable to this blog will really help this time.

So for those that would like to join in here is the first weeks article. After you read the article you have some homework where you practice taking pictures with what you've learned. If you don't have a camera where you can change the settings just wait until the 5th week, you will be able to do all of the lessons from that point.

I need all the help I can get, everyone should do it with me! I'll post your favorite pictures here or link back to your blog if you are interested. Tell all your friends.

Week One: Aperture Basic Training

Menu Plan Monday 12th Week

2009-11-01T10:56:00.008-07:00

Make sure you check out the recipe for this AMAZING pan pizza I just posted. We wont be having it this week for dinner because I just made it two nights in a row.

Monday: Tortellini with leftover sauce (So easy if you use frozen Tortellini)

Tuesday: Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup ( I saw this recipe and really wanted to try it, I love soup)

Wednesday: Poppy Seed Chicken and rice (Family favorite, always hits the spot)

Thursday: Burritos of some kind (I'll make it up with some leftovers)

Friday: In Boise for a wedding

Saturday: Boise

Sunday:Steak and Potatoes

For more Menu Plan Monday visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

If you are interested in learning to take better photos, you can learn along with me. I'm starting a 12 week photography extravaganza. My husband and I are taking the challenge, and so should you!