Friday, December 30, 2011

Coupon Craze


I think most of us probably feel the same about grocery shopping. It is exhausting, and costs you a ton of money. There are times when I am walking out with a cart that is just lined with groceries and it cost me almost $100! Just the necessities these days make it hard to save money. If you have children you know your food doesn't always end up in the tummies, like you would love. Today I would like to introduce a wonderful site to those of you who are interested in clipping coupons. I know people who are in the coupon craze and other who do the bare minimum to save money. This website will do all the legwork for you in figuring out the best deals. So go ahead try it out, it worth your time.







Thursday, December 29, 2011

New Years Eve Fashion



The carefree days before being married and having my children I always looked forward to the new year in many ways. Number one is I love the thought of a “fresh start” in the beginning of the new year. No better way to bring that fresh start to your life by looking and feeling fabulous. My personal style for new year's eve is total glitz and glam. I love the sparkles and sexy look. Here are my favorite inspirations to ring in 2012 with total style.

Anya Hindmarch Valerie Multicolor Glitter Clutch.


So sophisticated and gorgeous. If you are not quite the glitzy type, but want to be glam this is the perfect accessories to carry your items in this New Year's Eve.


Miu Miu Open Toe Glitter/Suede Booties


These are amazing. Perfectly paired with a rich jewel tone tight and a fab little black dress. I can totally imagine a silver/grey smokey eye and nude lip with this awesome shoe.


Polyvore.com

This is a very cool website for loads of fashion inspirations. These looks I put together in a matter of 30 minutes. I'm sure you can find these pieces and create a similar look with no problem. This time though you will have a plan of attack while shopping because you will know exactly what you are looking for.












Happy New Years Everyone!

 

Free Leapster Applet Code



With The Leapster LeapPad as one of the hottest toys this year, I would like to share a free applet download code. This code will give you a free download for the Alphabet Soup game. My kids love it!
This is a great game for on the go play as you do not need a cartridge for it.

5813-0790-4610-4973

Happy Playing!




Monday, December 26, 2011

Free New Years Subway Art Printable

Hello Everyone!

I Hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas. Now that the holiday has passed it is time to think New Years! Here is a Free Subway Art Printable to get your party decor started.



Enjoy the rest of 2011!



Friday, December 16, 2011

Saving Money With Online Shopping




                                                             

Saving Money With Online Shopping

I started shopping online just a few years back. I love the convenience of shipping and the ability to shop around for the best deal. I am always looking for ways to save money. Mr. Rebates is a website just for that. Mr. Rebates is a website that offers cash back just by clicking into the website where you want to shop through their site.

They currently have hundreds of participating stores. You will have a lifetime account through the site. Once the rebates appear in your available funds account you can request a check. I personally like to save up until I want a little bonus. I have cashed out three times and never had any issues. I recommend this website because of the cash back percentage rate. I have found they are the highest paying site out there. Hey its worth a couple extra clicks to save money. Try it out, you have nothing to lose!



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

2012 Pantone Color Of The Year Tangerine Tango

Tangerine Tango – Pantone's Color Of 2012

This fun, energetic, color was chosen because of the encouraging hues that provide motivation and action. Personally, I LOVE IT!
I decided to peek around and find inspiration through items with this beautiful hue. Enjoy!

The first thing that caught my attention is this amazing chair from Crate and Barrel. This would be a great focus piece in a subtle room. If you are looking for a pop of color this would definitely be a great go to piece. I am really enjoying the thoughts of Browns and Pantone Tangerine Tango mixed together.


The pallet including Tangerine Tango, Driftwood and Starfish drew my right in. I could imagine myself in this room with a chunky knit blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. This room is so earthy and airy with just the right amount of color. I love the idea of using pillows of an accent color to make the room pop. This is a simple and easy way to liven your room with out being anchored with a permanent piece.

On the fashion side I am actually having a hard time finding pieces that really interest me. I did however find jewelry pieces that are very fun!

I have to say my favorite is the Tangerine feather jewelry. Look at how funky these are. I love the way you can add the popular feather look with out having to put the darn things in your hair!

The second piece I really just loved is a bold beautiful hair flower. This can be worn with any complementing color to really add a special touch.

Well I hope you all enjoys samples of how you can incorporate the 2012 Pantone Color Of The Year Tangerine Tango.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Winter Fashion


Oh the weather outside is frightful...


I have been so inspired by all the adorable looks I have been seeing on Pinterest. I have decided to put together a grouping of winter looks that I would LOVE to have in my closet this winter.

 I am totally crushing on above the knees boots. I would really like to get a pair soon. This whole look is amazing, but the boots are what drew me in.

This is from the Dolores Promesas Fall Winter 2011-2012 Look book.





A sweet and classic sweater dress is a must in every females closet in the fall and winter. I love this classic look with the chunky bangles and the knee high socks. Those fantastic shoes definitely add some fun to the whole look. I would love to wear this.

This piece was from the Blanco 2012 Winter Look Book





This next look is an affordable gorgeous style from H&M.
This bright and fun pattern is a look that can be worn by day or night with minimal transformation. I would pull back my hair an add some sparkle with earrings and a bracelet for a fun and sexy night look.





This next piece is from the Christian Dior Ready to Wear Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 show during Paris Fashion Week. This look takes my breath away. Oh how I wish oh wish to have this in my closet one day. This dress just screams romance to me, with the flowing tiers of fabric and the charming top piece. The shoes add just enough drama and spunk to the look. Love it!













Saturday, November 26, 2011

My Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes


I hope everyone had a very special and happy Thanksgiving.

My family celebrates Thanksgiving three times, so I am spoiled with great food for a week or more. This thanksgiving we had so many delicious dishes it was hard for me to pick just one to share. I always have good luck with picking recipes, and everyone always requests for copies. With that being said I have decided to share my a few of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. Enjoy!



I am going to start with sharing the Sweet Potato Casserole from allrecipes.com. I have made this three times this week and each time everyone raved about the rich sweet taste.


I have made it with and without the eggs added and it turned out great each time. Once you try this I have a good feeling this will be the staple on your next menu.


My second favorite dish I tried this year was a Feta Dip. This is simply heaven. It is light yet filling. You have so many options for breads or dippers. This fantastic recipe was found on great blog called Clover Lane. Take this to your next party and watch the magic happen. Pita bread, french bread, even crackers would be a fantastic side with it.
055

I threw this dish together with a couple moderation's and it was still perfection. I had cans of diced tomatoes so that is what I opted to use. Ah-Maze-ING! Simple! Love it! This seriously was about a 10 minute prep including cutting the bread. I also did not have Greek Seasoning so I used Oregano, Salt and Pepper as suggested. Bravo!


Two words. Snickerdoodle Blondies.

My brother in law loves Snickerdoodle cookies, and he could not get enough of this sinfully delicious dessert. This recipe was found on a hilarious blog called Delightful Bitefuls. She has so many amazing dishes listed. To make this dish even better, most every home kitchen has all the ingredients with out a special trip out. Try it. Love it. Make it again.


All pictures and recipes were from the original sources mentioned in this blog.

Thank you!

 


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Free Christmas Subway Art Printable


Here comes Santa Clause...



I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I am so excited for Christmas. I decided to spend the day taring my house apart. My wonderful, amazing husband put up the Christmas tree. We got it all decorated and it looks beautiful. There is nothing more peaceful then the cold snowy winter night and enjoying a well decorated tree.

I am waiting patiently for the first snow.



Well with all the decor changing it was time to make a new subway art for my frame. This is what we came up with.




Enjoy!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Free Merry Christmas Subway Art

Tis The Season

The Holiday Season is closing in on us and I am getting ready for Christmas. I came up with a fun subway art for the saying Merry Christmas. This piece is made up of languages from around the world.




Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Kale Chips

Baked Kale – Kale Chips



Have you ever wanted to track your calorie intake, but do not have the time to do all that math and figuring? Well, there is an amazing website called Spark People. At www.sparkpeople.com you can pick a goal weight and date and the site will give you detailed guidelines, informative information and amazing software all for FREE! I LOVE Spark People. Currently I am getting back into the groove after having my Ah-Ha moment and realizing I need not only a diet, but a lifestyle change. I love this site because not only is it free, it works and you can choose to build a spark page to become friends with other spark users as support and motivation.



With all of that being said I am overhauling my life and my family's life. I have been introducing and re introducing new foods to everyone in my house. The latest adventures have been Grapefruit, in witch my children loved with a tablespoon of sugar on top. I also made Kale Chips. I have never eaten Kale in my life so I did not know what to expect when making these. Here is what I did.



Gather One bunch of Kale

Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

This is the bunch of Kale to start.




First you will start with pulling apart your kale and ripping the leafy part from the thick stem. Tear or cut the whole bunch into smaller sizes. Rinse and dry the kale very well. If you do not dry the kale well after washing it will take a lot longer to bake.



Rinse and Dry Well.

Pile it all right up and bake.

In a large bowl toss together the Kale, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt together. Preheat your oven to 350*. Grab a large baking sheet and pile the Kale right on that bad boy. Don't worry about it looking over crowded. The Kale with shrivel tremendously while drying out. Set your timer for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to check around 10 minutes to see how it its baking. I cooked mine until it was nice a crispy. I was impatient along with my children to taste this goodness, so we took it out a couple times and picked out the finished bits. Make sure not to over cook or it will result in a not so pleasant taste of burnt greens.



Wha-La! Your Done!





Go ahead step out of the box and try it. Feel free to season with anything not just salt. You could use ranch packets, garlic, curry, onion, salt and vinegar anything really. A bunch of Kale cost me $1.79 so it is very friendly on your wallet to try something new... tastey and healthy.



I would love to hear other healthy snacks that you like to eat. So please leave a comment and share!



Until next time...

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Simple Solutions

Finally!

Have any of you heard of the website Pinterest? Well if not, immediately after reading this post it is a must to add to your to do list. It is pretty much a virtual pin board of all your favorite things. You can organize it anyway you way and “follow” as many people as you would like also. They even give you an option to add a button to your favorite bar so you can “pin” anything you want. Simply said..I am in love :)

I have tried many things I have found on Pinterest that are purely genius. I wish I would claim that I discovered them myself. Be prepared these will change your life.

At some point you have had nasty fruit fly's that would just not go away. You spend hours searching for whatever the cause is, and you find nothing. Well I have a cure!

Pour roughly 1c of Apple Cider Vinegar and a squirt or two of dish soap into a bowl. Place the mixture where you are noticing the most fruit fly's hanging out. Now prepare to be amazed.

Check back in a couple hours and you will notice your trap is taking care of your little problem. Works like a charm. I swear I will never stress about fruit fly's again. I have even left out a bowl of this mixture out for a couple days at a time and it will still continue to attract the little pests.

Ah. Maze. Ing!

All of us busy parents have juggled getting dinner ready, picking up the house, going though school paperwork, listing to Mom,mom...mom,mom...then we notice the pasta we are cooking is boiling over everywhere.
Well for ages my resolution was to blow on the foam make it go down and turn the water down...well worry no more.
Just simply place a wooden spoon over your pot of boiling water and once again, be amazed. I actually tried this one out tonight and it was shocking. I purposely tried boiling my water over and it would not happen. Go ahead cook that pasta, clean the kitchen, get through all that backpack paperwork. Just make sure you don't forget about your noodles so they won't turn to mush. :)

I would love to hear what fun tips you might have that will save all of us our sanity in the simplest ways.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Who Lives In A Pineapple Under The Sea??

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!

This is the background party setting. I purchased this online at Oriental Trading. Yes, we made a mustache for Spongebob :)
Well the kiddies combined birthday party has come and gone. Everything turned out fantastic. We had a full house and tons of yummy food to eat. The weather turned out to be amazing. We had games set up for this kids, but they were having so much fun we never even played them.
I had stations set up around the house to ease congestion and have different areas for everyone to hang out.
In the dining room I set up a coloring table for the kids to enjoy. I went online and printed out free Spongebob coloring pages. I picked up a couple boxes of crayons from the dollar store and it was complete. I ended up putting the leftover stickers on the table as well for the kids to use.

I put together adorable “Chum Buckets” for guests to pick up for a sweet snack. We filled them with s'mores and cupcake goldfish (which everyone raved about.) I purchased clear punch cups from Meijer covered the cups with card stock and hot glued pipe cleaners on for handles. They still seemed kind of plain to me so I created a Chum Bucket label on Picnik. I cut ribbon and tied them around the handles to make them a little more festive. They were simply adorable!


We had an assortment of drinks such as lemonade, ice water and soda. Since this party was for a little girl and boy I decided to incorporate pink into the mix with the cups.

On the beverage table I also had krabby patty cookies set out on a serving tray.
To make the Krabby Patty Cookies you will need:


Vanilla Wafers ( I purchased mine at Dollar Tree)

They were fantastic and tasted great, no one knew any different.


Coconut dyed green for lettuce (also purchased at Dollar Tree)


Red Frosting


Yellow Frosting


Keebler Grasshopper cookies for patty.

Place a small dot of icing on the bottom of a vanilla wafer. This will act as your bottom hamburger bun.


Place a grasshopper cookie on the vanilla wafer. Place a small amount of red and yellow frosting.


Cover your “ketchup and mustard” with the coconut lettuce and top off with your “top bun” which is actually a second vanilla wafer.


These are so easy to make and they were gobbled up in no time. Everyone was very impressed and I was not had to do at all.


For an hor dourves that was simple, cheap and something everyone loves I came up with popcorn :) I made my classic stove top version. I put it in three yellow CLEAN sand buckets and placed them around. The shovels were used as a scoop.
For the main dish we set up a burger bar. We had options for everyone and each person got to create their own Krabby Patty. It was also a hit.



The kids requested Krabby Patty Birthday Cakes. I whipped them up the night before. I was on a tight budget and actually was running out of fondant! Oh well...I rolled that baby thin and patched where I needed too. The cake tasted great and they were so fun to look at.


We rented a helium tank from our local True Value. The cost was $38 including tax and we filled well over 100 balloons! I once again purchased the balloons at The Dollar Tree. This rental not only saved me money, it was a huge stress relief knowing I did not have to haul 100+ inflated balloons to my house in my car. That alone was worth the money.
I did have plastic lays for everyone to wear if they choose so. I purchased those at Party City. Each child went home with their own treasure box filled with goodies. I got sparkly tissue paper and put a piece bunched in the bottom for a filler. I had a variety of candies such as Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Smarties, Bottle Caps, Fizz Suckers and Tootsie Rolls in each box.
I passed these out after we opened gifts and this kids went crazy!





Everything was smooth and turned out great. My kids actually are talking about combing a party again next year and that sounds like success to me <3

Until next time. Party On!