Cupcakes Kisses 'n' Crumbs

Peanut Butter Day!!

2012-01-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

Is January 24th, just a few days away. Luckily pb isn't too hard to incorporate into our day. I'm sure we will have PBnJ's for lunch and maybe I will make some PB cookies!

Or maybe some PB fudge!

But other than that I am not planning too much!
If I have to stop at the grocery store I might let the kids make a small container of the DIY peanut butter, they would probably like that!
Are y'all planning anything for National Peanut Butter Day?

Organizing Friday!

2012-01-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

I am not really organizing anything today but I am making plans on how to fill our new Built Ins!! They aren't quite done yet but they will sure give us a TON of storage!

There are shelves for the under cabinets and it will have doors, so I think we can move the board games and stuff to one of these, the kids will like that they can reach them a little better that way!

And I will probably keep our blankets and extra throw pillows in there too!

The other side of the room just has 2 club chairs, but I think I am going to try to get hubby to build a mantle, not a fireplace, just a mantle since the other mantle has a different TV on it and it is lower and I can't really put much on the mantle or it blocks the TV,

January 23rd is National PIE Day!

2012-01-20T07:18:00.000-08:00

YUM! Not only are pies tasty but they are so charming and simple, considering most aren't too many ingredients. They are cute and always make me feel giggly. I think anything with a pie on it is special!

The American Pie Council had this on their site, I thought it was cute!

"Why is National Pie Day celebrated on Jan. 23 or 1/23?

Because celebrating the wholesome goodness of pie is as easy as 1-2-3."

And here is some suggestions they have for celebrating

Other ways to celebration National Pie Day:

Share the ultimate "comfort food" by giving the gift of pie to a local "hometown hero". Stop by your local police or fire department and let these local heros know that you appreciate all they do for your community.
If pie making is not in your schedule, stop by your favorite pie shop or grocery store and bring home a gift of love and joy for the whole family. The coldest of January days will be warmed by a special pie dessert.
Indulge your co-workers with a gift of pie.
Reach out to new neighbors that you might not have met yet - it says you're thoughtful. Stay awhile to get to know each other and fill them in about the neighborhood.
Say thank you with a pie. Has someone done a special favor for you? Acknowledge the favor with the gift of pie.
Spend time with you children and make a pie together. You'll make great memories and your children will be so proud to serve the pie for dessert.

All of those sound like great ideas! Here are some things we are thinking of doing.

I made a hair clippy for my little miss a couple years ago.

Smoosh will for sure be wearing it that day!

seriously one of my faves!

And pie is so easy! You could do a breakfast pie, lunch pie, dinner pie and snack and dessert pies if you reallllly wanted to celebrate the entire day!

For breakfast, I think we will do a variation of these

But instead of little pockets I think I will use the mini pie maker! These look amazing!

You could also do mini quiche, those count as pie right?!

I will probably try some version of chicken pot pie but in the mini pie maker, cause it is SO easy to use and the kids will eat anything that comes out of it! But these look really good too!

I will probably do Shepard's pie for dinner but if not these will be a good snack!

And dessert options!

Cupcakes

Pie

Shoofly Pie

Or mini

And really isn't a PIZZA a pie?! So maybe I won't do ALL of these and I'll take the easy route for one of them!

And don't forget pie pops!

cute counting project!

And this is SUPER cute, kinda overkill for JUST pie day but it is adorable!

National Popcorn Day

2012-01-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

is January 19th!

Fun and simple and inexpensive! There are so many versions of popcorn you can make~

Kettle

Ourbestbites.com

Chocolate

Colored

Caramel

Popcorn Balls

and the list goes on of course!

I think we will string some popcorn up for the birds!

If you need a dessert or treat for that day, check out these adorable cupcakes!

Or these seriously cute popcorn cake pops! (These might have to make an appearance at a Baseball party coming up!)

cakecentral.com

What are y'all doing for National Popcorn Day?

Meal Plan Monday

2012-01-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

The next 2 weeks I am NOT sticking with our regular dinner schedule.

We have too much stuff in our freezer!

My FAVE Apron Lately

Monday~Chicken and rice with veggies

Tuesday~Taco's

Wednesday~mini pizza's

Thursday~Chili and Cornbread

Friday~Stew

Saturday~Leftovers

Sunday~Take Out

Monday~Chicken Stir Fry

Tuesday~Chicken Tortilla Soup

Wednesday~Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thursday~Potato Soup and Salad

Friday~Meatball Subs

Saturday~Turkey Burgers

Sunday~Mini Pizzas

Not planning on trying any new recipes this time either, unless something comes along on Pinterest that I HAVE to try and have everything for. I don't really want to go back to the grocery store. Lots of Birthday Party planning to be done so I am making easy stuff! Kind of feel like I am cheating.

Organizing Friday

2012-01-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

I still haven't quite finished all those magazines from last week! But pretty close, just waiting for a binder to go on sale! So I had a little time and thought I would tidy up our "office" cupboard. Got rid of some cords to who knows what, went through all the pens and stuff. It wasn't horrible before but it's so much better now!

Before

After

Feeling much better about that, too bad the other side of the kitchen is a HUGE mess! The biggins are having separate birthday parties this year so I feel like I have 2x the amount of party stuff all over, and I feel really behind!

Goodness it is SO messy, but I hope to be able to get things put together a little more and stuff out of the way a little this weekend!

I feel like I am one thing away from a hoarders episode!

Strawberry Ice Cream Day

2012-01-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

January 15th is National Strawberry Ice Cream Day!

I don't know who decides these but some are kind of funny..

Anyway, to celebrate Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Post Options

There is a recipe for FRESH strawberry ice cream HERE. If you have fresh ones. We sure don't.

I'm not even sure I will MAKE ice cream, it's not National MAKE Strawberry Ice Cream Day after all :)

But we don't usually have ice cream here, so I'd have to go get some anyway, unless I just freeze some strawberry Greek yogurt and call it good! But I am feeling a little on the busy side.

If you have some free time and love Strawberry Ice Cream there are lots of cute creations out there!

Strawberry Frappachino Ice Cream sandwiches

Not all are real ice cream!

I think it's likely I will take the super easy road (and less tempting) and pick up a few of these mini cartons that have a cute little spoon in the lid

Thank You Day

2012-01-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

January 11th is National Thank You Day!

If you have some thank you cards that need addressed why not finish them today!
I think we will be making some Thank you cards!

Here are some clever or cute ones!

I think I want to try and make a few (so we have some on hand) I am LOVING how cute these are!

Those just might be my inspiration!

And I think we probably need to make some kind of cookie! It's been a couple weeks since we made cookies and I know just the people we could say thank you to!
These are SOO cute!

Organizing Friday FAIL!

2012-01-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

So those magazine clippings from the other day, I was so sure I could get it finished today. But nope, not even close!

Before

After

Way less. Better but not done.

I was all ready to head out for my errands this morning and my car was not participating, 4 low tires..then the grocery store took even longer than usual.

Hoping I can get a little further on it during nap time today!

I still need to separate all the holiday ideas ( there are at least 2 folders full) and pick up a binder for all of this stuff. As well as go through the other 26 magazines! Maybe I will have it done by next Friday!

Clean Off Your Desk Day!

2012-01-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

is January 8th, for those of you who's desk is at work maybe the 9th?

Anyway, we don't have a REAL desk, well besides this one I use to decorate for Back to School

But I don't think that is what they had in mind. We do have a table in our bedroom that hubby sometimes uses for work when he is working at home, but right now it has clothes on it because I am avoiding doing laundry!

So I will for sure be getting that cleaned up, and maybe I will work on our "office" cupboard I shared HERE.

I can imagine after vacations and holidays everyone's desk is a little messy or at least needing some weeding of papers, I know our area does! And right now is one of the best times to find some cute organizing things out at the stores since so many of us resolve to get/stay organized for the new year.

Everyone likes their area a little different. To motivate me (and hopefully you) I have some cute DIY or inexpensive office pretties for when I finish!

File desks are usually pretty plain and ugly in my opinion, but look at these with a just a little textured paper

And this is adorable!!

And I LOVE this idea because I like eveything to coordinate, could use the same family of papers for the above and these!

And you could add a few magnets to the back of the small ones if you have a magnetic area!

And if you do, you could make these magnets or add them to push pins, charming little things aren't they?!

I'd have to find some mini ones!

So maybe my organizing Friday this week will have to be our "office"!

Magazine Pages

2012-01-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Anyone else have a stack or container full like this?

Wish I could say this was all of them, but no, it's only about half!

I am working on getting them organized, an ongoing project, see the folders in there?

I have been keeping this container in our pantry, and I need the room. So it's about time to actually GO THROUGH all of these, half are probably recipe ideas and the other half are party things and cute house ideas. I need a folder for them so I can keep them better organized and more compact. So it doesn't take an hour to find that ONE little thing I know is in there!

It's bedroom cleaning day here and I got the little one to help me clean the biggins bedrooms for them as a nice treat today (and so there is nothing on the floor to distract them at nap time) Hoping I can get this taken care of before the weekend! Starting a little early on my organizing Friday project!

National BIRD day AND National Whipped Cream day?!

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

EEK, I really didn't want to share EVERY National Day. So I had to decide between these 2 for January 5th!

For the Birds!

I think our poor birds are probably starving out there, I have been bad and haven't been keeping up on the feeders. So first we need to make some kind of fun craft that will also feed these poor birds!

You could go all extreme like they did HERE and make one of these!

Or keep it a little bit more simple and do the old PB in a pine cone rolled in birdseed.

Or the in between like these

And I love birds, more so than bird food, there are some SWEET coloring pages

You could make snack time "bird food" with some apples, dried cranberries or raisins, sunflower seed kernels and if your REAL adventurous, you could make these. I don't know if I could, I get kinda nauseous just looking at the Jello Worms from Theidearoom.net!

The kids would love it though! I will probably go a little easier and make these for dinner

these little pasta "nests" are adorable! And they come this way, here is a package of them

I will probably make a meatball "egg" for their little nests!

And if its a day I feel like making a treat these are adorable and a pretty basic shape

Whooo's going to celebrate National Bird Day?

If birds aren't your thing, maybe Angry Birds are?

Or Owls? They're birds too!

Meal Plan Tuesday!

2012-01-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Since I totally forgot yesterday!

Nothing special going on the next couple weeks so should all be easy stuff! But since we are already off our schedule this week, I am not about to try to get it back!

Tuesday~Leftover Ham and Veggies

Wednesday~Turkey Burgers and roasted potatoes

Thursday~Pasta and Meatballs

Friday~Pork Roast

Saturday~Pizza and salads

Sunday~Roasted Turkey (since we have 2 big ones taking up space in our freezer)

Monday~ Leftover turkey and rice with veggies

Tuesday~Turkey tacos

Wednesday~Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thursday~Salad and Turkey Noodle soup

Friday ~Meatball Subs

Saturday~Turkey Burgers

Sunday~Homemade Mini Pizzas

Not really trying anything new this time (well I guess I could with the Turkey)

January 3rd, National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day!

2012-01-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, in case you didn't know January 3rd is National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day!

What are you doing to celebrate? I had no idea this holiday existed, or honestly, WHY it does. But whatever, I am a big fan of everyday being a celebration, so I am hoping to share some more of these strange but fun National "Holidays" and some fun treats or crafts or both!

So the obvious would be to make some chocolate covered cherries with/for the kids! The image above has the details from here.

But there are also SO many other ways you could celebrate!

Easiest way? These

And I just found cherry MnM's yesterday at the grocery store!

These look amazing!

Chocolate covered cherry whoopie pies!!

And a coloring page, cause who doesn't love a free coloring page?!

And if your still wanting to celebrate after the kids are in bed..

Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini!

Find the recipe HERE!

And January 4th is National Spaghetti Day. I did some fun stuff for that last year.. check it out here

Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy!

2011-12-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

That's what we had for breakfast Christmas morning!

I was a little scared to try a new recipe on Christmas but I am so glad I did, they turned out great!

The kids had theirs with whip cream and sprinkles

BUT, I am fond of bacon, so bacon on top for us!

I found a couple different variations of the recipe, all basically the same so I decided to try it until it looked/tasted right. I made a LOT, easily could have made half this I think!

In a bowl I mixed together

1 1/4C sugar

1/2C Coco Powder

1/2C Flour

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

I stirred those together well to make sure there was no lumps

you could use a sifter if you needed to, I just used a whisk.

oh and salt, a couple pinches!

Then in my pot I measured 4 c of milk, I used nonfat but I am sure any will work fine.

I warmed the milk up a little before adding the dry mixture in and whisking like crazy.

I just kept stirring it on med/high heat until it thickened up and there were no lumps.

Once it was done I added about two tablespoons of butter (I didn't measure it, but all of the recipes called for butter)

And then about 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

It was pretty easy, just took a few minutes and the kids all liked it! Not an everyday breakfast, but fun for a special treat!

Parties from the last couple years!

2011-12-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking how I am SO excited for the biggins to have separate parties this time, and hoping I can do better than the past years! So in case you are a new follower or didn't catch them the first time. I am sharing a few pictures from previous parties. There are absolutely some things I will never do again! And some stuff I can't wait to do again!

I think THIS Yo Gabba Gabba party was the first I really put THAT much effort into and planned for a while!

I obviously didn't leave enough time to do it all though, because I think I had hubby wrapping water bottles as people were getting there! Looking back now, there are SO many things I would have done differently.

Then it was Sydney's Squirrelly first birthday, she isn't mine but I love helping friends with their parties too!

And shortly after that was Finnley's first birthday. I finally felt really good about this one, I don't think I would have changed much about this one! And there were actually 2 posts for it. Here and Here

And this Feb. the biggins had their last shared birthday! Cowboy and Cowgirl themed! I loved some of the stuff and other things not so much. It is far too hard for me to do boy and girl birthday party themes together.

I did love that although there are hundreds of printables, I made everything I could. I think I would have been even more bummed about it had it been a whole lot of printables. The straw was totally fun for the kids even if it was a TON of work to clean up afterwards! We all did it together and it was nice to just unwind and sweep with the kids. Favors were really fun! And I actually loved the table too! Finally felt like I might be getting the hang of timing and planning!

And it's amazing but this time last year I was already full on planning Finnley's 2nd Birthday party in Sept! We threw him a Little Lumberjack Party and I knew we would need some woodsy stuff and red.

Both seem to be abundant during the Winter Holidays.

When it finally came time for his party I loved every single thing, other than my drink holder leaking a little. The rest I loved! I loved that I hadn't seen another Lumberjack Party done before. Loved that Kim helped me find the perfect treats from Japan with just 1 tiny picture for a hint! Loved the little accessories and that I could make all the food match the theme! The little marshmallow axes took a good while to make but they were so perfect I would do it again even if they took twice as long!

I am SO excited to get started on the biggins individual parties this year. Alice in Wonderland style bake shop and a vintage inspired Baseball party! Both are done often, but hoping to have a few new things to add!

12 days left in the year?!

2011-12-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

Anyone else have a HUGE list of things they thought they

would have done before the summer that are still there?!

I DO! Now that the kids are on Christmas Break I am enjoying being home more, and playing taxi less. Time to get all these things done so I am not dragging them into another year!

~I have to paint these little clothespins I talked about painting them HERE IN OCTOBER of 2010!

~Cover another shelf in the pantry with the oil cloth, which I have had for 6 months easily! I finished 1 shelf here last December!

Those 2 are for sure happening today! I have to wrap a couple more gifts and I will be done.

Any last minute non Christmas related projects you don't want to drag into 2012?

Menu Monday and a couple recipes

2011-12-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's that time again already!

But I do like that this 2 weeks has all kinds of fun stuff going on so I have less meals to plan!
I explained 2 weeks ago how I plan our meals here.

So December 19th through New Years is what I am planning now.

19th~ Chicken and wild rice and some veggies
20th~Those White Chicken Enchiladas AGAIN, cause they were delicious!
21st~Spaghetti and meatballs (unless we have family plans)
22nd~I am taking our girly to The Nutcracker so I think the boys will have to find something to do!
23rd~Meatball Subs (making extra meatballs this time!)
24th~Family stuff
25th~Family stuff
26th~Chicken Stir fry
27th~Tacos
28th~Chicken with pasta and veggies
29th~It's my birthday so we are going out!
30th~Stew
31st~Pizza

In case you didn't see the recipe for the White Chicken Enchiladas it's HERE.
Don't they look yummy?! ( These weren't baked yet)

I did them a little different because Hubby doesn't like chile's, I just dumped the can of chile's in the magic bullet for a swirl first, so we still got the flavor, but NOT the chunks/texture!
And the Cowhand Stew I have shared a couple times, it is a favorite around here!
Link to the Recipe right HERE :)

Friday!

2011-12-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

Thank Goodness we made it to Friday! Today was the first day of vacation for our kids. I am so excited to NOT have to taxi everyone someplace this week. Enjoying the time at home with the kids!

Today I took care of the Laundry Room. It was messy with piles of clothes for a couple friends and some goodwill stuff. Once nap time is over we are off to Goodwill.

Before

And SO much better now!

And we have added this cute little thing to help the kids remember their chores for the day! Now if only I could remember to write on it everyday!

I need to stop waiting until the laundry room is FULL of stuff before I make the trip to Goodwill, but it's so easy to put all the extra in there!

Organizing Friday!

2011-12-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how it's already ~~Friday~~ Saturday again but I've got plenty of places that needed some help yesterday. And since we have 2 birthday parties coming up in early Feb (8 weeks! EEK) I figured I better get that cupboard cleaned up so I don't by duplicates and so I can find the stuff that needs to be worked on in there.

It was pretty full and messy before!

And it's still pretty full but I was able to get their things separated and get a good idea of what we have and what we need.

For the bottom shelf, most of that stuff is always there. It's the things I use often like paintbrushes, hot glue guns and other tools. But I do love the $1 section from Target for the cute little buckets which are a good size to hold glue, pliers and all the other little stuff.

One day I will STOP working on their birthdays for more than a year ( the other shelf has stuff for their parties in 2013!) and we won't have the cabinet full of party stuff!

Half done Christmas Decorations!

2011-12-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Well if I don't share them now I'm not sure I will at all!

I think I am having a reaction to our tree, I was already getting sick and now it's just getting worse, the closer I am to the tree (and it smells SO good) the worse I feel. I am kind of behind but I am ok with it! Learning to let stuff go is HARD but I am getting better.

I had to decide between getting the chores done or heading to the craft store. For now, the chores win.

After our youngest was born 2 years ago I decided to change the Christmas stuff we had, I had already kind of outgrown the other stuff and I really prefer matching stockings and couldn't find one with his initial to match. That's how it all started! Every year I add a little more but it's obvious it's not finished.

Like these obviously are missing a candle! I found some that are perfect, but they are out at our Target and I just can't justify trekking the extra half hour to get them, they just aren't THAT important right now. But I do love the little Michael's $1 section frames, that need pictures in them!

I love the lime green! Can't really tell in the picture but the little snowballs are shimmery (and ALL over if the fan gets turned on!)

I tend to be attracted to Elf Shoes! They are just so stinkin' cute!

The mantle is definitely lacking the FLUFF I am hoping to add to it.

I used to love greenery but it just doesn't match the lime I like and its usually too full and blocks the TV (darn TV!) so when I get to the craft store and have some extra coupons I will be adding some white boas!

Our Elf Cookie just happened to be hanging out there today.

All looks unfinished but I love where it's going! (cept that one is kinda crooked)

These are the stockings that started a new look, good thing I still LOVE them!

Random fluff from around the house

I did get some outside stuff done! I still don't have the monogram wreath I have been lusting over. I did try a DIY version.. TOTAL fail.. all it did was break the big G! Soo no wreath yet cause I can't decide what to do instead!

No lights up yet, maybe this weekend!

Menu Monday

2011-12-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

I did my grocery shopping on Friday for the next 2 weeks (except a milk and produce stop). I'm pretty sure I have shared before that when I am on task we have the same "style" of thing every Monday-Friday. It makes grocery shopping less expensive because I am not buying that 1 ingredient I won't use again before it goes bad, I can stock up when stuff is on sale because I KNOW we will use it!

Monday's are Chicken (usually with rice or pasta)

Tuesday's are Mexican

Wednesday is a pasta meal and occasionally a meatless one

Thursday is Soup or Salad (or both)

Fridays are usually sandwiches of some kind

Weekends are when I get to do the more elaborate cooking or try new recipe's.

This is what we will be having the next 2 weeks, starting today. And we have fruit and veggies with every meal but I don't always plan exactly what it will be.

Monday~Chicken with rice and veggies and chicken sauce

Tuesday~Turkey Taco's

Wednesday~Spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday~Grilled chicken salad

Friday~Turkey Burgers (unless there are leftover meatballs)

Saturday~Pork Tenderloin and potatoes

Sunday~Cowboy Stew

Monday~Teriyaki chicken and stir fry veggies with rice

Tuesday~ White Chicken Enchiladas (it's new for me, but looks amazing!) recipe HERE

Wednesday~ Baked Chicken Parmesan

Thursday~Loaded Baked Potatoes and Salad

Friday~ Turkey Burgers( if we didn't have them last week) or grilled cheese and tomato soup

Saturday~undecided, something with pork though!

Sunday~Probably Pizza

Birthday Party Planning Already!

2011-12-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

I swear these 2 JUST had their birthday 3 weeks ago! February is coming up quick! Last year was the LAST time for a shared party (at least for a while) it was SO hard, they are 2 years apart and finding gender neutral themes was not happening!

I am excited and nervous, 2 birthday parties to plan at the SAME time, EEEK!

Trying to start early to avoid the last minute rush!

Both kids have picked themes that will be easy to find some ideas/products if I get behind.

He chose Baseball.. but I want to do it a little vintagey

She chose Alice in Wonderland.. no red and black here!

Pinterest is FULL of great ideas for both!

I'm sure I will sharing some of the party fluff soon!

Organizing Friday!

2011-12-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it has been a while since I have been posting on Fridays, because I really haven't been doing much on Fridays! I got in a slump. But I am on a mission and starting with the most used clutter collecting spaces. So some of these might be a repeat, but believe me they needed help again.

Pinterest is sure a motivator when there are such pretty organized spaces!

BHG

Today I finished our closet downstairs, I don't really know what to call it, it's between the hall and bathroom and pretty big. We keep all our media stuff in it, my workout stuff, cleaning supplies, extra diapers and wipes, TP and when I am being bad 200 other things!

I actually started it yesterday, and of course didn't take pictures, cause I NEVER remember. But I will tell you there were NO open shelves, they were all covered with gifts that needed to be wrapped, and some that had been wrapped, random bows, wrapping paper and gift tags! So now that I've go that done and we have a place I could really get in there and get it cleaned!

it's MUCH better now. I think I have cleaned this closet at least 4 times in the last 2 years, like MAJOR and shared about it! HERE is the very first "before" picture. And done HERE and last time it was in JUNE! Only 6 months and it got So bad this time! Here is the June post with some before and afters.

So even since I took these pictures an hour ago, I've already made more changes. The handheld steamer, RARELY gets used. I think I am not going to keep it, I'm moving it to the garage, and in the Spring if I haven't used it by Spring Cleaning time, it's going! I've also made sure I don't even LOOK at Scentsy stuff for a while! I have obviously too much in the basket on the left.

The gingham basket is full of rags, I don't think I need that many, I keep the microfiber cloths and use them for everything. So I moved it to the garage too, if I don't need them by Spring they can stay out there for Hubby to use.

I even got rid of a couple of aprons!

These disc holders are AMAZING! They each hold about 100 Cd's and they are so much smaller than 100 Cd's in cases. By far my favorite organizing for media

And I clearly need to stock up on wipes and TP :)

I really have been trying to purge like crazy, for a couple reason. The first is we just have too much stuff! Stuff we aren't using right now, and who knows if we will again. The other reason is there are only 29 days to get your donations in for the tax year. I don't want to wait until the beginning of the year to do all this.

Cleaning products, I had started getting free samples of stuff, or a good deal on clearance items. I just have to stop and stick to what I know I will use. Vinegar, magic erasers, baking soda and microfiber! The bin of cleaning stuff was (and still kind of is) overflowing. I figure with all this cleaning and organizing I should use up some of the extra stuff and have it to a manageable level again soon!

Not sure what next week will be, maybe the pantry (especially since I have had oil cloth for a year and haven't used it!)

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Who else is getting their tree this weekend?

It's almost time!

2011-11-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

To start those Advent calendars!

We have a little ginger bread house one that we put little things in, it's this one.

But we also got a couple new ones this year at the Lego Store! They had 2 different Advent Calendars this year, a Lego City one

And a Lego Star Wars one

The kids don't know about these yet, they will be SO excited!

And Pinerest has SOO many cute ones!

This one is a free printable!

SO many cute ones, and lots are DIY! Check out the rest on my Christmas Pin Board HERE!

What do y'all use?

More Elf Stuff

2011-11-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

This year Cookie (our Elf) is bringing the kids some Elf Pajamas and an initial ornament to tell them he/she missed them (and because they need some Christmas jammies)!

These are the Pajamas Cookie is bringing

They are from Crazy8 but are mostly sold out (18-24month is left online). The stores might have some still. I Cookie just thought the kids would love some Elf jammies. These came out in the end of Summer, picked them up then, not knowing that Pottery Barn was going to have seriously cute stuff, check these out!

And a sweet little set of matching DISHES?! So cute!

I can't wait to see what else comes out with Elf on it!

Does your Elf bring anything for the kids?

Elf On The Shelf!!

2011-11-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

We got ours last year, the kids LOVED it! Ours is named Cookie, and last year we didn't do much with it, moved it every night, read the book. Nothing like what some other awesome families are doing! Can't wait for the visit this year!

Pinterest (of course) has all kinds of amazing ideas!

Found all these via Pinterest!

This Flickr page! Such cute ideas, like this one

This site has 101 ideas!

This family has a Elf named Melvin and they share his adventures, cute ideas like

And I have a bunch more saved on Pinterest, where I am sure I will be adding more and more, find my Christmas board HERE.

When does your Elf come out to play?

What's your Elf's name?

Thanksgiving Cuteness.. lots of links!

2011-11-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well since I am kinda slacking over here, I thought I could at least share the posts from last year, I have lots of new followers since then, so maybe these will be new for someone! There are quite a few sooo have fun clicking!

This and more HERE

more HERE

Still more

Cupcakes HERE

Thanksgiving Snacks HERE

Kids Table Ideas HERE

Table Settings HERE

ok and HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and lastly HERE

Enjoy the reposting!

Confession Time!

2011-11-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't put a single Thanksgiving thing up, not 1!

I haven't posted in a while cause we have been busy and I am having a hard time.

I am trying to lose weight, and become healthier, exercise more and all that. Keep the house clean and organized. Do fun things with the kids. Decorate the house for every season, plan for Christmas. Manage EVERYTHING.. and well I am not doing that great!

I'm having a really hard time balancing it all, I am sure we all struggle with these things in some ways. But I felt weird posting about stuff when there were other things I SHOULD have been doing.

But I am getting better at it, found some exercise I am loving (Zumba, and 30 day shred) so its not taking AS long, I'm finally caught up on chores from our week long trip in October and I gave up on Thanksgiving decorations this year so I saved some time that way.

Hoping I can be a better blogger while I am being healthier, a fun mom, planning my cooking more and keeping things on track!

So now that I've got that out there, I am excited to be with my extended family and eat some yumminess on Thanksgiving, and also excited to hang with some girls with all the nutters out on Black Friday! I will for sure be in Christmas mode next weekend! Anyone else LOVE Black Friday?

Thanksgiving Desserts

2011-11-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

So I think I am narrowing down the list of what to make for goodies!

I have a whole board on Pinterest JUST for Thanksgiving and Fall desserts! Find it here

I think I want to make 3 or 4 things!

We have a pretty big family and everyone likes something different. I plan to make only Fall-ish desserts but I am having a hard time narrowing it down, so I think I will go with 1 apple/fruit dessert, 1 pumpkin dessert, 1 chocolate and 1 of something else!

I know for sure I will be using my mini pie maker and making some pies, different varieties so I am not looking at any other pie stuff!

These are the apple ones I am trying to decide between

caramel apple cheesecake bars

apple slab (might be too close to pie though)

caramel stuffed apple cider cookies

these are also kinda pie ish, apples rolled in crescent rolls

Apple Blondies!

Apple cranberry crumble

Everything else is kinda all jumbled together but I need to pick a couple from

Blackberry Pie Bars

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Fudge

Pumpkin fudge with nuts

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Nutella Filled leaves

And some that are more kid friendly

I really have to decide soon!

Now that soccer is over for us I have plans this weekend to clean out the pantry and fridge to make room for the new ingredients!

Thanksgiving Dishes

2011-10-31T05:04:00.000-07:00

I don't have the room for holiday specific dishes but some of the platters and cuteness sure make me want to find a set to match ALL of them!

We have multi colored polka dot plates that match nothing fall like or Halloween.

But I am pretty attached to them! I even have a spare box in case some break!

If we ever decide to get a plain, match everything set,

I love these

Country Living brand at Kmart

There are soo many colors and different things for Thanksgiving I can imagine it would get overwhelming if you were just starting to get stuff together! I personally love the orange and plum colors together!

If we were hosting this year and the crazy polka dot dishes weren't an issue, this would be the first thing on my wish list if it weren't so expensive! Maybe I can find a platter at Goodwill and do my own!

West Elm

And these are kinda charming, I like the bright orange without it coming from a pumpkin!

Cost Plus
And although I don't usually like purple at all, I don't wear purple, I don't usually buy it for Carsyn and we don't have anything else purple, I LOVE purple in the fall!

Target

These aren't very practical but they would look fantastic on Thanksgiving!

source

I've slowly been collecting solid white serving pieces, a random butter dish here, a little sugar bowl. I don't want everything to be too matchy matchy but it still has to work together.

One of my favorite/most used serving things is from Costco, it's a 4 tier plate stand and all 4 tiers rotate out a little so it doesn't take up too much room

Still collecting plain pieces so I can add the fun pieces as I find ones I love!

Other things I still need to decide on this week are

~what goodies we are bringing

~grocery list

~And since October was such a rough month,

I probably will try and deep clean the living room and kitchen again!

Thanksgiving Plan

2011-10-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

woman's day
When I am planning for a get together I have a basic list of things I do,

and from 4 weeks to 3 weeks to go I try to

~ clean the fridge and pantry out and use up as much as I can so there is room once I make my grocery list.

~Decide on what recipes I will be making

~Make grocery list. Perishables and non perishables

~Start watching for the stuff to be on sale

~Make sure we have enough dishes, and none are broken or chipped

~Deep clean the main rooms we would be using (Kitchen, Family Room, Guest Bath and the Front Porch)

Thanksgiving invites

2011-10-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

It's only 4 weeks away! If you haven't already made a guest list you are running out of time!

There are some way cute invites if that's your thing too!

These are so simple and plain, sometimes simple is better.

redstamp.com

I love how rustic and simple these are!

found via VintageYankee.blogspot.com

If you do thing more casual and football is part of your day, these are cute!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bbinvitations?ref=seller_info

Zazzle.com

I would have a hard time deciding from all the cute ones!

Starting my Thanksgiving Lists!

2011-10-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

Since I am kinda giving up on October and any new Halloween stuff this year, I am ready to start checking out some cute treats I can make for Thanksgiving!

Of course the first place I checked was Pinterest!

I posted some last year too, might have to try some of those too!

Here are a few I am trying to decide between!

Makeandtakes.com

Or something similar!

source

I think all the acorns are so cute! A few different options out there.

I really should be finishing Halloween costumes!

More Thanksgiving stuff SOON!

October has been a blurrr!!

2011-10-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it's the 22nd already! The Hubby and I took a vaca and were gone until the other day. I haven't finished any of the Halloween costumes. I haven't made any Halloween crafts this year, we haven't been to the pumpkin patch yet and there are a ton of other things October usually holds for us we haven't done yet. I NEED A DO OVER!

I did have a good time on vacation but feel SO behind now! I think I am going to have to call October a wash and get a head start on November instead!

My Pinterest home page already has a few Thanksgiving ideas!

So I am taking the rest of this weekend to catch up on laundry, grocery shop and prepare snacks for this week. I will be alone this week with Hubby out of town so I need to prep as much as I can!

Monday for sure will have some Thanksgiving cuteness!

Halloween Decorations '11

2011-10-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Finally done! Well done enough to share anyway, there are still a few projects I need to work on, and then of course whatever all you crafty people share that I will want to copy!

Soo here they are, I got rid of a lot of stuff from last year. I wanted to lose a little of the commercial looking stuff each year. And a lot of orange had to go. I really like black and white Halloween with just a little orange here and there.

Countdown Blocks from last year

already staying better this year, used poster putty stuff

need to find my white candles around here somewhere

This thing seriously grosses me out, its a big ol' silver spider, I hate spiders!

Hoping everything on this table will make it through the season, it is the ~~perfect~~ worst height for Finn!

I'm really loving the old phone, crack and all!

oh, and a random picture of our new couch, and the vacuum in the background lol, eh just keeping it real

Best deal on a pennant banner ever! Target last year, the other side has neon (hideous) skulls on it, I just turned it over. I also scored 2 or 3 more for 90% off. $0.30!! couldn't pass that up!

love this little pewter mouse!

Fall Cleaning Progress

2011-10-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've been fall cleaning like crazy all week. I didn't finish like I wanted to, the baby (he is 2 now, but is still the baby ) has Pneumonia, but today he is super chipper and feeling better so I am hoping to get the Halloween stuff out and get some help from hubby to finish up the fall cleaning!

And here are some pics of our cabinets, before and after! (let's see how how long we can keep em that way)

Little Lumberjack 2nd Birthday!

2011-09-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a day! All the planning and stressing, and new etsy sellers totally letting me down, all came together for a great day for our little guy. Lots of family and friends and a whole lot of sugar!

Sharing a few pictures tonight, but I think my friend Stephanie, memoriesbystephanie, who is amazing with a camera took some that I am sure will be awesome! But I did take a few before all the craziness started so I could share tonight!

Details, details

Burlap and Paper Banner

I used some branches to make a wannabe tree and used the pillow box owls for some toddler treats, since there would be a couple little ones who are too young for all the good stuff. I just put some of the little yogurt melts in there for them.

When I thought about Lumberjacks, I thought they probably would use an old style lunchbox. I was able to find one for a great price so I used it to hold the S'mores pops! If I had a little more time I would have covered the Styrofoam.

We've had this truck for a few years, it was in the yard decor section at Michael's, it's been re- painted a couple times and almost made it's way to the garage sale pile a few times too. So glad I kept it, it tied in perfectly with this theme! The little "logs" are tp rolls covered in shelf liner and card stock ends. They are filled with little baggies of trail mix!

I tried to find some themed candies too! Harder than I thought!

So I have some black and red candies, not licorice, but it would have worked. Was trying to mimic the buffalo check that lumberjacks wear. And the little brown ones are some kind of maple candy. Lumberjacks and pancakes go together (I don't really get it) and pancakes make me think of maple... soo that was as close as I got!

And I don't have a good picture of them, but also in the front was a red bucket full of the little wafer cookies, they look like little round logs, which is why I picked them up!

Our local bakery has THE best frosting, and I really didn't feel like baking anymore yesterday, it was too hot. I had them make a little mini cake and just leave the frosting plain. I just used a little fork and made some bark lines, nothing too fancy, it's for a 2 year old who doesn't care much! And the F in the back, I am loving the monograms done on tables! I just used a paper mache letter and some moss and glue. Easy and I like the way it looked with everything.

And the big white stand, I just added some ribbon to the edges with hot glue,

it came right off when the party was over!

On the top and 3rd one down is Marshmallow Axes

I made the marshmallow axes with the flat stackable marshmallows, I cut each one in half then trimmed to this shape, stuck the pretzel through the small end and covered in red candy melts! Easy and yummy.

The second one down had these little mini cookie chocolate things. I hunted online for days and days to find something I could use. Finally found a flickr page with a picture of these, I had NO idea what they were called though. Thankfully Kim, at frostmeblog.blogspot.com is a super sleuth, she helped me find the name, not that I could say it, or spell it anymore. And I called all over town, found it at the Japanese grocery store!

Aren't they just the cutest?! And they are pretty tasty, they taste like the chocorooms kinda, but better.

The bottom one was cookies, just sugar cookies I spruced up a little. I didn't have a lot of time so I wasn't going to do too much detail. All I did was make the dough, chill it in the freezer, slice it and rolled the edges in coco powder before baking them. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I was hoping it would look like the darker bark. I used pb frosting for the swirls!

The whole thing

And the cupcakes, I did super simple decorations, but I did make a little funkier cupcake than usual.

I made vanilla, chocolate and also pancakes and bacon. Kinda weird but super tasty!

And I had a few activities planned for the kids! One was to decorate a planter and plant a little sapling, I was so bummed when the new to etsy seller didn't get the memo on how orders worked and couldn't get them to me in time. So instead I had hubby make some wood slices from a branch in our scrap pile, drill a hole in each one and made it a necklace for the kids to color and put a few stickers on. Wasn't my first choice but it turned out fine and the kids all had fun.

I also made a pinata to look like a log, out of an oatmeal box. But I didn't get any pictures, because I was busy making sure no one got hit with the big plastic axe they were using to hit it! But I think the little ones had the best time with it! Some of the girls especially! I love how excited they get!

The other thing I did, but most kids were not so interested in it, was a little photo op. The big plastic axe and a tie on lumberjack beard my aunt helped me with! I knot nothing about knitting or crocheting, she made me the main part and I added the "hair" I tried to get Finnley to wear it a little each day and he just wasn't having it :(

But a few were willing (or forced, or maybe even bribed!)

The party was fun and I can't believe he is 2 already!

We got him a cabbage patch kid, with glasses, since he JUST got them. I love how he loves it already! And it's so pasty and white haired, just like him!

I was just about to say that we have no more kid parties until February (Wonderland for her, Baseball for him) but now I am thinking maybe I should do a Halloween one, since I will have NO time to plan/prep and that seems to work well for me!

So watch for MORE Halloween party stuff!

Fall Cleaning List ~Living Room~

2011-09-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Think I have my Living Room/Family Room list done!

It should be a little easier because there isn't as much stuff in here!

And this year it will be even easier, we just replaced our couch and chair, so I can take upholstry cleaning off the list! And the new one doesn't have removable cushions. THANK goodness! No more fishing for toys/cheerios and random other things.

My list isn't much different than most years!
~Wash throw blankets
~Fluff pillows in dryer
~Clean the rug
~Dust.. especially the fan!
~I NEED to change the pictures in our frames!
~Clean the windows, usually I just do the parts the kids can reach, but I should get the step stool out!
~Wash the walls
~Clean the baseboards
~Touch up paint
~Touch up baseboard paint
and when that is all done..
~Go through ALL my magazines (I have far too many)

country lliving

Halloween~Mummy's

2011-09-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ready for mummy's? There are a lot of cute mummy ideas!

Mummy Dogs

our best bites

Mummy Mini Pizza

Family Fun

Mummy Meatloaf

source

Cute Mummy pretzles

No idea where these candie apples came from, but they are adorable!

Mummy Candy Bars

The Idea Room

Mummy Cake Pops

Bakeralla (of course)

Cute Mummy Cupcakes

source

Fall Cleaning List ~Kitchen~

2011-09-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Finally got my kitchen list done, and I can't wait to start next week!

I usually do the kitchen first because it takes the most time!

I like to start at the top and work my way down before I clean the floors. But if there is something that takes a while to soak or work, start those first. Like a self cleaning oven, or filling in nail holes that need to be painted.

~Take picture down above doors

~Stuff that needs to work, or dry (nail holes, self cleaning oven, microwave vents)

~Dust, and get all the corners

~Vacuum tops of cabinets

~ Wash windows (ours are hard to reach for me, so I don't do it every week)

~Clean out cabinets. For me this means, purge, clean cabinet insides and organize.

~Polish the cabinets

~Clean out under the sink

~Empty and Clean the fridge and freezer (sides and back too)

~Empty and clean pantry

~Go through cookie cutters (and purge!)

~Clean baseboard

~Touch up cabinet stain

~Touch up wall paint

~Touch up baseboard paint

Obviously some of these won't apply to you (unless you are a cookie cutter hoarder like me,

or have recently taken down some stuff that left nail holes)

I actually have already started on a few of these! Those cookie cutters were bugging me.

I'm hoping I can get this whole list done next Monday!

How are your lists coming? What's on them?

Halloween~Pumpkins!

2011-09-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

I think pumpkins are what we think of most when we think about Halloween!

There are some great pumpkin things, food, crafts and other cuteness!

little favor bags, Martha Stewart

Love these, from Hello Cupcake

I like how they used these on the candle sticks!

Midwest Living shared this smart little idea!

I love this door Decor!! Such a neat idea!

I love these caramel "pumpkins" cute idea to dress up apples!

And since pumpkin is such a yummy flavor, there are some interesting and different ideas using pumpkin!

Fluffy Pumpkin Dip

Pumpkin Fudge!

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Truffles

Whoopie Pies!

Pumpkin Caramel Cookies

There are lots more yumminess HERE!

Birthday issues!

2011-09-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's been a few days.

Having some Birthday party issues, missing packages and stuff like that.

I am up to my eyeballs in a to do list,

but I should be done by Tuesday (I hope) so I

will have some Halloween stuff soon!

Halloween~Vampires and Bats

2011-09-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Of all the Halloween creatures, I think Vampires are my favorite!

But there isn't as much as there is for ghosts and witches. Still a few goodies though!

I think my favorite ever Vampire Halloween thing is this invite, I don't know if I would use it for an invite, but if I could make it kid friendly my kids would LOVE it!

source

What a fun idea for Halloween breakfast!

Bakingbites.com

Gruesome Panna Cotta

source

ADORABLE! Love the bat in the middle cake!

source

Vampire Punch, from Hostess with the Mostess

Not sure where this came from, but simple and cute idea!

Amazon.com has these bat bites sandwich cutters

Cookies, like the pancakes from baking bites

All you magazine has a whole Vampire party, this included

These caramel apples from Homemadesimple are SO neat!

Nutter Butter Vampires

Better Homes and Gardens

It's been kinda hard to find kid friendly and not cartoonish!

Pinterest sure helps though!

I have a few more HERE and I am sure I will be adding some!

Winner of My Memories Suite

2011-09-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy morning for us with soccer and a garage door repair.. but finally was able to get on here and use Random.org to pick a winner! Thanks to all who entered, and don't forget if you don't win you can still get it for a really great price, using coupon code STMMMS87586 at checkout!

Amanda is our big winner!
Congratulations, and I can't wait to see what all you create with MyMemories!
I'll be emailing you shortly!

My Memories Giveaway.. comments fixed

2011-09-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

So apparently I had comment issues (my fault)

So I am going to extend it until tomorrow at midnight PT!
I am sorry if you tried to enter and couldn't! Please enter now!

Go HERE to ENTER!

And if you haven't already checked out MyMemories.com you are missing out!
I've made all of these already and most with the free elements and graphics!

Can ya tell the burlap is my fave background?!

And if you cannot wait until Friday to get started,

I also have a coupon for $10 off this already great priced program!

Enter Code STMMMS87586 at checkout!

Fall Cleaning

2011-09-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's like Spring Cleaning but better, at least in my opinion. My reward for getting it done is usually some yummy smellin' pumpkin-y candles and/or a Vanilla Chai Latte,

and I prefer those over spring/summer smells

My favorite candle right now is Bath and Body Works Caramel Pumpkin Latte!

The first day of Fall is Sept. 23rd this year! That is our little Finnley's birthday! So I am not starting then, and the next day is his party! And I am pretty sure we will need Sunday to recover.

But Monday I am planning on getting my week long FALL CLEANING started!

I have done this every year for a while, and it's always a little different. Maybe last years, or the years before plan would work for you. Find them HERE.

I won't actually start cleaning until then, but for now I need a plan and to make sure we have all the supplies so I can actually get it done without any extra trips to the store!

Here is my plan:

Monday~ Kitchen

Tuesday~Family Room, Living Room

Wednesday~Bathrooms

Thursday~Bedrooms

Friday~Anything inside I missed the other days/outside

Saturday~Garage/outside (depending on weather)

Sunday~(wrapping up outside)

It will take me a few days, but I will have my notepad, or phone, and make lists for each room of the things that need to be done. Sometimes it's just weird little things I wouldn't put on the everyday list or a generic deep cleaning list.

But a few things make the list just about every time. The usual are

Touch up paint

Touch up moulding

Vacuum vents

Cobb webs

I can pretty much figure all the rooms will need this done,

moulding painting is one of my least favorite things to do.

If you fall clean, what is on your list?

I'll have a list for Kitchen's soon!

Halloween~Ghosts

2011-09-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

I don't usually like ghost stuff, but I am probably the only one, and there are a few cute ones here and there.

Love the ghost peeps turned bowl filler

Ghost brownie pops!

easy peasy milano ghosts

Family Fun banana ghosts

Martha Stewart Ghost Shakes

Martha Stewart Mashed Boo Tatoes

Chocolate strawberries, Taste of Home

Cute Pizza with cheese Ghost

These brownies are cute, remind me of the snowman cookies

Cute ghosts from the bell pom's. Country Living

Better Homes and Gardens

Cute kids craft! From Family.go.com

This is my favorite ghost!

And a bunch more on Pinterest.com HERE

Even though Ghosts aren't my fave there are some that look fun!

Halloween~Candy Corn

2011-09-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

I could share random Halloween pictures everyday, but I thought it might be a little easier to organize them.

So today, I am sharing all things Candy Corn! I already shared 2 cute Candy Corn things HERE, but there are plenty more! I'll try to limit myself!

I love how a few little candies make a bloom!

Big sparkly candy corn, Pier 1.

This would be so easy! And it's pretty charming!

adorable, and handmade!

I don't have the patience for this, but it is SO pretty! I don't think I could keep the kids off of it either.

Those were some of my favorites to look at.. there are also a ton of Candy Corn themed food/drinks!

Candy Corn Whoopie Pies! Who wouldn't love that?!

Candy Corn Pizza, smart!

Fun little veggie tray in Candy Corn colors. Parents.com

Those look like they would take a lot of patience!

Hostess with the Mostess

Candy Corn Coolers.. no idea what they are, at first I thought they were pudding!

If that wasn't enough Candy Corn for you, I have a few more and since it is just now Sept. I am sure I will be adding lots more to my Pinterest Candy Corn board HERE.

I try to list the source with each photo, but some I have had so long and have no idea where they came from, and some are from Pinterest.com and the source wasn't listed. So if one of these is yours or you know where it came from, please let me know so I can get the source right!

Ready For A Giveaway?! My Memories Suite!

2011-09-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's about that time, when most of us that don't home school are sending our little loves off to school! I know some of you have been in school for a month already, I can't even imagine that! So now that 2 of our 3 will be in school at least part of the day, I am sure I will have a little more free time. Not too much but enough to enjoy some quiet time creating with MyMemoriesSuite! And now one of you can too!

I am so excited for the winner, this program is great! It is a Digital Scrapbooking program but as you can see here and here, it is SO much more than that!

I am taking full advantage of all the great things I can create easily and quickly. It's been a great helper already, making the everyday a little special. Working on some party printables too!

Still working on it, but I love the sweet shapes and colors that are included!

Soo if you want to enter, here are the details!

Entries start now, and will end Thursday at noon PT.

To enter, you must

1. Be a follower of Cupcakes, Kisses 'n' Crumbs, or tell me if you are already

2. Check out MyMemories.com and tell me what your favorite FREE download is.

1 entry for these 2

And if you want some extra entries (1 entry each)

1.Become a fan of Cupcakes, Kisses 'n' Crumbs on FACEBOOK or tell me you are

2. Visit Mymemories.com and tell me what you favorite (free or not) download is

3. Become a fan of Mymemories on FACEBOOK or tell me you are

Please leave 1 comment for each entry, and if your email address is not easy to find, please leave it in the comments!

I will announce the winner Thursday evening!

Good Luck!

More Halloween Inspiration!

2011-09-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide what NOT to share, there is just SO much and

thanks Pinterest for making it so easy to find!

There are some displays I love, even if it's just 1 thing about it, and not all of them are black and white!

Aren't these PB chalkboard rocks adorable?!

I have no idea where this is from, but I really like the boa wrapped banister!

I like all the white glass in this!

I love the burlap cord and burned paper labels!

And really, whats not to love about this? Pretty sure this is Country Living, maybe Country Home

These are so fun, and the kids could easily help with the cutting or folding!

I love how simple and rustic this is.. and not to mention, seriously easy and probably pretty inexpensive!

I love using inexpensive candy as filler or fluff!

even though I am not really into candy corn too much,

I like this collection and LOVE the candy corn pom!

I am sure there will be more coming!

My Memories Fun!

2011-09-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Although we have had a busy weekend, I have had some time to play with My Memories and I just am shocked at how easy it is!

I made these the other day, and shared them on Facebook.

I am going to use these little chalkboard initials as stickers on the kids stuff in their lunchboxes! I think they will love them, and SO easy to make with the My Memories,

a sheet of sticker paper and a circle or scallop punch!

And don't forget, I will be giving away 1 My memories Suite away soon!

If you don't want to wait, the coupon code for $10 off is STMMMS87586.

Halloween Cuteness on Pinterest!

2011-09-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I was a little ahead of the Halloween game, guess not since my Pinterest home page has been flooded with Halloween stuff! And I've seen a few party ideas already too. I am SO ready for Halloween stuff, but I don't want to put it out until after Finnley's party!

I don't like to do the exact same thing every year, so it's always a little different and I try to weed out a few things every year that I just don't love anymore. I didn't really realize how much it has changed over the years until I started checking out THESE posts!

I can already see things from 2 years ago that I just don't even like anymore.

I usually don't know exactly what I will need, if anything, until I actually get everything out. But I want to keep all those cute Pinterest ideas just in case I do need something. These are some that are specifically black and white.

I love how easy this would be too! Looks like its just some puffy paint on a plate! And although I was really looking for black and white I like how the shutters pop! The source wasn't listed..

This one is from Martha. I love the cake pedestal with the black and grey pumpkins!

Better Homes and Gardens. LOVE the rhinestones!

Love the black and white candies! Martha Stewart

here is some more, from Hostess with the Mostess

Love the tree branches in this and it's mostly black and white. Stltoday.com

This is so different! I like the succulents and typewriter, since neither are really associated with Halloween. I like the unexpected or unusual.

I like the shabby chicness of this one, the bunting and the chalkboard shapes! source

New England Fine Living has all kinds of party goods in black and white

This is such a cute set up! The lollipops and silver pumpkins! LOVE it!

Urban Comfort has SO much other stuff!

All these are making me really want to get them out now. But I am resisting, well for now anyway. I AM going to check out some thrift shops today and see if I can find some treasures!

Who else loves Black and White for Halloween?

Organized Kids Clothes

2011-09-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Let's just say I overbuy kids clothes, we don't need to go into detail about how much over though ha!

Because of that, there has always been an issue in making sure they are all worn and organized. I am on a mission to purge some, and organize the rest! And I have gotten SO much better as the kids have gotten older.

I went through all the clothes the other day, thinking Summer has got to be just about over. I did keep some shorts and a couple of tank tops out, just in case and because I didn't look at the forecast!

Anything stained, or a little on the small side I am not going to try to find a place for, even if it was a favorite, I am sure I will have new favorites!

Our oldest does pretty good at picking out his own clothes usually, but I would rather not have to deal with that in the mornings before school, so we use one of these

and he puts together his outfits ahead of time and just picks one in the morning. Right now he has mostly shorts and tanks or T shirts and 1 or 2 pair of jeans and T shirts in it.

Same thing for our daughter, except I put the outfits together, that girl has some crazy ideas about clothes. Shorts and a long sleeve shirt or sweater in 90 degree weather, with rain boots? I still let her pick out which outfit she wears so we don't have that struggle. She will be going to preschool 3 days a week starting soon, so I will be limiting her to choosing between the bottom 3 for preschool days full of paint and sand and snacks and dirt. Filling just the bottom 3 sections with my less than favorites or favorites in dark colors. And we hang dresses (unless they are a preschool approved outfit)

And we keep her extra shoes and hats underneath in baskets.

If I don't help, both of them would wear the same 5 shirts, because I wash them, they put them away, right on top. So I think I will have to start putting them away, and putting them on the bottom each time, just like I do with towels.

They each have a 3 drawer dresser, but our daughter has a small dresser also, we keep her tights/socks, unders and pajamas in the small one. In her big dresser we keep summer already picked out outfits and short sleeve shirts in the top drawer.

In the middle drawer we keep her sweaters, long sleeve tops and holiday tops (she has a issue with wanting to wear the St. Patricks day shirt every 3 days) and the 2 pair of leggings for under dresses at preschool.

The bottom drawer takes the most work. It is wear I keep together all the outfits that have other matching pieces. I am sure it would take me forever to look for the 1 shirt to with the pants and I just don't have time to look for them all the time, and because we sell the clothes the kids outgrow I want to make sure the pieces are worn the same amount of times so they have matching fade/wash wear.

And I am proud that most of these are not recent purchases.. most not even in the last year! And the majority is probably from 3 years ago. I have learned my lesson and know that there is rarely a printed/pattern skirt or pants I HAVE to have for her and she doesn't care as long as her shirt matches her purse.. so once she has outgrown my mistakes in buying this won't be an issue!

For our oldest we put unders and pj's in the top drawer along with belts and socks.

The second drawer has a nice pile of short sleeve shirts right now (his cold weather stuff is all hung up) and a pile of jeans.

We buy plain bottoms for our kids now so finding a matching top isn't hard, everything matches plain jeans.

The third drawer has hats, swim trunks and extra tank tops.. and sports clothing, like baseball pants and sweat pants.

Ok if you made it this far I will be surprised, but Finnleys are just the same as his big brothers, but he fell asleep and I was not about to try and get some pictures and risk him waking up :)

When our kids have clothes that are still too big for them, or in our daughters case will likely fit again next year, we keep them in some under bed storage bins, just arranged by size and out of the way!

So glad to be done with this and I really am already ready for fall and to pack those tank tops and shorts away for a while!

Upcoming Giveaway!

2011-09-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

So while I should have been working on organizing the kids clothes, I wasn't.. I was playing with My Memories Suite! Have you all seen this?! it's a Digital Scrapbooking program (and way more!) I see many nap times being spent avoiding chores in my future! And maybe in yours since I have the awesome opportunity to GIVE THE PROGRAM TO ONE OF YOU!!

Made this in like 2 minutes and I am NOT computer program smart AT ALL, like not even a little.. I don't even know how to change my header on here! This was so easy and FUN!! I can't wait to try the Halloween stuff and I am sure birthday party stuff is going to be SO much easier!
Yup, even after I just typed that, another minute or 2 and I can see a much easier way to make party circles!

This would have been perfect! Too bad I already spent HOURS on the other ones!
And the best part is all this CAME with the program and SO much other stuff too! The program is already very reasonable BUT I have a coupon for $10 off below.
Look at this scrapbooking package that come with this:

You could make pages with significant dates OR start making your own pretty calendar pages for your Home Management Binder!

And there are so many different designer packs for free, and even more for under $5! It might be advertised as a digital scrapbooking program, but for me and my goal of making everyday memories, not just scrapbooks, this is just amazing! Finally a easy way to make pretty organization labels, birthday party paper goods and SO much more!

So you want to know more about the coupon so you can go play? Just in time for sweet little lunchbox love notes for kids and hubby!

Alright! Just head HERE and sign up, add the Suite to your cart and at checkout use this code STMMMS87586
Which does NOT expire, so even if now is not the time for you, get the code! Share the code with your friends and family. You will all love the fun things you can do with this!
I'll be sharing more and the giveaway will be soon! Monday at the latest!

It's almost FOOTBALL time!

2011-08-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

And there is all kinds of football goodness in blogland!

I haven't made much in the past just some mini cupcakes and some PB Pretzel Truffles

The Ducks first game is this Saturday and I haven't decided what to make yet!

If they were for me, I would make these

source

But hubby is not a fan of whoopie pies (crazy!)

I'm thinking I will take the easy route and make a batch of these

But instead of making circles, I will just dump it all on a sheet pan and cut them once

they are cooled with my mini football cookie cutter.

There are soo many cute things!

Brownies

source

And if you are outta time, Little Debbie has these

Those would never fly here though!

There is more than just sweets too. These little cracker appetizer things are adorable

source

Football meatloaf?! So smart. I would probably make mini ones,

they cook faster and who doesn't love mini stuff!

Celebrations.com has pretty much anything football you could imagine!

These Pigskins in Blankets are easy too!

source

I will probably make hubby's favorite finger food too. I can't find any pictures online of it,

and I have never taken a picture.. but I will!

It's 1 can of crescent rolls

cream cheese (softened)

pepperoni slices

First you unroll the crescent rolls, but you want to keep them in 2's or 4's and pinch the seems back together, then spread the square (or rectangle) with cream cheese, leaving a little edge without cream cheese.

cover cream cheese in pepperoni slices

roll it up tight with parchment paper or freezer paper

put it in the freezer to firm up (it cuts SO much easier that way)

repeat with rest of crescent rolls

then take the firmed rolls out

Cut into 1/4-1/2" slices

place on baking sheet and bake according to the package.

YUM!

You can add olives too if you like them that way.

You don't really taste the cream cheese, I think it just helps bind and keeps them moist!

Little Lumberjack Treat Sneak!

2011-08-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling these will be popular at Finn's party! Perfect combo of sweet and salty!

It was my first attempt so it's not as pretty as I want it to be but I have time to work with it, and a few VERY willing taste testers :)

Here is what I did,

took 1 of these, cut it in half ad then made my axe shape

then I used one of these and stuck it through the short end of the marshmallow

And finally, I just used some red melted Wilton Candy melts and a spoon and ~~carefully~~ kinda sloppily covered the marshmallow with it. Then I just let it dry!

I am a SUCKER for matching food to the party theme, even if it is a lot of work!

Little Lumberjack Party Sneak!

2011-08-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Since this isn't a popular theme, finding party supplies has been a challenge, a good challenge! I like that I have no choice but to make what I need! For example, a pinata. I searched everything I could think of to find a pinata to go with this theme, only thing I found were palm tree's and owls, I was afraid the owls would push it a little too much onto the "woodland" theme, not that I don't love that theme (and hope our little girl will let me do one!) but for this it just wasn't what I was looking for.

So I started thinking of how I can build one, I know the whole balloon method but I was going for a specific shape, a LOG! Here is what I have done so far

started with an empty oatmeal container

Cut a few slices in it that go about half way around, hoping that will make sure it breaks a little easier!

Then I did 1 layer of tissue paper to cover as much of the bright colors as I could. Our store didn't have any streamers, so I just used white tissue paper cut into the right length. I used some white glue and a little water with a sponge brush.

Once there was a base layer I started crinkling up some strips and attaching them, but not making them smooth, I wanted them to resemble bark, so lots of ridges and not too straight!

And I added a little branch off the side.

I let it dry overnight, it was still pretty soft, not too crunchy, but I don't want it to be too hard for the kids so it's perfect!

Then I started painting it! And I realize now, I should have painted the strips ahead of time, it would have been easier, probably taken longer, but still easier! I'm just using some acrylic paint.

Now I am just waiting for it to dry. Then I will add some details, but you will have to wait to see that! And I have a zip tie style hanger waiting to be attached also!

On the ends I am painting them a lighter color and just using a marker for some woodgrain, well that is the plan anyway! And since one end just snaps on, I don't have to worry about how I am getting the goods in it!

I think I will have 1 more sneak peak tonight, that I am way excited about.. as long as nap time works out for me!

Monthly Cleaning Schedule!

2011-08-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

HOW did I not ever think of this?!

Such a clever idea and soo much better than my haphazard way of doing things!

I saw a couple examples on pinterest (of course), like this one

I had to alter mine, I usually have to deep clean a little more often than once a year for some of our things.. but I do like the idea of having a designated month to do the big rooms! So although I do some stuff that people consider "deep" cleaning every week, some stuff can be done just 1 or 2 times a year. Here is what I came up with, going to add it to my HMB and make my Fall/Spring Cleaning a lot easier, they will probably need an overhaul too!

How do you all organize your deep cleaning?

Updated Back to School Ruler

2011-08-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Last year I made this. I liked it, but didn't love it. I made some changes this time when I pulled it out, and I have more changes still. But probably won't get to them before school starts this year. It's better with all the inch marks.

I wanted to try and stain it a little so it wasn't as solid colored, but we have a busy weekend so it will have to wait for next year!

Just a few days until the Back to School Fairy comes to visit for the first time!

I, err she? he? is mostly ready.. just need to figure out what reminders/quotes for all 7 days!

Our little town is having their festival this weekend, so we have a busy weekend with a parade and other fun stuff. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Halloween Wreath

2011-08-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

I know it's just a little early for Halloween stuff, but my girlfriend was hosting a crafting night and I didn't have anything else to work on. She is a total sweet pea, check her out HERE.

So I had one of those straw wreaths from a project that did not turn out, I used some black ribbon and hot glue to cover that, then some of the cheapy boas at Michaels, not the feather but the fluff and wrapped that around the parts that were still showing straw, just attaching with hot glue. Then I spent a couple weeks collecting the black feather boas with coupons, I think I used 3. Still just wrapping and securing with hot glue.

Once that was done I just used some fishing line, and my random collection of keys, empty pocket watch, and crystals and hung them from the top, I wish the fishing line was less visible, but it will work until I figure something else out.

I'm actually really liking it, and it doesn't scream Halloween, there is no orange, purple, pumpkins or ghosts and that is just the way I like my Halloween stuff!

And please forgive the horrible pictures today :)

Snack and Breakfast Prep

2011-08-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

I went ahead and spent about 30 minutes today (Monday's are my usual kitchen day anyway) and put together a bin full of snacks for the pantry and a few for the fridge, once you see our fridge you will see I really need to make it to the grocery store :)

First I just picked up a couple bins at the store while I was there the other day, then just filled whatever snack size bags, and containers we had around here with the bulk stuff we had. Bulk snacks are so much less expensive than the individually packaged stuff! I am happy to spend 30 minutes or so a week and save some money!

Here are the non fridge snacks

These should last a week, easily. And we are pretty much out of fridge stuff,

so it's a little empty but it still works for now.

And normally I would cut the peach up, but I don't think they will eat it today, and I like them whole!

String cheese, yogurt, bananas and some cucumbers in there.

Now for breakfast stuff I didn't have a whole lot to work with right now so I just have our brown sugar and granola and a couple smaller spoons in a bowl I can grab when I get the other breakfast stuff out. I am going to try to find something that isn't glass to hold everything

When I make it to the store again, I will grab some more containers so I can get some frozen and fresh fruit ready for breakfasts, and split up the big thing of yogurt into kid size portions ahead of time.

I still need to make a few batches of pancakes to freeze, so I have a little head start for a couple of weeks.

I still feel like we have a huge to do list to get ready for the school year! Haircuts and that kind of stuff!

Back to School Organization

2011-08-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little rushed now! Just over 2 weeks until the first day for our kiddos and I feel like our current routines are just NOT going to work! Hoping to have a schedule worked out and get a week in of practice before school really starts.

I have already been getting up an hour or so earlier than the kids, well most days anyway, so I have time to prep breakfast and get as much done before the day starts. If these kids wake up any earlier I might have to change it to a bedtime routine instead.

We haven't really had a breakfast schedule like we do for dinner, but I think we might need to try one this year, and especially since I am not really a fan of cereal for the kids, not very often anyway.

I'm thinking

Mondays~Pancakes, fruit and sausage.. everyone needs Monday to be a good day!

Tuesdays~Oatmeal and stuff

Wednesday~Yogurt and fruit or granola

Thursdays~Waffles with peanut butter and fruit

Fridays~Cereal and fruit

Our kids LOVE this chocolate PB, and I like that it is better calorie and fat wise than the regular pb!

I am hoping I can make things easier and do most of the prep work ahead of time, like cutting all the fruit ahead of time and making the pancakes and freeze them. And keeping small things for the oatmeal so it's not getting everything out, just a little basket with little containers instead of the bag of brown sugar, because kids and bags of sugar do not mix in the morning!

Snacks could easily get out of control if I just let the kids have whatever they want. So I need to have stuff organized and easy for them to access (and easy for me to manage what they are getting) I liked Real Simple Magazines idea about keeping all the snacks in one spot.

and already having stuff pre portioned out. Those single serving size snacks are so expensive when I could just put them in separate bags and save a bunch! I think giving the kids choices makes it easier for me and them, no fighting, no "I don't like that" problems. We don't really do cookies or sweets here very often, but I don't want to restrict it so much that they don't know how to make good choices either.

So I will probably make certain things a 1x a week treat, they can pick the

day but I am not stocking those up everytime they are empty.

I will work on snack organization and share what I come up with.. I'm pretty sure these will be involved

I like that they are re-usable and kid sized, and not breakable! And I am totally wishing I would have kept those plastic baby food containers now.

I plan on having a LOT of snacks ready so the kids can just pick out what they want in their lunchbox too and I will make the main part. I think they will do a better job of eating it if they pick it out.

I can tell already I will be adding another to do one day a week in my HMB!

On Vaca!

2011-08-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

But as soon as we get home I'll have some posts!

It's not too early for Halloween crafts is it?!

And back to school schedules.

3 weeks until it starts here, need some breakfast, lunchbox and snack plans!

Happy S'mores Day!

2011-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Happy S'mores Day!

Might have to make this super easy 1 dish 5 minute S'mores bark tonight!

Back to School Fairy!

2011-08-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is a whole new concept for me, I saw it first on another blog and fell in love with the idea! Since I first saw it HERE I decided she probably wasn't the only one doing this super thing! So I looked around and found HERE they have certificates, balloons, pencils and all kinds of stuff! And HERE they also make a survival kit that is just too perfect! It contains

Toothpick: To remind you to pick the good qualities in everyone, including yourself.

Rubber band: To remind you to be flexible. Things might now always go the

way you want, but it can be worked out.

Band-aid: To remind you to heal hurt feelings, either yours or someone else’s.

Eraser: To remind you everyone makes mistakes. That’s okay, we learn by our errors.

Candy Kisses: To remind you everyone needs a hug or a compliment every day.

Mint: To remind you that you are worth a mint to your family.

Bubble Gum: To remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything.

Pencil: To remind you to list your blessings every day.

Love it!
And then I found another similar list

From what I can tell it seems like the Back to School Fairy comes to visit once, the nigh before school starts, and for many leaves some special stuff in kids backpacks. I am doing things a little different, I don't want to wait until the night before to get them excited! So we are doing it like this :

Instead of 1 day, I think the Back to School Fairy will come every night for a week or so (depending on what I find) I think it's a good idea for kids to hear expectations from a fun source, other than their parents. So the fairy will be leaving little reminders everyday when she leaves the goods. Hanging up backpacks has always been a struggle for our oldest, as well as cleaning out his lunchbox, those will for sure be some reminders for him. Nothing like finding a nasty lunchbox Monday morning, eww!

For our daughter, she is starting Preschool this year, and has developed the habit of tattling.. I hope the little note from the fairy will remind her not to tattle! Which she is doing as I type this lol.. her brother looked at her coloring page, OH the drama of a 4 year old!

Our fairy is on a budget for the most part! Lots of things the kids need anyway, and stuff I picked up on clearance or $1. Girl stuff seems like it is way easier to find though. I did splurge and order a shirt for each of them for the first day of school, ones they asked for but weren't really a good deal. So far they will be getting a toothbrush, chap stick/lip gloss, a Lego mini figure ( those are a BIG deal around here!) Some pencils, eraser, cutesy treat and a shirt. Maybe I hair bow for the girl and a new stack of flashcards (he loves the ones with different info, like the state ones) and then the shirts.

We also have a little one who will not be going to school, now I don't know what could possibly be better than some alone time with me and the option of playing with ALL of big brother and sisters toys while they are gone, but if I find a good deal he might get a DVD, which is pretty special around here since we don't watch a lot of T.V.

or maybe a new kids music cd, he loves to dance and wiggle!

Back to School Decorations

2011-08-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've got most of them out! And if you have to get your school supplies, do it soon while the deals are good! Boxes of crayons for .20! One of my favorites to decorate with, and SO inexpensive.

I found the pencil thermos with the tags still on it at a yard sale a few weeks ago for .50! I thought it was perfect!

Used my favorite little mini cake plate and the ruler art ( that didn't work like I wanted lol) I need to add some monogram to that!

Same ol' wreath, with apples, a huge eraser some black birds and mini wagons!

I like having a light fixture I can add fluff to.

Pencils are also pretty inexpensive right now, I just filled a little vase and added an apple.

I still don't have too much stuff, I am loving the vintage book pages, and the phone was in my Grandma's garage, it shows lots of wear and a big crack, but I like it that much more knowing it's not perfect and has some history.

Dollar store letters in a jar and a huge apple with some flash cards.

Flash Card garland I shared HERE.

More book pages.

That is all I have out so far, but I feel like I am missing something.. well something besides the big ruler, I need to add some inch marks and beat it up a little, it was too fresh last year.

Hair Bow Holder

2011-07-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hair bows are out of control here! At one point I think we had 11 feet of ribbon covered in clippies and I couldn't get the ponytail style or headbands on there. It's just craziness and has been such a struggle to find a way to manage them.

I still don't know what to do with the headbands and ponytail holders but I did decide what to do with the clip on style. I got this frame from Ikea

And spray painted it aqua, then I spay painted some chicken wire an off white and cut it to size, took the glass out of the frame and put the chicken wire in. This is what it looks like now (I swear the chicken wire IS under there!)

Anyone have ideas for headbands and ponytail holders?

Back to School Boy Stuff

2011-07-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else think boys are harder to shop for? It seems like it's all the same, skulls, sports or vehicles. I am not really a fan of that, and it makes it so hard to find different stuff!

Etsy is a good place to find different stuff!

I love the simple silhouettes!

And since our little guy is a Harry Potter fan I love this one

I like the "little man" look too

For those little boys (and girls) starting K..

I have a hard time finding a plain enough backpack that will last, I don't know how he does it but he can wear a backpack out in 6 months! I like these from PBKids

Love this shirt.. probably more for the little ones but it is just so funny!

And I really like bow ties!

or neck ties, these are from Lil Hiccups Boutique on Facebook!

Boys are much harder for me to shop for! It seems like everything has an animal or skull on it, and we aren't really into either! Once we get done with school stuff shopping I'll share any good finds!

And I should have all the Back to School stuff out soon! Guessing Monday!

THE cutest back to school treat yet!

2011-07-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Pinterest today and saw these! SO cute!! I couldn't not share them!!

source

Back To School For The Girls!

2011-07-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

We have 2 muffins going to school in Sept. A 1st grader and a Preschooler. They are both SO excited. I am excited about school fluff. I have always loved school supplies! And now I love school clothes and school supplies. I have come across too much though. I don't want to go overboard (anymore than I already have lol) and I haven't decided what to get yet. Had to share though, because I am sure I am not the only mama who loves school supplies and BTS fluff!

Outfits. WHY do they make them so darn cute?! Don't they know how hard it will be to decide? I need 4 or 5 first day outfit changes!

I haven't decided yet, because we don't know how cold it will be. But it's usually nice enough for short sleeves! I have a huge favorite list on etsy.com full of stuff like this:

But some other stores always have cute fall lines I love too. My favorite is a Baby Gap line from 2006 I think. I love it so much I bought it in a few sizes.

And it has matching knee socks!

And Gymboree has sweater vests all the time too. This one is my favorite for fall!

I just really really like knee socks and sweater vests I think!

Clothes are the hardest for me to not go overboard on.. the next thing I usually buy too many of is backpacks!

Between the cute monogrammed/embroidered ones and

others that just have a cute design it's hard to stick with just 1!

This is so embarrassing, but our 4 year old who hasn't gone to school yet, already has 6 backpacks, maybe 7, I haven't counted in a while. I have been better though. I didn't buy any last year! I probably won't buy any for a long time either! These are some that I would pick up if we didn't have too many as it is!

This owl one by Skip Hop is soo cute!

Out of the 6 or 7 we have, at least 3 are cupcake ones, hope she likes cupcakes for a long time!

Hair accessories! So cute and addicting!

I could post a ton that I love from etsy. I'll try and keep it to my 3 favorites!

Random other fluff I love..

Love the fabric, and it's a reusable sandwich bag!

Cutest little snack bags!!

And THESE are soo cute!

Ok, I have to stop looking at all this cute girl stuff! Hoping I can find some equally cute boy stuff!

More Back to School Goodies

2011-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I shared some PBnJ bars last year, but I think this one might be a little better for our family.

They look yummy and I think I could skip most of the sugar and they would still be ok.

My little cupcake and I made these the other day, but we changed em up a bit and didn't use the sugar, and we used sunflower seed kernels instead of peanuts. I think they would be good with dried cranberries instead of raisins!

I want to make sure I have stuff ready for their first days so I am not spending any time in the kitchen I don't have to! I want to hear all bout their new exciting year. So stuff I can make ahead of time is a must! I love these little cookies from the cake blog.

I don't know that I would make that many, but they are too cute and not too elaborate, so I should be able to get them done in a nap time, especially if I make the cookies before!

CakeCentral.com has these to share

They are SO cute, but I also want a less sugary option, so I think I can do these with graham crackers and tint some cream cheese instead of cookie and icing.

I still think cute iced cookies are my fave! LOVE these ones!

etsy has lots of choices!

And some ideas I love that I think we will have to get started on this year:

The Back to School Fairy?! HOW sweet!

source

The year before, the girl got a diary.. SO sweet!!

And Family Fun had this idea on their site

But they were planning it for school supplies. I think I can do this but instead of supplies, something special for the kids. Mine love school supplies ( think they inherited that from me lol) but I know there are other little things I already have for rewards, tooth fairy, long car trips that I want to do too. Hair bows, Lego mini figures, special erasers, key chains, just stuff they will love!

I am hoping to get back to school stuff out in the next week! And I might have a whole post on kids clothes. I can't decide on a first day of school outfit!

Back to School Snack Mix

2011-07-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Like I was saying the other day, I wanted to change up the caramel apple snack mix and make it more BTS!

So I did, it's half gone, the kids are loving it!

3C Crispix (or chex, whichever you like)

2tsp. butter

cinnamon

first I melt the butter, while it is melting I measure out the cereal

once butter is melted stir it into cereal.

spread cereal out on foil lined cookie sheet

sprinkle with cinnamon

put under broiler a few minutes to make it crunchy (but not burned, like I did the first time)

While the cereal is cooling I mix

2C pretzels (I used sticks cause they reminded me of pencils)

1C peanut butter chips

1C freeze dried apple pieces

3/4C dried cranberries

( I wanted to use freeze dried strawberries or raspberries but couldn't find them at the store I was at)

I also forgot to add 1/2C sunflower seed kernels

Once the cereal is cooled I mix everything together!

Keep it in an airtight container so it doesn't get icky!

I am sure I will have to make this again a few times before school starts, but once school starts, I am going to use some free printables and make some cute labels for it!

Spillin' it cause I can't wait anymore!

2011-07-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Just about 2 months until Finnley's 2nd Birthday Party! I am slowly getting the prep work done.. but I am antsy to share the theme! Wanna know?!

YUP! A Little Lumberjack Party! I can't wait to share all the fun details with everyone!

Back to School Treats!

2011-07-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

I KNOW this is too early for some of y'all but I had some extra time last week with hubby out of town so I thought I would put this together. It also leaves a little time to find supplies (hopefully on sale!)

First.. last years goodies are HERE and HERE.. It was hard to find new ones for this year, but I did find a few!

When I think about Back to School stuff, I think of pencils and rulers and sack lunches like PBnJ and knee socks and sweater vests! It's one of my favorite times of year, the weather is usually so nice and the excitement from school is so fun! We have 2 kids that will be in school this year, they are both really excited!

I thought these sweet little school bus boxes were just too cute!

I also won a giveaway by Paperglitter so I picked up this printable. Find her whole collection HERE.

I hope I can fit a couple little muffin bites in it (Thank you cake pop maker!)

I think these are my FAVORITE though! They are too clever, and charming! Not to mention easy to find all the stuff!

Find step by step directions HERE

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins! These look SO SO good!

I would use raspberry instead of blueberry jelly though!

SOURCE

And these Apple Struesel muffins look amazing!

source

Found these via. Flickr and they are probably my favorite so far!

If you are short on time/supplies, you can always use a recipe you already

love and use some free printables like these

HERE

This SITE has some really clever ideas too. These pencil cookies look yummy!

I shared this yummy fall snack HERE but I want to do something different for Back to School!

So I think I will just change a couple things in this one!

I really love the crispix or chex, but I think I will use the stick pretzels and keep the freeze dried apples because they just work well, they aren't moist at all so nothing gets all stuck together! And apples always make me think of school! PBnJ makes me think of school too, so I think instead of the caramel bits in this one, I will use PB chips! And instead of the pumpkin seeds using some fruit leather or fruit snacks.

I will have more to share soon! But I am antsy to try a couple of these this week!

Ready for Halloween!

2011-07-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

I am SO ready for Halloween and some crafting! So I am starting to find some stuff to attempt now.

I LOVE black and silver together, or black and white so I am looking for stuff in those colors like this ADORABLE boot! My plan is to try and find a similar shaped pair of boots at Goodwill and add the fluff and then paint it up

Oh and look they make a matching hat!

And I LOVE Potter Barns wreath from a couple years ago from the holiday catalog

But I am thinking I will love it even more if it was black and silver! I have a lot of Halloween keys too, so if I don't find enough clocks (I have a few already) then I will use keys

Another Pottery barn favorite is their mercury glass pumpkins!

I have got to find a DIY way to do these! And if I don't do those, then these for sure (better homes and gardens) But I think I would paint them black first so the rhinestones show up really well!

All these cutesy things have me excited to start! I know it's only July but Halloween IS my favorite and I have all that Back to School planning too, sometimes my eyes need a break from pencils and backpacks!

More Back to School Goodness!

2011-07-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

I got this desk at a great little shop in town, it needed some love though

I sanded and stripped and cleaned and sanded and sanded (those white letters were HARD to get off!) Then a couple coats of varathane and it's SO much better!

I tried not to sand all the previous carvings in it out, I swear one said I love Cookies.. hmm, think this desk was made for me!

The picture doesn't show them very well though.

I knew before I bought this exactly where I wanted it to go!

And I really need to clean that front window, especially after today!

A certain little blonde baby was ALL over it today!

I'm getting just a little excited for Back To School stuff!

Linking up HERE

First Back to School Craft!

2011-07-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Alright, I decided it wasn't too early to get started!

I found these cute pages out of a vintage alphabet book, and they were kind of an awkward size, but too cute not to do something with. So I just picked up a couple certificate frames from the dollar store, used some red paper I already had and they were done. I think they are pretty charming! Not ready to put all the back to school stuff out yet but I am getting stuff ready!

Does anyone else think Back to School stuff is kind of hard to find?!