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February 27, 2011

Don't Forget! {Opening Soon!}

Eeeeep!
I'm SOOO excited!
{and a little tired, overwhelmed and nervous - but those things are less important}
As you know
{well, hopefully you know}
My etsy shop will be opening on March 1st
And for those of you who are not super great at math, or remembering what day of the month it is
 let me help you out...
that's in 2 days!!
eeeeep!
My absolutely amazing and talented friend, Heather
{check out her website here}
came over this afternoon and shot my inventory pictures!
I'll be picking up my disc of all the pictures tomorrow,
but in the meantime,
I thought I'd give a little sneak peek of what's to come!



I hope you're as excited as I am!
{or at least close to as excited as I am}

February 26, 2011

Is this what I signed up for?!

As the mommy of a busy baby boy
I knew I'd be in for some crazy adventures.

Since I'm an only child
and have not experienced the joy of being around young boys much,
my sweet hubby tried to 'warn' me about all of the
'boy things' I should be prepared for as the mommy of a baby boy.
Ok, I can deal with touching bugs
{really, touching everything}
 picking things up off the ground
and maybe even
{sigh}
 touching the garbage can 
{Ick!}
Ok, maybe I'm not, but I'm working on it, people!

But when I saw these pictures I couldn't stop laughing!
Is this seriously what I'm in for?!
{I don't doubt it}













Looks like it's time to sit back,
 laugh
and enjoy the ride of having a baby boy

Oh and for the record,
these images were sent to me in an email and I have NO idea who they belong to.
If anyone knows, please tell me!
I like to give credit where credit is due!

February 25, 2011

Fabulous Finds Friday

Well, we didn't have a snow day
{we hardly had any snow at all, booo!}
but it's friday,
and that makes it all better :)

Here is the list of lovelies I'm enjoying this week!

Remember my love for mason jars?
I'm loving this 1/2 pint mason jar pincushion by thecherrystem
 what a cute {and practical} idea!



This breeze damask camera strap cover by MelVDesigns
You MUST check out her shop


I'm such a sucker for a V-Dub Bus and I adore this photograph by houseofjames
{the other amazing etsy shop of my multi-talented friend, Heather}



Think coffee and tea are just for drinking?
Well wait until you visit RockyTopSoapShop and check out the creations they're making!



And, because I'm hopelessly addicted to chap stick,
My lips are begging for this raw honey butter lip balm by BohemianBeetnik



Hope you enjoyed my finds!
Check out these shops
{and support handmade}

February 24, 2011

The Mini Wallet {a new item}

Oooohhh, a new item!
{woohoo!}

Introducing the mini wallet!
Perfect for storing business cards, coupons, loose change
{or whatever else may be floating around in your purse}



these pint-sized super cutie patooties
will make their official debut in my etsy shop on March 1st
check back in for the grand opening in just 4 {eeeep!} days

on a side note,
my super sweet hubby packed lunches for me and baby boo boo
when I openend the fridge this morning this is what I found...




and my heart melted a little
{ok, it melted a lot}

World beard {and moustache} championship

I needed a good laugh this morning, and these photos did the trick.
They are all winners of the
World Beard And Moustache Championship
{I didn't even know there was such a thing}
But I'm glad there is!

















 
Hope you enjoyed the beard and moustache awesome-ness :)

February 23, 2011

CSA {community supported agriculture}

Remember my post about eating organically?
 
Good news!
I've done some research and there are several farms in our area
who participate in this program!
Not-so-good news...
It can be stinkin' expensive!

Now, I understand that eating healthy, organically grown produce is great,
but upwards of $600 for a season is a little steep!
Mind you, this does include a box filled with fresh produce
{and, depending on the farm, even eggs, cheese, meats and flowers}
delivered to your door or available for pick-up at local markets
each week from about June until October
It really is such a great program!

So, my findings have led me to Fry Family Farm
They are a local farm located in Talent
They offer tons of options for CSA
and even break it down in to full and half shares!
making it much more affordable!
Also, you can choose to receive your "harvest box" every other week instead to cut down cost even more!
{and I love that they include fresh flowers!}

They have an entire section on their website dedicated to CSA
and spell out every question you may have about how the process works
{such a great resource!}

Since I do have a small
very small
garden of my own, I'm really interested in the every other week option!
I'm already getting excited!

One of my followers recommended a website
and it was a great resource and starting point!
{Thanks, Aubrey!}

Well, the rest of the week is forecaseted to bring in lots of snow,
I thought I'd post some pictures of our
President's Day trip to the park




Have a wonderful day!

February 22, 2011

Creating A Budget {and sticking to it!}

Budget
Ick. Isn't it such an icky word? Scary, even.
I totally associate being on a budget with nearly every negative word imaginable
{restricted, unsatisfied, jealous, grumpy, bored}
you get the point, it's not fun.
I guess I've always thought of being on a budget as not getting what you want
and I like to get what I want {who doesn't?}
{when I want it, might I add}

Well, I'm determined to change my thinking!
{even though my mom has been trying to get me to change my thinking for years}
Thanks mom, I heard you
I just have to figure stuff out the hard way :)

It's not that I have no idea where our money goes,
it's just that I don't spend it as carefully {ok, nearly as carefully} as I should.
if I see something I like, and it's any reasonable price, I buy it.
So at the end of the month I have stuff - 95% of which I'm SURE I could live without
and a very minimal amount left to save
Boo!

But I don't want to live like that anymore.
I want to simplify
I want to find contentment
I want to feel grateful, and appreciative of all that I've been blessed with

I don't want to be a slave to my paycheck
I want to choose where my money goes and why
I want to decide how much I save and how much I spend
I want to be in control of what I need and what I want
{mind you, I'm typing this after I just, literally, just made a totally unnecessary etsy purchase}
I don't think it's going to be easy,
in fact, I know it's going to be ridiculously hard
I'm sure I {well, we...this is a family thing} will fail,
but I'm also sure that we'll pick right back up where we left off
 and start again.

I was reading a blog post by Gussy
{have you checked out her blog?}
and came across this post
check it out for her advice on following a family budget
and how she and her hubby saved enough money for her to quit her day job!

We're going to take the next week or two to set up our budget
and from there, it's crunch time
I'm talking {excuse my french}
balls to the wall, start saving for real

I do, however, want to be realistic
we'd be setting ourselves up for failure if we said that
every penny
 that doesn't go to a bill will be saved

We'll have to do the math and figure out what our
"fun money"
{see, even talking about spending money is more fun!}
budget will be for each  month
I think allowing ourselves to have some sort of disposable income will help keep us on track

Anyway, I suppose all of this is to make a commitment to become a
smarter spender and a better saver!

Please feel free to jump on board!
I'd love to hear your savings tips, money saving ideas,
and to have other people make a saving commitment too!

Happy saving!

Oh, and it wouldn't be a post if I didn't include some pictures of my sweet boy
{We spent lots of time coloring yesterday}





Happy day after President's Day!

February 21, 2011

New Blog Design!

Have you checked out my new blog design?!
Well, if you're reading this
{I suppose you have}

My uber talented, super crafty, computer tech-y
Wonderful Mother In Law


{Darcie}
Created and designed my entire blog header!
Not to mention new buisness cards, fabric labels and stickers
{more on that later}
I'm so thankful & appreciative of all of her hard work!
I LOVE the look of my new blog!
check out just how crafty she is by visiting her blog!

The only thing left to update is my menu bar
{check back, because it's coming soon}

While Darcie and I
{Well, mostly Darcie}
were inside, creating away,
Papa Dan, Daddy and Baby Boo Boo
Played outside
Zaiah LOVES the swing at Gaga and Papa's house






So glad the sun decided to pop out for a little bit yesterday!

February 20, 2011

Buying Organic {The Dirty Dozen}

Buying organic
Who wouldn't want to buy organic?
pesticide and chemical free, safe for your family
But it does come at a higher price.
Ever since I became a mommy
providing my baby with the best food possible became a priority
So, it came down to this
is buying organic worth the added cost?
And honestly, I had no idea!
{it can get a little expensive!}
And so I did what I always do when I need information...
I googled it!
and I found this amazing website!

They've broken fresh fruits and veggies down into two groups
"The Dirty Dozen"
{foods that still have pesticides even after being washed - worth buying organically}
and "Non-Organic Foods"
 {foods that are safe to buy non organically}

The part I cared about most was "The Dirty Dozen"
Here is a list of foods that should be purchased organically
{when possible, of course}

Apples
Cherries
Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Raspberries
Strawberries
Bell Peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach

This website also recommends a program called "farm fresh to you"
This is where the customer provides cash upfront
to a local farmer
The farmer then uses the cash
 to purchase seeds and other materials needed to produce the crops

As each variety of produce comes into season
the farmer will deliver a box of fresh produce to the customer
throughout the entire farming season!
How cool is that?!
I'm looking into local farms to see if any farmers in our area provide this service
I'll let you know what I find out!

And, because I can
And, because he's cute
Here are some baby boo boo pictures :)





Looking forward to some more spring-ish weather!

February 18, 2011

Fabulous Finds Friday

Good morning and happy Friday!
Alas, yesterday was not a snow day
but baby boo boo is better, so I think that's a fair trade.

Hope you enjoy these Fab Friday Finds....these are the things I'm loving this week:

These amazing moustache gift cards from DawnCorrespondence
How funny are moustaches?!
something about them just makes me laugh

{I bought moustache scrapbook paper for baby boo boo and these remind me of it}


Remember my last post? Abut the glass jar terrarium?
{That might explain why I can't get enough of this}
upcycled mason jar glass terrarium from doodlebirdie

 

These antique spoon garden markers by hammermann


This super cute sweet bee honeycomb necklace from Anechkas Jewelry
because, well...it's so sweet!


This unique cake topper from dearjes
{I love non-traditional wedding decor}



And, this absolutely adorable crocheted baby pod by JustDandyCreations
{my next baby will definitely be having a photo shoot in one of these}


Hope you enjoyed my finds!
Have a fabulous Friday!

February 16, 2011

Gardens in Glass: Upcycled Terrarium

While I do have a love for mason jars
I sort of feel like they're popping up
everywhere!
I was browsing for a new take on glass
when I found
tutorial for an
upcycled glass terrarium
When I read the word "terrarium" I instantly thought of a
taranchula
and almost clicked away out of sheer fright!
I'm glad I didn't, because how darling is this?!


Your very own garden in an upcycled glass jar!
love it!


On a side note
I think
{think is the key word here}
that baby boo boo is better - yay!
He had a fun day at home with daddy
and only watched KungFu Panda 3 times - sheesh!

And apparently he felt it was necessary to have
nearly every stuffed animal
with him on the couch




Glad baby boo boo gets to go back to school with me tomorrow
But if there happens to be a
snow day
I'm fine with that too :)

{Another} Sneak Peek!

Are you getting excited?!
Because I can tell you that "excited" does not even
begin
to describe how I feel
about the fact that my etsy shop will be opening in
less than two weeks!
Holy Cow

I figured another sneak peek was in order


If you're familiar with my products I'm sure you can guess what these are :)


February 15, 2011

Infomercials

Yep, infomercials.
I'm a sucker for 'em.
Good ones, bad ones...I can't turn the tv off if an infomercial is on!

Now, I must say, I've made some pretty good purchases thanks to these somewhat annoying
{yet very necessary}
late night advertising commercials!

The Titan Peeler is one
And let me tell you, it is a veggie peeling machine!



My Winsor Pilates DVD
A great investment
{When I actually use it}


I keep telling myself I'm going to start waking up and doing this every morning
{hasn't happened yet}


Along the same lines would be my Core Secrets DVD
Again, if I actually did it
It would be much more useful



Not to mention the time I convinced my mom that she
had
to buy one of these
I know you've all seen this infomercial before


Set it and forget it!
Haha! I think I've seen that one about a zillion times!
{no exaggeration}


But last night I saw an infomercial I had never seen before
{let's just say that's a rarity for me}
and I'm seriously contemplating getting it!
I'm talking about
The Chef Basket


Have you heard of it?
It's, like, 32
 {ok, not literally}
 kitchen tools in one!
and it folds flat for easy storage!
{look at me, I'm a walking infomercial!}
Well, for the low, low price of only
$14.99
I could be the proud owner of one
Waddya think?

Ok, I feel I've divulged enough embarrassing information for one night.

I'm back to work tomorrow
daddy will be staying home with baby boo boo
He woke up with a fever, it went away this afternoon,
but now it's back...and he's starting to cough
{poor boo boo}
Today we did more lounging, movie watching and cuddling

Snuggling up with his favorite toys - watching Ice Age

He thought it would be cute to try on Daddy's shoes
{he was right}

Hoping my sweet baby boo boo feels much better tomorrow!
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