Homemade Roast Beef Stew for the Cold Holiday Weather!

With winter fast approaching, I can't help but crave home of my grandmother's home cooked meals.  My favorite on a cold day was her roast beed stew.  It's so easy to make, it makes the house smell amazing and it's a great way to clean out all the veggies you've avoided making since your last grocery shopping trip, and did I mention that the crock pot does most the work for you?

Ingredients

1 3-5 pound chuck roast
1 package of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
1 package of the little red potatoes (usually marked as the "steam bag")
1 bag of regular size carrots, do not use the baby carrots they just don't work
2-3 stalks of celery
1 can of the Hunts stewed tomatoes, I like to use the celery bell pepper mix
1 bag of broccoli florets,
1 bag of fresh green beans
1 can of corn
Salt and pepper to taste

First things first, dust off that crock pot!

I try to prep everything the night before so I can just dump it in the crock pot in the morning and get to work.  Really the only prep work is to quarter the potatoes and slice the carrots.  I usually slice them about a quarter of an inch thick.  Then I trim a little bit of the fat off of the roast.  Don't trim it all because a lot of the flavor in the broth comes from that.

Before anything goes into the crock pot, you need to brown the roast very quickly on the top and on the bottom.  A 3-5 pond roast is the perfect size for a family of 4, you'll even have left overs for lunch the next day.  Once you've done browned the roast, place the carrots and the potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot and then place the roast on top of them.  You want veggies under the roast so that they absorb all those great flavors.  Next add your Lipton Soup packet and add enough water to cover the sides of your roast.  The water line should be even with the top of your roast, but not covering it.  Turn on low and let the crock pot do the magic for you.  I typically start mine about 7:00 a.m. before I drop Zoey off at daycare and it cooks until about 4:45 p.m., when I finally get home from picking up Zoey after work.

When you get home, switch the crock pot from low to "keep warm", your potatoes, carrots and the meat should be throughly cooked.  Did I mention your house should smell amazing?    This is the fun part, you have to pull the roast out and shred it.  I use a spatula to grab it out of the crock pot and two forks to shred it, it doesn't take much effort after slow cooking all day.

Once the meat is shredded you want to transfer your broth, potatoes, carrots and meat to a large pot.
Turn the heat on between low and medium to keep it warm.  Now it's time to add everything else.  The broccoli should be a good size right out of the bag, but you may need to cut the green beans in half to make it easier to eat.  When you add your corn and tomatoes, make sure you drain those as well, you don't want to dilute your broth too much.

I bring it back up to a small boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes just to get those new veggies cooked and mixed.  I've found that this main course deserves a great side of corn bread to really make it fantastic.   Feel free to add any other veggie you have lying around, I also throw in some zucchini and any color bell pepper I have lying around.


Happy Cooking Everyone!  

The Seasons have Swapped, and So Should Your Closet!

I know it's December and Christmas is around the corner, but I'm pretty sure jack frost has awoken early in Virginia.  Being born and raised in southern California, I grew accustomed to warm weather and sunshine, and yea I have made Virginia my home for the last 6 years, but I'm still not used to these freezing cold temperatures.  Not to mention the fact that the weather is a constant roller coaster, yesterday was 74 degrees, today a whooping 37.  So what's a girl to do with her time?  Well swap out my clothes of course!

Yea, I made that sound way too fun.  This task for me is no hour job.  It involves lugging the tote out of my attic that currently houses all my winter clothes and swapping them out with all the summer clothes I'd freeze body parts off in this season.  

Step 1: Grab your tote (and if you don't have one, buy one, don't go cheap either, get a good tight snapping top to prevent bugs or critters from making your sweaters their new homes)

Step 2: Empty the Tote.  Don't just dump it either, you need to go piece by piece.  Are you going to wear that piece this winter?  If you just can't make up your mind, donate it. You typically know right away if you're going to wear something.  If you need to think twice, you won't wear it.  Does it fit you?  We all shift in weight throughout the year.  Make sure to keep in mind that we tend to gain a few extra pounds during the holidays.  So if it's tight now, you may not like the way it fits come January.  

Step 3: Swap it out.  Don't allow your summer clothes to clutter up your closet for winter.  In Virginia, there is no way I am wearing a summer dress during the winter.  I used to try to wear dresses for work with tights, but one, I can not stand tights and two, it doesn't matter how thick they are, it's still too cold for it.  There are certain tank tops that you can dress up with a cardigan, but you aren't going to be dressing up those shorts.  This step isn't limited to your clothes.  Swap out those shoes! Your flip flops have no place in the snow (if you have snow), and peep toes, that's your call, here it's a little too cold.  Bring out those boots!  Summer's way too hot to keep those piggies in those amazing boots, but winter demands the warmth of last year's awesome finds.  

Step 4: Load up the Summer Stuff.  At this point, I can attest to the lack of motivation to put all your summer items in the bin neatly.  You've tried things on, made a donate pile, and hung up all your winter stuff.  But this is the time to pull every last ounce of energy you have left and fold those clothes.  Believe me you'll be able to fit more in the bin, and when you need to pull all this out when the seasons change again, you'll appreciate all that hard work.  

Step 5:  Put that bin back where it belongs.  It's easy to do all this work and put that bin back "tomorrow" but tomorrow will come and go and you'll eventually start hanging laundry on it.  Save yourself the trouble of having to put it away later, after you've dug it out of the avalanche of purses, clothes, scarves and shoes.  

Happy Swapping Everyone! 

      

DIY Calendar Pin Board

I can definitely say that I am addicted to Pinterest and I love looking at all the great DIY project pins.  That being said, I have noticed that a lot of people have pinned a "command center", which consists of a desk, chair, small filing area, calendar, and usually a laptop, essentially it holds their their lives in one place.  I don't have anywhere to put one in my house, but I do have a big empty wall in my kitchen screaming for some attention.  So I decided to make my own interpretation of the command center for those who don't have the additional space for a command center.  My idea inspiration came from a pin, of course, that took a frame and used it as dry erase board, seen here:

I wanted to make a reusable calendar that mimicked this idea, but also had a cork board to hold all my important letters, my grocery list, bills and any of the things that would otherwise get lost.  So I ran out, paid maybe $12 for the materials and made my very own command center, and this is what I came up with:

My neighbor loved the idea and needed one of these bad boys for her house.  Since the frame was buy one, get one free and the cork came in a four pack, I had the extra materials to make her one too.  So after work, we had a Pinterest craft party.  Her's was a little more involved than mine, so if you want a more plain Jane one like mine, swap the fabric for ribbon to cover the edges of the cork (attach with hot glue), and nix the paint samples to draw on the calendar.

You'll need the following:

• A frame - I used a poster size that would fit on the wall I wanted to use, and they were buy one get one free!
• A sharpie
• A ruler
• A pencil
• Cork board- I found a four pack of these great squares.  
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Paint sample cards -I've made two of these now, one I used paint sample cards and the other I just hand sketched the calendar out, either way looked great.  
• A piece of Fabric (one fat quarter was more than enough for one piece of cork)

Step one: Map it out. 

I wasn't sure about the lay out.  I wanted a decent size cork board, and the squares had to be big enough to write in, so it took me a couple of tries to get the size for mine just right. I also wanted to make sure there was room at the bottom for notes, meal planning, etc.  Make sure you know what you want and that it will fit in the size frame you purchase.   The two pieces of cork together were a little too long to fit in this frame so I just used a regular pair of scissors and trimmed it down until they both fit.  

  For Brianna's, she went to Home Depot and grabbed a few of these super paint sample card to use as her days.  Pretty smart considering it took me about an hour just to measure and draw out my map.  Once it's mapped out, you need to remove the plastic or glass, depending on your frame.  I know it sounds weird but you need to be able to map it all out correctly.  For this frame, the plastic was only held on my four sticky spots.  All I did was pull slightly and it popped right off.

Next, you'll want to flip over that spiffy sheet that the frame comes with to give yourself a nice (and free) white background.  Next put your cork back in place, but DO NOT glue the cork down in this step, you just need it for spacing.  This is when you either draw out your calendar or use these cute paint sample cards.  My neighbor was able to make this really pattern for hers that can be mimicked with any color really.  We spaced out the colors evenly and then one by one glued them down with hot glue.  You might want to use a paper towel to press down on the cards because after the first three it starts to really burn the fingerprints.  

Now its time to put the glass/plastic back in the frame.  You can reattach it to the frame just the hot glue.  I added one drop to each side and then one in each of the corners.  Place the frame back over the calendar and attach the cork to the top of the glass/plastic.  My neighbor wanted to add her own flare to the cork board before we attached it to the board.  So she printed out this really cute image and we just hot glued it right to the cork.  To secure the cork, we used the double sided foam pieces that came with the cork.  You can add almost anything to it to make it your own.  My neighbor covered her cork board in her favorite fabric to give it some flare.  You can also add photos under the glass to personalize.  The very last step is to use a dry erase marker and organize your life!  Happy Crafting!!!

The DIY gift for the Geek

I always find that I have one person that is almost impossible to Christmas shop for.  This year it's my neighbor's husband.  While his wife and I are pretty close, and I have a long list of options for her, I had a huge blank space under his name.  Like my husband, he is the guy that buys everything he wants for himself.  He likes reading, but has a library, he loves movies, but has a huge collection, no particular hobby, a family man, has a huge sweet tooth and likes Star Trek.  So what do you get the man that's impossible to buy for?  A cookie jar embellished with his Star Trek quote of course!

The last time I was at my mother in law's house, I commented on her cute dog treat containers.  They were simple plastic jars with her dogs name on them.  She told me she made them herself with the Cricut machine and some crafting vinyl.  I've been wanting to try this out for myself but haven't had an opportunity (or a need) to do it for my house.  Thank you mom for the inspiration.

First things first, I needed an awesome cookie jar.  TJ Maxx has this little guy for around $8.  I bought this one specifically for the air tight, suction top.  The only bad cookie is a stale one.

Then I dusted off the old Cricut and found the vinyl I had stuffed away from a previous project.  The vinyl is typically a little on the expensive side, so if you don't already have some, I would suggest waiting for a sale.  The coupons in the craft stores tend to exclude all Cricut stuff so unless you can find a different one, this is going to be a pricy purchase.

Next I chose a gender neutral font.  Come on ladies, we all love the scrolls and the loops and all the pretty fonts but for a guy, lets just say the simpler the better!  You need to choose a skinnier font if your words are more than 3 letters long, because your words end up wrapping around the jar, which looks a little awkward.

 

The tricky part is the saying.  The saying is the most important thing about this project.  You have to find something that, not only appeals to the recipient, but that they won't mind looking at every time they get a craving for a cookie.  And heaven forbid you mix up genres or misquote anything.  Do your research!  In this instance, I know that my neighbor's husband is more of a Treky than a Star Wars guy so the dark side cookies probably wouldn't appeal to him as much as "beam me up scotty".  But I must say it's a little funny to have "live long and prosper" on a container full of some of the most fattening cookies known to man, but the humor is the best part of the present, outside of the cookies, of course.

The final step is to add their favorite cookies.  For me, I now know that Oreos (whose aren't though really?) are his favorites, courtesy of his wife.  Add a big bow on top and you're done!  Knowing my neighbor, when the cookies are gone, say three days after opening this, he will find a use for this in his office or the shed, either way, it's a thoughtful reusable gift. In my experience, it takes two packages of Oreos to get this thing semi full.  I would suggest three, and whatever doesn't fit, well I guess you will just have to enjoy the left overs. 

Happy Crafting!

My Guilty Pleasure of the Week...

I'd like to say that my music preference is pretty broad, and I typically don't like the top 100's that they play over and over and over on the radio,  but this album is by far the best I've heard from T. Swift.  Her other albums were great for nursing a broken heart or when you're 15. But this album definitely has the pizazz all her other ones were missing.  I can hit the random button and listen to this entire album from start to finish.  Its one you can clean your house to, one you can blast in the car, and one you can play in the office.  I recommend tracks 2 & 9 to start.  If you haven't bought it yet, this is worth every penny on iTunes.    Happy listening everyone!

Spooktacular Halloween 2014

Growing up I loved dressing up for halloween.  I got to pretend to be someone else for one night, and my neighbors rewarded me with candy for doing it!  I sure miss those days, now its just me walking down the candy aisle knowing I'll hate myself later for what I bought.  But as a mom, I get to enjoy all the perks of Halloween all over again.  At three, Zoey is just now getting into the costume fun and this year we bought her first pumpkin!  I personally am allergic to pumpkin, so when I carve them my arm turns into one giant hive.  She's still pretty young, and even though we bought a smaller pumpkin, I still wanted to avoid the carving and the pumpkin gut mess for at least one more year.

During one of my typical Target trips on my lunch hour, I ran across this really sweet pumpkin decorating kit by Mr. Potato Head at Target this afternoon.  It cost me a whole $8.00 and allowed me to avoid the mess and hives for one more year.  The best part is... It's reusable! Remove the pieces, wash them off and store them away for next year.  Some of you may prefer to use the pieces from your child's Mr. Potato Head in their toy box, and that's perfectly fine, however, even on small pumpkin we bought, the parts were awkwardly small.  

This set comes with 12 pieces that look just like potato head pieces.  Since the kit is kid friendly, there aren't any sharp edges to acutally puncture the pumpkin with.  And of course I didn't buy a carving kit today, so I had to get a little resourceful.  

I grabbed my handy dandy meat thermomater.  I punctured the pumpkin, where we previously planned out the face, and I had to move it the thermometer in small circles to enlarge the hole a little, but after a little elbow grease, we were ready to decorate our pumpkin.  Since Zoey was already familiar with Mr. Potato Head, the rest was just her having fun.

Happy Decorating Everyone!

GILMORE GIRLS!!

I know that this news has been circling the internet for a couple of weeks but I just can't contain myself anymore, Gilmore Girls is back !!!!!  Thank you Netflix for making my down time tolerable again! And by down time, I mean the time I spend folding the laundry, dusting, vacuuming or cooking (thank you iPad Netflix app).  I can do the occasional Greek marathon, or Royal Pains when I need good background noise, but there is nothing better than watching one of my old favorites without commercials.  Okay that's my 30 second celebration dance for today, Happy watching friends!   

The $15 Practical Gift for Any Occassion

Lets face it we all have those people we don't quite know what to get for the holidays.  One thing you count on is the majority of people enjoy at least one of the many beverages on the Starbuck's menu.  Well why not just get a Starbuck's gift card for your hard to buy for people?  Well you can but its a little impersonal and honestly can seem like a last minute gift.   For you, I have found a cute, easy gift for around $15 to make everyone happy.  It's cheap, easy and it's green!

This great little present begins with one of the reusable Starbuck's cups.  They look like the original hot drink cup, but are microwave and dishwasher safe.  The best part is every time you use this cup at Starbucks they give you 10% off of your drink.  Then you just add a coffee coozie from etsy.  This link will send you to my personal boutique but if you prefer a different style there are a ton of these little guys al over etsy.  Here's how to build this great gift:

Step One: The Cup

Step Two: The Coozie

 Step Three: The Gift Card

Step Four: Add your choice of candy

Step Five: Assemble!

So let's break down this awesome deal:

                     $1.00 for that great reusable cup

                     $7.50 for the coozie (with shipping)

                     $5.00 for the gift card 

                     $1.00 - $1.50 for the candy filler from your local dollar store.

                     $15.00 total for an amazing personalized gift for anyone 

Happy Shopping Everyone!!!

Flying with a Toddler

     With the holiday season coming up, traveling is inevitable.  Traveling before a child was easy, pack a bag, pay for tickets with all the extra cash we didn't have to use for diapers and daycare and hit the road.  No strings, no responsibilities, just the fun adventurous old us.  Yea those were the stress free blissful days.  Then we had this little monster....

     Do I regret it? Absolutely not.  Look at her, she's amazing in every sense.  But bringing her into this world pulled us back from all those fun adventures.  Now the only time we get to fly anywhere is when we fly across country to see our family.  The first year we flew we did what all new parents do, we over packed.  Three (3) check bags, a stroller, a car seat, and two carry ons later, we were off. Year two, there was one less bag but still way over packed.  We took a year off of traveling but this past Easter while my husband was busy with work, I decided to pack up my little monster and head home for Easter.  Yes a two year old and plane travel across country sounds a little insane, but I had a plan. 

     My first idea was to travel on off days.  Traveling friday to sunday is pretty typical of people trying to get the most time for their travel time.  I chose to fly Wednesday and return on a Tuesday.  Not only were the tickets cheaper but there were less people to bump into during my lay over and the arrival gate.  Since I was taking the jogging stroller I needed a bit more time and space to navigate. 

My second idea was to forego checking any bags, except her car seat of course.  It was already enough to have the monster, the stroller and the two rolling bags and my backpack I had, trying to grab check bags at LAX and then trying to get to the rental car place, yea I wasn't up for that challenge, I mean it was a vacation.  I bought a new bag for all of Zoey's stuff and a new one for myself (our house consists of nothing but huge check bags courtesy of my husband's job).  Since she was a ticketed passenger, we both got 2 check bags free.  I had her rolling bag, my rolling bag and my back pack.  When in doubt lay it out!

     Packing.....oh how I avoid it!  I knew I had 10 days (outside of traveling) that I needed to pack for, including one holiday.  Luckily, we were going to southern California so there was no need for excessive layers.  In order to save space and my sanity, I packed pieces that I could mix and match which included:

2 pairs of Jeans

2 pairs of Shorts

1 dress acceptable for a family holiday

1 pair of dress shoes

1 pair of Toms

1 pair of flip flop

1 sweat shirt

1 pair of pajamas

4 tank tops

4 T-shirts

1 long sleeve shirt

4 pairs of socks

10 pairs of underwear

1 extra bra

Swim suit

Zoey's list was much easier:

two pairs of clothes for each day

a dress for the holiday, 

a swim suit, 

a pair of her converse, 

flip flops,

dress shoes, 

about ten pull-ups, 

few pairs of underwear (we are still training), 

a washcloth

 and all of our toiletries

 

     Going to my family's house, I knew I had access to my mom's hair dryer and flat iron, so that saved me a ton of room.  And I bought some of those little bottles from Target's travel aisle for $1 a piece and brought only what I needed for showers.  Target also had this travel pack for Zoey that had lotion, soap and desitin.  I was able to forego the big bag I normally use for all that and use the Ziploc bag for carry-ons.  

My backpack consisted of: 

my computer

camera

my Kindle

all of our chargers  

one blanket for Zoey in case she decided to take a nap (ha ha) 

her favorite doll 

a portable DVD player

three movies

sunglasses for both of us

two packs of wipes-Make sure you get the flushable ones to prevent any toilet back ups

her Kindle

a book for Zoey

snacks

a Nalgene bottle-It helped pop her ears with the altitude and I was able to share my water without sharing all her floaties.

 

•               baby approved head phones- I found an amazing pair on Amazon that won't go above a certain volume, so they are safe for her baby ears

  

•               a coloring set- I found this one at Target that was amazing for the trip

•               extra batteries- I used an Energizer rechargeable battery that is compatible with tablets and iPhones

     To save room, I emptied everything from my purse into the outer pockets of my backpack and put my emptied, flattened purse in the carry-on.  Yes it sounds like a lot but with the size of her clothes, it wasn't hard to pack all of our stuff into one bag.  My backpack was a little larger than a normal one and don't get me wrong it was heavy, but I wanted to be prepared in case we were stuck overnight somewhere.  I used a larger backpack like this to capitalize on the extra room:

     Now, you might ask how in the world did you carry all that with a toddler?  The answer is simple, I let the stroller do they work.  I pulled the seat down and had Zoey sitting up right all the way in the back.  I laid her bag over the top where she'd normally be sitting which allowed her to play with her toys and still gave her room to lay down to nap.  The second rolling bag went in the basket under the stroller (jogging strollers tend to have larger baskets) and the car seat was in a nifty little zip up bag I bought on amazon that allowed me to sling it over my shoulder.  Essentially everything was rolling on the stroller. Once I dropped the car seat at the check station, I was one bag lighter!  Make sure you check the policies of the airline you're flying, most airlines offer free check bags for car seats and strollers, which can save you a ton of time, money and hassle.

     Once we were on the plane, Zoey decided she wanted to watch the movie playing on the headrest screens.  Yes, it's a little irritating that I packed so much stuff for her that she didn't use but in the even the monitors stopped working, I was ready.  Take offs and landings are tricky, the change in the cabin pressure can really affect your little one's ears, because they aren't aware of the ear "popping" trick.  This is where that water bottle comes in handy.  You need one that requires a lot of suction, this provides them with the ability to pop their ears and avoid the painful cabin pressure change.

     The worst part of traveling is all the worrying you do ahead of time.  The best thing to do is to take a deep breath and be prepared for an extended lay over, or a potty accident, or being puked on.  As a mom these things are always in my head.  The better you're prepared the better things are for you whether the trip is on time or you're set up in a corner waiting for a new one.  Either way, enjoy the time with your munchkins and the memories you get to make. 

Kohl's Lovin!

And this is why I love.......

The miracle of a child is nothing less than well a miracle.  There are so many great things about being a mom that there isn't a blog big enough to hold the lists of wonderment.  One of the teeny tiny drawbacks is the inability to spoil yourself with all the great trendy clothes you once adorned.  For me, this was one of the biggest challenges I faced with my post baby budget. So when a friend of mine raved about Kohl's and how much money she always saves there I just had to check it out.

And I'm not going to lie, I am very much in love with Lauren Conrad's clothing line, and that may have been more motivation than actually saving money.  As soon as we entered the store I all but ran to the LC rack.  One glance at the price tag, however, and I couldn't find an exit fast enough.  One pair of jeans was $50! Maybe in pre-baby days.  Seeing my disappointment my friend walked me through her shopping trip.  At check out she had about $400.00 rung up in her merchandise, but then she pulled a hail mary.  She handed the cashier her 30% off (from her email sign up), then a coupon (yes you can combine them) and finally her Kohl's cash.  She walked out for a little under $100.  And so my obsession with Kohl's began.

My most recent finds are my best by far. For the last year I have scoured the internet and local shoe stores for the perfect booties to wear this fall.  Leave it to Lauren Conrad to have the most amazing pair in her fall line this year.  But of course, who gets new boots without a new pair of pants?  I know rookie move right?  And once more Lauren didn't let me down.  I found the cutest pair of ultra light blue jeans to compliment my gorgeous camel colored booties.

Any time before Zoey, I would have easily thrown down full price for both of these items, but being a responsible parent, yada yada yada.  The boots were originally $79.99, on sale for $55.00, not a bad start. The jeans were originally $50.00 and on sale for $25.00.  Ok so justifying this purchase just got easier.  I finally said screw it and threw both into the cart and headed for check out.

Here's where the magic happened.  I used my $10.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase, a $10.00 Kohl's cash certificate and then a 15% off coupon I received in a mailer.  Final price came to $45 and some change! That was less than the sale price of the boots for both items.  I was so happy I was literally jumping for joy.

Now all you nah-sayers out there, this was not an isolated incident.  While Kohl's does have a slightly higher price range for their clothing, their sales/coupons are amazing.  Make sure you read every coupon closely as most ARE combinable with others.  And when the sales lady pitches the idea of the Kohl's credit card, sign up for it!  Many of you are rolling your eyes, yeah just what I need another credit card but here's the one difference, you can pay it off right after you use it.  Yes you heard me, pay it off at the same register you just used it at.  I try to keep a budget in mind, like today I only have $40 in my checking account that I have allotted to use here.  So I charge no more than $40 and when the transaction is finished I simply tell them that I would like to make a payment on my card in the amount of *whatever I just spent*.  So I still get all the perks of the sales and coupons and credit card gimmicks without the hassle of extra debt. 



  



Christmas in September? (Part 1)

Yup you heard me right: Christmas in September! If you're anything like us, we always say we aren't going to go crazy for Christmas, but then come the end of December, we are flabbergasted at the amount of money we don't have due to gift splurging.  You have your kid(s), your family, your spouse's family, your friends, your spouse's friends, you kid's friends, your co-workers, your spouse's co-workers, teachers, babysitters etc.  With all the madness, I typically start my lists before Thanksgiving and then begin the actual shop during the black Friday rush (I mean who doesn't love spending the whole day with family, then staying up all night planning and the rest of the night and all the next day elbowing people to find that perfect gift at a perfect price.  I know paradise right?).  This year I decided to start now, squirrel presents away, and be able to actually enjoy the holiday season.  I don't want to have to worry about who we are getting what, where we are on the budget, and oh the dreaded, who did we forget.  So, my neighbor, also known as my partner in crime, came up with the idea of making the majority of our gifts this year to say on budget, we call it "DIY Christmas".

 

STEPS TO YOUR DIY CHRISTMAS

• Step One: Who are we buying for?  Are we buying for just parents and siblings?  Are we buying for friends?  Are we actually buying gifts or making hand made items?  For me, I decided to mix store bought and homemade gifts.  First I grouped people into different categories, for instance I have three of my daughter's daycare teachers, four younger cousins under the age of 12, three older cousins 16, 18 & 27, parents, siblings, and of course the few close friends we are doing a little something for.  Lucky me, I have mostly girls to buy for !  

• Step Two:  Find ideas that would work for more than one person.  For the girls, I found a wonderful recipe for a salt scrub, and that inspired my spa themed gift baskets for the older cousins and teachers.  The local AC Moore craft store ran an ad highlighting their sale on infinity scarves, and seriously can you have too many of those?  And while dropping my daughter off at day care, I noticed that all the teachers had a death grip on their coffee cups and I thought coffee and chocolate, the two things women can't live without. (Tutorials coming soon).

• Step Three: Make your supply list.  This is the most important step.  You need to know how many of each thing you're making so you have enough.  I took this time to scour the internet for coupons from Michaels and checked their sales.  I have a local fabric store that had a great sale for Labor Day weekend that I was able to use coupons with.  I love me some savings.

• Step Four:  Get crafty!  I enjoy a craft night, either by myself or with a group of friends.  So, if you're in the mood for company, plan a "Pinterest Party".  Nothing beats a group of friends, some unhealthy snacks and crafting.

I currently have a ridiculous amount of projects to work on, but here are a few of the ideas I came up with: spas sets (nail polish, files, clippers, pumice stones, nail brushes, etc.), infinity scarves, personalized totes, personalized mugs, personalized Christmas ornaments, personalized clipboards and of course, coffee coozies from my Etsy Shop.  Now that I have all my supplies, I need to sit down and actual begin my crafting.  In my upcoming part 2 post, you'll be able to see some of the hand crafted ideas I've mentioned along with the how to. 

Allow Me to Introduce Myself.....

Welcome to my blog! First I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Chelsea and I'm a mother, an ex-wife, a military girlfriend, a full time paralegal for a solo practitioner, and I currently trying to reopen my charming little Esty shop.  I was born and raised in southern California.  While California offers great weather year round, I always wanted to see new places and meet new people.  Twenty years in the same place can make you feel a little boxed in.  After a short adventure in Florida, I made my way to Virginia where I currently live with my amazing boyfriend and adorable daughter.  As a first time mom, I have found that trying to be the "everything mom" is exhausting and things tend to fall through the cracks before I even realized it.  Life is stressful and if you didn't have anxiety before, you probably do now. Amongst the organizing, the work load, the added stress of the deployments (yes two in the first two years of my daughter's life), divorce and a country away from family, I found myself slipping into a routine funk.  I had no hobbies, no social life and no real goals.  I was a working mommy drone.  One day I decided enough was enough and I wanted more out of life, but not at the expense of my responsibilities of course.  So I found a hobby to make a little extra on the side, I found a great baby sitter, and I got organized.  I would like to share a little of my life with you, including the lessons I've learned, some great crafts, and to show you that it's not just you, we all want to pull our hair out from life's challenges.   This is just how I am Keeping up with Life.