::Helpful Tip Tuesday::

~Organizing your Recipes~

Last year, before I got pregnant, I decided to take on the daunting task of putting together a family recipe book. I asked everyone to hand in their favorites from growing up, as well as some favorites that their own families like. I compiled it all together in a power point program, but never did anything with it after that. 

I was so excited when I saw this pin from Maia The Bee for a recipe binder. I can't wait til I can get my computer fixed so I can print them all off and put them in a nice neat binder. It's nice to have them on the computer, but mine isn't in the kitchen, therefore I need them in a binder to be able to see them!

Look how cute Andrea made her binder:

Thanks Andrea for sharing your awesome idea! If you go to her blog, she has created these fun tabs and has  them ready to print off for you too!

::Makeover Monday::

~Beginners Running~

First of all, sorry for the lack of posting the last few days of last week, we went camping and were enjoying ourselves too much for me to even think about posting, and couldn't because of the lack of service in the mountains! (thank goodness for those little vacays from EVERYTHING!) Now, onto Makeover Monday!

Right after I had my second baby, a few days before Christmas, I knew I needed to start working out to get my body back into shape. I wanted to get down to the size I was when I got married, and I'm nearly there! I also wanted to feel better, and do something that I would enjoy doing. My friend and neighbor, Ali, asked me to sign up for a 10k on the 4th of July in January, so I had plenty of time to get my body ready to run. I was not a runner in any sense, and actually never really liked it. But, I always heard how great it is, and how you can loose weight quickly by running, so I thought I should give it a try. 

I found this pin on pinterest and decided to give it a try to get my body used to running. This pin comes from a tumblr page, tan & toned, and I don't have the original source. But the idea behind it is to slowly work up to running for a full 30 minutes in just 8 weeks. I really enjoyed this and thought it was really easy to achieve this goal. Give it a try, and you'll be surprised at how much you could fall in love with running. I totally have and really enjoy it, its my release, my therapy, my girl time (thanks Ali), and of course my exercise! Get out there and do some running, you'll feel better and find that you really can enjoy it!

::Want it Wednesday::

~Knotted Jersey Headband~

I love these so much, aren't they adorable??

And super easy to make! I found this pin from Leslie at Little Mookie, she guest posted this tutorial on Love Stitched . I love that she up-cycled old T-shirts for this project. I have a bunch of old T's that would be great for a project like this. I am also in charge of putting together some fun bows and headbands for my SIL's baby shower this weekend, so I thought I need to try these babies out!

Here is my finished project for my little sweetie, what do you think? She is a super cute model, huh?! She couldn't/wouldn't let go of that bottle! Loved how easy this project was, thanks Leslie!

::Helpful Tip Tuesday::

~Organize your Jewelry~

Look how amazing this idea is:

I LOVE it! I found this pin from Mini Manor Blog, and Ashli had this awesome idea to use cutlery trays to organize her jewelry! I love this idea so much, mostly because I have very limited space in my closet and this would be perfect! I am going to have to try this, super soon since all my necklaces are in a makeup bag and I have to dig through it to find what I'm looking for, and I forget about half the jewelry I do have cause I can't see it all! Thanks Ashli for the super awesome idea! Can't wait to try it out!

::Makeover Monday::

~Little Girls Hair-Dos~

This post is dedicated to my little one, who turned 5 this last weekend! She cracks me up with her hair. We are currently growing it out and the only hair-do she likes to do is "one pony", one little inverted ponytail on top of her head. This is the hair-do we do almost EVERYDAY! I would love to be able to do lots of different hair-do's but she just likes her "one pony"! So, when I came across this pin for this cute hair-do I was excited to try it. I found it right before Valentine's day and she totally let me do it. I was really sad when I clicked on the pin to see the directions, because it's an incomplete pin. Here is the link to my pinterest page, if anyone knows the original poster that would be great. (I like to give credit where credit is due!)

Isn't it adorable?? I love it, and my little one did too. We've done it a couple more times since then, and had so much fun with it. Good luck! And hopefully your little one will let you try it out on her! ;)

::Family Time Friday::

~Temple Square Scavenger Hunt~

Well, I was really excited when I found this post. My SIL and I are in charge of planning a family fun day for the Hubs family, and we decided to plan a day of playing tourist downtown at Temple Square. We had thought it would be fun to do a scavenger hunt of some sort, and when I came across this, I was so glad I didn't have to plan it! 

This comes from Jana Friel, she posted it on Sugardoodle and I'm so glad she was willing to share this. It is going to be a super fun activity and I think keep the kids interest a lot more while we are downtown exploring the beautiful grounds of Temple Square. Thanks Jana for sharing this super fun activity!

::Tasty Thursday::

~Buttermilk Syrup~

I saw this pin about a week ago, and knew I had to try this out. My daughter's birthday party is today, and we are having a pajama party. We decided to serve pancakes, her favorite, for dinner. I didn't want plain old maple syrup, how boring, and when I saw this recipe I was so excited to try it. This comes from Chef in Training, and Nikki posted this recipe with her Grandmother's buttermilk pancakes recipe. I love when people are willing to share family recipes, it just makes the world a better place!

We are going to add some food coloring to our syrup to make it fun and festive for the party! Can't wait to try it out! Thanks Nikki for the great recipe and being so willing to share it!

::Want it Wednesday::

~Kids Tee Pee~

I actually saw this idea originally on 'Studio 5' and fell in love! Look how cute this thing is:

Well, since my little Izzie's birthday is coming up, I wanted some sort of tent to set up with books, pillows, and blankets in it so the kids could sit in there a read until the whole party showed up. It's a pajama party, therefore we'll be reading "bedtime stories." So, When I saw this idea I knew I had to make it. I went on Studio 5's website to track down this tutorial, its from Pink Parlor Designs and I love it! Amy is a girl after my own heart, since the first thing she says about herself on her blog is that she LOVES Diet Coke! She has so many great ideas on her blog and great tutorials too! I love it, go check it out, you will too!

On to the tent! I have all the materials needed to make it, and am excited to put it together tonight! Thanks Amy for the super fun, easy, and cheap idea! Love it!!!

::Helpful Tip Tuesday::

~Camping Tips~

For those of you that are already camping savvy, you probably already know all this stuff! But for someone like me, who grew up NOT camping at all I really needed to find these tips. The Hubs really wants to be a camping family, as much as I don't want to do it I understand that it can be a fun experience for my kids and a great getaway with lots of bonding time!

I saw this pin not too long ago and was super excited to have found it. We are heading up to the mountains to do some camping, my style. Thanks to some great friends for loaning us their camper, we'll be camping in style! Tipnut put together a list of 35+ Camping Tips, Tricks & Treats to help the not so camping literate to have an enjoyable and safe time. I love all the different tips that are on there, from food, first aid, homemade bug spray, organization tips of the many different things you need to bring, I mean the list goes on and on. It is a really great resource and one that I am definitely using in the next couple weeks.

Go check out Tipnut for all your Camping needs. as well as anything else from your household, cleaning, gardening, health & beauty, food and crafts! Thanks Tipnut for all the great Camping tips!

::Makeover Monday::

~Lose those 10 last pounds~

I came across this pin from My Fit Station and thought it sounded awesome! It is an 8 week plan to help you get rid of those last 10 STUBBORN, hard to loose pounds! Believe me, it took me a lot longer to get those last 10 pounds off, than it did to drop the first 10. I haven't tried this out yet, but thought it sound really interesting. I might have to lose 10 more pounds just to try this out! (I'm good with that :) 

So go check out My Fit Station for all the workouts and suggestions on helping you to achieve your weight loss goals, and good luck!!!

::Family Time Friday::

~Date Night~

I know this doesn't involve the whole family, but sometimes we all need a good date night. If you are like my Hubs and I, where we both work and have people helping us out already with babysitting, it's hard to get a babysitter. We also have a tight budget and don't have the extra funds to pay for one either. So that is why I love 'The Dating Divas'. They come up with fantastic date night ideas all the time. 

This date night idea is called Date Night in a Bag. The idea is to have this bag with a date put together in it ready to go for anytime. I think these would work best for after putting the kids to bed and doing something fun with each other, rather than just sitting down and watching TV. Here is mine all put together. I love how it turned out:

I decided to use this Victoria's Secret bag for mine because it's wider and really durable. I printed out the list of ideas that 'The Dating Divas' put on the end of their post and picked a fun one. After I had this all together, I set it out on Friday so that the Hubs would see it when he got home and know that I had a date night planned for us the following night. Now we can have more dates, at home and not have to worry about getting babysitters! We'll see if he actually uses it for me! ;)

::Tasty Thursday::

~Grilled Cheese Rolls~

Around our house, grilled cheese and tomato soup is a staple! We have it almost once a week. (Well, not as much as that since the lifestyle change) but still a lot. I saw these Grilled Cheese Rolls from Care's Kitchen on Pinterest, and thought I'd give them a whirl. I thought they were super yummy, and extra cheesy, but my Izzie was a little weirded out by them. This coming from the girl who wants a different shaped sandwich every time I make her one!

They are super easy to make, and are perfect for dipping in your favorite tomato soup. Go check out Care's Kitchen for the great tutorial on how to make these delicious bad boys! Thanks Carolyn for sharing this great idea! Love it. Here is a pic of Carolyn's grilled cheese rolls for your drooling pleasure:

::Want it Wednesday::

~Hello Kitty Treat Bags~

Well, my little Izzie is turning 5 in a few weeks, and all she has been able to talk about for the last year is how much she wants a Hello Kitty party! I've been collecting ideas forever now, and we are so excited to get this party into motion. 

One of the ideas that I came across on Pinterest are these adorable Hello Kitty Treat Bags from I Made Time. They are so stinkin cute, and super easy to make! I can't wait to get them put together for my little girls party! Thanks Chelsea for the super fun idea! Here is a pic of Chelsea's bags she made:

::Helpful Tip Tuesday::

~Repairing Scratched DVD'S~

If you have DVD'S at your house that are scratched, then this will be super helpful. When I saw this pin, I was super excited. We have quite a few DVD'S that are scratched, and it makes my almost 5 year old so mad when she watches a movie and it stops or skips. (I just have to laugh, because she is the one who scratched it!) So this tip comes from The Handmade Dress, and Samantha has figured out the secret to fixing scratched DVD'S, it's Kids Crest Toothpaste! When I read that, I was floored, its so easy and I already have that kind of toothpaste on hand, so FREE!

Let's give it a try. I took a scratched up DVD, which in our house happened to be Beauty and the Beast. Here it is before using the toothpaste:

And after:

I don't know if you can see a difference on the actual DVD, but watching it we totally can. I knew right where the spot was that it skipped, so we turned it on and tested it out, and it worked pretty good. I think we need to clean it again and see if it works better, but now my little girl won't let me turn it off! This tip will also come in handy for Library DVD'S too. My little stinker loves to get movies at the Library, and those ones are ALWAYS scratched. 

Thanks Samantha for the awesome tip. Go check out her blog and see some great posts on crocheting, cooking, embroidery and other fun stuff. 

::Makeover Monday::

~A Twist on Big Wavy Curls~

When I first joined Pinterest, I found this No Heat Curl tutorial and thought I'd give it a try. My hair was longer then, and it was easier to try it out then. I didn't take any pics, sorry. I found the pin from The Paper Mama, the idea behind it is to put it up at night, and let it sit while you sleep. I have never liked having to curl my hair this way, even when I was little and my Mom would put sponge curlers in my hair (remember those? they always made my hair look like Miss Piggy!) But, I was excited to try it, because Chelsey has stick straight hair that doesn't hold curl well like me, so I couldn't wait to see how it worked out on me. Well, this is a fun and easy enough method, if you aren't paranoid of ruining it in your sleep like I was, and you don't mind the jabs from your hubs about how your hair looks after you put it up! ;) Mine didn't turn out near as good as Chelsey's did, but hopefully if I try it again, it will work better! 

Go here for the tutorial, and let me know if you tried it and liked it. I'm thinking of growing my hair out again, (I constantly go back and forth on this). I'd love to hear more fun ideas on how you do big wavy curls too.

::Giveaway on Very Jane::

If you are a Very Jane subscriber, or even if you aren't you should head over to their facebook page and enter to win a $50 American Express Gift Card. Who knows, you might just be one lucky winner! Good luck!

http://www.facebook.com/veryjane/app_228910107186452

::Family Time Friday::

~The Simple Life~

Sometimes the funnest things to do together are the most simple, and the time spent doing them. I recently had to work two weeks straight, everyday when I normally am in the office only 3 days a week. So on my first day off after those two weeks, I decided to just spend time with the girls! First of all, we headed to the aquarium, which my Izzie loves. We have a pass and I think about going there more since we do, and just never make it up there as much as we could. She had so much fun leading the way and seeing what she wanted to see. It cracks me up the things that she says, so it was fun to just see what she thought about all the different sea animals and the questions she had. 

After the aquarium, we stopped at McDonald's, and actually went INSIDE! This very rarely happens, and makes her day when we can eat inside so she can play too. When we got home that afternoon, she asked what else we were going to do, so we set up a tent umbrella and I let her play in the backyard with whatever toys she wanted to, again the coolest idea ever! We ended the day with a nice warm swim at the neighborhood pool! 

When I was tucking this little one in bed that night, she told me all the fun things we did that day and said she had so much fun! I need to remember to just take the opportunity to SPEND TIME with my girls and show them that just being together, no matter what we are doing is the most important thing to me! Thanks Izzie for helping me remember that! Love you stinker!

::Tasty Thursday::

~4th O' July Cake Pops~

My little girls birthday is coming up soon, so for my family's 4th of July party I volunteered to make cake pops so I could practice! I found this idea on Pinterest and knew I had to try them out! Firecracker cookies from Lizard & Ladybug. All Staci did was combine poprocks with sprinkles! I saw this pin and thought it would be so fun to put that mixture on cake pops! What a fun party treat! Here is my finished product:

I used a white cake with cream cheese frosting and dyed my almond bark blue! I love the way they turned out and they were pretty good too! Fun 4th of July treat for the family!

::Want it Wednesday::

~Want it Wednesday Update & 4th O' July~

Happy 4th of July! I love this Holiday! Can't wait to celebrate later on. I've already done my 10k and now we are headed over to a park to have some fun. Then we will be going to a family BBQ and watching fireworks!

First of all, a few weeks ago I posted about making a fun Father's Day picture for my Dad. I finally got it finished and wanted to share my project with you. Here it is:

I am putting this saying with it. It was the saying that was on the picture from Brassy Apple. You can see my original post here.

I love Independence Day! Such a fun holiday, with fireworks, BBQ's, family, parade's, and lots of good times. Today's Want it Wednesday is dedicated to the day of Independence! I found a few projects on Pinterest I wanted to try out this year. 

The first one is simple, but so fun. I don't even know where it came from, the pin has no source, but I love the idea! Make a stencil out of poster board or butcher paper of a big star, place it on your front lawn, sprinkle flour inside the stencil! Viola! Instant white stars on your lawn. So cute, I love how it turned out:

The second project I wanted to try was to make some popcorn treat cones. This came from Pizzazzerie, Entertain in Style. Courtney got the idea from Martha Stewart. Go here for the template to make your own. Aren't they adorable?

Here are the ones I did, I just printed out the template on regular paper and then used my own scrapbook paper to make them in fun different colors and patterns!

Well, hopefully you have a great holiday and have lots of fun celebrating our country's Independence! And remember to be safe! Happy 4th of July!

::Helpful Tip Tuesday::

~Learning Sight Words~

My little Izzie is starting kindergarten in just over a month. She is pretty much ready and wishes she could start today, but I know that she doesn't recognize her sight words very well. This is something they worked on in preschool this last year, but we didn't go over them that often at home, and when she would bring home beginning reading books she couldn't recognize those sight words. 

I found this pin from Juggling with Kids, Sight Word Parking Lot Game. Genius! I love this idea because it makes it fun for kids to want to learn! I'm going to make one of these for my little stinker so she can practice and hopefully be more ready for kindergarten.

Take a look at what Akane did for her game, I love it! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome idea! Go check out the rest of her blog for more helpful tips and ideas! It's great!

::Makeover Monday::

~25 Healthy Snacks, 100 Calories or less~

When one is counting calories, every calorie counts! I had to find healthy snacks, that would fill me up and not be more than 100 calories. I found this on Pinterest and was so excited! It comes from WebMD. Go here to check out the complete list. Some of my favorites are:

*6 cups microwave popcorn = 100 calories

*14 almonds = 98 calories

*apple slices with peanut butter = 90 calories

*half baked potato with salsa = 84 calories

*20 pistachios = 80 calories

*1 cup grapes = 62 calories

The thing I've recently learned is to not snack on 100 calorie snack packs because they are low in nutrients. All 25 healthy snacks listed are packed with either protein, fiber, or antioxidants. Good luck with your goal and stick to healthy snacking, and you'll get there!