thrifted – but don’t tell, it’s a secret

I have just started to learn about thrift stores and how awesome they are! It is a whole new realm that I have learned about through so many other bloggers that inspire me. So here is one of my first projects.

My dad (also known as Banka) always has papers that sit on the side of the counter in the kitchen… and all over his desk. So we thought it would be fun to make something that people can enjoy while all the papers are out. He has three granddaughters, so the three photo slots in the front is what the inspiration came from. Then when I was done mod podging things on, we put on cork rounds so that you can also pin other papers to. Not that you would want to cover up these WAY cute girlies up.

 

 

Christmas present – done!

financial food for thought no.1

keep track of your spending

Do you know where your money goes and is going? When was the last time you sat down and went through each penny spent? Do you know if you are making ends meet every month? Do you save every month?

I am sitting here and Coldplay’s Rainy Day started playing and I was reminded that I needed to check my finances today. I check them everyday. You may think that is a little obsessive, but I know where each and every penny goes that we bring in… and we make ends meet with even some left over. Those who know where their money goes, are those who are doing well in an economy such as this and don’t have to have some amazing job in Hollywood.

No one can change their money habits unless you know how you spend and where your money goes. I recommend that you track your spending for three months to figure out where things go.

There are some great products that are free on the web that can help you in this quest to keep track-

- novadebt.org

- mint.com

You are also welcome to just keep track in a notebook, on an excel spreadsheet (one of my favorite products of all time), or even on a whiteboard. I have one in the kitchen that I use for certain expenses (another thought day :)).

My hubby and I personally use Quicken. This program has been the best thing for us. It is really accurate and so nice to be able to pull up and download all my finance information on. It is pricey and kind of hard to learn how to do it right; however, it is amazing at what it has to offer. My advice is that you purchase it if you are the kind of person to read instructions and learn things not by trial and error. Maybe I can give some tips once in a while. However, we bought Quicken because we have three businesses to keep track of and we can do it all in the same program… nice.

But to keep things simple, the online programs are really nice because they send you emails and texts when you are low in balances, CC balances (heaven forbid!), and when you need to pay some bills. We used Mint.com before we purchased Quicken. These online programs also help you look at different CC offers to see if you can save money there. It is really nice!

keep track of your spending!!!

my friday favs

I can’t believe this world of blogging is so amazing! It was hard for me to pick favorites… and to decide on which ones I would pursue and make myself.

This halloween ribbon and lace wreath at Craftily Ever After is stunning and so chic for such a holiday as Halloween. I would love to do one of these for Valentine's day in red and black!

Lisa Leonard Designs has this adorable necklace that just screamed out to me…

I loved the flowers on this belt at I am Momma and think they would look fabulous on a headband.

And Ashley at Make it and Love it never fails to impress me! If only I were as creative and motivated as her!

We are off to camp for the weekend. At least that is what I have to call it… the action of hunting just doesn’t float my boat. Is it bad of me to secretly hope that my hubby doesn’t get (shoot) anything? Yikes!

I do have some posts for this weekend, so stay in touch!

s&j’s wedding

One of my truest friends was married last year on this weekend. I was still in school and pulled some all-nighters to get their flowers done. They turned out to be the most stunning couple and stunning flowers ever! To this day, this wedding and the flowers top my floral experiences.

The pumpkin centerpieces were my favorite! AND I didn’t have to carve them! They brought one over for me to design on and then I just took the arrangements to the reception and plopped them in… gently plopped :)

They had a fun reception with carnival games and a barrel train like this:

I hadn’t laughed like I did sitting in one of those going through a corn field, in a pencil skirt and heels. To prove it:

Thanks Hubby! I will blackmail myself :)

reshape your plate series – part 1 - background

Introduction

My mom is always full of ideas. While talking to her yesterday she mentioned that I should share with you things I have learned in my education. I graduated in Personal Finance, but it was through the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. So I had to take classes in EVERY subject concerning home life. One of my ALL time fav classes is called Family Meal Preparation. I would come out of the class every time inspired to do better with my eating – and have tons of ideas on how to better my family. Great class!

So without further ado, I introduce to you a series out of many series to come –

Reshape Your Plate Series.

So on we go to learning! First, we need to look at the food pyramid through the years. I think it’s quite fascinating.

•In the 1940’s the wartime food guide promoted eating foods that provided the vitamins and minerals needed to prevent deficiencies.

•In the 1950’s-1960’s the 7 food groups were simplified into a “Food for Fitness” guide, which was commonly called “The Basic Four.”

•By the later 1970’s, concerns about dietary excess lead USDA to issue “The Hassle-Free Daily Food Guide,” which included a “caution” group of fats, sweets, and alcohol.

• All of these food guides preceded the introduction of the original Food Guide Pyramid in 1992.

• And then it was again revamped in 2005 to be “My Pyramid.”

Don’t get too used to this because a new one is supposed to come out AGAIN next year sometime.

There are some problems with the food pyramid though.

• The Pyramid Graphic not as effective
• Good for Academics but…
• Not practical for meal planning
• Based on Daily Nutrition needs
• People generally don’t plan or think per day, but per meal.
• Visual Distribution is by serving number not by serving sizes (volumes)
• It is confusing! Have you tried planning menus around this thing?
• Is only an icon or logo and not information oriented
• Shows a horizontal distribution of groups
• Defeats the purpose of a pyramid (it should be a vertical distribution)
• Information is online – not accessible to all

How many of you REALLY use the pyramid to do your meal planning and daily eating? Not many if I am correct. I have tried, but got way too overwhelmed.

Whew! So now after all that, I can introduce you to the plate method.

Some advantages into this method-

• Emphasis on Meal planning (practical)
• Presents visual “picture” of a proper meal
• Simple to understand and easy to remember
• We use the Mickey Mouse rule to help A remember
• It approximates actual portion sizes – less you need to remember for “serving sizes”
• You could even make placemats
• More exposure to this method leads to better memory retention and compliance

There are three layers to the plate method-

1. Reshape your plate
2. Serving sizes
3. Food choices

We will be discussing each of these in parts because there is so much in them that is ALL useful info! Then we will go into some more practical applications – because I think that is the most helpful when I am learning something new. If you work at this, it will become so useful to you and your family!

inspiration

I have been needing a new bedding set… but we can’t afford to purchase the ones I want. Not a big deal when I know I can create something like it and be more happy with it because it was

1. cheaper
2. designed by me
3. made by me
4. the colors and fabric I need to match

 

So here are the inspirations for my bedding set that is coming up in my project list:

My husband said he wouldn’t be able to sleep with a bed of ruffles – I told him he can just sleep on the couch if he so pleases :)

witches’ fingers and halloweenies with monster blood

This is the perfect fall - family dinner! This is a quick, budget friendly meal. Making this with your little goblins is so easy too.

Ingredients

• 3 Yams
• pkg of hot dogs
• can of biscuits
• Mozz. cheese
• ranch
• ketchup
• bbq sauce
• mayo
• salt, pepper, Creole seasoning

Heat oven to 350*. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Cut your yams (see info below) into skinny wedges. We let A arrange them on the foil and she loves this job!

Spray these with cooking spray when they are all laid out and season with course salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Sometimes we will sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese too. (We make these at least once a week in the fall).

Take your hot dogs and dry them with a paper towel to get the water off of them. You goblins can do this too! Cut the cheese slices in half lengthwise and place strips of cheese on top of the hot dog. Next take the biscuits and squish them into snakes. We tried to let A do this and she ate her snakes. Wrap the snakes around the hot dogs in a mummy style. We then placed them on the other half of the cookie sheet with the witches fingers.

Bake in oven for about 15 minutes and then pull out the halloweenies and let the witches fingers bake for about 10 minutes more.

In the meantime, mix 1/2 c mayo, 1/2 c ketchup, 1 tbsp ranch, and 1 tbsp of bbq sauce together. Oh yum! It is the perfect monster blood for your meal!