Project Life App

I have been a scrap booker since my kids were little.

I've gone from trying to 'do' every. single. picture when they were little...because hello...every single pic was so cute when they were little, to just trying to do vacations.

And even that can be overwhelming. 300-500 pics for a one week vacation. Yes, I pick through and find the best ones, but sometimes ya just want to show different ones for different reasons. And even picking just the best stuff, y'all that's still A LOT of photos.

And a lot of time. And a lot of effort. (And a lot of mess.)

And guess what...all of that stuff is in short supply around here.

So the other day I saw that Project Life has an app for Apple now.  So I downloaded it.

And y'all..I don't EVEN know where to start with this.

It's easy.  It's fun. It's cheap. (app is $2.99) And best of all, IT'S FAST.

As in, since I got it just a couple of days ago, I've made five (!!!) really cute pages. That's five more pages than I've managed to complete in lo a many years, my friend. I haven't been this excited about anything scrap book related in YEARS.

I have wanted to 'go digital' for a long time because of the less mess and less paper, but they are always so complicated. But guess what...this is an app! It's easy! It fits in the palm of my hand. I can do it anywhere.  Did I tell you it's easy? I started playing with it and right away I had it figured out and was creating something really cool and fun. I also love that the app comes with four very different 'kits' with very different color palettes of 'papers'. As in...I can create for a while with just what came in the app. But other kits are available and they are cheap too....99 cents and $1.99 is not bad. And after that, they are mine to use over and over..unlike a special sticker or piece of paper that once I've stuck it down, it's used forever.

Once pages are done, they can be saved to my camera roll, posted on all manner of social media or just about anything else you would want to do with them. They can also be uploaded to places like Persnickety Prints for printing. Y'all...they print an 8 X 8 square page for 99 cents. (you can also print a 12 inch square for slightly more, btw) I can't print photos and buy papers and do it all for a buck!

This isn't a sponsored post, by the way. I just think this is so cool.

OK...I'll shut up now so we can look and some fun scrap book pages, k?

Cute, right? : )

Sheer Miracle

In my quest to find healthier products, I’m always on the hunt for replacements for this or that. One of the things I finally decided I wanted to replace was my make-up. I’ve always been a pretty basic girl…Almay or Neutrogena. Simple drug store stuff. But when I read the label, it was loaded with chemicals and things I couldn’t pronounce. And a few things I could pronounce, I knew were bad for me.

I had pretty much just decided I’d never wear make-up again. There are many days that I felt fine just being a natural, sometimes not so fresh-faced looking girl. But then there are the other days, that I want to feel and look a little more put together that made my heart pang a little bit as I brushed past my old make-up basket shoved into a corner in the closet.

So I started researching and found a company called Sheer Miracle. (this is not a sponsored post…they have no idea who I am…just sharing something I like) And now, back to the show…I really liked that it wasn’t loaded with a bunch of stuff and it seemed healthier to use than many similar products I’ve read about. And the prices were pretty reasonable too, which was a great bonus.

So I ordered a sample kit, which I love the idea of, because I could order 4 sample sized products (a two weeks supply if used every day) for less than $10 including free shipping. Score.

I finally got them in the mail last week. In the interest of full disclosure, there was a mix-up on the order and I originally got somebody else’s order in the mail. I had to email them to get it straightened out and then there was another mix-up and my replacements were never shipped so I had to email them again, and promptly after that email, my stuff came. I was beginning to think it would be a sheer miracle if I ever got my stuff, but it did come. And I’m so thankful.

I love this stuff. I bought the equivalent to base, powder, under eye correction and blush. They had several options in those four categories, but no options for other things like eye shadow, but you can order samples of those very cheaply. I plan to do that soon.  And then make a ‘real’ order for regular sized pots of everything.

I have used it one time so far. I’ve never worn mineral make-up before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I read a little bit and then started playing. It only takes a tiny bit to get decent coverage. After applying a thin coat of the ‘base’, I topped that with a very thin layer of the HD powder…the white stuff. It really gives my face a bit of an air brushed look. Very soft looking. (I read that if you get too much it can go into ‘white face’ but I didn’t have that problem). I also used the pink under eye corrector (before the base and HD). It came with instructions which I followed. And got good results covering up the dark under my eyes. And the blush is a very pretty shade…again with the  ‘just a tad’ routine. A little goes a long way. But I came away looking fresh and natural but not overly glammed. I am loving this product. I compared the prices of this with other mineral make-ups and found it’s much less expensive. Will definitely be ordering more.

some shopping love

I heart you Bed Bath and Beyond!

Really. : )

I was in BBB over the weekend looking for an immersion blender. I had the most delicious soup last week and now I have an urgent need to make it at My house…over and over.

And with my limited diet, it’s a big deal when I find something new and healthy. And yummy.

So anyway, I was in BBB over the weekend looking at ‘stick’ blenders. And one of the employees asked me if I needed any help. So I told her what I was hunting for. I was wanting the Kitchen Aid model without all the extra attachments etc. (I already have choppers and whatever else all those weird things do…all I need is the blender) But the only Kitchen Aid they had in the store was the tricked out one for $100. She pointed me toward a Cuisinart brand that was more basic, but I have a personal blender that is Cuisinart brand and it just doesn’t work very well for me. I was thinking out loud mentioning that fact and she told me I could bring it back. I told her I’ve had it almost a year. Doesn’t matter. I told her I didn’t have the box or receipt. Doesn’t matter.

(Also, the Cuisinart brand stick blender isn’t very highly rated, just an fyi. The personal blender is a great product, but it just doesn’t work well for my needs. another fyi)

So I came home and gathered up all the pieces to my Cuisinart and took it to the store to be issued store credit. And then I ordered my Kitchen Aid stick blender…with a coupon! It will arrive in about a week and I still have almost $40 in store credit.

I heart you, Bed Bath and Beyond. (and no, this is not a sponsored post…just me gushing over great service and friendly employees being helpful and doing their jobs…and making one customer very happy in the process)

semi-scrapbooking {quicker and easier way to get the job done}

The events of the past year have renewed my resolve to do some things. But maybe in a modified way. I have been a scrapbooker (Is that even a word? The squiggly line below it says it’s not a word, but I’m going with it!) since my girl was a baby. I went to a Creative Memories party and went on from there. But just like everybody else, I can’t keep up with how many pictures I need to scrapbook in the time I would like to spend on it.

Sometimes lately I just don’t have the mental energy to spend on it. But I would still like to record activities for posterity. (mainly at this point I just do vacations…right now I have three to scrap book..TN, FL and CO) And it can feel overwhelming with just those to tackle.

But this is where it gets interesting. I meet with a group of girls once a week. We share a meal and then do some sort of crafting. Most of the time it’s scrapbooking. One of the girls did a super big vacation and there were just too many photos to expect to do a layout for every. single. one. So she decided to do something sort of different. She bought the full page layout sleeves (12 by 12) and also bought the sleeves that hold six 4 by 6 photos per page. And this is where things started to stray from the cookie cutter every-page-is-a-full-spread scrapbooking that we all know (and love).  She did some full layouts on the big pages. And she also put her 4 by 6 photos in some sleeves and left some sleeves for journaling or ticket stubs or embellishments or whatever. What she ended up with was just as cute as a regular scrapbook, but it took a fraction of the time to complete, and she was able to include more photos and more stories. Sheer genius, if you ask me.

So I am learning to work this technique, semi-scrapbooking as I like to call it, into my scrapbooking routine. I think it will be a big help as I try to get more pictures in books while keeping my sanity and my patience somewhat intact. ; )

A full page ‘spread’ to introduce our time at Garden of the Gods…(definitely not my best work here, but you get the idea)

And then individual pics with a journaling slot left open…

I think you get the idea. Much easier and quicker. Not near as much cropping needed. But of course, you can still crop to highlight a certain photo and mount it on paper to make it stand out etc. The possibilities are endless. : ) Happy scrapping!

*I know we didn’t invent this..I’ve seen it in magazines, but for years I hunted for the special pages etc featured to pull this look off to no avail. Thankfully now these things are showing up more in stores and making it easier for us girls to git’r done. Hobby Lobby is my happy place! : )

I’m linking this post to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

From two big messes…

…to one neat and organized cookbook.

It used to be this…a notebook of loose clipped recipes. Some were in the folder pocket.

And some were taped to printer paper.

And another book of printed out recipes inside plastic sleeves.

I took apart two cookbooks recently. The taped together one. And the printed one. I weeded out recipes I will NEVER cook again from both books, and made a stack of the healthy recipes I will continue to use from here on out. I am a little bit ashamed at how big the toss pile was. But not surprised. : (

Now it’s all done and I have one place to go for all my recipes. And since I am finding new recipes pretty frequently online now, I am printing them and adding them to THE BOOK.  Just a little bit of effort made things a lot easier at meal planning and meal prep time. Love it!

And it’s cute too. : )

a new topper

I’ve mentioned before that I have had a lot of trouble sleeping in my bed since my first surgery. As a matter of fact, I had been sleeping in the recliner until recently.

We have had a sleep number bed for quite a few years. And I thought it was a dream come true until all of this happened. It just didn’t support me correctly. And it caused pressure points in weird places because of all my new stuff.

Enter the memory foam topper!

We bought a memory foam topper from the sleep number store and it has been a dream come true. I can finally sleep comfortably. It is soft, yet it supports my body without putting pressure anywhere. Love love love!

Yes, they smell. But we let it air out for about a week and then put it on the bed. I can’t even describe the difference this thing has made. I woke up this morning on my back…and nothing was hurting.

So! If you’re struggling with your bed…you might try adding a topper. It’s much less expensive than buying a whole new mattress etc. It does make the bed two inches higher and it makes a bigger difference than we thought it would. Thankfully I use Lands End sheets anyway, and they are generous. And my comforter is a bit large too..which is a miracle…they are usually cut so small.

So there you have it. Memory foam. <3

Disclaimer: I bought everything myself and sleep number and Lands End have no idea who I am..except for the other day when I was lamenting to a Lands End rep on the phone because they discontinued my favorite tank top. But other than that, no idea. : )

‘poo or no ‘poo?

One day I picked up my bottle of shampoo and noticed almost every ingredient was a chemical of some sort.

So I did a little bit of searching…it seems as though there are people who don’t use shampoo at all. I had never heard of such a thing, but it intrigued me. So I tried it.

I used baking soda and apple cider vinegar. There are many instructions online for how to do it, but I will just tell you what I did and how it worked. I got out two ‘kid cups’ I had in the pantry and put about a tablespoon of baking soda in one and a tablespoon of vinegar in the other…eyeballing the amount, of course. And then filled each cup the rest of the way with water. I put my finger/hand in the baking soda cup to make sure the powder got mixed up really well and wasn’t just settled at the bottom of the cup.

First I wet my hair as usual. Then I poured the baking soda water in my hair. A little here, a little there, until my cup was empty. I worked it in really well with my fingers and then rinsed like I would with real shampoo. Then I followed it up with the vinegar and did all the same things..rub in, rinse as usual.

I will be the first one to tell you that I did NOT think I would like it…I did NOT think it would work. I thought the ‘crunchy granola’ people that had been doing must have a screw loose, because after all, I have oily hair and there just wasn’t any way it would work.

But it did. I did that for a couple of weeks until my first surgery and I couldn’t really deal with all of that in the shower, so I was using ‘regular shampoo’ again.

Until..the other day I was in Target getting some things and I started looking at the Burt’s Bees stuff and sort of eenie-meenie-miny-moe’d it and picked up what is in the picture and I’ve been using it ever since.

It works very well…it feels funny when I use it..it makes a rich lather, but it doesn’t feel slick in my hair. I don’t really know how to describe that. But anyway..it has been working very well for me while I’m in the shower.

But when I start washing my hair in the sink again, I really think I’m going to go back to the soda/vinegar routine. It’s cheaper and it makes my hair feel great.

Who’dathunkit!

a few of my favorite things

First off…a multi-use item. I don’t know if you can tell from the pic, but that is the spool from a package of blank cd’s. Nothing impressive, right?

Well, look what this little thing can do…

Tada! I know that doesn’t look so great either, but imagine being curled up in your favorite chair with that propped up nearby watching a movie or tv show. My own private screening room! : )

And now on to the world of food. I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman the other day. Parts of it sounded good..except for the whiskey, the chicken thighs and all the fat. Oh..and turning on the oven.

So, I piddled with the recipe and cooked some boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot.

Here’s what I did…I mixed about a half a bottle of ‘regular’ (non sugary) barbeque sauce with a jar of peach preserves. I chopped an onion and cooked it until soft. Then I mixed it with the sauce, the jelly and a few good shakes of worcestershire sauce. Oh..and some minced garlic. I mixed it all together, pour it over the chicken and cooked it on low in the crock pot until it was done.

The top of the chicken looked like a glaze, so I carefully took them out of the pot so I didn’t disturb the tops. The sauce was a little thin, but I still spooned it over my cut up chicken and it was delicious! It wasn’t overly bbq’y…had a nice layered flavor..sweet but some other flavor notes as well. It’s a keeper! My way, that is.

And lastly…have I mentioned lately that it’s hot? It’s been over a 100 for about a million days in a row now. The weather man said that fall is coming…but he also said it’s supposed to be hot and dry. He’s not going to win many friends with that kind of talk.

Even though I love water and drink a ton of it every day, sometimes I really long for a nice tall glass of tea. I discovered this recently and it’s a nice change of pace and very refreshing. : )

I brew it. And let it hang out for a little bit.

Then pour it over ice with sweetener already added.

Some of the ice melts so I have to add just a little bit of water to finish filling the glass. It is so bright and tasty..not strong..doesn’t taste like Koolaid (like Snapple does). Just light and yummy!

My other favorite thing is that it’s Friday! Woo hoo. Happy weekend, y’all. : )

get in the boat

Yesterday we went to the waterpark with a bunch of buddies. A fun time was had by all. No one came away red or even pink, thanks to adequate sunblock.

Unlike last week.

*insert PSA here*

I have been using Banana Boat products for years and have always enjoyed good protection with their products. But the line of Boat products I used the most left me sticky, which isn’t all that bad at the waterpark, but is messy and icky at a function that requires…say…regular clothes.

So I have been on the hunt for a better solution. I tried some Neutrogena stuff..and let me tell you, it was pricey! And I came away red more than once even though it said it was waterproof. So it was back to the Boat with us. But this time I tried something else in their line…and the girl and I both came away red last week. She got it worse than I did. And I felt like a dog for it.

So I did some research online and found that not all Banana Boat products are made equal. So I tried the Sport line (in the orange bottle) and neither of us were the least bit pink after yesterday. It is the same stuff that left me sticky “back in the day”, but I don’t think I was as sticky when I used it this time. I wonder if they’ve reformulated it or something. But anyhoo…one of those consumer rating/research places online gave Banana Boat Sport and No Ad Brand the best ratings.

(It also comes in a ‘face’ formula and it worked perfectly on both of us…with no burning eyes either!)

So get on the boat…the Banana Boat!

*end PSA*…and no, nobody paid me or gave me anything to say that. I just don’t want you burned like we were. It was so nice to just leave the park, wash the day off and be the same color I was at the start of the day. Woot!

As I said, a fun time was had by all. I had a particularly thrilling couple of moments when a spider when down my cleavage swim shirt and I began to wonder if I was gonna have go to into wardrobe malfunction to get the silly thing OUT. But thankfully I was able to finally flick the little guy out of there without scaring anybody around me or getting kicked out of the park.

So it was a good day indeed.

I’m flying!

OMG(osh)! I can’t believe all the researching, planning and ordering of the books is over and we are down to the wire.

Tomorrow is the first day of school.

This is our first home school type experience. I’ve always sent her off to school in new clothes and a full lunchbox. But this is different. And it feels different. I bought a few spiral notebooks for her to jot down little notes. And a big container of mechanical pencils, which are a fave around here too. And that’s about it.

We’ve been joking that she can go to school in her pajamas! Just kidding though. She’ll have to get her act together a little bit to visit the gym several days of the week. Until January. And then she can go to school in her pajamas! : )

I’ve been thinking a lot about all my routines and how things will change with this new school set up. One thing I realized is that I won’t have uninterrupted days alone to ‘get things done’. And one of the easiest things to get behind on is housework!

So!

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she had nice things to say about Flylady’s system. During our discussion, I figured out that I was already doing some things “the Flylady way”. That made me happy. But I could still see a thing or two that would make cleaning easier.

My bathroom counters are always a mess.

Ooops..pardon the kitty. Flylady can’t help me with that. But you get the idea...mess-y! And it takes time to clean everything off and move it all around to clean. So I got an idea.

I put all my bottles and containers in another container, so I can move ONE thing instead of a zillion little things! I’ll let you know how it works out for me. I plan to do my counters the Flylady way and wipe them down daily so they don’t get dirty. Should be much faster that way.

Isn’t it pretty?

I’ll let you know how it goes!

lazy girl’s way to get prints from slides

I’ve had a huge stack of ‘stuff’ sitting in my entry way since last year.

I got enough done that I only had this one stack.

But it’s a big stack. See.

Boatloads of slides.

I told myself that I was going to scan them at some point during the winter ‘when there isn’t anything else to do’. When exactly does that happen?!

So now at least they say spring is coming and before long it’ll be creeping up on one year and I’d really like to get this stuff dealt with. There is the time element, but also I’d just like to have my entry way CLEANED UP.

Crazy talk, I know.

But the longer I thought about scanning hundreds and hundreds of slides, the longer I waited. I knew it would take forever. And I just wasn’t up for it.

Last weekend I got an idea. I wondered if I could take a picture of a slide? So here’s what I did.

I pulled down the shade in Miss Boo’s room and moved the twinkle lights out of the way. Then I set up the projector and put in a reel of slides. And turned out the lights and grabbed my digital camera.

Oh yes, I did. I snapped a photo of each and every slide as it shone on the makeshift screen. And it worked. Oh yes, it did!

See.

This is me slaving away at the ironing board. I remember my mother ironing evvverything when I was little because there was no such thing is wrinkle free anything way back then. And she hung everything out on the line in those days too. I remember when they got their first dryer.

Vacation in Colorado. Very pretty.

The black edges are just the empty screen area since most of the slides are square shaped. But it works!

I was very impressed with myself for figuring that out and sticking with it long enough to snap shots of over 700 slides!

I hope to tell a few of the stories contained in these slides. But I also wish I knew more… like how/why on earth this picture was taken?!

Maybe I don’t want to know about this one. *shudder*

I'm linking this post to Works for Me Wednesday at weareTHATfamily!

WFMW-posters and sticky stuff

My last post was about the totally cute poster we had made for Miss Boo.

Remember?!

I just love it. It makes me smile every time I walk past her room. It’s just so stinkin’ cute. And because one person several of you asked, (and a few of you are probably curious) I thought I’d share how this whole thing came to be.

We went to Ikea several months ago and in the pet section, they had these cute pics of cats and dogs really close up. They were cute, but all I could think of was my cat is cuter than those cats. But those large pics gave me an idea.

So I took a pic of the cat.

And had it doctored up to suit Boo’s taste.

I had noticed an ad months ago on weareTHATfamily for a place called Online Poster Printing. I had checked them out a few months back so I knew right where to send my pic of the cat to be made into a poster.

And she could not have been more pleased and surprised!

And we were thrilled with the speed of delivery and the quality. Very impressive!

So we hung it on the wall. I didn’t want to use tape because it’s kinda tacky and this was a nice poster. I’ve used these…

in the past and love the way they work so we used them again. The poster won’t slip and we can take it off the wall to move it without messing up anything. Love it.

Online Poster Printing and Command Poster Strips work for me. To see other Works for Me Wednesday posts, hop on over to weareTHATfamily.

*Note: Nobody gave me these products and nobody is twisting my arm to say anything nice about them either. I bought them myself and I like ‘em, so I decided to tell you about them! : )

Oh yeah..something else...there's another post under this one. I was a busy girl today.

not too cool

I was talking with a friend today about something she’s looking for used. She wants it to be cheap used so she can paint over it herself and she won’t have to worry about it getting messed up. It will already be a little banged up broken in. I just love that about her.

One time several years ago Boo’s Sunday school teacher did a little unit on everything from how to take care of a hairbrush to washing your face to modesty and frugality and on and on. She even had a lady from church come in and talk to the girls about shopping at thrift stores. I have to admit I had not been to one in quite a while. She also sold jewelry, so she made a deal with them. If they could go shopping at the thrift store and come home with an outfit on the cheap, she would give them a really cute piece of jewelry. So we took her up on the challenge and came away with a really cute church outfit. And she also scored a really cute necklace.

I was so glad Boo embraced the little challenge. I want her to know it’s ok to shop on the cheap, and that there isn’t anything wrong with frugality.

Ever since then, I’ve taken to making a little run through my local thrift store every now and again, because you never know what you’re going to find. I told my friend later that the capris I was wearing today were purchased at Goodwill for $4 and they still had the tags on them when I bought them. Hello! You can’t argue with that. Although I did notice they needed a simple repair so I got some thread and stitched one tiny spot. Just like new! And did I mention they were only $4?

We’ve never scored another whole outfit, but we’ve found little things here and there along the way. Maybe it’s time to go again and see what we’ll find. And how little we can get away with spending.

Because I’m not too cool for that.

breaking in a new Bible-a how to

My daughter and I went yesterday to purchase a new Bible for her. She had a pink Bible that just had the text and had been asking for something better. There is nothing more daunting than trying to decide exactly what kind to buy though. I studied what was out there and more than that, I prayed about it and finally decided on what to buy. There had been something within me that kept saying I 'ought to' get a hip, teen Bible for her. But I'm thankful I resisted that urge and found her a wonderful study Bible with lots of helps that will carry her into adulthood... especially since it doesn't have advice about boys and eye shadow amongst the pages.

When we got home, I got the privilege of showing her how to break in a new leather Bible. Someone told me this several years ago and I've used the technique on all my Bibles since. But I had not seen this info anywhere...until the other day I saw it in small print in the back of one of my old Bibles.. not the first place I would look for its care and keeping. And this new Bible has a website that I logged on to and it gave the exact same instructions. So I've gotten it verified in two places! LOL

Anyway.. here's what you do:

Hold the Bible with the spine on the table and the sides of the pages facing up. Begin by folding open the front and back covers and gently pressing them against the table while holding the rest of the pages up in middle still. Gather a few sheets from the beginning of the book and press them gently against the table near the binding (while holding the remainder of the pages 'up' still). Gather a few sheets from the end of the book and press them gently against the table at the binding (while holding the remainder of the pages 'up' still). Proceed gathering and flattening a few pages at a time from the beginning and the end until you have nothing left. The Bible should be folded open approximately in the Psalms when you are done.

Your new Bible is now broken in and ready to use. What this does is gently open the binding a little at a time rather than the first time you open it flat to Psalms or something and it cracks right down the center and ruins the binding the first time out of the gate. Like I said, I've used this technique on several leather Bibles and they've all held up well.

And now for a book marker tip... this is what I use. They last a pretty long time and I can position them at the exact spot I left off. I use them for all my reading. And they don't fall out! Very handy!

Breaking in my new Bible bindings works for me. For other tips and tricks, visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer.

git'r done dinners

Some days getting dinner on the table is just a job. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, we just want to get it done.. or if you live in the south , git'r done! Some nights there may be time, energy and brain cells for fayn-cee meals. But then there are those other nights. I found these books at the book store and I love them for just that. One is called Desperation Dinners and the other one is called Cheap. Fast. Good. I think the titles say it all. These recipes are from scratch with healthy ingredients too. Yeah.. I know! They tell you step by step.. even from the frozen slab of meat.. to getting it on the table FAST. They also offer other tips along the way from getting the most from your warehouse style food store to whether fresh or from a jar crushed garlic is best for that particular recipe.

To see the website these two ladies have created, as well as pictures of their books, click here.

There are several recipes in these books that I love whether I'm in a hurry or not. Deee-lish. So if you're in a rush, check out one of these books. They work for me. Check out other tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

it's getting close!

This is the time of the Christmas season where I realize it's getting close and begin to make mental note of what's left to do and tie up any loose ends. And along the way, it brings to mind things that I do regularly that make the season a little easier.

Sometimes I have to send presents in the mail. And what happens when things get sent in the mail... the bows get squashed. (and yes, as I sit here, I realized I forgot to wrap a gift I put in the mail yesterday. DUH) Anyhoo... how do you send a pretty gift in the mail without a bow??? A friend of mine taught me this one and I think it's pretty cool. She (and I) use plain colored wrapping paper. It can be found, but sometimes it's harder. I stock up when I see it. And I buy cute Christmas stickers (I can get cheap ones from Current) and decorate my wrapped gifts with stickers instead of bows. It also looks very elegant under the tree. (hint hint.. I've used this same technique for other things like birthdays as well. Saves me from having to buy a little bit of 'birthday' paper) Love. IT.

Another thing I did this year is use some old Christmas cards as gift tags. I had some gift bags and since I try to be frugal with them and reuse them, I hate to put a sticker on them. So I cut out the pretty part of the card, punch a hole in it and tie it on with twine or ribbon and presto... a fancy gift tag. And it's cheap.. and it's kinda like recycling.. one more use before it hits the dumpster.

Anyway, those are a few easy things I do at Christmas to make things a little easier. For other tips, visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer.

Works for Me Wednesday-or I write on my clothes!

This morning I was reading Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer and realized I had two good tips just sitting there on my mental back burner. So here they are!

First of all... it totally made me laugh when she talked about getting jeans at the thrift store. I am so into that too. And yes, they're like $3 even if they still have the tags on them. I just bought a pair of capris that came from Dillards that still had the tags on them for $3. Score! But this tip has to do with some new jeans I bought. I have a hard time finding things that fit. I think most of us feel the same way. So when I find jeans I like, I'll buy two or three pairs. Well even though they all might technically fit, most of the time there are slight variations in the fit. And sometimes I'd rather wear one over the other... just depends on how many Oreos I've had lately. A-hem. Now.. here's what I do so I'll know which pair I'm grabbing. I write on the tags. I know! It kinda feels like running with scissors or something. I had to tell myself that, yes it IS ok to write on my clothes. So here's what I do.. I number them. I bought 3 pairs of the jeans in the below pic..and yes... all three fit differently.. but this pair fit the loosest. So I marked them with a 3. They are numbered by how they fit. So now I don't have to try on all three pairs to find the ones I want.

By the way.. in case you're wondering.. these jeans are Lee Stretch and I got them at Penneys and they are wonderful.

Similarly, when I buy new socks, I mark my old ones. Here's why. I still have old ones exactly like them. Yes I am brand loyal. But more than that, I buy what fits. And I have small feet. And if you have small feet, the athletic socks at Target with the brand of Champion on them run smaller and I don't have to tie a knot on the end of the toe to wear them. Just sayin'. Anyhoo.. I put little dots on my old socks so after a few washes I can tell them from my new ones. New socks feel different, but after a wash or two they don't look much different (thanks to walking around in my sock feet at home all the time). And my delicate ankles can tell if there are different amounts of pressure from the elastic and it bugs me. So now I can tell the new from the old just from checking for the dot when I mate and fold. For more fun tips, visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer.

Works for Me Wednesday-organized purse

One of the small things that can get on my last nerve is digging around in my purse for all that little bitty stuff that gets lost in the bottom of my purse. You know.. the baby nail clippers - love those, the inhaler- yep, I have asthma, lipstick- for the few days a week I might actually be wearing makeup, pill holders, lotion and other odds and ends. Well, that's just my list, but I'm sure you've got your own little list of things that regularly get lost in black hole that is called a purse.

See... it's a mess. And the longer that stuff is in there, it gets under stuff and I can't keep it where I want it. It's just bad, people!
Enter the clear make-up pouch! I got mine at Walmart for almost nothing. I can keep everything in one place and find everything right there at my fingertips.See.. isn't that much better now? There's the wallet and then there's the pouch. Not a big pile of junk that's going to end up under and around and lost down there somewhere. A friend told me about her little pouch and how well it worked for her. And now it works for me too! Find other tips and tricks at Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

one stack at a time

Stacks of paper are common at my house. Either it's the math scratch paper, or it's the diagram hubby drew while brainstorming for work or general junk.. we've got a lot of paper. And most of it's trash.

But there are the other stacks of paper... the ones that need a home. I have a corner of my desk that used to be all stacked up with that kind of stuff. It was coupons, receipts, school papers, kid stuff, the stray recipe, computer notes for me.... you get the idea.. the stuff I needed to be able to find at times but couldn't. Well, that's not true. I could.. but I had to dig through the pile to find it. And it took time. I hate wasting time hunting for stuff because I can't get organized.So I decided to find a way to fix my mess. I sorted my stack so I could get a good idea of my categories...just how many piles I really had to work with. Enter the ascending file folder holder 'thing'. I gathered my folders and put my titles on them, filled them with my goodies and put them in my little holder. Presto! No more mess. And I can find what I need in seconds. LOVE. IT.Don't you think this is much better than a big pile o' paper? I do!

organizing herbs/spices

Ever since I've been 'in charge' of my own kitchen, I have hated searching for and retrieving herbs/spices for recipes. H-A-T-E-D! It was always a mess and it took me forever to find what I needed. I could 'organize', but it wouldn't take very long for everything to be a mess again. And then every night I'd be digging around for what I needed... fussing and fuming about what a mess things were in.

I brought up this point with my contractor when we were redoing our kitchen. His suggestion.. and something that he assured me his wife LOVED when he redid his own kitchen, was the corner cabinet/lazy susan spice rack thing. Well.. I thought about it for a while and then decided to go ahead and have one put in my new kitchen. But you know what.. I still hated it! HOW in the world does one organize a CIRCLE? I was stumped until....

...I 'discovered' the label maker. I made labels for all my spices so my eye can travel across the lids of all the jars where I put the stickers and look at (basically) one font to find the spice I need. I also organized them in alphabetical order with the most used things in front....putting things used less often on the back row near the other things starting with that letter.

Since I've done this, I can find my spices quickly and I haven't had to reorganize or straighten up my spice shelves even once! And it only cost me the price of a label maker, since it didn't require any special new shelves or bottles or jars etc. AND of course, the label maker is a multi-tasker. Alton Brown would be so proud!

Putting labels on my spice jars works for me...for other kitchen tips and tricks, visit Works for me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer here.