January 25, 2014

At the Moment

 

Here are some things I am loving at the moment---

 

 

1.  Basket case.  A tisket a tasket, necessities in a basket.

 As most of you know, with a toddler comes flexibility.  Needless to say our house is quite fluid at the moment and constantly changing to fit E’s ever changing needs and interests.  Long gone are the days of pretty table centerpieces.  After a few close calls (Everett loves to reach, grab and pull everything off the table) I decided to make our kitchen table centerpiece kid and cleanup friendly.

 

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I stash a few books to read while he’s eating (when we have time), tissues for the ever running nose and a container of wet wipes.  It is so nice to have everything within an arms reach and the wet wipes make it very convenient to wipe off dirty hands and faces and a quick swipe of the high chair.  This basket has been a Godsend!

 

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2.  Tomato paste in a tube.  Genius.

 How many times have you wasted half of a can of tomato paste?  Almost every time for me.  If that is happening in your house I highly recommend tomato paste in a tube.  It’s quick, easy and a lot less wasteful! 

You can find a few different selections in the pasta aisle of your local grocery store (or at Publix at least!).

 

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3.  Personal stamper.  So worth the money and makes a great housewarming (or anytime) gift.

I can honestly say that this gift from my mom was one of the best gifts yet.  When it came to Christmas cards and first birthday invitations this little darling saved us so.much.time…and it’s super cute stamped on an invitation!

These personal stampers can run anywhere from 30-50ish dollars, but will last for years.  There are even some models that come with different color stamp pads to add some variety.  This gem gets twelve thumbs up in my book!

 

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There are quite a few places to purchase custom self inking stampers online such as The Stationary Studio, Etsy and Expressionary.com (that’s where ours came from).  Many of these sites also offer holiday, book, recipe, monogram and fill in the blank stampers as well.

 

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4.  Old Navy Activewear. Who knew?

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a major sale at Old Navy which just happens to always be one of my go-to stores.  I had been looking for a few new pieces of workout wear and noticed a $10 sale on running pants.  I decided to try them out and have been nothing but pleased! 

They fit SO WELL and have super fun patterns to make black spandex just a little more interesting.  I haven't tried any of the tops yet, but they will definitely be in my workout wardrobe soon if they are of the same quality and wear-ability as the pants.  Super impressed (if I could do a thumbs up emoji I would insert it here).

 

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(photo via www.fitnessista.com)

 

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5.  “Homemade” invitations and save the dates. Super $$$ saver!

I found out about Rhonna Designs through another blog that I read and originally downloaded it as a photo editing tool.  Around the same time I had downloaded it, I was trying to come up with a fun save the date (email) idea for our friends’ baby shower…and then it hit me.  If I can use the fonts to add to a picture, then why can’t I just save a background (or use one of the few included with the app purchase) and add text on top of that.

Boom.  It worked and I have been a crazy invitation making lady ever since.  I love it.

 

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 The app was $1.99 (usually I am a free app girl) but so worth it.  The best part of the whole process is that your creations can be saved as an image (perfect for emailing or texting) or you can upload it to any print shop – Fedex, UPS, Staples, Office Depot, etc – and have your invitations printed in color for at least half off of a traditional invitation retailer’s price.  Most print shops all sell colored envelopes that will match perfectly with whatever colors you choose for your invitation.

 I have included a few originals (below) that I have made so far and love the idea of personalizing invitations without paying a fortune.  It does take practice, but I have totally enjoyed it.  I usually either start by playing around with colors and designs; or I go to Pinterest for some inspiration and then take off from there.  I have also found that it is much easier to create an invitation on the iPad versus your phone.

I also found a few of the tutorials on the website very helpful in showing how to do some of the more complex features (including masking and fine tuning – linked on the picture above).  Enjoy, be creative and have fun!

 

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