Perfect Saturday

I would love to share with you my day of Bliss.It all started by sleeping-in after the most restful night of sleep...ahh...Then we packed up our breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and dog and headed to the park. There are few things in the world that give me more joy then watching our dog run free at the dog park, playing with all his newest bestest friends, splashing in the pond, and frolicking around with a big goofy smile on his face! Pure exuberance!It is always such a fun way to start our Saturday mornings! And it is so enjoyable talking to the other dog owners. Dog people are always such nice friendly people.Then we headed downtown to the Farmers...

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Easy Homemade Christmas Gift

Okay, So I'm just a little bit way too excited about this.. I made these homemade gifts in a jar for my Christmas girls night tomorrow. I got the idea here. (Thanks so much, Tiff!). I made the peppermint body scrub. SO easy! Makes me feel really silly for ever buying expensive body scrubs in fancy schmancy stores.I am going to call mine "candy cane body scrub". I found the jars at Wal-mart for $2 a piece. I considered the jars part of the gift because I'm sure they will be able to re-use them. For each jar I did...1 cup sugar1/2 cup grape seed oil20 drops peppermint oil4 drops eucalyptus They smelled sooooo good! Can't wait to see the girls...

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Me Day

I really think a "Me Day" is in order! I'm starting to get a little bit of that Christmas panic feeling. I have so much to do, so many Christmas presents to buy, I haven't finished decorating, I haven't made one cookie yet, and every day is getting closer and closer to Christmas! I'm running out of time!! AHHHHH!!!!! I certainly don't want to feel this way. Especially this time of year. So I think the most important thing to do right now is have a day where I get caught up on the very basics. It is a cozy, rainy morning out right now. I am going to have a nice relaxing morning in front of my Christmas tree (please don't take any notice that the...

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Homemade Gifts in a Jar Ideas

For some reason, I had been feeling really inspired to make some homemade gifts in a jar for friends this year. I didn't really know what to put in the jar...just think anything in a jar makes a cute present. I was even more inspired when the stars aligned and I found a case of 12 jars on clearance at Target for $2.50! I'm hosting a Christmas brunch for friends next week and think it would be so cute to send everyone home with a little jar gift. So I went a search for inspiration. Here is a free ebook from Heavenly Homemakers just on gifts in a jar ideas. I liked the idea of Rosemary Focaccia Bread mix in a jar,...

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Re-Growing Green Onions!

This is one of those simple things that just blew my mind.... I saw this tip on MoneySavingMom that you can re-grow store bought green onions, and just keep snipping the tops as you need them. Did I just blow your mind too?? More details he...

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Free Personalized Birthday Card

I'm not sure if it's because I'm in the midst of Christmas shopping or what, but I'm still feeling compelled to pass along more of my favorite deals :) I just saw over at Moneysavingmom an offer for a free birthday card from TinyPrints.com. Use code FREEBD at checkout. Not sure when it expires. Shipping is free if mailed directly to you, or the price of a stamp if mailed directly to the recipient. You can select the day you want it to arrive. It's really nice having a card sent out automatically. I always seem to remember birthdays way in advance, have the card all ready to go, and then forget about it and end up sending it out late. I've...

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Baking Day Plan: Butterhorns,"Snow Balls", and Carrot Cake Cookies

For the year before I was pregnant, I was baking pretty much everything from scratch...bread, bagels, rolls, pizza dough, English muffins, soft pretzels, pita bread, muffins, granola, granola bars, and more, I'm sure. I was a baking MACHINE! And it was really fun, frugal, easy, satisfying, and everything tasted SO much better than store bought. It's so great knowing and controlling everything that's going into your baked goods..and scary when you realize how basic everything should be and all the junk added to everything in the stores! But with a toddler running around now, baking just seems incredibly daunting. I know I need to just...

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Free $5 Check from Magazines.com (Facebook Offer)

Sorry this blog is turning into a deal site, like with this ebates post, but it's something I'm super obsessed with passionate about and thought I'd share some of my favorite deals. The only thing that brings me more bliss than a good deal is passing it on to others! This one was especially good and easy to do: Not sure how long this will last, or if it will really go through, but I just saw this post on MoneySavingMom.com for a super easy $5. Check out the details here. And check out the rest of the site while you're there. It's literally changed my li...

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DIY Dining Room Table Top and Ebonizing Stain (Steel Wool and Vinegar)

I mentioned in this post that we were refinishing some old furniture for our dining room. My husband has been bugging me to post an update about his progress and hard work, so here it is! He started off with some oak wood planks from Home Depot. We liked the knotty, grainy look of the oak. They only cost around $50. For the wood planks he drilled slits in the side of the planks and joined them all together with these biscuits, wood glue, and screws. And stuck in these wood joining biscuits with wood glue. He explained that the biscuits are made of compressed sawdust that will expand in the slots. He cut the slots with a...

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Ebates: Money back for online shopping!

You know I love a good deal! I'm starting my holiday shopping, which I mostly do online, and wanted to make sure I mention about Ebates in case you didn't already know. I love it. You just sign up for free and they have thousands of stores with a percentage listed. That's the percent you get back on whatever online purchase you make from that store. All you have to do is click on the store's link through Ebates, place your order like normal, and you'll get that percentage back as a check from Ebates 4 times a year. And even better...just for signing up now, you get a $10 gift card bonus to either Barnes and Noble, Home...

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I Heart Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving are the fun tablescapes! As a kid, I was always the one to decorate the family Thanksgiving table. I loved digging through Mom's box of Thanksgiving decorations and coming up with a fun, clever way to set the dinner table each year. One of my weird things I like to do around Thanksgiving is to spend some time looking at different Thanksgiving table settings I find online. More so then any other holiday, Thanksgiving just seems to have the most important table decorations in my eyes. Probably because the food is the main event at Thanksgiving and you want the table to look like the star of the show! I...

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Refinished Furniture: Dining Room Buffet and Table

We've been so busy with home projects around here lately! So excited about all the progress and wanted to share. I've had this old dresser that was left behind in one of my father-in-law's apartments that I've been holding on to for years. The paint was chipped and covered in dirt and God knows what else. It stunk so bad that we couldn't bring it in the house, so it's been sitting on the front porch  at our old house (I miss that front porch so much!) and in the garage since we moved here. The thing is, I really like the color and aged look of it and didn't want to change that by just repainting it. So I was thrilled...

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Lovely November Morning

When it's a beautiful Fall day you really have to stop and take time to just enjoy it... especially when it's November and the long winter months are only days away. This morning was absolutely gorgeous. I mean, like the most perfect fall morning you can imagine. The air and sun felt so amazing we just had to go out and take a walk. Immanuel made coffee this morning, and for some reason it was really bad... bless his heart, haha. But really I'm pretty sure it was the "to go" cups they were put in that gave it a weird taste. But this coffee was un-drinkable so we decided to walk up to this coffee shop that is literally around the corner....

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DIY Thanksgiving and Fall Decor on a Budget

As my sister Brittany and I were discussing, we don't have a lot of extra money for decorations, as I'm sure most people don't nowadays. Homemade decorations are such a great way to make your home festive on a budget. Not to mention the personal satisfaction that comes with making something and displaying it in your home. SO beats any store bought decor. I was so excited that Brittany found inspiration from my post on DIY Halloween decorations, by creating these adorable light up jack-o-lanterns. So I thought I'd share some more inspiration for DIY Fall and Thanksgiving decorations. Here are some of my favorites:           ...

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