Berry Helpful

I love strawberries, but I hate having to cut the leaves off! Ladies Home Journal featured this in their June 2010 issue:


BERRY Helpful:

One of our favorite things about this time of year? Strawberries are at their sweetest. So we were excited to discover a gadget that makes hulling a breeze. With its shapr claws, the StemGem removes stems and leaves in one quick twist; $8 at williams-sonoma.com



Looks like I'm headed to Frontenac tomorrow... :)
P.S. It gets great reviews too!

Reusable Dryer Sheets

As much as I love my Bounce dryer sheets, they sure are a lot of waste! So I was curious when I saw these...has anyone tried them?

From the May 2010 issue of Real Simple magazine:
Reusable Dryer Sheet
"The eco-friendly, hypoallergenic Static Eliminator reduces cling and softens fabric just like traditional dryer sheets but without cluttering up your trash can. Each cloth withstands hundreds of loads. TO BUY: $15 for two, amazon.com

A New Book: The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex

I saw this title and laughed out loud...I'm totally intrigued! Has anyone read it?

From the May 2010 issue of Parenting Magazine:
If you're looking for a little more excitement in the sack, check out "The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex, by Kristen Chase. You'll laugh, probably blush, and be totally inspired to shake things up in the bedroom (or the laundry room, or the bathroom...). $14.95, Adams Media; mominatrixbook.com

Measure Up Bowls

Since I've been dieting again, I've been measuring or weighing all my foods before eating them. I saw these bowls in Parenting Magazine (April 2010 issue) and though these would be great to have...kind of expensive though!


Take the guesswork out of serving sizes with easy (and subtle!) portion control in a bowl. They're lined with rings to tell you exactly how much food to dish up, without the need for measuring cups. ($29.99 for a set of two; measureupbowl.com)

Remembering a Home...

When I was younger, my mom had aerial photos of our house and our land. I loved looking at it to see how things changed, but also just to 'remember' the home that I grew up in. Sometime in the last 10 years, she's had another aerial photo taken - and both of them hang side-by-side on her living room wall.

I love the idea of giving a gift such as this - but an aerial photo isn't necessary. You could have a picture sketched in pencil, or have a picture painted. Or, you could have it done on an ornament - what a great Christmas gift! I think this would be especially nice if you have moved, but could always remember that first 'home'.

Ornament from Personal Creations

Description from the Personal Creations website: #3793; $29.95
A Personal Creations Exclusive! These Hand Painted House Glass Ornaments, brighten your tree with the image of the place that’s dear to you. Just send us your photo or upload your digital image through our website (see order form for details) and we’ll hand paint it onto our 3 1/2”Dia. glass ornament. We add any message on 2 lines, up to 25 chars. per line. Comes on a red ribbon for hanging. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.

'We're Pregnant' or Ultrasound Ornament

Mike and I found out just a few days before Christmas 2007 that we were expecting; we hadn't had an ultrasound, but I had seen these kind of ornaments before then - what a special way of documenting that Christmas!


The first one I had seen was from Abbey Press (#45349; retailed for $14.99), but they must have discontinued it (?) because I can't find it. However, it was similar to these that I found:

This one is from http://www.grandparentgiftcompany.com/ ($10.99)

or http://www.baby-memory-books.com/ ($11.00), as well as other places.

All of them, including the one from Abbey Press, had this quote on the back side:
Ultrasound Ornament - We await our little miracle, at this glorious time of year. This glimpse of your beginnings, we will always hold dear. Grow healthy and strong, we are waiting for you. A sweet Christmas celebration, for a precious life anew.

Following this were spots for "Ultrasound Date" and "Baby's Due Date"

Bag Cap from Copco

Featured in the November 2009 issue of Woman's Day:

"It's all in the bag: and it'll stay that way with Bag Cap from Copco. These plastic caps easily attach to any bag of food and seal it tight, so you can keep your chips fresh or pour batter from a siptop bag spill free. Available at housewares stores in three sizes (small, $3.99; medium, $4.99; wide, $5.99) and three nifty colors: red, orange, and green."

Personally, I like my chip-clips, but I think this would be great for bagged brown sugar, powdered sugar, etc.

Roll-Up Piano

When I was growing up, "all" of my relatives had pianos in their house...and my siblings, as well as many of my cousins, have had lessons and can play. When we first moved into this house, we had a piano, but it had to go due to lack of space. So, I want this!

Featured in Woman's Day - November 17, 2009 issue

"Perfect for road trips, this ingenious roll-up piano will keep kids (and adults!) entertained for hours. $49.99; jcp.com"

But okay, I just read the reviews of the JCP one - it doesn't get a good review. But I googled "roll-up piano" and there's a ton! How have I never seen this before?

Target Reusable Tote Bag Credit

StLMommy.com is a blog that I subscribe to. Ironically enough, I found out that I went to college with Kim, the "owner" of the blog. She recently posted this:

Target is becoming more eco-friendly by offering a $0.05 credit for every reusable tote bag that you use when you check out!

It does not have to be a Target bag it can be any bag that you want to use. They will scan a bright red sticker that has a UPC code on it beside or behind the register which will give you a $0.05 credit for each bag that you use. It's not a lot but every penny counts and it's a great way to give us an incentive to be more eco-friendly!

I'm a big Target shopper, and I try really hard to use the tote bags, so I'll take a few cents off my total!

Update: On Thursday, 10/29, I visited the Kirkwood Target. I asked about the tote bag credit, and she had a bar code on the register to scan. I had two bags with me, and though I only needed to use one - she still gave me credit for the two. Bonus!

Gift-Giving Traditions - for children and adults

So far, I've started two "traditions" for the boys...
- I get them books for that holiday. For example, I just picked them up Halloween books at the store the other day.
- The other tradition was one that my mom did for us when we were little...we got an ornament every year for Christmas...it usually came in our stocking, and the ornament usually gave in indication of what we enjoyed that year. The boys each received a "1st Christmas" ornament last year, and I've been on the hunt for their ornament for this year. I'm pretty sure that their ornament for 2009 will have penguins on it, since they have been obsessed with this dvd all year! The current song they are obsessed with on the dvd is the butterfly song, but not very boy-ish, so I think I'll go with the penguins instead. :)

St. Nick's/Christmas
Socks
Christmas pajamas
Ornament
CD



For children:


My sister-in-law Jamie started giving my niece the Precious Moments Birthday Train Set when Rachel was born. Each year for her birthday, Rachel gets another piece of the ceramic train set...it looks like there is a piece up to age 16. My sister Katie said that was one of Rachel's favorite gifts, and that each year she looks forward to seeing 'which animal will add to the train'. Too cute!

When my boys were getting ready for their first birthday, Jamie asked me about this train set for Connor and Logan. After much debate, we determined the Precious Moments set wasn't very boy-ish, so we decided on a real, battery-powered train set. The boys each received a train car for their 1st birthday, as well as some pieces of track, etc., and will continue to get a piece of the train each year. This way, wheen they are older, they will have a train set to put around their Christmas tree, play with, etc. Putting the train on the floor around the Christmas tree was always a tradition when I was a kid...and it was "Scott's train". So it seems even more fitting that the boys are receiving their train sets from Uncle Scott and Aunt Jamie.

I'm a super-slacker on this one, but I started a tradition for my nieces Sammie, Rachel, and Taylor. This tradition was getting them a charm (for a charm bracelet) each year...for example, for their baptism, they got a small cross. Sammie was obsessed with purses one year, so I that year I got her a purse, etc. Like I said - I'm pretty far behind on this one, but I do have the intentions of catching up one day...my plan is to give them a "complete" bracelet on their 13th (or 16th, or whatever) birthday to exemplify their lives.

For adults:

One of the gifts my mom gave her children and step-children was a collection of cookie cutters. She would pick out 2-3 for each month, and then we received cookie cutters for that season/holiday as well as a recipe for that kind of cookie...and a few of the cookies. This was nice for us because now we each have a small collection that we can continue the tradition of baking shaped cookies with our kids.

Unique Bridal Shower & Wedding Gift Ideas...

As I stated at the beginning, I started this blog to organize myself - my computer, my house, and my head. So in an effort to do that, this is another post. :)


1. Alphatography - of course my own side-business has to be #1

2. A personalized drink tub
- Several years ago, this one from Lillian Vernon was my wedding/shower gift of choice
- Suzanne's sister Trisha started making some as well; these are on her Etsy site; Trisha also makes a personalized tray that can coordinate with the bucket

3. A Wine Theme - corkscrew, a wine bottle coaster, wine glass charms, coasters for glasses (some even have initals on them - get their last name initial!), a bottle of wine, wine glasses. You could also add cheese and crackers and combine this with a picnic basket idea...

4. A Beer Theme - Sometimes the couple registers for beer glasses...you could have them etched with their monogram, last initial, etc. Include a six-pack (or more) of their favorite beer!

5. A picnic basket with various items - can be made by you or pre-purchased. Some things to include - include a service at least for two!: melamine plates, napkins, melamine wine glasses, a tablecloth, silverware, a corkscrew, a cutting board

6. BBQ tools - might also include bbq seasonings and a cookbook for bbqing

7. A recipe book - or a photo album with some of your favorite recipes included, printed on
index cards. You could also put this in a gift bag with some of the utensils the couple registered for - slotted spoon, serving, spoon, tongs, spatula, etc.

8. The last wedding I went to, the bride had registered for this container of cookie cutters from Crate and Barrel. Long story short, I put together my own set of cookie cutters, for way cheaper from a little store in IL that specializes in baking. Then I added some of mine, my grandma's, and her grandma's favorite cookie recipes. (Our grandmas knew each other years and years ago and are both deceased, so this was really special to her...plus it was my best friend's sister...so it was special to me.)

9. Gardening tools - even if the couple doesn't garden, weeds still need to be pulled. You could include gloves, a pot, a garden hose, and some tools.

10. A friend of mine got this for a shower gift - holiday decorations for every holiday. The gift-giver had been collecting them throughout the whole year on clearance! St. Pat's wreath, Halloween fingertip towels, Christmas cloth napkins, etc. It was QUITE cute, but took a lot of planning ahead of time.

11. Suzanne and I got married 2 weeks apart...after the weddings, we both mentioned how we didn't get many personalized gifts. Strange, we thought - but we ordered these photo frames for ourselves. We have the black one, and on the frame you can put the couples names (first and last) as well as the wedding date. Too cute!

ExpediteSTL - IKEA Delivery

My previously-mentioned addiction to HGTV has also addicted me to IKEA. Unfortunately, there is not an IKEA in St. Louis, and almost every single item I've selected so far is "not available for sale" on the IKEA website. So, unless I could lure a friend to visit IKEA for me on a trip to Chicago, or unless I was making a trip myself, I was kind of screwed.

UNTIL...I found Expedite STL. So see, this is how my Craigslist addiction comes to my advantage. I saw a post about IKEA delivery on CL. I checked it out - it linked to a website. Basically, the owners of Expedite travel to IKEA once a month...they will pick up your items and either deliver them to your house or you may pick them up in Chesterfield. You pay a fee for their service, in addition to the cost of the items.

I used Expedite STL this summer to purchase some items - Excellent Service! They travelled on the weekend, contacted me on Monday to schedule a drop-off, and delivered to my house on Monday night. I couldn't have been more pleased.

The fee I paid - probably more than shipping would have been (had my items been available to purchase on the internet), but I also had smaller items. BUT, cheaper than I would have paid in gas travelling to/from Chicago. Verdict? Well.worth.it!!!

I'm a Craiglist Addict...

I have an addiction to Craigslist. The addiction began many years ago, but has only intensified since having children. My rationale - the kids go through things so fast; if it's a kid-item that I can wash in the washing machine or wipe down with a Clorox wipe, then I'm all for buying it second-hand.

My current favorite kid item that was purchased off Craigslist is the Kangaroo Climber. Shortly after their 1st birthday, Logan decided he was going to be a climber. He climbs on the couch, the chair, boxes, etc., so I thought this would be a good purchase. It was a total steal! This retails new for $139.99, and I got it for $55. Plus, it had only ever been used inside (which I was pumped about since I wanted it for inside), and it looks brand new!

Here is a picture of Logan up top, Connor looking up,
and the boys' girlfriend Genevieve peeking out the window.

I'm picking up my new favorite mommy item today. It is a tv/entertainment center armoire...this is going to become my craft closet. (I guess that means I'm going to get crafty?) I've started accumulating fabric, sewing supplies, etc., and I've been on the Craigslist hunt for a sewing machine. Melissa (Genevieve's mom) and I are going to attempt to build a fold-out desk from the inside of this armoire so that I have a work space. Do you think it can be done? Any suggestions? (Leave them in my comment section if you do...)

This last picture is my inspiration for the fold-out desk...

Alphatography...my side business

Well, of course I'm going to start my blog with my own personal plug! Alphatography is a side-business that I started with my dear friend Suzanne. It all began as something we saw in a magazine - and then at a craft fair - and then the decision that 'we could do that!'

We started taking photos in November 2007 and gave Christmas gifts that December. We signed up for a first craft fair in March 2008 and we've continued to grow since then. Now we do several craft/vendor fairs a year...especially in the fall months towards the holiday season.

All of our pictures are from the St. Louis area - some in Illinois on my drive to mom's house and some around Suzanne's lake house near Perryville, MO. We pride ourselves in that our pictures aren't 'staged' - they are all images that we have just found.

Feel free to visit our website for more information!