Valentine's Day Fun Ideas

If you are having problems coming up with cute (and quick!) ideas for Valentine's Day - - here's some previous posts of mine that may help you out with that (:

Valentine's Day Kiss Search

A morning or evening of fun activities - the great kiss search - and some easy, but delicious recipe ideas.

Crayon hearts for kiddos

Valentine's Day Heart garlands are easy to make, display, and use as a quick surprise!

Heart shaped grape tomatoes can kick up lunch time

What ideas do you have for Valentine's Day fun?
More later! (:

Soup Ideas and Recipes

Since it is ridiculously cold right now, I am in the mood for SOUP!! (hahahaa, what's new?)
I love soup all year, but when it gets cold out, I CRAVE it!!!
Here are some awesome ideas and recipes that I found from the web - check them out. Which ones speak to you?

Creamy Split Pea from the Huffington Post

 

White Bean and Escarole Soup from the Huffington Post

 

Vegetarian Crock Pot Black Bean Soup from Food.com

 

Vegetarian Portugese Kale Soup from Food.com

 

What is your favorite kind of soup???

 

 

Quality Halloween Costumes on the Cheap by Kate Frankenberg

{Image from Google Images}

You guys KNOW I just LOVE Halloween.... Like I say each and every year, Halloween is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the holiday season and I am always ready to get the holidays started!

Just in time for Halloween (only about 20 days away!!), I am pleased to introduce you to Kate Frankenberg from MyCabbage and  Off the Grid Chicago. She is sharing some quick and easy tips for inexpensive costume ideas. This is perfect for everyone out there who is looking to save money (without looking like it!!) or for anyone who has procrastinated and (still!!!) isn't sure what the plan is - you know who you are (wink! wink!). Thanks  so much for stopping by, Kate!!
Read on for some of her great ideas....

Quality Halloween costumes on the cheap

If you are anything like me, on October 29 you are scrambling to pull a Halloween costume together at the last minute. This bad habit usually lands me at the local Halloween pop-up-shop shifting through $60-$100 dollar picked over costumes leaving me unsatisfied with both my costume and the dent made in my Halloween budget. With a little planning and budgeting, it doesn’t have to be this way!

Handmade

Nothing is cheaper than making your own costumes for you and the family with some cardboard, scissors, paint and a little creativity.  Felt iron on material is also a quick and easy way to make something out of nothing. If you have a creative idea and are a little bit crafty, using these materials will make it easy to execute. One year my friends and I got together and dressed up as “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (definitely not a costume you would find at the store!). If you don’t have a craft bone in your body, check out crafting websites like Etsy where you can buy other handmade costumes or pieces of costumes that you can assemble on your own.

Raid your friend’s closets

One man’s trash is truly another mans treasure. Bring your costume collection from previous years over to your friends’ houses and do a “costume swap”. Their kids probably have outgrown a few of their costumes and yours have too. This is a perfect way to feel like you have a “fresh” set of costumes without spending a dime.

Rent-a-costume

Sometimes you need a costume that is just out of this world. I, for one, am sick of owning a bunch of costumes that you can only wear once because they are so memorable. Instead of making big purchases on those costumes, find a your local costume rental shop. They have high quality costumes that you can rent for under $100 dollars. Get their quick though; the good costumes always are rented out the fastest.

 

Thrifting

Make sure you check out your local Goodwill for Halloween costumes on the cheap. The fun of going to the thrift store is that it is kind of like a crab shoot, you never know if you are going to find a hidden gem or just the costume you were looking for at the right price! Don’t be afraid to get creative and “edit” a few items if you find elements of your costume idea that might work. An added bonus: when you purchase from Goodwill you are providing jobs to those who are at a disadvantage!

 

Hopefully these few tips will help you have a very scary Halloween without breaking the bank.

 

Kate Frankenberg is a passionately curious writer, DePauw University graduate, and digital marketing professional. By day you can find Kate marketing all things MyCabbage, a simple way to keep all your daily deals, gift cards and coupons in one place and share with your friends so you can plan something together. By night you can find her working as a volunteer Marketing Chair for the Junior Council of Lurie Children’s Hospital and writing for her website, a blog about Chicago startups, nonprofits, and outstanding individuals.

My Memories iPad Giveaway

MyMemories is hosting an iPad Giveaway - you heard right!!! Step up for your chance to win an iPad and have a tablet with internet access at your fingertips!!!

Here's the details from their page:

So make sure you check out the MyMemories Facebook Page and LIKE us - we really want more new friends!! And - we want to thank you with an EXCLUSIVE Free Download kit just for liking us! So - it's WIN WIN WIN around here! So, like our page and share it with your friends and when we hit 10,000, somebody gets a SUPER COOL iPAD!!! How amazing is that? Winner will be drawn at random from ALL our FB friends, so new friends AND old friends all have a chance!

 

*BONUS* There's a new Facebook page EXCLUSIVE Fan Freebie kit - check out the link - LIKE our page and share it!

You get the goodies!!

 

Here is the link to check it out and get their FB info: http://www.mymemoriesblog.com/2011/09/so-make-sure-you-check-out-mymemories.html

 

And, if you haven't checked out the MyMemories website, check it out and see what they have to offer. You can make all sorts of cool and crafty things (right on your computer!!). It's so fast and easy - you will be shocked. And, when you order the MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software, you can save $10 with this code special for my readers:  STMMMS20887

 

More later! (:

Wyman Publishing Book Fair Giveaway (CLOSED)

In honor of Melynda Fleury's near miss of losing her eyesight due to diabetes, Wayman Publishing is hosting a Blogfest and Book Fair Giveaway during the week of Labor Day. ALL ENTRANTS will have unlimited and open access to download any of Wayman Publishing's Top 10 Books during the following days: Sept 2 through Sept 4 (direct link will be provided this weekend so check back!).  In addition, Mommy Blog Designs, the blog designer with an AWESOME reputation for her service and blog designs throughout the blogosphere, has also offered to contribute one of her Premade Designs with full package ($269 Value!!) for FREE to one lucky winner!  PLUS, we will also be giving away $200 in PayPal cash!

This giveaway starts today, August 27th, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go to the Rafflecopter Entry Form

Wayman Publishing  and our other hosts who've helped organize this giveaway (voiceBoks, Linkie's Contest Linkies, Mommy Blog Designs, and Terri's Little Haven) thank you for your participation!

GOOD LUCK! (:

Twitter Message

A Week of Menu Ideas

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend?

It has been amazingly HOT here lately!! We walked to breakfast yesterday morning (at like 7am) and it was already burning up outside!! Sheesh. I heard on the news (again this week!!) that we are supposed to get a break this week, and I will be so happy when that happens!

The heat is sapping my creativity (lol). I'm getting a lot of cooking ideas from Pinterest lately - it seems so much easier - and more fun! - than going through cookbooks and recipe notes! (: I'm not always making the same exact thing, but I am getting a lot of good ideas there. Some times, I change things up based on what's in my cupboards or some "shortcut" cooking method that would make my cooking time faster.

Monday
Sweet Potato Burritos
Seared Broccoli

{Noodles from simplyreem.com}

Tuesday
Ginger Soba Noodles
Miso Soup

Wednesday
Red Beans (1)
Brown Rice
Sauteed Garlic Spinach

Thursday
Garden Burgers
Greek Salads

Friday (2)
Make Your Own Pizza
Frozen French Fries
Vegetarian Orange "Chicken"
Carrot Sticks

Saturday
Dinner Out

Sunday
Pasta and Homemade Marinara (3)
with Garlic Bread
Green Salads

Notes:

(1) Red Beans Recipe (adapted from Leanne Ely's recipe) New Orleans-Style Beans: In a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and saute 1/4 cup each: onion, green bell pepper and celery. Add 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/8 teaspoon thyme. Mix this 1 can of kidney beans beans and serve on top of rice with hot sauce and a little melted butter (or Earth Balance) with greens on the side.

(2) As you can tell, Friday is going to be a clean out my freezer night! I need some space in that thing so I am going to clean out what's there (we will have some things for dinner) and start making some room.

(3) I love this recipe and I really am planning on giving it to you guys one of these days. Basically, I use canned tomato sauce, add it some spices that I like and some shredded carrots (to make it sweet), a spoonful of tomato paste and then let it simmer for about 1/2 an hour (covered) on low. This is my MIL's recipe and I don't actually have it written down, I just know what to put in and how I can adapt it based on what I have. (:

What are you having?
More later! (:

What are you waiting for? (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Have you entered the My Memories Giveaway that I am hosting? If not, get on it! (:

The giveaway ends this weekend! By entering, you have an opportunity to win a COMPLETE digital scrapbooking kit that can be used to make not only scrapbooks, but photocards, and other craft-y items!

Check out the giveaway details and enter here.

Also - - I will be able to periodically send out "special" deals that My Memories offers to my readers!

• Get $10 off a complete digital scrapbooking kit (if you decide to buy instead of waiting for the giveaway) and $10 off any other purchase (a $20 value!) - use code STMMMS20887. 
• Get 30% off your custom order by clicking here and using code 30FOR30.
• Free bookmarking kit - no purchase necessary. Click here. 

Preserve those memories, organize those photos, and spend less money on supplies by using My Memories!!

More later! (: