Dancing with the Stars

My husband, sister, her boyfriend, and I went to the premiere of Dancing with the Stars yesterday. I've been an avid watcher for a few seasons now.

[source; See more photos here}

It was so fun! I got tickets to go last Thursday. (I've been on the waiting list for a while). The four of us waited for a few hours in line to get in, but was so worth it. There is so much energy in the studio. We got to see all the behind the scenes activity not to mention several celebrities. Because Roshon Fegan is on the show, fellow Shake it Up! costars Bella Thorne and Zendaya Coleman were in the audience. When we were leaving, my husband and I were able to get autographs for our little divas. I, however, am cheering for William Levy. He is so pretty. ;) I am also cheering for Jaleel White. My brothers and sisters watched Family Matters (so much) when we were growing up. It is really hard to narrow it down though. They are all so talented. It's going to be a good season.

Do you watch? Who are you cheering for?

Home Decor

Happy Friday! :)

I've started to collect pieces to decorate my new home and I would like to share them with you.

1. This is our new Expedit bookshelf. It is in our formal sitting area. I love it. It has to be my favorite piece in the house right now. I am filling it with books, games, magazines, picture frames, storage baskets, etc... I am excited to share it with you when I am done filling it.*

2. I got a few of these rattan baskets to go inside of the Expedit bookshelf. I plan to use them for my daughters' loose pieces around the house. It will be their daily chore to check their basket every evening and put their things away. (I've gotta get that cleaning schedule together. It is part of my March goals).

3. My husband and I put together several pieces to make up our entertainment center. This TV unit, 2 of these bookcases, and this wall bridging shelf. It was fairly inexpensive in comparison to other entertainment centers, and we really like it. My husband got this gianormous TV on sale a few months ago, and it fits nicely.

4. I got this area rug to go in my formal sitting area. I shopped around, and I like this one's style (and price).

5. This sectional is right in front of our entertainment center. It is gianormous, as well. Can you guess who picked it? I like it, too, though because it fits both sides of our big families well when they come over to visit. We've watched movies together on it, we've played games, we've sat around and talked- all very comfortably. I have a big family as does my husband.

6. I got 2 of these chairs a few months ago to go in our formal sitting area. (Because I got them on clearance, they are no longer available, so I am linking to chairs like them). I like them very much. They are big and comfortable. I do like the pattern, but I might play with them in the future and revamp them.

By now you may have noticed there is a lot of brown in my house. There is! I am finding lots of white accent pieces to go in my house to balance all of the brown. I can't wait to share more with you when it is ready.

* (Elise inspired this purchase).

Menu Planning

Hi there!

I want to pass along an idea that has helped me save money, time, and energy: menu planning.

After years of last minute meals, spending too much money eating out, several trips to the grocery store, I decided to change my routine. I try to do my grocery shopping at the beginning of the week. I have gotten into the habit of planning all of my family's meals and snacks before I go grocery shopping. I research what will be in season and on sale beforehand and plan my meals accordingly. This saves me money. (I can invest in more crafting supplies instead. ;)

I also find recipes that are appealing to our taste buds beforehand and try to incorporate those.

However, it has happened to me more than once in the past that I plan a meal, and completely forget that I had plans to make said meal. On Thursday, I'll think, "What was I supposed to make today?" Then, the day gets away from me, and we end up buying take out. Not that I mind good take out (once in a while!), but there's a perfectly good (and healthier) meal sitting in my fridge, freezer, or pantry, and we are spending more money when we could've saved. Know what I mean?

I had this dry erase whiteboard lying around not being used. (I tend to buy lots of white boards in attempts to get organized I have noticed). I dusted it off, and thought this would be perfect to solve my mid week forgetfulness. It is perfect, but it was floating around and not in a stationary place...

That's why in my March goals I said I would get my menu planning board up, and I did. I put magnets on the back of it and put it up on my fridge.

It has helped me so much! I am constantly referring to it. I know when I need to thaw something from the freezer, when I need to start a meal early because it might take longer than usual, etc. And it's not written in stone, so if I feel like switching up the days when I have less time and need to make a quick and easy meal, I can do that. I love the flexibility. An added bonus is that my girls aren't always asking me what's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner because it is up there. Even if it is not their favorite meal (I try to make kid friendly meals most of the time, but not always because they need to expand their palates) at least they know what it is and have a more positive outlook on it.

Do you menu plan? Have any ideas you would like to share? I'd love to hear them!

Workspace Wednesday

My craft room doesn't look much different than it did a few weeks ago when I posted it for Workspace Wednesday. I've mostly walked in, looked around, felt overwhelmed, and walked out defeated. You win, craft room. It's crazy that we should be fighting like this. All of my favorite things are in there.

I did buy some storage boxes from Ikea:

I am going to tackle this room soon.

Hold on...

Let me walk in there...

Okay. I'm back. It may have tackled me instead. ;)

Be back soon.

Toast, anyone?

"Make 'fancy butters'" was one of my goals for March. The idea came from Emma and Elsie at A Beautiful Mess.

I spent part of the afternoon making fancy butter or compound butter.

I made honey-pecan butter. My mother in law sent us a big box of shelled pecans from Texas, so I cracked some of those and used some. On that note, do you have any good pecan recipes?

I also made strawberry butter and strawberry honey butter. I love strawberry jam and butter on pancakes, waffles, and toast; I had never thought to make strawberry butter before now though. (I got the idea for the strawberry honey butter and to store the butter in jars from Cheryl at A Pretty Cool Life).

I have plans to buy a variety of sliced breads and make this for breakfast on Saturday. (The weekday breakfasts around here are usually quick meals: cereal, fruit, a granola bar, poptart, etc., so I try to make the weekend breakfasts more special than the weekdays).

I had to test it out first though:

;)

Muffin Tin Monday

I made a kid-favorite muffin tin meal for my girls this week:

natural peanut butter and strawberry preserves triangles (pb&j), green grapes, and whole wheat goldfish crackers.

I got these sectional plates at the 99¢ store. I liked their vibrant, fun colors.

Be sure to visit Michelle for her colorful, rainbow muffin tin meal and to see the links to the other muffin tin meal participants.

I am glad you stopped by today! :)

March Goals

I have had a productive Sunday, and am so happy about that! I wrote all of my to-do's on my handy fridge whiteboard, and I've completed more than half already. I am about to get a grocery list together and go grocery shopping. (Right after I get the whites in the drier. Yuck. I hate folding socks).

I had March's goals up there on my to-do's, and got through those, as well.

You can see my January goals here and my February goals here.

These are March's goals:

I hope to embellish on them soon.

I'll be back tomorrow with Muffin Tin Monday. :)

Pizza Bagels

Hi there. I've had a blurry few days. My littlest napper (she is 2) caught her sisters' cold. Because she has an immature immune system, she took it hard and came down with a fever when they didn't. I am hoping last night was her last night with a low grade fever. She is looking much better today. She still has those sad, sick eyes, but she has been more playful today. When I wasn't looking, she even climbed to the top of her sisters' bunk beds to take a closer look at their new butterfly decals.

Because I was nursing her, getting her to the doctor, etc. I wasn't able to get to Muffin Tin Monday.

I had planned this meal for yesterday:

pizza bagels (so easy to make, too- toast wheat bagels, add pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and turkey pepperoni pieces), pears, and vanilla yogurt with sprinkles.

Be sure to visit Michelle at Muffin Tin Mom for her SUPER ADORABLE Dr. Seuss meal yesterday, and for the contributions of the other participants.
:)

Thrifted, Retro Dishes

It had been so long that I had been thrifting. Right now that I am trying to furnish my new house on a budget, I am looking for fun pieces to incorporate into my space. We have already purchased a few new pieces, but I intend to dumpster dive for go thrifting for most of my pieces. I'd rather my house look like a unique combination of collected pieces anyway rather than something straight out of a catalog.

On that note, I went to 2 of my local thrift shops the other day. In the first one, I found muffin tins for $1.50 and $2.50. They are so cute, and I can't wait to show them to you for Muffin Tin Monday. At the second one, I found better deals and a few more treasures. I found a cute, vintage dress for my 2 year old daughter. I have *really* been enjoying blogs that feature their toddlers in thrifted outfits. Miss James at Bleubird , Corey Moortgat , and Katie at Skunkboy Creatures are three of my favorite sites. I enjoy blogs showcasing their thrifted finds, in general, as well. I found a cute baking dish for bread. It is so tiny, and I look forward to making itty bitty breads with it.

The find of the day, though, were these thrifted dishes:

I was so, so, so happy to find these!

I love them, and started using them immediately. :)
Have you found any thrifted treasures lately??

Before I run along, be sure to visit the Button Floozies site. The site has been featured in a book! Us floozies couldn't be more excited. Check it out here.

Muffin Tin Monday

Good morning. Happy Muffin Tin Monday. I am enjoying this three day Presidents' Day weekend with my girls.
Because they were home from school, slept in a little later, and didn't have to rush out to school, I decided to go with a breakfast muffin tin meal this week. Before we went to church this past weekend, we had oatmeal for breakfast with a "choose your toppings" buffet.

As I was putting it together, Lani (she's 8), eagerly pulled out her Highlights magazine and said there was an "Oatmeal- Your Way!" article. You can see it above. We had several of the toppings suggested out already minus vanilla yogurt, which we happily had on hand. Yogurt on oatmeal wouldn't have occurred to me. It was delicious!
Because we are still excited about this new found oatmeal breakfast discovery, I put it together for our Muffin Tin Monday meal today.

Oatmeal (made with soy milk), almond pieces, vanilla yogurt,

strawberries and blackberries, brown sugar, and banana slices were in the tins earlier this morning.

They ate most of what was in their tins. (Michelle at Muffin Tin Mom linked to a muffin tin meal planning page. It's such a great idea to both plan my meals and chart what these little picky eaters of mine eat and don't eat! Check it out along with Michelle's muffin tin meal for this week and the submissions of the other participants).

Although I didn't have a tin, I did enjoy an oatmeal breakfast with them:

It wasn't much different than my weekend topping choices:

If you haven't tried yogurt on your oatmeal, I insist! It has revolutionized my breakfast routine.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, friends! Be back soon.

Tiny Book Winner

Hi there!

The winner of my Valentine's Day giveaway (chosen by the great and powerful Random Number Generator) is my friend Shiree at The Rowan Tree.

I'll be back on Monday with Muffin Tin Monday. I hope you all have a great 3 day weekend!

Valentine's Day Dinner, Dessert, and an Adventure

For Valentine's Day, my husband and I usually go out together to a restaurant and enjoy dinner. This year, however, we decided that we would eat at home, and enjoy dinner and quiet time with our little ones.
My husband decided to make dinner:

steak with grilled onions and mushrooms, salmon, steamed veggies, salad, and my favorite side twice baked potatoes:

It was so yummy! Also, it sure beats the restaurant wait, and the restaurant price.
I went ahead and made his favorite dessert: brownies.
To make them extra special, I made brownie sundaes.

I put brownie pieces, vanilla ice cream, sweetened strawberries, whipped cream, and heart sprinkles together. The cutest part though was the little Raiders' helmet topper (the Raiders are my husband's favorite team):

There is a whole story behind this little helmet, so I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you.

A few weeks ago as we were leaving the grocery store, I turned towards my husband as we were leaving and he said, "Shoot. I don't have quarters. I looked to see that he wanted to try his luck at the vending machine of little football helmets and score a Raiders' one. I thought, "I will come back, and hopefully manage to get one for Valentine's Day. You really can't beat a 25 cent gift.
Right?

That is, if I had gotten lucky on the first try.

I pulled out $5 when I was checking out the grocery store this past Monday with my little trio of children, and innocently asked for $5 in quarters. The cashier told me she only had $1 in quarters. "That's fine," I thought. Maybe I will get lucky.

Lucky I was not.

I needed to pick up some Valentine's Day candy next door for my girls' class parties the next day. I had my $4 in hand. When I checked out, I asked the cashier if she had $4 in quarters.

She did!

I headed back to the grocery store with my posse, and tried my luck again.

Okay. $5 down, 10 non-Raider helmets, with only my bank card, no quarters, and no cash. "Come on, girls. Let's get in line." I was going to pull out $5 AGAIN, and request for quarters hoping this cashier would have some.
(Those of you who have or have had 2 year olds know I am really pushing her patience by this point).
I get my quarters (luckily, she had some), and try my luck again. Now I have a duo of cheerleaders cheering me on, "Please be a Raiders' helmet. Pleeeeease."

No such luck. $10 down.

I go to another line A.G.A.I.N. to pull out another $5, and hoping this cashier will have $5 worth of quarters. The grocery store is starting to blur and look a lot like a Vegas casino at this point.
Quarters in hand, I try my luck again.

Helmet after helmet, $15 later, I'm down to my last 2 quarters. Out pops the stinking Raiders'helmet. I mean do the Raiders' have a losing streak curse all around or what?!

Had I not gotten it on that try, I was ready to put down my wedding ring and see how many quarters I could get for that. ;)

Now we have all of these helmets! My husband loved the story almost as much as he loved the little helmet. He said he would give away the duplicates to his friends, keep the rest, and pull them out for super bowl parties.
heeee...

Workspace Wednesday

Hello again. :) I am itching to tell you about how lovely our Valentine's Day meal turned out, but I will save it until tomorrow as today is Workspace Wednesday.
It is a gloomy day, again, here in California, so I spent a part of the afternoon baking cinnamon swirl muffins. Hence, my workspace was my kitchen counter today. ;)

My girls and I are about to enjoy a muffin, hot chocolate, and pop in Coraline. It is our rainy day routine.

(I have a bit of blog business to discuss before I run off and watch Coraline. My Internet time has been VERY limited because I haven't got Internet service at my new home, yet. I have a smart phone that uses data where I do some emailing, but that is super slow. I wanted to tell you that I haven't been responding to comments or emails (or blog hopping) much because of that. I am already so bad about responding to comments as it is! As always, thank you for being patient with me and sticking with me).

Be sure to check out my tiny book giveaway. It ends on Friday.

I'm off to watch Coraline! :)