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Frugal Novice

Photo & Prompt Challenge: Day 14

Today’s Challenge: Something I want to do before I die

I have several things on my list. I don’t know that they’ll all happen, but it can’t hurt to dream, right? :)

  • Travel with my family around the US and to Europe
  • (Maybe) have a third child… we’re still trying to decide!
  • Volunteer as a family on a regular basis, and go on a yearly mission trip
  • Own my own business – now, how large-scale it’ll be, we’ll see. I just love the idea of having something that’s started from scratch.
  • Learn to sew proficiently. Learn to build furniture.
  • Have a custom home built for our family, designed just the way we’d want it to be and perfect for us to stay in long-term

What’s on your list?

Friendly Friday – March 18

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Welcome to Friendly Friday! (What do you think of the new button option?)

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Laura at Along for the Ride is just, well, adorable, and so is her blog. Laura’s a Christian and uses her blog as an outlet to share her faith as she writes about things she loves. You’ll find tutorials on DIY craft projects, giveaways, and a link to her etsy shop where she creates great clips and jewelry – the bias tape collection is especially charming.

Sassy Scorp at Single Mama in LA writes about her life with her daughter. She shares her day-to-day experiences and you can get to know her better through her participation in the “Meet Me on Monday” meme, along with posts about weight loss and even some heavier topics like being the loved one of an addict (especially relevant with all of the Charlie Sheen craziness going on lately). She also hosts giveaways and has one live right now!

Be forewarned – don’t visit Treat & Trick on an empty stomach, or before you know it you’ll be craving one of the delicious-looking goodies the author shares! From cakes to more savory options, there are a ton of recipes provided for dishes from a variety of cultures. If you’re ever wanting to try something new, you can find Chinese and Indian recipes to throw into the mix. Just be prepared for an impromptu trip to the grocery store for ingredients!

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can get the InLinkz code to share the link list on your blog, too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!



Kiddie Catch-All Review & Giveaway

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If you’re a parent, or if you’ve ever driven with children in your car, you know how easy it is for clutter to overtake the back seat. Ally Arnold is a mom and knew this frustration all too well, so she and her mom invented the Kiddie Catch-All. This is a mesh basket that latches on to the side of your child’s car seat, allowing toys, juice and snacks to be right at his or her fingertips.

I got the chance to review the Kiddie Catch-All recently, and actually got to review TWO because they have a buy one, get one free special. This worked perfectly for us so each of our boys could have their own – and believe me, they were really excited to have their own little nook to keep things in. My favorite use for it is to store their cups within their reach, because we are always having to turn around and hand them their cup from the van’s cup holders.

The first day of using the Kiddie Catch-All the boys took theirs off a couple of times, and I do think it would be great if there were a way to clamp the baskets on a little more securely. It didn’t take long for them to leave the baskets on their seats, because they really liked having the access to store things. It was especially nice to have these on a recent road trip!

You can purchase your own at Amazon or at the Kiddie Catch-All site – but guess what?

One reader will win their own pair of Kiddie Catch-Alls! This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight CST) April 7.

Mandatory Entry: Comment below telling me what you would store in your Kiddie Catch-Alls!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 3 entries, for example, comment 3 times.

Note: Kiddie Catch-All provided me with two units to review, and is providing two for the giveaway. Any opinions provided are honest and my own.

Photo & Prompt Challenge: Day 13

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Today’s Challenge: How You Relax

I think any mom will agree that it’s a challenge to find any time for ourselves – especially to relax. On a daily basis, I relax in the evenings by hanging out with Brian and watching some of our favorite shows, or by playing a board game. Here are a couple of my favorite ways to relax:

• Pedicures: Brian does not understand the appeal of this, but pedicures are a huge treat for me. I love sitting quietly in a massage chair, and I love the end effect of pretty toes and soft feet! I try to do at-home pedicures most often to save money, but there’s just nothing like being pampered – a do-it-yourself thing just can’t compare. Those are mine and my sister-in-law’s feet, by the way! I’m on the left with my crooked second toes. :)

• Massages: I mentioned loving the massage chairs at nail salons above – massages are actually my ultimate favorite way to relax, but going and getting one is a very rare treat since they’re pretty pricey. Brian is amazingly wonderful about giving me back rubs, and for Valentine’s Day he got me this awesome shiatsu massage cushion. It is SO good and I use it almost every single day – it’s definitely a lot cheaper than going and getting massages, too.

• Magazines: Hi, I’m Christi, and I’m a magazine-aholic. I used to be tempted to buy at registers all the time, but then figured out it’s a LOT cheaper to get subscriptions, so I have several that I get each month. I can’t explain why, but it’s a huge treat to just sprawl out on the couch or our bed and read a magazine. My favorite is Real Simple– it makes me happy!

How do you like to relax?

Customize Your iPad With Erin Condren Stickers

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Do y’all remember that post I did recently about my new planner designed by Erin Condren? Well, if you do then you’ll remember how well-designed it was – from cover to cover each page is pretty to look at.

Erin is launching a new product on her site today (at 1pm PST) that I am really excited about – iPad stickers! I have an iPad and right now it’s in a plain black case. Pretty boring! Check out some of the designs that will be available:

I love that they’re fun, colorful designs but even more so I love that they give you the ability to customize. They’re priced around $20-$30 each which is really reasonable compared with other iPad cases & accessories that are out there.Check back at Erin’s site at 1pm PST (3pm CST) to see more of the designs available to order!

It’s Time to Vote!

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The Baby Bullet “Messy Baby” photo contest is up and hopping over at the Frugal Novice Facebook page – when you get a chance, go take a look at all the adorable photos and vote for the ones you like. Each “like” counts as one vote. And bonus – if you’re having a bad day, these photos are sure to make you smile!

Creative Cooking Giveaway Winner

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The winner is….

Congratulations, Carolsue! Thank you to everyone who entered!

Fibers.com Review & Giveaway

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I love making custom items, from painting my own pottery to designing the boys’ birthday invitations or our family’s Christmas cards – so it came as no surprise that I really enjoyed using Fibers.com system to create custom t-shirts. When I got the chance to do a review, I had Brian draw a Lego brick and then used that to design the tees. I’m actually surprised he didn’t want to do four family t-shirts all with the Lego design. :)

The control panel for the site is very user-friendly. As you can see in the screen shot below, you’re able to add images, photos and other effects. You can pick which product you want to apply your design to, and there is a large variety to choose from.

I had a little bit of difficulty figuring out how to get my image to upload initially, but was really pleased to find out they had a live chat option. The person I chatted with helped me immediately and I was able to get the image to upload correctly. I think this is a great feature because then you’re not having to hunt for help; the customer service representative guides you to where you need to be.

We received our shirts in about 7 days and were really happy with the finished product:

The ink really pops off of the shirt and the printing is well-done. The boys both LOVED their shirts and have worn them several times since we got them!

What would you make YOUR shirt say? Well, I hope you have an idea because one of you is going to win a $30 gift certificate to Fibers.com! This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight CST) Wednesday, April 6.

Mandatory Entry: Like I asked above – what would you make your custom shirt say? Comment below letting me know!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 3 entries, for example, comment 3 times.

Note: Fibers.com provided me with a gift certificate to purchase products for review, and is providing the gift certificate for the giveaway. Any opinions provided are honest and my own.

 

Photo & Prompt Challenge: Day 12

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Today’s Challenge: Something you do every day


I picked something that I do not enjoy doing each morning – making lunches! I need to get better about doing this at night so our mornings are less rushed. But for now, the routine is that while Brian gets the boys dressed, I pack lunches. The boys’ favorite thing is PB&J, so it’s a staple in our house.

C usually likes his cut in strips:

and some days, like today, I’ll use our fancy sandwich cutter & make train sandwiches for J – we have a dinosaur cutter too, and I think these are so great – I highly recommend adding one to your kitchen tools.

What do you pack in your kids’ lunches? Any fun ideas that I could incorporate for some variety?

Photo & Prompt Challenge: Day 11

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Today’s challenge is:

A photo that makes you laugh

This photo is almost 5 years old – we had gone up to visit my grandma and took our miniature dachshund Josie with us – before we had kids we spoiled her absolutely rotten!* We were sitting around in the living room visiting one day when I realized I didn’t know where Josie was. I called her name and then could hear a pitiful little whine from the vicinity of the couch. After looking for just a bit, this is what I found:

I have no clue how she got back there and stuck like that, but I guess she learned her lesson because she never did it again! It completely cracked us up, because somehow she managed to look almost embarrassed about it all.

*Don’t worry, she’s still spoiled. Just a little less.

Yoplait Kids Review & Prize Pack Giveaway

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Yoplait Kids is a source of both calcium, Vitamin D & protein. It also contains 25% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt, and has no high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. Yoplait Kids yogurt is a snack I feel good about providing for the boys – they love the taste of it, so it’s nice to have an option that’s both more wholesome and nutritious, and something they enjoy. We’ve even frozen yogurt before to give a different texture to it.

The Yoplait Kids yogurt comes in three  flavors, including Strawberry, Strawberry Banana and Vanilla. Kids will love finding their favorite friends, like Dora the Explorer, Lightning McQueen from the hit movie “Cars” and the Disney Princesses, on every cup. Our boys thought it was very cool to have “McQueen” on their yogurt cups!

Yoplait Kids has also partnered with well-known mom-blogger, Christine Coppa, Mama’s Boy blogger at parenting.com and author of Rattled! (Broadway Books, 2009), who has developed helpful snacking tips for moms with young children including:

  • Tips about healthy snack ideas
  • Tips about portable snacks
  • Tips about making snack time fun

I got the chance to receive a Yoplait Kids Prize Pack to review, and it was a hit! Like I mentioned, the boys loved the yogurt (the prize pack came with a coupon for a free pack of Yoplait Kids), but check out everything else included in the pack:

There’s a ball, a magnetic frame and calendar, a package of bracelets, a fun scavenger hunt card game (good even for little ones), an insulated lunch bag and some colorful spoons. The spoons were my favorite part besides the yogurt – they feel substantial and they have a nice modern look to them with the colors and design.

This prize pack could be YOURS!

One winner will receive a coupon for Yoplait Kids yogurt, a foldable travel cooler (to take your yogurt on-the-go), a cool four-piece spoon set, a power magnet picture frame, trendy alphabet-shaped “Kiddie Bands”, a great big bounce ball and a “My First Scavenger Hunt” card game for some after-snack fun. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight CST) Monday, April 4.

Mandatory Entry: Share a tip for how you get your child to eat healthier!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 3 entries, for example, comment 3 times.

Note: The coupon, prize pack, information and giveaway were all provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. Any opinions provided are honest and my own.

Photo & Challenge Prompt: Day 10

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Today’s challenge is:

Your favorite room in your house

This photo isn’t the best, but it’s the only one I already have online! I guess it’s a realistic representation of the fact that our house is almost always messy, though. :) My favorite room is….

Our living room! It’s not a huge room but it’s perfectly sized for us. The majority of it is used as our living space, with our TV, couch, coffee table, and yes – Lego table. Behind the couch is our “office” which consists of a big desk Brian constructed out of a door.

We spend almost all of our time in this space. The boys and Brian love playing at the Lego table, and the sectional (our Christmas gift to each other) is perfect for us to all pile up on to watch a movie. There’s a bookcase off to the left that you can’t see – it’s filled with books, Lego creations, Brian’s collection of antique cameras, other various knick knacks, and toys. Not the most “designed” bookcase you’ve ever seen, but it’s reflective of our life and interests.

Our desk is a hub for a lot of activity. We work on freelance jobs, balance our checkbook, and I work on my blog in this space. It’s almost always a cluttered surface unless we have company coming, although I’ve been working on figuring out an organizational system because clutter drives me nuts! Over to the right of the desk is a big armoire filled with our board game collection; in college Brian and I would often buy a board game instead of going to see a movie, and we’ve amassed quite a collection over the years. We love playing games, so I don’t know how much longer the armoire will hold everything!

That’s a brief overview of our living room, my favorite room – what space do you love most in your house?