Crochet Garden Baby Booties

I made some booties for my beautiful girl. I just absolutely love the color combo. Turquoise and hot pink!

I also made a smaller pair in a color variant yarn I have in my stock pile of yarn.

I purchased this pattern from The Lovely Crow on Raverly. I posted them on my personal facebook page for sale and I had someone order a pair right away! I'm so lucky to be able to make a little extra money for our household by doing something I love!





Diaper Prices

One of my readers and good friend requested I write a post about budgeting for baby. Which in turn led to a brief conversation about name brand diapers versus no-name diapers. There seems to be alot of pressure on new moms about buying brand name diapers. To be honest, I did.

After my little girl was born we bought Pampers diapers size newborn because thats what they used in the hospital. The next few months I bought the Kirkland diapers from Costco because they seemed to be a good price for a decent amount of diapers in a box. But, since the nearest Costco is 50 minutes  away, I ended up switching to Pampers. Pampers has a promotion called Gifts To Grow. You receive a code from all the Pampers products you buy, save them up and redeem them for different products. I got caught up in the whole Gifts To Grow program and wanted to collect as many codes as possible and see what I'd be able to get from them. (I'll tell you more about this a little later in my post.)

That being said, if I had to do it all over again, I would have used the Parent's Choice diapers from Walmart. Someone gave me some as a gift, and they were honestly just as good as the Pampers or Kirkland. They are also, anywhere from $10-$20 dollars cheaper depending on what sales are going on. My daughter never got a diaper rash from them, and I found them to be just as leak-proof as the other brands.

Now, back to the Gifts To Grow rewards. After a year of collecting, I entered all my codes online to find that the prize I could redeem them for was really only worth around $25! Seriously!? Not worth it at all! Especially considering I would have saved that much after purchasing 2 boxes of Parents Choice diapers instead of the Pampers diapers. I should have saved my money from using cheaper diapers and just bought the $25 toy myself!

My advice for any expentant moms out there... don't feel guilty about buying the "cheaper" diapers. As long as your baby doesn't develop a rash, then go ahead and put them in no-name brands. Some babies will even develop rashes using the most expensive brands of diapers, so use what works for you, your baby and your budget.

Cardboard Box House

This past weekend, my daughter and I went to a birthday party for a little boy turning one. At the party was a cute little house made out of cardboard boxes. My little monkey was very interested in the house, she walked up to it a few times and watched the other kids playing in it. She tends to get overwhelmed with lots of other kids around, so she did not go inside, even though I could tell she wanted to.

So the next day I decided we would make her own little cardboard house. I happened to have a big box from a Christmas gift she received. So I cut out a window and a door. I used packing tape to shape the roof as well as tape on a door handle. I also taped around the edges of the cuts so she wouldn't get any paper cuts. Then I drew a few pictures on the inside.

It isn't as elaborate as the house from the party, but at least she has the chance to finally play inside a cardboard house.

Little Monkey loves pulling out the blanket, then putting it back it. Bringing a pillow inside and laying down. She'll pull and push it around the living room to find the perfect spot for it. Then go inside and play peek-a-boo through the window.

I had seen similar projects on pinterest as well as some other neat ideas to craft with cardboard boxes. Have you made any cardboard box masterpieces for the little ones in your life? If so I'd love to know what you came up with! Post them in the comment section below!

I will leave you with a joke I heard on Ellen today:

"What sound does a birds phone make?"

....."Wing Wing!"

Too cute! :)

 

 

UPDATE- (September 5/2013) - I made another bigger cardboard box house. If you'd like to check it out, follow this link!

L'ORÉAL Coupons for Canadians

If any of you use L'ORÉAL products, you should be checking their website (www.lorealparis.ca) to see what coupons they have available. When you visit their website, scroll down to the bottom where you will see a "coupons" tab. (Or click on the link I provided above). You need the SmartSource Printer Java applet in order to print their coupons. If you don't have it there will be setup instructions to follow. There are coupons for hair care as well as skin care.

These coupons are for the Canadian market, and it states in the fine print that each coupon has its own restrictions.

I received a sample for the Arginine Resist X3 shampoo and conditioner. I have very fragile hair that damages easily. These products are supposed to make the hair stronger, so I'm going to try it out and see if I notice an improvement. 

 

Have any of you tried this product before? Did you find it successful for strengthening your hair? If you have any tips on products for fine, breakable hair let me know!

Baked Honey Glazed Garlic Chicken

Supper tonight was another new recipe for me. It was very quick and easy to make. Definitely something I will be keeping in my menu archives!

Baked Honey Glazed Garlic Chicken

2 raw chicken breast
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 chopped shallot
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in baking pan. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over top of chicken. Bake for 25 minutes or until done.

Eyeglasses

Are you spending more money then you'd like to on your eyeglasses?

This is a frugal tip for everyone out there who has to buy eyeglasses for themselves or anyone in their family.

Eyeglasses can be very pricey! And what's worse? Your prescription can change the following year, resulting in more money spent!

I wanted to share a website with you that you may not have heard about. It is called zennioptical. They have so many different styles of glasses to choose from, some for as little as $7.00!!!!! There are different frame options, colors, sizes, even sunglasses.

I know many people dislike ordering online for fear when they receive their purchase it just won't look good on their face. Zennioptical has tried solving this problem with what they call Zenni Frame Fit. You can upload a picture of your face, then virtually try on the pairs of glasses you like.

You will need to know your lens prescription to order your glasses. If you don't have that information you can phone your optometrist's office and they can give it to you over the phone or print you a copy.

 I received good reviews from people who have ordered from this website and were extremely happy with the experience, shipping and their final products.

Scroll through their website. I'm sure you'll find something you like. :)


(Disclaimer- all opinions are my own. Zennioptical does not pay me for recommending them. In fact, they most likely are not even aware that this little blog post exists! )

Salsa Chicken Wraps

Last night I tried a new recipe. My husband and I are trying to eat healthier so I found this recipe on www.bodybuilding.com.


It's a crockpot recipe so it's perfect for all you busy women out there.

5lbs chicken breasts (thawed)

16oz jar salsa

28 oz can no sodium diced tomatoes

put in slow cooker on high 3-4hrs or low 7-8hrs

shred chicken with fork

serve on rice, tortilla or eat alone.

I put mine on ancient grain tortilla wraps with spinach; low fat plain greek yogurt and a little bit of lime juice.

It tasted good but was quite messy. Lots of liquid seeped from my wrap, but to be fair, I didn't put in as much chicken as the recipe called for. Maybe that would have made it thicker and less watery?

My 15 month daughter sure loved it. She had 3 helpings!

Pinterest

Have you heard of Pinterest?

Well let me tell you how amazing it is! Its an online pin board of absolutely anything you can find on the web.  I have found so many amazing ideas for DIY projects, fun things to do with my toddler, and new recipe ideas.

When my friend first told me about the website, I was not impressed. In fact, I thought it sounded pretty lame! But I finally checked it out and was instantly hooked on it. As a crafter this website is essential for getting inspiration flowing! My craft board is overflowing with projects I would like to tackle.

Even if you aren't a crafty person by heart, I would encourage you to check it out for other resources as well. It seriously has everything! It is so much easier to search things then with your regular web browser. You don't even need to set up an account to browse through it. But if you do make an account, you can save your favorite pins for later reference.

Check it out at www.pinterest.com.

Happy pinning!

Spaghetti Sauce

I have always bought pre made spaghetti sauce. It just seemed quick and easy. No fuss! But, it's never tasted exceptionally great.

I've heard you can save money by making your own and of course the health benefits of knowing exactly what you put into it and no preservatives added. Well, I came across a quick and easy recipe for a healthy spaghetti sauce on www.bodybuilding.com and decided to give it a go...

Results = DELICIOUS! 

As for saving money on making it from scratch, ummmmm, I would say its pretty equal cost wise, but definitely healthier and definitely tastier!

Here's the recipe:

1 Tbsp.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 medium Onion, Chopped 

4-6 cloves Fresh Garlic, Minced

28 oz can Diced Tomatoes 

28 oz can Tomato Sauce 

1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley 

1 Tbsp. Dried Basil 

1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano 

1 tsp. Black Pepper 

In a large saucepan, sauté olive oil, onions and garlic on medium heat.

When onions are transparent, add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, oregano and black pepper.

Set heat to low and allow sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally.

I seasoned and cooked some extra lean ground beef, added the sauce and put it on some spaghetti. The family loved it.

Try it out and let me know if you think it's great too :)

Yum!