Tasty Tuesday {Mini Cinnamon Rolls}

During these cold days, my tummy craves something warm and sweet!  So, when I saw these Mini Cinnamon Rolls at Iowa Girl Eats, I knew I had to try them!  

For the rolls, all you need are crescent rolls, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.   No joke, these babies were done in 8 minutes flat!  That's my kind of baking!  ;) 


For the icing, you need maple syrup, skim milk, and powdered sugar.  Easy peasy!  Click HERE for the recipe & happy baking!  

Mood Monday

As I'm decorating for one of my most favorite Hallmark holiday....VALENTINE'S....I cannot help but think about pink today. 

SO need one of these:

Ordered one of these today and CANNOT wait to get it in!

I WILL be buying this color

My favorite flower

Ok y'all....Daphne knows this about me (seeing as every time we go out we MUST stop by Dunkin Donuts) but seriously. I am OBSESSED with donuts. I saw this and I'm thinking what a great idea---a donuts themed party course those would be donut pops instead of baby heads and we wouldn't need that cake because the donut cake is cake enough!! Ah...that's MY kind of party! 

Just had to throw this one in

Enjoy your pink day my friends!!

HOME Binder...Check!

Hello all!  I planned on doing this post yesterday, but...welllllll, let's just say this "little project," has taken a considerable chunk of time that I was not planning on.  I FiNaLlY finished at 4:30 am this morning!  Yes, I stayed up almost all night...crazy, I know!


Anyway, last year, I made a Home Organization Binder, but it wasn't working for me and I have a strong need for my organizational tools to do their job.  I had seen so many cute planners out there and I almost bought one, but it was very pricey.  I just couldn't bring myself to pay that money, just to have to pay again next year for a new planner.  I thought to myself, somebody should make printable ones.  Then, you would just have to replace the calendar pages the next year.  The rest stays the same.  Hey, wait a minute...I'm a graphic designer (or try to be) and I have an etsy shop...ding, ding, ding!!!   Take a look at the finished product.  ***All of these printable files are now available for purchase in my etsy shop.

I have had this pretty fuschia binder for a while.  I just inserted my Personalized Cover into the front to make it extra cute!

I'm planning on using the first cover pocket to store any greeting cards I need to send out for the month.  Also, I added a pencil pouch for a pen, calculator, and our checkbook with register.

I bought several packs of these super cute file folders from the Target Dollar Spot and simply punched holes in them to use as dividers.  I labelled them with my label maker.

On the first page, I put my 2012 Year at a Glance calendar inside some clear sheet protectors.

Then comes my 2-page monthly calendars (with to-do list and goals list on each month).  I searched Pintrest to find some of the best uplifting quotes for each month too.

I also have a Week at a Glance page to use either as a scheduling page, to track things like workouts, keep food diaries, or whatever.

 

In the "Household Info" section, I typed out driving directions to our house from nearby cities.  This is simply because I am TERRIBLE with directions and couldn't find my way out of a paper bag.  So, when guests or delivery people need to come to our house and ask me for directions, I will be prepared!  I also included my packing lists (for Noah & me).  I keep them in clear sheet protectors and use dry-erase markers to check things off as I pack.

Next comes the "Food & Shopping" section where I keep extra copies of my personalized grocery list, menu planner, & take out menus.

 Then, I have my "Special Occasions" section.  I have a "sweet occasions" page where I recorded all our family & friends' birthdays and anniversaries.  This makes staying on top of the card and gift buying so much easier.

This is my Thank You Note Tracker, which would have been helpful at Christmas.  Now, I'm having a hard time remembering all the awesome gifts Noah received to write my thank you notes.   I also have a Signed, Sealed, & Delivered page to keep our addresses.

 The finance section comes next.  I plan on using this folder (also from Target Dollar Spot) to hold our bills to be paid.  

Here is my Monthly Budget Sheet.  My family decided after Christmas to start The Dave Ramsey Plan, so having our budget in plain sight each month will help tremendously!

To help us keep track of our bills, I made this year-long checklist.  Love it!  :)

 My housekeeping section includes my weekly cleaning checklist.  I'm not sure exactly where I want to keep this, but I want to display it somewhere.  I heart checking things off my to-do list?  Anyone else?

I've been doing this for a while, but I re-designed my sign to match the rest of my printables.  When Noah is asleep, his room is so close to our front door that the doorbell wakes him up.  So, if I'm home, I put out this sign (especially if I'm expecting a guest or a delivery)...it has proven to be invaluable to me...ah, naptime!  ;)

Today, I did tackle one organization task ( just 27,415 left to go).  I printed out my Weekly Menu Plan onto cardstock and framed it in an inexpensive frame.  Then, I moved my adhesive chalkboard from my craft room to the fridge.  I attached my frame with command strips.  I love it so much!

So, what do you think?  It is a whopping 45 pages long.  If you want your very own copy of my HOME Book printable pages, I offer them in several different options...

the calendar bundle

the personalized cover page (with family photo and name)

the finance bundle

the housekeeping bundle

the baby sleeping sign

the sweet days bundle

AND...Everything together!!!

Also, just for our sweet readers, I'm offering a 15% discount for all the HOME Book files for 5 days (so until Thurs. Jan. 19).  All you have to do is enter the discount code: HOME15 during checkout.  

Have a blessed weekend, friends!!!

Frugal Friday

To start off our Frugal Fridays...I'm going to explain a little big about what we'll be sharing on Fridays. This can be anything from great deals, to cheap but awesome ways to decorate, Target dollar zone finds, or tips on managing money. So--make sure to tune in each Friday! 
Today I'm featuring something extra special ---it's a Coupon Date Night by the Dating Divas. If you have never been over there to check them out---well ladies now is your chance to get TONS of ideas for Valentine's Day!! Seriously, I love these divas! 

Here's the finished product:

Here's out to achieve that-

1. Make your envelopes out of paper (this paper looks like vellum.)

2. Print these labels- 

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/wp-content/uploads/coupondateprintable.pdf

3. Collect coupons from EVERYWHERE- don't forget about those entertainment coupon books at your nearest Walmart. (Well that could just be us here in TN but when you walk into Walmart- the first thing you see is WALLS and WALLS of brocheres and coupon books for attractions here in the Smoky. CRAZY! 

Also check coupons in the newspaper.

4. After you've collected your coupons- organize them into the correct envelope. 

5. Now, starting with affordable appetites, have your loved one pick one coupon (don't let them peek) whichever coupon he/she pulls out that is where you go. Next affordable finds (this could be shopping or entertainment) Last- finish off with cheap cravings. This way you'll have dinner, entertainment, and dessert. AWESOME.

This is also a great way to get those coupons off the counter or hanging next to the door--I'm sure you'll utilize these WAY MORE. Keep them in your car or make it a traditional Friday/Saturday night date to use these!! Enjoy my friends!! 

What I'm Teaching Wednesdays

So this week we are discussing winter and snowmen. The first thing I usually do when planning out my week is hit the good ole Pintrest up for some FABULOUS ideas. Well, I found a fabulous idea that I tweaked of course. We always have a snowball fight during this week of study and usually I just write words on pieces of paper and crumble them up. WELL, this year (today) I used snowflake clip art and typed the words inside the snowflake. The kids cut them out and colored them. Then we crumbled them up. The kids always enjoy this and plus I think it helps get that extra energy out. I tried to upload a video of them having all this fun--but for some reason it won't upload. I'll try again later. :)

I am using Deanna Jumps unit called My Snowman this week too--there is a GREAT poem in there and that my kids absolutely love! It talks about wetting the bed--oh MY word. You would have thought someone came into the classroom with their underwear on. CRACKS ME UP!  Praying for snow here in Tennessee!! Please oh please just let it be! 

Tasty Tuesday {Cheeseburger Pizza}

What's for dinner?  It's a cheeseburger...it's a pizza...no, it's BOTH!!!  Friends, last night we tried out a new recipe I found on one of my new fave recipe blogs, Iowa Girl Eats.  It's a Cheeseburger Pizza with a homemade sauce.  

We just recently discovered that Noah has an intolerance to the food dye, Red 40 and possibly milk.  After MUCH research about what artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives do to our bodies (especially to little bodies), we made a HUGE change in our eating habits.  We made the decision to eat ALL NATURAL foods, which I am loving (all except the price tag)! Right now, we have one Organic/Natural Food Store in Knoxville, Earth Fare (which is a half hour drive from our house).  However, in the near future, we should be getting a Whole Foods & Trader Joes & I am beyond excited!  


Anyway, I've been scouring the blogosphere for recipes with homemade sauces, breads, and anything else I can make from my all-natural ingredients.  This one was perfect!  

Go HERE to get the recipe and directions!  

Welcome to our new blog series...Mood Mondays!  I don't know if I'm the only crazy one out there who connects my moods to a color, but I have always done that since I was a little girl.  Anyway, I've been noticing that places like etsy always groups their items by color.  So, each Monday we'll let you know what our "mood color" is and give you a little inspiration to go with that specific color.  K...are you down with the plan?    


Here we go!  Today, I'm feeling GRAY, but not because I'm sad or depressed.  It's because when I look out my window, all I see is gray.  It's been raining all night and is still raining.  Also, I love gray...it's kind of a muted black, chic and modern, but fun with colors added to it!  


Here's some fun gray things I found today!  

vintage style bathroom with gray & white toile sink curtain from Country Living

gray chic bridesmaid's dress with a fun pop of yellow from The Merriment Blog

gray and white stripe hallway from 4 Men 1 Lady

sweet gray nursery from Apartment Therapy

Cute gray dress with hot pink cardigan from Chictopia

adorable gray baby hat from etsy shop, Sebastianseven 

chic gray chain-link design pillow covers from etsy shop, ElemenOPillows.