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Chalkboard Gift Box

July 31, 2012 · by · 22 Comments

I wanted to share with you an easy craft for a keepsake box, gift box or storage box that I made this weekend while watching the Olympics.  I bought one of those cardboard boxes from the craft store.

I covered the edge with tape and painted the lid with chalkboard paint

Once the paint dried, I took some extra scrapbook paper I had and cut it to fit around the lid.  

I glued it to the edge of the lid and let it dry.

Then I added a lace bow to the top and glued that to the lid.

The box looks fine as  is and makes a great gift (or a great package to put jewelry or a gift card in).  I put the name of the person I made it for in chalk on the lid.

What is nice is that because it is chalk, it can be reused by the recipient.

This was an easy craft and one that teens or older kids can make.   I have one for paper clips and another one for safety pins.  I love anything that helps me stay organized.  They also make great favors for birthdays, Valentine’s day, showers or weddings.

What did you work on this weekend?

I am linking this at Coastal Charm!

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Gift Ideas, Home Organization · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Attending BlogHer from Afar

July 28, 2012 · by · 8 Comments

So for my blogging friends, many of you are going to BlogHer very soon!  I am so excited for all of you and I am going to be watching and following like an Olympic fan.

So in order to make my absence as painless as possible I am doing a few things to help me live vicariously through conferees.  I am also hoping to be one that wins one of the awesome swagbags that lucky BlogHer attendees will receive.  So I have to mention that I am receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for this blog post.

Here are some things I will be doing to recreate the experience from the West Coast:

  • Following @BlogHerAtHome on Twitter
  • Following @LaurieWrites on Twitter, since she is now my new BFF and will be blogging from the conference
  • Using the BlogHer Conference App for my iPhone (so I can pretend I have to be somewhere in 10 minutes..)
  • Shopping for some new shoes for the conference because it will be kind of like therapy for me.
  • Commiserating Connecting with other bloggers who will also be on #blogherathome
  • Making hot dogs, black and white cookies, cheesecake and deli sandwiches so I feel like I am in New York
  • If you will be joining me from somewhere other than New York, please let me know in the comments.  If you are from SoCal, come by and have a cookie with me!

Filed Under: Blogging · Tagged: , , ,

Easy Pasta Salad

July 25, 2012 · by · 13 Comments

With these warm summer days, sometimes I just want to have a cool salad for dinner or lunch.  One of my favorites is pasta salad, which can be made in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 package spiral or rotini pasta (1 lb.)

1 cup chopped bell peppers (I used green and yellow)

1/4 cup chopped onions (I prefer red)

1 large tomato chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese

1/2 can olives (2.25 0z)

Balsamic Vinaigrette or Italian Salad dressing (bottled or homemade)

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, chop up the bell peppers, tomato and onions and set aside.  When the pasta is ready, drain and rinse with cold water, then drain again.  Add other ingredients and mix with salad dressing.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for best results.  This is a great salad to take for lunch.  You can add chopped ham or cooked chicken or cucumbers if you like.

This recipe makes about 8 servings.  Enjoy!

Filed Under: Recipes · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Simple Chocolate Crossionts

July 23, 2012 · by · 10 Comments

We just got back from a trip up north and came home on Sunday.  When we got home, I wanted to make a simple dessert, but I didn’t have many ingredients since we had been out of town and I had not done any grocery shopping yet.   We were even out of ice cream.   So I went to my “go to” simple dessert.

All you need are these ingredients:

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You prepare the crescent rolls as directed, but you just add a sweet ingredient such as a dollop of jelly or in this case, some chocolate chips.

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If you do not have chocolate chips, you can use other items, such as jelly, nutella, caramel, etc.  Prepare the dinner crescent rolls as directed, and I recommend adding a minute or two to ensure that they are fully cooked, but not overdone.  When they come out of the oven, I will dust with powdered sugar.

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Honestly, it is one of the simplest desserts ever.  What is your simple dessert when you do not have a lot of time to prepare?

Filed Under: Recipes · Tagged: , , ,

How Do I Find My Keys?

July 19, 2012 · by · 11 Comments
Lost key

Have you ever forgotten where you put your keys?

You are ready to go out the door and you cannot locate them.  Has this ever happened to you?

Of course it has, it happens to all of us.  But yet we all know the answer to avoiding this.  The answer lies in putting your keys in the same place every time.   I know that this is hard to do, but if you do it for  21 days, it will become a habit.

This will take some work to do because we often just set stuff down since we carry as many things in the house as we can to avoid repeat trips.   So everything gets placed on the closest surface.

Find a place to keep your items like your purse, cell phone, keys, etc.  Designate a part of a counter, or a small table to keep these things when you are home.   You can keep keys in a dish, on a hook or in your purse.  It will be worth it, especially when you are racing against the clock and trying to head out the door.

While you go out the door and lock it, make a conscious effort to mentally notice that you did so.  You may even want to say to yourself “I am locking the door”.  Why?  So that you don’t climb into the car, start talking to the kids and then think, did I lock the front door? Did I close the garage door?

When multitasking, we cannot give our actions the proper attention to recall the details.   If you take things a little slower, you will be much more at ease.

 

Thank you for visiting!

Filed Under: Home Organization, Time Saver Tip · Tagged: , , , ,

Welcome Melanie from Metropolitan Money Pit

July 19, 2012 · by · 5 Comments

I am so exited about  sharing a special guest post today.  I am blogging here today, and my friend Melanie is sharing with you.  Check out her blog & enjoy!

Hi! I’m Melanie from the blog Metropolitan Money Pit where I write all about fun and inexpensive things to do in Southern California. Raquel and I recently discovered that we both share a love of cupcakes so I’m writing here today to give you tips on the best places to find them in SoCal.

Big Man Bakes is my absolute favorite cupcake shop. Their cupcakes are ginormous and are oh so delicious! My favorite is the vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. The vanilla cake has a hint of almond in it and the chocolate frosting is thick and very chocolatey. I’ve never tasted cupcakes as good as the ones I’ve had here.

Big Man Bakes

413 S. Main Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Buttercake Bakery is a quaint shop that sells a variety of baked goods. All are delicious but my favorite are their chocolate cupcakes. Moist and chocolatey topped with a creamy frosting they are the perfect snack.


Buttercake Bakery

10595 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90064

Freesoul Caffe is a vegan cafe located in Old Town Tustin. They serve a wide selection of coffees, teas and pastries and have full breakfast and lunch menus. I am no vegan but I love their desserts, especially their chocolate cupcake. If I hadn’t already known, I would have never guest is was vegan.

Freesoul Caffe

191 E. Main Street

Tustin, CA 92780

Frosted Cupcakery is located in the Belmont Shore neighborhood in Long Beach. They sell a wide variety of cupcakes and all are good. My absolute favorite is their ice cream cupcake. They bake a gigantic cupcake and then fill the middle with ice cream. It’s the best summer treat. I highly recommend the chocolate cupcake with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Frosted Cupcakery

4817 E. 2nd Street

Long Beach, CA 90803

Sprinkles Cupcake ATM  is such a unique innovation that I just have to share it. Located next to the famous Sprinkles Cupcakes it’s a quick and easy way to get a sugar fix. It’s open 24 hours and is stocked throughout the day. Now, I don’t think Sprinkles Cupcakes are anything special but the ATM is worth trying just for the fun factor.

Sprinkles Cupcake ATM

9635 S. Santa Monica Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Hope you all enjoyed Melanie’s visit!  Let’s have a cupcake shall we?
Filed Under: Places · Tagged: , , ,

Scheduling Downtime During Summer

July 18, 2012 · by · 2 Comments
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Are you having a restful summer?  I am hearing from many of my friends that summer is going by so fast and that they are needing a break.  I think a lot of women tend to overbook themselves.  We are used to multitasking so we fill our day with activities and duties and at the end of the day, we are exhausted.

I find that scheduling down time during the day really helps me have the time to contemplate and enjoy the moment.  So here are a few things that I would like to share with you, that have helped me chill out over the years:

  • Wake up 30 minutes before you usually do (I know it is summer, but the quiet moment will help you think clearly)
  • Take time out every day to pray, meditate or just be (with the computer, phone, ipad, TV, etc. out of site)
  • Do not schedule appointments one day a week while the kids are at camp, VBS, summer school etc.  - leave a day wide open to do something spontaneous
  • Pack a dinner, or pick up something and go eat it at the park or beach and enjoy the outdoors in the evening when it is cooler
  • Write – a post or diary entry or letter to your kids, talking about what is going on in your lives this summer (you will find that summers blend together over the years and trust me, this will help preserve your memories)
  • Schedule down time for your kids too!  If they will not nap, encourage them to read a book or draw without the TV or computer on for a set period of time.

I would love to hear what you do to savor the summer.  Please share with me and have a wonderful and restful day!

Filed Under: Planning Organization, Summer · Tagged: , , ,

One Lovely Blog Award

July 16, 2012 · by · 6 Comments

I am so appreciative of Cari, the genius behind NighLon.  She is a incredibly supportive blog friend and an excellent graphic artist (she created my header and button).  Thank you Cari for nominating me for the Lovely Blog Award.

The requirements are:

1. Thank the person who honored them with this award and post their links (see above) and check her other website at The Palmetto Queen.
2. Share 5 interesting things about myself:

  • I am a former auditor and productivity manager (not the most popular person)
  • I talk to myself out loud sometimes when I am trying to remember things (just for a few seconds….not like long conversations or anything super-weird)
  • I love classic rock and often sing the wrong lyrics to songs (my kids get annoyed with this)
  • I own about 35 pairs of shoes (my shopping weakness, ok, maybe 40)
  • I am a UCLA Bruins football fan & go to most of their home games.
  • I love the support of the on-line blogging community (and have trouble following directions because this is actually six things)

3. Nominate 5 bloggers for this award:

Check out the amazing blogs above & thank you for stopping by the Island!
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Filed Under: Blogging, Thank You! · Tagged: ,
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