Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, Oh My!

Thanksgiving is officially over with the exception of all those leftovers in my fridge.  I managed to eat turkey and dressing for like six consecutive meals before the sight of it all turned me green.  Last night I had salad.  It was a pretty boring salad and it was just what I needed.

Tis the Season

Now on to another type of overload: shopping!  That's right it isn't even December yet, but according to the news we better do all our shopping by the close of business Monday or we will just end up paying too much for gifts no one really needs anyway.  Don't be that person.  As it stands you have already missed out on two of these gargantuan sale days. First there was Black Friday the day we trample our fellow man after waiting in line for hours in order to get a 60" flat screen for half of it's usual price only to realize they only had two in stock and you just weren't fast enough because you had that extra helping of turkey and dressing (damn, tryptophan!). Then we are on to the new fad of Small-Business Saturday, an altruistic experience indeed compared to the day before.  I am all for helping out the small-business owner, especially when AmEx is giving me $25 to do so.  Tomorrow we get to experience Cyber-Monday.  Time to get on Amazon and refresh your screen every two seconds.

I've never been this happy shopping

For those of you who haven't completed your shopping I have noticed one or two deals that I thought I would share:

Frontgate:  Spend $100 or more and get $100 off.  http://www.frontgate.com/  Use code XXW62446 good through 11/26/12  You can find lots of really nice items for your home or garden. If you shop just right you can get some items for almost nothing.  Now that is a deal!

Etsy: Type "Cyber Monday" into the search box for lots of great deals.  http://www.etsy.com Etsy is a great way to support the small-business owner/artisan.  Tons of unique items you can't find in any store.

Amazon:  You never know what they will offer, but the deals are always pretty good http://www.amazon.com

Land's End: 30% off everything and free shipping on orders over $50 http://www.landsend.com/

Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy:  30% off everything http://www.gap.com/

L'Occitane: Stocking stuffers: buy 2, get 1 free: http://usa.loccitane.com  If you've never shopped at L'Occitane they sell very luxurious bath products.  This is where you buy your mom something.  At least this is where I do.

And don't forget, you should almost never have to pay for shipping. Before you buy, Google the name of the store where you are shopping and then add "free shipping codes"  ex: "Gap Free Shipping Codes".  Usually sites like retailmenot come up and show you if there are any current offers.

Well, that should get your started.  Happy shopping and if all fails, buy gift cards.

Pinterest: The good, the bad, and the ugly

This pretty much sums it up

Last year I discovered Pinterest thanks to my friend, Ingrid.  She sent me an invite, since that is how the site works, and I was hooked.  I now am the proud owner of two Pinterest accounts:  my personal account and my landscape account.  Of course there is some overlap since I stole some of my landscape pins from my original account for the landscape account, but I've kept all the kid stuff and recipes out of my "professional" account.  Feel free to follow me!

Personal Account: http://pinterest.com/krafty713/

Seabrook LA Account: https://pinterest.com/seabrookla/

While I love, love, love Pinterest to come up with ideas for what to cook for dinner, garden ideas or clever decorating advice I will say there is a dark side to Pinterest.  Despite the beautiful photos and the fact that a pin has been shared or liked by 1000's of people sometimes the advice or recipe is no good.  There are some very entertaining blogs about Pinterest failures Pinterest Fail or Pinstrosity.  Yep, this is the truth and the truth is hilarious.  Perhaps it is poor technique or maybe the instructions aren't as clear as they should be, but sometimes that which looks so awesome turns out just awful.  

My Pinterest Failures

See, even the OP doesn't look happy

I've had a few Pinterest fails myself.  I saw this pin for do-it-yourself biore pore strips that consisted of smearing your face with a mixture of gelatin and warm milk.  The original poster said that since it makes so much you might as well just smear it all over your face. I figured, why not!  You know those baby fine hairs we women have all over our face?   Well, after pulling my homemade biore mask off my face I now have way fewer of those hairs.  And this stuff does not come off easily.  Never again!  

There are a lot of recipes that I have tried on Pinterest and while many have been very good (see below) some have been inedible.  When they tell you that you can make a muffin in your microwave using oatmeal, eggs and blueberries, don't believe it.  You can certainly put these ingredients together and cook them in the microwave, but you don't get a muffin, you get a blueberry brick.  

My Pinterest Successes!

For starters I have found a ton of recipes that I love which have led me to a bunch of great blogs.  This lasagna recipe is so great, fresh and easy.  Even my husband who feels a meal is not a meal without meat loves this lasagna: Here is the link:  Little Lasagnas

Here are a few other recipes I really like: 

Easiest Salmon Ever: Broiled Salmon with Marmalade-Dijon Glaze

Make your own Ricotta cheese.  I swear it is so easy: How to make fresh ricotta

Easiest Chicken and Dumplings ever: Chicken and Dumplings 

Young House Love

I've even attempted a pretty challenging craft project of making a lamp shade out of clothes pins for my laundry room. This is originally from Young House Love and if you have never read their blog before they have a ton of great home improvement ideas and ways to save as you do it.  We call all use that sort of inspiration!  Here is their version>>>>>>> 

My version

<<<<<<And here is mine.  Ok, so some of the clothespins are a little crooked, but considering it lives in the laundry room, I am quite happy with the result.  

Snacks!

Because I am a lazy mom I liked this idea from Real Simple that I found on Pinterest.  It says you should group healthy snacks together in your fridge at kid level so that your kids can grab a healthy snack whenever they want.  My snack container isn't as organized as this, but I do keep it stocked and my 2.5 year old really loves being able to pick something out whenever she wants something.  I just wish I could find a pin that tells me how to actually get her to eat the food once she has pulled it out of the fridge.  If I find one more string cheese stick with only one bite taken out of it I'm going to scream.  

There is a lot to love about Pinterest.  It is amazing to see just how creative people can be.  I love that I am finding new recipes, ideas on how to entertain my toddler, great organizing ideas, and endless inspiration for my home and garden.  And the best part, for me, is that I am doing all of this electronically as opposed to tearing out pages from magazines and then having to store those somewhere (which I still do as well).  If you are not already on Pinterest, I encourage you to get started.  Happy pinning!

Need to relax? Take an electronic time-out in your garden

As I write this particular blog entry on my computer I find that I am as guilty as anyone of spending too much time plugged in.  If I leave my house without my phone I feel anxious. If I lose my internet connection then surely I am missing out on something.  If my power goes out I am completely lost.  But most of the time I feel overwhelmed with calls and e-mails and other distractions.  And when do I actually feel calm?  When I am outside weeding or planting something.  No TV, no computer, no cell phone (well, the cell phone is a few feet away, but I'm not checking Facebook or e-mails with my dirty hands).  

Check out this article about digital overload: Avoid the Dangers of Digital Overload

Perhaps we all need to get away from all that electronic junk for a little while.  Here are a few things you can do to get you out in the garden:

1. Weed-Even a few minutes of weeding is progress
2. Plant some annuals to add seasonal color for an instant pick-me up in the garden
3. Plant and tend to an herb garden-I usually plant these in containers for easy maintenance
4. Prune something- Roses, small trees, shrubs and flowering plants can all use a haircut here and there.
5. Fertilize-Plants need the occasional dose of nutrients too.  Spend a few minutes applying fertilizer for more vigorous growth and more blooms.  
6. Experiment-Plant something new and see if it will grow
7. Plant bulbs that will bloom in spring 
8. Rake leaves-boring, but it needs to be done
9. Mulch-this can be a lot of work, but fresh mulch keeps weeds away, so that is one less chore
10. Replace sodded areas with groundcovers or other plants in order to reduce the amount of water your garden requires.  Just think, you can get a whole new look and save money.  Now that it calming!

Spending time in your garden can help enhance your life.  Nature is always bringing you something new to see.  By planting a garden you can see your efforts grow and change, attract wildlife, produce fruit, vegetables, or flowers. Sometimes something you plant will not thrive or perhaps it may die, but that offers a lesson as well.  

Gardening is beneficial to your mental heath.  You can read more about those benefits here: 4-mental-health-benefits-gardening

Working in the garden may make your back hurt, but it will also make you stronger.  You can work at whatever pace makes you comfortable and you can always hire someone or enlist a friend to help do the big work if necessary.  So take a few minutes and head outside.  I swear you won't miss anything; that is why we have voicemail, e-mail and DVR's.