Category: Tip Jar

Motherhood Monday: Baby Registry Essentials – What you REALLY need

It’s Motherhood Monday! Today, I’m sharing some baby registry essentials for any Momma’s-to-be! I was pleasantly surprised that we had ALL the essentials covered from our first baby shower 5 years ago. I’ve seen so many new gizmos, gadgets and inventions come out and really did not invest in any.

Because I found myself content with what we had, I’m sharing the main things you REALLY need – no frills, just basics! These items worked for our family and sometimes I find – the less, the better!

A huge shout out to my former boss who assisted me in putting together the best list of items to include on my registry, the most patience when it came to explaining certain things and answering all my questions related to what to expect when becoming a Mom!

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Tip Jar Tuesday: Party Leftovers

It’s Tip Jar Tuesday and today, I’m sharing some tips on how to avoid being wasteful when it comes to having party leftovers. Earlier this month, we celebrated my husband’s 30th and our food menu was very “meaty” and the amount of leftovers was astronomical!

First off, one thing we like to do is send our family home with a nice container of leftovers – it can easily brighten someone’s day just knowing lunch or dinner is taken care of! I purchased plastic to-go containers and I was so happy to have these on hand in order to divvy out the mass amounts of leftover food.

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Mid-Summer Garden Tour: How’s it Going?!

I’m so excited to share a little update on how the cut flower garden is coming along! I was out of town this weekend and came home to find SO many more blooms since I left. Naturally, I threw together some bouquets to stare at! This was a surprise bouquet for Audrey!

I’ve spoken to several friends who are doing a cutting garden and are really enjoying it! Others ran into some difficulty (deer attack) and burn outs. These gardens can definitely be time consuming – particularly when there is no rainfall for 2 weeks and 90 degree temps – but it’s a hobby for me so it is worth the work.

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What I Cooked Wednesday – Sausage Potato Hash

Today I am sharing an absolute favorite recipe in our house! I LOVE a good breakfast hash, and this was inspired by a hash I got in Denver at brunch during my cousin’s bachelorette party. I came home raving about it to my husband and figured, heck – I could make this!

Now, this particular hash I got had chorizo! You could have chosen bacon or sausage as well, but chorizo was speaking to me that morning.

We like to have ground sausage on hand, so that is what we used for this particular recipe!

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Home Maintenance: Spring To-Do’s

There has been so much “tidying up” going on around here and I thought I would share what happens around the house when spring hits since we are going through it!

Upkeep on a home is no joke – especially with a lot of outdoor space – whew. Honestly, I can’t even believe the amount of to-do’s we have going on and some of the things we never even get to! It doesn’t help that I am the type of person dealing with this internal battle, “Why should I pay someone when I can do it myself?” (my husband, exact opposite).

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Tip Jar Tuesday: My Garden Journal

Welp, it snowed again and we are dealing with more freeze warnings around here. As most of you know by now, I LOVE flowers and gardening! Our fluctuating May temps and cold snaps here in Northeast Ohio has made for A LOT of difficulties in the gardening space. I have been checking the weather non-stop, and I hope we are in the clear of cold weather for good by this weekend. Peace out, COLD!

I thought today’s tip jar would be a perfect thing to share as I will begin all my planting this weekend! I’m loving how my garden journal has turned out and highly recommend creating your own if you have a lot of garden beds that need more plants, forget when the right time for pruning is, are doing a cut flower or vegetable garden, or you want to better understand your landscaping.

Let’s take a look at some of the main things I highlight in my binder!

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Motherhood Monday: My Kiddos

First off, Happy Mother’s Day to every MOM out there! I am praying for you all today!

To my incredible Mom, thank you for showing me what selflessness is. You don’t appreciate what Mom’s do, or even see the little things until you are in it, so thank you for IT.ALL. – being my advocate, listener, example of faith, advice giver, rock, and best friend. It has been so amazing watching you become a Grandma and I am EXTREMELY blessed to have a Mom like you!

I also wish Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing Mother-in-Law for raising the most incredible man ever. I am so blessed to have you in my life as a bonus Mom! Raising 5 kids, I could not even imagine! Thank you for the person you are! The kids are so lucky to call you their Grandma!!

To my Grandma, my husband’s Grandma, our deceased Grandmothers and all other Moms I’ve been so blessed to be surrounded by in my life (Aunts, sister-in-laws, cousins and friends) wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day as well!

I figured the day after Mother’s Day would be the perfect day to add Motherhood Monday to the mix on my blog. I thought this would be a fun way to answer questions I’ve had, share insights discovered and be a resource to others all things related to being MOM! At times it will be light and fun and at other times I envision it raw and real.

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A Cinco Drinko – Coconut Mango Margaritas

Good morning everyone! Happy Cinco de Mayo! The quarantine is definitely making Cinco de Mayo plans look a little different for everyone this year!

Since we will be home and not out at a restaurant, we decided to share a twist on a regular mango margarita that you can make at home. My husband is OBSESSED with Bai Flavored water. They are SO SO good and there are so many different flavors! We’ve always said how tasty they would be in all different types of mixed drinks and cocktails – you could really get creative!

We decided we wanted to doctor up a coconut mango inspired margarita in honor of Cinco de Mayo. This is a slushie margarita and can be adjusted in many different ways to fit your taste palette.

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Thursday Thoughts: Dear Quarantine Time

Over the past several weeks particularly, I have found myself thinking what life is going to be like after we come out from our homes and gradually start returning to “normal” life (and I use that lightly). There are so many things we took for granted and having that “freedom” taken from us has really made me appreciate the little things more. During this time, I’ve also discovered to not be so hard on myself, which I explain down below. I’m sure so many of us can relate to this, and hope this can help you get through the “final” stretch.

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What We’re Cookin’ Wednesday – Feeding Kids

I am always interested in seeing what other people are serving their kids for lunches and dinners. I try my best to feed my kiddos healthy meals as much as possible, but I also want them to EAT too. Luckily, my kids do crave fruits and veggies A LOT – so that is not the issue. Today I am sharing some lunches, dinners and snacks we have around here. By no means am I an absolute health nut. We do the best we can around here so I am sharing realistic meals that the kids really enjoy!

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TAKE TWO: Spring Garden Tour: Pruning and Maintenance

My plan was to share some pruning and maintenance tips from my garden last Thursday, but we woke up to 3 inches of snow…terrible!

This weekend I was out cleaning some of my gardens and decided to share some tips, pics and videos with you on how I maintain and prune in the spring. I live in Zone 6a where we have cold and snowy winters. Step 1, it’s important to know your zone – this will help you determine what plants will survive in your climate.

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Tip Jar Tuesday: Easter Basket Ideas

One of the things I look forward to all year is putting together my kid’s Easter baskets! Just like Christmas, it is so fun to watch pure joy and happiness happen right in front of us.

This year though, circumstances are a bit different. I was lucky enough to HAVE to run in to Target to pick up baby wipes that I could not place for order pickup and quickly went through the toy/Easter section to grab some of the staple items I am always putting in their baskets.

I figured I would share some of the items I put in my kid’s baskets this year! It is nothing earth shattering given the fact I couldn’t browse through the store for things – which is one of my favorite things to do every spring!

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