Free Photo Flipbook from Vistaprint

Here is another great freebie from Vistaprint, a photo flipbook

Better late than never!

A few of you requested a picture of the scarecrow my kids made at the Scarecrow Fest I posted about earlier, and I finally took one

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Oliver's Labels

When you have kids, you learn that they have the ability to lose just about anything, or even better, come home from school with something that does not even resemble their item (shoes...).  I recently got some labels from Oliver's Labels with my daughter's name on them (in the cute polka dot pattern below) to put on all her belongings, which tend to wander off on her.

These labels are so cute, and they stick on very well.  They offer all different kinds and sizes, some small ones for school supplies and some especially for clothing items.

I think these are great for kids that have food allergies.  Sometimes teachers or babysitters do not know, or can forget about a food allergy.

They even have these cute footprint ones for the inside of shoes, a left one for the left shoe and a right one for the right shoe.  I have already stuck these to all my daughter's stuff, her DS, Mp3 player, coat, sketchbook, SHOES.  The other really neat thing that Oliver's Label's offers is a Found-it Tracking System for your kid's stuff

This is an example of what a label with the tracking system looks like.  If you ever lose an item with a Found-it tracking system code, have no fear! When someone finds it they will be prompted to go to a special page on the website with instructions to enter the code on the label.  They then match you to your Found-it tracking system code and send you a notification email right away. Oliver’s Labels acts as an intermediary between you and the finder so you never have to share any of your personal information!  This is a must for school age children!

Product review & giveaway disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Anyone going to the Chicago Blogger's Brunch?

I am so *Giddy* today!  I got an invite to attend the Chicago Blogger's Brunch on Nov. 20th!  This is my first blogger meetup and I am having a small anxiety attack about it, and about the fact that I will be going to the city ALONE!  I'm not much of a city person, love to visit, would never live there...and refuse to drive in it.  I will have to take the train in, then take a cab....ALONE!  Do I sound like a baby?  This is a big deal to me, I don't do well with crowds, but I'm not gonna miss this.  In addition, I get to attend the Chicago Toy and Game Fair earlier that morning with the media, before the public gets there YAY!  May need to get some anti-anxiety meds before all this.  (So EXciTEd!)  Oh and if you are going, keep your eyes open for this girl

She may be in the corner of the room breathing into a brown paper bag...

Stock up for the Holidays!

Get some great books from Children's Book of the Month Club, right now they are offering 6 books for $2 plus a free gift.  Here are some of my kids favorites

They love anything Olivia!

And who doesn't like a little Shel Silverstein

Plus Columbia House is offering 3 DVD's for $1 each (plus shipping and handeling)

And if you need some reading material for yourself for those long winter months then Doubleday book club is offering 5 books for .99 (plus shipping and handeling)

5 ingredient, sugar-free, banana muffins

Made some yummy muffins from my new cookbook, Five Ingredient Fix, I ate half of them myself...don't judge...here is the recipe

Brown Butter Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

4 ripe bananas

1 egg

1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, line 12 muffin tins with paper muffin liners (I didn't use any, just greased them with cooking spray)

Put the butter in a small saucepan or skillet and melt over medium heat.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown, remove from heat and let cool.

Mash bananas in a large bowl with a fork until liquified.  Add the honey and egg and stir well.  Pour in the butter and whisk until combined.  Fold in flour, do not over mix.  Divide batter among the muffin tins.  Bake for 25 minutes, cool for 5 and enjoy!

If you do not have self rising flour on hand, you can make it by adding  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt to one cup all purpose flour.

Oh and my new guilty pleasure...plum butter...

Help a Friend or Relative in Need

Nearing  the holidays, a lot of people make donations to charity or want to help others less fortunate out. Now there is a way to help a friend or loved one going through a crisis in a special way, the Human Tribe Project.  This is a free online resource that enables people to create Tribes to keep family and friends connected with a loved one in need and provide emotional and financial help.

Ribbon pins and rubber band bracelets have been around for ages, but Tribe Tags are personal. They carry the initials of the person the Tribe is rallying around to support. Plus, they’re affordable – the steel version sells for $20, with $15 going to the Tribe beneficiary as a tax-free gift. Sterling silver Tribe Tags sell for $100, $75 of which is given directly to the beneficiary.  The founder of the Human Tribe project developed it in memory of her long time friend from Chicago, who died from a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.

Human Tribe Project is not a non-profit organization, and differs from many fundraising institutions. Instead of directing money toward research or through a large non-profit requiring extensive administrative and operational costs, Human Tribe Project gives money directly to individuals in need, at the time of their need. Unlike most other organizations, one hundred percent of the money gifted through Human Tribe Project goes directly to the individuals in need.

For more information or to spread the word visit the Human Tribe Project website

Time Buddy Winner

And the winner of the Time Buddy is.....

Congrats Melanie! Going to email you right away!

Holiday Card Dilemma

I cannot believe it is already time to start thinking about Holiday cards!  Every year I run into the same problem...what picture to use on our Christmas photo cards...Do I just use one? Just the kids? The whole family?  I know I cannot commit to just one picture, and another thing that is for certain is that the pictures HAVE to be black and white.  Ok so at least I made some sort of decisions.  I checked out the selection of new cards at Shutterfly and I have narrowed it down to three options

The first one is a folding card so I love that, but the second has an even number of photo spots, so if I choose to just do the kid's pictures I can do three of each kid.  Number three, yes I know only two spots for pics, is so simple and beautiful.  I might just have to take some new pics of my little angels so I can use number three.  I also love that all three already have something written on them, so I don't have to come up with anything clever to write, just add our names.  You would not believe how hard I think about what to write, and everything I DO write always seem so cheesy when I look back at it.  With these Shutterfly  holiday photo cards I totally have it easy.  With Shutterfly I also know I am going to get a great finished product that I can send out to my friends and family.
Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.




This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Spookley Winner

I have a winner of the Kidtoons Spookley the Square Pumpkin giveaway....

Congrats Erica, going to email you right now!

 

Green Ostrich

As a kid, living in Poland, I remember collecting pieces of colored glass.  This may sound weird to you, but I thought the little bits of glass were beautiful.  There was a cobble stone street near my grandmother's house where, for some reason, there was always a lot of broken glass, in just about every color.  My favorite was red and blue.  I was so excited when I received a chance to review the Reclaimed 1940s Ice Blue Mason Jar Pendant from Green Ostrich.

Isn't it beautiful?  I love it and have been getting so many complements on it, how original and unique it is.  It is now my favorite necklace by far, especially since it reminds me of being a kid :)

This jewelry is handmade in Pennsylvania from antique glass, dishware, and bottles reclaimed from the natural wooded habitats and rural farmlands. The glass in this ice blue pendant, hung from a sterling silver wire, originates from a 1940s Mason Jar, commonly used for preserving and canning fruit, vegetables, and jelly.  Its like wearing a real piece of American history.

Green Ostrich offers so much  more than stunning reclaimed jewelry, they offer a wide variety of green products for your home, for gifts, for school and many, many more items.

Check out this 9 piece baking starter set which is heavy duty, dishwasher-safe and  made from 100% recycled, BPA-free, phthalate-free, and melamine-free plastic.  I love the bright, bold colors.

They offer organic cotton baby items

                                                                            Pet toys

and beeswax candles

You really have to browse through the site to see everything they have to offer.  A great site to start your eco friendly holiday shopping.  Green Ostrich is a "woman-owned business founded in 2009 based just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Green Ostrich™ started with the following observation: the energy-intensive retail stores that we frequent do not offer many Earth-friendly, green products. That, and we were spending a lot of time and energy driving in our car to and from these stores."  

"To save the Earth, we have to refresh the resources we borrow. Using Earth-friendly products in our daily lives helps. Learn to recognize them. Demand them. Buy them . . . if not from us, from someone else. Doing that consistently will move markets and governments, and the Earth will rebound from its concerning negative trends."

You can purchase any of the items above as well as many more by visiting Green Ostrich.

** I was sent a necklace for review, all opinions are 100% my own and I was not compensated for this review**

 

Printable coupons for Halloween Candy!

New printable coupons for Halloween Candy.

-$2.00 off ONE (1) Nestle Candy Variety Bag

- $1.50 off ONE (1) Wonka Mixups

- $2.00 off ONE (1) Wonka® Best on the Block

- $2.50 off TWO (2) Nestle Candy Variety Bags

- $1.50 off any THREE (3) bags Skittles, Starburst, Lifesavers

CSN Stores, your go to site!

I am excited that I will once again have the opportunity to do a review for CSN Stores in the near future.  I am always amazed at all the stuff they have to offer.  I was just browsing through all their dining room furniture and drooling over some dining chairs for my table.  My kids have sort of destroyed mine between running into them with the walker, tipping them over etc., etc.  With over 200 stores online they really have just about everything.  Stay tuned for my review of something awesome from CSN Stores!

 

FREE Photo Book From Picaboo ENDS TODAY!

Get a free Classic photo book at Picaboo! Use code FALLBK through October 25, 2010.  For all new customers, you can even choose the leather cover, I got mine and I love it!  Hurry ends TODAY!

Free Calendar from Vista Print

Its time to start shopping for calendars for 2011, can you believe it...here is a free photo calendar offer from Vistaprint

Enjoy!

This is my Goose...

Well, my dog actually, Lucy (Short for Lucy in the sky with Diamonds).  I started calling her Lucy Goosey then just Goose.  Anyway this is what she looked like as a puppy

Ok, get it out, Awwwwwww...

She was the cutest puppy.  I do not have any current pics of her due to the fact she won't sit still long enough for me to get a good one.  Why am I posting this little tribute to my Aussie?  Because I think sometimes she doesn't get as much credit as our other dog, for being a good dog.  She has anxiety issues and sometimes barks at the weirdest things (mailboxes, garbage bags, just about anything she sees on a walk...) which can get annoying at times, but she really is so loving.  My daughter has been laying on the couch the majority of the day with a fever, and Goose has been at her side the whole time.  Not on the couch of course because I would freak, but sitting next to her and putting her head by her face.  She really is a good dog, and I love the way she waggles her whole butt when she is happy (which is all the time) since she has not tail to wag.