Mother's Day gift ideas...

In honor of Mother's day (which is less than 3 weeks off, people), I thought that I would compile a list of my favorite things. That's right. My favorite things! Well, I am a mama, right? Besides, I thought it might help you decide on a gift for the mama in your life.

This necklace is gorgeous and the price is pretty spiffy too. It tops my list! *hint, hint Jason*

Anything LUSH! Now if you've been reading this blog for a while, it's no surprise that I am a huge LUSH fan. It's all natural, Canadian made (although available in the U.S.), earth friendly (Happy Earth Day, by the way) and everything smells good enough to eat. My faves are Avobath Bath Bomb, Godiva Solid Shampoo and Rock Star Soap. So yummy!

I love to go for mini hikes with my family. Add a picnic and you've got the perfect Mother's Day afternoon. Include some brie, a French baguette and some chilled NY produced Pinot Noir Blanc or a bottle of Perrier and it's even better!

I wouldn't mind getting a certificate for a massage or a facial at a local day spa.

Nor would a refuse a clean house that I didn't have to clean.

You can never go wrong with candy. Yes, very cliché, I know. But really, who doesn't love their own private stash of Godiva or Jelly Belly?

Flowers are always appreciated, but I would personally prefer a couple of flats of perennials to plant around the garden or a potted plant for the deck. They last longer and mom will have a constant reminder of how much you care.

And last, but certainly not least, a family photo session with a professional photographer is the perfect gift for mom. And, how convenient! I happen to know a couple of really good photographers that can do just that ;)

Baby proofing a hotel room...

Whenever we go to a hotel with our youngsters, we pack a roll of painter's tape along with the rest of our overnight necessities. It is the perfect baby proofing tool that can be used in a number of places to protect your babies and toddlers, and it easily peels away when you are leaving, so you can be confident that every surface will go unharmed, both on your baby, and on the room!

Use #1 & 2: plug protector on an empty plug or, on a used one, it also makes it tamper proof.

Use #3: drawer lock.

Use #4: cupboard lock.

And it works!


Do you have any tips or tricks for travelling with youngsters?

Desk organizer...

I've been trying to get organized for... oh, I'm not sure how long... my whole life. Does that sound completely pathetic?
My desk is one of the places that needed the most improvement, but this little file basket seems to have helped...


It's just a wire file basket from Tar-jay filled with some pretty file folders labeled to help me organize some of my problematic pile-ables. There was enough room left over for my address book, a couple sizes of envelopes and a package of blank note cards. Plus I've been using one of the flowers as a nifty list holder.


So, I'm probably still not completely organized in my office, but when the desktop is clean, I can at least look organized. And that's good enough for me!

Printable freezer labels...

You can print out some of these cute freezer labels by visiting the Martha Stewart website. They have tons of printables over there, including some darling jam labels which I also saved for the next time I make my apricot chutney. Ideally, these labels should be printed on self-adhesive paper, but since I didn't have any, I used regular paper and packing tape.


The recipe for the Salsa Soup that I have in my freezer comes from Stephanie at A Year of Crockpotting , and it is a-maze-ing! I followed her recipe, but left out the mushrooms and served it with the sour cream on the side for dolloping. This can easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the chicken, swapping the chicken broth for veggie stock and adding more veggies. Bell peppers would have been fantastic!

Organizing kids clothes...

Clearance season is here! 25¢ socks, 3.50$ p.j.'s, shirts and pants for 1.70 - 5.00$! Between Old Navy, Target and a couple of other fantastic sales, I have gathered up a nifty little shop-ahead wardrobe for my two kids. But I also got a huge storage issue. So then I got smart!
I stored those super cheap socks in resealable bags marked with the size and intended user...


And then stored the baggies of socks, along with the p.j.'s, winter hats (50¢ each), and shoes in the clear zippered bag that our comforters came in...


The hanging clothes posed the biggest problem, but after searching around for clothing dividers online, I decided that I could make my own, for free, and not blow all my savings on storage. So I explained to my personal graphic designer, aka the hubby, what I needed and he came up with these beauties. And since we already went to all the trouble of designing them, here is the template. You just need to mark your own sizes! We printed them out on cardboard (it was actually the cardboard backings that we've been saving from our packages of photo paper) and I carefully cut each one out...


Instead of trying to cram everything into the kid's closets I stored all of the hanging items and my clear zipper bag in the empty guest room closet...


So, this only means one thing, right? Now I can go shopping again!!!