STRESSED.....!

Working, running your kids to soccer practice, making dinner, working out, cleaning the house, finding time to sleep; the list goes on and on and on. Life is busy and can overwhelming stressful most of the time. No matter how many things we try eliminate to simplify our lives another things seems fill the gaps. Learning how to deal with stress that will help improve your emotional health and ultimately increase how you function in your daily life.

Here are some simple tips to help you handle the stress in your life:

1. Create a stress diary: At night write down the things that caused you the most stress that day. Write about how you reacted to the stressor and make a vow to yourself to react differently in the situation next time. This way you learn how to react positively to the stressful moments and not let them wear you down.

2. Focus on your breathing: Try to find a quiet moment of your day and place your hand on your abdomen. Close you eyes and focus on breathing normally through your belly and not your chest. Try it! It really has relaxing benefits!

3. Muscle Relaxation: Starting at your feet and working your way up through the muscles of your body, tense each muscle for 5-10 seconds and then release. Focus on the difference of how the muscles feel when they are tense they how they feel when they are relaxed. Try doing this a few times throughout the day to help you relax the muscles in your body and hopefully release some tension.

4. Listen to music: Doesn't have to classical music but any kind of relaxing music you enjoy should do the trick. This allows you to hopefully get your mind off what has been causing you stress and you get to listen to something you enjoy in the meantime.


Give these this suggestions a try and see how your emotional health improves one day at a time!

Our Favorites!

Maybe this goes without saying, but since we sist3rs have different interests we all seem to read different blogs. Whether the topic be cooking, sewing, or exercising, we love blogs that are fun and creative and inspiring. So today, just for fun, we thought that we would share a few of our favorites with you. Maybe they are some of your favorites already or maybe they are new to you. Just get ready to be inspired!

Sewing and Crafting Blogs

My favorite blog at the moment is Under the Sycamore. Everyday I get so excited to see what creative idea Ashley has come up with or what fun thing her family has been up to. Opening her blog is like opening a little present everyday because her photography is amazing! I can only dream of being as cool as her someday.

Under the Sycamore

Sewing in no mans land is my favorite sewing blog. My style is very similar to Kelly’s. I want to create everything that she creates. She posts the most fabulous tutorials!

Sewing in No Mans Land

  

Couponing Blogs

Couponing to Disney is so fun because Kristin uses all her savings from couponing for her family’s yearly trip to Disney! I love the idea, and I love all the great Disney advice she gives!

Couponing To Disney

 

The reason I love this next blog, Hip 2 Save, is because Collin posts the latest and greatest deals. Most deals that she posts you have to jump on quickly. She makes couponing very exciting!

Hip 2 Save

I love Money Saving Mom because not only does Crystal post great ways to save money, but she always posts about ways to improve your overall self and how to become a better person.

Money Saving Mom

Cooking Blogs

Mel’s Kitchen Cafe pretty much got me hooked on cooking. I love Mel’s style of cooking and I her love of food.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Our Best Bites always posts the funnest food ideas for every occasion. Everything is super yummy!

Our Best Bites

 

 

Exercise and Nutrition Blogs

I love Pojo because it offers fun and fresh ideas about exercising and nutrition.

Pojo Fitness

Live Strong is so cool because it offers great exercise and nutrition tips as well as real weight loss success stories!

Live Strong

Those are just a few of our favorites. What are some of yours?

Blueberry muffins

Today is my husbands birthday (happy birthday babe!) One of his favorite treats is muffins. He told me for his birthday breakfast he wanted muffins from a box. That's right, a box! I looked at him like he was crazy, said "no way" and set out to find a delicious blueberry muffin recipe. I looked at a lot of recipes and picked what I thought would be the best one. Although I wish these muffins were a little sweeter, they are definitely delicious and worth making! The yummy streusel on top really makes this muffin.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS TOPPED WITH STREUSEL

Source: Our Best Bites

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. lemon peel
1 large egg
1 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. oil
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping
1/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together in a large bowl flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and citrus peel. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and oil. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold the blueberry mixture into the batter. Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins, filling 2/3 full.

To make the streusel topping, combine the 1/4 c. sugar, 2 1/2 Tbsp. flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter and bake for 18 minutes or until the tops are golden  Makes 12 muffins.

How to Prepare For a Trip to Disney World

My sisters probably want to kick me for posting this. Sorry girls! See our family has a little bit on an obsession with Disney. Ever since I was 12 my family has managed to make Disney World an almost yearly tradition. The closest we have ever lived to Orlando is Chicago. We have only moved farther and farther away since. It’s not like it’s a quick trip in the car. We LOVE Disney and we can’t seem to get enough of it! I actually told my husband when we were first married that we needed to make room in the budget for yearly trips to Disney. He thought I was kidding. This is our third year of marriage and our third trip to Disney. I think he is starting to catch on :)

 

This week some of our family, minus Whitney and Lauren- you will be missed, are headed to Disney World to celebrate our brothers upcoming graduation from High School. I am so excited! I have a few tips today on how to prepare and what to craft before you head to Disney :)

 

First, you need to prepare mentally.  You need to study up on all things Mickey Mouse.  

Next, you need to prepare physically. There is no harm in changing up your diet shortly before trips to Disney World.

 

*Actually that caramel apple is from my last Disney visit. But how cool is that?

Third, you need to put your sewing machine to the test. A trip to Disney requires an entirely new wardrobe. Especially if you are celebrating your first birthday while you are there :)

  

With all of this rigorous Disney preparation, you must remember to take time for yourself. What better way to do that then by creating cute accessories to wear.

I think we are ready for Disney! I can’t wait!

A Winner and a Bonus for Everyone!

The generator has spoken…

Congratulations Keely! #186

*I will be getting in touch shortly.

Thanks to all of you that made the giveaway a success. And because you are all so fantastic, and because I love celebrating the boy I am offering 10% off at Super Baby until Midnight on Friday, February 26.

Just enter the coupon code CTB2011 if ordering from Etsy.

or

Leave a message in note to seller with the code CTB2011 and you will receive a 10% refund through paypal if ordering through Goodsie.

(Sorry if having the two stores is confusing. I am still in the process of deciding which one to use. If anyone has some advice one way or the other I wouldn’t mind hearing it.)

But that is not all! If you blog about the sale then you get an additional 10% off.  Just send me the link to the post in the note to seller.

Have fun shopping!

Celebrate the Boy- GIVEAWAY! (Now Closed)

I am honored to be participating in Celebrate the Boy month with Made and Made by Rae. A whole month dedicated to boys, those ladies are genius!

Today I get to tell you about my boy shop! And most importantly you get the chance at some pretty awesome free bibs!

 

Super Baby (which can be found Here and Here) was created out of desperation. I could not find a bib for my drool covered son. Yes, there are lots of bibs out there, but none that fit my style. So I decided to create my own and offer them to you in case I wasn’t alone in my quest for a stylish drool bib.

These bibs are wonderful! All bibs are lined with oilcloth so baby stays dry and most importantly happy!

Bibs are not the only thing that Super Baby sells. I am now offering a variety of simple yet fun T-Shirts for boys.

And for this weekend only I am putting up the famous Tissue Monsters for sale, in case you don’t want to make your own.

Lots of fun boy stuff for you to check out!

Now what you have all been waiting for… THE GIVEAWAY.

I am giving away not one, but TWO bibs to ONE lucky winner!!!

Requirements for entry:

* Go check out Super Baby (Here or Here) and then come back and leave a comment on which item is your favorite, that's it!

*NOT A REQUIRMENT- But feel free to become a blog follower or even vote for me in American Crafter (see post below), but no pressure  :)
* Leave your EMAIL ADDRESS in your comment, which may be written as: angela (at) hotmail (d0t) com, if you're worried about leaving your real address in cyberspace.
* Only One entry per person.
* If you forget something and need to leave a second comment, go back and DELETE your first comment. To delete a comment, click on the trashcan icon next to your comment.
* Open to US readers only.
* ONE winner will be picked via random.org
* Giveaway ends Sunday 2/20/11 at 10pm (Eastern Time). The winner will be announced on Monday.

Thanks for celebrating with Super Baby!

Because you are all so fantastic, and because I love celebrating the boy I am offering 10% off at Super Baby until Midnight on Friday, February 26.

Just enter the coupon code CTB2011 if ordering from Etsy.

or

Leave a message in note to seller with the code CTB2011 and you will receive a 10% refund through paypal if ordering through Goodsie.

(Sorry if having the two stores is confusing. I am still in the process of deciding which one to use. If anyone has some advice one way or the other I wouldn’t mind hearing it.)

But that is not all! If you blog about the sale then you get an additional 10% off.  Just send me the link to the post in the note to seller.

Have fun shopping!

A Night on the Town… 1940’s Style

This week on American Crafter the theme was vintage. I decided to focus on creating a couple of vintage style accessories.

First I created a fascinator. It’s a vintage headpiece worn during the 1940’s. I used a variety of mediums- lace, fabric, felt, feathers, flowers and tulle.

Then I created a vintage style lace handbag to also accompany the outfit.

Here is my attempt at modeling it all. I love the simplicity and the elegance. Now I am ready for a night on the town… 1940’s style.

 

I’ve been 6th the last two weeks! If I am 6th again that means that I am out, and that I don’t get to go to the finals! So go vote if you think I deserve to be in the top 3!

 

Question of the Day

Dear Whitney,





I need couponing help! As you know, I am a beginner. I am trying to learn from your couponing ways, but I don't ever feel like I am saving that much. I usually only average 20% savings at the grocery store. Don't get me wrong, that's great, but what should my average savings be? Also I feel like I can never find coupons for things that I actually need or will use. Am I looking in the wrong place? (I usually look at King Soopers or Krogers website. I also go to coupons.com) Any tips would be helpful thanks!


Love, Angie


Dear Angie,

I know it can be very overwhelming to begin to coupon. You see all these people getting awesome deals and it makes you feel discouraged. You cannot compare yourselves to others. If before you were only saving 0-5% then 20% is a huge success and you should be proud of yourself! For me, I feel good if I save 50% or more. But that is just me.

To answer the second part of your question, how you can never find coupons for things you need or will use. That might be because you are only seeing very little of what coupons are out there. If you are only looking on coupons.com and King Soopers, you are really narrowing your options. If you want to save significantly you are going to have the get a Sunday newspaper. I know it's easy to think I don't want to spend the money. If you don't spend the money on the newspaper you will be spending A LOT more at the store without it. Ask your in laws or family members if they get the paper and get the Sunday coupon inserts from them. I know sometimes you can't always find the exact thing you are looking for with coupons. You have to be flexible. You can't be brand loyal. Even if there are not food coupons you like, there are tons of household products you can use coupons for. I don't pay for razors, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes or things like that anymore. There are still tons of ways to save if you aren't using a single food coupon. I hope this helps and gives you encouragement to keep saving money!

Love, Whitney

What are your coupon or grocery saving tips? I would love to know!

Making Colds Fun!

My son is only 10 months old so I have to still take care of his runny noses. And boy does he hate it when I do. Even though he is a tad too young to use these, I thought I would create a tissue monster for him to use in the future. That way it may make it a little more fun for him and I can avoid(as much as possible) the wiping nose on shirt, or wiping nose on hand and then spreading germs to everything that he touches.


Last weeks theme was “Let it Snow!” My mom didn’t feel like these fit the wintery theme. So I made another just for the contest… the Abominable Snowman!
 
You can see the resemblance, right?

These were so fun and so easy to make! Let me share a quick tutorial.

Supplies Needed: 2-3 colors of felt One button Scissors Ruler Kleenex Hot glue gun Embroidery thread and needle

	Step 1. I made mine to fit the standard Kleenex brand tissue to-go package. I don’t know if there are other brands out there. If you are using another brand, you may want to double check the measurements before you cut your felt. I cut a 6 1/2 inch by 6 1/2 inch square.
	Step 2. Next fold both ends of the square until they meet in middle.
	Step 3. Next measure 1/2 an inch from the end. Take your needle and thread and sew six stitches on each end.
	Step 4. Next cut out six triangles along each edge
	Step 5. Next stitch a cross for one eye. Then stitch a button for the other eye.
	Step 6. Next cut a 1 inch by 5 inch strip of felt. This is for the mouth. Choose a different color felt from what you used for the body. For my boy monster I cut out triangles for the teeth. For the girl monster I rounded the edges. You can decided how you want the teeth to look. Then I just used hot glue to attach the mouth to the body.
	Step 7. Next cut out two, 3/4 inch by 2 inch pieces of felt.These are for the legs.
	Step 8. Next cut two, 3/4 inch slits below the mouth for the legs. Then pull the legs through from the inside.
	Step 9. Next cut out two 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch squares of felt. These are for the toes. Also cut two triangles to form the toes.
	Step 10. Next attach your feet by using your needle and thread. I just made one stitch.
	Step 11. You can attach your legs two ways. For the red monster I stitched the legs to the back. For the pink monster I was lazy so I just used hot glue to attach them. You are gluing the legs to the inside so no one will see the glue. Either way will work. All Done!

 

Tissue Monsters!

And I think they are in love… ok it’s Valentines day I had to throw in the love somewhere.