Organize!

It's a new year!  It's time for goal setting and new adventures!   I love this time of year!

I thought it would be fun to do a few organizing posts for those of your with goals to organize in the new year.  Organizing can be overwhelming, but if you have the right supplies and a little time it can be a lot of fun!  It doesn't have to be expensive either!

For you the first post I am showing you the inside of my kitchen, how I organized it and where I bought all of my organizing helpers.

The most important thing to me is organized my utensils, cups and plates...if they aren't organized it takes forever to unload the dishwasher, but with a few quick fixes putting dishes away never was easier.

My utensil drawer.  I have a lot of measuring cups because I bake so much.  I keep the 3 separate sets stacked and in little white baskets I found at Walmart I believe it was $2 for 3 baskets.  The basket on the right also has my measuring spoons.  I have a hard time keeping them super organized so i just stack them nicely in no real order.  

The baskets I have my whisks and spatulas in I got at Walmart as well in the kitchen section.  Then I place a few things I rarely use behind all the baskets.

The one thing to keep in mind when using baskets is to get the no slip drawer inserts.  This is a roll I got at Walmart and it has done all of my drawers in my kitchen and bathroom and was under $5.  (You can see it under my spatula it is a brown non stick that I just cut to fit the drawer. 

My silverware drawer I have 3 separate baskets.  They were all from the same line at the container store.  A little pricey but I love how clean I can keep the mesh.  I made sure to put some more non slip surface below it.   I always try to have a little space for all of my clips for the tops of bags or anything I need to close.  If they just float around the drawer they are hard to find and you always need them at the weirdest times!  

Cups and plates...everyone has their own method on this one.  I only buy white plates and cups (or glass) because they are easier to see if they are clean or not (the germ-a-phobe in me) but I always put my glasses facing down, they don't tip as easily and they stay much cleaner.  Just make sure you find a system that works for you.  It may take a few times of rearranging to find a way that makes sense and is easy to use!  Don't be afraid to re-organize something you already have organized I do it ALL the time!  That is how you find a good system!! 

Here is my food cupboard.  Our breakfast shelf is on the bottom...I know we are almost out of oatmeal I need to get to the store!  The container for the oatmeal is amazing but pricey.  I found it here at the container store.  I also store my flour and sugar in similar containers, they are air tight and easy to open.

The top shelf is where we keep all of our treats.  The plastic thin containers I found here at ikea (they have the two sizes the tall and the shorter ones) and the glass ones on the left I found at Ross (some of my best finds are in the kitchen section at Ross!)

I call this my drink cupboard.  The bottom shelf is mostly herbal coffee and tea and hot chocolate packets.  The containers on the left are flower vases I use when we have a party...I thought why not just use them all of the time!  I got them at Walmart in the kitchen section.  I LOVE the salt grinders you can buy at Walmart on the baking isle.  I have the pepper one behind the salt you just cant see it.

The baskets above the drink shelf are all of my spices.  It is easy to line them up on their sides.  One basket is mainly baking spices the other is cooking spices.  So when I need spices I just pull the baskets down and can see them all at one.  Better yet I am not constantly trying to make them stand up right or loosing any of them.  

These two areas are where I store all of our throw away stuff.  I send a lunch with Ted ever day and so I always include a fork or spoon and a few napkins.  The black baskets I found for those were in the kitchen tupperware isle at Walmart.  I love them!  I have now used them in several other places in our house!

On Sundays Ted and I try not to cook and we try to use throw away things to make it more of a easy day for us.  (my day off!!  ha ha!) So I always have silverware, cups, plates and bowls.  It makes it so much easier!  I am not going to lie we use them a lot of other days too!  ha ha!  

Well that is most of my kitchen!  Let me know if you have any questions!  I know you can do it!  Next week we will tackle the bathroom...which is the hardest one for me to find a good system!

Have a great week!!

Money, more than just numbers.

One of my biggest goals this past year was to fine tune our budget.  I am a total math nerd so it sounded fun to me.  It was about half way through the year when I realized that money and budgets aren't just about the actual numbers...the money you spend can go further than just simply saving money or spending money.

I first understood the basics of this idea when I married Ted 9 years ago.  I watched his dad and every time he wanted to buy something or needed his car serviced or anything where he was spending money, if he knew someone who had a shop that sold it, or his brothers friends cousin sold that type of bike he would always buy from a place where his money would make a difference, and not only giving the shop money but supporting their cause and showing your trust in them.

As I worked on our budget this year I realized that you can budget your money fairly easy, but how was I to maximize the money that I was spending to not only fulfill my needs but help those people around me.

I love buying from friends and family.  This Christmas Ted and I made a goal to buy as many gifts from our friends with businesses as possible or choose locally run stores to buy from.  In a way it felt like our money was going further than just simply buying a present, it was helping a small business owner out as well.  (We do the same thing when we eat out but that is for a later post :)

So I thought I would share a few of the places I bought stuff from this year.  They are friends and family that have great businesses that I am excited to share with you! (The names of the stores are linked to each individual websites)

Please share any businesses that you or your friends or family own or use!  I am always looking for more business to support!

Rae Revival on Etsy

Beautiful hand made jewelry with a little sas!  

PrettiLilThings on Etsy

Honestly the cutest hand crocheted bows around!  She makes them for all ages! 

Bebecha

Bow ties and suspenders for men and kiddos and cute hair bows!  

This is my nephew wearing a set from Bebecha we got him for Christmas, he is so cute!

Treasure Box Trio on Etsy

You probably have seen a few posts here and on facebook about these shirts

Honestly the most comfy cute shirts!  This one I am wearing above even has a hood!

If you are here in Arizona a great new place opened up at the Biltmore Mall.  It is called The Union.  It is a seciton of small stores that are all locally built and operated and it is so fun to browse through all their cute stuff!  There are several local clothing stores, Smeeks a local candy store, a retro bike store.  Trust me you need to try it out!

New Years Fitness Resolution

This year I started a new years resolution a few weeks early....and I want you to join me!

I watched an interview with a previous Heinemann Trophy winner who said how he got ahead was by doing 5,000 pushups and 5,000 sit-ups a day on top of his normal workout routine.

Where I know that 5,000 sit-ups and pushups is a little unattainable I decided to start with a goal of 200 sit-ups and 200 pushups on top of what I do every week for workout.  And anyone can do this!  No matter what your fitness level is..no matter if you workout or not we can all do a little more!

I started by simply doing 8 pushups 3 times, 3 times a day and at the same time I alternate in 15 sit-ups 3 times, 3 times a day.  That's already 135 sit-ups a day and 72 pushups a day!  And I am slowly adding more every few days.

I still do my normal weekly routine of working out and then 3 times a day a little alarm goes off and I drop and do my extra sit-ups and pushups.  I do them in between laundry, when I wake up, after I make dinner.....or any other time!  Just as long as I do it 3 times a day!

I have already noticed a huge difference in my arm strength!  The last set each time I do my sit up and push ups I do to failure.  So the first two sets I do 15 sit-ups and 8 pushups and the last set I go until I can't go any longer.  That means some times I do more than my first two sets and some times I do less.  The idea behind going to failure is to push yourself just that little bit extra!

Whether you work, have kids, both or have a crazy busy life and can't workout at all...you can all do this!

Here is a little video I filmed yesterday explaining it a little better.  I have been doing little video tutorials for a few sources so I decided I should do them for my own blog as well!

Here is to a healthy and happy New Year!!!

Healthy Eating

Ha ha this made me laugh!  What has happened to us!?

Ok so I have had tons of people ask me what Ted and I's "diet" is and how we eat healthy.  First off it really isn't a diet so much as our life style...but you will understand that more later.  And in no way am I an expert on this, we have just found something that works for us and has been pretty easy to maintain so I am sharing our theory on healthy eating :)

SIDE NOTE:  I have a lot of woman (friends and people I meet) that are so hard on themselves!  Some times they say things like I wish I could be skinny or this or that....well lately I have been saying - you have had X amount of kids!  Give yourself a break!  I would trade a different stomach line any day for even just one kiddo (for new comers Ted and I have been married 8 years and haven't been able to have kids of our own)!  Remember that no one is truly the same after just one pregnancy let alone after having several cute kids!  So give yourself some credit and please remember that you had a human in your stomach!

Ok now that I have said that :)  The truth is we can all eat better, exercise more, and do more...you just have to find what works for you!

Ted and I's healthy eating theory is simple: eat whole foods during the week Sunday -Friday every meal no exceptions.  Cut out most meat (especially red meat).  Eat only whole wheats.  Low sugar.  Lots of veggies.  That's it! (we count our calories to try to maintain a steady in take I am at about 1500-1600 a day and he is at about 2000)

Most whole food meals are so easy to prepare!  If you don't eat processed foods they need little preparation.  Our grocery bill has even gone down.  See below for some of our favorite whole food meals and snack ideas.

My favorite part!?  SATURDAY!  Saturday's we get to eat whatever we want for lunch and dinner (that means anything, any quantity, and thing we can think of)....so during the week if I crave my favorite candy bar (the new simply carmel milky way of course) or if Ted craves a big hamburger, we put it on our "eat on Saturday" list.

The first few weeks were hard....but after you hold tight to the weekly schedule Saturdays will make you sick!  We go all out dunkin' donuts, candy, ice cream, anything we want from 12pm until we go to bed!  Honestly it makes us sick for a few days afterward  making us not want bad food.  So by Wednesday when I start craving bad foods again Saturday isn't too far off and so it is realistic to wait a few days and  for me to just put my cravings on my Saturday list.

There are few reasons this works...one is what I mentioned above: the longer you eat healthy during the week and only eat badly on Saturday the less your body can tolerate the bad food.  Our Saturdays of later are pretty pathetic, our body can't handle nearly what it use to when we started serval months ago.

The second reason this works is caloric cycling, if you mix up your food you eat once in awhile it keeps your body in check and tricks it a little.  If you get in too much of a rut eating bad food all the time or just good food your body can get too use to it.

We have more energy, weight loss, muscle growth, my skin has never been better, and we are sleeping better.  It truly is amazing what our diet can do for us!

Ok so here are some of our favorite go to meals and snack ideas:

Breakfast 
- Oatmeal (not from a packet), you can still microwave it and I always add raisins and a little brown sugar
- Cream of What (again no packets) but the box still has microwave instructions and Ted loves it when I add chopped dates to his
- Baked Sweet potato with a little brown sugar (The Japanese say that their longevity and health is because they eat sweet potatoes for every meal)
- 2 eggs - I like mine scrambled Ted likes his fried or pouched
- Egg burrito - I just scramble 2 eggs for egg salt and pepper them and put them in a whole wheat tortilla with some fresh salsa for Ted

Lunch
- Wheat noodles
- Wheat pasta salad (I have some easy recipes if you want some let me know!)
- Ted likes brown rice with teriyaki chicken on top
- One of my go to's is a whole wheat peanut butter and jelly (with sugar free jelly)
-Veggie Sandwich
-Egg Sandwich
-Turkey Sandwich
-Veggie Hummus wrap

Dinner
- Our favorite easiest dinner are soba noodles pictured below we just salt and pepper them or use other seasoning or balsamic vinegar or soy sauce.  (these are a buckwheat noodle, really healthy, have protein, and only take 4 minutes to cook!)
- Pasta Salad (I usually make one a week and then we eat it for lunch the next day

- Hummus with a wheat pitta and veggies
- Stir fry veggies with low sodium teriyaki sauce over brown rice
- We do a variety of salads
- We love Mediterranean so a hummus pita wrap, or some of the boiled chicken or anything that is fresh and not fried at a restaurant

Snacks 
- Boiled Eggs
- Kind Bars (my favorite)
- Rock and Refuel protein drink
- Wheat Thins
- Greek Yogurt
- Pretzels dipped in the to go peanut butter cups
- Triscuits
- Fruit (apples, oranges, pears, peaches, nectarines)
- Veggies (carrot sticks and celery are our favorites)

Places we like with healthier menus
- Pei Wei - their Japanese rice bowls have grilled chicken and veggies and we get brown rice
- Any Mediterranean
- Cheesecake Factory - They have a new SkinnyLicious menu
- Luci's Healthy Market - you can have breakfast all day and they have buckwheat waffles and pancakes....they also have amazing wraps and hummus
- Zoe's 
- Robek's 

Every place you go you can find something pretty healthy!  You might just have to order it a little different than they have it listed :)

Hope this helps!  Send me any of your good ideas or recipes we are always dying to try new healthy things!

I already have an ice cream sundae with hot fudge on my Saturday list......

Hair

Recently I have seen a lot of people I haven't seen in awhile that I have met over the past eight years of Ted and I's marriage, and everyone always comments how different my hair is..it is lighter, longer, curlier....

I then realized that most people I know don't know truly how different my hair has been over the years!  So without further ado here are eight years of my crazy hair:

When we got married in Jan 2004 I had hair almost to my waist and had never colored it....

First big cut less than a few months from getting married

Even shorter 2005 

Grew it out and died it brown!!?  What the....*&#@??

My first time coloring my hair....

Chopped when we moved to Philly 2007

With my late Grandma in the pic

2008 finally growing it out

End of our Philly time May 2009

Curly short...March 2010

Head band time...awkward growing stage! Our time in Cali...

Finally a pony tail!  The moment I had been waiting for!

Pig tails and scary pirate face ha ha!   Oct 2010

March 2011 getting longer!

French twist obsession 

(treatments made me loose half my hair so this was a good cover!)

Curly craziness in humid DC

Super Straight great baby pulling hair!

Long with big curls

Twists!  

Super Blonde!  

Low back bun

Side Bun

(guess I like to wear this dress...)

High bun

Crazy up do!

Hard work having long hair...

Finally a long braid!

All my hair has grown back!  And is curly again!

Look Familiar!?

Back to where I started so many years ago...

   

That my friends is the marry go round of my hair..... Now you all know how crazy I am!

Recently

Two blog posts in one week!  I really must be back on the blogging train!!

Living down town is amazing!  We really haven't lived in "the city" since Philly 3-4 years ago....and boy have I missed it!  Everything is so close!  There are great places to eat!  But truly what makes it feel like home are the people.  There are people in every stage of life, every background possible, and I love it.  Going to the grocery store is so much fun!  

I meet so many amazing people every day and see people who are struggling or having a hard time, some times all I can do is try to make them smile, but even that seems rewarding.  

Living here has made me remember my purpose.  Ted studies a lot about passions and purpose and having a fulfilling life.  I am usually his ginny pig (and I love it) and he helped me a few years back to see that my purpose and love in life is to make people smile.  As I work, or shop, or do anything else I always encompass my mission and try to make people smile.

Ted's mission is to teach and inspire.  He does that in so many capacities!  Have you ever thought of what your mission or passion in life is!?  It truly helps me every day, and I feel like I get so many chances here in the city to work on my mission :)

A week or so ago I bought the cutest shirt from my friends who are selling inspirational shirts 

Check out their Etsy Site Here

Now that it has cooled down here in AZ I have been wearing this thing non stop!  It is so comfy and fits great.  I can't tell you how many converstation starters it gets...mostly because I am always making friends in the store or in line at the grocery store, but it has really helped me to make people smile and helped to me to explain what I am grateful for.  I can't wait to buy their "Blessed" shirt and start wearing that one around!

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On another less serious note....I LOVE Christmas!!  There is a radio station that started playing Christmas music here in Arizona this past weekend and even though I was a little surprised I was so excited!  Ted was not so thrilled...since he knows how crazy my love for Christmas is.....

Every year one of the temples for our Church (The Church of Jesus Christ) the one near us in Mesa, AZ does the most amazing Christmas lights.  Last night Ted and I got a sneak peak, they had them on to test them.  They were amazing!  And they were only part way done!  

There is just something I love about Christmas lights on a cactus!  

Let me know if you want to go this year they are up the Friday of Thanksgiving and go through new years...you don't have to pay or listen to any church stuff...they are just so amazing~! 

Myth busting Pinterest and a nail polish trick!

So this time I am really back to the blogging world.  After my last update I got so sick!  I am feeling better finally!  Yea for feeling healthy!

I have the best mother-in-law!  She has kept me well stocked on cute nail polish for years and recently I have started finding some cute ones all by myself!  (pre-cross family I had no style or no fashion experience....it is a constant learning curve being an in-law in a hip family...)

But recentlyI have found the perfect combination of two nail polishes from Essie.  I am in LOVE!  I always hate using the sparkling nail polishes because you can always seen under them a little bit.  I used a mat grey color called Chinchilly for the bottom coat and then added the sparkle coat of Beyond Cozy...and I always use their amazing fast drying top coat called Good To Go.  The combination of the two colors ends up looking like solid sparkles!

I am excited about this one for the holidays and New Years!!

I did my toes too....but my legs and feet are still very swollen so no way I am taking a picture of those!! Ha ha!

The colors (don't you love how much I use my top coat...)

Yesterday out of desperation while getting ready I was forced to try a myth busting pin out....I was putting on my makeup and my mascara was all clumpy and dry.  I tried this pin (seen below) and it was amazing!  I think my mascara was actually better than it was when I first bought it!  It went on so easily and was so smooth!  I am always doing this trick!

Original Pin Link