Loving Heart. Happy Home.

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation at no added cost to you.  It's Christmas time, and Christmas morning will be here before you know it! We all know how hard it is to shop for men. Should we just buy them bacon? Or tickets to a sports game? Even when you ask them, the answer is always the same, "I don't know." So, in lieu of Christmas this year, I have compiled a list for the man in your life. Amazon Fire HD 7 Tablet * With thousands of apps, a 7 inch screen, internet capabilities, and a fast quad-core processor, what's not to love about this tablet? Don't worry, we won't tell that you secretly bought it for your use too. :) Carzor Credit Card Multi Tool 9-in-1 * How neat is this tool? It's the size of a credit card with multiple functions. This gift would be perfect as a stocking stuffer. You'll have him wanting to show his friends his new 'c...

I know, I know. It's early to start decorating for Christmas, but hey, I'm only about a week early! Lately, I have had an itch to decorate for Christmas. It is my favorite holiday after all. This year, I wanted to go for a silver and white theme. Do you know how hard it is to find cute garlands in stores? I went to every craft store! Don't get me wrong, they had plenty of cute garlands, but none that matched my "vision."  So, I decided to create my own garland. I remember seeing these garlands in classrooms as a child, and it seems to still look cute to me! It's simple to make and adds a touch of cuteness.

Next month, my husband and I will be celebrating our four years of wedded bliss. Because of his work schedule, we had to squeeze a vacation in a month early. No complaining here! We had been planning for a while, and finally decided on dates and lodging. After getting everything for our stay booked, we focused on plane tickets. Boy, those can get pricey! After much contemplation, we chose to drive the thirteen hours up to the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The drive there wasn't so bad. The views were spectacular and my husband and I traded off every few hours so we didn't get burned out too quickly. I am so jealous of those with this view every day! We left very early in the morning. By 3:30 AM, we were on the road. After a few trade offs, some stops for refueling and food, and a Walmart stop, we made it to the cabin at 6:30. The cabin we had chosen was nestled in the Rocky Mountains, and honestly, was terrifying to get to in the dark, but boy were the views p...

When I was younger, my mom used to crock pot the best meals. One of them in particular, chicken tortilla soup, was my absolute favorite! Being younger, I thought that this soup must have taken a lot of work to create, I mean it tasted AMAZING! Having my own family now, I have searched far and wide for delicious meals that are not only toddler approved, but husband approved as well. So, back to my mom's kitchen I went. She gave me the recipe that she has used for years. And boy, was it a simple meal to create too. The meal consists of only five cans of ingredients, and two to three chicken breasts. It is insanely easy to make, can be a freezer meal, or made in a hurry that morning by throwing everything into the crock pot. How do you make the best chicken tortilla soup you ask? Grab two cans of black beans, two cans of Mexican Style stewed tomatoes, a box of chicken broth, and of course the chicken. First, add in the chicken breasts, they can be frozen. Heck, mine are alw...

I know, it's almost Halloween, but we all know how crazy life gets. Anyways! Little A has been very interested with all things scary lately. Boys, what're you going to do. Because of his new interest, he has been super excited about Halloween this year. Honestly, I think it's just because he can understand Halloween this year, you know, being three years old and all. And since we don't really celebrate Halloween in the traditional sense (we dress up and go to fall festivals), I wanted him to have something in the house that he could enjoy looking at. While he's bigger, I still didn't want him having access to the decorations, since he's a hoarder. No, seriously. The kid can hoard. So really, the only option was to decorate the mantle, where he couldn't really reach anything. Which isn't a bad thing since I love decorating, and this year we actually have a mantle! A few weeks ago, I went to some stores to check out the Halloween décor. I went to f...

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation at no added cost to you.  Oh boy! It's been over a year since the last time that I updated here. A lot has happened throughout that year. We recently moved into a townhome style community and my husband and I both started new jobs. We aren't the only ones changing it seems though. IKEA seems to be spitting out new products, and almost identicals of older products. A few months ago, Big A, Little A and I visited our closest IKEA in search of the EXPEDIT. When we walked into the self-serve area, were we surprised to see not only the EXPEDIT but an almost identical unit. This new unit, the KALLAX, was slightly cheaper, but seemed to be the long lost twin of the EXPEDIT. Seeing as it was cheaper, we went ahead and purchased the KALLAX. Let me just say, it is definitely worth the buy! You see, since moving, we got rid of our TV stand that was unfortuna...

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation at no added cost to you.  When my son has his photos done, we go to Esther Dorotik of  Esther Dorotik Photography . She has been our photographer since I was pregnant with my little angel. There is a reason for this: the woman is AMAZING! I have not seen anyone else's artwork nearly as amazing as hers. While discussing the pictures for little A's second birthday party, I saw the organization she had created for a few of her props. I was speechless! Not only was it elegant, but was so versatile that it could be used for anything, from purses to jewelry, children's artwork to orders placed for a business. I had to know how to recreate this organizational masterpiece. Esther  kindly agreed to explain how she created her prop rack in detail. I was ecstatic. I will eventually make this same set up for our closet, but until then I have detailed...