Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all have an amazing day full of love, laughter, lots of hugs and delicious meals!! Sending warm wishes to you and your families today and for the rest of this week/weekend!
Love you all,
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Gobble, gobble, gobble...
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all have an amazing day full of love, laughter, lots of hugs and delicious meals!! Sending warm wishes to you and your families today and for the rest of this week/weekend!
Love you all,
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all have an amazing day full of love, laughter, lots of hugs and delicious meals!! Sending warm wishes to you and your families today and for the rest of this week/weekend!
Love you all,
Sunday, June 15, 2014
The bump on the road...
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First, I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all fathers, grandfathers, soon-to-be-fathers and want-to-be-fathers. No matter what your status in life is, there is so much you can do to help all those children around you who need love, support and a fatherly hand in their lives... I hope, you all had an amazing day!!
And since it's Father's day I thought it would be appropriate to share a secret I've shamelessly been keeping from you for the past couple of months... Honestly, without it every single one of my posts seemed flat. But it might also give you an idea behind the reason why I would occasionally disappear for days if not weeks....
Will be back tomorrow with more updates :)
First, I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all fathers, grandfathers, soon-to-be-fathers and want-to-be-fathers. No matter what your status in life is, there is so much you can do to help all those children around you who need love, support and a fatherly hand in their lives... I hope, you all had an amazing day!!
And since it's Father's day I thought it would be appropriate to share a secret I've shamelessly been keeping from you for the past couple of months... Honestly, without it every single one of my posts seemed flat. But it might also give you an idea behind the reason why I would occasionally disappear for days if not weeks....
Will be back tomorrow with more updates :)
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Happy Mother's Day!
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Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful mothers out there!
My boys totally spoiled me today. I slept in, then had a cute little "waiter" coming into my room with a Breakfast Menu. Then I had delicious french toast with strawberries and was showered with small tokens of appreciation (and a promise to do chores all week without complaining which is golden on it's own...We'll see if it lasts...). And hubby got me a very special gift that I will show you in a couple of days. You'll see why...
And did you know that it's been 100 years since the beginning of this holiday? The history of it is actually quite interesting and somewhat sad. If you are curious, here's the link to the full story on National Geographic.
But I'm still glad we have a holiday to celebrate Mother's and other influential women in our lives. Even though its been very commercialized, there are still many tender and intimate moments that make this day so special. And I'm thankful for those moments!
I hope you all had a wonderful day today!!
Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful mothers out there!
My boys totally spoiled me today. I slept in, then had a cute little "waiter" coming into my room with a Breakfast Menu. Then I had delicious french toast with strawberries and was showered with small tokens of appreciation (and a promise to do chores all week without complaining which is golden on it's own...We'll see if it lasts...). And hubby got me a very special gift that I will show you in a couple of days. You'll see why...
And did you know that it's been 100 years since the beginning of this holiday? The history of it is actually quite interesting and somewhat sad. If you are curious, here's the link to the full story on National Geographic.
But I'm still glad we have a holiday to celebrate Mother's and other influential women in our lives. Even though its been very commercialized, there are still many tender and intimate moments that make this day so special. And I'm thankful for those moments!
I hope you all had a wonderful day today!!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
To love all ages yield surrender...
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Hello, my lovelies. How was your Valentine's Day??
There is always something in the air in the middle of February... We had the opportunity to have dinner at Church on Valentine's Day that was catered by a local restaurant. Everything was set on big round tables, and we ended up sitting with three other lovely couples. One was younger than us but the other two were a bit wiser age than hubby and I. Yet it was amazing to see how much in common we have despite the age difference!
At some point one of the husbands started talking about a recent conversation on marriage that he had with some friends. He went on something like,"This girl told me that they've been married for forty eight years, and another girl mentioned that they've been together for fifty two..." Girls, huh, was my very first thought :). One of my favorite quotes by Benjamin Franklin immediately came to mind:
To that my 7-year old responded with a serious face, "I say you're never too young. I can prove it..."
Me chocking on soup with laughter tipped him off ...So we may never know what he meant...
No matter what the age, the way to man's heart is still often through his tummy :)
Love me some Valentine's air...
Hello, my lovelies. How was your Valentine's Day??
There is always something in the air in the middle of February... We had the opportunity to have dinner at Church on Valentine's Day that was catered by a local restaurant. Everything was set on big round tables, and we ended up sitting with three other lovely couples. One was younger than us but the other two were a bit wiser age than hubby and I. Yet it was amazing to see how much in common we have despite the age difference!
At some point one of the husbands started talking about a recent conversation on marriage that he had with some friends. He went on something like,"This girl told me that they've been married for forty eight years, and another girl mentioned that they've been together for fifty two..." Girls, huh, was my very first thought :). One of my favorite quotes by Benjamin Franklin immediately came to mind:
"To love all ages will surrender" - as we say in Russia that basically means that for love there is no age limitation. As we were discussing it with Hubby today, he gave his own version of translation,"You're never too old to fall in love."
To that my 7-year old responded with a serious face, "I say you're never too young. I can prove it..."
Oh well, at least the love for soup is always there:
No matter what the age, the way to man's heart is still often through his tummy :)
Love me some Valentine's air...
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Strawberry cake with ricotta and cream cheese frosting.
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Have you ever baked anything so naughty that you just can't stop eating it?! That's exactly what I made the other day...
Oh, don't show me the scales...
Burn them...Steal them and run...
Toss them somewhere far, far away...
Because it's not even Valentine's Day yet, and I already gained like 5 pounds in the last 5 days...
I scored two 1lb. boxes of strawberries for only $1.50 at a local store the other day. We ate one but I wanted to use the second one to make something special. And yes, I couldn't wait the whole week until Valentine's Day, so I just made it last weekend :) Say hello to strawberry cake with ricotta and cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
For the frosting:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease your form(s) with butter and line them with parchment paper (I could, probably have just flour them but I didn't wanna risk it).
Hull strawberries and puree in a food processor. I used the whole box (16 oz.) to get the amount of puree I needed. Separate the eggs.
In a big bowl beat together egg yolks with sugar for a minute at medium speed, then add butter, vanilla, yogurt, jello, milk and 11/2 cup strawberry puree, one at a time, and continue beating until well combined.
In a separate bowl sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and soda. Gradually add to wet ingredients mixing constantly.
Whip egg whites until white and stiff and gently fold into the strawberry mixture.
Pour into prepared forms and smooth the tops. I used bread forms because I wanted to make two smaller cakes but two basic round forms would work perfectly too.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It takes longer in bread forms.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely on wire racks, for at least an hour.
In the meantime, beat together all the ingredients but strawberry and lemon juice for the frosting. Separate 1/3 of the mixture. Add 2/3 tsp. of lemon juice and strawberry puree to it and mix well. Add the rest of the lemon juice to the white frosting.
Once the cake has cooled, frost the middle with the pink mixture, and the top and the sides with white. Cool in the fridge for at least three hours, even better overnight.
Garnish with fresh strawberries and chocolate.
Note.
This amount of frosting was barely enough for my two cakes but should be perfect for a round two-layer kind.
I'm sharing this recipe with these awesome parties:
I should be mopping the floor Marvelous Mondays Uncommon designs By Stephanie Lynn
Love Bakes Good Cakes
Have you ever baked anything so naughty that you just can't stop eating it?! That's exactly what I made the other day...
Oh, don't show me the scales...
Burn them...Steal them and run...
Toss them somewhere far, far away...
Because it's not even Valentine's Day yet, and I already gained like 5 pounds in the last 5 days...
I scored two 1lb. boxes of strawberries for only $1.50 at a local store the other day. We ate one but I wanted to use the second one to make something special. And yes, I couldn't wait the whole week until Valentine's Day, so I just made it last weekend :) Say hello to strawberry cake with ricotta and cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 2 3/4 cup flour+5 TB cornstarch (or use cake flour instead)
- 1 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 5 oz. container greek yogurt (strawberry or vanilla)
- 1 1/2 cup strawberry puree (see below)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 TB flavored jello (I used cherry. it's totally optional, more for the color)
For the frosting:
- 8oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
- 5 TB butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 TB ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 cup strawberry puree
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease your form(s) with butter and line them with parchment paper (I could, probably have just flour them but I didn't wanna risk it).
Hull strawberries and puree in a food processor. I used the whole box (16 oz.) to get the amount of puree I needed. Separate the eggs.
In a big bowl beat together egg yolks with sugar for a minute at medium speed, then add butter, vanilla, yogurt, jello, milk and 11/2 cup strawberry puree, one at a time, and continue beating until well combined.
In a separate bowl sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and soda. Gradually add to wet ingredients mixing constantly.
Whip egg whites until white and stiff and gently fold into the strawberry mixture.
Pour into prepared forms and smooth the tops. I used bread forms because I wanted to make two smaller cakes but two basic round forms would work perfectly too.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It takes longer in bread forms.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely on wire racks, for at least an hour.
In the meantime, beat together all the ingredients but strawberry and lemon juice for the frosting. Separate 1/3 of the mixture. Add 2/3 tsp. of lemon juice and strawberry puree to it and mix well. Add the rest of the lemon juice to the white frosting.
Once the cake has cooled, frost the middle with the pink mixture, and the top and the sides with white. Cool in the fridge for at least three hours, even better overnight.
Garnish with fresh strawberries and chocolate.
Note.
This amount of frosting was barely enough for my two cakes but should be perfect for a round two-layer kind.
I'm sharing this recipe with these awesome parties:
I should be mopping the floor Marvelous Mondays Uncommon designs By Stephanie Lynn
Love Bakes Good Cakes
Thursday, December 26, 2013
How was your Christmas??
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Hello, my lovelies! How was your Christmas??
We had a beautiful and quiet Christmas this year, with some gifts but mostly with lots of cuddles and wonderful family moments. We had two parties with both sides of Hubby's family with lots of fun, laughter and delicious food. This year I made the "tree" instead of a traditional vegetable tray (thanks, Pinterest :)
It was SO easy to make! The only problem is that nobody wanted to destroy the tree:)
Hubby got me a much wanted gift - a 58 in. tripod!! Thank you, sweetie! I'm so excited to use it for picture taking - no more shaky hands here :) Ironically, I was trying to post a photo of it here and the computer wouldn't load. Blah...
On a good note, we came in $22 under this Christmas. I'm pretty happy with this number and already added it to our 2014 Xmas budget. We will bump it up a little next year because this time I didn't send a package back home (I just took my gifts in the fall when I went to be with my Mom). But I'm gonna worry about it when the time comes :) Now I'm just counting days until the beginning of the New Year.
So how was your Christmas? The best moments? The worst? Come, share it all!
Hello, my lovelies! How was your Christmas??
We had a beautiful and quiet Christmas this year, with some gifts but mostly with lots of cuddles and wonderful family moments. We had two parties with both sides of Hubby's family with lots of fun, laughter and delicious food. This year I made the "tree" instead of a traditional vegetable tray (thanks, Pinterest :)
It was SO easy to make! The only problem is that nobody wanted to destroy the tree:)
Hubby got me a much wanted gift - a 58 in. tripod!! Thank you, sweetie! I'm so excited to use it for picture taking - no more shaky hands here :) Ironically, I was trying to post a photo of it here and the computer wouldn't load. Blah...
On a good note, we came in $22 under this Christmas. I'm pretty happy with this number and already added it to our 2014 Xmas budget. We will bump it up a little next year because this time I didn't send a package back home (I just took my gifts in the fall when I went to be with my Mom). But I'm gonna worry about it when the time comes :) Now I'm just counting days until the beginning of the New Year.
So how was your Christmas? The best moments? The worst? Come, share it all!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Merry Christmas!!!
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To all of you who celebrate this special day, may your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this Holy season, and throughout the year! We wish your Christmas is filled with peace and love.
With lots of love,
To all of you who celebrate this special day, may your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this Holy season, and throughout the year! We wish your Christmas is filled with peace and love.
With lots of love,
Sunday, December 22, 2013
An almost wordless Sunday...
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The boys left to see Grandpa this afternoon and I stayed home to hibernate. It's been a long and tiresome week with us going to bed quite late for many reasons. Like yesterday Hubby came home after 2am because his Mom's roof started majorly leaking and flooded one of her bedrooms. He and his siblings spent many-many hours trying to dry things, move things and get it ready for somebody to come and fix the problem, hopefully tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I have a hard time sleeping without this man by my side, so I stayed up waiting for him. It was not a very smart idea...
So this post will be short and sweet... Just a few pictures from our week:
How cute are these duckies? :) We got lost one day on the way home and stumbled upon this stream with at least 300 ducks there. Maybe more. This picture shows only about 1/3 of them. I've never seen that many ducks in one spot. I wonder, if it's a warm stream of some sort...
We got about 8 more inches of snow last week. December is not over yet and I'm already secretly hoping for early spring... But the kids are having a blast:
I, on the other hand, prefer to stay at home and work on some homemade gifts - like this strawberry butter for our neighbors:
It's so easy to make and sooo good - I can't wait to share the recipe with you (as soon as I catch up on sleep :)
And how was your week? And what are your holiday plans? Are you looking forward to a big family Christmas celebration or, maybe, a quiet dinner with your significant other?
The boys left to see Grandpa this afternoon and I stayed home to hibernate. It's been a long and tiresome week with us going to bed quite late for many reasons. Like yesterday Hubby came home after 2am because his Mom's roof started majorly leaking and flooded one of her bedrooms. He and his siblings spent many-many hours trying to dry things, move things and get it ready for somebody to come and fix the problem, hopefully tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I have a hard time sleeping without this man by my side, so I stayed up waiting for him. It was not a very smart idea...
So this post will be short and sweet... Just a few pictures from our week:
How cute are these duckies? :) We got lost one day on the way home and stumbled upon this stream with at least 300 ducks there. Maybe more. This picture shows only about 1/3 of them. I've never seen that many ducks in one spot. I wonder, if it's a warm stream of some sort...
We got about 8 more inches of snow last week. December is not over yet and I'm already secretly hoping for early spring... But the kids are having a blast:
I, on the other hand, prefer to stay at home and work on some homemade gifts - like this strawberry butter for our neighbors:
It's so easy to make and sooo good - I can't wait to share the recipe with you (as soon as I catch up on sleep :)
And how was your week? And what are your holiday plans? Are you looking forward to a big family Christmas celebration or, maybe, a quiet dinner with your significant other?
Friday, December 20, 2013
A very simple and inexpensive gift idea.
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Remember, I told you that we decided not to exchange gifts with Hubby's siblings this year? Well, I couldn't completely go without presents, mainly because I was preparing for them since late summer:) I decided to share it with all of you because it's a very simple idea. You know, one of those that anybody can do :)
I made some homemade Italian spice mixes for them:
There are so easy to make! It took me since summer only because I was preserving herbs from our garden:) But you could buy your spices in bulk to make this an inexpensive last-minute gift or just for everyday use.
I got these jars from Walmart for a little over $4:
There are 4 4 oz jars with shaker cups and removable labels in the pack. I got mine in the same area where they have canning supplies.
And for the actual mixture you will need (in proportion):
2 TB dry parsley
2 TB oregano
2 TB basil
1 TB marjoram
1/2 TB crushed thyme
Just mix them together and you are done:) But I also like to pulsate the mixture a few times in a blender to make it a little more unified:
And that's it!:)
Are you giving any easy and inexpensive homemade gifts this year?
Remember, I told you that we decided not to exchange gifts with Hubby's siblings this year? Well, I couldn't completely go without presents, mainly because I was preparing for them since late summer:) I decided to share it with all of you because it's a very simple idea. You know, one of those that anybody can do :)
I made some homemade Italian spice mixes for them:
There are so easy to make! It took me since summer only because I was preserving herbs from our garden:) But you could buy your spices in bulk to make this an inexpensive last-minute gift or just for everyday use.
I got these jars from Walmart for a little over $4:
There are 4 4 oz jars with shaker cups and removable labels in the pack. I got mine in the same area where they have canning supplies.
And for the actual mixture you will need (in proportion):
2 TB dry parsley
2 TB oregano
2 TB basil
1 TB marjoram
1/2 TB crushed thyme
Just mix them together and you are done:) But I also like to pulsate the mixture a few times in a blender to make it a little more unified:
And that's it!:)
Are you giving any easy and inexpensive homemade gifts this year?
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!
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I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here in the US. We have so much to be grateful for! I hope you all have an amazing day with your loved ones and friends!!
I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here in the US. We have so much to be grateful for! I hope you all have an amazing day with your loved ones and friends!!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Food waste and a menu, Thanksgiving week.
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First, thank you all, guys, for your get well wishes!! You know you are amazing, right?? Today I'm definitely grateful for friendships and all my blogging friends.
We had a good night and woke up feeling much better. Kiddos are still not doing that well but at least their fevers went down. My older one had a croup-sounding cough yesterday and we were thinking of taking him to the doctor this morning but after using a warm humidifier in his room and putting some rub on him, he felt way better this morning and hardly coughed at all. We don't have health insurance yet (it kicks in on the 1st of January), so if we could avoid another big bill, it would be nice. But if he feels worse tomorrow, then we'll have to take him in...
He did miss a pizza party at school today. Their class won a Box Tops competition for the whole school, and he was so looking forward to it. My poor little guy! So instead we did Papa Murphy's for dinner to somewhat compensate for it and raise up his spirits a bit. We ordered online and used a $4 coupon, so it wasn't too bad.So that's what we ate today (on Monday)
But before I turn to our menu, we did have a little bit of food waste last week. I didn't make it the whole month with no waste, unfortunately:
Just a couple of pieces of cheese that got a little moldy and the last zucchini from our garden. I was so disappointed about it! I knew it needed to be used but the other side still looked perfect in the fridge until I flipped it...Ugh, I really don't like to waste food. And I desperately need to clean our fridge...
And this week we are eating (or hoping to eat. Who knows how this week will go...):
Mon.- pizza, salad
Tues.- couscous, coconut shrimp, baked beans, corn
Wed.- spaghetti with steamed veggies
Thurs.- Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's Mom's side
Fr.- ? leftovers ?
Sat.- my sister's B-day
Sun.- Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's Dad's side
Wow, this might just be my least planned menu in a while:) And I have a feeling, I might gain a few pounds this week...
Have you wasted anything recently that you were really unhappy to throw away?
First, thank you all, guys, for your get well wishes!! You know you are amazing, right?? Today I'm definitely grateful for friendships and all my blogging friends.
We had a good night and woke up feeling much better. Kiddos are still not doing that well but at least their fevers went down. My older one had a croup-sounding cough yesterday and we were thinking of taking him to the doctor this morning but after using a warm humidifier in his room and putting some rub on him, he felt way better this morning and hardly coughed at all. We don't have health insurance yet (it kicks in on the 1st of January), so if we could avoid another big bill, it would be nice. But if he feels worse tomorrow, then we'll have to take him in...
He did miss a pizza party at school today. Their class won a Box Tops competition for the whole school, and he was so looking forward to it. My poor little guy! So instead we did Papa Murphy's for dinner to somewhat compensate for it and raise up his spirits a bit. We ordered online and used a $4 coupon, so it wasn't too bad.So that's what we ate today (on Monday)
But before I turn to our menu, we did have a little bit of food waste last week. I didn't make it the whole month with no waste, unfortunately:
Just a couple of pieces of cheese that got a little moldy and the last zucchini from our garden. I was so disappointed about it! I knew it needed to be used but the other side still looked perfect in the fridge until I flipped it...Ugh, I really don't like to waste food. And I desperately need to clean our fridge...
And this week we are eating (or hoping to eat. Who knows how this week will go...):
Mon.- pizza, salad
Tues.- couscous, coconut shrimp, baked beans, corn
Wed.- spaghetti with steamed veggies
Thurs.- Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's Mom's side
Fr.- ? leftovers ?
Sat.- my sister's B-day
Sun.- Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's Dad's side
Wow, this might just be my least planned menu in a while:) And I have a feeling, I might gain a few pounds this week...
Have you wasted anything recently that you were really unhappy to throw away?
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween, everyone!
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How was your day? Did your kids share any candies with you?? :)
Our pumpkin this year :) Because of the trip, we only got a pumpkin last night but it was on clearance, so it's a win-win :) I picked up another one for delicious fall recipes I can't wait to make.
This year we decided to go semi-DIY with kids' costumes. Our budget was $20. I'm happy to say, we stayed way under and they looked adorable (I'm bias, I know :)
How was your day? Did your kids share any candies with you?? :)
Our pumpkin this year :) Because of the trip, we only got a pumpkin last night but it was on clearance, so it's a win-win :) I picked up another one for delicious fall recipes I can't wait to make.
This year we decided to go semi-DIY with kids' costumes. Our budget was $20. I'm happy to say, we stayed way under and they looked adorable (I'm bias, I know :)
For the older one, I added lace to a plain white shirt. The hat was an amazing find in Savers for only $3.69 (brand new - got the last one!). The long trench coat was sadly mine, from the time when I was many-many sizes smaller...We just rolled the sleeves.
I made waist sashes with fabric I already had on hand. I also made some boot covers but they never made it to the picture.
The pirate shirt on the little one was another lucky find in Savers, this time used, for only $1.50, and his bandana is from the Goodwill Halloween isle.
So, without the swords, their costumes were only appr. $7 for both. The swords were actually souvenirs the kiddos chose in Disneyland (I rubbed frugality on them - they subconsciously chose the cheapest gifts... And I promise, I didn't help them in any way to do it!). They were only $5 each and technically came from a different budget. But even with them, we were still under budget. Wohoo!!
Oh, I'm totally bias but how cute are these two munchkins!!! :) We ended up with too much candy after tonight...
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Happy Mother's Day!
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How was your day? I hope it was just as amazing as you are! I explained before that we don't have Mother's Day in Russia because we celebrate Women's Day instead (check out this post if you are new to my blog) but on this day my thoughts are all about the most influential person in my life - my amazing Mom who is far far away from me today:
She's being through a lot in her life but she stayed strong and amazing. The most kind, loving and selfless person I've ever met! And yes, she can do anything. She even made the gorgeous (and modest) dress that I was wearing on this very special day :). I love you, Mom!!
And I'm grateful for the opportunity to use at least a fraction of what I've learned from her (minus patience) because I myself was blessed with two amazing boys:
They are the joy of my life even though they add grey hair to my head on a regular basis, master their attempts at bursting my ear drums with screams (not even to mention that I excel in being a referee with all their fights). But each day they change me for the better and remind me that life is worth every second of it when I see their morninggrins smiles. They are handsome and smart, individualistic yet so dependent on me. Becoming a Mom blessed me with things I didn't even know existed! And I know I'm not alone.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you!!
How was your day? I hope it was just as amazing as you are! I explained before that we don't have Mother's Day in Russia because we celebrate Women's Day instead (check out this post if you are new to my blog) but on this day my thoughts are all about the most influential person in my life - my amazing Mom who is far far away from me today:
She's being through a lot in her life but she stayed strong and amazing. The most kind, loving and selfless person I've ever met! And yes, she can do anything. She even made the gorgeous (and modest) dress that I was wearing on this very special day :). I love you, Mom!!
And I'm grateful for the opportunity to use at least a fraction of what I've learned from her (minus patience) because I myself was blessed with two amazing boys:
They are the joy of my life even though they add grey hair to my head on a regular basis, master their attempts at bursting my ear drums with screams (not even to mention that I excel in being a referee with all their fights). But each day they change me for the better and remind me that life is worth every second of it when I see their morning
Happy Mother's Day to all of you!!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Happy Easter!
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Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you have a beautiful day!
We will have a pretty quiet Sunday. The Baby is still sick and was up half of the night, so we are pretty tired. We wanted to have a nice dinner with my MIL (with me cooking everything) but she bailed on us. So we will have a ham dinner with all the fixings for ourselves and then we'll, probably, go for a little walk.
I'm still a little sick myself and don't know exactly what's happening. My test results for thyroid came back normal, so it's a good thing. On the other hand, I still have all the symptoms, so more than likely I'll be back to the doctor in a week or so.
But today I want to think about the blessings in my life! We went to Church this morning and really enjoyed it. I have a beautiful family (even when some of them don't sleep at night...), I'm not perfectly healthy but I can walk, and work, and run and take care of my loved ones. And I'm grateful for it! And on this special day I'm especially grateful for my Savior and for his eternal love and sacrifice for us!
He is Risen!! Happy Easter to you all!
Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you have a beautiful day!
We will have a pretty quiet Sunday. The Baby is still sick and was up half of the night, so we are pretty tired. We wanted to have a nice dinner with my MIL (with me cooking everything) but she bailed on us. So we will have a ham dinner with all the fixings for ourselves and then we'll, probably, go for a little walk.
I'm still a little sick myself and don't know exactly what's happening. My test results for thyroid came back normal, so it's a good thing. On the other hand, I still have all the symptoms, so more than likely I'll be back to the doctor in a week or so.
But today I want to think about the blessings in my life! We went to Church this morning and really enjoyed it. I have a beautiful family (even when some of them don't sleep at night...), I'm not perfectly healthy but I can walk, and work, and run and take care of my loved ones. And I'm grateful for it! And on this special day I'm especially grateful for my Savior and for his eternal love and sacrifice for us!
He is Risen!! Happy Easter to you all!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
How I got my husband a $139 gift for less than $30.
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I mentioned before that this year we decided not to give each other Birthday gifts. Because of that we bumped up our Valentine's Day budget a bit. Usually we spend no more than $25 but this year we decided on $50. But we both spent a lot less than that.
This time I had a gift in mind that was not romantic at all. But it was something he really wanted. And because we are working on quite a few projects here, it was a need as well. I know you are curious now...I'm not going to tease you any more :)
This is what I got him this year for Valentine's Day:
I told you it wasn't romantic :) Let me introduce you to the Hitachi 10-in 15-Amp Compound Miter Saw. It has 5-star reviews and works great (we already tried it for one of our household projects. More on it next week :). Until now my husband only had a handheld saw and a miter box, so it was time to upgrade.
I've been looking at this saw since even before Christmas. But I already had a Christmas gift for him, so it had to wait. And finally, it was time :)
But as you can see, it wasn't exactly $25 or even $50 :) So here's how I got it a lot cheaper.
1. First, I researched. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy. There were different miter saws for sale too but this particular one had 62 reviews, and most of them were 4 or 5 stars. My husband is only learning to work with wood and molding, so it seemed like a perfect choice for him.
2. Second, I waited. All January and the first week of February the saw was full price. But I was hoping that it would be discounted a little for the holidays (not necessarily for Valentine's Day but, maybe, for President's Day :). And I was right! Last week it was discounted 14%, from $139 to $119! Score!!
3. Third, I got a gift card. For free. I mentioned My Points to you before. It's a great way to accumulate points for doing search and reading e-mails. You can then redeem those points for gift cards to a variety of retailers. Last year I accumulated enough points to get a $50 gift card to Lowes.
4. Forth, I redeemed our credit card points for cash. I do use a credit card (gasp!!). We use it mostly for gas and occasional online shopping. But we pay it off every month. We've been accumulating points for a while, and I had enough to redeem $46.90. Again, free money :)
5. And the last thing I did was shopping through a cash back site. I opted for Shop At Home that gives 3% back for Lowes which saved me another $3.57.
So all in all, with a little planning and after all these discounts and including taxes, I spent only $26.68 for this awesome gift for my Hubby. I love him so much and love to see him excited. He still thinks I cheated, but oh well...He was happy :)
Did you get any good discounts recently? How do you save money for gifts?
PS- I am not an affiliate in any way with the links provided - they are not referral links. I just like these sites because they help me to save some money.
I mentioned before that this year we decided not to give each other Birthday gifts. Because of that we bumped up our Valentine's Day budget a bit. Usually we spend no more than $25 but this year we decided on $50. But we both spent a lot less than that.
This time I had a gift in mind that was not romantic at all. But it was something he really wanted. And because we are working on quite a few projects here, it was a need as well. I know you are curious now...I'm not going to tease you any more :)
This is what I got him this year for Valentine's Day:
I've been looking at this saw since even before Christmas. But I already had a Christmas gift for him, so it had to wait. And finally, it was time :)
But as you can see, it wasn't exactly $25 or even $50 :) So here's how I got it a lot cheaper.
1. First, I researched. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy. There were different miter saws for sale too but this particular one had 62 reviews, and most of them were 4 or 5 stars. My husband is only learning to work with wood and molding, so it seemed like a perfect choice for him.
2. Second, I waited. All January and the first week of February the saw was full price. But I was hoping that it would be discounted a little for the holidays (not necessarily for Valentine's Day but, maybe, for President's Day :). And I was right! Last week it was discounted 14%, from $139 to $119! Score!!
3. Third, I got a gift card. For free. I mentioned My Points to you before. It's a great way to accumulate points for doing search and reading e-mails. You can then redeem those points for gift cards to a variety of retailers. Last year I accumulated enough points to get a $50 gift card to Lowes.
4. Forth, I redeemed our credit card points for cash. I do use a credit card (gasp!!). We use it mostly for gas and occasional online shopping. But we pay it off every month. We've been accumulating points for a while, and I had enough to redeem $46.90. Again, free money :)
5. And the last thing I did was shopping through a cash back site. I opted for Shop At Home that gives 3% back for Lowes which saved me another $3.57.
So all in all, with a little planning and after all these discounts and including taxes, I spent only $26.68 for this awesome gift for my Hubby. I love him so much and love to see him excited. He still thinks I cheated, but oh well...He was happy :)
Did you get any good discounts recently? How do you save money for gifts?
PS- I am not an affiliate in any way with the links provided - they are not referral links. I just like these sites because they help me to save some money.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The stockings were hung...on the rail with care...
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We don't have a fireplace, hence we don't have a mantle. And I always wanted one. A fireplace was one of the criteria when we shopped for a house 4 years ago. Well, it was a choice between that or an extra bedroom...the bedroom won.
But one of the reasons why I always wanted a mantle was stockings. Somehow the tradition of stockings makes Christmas decorating a little more homey...It is almost like a family picture on the wall. Well, not exactly but you understand, right? :)
Last year we put our mismatched, " got them in a $ store/clearance" stockings on a dresser in the living room, and my then 1-year old had a blast pulling them down all the time...
So this year I decided on two things:
a) I need new stockings
b) I need a new place for them
First things first: I needed to either buy new stockings or make them. Very soon I realized that the ones I like cost $20+ each. No way it was happening! I wasn't about spending more than $80 for stockings alone. Which left me with only one option - make it!
You already know that I have very limited sewing skills, so I was very pleased with how they turned out. I started with this:
It's a very fun patterned burlap. It's usually $19.99/yard at Joannes but I got it with a 60% coupon, so I paid about $9 with tax. One yard was plenty enough for 4 stockings and I have enough fabric for one more in case our family grows one day :). I got it a couple of months ago - you might've recognized it from this blog header too :) That's exactly what I used. I just love the letter pattern on it.
Then I used this:
This linen fabric was only $1 per yard (!!!!) on clearance at Hancocks. You all already know about my love for this store... That's why! And the red ribbon was from Walmart ($1.97). Because burlap is fairly thin,I needed something for the inside of the stocking. You might remember my white sheets that got destroyed because somebody put a crayon in the dryer...Call me frugal or cheap but I saved them for some rags or other random projects. And I decided to use the sheet for the inside of the stockings (nobody cares what they look like inside, right? RIGHT?!!).
I also got two of these candle holders in the Dollar store because I wanted to re-use the poinsettia flowers from them:
This is not a tutorial on how to make a stocking. There are just too many different tutorials on the web already :) And I just wanted to show you the result :) TA-DA:
I have to say I'm pleased with the result...considering how much I struggle with curved lines :) I added a little bow on the top with a poinsettia flower (from a $ store candle holder):
And here are all four stockings:
The cost for all four stockings: less than $12 which makes each stocking about $3. I'm very pleased with the price too :) And a new place? Well, as you can see, this year it's our rail decor.
And now I'm officially done with holiday decorating. Now baking is on the list...
I shared this post with these great parties:
Pin It Wednesday
Uncommon designs
Flaunt it Friday Chic on a Shoestring Budget
Centsational Girl
Thrifty Decor Chick
We don't have a fireplace, hence we don't have a mantle. And I always wanted one. A fireplace was one of the criteria when we shopped for a house 4 years ago. Well, it was a choice between that or an extra bedroom...the bedroom won.
But one of the reasons why I always wanted a mantle was stockings. Somehow the tradition of stockings makes Christmas decorating a little more homey...It is almost like a family picture on the wall. Well, not exactly but you understand, right? :)
Last year we put our mismatched, " got them in a $ store/clearance" stockings on a dresser in the living room, and my then 1-year old had a blast pulling them down all the time...
So this year I decided on two things:
a) I need new stockings
b) I need a new place for them
First things first: I needed to either buy new stockings or make them. Very soon I realized that the ones I like cost $20+ each. No way it was happening! I wasn't about spending more than $80 for stockings alone. Which left me with only one option - make it!
You already know that I have very limited sewing skills, so I was very pleased with how they turned out. I started with this:
It's a very fun patterned burlap. It's usually $19.99/yard at Joannes but I got it with a 60% coupon, so I paid about $9 with tax. One yard was plenty enough for 4 stockings and I have enough fabric for one more in case our family grows one day :). I got it a couple of months ago - you might've recognized it from this blog header too :) That's exactly what I used. I just love the letter pattern on it.
Then I used this:
This linen fabric was only $1 per yard (!!!!) on clearance at Hancocks. You all already know about my love for this store... That's why! And the red ribbon was from Walmart ($1.97). Because burlap is fairly thin,I needed something for the inside of the stocking. You might remember my white sheets that got destroyed because somebody put a crayon in the dryer...Call me frugal or cheap but I saved them for some rags or other random projects. And I decided to use the sheet for the inside of the stockings (nobody cares what they look like inside, right? RIGHT?!!).
I also got two of these candle holders in the Dollar store because I wanted to re-use the poinsettia flowers from them:
This is not a tutorial on how to make a stocking. There are just too many different tutorials on the web already :) And I just wanted to show you the result :) TA-DA:
I have to say I'm pleased with the result...considering how much I struggle with curved lines :) I added a little bow on the top with a poinsettia flower (from a $ store candle holder):
And here are all four stockings:
The cost for all four stockings: less than $12 which makes each stocking about $3. I'm very pleased with the price too :) And a new place? Well, as you can see, this year it's our rail decor.
And now I'm officially done with holiday decorating. Now baking is on the list...
I shared this post with these great parties:
Pin It Wednesday
Uncommon designs
Flaunt it Friday Chic on a Shoestring Budget
Centsational Girl
Thrifty Decor Chick
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