Pumpkin Topiaries

(Photo courtesy of http://www.lowes.com/)

(Photo courtesy of http://www.hgtv.com/)

This is a project I'd love to make this fall season. You use the craft foam pumpkins to create something that will last a long time. You can view instructions here on the Lowe's website.
Here are some beautiful topiaries for inspiration.
Halloween topiary
Polka dot topiary
Happy creating!

8 Creative Pizza Toppings

I've been using my bread machine dough setting to make homemade pizza dough lately. You can put almost anything on your pizza and it tastes yummy. I wonder why that is? Here are some of the creative pizza combinations and toppings I think I'd like to try...

1. Spinach, bacon, artichoke, and garlic sauce pizza (a la Papa Murphy's)
2. Bacon cheeseburger pizza with ground beef, bacon, cheddar cheese, onions and tomatoes
3. BBQ chicken pizza with grilled chicken, cheese and BBQ sauce
4. Macaroni & cheese (a la CiCi's Pizza)
5. Taco pizza with taco with seasoned ground beef, cheddar & mozzarella cheeses, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, olives and sour cream
6. Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple
7. Alfredo pizza with alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce and spinach, mushrooms, bacon and onions
8. Ham & cheese pizza like a ham and cheese sandwich only on a pizza crust

Online Shopping 101

Many of my friends and family members are hesitant to take the plunge and start shopping online. I've been doing online shopping for about 10 years. (That's like 50 in computer years, right?) Here are some things I've learned:

1. Never buy anything online without searching for an online coupon code first. Most online stores have a place when you're checking out to enter a coupon code for a % off, free shipping or a free product.

2. If you have to pay for shipping, make sure to buy enough in bulk or on sale to make it worth it. Sometimes it's cheaper to run to your local store than to pay shipping costs. Also look for online stores that offer flat-rate shipping.

3. Become familiar with the online store's return policy. Some places print a return shipping label and include it with your order, so if you have to exchange or return anything, it's already paid for.

Here are some of my favorite coupon code websites:

http://www.couponcabin.com/

http://www.dealcatcher.com/

http://www.spoofee.com/

http://slickdeals.net/

http://www.stingier.com/bystore.shtml

Do you have any online shopping tips to share? What's your favorite coupon code websites?

Take to the Skies

Take to the skies this weekend. Our family bought a pair of Air Hog remote controlled airplanes for our kids. We went to the park and took turns flying them and chasing them all around. If you don't want to spend the money on a remote controlled airplane, try paper airplanes. Check out some paper airplane books from the library or search online for directions on how to fold paper airplanes. Take your paper airplanes to the park and race them. Give awards for the furthest distance, the coolest trick, the fastest and the most creative. Your kids (and your hubby) will love it!

Human Nature

(Photo courtesy of http://wikimedia.org)

“You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.” ~William D. Tammeus

The Family Command Center

(Photo courtesy of www.organizemag.com)

I love the idea of having a family launch pad or a family command center. Check out these links for fantastic ideas for creating your own launch pad.

Article on how to create a family launch pad.

Hallway family command center

Wall-mounted command center

Small spaces around a door

A custom mud room/launch pad

10 Ideas for Windows

(Photo courtesy of http://www.hgtv.com/)

Look at your windows. Time for something new? Check out these 10 ideas for inspiration on how to dress them up. I especially love the LED curtain rod and the ceiling mount fixture from Pottery Barn.

5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad

(Photo courtesy of www.kraftcanada.com)

I bookmarked this salad a while ago because I thought it sounded so yummy and easy and I'm all about easy when it comes to cooking! It's made with black beans, corn, salsa, cheese, lettuce, Kraft Rancher's Choice dressing, and tortilla chips. Easy! You can view the full recipe here.

Great Weekend Online Deals

Old Navy: 40% off one item. Use code: N2FC1XYZB9N1 (Expires : 9/30/08)
**Also, Old Navy is having their Baby and Maternity Sale where you can buy things at 40% off. Be sure to check it out!
Aeropostale: $10 off $10 or more purchase. Use code: 7B4A39 (Expiration: unknown)
Yankee Candle.com: $10 off $25 or more purchase. Use code: CRM807K (Expires: 12/31/09)
Famous Footwear: 20% off no minimum purchase. Use code: 0708199 (Expires: 9/13/08)

Happy shopping!

Family Mailbox

Here's an idea for a fun family project that you can carry on for weeks, months or even years. Start with a mailbox. If you have young children, they can make a mailbox out of an old cereal box and decorate it. You could also buy a real mailbox and decorate it to match your home decor. Wouldn't it be cute with vinyl lettering on the side? Place it in a prominent location. Introduce your family mailbox to your family. Tell them that they can write notes to anyone in the family and drop the notes into the mailbox. Once a week you can have a different family member be the mailman (or mailwoman) and deliver the mail. When your kids tell you they're bored, tell them to go write a letter to a family member. It will be lots of fun!

On Being Unreasonable

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. "
~George Bernard Shaw

Arranging Books By Color

(Photo courtesy of www.hgtv.com)

I love the idea of organizing your bookshelves by color. I need to buy more colorful books before this will work for me, but check out some of these amazing colorful bookshelves. It's another unique idea to add decor and order to what could otherwise be kind of boring.

1. Rainbow bookcase
2. 2 bright rainbow bookcases
3. Flickr rainbow bookshelf
4. An amazing rainbow bookcase with lots of books

Paper Pricking

Remember those grade-school days when your teacher would give you an outline of an image and tell you to poke along the lines with a pin onto black paper to make a design? After carefully pricking your design you would proudly hang your black papers in the window and let the light shine through illuminating your work of art. I think today we should introduce our kids to this same project. Do an internet search for kids coloring pages to get great outlined pictures for your kids to poke. Give them a push-pin and lay their picture on the carpet and turn them loose. I think we'll poke out a Disney princess and a Nintendo Mario picture at my house today.

Yummy Smoothies

(Photo courtesy of http://www.bhg.com/)

The hubby and I have been making smoothies all summer long. They make for a great breakfast. Here's the recipe for the smoothies we've made:

Fruit Smoothies

Ingredients

1 -1/1/2 cups frozen fruit (see combinations below)

3/4 cup vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup vanilla soy milk

1 scoop vanilla flavored protein powder

Pour everything into a blender and blend until smooth.

Fruit Combinations:

Strawberry Banana

Blueberry Banana

Mixed Berries & Banana

Mango Raspberry

Raspberry Banana

Strawberry Mango

Peach Strawberry

Enjoy!