Yum Yum, Brussel Sprouts!

Oh YES I did!

Has anyone actually tried Brussel Sprouts? They are mini cabbages and when prepared correctly, they totally rock. (This may in small part have to do with my mom being half Irish and cabbage was here and there regular in the diet)

All you need is to put down some foil on a cookie sheet or some kind of pan. Then drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper. For more flavor you could add some Parmesan cheese. Put them in a 350 degree oven until slightly crispy on the outside, roughly 20-30 minutes depending on size. Cut off hard bottom and enjoy!

So easy and great for summer. Weekly we do a Bountiful Basket to make our food budget more cost friendly. Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op that runs mostly in the Western half of U.S. and on Mondays you order your basket online. Then you pick it up Saturday afternoon. It is ALWAYS at least $50 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables (50/50) for $15 plus a $1.50 handling fee. (Your very first time there is a $3 fee for the actual baskets to hold your produce)

And there is never a guarantee of what is going to be in it. There has been items I have to look up on the internet what it is! But I have NEVER been disappointed. They also offer for extra bread at $2 a loaf and so good (5 loaf packs), cases of fruit or veggies of one kind, 7 dozen tortillas in a variety back for $12,  a Mexi-lovers pack with everything to make fresh guacamole and so on. I encourage you to check out the site. My children eat fruit like crazy and this way does not hurt your wallet. A lot of women wait to make their weekly meal plan until they get their basket then go to the grocery store to buy the rest of what they need.

If there is not one where you live, you can email the people in charge to try and start up your own pick up site. It is all volunteer based, no one is paid to be there. Some people have even had their homes as a site so their area can have a location. Usually it is at a place of business. 

You just have to take something to put your food in and take it home. Ours last about a week. We are now ordering weekly. Before Lilly was on solid food we only ordered twice a month. 

So go grab some Brussel Sprouts and shake up your summer cuisine!

Bethany

My Etsy Shop

So I have decided to put together some of my wedding planning skills and limited excel skills and do an Etsy shop! I only have two items up today, but my goal is to have a few more up by the end of the week!

Here is what I have so far!

(Only $1.25)

I love all those cute meal plans with color and pretty designs, but I just feel that it is wrong to print them off to throw them away each week and waste all that ink. So mine is in Black and Grey. It has each day of the week and a slot for Breakfast, Lunch, Snack and Dinner. And I will customize it with your family's last name. 

 (Only $1.50)

My second print out is using my Certified Bridal Consultant skills (yes, I have a certification to plan weddings) and it is a Maid of Honor Wedding Day checklist. It has a slot for things to bring that day and a helpful gift guide for you to help the Bride take care of all the loose ends. It is actually 6 pages long. 

             ----Did you know that there is suppose to be a Penny in the Bride's shoe for prosperity? A part of rhythm that was forgotten. (...And a six-pence in the shoe)

These items and soon to be more are available NOW in my Etsy show Here. 

But, one of you can win one of your choice by letting me know below which one you would like! I will pick a winner sometime Wednesday afternoon. 

If you would like something custom, please email me at bmbarrow@hotmail.com, subject line: PRINTABLES. 

Hope you are all off to a great start to the week!

Bethany

I Hate the Corner Cabinet!

When we moved into our rental about 3 months ago I couldn't help but think about all the possibilities I could do with this large corner cabinet in our kitchen... And now I know so much better!

My husband had to buy me a stepping stool to be able to reach the back of it and the top. No joke. So I started just throwing things in it. And it turned into the below disaster.

And at first glance the top is not too bad, but there are only three items on it. Try finding something important on the bottom before the dinner burnt.

After half an hour it now looks like this:

Not amazing, but I can see everything. I can't have more than 3 cans back or I need the step latter and that is just annoying sometimes. And it has a odd shape on the sides so it is actually kind of tight. But I know what is there for the first time in 3 months. 

Have a great weekend!

Bethany

To my commenter, ANDREA BARRON

Andrea Barron...

I am so sorry I missed your comment a couple of weeks ago... I think that was when my kids were sick. 

I AM SO SORRY!

But I would LOVE to custom make some printables for you. I have found some I use here and there that are free at Organizing Your Way. Sometimes I do not have time to make a really personalized one and so I used some of theirs. There are a ton of great ones!

But, I would love to custom make you some! Email me at bmbarrow@hotmail.com and let me know. I have not had anyone asked yet so I am super excited you like them!

Bethany

Bring it ON Monday! : End of Year Organization

I have had the last week off due to being out of state seeing family for Christmas. And can I just say that it was amazing! I love Christmas. 

But now it it time to get ready for 2012! And every year between the day after Christmas and New Year's I do a purge of crap and make one last donation for a tax write off, and it just feels good. And I also start putting together ALL the information needed for Steve and I's taxes. This way, when his W2 comes in January we can just take everything in and get it done. 

So today I urge all of you to do the same this week! Be ready before the last minute and you will have that much more chance to file your taxes on time, and even EARLY. Which means your return comes early as well. How could that hurt?

Happy Monday!

Bet

And later today I will be posting a J. Bella sale to die for!

Bring it ON Monday! : Family Household Binder Part 2

Hello! It is the last few moments of Monday, I have been preparing for a J. Bella party at my home! First time hosting myself so it should be a blast! I am doing it with Wall Candy Decor! Check them out here on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wall-Candy-Decor/219599111383906, They have the coolest stuff! I will be posting my personal purchase TOMORROW!

But, onto what we are all here for, my newest Monday project. But, it is actually part 2 of the Family Household Binder. I decided to start my own since, besides the cost of paper and ink, I could do it myself for free. I have found them on Etsy for $50. So here is some of my work! (My computer would not save it right side up on most, sorry, I look so amateur... wait, I am)

 This is the page having everything to do with the important numbers and such with your home. It says landlord since we are renters right now. (Pardon my hands in the midnight hour!)

 This is the financial page with bank information on it and account numbers.

 This is the medical page for insurance, doctors and all that. You could enter prescription info too.

 This is kids' schedule. Mostly for if something happens to Steve and I and someone who does not know it well watches them. Or if I want to leave for a couple hours my husband can look at it in a panic, and then not tell me he used it.

 Here is our weekly meal plan.... probably should actually try to use it.

And here is our financial checklist where we just mark whether something has been paid or not for each month.

Here in a couple of weeks I hope to have a budget sheet made, a car care sheet, babysitter sheet and more! Anyone have any ideas on a sheet to put together to better organize your family? I would love to hear from you.

Happy Almost Tuesday!

Bet

Bring it ON MOnday! : Laundry Room/Pantry Organization

Hello and hope the start of your week is great! Today I bring you a giant, scary and crazy long project. Mostly to let all of you know, your not alone in that "one room". You know what I am talking about...

That room that hardly sees the light of day. Where all the things without a home, find one. Where the creepy crawlies live and you know that one shoe is in there somewhere! For most of you it is in your basement, others it is the room down the hall. But fear NOT! You can change this evil with a little hard work, sweat and nagging your husband to help.

We have a room in our basement that we use as storage for food and well, everything. It is also the laundry room. We are renters and I would love to make it cute if it is possible, but it's not ours. I have before and after photos for you. And feel free to judge me, I judged myself for this heap honestly. 

But an organization idea for you which can totally be used in your pantry is to sort your food by typical meals you eat. Like Italian or Mexican and so on. A lot of people just put stuff in where it can fit. Bad idea. This is just one simple, and free idea, to make dinner time a little easier. (I will have photos of that another day!) 

Enjoy a good laugh and oh my goodness and feel free to ask if I am a hoader. I am not. These are the before:

And it probably did not help that the owner of the house had stuff down there to from re-doing the house to try and sell. So we had to organized that first. The room is really large actually and the goal is to get a table down there to fold clothes on.

Middle:

And the end! Sort of... I had two sick kids this weekend so we will get to work on the finishing touches this week.

Happy Monday!

Bet

Bring it ON Monday! : $1 Organization Ideas

For those of you that know me, I LOVE the dollar store! Here I am highlighting a $1 container that has endless possibilities!

This is a basic container, labeled for leftovers mostly. It has three compartments that stay divided when the lid is on it. My almost two year old can not get into it!

 The first idea is for game storage. My husband is a big card game player (and uses them for target practice before hunting season) so we have a lot of cards. A lot of the games need dice, so everything is perfectly organized. The unopened cards, extra cards and the dice.

 Bow and hair tie storage for your little princess and even yourself.

Tool storage for the need on hand stuff.

More ideas: Toy storage, Scrapbooking storage, Office supplies, Labels of all kinds storage, Utensil storage for when you go camping. And anything you can think of! And each container is only $1!

Happy Monday

Bet