I’m no fashionista. I’m not a gourmet. I can’t say I’m a big book worm nor am I on the cutting edge of technology. However there are things across all these topics that catch my eye and I must have. These are all the things, places and people that I am loving - a list that will continue to grow throughout 2012 and that I can look back on at the end of the year with some interest or amusement.
PS - If you are my husband, parents, sister, brother or friends, this list contains some great gift ideas :)
I love mason jars. I’ve used them for a long time to help in my obsession to stay organized but I’d say I’ve taken my love of the mason jar to a whole new level recently. Mason jars top my list of
things I am currently coveting (along with kale chips, women’s capes, sugar rose lip treatment and my Breville panini maker.)
So I took some time to roundup clever uses for mason jars. Sure they are good for canning but anybody who knows me knows that’s one thing I won’t be using mason jars for. Here are 12 other uses that don’t involve culinary chops. Enjoy!
I love potato chips. They are my downfall. I can easily eat a whole bag in one sitting. And we are talking the big bag not the single serving bag. I’ve been known to eat potato chips for breakfast on my commute to work. They also make great late night snacks. In fact they hit the spot just about any time of the day. Salt and Vinegar are the best (I’m from Canada.)
But enough about potato chips. I am trying to cut back on them so I pulled together this list of healthier alternatives to potato chips. You won’t find celery or fruit on this list. I need something that could truly substitute for that crispy, crunchy craving. These are things I have tried and I can tell you they definitely satisfy.
My first mistake was hiring an interior designer who does not have children to decorate our family room. My second mistake was going with her suggestion to put a nice white coffee table in the family room. I have two children ages 4 and 7 who love doing art. What do you think happened next? If you guessed that the expensive white coffee table was destroyed you are correct.
But there is a happy ending to this story because my search for a solution to the destroyed white coffee table introduced me to chalkboard paint. I have died and gone to heaven. Chalkboard paint is one of my new obsessions! Maybe one day I will cover an entire wall with chalkboard paint like in this blog post from Sugar & Spice.
Or I may just play around with chalkboard paint to revive my destroyed white coffee table, personalize a chair, create labels for everything, and all the other great ideas on this list.
I went to an all-girls school in Toronto, Canada for 12 years. I loved it while I was there (most days) and now that I am a 40+ year old woman with a daughter of my own I truly realize what a special experience it was. Here are the top 10 reasons I loved going to an all-girls school, both funny and more serious.
LEGO recently launched LEGO Friends, the new LEGO line just for girls. The line includes Stephanie’s Cool Convertible, Butterfly Beauty Shop, Emma’s Fashion Design Studio and Andrea’s Stage. Pink and purple are the dominant colors, and the line is fairly simplistic in terms of construction level and number of bricks included with each set.
As a girl, I was very into LEGO. My older brother may have gotten the LEGO sets as gifts but I was the one who played with them for hours on end. To this day I love building complex LEGO structures with my children. That is why I wanted to like LEGO Friends and use the line to get my daughter interested in LEGO and other toys that foster a love of math, construction, etc.
When my daughter (who is 4.5 years old) saw LEGO Friends, she immediately told me to put a few of the sets on her birthday list. I wasn’t sure what I thought so I put a question into
HonestlyNow about LEGO Friends to see what other people thought. The results were not favorable:
The jury is still out on LEGO Friends. My gut is to find some existing gender-neutral toys for my daughter to play with. Next up on my “to do” list is to create a list of toys that feed a love of building, maths & sciences in girls. Any recommendations for what to include on that list?
I love lists - to do lists, grocery lists, lists of parenting tips, gift lists, Top 10 amusing lists…you name it, I love the list! So what better way to kick off 2012 then to share this amazing list of 2011 lists. I can’t take credit for making this list of lists but I do know a good list when I see one. This list rounds up the top 2011 lists from around the web including:
- 10 Least Fascinating People
- 12 Best Nail Colors
- 20 Life Lessons from Steve Jobs
- and much more
If you are like me, all your focus right now is on getting ready for the holidays - buying, wrapping and shipping presents, creating and sending holiday cards, planning for the vacation. However soon enough it will be New Years and time to make one or more resolutions. I thought I would get out in front of the resolution discussion by sharing tips to clear the clutter - namely the paper clutter - from your home and life.
I am all about being clutter free, including keeping as little paper - bills, forms, kids artwork, cards, etc. Here are my best tips on going paperless at home. The nice thing about these tips is they help you be more organized and they are eco-friendly too.
Everyone know one - that little boy who is obsessed with LEGO sets, that girl who can build LEGO structures like nobody’s business, that adult who uses her children’s LEGO more than they do. Given that I know all three (my son is obsessed, my daughter kicks butt at building, and I am that adult), I’ve pulled together a list of great gifts for LEGO lovers of all kinds. It goes way beyond the usual LEGO building sets and includes everything from LEGO games, tools, books, clothing, even cufflinks!
Don’t hate me for saying this - I had two easy pregnancies. I worked full-time through both pregnancies. I didn’t experience extreme fatigue or have any health complications. I tended to carry my weight in my belly rather than all over. I will say that I missed eating sushi and drinking wine. But those are small complaints given what many women go through during their pregnancies. This infographic sums up those collective experiences - cravings, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, pregnancy sex and more. Enjoy!
By SkinnyScoop
