One Line A Day...

I used to be a scrap-booker. I even own a Cricut machine. I LOVE creating pages filled with fun memories. And I love using my creativity to decorate the pages. The big problem is that it takes a whole lot of time. Time that I don't have. I haven't started a scrapbook for my little man even though I have enough photos to document his entire life! One day I will get around to it.

In the meantime, I found one of my favorite books EVER. It is called "One Line A Day." This perfect little book is kind of like journaling your life, Twitter style. You jot down the most memorable part of your day. In my case, I write down a little line for Harper letting him know what he did/learned/loved that day. There is no way I can write a full page every night but I think I can manage to jot down one quick line before I fall asleep every night.

In this book, there is a page for each day of the year. Each day has spots for five entries. So at a quick glance, I can tell Harper exactly what he did over the past five years. Maybe one day I when Harper is off in college (insert alligator tears here) I can send him funny texts reminding him what he did that exact day when he was 3 years old. Yes, I will be "that mom."

So far I am about a week into it and I haven't missed a day. Hopefully I can keep it up. I think it will be a really cool gift to give my baby one day. Do any other moms keep a journal for their children? Does anyone have this particular one? How do you like it? 

Winner, Winner!

The winner of the Print Runner Giveaway is Christina Hyatt! Congrats Christina!

Bling, Bling!

I can always use some bling in my life! I've been looking for a pair of cute pink earrings to so with my favorite pair of pink Lilly Pulitzer summer jeans. I just found an adorable pair! Aren't these cute!? They are from a really cute website, JoJo Loves You. Check out the site, it has a ton of cute accessories! JoJo Loves You is a jewelry design studio in Boston and they are getting ready for our HUGE Annual Memorial Day Bling Sale…it is awesome! The sale runs from Friday, May 25th through Monday, May 28th and is only available online through the web store, jojolovesyou.com.

All of these cute "bling" earrings are on sale for Memorial Day.

What is your favorite color? I think I am going with the hot pink to match my pants but I really like those emerald green ones too! Enjoy the bling.

Summer Salads

Last week we had a few friends over for a nice little barbecue. It was delicious! I made a few side salads and they were a hit. I thought I should share the recipes with y'all. They are very easy to make and everyone seemed to enjoy them! I love a good summer salad.

I got the recipe from Foodnetwork.com. I love that website. The pasta is called:

Neely's Lemon Pasta Salad

Here is the recipe:


Ingredients-


Salt
1 pound corkscrew pasta
1 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup freshly chopped dill leaves
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
7 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Directions-


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse. Set aside.

In another large pot of boiling salted water, add the asparagus and blanch until bright green and slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or a spider and shock in icy cold water. Remove from the water and dry well.

Trim the ends of the asparagus and cut into bite-size pieces on the bias.

Whisk together the mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Combine the reserved asparagus and pasta in a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, dill, peas, feta, and the mustard dressing. Toss with tongs to coat the salad well. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.


**Note**
If you don't like dill, you probably won't like this recipe. It is not too strong but you can definitely taste the dill leaves.

I will share the other recipe next week!

What Happened to Customer Service?

We live in a day and age that is consumed with technology and a "me" mentality. Businesses are concerned with making a quick buck rather than forming a relationship with their customer. I think the absolute worst customer service is found at airlines. I am pretty sure US Airways does not give a rip about their customers. They loose you luggage and they expect you to figure it out. They overbook your flight and they don't offer any sort of compensation. It sucks!

I was pleasantly surprised with the customer service I received today. So surprised that I actually wanted to brag on the company. Where was I? I was at the Apple Store in Haywood Mall. What could have been a very unpleasant and stressful situation was tolerable due to the really helpful employees. My computer has been acting crazy. I was in the middle of editing photos and it turned off abruptly. When I turned it back on my clock and internet was re-set. It was driving me nuts and I was ready to throw my computer against a wall. I took it into Apple and they determined it was a faulty battery. When I went to pick it up today I decided to boot it up and make sure it worked properly. It still had a few small glitches. The folks at Apple started running diagnostics tests right away. I arrived at the store around 5:30PM and by 9PM the computer still had problems. The store closed at 9PM but they let me stay in the store while they tried to repair the problem. By 10PM it was determined that I am going to have to re-install my operating system. Now I have to run Time Machine on my laptop to make sure I don't loose any of my data. I am heading back to the store in the morning to fix it. But I was impressed with the employees determination to fix my issues. I could tell they wanted to send me home with a fixed computer tonight. They chatted with me while I sat for countless hours and kept me somewhat entertained. Most of all, they provided exceptional customer service. I think a lot of companies could learn a thing or two from Apple.

So Apple, I salute you. I will never purchase a PC again.

PS- If you ever buy an Apple product, make sure you always purchase Apple Care. Time and time again I am thankful that I purchased it!

A Near Death Experience

Harper was hired by Buy Buy Baby to do another print ad. While we were on set, one of the men showed us this awesome iPhone app, Action Movie FX. 

We were amused, to say the least. Here are my boys in action:

And here is Harper's first ad. It was released this month. They were so nice and sent us a few copies in the mail. I actually went to Buy Buy Baby to purchase the water toy he was photographed with (he loved that thing!) and they were already sold out. I guess it was because of the cute models in the advertisement!

The Juggler

Nowadays I feel like a juggling act. Part mom, part business women, part blogger, part maid. Life is crazy, life is complicated, but life is good and I am blessed (I try to repeat that last part often... a daily reminder keeps me sane). 

I always feel like I have a ton of things to blog about. Then I sit down to write a blog and my mind goes BLANK! I hate when that happens.

I guess I will blog about my coupon obsession. Yes, I am a crazy coupon lady. I started cutting coupons when I was pregnant and on average I save about $100 per week! Now I can't go back. If I go to Publix without my coupons I feel naked. Pathetic, I know.

I went to Whole Foods last week. I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat at the hot bar. I was attempting to eat healthy but I ended up with a nice scoop of spicy mac n' cheese. It was so good. While I had dinner, I watched all of the women shopping. I was so envious of the women in there. They just walked down the aisles and threw stuff into their carts. $7 orange juice, no biggie! Obviously no coupons, no price comparison, they just bought whatever they desired. That would be nice! 

For now I shall cut coupons. The hardest part about cutting coupons is the time it takes to cut and organize them. I have tried a few different methods of organization. I started out with envelopes. That was a disaster and a complete mess in my drawer. Then I bought a special coupon book on Amazon. It is $19.99 and in my opinion it is well worth it. I loved the book and the only real issue I had with it was the fact that you couldn't really see the coupons in the folders and it was pretty thick to put in my purse. Recently I started carrying a backpack instead of a purse (I will blog about that another day) so I wanted to try a new coupon organization method that was the size of a school binder. I think I found my perfect match!!! It was at Target.  It is the Mead OrganizHer (clever name) Coupon Binder. Confession- I purchased two because I wanted extra tabs and organizing sheets. I am going to combine all of the organization sheets and tabs in one binder and have it super organized. If you cut coupons or are thinking about starting, you NEED this! 

After I finish organizing my new binder I will post photos. I am in organize mode at our house right now. I want to start posting my new Project Organization undertaking on the blog. Hope you enjoy! 

FYI- Do you want to save some serious mula? My favorite website that helps me find all of the good deals is Southern Savers.  Every women out there should check out this page. I promise, it makes couponing so much easier! 

And I will leave you with some Photo Booth pictures:

This was taken this morning! 

This was taken when he was my little baby! Oh how time flies!