Fall is here.

I usually detest the onset of Fall. The biting cold, darkness, and wind, that just screams, "There's a whole lot more of this for the next six months!" However, we had a nonexistent winter, and a never-ending summer here, so I couldn't be more excited about the cool temperatures, clouds, and crunchy leaves.

I even went as far as to decorate for the holidays! I designed some Halloween art (with a little help from Landon too, of course!) and put it in some frames around the house. Also made some little boxes to hold candy and a fall themed table centerpiece.

Costumes are finished too - bring on the Halloween parties and trick or treating!

Two

I just love birthday parties! We decided fairly last minute to head up to Washington and celebrate Landon's birthday with the people he loves most.

Road trip! Family!

I narrowed Landon's obsession with cars, trains, planes, and anything that has wheels and moves to a CONSTRUCTION THEMED PARTY. I even made the cake myself, which turned out surprisingly cute and yummy. Now, if you ever want to make a boring cake mix amazing, follow Kevin & Amanda's recipe for The Best Chocolate Cake Ever. (Link here.) I've never been a cake person, but this recipe has seriously changed that.

Presents! Came home with a nice stash of goodies.

From the minute Landon saw his cake, it was impossible to keep him away. He was so excited when it was finally time to grab those trucks off the top... and be spoon fed the treat. Could life get any better?

I still can't believe he's two. Goodbye chubby cheeks and little legs. Hello big man!

Rainbows and Leprechauns

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and couldn't wait make these beauties for a St. Patrick's Day treat. Cute, huh? You would not believe how much stress they caused. It proved to be one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried to make. Why is it that perfectly melted white chocolate becomes instantly hard and disgusting as soon as you add food coloring? My improvisational adding of random liquids and reheating the mixtures did not quite do the trick. I was able to get a few shots before they all melted into a nice colorful mess. I think I'll stick to baking. :)

White Chocolate Covered Oreos & Rolos:
aka Rainbows & Leprechaun Gold

Of course, I had to add a photo of my little leprechaun. Luckily, his "lucky shirt" from last year still fit. (As do many of his shorts, thank goodness. The weather is warming up quickly in our neck of the woods.) Anywho, here's a cutsie little photo comparison from St. Patty's Day 2011 & 2012.

It's true. He really is growing up.

Help!

Well, February has come and gone which means it's time to reflect on my first month of couponing and sticking to a budget. I'll just throw it out there: epic failure. I've read about families of eight living on $300 a month in groceries. Obviously seven of them are starving.

Things that worked: 

• A couple very successful couponing trips. (I'm getting the hang of it!)
• Going to multiple stores. Target is my new favorite.
• Switching to the envelope system. Using cash worked really well... until it was all gone... and I still had 21 days left in the month.

Things that didn't work:

• Giving Scott my debit card. a) I ended up just grabbing his to use when we ran out of cash, and b) I have the whole card memorized anyway. (Is that weird?)
• Sticking to a budget. Obviously. 

So, here's where I need some help from my readers. And I know you're out there because I've seen the Google Analytics. On average, we spend about $600 in groceries, $150 eating out each month. In February we spent $800 in groceries and $180 eating out. I know, for being the first month couponing/really budgeting, how did I go over so much?! Gluten-free. Dairy-free. (That being said, February was actually an improvement from January.) My goal? $400. (Ha!) Obviously I need a more realistic goal. Soooooo, kindly leave me a comment and let me know:

How much you spend each month in these areas? 
How do you stick to a budget?

In other news, Landon's bedroom that was bursting with toys, has finally gotten a facelift. For months, I thought the only solution was to get a bookshelf to hold everything. Well, after stalking KSL forever and never finding the perfect used bookcase I could fix up, I decided to rearrange his closet and room. I also gave the train table (good ol' cardboard box) a makeover with paint and fabric I had around the house, and now it looks much better, and finally has a place against the wall. At least I was thrifty in some way this month! :)

Bunting Bookmark

Sometimes I get these random craft impulses where I have to make something. Pronto. Ok, you're right... I get them a lot. Well, in addition to being a craft addict, I'm also a readaholic. When I go to the library to get a new book I'm so overwhelmed by the endless rows and rows of novels, I experience an almost sad feeling, just knowing there's no way I could read them all. So, how the crap is a person supposed to choose?! My philosophy: It must be a Newbery winner (or honor book) or a friend specifically recommends it. My reading time is precious, limited, and I'm not going to waste it on a mediocre book. (Pictured with the bookmark are a few of my favorite books, and the three bottom ones are what I'm reading next.)

So, back to the crafting. A reader can't have too many bookmarks! I made this little cutie and all I want to do now is make more. So the big dilemma: do I spend my remaining half hour while Landon is napping, making bookmarks or reading? Choices, choices.

And in case you can't read the quote, it says:

You are the guardians of the hearth. You are the bearers of the children. You are they who nurture them and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God. Gordon B. Hinckley

Bunting Bookmark
Materials
Scrapbook paper
Raised adhesive roll
Ink pad
Quote

Directions
Really, this is pretty self explanatory. I would just make sure to use raised adhesive tape for the bunting so it sticks up from the page. The font I used for my quote is called 1942 Report, and you can download it for free here.

ABCs of You & Me Book

This book was Scott's Valentine's Day gift, although it would make a great anniversary gift as well! (And it was a nice gift to myself to have an excuse to get my scrap on!) It probably took a total of 10 hours to complete. (Remember, I am a perfectionist.) And, I spent a lot of that time just choosing how I would design it, fonts, paper, etc... which are all things I can share with you! Below are the directions, templates, and everything you need to know to recreate this at home.

ABCs of You & Me Book
Materials

• Templates (Download here)
• DCWV 4.5" x 6.5" paper stack (Called "The Green Stack," I found it at Joanns.)
• Black ink pad
• Edge rounder (This is seriously my favorite scrapbooking tool. It was only a few dollars at a scrapbook store and I use it all the time.)
• 3 ring hole punch
• 2 metal rings (About 1" diameter. I had to go to 4 stores to find mine. Craft stores were the only ones that carried 2 in a pack but they were all out, office supply stores only had 40 - 60 in a pack, but I did find a small pack of these colored ones at Office Depot so that's what I ended up with.)

Directions

• To begin with, half the templates are PDFs ready to print and cut (title page, actual ABCs), but the other half need to be customized by you (what the letters stand for, captions). So, in order to open them and have the fonts show up, you need to download and install the following fonts: Geo Sans Light | Everytime I Miss You | Impervious
• Next, fill out what you want each of the letters to stand for. (Some are obviously more generic and could apply to you also.)
• Decide what pages from the paper stack are going to be the pages of your book. Glue every two together so the book will be back and front. (See my pictures if that's confusing!)
• Hole punch the top of the pages.
• Then it's just printing, cutting, and pasting time! I printed on some random beige resume paper we had, but plain white would have been fine too. I like to round my edges, ink them, border them, then glue everything on the pages.

Bring on the Coupons!

My name is Becca and I have a problem. I suck at following a budget. Now before you judge, it's not like I'm out buying everything that catches my eye. It's always the same thing. Food. Food is my downfall. We have to eat, right? And eating right can be expensive. And all those crazy coupon ladies just downright scare and intimidate me. And I don't have that kind of time. And Landon's a handful. And, and, and...

I was able to convince myself for a couple of years that couponing just "wasn't for me." But, my excuses were pathetic. Why pay more for something when you could pay less, or even *gasp* get it for free? So, one of my New Years resolutions was to learn how to stick to a budget and save money by using coupons.

I did a lot of research about how to get started and yada yada yada and was so excited that I'd be able to exercise my crafty side in putting together a coupon box. My coupon box alone makes couponing way more enticing. Details at the end of this post.

Next, I set a budget, told Scott to hide my debit and credit cards, converted to the envelope system, got my Sunday paper subscription, found a couponing site that I like (Savvy Sister Shops), and let the fun begin. I'm happy to report that on my first couponing trip to Walmart I got multiple items for free, paid under $0.50 for many others, and walked out of there with quite a bit of stuff for $17.70. I was so giddy with excitement! I can coupon! It's not too hard or time-consuming after all! Saving money is fun!

I must also share the couponing success behind my new kicks. I've been pumped for months waiting for the Toms ballet flats to come out. Well, they're finally here but with one slight downer - they're 80 bucks. 80 bucks! For one pair of shoes! Heck no, I would not spend that much on shoes. So, I've been eye-balling these red polka dot babies from Old Navy for a few weeks now. Saved a couple coupons and ended up only paying $5.27 for a $25 pair of shoes. Bring on the coupons!

Coupon Box
Materials

• Rubbermaid container
• Scrapbook paper (patterned and plain)
• Labels

Directions

• Measure and cut the patterned paper to fit in your box. Label each with your categories for coupons. Behind each divider put a folded piece of plain paper to act as an envelope to keep your coupons in. 
• My categories are: Baby, Baking, Batteries, Beverages, Bread, Candy, Canned, Crafts, Cereal, Cleaner, Clothing, Condiments, Dairy, Entertainment, Feminine, Frozen, Health Food, Hygiene, Jelly & Peanut Butter, Laundry, Meat, Office Supplies, Paper Products, Pasta, Produce, Restaurants, Salad Dressing, Sauces & Seasonings, Snacks, Expires Soon.

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree (Ornament Crafts!)

Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas?!?! Decorating the tree was so much fun with Landon's help. I made some cinnamon applesauce ornaments, and he thought they were cookies for him. I also started to make a popcorn chain and he decided to eat that too. Not sure what I was thinking, trying to put edible things that he likes on the tree.

Landon always makes sure the lights are on. I'll turn them off during the day, but sure enough, as soon as he notices, he'll plug them right back in. That's the spirit, dear.

As mentioned, I made a few ornaments to add to our tree. Here's what I did for the two pictured:

Orange Slices

1. Preheat oven to 225.
2. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
3. Place the orange slices on the sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Bake for about 2 hours.
5. Hot glue a cinnamon stick to the top.
6. Poke an ornament hook into the orange and hang it on the tree!

Cinnamon Ornaments

1. Mix together about 1 1/2 cups applesauce, 2 cups cinnamon, and a tsp each of cloves, ginger, and allspice.
2. Roll out and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. 
3. Use a straw to make a hole for hanging them.
4. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 1 hour, then bake them directly on the oven rack for another hour and a half. 
5. Let them cool before hanging. Enjoy the heavenly smell in your home. :)

Play Kitchen from Cardboard Boxes

Landon's very own kitchen. He looooooooves it. :) And the best part? It didn't cost me ANYTHING.

It all started with Pinterest. I'm seriously obsessed. If you have yet to jump on that bandwagon, I advise you to wait no longer! I'll even put a link right here for you: Pinterest Home. Anyway, I've been finding some fun activities and DIY toys for toddlers on there. One idea was to make a play oven out of a cardboard box. Yes, that's all fine and dandy... if you can find a good box. Well, earlier this week, the fates were in my favor and low and behold, I stumbled upon some huge piles of GREAT boxes outside the back of Joanns. So, after two days of work... ta dah!

Play Kitchen from Cardboard Boxes
Materials:

• Three boxes. (You need some extra cardboard to make shelves.)
• Paint (Optional)
• Bowl with rim
• Pump dispenser thingy (I don't really know what you call these.)
• Sponge (Cut up a couple squares)
• 4 CDs
• Cardstock (varying colors)
• 5 small lids
• Page protector
• A couple Popsicle sticks
• All the fun goodies to stock it with (food, pans, towel, etc...)

Instructions:

• Build. Assemble the boxes. Cut off the smaller flaps on each box. One will then be left with two long flaps on each side for the fridge doors. On the other, go ahead and tape the long flaps shut. 
• Cut. On the completely taped box, trace and cut where you want to have oven and cabinet doors. (I cut a hole in my oven door for a window.)
• Paint. If desired, paint the boxes. I happened to have some random white paint so I used that.
• Add Handles. Attach all the door handles. I just used some yard, poked holes and tied it in. 
• Finish fridge. (Box #1) Measure and cut a few shelves for inside. (This is what the extra box is for.) Hot glue into place. Stock with fun things. (Empty milk jug, empty egg carton with Easter eggs, fruit, snacks, etc...) On the doors, I added some cut out alphabet letters, piece of Landon's art, and constructed a pen holder out of cardboard, cardstock, and hot glue. Be creative! 
• Finish Oven/Stove/Sink. (Box #2) Hot glue a page protector on the inside of the oven window. Cut a hole in the top for the sink; place the bowl inside. (My bowl is from a small rice cooker I don't use anymore.) Poke a hole for the spout and stick the dispenser pump in there. (Thankfully I never through away out empty lotion bottle so I had this one to use.) Glue down a piece of 12x12 cardstock for the stove base. Trace a CD on black paper four times; cut those circles out. Glue each to a CD and rub the top. (The CD imprint makes it look like a coil.) Glue those into place on the base cardstock. Trace some cardstock circles for each of the nobs. (Make them slightly bigger of course.) Glue the cardstock into place on the box. Poke a hole through the center of each. Hot glue yarn to the middle underside of each cap. String the yarn through the holes and tie on the back. (I added a little hot glue too.) You could just glue the caps to the box but this makes it so they can turn, which it seriously one of Landon's favorite parts. We happened to have an old towel hanger so I hot glued that to the side and added a towel. I also added some Popsicle stick reinforcements on the sides of the oven when the box was just taped together. Makes it a little more sturdy. Stock it with pans, bowls, cups, an empty cleaning bottle, rag, brush, sponges, etc...
• Let the fun begin!

Our Little Dough Boy

I have a millions things to post in regards to Halloween but I'm sure Landon will wake up soon and I wanted to at least get his costume picts up. :)

Landon had SOOO much fun treat or treating! We couldn't have hoped for more perfect weather, so that make a big difference of course. Once he realized that he got to run up to each house, ring doorbells, AND pick out candy, he was in heaven! I was so proud of him for keeping his hat on the entire time too. And he was usually holding his spoon as well! :)

I used to be a hardcore sugar addict so I can't even begin to express how excited I am for Halloween to finally be a fun and candy-filled day again!

Pillsbury Dough Boy Hat
I couldn't find plain white pants or sweatshirts anywhere! So, I just used a pair of his sweatpants and a sweatshirt as a pattern and made some using white sweatshirt material. He also wore a white long sleeve shirt underneath, white socks, and white shoes. For the tie, I just cut a triangle out of fabric with the two sides that would tie in the front extra long. (So it wasn't a perfect triangle.) Tied the ends and viola!

Pillsbury Dough Boy Hat
Materials

• White poster board
• White tissue paper
• Solid blue paper
• Puff paint
• Hot glue

Directions

• Cut a strip of poster board about 5 inches wide and an inch longer than the circumference of your child's head. Glue the ends together. (I had extra fabric from the costume so I also lined the inside so it was soft.)
• Overlap two pieces of tissue paper. Round them out and attach to the inside of the hat using tape. (I attached corners first, then middle sides and puffed it out as necessary.)
• Write the "Pillsury" logo on with white puff paint on the blue paper. (I figured out about how much room I had, wrote it, let it dry, then traced a glass over it and cut out the circle.)
• Attach logo to the front of the hat.

Landon's First Birthday

The Birthday Boy: He's one?! Oh my heavens. We went to WA and celebrated the big event while there. (We also did a bunch of other things, but this post alone has taken 2 hours, so the rest of the trip will have to wait.) Here comes picture overload...

The Circus Theme: I've never put together a cutsie party like this, but so glad I did! Tons of fun! Loved crafting all the little tags and banner. Got a lot of inspiration online. I love Hostess with the Mostess!

The Guests: The party was held in Spokane at the in-law's house. My fam came out from Olympia to join in the fun. Scott's grandmother was visiting because there was a graduating senior in the family so she got to be there too. And as a random side note, it was actually her birthday that day! In the first picture below, those are three of Scott's sisters on the left, and my younger brother and sister on the right.

The Game: I found this cute game idea online. I think it's actually a Koren tradition for first birthdays. Anyway, everyone cast their vote on what they thought Landon would be when he grows up: pilot, scholar, musician, filmmaker, or athlete. Each profession had a toy representing it that was put outside. (He had never seen these toys before.) Then we let Landon loose, and guess what he chose? Filmmaker! Only Scott, me, and Jen (Scott's oldest sis) picked this job. Atta boy!

The Cake: Scott's mom had a friend make this amazing cake. It turned out just perfect and the top was even dairy-free, chocolate-cherry for Landon. At first Landon was very disgusted by it but once he got a good bite he seemed to enjoy it... for a couple minutes at least.

Lollipop, Lollipop: What's a circus themed party without a giant swirly pop?! Although, Landon was more interested in chewing on the stick than licking the sugary treat.

The Gifts: Landon is getting better and better at opening gifts. And by this I mean, he started holding up each item for everyone to see. How thoughtful.

Happy birthday little man! We love you to pieces!

6 Months Old and A Homemade Stocking

I really can't believe our little guy is already 6 months old. Where has the time gone? He is growing and changing so fast! On December 1st he started to say ma ma ma ma ma. Still not really sure if he knows that's me but he says it nonetheless! Before it was na na na and blah blah blah. Seriously! He also has started squealing which is quite entertaining. He is perfecting his army crawl as well. He will pull his body a few inches, roll over, and repeat to move around. When I hold him in a standing position he always stands on his toes, waving his arms out to the sides - little ballerina?

The other night we were all sitting on the bed listening to Scott play guitar. Landon is so fascinated by the guitar! Anyway, Landon was laying on his tummy and I started rubbing his back and he just went totally limp, rested his head, spread out his arms and legs, and laid there for a half an hour while I scratched/massaged his little baby body. It was the cutest thing!

Landon is such a BOY. He loves computers (keyboards), phones, and Scott's camera. He particularly likes to "help" out when we are trying to do something on the computer. However, he does get a little rough and now my laptop is missing one of the arrow keys. (Let me clarify; I know where it is, it's just no longer attached to the keyboard.)

On Landon's half birthday we went to the Enchanted Gingerbread Forest at the Grand America in Salt Lake City. It was so cool!! It was around 7:30pm on a weekday so there was really no one there. Very quiet and peaceful with many beautiful lights and displays. Landon was in heaven! He was just babbling and giggling and having so so much fun!
Since Black Friday, I have been working here and there on Landon's stocking. I wasn't planning on making one but after unsuccessfully trying to find one I liked, I decided why not? So I went to Joanns and bought some fabric, a little snowman, and a hanging decoration with various Christmasy things on it. I cut those out and hand-stitched them to the front of the stocking, along with the letters of his name. For not following any pattern, and pretty much winging it as I went along, I think it turned out well! I forgot how much I LOVE doing crafty things!!

Homemade Stocking (Mini How-To)
Materials

• Fabric (I used fleece in two colors)
• Felt
• Embroidery Floss
• Decorations (Mine were cut out from a Christmas banner)
• Old Stocking (Optional to use as a template)

Directions

• Trace the old stocking leaving 1/4 in seam allowance.
• Sew the top and bottom second color fabric to the stocking. (Mine is the white.) I made the top extra long so I could just fold it over on the inside.
• Decorate the front however you wish! I cut his name out from green felt and hand stitched it on using doubled over embroidery floss. Then I cut out some Christmas icons (snowflake, santa, reindeer) from a Christmas banner. I hand-stitched these on just like the letters. I also bought a little snowman and sewed that on the middle.
• Put right sides together and sew the stocking up.
• Fill with Christmas goodies!

How to Cutsie up a Compostion Notebook

I thought it was about time I show off my craftiness! I've been keeping a journal for our little boy ever since I found out that I was pregnant. Since then, I have been waiting and waiting to decorate the cover until I knew whether to use blues or pinks. Well, I finally sat down for some craft time and came up with this:

Ordinary Composition Notebook Turned Fabulous
Materials

• Scrapbook paper
• Ribbon or string
• Embellishments
• Ink (I love to "ink" the perimeter of my paper to give it more depth.)

Directions

• For the base paper (mine is white polka dots on blue): Line it up on the black spine then cut the other three sides so they are about an inch longer than the notebook. Glue in place, then fold the top and bottom over and glue to the inside. Fold the side flap over and glue as well. To finish off the inside, cut a piece that will fill the space and glue it in. (I used blue stripes in the second picture.)
• Decorate the front with layers, embellishments, ribbon, string, quotes, etc..

Speaking of showing off, here's the latest belly shot. 23 weeks! Last night Scott did some newborn picts for his cousin Mark's new baby. She is adorable and the picts are priceless. My favorite are these fun ones with her in a tutu.