Savin' Maven: DIY Valentine's Day Mail

Hello my loves.

Listen, I know I'm late as hell; please forgive me as I'm still trying to get accustomed to life with a newborn. Its like my days are literally stuck on fast forward. Seriously though, every waking moment that I have is spent on my lil one. 

I did however want to stop by today to share a quick,  easy, and fairly inexpensive holiday DIY project with you all. This project can really be done for any occasion bit since my family just recently had Valentine's Day pictures taken we will roll with that. 

Alls you need are some fancy scissors, a few pieces of solid color printing paper, and some washi tape.

I started by searching for a nice quote online and creating a Publisher document that would allow me  to print several of them on one sheet. i decided upon a nice quote about friends and family and since it's Valentine's Day I chose red paper.

Next,  I used the fancy scissors to cut the 'quote cards' out. All of the scissor designs were so pretty.  I ended up going with the 'Sculptured' pair for nice, frilly edge. 

I added washi tape to the outside of the envelopes just for character. After using my coupon the tape was almost free, $.05, from Target. I figured this was a great way to use it.

So there you have it-a quick and easy way to spruce up your holiday mail. By the way,  I love how great our family portraits came out. The JCPenny's portrait studio did an awesome job. See how we saved a ton of money on them by viewing this post. 

Until next time-thanks reading!

XOXOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven: How To Save Money on Family Portraits

Happy Monday my loves. 

I hope each of you had a great weekend. 

Mine was pretty awesome. I spent Saturday shopping with my Mom and on Sunday my honey and I went on an outing with our little Peanut to get family photos taken. They came out great! I can't wait to pick up the finished product.

I'm such a picture fanatic however, I'm always surprised at just how costly professional photos are. Like what exactly are they charging you for? 

I've noticed some downright outrageous sitting fees since I began getting professional photos done for my lil man. Seriously though, must these companies charge a full fee for a child who hasn't even reached 2 months old.  Clearly this has to be against the law.

I've honestly seen families stray far away from the traditional family photos in the recent years all because they are way too expensive. A lot of people have even taken it upon themselves to create their own photo shoots. In a world where Instagram is so popular almost everyone has become a photographer. Once I feel more comfortable with the settings on my 'big girl' camera I will definitely experiment more with snapping my own portraits. However, for those of us who love the cheesy poses and backgrounds at our local studios, there must be a way to lower the cost of these portraits. 

How, you ask?

You guessed it.....

Coupons!!!

I literally used to toss these picture coupons right in the garbage until my lil man came along. These things are lifesavers! They're like paper gold!! One of these coupons lowered the cost our Christmas photos by 70%!

Who wouldn't want to save 70%.?

Another great thing to do would be to sign up or register on photo sites such as Tinyprints and/or Vistaprint. If you place frequent orders with any of the online sites you sign up on they will automatically send you special offers and discounts in the mail.

These coupons and discounts will allow me to get tons of portraits of my little one at a fraction of the cost. That means we will be in the studio at least once a month. Because every holiday is like a special event in my family-especially when there is a new baby involved! 

What are some things your family does to save money on portraits?

I can't wait to hear from you!

And remember, think about how much money you can save before tossing the next batch of picture coupons that appear in your mailbox!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: No Fire S'mores

Happy Monday my loves!!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is off to a great start today. My weekend was pretty productive; I was finally able to sit down with my family and get invitations made out for my upcoming baby shower-that literally took all night and I'm still not even finished yet.

Before I get into my post, I would like to give a special 'Thank You' to all of those who have served or are currently serving our country-your fight for our continued freedom is very much appreciated.

I had recently taken a huge break from blogging in order to focus on preparing for my lil man but blogging just wouldn't escape from my mind. Though my posts probably won't be as regular as they used to be, I still wanted to make sure that I dropped in every now and again if for no other reason than to keep my writing skills fresh.

So today, I'm bringing you a quick and easy recipe that I've been craving lately.

No Fire S'mores!!!

Now, I looovvveee s'mores, however, I don't have a fireplace nor am I much of a camper so I had to find the easiest way to create this delightful snack without the use of the aforementioned things. So here's what an economically resourceful gal uses to make s'mores at home.

(All of these things were purchased while couponing, by the way!!)

As you may have noticed from previous recipes, I don't do measurements. I just use the ingredients as my heart desires. Here, I poured into a small cereal bowl a decent amount of marshmallows, approximately a tablespoon (or larger) scoop of butter, and milk chocolate morsels. You would obviously use more or less of the ingredients depending on the serving size you desire.

Place bowl and ingredients in the microwave for about 40 seconds-stopping every 20 seconds to mix and stir.

The consistency of your mixture should look like this when fully nuked...

Add your desired amount of Golden Grahams and stir, making sure to evenly coat all of the cereal.

You can eat these warm or you can place them in the fridge and indulge later. 

Whatever you do though, don't leave them sitting on the counter!!!!

What do you think?

Are you all going to try this recipe in the near or distant future?

I can't wait to hear from you!!

OHHHH....one thing before I go. 

Don't forget to enter my $25 Target gift card giveaway going on right now until the end of the week. It's super easy to enter-just visit this post!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Gender Reveal Party

Hello and Happy Monday my loves!!!

I hope all of you had a very great and productive weekend. Mine was a blast. I got to spend a very special moment with some of my family and closest friends. 

I'm generally a very private person so lots of my innermost feelings and personal accomplishments, milestones don't really get shared here. I can't really explain why I'm like this; it's just one of my many quirky personality traits. 

However, this moment was so special and dear to me that I wanted to make sure to document it in all of its glory.

If you all aren't already aware, my honey and I are expecting this December. It's hard to tell from my recent outfit posts-here, here, and here-because at over 21 weeks I still haven't developed much of a baby bump. Believe me, I've been comparing pregnancy bumps and wondering why I still look so abnormally normal for someone who is halfway through her pregnancy but the doctors assure that our little Peanut is just fine in here.

The honey and I found out at the end of April and I told my Mother and Sister about the news with an ultrasound and a card on Mother's Day. They were ecstatic, as were our friends and the rest of our families. My family in particular hasn't had a new baby in 12 years so everyone is super excited to spoil our little one-great for the baby; an extreme Catch 22 for us as parents.

Anyhow, our gender reveal was this past weekend and it was such a joy to finally find out the gender of our little one. Please be advised that this post is pic heavy before reading on.

I didn't want the traditional invites so I went with something creative and bold...

This design came in a package set with cupcake toppers, a banner, etc. I ordered the set from 

The Paper Blossom Shop.

Debbie did everything perfectly and exactly how I asked.

Everything was printed on card stock so I had to cut the pieces out myself , which I was totally OK with.

 

The cake...

***Homemade by my besties coworker. Cake baking is a pastime of hers so I was charged very little for this gorgeous 3 tier deliciousness***

The table setup...

***All decor was purchased from The Dollar Tree and the thrift store along with the dollar bins at Michael's***

The food...

We made everyone take a vote for the gender before the actual reveal. The final vote had Kennedy winning at a 7-5 vote.

We gathered around to cut into the cake at 5PM sharp.

The parents-honey and I!

I elected him to do the cutting because I was shaking way too profusely to be able to hold the knife steady.

As soon as I saw a peek of the color, I went absolutely NUTSO!!!

Our little Peanut is a.....

A BOY...A LITTLE FELLA...A LAD...MOMMA'S BOY...DADDY'S BEST FRIEND!!!

This feeling is truly inexplicable.

Funny that we both wore blue too!!

Our KJ!!!!

We couldn't be happier. We both wanted a boy!!!

Now my beautiful Princess goddaughter will have a 'boyfriend' and her mother and I can finally plan playdates...

My mother is already planning for him to have his own closet at her house...

And my besties can't wait to spoil him rotten along with the rest of the family!!!

We are totally excited about parenthood and the fabulous journey with our son.

I will try not to bombard you all with new and exciting updates (his first smile, first Christmas, the first time he holds his head up, etc) about our boy but I won't promise you anything at all.

Just bear with me please!!!

I know this has been an extremely long post so thanks a bunch for reading.

XOOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Lifeway Kefir Parfait

***I received this product complimentary to test through Influenster's Vox Box Program***

Happy Monday my loves.

I hope each of you had a very great and prosperous weekend. Mine was actually a good mix of rest and productivity. I was finally able to get a few things done around my house, snap some OOTD pics for the week, and my favorite part was going shopping for this all new Lifeway Kefir product that I was able to try compliments of Influenster.

I've never eaten Kefir before, let alone even heard of it. I assumed it was some type of tofu or some other sort of gross organic product that I would regret agreeing to sample. Needless to say, I was very pleased when I went into my local Harris Teeter and saw that it was a smoothie type concoction.

Being that I'm attempting to eat a little better, I knew immediately what I would do with the product. At first I was thinking that I would make a yummy smoothie but then I decided against that and figured I would try my hand at making a parfait.

Upon tasting the product, I fell ALL.THE.WAY in love. Its yogurt like consistency made perfect for my idea of parfait.

Since this was my very first time making a parfait, there was no rhyme or reason as to the exact measurements of the ingredients. I just poured about 1/4 cup of Kefir into a huge wine glass, added some fresh bananas and strawberries, and instead of granola, I topped everything with Special K corn flakes cereal.

Talk about the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. I can't wait to make more for snack time. I'm hooked!

What kind of recipes have you tried lately?

I can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Dope Hat

When I saw my blogger friend Mo wearing this hat on her Instagram feed I knew I had to have it.

I haven't seen any hats quite like this at any of the stores in my area so I decided that I would make my own. This had to be the easiest DIY that I have done to date. Here's what all I used:

*Skull cap

*Iron on adhesive letters

*Glue gun

I found this hat at my local Goodwill for $1.25! I love the red and charcoal stripes.

These letters were found at Walmart. They're supposed to be iron on letters but I decided to use my hot glue gun as well as the iron to ensure that they wouldn't peel off of the hat.

Once I figured out how I wanted the letters placed on the front of the hat....

I glued them down, went over them with an iron to secure them and viola....

My new 'Dope' girl fresh hat. 

I can't wait to wear it!!! Thanks Mo for the inspiration!!!

What do you think???

I can't wait to hear from you!!

Thanks for reading!

XOXOXOXO