iPhone Apps I Actually Want to Use

So, Tommie recycled his iPhone3 to me a long time ago.  He's been prancing around with his fancy iPhone4 for quite some time.  At first, I downloaded quite a few apps...Bananagrams, PBSkids, CameraBag, etc.

But since then, my phone has been kind of an embarrassment in the new update arena.  One of the hard things for me is searching through the App Store to try and find apps I might like.  I'd rather have someone review the apps for me first and give me a better idea of what I'm looking for.

That being said, I stumbled across a great site the other day and found about 6 new apps I added to my phone-and those were just the FREE ones!  I'd probably download even more off of this list if I wanted to spend some cash on the apps:

Babble Top 50 iPhone Apps for Moms

Granted, many or most of these are aimed at parents, but many are just awesome apps that work great for the breeding set.  Here are one or two of my highlights:

1. Baby Travel

We're going places for the holidays and it's a LOT of work trying to pack for myself and my two midgets...while trying to guarantee (or at least hope) for not forgetting anything important.  Though it doesn't remind you to take your kid (think disaster a-la-Home Alone), type in the details of who's going where and what the weather's like and it creates a packing list FOR YOU! I tried it out yesterday and it's awesome.  P.S. If you don't put in a baby, it STILL MAKES A LIST.  So if you're cruising without little crumb-snatchers you can still get a packing list. Did I mention it's totally free?  Check it out at the App Store, or a review here.

2.Grocery IQ

Anyone think grocery shopping can be a drag?  This makes it so easy and almost fun that when I used it yesterday, I...*gulp*...enjoyed it.  :)  On top of the incredible listing features that allows you to separate shopping by stores and aisles, it has a great coupon/savings card feature that I can't wait to try.  Just click the coupons you like and send it to your printer!  Or, send your savings to your savings card to be scanned at the register.  I think this app is one that will really pay off....get it?  Check it out at the App Store, or a review and more details here.

Many of the other apps from the site rock-and once you start looking them up, the other related apps look pretty enticing too.  So enjoy browsing and let me know which apps you recently have decided to love!

Cheapies

Time is ticking folks.  There are FAR too many people at the malls....and you know you've spent about the last dime in your Christmas budget.  Unfortunately, the gifts aren't quite finished....I'd like to introduce you to: THE CHEAPIES.

These are just some random items I've seen in my Google reader in the past month that look fast, easy and cheap to produce.  Just in time for stuffing those last-minute stockings.

1. Paint Chip Wallet

This looks awesome.  I think I would probably stick to paint swatches in the same family of color or coordinating colors to add some class to the idea, but this really looks like the perfect last-minute "cherishable" gift for a guy or a gal this Christmas. Click on the photo to get instructions on how to make it.

2. Brimmed Beanie

I wanted to make these for my kids and my niece last Christmas and just couldn't quite figure it out!  This tutorial though says it can be done in 5 minutes!!! I'm in.  Buy a dollar tree beanie and you've got a very inexpensive gift. Seriously, what child/adult child do you know that would NOT love to look so indie and hip?  And homemade means you can accent it with all of your own personal touches.  Click on the photo to link to instructions.

3. Custom Microwave Popcorn

So apparently making your own microwavable popcorn is about $3 away...add some adorable paper embellishments and this could make the perfect gift for all those acquaintances that probably need some recognition at Christmas, but don't quite need a full-on Christmas present. (think teachers, child care workers at church, odd friends you kind of know...)  I'm thinking some adorable dollar tree stickers/stamps, ribbon that's easy to take off and you've got yourself an awesome handmade quality gift here.  Be sure to read the tutorial well too and include instructions-that way nobody blows up their microwave (like Tommie did with oatmeal a few months ago...*sigh) Click on the photo to link up to instructions.

4. Custom Photocopy GORGEOUS Art

This might be my favorite project on this post.  Seriously.  I saw it a few months ago and still haven't found the time to try it...but now I'm starting to want to...hmmm...Anyway, with a photocopied image, gel medium from a craft store, paint and a canvas, you have incredible art! If you want, you could even do a small series in coordinating colors, a la:

Seriously, I know how to photocopy and use a paintbrush in a primitive fashion.  I could do this, and so could you.  If you can't afford to buy a few canvases, you can also use pieces of plywood, which if you have it laying around, would make this project even less expensive.  Click the big blue photo above to get the scoop on how to make your artistic loved-ones suspiciously jealous of your talent.

I probably have a few other ideas up my sleeve that I might post later, but I don't want to overwhelm you....Also, I want you to have time to finish one of these projects and send me pictures before you wrap them.  I just KNOW one of these is the perfect gift for someone out there.

*Just so you know, all of these ideas come from blogs I follow on Google Reader: Homemade Mamas and Dollar Store Crafts

Many thanks to them for making me feel able to be artistic with out breaking the bank or my thinking cap...

Fancy Christmas Sunday

Liliana slept in sponge rollers last night to get the curls.  And Truett is wearing a tie.  It's awesome.

Thanks Grandma Janie for the adorable Christmas outfits.  They'll be wearing them to our Christmas Eve service as well.  :)

Christmas Carols

I've been singing Christmas carols to the kids since late October, hoping by the time Christmas came around at least Liliana would know some of the words.  Boy does she!  She runs around singing the words to probably 8-9 different Christmas carols all day.  It's cute...mostly.  :)


In particular, tonight, I enjoyed her approximation of a phrase from "O Come, All Ye Faithful."  Lili was alternating between singing "funny faithful" and "farney fitheful."  The second of those sounds incredibly like "Barney Fife."  It's rather enjoyable.


Anyway, if you've never done it, my other recommendation for Christmas carols is to AUTOTUNE those suckers.  It's awesome.  T-Pain provides this lovely service through his iPhone app, I Am T-Paine.  Buy it here and love yourself for it.

Oh, and a word to all you parents-it's especially awesome to hear your little one's Christmas carol autotuned.  Seriously.

No Way.

I just finished making my Christmas gifts for family...I can't post about them yet since many of you reading this are family.

I LOVE what I made my family this year.  But I have to say, after just stumbling upon this tonight...I kind of wished that I would have found this sooner....

They came from this humble beginning!

Don't believe me?  Want to make some for yourself?  Click HERE to see how $3 and some paint can make you some pretty beautiful decor.

Now that Christmas has almost come and gone maybe I'll make them for July 4th?  Or heck, maybe I'll just make a bunch of them for myself and save them for next year!

Bozic MEANS Christmas

It's true.  Bozich means Christmas in Slovenian.  I think that's pretty sweet.

Maybe that's why our mantle/tree situation looks so killer this Christmas.  That and we now have FOUR stockings hanging on our mantle!  In fact, if we count Maple and the third little Bozich on the way...we could potentially have six stockings....maybe next year.

-Can I just add that we found it a little bit more difficult this year to decorate with our little midgees "helping" so much?  haha.

A Smoky Mountain Christmas

Tommie plans awesome dates.

Last night he made HOMEMADE Christmas ice cream.  Our ice cream maker makes ice cream in 30minutes and it's delicious-even better when frozen overnight.  Anyway, last night Tommie ground up mint Oreos and added them to a vanilla ice cream mix and sprinkles. It is now my FAVORITE Christmas ice cream-even better than peppermint ice cream! (*gasp*)

On top of that, he said he had something special recorded for me on the DVR.  Lo and behold, it was one of my long lost favorite Christmas moves, "A Smoky Mountain Christmas" starring none other than Dolly Parton herself. (watch the trailer here)

We put a fire in the fireplace, at our delicious ice cream and watched the mediocre memories fly by. (Tommie had never seen the movie...you'll have to ask him whether or not he liked it...) I knew all of the songs and remembered the whole thing pretty much accurately.

Do yourself a favor, find a way to watch it.  Tommie found it on CMT playing a few times last week.  I'd imagine they have it playing a few more times before Christmas if you're interested. It has an 80% approval rating on rottentomatoes.com. Or, if you like to jump in with two feet, here's a place where I'm pretty sure you can purchase a bootleg DVD of the film.

Enjoy!

Sparkly Christmas Ornaments

I LOVE holiday crafting.  I could probably do holiday crafts from Thanksgiving to New Year and be perfectly happy.

Sometimes though, things don't turn out quite how you like and it can kind of put a damper on your holiday crafting mood.

Thankfully, this craft is EASY, FAST, and basically fool-proof.

They're probably a little bit hard to see, but they are SPARKLY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS! (plus a purple flower that Liliana insisted on)

All it takes is Borax(easily found for $2 at Target), hot water and pipe cleaners.  It's amazing.  You end up with super-crystaly gorgeousness

To get the details on how to do this craft and a better photo of how these little guys look with Christmas lights twinkling in the background, go here.

Let me know how it goes!

Post 1 of 5 to Catch Up

haha.  I'm awful.  I have very little of what some people call "stick-to-it-iveness".  I'm obviously very late on my post once a day thingy.

So this is the first one I'll of five today to catch up!

I'll celebrate in this post, letting you know IT SNOWED ON SATURDAY NIGHT!  That's right, here in VA Beach.  The thing is though, it was super-late at night, so the kids didn't get to play in it or really see it at all since it melted by the next morning.

I'm hoping for more though this winter, hopefully some that collects enough for a snowball or two.  Truett hasn't ever seen snow, so I think he'd get a kick out of it.

Also, that picture is from Lili LAST year in the snow...I know she can't wait to go sledding when we go out to Colorado this year (although I also know she's terrified about it too...she's just like me!).  

So anyway, here's to snow and to 4 more posts!

Love.

A Blog A Day Keeps the Guilt Away

So at the beginning of this year I decided to blog more often.  In my mind, that meant at least once a month, more like 15-20x a month.  I think I did pretty great at that...until about June!

But now, with the new year creeping up, I've decided to renew my blogging enthusiasm and keep my resolution remorse at bay with a BLOG POST A DAY.

I should be able to do it I think.  December is a month filled with more activities, parties, sweets, events, and happy things to blog about than many of the others throughout the year.

You can think of it as an advent calendar of sorts even...opening a new blog post each day to find a gem inside.  Of course, I will be going longer than Christmas, so it's really not like an advent calendar at all.  But it was worth trying to stretch the metaphor to maybe interest some of you.

With that in mind, I leave you with some of my favorite "unnecessary except because they're awesome" kitchen gadget gift ideas:

 Seriously.  It's a Donut Maker.  And it's shaped like a donut on the outside too.  And you can have donuts whenever you want. With sprinkles.  And did I mention it makes donuts?  Yeah...I don't have room for it in my kitchen cabinets either, but I have room for it in my heart and my stomach.

It's a Cupcake Maker.  AND IT'S SHAPED LIKE A CUPCAKE!!!!!  It even has sprinkles on the outside of it.  I love sprinkles.  It's almost a guaranteed sell if it has sprinkles. And you can have cupcakes whenever you want. And no, I don't have room for this either. But I would LOVE to know someone who does so I could go to their house all the time and make quick yummy cupcakes and get fat together.

Ahhh....sweet superficiality. Christmas is crazy.  What's a crazy Christmas thing you know you don't want and shouldn't want....but kind of do?

Genius

I know, I know.  I should remember my reusable shopping bags when I go to the grocery store.  But I must admit, between juggling to toddlers and rushing out the door, I don't always remember to be earth-friendly when I'm shopping.  In fact, maybe I'll just plain blame it on me-I'm forgetful.

In light of that forgetfulness, I sometimes have a stash of plastic bags under my sink that make me want to close my eyes when I open the cabinet. If only plastic bag holders weren't so yucky looking and still disorganized feeling (for my taste).  Enter:

It's brilliant.  Fold the bags like I used to fold notes in middle school and now the 20 or so bags fit into a shoebox that fits neatly under my sink!  Now I can see what REALLY needs to be cleaned under there.  And I still can find the bags that are useful when taking our sweet Maple out on walks.

Want to know how it's done?  Check out this SUPER EASY and FAST tutorial here.