My Favorite Ethical Clothing Companies

Hello friends!

We live in a sad, scary world. There is no getting around that. Slavery is at an all time high. Like, in all of history, all time high! I see the numbers and it just all feels so overwhelming. Where do you even start? How can you even make a dent? I know that as a Christian I am called to serve the poor, the orphans and the widows. I want to do that! But where to start?

I am a firm believer in baby steps. Yes, sometimes people can dive in and make sweeping, life changing steps, but if we all just start moving in a better direction, change will come. There are a lot of different places we can start. Today, I'm focusing on what we wear.

Picky Eaters & Family Fun Pizza Night

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

Hi friends!

Do any of you do family pizza night? We do, every week! It is a great way to spend time as a family and reconnect after a long week. Even now that most of us have moved out of the house, we still do our best to get together at my mom's house every week. Sometimes we order delivery, and sometimes we pop something in the oven. Pizza is a great way to feed a large group, but it can get expensive! I'm so glad that there are yummy choices like #DiGiorno in the freezer section!

Who here has a "cheese only" kid? Everyone, right? Aren't we always hearing that getting kids involved in making their food will help with picky eating? Well, DiGiorno nailed it! These #designapizza kits will get your kids excited to put all sorts of things on their pizza. Pepperoni? Yep. Chicken? Yep. Veggies? Bring 'em on!

So, we headed off to Walmart and grabbed a couple pizzas from the freezer section.

I think she's a little excited, what do you think? Excited about peppers? That's a start! 

Here's what we ended up with. Two pizza kits, and a plain cheese (just in case!)

All of the toppings come in these little trays. No dishes! Woot!

Then you get to decorate. Is there anything a newly 5 year old girl likes to do better than decorate things? She started out wanting to make flowers...

Then Noni jumped in to help make a smiley face, complete with hair and cheeks!

Now, pop that artwork into the oven. While you wait, cut up some fruit and veggies. Pizza night should be easy! We love having fresh choices to pair with our pizza.

Ding! Pizza's done!

Now, the moment of truth...

She looks happy with her pizza, but this wouldn't be the first time that she changes her mind at the last minute...
Side note: Do you see Owen eyeballing that pizza? This kid.

:deep breath:

Success!! She ate the entire piece, complete with pepperoni, sausage and peppers! I call it a win!

Thanks, DiGiorno and #collectivebias!

How do you encourage your kids to try new foods?

Be blessed,

Heather

Pink Lemonade Baby Shower

Hi friends!

I had the opportunity this past weekend to work with some wonderful ladies to bless a friend of ours. Julie was pregnant with her third baby, a girl. Now, I realize that most people don't have baby showers after their first baby. However, Julie had commented on the fact that she needed things like burp cloths, and a nice baby carrier. It had been 5 years since her last baby, and 8 years since her last girl, so she needed a little refreshing. So, we decided to throw her a "sprinkle"! Get it? Not a full shower, just a sprinkle? Ha!

We knew we wanted to do something simple, but cute. After throwing out a few ideas, we settled on Pink Lemonade! Pink, yellow, mason jars, lemons, cupcakes! Perfect for a new little girl.

We started out by starting a group board on Pinterest to collect ideas (private, of course, so mama couldn't see what we were doing!) This was so helpful! Now we all had the same vision, and could keep an eye out for things as we were out and about shopping. It's a lot easier to find deals when everyone knows what to be watching for!

This banner from TaterTots & Jello was perfect! Most of our decorations were light pink and yellow, but I loved the fun pop that these brighter colors gave everything. 

To play off of those bright colors, I made some tissue paper poms in the same bright colors. These are such an easy and affordable way to make in impact with party decor. Tissue paper can be found in just about every color you could need for just a few dollars. You can make large poms, or if you really need to stretch your budget you can make lots of little ones. House On The Way has a great post about how many layers to use to get the most out of every size! Mine were all between 8 and 10 inches across.

Table decorations were also super simple. Easy flower arrangements, colored peanut chocolate candies, and of course, lemons! We found this Pinkalicious book that was just too perfect, so it became part of the table decor as well!

Another flower arrangement and some more poms on a side table tied everything together. 

We kept food simple. Fruit and veggie trays, and taco dip. One friend brought some adorable finger sandwiches.

Another friend made a fruit baby! So cute!

We made a simple pink lemonade punch. Pink lemonade concentrate, lemon seltzer water and raspberry sherbet. Easy and not too sweet. Perfect! We also had a drink dispenser of lemon water. Of course, all of it was enjoyed in mason jars! What else? Cute paper straws add a great touch, and are pretty easy to find!

Every baby shower needs fun games. As people came into the party they had the chance to do two things. First we had some wall art with baby's initials on it. It was made to match her nursery. My friend Christine makes those photo blocks. How cute is it? 

Baby's name was a secret, so everyone took a chance to add their guess to the list.

Then, we had these absolutely adorable Wishes for Baby cards from Parraclan Designs. Everyone got the chance to leave their wishes for Baby B. While they were all heartfelt, nothing was sweeter than the wishes from Big Sister! The cards also match the nursery, and we gave them to Mom with a white shadow box so that they could be used as decorations. This nursery is AMAZING! It was done by Kelly Kate Interiors, and you can check it out here.

Instead of cards, we requested that guests bring a book with (or as) their gift. This way Baby B had the beginnings of a great library, and each book had a sweet note from someone who loves her.

I think Mom was happy, how about you? Isn't she adorable? 

We must have thrown a great party, because Baby B decided that she just couldn't stay inside any more! She was born 2 days later (9 days early) and is absolutely beautiful!

What are your tips for throwing a party on a budget?

Did you have a baby shower for more than one baby? 

Be blessed!

Heather

Mother's Day Cards & Blessing Packs

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

Hi friends!

Did you have a nice Easter? We couldn't have asked for a better day! We had an amazing worship service, had lunch with all of our local family, and spent the day playing outside! It was perfect.

It's crazy to think about, but we're already rapidly approaching the next holiday, and it's a good one. Mother's Day!

I'm lucky enough to have 3 mothers to celebrate on Mother's Day. One mom, one mother-in-law, and one stepmother-in-law. If you've seen my goals lately, you know that we're trying really hard to pay off our consumer debt this year. I love to give gifts, but we have a pretty tight budget for a while. As much as I would love to shower the mother's in my life with jewelry and flowers, it's just not in the cards this year.

Now cards, however...those I can do! (see what I did there? Ha!)

I am a firm believer in the idea that a small, thoughtful gift can be just as meaningful, if not more so, than a huge, fancy gift. Something with a sweet note, and a treat you know they will love. Hallmark to the rescue! At Walmart they have so many beautiful Mother's Day cards. 

There is something for every mom. Sweet ones, sparkly ones, ones that will make her laugh, and ones that might make her cry.

 Once I had picked out cards for everyone, I headed over to the candy aisle. I was on a mission to find the perfect little treat for each of my mothers.

Cadbury for my Mother-in-law who grew up in England.

Classic milk chocolate for my Stepmother-in-law. She's a classic!

And dark chocolate with sea salt for my Momma. It's her favorite!

I get to deliver my mom's gift in person, but my mother-in-law and stepmother-in-law live out of town. They'll have to get their gifts by mail. One more simple way to dress up this gift? Washi tape!

Add a little to the card envelope...

Then add some to a padded shipping envelope. Who doesn't love getting pretty mail?

Seal it all up and pop it in the mail! Simple blessings for the mothers in your life!

Want even more great ideas and goodies? Make sure you check out connectionsfromhallmark.com to sign up for Hallmark Rewards, and to see great content from other bloggers. Join in the #MothersDayCards conversation on Twitter with #collectivebias!  For every 5 Hallmark cards you buy you'll earn a reward. Sweet deal!

What are your favorite simple gifts?

Any plans for Mother's Day?

Be blessed!

Heather

#onelittleword 2014: April Goals

Hi friends!

It's that time again...goal recap! Are you still working on your #onelittlewords? How are they going?

It might not look like it, but I feel pretty good about this month! 

Here's what I was working on:

Home:

- 2 loads of laundry washed, dried and folded 5 days a week. Well, it's not quite this specific, but I do feel like I'm at least keeping up with the laundry most of the time, so I'll call it a win!

Personal:

- In the Word every day. I'm getting better. I'll just leave it at that.

- 8 cups of water daily. Again...better! I have discovered that if I keep a tumbler with a straw full and close by this is easy. If I depend on myself to fill up glasses of water throughout the day, I won't do it.

- 2 workouts per week. Yes! Well, at least for the past week, but it's a good trend. I just discovered Blogilates, and I'm in love! Combine that with the YouTube app on our PS3 and I'm good to go!

Blog:

- Keep reading How To Blog... I'm almost done and it is rocking my world! Now to start putting things into action.

- Finish new design! :) It's DONE! Have you seen it? If you read this in a reader you probably haven't. Click on over and check it out!

Finances: 

- Write a snowball plan for remaining consumer debt Done! I'm not going to post it, but if all goes as plan we will be consumer/medical debt free by the end of the year! Woot!

OK, not on to this month

Home:

- Clear out the last of the moving messes. Even though we have found a place for most things, there are still a few spots that have homeless things just sitting around. Time to either find them a home or get rid of them!

Personal:

- In the Word every day. 

- 8 cups of water daily. 

- 2 workouts per week. 

These three are pretty much non-negotiable, and not totally mastered, so they're staying put!

- Fresh produce at every meal. Dinner is good with this one, but I want to be better about getting fresh fruit or vegetables at breakfast and lunch. It's so easy to just grab a bagel or some leftovers, but is it really that hard to grab a banana or some carrots too?

Blog:

- Two posts a week: I've been trying to get back into a regular posting schedule after pregnancy and the holidays kicked my butt. I'm feeling good about post a week, so time to move on to two! Any requests?

- Set up Google+: Facebook is being lame. I have a google+ account for this page, but I've barely used it. Time to get it going! Are you on Google+?

Finances:

- Set up bank budget tool: Our bank has an online budget tool, but I haven't set it up. If I'm going to keep up with that snowball plan, I need to get that done!

So that's the plan for this month! What's your plan?

If you do, what are your favorite way to spend quite time in the Word?

Do you get your water every day? Tips and tricks?

Be blessed!

Heather

#onelittleword 2014: March Goals

Hi friends

It's goal time! I wish I could say that I tackled everything on my list this month, but that's just not the case. Being back to work, even part time, is really messing with my ability to balance everything and get things done. Hopefully I can figure out some tricks this month!

Here are last month's goals, and my progress:

Home:

- Eat at the dining room table. This one we did! I think there was only one day in the past month when we had to eat at the living room table. SO nice!

- 2 loads of laundry washed, dried and folded 5 days a week. Still working on this one. Most days I can get a load or 2 washed or dried. Folded? Not so much. Put away? That's a funny joke!

Personal:

- In the Word every day. Oh, am I still working on this one. Why are the things you know are good for you so hard to do? Thank God I have some good apps on my phone. Even if I can't study, I can at least get a little something.

- 8 cups of water daily. Nope. Not even a little bit.

- 2 workouts per week. Hahahahahaha!!

Blog:

- Keep reading How To Blog... Still chipping away at this one. It is so nice reading this book as part of a group!

- Finish new design! :) It's so close, you guys! Like, SO close!

Finances: 

- Write a snowball plan for remaining consumer debt Nope. Honestly, I've been putting this one off because I just don't want to see the numbers. I know that we are going to get it paid off this year, so I should be super motivated to see how far we have come, but it's just stressing me out. Time to get it done!

OK, so this month pretty much stunk goals-wise. There's no hiding that. All I can do is stay focused this month. I need to figure out routines that work for me, and stick with them. Since I mastered so few of February's goals, I don't feel like I can add anything new for March. Here's to a finished list in April!

Do you have any laundry secrets? How do you power all the way through?

Do you have a good household routine? What is it?

Be blessed,

Heather

#onelittleword 2014: February Goals

This post contains affiliate links. I will earn a small commission on any purchases made through these links. Thank you for your support!

Hey there friends!

Whew! I think we're through the worst part of moving. We still have more stuff in boxes than I would like, but we're getting there!

We're already halfway through February, but I wanted to make sure I shared my goals with you! The accountability is good for me. Maybe some of them will help motivate you, too!

Here's a quick re-cap of January's goals:

Home

- Pack! This is a big one, and its going to take most of our time. 

     -Donations to charity

     -Sell any sellables 

     -Unnecessary items packed this week

Well, we're all moved in, so everything must have gotten packed, right? Let's hope!

Personal

- Get in the Word every day! It could be sitting down to study, or jumping on to one of my favorite apps, but    it needs to happen.  January was great. Probably not every day, but very close to it! 

- Commit 1 hour a week to doing something fun for me. Ask for help with the kids if I need it! I actually did this! I got a few days of great naps from Owen, and good quiet time from Abbey which let me do things like read my favorite blogs, and get caught up on some scrapbooking!

Blog

- Read 2 books

     - How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup Still working on this one. I'm reading it with a group, so we read a chapter each week. It's great so far!

     - Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home by Jacinda Vandenburg  This book is seriously my new favorite blogging resource! If you haven't already, you can read my review of it HERE. If you are a blogger, you want this book. Ke

So that was January. Not too bad, I think! Let's get going on to this month.

Home:

- Eat at the dining room table. The dining room table is our main crafting/school/work space, so it gets cluttered quickly. I need to make sure it is ready to be eaten at every night, or we end up in front of the TV. No good!

- 2 loads of laundry washed, dried and folded 5 days a week. Our new place has a vertical washer and dryer, so they are smaller than side-by sides. This means smaller loads. If I'm going to keep up, I need to step up my game!

Personal:

- In the Word every day. 

- 8 cups of water daily. I'm SO bad at drinking water. Considering the fact that I'm nursing, I really need more than 8 cups, but I'm not even getting that right now so baby steps!

- 2 workouts per week. Time to get this butt moving!

Blog:

- Keep reading How To Blog...

- Finish new design! :)

Finances: 

- Write a snowball plan for remaining consumer debt  (not an affiliate, just good info!)

OK...that should be good for the month, don't you think? 

Do you have any goals for the month?

Are you good at staying self-motivated, or do you need help?

Read any good books lately?

Be blessed,

Heather

#onelittleword 2014: Goals

Hey there friends!

Did you choose a word for the year? I really like a word rather than a resolution. It allows me to adjust throughout the year if need be, but still keep me focused and on track.

So here it is, my One Little Word for the year:

Yep, goals.

I've never been very good at them. I'm not good at making them, and I'm not very good at following through with them. Sure I can get things done, and I certainly have accomplishments that I am proud of, but I'm talking about the little day-by-day goals that, when you look back on them a year later, have completely changed your life.

I want to get better at those.

So, I'm choosing several areas that I would like to work on. Some will get monthly goals, while some are more long term. Every month I am going to come here and post my goals for the month, and update you on the previous month's progress. Yay,  accountability!

Here are the areas I am looking to improve:

1. Finances

This is definitely a long term goal. We have been working on getting out of debt, but money has been incredibly tight lately so we haven't made much progress. We haven't gone backwards, but we haven't really moved forwards either. We have 2 credit cards and 2 car payments right now, all of which are on schedule to be paid off by the end of the year. I would love to have them paid off sooner! I also want to save up a $1000 emergency fund. I will be starting a new part-time job soon (more on that later!) which will help a lot!

2. Home

I have talked about my housekeeping struggles here before. It's still a struggle. We are moving in a few weeks (just locally, to a new rental) and I am going to use that as an opportunity to create new habits! 

3. Personal

Self-care is important. I've discovered since Owen arrived that I am not particularly good at prioritizing it. When you can't remember the last time you went to the store by yourself, or painted your nails, or took time for your favorite hobby, or...showered...something is off. 

4. Blog

Yep, I have goals for this little space of mine as well. I like it, and if you are reading this, hopefully you like this too. I want to find ways to grow this space, stay true to my voice and my writing, but also use this space to help us meet our other goals. 

So, let's get going! I'm going to post these as tasks, since that's what they are. The tasks I need to do to get me to my goals!

January Tasks:

Finances

- Create new "snowball plan" for remaining consumer debt.

     -We took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class a couple years ago, and it is fantastic! His              debt snowball plan is very helpful, and you really do see momentum! 

Home

- Pack! This is a big one, and its going to take most of our time. 

     -Donations to charity

     -Sell any sellables 

     -Unnecessary items packed this week

Personal

- Get in the Word every day! It could be sitting down to study, or jumping on to one of my favorite apps, but    it needs to happen.

- Commit 1 hour a week to doing something fun for me. Ask for help with the kids if I need it!

Blog

- Read 2 books

     - How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup

     - Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home by Jacinda Vandenburg

Did you choose a word for the year? What is it?

What are your goals?

Be blessed!

Heather

Keeping Up With the Cleaning

So, I'm not the best housekeeper...

(If my husband is reading this he's laughing...stop it, you!)

But seriously, I envy those people that need everything in the right place. I've never been that person that has to get the kitchen clean before they go to bed. As a matter of fact, it's a mess right now. #keepinitreal
My laundry spends more time in baskets then put away.

Now, don't get me wrong, my house isn't dirty. It's just not picked up and organized at the end of every day.

The hard thing is...it doesn't bug me. I can't explain it. It just doesn't. But, you know who it does bother? My husband. He would never say it (at least not often), but living in a messy house increases his stress levels. He is calmer in a clean house.

I, as his wife, want to give him a clean house. And to do that, I need help.

God bless Clean Mama Printables!

I've already showed you how the make menu planning a breeze. Now let me show you how they help me stay on top of my cleaning.

First of all, I love the weekly cleaning list.

Part of my struggle is that cleaning the whole house feels overwhelming. I don't know where to start, so I don't start at all. No good. This gives me a simple checklist of the things to do. I don't do all of them every day, but if I can get a few done each day I feel like I'm keep up.

Now, obviously this isn't a comprehensive cleaning list. What about all the other stuff? Windows, baseboards, rugs and such? Well, Becky has something for that, too!

First there is her monthly cleaning checklist. The same things, every month. Just check them off. Boom, boom, boom!

Then, for everything else, there is the Seasonal Checklist.

She also has several blank lists for those jobs that are specific to your home and your life.

My house still isn't spotless. Not even close. But, I feel like I'm keeping my head above water, and that's a start!

Do you need help getting your head above water? I cannot recommend Becky's printables enough. She was so kind to share her Starter Kit with me, and we will be giving one a way on Friday! In the meantime, use the code 20LONGSTORY to get 20% off her shop!

Be blessed!

Heather

Menu Plannning 101

Hey there friends!

If you know anything about me, you know that I am NOT a natural planner. It's just not my natural setting. However, I am a HUGE fan of menu planning. There is something about knowing what I'm making for dinner that makes my whole day easier.

I know that menu planning isn't a new concept. Everyone and their mother has written a post about it, but I thought I would share my process, and some tools I use to make it all easier. I plan a month at a time, but you can absolutely tweak this to fit the way you plan!

Step 1: Grab your recipes. Some of my favorite source 

- Magazines (Taste of Home is my favorite!)

- Recipe card books: You know, those $5 ones in the check out line. I may have a mild obsession                             with them

- Recipe Box: Old family recipes, things clipped from magazines, all those cards are gold!

- Pinterest

I usually start by flipping through all of these things and seeing what jumps out at me. 

Step 2: Start with your "days off"

      Everyone has days built into their week or month. It may be date night, or pizza night, or whatever. Here are mine:

-Fridays: Pizza night at my parent's

-Saturdays: Leftovers 

-Sundays: "Snicky Snack" dinner: cheese, crackers, fruit, whatever is on hand

     Yep, you read that right, I only cook 4 days a week. It's pretty much amazing. I like it a lot. : )

Step 3: Fill in your staples. 

     Everyone has their go-to recipes. The ones that their family loves, are easy to make, and don't take much thought. Fill those in first. My go-tos are:

- Chili

- Tacos

- Spaghetti

- Baked Pork Chops

- Breakfast for Dinner

Step 4: Fill in the gaps.

     Now, take all those recipes you picked out earlier and fill them in where you still have gaps. Think about your family's schedule, lifestyle and needs as you do this. For us, dinners become lunches. Matt is OK with sandwiches, but gets pretty cranky if he has to take one for lunch every day. I try to make sure that there are at least 2 meals a week that will have leftovers. We also go to yoga on Wednesday nights, so I don't want something too heavy on those night. Do what works for you!

Step 5: Organize your recipes. 

     Make sure you know where the recipe for each night is, if there is one. On Pinterest I start a board for the month with any online recipes. Cook books get noted on my recipe calendar, and recipe cards get stored in a plastic sleeve behind my recipe calendar in a binder.

That's it! You should have a month's worth of recipes ready to go. I have loved this way of menu planning. I used to plan weekly, but this is my new way of doing things, for sure! I love that I can look at the month ahead and know exactly what groceries I need. I can get most of my shopping done at the beginning of the month, only taking trips later to restock on produce. It's been great for our budget, too. I only buy what we need for the month. Although, I will watch out for great sales and stock up on meat then. Then I can just shop from my freezer.

At the beginning of each week I transfer the week's recipes to the menu planner on my fridge. Then everything is at a glance, I can fill in anything I need from the store.

As we try new recipes, we find new favorites. Those get added to my "favorites" page. This is a great page to check when I'm short on ideas!

You know what else keeps me motivated to plan? My super cute menu planning printables! Did you notice them? They're from Clean Mama Printables, and I am in LOVE with them! I reached out to Becky a couple months ago, and not only was she generous enough to share one of her Starter Kits with me, but she wants to share with you guys as well! All week long I will be sharing about other pieces of the starter kit, ending with a giveaway on Friday! Make sure you stick around!

For now, you can use the code 20LONGSTORY for 20% off anything in her shop!

Be blessed!

Heather