Utah Savings Site

I don't know about you but I've really gotten into coupons, groupons, discounts and freebies. With everything going UP in price, I've become more aware of where my money is being spent. About a year ago I started reading blogs about how to save, coupon and where to find the best deals. One site in particular is great for Utahans.

Utah Sweet Savings is a one-stop site to search for Utah Deals. With 10 sweet shoppers finding the best deals in Utah; all the work in done for you. They hit every type of savings area: grocery, retail, eating out, on-line, travel, electronics, DIAPERS and more. If there is a deal out there, Utah Sweet Savings will let you know about it.

My favorite way to check for deals is on my phone while I am waiting to pick up the kids from carpool. You can connect with Utah Sweet Savings on Facebook, Twitter: if you love tweets, or even have it them send the Newsletter straight to to your email inbox!

Mindi Eldredge founder of Utah Sweet Savings put it best: “Utah tends to have larger families. It’s been a tough year for many. Prices for just about everything have gone up. UtahSweetSavings can help you live on less without having to go to several different deal or coupon sites,”

In the last year, I've used more coupons, eaten out for less and gotten diapers sooo cheap. I am excited that Utah Sweet Saving is here, because now when there's a deal in Utah, I'll know about it!!

Visit Utah Sweet Savings and enter to win their current giveaways! $50 Walmart Gift Card and Mary Poppins Tickets.

Mary Poppins on Stage

I love Musicals, {I even made a top ten of my favorite musicals} Mary Poppins is coming to the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake. I am so excited to be going this weekend. I can't wait! I love for a few hours you are completely transported to another world: the costumes, orchestra, characters, lights, hushed audience.

There is just something so magical about Mary Poppins. I remember visiting Epoch in Disney World and while standing in line to order fish and chips, Mary Poppins walks by. She stopped and posing for a few pictures. The actress was a natural and a dead-ringer for Julie Andrews.

Right now Mary Poppins is running a 2 for 1 special. Go here to order your tickets an use code: utahmama

Below are the following dates and times that are application to the discount.

Thursday: 9/1 Matinee performance

Original price: $62.50
Discount Price: $31.25

Saturday: 9/3 Evening performance
Original Price$85
Discount Price $42.50

Original Price:$65
Discount Price: $32.50

Sunday: 9/4 Matinee performance
Original Price: $85

Discount Price: $42.50
Original Price: $65
Discount Price: $32.50

Sunday: 9/4 Evening performance
Original Price: $75
Discount Price: $37.50
Original Price: $55
Discount Price: $27.50
 
I'll be back next Friday with my full report for Field Trip Friday. Happy Monday.

Pinterest

With all the social media sites abuzz in this world...I have found one I just can't live without:

I love the images, the eye candy, inspiration, colors and the creativity of others. It is like opening the best part of a magazine everyday: the photos. If you like what you see, you can click on the image and it will link you to the original photo and/or blog, website.

Now, instead of searching Google for recipes, quilts, dyi, home decor, holiday ideas or crafts; I search Pinterest. With amazing photos and links its the perfect search engine.

You can follow people {ME}, search random topics, "like" and of course "PIN". It is easy peasy lemon squeezey and alot of fun. The easiest way to get started is to receive an invite. Comment on this post or email me and I will send you an invite straight away!

Already a pinster? Do you love it? I want to follow you!

Utah Blocks

Last May, my quilt group met together for a block exchange. It was based around the theme of Utah. Each member choose an aspect of Utah they loved, admired and/or had special meaning to them. Themes centralized around various topics: pioneers, farming, outdoor life, Mormonism, family. I was so impressed with each block and the creativity of the ladies in this group.

I choose to embroider a block with a quote from Brigham Young:

"...we will make the desert blossom like a rose"

As usual, I waited until the very last minute to finish my blocks (I was so desperate I even bribed my Mom to help me!).  Here are the 12 quilt blocks I recieved from the group.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Snail's Trail

Bugle

LDS Block

Family Tree

L-R T-B

Covered Wagon

Relief Society

Beehive

State of Utah

L-R T-B

Snowflake

Fruit Jars

Green Mountains

Tabernacle Pipes

I'd love to show you my block, but sadly I only finished enough blocks to give to the group members.  I recieved 12 blocks ~ which would finish the quilt without even making my block. But, I don't really want to leave it out. I was considering maybe embroidering my quote into the sashing or borders. I haven't decided just yet, but I really can't make a quilt with 13 blocks. Maybe now that my machine is in the shop, I'll work on the emboridery for this quilt..

Linking up:

Todays Creative Blog

Back to School

 School Started today. Man, the summer has flown by. My kindergartner starts in one week. I thrifted this apple about 9 years ago, its from Fisher Price and as it rolls it makes music. I don't know what it is but it always reminds me of school.

I am currently working on this project (see below) but my machine is on the fritz. I am taking it in today to be looked at. Hopefully it is an easy fix and I will be sewing by sunset.

************************************************************************
Update: Took my Bernina in and there has been a safety re-call which is why my machine keeps magically turning off. They estimate about a week turn around because the part must be ordered. Dang! I've been putting off a  few embroidery projects...looks like I will be cracking those out. 

My Kindergartener is 6

In a little over a week my 6 year old will be heading off to Kindergarten. He is excited, anxious, curious and elated to be finally heading off to school. Last Spring ('10) I was confronted with the decision to either register him for Kindergarten or postpone and let him attend preschool for one more year.

The decision weighed heavily on my mind.

Since my little kindergartner has a summer birthday I thought it was in his best interest to wait a year and let him develop more of his fundamentals and then begin Kindergarten as one of the oldest kids in his class. (My two other sons have late birthdays; both were born after the September 1st deadline.) I thought; why let my little summer birthday boy be the youngest in his class?

His preschool teacher made it very clear to me that my son meet the state guidelines {and under those guidelines} he was technically "ready" to attend kindergarten. Lots of Moms reminded me "Oh, he'll be fine...he's very smart".  It wasn't about "smarts" I knew my little guy had the basics down and socially he was  happy and friendly.

It was a Mom's gut instinct, he wasn't ready for the day-to-day. The getting up, finding his shoes and backpack, take home reading... he needed another year to just be HIM. I also worried about the years to come: Kindergarten is easy, so is First Grade. I worried more about the upper grades and the challenges and expectations his teachers will have for him.

My husband questioned my decision. "Are you sure?" "He'll be home with you every day, don't you need the break?" I have to admit, once Christmas rolled around it was hard. He was ready to start kindergarten. If school started in January instead of August I would have sent him. He was bored when he wasn't at preschool. So... I had to step it up as his Mom, we did special activities together, scheduled more play dates and had  Mom and him time. I had to get creative and fill in the gaps because he wasn't attending kindergarten.

"When did I know I had made the right decision?" When preschool began last August he was happy to be attending one more year of preschool. But when Christmas rolled around and we were on break, my little guy one day said: "Mom, next year I don't want to go to preschool, I want to go to Kindergarten". Thats when I knew he was ready. In his mind, he had made that leap. Not only did I know he was ready, but he knew it too.

Now, I couldn't be more happy to be sending my little man off to Kindergarten. He is ready. Really ready! And so is Mom.

What experiences have you had with your Kindergartner? Send 'em? Hold 'em back? I would love to know your thoughts.

iPhone Photos

In the last week I came across this great App for my iPhone: Postal Pix!  The App allows you to order printed pictures taken with your camera phone. I was so thrilled, I immediately downloaded the app and order some prints. They have several print size options and products to choose from. The printing and shipping was really affordable. I believe each 4 by 4 print was .23 cents and shipping was .64 cents.

The photos turned out great. The quality was good and it was fun to see the pics IRL, not just on my phone. All my developed pics were from my Instagram App. which I sooo luv.

Mexican Coleslaw ~ Mid Week Munchies

It is common in our neighborhood to get together a few times during the summer and have a "Neighborhood BBQ". This summer I tried an amazing coleslaw my neighbor shared. I had to track her down a few days later to get her recipe, it is the perfect summer dish, second only to my {hot potato salad}. She didn't have a name, so because of the cilantro, avocados, black beans and corn and dubbed it Mexican Coleslaw.

This recipe is fresh {perfect with all the fresh veggies in season}, simple and only takes a few minutes to prepare.

Mexican Coleslaw:
1 package Coleslaw {you can also buy green/red cabbage and dice it yourself}
1 can corn {drained}
1 can black beans {drained}
1/3 cup diced green onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced black olives
1/4 cup diced cilantro
1 avocado chopped

 Mix ingredients in a large bowl.

Add 3/4 cup Jalapeno Ranch Dressing and toss thoroughly to coat coleslaw. Garnish with cilantro. Chill in fridge and serve when ready.

Rit Dye Clothes Transformations

Here are a few of my favorite transformation pieces from the Rit Dyeing party. Even though I don't look nearly as cute or have the set up Melissa does for her fashion blog...I tried my best to show off a few outfits and attempt to be a fashion model for a day.

I got this top at Target about 3 years ago. It was originally white and I loved the little puff sleeves. I wore the top in my pregnancy photos and the shirt hit me about mid belly {under the dress}. I don't know what it is, but I loved my clothes from my pregnancy. Most of them weren't actually pregnancy clothes and I can still wear them now, they just need a little pick-me to make me not feel pregnant when I put them on.

Ombre Cover-up for the pool. I love the wine color. I stole this ombre idea from Melissa and she helped me with the technique. The cover-up use to be cream and the stitching stayed true to its original cream color. I am not sure why the stitching on most of my fabrics didn't take to the dye? Hummmm. I'll have to think on that one. With a large tub to work in the ombre technique worked great.

I got this skirt at Anthropologie about 4 years ago. It was baby pink and perfect for spring. I also wore this my whole pregnancy because of its elastic waist band. Now, it feels like a whole new skirt! I love the coral color. It looks great on and goes with more shirts in my closet.

One more outfit. A few years back I bought this skirt in white. It was on clearance at Anthropologie for $5. I knew one day I would love to change the color. This orange is perfect for fall and matched with this fab teal sweater...I can hit the church streets this Fall.

Linking Up:

Skip To My Lou

Tip Junkie

Blue Cricket Designs

Rit Dye Party

A couple Saturdays ago, I was invited by Melissa of the lovely blog: I Still Love You to a fabric dyeing party. I until a few weeks ago, I hadn't dyed fabric in about 5 years {way before I started blogging}. In the past I dyed fabric with my friend Jeanette {who by the way, should really have a blog} and we used These Dyes, and their were quite a few steps involved.

Melissa contacted Rit Dye and they were nice enough to send a large assortment of dyes for our "little" party. I brought a {alot of things} few things to dye and had a wonderful afternoon dyeing and getting to know Melissa better. I just have to say, I loved working with Rit Dye. The colors were beautiful. The directions were easy and simple and the results were fantastic. If your looking to venture into dyeing your own fabrics I highly recommending trying Rit Dye.

Here a few tips when working with Rit Dyes.

1: Use a large plastic tub.

Although it uses more dye to fill the tub, you really get a much even-er dye of your fabric(s). When I used a smaller tub the dye didn't coat as evenly and I ending up with more of a tye dye look.

2: Hot water is a must.

My fabrics turned out brighter and truer when I put the fabric directly in hot water. When the water had cooled and I dyed the fabrics had a more sub-dued color.

3: Don't forget the Salt

The directions call for salt and I highly recommend it. The hot water and salt seemed to create the best results.

4: Give yourself space and room to be messy.

I am just a messy crafter/quilter. We worked in Melissa's garage {which I highly encourage}. Also, wear plastic gloves, unless you want your hands stained the colors of the dyes.

5: Garage Bags

After dyeing you need somewhere to set your fabrics. Large garbage bags were perfect, also, easy to transport home.

What I Dyed:

a swimsuit cover up

old riped up sheets {for quilting},

2 skirts

2 shirts

4  burp clothes

To see what Melissa transformed click here.

*My opinions about Rit Dye are entirely my own. Rit Dye did provide the dyes, but my opinions expressed on their products are solely mine.

Japanese Fabric

A few weeks back, my wonderful sister-in-law shared some Japanese Fabric with me from her stash. {Cue Squealing} She is so generous with her scraps/stash fabric and is always surprising me with little fabric gifts.

I have a half yard of each of these fabrics. I think the dark indigo is such a beautiful contrast to the white, red, yellow, blue and green colors used in the images. I have two owls fabrics in cream and red, so those will be a great to add in to mix things up a bit.

I just love these rabbits with their little jackets.

These faces just make me laugh. Are they "angry", no?

What's not to love about these polkadots?

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Lemonade ~ Mid Week Munchies

While in California I was craving lemons. I knew my sister had a lemon tree, but she recommended her neighbor's lemon tree for the best lemons for lemonade. I regret not taking a picture of the tree, just walking up the driveway you were immediately hit with the most delicious, sweet, lemon citrus smell.

After picking a few dozen lemons we headed home to satisfy our taste buds.

Homemade Fresh Squeezed Lemonade:

12 fresh picked ~ fresh squeezed lemons

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

Mix thoroughly and chill in the fridge.

Enjoy long sips on your back patio with a cool breeze.

(H. even got in on the action!)

Holly's Quilt

This last week, while my sweet baby took his nap, I tackled my second machine quilting project. I quilted Holly's Quilt. Because of the simplicity of the quilt, the block size and the border I wanted to try a diagonal design. In my mind I thought simple, keep it simple.

I am so thrilled with how it turned out. I feel like I just fell into, like really fell into, a great design without even realizing it. The diagonal stitches cross perfectly so each square is an "X" and even better a perfect diamond in the borders. Call me dumb, but I didn't  think anything I machine quilted could line up so perfectly...especially without any pain staking, mind intensive, cussing, swearing, heart recking results. I machine quilted and it happened. This really is giving me the courage to press on with machine quilting.

This quilt is small. It measures 32 by 36. Perfect for wrapping her this coming fall and winter. I love the yellow checked border. I used the yellow from the back of Henry's Quilt which I made for him last summer.

As a side note, because of the "smallness" of the quilt. Instead of marking the quilt with a fabric pencil or pen. I took my bone tool and ruler and created a creased diagonal line. After each marking I machine quilted the line. It was a little more up and down, but to not have to mark the entire quilt or wash the quilt to remove the markings was worth it for me. After I was done quilting, I ironed it and am now ready to bind.

Visit Me

I am guest posting today over at one of my favorite Quilting Blogs: Diary of a Quilter. Amy is such a great gal, we live pretty close and I have had the opportunity to meet and get to know her {in real life!!}. I love her blog, tutorials and her quilts.

I am sharing how to take great everyday paper ideas and turn them into creative note cards. I made this one below using Sarah Jane paper fabric swatches when I attended Quilt Market. Come Visit me over at Amy's Diary today.