Three things caught my eye that every household must have, which make them great subscribe and save items…

The first..Coffee (of course

Amazon.com offers discounts on Community Coffee 12-oz. Bag 3-Packs, with prices starting at $6.16 with free shipping via the directions below.

Amazon.com cuts up to 39% off a selection of Skippy Peanut Butter products, as listed below. Add them to your cart via Subscribe & Save to cut an extra 15% off and nab free shipping. Even better, coupon code “UNILVR77” cuts an extra 15% off. All together, that puts them at the lowest total prices we could find by at least $9. Coupon ends February 28. The peanut butter, after subscribe & Save and coupon discounts:

• Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter 6-Pack (pictured) for $7.96
• Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter 6-Pack for $7.98
• Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter 6-Pack for $9.48

Of note, be sure to cancel Subscribe & Save after your order arrives to avoid being billed for subsequent shipments.

Is anyone else ready for spring? I am! Stock up for summer with this great deal on sunglasses from Graveyard mall…

New: 9 Pairs of Women’s Sunglasses for $30 + $6 s&h (updated)

Enter to win 4 tickets to the KidsGO Expo Cleveland! This great event features everything you need to get you little ones going including:

• Daycare
• Pre-School
• K-12 Schools
• Enrichment Programs
• Summer Camps
• Sports
• Youth Organizations
• and more!

• FREE Parking
• FREE Admission for kids under 12
• Just $5 for ages 12+
• FREE goodie bag for the first 2000 parents!
• Everyone who attends gets a coupon for free Chick-Fil-A* Kids Meal and a chance to win Chick-Fil-A for a year*!

Crock Pot Jambalaya:

Cook’s Note: Since younger kids may not be a fan of spicy, use sweet sausage and swap our Cajun Seasoning and Cayenne pepper for 1 t Garlic powder, 1 t Onion Powder and 1t Seasoning Salt…not quite Cajun, but it will get the job done without sending your children screaming into the streets

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breasts or tenders, boneless, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 8 to 12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pound shrimp, cooked
• 2 cups raw rice, cooked

Preparation:

Here is a great recipe to make with your little ones for Valentines Day.

You will need:

1 can chocolate Frosting

2 C. Powdered Sugar

1 T Vanilla

Cocoa Powder

Blend Frosting, Powdered Sugar and Vanilla together with mixer until frosting is fairly thick. You may need to add additional powdered sugar depending on the type of frosting you use.

Refrigerate at least a couple hours.

This next part is a little message – but that’s what makes it fun!

Roll chilled frosting into 1″ balls. Put 1/4″ of cocoa powder in plastic bowl that has a lid then coat balls with cocoa (the lid really helps keep cocoa powder from going everywhere

Does the fear of finding yourself in a hotel with bed bugs keeping you and your family from taking a vacation, shopping consignment stores or letting your kids attend sleepovers?

Here is the low down on what this phenomenon is all about and what you can do to prevent a run in with the Big B’s..

What is a bed bug?

What can you do to prevent them in your home?

Inspect new and used furniture before bringing it inside by examining tight spaces along the seams

One of the most important things you can do is to purchase a mattress and box spring encasements. This will help prevent bugs from nesting and laying eggs in the creases of the mattress.

What if you suspect there are bed bugs in your home?
Unless the breakout is severe you may not see bugs directly. Check mattresses, and edges of woodwork in the house for signs of infestation. If you suspect an infestation then call a bed bug professional who can verify and will be able to resolve the issue. You will not be able to get rid of bed bugs with typical bug sprays. The only way to get permanently rid of these pests will be via a bed bug professional.

What can you do to prevent them while traveling?

Choosing a hotel: Each state has a list of hotels that may be “on alert” for bed bugs. A site like Trip Advisor will also have links to this info and better yet customer reviews are also good for guiding hotel choices.

If possible, use hard sided luggage and store it on the luggage rack – not the bed or floor.

Protect clothing by keeping them in air tight sealed plastic bags.

Keep your clothing in Ziploc XL bags
or purchase Bug Zip Garment Bags

Watch This: How to check your hotel for bed bugs

While the idea of a bed bug infestation is scary, understanding what bed bugs are and how to prevent them will help you to avoid bringing them into your home and allow you to be more confident as you and your family travel during the upcoming year.

What is a bed bug? Source: www.odh.ohio.gov

Wreath Storage Ideas


As beautiful as wreaths can be, they can also be equally difficult to store without becoming dishelveled one holiday to the next.

Here are some ideas to help them keep looking new while minimizing the space necessary to store.

I have a bag like this and absolutely love it – it holds a very large wreath and I can usually get a small wreath to fit in with it. The price is great too! On the down side it is only made of a tarplike material, so while it keeps weather out it can cause your wreath to lose some of its shape.

If this is a real concern to you then the best best will be to store them in a hard plastic container like this one. The price is significantly higher and you will only be able to store 1 wreath per container, but on the flip-side you will save time next Christmas when you won’t have to rearrage the branches on the wreath.

Choose the method that is best for you, but one method I do not advise is usualy a cardboard box. Unless you are one of the rare people to keep Christmas decor somewhere other than the basement, attic or garage, the lack of moisture proofing that cardboard provides can be an open invitation for mold. (Hard lessen learned by my sister this year – who has a damp basement.)

I hope that this short series on Christmas decoration organization has helped you to get a jump start on getting organized in #2011! I would love to hear more ideas for innovative and afforable ways to organize so please email me or leave your comments below.
#1 in the series: Organizing Lights and Garland



#2 in the series: Deconstructing the Tree

If you have a toddler in the house like I do, you know that if you really love an ornament…it probably shouldn’t go on the tree, or, if it does, it is exiled to the top half so it is not in the “danger zone” reach of your little one.

However, when it comes to taking all of the ornaments down and putting them away, I sometime feel like my tree trimmings might be safer with my toddler than in a overcrowded cardboard box.

Here are some great ways to keep all the tree trimmings organized and safe!

First, separate out the breakables. These are not ornaments that you want in the bottom of your box. For those especially delicate ones I love the idea of this storage box!

To help keep glitter from being smudged off the ornament and to protect metal ornaments from scratching, either wrap individually in tissue paper or sandwich size Ziploc bags. Jewelry bags also are a great way to protect ornaments!

Remember to mark the year on any of your children’s ornaments that they may have made. Also put their age so you can remember how old they were or what grade they were in when they made it…trust me…you will forgot!

If you use a fake tree and its original box has seen better days, Rubbermaid has a great way to store the tree, which can be also used for large outdoor decor…

This fancier one is made by Dyno and even has wheels!

Although it may be a bit late for this year’s tree, if you use real trees, place a tree bag around the truck and hide under a tree skirt when you set your tree up next year. Then all you have to do is put the bag over the tree and it will save you from creating a pine needle trail to the door.

Hasta la vista until next year Oh Tannenbaum!

Previous in the series: Organizing Lights and Garland

Coming up Next: Wreath Storage Ideas