POST CATEGORY : Products & Reviews

It’s Time to Face Winter

   Like it or not, winter will be here before you know it. If you haven’t already, that means finally having to say goodbye to our tank tops and flip flops (tear drop), and saying hello to our jackets and boots. The only good thing about the weather getting colder is that it gives me a good excuse to go shopping.  Not like I really need an excuse, but everyone has to get some new clothes for the new season, right? Exactly, that’s what I thought.
   So, what kind of things do you look for when shopping for the next few months of winter that lie ahead of us? Well, besides picking up some new sweaters and boots, a staple of any winter wardrobe is a good jacket. You have to stay warm when the chill hits. There’s nothing worse than walking around in the cold and being cold. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that. If you’re not one to actually go out and buy yourself some new stuff, then why not put it on your Christmas list? Who knows, maybe you’ll find it under your tree. You can ask Santa; just make sure you’ve been nice over the past year and not naughty!

Gearing Up for Winter

   I’ll admit it; I’m not a big fan of winter. I’ll take a day on the beach over a snowball fight any day. But, I know plenty of people who love to hit the slopes as soon as there’s enough snow coating the ground. Kudos to you! I know you guys have to wrap yourselves up in a lot of layers and take a lot of time bundling up and keeping warm.  As with any other activity or outing, you have to put a lot of thought into what kind of outdoor gear you’ll be sporting. There are the hats, the gloves, the scarves, the snow pants, the footwear…the list goes on and on. It’s not like the summer when you can throw on a pair of shorts and flip flops and run out the door!
    From what I hear from a lot of you winter outdoor lovers, waterproof clothing is a staple of your wardrobe. To my summer loving surprise, a lot of those warm and waterproof jackets and other gear are actually stylish. Who knew? Maybe I haven’t been giving winter a fair shake all these years! Maybe one way to warm up to winter is through a shopping trip. What do you think?

Keeping Out the Winter Chill

   Depending on where you live, you may have already shoveled through your first significant snowfall of the year. That’s definitely the case where I live. I have to keep reminding myself that winter is not even here yet. Sigh. When it does arrive, it doesn’t leave very quickly. Double sigh. In fact it seems as though it loves to linger much longer than the summer months. That means more snow and more chilly temperatures. Triple sigh!
  Since I can’t do anything to avoid the impending chill, I might as well just suck it up. If that’s the case, I might as well go along with it and do it in style.  You know the saying…”if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”  That’s definitely the case here. As much as I may not want to admit it, there are a lot of cute winter clothes out there. From coats to scarves to jackets…there’s plenty to work with out there. With Christmas looming, there are also a lot of deals out there too on winter coats and other gear to keep you warm and get you through the season. Perhaps that’s the silver lining here? Who knows! Everyone loves a bargain, myself included!

Open Up a Roll of Bubbly

  Some people call it a stress reliever, others say it’s just fun, and of course, plenty of others use it for what it was made to be used for. I’m talking about bubble wrap. It may sound silly, but I used to love (heck, I still do!) to pop bubble wrap. Of course my mom used to tell me how annoying the sound was, but who cares? There are plenty of other things that are far worse! Bubble wrap is one of those little things in life that can really put a smile on your face. In fact, there’s even something called bubble wrap appreciation day or BWAD, as the cool kids like to call it! There are even fun games you can play with bubble wrap too. Who knew?
   Although bubble wrap appreciation day is still a few months away, bubble wrap is getting plenty of love this time of year. It’s that time of year to wrap and ship those Christmas gifts. No one wants to ship some expensive vase or ornament only to have it arrive in hundreds of pieces of broken glass. ‘Tis the season to open up a roll of bubbly. The person opening that special package will appreciate it!
 

Put a Label on It

   One of my most favorite things to do over the holidays is wrap Christmas presents. I like to wait for the kids to go to bed (really how much wrapping will you get accomplished otherwise?), get a cup of cocoa or glass of wine (usually number two), put on some holiday tunes, and get wrapping. Like I’ve said before sometimes you need to pack up those gifts and ship them off to grandma’s house. If you want to make sure they get over the meadow and through the woods, you better make sure you put a label on it. 
   Those labels are also good if you have to organize stuff. Honestly, what momma out there doesn’t have some organizing to do? Unless your name is Martha Stewart, I’m sure a little labeling wouldn’t hurt  any of us in the organization department! Labels are great when it comes to organizing your kids old clothes or toys, especially if you’re planning on handing them down to a family member or friend. At least this way you find those size 3 shirts without going through all of those storage bins in the basement! Just think of all the time you can save. Time to go label some more stuff and get organized!

Running Low on Ink is Annoying

    It’s one of life’s little annoyances. You’ve either spent the better part of your day writing up some important stuff or downloading some pictures when you go to hit the print button and the finished product comes out blank. If you’re like me, you’ve ignored the “low ink” messages for the last twenty or so prints and now that you really need it, you’re out of ink. If you’re also like me, you always forget to write down the kind of ink you need so that once you get to the store you have no idea what to get. Epic fail…how annoying!
   So here are some simple tips. First of all, don’t ignore those ink warnings. It would just save a lot of time and aggravation to replace the cartridge when you’re supposed to. It’s like filling your gas tank before you hit “E”. Contrary to what you might believe, “E” does not stand for excellent, at least not in this case. Number two, write down what you’re supposed to get before you head out to the store. Think of it as if you’re going out to the grocery store. I know it sounds easy, but sometimes the easiest things are the hardest!

Holiday in the Box

   Holiday shopping…you can either love it or hate it. Either way you look at it, it has to be done. It’s kind of like cleaning your toilet. Hopefully you can enjoy shopping a little bit more (if you don’t, you may have some serious issues!). Anyway, while many of us can wrap up those gifts and put them under the tree to await the big day, others have to ship them out to family and friends.
   Of course before you send them out to the post office, you have to play Santa and box up those bargains to get them to that special someone. Honestly, sometimes it can be a pain. What’s the sense of spending all that time and money picking out a gift only to be careless and ship it in a hurry for it to get ruined? I’m sure the person getting the gift wouldn’t be too happy either. Who wants to be unhappy on Christmas? We all know the answer to that one.  If you really want to play the role of one of Santa’s elves, you know those packages need a little TLC before they get to that special someone. So don’t act in haste because it would be a really waste this holiday season!

Buying a Luxury Tree Without Going Broke

   We all know the holiday season can get hectic and definitely expensive. There’s the shopping and of course the decorating. While we may love our house to look like it came out of some style magazine, achieving that swanky goal could make you go broke, especially if you like a luxury tree. But, just with anything, it doesn’t have to be that way, if you know how to shop around for a good deal.  I’m sure even Santa looks for a good bargain every now and again!
  Whether you buy a real or artificial tree, I think a lot of people get caught up with having the perfect one. But, perfection doesn’t have to come with a price tag that would make Rudoplh’s nose turn a brighter shade of red. I think any tree you pick out and decorate with your family is the perfect one, even if it wouldn’t get the Martha Stewart seal of approval. I know a lot of people who spend a lot of money to get that luxury look, when in all reality it looks anything but because they’ve tried too hard. When it comes to decorating for the holidays, you want to make it something unque and memorable, not something that made you go break the bank!

Why I Love a Real Christmas Tree

   It’s the age old debate when it comes to picking out a Christmas tree. Real or fake? Growing up, we always had a fake one because my Mom said the pine needles the real tree left behind were a real pain to clean up when all was said and done. But, you can’t beat the smell of a real tree. In my opinion, nothing says, or in this case, smells like Christmas , than a real tree.
   Don’t get me wrong, those real trees do leave a mess behind. Mama was right there! Although I end up cleaning pine needles until the Fourth of July, it’s all worth it to me. I love going to the garden center or farm to find the “perfect tree.”  I love trying to tie it to the roof or jam it in the truck to bring it home. I love dragging it in and arguing with my husband about whether it’s straight in the stand. No matter how hard we try, it is honestly never straight no matter what he says! I even love watching the needles fall as we countdown to Christmas Day. To me, it wouldn’t be the holiday season without it!

Would You Buy a Pre-Lit Tree?

    I have to say one of the most annoying parts of decorating the Christmas tree is stringing the lights. It seems like no matter how many times you test the lights before hanging them, a bulb always seems to go out and sometimes that means the whole strand has lost its Christmas cheer. It’s like the Grinch is playing some kind of trick or something. Then there’s always the job of untangling them because someone was careless putting them away the year before. Do these things ever happen to you or is it just me?
   I know a lot of people who don’t have these problems because they invest in those handy dandy pre-lit trees. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about hanging the lights because it’s already done for you. Score one! If one light goes out, chances are the whole string won’t go out too. Score two! Some may say it’s the lazy man or woman’s tree. But, in all honesty, it may be the smarter tree. What’s better than just putting the tree together, plugging it in, and then decorating it? While I’ve never gone this route, it kinda has me thinking this could be the way to go to deck the halls without the aggravation (or arguments with the hubby!).