How P&G is helping me prepare for the holidays #spon #choosesmart #cbias

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Jamie

Smart and Final has a great promotion happening in their stores right now.  If you buy 30 dollars worth of  P&G in their stores you will receive a 10 dollar coupon in which you can use on your next shopping trip!

For me, I use P&G products all the time.  Think Cascade, Downey, Tide, Dawn, Febreeze, Bounty and Charmin.  All big names, and all brands I trust when it comes to keeping my house clean.

Around my house, I have been in holiday mode since the beginning of November.  How do I prepare for the holidays?  It’s quite simple, and this method has WORKED tremendously in keeping my holidays stress free.

1) Holiday Shopping

Believe it or not my holiday shopping does not begin until Black Friday.  However, by the first full weekend in December my holiday shopping is usually done!  Yes, I said it, it’s done by the first weekend in December!

I spend that first weekend shopping for gifts online, then the first weekend in December I will head out to any stores ahead of time.  Before I even go out I have a general idea of what I want to get each person on my list.  It has simplified by my life by doing it this way.

2) Decorations

It was always my mother’s rule not to decorate for the holidays until after Thanksgiving.  This is one rule I have truly stuck too.  However, this YEAR was really hard because I was really into the season.  But, the TREE did not go up until Thanksgiving night.

It may be small, but it suites us for this holiday season.  We live in a small studio apartment so keeping it small is a GOOD thing.

3) Holiday Baking

I admit, I’ve gone nuts on baking this year.  The past few years I was kind of in a holiday funk, and didn’t do too much baking.  However, my passion for baking came back again this year, and I have kept at it.  The holiday baking has been happening a lot.  But, if you take one weekend day or week day night out of your calendar, and do your baking, it makes things easier for the rest of the month.

This is usually where I find my baking inspiration.  Just want to share some creations I’ve made this holiday season:

(Holiday Pretzels dipped in Chocolate, Gingerbread Cake, and Salted Nut Rolls!)

4) Wrapping

The wrapping of gifts is always a tough one.  I usually make a day of it to make sure it’s done all at once.  If I buy online I opt for the “gifting option” to save me a step in the wrapping process.

And I have found I love “gift bags” and pretty boxes to put my gifts in.  It just means putting the present in there, and voila, the wrapping is done.  Easy and Efficient is my motto!

5) Cleaning!

This is where P&G comes in to save me.  When I think of the holidays, I always like having a clean apartment.  It’s also good motivation for cleaning if you have friends and family coming over.

This year will be the first year out in California where we are not traveling.  It is our first Christmas together without the chaos of families around.  I’m really looking forward to it with my Significant Other.

But one of my Christmas wishes this year is to have a clean house on Christmas morning.

That means:

Doing the dishes… and this is why I’m thankful for this HUGE bottle of Dawn I found at Smart & Final

And also, that means taking care of this giant pile of laundry:

Tide has been my friend for years!!

Vacuuming the floors:

And Cleaning the bathroom.

6) The Christmas Meal

This year I have no idea what we’re going to make for Christmas.  Growing up it was always my mom’s tradition to make a big batch of spaghetti.  It was easy, and it was also one of the only things my brother and I would eat.

However, over the years I have become pretty partial to ham, and having that apart of the meal.

Usually I will go shopping a few days before to pick up all the ingredients then make the big meal on Christmas Day.  But, needless to say, the meal still isn’t planned out.

Just so everyone knows, Smart and Final has also a GREAT promotion happening right now where if you buy 2 baking ingredients from First Street, you will receive a coupon for a 13 dollar movie voucher to go see the movie Parental Guidance.  I saw a sneak peek of it this past week and it is ADORABLE.

Be sure to connect with Smart and Final on Facebook and Twitter

Smart and Final also has a pretty amazing circular with great articles, recipes, and featured promotions.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Sears Style  #CBias #SocialFabric

 


Categories: Life | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Featuring Heart & Soule!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Jamie

Although Heart & Soule is no longer at CRAFTED, she did make an impression while there.  And today we’re sitting down with her (Erinn Soule) to talk all about her business.  Hope you enjoy the interview:

Tell me about Heart and Soule:

 Heart & Soule Designs is family owned and heart operated! I enjoy bringing laughter and smiles to people. I feel the biggest part of healing and being healthy, is having joy in your life, whether it be special memories, a special gift or a feeling of being loved. I try to create happiness with every creation i make. A big part of my life is charity, and helping people, so i started a business doing just that, bringing joy to people.
I think it’s awesome that you donate 10% of your proceeds.  How did the business get started?

My business was started after participating in Relay For Life San Pedro in 2011. I have lost too many friends and family to cancer, so the desire to help in the fight against it, is strong. Heart & Soule Designs started with our line of Chick Magnets for breast cancer awareness. My kids and I made a few dozen to sell as a fundraiser, and It wasn’t long before i was getting asked to create memorable caricature ornaments for people who have lost a loved one or pets to cancer. It just took off from there.
Do you do live caricatures?No, I do not offer “live caricatures.” I consider what I do, a gift of sorts. I get very connected to the person I am sculpting, and this is not something I can do on a whim. Especially when creating a memory of someone who has passed on, I truly attempt to capture their personality in a humorous way in my sculpture.Do you have a website, facebook, or twitter people could connect with?
Yes! I am a social media diva! I have a website with a wonderful online store. You can find it at www.heartandsouledesigns.com 

 I am also on Facebook, where the majority of my sales come from actually, and would love if you and your readers would follow me! www.facebook.com/heartandsouledesigns 
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Sure, I would love to let your readers know how important it is to Artists and the community, that they support us by buying handmade. People love to receive gifts that have character, are unique, and in many cases, one of a kind! My caricatures are one of a kind, funny and unique, and most importantly, bring smiles to whoever receives them. Our motto is “Healing Through Humor…it’s What We Do!” 
I really think it’s great what Erinn is doing, and brings comforts to those families and people with cancer.  So THANK YOU.  And wish you the best of luck on where your new adventures take you.

Categories: Life | Tags: , , , , , | 7 Comments

My Holiday Outfit on behalf of #searsstyle #holidayguide #cbias

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Jamie

Remember a few weeks ago when I clued you guys on the awesome Holiday Gift Guide designed by Party Blu Prints? Well, this time I was on a mission to find the perfect Holiday Dress.  One I could wear to office parties, or events I may be invited to on behalf of the impending holidays.  So off to Sears I went.

I made sure to double check the Sears #HolidayGuide provided by Party Blu Prints to keep the top trends in mind this season.  Really, I was set on finding myself “my red dress.”  I’ve always wanted to own one, but could never find the one that just worked for me.  I was hoping my luck would change this time around.

First thing that grabbed my attention once inside Sears was a dress made from The Kardashian Kollection.  Once I saw who the dress was made by I had to take a peek at other dresses and outfits in the area.

Kardashian Dress

I headed towards “The Dress Shop” but first I was pretty distracted by the beautiful sweaters being showcased in the juniors section.  The sweaters were long length.  I totally saw myself cozying up in those sweaters.  Being from Minnesota originally I am such a sucker for SWEATERS, and for a second, I almost thought I could pull them off as sweater dresses, another one of my huge loves.

Once inside “The Dress Shop” in Sears I oogled and ahhhed at many of the dresses.  Short dresses were in.  Sequins were in.  Party dresses were in.

The Dress Shop at Sears

And once I saw this DRESS, I practically decided this would be my holiday dress:

Adorable right?  I thought so too until I tried it on.  😉

I then decided to head over to the shoes department to check out what they had.  I was thinking if I wasn’t going to get that “little red dress” that perhaps I’d get some red shoes to stand out.  When I found these I was practically sold until I realized it really wouldn’t match the dress I was getting.  So then I started to look at “black” numbers.  The “boots” section was really popular in Sears, and I had a few favorites picked out.

Little Red Shoes

And then when I found the pair of shoes that drew me in I headed over to the jewelry department to look for that statement necklace.  I was thinking sequins would really look great as a statement necklace piece.  Sears had plenty to choose from.

Statement Necklace

So, in the end what did I end up choosing?  I took home a beautiful dress that is very functional for both business and pleasure, a necklace that matches perfectly and a pair of black shoes.

#searsstyle Holiday Dress

And the necklace I picked out:

Statement Necklace

And the shoes:

The Shoes

And be sure to check out this link which will give you 20% off from Sears:

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Sears Style  #CBias #SocialFabric


Categories: Fun Stuff, Life | Tags: , , , , , , , | 7 Comments