Creative Christmas Ornament Storage

I love buying Christmas ornaments every year, and think I have enough ornaments to cover at least five trees!  As I was throwing out a plastic container from Costco that our apples came in, I realized that it would make the perfect storage container for some of my Christmas ornaments!

I was so excited to try it out...

and sure enough, when I placed the round ornament balls into the plastic apple container, they fit perfectly!

These containers were FREE and were a great way to recycle what would have otherwise have gone in the trash.

Plus, the apple packaging took up a lot less space than the three boxes did that the 12 ornaments came in (four ornaments per box).  It's a win-win!

So while I was putting the apples in the fridge, I saw an egg carton, which got me thinking again...  I pulled out my smaller ball ornaments, and they were the perfect fit too!

Each little round ornament was nestled safely inside each hole in the egg carton, and the egg containers stack so nicely on top of each other.  You could also wrap each ornament inside of the carton for an extra layer of safety.

Hopefully this helps you with putting away all those Christmas decorations.  It's an easy way to save money, save the earth, and save your ornaments from getting broken!

If you're trying to get organized this new year, here are a few of my favorite orgainizing solutions that have ehlped me organize my life that you might be interested in...

I love to rip out the best recipes and tips from my favorite magazines, and this system is how I like to organize and store them so that I can find them again in only a few seconds.

Are you are drowning in piles of your kids' artwork and school work and can't figure out how to store it all but feel guilty throwing it away?  Yeah, so was I!  Here is my favorite method of saving and organizing my kids' artwork that is so easy!

Those silica gel packets that you get inside your shoes, purses, vitamins, etc. are great to save!  In this post I tell you why, and TONS of readers have commented with some great ideas on how they use them, too.

Happy organizing!  DO you have a great tip that you use to keep organized?  I'd love to hear it!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Stocking Ideas for a Man + Fun Date Night #ad

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. #KYdatenight

Yes,  I know that Christmas was a few days ago... but I wanted to share with you some stocking stuffer ideas for a man, and show you what I chose to give my husband in his stocking this year!

It's not always easy to shop for my husband.  If he wants something, he'll buy it. Otherwise, he doesn't really need or want it.  I used to put practical things in his stocking, like shaving cream, a new razor, etc, but really, how fun is that?  That's about the equivalent of getting socks in your stocking, which is about as boring as you can get. This year I tried to make his stocking more fun, and fill it with things that I know my husband would actually  LIKE, not NEED.  There were things in his stocking that he could enjoy that day, and things that he could enjoy in the future, like the makings of a romantic date night.

Here are my top stocking ideas for your man... I guarantee he'll like these better than those socks you put in his stocking last year!  Luckily the stockings are pretty big in our house, so I can fit a lot in there!

#1- Food

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and who am I to disagree? Guy foods like beef jerky (especially if it's the "mega pack" like I bought) and honey roasted peanuts are perfect to stuff in his stocking to show him that you love him!

#2- Sweets

You can't have food without a little something sweet to finish it off with, right?  So fill those stockings with some tasty treats that will satisfy his sweet tooth.  My husband has a thing for gummy bears and Mike & Ikes, so I always make sure to include those in his stocking.  In turn, he always adds my favorite candy to my stocking, so it's a win-win!

#3- Toys

Let's face it ladies, most guys still like playing with toys.  My husband still has lots of unwrapped toys from his childhood that are now collector's items, and I'm pretty sure that he will never grow out of his love for toys.  As women we know what toys make our man tick, and can include those as a fun surprise in his stocking!  We love the show Duck Dynasty in our house, so when I saw a talking Phil doll at Walmart I just couldn't resist buying it for my husband.  Whether it's something that will make him laugh, a favorite toy that he played with as a child, or even the latest tech gadget or camping gear/tool, find that perfect toy to put in his stocking and you'll make him happy happy happy come Christmas morning.

#4- Music

Has one of your man's favorite bands or singers come out with a new album they haven't bought yet?  Perfect, add it to the stocking!  We love the Civil Wars, and have been wanting their new album, but we always forget to buy it when we go to the store.  So it was a nice surprise for my hubby to open up his stocking and find it in there.  In fact, he's listening to it right now as I type, so I know it was a great gift that he and I will both enjoy!

#5- DVD

What about that movie that your guy loved and dragged you to the theater to see?  Or that movie you saw together on your first date?  It would be a great addition to his stocking!  Again, we're Duck Dynasty fans around here, so the DVD Box Set of all of the seasons of the show were a must for my husband.  Plus, it went perfectly with his talking Phil doll, too ;)  I'm all about matching gifts.

#6- Gift Card

Gift cards are one of my favorite gifts to receive, because I know what I like, and I can make sure I get exactly what I want with a gift card.  You can get a gift card for your guy's favorite restaurant, clothing store, outdoor store, sporting goods store... practically anywhere!  You really can't go wrong with giving a gift card.

#7- Bonus Gift

And for a little something extra, you can always add a fun little bonus gift to his stocking that's sure to make him smile!

I picked up some K-Y Yours + Mine Couples Lubricant at Walmart to add to my husband's stocking. I found it in a section right next to the pharmacy.  An added bonus of buying this is that there is a $40 dinner and movie offer that comes with the product, which is good for two free gourmet meals from PLATED.COM delivered right to your door for an intimate night of cooking together, along with a $5 VUDU movie credit to stream a movie of your choice.

It's like two presents in one!  I can't wait to redeem the codes for a great date night right in the comfort of my own home.

I hope this gave you some ideas for putting together a stocking for the special guy in your life.  If you liked these ideas, be sure to pin for next year's stocking!  I had a lot of fun putting this stocking together, and it felt really good to treat my husband a little for all of the hard work he does for our family!

xo, Laura

Holiday-Scented Play Dough Recipes

I had planned on posting this earlier in the month, and even though Christmas is only two days away, I just couldn't let Christmas pass without sharing these fun recipes with you!  I told my kids that I was going to make them some scented play dough, and had them brainstorm all of their favorite tastes and smells of Christmas.  They came up with our Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies (one of our delicious cookie traditions), candy canes, the smell of our Christmas tree, and I came up with eggnog, because I just LOVE it! ;)

So off to the kitchen I went to try and turn our favorite scents of Christmas into yummy-smelling play dough for the kids.  I started with the basic play dough recipe that I always use (you might remember it from the cinnamon-scented glitter play dough recipe).

I knew I would be making four different scents, so I doubled the recipe, and then split the finished play dough into four balls, ready to color and add scent to!  The recipe I am sharing below is the recipe for one batch of play dough.  If you are making all four scents, then I recommend doubling the recipe, and halfing each batch.  The scent additions that I am sharing are for one whole batch.  If you are splitting up the batch, then adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Best of all, this is a no-cook 4 minute play dough recipe, so it is really fast and really easy.  You can even mix it up in your Kitchen Aid using the dough hook, and avoid the stirring with a spoon. Couldn't be easier!

Four-Minute Basic Play Dough Recipe:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cups of boiling water
• Glycerin (optional- a few drops)

1.  Mix the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  The Kitchen Aid is an easy option- just use the dough hook!

2.  Add the hot water and a few drops of glycerin (optional, but it gives the dough more shine).  Turn on the Kitchen Aid for a few minutes and let it mix and knead the dough.  (If you are not using a Kitchen Aid, then stir until the dough turns into a big sticky ball,  and then knead it for a few minutes on the counter.)  The kneading is what makes the stickiness go away, so don't skip this part!  You can also add some flour if it is still sticky.  This step is when I add the color and flavor, too, and knead well to mix it all in.  Recipe adapted from here.

Now for the fun part- adding the scents and colors!  I used half of a recipe for each scent, but I will give you the proportions for making a regular batch of play dough for the above recipe.  Just be sure to half the ingredients if you are making half the batch one scent and half another scent.

Although the play dough will smell good enough to eat, this play dough is NOT edible! Don't let your kids eat it!

Chocolate Mint Play Dough:

This smells great, just like my favorite Andes Mint chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven!  Very chocolatey with a little hint of refreshing mint. 

ADD:  3 Tbsp. cocoa and 1 tsp. peppermint extract.  You don't need to add any color because the cocoa gives it a lovely brown chocolate color!

Eggnog Play Dough:

I just love egg nog, and this play dough smells JUST like the real stuff, spicy and delicious!  Even though my kids don't like egg nog, they still loved the smell of this!  You just might find yourself wandering over to the play dough to get a sniff, they smell THAT good! ;)

ADD:  1 1/2 tsp. rum extract, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp, cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and a tiny tiny bit of yellow food color.  The spices will give the play dough the speckled look of egg nog, which I love!

Christmas Tree Play Dough:

This one was a little trickier, because I couldn't think of any pine scented oils or spices.  BUT, we have rosemary bushed that smell very similar to Christmas trees, so we used rosemary oil to scent it, and the kids loved the smell!

ADD:  20 drops of rosemary essential oil (available in health food stores or online) and green food color.

Candy Cane Play Dough:

Who doesn't love the minty fresh smell of peppermint at Christmas time?  

ADD:  3 tsp. peppermint extract and red food color.

I hope you enjoy these holiday-scented play dough recipes as much as we did!  If you keep them in an airtight container, they should last you for months.

These would also make great gifts for little ones to pass out to their friends, or to give to cousins or neighbors.  I had some cute little Martha Stewart Christmas muslin bags that were perfect for packaging these up and giving away!  Just be sure so seal them in a plastic bag first so they don't dry out.  If you try them, I'd love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! 

xo, Laura

DIY Disney FROZEN Gift Basket

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.  #FrozenFun

Have you seen Disney's FROZEN yet?  If you haven't, you have GOT to go!  We took our kids to see FROZEN the day it came to theaters (our usual routine for new Disney movies), and we all LOVED the movie and the amazing songs that were sung.  Of course after seeing the movie my kids wanted the beautiful dolls and FROZEN toys to play with, so I decided to put together a fun gift basket to put under the Christmas tree that they are sure to love!

I love putting together gift baskets because you can tailor everything to the person you are giving the gift too.  In this case, I wanted everything to be FROZEN related, so that meant Disney FROZEN toys, snow, and snowflakes.  I picked up lots of adorable FROZEN toys at Walmart.  They had a great selection of toys that I know my kids will love to see under the tree on Christmas morning!

The Musical Magic Anna and Elsa dolls are the ones I am the most excited about, because if you press their hands they light up and sing a song from the movie.  So cute!  I'm giving one to each of my daughters, since they are sisters like Anna and Elsa.

I just couldn't give my girls a FROZEN gift basket and not include loveable Kristoff!

I like this set of toys because all of the main characters are in the box, including Olaf, Sven, and Hans. This set will keep my five-year-old occupied for hours!

And last but not least, I included this set with Anna, Elsa, and Olaf that I know they'll love.

There were lots of other FROZEN toys, too, to choose from at Walmart that I might have to go back for ;)

I also bought a big basket, some sparkly snowflake ornaments, white batting, and then gathered some white spray paint, clear glitter, and snowflake ribbon that I already had.  The basket I bought was the perfect size for the toys, but not the perfect color.  It was a light grayish color.

I wanted the basket to be white and sparkly like snow, so I gave it a few coats of white spray paint, and then added clear sparkly glitter to the whole outside of the basket.

I then sprayed it with a clear sealer to make sure that the glitter stayed on the basket and not all over my floor.

After the basket had dried, I added almost a whole bag of batting to the inside to fill the basket up and to look like a blanket of snow.  Then I added the toys in, bigger boxes in the back, shorter boxes up front.

I tied a bow around the front of the basket with some pretty snowflake ribbon, and then added a glittery snowflake ornament to the front of the bow to add some more shine and to further enhance the FROZEN theme.

I cut the strings of a few more snowflake ornaments, and tucked them into the toys and the "snow" in the gift basket.

Isn't it pretty?  I had planned on wrapping the whole gift basket inside some clear cellophane and tying a big bow on top, but I didn't want to take away from the sparkle and shine of the basket and the snowflakes inside, plus this way my kids will be able to see the toys better before digging in and opening up their new toys!

While shopping for your FROZEN toys at Walmart, be sure to stop in at the Subway inside select Walmart locations like we did.  My little shopping buddy and I worked up an appetite with all that shopping!

If you buy a Fresh Fit Kids Meal, then the meal will come in a cute reusable FROZEN bag (through January 6th) with exclusive collectible designs and an exclusive FROZEN key chain.  Subway Walmart locations are the ONLY place you can get the FROZEN key chain when you buy a Fresh Fit Kids Meal.  My Walmart Subway was out of key chains, but we still got the cute reusable bag and a FROZEN puzzle.

I can't wait to see the look on my kids' faces when they see their FROZEN gift basket filled with toys from their new favorite movie!  I'm thinking I need to buy the soundtrack, too, and add it to the basket.... maybe with a tag that says "To Mom" on it?  ;)

xo, Laura

5 Easy Holiday Party Treat Ideas with Walgreens Holiday Solutions

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. #HappyAllTheWay

December is my favorite month of the year, hands down!  I love all of the sights, smells, and sounds that only come around during this busy time of year, as well as all of the activities and traditions that my family and I look forward to each December.  My husband and I love to entertain family members that come to town each Christmas.  Every year they come over for a fun game night, where we listen to music and catch up while playing cards and eating treats.  It gets so busy, though, with all of the parties, plays, programs, and dinners on our calendar, that I don't always have the time to make a lot of food for our get togethers.  But, I have learned some great tips that I want to share with you and show how easy it is to entertain your guests this season with Walgreens Holiday Solutions!

I'm so excited to share some great tips with you on how to make store-bought food look fabulous for your next holiday party or get together!

I recently went to Walgreens and stocked up on some Good & Delish brand chocolates, nuts, and lots of yummy party snacks to show you how easy it is to entertain stress-free!  They have a huge variety of snacks to choose from.  Here are a few of my top choices that I bought... check out how I used them!

5 Easy Holiday Party Treats Ideas:

1.  Bring on the Cheese- 

Who doesn't love a good cheese platter?  It's easy to impress your guests with a gourmet cheese spread that is a cinch to put together.  Simply buy a few different types of cheese for your party.  It's nice to serve a variety, such as an aged cheese, a soft cheese cheese, a firm cheese, or a blue cheese.

Place the cheese on a platter or slate cheese board (like mine), and serve with crackers (like these yummy Good & Delish Sea Salt Crackers), dried fruit (I chose Good & Delish Dried Apricots), nuts, and a sweet fruit (grapes or apples are great choices).
Cheese platters are the perfect snack to serve because guests love them, and there is very little prep work involved!

2.  Chocolate, of course!

You know the satisfaction of opening up a box of chocolates and picking out your favorites, then biting into each one and savoring every last bite?  Why not share that fun with your guests?  I bought a few bags of delicious chocolates from Walgreens that were sooooo good- Good & Delish Sea Salt Caramels, Good & Delish Almond Toffee Squares (Sugar Free!), Good & Delish Dark Chocolate Mint Delights, and Good & Delish Dark Chocolate Peppermint Covered Pretzels... are you drooling yet?

Instead of just putting the chocolate out on the table in a bag, which isn't so pretty, I took the chocolates out of the bags (many of them were individually wrapped).  Then I placed them in cute little baking cups, and placed on one of my scalloped cake stands.  Now the chocolates looked even more enticing, and I knew my guests would be excited to take a little cup (or two... or three...) and bite right into the deliciousness!

I also picked up a box of Good & Delish Exquisite Cookies, which are made with pure Belgian chocolate, and placed those into slightly larger nut cups that I bought from the craft store.  The cups were the perfect size for fitting two tasty cookies in.  Those were placed on a larger cake stand, and I stacked the smaller stand on top to make a two-tiered stand, which looked a bit more impressive than two smaller ones!


3.  When I Dip you dip we dip- 

Another easy food to serve to guests is a pre-made dip served alongside cubes of bread. I bought a loaf of french bread from the grocery store, and then cut it into small cubes to eat with the Good & Delish Spinach Artichoke Dip that I bought from Walgreens.  

4.  Make them go Nuts!

Delicious salted nuts are perfect to serve at parties, but instead of just putting out a big bottle or small can of nuts, dress them up a bit by sprinkling them into small nut cups!  They'll be the perfect portion for serving and eating!

5.  Accessorize-

Entertaining, like fashion, is all about accessorizing.  Using the perfect tray or stand, serving in cute little cups, and adding greenery and color to your table are all you need to make your food stand out and look its' best!  You could use greenery cut from your Christmas tree, a few Christmas ornaments, and even candy canes to add some color to the table.  

There is an awesome Good & Delish spread for holiday entertaining in the Walgreens Happy & Healthy Holiday Guide that is found in Walgreens that can give you even more ideas on foods to serve and how to make your party look great!

I hope this gave you a few ideas on how to easily entertain friends and family this holiday season and save yourself some time!  If you haven't tried any of the Good & Delish premium snacks, you have GOT to get to Walgreens and try them... especially those sea salt caramels ;)  I won't even tell you how many of those I ate...


Happy entertaining!

xo, Laura

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