A Nashville, Tennessee lifestyle blog from a happy work at home Mom sharing her love of home and garden, food, pets, product reviews, giveaways and more.
I couldn't wait to share this amazing giveaway with you dear readers! I've long been a fan of the high quality products from Wilsons Leather, so when I had a chance to join in with a great group of bloggers to spread this kind of Christmas cheer, I jumped at the chance!
Wilsons Leather is a leading specialty retailer of quality accessories and outerwear. They have some of the best selections in all kinds of formats. Their many categories include: outwear, handbags, briefcases and even travel items. They use many other fabrications other than leather, so you have a vast amount of options for your personal preference. Offering both Men and Women attire, Wilsons Leather is the choice to make.
This would be a more than amazing way to express your love towards your dearly beloved. So why not make this an even more special Christmas. Express your love the right way with the right choice in a gift. Check out the product above, you are sure to like what you see.
Entering is easy using the form below. No purchase necessary to enter.
Terms:
No purchase is necessary to enter using the form below. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel. You must have a PayPal email account to enter. I was not compensated to share this giveaway. Good Luck!
Are you
hosting family and friends during the holidays this year? Naturally, you want
to make them feel welcome from the moment they arrive. All of a sudden the busiest spot in your home
isn’t the kitchen; it’s the foyer. Before your guests arrive, think through
what they will be wearing and carrying so you can provide a clean, functional
space to help get them settled in quickly. This chore shouldn’t take more than
35 minutes.
In most
regions of America, the weather outside is frightful for the holidays. Your
guests arrived bundled up in winter coats, boots, gloves, scarves and hats. And
more often than not, their hands are full of food, drinks and gifts. A good hostess needs to help eliminate the
awkward bottle neck that happens, most especially in small entryways and
foyers.
Empty their hands:
Provide a
clean spot for guests to empty their hands. We have bookcase adjacent to our
foyer, allowing guests to sit some items on the top. If several guests will be
arriving at the same time, I put out a card table, cover it with a festive
table cloth. I make sure I'm right there to greet guests and take items from
them. If I'm needed in another area, I ask my daughter's or husband's to be our official greeter.
Take their coats:
Make room
for guests’ coats by cleaning out your foyer closet before they arrive. Take as
many of your families coats out as you can and store them in a spare closet or
place them on your bed. Be sure to have extra strong hangers on hand for heavy
leather and wool coats. If you don’t have a foyer closet, consider purchasing a
coat tree.
Collect and store accessories:
Next, take
all their gloves, scarves, hats and mittens and place them in a large storage
basket or container you can place on a shelf in the closet until needed again.
If time allows, keep each guests items together by rolling gloves or mittens
loosely in their scarf, or store all of their items inside their hat.
Take off Shoes:
If your home
is a no shoes please zone (and it should be whenever possible to decrease
incoming dirt), provide a place for your guests to sit down to take off their
shoes. This is especially important for senior guests who may not be able to
bend down comfortably to untie shoes or pull off boots. Pull up an extra chair
or ottoman, or purchase a pretty and functional bench that can be moved easily
to offer extra seating throughout your home as needed.
Shoe holding station:
Since your
guests are taking off winter weather shoes and boots, make sure you have a designated
space for them to place them. By keeping guests shoes in one place, you can
minimize dirt and grime marring your floors or their footwear. Put down an
all-weather rug near the front door and ask guests to line up their footwear on
it. If it’s snowy in your area, you may want to go a step further and purchase
a shallow basin large enough to hold several sets of boots and shoes.
By taking
the time to prep your foyer now, you will ensure your guests get settled in
your home quickly, removing any awkwardness for your guests or the hostess,
which puts everyone at ease so you can enjoy the festivities.
From our
home to yours, we wish you a happy, safe and festive Thanksgiving!
Please share
in comments: What area of your home do you struggle to keep tidy during the
holidays?
For most of us, as soon as we turn our calendars to
November, we start thinking about the big family style holidays coming up.
Thanksgiving can be a stressful endeavor with some families, whether it is a
logistics concern, or more often than not, the thought of multiple personalities
clashing over the cranberries. Some of our family squabbles would seem silly to
the thousands of kids here in the United States that need a home.
Since
November is National adoption month, I’m honored to work with today’s sponsor-
the U.S.Department of
Health and Human Services, AdoptUSKids, and the Ad Council to help spread the
word about this growing need and ask for your help as well. While this is a sponsored post, all opinions and love of children are my own.
As a Mom of two teen daughters, I was shocked and honestly
heart-sore when I read the information sent to me to share with you today. For
instance, did you know that there are 415,000 children
in the U.S. foster care system and 108,000 are waiting to be adopted?
AdoptUSKids’ maintains a national
photo listing service for children waiting to be adopted. Since the project
launched in 2002, more than 25,000 children who were once photo listed onadoptuskids.org have been adopted and nearly 38,000 families have
registered to adopt through the website.
Nevertheless, older youth
are disproportionately represented – approximately 41 percent of children and youth photo
listed on adoptuskids.org are between 15 and 18 years old, but only 17 percent of
those adopted have been in this age group. This just breaks my heart, because I
don’t know what my world would be like if I didn’t have my two beautiful,
vibrant, smart and funny teens in my life!
Still, the fact is older youth and
teens have lower adoption rates than younger children and often wait longer to
be adopted. Can you imagine what they must feel at this time of year?
All kids need a supportive, loving
home and the teenage years are a critical period of growth. The theme for this
year’s AdoptUSKids campaign is “We never outgrow the need for Family”. Doesn’t
that hit you right in the heart? It did me! If you have ever considered
adopting or fostering a child, now may be the perfect time to get started.
Watch this cute video!
AdoptUSKids wants to remind you- “You don’t have to be
perfect to be a #perfectparent”.
Here are some facts worth considering.
Why Older Youth?
All of us – that includes older youth in foster care who are waiting to
be adopted – need and want families throughout life to support us and to share
important life events. Learning to drive a car, applying for higher education,
and birthday and holiday celebrations are just a few examples of the times in
life we need and want to share with family.
Older youth are overrepresented in the foster care population, as they
generally wait longer to be adopted, and have lower overall adoption
rates.
On adoptuskids.org, roughly 41 percent of the
children and youth actively photo listed are between the ages of 15 and 18 years
old. About 58 percent are male. (Most recent stats as of May 31, 2015)
Families, who adopt older youth, are providing them with the support and
stability of a family during a critical period of normal adolescent concerns
and additional self-identity issues.
Some of the
Misperceptions about Adoption from Foster Care:
Adoption is expensive. Unlike the
private adoption of an infant or adopting internationally, there are virtually
no costs associated with adoption from the US child welfare system. In addition,
the vast majority of youth adopted from foster care are also eligible for
monthly adoption assistance up to the level of the foster care rate.
You have to be married. You do not
have to be married to adopt in most states. Many children have been very
successfully adopted by single parents. Single-parent families accounted for 29
percent of all adoptions from foster care in 2014 (AFCARS).
You have to have a college degree. Having a high school diploma or college education is not
required. What is important is that you are stable, flexible, and
compassionate, and that you have a good sense of humor. Most importantly, you
must have the support and commitment to raise a child and to be there for him
throughout his life.
You have to own a home and each child has to have their
own room. You can rent your home or live in
an apartment or a mobile home so long as your living situation is a stable
one.
You have to be of child-bearing age to adopt. Experienced parents and empty-nesters are encouraged to adopt.
In most instances, you’re eligible to adopt regardless of age, income, marital
status or sexual orientation.
You can only adopt a child who is the same race and
ethnicity as you. Federal law prohibits the delay or
denial of an adoptive placement based on the race or ethnicity of a child in
U.S. foster care and the prospective parent or parents who are seeking to adopt
them. The only exception to this law is the adoption of Native American
children where special considerations apply.
You can’t adopt if you’re in the military. Military families stationed overseas and within the U.S. are
eligible to adopt children from the U.S. foster care system.
As we enter this season of thanks, kindness and giving, I invite you to
learn about adoption, or about
becoming an adoptive parent to a child from foster care, please visit www.adoptuskids.org or visit the campaign’s communities on Facebook and Twitter. You can also call 1-888-200-4005 (English) or 1-877-236-7831 (Spanish) to receive the latest information about the
foster care system and the adoption process.
I thank you sincerely for reading this post to here. I would love if you
would consider sharing this post, so that others can become aware of the
overwhelming need to adopt older kids in the U.S.
Please share in comments: Do you have a positive/uplifting adoption
story? I’d love to hear it! I’ll share your story on my Facebook page as well!
As a busy work at home Mom of two busy teen daughters, it can sometimes be a challenge to find the time to visit a doctor when I’m not feeling well. If it’s my daughter’s or my husband- I make the time, but for myself?
This is a sponsored post with Mums the Word Network and Amwell. All opinions are my own.
The internal dialog starts- how will I find the time- or make up the time I’d spend waiting to be seen at a traditional doctor or urgent care office? What if I get somebody else sick for what could be “just a cold? What about the cost? I’m sure this internal dialog sounds familiar to several of my readers. I may have the perfect solution so all can be well for you and your family- online doctor visits with Amwell.
I recently was asked to try out Amwell and share my thoughts with you here and I must confess I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh and responsive the Amwell website is. It is very easy to navigate, which is a huge plus if you aren’t feeling your best- or worse- you’ve got a sick kiddo and you want answers ASAP.
After you set up an account, Amwell will remember your information for your next visit. You will be prompted to enter your insurance on the next screen. I did run into a bit of a hiccup here- they didn’t list my exact Insurance carrier. I was able to skip that until later; which was such a relief because if I’m not well, or I’m in a high stress situation, the very last thing I want stopping me from getting help is an insurance number.
On the next screen, Amwell lets you choose who in your family has the problem. Once you choose an option, another screen will come up allowing you to either use their symptom checker (which I found very helpful), or move forward and choose a doctor to speak with.
Before you’re able to connect and talk with an online doctor, the site will ask you to check if your computer is able to see and hear the doctor. Please note- you may have to update your browser at this point, like I did, to get Amwell to work! That was a bit of a time set back, but a necessary one.
Once you have your computer set up to ensure an optimum doctor visit, you’ll pick your doctor from the ones listed for your area of need. All Amwell doctors are board certified and educated in the United States. I had a nutrition question, so several nutritionists were made available for me to choose from. You can read about each doctor’s expertise, education, and more.
Here’s a video to show you just how an online doctor visit at AmWell may work for you.
I was thoroughly impressed with the process from beginning
to end and think having an online doctor visit is an excellent option for those
times when getting to your regular doctor isn’t a convenient option, like if
you are your child has the flu, or your super senior has an ache or pain that
they would like to discuss .
Another thing I really like about Amwell is their upfront
pricing. They show you right on the homepage, what you can expect to pay for
each of the services they provide.
I invite you to
learn more about Amwell, and their mission to provide quality medical advice
online by visiting their website here and following them on Facebook.
As we enter the dreaded cold and flu season, I’m pleased to be able to offer my
readers a code for a $1.00 visit to an Amwell online doctor of your choosing.
Just enter this code CARENOW14 at check out and you are set.
Please share in comments: Who would you most likely use this
service for- yourself so you don’t miss work, or a loved one?
Tonight is the first hard freeze of the season here in the Nashville, TN. area and nothing can make me ready for the holidays quicker than a chill in the air! That's why I'm happy to team up some wonderful local bloggers to share this giveaway with you!
With black Friday deals just around the corner, it's the perfect time to start your shopping lists now and I can't think of a better mall to go to than Opry Mills!
Ready to win $50 to Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, TN?
Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below. No purchase necessary to enter. Must be 18+ years to enter. Once you've entered to win let me know which store at Opry Mills is your favorite by leaving me a comment!
Terms:
Transportation is not provided to the Nashville, Tn mall. You must live within driving distance and can get yourself to the mall. Gift card will be mailed to winner.
Happy Friday dear readers. We are finally going to get a hard freeze here in middle Tennessee, which has me scrambling to put up some of my containers that still have flowers blooming. Besides Mums on the front porch, I still have Marigold's blooming on the back deck. I love their vibrant, happy color! These are the inspiration for this month's color of the month.
As always, I hope you find color inspiration from my shares here and my Pinterest board collection.
The holiday's are knocking on our doors and it's hard to believe the year is winding down. Take a moment each day to look for color all around you. Maybe it's the blue of the sky, or the vibrant color of a person's coat. Living in the moment grounds us and helps restore our energy.
Please share in comments: Look straight ahead and tell me the color that caught your eye and what or who that color is on.
With Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks away, my family and I are talking food, family and fun. We’re planning our meals, which will have our traditional favorites as well as a table full of appetizers.
Each year when our families get together there is one delicious appetizer that all of us rave about and it then becomes a tradition too. This year, I think I just might be making a new family tradition when I serve my Cheesy Sausage Crescent Bites! These heavenly bites of yumminess all started with a simple Pillsbury Crescent dinner Roll recipe that I modified a bit. I think you’ll enjoy them as much as my family has and may want to #ThanksgivingWithPillsbury too!
Serving up warm from the oven Pillsbury Crescent dinner rolls or buttermilk home-style biscuits is a given during the holidays and I’m happy to share that they are both on sale at Publix just in time for you to stock up. Go to readyplansave.com and upload the coupons to your loyalty card. If you don’t have a local Publix, be sure to check your newspaper coupons. I usually find Pillsbury coupons in my Sunday paper.
Here’s the list of ingredients you’ll need.
Ingredients:
Makes 40 bites (depending on size of bite you make)
1 pound Roasted Red Pepper Sausage (or any bulk sausage flavor you like)
2 cups (8oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can (8oz) Pillsbury crescent dinner rolls
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray, set aside.
Cook sausage on medium heat until just brown, drain and put in mixing bowl.
Add cheese and rosemary to bowl and mix with hands or spoon.
Unroll crescent dough onto floured work surface; coat each side of dough with flour.
Cut dough into about ¼ -inch pieces with a pizza cutter or knife.
Mix crescent dough pieces into bowl of sausage mixture in small amounts until well blended.
Shape mixture into 40 inch sized balls. Place on pan.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
These Cheesy Sausage Crescent bites take about 45 minutes from start to finish, but are well worth the time. They taste fantastic straight from the oven or room temperature. If your family is a fan of finger foods, you’ve got to try these!
Win It:
As we enter the season to count our blessings- I’d like to take a moment to thank today’s sponsor, Pillsbury for working with me via Linqia and for hosting today’s $10.00 PayPal giveaway. Working from home is truly a blessing I do not take lightly, so I am honored when I am chosen to represent a brand here on my blog. Hosting giveaways is my way of giving back to you, my readers and followers for whom I’m very thankful!
Terms: No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter from below. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel. You must have a PayPal email account to enter. Good Luck!
Even though October is the official Fire Prevention month is the United States, the beautiful fall weather has us camping out, hosting backyard bonfires and using our fireplaces in our homes. I feel the that fire safety is an important message that we all need to be reminded of so, I’ve joined a group of bloggers to share this message on behalf of the Smokey Bear campaign, which is sponsored by the Ad Council, the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Forest Service. My thanks to all for sponsoring today’s important message.
According to the Smokey Bear campaign, nearly 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans! Here are some startling stats:
In 2014 there were 7,933 wildfires caused by lightning, but 55,679 wildfires caused by human error (as reported to the National Inter-agency Fire Center).
In 2014 more than 3.5 million acres burned due to wildfires in the U.S. of those, more than 1.5 million acres burned due to human-caused wildfires.
While most of us don’t behave in a careless way, each year we learn of devastating wildfires caused because we humans acted in a careless way, which can impact millions of acres of forest and thousands of homes.
During fire prevention month and all through the year, we should be more responsible in our homes as well. For instance, half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Only one in five home fires was reported during these hours!
Smokey Bear is asking us to be smart outdoors and in their homes! Here are some important links for us to get and stay informed.
Learn how to build a SAFE campfire to prevent wildfires: CampfireSafety
See how easily burning debris can start a wildfire: DebrisBurning
Understand how proper equipment maintenance can reduce wildfires: EquipmentMaintenance
Safety is not only important indoors, but also around your property and community: Community Fire Safety
How to prevent and detect fires inside your home: Home Fire Safety
Want
to help Smokey Bear prevent wildfires? Join me by taking the pledge here and then go to the National Tally to see how many have joined you across the
country here.
Thank you for reading and joining us in
our effort to inform and help Smokey Bear prevent Wildfires. Please share this
with your friends and family!
Please share in comments: Has a wildfire or house fire impacted your life?
In my last post I admitted that I was behind on my fall
cleaning. I’m putting in some domestic over-time to catch up and I’m seeing and
smelling the results of my labor. I fell
in love with Mrs. Meyer’s Sweet Basil multi-purpose cleanser a month or so ago when
I became an ambassador for ePantry and started using their green cleaning
products. As an ambassador, I am happy
to share a great offer on Mrs. Meyer’s Seasonal Scents with you today so you
can get your home holiday ready as well.
This post contains my
ambassador affiliate link and I may receive a small commission should you make
a purchase using it. However, I only share products and brands I feel are of
benefit to you.
The holidays are the most wonderful time of year for almost
everyone I know. I love all the hustle and bustle, the planning, the warmth of
an adorned home, the meals, but the cleaning? It’s a necessity that we all must
tackle, so why not make your home sparkle with one or more of Mrs. Meyer’s Seasonal Scentsline? This year they are available in Cranberry, Orange Clove
and Iowa Pine.
I have to admit it was hard for me to give up my Sweet Basil,
but once I smelled the Cranberry- I have been using it every chance I get! I
could use either scent as an air freshener they smell so good! My family always
compliments the scent of our home each time I use a Mrs. Meyer’s product and they
love to use the cranberry hand soap I put in the family bath as well.
I am really excited to share ePantry’s exclusive offer just
for my readers so that you can experience the magic of Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal
scents for free. It’s easy to give yourself the gift of a cleaning and
delightfully scented home!
Just sign up for ePantry this week and receive a free
Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal hand soap, dish soap, a $5.00 credit and free shipping with
a $20 minimum purchase. That’s a $20 value! Choose from any of Mrs. Meyer’s
fantastic, festive scents Cranberry, Orange Clove or Iowa Pine or get
creative and mix and match all three.
About ePantry:
I love ePantry because it makes getting the best, nontoxic
cleaning and household products effortless and affordable. The first time you
sign up, ePantry asks you a few questions to help predict what you and your
family need and how often. Each month, ePantry sends a reminder email before
your order ships so you can easily review and customize it.
I’m using products that are good for my family, my budget
and the environment. If you are ready to take advantage of the offer and learn
more about ePantry, I invite you to sign up for ePantry today. You’ll need to answer a few quick questions
(takes about 30 seconds). New customers who sign up receive your
free Mrs. Meyer’s products and $5.00 account credit, but only by using my
referral link here. Please hurry! This freebie offer is good for a very limited
time.
Are you an ePantry
customer already? Please claim one free seasonal hand soap on your next
order by using this link.
Another great reason to join ePantry: Give $10, Get $20! November
- it's all about friends and family. At ePantry, it's also Double Referral Month. Please use my
referral link here and then pay it forward!
Refer as many friends as you like. When they place their first order they'll
get a $10 credit and a free Grove Collaborative soy candle. You’ll earn a $20
credit for your next order.
Refer 1 Friend, Get $20
Refer 5 Friends, Get $100
Refer 10 Friends, Get $200
And to help you ring in this festive season, be sure to
enter the Mrs. Meyer’s giveaway as well where you'll have a chance to win 16 products.
If you do join ePantry today- thank you! I truly appreciate
your help and support!
Please share in comments: Which scent makes you think of the
holidays most? Cranberry, Orange Clove or Iowa Pine?
Here we are, just three short weeks away from Thanksgiving
and I haven’t finished half my fall cleaning chores found on my checklists here
and here. Being a homemaker at heart,
it’s tough for me to admit my home isn’t in “company ready” condition and I could
share with you a handful of excuses, but instead- I’m going to swing into
action and share my Holiday Hostess cleaning checklist that will help you and I
be ready to greet family and friends in no time.
The easiest way to get yourself and your home company ready
is to have a clear plan of action. You may think I’m old school, but I hold
firmly to my love of writing things down on a simple pad of paper. All you need for this week’s chore prompt is
a legal size pad of plain white paper, a colorful pen and a clipboard. If you don’t have a clipboard handy, that’s
okay, I just find it easier to make notes with one while I’m walking around my
home.
Armed with my trusty pen and paper, I can let the prepping magic begin. I walk from room to room with an eagle eye, channeling my Moms everything neat and tidy approach to homemaking and I make my list
for each room that company will see.
This is really
important so I will repeat it: Please only start a chore list for rooms and
spaces that company will see! It’s crunch time, so don’t worry about the less
traveled spaces in your home.
In main bathroom you might list chores like- put away
lotions, wash bathroom rugs, and hang up new hand towels.
Normally, I would tell you to only put chores on your list
as you walk from room to room, but this is a holiday hostess checklist, so it’s
perfectly fine to add notes of needs as you walk from room to room. If you need
to buy a new bath mat, place it on your bathroom checklist with a star beside
it so you can add it to your shopping list for the week.
As you walk through your home, ask yourself if a chore
really has to be done by you. Yes, you are probably best at washing the
breakable serving platters, but sweeping the bathroom floor or recycling the
pile of newspapers? No, you should delegate those types of chores to family
members.
Once you’ve gone through every room in your house and
feel like your head is going to pop because you must be the worst housekeeper
on the planet- stop! Take a breath and choose the easiest task first.
Then check it off. Done!
Go through your list this way until you get to the real hot
spots of your house. Seeing your completed tasks will give you incentive to
continue. Once you’ve completed the chores on your holiday hostess cleaning
checklist go back over your notes and add any necessary items to your weekly
shopping list.
Now you’ll be ready to decorate your home without the stress
of a messy home! Here’s wishing you a happy holiday season.
Please share in comments: What chore have you been putting
off this fall and why?
