First, let me preface this post by announcing that, yes, this is my 500th post on this blog! Many thanks to my followers and please spread the word!
So I felt it appropriate to use this post to address a topic near and dear to me - small businesses. Many of you may know that I have a wine charm business - growing by baby steps via retail partners, Facebook connections and my website (yes - ok, since you asked! See www.charmedbyarizona.com)
For those of you interested in starting any type of business on your own, here are some great resources:
- US Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov
- Family businesses: www.fambiz.com
- The Family Business Network: www.fbn-i.org
- Family Business Magazine: www.familybusinessmagazine.com
So we've addressed lots of scrapbooking and photo ideas over the past couple of years, but what about a "memory making" collection? Here are two great ideas from Martha Stewart -
A family recipe saver - see marthastewart.com for her version, though I did these a different way for each of my kids for when they graduated from high school. I used recipe card boxes decorated for them and wrote family recipes (old and newer ones as well) on index cards decorated with scrapbook stickers and baubles related to food and cooking. Now when they are on their own (one already is), they have these with them.
Another of Martha's ideas is "vacation jars" - use small jars (about 8 oz) and inside put sand, shells, stones, souvenirs...anything to represent each trip you've taken. Label these with permanent file folder labels. Simple but memorable and fun to display.
Getting ready for your holiday guests with a fresh coat of paint? Check out
Sherwin-Williams' online tool at www.letschipit.com.
This site allows you to instantly generate perfectly matched paint chips from any image on the web (and, yes, it's free!).
Running late again? Here is an amazing idea - "dry shampoo." REALSIMPLE.com (9/12) did a "road test" of over 75 variations of dry shampoo and selected their best bets. These will "instantly refresh and revive your hairstyle and render the rushed shower unnecessary" - ok, let me know if these work for you! (FYI, the much earlier version of this was brushing talc powder through your hair - and, yes, it did work!)
My version would be for hair that needs help with body so I'm looking at Arrojo ReFinish if I read this correctly. It runs $22, but that may not be bad for my travel needs since this won't be an everyday product for me. If you have curly hair, you are in luck - they recommend Suave Professionals Waterless Foam Shampoo at only $3.40 at drugstore.com. Sigh...always wanted natural curl!
Check out the other options at www.realsimple.com (9/12).
As always, I want to be sure to blog about topics that are important to you...I try to cover a wide range, but your input would help me in discussing issues that are relevant to my readers! Please post topic ideas whenever something comes to mind - I am happy to look for answers, deals, etc. for you!
At least twice a week I take our basset, Baxter, to our local dog park. He runs as if he were still a puppy and it's a great opportunity for me to meet people from our neighborhood. Best of all, it is free entertainment for all of us! Check out one in your area by visiting www.dogpark.com.
Here is a great idea from REALSIMPLE - and, yes, I plan to try it as I just spent all day trying to catch up on too many tasks around here!
Rather than trying to do your cleaning (or any other tasks) all at once, aim to complete one specific task or chore every day. Write your key chores on index cards and select one per day to complete. Everything gets done weekly, but without the added stress of overloading yourself!
Some things never change (even after a long break from blogging!) - I am still very concerned with animals of all types and sharks should not be an exception!
Check out www.oceana.org/scaredforsharks to help save the whale sharks around the world. Thank you!
According to REDBOOK, a recent study in Ontario, Canada, suggests that by even slight activity increases in your daily life (walking down the hall vs emailing a colleague or parking farther away from the store when you shop) can potentially decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease by 15%!
No this does not give you a free pass to avoid the gym or order chili-cheese fries, but every little bit helps, right?!
With ceiling fans all over our Phoenix home, lightbulbs are constantly burning out and just when I need them in precisely that room! Saw a great idea for taking out a still hot lightbulb - use half a tennis tennis ball (hollowed out) to put over the bulb to unscrew it safely.
And just when you thought I would never return...I thought taking the summer off would let me catch up on the rest of my life. But I am back, well before the holidays, to provide you with more ideas for saving money on all aspects of your daily life. And, as always, please post your comments, ideas and recommendations! Thanks!
I thought I was the Coupon Queen, but here is an idea that never occurred to me! Ellen Madere (ellengetsitdone.com) from CT, suggests storing coupons in your car's glove compartment so they are always readily available when you need them. What a great idea!
Redbookmag.com mentioned recently that their art director who was dating a guy long-distance frequently received texts with images of flowers...how sweet and easy!
So here's a cool (pun intended!) treat for Father's Day - "special" freezer pops (don't share these with the kids!). Redbookmag.com has some great recipes for adult freezer pops with just a touch of alcohol. Pina colada looked amazing:
Takes 5 minutes to make and 24 hours to freeze so think ahead!
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh sweet pineapple chunks (about 12 oz)
1 (15 oz) can sweetened cream of coconut (i.e. Coco Lopez)
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup light rum or coconut rum (and this is optional if you want the non-alcohol version!)
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
pinch of salt
Directions:
Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth and transfer mixture to a large pitcher. Pour into ten
3 oz. freezer pop molds and insert sticks. Freeze at least 24 hours before unmolding.
Check the website above for other fun recipes! (Where were these on Mother's Day?!)
Good Housekeeping (5/12) provides a list of reliable sites and apps to find answers and info regarding health issues you and/or loved ones may be facing:
breastcancer.org
diabetes.org
healthyminds.org
cdc.gov/physicalactivity.org
Visit goodhousekeeping.com for others that may help you get the answers you need!
I have an entire 3-shelf, hall-length closet filled with videos and DVDs! This is so cramping our storage space, but what to do? Well - the VHS tapes are old-school and still probably require at least one shelf all their own, but the DVDs? REALSIMPLE.com suggests putting all the DVDs in a single hard-case DVD organizer...Probably should have thought of this before, but this could actually mean linens fitting in a linen closet! Who is with me on this?!
With several of us potentially vacationing together, airline prices are a bit steep for us. And gas for a road trip is still sky-high too...what to do?
Check out www.FuelMyRoute.com and select a grade of gas and enter your starting and destination points. The site will identify the cheapest gas prices all along your route!
Hitting the road for vacation with the family or just you and your significant other? Bypass the videos and the iPods for awhile and listen to audiobooks together. With the kids, consider The Magic Tree House Collection or A Wrinkle in Time. No kids along for the ride? What about a great biography or a new James Patterson thriller? And better yet...you can check them out from the library so no added expense for your trip!
Love REALSIMPLE.com's suggestion for sand-castle building...take along an ice-cream scoop to use with the wet sand. Your kids will love it (actually I want to try it out this summer)!
We can cover all kinds of topics on this (major ones are found at redbookmag.com) but a good starting point is finding out if you are underpaid!
You can compare your salary to the industry averages at glassdoor.com - too low? Consider the best ways to approach your boss for a raise!
