Style Tips From Old Navy

I went to Old Navy today, because I felt the need to jump on the colored skinny jeans bandwagon (I got a purple pair). They had free style tip papers you could take, and I especially liked the color pairings one. It tells you which colors look good together (perfect for picking out tops for the colored jeans). There is also one on how to tie scarves and belts (neither of which I have added to my wardrobe yet).

P.S. Sorry for the crumpled picture of the belts - my dog, Lucky, felt the need to walk all over it while I was trying to take the picture. 

--T

Simply Homemade

I'm always on the look out for places to go with my girlfriends, and I've always held places like Simply Homemade in the back of my mind. This is one of those prep kitchens where you go and make several freezer meals to save for a day when you don't want to have to plan a meal. I've always known about Dinner by Design which had a location in Tinley Park and one in Downers Grove. The Tinley Park one closed down and the Downers one only offers pick up options (they assemble it for you and you just pick it up - boring!!). I wanted something we could turn into a girl's night so I found Simply Homemade in Naperville.

This. Place. Was. Awesome.

When you register online for your date and time you also pick your menu items. Every month there are 22 different menu options and most of them include a side item. The items I picked for September were:

Fish tacos
Classic Pork Roast with Apples
Tuscan Tomato Bisque with a Bread Loaf
Penne Pasta al Forno with a Side of Green Beans
Beef Tips Italiano with a Side of Broccoli

I tried to pick things I don't regularly make. I make a lot of casseroles and a lot of recipes using beef, so I thought the pork and fish tacos would be a nice change of pace, as well as the tomato soup.

There are several meal packages you can pick from. You can choose 5, 8, or 12 meals which each serve about 4-6 (plenty for Mark and I plus leftovers), or you can pick 12 mini meals which serve 3 (good for people who live alone).

The menus you pick the meals from also include nutrition information (including weight watchers points) and many of the meals are really healthy. Four out of five of my meals were less than 400 calories per serving - the soup was only 153 per serving. Sweeeet! 

When you go to Simply Homemade, they have their kitchen set up in stations and each station has a recipe on it for you to follow. All the ingredients you need to assemble your dish are at the station - you hardly have to leave your spot to find something. The directions are simple such as: Take a quart sized bag. In the bag put 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, etc. etc. Close bag. Take a gallon bag and add meat from the refrigerator. Close bag. Take a quart sized bag and fill with broccoli. And so on and so forth. It is so SIMPLE (hence, Simply Homemade, right?) Then you put everything in one bag and put a label on it that has cooking instructions.

Here is what the label looks like on my fish tacos:

Cooking Instructions are literally to cook the fish in a pan, sprinkle on the seasonings it came with, add the bag of salsa, squeeze a lime over it, shred with a fork and make your tacos. Voila!

At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About 10 minutes








and the Pasta:

Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, uncover and bake for 10-12 more minutes. All done!

At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About an hour








I made 7 meals (because two of the meals were rather large, so I split them into two containers for two separate dinners) for $105.00 and it only took me an hour to prepare them all at Simply Homemade's kitchen. I stayed longer to help a friend who was making the 12 mini meals. I consider that a great deal considering I did not have to grocery shop for 7 meals, did not have to do all the prep work OR the clean up, and it takes the guess work out of "what are we having for dinner." I am trying to save these meals for a day or week when I am too busy to think about cooking. Also, these are things Mark could easily throw into the oven and prepare.

If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know. I will definitely be returning!

Tonight I am making the fish tacos and will report back on how they tasted.

--T

Need a Hotel in Cali?

Recently, Mark and I took a trip to California. We had a great time, and we were pleasantly surprised by our choice of hotel. Most of what we wanted to do while we were in California was near the Los Angeles/Hollywood areas, but we didn't want to actually stay in LA. Someone had told Mark about Sherman Oaks, California which was about 20-25 minutes from both LA and Hollywood. We decided on a Best Western on Sepulveda Boulevard and it was great! It was designed more like a motel, with the doors to all the rooms leading to the outside, and it was only two levels. Check-in was fast (as was check-out, we were able to just call the front desk and tell them we were leaving!). One night, Mark went to the front desk, which was in a separate building, to ask for more towels, and as he was walking out of the front desk building, there was already a maid walking up to our door with the towels. There was a refrigerator in the room (some hotels you have to pay extra for this), and they kept our room stocked with bottles of water. There was a Denny's next door and you could walk the few feet to go eat or you could order room service from Denny's. The room was extremely clean, and I felt very comfortable in it.

If you plan on taking a trip to California (which I recommend you do - there is so much to do there!), remember the Best Western on Sepulveda Blvd in Sherman Oaks :)

--T

My Secret Go To Store....

is Dress Barn! Often times when I get complimented on something I am wearing and tell the person "Thanks, it's from Dress Barn!" they are shocked. For some reason Dress Barn has this "it's for old ladies" stigma. Granted, some of the clothing IS for older women, in my opinion, but about 80 percent of the dresses in my closet are from Dress Barn! I also have several tops, pants, and even shoes - and I like to think that I don't dress like an old lady. ;)

My latest find is their Roz & Ali skinny jeans/jeggings. They are the BEST skinny jeans I have ever tried on. Ever. So awesome in fact that I went back the next day with my sister so she could try them on - and she bought them as well! They are not denim - they are a very "satiny" smooth material and come in blue and black. I bought both! They are also reasonably priced at $29.50.

If you would like to see them on the website, click here.

If you have never shopped at Dress Barn, give it a chance. I never walk out of there empty-handed :)

--T

Update: Erin Condren Life Planner

I am sooooo excited to have finally received my Erin Condren Planner in the mail today! (See previous post for more detailed information on this awesome website).

I cannot WAIT to fill it in and start using it (I'm a dork, I know). I just love organization, especially in terms of calendars, to do lists, etc, and I love that I can keep virtually everything I need to know or remember in this planner which very conveniently will fit in most of my purses :)

The planner has pages for birthdays/anniversaries for every month, a folder, a ruler, stickers that say things like "birthday, pay day, bridal shower" etc. so you can put them on your calendar. Each month has a monthly calendar and also a calendar for each day that is separated by morning, afternoon, and evening. There are blank pages, lined pages, gift labels (different from the ones pictured), address pages, and an important phone numbers page. Every single page has a cute design, font, and colors. It's not your average planner that's for sure!

She also sent me the gift labels you see pictured. There were 11 of them which would normally cost about $10.00 so that was a nice freebie! I also received a coupon for $10 off my next purchase.  So when you take all of that into consideration, the $50.00 planner really cost around $30.00. At least that's the way I look at it. :)

About three days ago I went back to her website and ordered Christmas and birthday gift labels, because she is running a Labor Day sale - 40% off! Use the code LABORDAY at checkout (only good on gift labels). 

--T

A Simple Yummy Recipe

If you want a really good recipe you can prepare in about 15 minutes, then this recipe is for you. I have our family friend, Laura, to thank for this one. It's so easy that even a not so savvy cook could make it. :)

1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp salt
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. frozen tater tots (I usually just buy a big bag, use what I need and save the rest for the next recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown beef in a skillet with salt. Spoon into a lightly greased 2.5 quart casserole dish. Layer frozen vegetables, soup, and cheese on top of ground beef. Top with tater tots and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until tater tots are done.

Photo courtesy of delicious-cooks.com

--T

Impressive!

I love my job, and I like the school I work at, but I am always keeping an eye out for any job opportunities that seem interesting. Recently I saw a Groupon for a resumé writing company that will revamp your current resumé and cover letter. I bought it, knowing full well that my current resumé was pretty crappy. I've been at the same school for six years and haven't really needed to update or improve the way my resume looked. I bought the Groupon for $85.00. The service is normally $260. This seems like a lot of money, but I just received my resumé and cover letter back, and I cannot express how amazing they both are! I am actually embarrassed at what I turned in to them as my original resumé! :)

In addition to attaching my current resumé and cover letter, I also had to fill out a questionnaire. It took the company only a couple of days to get back to me with the finished product. They really highlighted my strengths as an educator and my professional accomplishments and qualifications.

If your resumé needs a face lift I would highly recommend JC Resumes. Honestly, I am so happy with their service, I do think that the $260 fee is worth it, and felt the Groupon deal was a steal at $85, especially if someone is actively job hunting and wants their resumé to stand out.

To show you the difference in my "before and after" resumés, I have attached a picture of both. I did black out my personal information (address, phone number, etc.) so obviously the actual documents don't have the big black rectangles on them. :) The company website for JC Resumes is found here. 

Before

After

The Ultimate Planner

One of my friends (Thanks Andrea Meyer!) posted this website on facebook: ErinCondren.com and within 10 minutes of looking at it I had already placed an order!

She sells everything from iphone and ipad cases, to recipe cards, to lesson plan books for teachers, to life planners.

I decided to buy one of the life planners. I love organization when it comes to calendars/schedules/etc. You get to choose your cover design and personalize it how you want. You can also upload a picture and make that your cover. You can choose a 12 month or 16 month planner. Each life planner includes the following:

--A birthday and anniversary calendar
--A weekly scheduler with two month spreads
--Goals and to-do lists
--Laminated monthly tabs
--Laminated bookmark/ruler
--Lined pages
--Blank pages
--Important numbers page
--Addresses page
--Colorful stickers for highlighting important events
--Sturdy aluminum coil
--A plastic pouch
--A "Keep it together" folder
--Inspiration quotes throughout

The life planners are $50.00 and the other items on her website range in price. Anything on her website would make a great gift, especially because you can personalize it with the person's or family's name.

This is the design I chose and my first and last name will be on the bottom of the cover. If you order one, let me know what design you decided on!

--T

Some Spring Cleaning...in August??

So a few days ago I got on this cleaning kick. Mark and I are fortunate enough to have a cleaning lady who comes once a month, so I have to admit, I hardly ever have to do your typical cleaning chores - vacuuming, dusting, etc. However, recently I was thinking about those things in your house that don't typically get cleaned - like the dishwasher, the washing machine, and so on and I decided to do a little spring cleaning, only in August.

My first job was to clean the dishwasher. I read online about a simple way to clean the dishwasher. Take the bottom rack out of the dishwasher and make sure there is no gunk, crumbs, etc. blocking anything. You fill a dishwasher safe cup with white vinegar and put it on the top rack. Run it through the hottest cycle you can with nothing in the dishwasher except the cup of vinegar. After the cycle is complete, take the vinegar out and sprinkle the bottom of the dishwasher with baking soda. Run it through another complete, hot cycle with nothing in the dishwasher. Once that cycle is complete, wipe away any residue. To show you that this did work, here is a before and after picture of our dishwasher. Look closely at the before picture (especially on the left side of the dishwasher) and you can see it was actually quite dirty!

                            Before                                                                             After

  

I also decided to clean my washing machine. I took out the top of the middle piece in the washing machine and was horrified by all the gunk build up in there. I did not take a picture, but I wish I had so you could see it. I rinsed the parts I could get out of the washing machine in hot water and cleared away as much buildup as I could. Then I followed the directions on this website. First, you fill the washer with hot water and pour in two cups of white vinegar. Let it sit for an hour, then run it through a cycle. Then, fill the machine up again with hot water and pour in 1-2 cups of bleach. Let it sit for an hour, then run it through a cycle. At no point do you add any soap or detergent. When my 2 cycles were complete the washer did look very shiny and the inside of it looked like new. Success!

Next, it was time to clean our towels. This website gives a way to get the mildew, musty smell out of towels. All you do is wash your towels in hot water with a cup of white vinegar, and then run them through another cycle with half a cup of baking soda. Really easy and my towels did seem to be fresher after I did this. 

Finally, I decided to organize all my makeup. I had a lot of makeup that I don't use and the makeup I do use was just thrown in a cosmetic bag. Since I use this stuff every day, I wanted something more organized and more accessible. I went to The Container Store and bought this perfect makeup organizer. I also got rid of anything I don't use on a daily basis. 

As I was putting everything in its proper place, it occurred to me that I never (and unfortunately, I mean NEVER) clean my makeup brushes. I found this easy and natural way to do it: Mix equal parts olive oil and dish soap on a plate, swirl the brush in the mixture and wipe off on a paper towel. Keep doing this until you aren't getting any makeup on the paper towel anymore, and then run it under warm water and let dry. It's important not to get water in the silver part of the brush, so you don't want to submerge your brushes, just rinse the bristles under warm water. 

Now, this is really gross, and actually quite embarrassing, but just to show you how badly my brushes needed to be cleaned, here is a picture of the paper towel I used to wipe my brushes. The towel on the left is from my blush brush and the one on the right (not as bad) is my eyeshadow brush. 

So, there you have it. I felt pretty accomplished, because these are things that I know never get done (at least not in our house!)

--T

Discounted Chicago Parking

Parking in Chicago = one of the most frustrating things ever! There are a few reasons for this: a) It's expensive and b) sometimes you have to walk really far because the only garage or spot available was not anywhere near your final destination.

Mark and I recently went downtown for about 3.5 hours and it cost us $35 to park. Isn't that ridiculous! Sure, you can try to find street parking, rather than parking in a garage, but usually everyone has the same idea, so you end up circling and circling the streets with no luck.

I have a website that might help you. It's called Spothero.com. Mark heard about this website on the news, and we used it yesterday for the first time. It worked great!

Here's how it works:
You go to spothero.com or you download their free app for your cell phone. We did it via the website. All you do is type in the address of where you are going (we were going to lunch at Pizano's so we typed in their address) and it will give you a list of garages and the price. We found a garage that was 1.3 blocks away for only $9.00 - and we parked there for 3 hours! Can you believe it?? What a great deal! The nice thing about it is your spot is reserved so not only are you getting discounted parking, but you don't have to worry about finding a garage or a spot. The garage we chose was next to a hotel so the garage actually said it was "Full," but our instructions told us if the garage says "Full" then to push the call button upon entering and tell the attendant you are a SpotHero customer and they will let you in. We followed those instructions and were let in without a problem.

Just make sure you either print out your confirmation email or you are able to pull it up on your phone, because they will need to see this to give you the special rate.

This website is something you can use at the last minute as well - we didn't think of it until we were about 20 minutes from our destination. Everything was processed within a matter of minutes and we were good to go!

I'm glad we tried this and intend to use this website whenever we need to go to the city!

--T