I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
Incredibly honored and excited to say that I designed and painted the New Hampshire egg for the latest issue of Food Network Magazine! I was completely blown away when they sent me an email last November, asking if I wanted to be a contributor for this piece (um, YES!) and it’s so exciting to finally see it in print! Thank you, Food Network Magazine!
If you want to make your own NH-inspired egg, please check out my full tutorial HERE.
PS - Make sure to pick up a copy, so many creative eggs from every state - not to mention all the yummy recipes!
It's been cold and snowy here in New England these last two weeks (like 3 Nor'easters in two weeks snowy!), so what better way to warm up than with a bowl of hearty and healthy chili! This recipe was done in our crockpot but could be made in less time in an Instapot. Don't have an Instapot? You're in luck - I've teamed up with several other bloggers to give one away! {Scroll down to enter the givewaway}
This chili is super easy to make and can be adjusted to your taste with whatever veggies you'd like to add. I often make chili as an excuse to use up all the extra veggies we have in the fridge - once all the flavors meld together you can hide just about any vegetable in there (perfect for picky toddlers or husbands). While not in this current batch, I've often added things like mushrooms, spinach, sweet potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, squash, etc. As far as using canned beans and tomato sauce I always buy store-brand organic varieties when I can - they tend to have less additives and salt than non-organic and are cheaper than the name brand ones!
Ingredients
1 lb of lean ground turkey (can also use lean ground beef if you prefer)
2 cans of low sodium tomato sauce
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 can of lentils (adds a lot of protein and you won't even notice them mixed in with the ground meat!)
2/3 cup of frozen corn (using frozen veggies is a great shortcut)
1/2 cup of frozen chopped peppers
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chopped jarred garlic
1 teaspoon turmeric (turmeric has great anti-inflammatory properties)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese and/or crackers to garnish
Directions
Brown ground meat in a skillet, pouring off excess fat.
Add meat and all remaining ingredients (except for garnishes) to crockpot.
Cook on low in crockpot for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, until veggies are soft and flavors have melded.
Garnish with shredded cheese and crackers, if desired.
Looking for a way to make this yummy recipe faster? Use an Instapot! I've teamed up with several other bloggers to give one away to a lucky follower. Enter below for a chance to win - good luck!
I think this makes the third Nor'easter in two weeks for us here in New England. As pretty as the snow is, I'm sure ready for warmer weather and gardening! At least Harley is loving the snow :) Now, if you'll excuse me - we have about two feet of snow to snowblow and shovel.
As a mom, I'm always looking for ways to make the everyday must-dos a little easier and more fun. So I was so excited when Nûby offered to let us try out some of their bath time staples - and give away a set to a lucky follower too! | This post contains affiliate links as well as an honest review of Nûby products |
With both a toddler and a baby, I feel like we're constantly doing baths or trimming nails and any way we can make these chores easier is a huge help. Our toddler really loves Nûby's Foam Bath Letters and Numbers set - she's really into spelling and loves putting random letters together and asking "what does that spell?", even when it doesn't make a real word. She's really starting to get the hang of it though, and can spell several short words all on her own!
The Tear-Free Rinse Pail has also been a huge help at bath time, for both our toddler and our baby. No one likes getting soap or water in their eyes - especially little ones. So it's great that we can easily rinse the shampoo away without any tears. The rinse pail is BPA-free and features a soft rubber edge so you can comfortably fit it against your little one's forehead. It also holds a generous amount of water for quick rinsing!
Finally nail cutting... ugh. Probably one of the most nerve wracking tasks a parent has to do for their baby! Thankfully Nûby's 6-Piece Nail Care Set has everything you need including scissors, nail clippers, and four emery boards sized for taking care of baby and toddler nails. Their perfect size helps make taking care of your wiggly baby's nails a little less intimidating.
*Giveaway!*
Make sure to enter our Giveaway over on Instagram for the chance to win this great Bath Bundle from Nûby! The winner will receive Nûby’s Tear-Free Rinse Pail, Nail Care Set, and Foam Bath Letters and Numbers Set. Just look for this photo in my Instagram feed and follow the directions to enter! Good luck!
- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our full Disclosure Policy for more information -
Nûby's Foam Bath Letters & Numbers, Nail Care Set, and Tear-Free Rinse Pail can be found at many retailers including Amazon, Buy Baby Direct, and Babies 'R Us.
It's been a long time coming but our first sign design has finally hit the Etsy Shop! We now have custom zip code signs available - perfect for a housewarming, wedding, or graduation gift. These signs are available in five different finishes so there's one to fit your decor style.
I'll be adding new sign designs over the coming weeks too so stay tuned for more!
In our master bedroom our bed sits on a standard metal bed frame. Not only were the legs still visible under the bedskirt, but the bed was about an inch too low to fit underbed storage containers! Not being able to store much under the bed was a huge inconvenience and after tripping over these containers in our walk-in closet for far too long I decided to make my own bed risers and fix the issue once and for all. | This post contains affiliate links |
Now this isn't exactly a glamorous or high-end project, but I think you'll agree that the Before and Afters speak for themselves - it's a huge improvement over what was there and helps fit more under the bed for critical storage.
The wrinkly, too-short bedskirt shows the ugly metal legs and the limited storage underneath.
Materials:
ruler
chop saw or handsaw
2x4 lumber
1x5 lumber (or whatever size wood will cover the legs of your bed + the thickness of the 2x4)
First measure the height of the legs of the bed (in our case the back side of the leg has a support bracket which is why you'll see the back side of our risers are slightly shorter) and add this height to 1.5 (the actual thickness of a 2x4). This is the height your side boards will be for the bed riser. For us it came to about 5 inches along the front three sides and 4 inches in the back.
Next cut your 2x4 to size to fit comfortably under the legs of your bed. Then cut all the side pieces to size, creating a box around the 2x4 base.
Before assembling, it's a good idea to lay it out under one of the legs of the bed to make sure everything fits properly (as you can see from the "cut-away" example I have below). Here you can see how the leg sits on the 2x4 base with all the side pieces around it.
Once you have all your pieces cut to size, pre-drill, wood glue, and screw everything together. We used black screws so they would blend in better with the dark stain we chose. Make sure everything is attached sturdily then sand and stain/paint in the color of your choosing. We went with a dark stain since the rest of our bedroom set is a darker wood.
After everything was dry, I had my husband help me by picking up one corner of the bed at a time so I could place a riser under each leg. I also purchased a longer bedskirt that better fit the new height of the bed. These risers aren't the most beautiful DIY project but they're pretty un-noticeable with the longer bedskirt - and the best part? Now I can finally fit the storage totes under our bed!
Disclaimer: Always make sure the risers you build are appropriate for your bed and your situation. Make sure it's safe and sturdy! Use at your own risk.
Having a baby really changes your hair, and after having two babies my hair is nothing like it used to be. Hormones have totally changed the color and texture of my hair... in the past few years it's gone from bright blonde and wavy to ten shades darker and stick straight. After our second baby my hair definitely needed some recharging and I was excited to try something new. | This post shares an honest review of products provided by Maple Holistics |
Recharging Postpartum Hair
Give your Hormones a Chance to Settle Down
Those first two months after baby, your hormones are raging and just about anything goes. Don't be surprised if your hair suddenly gets super dry or super greasy, or starts shedding like crazy. As frustrating as those first two months can be (and for so many reasons - dealing with a new baby and a healing body isn't easy!), try to roll with these hair hiccups and know that a lot of it will improve or get more predictable once your hormones settle down.
Get a Haircut
Getting a new haircut or even just a trim can really help refresh your hair and give you a boost of confidence. Getting rid of those split ends will give you a fresh start to learn about your new post-baby hair.
Try a New Shampoo/Conditioner
With all the new things going on with your hair, your old shampoo routine just might not cut it anymore. Now's a great time to switch it up and try something new! My hair really needed some perking up so I was super excited when Maple Holistics reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try their Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner.
Maple Holistics uses all-natural ingredients, and is both chemical free and cruelty free, which I love. Using their tea tree shampoo gives you a cool, tingling sensation on your scalp that really helps you and your hair feel more refreshed and awake. Afterwards my hair felt clean and lighter - I loved that the conditioner didn't leave it feeling heavy!
If you want to try Maple Holitics' Tea Tree Shampoo or another one of their products, make sure to check out their Free Samples Program.
- I received this item for review from Maple Holistics but all opinions expressed are my own. Please read our full Disclosure Policy for more information -
We're huge Amazon fans in this house - living out in the boonies like we do means that a lot of home and grocery shopping is done online and you can't beat Amazon for their selection and Prime shipping! | This page contains affiliate links |
I've created a page on Amazon to showcase some of our favorite Amazon finds - everything from home, to beauty, to baby and kid items. Items with a "speech bubble" in the corner means I've added a note about that item, just give it a click to see what I have to say about it.
Feel free to check our Favorite Amazon Finds often since I'll be continuing to add more items as they come up.
