Pay It Forward

When you see someone struggling, ESPECIALLY someone with a handicap (should be a no brainer, right?) Please help them. The world will not end if you take a few extra minutes out of your time to repark your car and open the door for the man in the walker who can barely make it over the step up the curb or the lady who's struggling to get her water under her shopping cart.

No More Wire Hangers!!! Stress Free Holidays

Many of you may already know this but I have to give a little hint for making your life and Christmas shopping a bit easier especially if you have young children like me. Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Overstock.com and Drugstore.com are my favorite websites for holiday shopping. You can buy EVERYTHING (from coffee to housewares to luxury clothing and toys!) and with free shipping it's a no brainer. Walmart offers free site to store shipping so many items you'll have to go pick up from the closest store but you can ship anything free to their store including very heavy items and most of my orders have come in significantly faster than the estimated shipping time.

Amazon has something called Lightning Deals where they sell various products at a discount for a limited time. I've gotten some pretty good deals this way.
They also offer free standard shipping for anything they ship out of their warehouse(they also sell other retailers products) over $25. You can get "free" 2 day shipping by signing up for their Amazon Prime service which has a free one month trial which then costs $79 per year. Don't forget to cancel before the month is up! Great way to get your gifts quickly with free shipping and cancel should you not need the service any more!

Drugstore and Overstock I shop at less but they're also fantastic choices.

If you're like me and you don't have family close by to watch your kids thus having to hire sitters as your best solution for shopping with your hubby, do what we did- put the kids to bed early, grab a glass of wine and go shopping together. Much more intimate and stress free!

Happy Holidays!

No More Sticky Feet

Have to give a shout out to another product I LOVE. Amazing how things change. Appliances really do excite me. Anything that makes life in between Mina's cleaning visits easier & more livable. I bought this a few months ago and it changed my life! My kids can use it and it is actually really powerful. No need for 2 seperate devices and there are 2 switches & uses. One to vacuum all the particles left behind by my little gremlins and another that steams away & even better sanatizes! all remaining traces of their muck!

My only complaint (and the kids if I ever convince them to do it for me) is that the vacuum is quite loud. My solution for them- noise cancelling headphones and away they go vacuuming to thier (and my) little hearts desire..


I paid $150 but you can get one at Amazon.com for $99.
http://www.amazon.com/Shark-Vac-Then-Steam-Mop/dp/B003KKD7DY

Keep your mouth shut!

This is just an advice post.
Twice this week I experienced things that I had said getting misconstrued and retold to some of my friends with negative end results. So I really thought long and hard and came to the realization that even if they're your "good friends" they may not trust you as much as you would think or like and the power of persuasion of others can be dangerous to your relationship sometimes. Whether it's intentional or not, I still haven't decided. I do think sometimes others look at your friendships and get a bit envious and a well placed comment could rock that friendship a bit or perhaps just and unintentional slip of a shared topic can cause a friend to feel a little betrayed. So the moral of the story is... Keep Your Mouth Shut. If you feel like you need to vent. Vent to your husband, your priest or your shrink. (I would include sisters in this list but I have several and they all talk to each other so the same thing can happen with us sometimes!) If you're like me and you love all of your friends to be friends with each other and go out of your way to make that happen, chances are they will vent to each other too and some comment that you've made could inadvertently cause a bruised feeling or two. So, just don't do it. And don't worry... Everything's good in my life no more drama... I just wanted to share with you my lesson of the week. :) Happy Sunday!

Few Fun Adult Events This Weekend

If you're lucky enough to have a sitter this weekend, there are some really fun adult events happening in Richmond. One starts today but i'm a little late in posting!



The Virginia Wine Expo begins today February 26th and goes through Sunday February 28th. "The Virginia Wine Expo is simply THE best way to sample and purchase Virginia wines and to taste gourmet food from the region's finest restaurants and specialty food purveyors."
Tickets prices start at $15 and go up to $75 for the "Virginia Governor's Cup Grand Tasting event tonight. There are various events throughout the weekend or you can purchase a ticket for a "Walk Around Tasting". I know i'll be there at some point. All you can "taste" ;) wine and gourmet food under one roof? H E A V E N!
Look for the $5 off coupon in the Richmond Times Dispatch for the Sunday Tasting!

You can purchase tickets at the venue or in advance on their website: http://www.virginiawineexpo.com/
ALL EVENTS WILL BE HELD AT THE GREATER RICHMOND CONVENTION CENTER.



Another fabulous event, The Richmond Blues Festival, will be held tomorrow night (February 27th) at the stunning Landmark Theatre, "one of the best known and most striking buildings in Richmond." Scheduled to appear are Bobby Bland, Marvin Sease, Roy C., Theodis Ealey, Calvin Richardson and Shirley Brown.

Tickets: Tickets available at the Landmark Theater Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets including Stony Point Fashion Park, Regency Square Mall and participating Ukrop's and Macy's, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online: Ticketmaster

Tickets range from $43.50-$50.50

For more information go to
http://www.landmarktheater.net/default.asp?landmark=38&objId=521
Show begins at 8pm


There are two additional culturally enriching events this weekend.

Support your state filmmakers at the Virginia Independent Film Fest being held at the Byrd Theatre in Carrytown. The Festival will include, "an all day three-part screening series of Virginia independent features, shorts and documentaries featuring Q&A with filmmakers and Audience choice voting."
Tickets $2-$10 Shows begin at 1pm.

For more info including the specific film schedule go to: http://www.film.virginia.org/News/ScheduleFilms2010PDF.pdf



Get your Bluegrass and philanthropy fix at the Marathon Bluegrass Jam Fest held at Grandpa Eddies BBQ on Three Chopt Rd.
100% of the contributions will benefit The Richmond Fisher House which provides housing to families of soldiers that are recuperating at The MCGuire Veterans Hospital. All donations are tax deductible. You're also welcome to join in the fun if you're a you were blessed with the picker or singing talent. All abilities will be included.
My daddy is a vet & spends a great deal of time at these hospitals so this is another definite on my list! I will probably take my kids to this one too so not necessarily an "adult only event".

http://www.grandpaeddiesbbq.com/

February 27th 12pm-12am

Have a fantastic weekend!

Decorating Sense- Change It Up With Ease

I love this website I found which I posted about earlier this week in my countertop makeover post.

In addition to contact paper this website deserves another shout out for its fabulous removable wall art. You'll never have to be worried about being married to a design or theme again. You can enhance any space in your home and effortlessly remove when the winds of change blow through! They have tons of designs and while this isn't an innovative idea on my part, the reason i'm posting is because the prices are rock bottom compared to other's i've researched.

They also have full size wall mural's if you really want to make a statement and which would be great for a commercial space!

These are also a great way for your budding little artists to help you decorate their own room. My 3 year old has been dragging any visitor that stops by up to his room to show the dinosaurs that he put up that also protect him at night. (so I got a double whammy out of the deal!)

Since there are so many different selections, i'll just post the basic site so you can peruse to you hearts content!

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com

Fun Family Event This Weekend!

If you haven't already heard, this weekend the Richmond Kid's Expo is coming to town.
It is the "largest children's expo showcasing products and services for children ages pre-birth through pre-teen. With a blend of great products to see and buy, fun hands-on children's activities, contests, prize drawings, family-friendly entertainment and information workshops."


I know i'll be there. Weather looks a little better for this weekend but still not super warm so if you're looking for something fun & inexpensive to do indoors with your kids, this looks great. See you there!

http://www.richmondkidsexpo.com/
Tickets are $6 for adults $2 for kids 3-12. Kids under 2 get in free!