Shopping Tip for your Spice Rack

Growing up, it used to drive me crazy trying to find the right spice jar in our kitchen drawer that was filled with random jars and tins of spices. The one I needed was always way in the back. Now I keep a rotating spice rack, like this one at Target, on my kitchen counter. All the spices I use regularly are right at my finger tips when I cook and I can easily see when I am running low on something. I have also found that it is much cheaper to buy in bulk or loose form and fill these (gloriously matching!) jars myself.

For example, yesterday I bought a bulk container of Paprika at Smart & Final for under $4 and it will fill my spice jar at least 5 times. If I had just bought the brand name spice jar at the grocery store, I would have paid at least $4 to fill it once.

Where to buy:

• Bulk contatiners of spices you use most often (garlic powder, parsley, bay leaves, paprika) at Costco or Smart & Final


• Loose spices at Henry's market cost just cents on the dollar versus grocery store jars (you bag and weigh your own spices)


• Cello bags of spices found in the International section of your grocery store or at Cost Plus
  

Tip: Use a funnel to get your spices into the jar

Baby Shower Season: Invitations

Six of my friends are expecting this year! It's baby shower season for me. Is it baby shower season for you too? Several showers are on the horizon including one for my sister. She's expecting the first baby in my family! The little guy is supposed to arrive in August so her shower is coming soon.

With such a baby shower flurry, I thought I'd do a series on "Baby Showers" for you. First stop, invitations!

My sister's nursery theme is the Jungle and I found these perfect Jungle Boy invitations for her shower! When looking for invitations, my first stop is to peruse my favorite paper websites. I like to look through these websites to find ideas if I'm going to make invitations by hand, a ready-made invitation to purchase and print at home, and even ideas for how to word invitations.

Resources:

• http://www.tinyprints.com/
• http://www.polkadotdesign.com/
• http://www.paper-source.com/
• http://www.invitationbox.com/
• http://www.lemontreepaperie.com/
• http://www.paperieandco.com/
• http://www.paperstyle.com/
• http://www.redstamp.com/
• http://www.traylorpapers.com/
  

Vintage Luggage

Today as I was browsing through a shopping website called ThisNext I found the vintage looking PAN AM luggage shown above. I got a little carried away. I started looking up vintage luggage. I LOVE the red mini bag by Samsonite, they have an entire line of vintage looking pieces...who knew! A quick seach on Etsy reveals dozens of genuine vintage pieces that are affordable too. I also found a blog article where a girl bought a white leather round case like the cornflower blue one above for her wedding. That would be such a cute bag to carry when heading out from your wedding reception!

L-R: PAN AM Explorers Bag $90.00, Samsonite Red Mini Bag $129.99, D'Aosta Loggia Vintage Luggage Set $800.00, Vintage Overnight Kelly Green Carry On Bag $39.00, Vintage Hot Pink Train Case $64.50, Vintage Cornflower Blue Hat Box $25.00.

2009 Calendars

It's that time of year where events start getting booked for next year and I don't have a calendar to write them in! So I thought I'd share a few calendars that I love in case you need to buy one too.

1. Wall Art Calendar by Paper-Source $26.95
Beautiful modern art for your wall.

2. Desk Calendar by Modern Art Everyday $19.00
These desk calendars in jewel cases seem to be the rage on Etsy.com.

3. Around the World Easel by Cavallini $12.95
I usually pick a new design each year to keep at my desk for quick reference.

4. Curious George Mini Calendar from Calendars.com $6.99
Can't find something you like? Calendars.com claims to have the best selection in the universe.

5. Weekly Pocket Planner from Barnes and Noble $9.95
I've carried one of these in my purse for 3 years now.

6. Google Calendar online FREE!
My hubby & I share an online calendar using our gmail accounts so we always know when each other is busy. It's made our calendaring so much easier!