Archives for 2019

Summer Infant Cushy Cart Cover Review + Other Summer Infant Products We Love

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. The opinions are my own.

I was a little slow to take Thaxton out places.  With this daily cycle of naps and bottles, it never seemed to be an ideal time, and I just don’t want to be the person at the store with the fussing baby.  It would have stressed me out, and I know it wouldn’t have been fun for Thaxton either.  I know people take babies out all the time; I’ve been shopping myself and have seen people with their sleeping newborn in the cart or in a carrier.  It’s just not my thing!  So for the most part, my husband did the majority of the shopping last year.

Now that Thaxton is 15 months old and only takes one nap a day, we have plenty of time to go shopping and do other activities with him.  Last fall I purchased the Summer Infant Cushy Cart Cover, and we love it!  I actually spent a lot of time looking at cart covers.  In fact, I looked at cart covers more than almost any other baby item.  One day I was looking at Instagram, and I saw someone had posted a photo of this lovely blue cover, I clicked and found out it was the same cover I’d been looking at for months, only in a different color. (The one I had saved in my cart was grey and green.)  I made up my mind and decide to purchase it!

[Read more…]

How To Make a Kid’s Room Safe

 

Fortifying The Home

Babies and children bring many joys to the home. Their energy and innocence can be a light that transforms a life. However, because of their curious nature, they can sometimes get themselves into a bit of trouble without meaning to. For parents who want to make sure their rooms are kid-friendly and safe, you should consider some of these tips.

1. Stowing Away Weapons

Many homeowners have weapons in the home either for safety or to complete a collection. While they may serve a purpose or just look really cool, they’re also just as fascinating to children. Even if you practice gun and knife safety with your children, the safer option is always to keep the weapons out of their hands in the first place. An effective method of doing that is to store them in a lockbox. As soon as you’re considering to have children in the home, you should find a locksmith like South Perth Locksmicks that service many suburbs in Perth to build you a lockbox that can keep those dangerous items safe. By stowing them away, the risk of your children finding them and playing with them is removed.

2. Store Away Medications

Every household has medication within it. While they may serve a medicinal purpose for you, in the hands of children, those medications could be toxic. You see a pill, but they likely see a colorful piece of candy. To keep your children safe, you should store and lock away those medications. You can do this by storing them in a lockbox as well. That way even particularly intelligent children have no way of breaking into the storage device and getting into your pills.

3. Carpet Instead Of Hard Floors

One aspect that families don’t always consider for their homes is their flooring in terms of safety for their children. While hardwood floors and laminate flooring may look nice, their hard exterior can create a problem for children who like to run and jump around. It’s a bit easier to injure their skulls and break their bones on a hard floor than a carpet. If the prospect of stains concerns you, one compromise that you can consider is to designate one room as the playroom and fill that room with carpet. In that room, the children can run amok as they need.

4. Stabilize Shelves And Dressers

A final aspect to consider is the shelves and drawers in your home. Children love to climb. One of those things they like to climb is shelves and drawers. If those items aren’t properly stabilized, they can fall and severely injure the child. To improve the safety of your home and ensure your child’s safety, you can easily attach a stabilizer to the shelves and drawers to make sure they don’t fall if a child attempts to climb them.

With these tips, you can keep your child safe in any room of your home.

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 466

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Jennifer at Busy Being JenniferTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! [Read more…]

Children’s Book Review: Llama Llama Red Pajama

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. The opinions are my own.

Children's Book Review

I’m very excited about this month’s book review. My son received Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney as a Christmas present.  I wasn’t familiar with the book, but I instantly loved it, and so did Thaxton!  A few days after receiving the book, my husband casually called out the title of the book, and Thaxton walked to his room.  I was amazed after a moment when he returned with the book.  (To top things off, he had to grab the book from underneath a stack of books on the ottoman in his room. It wasn’t exactly right in front of him.  Now I have fun every day challenging him to with a game of “find a book.”  I call out titles and most of the the time he grabs the right book.)

 

Llama Llama Red Pajama

Llama Llama Red Pajama is a fun and upbeat bedtime story.  It has a great rhyme scheme and rhythm your baby will love, and all moms should be able to relate to the fun story line.  Llama Llama Red Pajama is ready for bed, but when his mommy leaves the room, all is not well.  Baby Llama starts out with a small whimper for his mama and gradually gets louder and louder in his cries for his Mama. [Read more…]

4 DIY roofing tips that will save you tons of money

 

People don’t like spending the money if they’re not forced to. This is especially true when it comes to home maintenance.

There are so many things on which we can save when it comes to cleaning, maintaining and fixing. One of the biggest culprits is the roof. This area of the house requires lots of attention. Most roofs last from 10 to 15 years but with enough time invested, this period can easily be prolonged up to 20 years. If you consider that the cost of a new roof can go up to thousands of dollars, it is obvious that a periodic maintenance can save you a lot of money.

There is no need to rely on roofing contractor, a roofing company or a roofing service. Here are some awesome DIY tips that will help you achieve that goal.

1. Make a periodic checkup

The most important things about roofs is consistency. Going to the roof once in 5 years or only when something is broken will not cut it. Instead, you need to make a continuous effort of checking the roof every 6 months and making the necessary fixes. By eliminating threats as soon as they appear, you’re making sure that the roof (as well as your house) don’t take any additional damage. Humidity can be really problematic and if you allow it to affect your home, leaks will appear overnight.

2. Remove faulty shingles

Most homes in America rely on shingles. These products are very cheap but are also very fragile. Stronger wind can easily blow them away. Debris can also be very damaging to them as well. This is why you need to detect issues and address them as soon as possible. If you think that the surrounding shingles are also troublesome, it is much better to remove them altogether. Shingles affect each other so when making repairs, you have to be sure that the issue is resolved.

3. Repairing gutters

Gutters can be really problematic. If there is any damage to them, rainwater will not be drained properly. Instead, it will start splashing the side of your house which can be a real problem (especially for wooden structures). Debris is another thing you need to pay attention to. During

autumn, a lot of leaves and smaller pebbles will end on your roof. If they are not removed, water will remain on the roof and will increase humidity potentially leading to leaks.

4. Check the chimney

Object that surrounds the chimney is known as flashing. Flashing is usually made from lighter metals which makes it prone to damage. Unfortunately, flashing is crucial for sealing the area. If it’s faulty, water will start penetrating your home.

With these simple but awesome tips, you will be able to repair your home as if you were a roofing contractor. Just make sure to be meticulous, pay enough attention to issues and react to them as soon as they appear.

Author’s bio: Doitrightroofing.ca is a roofing company in Vancouver with more than 10 years in business. They have hundreds of repaired roofs in their portfolio and are a BBB A+ rating roofing contractor.

Friday Favorites Linky Party – Week 465

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Jennifer at Busy Being JenniferTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! [Read more…]

3 Essential Tips for a Beautiful Yard Year-Round

75% of US adults think it’s important to spend time outdoors in their own yard. Many of those same Americans thoroughly enjoy the upkeep of their outdoor space. There’s a sense of accomplishment and pride in keeping the outside of your home polished to your liking. Each season does bring some challenges to the yard enthusiast, but it’s nothing a little ingenuity can’t handle!

First Things First

Planting flowers, placing out lawn fixtures, and choosing new outdoor furniture are the really fun parts of setting up and maintaining your outdoor space. Before you get to those fun parts, though, you need to perform regular maintenance for the outside of your home to keep it looking good itself. It’s important to have your gutters cleaned, for example, to prevent water damage to the front of your home. Check other hardware, like shutters and paint, and perform any maintenance to these things as well. All of these things take a bit of a beating during the cold months, so Spring is a good time to evaluate.

April Showers, Don’t Drown Your Flowers!

Ah, Spring. They call it ‘spring fever’ for a reason; it’s the time of year when everything starts reawakening. It’s hard to contain the excitement! Tulips, daffodils, and other springtime perennials are surely already a staple for your yard. After all, you don’t have to replant them every year, so they’re an easy way to beautify your yard for the season. Whether you go for perennials or choose a new flower arrangement for your yard each spring, you absolutely must make sure all of the rain showers during these months don’t flood your yard and kill your beautiful flowers. Moreover, the sopping grass and mud aren’t exactly pleasant (unless you’re a toddler, then it’s divine).

Branch Out; Pun Intended

Flowers are, indeed, beautiful, but they don’t have a corner on the market for good aesthetics. In fact, the more varieties of plants you have, the more likely you’ll maintain an appealing (and living) yard all year round. Evergreen trees are show-stoppers for winter months, for example. The plants themselves aren’t the only thing that can add interest to your outdoor space, either. Different plants can attract different birds, butterflies, and other small animals that add charm.

Ditch the Chemicals

Those charming, cute birds and pretty butterflies won’t come around if you’re treating your yard with pesticides, but that’s not the only downside to chemical treatments. Warding off pests with chemicals also rids your yard of beneficial insects, which can impact the health of your yard as a whole. Look into natural treatment options, and select some plants that are native, so they’ve already developed some resistance to local fauna. That way you’ll always have some thriving plants, even if the pests are difficult to reign from your roses.

When it comes to your lawn, you might wonder what you can do to protect it if you’re ditching the chemicals – after all, you’ll want it to look good all-year round. The answer is to switch from your current lawn to artificial grass. That way, the grass will always look great, you’ll never need to treat it, and you won’t even have to mow it either.

Your outdoor space is a special blend of nature and home. Every season does bring a challenge, but they each also bring their own unique qualities to behold and enjoy.

5 Ideas For A Romantic Getaway With Your Partner

Getting away from it all on a romantic break with a spouse or partner is an excellent way of reminding yourself (and one another) how much you care for them, and it can really do wonders for your relationship, making it stronger and better than every before. It’s not always possible to spend time together at home; the pressures of work and caring for children, for example, can mean that you barely see one another.

Not only will you and your partner get more quality time to spend with one another when on a romantic getaway, but often when couples get a chance to escape the daily grind of life, many other exciting revelations, and surprises can happen or be brought up. 

For example, if you have not yet started a family, then this break from normality, and the time alone may be exactly what you and your partner needed so as to be able to discuss the next steps for the future of growing a family together. Not only will you have the time and space alone to talk and plan your future, but you will be able to focus on whether you are both in a financially and emotionally available state to take these next steps in life, with a clear and relaxed mind.

Something else that can happen when away on a romantic holiday is of course a proposal. Proposals are a big thing, so you may want to breach the topic and have a conversation with your partner first in a way that won’t ruin the surprise. It would be ideal if you could find a way of making sure you are both on the same page. By doing this early on you can even find out, and share specific details of what a dream proposal would look like and mean to each other. An idea would be to casually take a sneaky look at a lab grown diamonds catalog to find the perfect rock for an engagement ring.

Therefore, choosing the right romantic getaway and enjoying it as much as possible is essential. Spend some time working out what is going to be best for you, and then you can book it with confidence and, when the time comes, really have a fantastic time. Here are some ideas to get you started on your research.

A Villa in Spain

A Villa in Spain is an ideal way to have a holiday for two that is private and comfortable, as well as being something a little different. Whether you’re going away for a long weekend, a week, or perhaps even two, if you have a villa you can rest assured that you have your own space and will be totally alone. Plus, since the villas are all going to be self-catering, you can arrange for some amazing and romantic meals for two. Perhaps you’ll try to re-create some of the local cuisine, learning from the people you meet while you’re away. Or you might try something simple yet delicious that you know always goes down well.

Spain is an excellent choice for couples; it’s great for long walks along the beach or dips in the sea, and the scenery is beautiful. Watching the sunset from your villa in Spain will be like nothing you’ve seen before, and will make the entire experience even more incredible.

Go To The Theater

Going to the theater is fun, but it’s not a holiday or romantic getaway with a partner. Combine it with a stay in a hotel, and it could be though! There are areas in many major cities including London, New York, and Sydney amongst dozens of others that are renowned for their theatres, and, close by (sometimes even side by side) to those theaters are hotels.

Make your theatre trip into an overnight stay in an exciting city that you can explore. You can find a great restaurant to eat in, go to the bars and perhaps the clubs, and then see the sights the next day. Not only have you created a holiday out of a weekend, but you will be able to experience all of this fun with your partner.

Go To A Spa

Everyone is so very busy these days that when you do get a chance to have some time off together, you might want to spend it truly relaxing. A real spa with lots of treatments to choose from can give you that feeling of relaxation.

You don’t actually have to do anything at a spa: you can change into a robe and sit in the lounge or by the pool and enjoy some healthy snacks or a light lunch and a drink and relax in this way. Alternatively, you can do as much as possible (although this will all be relaxing

and not strenuous) and sign up for massages, manicures, aromatherapy treatments, skin scrubs, or perhaps some yoga or Pilates. The point is, whatever you choose to do you should do together. Once you get back home, you’ll feel refreshed and invigorated.

A Boutique Hotel In Paris

Paris is perhaps the first destination that you might think of when it comes to a romantic getaway; the capital of France has a certain reputation for being somewhere that the most romantic of people head to be together for a weekend or so! Paris is definitely a beautiful place, and there is a lot to do there. You might:

* Take a boat trip on the Seine * Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower

* Visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa

* Go to Notre Dame de Paris, the famous cathedral

Once you have seen everything that you want to see, you can pop into the plethora of cocktail bars or restaurants, and experience what Paris has to offer in terms of its world-famous cuisine.

Booking a boutique hotel is an exciting way to stay in Paris. These hotels are completely unique and independent, so you can find something that suits not only your budget but your taste, and enjoy relaxing together in an opulent room, or a themed one, or perhaps something basic but located right in the heart of the city. The wonderful thing about Paris is that you have as much choice as you want and need.

Skiing In Switzerland

It’s not to everyone’s taste to relax on a beach or round a pool, or to be pampered and indulge in some alone time; some couples prefer something a little more adventurous when they have a chance to go somewhere together. In some cases, that might be skiing, and Switzerland is an excellent choice when it comes to finding great resorts. If you’re an expert skier, you can look at different places to ski than if you are a beginner or have never skied before, so having this information in your mind before you start looking is important. That way, you’ll find the ideal place for you both.

If you’re not sure about skiing or you’ve haven’t done it for a little while, booking some lessons with an instructor before you leave home can be a good idea. This way, you’ll get the most out of your time on the slopes for however long you’re away.

Of course, the apres ski experience is just as important as the skiing itself, so you will want to find a resort that offers plenty to do in the evenings. Clubs and bars are a popular choice, and excellent restaurants should always be tried. Then you can retire to your lodge and the wonderful fire that is cracking there to keep you warm, or perhaps a hot tub to relax in.

Friday Favorites Linky Party – Week 464

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Jennifer at Busy Being JenniferTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! [Read more…]

Valentine Gifts for HIM: Volt, Scholars & Warriors

Disclosure: I received product samples to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

I’m always excited when I get the chance to review products, and when my husband can be a part of the review that’s even better!  When I heard about Volt, I thought their products would be a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for my hubby.  They sent me an amazing hoodie!  I like neutral colors that go with everything, so the grey color was perfect.  Immediately upon examining the garment, I was impressed with the look and style of it.  The quality is great.  The fabric is very thick, and it is very nicely lined to be both comfortable and warm.

 

But Volt isn’t just any clothing company.  My husband’s hoodie also came with a battery pack.  Yes, that’s right, a battery pack.  It charges just like your cell phone and then hooks in to the hoodie.  With the battery connected, this hoodie warms up just like an electric blanket!  My husband is a DIYer who does a lot of work outdoors, so this is perfect for him!

Our weather turned off cold again last week, so he’s gotten to wear it a few times, and he loves it.

I also received a pair of boxers from Warriors & Scholars.  They specialize in clothing for all men, of all walks of life, from white collar to blue collar.  Whether you are looking for something to where to the office, the gym, or at home with the wife and kids, Warriors & Scholars has something for everyone!

Their boxes come in a variety of fun colors and patterns.  The fabric is very smooth and soft to the touch, and my husband said they fit very comfortably.

Hope you’ll check out these fun Valentine’s Day gift selections for HIM!