Bits of Love Creations

Loving on Your People…

Loving on your people… even after they move out? Well, yes!

If you know me, you know that my kids moving out on their own will not deter me from being the quirky, over-the-top mom. So my oldest moved out this past fall and while it’s been an adjustment, it’s actually been a fairly smooth transition. He only lives about 15-20 minutes away and we’ve seen him more often than I thought we would, so thats good! Lol!

So each year, I place the conversation hearts I’ve made on the bedroom doors of my kids. These hearts are made of colored construction paper, with words written in sharpie. Every year I go through my stack of hearts and pick words/phrases for each of them. And when I think of new words, I make new hearts to add to the stack! On the 14 days leading up to and including Valentine’s Day, I tape a heart on their bedroom doors. A word/phrase that is a quality I see in them. Something I’m proud of, something I admire, and something I respect. It’s my little extra way of showing them in “the month of love” just how special they are to me.

If you’ve been around the blog for a bit. you’ve no doubt read about this here.

But this year, with my son no longer here, I wondered what I would do? He lives on his own for now so I figured, why not keep the tradition by sending him the hearts I would put on his bedroom door if he were here? So that’s exactly what I’ve done!

I took 14 envelopes, and the 14 hearts with words I’ve chosen this year and I hand delivered them to him at his new place with the instructions to open an envelope each day starting with February 1st. He was suprised and not quite sure what I was up to, but it didn’t take him long to figure it out!

My original plan was to send the envelopes in a box with a few little things for V-Day, but since his dad’s birthday is the same day, I will undoubtedly see him so I opted to save the postage and just give him the envelopes for now.

It may seem silly, over-the-top, or strange to some; but I don’t care! Lol! Showing the people in my life how much I love them and how special they are is important to me and it seems like the world could use a little more of the little things to show we care.

What’s even better about this whole scenario? He’s actually hanging them on his bedroom door in his condo and was happy to send me a picture when I asked. I cannot tell you how happy that makes my heart. Through good and bad, the bond I’ve created with my kids will still always be the most important job I’ve ever done!

File_000 — The pic he sent me of his door… my heart is full!

DIY Canvas Photos

Do you love the look of canvas photos but not the price? Yeah, me too. There are some places online that will run a sale on them definitely making them more affordable, but when I wanted to do my own version of a gallery wall a few years back, I had to get creative.

There are a million tutorials for DIY canvas photos on Pinterest, you can find one that suits your purpose. For me? I opted to go with tip from a friend years ago mixed with a little common sense and trial and error. This is what I ended up with.

First off, choose your photo. for my gallery wall, I wanted a mix of current professional photos, snapshots, and photos that have been around for a little while. For this tutorial, though I used a landscape photo Mallory took of the mountains in Colorado on her spring break trip (pre-coronavirus). It’s a great picture, and she wanted it enlarged and made into a canvas for her room. She’s no stranger to this method, as she helped with my gallery wall years ago and has since made her own for her room, and her room at college with pics of her and her boyfriend and her with roommates and friends. Safe to say it’s easy and cheap enough for a college kid to do it! lol!

So the canvas. They come in so many sizes! You can get them for a great price every day at Hobby Lobby with their coupon (and occassionally on sale!). Walmart also has them for a great price, but when I wanted to do the gallery wall, we went to Michaels when they had their big sale and bought multi packs of various sizes for $10.00! we still have some left over in the craft closet! Choose your photo and what size you want it to be, and choose your canvas. To get photos printed, I always recommend Costco photo printing. It’s a good quality print, for a very good price. Shipping is fast and for this, I always choose their matte finish which they call lustre.

This is my gallery wall as it stands today. The engagement photo, wedding photo, and photo of the 3 kids when they were little, were from a while back, so their size was of course predetermined. I chose a canvas for each and cut (if needed) the photo to fit. You’ll notice 2 of them have a border… we needed this because the height of the photo did not reach the edges of the canvas. Mallory’s picture we used in this tutorial only needed a border on the sides. She was fine with taking the photo all the height of the canvas instead of cutting it. So before we even began, she painted her canvas black so the border on the sides would match her accents in her room. I’ll stop being so long winded and just say – use your creativity, it’s your project, do it how you want!

Make sure your photo is the size you want for the canvas. Trim and cut if you need to.

I use matte finish mod podge and a foam ‘brush’. It is white, but dries clear! Protect your surface with a tablecloth. We use an old vinyl table cloth for painting projects and projects like this. Start by spreading a layer (not too thick) of mod podge on the canvas and on the back of the photo. Don’t go too slow because the glue definitely gets tacky pretty quickly. Place the photo where you want it on the canvas and (making sure there is no glue on your hands) smooth the photo to the canvas. Let it dry.

Begin to apply pod modge to the top of the photo & canvas.

Do not use too much. This will cause those heavier spots to look faded and almost blurry when dry.
Make all brush strokes go across the canvas horizontally.
Try to take your brush strokes across the whole canvas if possible.

Once you have covered the surface, lightly and evenly with strokes in one direction, let it dry COMPLETELY. If you do not let it dry completely in between layers, glue does what glue does and you could end up with clumps and icky spots that will ruin the photo.

When this first layer is completely dry, you can start the second layer by using the same process as the first except going vertically in even strokes.

Let it dry completely yet again and voila! You’ve just made your very own canvas photo!

Have a lovely day!

Fashion Finds – Shoes

Hey friends!

I am back with my favorite fashion finds yet. As I have mentioned to you all before, I have a slight shoe obsession. Some may say it’s a little bit more than a slight obsession. In total I have 51 pairs of shoes. This may seem like an extremely large amount but I have been collecting said shoes since my sophomore year of high school when my feet stopped growing, so it is well worth it to me! While I have a large amount of shoes, 15 of those shoes are tennis shoes, which is my biggest obsession. Another plus about my shoe collection is that I ALWAYS look for the amazing deals and my favorite stores. Yes, you probably guessed that one of these stores is Marshalls, no one is shocked. The other store that never fails me with a good shoe deal is Ross Dress for Less. The shoes I will be sharing today are all under $40 a pair, so getting ready to go shopping! I know that you are all anxiously awaiting so I’m going to dive right in!

Starting with Marshalls, I have 4 pair of cute tennis shoes to share with you all. The first pair I am going to discuss are a cute pair of purple Reebok’s. They are very stylish and comfortable. The shoe laces are white with a sliver sparkle detail, which I am not extremely fond of, but that is an easy fix. So overall, I would definitely recommend these shoes because, wait for this, only $20. How can you beat that?? Next up are three pair of Adidas. Can you tell I have a thing for Adidas shoes? Anyways, these pairs are form fitting to the foot, which I believe makes them more comfortable. One is a light blue color all around with a white base. I have worn the heck out of these shoes and they wash extremely well. What makes them even better you ask, they are only $40! Coming in with another blue pair, they are navy and form fitting with dashes of colors on both sides, and again have a white base. These have held up well so far and I would again recommend especially for $40. Lastly from Marshalls, I have an all black pair of Adidas that are form fitting and have reflective sides for running at night, for only $30! They have also held up well, washed well, and are very fashionable, which comes with a recommendation from me! Of course, you could say I am biased for Marshalls, but I would definitely recommend these finds and check out the Marshalls near you for more incredible finds!

Bringing up the caboose, Ross Dress for Less. I have three pair of shoes I want to share with you all from this store. First up is a pair of blue Nike Air Max. They are blue and grey freckled with a white base. They are so comfortable and extremely cute too. They are my newest pair and I am in love with them! I also wanted to share a pair of pink Adidas Tubular shoes. They have black specks in them and a pink base. They are also very comfortable and have held up very well. Lastly I found a pair of deep blue Adidas shoes with a really thick white base. They are kind of bumpy/raised on the base as well. They are definitely different from any other tennis shoes I have worn before but I have taken a great liking to them. All three of these Ross finds are super affordable at $40 a pair. I would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone, so you should probably hurry to your closest Ross!

All in all, I love shoes. There’s no secret here. Marshalls is the best thing that has happened to my feet with Ross coming in at a close second. I love these stores and shop for the majority of my shoes and even clothes there.

I hope you all have enjoyed these finds and that your feet will thank me later!

Until next time,
Xoxo Mal

Stay at Home Camp

When my kids were little, I stayed at home with them. Well, ‘stay at home’ is maybe not the correct terminology because we (I) rarely stayed at home. I volunteered at their school and we were constantly doing things with friends like having playdates – moms and kids 🙂

One thing I didn’t do very often growing up myself, was go to summer camp. With the exception of church camp, this was just something my sister and I never did because my mom stayed home with us as well. We did, however, stay with our grandparents a lot. Each summer my sister would go to one set of grandparents and I would go to the other. We would stay for 2 weeks and then swap. I would go to the other set of grandparents and she would go where I had just been. I do remember at my grandparent’s house in Memphis one year, my grandma let me make a sign for the door to the guest room where I stayed. Kind of like my own little cabin away at summer camp. I found that picture recently, me with my sign on the door to that room I spent so many summer in… and it brought back a flood of memories. Even in my 40’s I still remember the feeling, the fun, the anticipation of spending those weeks with my grandparents. It’s something I am very grateful my parents encouraged us to do. Those memories are lasting my lifetime.

I’m probably 8 years old here with my sign on the door of the room where I spent most of my childhood summers.

Being a family with 1 income, camp really didn’t fall within the budget and honestly, I enjoyed spending time with them when they were off school in the summers. We had a decent size back yard, a nice sized swimming pool, and plenty of toys/games/activities to keep them busy. So what was the point? Well, I learned that for them the point was that they wanted the experience, I guess. So I began to brainstorm. And looking back, there are so many more things I could have done with this idea, but they still talk about it in their 20’s so I guess it worked out just fine. The key for me was cheap or free but with a lot of memory making and education.

To make it as interactive and exciting as possible (and cost effective), I sat down and made a list of things around our city we could do for free or very little cost. i named the camp, Camp Firefly. The reason behind this name was that each of the 3 of my kids had the same kindergarten teacher and their classroom were known as the “Fireflies”. As the last Reed Kid had just completed Kindergarten and the Firefly legacy, it was an easy choice.

Then I went to go ole WalMart and Dollar Tree. At WalMart I bought a pack of men’s small white undershirts and fabric markers. At Dollar Tree I bought a pack of poster boards. That’s it. And with those items, our Stay At Home camp began. Camp Firefly!

On the first day of camp, the kids decided on their cabin names. Their cabins were, of course, their bedrooms. Jake had his own room so there was no negotiations there, he could choose whatever he wanted. And he settled on… Jellybean Cabin. The girls, however, shared a room. Surprisingly enough, there was little to no struggle getting them to agree on their cabin name. Butterfly Cabin. So with their choices made, time to decorate!

With the poster boards, they made signs to hang on their ‘cabin’ doors. I’m pretty sure their dad though I was nuts, but that was nothing new lol! Next step was camp shirts! Now, this was pre-Cricut. Well, the original Cricut was maybe out by then, but one would not be in my future for a very long time. Enter fabric markers! They had a blast decorating their shirts. They let their creative juices flow! We ate lunch on the deck, and swam in the afternoon. I would say it was a successful 1st day of camp.

Now since this was about 15 years ago, the memories have stayed but the specifics have not. After that 1st day, the rest is a blur of activities.

One day we went to a local drive through park near us. Lone Elk Park. It’s an exapnsive park that houses Deer, Elk, Bison, Geese, and at the time, Owls. It had long been one of our favorite pass times as a family on the weekend mornings and it’s free, so it was a natural choice for a day’s activity. Near the end of the park is a shelter with picnic tables. We ate our picnic lunch there. Dad was off work so he went with us and one of their cousin’s went as well.

The World Bird Sanctuary is also in the same entrance as Lone Elk Park. This was another free activity. Being our 1st time there (it hadn’t been open long), it was a new experience ad the kids learned a lot about the different birds. Watching the birds interact with their handlers and learning about their natural habitats was certainly interesting.

One of our ALL-TIME favorite activities is our local zoo. We are in the suburbs of St. Louis so we are very fortunate to have access to the world renowned St. Louis Zoo! We are very fortunate to have this FREE, world-class zoo in our city. At the time the kids were little, the Emerson Children’s Zoo, located inside the zoo, was free admission before 9:00am. So that’s the 1st place we would head. Once we completed our time there, the rest of the day was spent on the rest of the zoo. Having a yearly zoo membership we could save on parking and other activities within the zoo that may have a small fee, like my favorite, the Sea Lion show. But there is an entire days worth of fascination and education with just the main zoo itself… all for free.

There were other activities we did during our week long stay at home camp, like playing at the local park, riding bikes, swim day, and much more. Local to our area (St. Louis) there are a lot of affordable attractions to help summer or a stay at home summer camp be more fun! Six Flags, The Butterfly House, The Magic House, and the City Museum, just to name a few. Check the internet for coupons and membership savings. There is so much you can do on a budget and with a little creativity that provide those memorable moments lasting a lifetime. Be creative!

Have a lovely day,

Burger Bounce – At Home

The Reed household lies on a mostly quiet street in a fairly standard suburb in Missouri. A ranch-style home, this is where the Reed family resides, though this should be obvious at this point. Jokes aside, my mother has fixed meals for the lot of us for quite some time, and she isn’t shy to take the recipes of others and add her own quirks and tweaks to make them purely of her own design. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (though not always in that order), my siblings and I would be hard-pressed to actual find a meal of hers that we actively dislike.

To that end, something that has definitely increased more in recent years is “Taco Tuesday” transpiring in our house on, well, Tuesdays. Though not an original concept in and of itself, we have taken this to heart and started to have different Mexican themed meals on these Tuesdays. Sometimes we get take-out, other times we have make your own taco nights, and so on and so forth. However, my favorite aspect of this is most assuredly the one that involves burger. So, here comes the Nacho Burger to satisfy our cravings for both burger foodstuffs with that Mexican flair. I know we just talked about our venture to the Southwest Diner which involves a similar theme, but not only is this a favorite of my mother’s cooking, but an order to stay at home as much as possible and not stay in incredibly packed circumstances than an eatery like Southwest Diner provides, this is the perfect time to cover the Nacho Burger. It’s the Burger Bounce Quarantine Special!

Now, as said before, the idea can be derived from other similar burgers that exist in multiple places. Chili’s has their own Nacho Burger that shares a lot of commonalities with the one that I ate at the Southwest Diner, and it seems famed Food Network chef and Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game participant Bobby Flay has a Nacho Burger all his own. Granted I haven’t had any of these particular burgers, especially not Bobby’s as I don’t foresee him serving me one anytime soon, I’m sure that my mother’s nacho burgers top both of those. Should be noted that Bobby’s softball season wasn’t even that good, and I much prefer the 2001 season with the likes of Paul Williams and James Van Der Beek. Anywho, what about the food?

Most who know me also know that I have a strong predilection towards cheese, which is without a doubt my favorite aspect of the Nacho Burger. You take a burger patty, of course the standard bun (although this can be toasted for added effect), tortilla chips, jalapeños, and as much queso as you could possibly desire. Of course, this can vary based on taste, but I prefer an immense amount. Drench it, I say! Occasionally when making this dish, my mother will also mix chunks of pepperjack cheese into the ground beef so that the burgers have cheese inside the patties as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t have pepperjack at the time of this meal and didn’t feel going to the grocer so soon after the quarantine announcement was a good idea, so these patties were pepperjack-less. Que serà serà.

The burger was just fine without it, with the queso providing the soft, liquidlike contrast to the crunch of the jalapeños and tortilla chips. As expected, this Mexican flair also provides a level of spice to the dish. Not one that’s excessive, mind you, especially this time around with the lack of pepperjack, and that’s the way I prefer it too. I’ve never been one with a spicy palette. I like it to a degree, but I’m not one to suffer for art, especially one’s culinary in nature. Regardless of the full makeup and what ingredients may or may not be available, this remains one of my favorite dishes to this day, and the fact that as I write this another instance is coming up makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I love the fact that the kids love a lot of my concoctions. I like to try new things and make changes to recipes. In fact, I’m horrible at actually following a recipe unless I’m baking. Which perhaps is why I don’t enjoy baking as much as I do cooking. When you bake, most times, if you do not follow the recipe, it just doesn’t turn out right.

I honestly don’t remember what started me making Nacho Burgers. There wasn’t a recipe, but maybe an idea sparked from something I saw or something someone said? Hard to tell. But I figured I would try to dress up the burger into one of my favorite types of food, Mexican. Our whole family loves cheese, with the exception of Mallory. She absolutely detests it in any way. However, she does like cheese sauce like queso. Weird, I know. But the fact that I can make a burger without the pepperjack inside for her, but she can still top it with queso for the effect makes me happy. However, she is now allergic to red meat and pork. So I made her a chicken breast instead. It’s all about pivoting these days, right?

Anyway, most of the time I make this burger, I add my homemade taco seasoning to the ground beef along with the pepperjack cheese chunks before forming the patties. Once they are cooked, each person gets to use whatever toppings they like. we have the queso and tortilla chips but we also have lettuce, sour cream, salsa, banana peppers, and jalapeno peppers. For this specific evening we had fried potato slices as our side. It’s pretty easy. Just fix what you and your family like!

Have a lovely day!

Decorating Your Tiered Tray

I know you’ve all seen the tiered trays that are trending. In fact they’ve been trending for a few years now. I love them! There are so many different ways to decorate them and there is no wrong way… just do it how YOU want!

I made one, like so many others have, by using materials from Dollar Tree. Look for a DIY blog on that later. But I didn’t want to spend a lot of money each season for decorations, because I love to change things up way too often. While stuck in quarantine, I decided I would try my hand at decorating for as many seasons as possible with mostly things I already had. Mal helped me and we had a blast being creative! In all honesty, we could’ve probably decorated for more themes since we actually became pretty decent at re-using a lot of the items.

Winter – Hot Cocoa:

For the winter decorations, We went with a Hot Cocoa theme.. We used a small glass milk bottle from Michaels that I painted white on the inside. The greenery is lambs ear I’ve had forever, and the little one piece on top in the back is a photo holder (with the photo holder removed) also from Michaels. The camping cup is one I have had forever from —. I added a little ribbon and the most adorable mug topper from the Etsy shop – mug toppers. A little white Christmas tree, pick up truck ornament, and wood box present add more dimension to the bottom layer. Also on the bottom layer is a small marshmallow mug with another cute topper from – mug toppers, and some scrap material in a Christmas’y’ plaid. The small hanging chalkboard sign was found at Hobby Lobby a few years ago and I just used a chalk dust type of font on my Cricut and cut the words out in vinyl.

Valentine’s Day:

We re-used the milk glass, lamb’s ear, marshmallow mug with topper, and berry greenery photo holder. We added a few teddy bear Valentine’s I have had for longer than I’ve has my kids! lol!We also added a heart shaped candy dish (also had forever), homemade snowballs out of yarn, a few glitter hearts from floral picks, and a kitchy cupcake shelf sitter, all items I have had for longer than I can remember.

St. Patrick’s Day:

The ST. Patrick’s Day trays were difficult for us… because we just didn’t have many things. I had found the plastic gold coins, green cauldron, and the green hats at WalMart earlier in the season for super, super cheap. The hats fit perfectly on my little marshmallow guy. The shamrock garland, leprechaun, wooden shamrock, and shot glass I have had for years. The ‘luck of the Irish’ and Welcome signs I also found earlier in the season at Hobby Lobby. If you look, you can always find things like this for decorations for very little money!

Spring:

To freshen up the trays for spring, we opted for brightly colored items and some green Easter grass. The small metal pot, springs of pink berries, and cute frog were found at Hobby Lobby. The daisy candy dish and Gerbera Daisy flowers have been in my craft closet a long time. The hanging sign was a Michaels find about 5 years back, and we just wrote Spring in chalk. There is definitely more room to add other things, but this starts the decor out just fine.

Easter:

Moving into Easter, we kept a lot of the tray the same with the grass and the Gerbera Daisies. We added a little more grass to fill out the surface of the trays. The Easter sign, carrots, and Bunny Trail rock were all found at Hobby Lobby last year. The woodland bunny was found at Michaels, and the eggs and egg carton were found at Dollar General. All last year. We swapped the marshmallow mug for a different one (no chocolate on top) and added felt bunny ears made by me, and a ribbon.

Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day:

We kept this simple so it would be easy to un-assemble and re-assemble throughout the summer months. The 3 flags we have had for a while, but the starry mason jar was purchased this year at Hobby Lobby. The firecrackers, ‘Home of the Brave’ sign, and Uncle Sam are all from Hobby Lobby. The candle holders are from my days (long gone) as a candle lady, and the bear was a gift from my mom years ago. I wanted a little filler – nothing too over bearing – so I took blue and red scrap material and made a miniature fabric bunting.

Summer – Beach:

So this one was mine and Mallory’s guilty pleasure. Being in quarantine, we could not and would not go to stores. But for this one, we found almost everything on sale at Hobby Lobby and ordered online. We didn’t have much for this kind of theme at the house already and set a budget because, quite frankly, we were having shopping withdrawl and this was an inexpensive way to get a ‘quick fix’. We already had the rocks, piece of driftwood, and sand. Everything else was in that Hobby Lobby online order and was less than $20! Warning: this one was a mess to clean up!

Fall:

For fall we broke out the camping mug, mug topper, and lambs ear again. With it we added a Dollar Tree ceramic pumpkin, a foam pumpkin painted blue (also from DT), and another covered with buffalo check fabric. We also use a spare piece as a napkin to lay on the side of one of the trays. The fall candle holders are a Rae Dunn find from Marshalls. Seriously if you don’t shop TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Homegoods, you’re missing out! I always find the cutest stuff at great prices!

Halloween:

Pumpkins, spiders, and leaves! I loved doing this one! All the leaves were off of a leaf garland I’ve had since I got married. It’s slowly started falling apart over the last couple of years, but I don’t typically get rid of the leaves for ideas such as this. All the pumpkins… ceramic, foam, and painted are all from DT. The flowers are also from DT as are the spider rings. The cutest wooden ghost, and teddy bear pumpkin I’ve had forever. The pumpkin sign on top was purchased from Hobby Lobby probably 2-3 years ago. The ‘hello Fall’ piece is actually a candle I purchased last year from TJ Maxx. I added one of my small mug toppers to it and think it’s pretty cute! My most favorite piece is the witch. As a kid my mom did a lot of ceramics painting. This particular year, (I think 1979), she painted a brunette witch for me, and a blonde with for my sister. Even with the chip on her witch hat, she has so many sentimental memories for me.

Thanksgiving:

Keeping the decor mostly the same for Thanksgiving, I just added a wooden turkey I purchased from WalMart many years ago, and another of my favorite ceramic pieces from my childhood, the scarecrow. Like the witch in the Halloween tray, this little guy has been with me since the 70’s or 80’s. I love the fact that my mom made these for my sister and I and am even more happy that my kids can have these as a part of me and a part of their grandma for years to come.

Christmas:

For Christmas I brought the out a different marshmallow much and attached a plaid Santa hat which was originally an ornament from Michaels. The present is just a box I had in my gift wrap tote as is the bow. The same plaid material that was used in the Winter – Hot Cocoa tray is used here. I also re-used the grapevine present, white tree, hot cocoa sign, milk jar, and berry greenery. The holly leaves are from old candle wreaths I had when the kids were little. The final addition was the wooden Christmas sign from Hobby Lobby last year.

So I have to mention, the marshmallow mugs I’ve used throughout are a plastic take off of the ceramic ones floating around the internet. I ordered these through Oriental Trading. I needed up with 1 dozen, 4 of each kind they offer, and saved money per piece in the process. I e given some away and used others in baskets for silent auctions. All in all not a bad deal since I only use them for decorating… you can check them out here.

There are so many more options you can do with these trays! You can do birthdays, New Years, Farmhouse, whatever you like… I think that’s part of the appeal! Mix and match, fit your style and decor, it’s so easy! And don’t forget you can find so many inspiring ideas on Pinterest. Follow our DIY Tiered Tray board to see all the pins we find and re-pin!

Have a lovely day,

Fashion Finds – Workout At Home

Hey friends!

I am back with another great Fashion Find, in my opinion. I am an Exercise Science major so as you can probably infer, I love to work out. I have to be active and make sure to fit it into my daily routine or my whole life balance is just off. Working out is important, again in my opinion, but having good workout clothes makes it even better. I have found some good clothes along with pieces of equipment, all at affordable prices, for you to check out. Since it is more convenient for some individuals to workout at home rather than finding time to go to your local gym, I thought I would give you all an insight into what I have been doing with my at home workouts!

Workout clothes. They make or break your experience! If you are constantly tugging at your pants or fidgeting with your shirt, you are not getting the full workout experience because you are just distracted. Marshalls, the love of my life, had an amazing deal for a workout crop top. They had full length versions as well so that is always an option! It is a super cute blue color with short sleeves, only $6.99 guys! Just amazing! Leggings have always been a struggle for me, since I live in them I am super picky. Of course I hopped on the Lululemon trend because I was desperate for a good pair and they sure lived up to the hype, BUT Walmart leggings are an amazing alternative. I got a few pair to try and let me just tell you, GREAT option. I got a cute cropped pair with side pockets for your phone, and a cute mesh design that wraps around the legs. I was skeptical at first, but I am so glad I decided to try it out because the price of $14.96 for leggings now a days was UNBEATABLE. Definitely a must on that one!

Next up, I have some equipment I have been using. Workout equipment can be expensive, but if you look in the write places man can you find a deal. My mom and I were at Five Below just doing the usual look around type of shopping, and we found a workout section. Like who would have thought. I, of course as my mom would say, had to get some stuff to try out because the price was too good not to. I got a yoga ball, a set of 3 resistance bands (at varying resistance), and ankle weights. They were all just $5.00 each. So in total, $15 for some must have workout pieces. They are so versatile and can be used for a variety of exercises, so it was a beneficial purchase.

Lastly, my water bottle. I am glued to my water bottle, so a reliable one was key. I have been using one that my mom and I found at Walmart a few years ago before I went away to college. It definitely lasted, but with some dings, dents, and chipped paint. I have been on the look out for a good, but reasonably priced, one. Man did I hit the jackpot. We were at Marshalls, no shock there, and came across the style I have been looking for. I was skeptical because I really wanted it to last long term because I live by my water bottles. So far, this water bottle has been amazing to me and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone that cares to listen, or read it in this case;). It was $12.99 and most absolutely, positively worth it. They had a variety of colors, from neutrals to vibrant, and I got a coral color. I use it everyday of my life and would be absolutely lost without it!

So as promised, those are the workout finds that I have been working with recently! Above and beyond that I have some key workouts that I have been focusing on at home to better myself. I use a note in my phone, so I will screen shot that and share below! Maybe you will find it useful and join in with me!

Until next time,
Xoxo Mal

Coffee Crawl – At Home

So what do you do when you want to do another coffee crawl and you are in quarantine? You do one at home!

Each week when I sit down to discuss all the things going on with Bits of Love with my girls, we have coffee and hash it all out. So this particular day just happened to be Megan’s birthday… so we did all the things.

I’ll start off with my coffee. I drink a donut house blend each morning (that I’m not out doing a coffee crawl) by Victor Allen. I usually purchase this from Big Lots, but it’s also available on Amazon. If I’m lucky to catch them on sale, I can get it as low as 19 cents per k-cup! You cannot beat that! Oh yeah, I have a k-cup brewer. I have the Keurig 2.0 and love it. I do take my coffee with a little French vanilla creamer. My creamer of choice, is great value french vanilla. It’s more affordable than the name brands, but adds just the amount of flavor I like.

On this day, Mallory made her DIY frozen mocha using espresso from her espresso machine. She takes 1/4 cup of sugar, 4 oz. of espresso, 1/4 cup of chocolate syrup, 1 cup of milk, and ice.

She mixes it all together in a blender and voila! You can actually add whipped cream and chocolate syrup drizzle on the top if you wish. Today she opted to not. It’s her DIY version of what you can find at places STL Bread Company and Starbucks.

Megan likes her coffee black. She says she likes it strong, but not bitter. She often likes to use her great grandmother’s coffee grinder and grind her coffee beans fresh, then brews it in her tiny Black & Decker coffee maker. I let her tell you about her love of coffee.

I love strong coffee and I used to just drink any kind of coffee, but I’ve started to educate myself a little more about the art of coffee. I’ve learned that the coffee grounds you buy from the store are typically super acidic which gives them a really bitter taste. This is because once the coffee beans are ground, they should really be brewed soon after. Coffee grounds from the store are ground up into fine pieces, almost like a powder, and typically sit on the shelves or are shipped from place to place for months before they are even bought and brewed; thus loosing a lot of their smooth flavor.

I have started using whole beans and grinding them myself before I brew my morning coffee…holy cow there is definitely a difference (not to mention the old hand grinder is very fun to use)! I have also learned that when you grind your own coffee beans, if you don’t grind them as much — leave them in larger chunks — you taste more of the coffee’s flavor and get a really smooth brew.

In this journey of mine to learn more about coffee, I found a favorite bean. It’s called Death Wish which is just amazing in and of itself. This coffee is high in caffeine and low in acidity, not to mention it is supposedly the strongest coffee in the world. I’m not sure how true that is, but I am HERE FOR IT!

I’m not entirely sure I would ever want to try Megan’s Death Wish coffee! I love coffee, but that sounds super strong. So how’s that for your coffee education? lol! I’m sure there’s much much more to be learned about the art of the coffee bean and I am sure Megan will continue to share!

Have a lovely day!

Burger Bounce – Southwest Diner

Southwest Diner’s name tells you what it is and what it’s about right up front, baby. A diner with a Southwestern aesthetic (primarily with a New Mexico-flair, as indicated by the rather large map of New Mexico hanging on one wall), this restaurant sits in a brick style building with the standard four sided feel next to what seems to be an abandoned food truck. The diner also touts a long wait time if you are to read any online review of the establishment, though whether by circumstance or luck, our wait was a mere 5-10 minutes. Upon entering, you’ll notice the rather tight quarters with a bar shoved into the back corner allowing people to prop up on stools to eat and drink, loudly conversing with the stranger next to them about the sorry state of a football team the area has had no ties to for nearing on four years now.

Only adding to the pure claustrophobia is the copious amount of décor adorning every wall on the building’s insides. I wouldn’t call any of it tacky or offensive really, it can just overwhelm you by sheer volume. There were things reminiscent of the Southwestern area of the country, images of New Mexico state bird the roadrunner were at home, and the paint palette was hues of red, brown, and orange, giving off the arid, desert feel of the state that rewarded this nation with Smokey Bear so many years ago (note that his name is Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear. Mindbender for many, I’m sure). The back wall next to where we sat boasts a mirror so that you can see the queso drip down your face as you eat, though most of it is covered with well-done cartoonish art likely crafted by an artist in the community, if not one that worked or is working at the diner. Speaking of the artistic community, the final wall of note had little paper figures in bags certainly created by a local resident, each of which was a different fictional character with customizable limbs. I noticed Ellen Ripley and John Rambo, among a myriad of others. All of these were next to the aforementioned poster of New Mexico towering over the denizens of Southwest ready to impart detailed information on the location of Santa Ana County to any brazen enough to approach the imposing monolith. We had fun looking for the city of Grants on it since that’s where my mom’s aunt & uncle use to live!

Perhaps the most stressful part of the entire experience is how cramped everything ended up being. Especially in times such as these, where its perhaps best not to be all that close to any one person at any given time. The time at which we went was around noon on Saturday, and the place was packed. This isn’t even to say that there were a tremendous amount of individuals there, but the location is a bit on the smaller side with a number of communal tables, where you get to sit at the same table as strangers that you don’t know and overhear about how they have countless problems that they take no actual measures to solve themselves. In fact, at one point during our meal one of the servers dropped a large amount of food at a table directly neighboring ours. These things happen, and it isn’t much out of the ordinary, though it does beg the question: How often does this happen in such a tight environment? Regardless, be prepared that if you aren’t a people person that you may be quite literally surrounded by people.

As always, the food is saved for last. Now, we were led to believe that this was a big burger joint, as we found the restaurant itself on a list of the best burgers in the area. However, Southwest Diner is seemingly more of a Mexican restaurant. There are two burgers and one black bean burger on their menu. Since one of the burgers was standard and the other was a specialty, I opted for that item to get a more authentic experience. This was the Green Chile Cheeseburger. The burger came with, as advertised, green chile and cheddar cheese, as well as most anything else one would expect to find on a complete burger. Lettuce, onions, “the works” as any hack writer would probably describe it. Though perhaps my inability to sum up with another descriptor outside of listing every individual ingredient puts me in that same camp. I did, however, add bacon to mine. The sandwich was good I must say, as although I found the meat kind of dry, everything else more than made up for it. This is probably the first burger I’ve had in quite a long time where I left everything that came on it when I ate it (sans tomatoes, as those are perpetually horrible). For a period, I started ordering my burgers plain as I felt it was simpler than just explaining what I didn’t want to have on my meal. I had forgotten how much I liked eating all these different additives with my sandwich, especially onions. And the green chile added a decent amount of mild spice, which I assume is the Southwest kick. Overall, Southwest Diner’s aesthetic and food go beautifully hand in hand, though perhaps getting takeout from the place would be for the best if you don’t want to run the risk of excessive social interaction.

Mom’s thoughts:

I agree with Jacob. The “closeness” of the dining area was a little too close for my liking. But the charm added to the experience and I have to say I didn’t actually mind it too much as I enjoyed my company with my son and we had numerous things including that to discuss.

I chose the same burger as Jacob, minus the bacon. Please bacon lovers – do not send me hate mail, I like bacon just fine… however, I do not understand the love so intense that it must be placed on or in everything! I did not notice the dryness of the meat as Jake did, but that may be because the other toppings added plenty of flavor and lush to the burger. The green chile was delicious and did add just the right amount of flavor and spice, in my opinion.

I was worried about the wait due to all the reviews we read prior to going, but the wait was not long at all and it was a beautiful day. We waited outside at a picnic table and enjoyed the sunshine and conversation. I would like to go back again as I am a huge fan of Southwest food.

Have a lovely day!

8 Birthday Party Ideas on a Budget

I don’t know about any of you, but I had a blast planning and throwing birthday parties when my kids were young. However, the one thing that was always a struggle, especially since I was a SAHM, was money. Why in the world does everything cost so much money?

I began to use my creativity to plan and execute these parties. It became a sort of challenge for me to see how fabulous (for the kids) I could make these parties on as little money as possible. Now – total honesty here, I don’t have many quality pictures of these parties. Sure, I have the standard – birthday kid w/cake and maybe opening some presents, but 15-20 years ago I didn’t know I would want other photos for something like this. So alas, what I do have had to be scanned and most likely out of a birthday scrapbook!

Now not all of these ideas I’m going to share will be a perfect fit for every child. And not all of these ideas will be fit for today’s culture, as my kids are now grown and grew up in a different decade, but feel free to read through these and maybe they will spark your own creativity or maybe you can adapt to today’s culture. This was also before the introduction of Pinterest and Dollar Store Crafts – type of sites.

All I really know is, while all my kids are currently in their early to mid twenties, they will still share stories from some of these birthday parties. And that warms my heart, because at the end of it all… my goal was for them to have a party with friends and loved ones making memories and celebrating their day!

1. Fiesta

Bright, fiesta colors in $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups are easily found at your local dollar store or Walmart, You can even use the $1 table cloths to make decorations. Use your imagination and get a little crafty!

Pinata – We got ours at WalMart and filled it with a huge bag of candy for very little! Luckily we had a tall Shepherd’s Hook in our back yard that we hung it on and just let the kids use a bat to swing at it.

If you do party favors (sometimes we did, sometimes we did not) you can check out sites such as Oriental Trading and Rhode Island Novelty for inexpensive trinkets and fun items to either decorate with or use for party favors.

2. Super Hero

So easy! We did a super hero party for my son and all kids were invited to wear a super hero costume or make and wear one! Even just a simple piece of fabric, bed sheet, or old table cloth can be made into a cape!

Party City has great decorations, favors, plates & napkins; just be sure they fit into your budget. You can always use the dollar store or finds from the Target Dollar Spot or even WalMart to create the look you are going for.

3. Spa Day

My girls always loved a good spa day so it was natural they would choose to have their friends over for sleepover birthday parties to do spa activities.

My mom would come over and help me “treat” each girl to a manicure. The Dollar Store was our “go to” for party favors and all of the beauty essentials.

4. Shopping Mall

This one my youngest still talks about to this day and she is about to turn 21!

She only wanted 5 of her closest friends over for a party and a sleepover so my other 2 kids and I turned the house into a shopping mall.

Each “store” was in a different room in the house. I used the Dollar Store and Oriental Trading to purchase the stock for the “stores”.

I used the computer to make and print out currency for them to use with my daughter’s name on it and each party participant was given money and a shopping bag when they arrived. In the pet shop they could adopt animals, so I also used the computer to print adoption certificates they could have filled out when they chose their animal.

5. Luau

Another bright colored – fun party! Like a fiesta, using brightly colored $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups is easy and inexpensive party decor.

The dollar store almost always has luau-type decorations and favors including leis and grass skirts each summer making it even more budget friendly!

We have a pool so that was an easy entertainment solution, especially for a luau!

6. Bratz

OK so this is totally dating my kids and myself, I mean do they even make Bratz Dolls anymore? Even if they don’t or your young one is into a different, more current cultural icon, this can be adapted to almost anything.

So plain and simple, we chose solid colored decorations (plain colored plates, napkins, etc.). Each party go-er was invited to bring their favorite Bratz doll with them and had a photo op at the end of the party with the birthday girl and their dolls.

I also took a piece of poster board from the dollar store and drew a Bratz doll, colored it in and hung it on the wall for a “pin the lips on the Bratz doll” game! They had a blast and it turned out fairly cute. Easy peasy, super inexpensive fun for the night.

7. Sports

This could not be any easier. A group of kids, a back yard, soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, plenty of playtime and inexpensive decorations from the dollar store and WalMart = party success!

A breaktime with birthday cake just long enough to rest and then back at it for playtime, and the birthday kid as well as party go-ers will all sleep well tonight!

8. Party at the Park

Perhaps one of my favorite venues to hold a kids party other than our house was the park. You can rent a pavilion or picnic area if you would like or want to be sure you have a spot, or you can just take a chance that there is enough space for all the park goers that day. (not gonna lie, we did this quite a few times)

Out of all the times we had a party at the park, most often we would show up early to “set up” and snag a spot fairly close to the park playground with multiple picnic tables. We also would bring our own fold-able banquet table and lawn chairs. Balloons, streamers, etc.

Playground = instant entertainment

Park = means we wouldn’t have to limit the number of friends invited.

That made this an easy and very affordable party every time!

There are many more party ideas out there. Some more affordable, some more creative, but the point is: the kids will remember the memories, not how much money you spent trying to make their parties ‘Pinterest perfect’. It is about being together, celebrating the birthday kid, and adding to those childhood memories they will cherish for years to come.

Have a lovely day!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

1. Fiesta

2. Super Hero

3. Spa Day

4. Shopping Mall

5. Luau

6. Bratz

7. Sports

8. Party at the Park

Share this:

Like this: