Do Life Simplified

Don't Pass the Muffins

2010-04-11T14:37:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one who had nearly given up hope of finding a low fat, low cal muffin that tasted great and didn't have that gluey-gooey-sticky-tough texture?

I found a treasure today on allrecipes.com:

BLUEBERRY BRAN MUFFINS

I read all the reviews and gave it a shot... glad I did! I made a couple of adjustments (see below) and ended up with a non-sweet, 1 weight-watcher point muffin with THE TEXTURE OF A REGULAR MUFFIN!! DID YOU HEAR ME PEOPLE? A REGULAR MUFFIN!!!

It's another Easter Miracle.

Here's what I changed after reading the reviews and realizing I was out of brown sugar...

I used 1/4 cup honey instead of brown sugar
I added another 1/2 tsp of baking powder and baking soda
I added 1 small chopped apple
I used 1 tsp Victorian Epicure Maple Spice (I would have added cinnamon otherwise)

Enjoy!

Femme Frugal

2010-02-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a find and an idea for anyone trying to make the grocery budget stretch a little further:

Extra foods has recently been offering a big box of frozen chicken legs for $10-something. They have the back attached, skin on and there are about 20 pieces in the box. I've just cooked up a big box using the following method and it looks to me like I'm going to get 4 meals plus a bit of leftovers for my $10.

Thaw chicken in fridge or under cold water.
Divide into three portions.

Portion #1 - Roasted Chicken Legs
I put 8 legs in my large roaster, seasoned the pieces and roasted until thoroughly cooked.
I made gravy with the drippings and we had a good sized meal (potatoes & peas) plus one left over lunch. If you don't eat the skin, it slides off easily.

I cooked these guys while I prepped the other two dishes, and just kept them in the fridge until the oven was available for the next shift.

Portion #2 - Orange Chicken Legs (or any other saucy chicken)
Using 6 legs in a 9 x 13 glass dish, and used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Super-Orange-Chicken/Detail.aspx. Once this cooked and cooled, I popped it in the freezer for another time.

Portion #3- Mexican Chicken & Soup
Put 6 legs in a 9x13 glass pan, sprinkle cumin, chili, taco seasoning and dried cilantro on top. Bake until thoroughly cooked. Cool in pan and then refrigerated. The next day I pulled the skin off and threw it out. I pulled off the easy-access meat and put it in one bowl, while the bones and remaining meat went into a pot for soup stock.

I ended up with 3 cups of cooked chicken, which I coursely chopped and am saving for tonight o make "Flautas". Here's a recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Flautas/Detail.aspx... but I'm using flour tortillas (cuz corn tortillas make me gag) and I'm going to bake them instead of fry them... but you get the idea. You could also use the meat for Fajitas, Chicken enchilladas, chicken tacos... whatever your little Mexican tastebuds desire.

I have the soup simmering right now... just making a basic chicken soup... the mexican flavor will be very mild since i'm not using any skin, just the bone and the neighboring meat.

A little chicken broth tip: If you're like me and don't want mushy veggies in your soup, you can add a coupel of whole carrots, quartered tomatoes (or a can of diced ones), whole celery leaves, lemongrass (try it...sooo good!) and let it all simmer together for a couple of hours. Strain the broth, pick out the meat and throw out all the veggies. THEN you can throw in the fresh chopped carrots, celery, spinach, peas... etc. and cook until desired tenderness. The soup still has all the flavor but the veggies have their fresh color.

So, there you have it... 4 meals worth of meat for $10. And one mess, about 1 hour in the kitchen total.

We'd like to draw your attention to....

2010-02-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

this AMAZING blog with intersting, simple recipes, weight watchers calculations and gorgeous, inspiring photos. I could look at it all day. Drooling.

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/

Really Yummy.

2010-01-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Apologies for losing momentum on our blog. Sigh, we are human and easily distracted by Christmas goings-on, facebook and tv. Honesty is the best policy.

For our first entry of 2010, please enjoy this amazing recipe! I have never baked with pumpkin before, and LOVED these!

For any Weight Watchers out there, I cut the sugar down to 1.5 cups after reading the reviews and did not do the streusle topping, which works out to 12 large muffins at 7 WW points each. I want to keep working with this recipe to see how to get the points down and will keep you posted. Ha.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins - All Recipes:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apple

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean."

Here's the link incase you want to check out the reviews:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Apple-Streusel-Muffins/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

What's for Christmas Breakfast?

2009-12-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this recipe with you... one of my family favs! We'd also love to hear what your favorite Christmas Morning Recipes are! Please share them in the comments!

OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST

Day old French bread in 1 inch slices
5-7 eggs
3/4 cup milk
brown sugar
1/4lb melted butter
cinnamon

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Sprinkle brown sugar on bottom of the pan. It should be 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with cinnamon (I use a lot). Pour melted butter over this mixture. In separate bowl, beat eggs and milk. Dip bread in. Allow bread to absorb egg mixture (I count to 20). Place in pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375'. Turn bread bieces over (VERY IMPORTANT). Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY! I'm also experimenting with a layer of creamchees and fruit in the middle... I'll let you know when I have a real recipe!
D.

Green Christmas

2009-12-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

{photo source: Tree Hugger}

One of my least favourite things about Christmas is all packaging. Aside from the usual injuries getting through all those plastic toy holders and twist ties the bags of garbage and recycling sends my guilt-o-meter spinning quickly.

Here are a few ideas to keep the packaging down and your Christmas a little greener.

1. Re-usable bags. If you are crafty and can sew just a straight line you can make them yourself and if not, purchase them. {a couple of Canadian sources are Love a Tree & Etsy }

2. Use the wrap as part of the gift. For example, is anyone on your list getting a Snuggie this year? Wrap that bad boy around another gift (may I suggest a new telephone that the lucky recipient can talk for hours on, while wrapped up warm in their new Snuggie?) Other items you can use for wrapping would be scarves (they are ALL the rage this year, no?), towels and leftover fabric.

Check out this video tutorial:

Furoshiki Japanese Wrapping

3. Instead of bows and ribbon what about bringing nature in?

{photo source: Country Living}

We challenge you to use one of these ideas for your Christmas wrapping this year! If you have any other green wrapping ideas, please leave a comment and share with us!

Try This at Home

2009-12-10T17:26:00.001-08:00

If you don't stop to think about all the germs on the utensils and the potential for contamination, I love a good salad bar.

Kinda lame, I know. But there's something about having choices and control and the ability to make my salad my own that makes me happy.

Setting up a simple "salad bar" at home is really easy and gives everyone a bit of a choice. With all the great pre-washed greens out there all you need to do is add the extras. If you have some cooked chicken or bacon on hand, the salad bar can be your whole meal. A couple of salad dressing choices are nice to offer... balsamic is always a good go-to when in doubt.

Green Ideas:

Spinach, Spring Mix, Romaine

Protein ideas:

Pre-Cooked Chicken*, Bacon, chopped ham, tuna, salmon

Cheeses:

Feta, Goat, Shredded Cheddar or Parm

Extras:

Sliced Grapes, Strawberries, Craisins, Dried Currents, mixed seeds & nuts, Pomegranates

*Last time I brushed balsamic salad dressing onto 4 breasts and oven roasted them. This gave me plenty of chicken meat for salads for a day or two.

Simplifying the Gift Front

2009-11-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

We're all for spending less and keeping it simple around the tree. A few years ago we heard of someone who uses this system for gift giving with each of her kids:

Something to Wear.
Something to Play.
Something to Read.

Three gifts.

Pretty genius.

Check out this link for some prize winnning reads for kids.

Airplane Essentials

2009-11-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Having just stepped off a plane for a short trip to Edmonton, (more on that later), I wanted to post a couple of ideas for the next time you're traveling by plane.

A few things to keep in a medium sized ziplock:

- Your own earphones
- sanitizer & chapstick inside a smaller ziplock
- granola bars
- oatmeal cereal packages and a plastic spoon, (because you can always find a cup of hot water if you get really stuck and starving in an airport.)
- a pen for filling out immigration forms

Anyone have any other ideas? Post 'em in the comments!

Happy Travels!

T minus 44 days...

2009-11-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming! Hard to believe it's here again already.

For all of you crafty types, check out this cute handmade Christmas planner

found at Miller's Ink

organizing the world,

2009-11-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

one closet at a time...

A little peek at a recent job we just completed.

We Love Puppies

2009-10-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

We do. It's true.

And I recently came across a really great little invention, created by a local gal who happened to be one of the fabulous Ortho techs responsible for my new, gorgeous smile!

Take a look at GRAB BAGS FOR PETS for a really great way to keep poop-bags, (that is the technical term, right?) on your leash. They work really well and there are loads of different looks to choose from. Support a local lady entrepreneur and pick up a functional and fun gift for you or someone on your list.

Branching Out

2009-10-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Cheryl and I have become closet designers! We work with a distributor for Stor-X Organizing systems. We've been having SOOOO much fun working with this Canadian product. If anyone is interested in some design ideas and a quick, free quote, we'd be happy to chat with you.

Here's a quick little video to give you an idea of this great, simple closet system.

64 Days

2009-10-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

... until Christmas that is!

Between now and then we'd like to offer a few ideas to keep the chaos down in those last few days! Christmas should be about everything but stress and pressure.

So, for starters... we suggest a conversation with the fam.

We know that many families, for many reasons, are looking to keep this Christmas less expensive. We're all for it! Start the conversation now with the kids and the extended family and whoever else is involved in your goings-on. Don't be afraid to be the first one to say, "What if we scaled back a bit this year?" We'll bet that others in your Christmas huddle are thinking the same thing. Draw names, give to a charity, set reasonable limits... just do something to lessen the financial burden and the focus on "stuff".

Enjoy the freedom that a fresh approach to the season might bring and let us be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas!

Mmmmm.... bacon.

2009-10-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm confessing to a new addiction.

Bacon.

Yes, there might be healthier choices out there, but well.... bacon has a hold on me.

The upside is that a little bacon flavor goes a long way, so you can use it sparingly and still get loads of flavor. I've been in this shady relationship with bacon for a month or so and I've found so many simple meals in which to feature my prized pork pieces.

To save yourself time, money and mess you can try these two menthods:

1) Costco sells big bags of cooked bacon for about $10... a good amount and I think it tastes great.

2) Take a package or two of bacon, freeze it to the half way point so that it's easier to cut, and chop it into about 1/4 inch pieces. Scramble fry till it's well cooked, drain and pat the oil off with a paper towel, then put the cooled pieces in a ziplock bag in the freezer. You've made one mess and have the potential for many meals.

Meal Ideas with Baconygoodness (yes, that's one word.)

Spinach Salads (my other binge)... sprinkle a little bacon on some pre-washed spinach with a bit of goat cheese or feta, a finger pinch of seeds or nuts, some chopped apples or pears and a drizzle of vinagrette -- DELISH!

In scrambled eggs or omlettes

Baked in quiches

On a toasted tomato sandwich

Pasta carbonara

In a big Caesar Salad with some fresh garlic bread

Sprinkled on perogies

In a quick corn chowder or minestrone soup

The possiblities are endless.

May the pork be with you.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

2009-10-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.

We were especially thankful for friends that fed us this weekend, which while leaving us leftoverless made us feel loved.

And speaking of leftovers....

Did you know that you can freeze turkey dinner?

It's true!

When the boys were little we used to cook an entire turkey just to split up into different containers to pop in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

Time saving AND delicious.

And now here's a little eye candy for your Tuesday morning.

This pantry leaves me a little weak in the knees.

My pantry looks nothing like it.

It does inspire me to get at my pantry, wipe it down and get it cleaned up a little.

We challenge you to do a 15 minute clean up in the pantry and let us know after you are done!

AND WE'RE BACK.

2009-10-08T19:44:00.001-07:00

After a very long summer (and half of fall) hiatus, we're happy to announce that we're back on the blog and looking forward to a new season of ideas & inspiration to help us all live simply.

How did we spend our summer vacation?

Cheryl conquered the West Coast Trail with her man and some special friends.
Dawn took a chilly cruise to Alaska with her extended in-laws.

Cheryl floated around in her new pool.
Dawn helped her mother-in-law prepare to downsize and took 6500lbs of junk to the dump.
(Someone is a little bitter about those two points.)

Cheryl and family flew to Ontario to celebrate a Granny's big birthday!
Dawn and family celebrated her parent's 60th birthdays and 40th anniversary.

Cheryl's kids read about 200 books.
Dawn's kids did a triathalon.

Our two grade sixers are ready to move on to middle school next year.
This will be Dawn's graduation from elementary school and Cheryl's introduction to the world of sex, drugs and jr. high. Ahhhh.... we're really growing up.

We are REALLY looking forward to being in touch with you this year. We'd love for this blog to be interactive and invite your comments, questions and ideas. Thanks for reading and joining us on the journey to being free for what matters, by living simply.

Hope you all had a FANTASTIC summer and that this fall is full of fun and adventure for you!

Simply,
Dawn and Cheryl

JULY CONTEST WINNERS!

2009-08-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! As you have noticed, we've decided to talk a little summer break from the blog, but can't forget our July Contest for our Followers!

In the spirit of relaxation and sharing, we'll let Melissa F. in on this little draw too! Thanks all of you for sharing some fabulous summer recipes! LOVE the sound of all of them and look forward to tasting them too!

So, without further adieu...

Melissa F., Melanie F. and Christine will each receive this handly little note-pad, decorated by us.

... and Melissa M. had her name drawn for our "big" (tiny) prize of handmade gift tags, in a little holder!

Thanks for playing and we hope you enjoy!

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER EVERYONE AND WE HOPE YOU'LL CHECK US OUT AGAIN IN THE FALL!

JULY FOLLOWERS CONTEST!

2009-07-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

With all the beaching/picnicing/entertaining, we though it was high time for recipe sharing. For our follower's draw this month, we'll enter your name not once (all followers are automatically entered in our monthly draw), but THREE, count them THREE times IF you kindly take a few minutes to post a favorite summer recipe for the beach or the backyard :-) Just share your recipe in the comments area... thanks for helping build our Life Simplified Community experience!

SUPER BONUS REWARD PERK PRIZE GIVE-AWAY...

Everyone who posts a recipe WILL RECEIVE a cute little prize, made by us... promise it'll be worth your while :-)

Great Summer Recipes

2009-06-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Time to start sharing some great summer recipes for BBQ's and Picnics... and to be a part of the mind-meld, stay tuned to our July Followers' contest! Until then, here's one of our favorites...

Santa Fe Salad (From the Best of Bridge)

Ingredients:
Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:
19 oz. can black beans (turtle beans) rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
12 oz. can kernel corn, drained
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Instructions:
In medium bowl, whisk together oil and lime juice.
Add cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper and mix well.
Stir in salad ingredients and correct seasoning.
Serve at room temperature.
Serves 6

Avoid Pre-Beach Hulabaloo

2009-06-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

If you've got big plans to beach it this summer, make it a little easier on yourself by having your beach bag at the ready!

Don't forget to include:

- sun screen

- hats

- sunglasses

- towels

- a large ziplock with a selection of paper plates, napkins, cutlery for whatever you might be bringing in the cooler.

- empty plastic bag for garbage

- hand sanitizer (naturally :-)

You could also stock up on a few long-lasting snacks so that you've always got something ready to grab and take with you if you aren't packing a lunch-ish meal, and want to avoid the old "pop and chips" stand-by.

- freeze juice boxes and they double as ice packshelp keep anything else cool by .

- stock up on granola bars or make your own and wrap individually

- try some trail mix type treats with nuts and dried fruits

- pretzels are a great alternative to chips and a big bag can be divided into smaller, zip-locked portions

- make and freeze healthy muffins, individually wrapped

- freeze partially-full water bottles (without the lid), then top them up with water and pop the lid back on... your icy cold water bottle is ready to go the distance in the heat!

Got any more ideas? Please post them in our comments!!

Happy Sunshine!

D & C

pretty ponies, all in a row

2009-06-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

How delicious does this look?

What a fun way to keep those cords labeled!

(source www.store.cordotz.com)

hello, my pretty

2009-06-03T06:52:00.001-07:00

Are you in the middle of organizing something?

Check out this link at this inspirational blog for these CUTE printable organizing labels.

(photo source: www.justsomethingimade.blogspot.com)

Just Something I Made

Have a great day!

Dawn & Cheryl

And the Winner is...

2009-06-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Nikks2!
Congratulations!

Nikki, give us an e-mail at life-simplified@shaw.ca so we can get this in your hands :-)

Enjoy your planner/organizer!

And for anyone who hasn't signed up to be a follower yet, go for it! Maybe you'll win next month's followers draw.

Good Housekeeping Tip

2009-05-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

A Maxine Tip...
Always keep several get well cards on the mantle... So if unexpected guests arrive, They will think you've been sick and unable to clean

Be A Follower!

2009-05-25T08:30:00.001-07:00

As a thank you to those who read our blog, we're doing a little draw each month for our "followers"... If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so by clicking on the "follow" button at the right of this page.

May's draw will be a handy dandy springy little calendar/organizer.

We'll draw on June 1st, so if you haven't signed up yet, you still have a few days!!

Happy Monday everyone,
Dawn & Cheryl

Garage Sale Basics

2009-05-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Spring is almost over and hopefully your spring cleaning is almost done as well.

The good weather (that we almost have...can't you taste it?) always seems to motivate me to get at those things like the garage, the catch-all closets, the storage room and our bedrooms.

Weird but true.

It also brings things like robins, flowers and garage sales.

(photo source www.savingadvice.com)

I love a good garage sale.

It's kind of my version of going to the Casino. I start with $20 and see what happens.

If you are planning a garage sale this year, I have found a printable checklist online to help you on your way. As Dawn always says, checking off a box gives us great satisfaction. I hope it makes you feel the same way.

(checklist source www.organizedhome.com)

A couple of other quick tips to keep the kiddos busy:

have them go through their rooms/playrooms with a box to fill of unused toys - depending on their ages they may be able to do this themselves, or may need a little help. I have found that if you let them keep the money from the proceeds of their items it is a great motivator. In fact, you may have to stop them from throwing TOO much stuff in the box depending on how much they like cash. Also, encourage them to donate a certain percentage to charity if that's something that works for your family, my son, the keeper, always is more willing to let go of "stuff" if it's going to a good cause.
let them handle the "refreshment" side of things. Help them set up a lemonade stand or make rice krispie squares or some other inexpensive treat to give away or sell at your sale. A friend of mine used to help her kids make a huge batch of popcorn, bag it in brown lunch bags and sell that along with cans of cold pop at their annual street sale.
let them help make the signs, then you can check off both "make signs" and "spent a bit of quality time with the rugrats"

Good luck!

Two for Tuesday

2009-05-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of quick and inexpensive tips for getting your baby's room organized.

A great way to add space to a closet, especially if you have children sharing a room, is to buy a tension bar (they are typically used as shower rods and can be found at Canadian Tire, Zellers, Walmart) and install it (tightly!) about 3 feet off the ground.

This gives you extra hanging space for those teeny-tiny baby clothes.

Another baby space tip, is to utilize one of those over the door shoe organizers, like this one:

Throw it over whatever door you have handy - whether it be the closet door or the door to the room and fill it will those little baby essentials that seem to get scattered about.

It's great for all those little toys, rattles, soothers, and even things like baby cream and baby powder (especially once those little ones are cruising - if you have experience a little one getting into a vat of vaseline or a large bottle of baby powder, you know what I'm talking about!)

Monday Quick Tip

2009-05-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Got a nasty microwave?

Don't be ashamed. (Unless you own the one above, in which case, go ahead and be ashamed.)

It's a little awkward getting in there sometimes to give it a clean, so try this:

Take a glass, microwave safe bowl/measuring cup/dish and put in it about 2 cups of water and 2 tbps of lemon juice. Microwave it on high for a couple of minutes and the lemony steam will soften all the... well... chunks. A quick wipe and you're good as new.

(Just be carefull removing the dish from the microwave.)

insert drumroll here

2009-05-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

And the winner of our April give-away is.......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 

Kari Eytcheson. 

Congratulations Kari!

I hope you find the perpetual calendar as helpful as I do!

Email us life-simplified@shaw.ca so we can figure out a way to get it to you!

Check us out at the Kelowna Library

2009-04-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

(I know, I'm soooo clever, right??)

Guess who's doing a little Organizing Seminar at the local "li-berry"???

We'd love to see any of blog readers & friends come on out for an evening chatting about some tips and tricks to gettin' through the to-do lists and the day-to-day demands! Here's the Library promo piece:

Don't just spring-clean. Simplify!
Join us for an interactive session with Cheryl Overton and Dawn Kern of "Life Simplified", Organizing Consultants for Home and Life. These two women are on a mission to find a simpler, easier way to get through the day-to-day duties of family life so that there is more time and energy freed up to to what really matters. In this one hour, interactive session, you'll pick up practical ideas to help you minimize the clutter and chaos so you can maximize the fun this spring. Whether you're a parent of young children, an empty nester ready to downsize or just tired of clutter and chaos, this will be a great evening of ideas and inspiration.

When: Tuesday May 5th, 7pm.
Where: Kelowna Library on Ellis
Food: But of COURSE!!!!

It's gonna be fun... hope to see you there!

P.S. DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP TO FOLLOW THE BLOG AND HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN SOMETHING LOVELY MADE BY CHERYL OVERTON!! FRIDAY IS DRAW DAY!

Bake-a-polooza

2009-04-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Do you have a favorite muffin/scone/cookie recipe that you make frequently?

Save yourself some time by making a few batches of the really dry stuff (flour, white sugar, baking powder/soda, etc.) in one shot. Just line up a couple of bowls and add those ingredients into each one. Once you have your "base" recipe assembled, empty each bowl into a ziplock bag & clearly label it. Next time you want to whip up a batch of said favorite, you're already half-way there!!

This works awesome for my favorite scone recipe: (thank you ALLRECIPES.COM)

LEMON BLUEBERRY SCONES (easily adapable to other flavors... try apple cinnamon or orange cranberry....and you can put half whole wheat flour in too.)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup lemon yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries*

GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm scones.

FOOTNOTE
If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to batter.

everyone has one...

2009-04-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Some homes house more than one...

It usually lurks in the kitchen...

Martha Stewart's looks like this:

Yup, I'm talking about the junk drawer.

That insidious little spot in your house that seems to breed batteries and paperclips seemingly as quickly and furtively as the dryer eats your one sock.

The nice thing about the junk drawer is that it's usually smallish. Which makes it a great place to spend 10-15 minutes organizing, once a month or so, to give you that small feeling of accomplishment or perhaps a little bit of motivation to get going on a larger part of your house that needs attention.

Here are a few tips to get that mess straightened out:

first, dump that baby out, when I organize, everything must first come out of the space, which seems like you're just making a mess, but it's the easiest way to make your three piles: give away, throw away and keep
clean the drawer, I don't understand people (my husband) who organize stuff but don't bother cleaning it, I usually haul out the vacuum to get in all the little grooves of the drawer in addition to wiping it with a cloth
make sure there is nothing in the drawer that has belongs in a different area of the house (ie. bills, receipts, pennies - all the pennies in my house seem to find their way here - too bad it wasn't all the toonies)
dividing the drawer into compartments is the most efficient, check out the dollar store for inexpensive little trays/containers ***make sure you measure your drawer before you go shopping to ensure all the containers you find will fit, including the height!***
ice cube trays are a great inexpensive corral for all those little things that fall to the bottom of the drawer
group like items together and start putting them in the containers you have
if you keep an extension cord in your junk drawer, wind it loosely and slide it in an empty paper towel tube

Here are a couple more drawers for inspiration!

I like the way they used these little tins in this one:

The next two, while not as pretty as the previous pictures, probably look just a tad more realistic.

Follow us and win BIG prizes!

2009-04-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not "BIG" literally...
and not even figuratively, though I just spent about 3 1/2 minutes trying to figure out a way for it to be "BIG" figuratively (that was definitely time misspent)....

The corporate fat cats at Life Simplified have decided to make giveaways a monthly part of our blog. And as corporate fat cats will do, they have also decided to make you work for it, but only just a little.

Look over at the right sidebar of this page...

Do you see a little box that says "Follow" on it?

If you click on that and sign up to follow our blog not only do you get notified when the blog gets updated, but we will enter you in a draw for a handy dandy little organizer similar to the one shown in this post:

Handy Dandy Organizer

I can't count the number of times that I have told my youngest son that "the sheep get in as much trouble as the shepherd" (ie. my clever little way of saying stop being a follower!) but I think in this case following is an entirely good thing.

We will do the draw at the end of this month! Good luck!

signed,

the Secretary to LS Corporate Fat Cats

Easter Tip

2009-04-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Eat turkey.
With gravy.

Repeat.

HAPPY EASTER FROM DAWN AND CHERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Giving Back

2009-04-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

OK, this post is not as noble as the title.

I am one of those people who is very happy to lend anything I have to whoever needs/likes/wants/could use it.

I also don't mind borrowing stuff.

Where it all falls apart is that I'm not always the most ... emm emm, PROMPT at returning things.

So, if you're like me, here's a little challenge for you.

Grab a bin, (if you don't have one, just ask your neighbor :-), and go through your house finding anything that belongs to someone else, and make it your mission to get it back to them in the next week. At least put the bin in your car so you can return things as you see people.

I just did this last week and, as embarassing as it was, it was good to get that monkey off the back. I hereby offer a public apology to all my friends who have been without their books, exersize equipment and assorted material goods for the last months... or years as the case may be.
Good luck!

Special Dates

2009-03-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

This little organizer was made as a give-away at the Christmas event at Trinity Baptist Church we (Dawn, while I silently encouraged her from the front row) spoke at in December.

The left side is little folders with the months of the year on them that can hold receipts, lists, cards, etc. The right side is a perpetual calendar for important dates.

A perpetual calendar is a fantastic tool to have on hand - once you get all those special dates saved there is no scramble in January (or March for some of us) to copy everything over from last year's calendar.

If anyone wants instructions on how to make it leave a comment with your email address and I will get them to you!

Friday Quick Tip - EVERSODISGUSTINGMOLD!!

2009-03-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

OK, so I think I'm a pretty clean girl... up until this point every spring where I discover all the mold in my window tracks. I attacked it today and thought I'd, hmmm hmmm, share.
(So Gross.)

I took a little spray bottle and filled it about 20% bleach 80% hot water.
Dressed in white just incase, (and I CAN'T believe that wedding gown still fits) I sprayed/soaked all the window tracks with the bleachy solution, (be careful of drips).

I left it alone for about 10 minutes, all the while telling myself how disgusting we must be.

Then I took an old toothbrush, an old cloth and filled spray bottle with just hot-water.

The guck came off so easily after soaking in the bleach solution. A little scrapy-scrape with the brush and a little squirty-squirt with the hot water and TA-DA! Gone-zo.

That was just about my least favorite job of the spring cleaning... I'm sooooo glad that's over.

To those of you who have already attacked your windows--I salute you!
To those who have put it off as long as I have-- I don't blame you, I can think of few things more icky.

p.s. I'm in a making-up-words mood. It might be the bleach fumes.

Time Saving Kitchen Clean-Up Tips...

2009-03-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

aka stuff you might not have thought of...

To clean a blender, squirt a few drops of liquid soap into it, fill halfway with warm water, cover and blend away the mess. Rinse and repeat if necessary. You can also use this method for food processors.

To clean all that icky splatter out of your microwave, wet a couple of paper towels and place in microwave, turn on for about a minute (keep a close eye on it!). The steam will loosen all the food particles and then you can use the damp paper towel to wipe everything up.

For lime and mineral deposits on your kitchen sink faucet, wrap vinegar-soaked paper towels around faucets for about an hour. This breaks down the mineral scale, and the chrome will be clean and shiny after buffing with a dry paper towel.

Use a toothbrush to clean up around your faucets. Those little bristles get right in around those hard to reach places.

For a sparkling white kitchen sink, place paper towels across the bottom of your sink and saturate with household bleach. Leave for an hour or so. Scrub and rinse.

Spots on stainless steel sinks can be removed with white vinegar or Club soda.

And while we're on the subject of shiny sinks I want to share a little not-very-well-kept secret called Flylady.

Flylady is a support group that offers advice, tips and humor to assist people in keeping their homes tidier, especially for those suffering from "CHAOS" (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).

While I don't follow their whole "get dressed including your shoes" first thing in the morning, as I kind of enjoy the guilty pleasure of driving the kids to school in my pyjamas, she has many many great tips on getting you organized. I joined her website when my kids were young and it really helped me keep on top of those problem spots in my house. And while I don't subscribe to her website anymore, I still try to shine my sink every night before I go to bed.

Check it out to see if she has any tips you can use!

Friday Quick Tip - Crock Pot Love

2009-03-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest dinner in the world. Kind of a sweet & sour thing.
MUST be served with rice and corn (in our family opinion.)

CHICKEN ROSA
Put enough skinless Chicken Thighs (or other skinless chicken) to feed your family in the crock pot.
Mix together the ROSA in med bowl... adjust to taste:
R - Russian Salad Dressing (and if you want to lighten it up you can find a recipe for the dressing and cut the oil down), one small bottle is good for our family of four.
OS - Onion Soup Mix (about one packet)
A - Apricot Jam (a good sized glob, depending how sweet you like things)
Pour the sauce over the chicken and let it simmer away for a few hours.... sooooo yummy.

We'd love it if you would post your favorite slow-cooker recipe in the comments!

Without further ado...

2009-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a pictorial account of our latest draw for a free 2 hour organizing session....

1. print names from all the lovely readers who entered their names in our draw

2. Find lovely assistant to make the draw...
(if lovely assistant is unavailable, find small disheveled boy to act as assistant)

3. Show the lucky winner's name...

Congratulations Karen - contact us at your earliest convenience to schedule an appointment!

I hope everyone had an excellent "first weekend of spring break" and happy organizing!

I'll leave you with this photo that I saved off of the internet a couple of years ago, I thought it was such a cute and inexpensive way to store extra towels, etc in a bathroom.

Child Labour - we're all for it!

2009-03-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

Cheryl and I met a new client this afternoon. A lovely, young mom ready to get her home sorted and settled so she can enjoy it to it's full potential. And, like Cheryl and I, she has two young men in her home.

Kids.
Part of the problem or part of the solution?

Spring break is around the corner for those of us with school-aged kids. If you've been meaning to "get to" your kids' rooms, Spring Breatk is a great opportunity.

One suggestion is to let your kids know NOW that there will be a day over spring break where you're going to work through their bedrooms. Go in there with a garbage bag for everything that is broken or missing pieces, and a box for anything that is broken and can be donated/given away. Get all the "like" items gathered together in the same drawers/bins/shelves.

Go through their clothing. Find out what's worn out or out grown. Find anything you've been waiting for them to grow into and try it on. Don't be afraid to pass on stuff they just never wear for whatever reason. If it's good stuff, just pass it on to a friend (with less picky kids). Speaking as a mom of picky dressers, it felt good to know the awesome hoodie that my Brodie never wore was considered a "thcore!" (score) by Cheryl's son Lucas!!

Make it a date for the first week of the break... promise a sizeable reward if you have to (it will be worth it), and the kids will love the results as much as you do... they'll be able to see what they have and access it much more easily. From there on in, it's all about maintanence, baby.

HAVE FUN!!! and DON'T FORGET TO POST A COMMENT FOR THE DRAW!!

Closet Connection

2009-03-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Dawn mentioned in an earlier post that we had recently started working in conjunction with Artesano Cabinetry
(website coming soon!) and we completed our very first install back in December.

In all of the excitement my mad photo skills failed me and I only got a couple of usable shots, but in any event, here they are!

This is a "games closet" in the rec room of a beautiful new houses. We designed longer shelves to house board games as well as higher, shorter shelves for other games (all you parents will appreciate how many children's games have weird shaped boxes that are hard to find space for - Elefun anyone?

This is the pantry that we designed for their lovely home. The chocolate pearwood finish is so rich and classic looking and one thing I love about these shelves compared to wire is that there are no cracks for things to slip through.

If you are interested in any more information about these fabulous systems or want a quote, don't hesitate to drop us an email!

We will also be drawing later this week for the gift certificate we talked about in our last post. If you haven't left a comment yet and are interested, post away!

If We Clean it, Spring will come

2009-03-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

At this time last year my kids started wearing shorts.

What's going on this year?

Global warming, my...

In our efforts to keep the dream of spring alive, we figured:

IT'S TIME TO GIVE AWAY A GIFT CERTIFICATE!!!!

How does 2 hours of free organizing help sound?

All you gotta do is post a comment about spring cleaning.

Any old comment will do:

"I hate it"
"I love it"

"I want to have Dawn and Cheryl to come help me."

You get the idea.

We'll draw a name from the posters on March 15th.

Bonus: if you refer a friend to our blog and they mention your name in their post, you will get two, count them two, entries in the draw. Double the chances, double the fun.

Post away!

Good Luck!

8 meals, 1 mess.

2009-02-17T00:24:00.000-08:00

When Cheryl and I talk about how we survived the "early years" with young kids, we fondly remember our meal swaps. The two of us and two other trusted girlfriends would do a frozen meal swap about once a month. We would each choose a different recipe and make a super large batch of it so that is could be divided into eight 9x9 cake pans. We'd share them around so that each mom took home 2 of each of the 4 different dishes. One big mess, 8 delicious meals.

If you're looking for a way to save time, money & mess in the kitchen, and have a few like-minded cooks in your circle of friends, we dare you to give it a try.

Sunday Planning Ritual

2009-02-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

It's one of the little moments I look forward to on a weekend. (Maybe be I should get out more.)

A comfy spot on the couch,

A leisurely stroll through the grocery store flyers,

A fresh page in my note book

A big cuppa English Breakfast Tea, sweet and creamy.

I go through each store's flyer, jot down any super deals on stuff we need/use, and try to plan my meals accordingly. (I recently went on a mission to "eat through" our freezer so that I could defrost it and start over in the shopping/meals department. It's kinda nice to have a clean slate!)

I'm finding it's a good way to save money (who's with me on the small victories??), add a little variety to our menu, and plan ahead so I can cut down on the trips to the grocery store.

For example, this week, this is what I found on sale...

I only write down what I know we need or go through a lot of. (Personally, I only REALLY stockpile if it's an AMAZING deal.) And then see how I can work those deals into the menu...so I know this week we'll have:

-Pork Roast w/ cauliflower side (cheese sauce, of course--the cauliflower is just a means to an end.)

-Pasta Carbonara (Love it when bacon is on sale... I cook a whole package on a pampered chef bar pan and freeze it to use when we need it. One mess, lots of baconny possibilities

-Soup and BLTs (Does anyone else have childhood flashbacks to Habitant Pea Soup?)

Might be worth a try if you're trying to cut down on the grocery bill and get a bit of a nerdy high from list making :-)

One bookshelf, two ways

2009-01-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

I don't have a contemporary style home, but absolutely appreciate the aesthetic of modern decor.

I've seen this shelf at various times in various places and love how it acts as both storage and in a way art.

Fun, right?

And then the other day, whilst surfing I saw it used in another way in a bathroom.

Pretty clever, huh?

Is enough to make me rethink my entire home decor?

No.

Well, maybe just for a minute...

I need.

2009-01-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

this space.

in my house.

This is from Martha Stewart Living, the September issue.

And "need" might be a little dramatic, maybe I should change that to want.

Really, really, really want.

Virtual Clutter and How to Sweep it Under the Carpet

2009-01-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

With the arrival of digital cameras many of us have traded in our shoe boxes filled with photos for virtual files full of photos. And because we take more digital photos than we used to take with film, these photos can quickly become a mountain of virtual clutter.

Here are a few basic tips for keeping your digital photos organized and easily accessible.

First of all, you have to figure out what works for you. Our minds all work differently and what might be the best set up for me may not work effectively for you.

I think one of the most important things to do is to remember to upload your photos every time you take a sequence of photos from a certain event.

That way you can ensure that you have a file with a clear name that will trigger the memory of exactly what resides in that particular photo. Then you won't waste time searching through hundreds of photos to find that one that you want to have printed to send to Aunt Sophie.

The way I categorize my photos is as follows:

I have a main folder for the year we are in.

example: My Photos for 2008

Then within this folder, I have sub files with the months of the year.

example: My Photos for 2008
January

Then each of the months have the photos shot within that month uploaded and named accordingly (I generally take a lot of photos so also put the date in front numerically which causes them to come up in order of date within the folder.)

example:
My Photos for 2008
January
Sledding at Crystal

or

January
01.24 Sledding at Crystal

Please don't forget how important it is to back up your photos on cds or on an external hard drive on a regular basis.

Simple Christmas

2008-11-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

This morning Cheryl and I were honored to be invited to present a little "Simplifying Christmas" feature for the women of Trinity Baptist Church. IF YOU WERE THERE AND YOU'RE VISITING OUR BLOG FOR THE FIRST TIME, WELCOME HERE!! PLEASE LEAVE US A COMMENT! We had a great time with this crowd of 400 ladies, and here are the ideas we passed on, (plus a few we didn't have enough time for.) As we head into December, possibly the least simple month of the year, we hope this helps you save some time, energy and money so that we can all keep the focus on what matters. IF YOU HAVE IDEAS TO SHARE ABOUT SIMPLIFYING CHRISTMAS, PLEASE POST THEM IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION. Here are a few ideas to get you going...

Simplify your Schedule
It starts with keeping a good calendar. In this season there is so much going on and it’s ridiculously easy to find yourself double booked, or overbooked, so an accurate calendar can save you a lot of frustration, anytime, but especially now. Make sure that anyone who’s old enough to be making their own plans has access to your calendar and can write in their commitments too so that there in one place in the house where people can look to see what’s happening when -- think of it as one hub of information to keep things under control and guard your family time.
Cheryl made a gorgeous calendar/organizer that one lucky lady went home with.

Simplify your Spending
In a nutshell: spend less on gifts. It’s really that simple.
It seems like for many of us finances are tighter and we’re being more careful with our purchasing this year. It’s so important to figure out early in your planning what you can spend this year and stick to it. We know that the “sticking to it” is the hard part.

Simplifying and sticking to it starts with a great list. Lists are your friends. If you haven’t already done it, make your gift list now. Write down everyone that you would normally give a gift to, from immediate family to teachers to special friends and neighbours, anyone who would receive even the littlest token from you at Christmas.

Next, take a good look at those names and separate them two lists. The first is the list of those who you feel you must buy a gift for. Beside each name write a dollar amount of how much you can spend on each individual.

The second list would be the names of those who you would like to extend some gesture of thanks or friendship towards, but you have room to get creative about WHAT exactly that will be. These are people who would appreciate the gesture of a gift, but really don’t need a thing. As you consider the first list, those who you really feel you need to give something to, our next simplifying suggestion is to Give Gift Cards wherever possible. I know the argument can be made against giftcards, because they don’t require as much thought, but I know I’d rather my recipient ended up with what they really wanted, so if I’m not 100 % sure about that, a giftcard is possibly the most thoughtful thing I could give. And if you’re not sure which store they would enjoy shopping at the most, you can buy Orchard Park gift certificates that work everywhere in the mall—just visit the customer service kiosk by the Sears Home Store. It’s the ultimate one stop shopping.

Giving gift cards will help you simply Christmas by
• Helping you stick to your spending plan because you choose the amount you’ll spend.
• save you a ton of time wondering the stores and decision making, you just march up to the counter, ask for the gift certificate, and get out of there.
• create nearly zero waste with wrapping paper.
• You can avoid the post office for gifts you need to mail

You can even shop for giftcards online… it’s getting tight, but doable… especially for far away friends and family. If you have a store in mind, check their website… so many stores will let you order giftcards from their website and you can have them sent to you or to the recipient. So gift cards are a BIG ONE, if you’re looking to Simplifying you Spending.

Now, about that second list -- the people you want to acknowledge in some way at Christmas, or maybe people who really don’t need a thing? How about making a donation to a worthy cause rather than giving them a gift. You can easily give those people a Christmas card with a note that says, “In celebration of our friendship this year, we’ve made a donation to Habitat for Humanity” or any one of the endless great causes that you can be a part of.

You can even find gifts that fit with your friend in mind. World vision, for instance has an amazing catalogue, and you can access it on-line too http://https//catalogue.worldvision.ca/gifts/Forms/Home.aspx?mc=3221603&lang=en , that show you all kinds of options for donations.

For the last few years I’ve gone together with a couple of other parents in my kids classes and our teachers have been thrilled to know that a gift of school supplies were given to a teacher in Kenya. Lots of options to do with food, shelter, animals, education programs… and with World Vision you can print off a little certificate to explain the area the donation went towards.

One other idea along the same lines… is to become part of the “the Advent Conspiracy”? We want to encourage you to take a minute to check it out… there’s an amazing video explaining the concept at adventconspiracy.org. The Advent Conspiracy is a movement that is all about what we’re talking about… spend less, love more. Their big focus is solving the world water problem.

Our family is really excited about this and so what we’re doing this year for the people on our “second list”… is giving this water bottle with a message explaining that in celebration of our friendship we’ve made a donation to a water program.

If you like designing things on your computer like I do, you could do some labels for the water bottles, or you could wrap a piece of Christmassy paper around it and attach a simple tag with an explaination. This little token is just a fun way to let them know about the alternative gifts you’ve given, that they haven’t been forgotten, just celebrated in a different way.

GET THE HOUSE READY NOW
If you’re planning on doing any entertaining or having houseguests, and you like the place spic and span, do a deep clean of your home in the next week or two and keep on top of it by doing 10-15 minutes of maintanence cleaning each day. And if you’ll be needing your guestroom over the holidays, get it all ready to go now so you don’t have to think about it again. Make sure you get your family involved in the cleaning to. My motto is “one woman and two adolescent boys working together can clean as much in 20 minutes as one woman working along can clean in 25 minutes”, but hey, I’ll take that 5 minutes. Actually, my guys are pretty great little cleaners, and I’m not above using bribery and/or threats if necessary. If you do one really good cleaning now, you really can keep it that way by doing a little bit each day.

HOSPITALITY GIFTS
If you don’t want to arrive empty handed when you are invited to someone’s home, do up a handful of ready to go gifts that you can grab on your way out the door. We love to give edibles, and you can get great, inexpensive items like Chai Tea concentrate, cute tins of cookies, boxes of individually wrapped Biscotti...and just make up a little bundle of treats. Cheryl likes to grab a handful of $10 Starbucks cards to have on hand just in-case… you could always pair up a coffee card with a little bundle of biscotti, or a nice but inexpensive chocolate bar… So, you can see it’s really easy to put together a few inexpensive little gift for when you’re going to need them. The key is to do a few ahead of time so to same money and avoid last minute.

WRAP GREEN
While we’re looking at a Christmas with new eyes, think green. Rather than using wrapping paper, dress up a shopping bag with a bit of ribbon, or if you’re crafty you can go to town. These are beautiful and practical and not expensive. Have fun with stuff like this, be creative and earth-friendly in your wrapping and decorating. Cheryl made a couple of cute resusable bags as give-aways.

SIMPLIFY YOUR SWEETS
I’ll bet that most of us in this room appreciate a little Christmas baking, but we’re really trying to avoid the fuss, the expense and the calories that come along with it. If you’re going to bake, consider making less of a production out of it… do 2 or 3 types instead of 5. And if you’re at all entertaining a baking exchange, maybe consider just asking one or two friends to do a small scale exchange so that you don’t have to crank out 12 dozen of anything.

SIMPLE ENTERTAINING
If you’re hosting any get togethers, make it easy on yourself and take short-cuts. Have appy parties instead of dinner parties. If it’s a large group, take people up on their offer to bring something. You also might want to be armed with a few key ingredients for some very quick, no-fail appetizers, just incase someone comes by last minute or you haven’t had time to make anything ahead. I’m sure you have lots of great ideas for this kind of thing, and again, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to post your ideas in the comments section of this blog. We showed the ladies our two favourites… everyone loves these and they are ridiculously easy and fast to make.

The first is a hot crab and artichoke dip. You can keep all these ingredients on hand at all times, there’s nothing unusual here that will go bad if you don’t use it right away. All you need is…
a. A can of crab meat
b. A block of cream cheese
c. About half a cup of sourcream
d. Half a jar of artichokes, chopped
e. Some garlic, lemon, pepper and dill
f. And if you have parmeasan or asiago around, you can throw that in too.
You don’t have to measure, you just drain and rinse the crab, chop up the artichokes, throw it all together, use a hand mixer and bake it for about 15 minutes. You can do crackers or tortilla chips… you can not mess this up and it’s so yummy. I made this this earlier in the week and had my kids time me and from cupboard to oven it was 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Everyone can pull that dip off.

The other one we is a favourite at Cheryl’s house… she just takes a brie wheel, which she buys in a 6 pack at Costco and freezes until she needs them, top that with chopped sundried tomatoes (the ones stored in olive oil), chopped garlice and a drizzle of olive oil. Throw it under the broiler for 7-10 minutes until it gets melty, pull out and serve with hearty crackers or a baguette. If you bake it in a nice oven-safe dish you can serve it from oven to table and cut down on dishes as well.

And if this isn’t fast enough for you, there’s always M & M! (actually,we think we're faster!)

CHRISTMAS DINNER
Everyone loves Christmas dinner, but who one wants to spend all Christmas day cooking and doing dishes? Look at your menu and pick out any items that can be done a day or two ahead, like mashed potatoes or desserts…. Maybe even plan your Christmas dinner with make ahead dishes in mind, so that Christmas day gives your more time to sit down with your family and a cup of hot chocolate.

SIMPLE SUPPERS
To maximize any days off you have, put some meals in the freezer now over the next couple of weeks. Do a big batch of chilli, make a bunch of meatballs, precook some taco or fajita filling and that will make any meal prep you have to do a lot easier. Ask your girlfriends what their favourite make ahead meals are and swap some ideas… Remember, lists are your friends, so plan your menus and make great lists so you can cut down on trips to the store.

KEEP TRADITIONS MEANINGFUL AND KEEP MEANINGFUL TRADITIONS
Ask your family now what they look forward to each Christmas… and be ok with letting go of some activities that aren’t at the top of the list. And maybe that conversation is a good time to talk about starting new, meaningful traditions. Maybe it’s a family discussion about how you can all work together to give to those in need. You can take this to any level you want. Maybe it’s doing something thoughtful for a neighbour who could use a little extra love. Maybe it’s something bigger, like replacing at SOME of your gift purchases with donations to a worthy cause. Get creative, what ever that looks like for you and your family. Hopefully with the time and money you’ve saved by Simplifing your Christmas, you will feel energized to invest in meaningful traditions, whether they are old favourites or the start of something new.

SIMPLY SAVOR… Don’t aim for the perfect Christmas, just savor the people, the time, the moments, the traditions and the legacies you’re building. We wish you all a very meaningful and simple Christmas!

love,
Dawn and Cheryl

Christmas Countdown - One Month Out

2008-11-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

Did anyone notice it's November 24 today?
That basically means that if it ain't done one month from today, it's not going to happen.

Do you need to lie down?

I (Dawn) have to admit, I'm off the hook this year as we're heading to Thailand for Christmas. Being gone for 25 days over the holidays kinda give me a pass on decorating, shopping, and a whole bunch of holiday hullabaloo! (I'll try to get in a little hullabaloo before we leave in 3 weeks!)

For those of you who are not fleeing the country and are looking forward to enjoying a white Christmas with friends and family, you know the mixed bag of the month ahead. Lots of great memories are about to be made, along with a nice thick layer of business, expense, expectation and chaos.

If you're looking for ways to keep things as simple as possible so that you can put more energy into the things that really matter, we're cheering for you!

This Saturday, Cheryl and I will be doing a little feature for the women of Trinity Baptist Church at their Women's Christmas Event! We'll post the ideas we share there in a couple of days and hope you find them practical and helpful.

As for today...

How's that Christmas card list coming?

We know a lot of our friends and blog readers like to make their own cards, which is a really special way to let the people in your lives know how much they mean to you. Just please learn from my mistake last year... I made my cards a little "too special" (read THICK) and had the privilege of spending several dollars on EACH card just to mail them!
Plan well, crafters, plan well.

Homemade or store bought, if you plan to send cards, there is no time like the present.
1) Make a list
2) Check it twice. As you look at the names, ask yourself who would really appreciate a card in the mail, and who would be just as happy with an e-mail update?
3) Aaaannnndddd.... GO! No procrastinating, just get it done before all the hullabaloo begins for you :-)

Closet Crazy

2008-11-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

WE'RE BACK!

We had such a great 2 days at Stor-X... it is such a smart product, great look, unlimited layout options, endless accessories, great Canadian quality, really nice staff, excellent reputation and experience---we're so proud to be working with this product and have started dreaming up closet designs for our own homes! We are already having fun walking through brand new homes, talking to owners, and designing their "closet furniture"--we'll be sure to post some pics of our finished jobs.

Looking to spruce up your own closet space?

Here's a few steps to get you on your way:

1) Purge... if you haven't worn it in the last year, let it go to someone who might benefit from it. Same goes for linen closets that might have old towels you wouldn't dare use but haven't gotten rid of... an overabundance of sheet sets, games no one plays, cleaning supplies that have 1/2 inch of liquid left in them... give your self permission to say farewell!
2) Sort... get your "like items" together... hanging all your pants, long sleeve, short sleeve, jackets in sections is such a fast way to make your closet feel a lot more inviting.
3) Handy Hangers... if you're short on space, try some of the hanger options that are out there that can hold several pairs of pant/skirts with one unit--it really cuts down on the amout of rod space several pairs will take up if hung individually.

The day Dawn and Cheryl went into the closet...

2008-11-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Something so cool has happened for us and we're really excited to let you in on it...

We have become closet designers for Artesano Custom Cabinets... providing beautiful, custom closet planning and furniture made by Stor-X, a Canadian closet company. This is such an exciting opportunity and we have enjoyed designing our first couple of closets already. Next week we will spend 2 days in Vancouver for training and then we can give you more info about the company & the product. Unfortunately, the Stor-X website leaves a little to be desired, but in real life the product is gorgeous. These are not your everyday wire racks, but really beautiful and functional storage pieces that makes the closet oddly enjoyable to walk in to! We will post photos as soon as we have some finished product to show you!

And as for us two going into the closet, we know, you all saw it coming.
:-)

Conquer the Mountain

2008-11-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

If you have kids in school - particularly elementary and primary - then you probably have a pile of:

artwork
memos
newsletters
fieldtrip stuff
PAC news
scholastic book orders
and
so
on......

Here are a couple of quick tips that help me keep that mountain of paper under control.

Artwork:

Please believe me when I say you DO NOT have to keep EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY piece of paper your child has scribbled/drawn/written on.

It's true!

If you did keep every single solitary piece you would soon be swimming in a mountain of paper. And while I'm sure little Johnny is a very talented artist/doodler/scholar he will not have to go to therapy when he's older because his mom chucked some of the stuff he brought home from school.

It's true! (No, really. I'm not joking!)

Tip #1: Have a box or folder in your office or the place in your home that you keep paperwork. Every day, throw the artwork/etc in this file. At the end of the month sort through it and limit yourself to keeping one or two of the best pieces - you can have your child help you choose (or if they are a packrat, like my youngest, you might be better off doing this alone)
Tip #2: Sometimes kids do projects at school that are LARGE - if your child has a super special something like that - take a photo of him with the project and then junk it!
Tip #3: At the end of the school year gather up all the pieces you've chosen to keep, have another look through to see if you *must* keep them all and then put them in a file with the year on it and store them in a box labeled "Johnny's School Artwork")

Memos, Newsletters, Fieldtrip Stuff, PAC News, Scholastic Book Orders, Etc, Etc, Etc:

I found last year that my computer desk was becoming a catch-all for all the kids' school papers. So I decided to assign a binder for this task, which I keep close to my desk.

I made 3 dividers:

general school stuff (pertaining to both my kids, stuff like the newsletters)
and then one for each boy for stuff specific to each one of them

Every pertinent paper is three hole punched and put in the binder behind it's respective divider.

AND... the winner is....

2008-11-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for participating in our Blog Launch Draw!! Great to hear from so many friends and friends of friends.

The winner of 2 hours of organizing magic with Dawn and Cheryl iiiisssss........
BARB NEWMAN!

And as a special thank you for referring friends to our site,
we've drawn
SHERRI ANN RAST,
who will receive this lovely monogram journal for list making/note taking/dreaming/doodling--whatever your heart desires :-)

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR GOOD WISHES... we promise to keep some more contests coming your way soon!

2008-10-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

You know the old joke about how the dryer always eats one sock?

In our house, the space in front of our dryer seems to magically make dirty laundry grow.

Sort

Wash

Fold

Put Away

Repeat

and

repeat

and....

well, you can throw in that whole Energizer Bunny thing, and so on and so on....

Hopefully some of these ideas can help you keep on top of that every growing Laundry Monster.

Get prepared

Sorting a huge pile of laundry can be a time sucker. If you purchase a few inexpensive laundry baskets you can sort as you go. Depending on how you wash your clothes, some suggestions are:

darks
towels
whites

It might take a little bit of reminding, but even young children (and husbands!) are capable of putting their dirty clothes in the appropriate baskets.

If you have items that need to be dry cleaned have a separate area or bag for them.

Putting Clothes Away

This is what my family has struggled with in the past, the clothes get sorted, washed, dried and folded.

And then they sit there....

and sit there...

and, well, you get the picture.

A few tips to conquer this problem:

keep your hangers right by or on your dryer, hang clothes up as they come out of the dryer.
if you have space, have yet another series of baskets for each person in the house, clean, folded clothes go directly into the appropriate basket and that person is responsible for putting them away (again, this task is not beyond most younger children)
I try to put a load of laundry in every morning when I first get up, that way it is done and ready for the dryer before I leave for the day, then that night I fold it and the next morning remind the kids to put away their clean clothes before we leave for school
keep a small bin or basket for those stray socks that inevitably show up in the dryer

Purge, purge, purge

I try to go through my closet at least twice a year. Usually Spring and Autumn I will go through everything, get rid of items that are getting old/shabby, things that don't fit or that I haven't worn in a year. I also do this with my kids' closets, they grow out of things every 6 months or so and by spending an hour twice a year it's easy to make a pile of clothes to throw out, donate or consign.

Dirty laundry is not going away. And frankly, while it isn't much fun, if you keep on top of it, it becomes a whole lot less daunting.

I hope some of these ideas help you get the upper hand on the Laundry Monster.

The Old Fall Switcharoo

2008-10-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

My kid just put on long pants for the first time since last February. Which is my veeeerrryyyy sketchy segue into the question of the day:

Still have flip-flops in your main shoe closet?

Hate to break it to you, but the time has come to switch over from summer sandles and unearth the jackets, mits, hats and, sadly, boots. Save yourself that first REALLY-cold-morning-panic of trying to find the appropriate articles for the upcoming weather.

Make it easy to do your seasonal switchovers by keeping a bin or two labeled "OFF SEASON" to store away hibernating items until their time comes again. When you're packing up this summer's stuff, look at each piece and ask yourself a few questions...

"Are these in good enough shape to keep?"

"Did these get worn this year?"

"Will these fit anyone next summer"

If the answer is no, it's time to chuck/donate/consign! See if you can't load up a box of summer items to remove from your home this week... let us know if you had sucess. There's something in it for anyone who reports back by next Monday!

Also, as you break into your fall/winter stash... make sure everyone's stuff still fits before the day comes that they really need to wear it. If things are a little more snug than they should be, make a list and check those consignment stores if you want to save a few bucks. Winter stuff is out and about and there are some great deals to be had with a little bit of snooping around.

Happy simplifying!

Not Your Grandma's Jewelry Box

2008-10-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

From Martha Stewart's website:

Cute and stylish way to reuse and organize!

Thankful for...

2008-10-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

family,

food and....

wrestling.

That is what my 8 year old is thankful for.

Yup, that sounds about right.

In any case, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and enjoyed the long weekend thoroughly.

Here are a few good freezer recipes for all that leftover turkey, once you're tired of sandwiches and have the time to get a few meals pre-made for those busy days you don't have time to cook.

Wild Rice Turkey Bake

To cook wild rice, combine 1-1/2 cups washed rice with 4 cups water in heavy saucepan. Cover and cook for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Drain off any excess water.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked wild rice
3 cups chopped cooked turkey
16 ox pkg frozen french cut green beans (thawed)
17 oz jar of Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup soft breadcrumbs

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix rice, turkey, green beans and Alfredo sauce in large bowl. Place in 12x8" glass baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until casserole bubbles at the edges and bread crumbs are browned. To freeze, under cook rice by 10 minutes. Do not thaw green beans. Mix all ingredients and place in baking dish. Wrap well and attach small freezer bag with bread crumbs. Label and freeze up to three months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Uncover, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Serves 6

Turkey Tetrazzini

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 envelopes or teaspoons instant chicken broth granules or base
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups cold water
3 cups cooked turkey or chicken white meat, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 ounces broad egg noodles, cooked until tender (14 to 20 minutes, about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
paprika

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in skillet; saute´ mushrooms just until tender, Combine dry milk, cornstarch, chicken broth, salt, pepper, onion powder and nutmeg with cold water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.
Arrange noodles in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Spread mushrooms in a layer over the noodles; top with a layer of chicken. Pour sauce over all then sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and paprika. paprika. Bake turkey tetrazzini at 350° for 30 minutes, or until hot bubbling.

Turkey Enchiladas

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 package reduced fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups cooked diced turkey or chicken
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans*
12 6-inch flour tortillas
1 10 3/4-oz.can reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup milk
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
cilantro or parsley
chopped tomato and green sweet bell pepper

Preparation:

In a little water in a skillet, cook the chopped onion until tender.

For enchiladas, spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick coating. In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese, water, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked onion, turkey or chicken, and toasted pecans*. Heat tortilla in microwave or skillet just until soft.

Spoon about 1/4 cup turkey mixture onto each tortilla, roll up. Place seam side down, in the baking dish. For sauce, in a medium mixing bowl combine soup, sour cream, milk and chile peppers; pour over enchiladas.

Bake casserole, covered, in a 350° oven about 40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle enchiladas with cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered for about 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted. Topped with minced cilantro or parsley, chopped tomatoes, and chopped green pepper.
Serves 6 to 8.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown and aromatic.

My Fancy Drawers

2008-10-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

I think for many people one of the hardest areas to keep under control is their hobby area.

Whether that be a garage for the mechanically inclined, sports equipment for the athletes or a craft room for the creative - this stuff seems to accumulate and take over.

I recently re-froofed up one of those kind of unattractive (in my opinion) plastic drawer units in my craft room and reorganized some of my papercraft goodies in it.

It took me 2 sheets of patterned paper, a heavy duty hole punch, 2 circle punchs, some ribbon, black and white cardstock, my computer and about an hour.

First I dumped everything in the middle of the room (because that's how I roll - one our mottos is 'ya gotta make a mess to clean it up' - which is probably not entirely true, but to me there is something very satisfying with watching a pile of stuff get purged and reorganized.)

I had figured out the categories a few years ago and they still were relevant for what I am using it for, printed them out and made the tags.
Then everything went into it's respective drawers and the purged contents were passed along to friends and the kids.
Then I adhered the paper on, punched the holes and tied on the tags.

It's still not the most beautiful of piece of furniture, but it's cuter and it's organized!

Feelin' Lucky?

2008-10-10T11:28:00.001-07:00

To kick off our DO LIFE SIMPLIFIED blog, we're offering a little draw!

(Sadly, not for a Million bucks, but EVERY BIT as valuable!)

To enter, all you have to do is post a comment our blog sometime before the end of October. On November 1st, we will draw a name and that person will receive 2 hours of organizing assistance from the two of us!

Sound good? Invite your friends to enter too!

(We know what you're thinking... "but if I tell a friend, it'll lessen my chances of winning!" It's ok that you want us all to yourself--we're flattered :-)
As a little incentive to spread the word, we're are offering a SECOND special draw for those who refer a friend to our website--just tell them to drop your name and we'll enter you once for every friend of yours that comments. On November 1st we'll do a draw for a delightful prize that we know you'll love! ---- oohhh the suspense of it all...

Chores in 10 minute chunks.

2008-10-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

Got a job to do that you can not get motivated to start?

Try setting your timer for 10 minutes, attack the undesirable chore and see how far you get. When the buzzer goes, set it for another 10 minutes and do something fun... like blog-stalking or painting your toenails. or a little on-line Sudoku (that's for you, Cheryl!) When the buzzer goes again, set it for 10 more and get back to that chore... lather, rinse, repeat. You get the idea.

Give it a shot next time you need to clean your stove or go through the paperwork in the office--whatever your least favorite cleaning/organizing activities are. Anything is tolerable for 10 minutes at a time.

So what's your least favorite chore around the house?
Are you willing to give it a shot?
We dare you!
Let us know how it goes!

Bye-Bye Unsightly Paper Towel Roll...

2008-10-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Cheryl found this... I think it's really cool.

http://www.healthyshelf.com/

I want several.

Blogging Simplified

2008-09-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Clients, Friends and Simplicity Seekers...

As Life Simplified enters its second year, we thought we'd celebrate with the launch of our DO LIFE SIMPLIFIED blog!

What will you find here?

Life Simplified news from Cheryl & Dawn
Tips and Tricks to help you simplify your home and life.
Links to cool stuff we see related to organizing, cleaning, managing home and life.
Other fun stuff that amuses us.

We'll kick it off with a super simple meal saving idea:

MAKE MEATBALLS... BY THE HUNDREDS!

To make a batch of meatballs, you only need to dirty one big bowl and some baking pans.

Just mix up 2 large containers of lean ground beef with a couple of eggs, a cup or so of breadcrumbs, some onions soup mix, other seasoning, worchestershire sauce, whatever you like into one big meaty concoction. Rather than forming and rolling the meatballs, just use a scooper, (I like the pampered chef ones) and crank those meatballs out faster than they can be eaten.

Don't worry about fussing with the frying pan... just throw them in a glass baking dish or other pan you like, (I prefer my Pampered Chef Bar Pan---no, I'm not getting anything for this endorsement :-) and let them bake away. All you have to do is take out the last batch, set them on some paper towel, quickly wipe out the pan, and scoop the next batch out and let them bake. It's the perfect way to get several meals made while you have an evening at home doing other things... possibly things that are more fun that whipping up a dinner from scratch every night!

Just throw your baked meatballs into freezer bags and take out what you need as you need them. Throw them into spaghetti sauce, sweet & sour sauce, cream of mushroom soup-type sauce... or waram them up and serve them with bbq sauce or Tzaziki for dipping. My kids favorite dinner these days is greek salad with pita and meatballs dipped in tzaziki.

One evening of "meat-balling" can probably get me through 8-10 family meals and are great to have on hand when we've got friends coming.

Simple enough for ya?

Check back regularly for inspiraton and ideas.

Leave us a comment so we know you found us!

Best Fall Wishes to you from us!
Dawn & Cheryl