Recipe: Pretzels + Candy Canes + Chocolate = Heaven

This idea comes from Wendy, a City of Motherly Love reader and chef of all things yummy.  Thanks, Wendy!

Candy & Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Ingredients

• Box of pretzel rods
• Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Crushed candy canes or starlight peppermint candies

Use your food processor to grind the candy canes or starlight candies into bits.  Put crushed candy into shallow dish.  Then, put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds.  Stir.  Repeat twice and stir after each time (for a total of three 30 second intervals).  Dip a pretzel rod into melted chocolate (Use a spoon under the pretzel to catch the excess chocolate).  Put chocolate covered rod in dish and roll in mints.  If needed, use your hands to cover any other parts where the mints didn't stick.  Put finished pretzels on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes to set.  Done!!!

These look pretty enough to give as presents, but delicious enough to keep for yourself!!!!!

Do you have a recipe you want to share?  Let me know! 

Preserve Your Family's History.... Here's How!

Problem:  We all have tons of old VHS tapes, filled with family memories, but gathering dust (and taking up room!)
Solution:  Purchase a DVD Converter, and ensure that your videos stay up to date!

When you have tapes professionally converted to DVD, it is VERY expensive.  But, when you purchase the DVD Converter yourself, you can save a lot of money.

Over the summer, I converted all of our VHS tapes to DVD (including the ones where I had a perm and sky-high bangs!).

Benefits:
* Relatively simple to do.
* Finished DVDs can be played on your computer.
* Files can be copied onto your hard drive.
* Your kids will have a BLAST seeing all of the old videos.
*  Cheaper (and more private) than having a professional do it for you.
* It is beyond satisfying to throw out the old, clunky VHS tapes and make way for the space efficient DVDs!!!!

Drawbacks:
* DVD Makers are not cheap
* It can be time-consuming 

There are a lot of DVD Makers on the market, but we used the one below! 
  
Savings Tip:  Keep the DVD Maker in your cart for a while on Amazon and see if it goes down in price, since they often put it on "sale."

Happy movie making!

DVD Maker

FYI - You may also need to purchase a separate AV cable to get the job done! 

Design on a Dime - Get the Most Out of Old Furniture, Part II

The Problem:  Under-utilized bottom half of kids' closet due to the those short, cute little clothes.
The Solution:  Use an old (or inexpensive new) bookshelf to create instant storage.

My son has tons of books (a great problem to have) and a nice-sized closet.  So, we went to Big Lots (one of my favorite stores) and got an inexpensive bookshelf for $20 to put underneath his clothes.  We use it for books, but you could use it for toys, shoes, etc.  We also have a nice, cozy chair right next to the closet, so the books are within easy reach!

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Design on a Dime - How to Get the Most Out of Old Furniture, Part I

I loooooooove finding uses for old furniture, or furniture that is not as quality as it could be (a.k.a., junky furniture).

The Problem:  Old furniture, plus an unorganized, poorly utilized closet.
The Solution:  Use an old chest of drawers in your closet.

Many times, the lower halves of closets aren't utilized to their potential.  While my dream is to turn this space into one of those HGTV closets with tons of shelves and racks and built-ins, I'll settle for a few extra drawers for now!  Realizing that my old, beat-up IKEA dresser wasn't the attractive thing in the world, I used some decals purchased from JoAnn Fabrics for $1 and dressed it up a little. You could also paint it, stencil it, etc.  If room permits, you could put a little mirror on it and turn it into a little vanity.  A few old scarves hung from the shelf help make the closet look a little more fun.  Oh, and don't pay attention to the ironing board next to the dresser.  I NEVER use it and am the worst ironer in the world!

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Check Out Our New Logo! Learn How to Make Your Own!

Every new blog needs a new logo, and here's ours!!!  Ah, can't you feel the love?!  

And, because I share WAY too much, here's the easy (free) site I used to make it.  It was fun, and makes me want to create logos for everything now.... Maybe a family crest? 

Online Logo Maker