With the holidays quickly approaching, we are all looking at our gift list, making lists of who to buy for. It starts with the easy ones of mom and dad or significant other. But what about those last minute gifts for the co-workers? Or someone that stops by for a holiday meal?

I've have the easiest way to make sure you are covered for all these last minute gift needs this holiday season with the NJ Lottery Holiday Instant Games.  The New Jersey Lottery has four Holiday themed Instant Games available for the Holiday season. These Holiday games make for the perfect gift, stocking stuffer, party favor, etc for anyone and everyone on your list over the age of 18.

Usually when you think of lottery tickets, you think gift it in a card, but I've got a way to really "present" your tickets the right way. A lottery ticket present. The gift is literally the present and they are so easy to make. You can vary sizes depending on the lottery tickets you get and the recipient. The small ones can be made for party favors at each place setting or to take to the hostess of your holiday party.

1// Decide the size of your holiday box by measuring out your lottery tickets. It will also determine if it's a square, rectangle, etc.

2//Wrap the lottery tickets to make the outside of the box and secure with tape on the inside

3//Measure how many lottery tickets to cover the top and bottom most of mine took 2 for each side

4// Secure them side by side with tape

5//Place left side inside present and tape; following with the right side

6//Repeat step 5 for the top of the present.

7//Secure with bow, on top of another present or any other fun thing you can think of.

8//Give the gift of the NJ Lottery Holiday scratch offs!

This takes all of ten minutes to put together and takes away all of the last minute gift giving stress.All you have to do is pick up the lottery tickets; available at your local Wawa or Quick Check. I know if I was given a lottery ticket present and won, I would give a little back to my giver or take them on my tropical vacation with me. Just a thought to consider ;)

What would you do if you won the lottery?

 Disclaimer: Must be 18 or older to but a lottery ticket. Please play responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER®. Parents are urged to think twice about gifting lottery tickets to children.
For more information visit New Jersey Lottery 

This post is sponsored by the New Jersey Lottery.

Christmas Ornament Display

The easiest Christmas window decor to make, like ever.

Christmas Window Display

Make sure to gather ALL the supplies you need. Slight exaggeration. Just two.

Ornaments

 

Cut the ribbon, alternating colors and sizes for how many ornaments you intend to use

 I always have a little helper

Then, slip the ends through the ornament topper and tie. (You can also hot glue the ends if you desire)

And would you believe that's pretty much it?!

You then pick your window, arrange the ribbon sizes how you want them to hang. 

Command hooks come in very handy to hang from the window. And they slip right off after the holiday. Or any thumb tacks you have on hand.

This was my first set I tried with and sent off to my Ornament Swap partner Molly. She's super creative and I was trying so hard to find something to make , pretty much the most creative person on the planet.




Many thanks to Pinterest for the fab idea

via

The Thankful Project

As it's November (or Movember) it is time for Thanksgiving. The month where we really reflect and give thanks for everything in our lifes.

I will go more into detail later on, but this month of thanks could not have come at a better time. Yup, I know it comes Novemeber every year. But this time, I am really drudging in my work and need to focus on the bigger picture at some points.

I am so thankful I found "The Thankful Project" from Kenzie at Chasing Happy.

As I am clearly behind a few days, I will catch you up....

Day 1: A Person

I think it goes without saying, this guy.  

My handsome husband.  He is my rock, my life and I do not know how I would have survived the past 5 years without him. And I know the next years of our lifetime together will be nothing more than thrilling. Always an adventure with us.

Day 2: A role you've played

Daughter. 

I will always be thankful I got to play the role of daughter to my mom for the short years she was here with us. It was a role I always reveled in. I had the normal teenage moments and gave attitude. But I always gave my mom the best and treated her as my hero. I worked hard so she wouldn't have to. And that role is something I will always look back on with a smile. A role I hope to pass on to my own daughter(s) one day.

Day 3: A place.

Harmony. 

 The place that made me who I am. The county girl who was always itching to do bigger things. But also allowed me to always appreciate the simpler things in life. Here is where I learned the value of family, technology was optional and comparisons didn't exist. Everyone lived their version of what country life and was content.

Day 4: An experience

 Traveling abroad with my friends. 

I was given the opportunity of my high school career to take a trip to Spain with some of my closest. It was a trip I always love to look back on and am glad I was able to experience. It gave me a taste of a culture outside of our own and also allowed me to be thankful for our culture here. And it was my first trip with friends that I was able to experience It was also the last time I traveled in a world before 9/11.

Day 5: Talent I have

I have the knack to be creative. And I think that is a talent of it's own. I love to craft and am always curious to see if I can tackle something I see in a store. It also allowed me to really make my wedding my own, because I was able to design our programs, menus and other small details.

A few of my creations.

Wedding Wednesday: Ceremony

The ceremony. The moment you pledge your life forever to one person. The time you place the ring on the finger that it will still be there 50 years from now. The place you are pronounced Husband and Wife.

Our ceremony wasn't that long at our request. We did not have readers for that same reason. Also, we weren't sure what we would even have anyone read and how we would pick each one. Plain and simple. We knew that it could be long or short but at the end of the day we still knew what those words meant to us.


Vows

We did not write our own vows because I have extreme stage fright and get nervous really fast. So reading my own vows wouldn't have worked for me. I would have been an uncomfortable, crying mess. And not in the aw, so precious, kind of way.

Our minister had the best ceremony. We are still getting compliments on how great he was. He had the best mixture of love and funny. Which is exactly why we picked him as our minister. Brian and I like to have fun and I know from experience, there's always time for laughs.

Rose Ceremony

This is something special and unique that I am glad we did. I had seen a brief mention of it when I was searching different verses and our minster was very versed in it so it was a definite must for us.

The bride and groom exchange two roses, symbolizing the giving and receiving of their love for each other throughout their entire married life. The Rose Ceremony also conveys how to use the rose and its symbolism in difficult times in order to forgive each other.

I really loved the symbolism that this was our first gift to each other and even if we can't find the words, we just place a rose. It means love, forgiveness and faith in each other and our marriage.

I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future that you both pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot both as a recommitment to your marriage - and a recommitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love. 

Place

The place for us was inside much to my chagrin. No thanks to the rain. Unfortunately, the money we paid for our venue was for the picturesque outside ceremony location. The outside wedding I had always wanted.

I wish I had known about the umbrellas coming through the window and I am not that ecstatic about the Krista & Brian screen behind my walk down the aisle.

We may or may not have coasted down that aisle.

But I know for our vow renewal, I will have a nice beach setting:)

Married!

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it! Long Distance BFF Mugs

Ok, so this might be a little fudged. I actually saw it first on Stephanie's post at A Beautiful Mess for Saw it, Pinned It, Did it. So I pinned that image then did it. Same diff right?


So here are her mugs that I pinned...

Source: snhblog.com via Krista on Pinterest

Back story why these amazed me..I have a bff that lives across the country. Yes, literally. She's in Cali and I'm here in NJ. And to say I miss her is an understatement. So I thought how perfect for two BFFs who love their coffee?!


What you need:
2 Mugs (I got mine from the Dollar Store)
State outlines (I went here for mine)
Some eyeliner, lip liner or something equivalent...yes really.
Sharpie (I used black but Stephanie incorporated some red in there)
An Oven Packing to ship it off!

1. Find the outlines of your two states, print out and cut down to fit your mugs.  I used New Jersey(me) and California(her).

2. Trace the outline of each state with your eye liner, lip liner, or whatever you have.

3. Once you do that, press the lip liner side onto the cup and press down. It should transfer so you see the outline of the state.


3. Pick up your sharpie and get drawing!

4. Find your location on your state and draw a heart and then do the same for your BFF. You can then be creative and draw your dotted line however you see fit. Make sure to place the mugs together to make the line flow.

5. You can then put something inside the rim or on the outside. I chose to write 'Miss You' on each mug and then our initials.

Yes, 'k' and 'k', we were meant to be. Actually, "Kris" and "Kris". Fate.

5. Bake your mugs in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes so they are able to be washed and drank out of.

6. Send it off to your long distance BFF! Mine loved hers and I know I will most definitely drink out of this on the days I miss her especially so.

Saw It. Pinned It. Did It. V-Day Edition

ok, So I'm a day late and a dollar short butttt here's my {Thursday} Saw It. Pinned It. Did it.

Since I had off on Valentine's Day I knew I wanted to do a breakfast for the fiance before he headed off to work. (If I'm working, I'm already at work when he gets up in the morning)

Cue in this pin

                                                                           Source: recipebyphoto.com via Krista on Pinterest

How cute are these?!

So I looked for the heart pan that didn't cost more than a fortune of a dollar...and to no avail. So I utilized another pin I have seen...

                                                                        Source: weheartit.com via Cristina on Pinterest

What you need

-Heart Shaped pan.. or the alternative

-Bread

-Butter

-Eggs (smaller if you can)

-Bacon

Cut up the bread in a circle...or heart shaped in my case. 

Butter up the one side.

Cut them in half; then shove in the cupcake tray. I suggest making a deep whole.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon for a couple of minutes...not the whole way. It will cook in the oven.

Add them to the top of the bread.

Then add the eggs on top..some of mine ran over. That is why I suggest you mush a deep hole with the bread. 

Through it in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes and voila! A yummy treat.

**Let's just say it tasted yummy, but the heart didn't show up all that well and the bread stuck. 

I clearly need better photography skills..

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it! ..Tension Rod for Cleaning Supplies

Back for another Saw it. Pinned it. Did it!

Here is the pin that started it all. Pinned this way back when.

Source: pin4fun9508.blogspot.com via Krista on Pinterest

 Even before I moved...had about 3 extra curtain/tension rods that have been around for awhile and knew I could find something for them. (curse of Pinterest I tell ya)

But not everyone understands the need to keep senseless things...my dad as he was helping me move, "These are garbage right?" "No!" "What are you going to do with these?" Not sure yet. But I don't want to throw them away."

Well, low and behold. I did do something with at least one! Go me!

Now, the rods I had were too big for under the sink. But I knew there was someway I could still make it work. And also a way to not have to separate the hanging cleaning supplies and the non-hanging cleaning supplies. 

First, was location. We have a walk in closet...meant for coats, scarves, etc.etc. We use it as the cleaning/Lily business room.

I got the idea to add the curtain rod under the shelf. Added a few dollar store bins to hang the non-hanging cleaning supplies. Gets them out from under the sink and all are in the same convenient place. 

Each bin has it's own 'theme' so we know where things should be and can find them quickly.

This is the 'Lily' bin. 

Has her bathroom things...shampoo (because you know how easy she is to bathe) , fur trapper from Pledge (genius invention if I do say so myself) And her freshen wipes.

This is the 'laundry' bin. 

Our detergent packets, Shout color catcher (helps save money when each load of laundry cost you $3.50 #apartmentwoes) Dryer sheets and currently my free sample of Downy

And this is the 'cleaning' bin. 

The stuff that doesn't hang. Has our Lysol wipes, Pledge wipes and carpet cleaner.

And then added all the hanging cleaning supplies at the end.

So if you happen to have a cleaning closet...and can utilize this system...I definitely recommend it. Especially useful in an apartment where you have limited space. 

I can now use under the bathroom counter for extra supplies we have and other bathroom odds and ends. They can then stay out of the nice linen closet. 

And there you have it folks! Until, next week!