"I like my money right where I can see it - hanging in my closet."- Sex and the City

I.Love.To.Shop.

Unfortunately, shopping as often as I (or anyone) would like is not economically realistic. Not to mention the fact that we live in the middle of the Artic tundra (also fondly referred to as northern Vermont) so my chances to cruise the mall are limited.

Fortunately for me (and our bank account) I enjoy the thrill of finding a good deal as well. Here are a few of my favorite sites for fabulous deal finding!

Baby Steals This site offers daily deals, one steal at a time on high-end and designer baby gear, clothing and toys!
Kid Steals Same deal as Baby Steals, but geared towards older children.
Baby Cheapskate This provides info on different stores offering deals and freebies, as well as coupons and online coupon codes.
Retail Me Not This has daily coupon codes for hundreds of online stores as well as printable coupons!
Old Navy SALE PAGE Wo doesn't love $5 deals?

Happy Shopping! I would love to hear about any deal-finding sites you know of!

GG's Apple Crisp

Julia Child I am certainly not. Truthfully, I'm not even Sandra Lee. Can I just say that I adore her? The woman has made an art form out 'kind-of' cooking. She gives moms everywhere (nay, women everywhere) faith that one can cook out of a box and still be fabulous!

I would go as far to say that in our household, cooking is considered strictly a husbandly (and most appreciated) duty. I'm sure I could cook if I wanted to, but for now I think I'll leave that task to the domestic god I more familiarly refer to as Mike.

What I can do however, is bake. And no, they are not the same thing! Here is a recipe from my Great Grandmother's recipe box (literally) that is so easy, even the most domestically challenged can look like a pro in the kitchen!

Here we go...

GG's Apple Crisp:

First and foremost, you will need an adorable and helpful assistant! This step is optional, but clearly not as much fun.

1. The recipe calls for the open to be pre-heated to "medium," which we have worked out to mean 325-350, depending on your oven. We have a gas stove and set it on 325.

2. Fill a large glass pie dish overflowing with peeled apples (your call on the type of apple, but I prefer to use green).

3. Mix:

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. white all-purpose flour

6 tbps. butter

1/2 c. white sugar

3. Cut these ingredients together like pastry. For the record though, you can mix it all together with a spoon and knife and it works equally as well!

4. Sprinkle mix over apples

5. Bake for approx. 50min-1hour, again, depending on your oven.

6. Top with vanilla ice cream and eat! DE-lish I tell you!

You may ask, "why isn't there any cinnamon in the recipe?" as my co-worker did. I assure you, it isn't needed!

Hello Again...

Hello all! Now that my sweet pea, Vivi (who you can learn about here Sweet Pea Blog), is almost a year old, I've decided to re-enter the world of blogging.

I am not one of those moms that has it all together. You know the type... they always look perfect, never a hair out of place or a chipped nail. Their home is immaculately kept with white carpets (still in pristine condition.) They never appear frazzled or even tired, as if their schedules permit a lovely (and clearly uninterrupted) 10 hours of sleep every night. And most miraculously, between working full time and having kids that are involved in every activity known to man, these women are able to do charity work in.their.spare.time. SIGH. While I'll admit that it's a noble and excellent ideal (and lets face it, I'm jealous that I could never pull it off), I seriously question their sanity level! How do they do it? Is there some secret code that I missed out on upon reaching womanhood?

Anywho... perfect and put-together I am not! I am a yoga-pants-wearing, binge-coffee- drinking, cheesy-movie-loving mom and wife who is loving it every minute of my laughter-filled, sometimes flustered, always joyful life!