Plan with me Jan 2-8 (ft-Stick to the Plans)

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It has been so long since I recorded a plan with me video, it felt so strange. I am sure I will get back in the groove again soon.

So I am back to using printable kits from Etsy for my planner. I do love them so much. For me the pre-printed kits just take too long, I don't usually know what I want to use far enough in advance to order and wait for them. Add to that the cost, I mean a lot of those kits run $20 or $30 and that adds up really quickly! I have other things I want to spend my money on. LOL

Anyway I just love this kit, it is so pretty for winter with the snow and all. And we are expecting really cold weather this week so it seems to be perfect.

The kit is from the Etsy shop Stick to the Plans, and is called WinterWonderland (I think that was the title of the kit) the cost was $3.17

This is my second week in my new Recollections Planner and so far I am liking it a lot. I am still working on getting things straight without the lines from the boxes but I am sure with practice it will be easier. Actually last week I didn't have nearly as much trouble staying straight. I think the idea that I was filming this week made everything harder.

The other stickers I used this week that weren't in the kit were:

Meal stickers from : Sweety Stickers

Habit stickers from: Thanksis

So I hope you enjoy this PWM and will come back for more videos on my channel.

Thanks for stopping by. 

July Ipsy Bag

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It's that time of the month again, my Ipsy Bag arrived in the mail so I am here to share with you what I got this time.

The bag is cute this time but unfortunately my bag appears to have been damaged in the mail. I think it was from the way the eyeshadow brush was jammed into the bag or else it was the way it was put into the padded mailer. If I look closely I can see the stretching of the material.

The first item out of the bag is that brush that seems to have caused part of the problem. It looks like a nice eyeshadow brush but it too has gotten damaged in the mail. The bristles are definitely pushed to the side and the nice curve the brush has been bent to the side. I think the brush will still work, probably not as well as it would have if it had not gotten jammed into the bag. Which is truly sad since this brush retails for $21 here.

The second item I took out of the bag is the one I am most excited to try this month, the anti-frizz sheets for my hair! I can't wait to try these, and if they work I am sure I will be ordering more soon. Here is the website for the salon that created them, with a link to Amazon to purchase more ( box of 15 wipes for $18)

The Two Faced primer was the next item up, and my skin seems to be even more dry than normal lately. I think partly because I have been super busy and haven't been taking the time I know I should to take care of it. I think I can really test this primer and see if it will work a few miracles. If you want a tube of your own you can find it here for $32 for a full size tube.

I also got a tube of Skyn Iceland's Antidote Daily Lotion. The sample is 15 ml, so a fairly small tube but it should be enough to try and decide if it is something I would like. The full size is 52 ml and retails for $45.

The last item in my bag this month is an eyeshadow from The Balm, I absolutely love their packaging! The color of this eyeshadow is really pretty and is actually a color I would wear and I don't think I have anything like it in my collection. I am excited to try it out soon. The color I got is from this pallette that retails for $42.

So that was my Ipsy Bag this month, did you get a bag? What was in yours? 

July Graze Box

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I got a new Graze Box in the mail today so I sat down as soon as I got home to film a video opening and tasting all the wonderful yummies inside.

I haven't posted a Graze opening in a while. I filmed them but just never got the time to edit. That was why I decided to do this one as soon as I got home with it.

I love getting my Graze Box and look forward to its arrival more than any of my other subscriptions.

This box was probably the best one yet! So come on, let's dig into it.

Before we talk about the individual items let's just take a moment to look at how pretty it is....

Okay, enough of that, let's start tasting.

The first item out of the box is a return item and one I love, Stars & Strips is a mixture of dry fruit and fruit candy. I love this because you get the real fruit flavors and it isn't too sweet. Just perfect to my taste.

Next was another repeat Brooklyn Bites, I love the savory mixtures and this one is fantastic.

I don't remember getting any of the rest of the items before.

The Sour Cream & Garlic Crostini is really good, another savory item so it gets extra points before I even taste it.

Active Nutrient Blend was good, not my favorite but I would be happy to get it again. I think if the walnuts had been toasted or something they would have been better then this would have ranked up with the best choices.

On to the bottom layer.

The Original Fruity Flapjack, I am not the hugest fan of the flapjacks but this one was one of the better ones I have gotten. If you like granola bars you will probably like them.

The YummerTime Punch was really the only item I didn't care for this this month. If they had used something other than coconut I would have probably like it.

Spicy Siracha Crunch, I love this one! I wouldn't consider it to be really spicy, but I do love spicy food. I would rate this as a little spicier that maybe a medium salsa.

The last item this month was the Caramel Apple. This is one of the dip combos and I have liked most of them. I saw this one on the Graze site and was hoping it would show up in my box soon. The softly dried apple pieces with the caramel dipping sauce are a wonderful combination.

So that was my box for this month. Did you get a Graze box? What did yours have in it?

Want to get your own Graze box use my link here to get your first and fifth boxes free. 

Plan with Me- Vintage Fishing Theme

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This week I am decorating my planner in memory of my dad for Father's Day. He absolutely loved to go fishing and some of my earliest memories center around sitting on river banks with a fishing pole alongside my dad. So Happy Father's Day to you dad. This one's for you.

Budget Plan with Me June 13th to the 19th- featuring a free printable from The Organizing Companion

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This week I am using a free printable from The Organizing Companion. The page with her free printables as well as some that require a purchasecan be found here.

I love the colors and the watercolor design of this set of stickers. It is so beautiful and cheery. I am so glad I found it and am able to let you all know about it. Be sure to check out the other printables on the same page but be aware some do cost money (but I think all of those cost only $1 and that goes to charity)

When you do go through the page to get the download for the sticker sheet it will ask you for your billing information and you will need to fill that in before you can download the stickers. I did not have to enter my credit card information though.

I thought you should be aware of this stuff before you try to get the page of stickers.

I again this week printed off two copies of the page so that I would have enough of the little flags that I like to use to write the dates on. This means I am getting a nice collection of leftover stickers so next week I am going to attempt to do a “use it up”

theme for planning. I am pretty sure I can get at least another week out the 3 sets of free stickers I have printed this month. It should be a fun challenge. I have a few other pages of things like flags that I can add if I feel I need to.

I hope you are enjoying this budget series. If you haven't subscribed to my channel I would love to have do so. I have several other types of videos planned for my channel. I just need to get the time to film them.

Thanks for watching my video and checking out my blog.

Here are some close up pictures of the two pages of the spread.

Pinch Me Box #3

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Today I am opening my latest Pinch Me box for you. I love this box for several reasons. One of them being that I get to pick which items come in my box.

To participate in the Pinch Me program all you have to do is sign up and fill out your profile. Then on the second Tuesday of the month you log onto your account and pick from the items they are offering to you. The items offered are based on your profile answers.

Another thing to love about this box is the fact that it is totally free! That's right, you don't even pay for postage on this one. All they ask is that you log on and give your feedback on the products you received. Really simple.

There are a couple of downsides to the program. First being it takes a full month to receive your box. At least that has been my experience so far. Although the box this month did come a little bit quicker that the the ones before it.

The second drawback is the that some of the samples are soo tiny it is hard to tell if you like the product or not based on what you get to try.

One way to help you to get things offered to you that you would really like to try is go through on a regular basis and see what things have been offered and put things you really want to try on your “wish list” that way you are probably more likely to get them. I know that at least one o the items this time was one I had on my wish list.

If you want to try Pinch Me here is the link.

Now onto the items I received this month. I did notice after filming that I got 8 items this time and I only signed up for 5.

The Raid Bed Bug trap. This item I am pretty sure wasn't on the choices so I think it must have been added by the company with my asking. I am pretty sure I would have remembered it but maybe not. Anyway I will hold onto it and give it a try sometime.

The Purina One cat food. I know this one was on my wish list ahead of the day I ordered it. I love getting cat treats/food in my box. I haven't had time to try it yet since we are in the process of introducing a new kitty to the house I don't want to offer anything else new for a few weeks. But I am sure they will love it when they do get to try it.

Pepto Bismol chewable tablets. This is a great item to keep on hand for those occasional tummy troubles. I used to keep the liquid on hand but I think the tablets would be better and more easily stored/carried with/ used.

Eucerin In shower moisturizer, I got this last month and loved it. I am so happy I was able to get it again. This is an item I am planning to purchase soon.

Z-Quil, this is another repeat item. In the past I have always purchased the store version of this product. I like the gel cap formula a lot better that I am getting in the Pinch Me boxes.

And lastly the Shea Moisture mud mask. I have been thinking I need to do a mud mask again and I never remember to purchase one. This way I can try this one and decide if I want to get more.

So that was what was in my Pinch Me box. Did you get a Pinch Me box? What was in yours?

Thank you for watching my video and checking out my blog.

Budget Planning- Nautical Theme

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This week in my budget planner I am using a Nautical theme from Vintage Glam Studios which you can find here.

This sticker sheet is sized for the Happy Planner but works equally well in our budget planner made from free printables.

I am really enjoying working in this planner and the stickers this week are really fun. I love the summer vibe especially since we are experiencing a heat wave right now so they are very fitting to what is going on.

I hope you enjoy this PWM and I thank you for watching my video and reading my blog post.

Happy Planner Walk-through

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I was recently in my local Michaels with a coupon in hand in search of something. Well, long story short they didn't have what I had went there to purchase but they did have a brand new display of the Happy Planners!. Since I have been wanting to get a good look at one of these planners I jumped at the chance to use my coupon and take one home with me.

I know there are tons of walk-throughs on the Happy Planners but I haven't seen one of this one that I purchased so I decided to share it here. Mostly I have noticed the planner with the gold stripes on the cover. I decided to go with the brighter one with the pink rings. I figure if I get tired of the pink rings I can always change them out at a later date.

I haven't decided what I am going to use this planner for yet, I do have a couple of ideas. One possibility is that I might end up finishing out the year with it as my Erin Condren planner is getting so full I can no longer close it. When I try to close it the front cover just pops off. Not the most handy situation. So in a moth or two I might just move into the Happy Planner for the rest of this year. Then in December I will need to decide what I will be using next year.

So let's take a look at the planner

I love the bright water color type print on the cover and through out the book. It is so bright and cheerful but not overpowering in my opinion.

I love the area to record what you are loving at the beginning of each month. So many times we forget that information so quickly in life. It might be nice to record some of my favorites each month. I bet it would be fun to look back on later on.

Some of the divider tabs have foiling on them and some don't. It is a nice mix and overall I like the designs that were chosen. There are a few duds in there but I think that is normal. After all you can't please everyone all the time.

I love the quotes that are scattered throughout the year. Most of them are really good and things we should all keep in mind.

I am really happy with my purchase. It has a few things I don't care for like the fact that the weekend days are shaded in color. But that is a pretty minor complaint.

I am slightly worried about how well the planner will hold up and if the pages will remain securely in the rings.

My biggest wish is that they would come out with a horizontal version of this planner. I use a horizontal planner as a daily journal and I think the way the Happy Planner is laid out would be so perfect for a journal. Especially those pages at the beginning of each month for favorites.

Plan With me- Strawberries

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Since where I live it is strawberry season I am featuring that in my planner this week. I do love everything about strawberries so it is the perfect theme.

Here are some more photos of the pages, thank you for visiting my blog and watching my video.

Budget Planning- Stars N Stripes

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This week in my budget planner series we are celebrating Memorial Day with a lovely free printable sticker sheet from Vintage Glam Studios.

This is a brand new sticker sheet to her blog and I think it is just sooo pretty and the perfect theme for Memorial Day (at least here in the US)

I am so happy to be doing this first in what I hope will be a long series of videos in this planner.

In addition to the free printables all I used were a roll of Washi type tape from Dollar Tree (I got this last winter) and some star stickers also from the Dollar Tree.

I hope you enjoy this series as much as I am.

If you know of other sites with free printables let me know about them. I would love to find even more sources of sticker for this series.

Planning On a Budget- Intro & Set-up

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This week I am assembling a very inexpensive planner to use in a series of budget friendly plan with me's.

I love to watch PWM videos and I love stickers but I know how expensive this hobby of decorating our planners can become. From the initial cost of the planner to all those beautiful sticker sets, the costs can get really high really fast.

So I have an option for the do-it yourself kind of planner. I am going to delve into the sites that offer free alternatives for us. We are starting out with an inexpensive 3 ring mini notebook from Target and filling it with free down-loadable pages. Then in future weeks in this series I will show you how to decorate it with free down-loadable stickers and stuff from the craft store.

To start we need a “house” for our planner. In the video I show you just 2 of the many options available. I love the mini 3-ring binders because they are inexpensive and fairly easy to find. I got mine at Target but I know that other stores including the office supply stores have them too.

The 3-hole punch I am using I got in the office supply aisle of my regular store I get my groceries at. It cost under $10, if you don't have one you can certainly use a single hole punch that you can anywhere. It will just take a bit more time.

The paper I used for all the printed pages is made by Georgia Pacific and is their Super Premium Bright paper. I get mine in my regular store near the three hole punches. 

Let's start with the weekly pages since that is what we will need to have the most of. I got mine from the site Wendaful, she has some really nice free printable pages as well as some stickers we will be using in future weeks. The pages I used were the “Vertical Boxed Week on Two Pages” These looked the most like the pages that I have seen being used on Youtube by different people doing PWM's so I that is what I chose. Also this was on the of the few week on 2 page layouts that I could get to print with boxes that were 1 ½” wide so that the standard full box stickers made for the commercial planners would fit. She has this same layout on a couple of different downloads be sure to get the one that is set up as an “A5 on Letter Size” paper.

The website has some directions to print the pages successfully. I did find with my printer I couldn't use the two sided printing option and get the pages to come out correctly. So instead I printed page one about 10 times then manually flipped my paper over so that it would feed correctly and then printed page 2 the same number of times. My printer seems to get out of whack when I try to print very many pages at one time especially if I am trying to print on both sides of the paper. Also be very careful to check that you are printing at 100% size so that everything lines up correctly and is the correct size.

I did notice that these pages have the cut lines at 5 ½” by 8 ¼” instead of a more standard 5 ½” by 8 ½” (at least in my mind that is more standard) I think that next year I will add the extra ¼” to the bottom of each page as I am cutting them to give me just a tiny bit more room on the pages.

For the “month at a glance” pages I found some colorful ones a while back at the Scattered Squirrel site. For this I picked the “half size- 2 pages per month” calendar. Then when printing I told my printer I wanted it to print horizontally with 2 pages per sheet of paper. This way I only used 12 sheets of paper for the 12 months.

For the year at a glance calendar I had to do a bit more manipulating to get what I wanted. I am sure there are a lot of other calendars out there that are set up for this size paper. In fact I think both the above sites had some. I already had this one saved to my computer so it is what I used. To get this to print the way I wanted it set up my printer to horizontal orientation and to again print two pages per sheet. I then printed one copy, and since I needed a second one for another project I put my paper back in the printer and printed a second one on the other half the page.

There are so many other pages of printables available to customize your planner with. These that I am using are just barely scratching the surface. There are pages for financial planning, meal planning, wedding planning, school planning, if you can think of it I am betting there are pages that you can print off to add to your planner for it.

Plan with Me- Cherry Blossoms

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Just where did the time go last week??? I didn't even get time to plan until Monday for the week. I hate that I like to sit down on Sunday afternoon and take my time planning and putting down my stickers. Not this week, I just didn't have time.

So the theme as you probably already know is Cherry Blossoms. I had thought of this way back in about January or February but almost forgot to actually do it! This is the last full week in May so I am so glad I remembered in time.

Here are some closer shots of the two pages.

Thank you for watching and checking out my blog too!