Tis The Season... for Tiny Prints

Having a baby will take up ALL of the memory on your phone REAL quick.

I've gone from having maybe 200 photos on my camera over a span of 6 months, to over 1000 photos in less than 5 months. And the real question is-- what in the world am I going to do with all of those photos?!

Two Words: Christmas Cards!

And when you're talking Christmas cards, holiday cards, invitations or announcements of any kind, the first place you should be googling is Tiny Prints.

Normally, the beautiful selection of cards at Tiny Prints would be a bit outside our budget. Especially since our income is about to be slashed, Christmas cards were definitely a line item that was up on the chopping block.  But the wonderful folks at Tiny Prints are giving me the opportunity to tell you what a great experience I've had with their website and their product-- and in return, they're giving me credits to their website to order my cards again this year! (Which is such a blessing, since Violet's face is just begging to be printed in mass quantities and delivered to a long list of loved ones who live several hundred miles away.)

SO. Let's talk Christmas Cards, shall we? :)
First of all-- the designs that Tiny Prints has to offer are stellar. Check it:

I've only ever ordered their Christmas cards, but they have cards for a variety of occasions and events. And these are designs you'll be proud to share with your friends and loved ones. You won't find any cheesetastic clip art covered creations, nor will you be plagued with card after card printed in Papyrus or Comic Sans. Tiny Prints offers unique, top of the line products in a variety of styles with different options for accessories (labels, envelopes, etc.) and various weights of paper.

Secondly, the service is speedy. Not only will your cards arrive promptly (even in the midst of the wildness of the holidays), if any issues arise, their customer service department does a great job of answering any questions that may arise.

Finally-- the quality of these cards is phenomenal. I can't even tell you how many compliments we received last year. These people are pros and their work speaks for itself. The prices of their cards vary, but they have wonderful sales and discounts during the holidays. Check out their special offers page for great deals on party invites, birth announcements, holiday cards and more! You'll be glad you did.

Thanks for adding an early bit of merry to our Christmas season, tinyprints. :)

p.s. I also just got an email this morning that zulily.com is offering $30 worth of custom tinyprints cards for $15, plus free shipping! If you're not a member of zulily and would like to be, leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite.

Time Is Love

Since my last two posts have been about cookies, I thought maybe it was time for a post with a bit more depth. 

So, to get right to it...

“This song explains why I’m leaving home to become a stewardess.”

And this song explains why I’m leaving my perfectly good job in December to stay home with my baby.

I don’t even listen to country, y’all. But the one week I decided to, I heard this song and it just happened to coordinate perfectly with the time of life when I was figuring out how to tell my boss that I couldn’t come back to work full time. Ever. 

It came down to this: I like my job and I'm super grateful for it, but I don't like it enough to continue to do it while paying someone else an obscene amount of money to raise my daughter for me. Not when I don't HAVE to. As it is, even with lots of support from Todd and our friends and family, my brain has been on the verge of melting down for the past three weeks, trying to juggle being a Mrs. while doing ministry, mommyhood, marketing for an engineering firm. I mean, I fancy myself a better than average multi-tasker-- but lately, I just feel like I'm doing four things badly.

I know I'll probably never have the luxury of just doing one thing (I'm not sure I'd want to, actually), but I want to do the things I am doing well-- and it's been especially difficult-- if not impossible-- to do that lately.

So-- we're gonna try something new. :)

It's crazy how I've wanted to stay home for years, only to realize now that it's time, it's going to be totally different than I expected. It will be wonderful. It will be stressful. It will be new in every way-- and I'm so ready to give it a try. I'm also so grateful for my husband's support and enthusiasm regarding this decision/life change. It definitely shifts our financial stress to him and I am humbled and grateful that he's willing to shoulder the burden alone for awhile.

My last day of work is in December. Will I work outside the home again? Probably. Who knows? I have plans for my new lifestyle (which I won't be sharing until I actually follow through with some of them) but I'm not fussed about coming up with a timeline for how long this new way of life will last. We'll take it a day at a time.

Till then? Gotta run... :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

I’m stressed out, y’all.

October is always busy, and this one is no exception-- but these past few weeks have been straight madness. A to-do list that never ends. That pretty little chore list, a few posts down? I haven’t completed the full list in three weeks. (I’m still on the schedule though. I didn’t do laundry on Friday, but I did grocery shop yesterday and Todd and I have every intention of cleaning the bathrooms tonight!)

But, there are always bright spots, even in the most maddening of weeks. This week? Violet practicing her giggling is high on that list. And these are a close second.

There aren’t a whole lot of situations that a good peanut butter cookie won’t make better (unless you have a peanut allergy, of course L but hey, give this a go with sunflower seed butter or something! I mean, why not?)

Recipe and photo props to my favorite magazine ever.

Day Brightening Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 32 cookies | Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 45m
Ingredients

• 2  cups creamy peanut butter (not the all-natural variety)

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 2  large eggs

• 2  teaspoons baking soda

• 2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/2  teaspoon kosher salt
• 
  

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in the eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
3. Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. With a lightly floured fork, press the dough to a ⅜-inch thickness, making a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie.
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the edges are set, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Enjoy!