Uncategorized Archives • Page 13 of 55 • New Nostalgia

How To Use Fresh Mint — 20+ Ways!

I decided to grow fresh mint as the focal point in two of my flower pots this year. It is growing beautifully and I’ve been so excited to use it, but other than tea, I needed some inspiration.

New Nostalgia has an amazing & growing Facebook community. I love being able to have real conversations with you all over there. I knew if I asked them what to do with all my fresh mint that I would get some inspiration, and they totally came through for me!

Here are some of the great ideas discussed over there:

Jill B. — “With peas!! A little olive oil, mint, and peas blended on toasted pieces of bread. SO YUMMY!”

Amy V. — “I just love it in my water!”

Maggie R. — “I am drinking water with crushed mint” She also adds chiffonade of mint to fresh fruit, adds it to her coconut oil for washing her feet & wants to add it to a pitcher of water for a mint hair rinse.

Queen S.– “The leaves are pretty couple;ed with a strawberry half as decoration on a cake. All around the sides if it’s a layer cake…I love my mint!”

Jessie F. — “I like to eat it with Thai food, drink it in water, tea, mojitos, use as garnish on watermelon, and in salads.”

Tracy H. — Strawberry & avocado salads with chopped mint and balsamic dressing.”

Dona P. — “I like mint pesto for chicken. I use it just like basil–mint, pine nuts, a bit of Parmesan, a bit olive oil, a bit of garlic. Add some acid (vinegar, lemon, orange juice) for a great salad dressing. Also great with watermelon.”

Crissy F.– “Pack it into a water pitcher (the kind with a spigot in the bottom), add a sliced lemon, and fill with water and drink all day. I often run out of mint in the summer and do the same with lemon balm instead.”

Heidi D. — “I put them in my smoothie for helping digestion. My version is 3/4 unsweetened almond milk, 5-6 mint leaves, a tablespoon of flax, hemp & chia seeds, two packets of Truvia, two big handfuls (4 cups loose pack) baby spinach, half an avocado, 1/2 cup frozen cherries and 5 or so ice cubes. Tastes like a Shamrock Shake. Also, use fresh mint in taboulleh salad, gyro sauce for chicken or salmon, and mint freezes well, too.”

Rachel K.– “Add to water, tea, lemonade. I use it in my bath (like fresh lavender).

Ana T. — “Tea!”

Karin T. — “Mojitos! OR virgin mojitos if you don’t drink. In a Vietnamese summer roll with tofu.”

JoAnne H. –“I freeze mint leaves in ice cubes with lemon and lime slices to put in my water throughout the summer.”

Kristy L. –“Mojitos!”

Andria H. — “Mojitos! And my kids pick and eat it right off the plants..fresh breath, that is, until they pick the green onions.”

Arn’t those great suggestions? I love that Mojitos got 4 shout-outs. I love the idea of putting it on my watermelon, making a mint pesto/salad dressing, and LOVE the healthful ingredients in the Shamrock Shake. I also had to chuckle at Andria’s little ones and their breath! I have the best community here at New Nostalgia, it makes me so happy when we can all hang out on Facebook and chat together. Come join us!

______

{my pots last year. They were missing the fun height of mint}

If you end up using mint in your own pots or garden, be aware that it is a super invasive plant. It loves to grow and take over all the other plants. To help with this, you can keep mint in a pot and bury the pot in the garden. If you are going to use mint in your flower pots along with other flowers, keep it in it’s own pot, or do what I did, which is buy a mint plant that is in a peat moss pot, and rip the bottom off, keeping the sides in-tact. This will keep the mint from growing outward, and taking over the rest of the flowers in the pot.

I told you it was fast growing! These pictures were taken just one week apart, and that is even after I harvested some of the larger leaves for tea.

_______

What about you? How do you use fresh mint? Leave it in the comments and I might have to write a part 2!

Drinks/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

A Delicious, Simple 3 Day Cleanse

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kaeng Raeng for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this cleanse. Kaeng Raeng is the first cleanse I have done that I KNOW I will use again & again. I’d like use it at least twice a year, if not every 3 months.

What is Kaeng Raeng? It is an all natural, vegan, gluten-free meal replacement cleanse program. Kaeng Raeng in Thai means “be healthy, be strong.” Despite it’s Thai name, Kaeng Raeng is 100% made in the USA.

Why I loved it?

1. It is truly all natural. All natural REALLY means all natural with Kaeng Raeng. All of the ingredients in Kaeng Raeng shakes are familiar and easy to pronounce and all come from the earth, including vitamins which are derived from fruits and plants. There is nothing in these shakes that is made in a lab. There are no fillers, chemicals or preservatives.

2. It is made from real, fruit. Not fruit flavors. The fruit is picked and freeze-dried for preservation, then ground to a powder form. The fruit is purchased locally in California which keeps a low-carbon footprint and keeps costs low. The farmers Kaeng Raeng work with grow their fruit organically. I love that there is no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.

3. Fiber from plants The fiber in Kaeng Raeng is made from indigestible vegetable seed, safe for daily use. Fiber is great in a meal replacement shake because it fills you up without adding additional calories. It also keeps blood sugar levels stable. This was huge for me, as I have had problems in the past with juice cleanses bringing on low blood sugar issues. I did great on this cleanse and never felt weak or light-headed. It was actually the opposite. I felt strong, full and energized.

4. Protein from plants Kaeng Raeng uses pea protein, my personal favorite type of protein. This pea protein is non-gmo. That makes me happy!

5. Vitamins from plants Most of the vitamins in Kaeng Raeng come from fruit, but they also add 100%natural vitamins that come from guava, lemon, sesbania, alma, and basil. I had to look a few of those up to even know what they were! Most companies use vitamins that are synthetic and cheap to produce, which has been a very frustrating thing for me when searching for cleanses.

6. Probiotics I was happy enough with this shake knowing it had plant protein, plant fiber and vitamins, but the added benefit of probiotics pleasantly surprised me. They really thought of everything and made the cleansing process convenient, safe and as beneficial as possible. Probiotics are friendly bacteria that help to regulate and speed up digestion through the intestines and colon. Kaeng Raeng uses only non-dairy derived probiotic cultures.

7. It is not a fast. You are allowed to eat as many raw fruits and veggies as you want. I loved this. So often with cleanses there are such strict rules involved that you feel set up for failure. I also personally get really bored with just one type of texture for long periods of time, so I really loved that this cleanse allows for food. I love plant food and found ways to manipulate plant food to provide all of the variety of texture my palate desired.

8. Adequate calories Each serving has fewer than 230 calories. The recommended amount of servings to consume is 3 a day, which would provide 100% of your daily vitamin needs, including protein. I personally could only consume 2 shakes a day, as they are incredibly filling, but I know I got enough nutrition each day as I also ate plenty of raw fruits and veggies. I feel like this is the healthiest way to cleanse, as it is low-calorie, but not restrictive. There are different levels of cleansing, and I used the 3 day beginner cleanse. You can take this quiz to know what level is good for you.

———-

So why do I think cleansing is an important thing to do occasionally?

Removes Toxins–toxins come in all forms, from chemicals in the foods we eat, medication, the environment, products we put on our body..especially women who use lots of beauty products.

From the Kaeng Raeng Website:

Your body can consume all natural ingredients easily, healthfully separating fiber and nutrients, and passing waste through your colon cleanly. When you consume additives, chemicals, toxins, and other processed foods, your digestive system cannot properly separate the healthy from the non healthy components of the food. Many times, these toxins will not pass through your colon properly, sometimes building up over days, weeks, months, or years. Kaeng Raeng works to “flush” all of those toxins by using all natural fibers and water to help eliminate that colon build up. Further, Kaeng Raeng is a restricted diet whereby you are abstaining from cooked, processed, heavily sugary or salted foods. By removing these foods from your diet, even for a short period of time, your body will naturally release toxic build up through the digestive system and skin. While challenging at first, your body will adapt to the raw vegan diet. During any cleanse, it is imperative to drink plenty of water to ensure a smooth cleanse. Never drink a cleanse product that has artificial ingredients as these counteract the benefits of detoxing.

Beauty from the inside out–cleansing reduces bloating, clears skin & makes it glow, even gives hair a healthy shine.

Jumpstart weigh loss— when properly conducted, cleansing can really help with weight loss. I am on cancer meds that put me into a chemical menopause, and one of the side effects of this is an extra 15 lbs. No matter how healthy I eat, my scale has not budged for months, until this cleanse that is! In 3 days on Kaeng Raeng, I lost 4 pounds. The waist of my jeans are comfortable again and I am so happy about that! Kaeng Raeng is not recommended as way to lose weight quickly, but weight loss is great added benefit.

Reduce sugar cravings –this is a huge reason I do cleansing, and a side effect of cleansing that is most noticeable for me. Right before I started this cleanse, I was on a weekend soccer tournament road trip with my Todd and Avery. I love to snack while traveling and we did our share on this little getaway. I came home with the worse sugar cravings after indulging all weekend. Now that I am finished with day 3 of my cleanse, the cravings are gone. They actually were gone by day 2, replaced with cravings for plant foods.

———-

Here is how my cleanse went:

Food day 1:

‘Daybreak’ shake

Black Coffee

Raw green beans (afternoon snack)

Raw Almonds (evening snack)

‘Into the Blue’ shake

I started with Daybreak shake, which is their mango/peach/pineapple shake. I mixed it with almond milk and water. When I took my first taste, I felt like I tasted vitamins. I dumped the mixture into my blender and added 1/2 banana and a handful of frozen mango chunks. Mmmmm….now we are talking. That made it delicious. Kaeng Raeng site has more Recipes if you want some more ideas of fun things to add to their shakes, but I kept things pretty simple during my cleanse.

I kept drinking coffee during my cleanse. I kept it to one cup a day and drank it black. No lattes! Kaeng Raeng website recommends no coffee, but if a must have they say to keep it to one cup a day. I didn’t want to deal with a caffeine headache, and I figured coffee beans are plants…ha! Do you like how I find a way to keep my coffee? My coffee beans were organic and I highly recommend if you do keep drinking coffee keep it to one cup a day and NO CREAMER or SUGAR. Keep things pure.

I was super surprised at how filling the shake was. I passed lunch and still was sipping on my shake. It makes 24-36 oz depending on how much liquid and frozen fruit you add, so that took me awhile to drink. They also advise you to keep your water intake up to keep constipation at bay, which could be an issue due to all the fiber in the shakes. It was not for me, as long as I kept drinking water. Needless to say, it is a lot of drinking. I did not feel hungry until around 1 in the afternoon, and even then I was not really hungry, just in the mood to crunch on something. I ate some raw green beans. I did sprinkle them with a bit of seasoning salt.

I made ‘Into The Blue’ shake for dinner. It is their blueberry/banana shake. I added a handful of frozen blueberries and it was yummy. I drank it at dinner time and again felt full. I had a handful of raw nuts before bed.

Food day 2:

‘Joyful’ shake

Black Coffee

Raw Kale Salad

‘Into the Blue’ Shake

Red pepper slices

Cucumber slices

Yellow Squash / Tomato Sauce

Almonds

I woke up with a bit of a headache. This is pretty typical when detoxing. You may have some physical symptoms the first day or two, headache, body ache or stomach ache…depending on how toxic your body is. This is called the Herxheimer Reaction, which explains why sometimes a healing crisis occurs, where you feel worse before you feel better. Mine was very small and passed the minute I got some shake in my belly.

I made the ‘Joyful’ shake for breakfast, which is their strawberry/raspberry/pineapple shake. I added 1/2 frozen banana and a handful of frozen strawberries. This one is my favorite. It was really enjoyable and sweet.

My local coop has a deli that makes a great raw kale salad so I had about 1/2 cup of this for lunch. Again, I was not really hungry, just wanted something to munch on. Late afternoon I made the ‘Into the Blue’ shake. I was still sipping on it during dinner. I made my family spaghetti. I used my spiralizer to make raw yellow squash noodles, put some tomato sauce on them and they were delish!

Before bed I had a handful of raw almonds, some red pepper slices, and some cucumber slices. My digestive system got moving this day. It was regular but impressive. There is no laxative effect with this cleanse. That is all I will say about that!

Food day 3:

Black Coffee

‘Daybreak’ shake

Yellow Squash / Tomato Sauce

Raw almonds & sunflower seeds

‘Joyful’ shake

BIG raw salad

Confession: A slice of pizza

Day 3 started out with the ‘Daybreak’ shake. This time I decided to use less liquid. 24 oz instead of 36. It made the shake thicker and I liked it better as it was easier to drink quickly. I added 1/2 frozen banana and blended it.

For lunch I had leftover spiralized yellow squash, and followed it with an afternoon snack of raw sunflower seeds.

For dinner, I made the ‘Joyful’ strawberry shake with 1/2 banana and some frozen mango. I drank over half of this, made myself a large green salad topped with lemon juice and hummus,

then…confession time….I ended my dinner with a slice of pizza. I know, I know…not the best way to end the cleanse, but it was family night and I just couldn’t resist. I did not allow myself to eat the pizza until I had my shake and green salad, which kept me from gorging on pizza. I recommend eating pizza on a full stomach, as a small piece is fulfilling and delicious!

It is recommended to ease off the cleanse slowly. Eating pizza like I did is not the best idea, although it did not make me feel sick. I do think it would have been better for my body to start slow with some cooked vegetables and grains.

I’m excited to have 3 packets left of shakes since I could only fit in 2 a day instead of 3. I will continue this great cleanse for 3 more days, having a shake for breakfast, a raw plant meal for lunch and a sensible plant-based dinner. No sugar or processed foods. No meat or dairy. No alcohol.

If you can’t tell already, I am super happy with this cleanse. My skin looks glowy and clear, my jeans fit, my stomach is not bloated, and my digestion is great. I don’t have any sugar cravings and I’m craving healthful plant foods. I never was hungry and other than the headache and a bit low energy on day one, I felt amazing the rest of the time. I loved knowing I was getting all the protein, fiber and vitamins I needed, and it has really motivated me to continue to take great care of my body and be conscious of what I put in it.

_______

GIVEAWAY

What about you? Have you ever done a cleanse? What did you like about it? What did you not like about it? Would you consider Kaeng Raeng cleanse for your next cleanse? Leave a comment and tell me why YOU want to try a vegan cleanse and it will automatically enter you in our Kaeng Raeng 3-Day Beginner program giveaway. For an optional entry, like Kaeng Raeng on Facebook

If you don’t want to wait, you can purchase Kaeng Raeng on Amazon, at www.kaengraeng.com, and Select Whole Foods Markets. Users can leave a review with their experience on Amazon.com and receive a coupon for 15% off their next order atwww.kaengraeng.com.

Can’t wait? use code: NewNostalgia15 {Exp. 6/20/14}

———-

*IMPORTANT

•Due to the calorie constricted nature of the cleanse, I do not recommend KR for pregnant women or women who are nursing. There is nothing in KR that will harm a pregnant woman or her baby, so it is fine to be used as a meal replacement. However, as a cleanse program, it is calorie constricted and not recommended for pregnant women or nursing moms.

•Kaeng Raeng is not intended for children.

FAMILY/ Gardening/ Kids/Family/ Uncategorized

Embracing A Small Yard & Making It Cozy

Our spring here in the midwest seemed to take forever to behave and warm up. The last couple weeks are finally warming up and I’m loving every second of it.

Our yard is quite small which honestly I have grown to love and appreciate. Keeping the yard looking nice is quite a chore, so I could not imagine having a big yard! My mother-in-law loves the outdoors and has a huge serving heart, so she has been over many days the last few weeks getting weeds out of the rock area of our play set and in all our planting beds around the house. She is amazing! Thanks to her work I have been super inspired to get out there and add my own touches to making the yard great.

I have embraced the tiny yard size and have been taking steps over the last few years, to making it a great family space, one with lots of atmosphere and coziness. It is working, as our family is finding ourselves out their together more evenings than not lately. This is such a great reward for me personally, as it is what I have dreamed of as I have slowly added elements to draw my sweet family outside to enjoy!

Here are a few things I have done over the last few years to make it cozy:

Water Feature– we had a bit of landscaping done when we moved in over 5 years ago. I knew I wanted a small sitting area and I have always loved the sound of water. I asked our landscape guys if there was a simple, inexpensive way to add a water element to our small backyard. They knew just the thing and made it happen within hours. Basically, they dug a 2×2 ft hole that was about 18-24 inches deep. They lined it with thick black rubber lining & added a water pump in it. They put a metal rack over the hole, so the pump stuck out of the top just a bit. They covered it with 3 large stones and then scattered slate-colored river rock around those large rocks. We had our electrician put an electrical outlet close to the fountain, and now all we have to do is plug it in. I add one anti-algae tablet to the water each spring when we first start it, and that is it. It is the most loved feature in our yard and makes the sound of a running brook. I love the natural look of it, & I love how low maintenance it is. You can see it if you scroll down to the image of stringed lights, it is in the left bottom corner.

{my 2 youngest back in 2009 dancing and singing in the rain. This video shows the chairs I talk about below. I talk about the pots and my love for funky plants here.}

Lots of Chairs–we bought a bunch of chairs at Target during one of their end of season sales. They are a neutral color which I love because I can add any color pillow to them for color. I bring color to my yard with pillows and flower pots. We bought about 10 of them, knowing there would be times we would want seating for friends. I made sure they stacked nicely before purchasing because our storage is limited and our garage is just a single car size.

Fire Pit–I’ve pinned a bunch of fun fire pit ideas on Pinterest, but have never gotten around to any DIY fire pit projects. A year ago my daughter and I took part in Black Friday shopping at Target, and they had a crazy deal on fire pits that I could not resist. I’m so glad I didn’t. We have had many fun family nights sitting around that pit, roasting marshmallows for apple s’mores or just using it to warm us up on chilly spring or fall evening.

A Place to Set Our Drinks–I’ve dreamed of a table and chairs for us to eat outside as a family on, but that is just not in the budget or practical in such a small space. We do have a single driveway connected to our backyard, but now it is used as a basketball court and a table and chairs would just get in the way. I have let go of my dream for now, although I do have my eye out for a foldable table to set out on the driveway with an umbrella and foldable chairs. Something we could store away easily and only bring out when we want to eat as a family outside. For now, I make do with a small table used to set beverages on. We often eat outside, just with our plates on our lap or on a spread blanket picnic style.

Hanging Lights--these are another fav touch of mine. There is something so whimsical about a string of lights and the glow they bring. It adds an instant atmosphere! I just bought one set, but would love to add more!

Torches–We have one table top torch that found at a garage sale, and my favorite torch sculpture that I wrote about here. I love them both. I keep oil on hand, but they really only need filled once a year. We light them any evening we are out there. Tiki makes a citronella oil that works really well to keep the mosquitos away, and the element of fire always bring coziness. I love that I don’t have to make a pit fire every night to have the element of fire. I have had to replace the wicks about once a year, but they are so inexpensive (less than $2!) and can be found at any hardware store or garden center. I stocked up and always have them on hand.

Cozy Blankets— I have 2 blankets used only for outdoors. One is a white, thick comforter that I use to lay on the grass. It never fails, if I lay it out, within minutes there is someone with a book laying on it. It is also great for when my niece and nephew come over to play. We just lay there and look up at the leaves in the trees or gaze at the clouds. I have another lightweight blanket for those nights that are chilly and the fire is not lit. I’ve been eyeing this great picnic blanket made for the outdoors with a waterproof bottom to keep you dry. I love the colors in it.

Potted Plants & Flowers–I keep this simple and minimal. Years ago I spray painted some cheap plastic pots with Hammered Black Spray Paint by Krylon-made for plastic. They are lightweight and look great. Right now I fill my pots with annuals every year, but I am wanting to take a couple and put some perennials in them. I don’t like spending cash on flowers that are going to die every season, and if the majority of my pot is made of a perennial, then I can add a touch of color with some annuals which will really cut down on the cost each year.

{the only photo I could find of our swing set, from last year}

Swingset--we have kept our swing set even though it takes up the majority of our yard. My 11 year old still plays on it. Just a couple weeks ago she and 4 friends had a fun picnic up in the tower of it. I also have a 1 1/2 year old niece and a 4 year old nephew who adore it , and even the sand box gets used when they come over. I even find my big girls sitting on a swing while on instagram or reading their kindle, so it is worth it. We paid a pretty penny for it over 12 years ago when Teagan was a young. It has held up beautifully over the years and I am glad we invested in a quality set. (Childlife Playsets)

Basketball Hoop–I know, I know, the sound of balls bouncing isn’t quite cozy, but this hoop definitely has added to the coziness we feel as a family in our back yard. Maybe coziness is not the best word. Maybe togetherness is better. Regardless, even though we didn’t have a huge driveway and a bigger space would be ideal for basketball, we make do with the single car driveway and it has worked out just fine. I have you all to thank for our hoop as it was purchased with money I made last year from sponsored posts. If you all didn’t support this blog by reading it, we would not have a hoop! Thank you sweet readers.

———

As you can see, even in a small yard it takes time to make it what you want it to be. Each spring season I try to add a little something, always keeping in mind to keep things simple and meaningful. When I invest into our little yard to make it cozy, I am investing in an area where slow living as a family can take place. THAT, my friends, is priceless!

ANTI-PROCRASTINATION/ HOME/ Uncategorized

Anti-Procrastination Tuesday

Goals Last Week:

record talk

make photo book

~~‘new here’ page on blog~~

~~planters~~

~~orthodontist appt~~

~~girls dentist appts~~

~~budget~~

Goals This Week:

record talk

make photo book

Home Zone This Week:

Yard

(spend 15 minutes a day focused on zone work)

Hot Spot This Week:

side yard garden area

(spend 5 minutes a day decluttering hot spot)

Computer Zone:

recipe index

Last Week’s Pin:

How To Kill Weeds Naturally

Pin I Want To Implement This Week:

Apple Pie Quinoa Breakfast Casserole

………………..

Last Week’s Most Clicked On Links:

The Triple Bunk Bed Build | Somehow It All Came Together

Quick & Easy Nut Butter Fudge | Raia’s Recipes

Organizing A Small Kitchen | A Typical English Home

…………………..

Be Encouraged, Be Inspired & Get Something Done!

………………..

An InLinkz Link-up

Uncategorized

Keep Track of Your Kids With GPS

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kajeet for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

School is out for the summer in just a few weeks. I am finding myself in disbelief that I will have a high schooler and 2 middle schoolers. Where has time gone?

Whether I'm ready or not, my sweet girls are growing up. I can't tell you what a gift it is to be healthy and around to see them become young ladies. They are my pride and joy.

These pre-teen and teen years have brought a new set of parental concerns for Todd and I. Safety is a big one. I miss the days when safety meant reminders to little ones of looking both ways before crossing the street. I remember making their chubby little hands reach up to hold the sides of the grocery cart before we walked out to the parking lot to unload our groceries. This was my way of making sure we could all stay together and stay safe.

Now safety feels a lot more overwhelming and out of our control as parents. Especially when it comes to the online world, social media world, and just wondering exactly where our kids are when they are out and about with friends. These are all reasons why I loved hearing about Kajeet. Kajeet is a wireless service provider–the only one dedicated to kids and education, AND dedicated to keeping our kids safe and sound.

{My Teagan. I blinked, and she grew up. If only she always had her big boy cousins standing behind her…built -in bodyguards. They would keep her super safe!}

Kajeets story especially caught my eye as it began with 3 dads trying to figure out technology, with the same concerns that most parents have. Thinking of their own children, they designed a service that allows kids, parents and technology work together & keet kids safe while navigating the mobile world. I loved that the word "Kajeet" is an anagram of the first letters of the names of the company's founders' children. Very sweet.

Kajeet has been created to meet the needs and concerns of parents AND kids. When I read through the benefits of the service, I can clearly see it was designed by parents, for parents, with our kids in mind.

Why would I choose Kajeet? Well, the plans are affordable. They start at just $4.99/month. There is no activation fee, termination fees or long term contract. There are free, unlimited parental controls that I can manage all from my computer. I would love to just be sitting at my laptop and have control of my girls safety! I would be able to block unwanted calls, manage what websites can be accessed, and set time limits on phone use to prevent late night texting.

All Kajeet phones come enabled with this GPS Phone Locator. Talk about getting some control back and bringing peace to a Momma's heart! I think about how busy our girls always are, from school to soccer practice, to piano, to church, to playing at a friends house–boy, are they busy! These are all times that I would use the GPS Phone Locator to make sure my girls are where they need to be and on time! I especially would use it when they are walking home from school. There are times when they stay after school to make up a test or get extra help, and I find myself worrying when they are not home on time and forgot to tell me they were staying late. With the GPS phone locator, I would be able to see that they are at the school location, and not hanging out at the park a few blocks away -which would be bad news!

The phones allow you to track your kid in real time. You just log into your account and run a GPS locate on demand. It also allows you to schedule recurring locates. Want to know your child arrives to school on time in the morning when they walk? Schedule a locate Monday-Friday's at 8:55 a.m. The GPS Phone Locator will run at that time automatically on a regular basis and deliver the results to you.

Do you have a child that often loses their phone? My Teagan once lost hers in the middle of a haunted house. In the dark, wiground covered in hay. Nope, we never found it. Man, if only we had known about Kajeet! Kajeet phones come with GPS right out of the box. I think it is great that you don't have to download any software or apps; it is ready for use right away.

What do you think? Does a service like this appeal to you? Would it bring you extra peace of mind?

____________

A few more tidbits you need to know about Kajeet:

~it's affordable. GPS Phone Locator is included in service plans starting at $24.99/month or locates can be run on demand, on an as-needed basis, for $0.99 each. (brilliant option as different kids will have different needs.)

~phones can be purchased right from the Kajeet website, and from May 1 through June 17th, there is a special discount offer — 20% off all phones (except the Samsung Galaxy S4) with promo code PROUD.

~in addition to the phones that are available for purchase, you may Bring Your Own Spring® Device to Kajeet. This means you don't need to purchase a phone for Kajeet in order to be on the service/ if you already own an eligible (and inactive) device, you can activate it with Kajeet. Eligible devices must be Sprint Branded and not all devices are eligible (but iPhone 4, $S and 5 are). You can, though, check on the Kajeet website whether or not one in your possession is.

There is so much more about this service that I have not even talked about, like contact manager, wallet manager, feature manager — make sure you visit their website to learn more about these great features.

Decorating/ Homemaking/ Sponsored

Using A Rug To Transform A Room

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kalaty Rug Corp for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our home has a lot of hardwood floors, which we love, but without a cozy rug they can be cold during our Midwest winters. I love using the cold as an excuse to buy beautiful rugs. Rugs can add an instant feel of warmth, transforming the room from cold to cozy.

Rugs are also a great way to bring style & beauty into a room. I personally tend to go with grey tones (surprise!) but I also love a rug that can give a fun pop of color.

The rugs in this post all come from Kalaty.com. Kalaty is known for their amazing handmade (and oftentimes hand knotted) rugs. It is a great company and their designs are so beautiful and innovative. I appreciate the different styles of rugs they offer, all super tasteful and well made.

I am wanting a new rug for my bedroom. My bedroom is decorated in whites, greys and soft baby blue. Above is a mood board I created that shows the style and feel I am wanting for our bedroom. I am almost there…but we are missing a cozy rug. I think about this every morning when I get out of bed and my feet hit the cold wood floor!

Look how the rug just pulls everything else together in the photo above. Do you see the New and the Nostalgia in the collage? I love putting old items with new modern items, it is so much fun! Rugs are a great way to get inspired when it comes to designing a room.

Pictured below is another favorite of mine. I am so in love with the ombre effect on this NOVA rug from Kalaty, Very pretty.

I’ve learned the hard way that well-made rug is so very important. There will be wear and tear on a rug everyday, and it will have a vacuum ran over it at least a few times a month. There is nothing more disheartening than buying a beautiful rug, only for it to become drab, pilled, and unwoven within months. I now know that rugs are an investment, and well worth buying high quality and well-made.

photo 1003cf1b-426b-4bf7-a7d7-3a0810943495_zps3c75e680.jpg

Do you know your rug style? Are you more contemporary or traditional? Not sure? Visit Kalaty.com and browse through the rugs. They are searchable by collection, size, style, color & weave. Leave a comment and tell me which rug is your fav.

Want more?

Like Kalaty Rug on Facebook

Follow @Kalatyrug on Twitter

Follow Kalaty on Pinterest