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IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!

August 10, 2012 By Carrie Leave a Comment

As much as I hate to admit it, it’s back to school time. I love having my kids home during the summer, and always feel a bit (or a lot!) sad when they head back. One thing I do like about back to school time, however, is back to school shopping! While I usually do most of our shopping online, this year we went out to do our shopping. It was definitely eye opening to see what was popular for kids this year!

My son is simple…sports shirt, track pants, tennies, and he’s done. He’s not interested in anything with buttons or collars or zippers. If he can’t pull it on and take off, he’s not interested!

When shopping for him, I buy lots and lots of t-shirts. T-shirts are great for the warmer months, and when the weather turns cooler, throw on a long sleeve t, add one of his stylish short sleeve t-shirts, and he’s off! (Basically, getting ready for my son should take no longer than 4.93 seconds!) Buying things this way is such an economical choice for us, because t-shirts, whether long or short sleeved, are always budget friendly!

My daughter, however is completely different. As someone who’s going into middle school, I’ve watched her style begin to slowly change from t-shirts and yoga pants to things that are much more stylish. She used to be all about the comfort, but now, she’s becoming more interested in things that look like her favorite characters on TV.

I’ve noticed this year bright colors and particularly, NEON are extremely popular. The brighter, the better! My daughter is drawn to these things like a moth to a flame. I can’t tell you how bright her closet is right now…and she couldn’t be happier! She also loves shoes similar to the ones above. She loves collecting them in various colors. They’re great because they’re comfortable, and a bit more stylish than typical tennies.

I’ve also noticed that anything 80s is back again with a bang! My daughter has several crop tops, and even some that are off the shoulder! (Of course, she’s wearing tanks underneath…she’s only 11!) It was so odd to be strolling around looking at stores that were similarly stocked as they were when I was a kid! It definitely made it easier to help her select clothes, though…just choose something I would have worn when I was her age, and it was a sure winner!

Have you started back to school shopping? What do you do to make shopping more economical?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

{all images via Old Navy}

Filed Under: Around the House, Uncategorized Tagged With: around the house, back to school, family, shopping

Back to School Breakfast Ideas

August 13, 2011 By Carrie Leave a Comment

Do you have a little one heading back to school soon? Make sure you send them off with a full tummy the first morning (and hopefully every morning!) with one of these delicious breakfast choices!

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Isn’t this idea from Katie Brown adorable? It’s a great way to put a twist on a traditional breakfast choice, cereal! By putting your kids’ favorite cereals in a beach pail, it gives them a choice on what to have, and makes serving themselves fun!

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Following along with the popular trend of serving everything in a Mason jar, this Monkey Bread in a jar would be a great and filling treat for your little student!

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Another great treat from Katie Brown, this idea for fruit kabobs is great! The choice to use popsicle sticks rather than skewers is safer for little hands, and by putting fruit on a stick it instantly becomes more exciting for kids!

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This recipe for Baked French Toast from The Pioneer Woman may not be especially friendly on your waist line, but your taste buds will definitely be thanking you! This is a perfect choice for the first day of school because you can mix it up the night before, and bake it in the morning…simplicity, always a good choice for a busy mom!

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And of course, a little something to wash it all down, a smoothie! This is one of my favorite choices for breakfast, all the fresh fruit is a great way to start the day. It’s completely customizable so you can incorporate your kids favorite fruits for a healthy drink choice! My favorite smoothie has to be Strawberry Banana. It’s simple, healthy, and delicious!

CARRIE’S FAVORITE STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 small banana or half a large banana

1 cup light Vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup ice cubes

1/4 cup of your favorite juice

Directions:

Blend together until fully incorporated. If using fresh strawberries, you may need to add a few more ice cubes. You may have to work with the amounts a bit based on how you like your smoothie. I prefer mine a bit thicker, so I would add more banana and a bit less juice. It’s very forgiving so feel free to experiment!

Filed Under: Fast Family Meals Tagged With: back to school, breakfast, cereal, fast family meals, french toast, fruit, ideas, monkey bread, smoothie

Going Back to School Is “Kool”!!

August 4, 2011 By Carrie Leave a Comment

Recently, I ordered this Back to School printable collection from The TomKat Studio to decorate the table that our PTO set up during back to school registration. (By the way, if you’re looking to purchase a back to school collection, this one is currently on sale for 50% off!)

{image via The TomKat Studio on Etsy}

Last year, we set up a candy table for all the kids who came through registration. They were given a bag, and some scoops and told to choose whatever candies they wanted. We knew the kids enjoyed that, so we had to do something this year, but mixing it up was definitely in order!

So, I contacted Kim from The TomKat Studio to see if she could do a couple of custom pieces for me to coordinate with what I had already purchased. Here is what I received…

Do you see where I’m going with this?? I’m sure you can imagine what we were giving out to the kids at registration this year!

Kool Aids!! This was a nice treat for the kids on a hot summer day. While the smaller kids were all too excited to dig in and find the exact one for them, the bigger kids did tend to hang back a bit…but not too far back that they wouldn’t take one for themselves right before moving on to the next station. Who doesn’t love Kool Aid?!?

I also received some adorable party circles that said “School is Kool!” that we meant to tie on to each bottle of Kool Aid, however I had to rethink this idea after receiving the printables. Once the Kool Aids were put into ice, the party circles would be ruined, and I definitely didn’t want to hand out Kool Aids with ruined labels!

Sooooo, the party circles became party confetti for the table! I used the 2″ party circles and hit up my scrapbook paper stash to find coordinating papers that I cut out into 1″ circles. It made a cute addition to the table, and kept our “School is ‘Kool’” theme going!

{TIP} You can easily use party circles as confetti for the table at your parties, too. Many printable designers include coordinating papers that you can print out and cut to whatever size or shape you need. If they don’t include the coordinating paper, just ask! They’re always willing to work with you in whatever way they can!

Whether you’re excited to send your kids back to school, or if you’re like me, DREADING sending them back, try using some of these ideas to make sure that their transition back is “kool”!!

Filed Under: Entertaining Tagged With: back to school, entertaining, School is "Kool"

A Back to School Party Idea

July 19, 2011 By Carrie 1 Comment

Rather than putting together a big “Back to School” display and sharing it with you in photo shoot form, I’m going to take a different approach and share with you all my ideas a little bit at a time. Then, when it’s actually time for our little Back to School party, I can focus a little more on enjoying the time, rather than making sure everything looks perfect for my photos! It’s kind of a lazy approach, but I think it’s working for me this year…

My first idea couldn’t possibly be any easier. I BOUGHT individual apple pies from the bakery section of my local supermarket. If you want to make them yourself, go for it! But since this is just for a picture, (and a snack for my husband and me!) I chose to purchase the pies that each cost less than $1.00.

These would be adorable on a dessert table, or you could set one at each placesetting with a cute little flag or decoration. (OR, you could stay tuned for another idea I have for a cute little addition to your placesetting…coming soon!)

Apple Card: The TomKat Studio on Etsy