St. Patrick’s Day Treats for Grown-Ups

3.09.2016

I don’t know about my fellow Pinteret-ers, but sometimes it can be a little frustrating that most of the holiday treats are for kids. I mean, come on! We’re the ones making all these treats, why can’t some of them be for us? Chocolate is good for a while, but sometimes we just want a stiff drink, amiright? Especially after you just made all those chocolate treats for your kid to hand out.

There are plenty of cocktails associated with St. Patrick’s Day. I mean, make something green with a little food dye and apparently it’s now a St. Patrick’s Day cocktail. But try to find a party favor idea for an adult party. Or just a gift for your friends. Or your co-workers if they’re lucky. I suppose handing out alcohol at work may be frowned upon in some establishments.

This year I wasn’t going to wait for someone else to come up with the brilliant idea for me. I mean, pair any good alcoholic beverage with a printable St. Patrick’s Day tag and there you go: A St. Patrick’s Day treat. Complete with a mixer and everything. Who needs green food dye when you have rum?

I found green bottomed cocktail and wine glasses at the Dollar Tree, and my idea blossomed from there. Find any gold/yellow alcohol or wine and you’ve got a perfect party-sized favor. Just please provide full bottles at your party. What kind of party it is if there’s only one cocktail per person?

Download the St. Patrick’s Day tag here. You can print to whichever size you’d prefer!

DIY, Holidays!

ShamROCKS!

3.08.2016

Isn’t luck such a fun idea? To think that you could run into a little luck, and have everything in your life change in an instant, is such a thrilling thought. The fact that you could get lucky and win the lottery one day, meet your soulmate in an elevator, or get a free In N Out coupon in the mail is pretty exciting. Since I’ve already met my soulmate, and had plenty of In N Out coupons, I’m seriously waiting for the luck to run in my favor with the lottery. I mean, if some people can be lucky enough to hit two major jackpots in their lifetime, can I just hit one? Is that too much to ask? Just a little luck will do, thank you very much.

Regardless of if Luck does actually exist, I like to think it does. So I created my own little lucky rocks for St. Patrick’s day (again). I think last year’s rocks were cooler, but they took a lot more time. This year, I spray painted a bunch of rocks gold, then used Mod Podge to adhere little green shamrocks to them. I plan on leaving them all around our city again. When people find them, I hope they feel a little lucky. Maybe it will inspire them to play the lottery (they better share their winnings with this girl).

Lifestyle, Travel

Bucket List: Check!

3.07.2016

Guys! Guys! GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m making that check. You know the one. The check! The check that you spend your whole life (thus far) thinking about. The check that you work towards every day. The reason you go to work every morning, the reason you skimp on eating out every night. The check that you feel is your check. You know the one.

I know you’re thinking about your check…but for one minute, let’s talk about mine. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been thinking about this check. I’ve been dreaming about this check. While other people were buying Coach purses or Louboutin heels, I’ve been buying Merona purses from Target and wearing my Chucks with pride. While other people have spent a few hundred dollars on a nice dinner out, we’ve been treating ourselves to In N Out. I know that sounds frugal, but it’s not. We definitely splurge for a double-double every once in a while.

To be completely honest, I’ve been a little frugal my whole life. Don’t go so far as to call me a cheapskate (which may be slightly accurate), but I’m definitely tight with my money. While it is definitely true that we travel quite often, we do so with complete frugality. Let me explain.

When we know that we have time off to vacation together, I spend hours online researching our trips. I scour the internet for weeks looking for the best deals, the best tips, and the best times to travel. Typically our trips are relatively inexpensive (read…better word than cheap). I pack our bags with everything we’ll need to avoid extra costs while traveling, and try to make the most of every trip. So far we’ve been able to see some of the coolest places on our lists. And saving our money for the trip.

I put in overtime on this trip already. While I typically spend a few weeks researching my trips, I’ve been pricing this trip out for over a year. I’ve put in hours looking for the best time to travel, the cheapest time for trips, and the ways to work around the expensive costs. While we definitely got a “good deal,” we are still spending more money than we’ve spent on any other vacation thus far.

So there you have it. My whole life I’ve been waiting for this trip. I’ve always wanted to stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora. While that was the dream, we are actually going to the beautiful island of Moorea (pictured). I didn’t know enough about the islands before my research, so I didn’t realize the islands are equally beautiful (but with Moorea being much less expensive). I could not be more excited for this once in a lifetime experience.

After our trip, I’ll hopefully be able to give you a list of all my tips on how to save some serious cash if this is your check too!

DIY, Holidays!

DIY Buckets of Gold for St. Patrick’s Day

3.03.2016

Most people expect to find a pot of gold at the end of their rainbows. Me? I just want to find an In N Out cheeseburger, with a side of fries and maybe even a Dr. Pepper. I mean, the fries are golden, so really it could work. I think this is something we should work on. Instead of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a little gold and rainbow project, maybe I should celebrate with French fries and cheeseburgers. It sounds like the best kind of holiday, doesn’t it?

Sigh. But because the rest of you would probably just rather have chocolate, I’ll support you too. I’ll make you little buckets of gold, hide them in your office, and lead you to them with a rainbow or two. I mean, a double rainbow (or a Double-Double from In N Out) is the luckiest of the lucky. If I support you with two rainbows, it must be love. Please respond accordingly.

I found these adorable little white buckets in the wedding section of The Dollar Tree. Yes, they have a wedding section. Don’t be surprised, they literally have everything. I mean, if you can buy a pregnancy test at DT, what can’t you buy? (PS: This is in no way an endorsement to buy a pregnancy test from the DT, unless you plan on appearing on an episode of “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant.”)

Fill your white buckets (three pack for $1) with little pieces of gold candy, print the tag, and gift away. If you’re like me, and want to make it fun, lead your recipient to their treats with a little rainbow. I mean, who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? Besides, if they don’t work for their chocolate, is it even fun? A little effort can go a long way. And I’ll be over here waiting for my cheeseburger.