Help Paying for the Holidays

The holidays will be here in the blink of an eye and affording those of recent past might not align with the current cash flow plan. With that in mind, I'm offering the following suggestions to help:

• Cash Infuse your Holiday - Find something that works into the nooks and crannies of your everyday life and start a business. Start today and you could earn extra money to boost the holiday budget. Suggestions: Network marketing, organization, virtual assistant, focus group participation, anything your friends say, "Wow! You're good at that."

• Feed your Holiday - Homemade food gifts can be some of the very best because of the time and care that go into creating them. Preparing these gifts can be a great way to get the whole family involved. Many can be made well in advance of the holidays so your gift center is stuffed well before the Thanksgiving turkey! Suggestions: Homemade garden fresh salsa or preserves that have been canned, chocolate dipped pretzel rods, hot cocoa kits, herb infused cooking oils, spiced nuts, or a custom spice blend or rub with a recipe for use.

• Craft your Holiday - Crafty can be cool! There are tons of ideas out there that will flatter the diverse styles of your friends and family. Grab your significant other and or your kids and get crafting! Suggestions: Buy bulk plain note cards and envelope then create personalized stationary using stamps or stencils and give a set of eight cards and envelopes tied with a sweet bow, decorate ornaments, or check out Etsy just about everything handmade under the sun.

• Picture your Holiday - Get out the digital camera or just download the pictures already on your memory card and select a few favorites. Visit a website like Snapfish and check out the hundreds of gift ideas. There are often discounts for buying multiples.

• Trade your Holiday - Everyone loves the way you paint, cook, plant, arrange flowers, bargain shop, blog, whatever it is that everyone loves, give a gift certificate for your time to teach, help or do it for them. This is a great idea for a gift exchange for a group of friends.

How do you plan to pay for the holidays this year? Post your comment here.

Three Minute Face

Enjoy this short video demonstration on a quick and easy three minute make-up routine.

Products

Virtual Illusion Makeup Primer

Mineral Powder Foundation SPF 15

Eye Shadow in Linen, Smudge and Petal

Virtual Illusion Dual Volume Mascara inBlack/Brown

10-Piece Precision Brush Set

Did you know, during the month of July, Arbonne is paying for you to become a Preferred Client? Tell me more, you say? Well, it's only the greatest thing ever! Preferred Clients receive a 20% discount and their own login and id to shop online anytime they want. It's truly fab and I'd be happy to tell you more.

Have a beautiful day!

The New Pick Me Up

Red Bull, Rock Star, fill in the blank with your energy drink of the day. What's mine you ask? I'm so glad you did! Well, I've been a Starbucks fan for quite sometime but can't always run out for my usual triple venti, four Raw sugar cappuccino. Enter my new passion, Fizz Tabs.

I've been enjoying the energy boost from the Fizz Tabs for quite sometime but honestly didn't savor the flavor like my coffee treat. I was sharing this with my upline at a brainstorming session last night and she said, mix 1/2 tab pomegranate with 1/2 tab citrus splash. She was right (of course) - it was delish.

I'm now enjoying the flavor and the energy boost without all of the extra sugar found in your usual energy drinks. Tell me your favorite pick me up trick and if you'd like, I'll send you samples of mine.

Repurposed Over the Door Shoe Organizer

I'm quite the organizer, my can goods are faced and sorted in the pantry like you would see in the super market, my linen closet towels are folded in thirds with the open end facing toward the back of the closet and the list goes on. These things make me happy.

From time to time friends ask me for tips on staying organized. Recently, my gal pal Katie, otherwise known as Katie the Romance Lady, was bemoaning her transport, setup and break down routine for all of her, eh hem, bedroom accessories. We were brainstorming some solutions and I suggested an over the door shoe rack organizer. You know, the kind you find at Target for $12.99. It's worked out quite perfectly for general storage and decreased her set up and break down time for shows. Take a moment and just visualize an entire door covered with all of those, eh hem, bedroom accessories showcased in their clear plastic pouches.

Katie is so thankful for this idea that she is giving away an exclusive, limited edition, dual action vibrator. Yes, the Summer Lovin will be given away on July 31st to one lucky individual.


Here's how to enter:
Follow my blog - 1 entry
Follow me on Twitter - 1 entry
Follow Katie's blog - 1 entry
Follow Katie on Twitter - 1 entry
Book a party with Katie in July - 5 entries
Book a party with Katie in August - 3 entries

Do any number of these items and come back here to post a comment to let me know what you did. The winner will be selected via a random number generator on July 31st. Now get to it and tell your friends!

By the way, you have to be 18 or older to win this one.

Half a Green Thumb

I love to work in my yard, plant things and watch them grow. Currently, I would say that I maybe have half of the green thumb that my Mom possesses but I do know some of her tricks.

1. Start with good soil. If you aren't having success, have your soil tested. The Missouri Botanical Garden will do this for you.
2. Choose plants for your light conditions (sun, shade, part sun or part shade)
   
3. Don't over plant. Space your plants appropriately so there is room for them to grow.
4. Water regularly.
   
5. Fertilize (Miracle Grow) twice a week.

I hope, with time and patience, I can create outdoor wonderlands that look like this:

Your Secret's Safe with Me

Dad: Uh huh.

Dad: She said she really didn't like that apple, blueberry cereal puff concoction her mom made for dinner and the grass really felt icky on her feet and that grandfather needs to do something about that like get new grass or something but it was really funny when brother kept stacking those cups up and she kept knocking them down, good times, good times.

Dad: No, I didn't tell them what you really said.
Bailey: Good because I'm going to keep playing up this whole baby thing for awhile. These people make really hilarious faces trying to entertain me.

(Thanks to my friend Rachel at His, Mine and Ours for her awesome blogspiration. The format of this post is all hers. )

Five Minute Party Prep (ok, maybe ten)

I love to entertain and have a tendency to overdo it. I like to, it's just what I do.

Lately, I have been pressed for time between starting my Arbonne business (http://angieslayton.myarbonne.com), summer schedules and everything else but I still want to entertain. In light of this, I have developed a party prep routine that allows me to get party ready in under ten minutes. I also say "that would be great," when people ask if they can bring something. "Whatever looks good to you," is what I say when they ask me what I need.

Quick Clean (Three Minutes)
Grab the Windex, Bathroom Cleaner (I like Scrubbing Bubbles) and a roll of paper towels and head to the only bathroom guests will use. If you are a "green cleaner" replace paper towels with cleaning cloths of choice.

1. Windex the mirror
2. Wet the paper towel used to clean the mirror and wipe down the sink and potty
3. While everything is still wet, spray the Scrubbing Bubbles over all surfaces
4. While that sits for a few minutes, replace the hand towels and fix the shower curtain so it hides the tub/shower (remember this is the Quick Clean - no one will be showering or looking in your shower)
5. Wipe down the surfaces with a clean paper towel
6. Put the cleaning products away
7. Wipe down the counter in the kitchen

Quick Food (Five Minutes)
Have on hand grapes, crackers, cheese (I like the sandwich sliced variety) and summer sausage of your preference. Get out a cutting board, knife, kitchen scissors and if using the sandwich sliced cheese, the pizza cutter and three plates.

1. Wash your grapes and set on paper towels to dry
2. Put crackers on a plate, any plate will do - dinner plate, or a couple of small plates
3. If using sandwich sliced cheese, place four pieces on the cutting board each one covering half of the previously placed piece
4. Roll the pizza cutter up the middle, this will yield eight, long and skinny pieces of cheese
5. Roll the pizza cutter horizontally to cut each piece of cheese in half - not cutting the piece underneath (you now have 16 cracker cut pieces of cheese, already staggered to layer on a plate)
6. Place the cheese on a plate and continue with the cutting process until you have as many pieces as you need
7. Slice the summer sausage and place on the plate with the cheese
   
8. Grab the grapes and kitchen scissors and cut the bunch into tiny bunches with 4-6 grapes on each (guests can grab a few grapes without fighting the entire bunch)
9. Put out some small plates and napkins for guests
   

Straighten Up (Two Minutes)
Take a quick look around and

1. Fluff couch pillows
2. Straighten rugs
3. Stack up any piles of paper or magazines
4. Toss shoes or bags or any miscellaneous items into a bedroom or closet
5. Put on some lip gloss and smile! Your guests are here! Enjoy your visit!