Andrea Dekker

Search Results for: christmas

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Favorite Photo Memories of 2011

I think I’ve mentioned this before… but for the first 4 years of our marriage, Dave and I have less than 100 pictures total! Neither one of us really loves taking pictures OR being in pictures, and I often forgot my camera or simply didn’t feel like hauling it out to take a couple quick pictures.

So, last year, I made a goal to start taking more photos — and I’m happy to say I followed through with that goal.
Here are just a few of my most favorite photo memories from 2011… I’m hoping we’ll have lots more photo memories in 2012!

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What Will You Purge First?

If your holiday parties were anything like ours, you probably left with a lot more stuff than you arrived with.

And even though I took my own advice and got rid of a bunch of stuff BEFORE the holidays, we’ve gotten rid of even more since then… I’m guessing you might be able to purge a few more things too!

If so, then I have a few tips and a bunch of resources to help you get started… what will you purge first?

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Make Your Own Play-Doh

A couple months ago, I got an email from Brenda, a loyal reader, with instructions on how to make homemade Play-Doh. I was honestly surprised by how simple an inexpensive it was — so I knew I had to try it out!

Now, even though Nora is still way to young for PlayDoh, I thought this might be a fun Christmas break activity to do with your children, grand children, nieces, nephews, etc.

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Holiday Sweet Treats — From a Box!

I really do love spending time baking in my kitchen, and there are times when I like making more “involved” recipes. But most of the time I rely on semi-homemade food — especially this time of year when we have so many holiday parties that require food.
However, any time I start with a boxed mix, I almost always manage to spruce it up a bit and make it look {and taste} more homemade. Here are a few of my favorite semi-homemade “recipes”!

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Declutter Your Holiday Season

Several weeks ago, I shared a bunch of tips to get organized BEFORE the holiday season; however if you’re like most people {including myself} — you probably got busy or procrastinated and are now frantically shopping for last-minute gifts, making food for all your holiday parties, getting your holiday cards in the mail, and clearing the clutter from your home!
Sound familiar? If so, here are a few tips to get you through the next two weeks.

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Creative Ways to Give a Gift Card

There’s only 8 days until Christmas… and if you are still frantically searching for the perfect gift, it might just be time to “resort” to a gift card.

However, even though a gift card might not seem like the most personal or thoughtful gift, I can almost guarantee the recipient will love it… and with just a few minutes and a little creativity, you can package your gift cards in a thoughtful way.

Here are a few creative ways to give a gift card:

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Working From Home… With a Baby

I often got asked “how do you do it all?” and one of my answers to that question was that I didn’t have children yet!
So when we brought Nora home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day, my ultra productive schedule pretty much flew out the window — and boy did I have a rude awakening to what life is like working from home with a new baby!

That said, there are three things I’ve been doing that have helped me to continue being somewhat productive — even with a newborn at home.

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Simple, Delicious Crock Pot Recipes

One of the reasons I love using my crock pot is because I can just dump all the ingredients in, turn it on, and walk away. I don’t need to stir a boiling pot and I don’t need to pull something out of the oven on time… I can simply go about my day and come back in several hours to a hot meal and a delicious smelling kitchen!

Today I’m sharing 2 really simple crock pot recipes from a loyal reader… they’re so delicious!

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The Most Important Gift You Can Give Your Kids

Due to the recent birth of our baby girl, I recruited a handful of amazing moms to share their motherly advice with all of us!

Today, Jill from The Diaper Diaries — and mother of 3 adorable munchkins — is sharing her thoughts on the BEST gift you can give your kids… a healthy marriage. Such a great reminder for me and SO many parents out there — especially with Christmas right around the corner!

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Give Thanks: Clutter or Abundance

Happy Thanksgiving!

As many of us enjoy a day off from our regular routine, good food, and great company; and as Dave and I bring Nora home from the hospital, I want to leave you with a post I wrote last year at this time… just because I think it is SO fitting for today. I hope you find at least one opportunity to give thanks this week.

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How I’m Staying Busy Until This Baby Comes

Waiting is NOT my favorite activity… and patience is still a virtue I’m working on! So these last 2 weeks have not been particularly easy for me… and yes, I’m STILL waiting {not so patiently though} for this baby to arrive!

So I feel like I can justify the list of the little projects I gave myself last week… to help me stay busy until this baby comes! I’ve been having a great time “getting stuff done” while I wait… and wait… and wait!

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Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

I love hot chocolate and can be “forced” to drink it in almost any climate — even if I’m not cold! However, I don’t love paying top dollar for it at fancy coffee places and restaurants. I also don’t really like the “cheaper tasting” watered down hot chocolate packets from the store.

So thankfully, my mom always made her own homemade hot chocolate mix… and shared her really easy recipe with me {it only has 4 ingredients}!

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Clearing Your Clutter BEFORE The Holidays

Christmas is just over 7 weeks away — are you getting excited yet?

As I set out to prepare for the upcoming festivities, one thing I almost always do is declutter my home to make room for all the extra “stuff” that seems to accompany this time of year!
No matter how ruthless you are about bringing things into your home, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up with more stuff and less space after the festivities are over… see what I’m doing to plan ahead and declutter this year!

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Simple Tips to Entertain With Ease

Over the next couple of months there is a good chance you will be doing some entertaining.
You might be having the gang over to watch the “big game”, organizing one last Fall bonfire, preparing a huge Thanksgiving feast, hosting a cookie exchange, celebrating Christmas at your house this year, or planning any other number of seasonal get-to-gathers.

Whatever the case, any type of entertaining involves planning ahead… and I have a few tips that will help you do just that!

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Why I Choose Short Hair

As crazy as it sounds, I get at least one email a week asking about my short hair cut… or something do with my hair.

So, I thought it was about time to address all these hair questions… and to start out, I’ll take you on a little stroll down memory lane and share just a few of the many different hair styles I’ve tried over the past 26 years.

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An Update on My Ideas Book

It’s been almost a year since I first blogged about my Ideas Book. And ever since then, I still get a couple emails or comments each week asking about my Ideas Book, what I put in the Ideas Book, how I organize my Ideas Book, etc. etc. I even get comments on other posts referencing my Ideas Book!

So, I figured it was time I revisited this topic… especially since I’ve significantly updated the way I keep track of all my ideas!!

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Do You Send Holiday Cards?

I’m not sure why I’m so obsessed with sending our annual holiday card/greeting… but I just LOVE coming up with a creative way to share everything we’ve been doing for the last year with family and friends.

Here is a quick look at the different types of holiday cards I’ve sent out for the past 5 years… I’d love to know what you do for your holiday cards!

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Quick Mini Muffin Tip

I absolutely LOVE mini desserts, and some of my all-time favorite mini foods/desserts are mini muffins and mini cupcakes!
After making many, many batches of mini muffins, I have it down to a science… and I recently came up with a really cleaver tip for filling the muffin cups with batter.
See my tip and get the recipe for my favorite mini muffins!

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Andrea Dekker
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