family life

Special Day Terrarium for Kids

November 18, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 4 Comments

When we were little we had a special plate to use on our very special days throughout the year. And I have looked for one to use with my boys but have had trouble finding one that suits our aesthetic. So I came up with these special day terrariums to take their place. What I love about these is they can be changed to fit a specific moment or designed to withstand the test of time. You can tailor make them to your child’s likes or put in cute plastic cats because you think they are funny.

Glass vases are available everywhere so start by finding one that you like. Add some moss, figurines, signs, etc.

Jazz it up with some fabric fringe.

And put it all together. Don’t forget a pinch of love.

I plan on having this show up in my son’s room before he wakes up on his birthday and then he will have it by his place at the table for each meal.

The kids really didn’t understand why I went with a cat. But they are just kids. What do they know?

Make the day even more special with sugar and junk food.

Ok, really I chose a cat because I really was dying to use these cat plates I found. I will probably swap out the cat and use something else for my boys. Like a Superman figure or a Ninja Turtle or something. What would you put in here for your kids?

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Family Life Tagged With: birthdays, black and white stripes, cats, family life, terrarium

A Family Full of Allergies

November 4, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 4 Comments

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Kleenex but all my opinions are my own. #KleenexAllergy #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO
My family knows a thing or two about allergies. And we owe our unchapped noses to Kleenex facial tissues. For as long as I can remember I have had environmental allergies. I’ve tried traditional medicines and homeopathic remedies. While at times I have felt relief, it is pretty much always short-lived. I have a constant runny nose. Unfortunately because I have allergies, that means my kids were likely to get them too. My oldest was diagnosed with food allergies around his first birthday. We have those under control but I think he is starting to grow in to some environmental allergies. Why do I think that? The constant sniffles. And my youngest for sure has allergies. He began coughing in the middle of the night last year every night with no other symptoms and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. After seeing a doctor he suggested we try kid’s Zyrtec. It stopped the coughs but guess what? He has a runny nose too. I stopped short of doing skin testing with him because I don’t know if you have ever had to do it but it totally sucks.

Here is my last allergy test. It hurt. Real bad. And it itched even worse. The nurse actually gave me a Benadryl soon after the test started because of how quickly and how much I reacted to some of the things. The two biggest welts are to grass and dust. I’m basically allergic to indoors and out. I asked the doctor to take a picture so I could text my husband that the they were writing me a prescription for a maid. It didn’t end up with a maid but I think it was the visual he needed to understand just how bad allergies make me feel sometimes. My husband has never been diagnosed with allergies by a doctor. But somebody without allergies would not make the snorty noises that he does. Or sniff all the time. Have I mentioned his 9 o’clock sneeze attacks? Needless to say I think he contributed to the inevitable allergies for our children.

Because all of us have runny noses, I do not leave the house without tissues. You will always find a Kleenex Pocket Pack or Wallet Pack in my purse. To me there is nothing more awful than being stuck somewhere when you need a tissue and you can’t find one. I’m not even sure if my son knows this but I have a Kleenex Pocket Pack in his backpack in case I need to blow my nose on our walk to or from school. What can I say, I plan ahead. A sale on Kleenex Brand Facial Tissue is a happy day for me. So the minute I found out about this coupon at Target I headed there. The offer? Buy 1 Kleenex 4 pack, get 1 free Wallet Pack (2-pk) or 1 Pocket Pack (3-pk) WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! Some for the house, some for my purse. Done.

Tissues are pretty much part of our home decor. Thankfully Kleenex boxes are well designed. I keep a box right next to my bed so I always know where to find a tissue. And when I gently suggest a tissue to my husband I can get one to him in a split second should he actually accept. In his head he is allergy free…

We keep a box of Kleenex in the kitchen ’cause ain’t nothing grosser than a runny nose over a pot of food. This is centrally located to the dining and living rooms as well. And it is where I grab a handful of tissues to take with me in the morning when I sit down at the kitchen table with my cup of coffee and my laptop.

My youngest had started hollering for a tissue after we put him to bed so I decided he was old enough to keep his own box in his bedroom. The only trouble is that I find used tissues all over his bedroom floor the next morning. I’m pretty sure he does a quick dab at his nose and considers it done and moves on to a new one. My mom came across a pin on Pinterest where you use tape and stick a full Kleenex box to an empty one so that you have your tissues and a trash can in one place! Genius! I will be making that this week.

And although the tissue box doesn’t start out in my oldest son’s bed, it ends up there several nights a week.

I had never really thought about the softness or quality of Kleenex tissue before. It is just what we use. But last week we ran out of toilet paper and I bought a brand I don’t usually buy. I sometimes use toilet paper to blow my nose. I was taken aback by how terrible it felt. And it dawned on me, Kleenex tissues are perfect. The only time my nose gets raw from blowing is when I have a cold. So in that instance I move on to Kleenex Lotion Tissues. But I didn’t ever need to think about the softness before because I never thought they weren’t soft. But it made me realize that sometimes brand names are totally worth it. I will only buy Kleenex Brand Facial Tissues for my family’s noses. It is the only way to ensure comfortable noses all around.

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Kleenex but all my opinions are my own. #KleenexAllergy #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: #pmedia, allergies, family life, Kleenex

New Flor Rug Brightens my Dining Room

July 17, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 10 Comments

*I was a sent a rug from Flor. A freaking rug. It is so awesome. I want you all to be aware that they sent it to me (as the FTC requires) but I also want you to know my unbiased opinion of the Flor rug…I heart the heck out of it.
We have been VERY slow to decorate our new house. I want to decorate every single room. With new pieces. So it has become too expensive, overwhelming and well, I’ve just stopped. So this had been our dining area. This old blue rug was so plain and with the bare walls, the space was just so boring! So Flor offered me a rug to brighten up the space. DONE. Send that bad boy over.

So I just went for it. I don’t think I looked at their site for more than a few moments before I found the look I wanted. Oops, I forgot to ask my husband for his opinion. I had been looking at rugs online for a month and couldn’t decide on one. But when I saw this, I just knew! I had to have it. And spoiler alert, my husband ended it up liking it too.

I put the rug together in about 20 minutes, one evening, while the kids were out playing in the front yard. It was super easy to lay out the tiles and figure out my pattern (this rug used 4 different patterns but you could also find one that just uses one pattern and wouldn’t require any preplanning of the design).

It was SO easy to put together. Their little stickers are marked to make lining the tiles up super easy. And the adhesive is designed to get stickier, later. So you literally can’t screw it up. I love things like that!

And now my dining room is bright and fun. I had wanted to put up some art on the walls prior to shooting this so the room would be 100% done. But the hubs and I couldn’t agree. So now there is custom framing that needs to happen. That could take a while. So just imagine this room with super rad art on it.

I kind of love this rug so much. You might remember I am in a huge black and white phase right now and I don’t think I could have found a rug pattern that let me have my stripes but also brought the color. And how darling does my new runner from A Sunny Afternoon look?! I had to have it when I saw it. I knew it would go perfectly with my rug!

And like moths to a flame my kids found the candy I put out for my little dining room shoot.

And ate a lot of it.

Maybe a little too much.

But I am pretty much a total dork. I put the tiles with the most white in two of my most high traffic areas, by the kitchen door and by the back door. But I am totally not freaked out because I could always just swap them with more colorful tiles just by cutting the sticker and using a new one to secure the tile in its new location. Same thing with stains, since the rug is under our table and all. If I had to, I could always order a new tile to replace a really soiled on. Just one tile. Not a whole new rug. GENIUS!

When it comes to sponsored posts, I truly am a consumer first. I had always be curious about the Flor system and was so grateful to have a chance to try it out first hand. They gave me a rug but I really got so much more. They helped me feel more like myself in my own home. They helped me want to invite people in to my home again and helped make the dining room not feel like the last place on earth I want to be. So in my opinion, this was a remarkable experience for me and I truly love the rug!