Angry Birds my birthday cake?

If anyone asks....my birthday is March 27th and I want an Angry Birds birthday cake! HA!

Have you seen this on etsy? These cuties were created by Artisan Cake Company on etsy out of colored fondant. TOOO cute!

Photography Apps

I'm a little obsessed with the two new photography apps I downloaded today on the Samsung Fascinate and Galaxy Tab. Verizon is sending these two awesome gadgets with me to Blissdom 2011 for some review time.

Photography is a huge love of mine, and I'm completely stoked that my friend, Mandy, shared these apps with me. Try them out on your iPod Touch, etc... It's completely fabulous to be able to leave the Nikon at home this trip and just take a sleek little phone, without sacrificing too much picture quality...especially since I'll be taking baby Clayton...and everything but the kitchen sink. (But I packed dish soap and a scrubber...am I nuts?)

Check out Retro Camera and Vignette for options to make your photos look like they were taken 40 years ago.

Lunch....Getting the Creative "Juice" Going

I've been meaning to share one of my new favorite blogs with you, called Another Lunch. I love the adorable creativity this blogger comes up with on a daily basis to make her kiddos a healthy and FUN lunch on the go.


Awhile back, the Queen of Free posted a deal from GiltGroupe.com that allowed me to score a Goodbyn lunchbox for $2.95, shipped. (I know, right? Gotta love that Queen!) I had been eyeing that lunchbox because I had so many cute ideas of how to use it after reading Another Lunch. It's also a New Year's goal for me to spend less eating out, especially for lunch.




I love that the box itself reduces the amount of waste because there are no sandwich baggies, etc. There are no tiny parts to keep track of, just one lid that seals around each compartment, keeping them from spilling over. There's also a drink bottle that comes with the box and fits perfectly. The Goodbyn comes with two sheets of waterproof stickers to decorate your box...Titus and I had a lot of fun with that part....here's our Goodbyn in use this afternoon...

I was able to fit both my lunch, and my 3 year old's lunch in the same box :) (Making for one very happy momma with only 2 hands to get out the door, AND saving us from driving through Wendy's...again...) Pictured above: (top compartment) 1/2 peanut butter sandwich and a whole turkey sandwich cut in half, (middle) 1 wedge of Laughing Cow creamy swiss chesse with a Flintstone vitamin and water bottle, (bottom L to R) Reduced Fat Wheat Thin crackers, 5 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (to eat and some to share!), a yogurt container, and organic snap pea crisps. That's a lot, right?!

We also packed this baby full of a quick lunch for our whole family on the way to Grandma's, Christmas Day...very convenient! We just had the box and extra drinks.

You can score a Goodbyn on GiltGroupe.com right now for $15 once you create a free account. Shipping is also FREE if you invite 10 friends by email. (Retail value is approx. $24.95)

Here's to being more creative with how we save on lunch this year...cheers!

"DROID...."

"DROID..." a little sound I've grown accustomed to in the past two months as I've enjoyed reviewing Verizon's DROID X mobile phone by Motorola. Remember my post about Verizon's Hap-appy Holidays event hosted by Indy's Queen of Free? Here's what I've grown to love and love some more about this fun device. (Please know that I did not receive any money for this review, and these are my genuine thoughts on the subject...)

I wouldn't call myself a tech-savvy gal by any measure. I mentioned before that I don't even text on my personal cell phone plan...mostly to cut corners and save $. I have, however, found that it's extremely easy to become quite the "techie" in the first few minutes of hanging out with this phone. Here are some of my favorite uses...

1. I can tether my new netbook to the DROID's 3G mobile hotspot....anytime, ANYWHERE. Seriously, folks...I used this puppy all the way from Indianapolis to Raleigh, NC. I was in the hills, mountains, and valleys...with a signal :)

2. the Swype feature is seriously intuitive and much speedier for me to text and update my facebook status with just the drag of my finger on a touchscreen.

3. The Android apps are endless. A few of my favorites have been Google Sky Map, Slice It! (for those of you who wish to work your brain), any of the preschooler games from Five Pumpkins, such as their interactive alphabet flashcards, the infamous Angry Birds, and I would literally be lost without Verizon's VZ Navigator.

4. The phone's camera is 8 mega-pixels awesome. I was able to leave the Nikon at home on quick trips with the kiddos, and it was very handy to snag HD video of my boys, like when my 4 month-old rolled from back to belly and over again for the first time!

*here's a little shot of my cutie eating his first cereal, taken with the DROID X

5. Browsing stores online during Black Friday and after Christmas was much easier with Android apps. Amazon.com, American Eagle Outfitters, and Etsy are several sites who have set up their navigation to be tailored to this phone. I could even manage my etsy shop from the Etsy for Android app.

6. the DROID X comes with a charger cable that includes a USB plug within ...making it easier to keep track of only one cable to charge the phone AND upload pics to my PC.

The DROID X is definitely the networking device. While I love the ability to stay connected from virtually anywhere, I found the phone itself to be awkward. Because the DROID X has such a large touch screen (4.3 inches), it's not as comfortable to hold up to your ear for an old-fashioned phone call. The speaker phone option is very good, or if you're a blue tooth kind of talker, these are quick fixes. The large screen makes it difficult to operate the device one-handed, and a DEFINITE no-no to operate while driving (...so Oprah got one thing right...)

Overall, I would fully recommend the DROID X. I've really enjoyed using it and will have to gracefully battle withdrawl for a bit once I pack her up to ship back :) BUT, stay tuned...The Queen of Free and I are traveling to Blissdom 2011 at the end of the month, and I will have lots to report! You can now follow me on Twitter @CreativeAriel

Happy New Year!

Handmade Memories

I try not to worry too much about holiday traditions each year, and whether or not we can squeeze them ALLLLL in. There are a few traditions that are simple and always make me smile. This year is the first year we will have 4 Christmas stockings hanging at our fireplace. Clayton James is officially part of the family :)

While being completely busy with a 3 year old and a 4 month old, I miss quilting and sewing AND anything artsy at this point. I so wanted to make Christmas stockings for our boys, but knew I couldn't find the time. So, this is my comprimise. I embroidered their names by hand on store-bought stockings. AGH! store-bought stockings! But, it's okay...because the holidays are all about "rollin' with it". And this year, I'm just going to adjust to the fun of being a stay-at-home-momma of two boys under 3 years old.

Here's why I love Christmas stockings...

My parents still have their stockings from when they were little. In fact, one fell apart and my aunt mended it for my mother because she made that stocking for her back in 1950something :) And, my brother & I still have ours from childhood...of course, we keep them at our parents house because they still fill 'em! ;)

The year my husband and I got married, I didn't own a sewing machine. So, I made a little pattern for myself and sewed them by hand. I don't have the heart to replace them with "nicer" ones, because it's all about the memories for stockings.

It's not about the gifts and the treasures placed inside the stockings...it's not even about the stockings to be truthful. So this year, try something new with me and don't fuss about the traditions...make some memories even if they can't be HANDMADE.

Hap-appy Holidays from Verizon and Queen of Free

It's been awhile since I've gotten to go out on the town with the gals for something even close to professional. Last night, the Queen of Free and Verizon Wireless hosted a women's blogger event at the Creation Cafe in Indianapolis. What an AWESOME evening.

Over the next month or so, I'll be reviewing a DROID X from Verizon (for FREE!). I'm already impressed by the way we were treated and pampered last evening! I love the touch screen of this phone and the infinate number of apps available. Very Cool.

Thanks, Queen of Free for your invitation and for always keeping us up-to-date on AWESOME ways we can get things for free. Thanks to the Queen and Verizon's sponsorship, I'll be attending Blissdom 2011 in Nashville, TN! WOOT!

In the meantime, here's a goof-shot of me with my new toy...ahem, phone.

and...this is my friend, Mandy...aka "Awesome Designer of my Blog" :)

IF you live in the Indy area and have never visited the Creation Cafe, it's DIVINE. We met the pastry chef and his creations are incredible...would make a perfect date night or evening with the girls... GO GO GO for a visit soon!

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

Shutterfly.com is pulling out all the stops this year for Christmas! As an "already pleased Shutterfly customer", I'm super stoked to share with you that they are giving me my Christmas cards for FREE this year!



Everyone LOVES a photo card, right? I agree that "hallmark" cards with sweet sayings and lovely illustrations are great, but I find myself holding on to the photo cards we receive each year from our loved ones. They're also great tools for reminding my toddler the names of our HUGE extended family.



One of the reasons I love to use Shutterfly is that I can keep my photos uploaded to my account and they are there just-in-case something happens to our home computer. I also love that my Christmas card isn't necessarily going to look just like our neighbor's because they have an ENORMOUS selection of holiday card designs...seriously, folks...I've not even viewed the whole selection yet because there are so many. BUT, here are a few of the designs I love so far...



The 3rd design seems like a great way for our family to introduce our newest little guy, Clayton, and also share that Titus turned 3 years old this fall. I love the layouts that give you options of using mulitple pictures. Some of the folded cards even have options to add more photos inside, with lots of space to write a summary of the year or captions for photos of family vacations, etc.

You've probably seen Shutterfly's photobooks too....I ordered my first photobook to summarize Titus' first year. It's gorgeous. And, I love that my Titus loves looking at it to see what he looked like as a baby. And the calendars! We have an Eldridge tradition of having a photo calendar every year with pictures on the dates of birthdays and anniversaries. What a perfect gift.
Well, you'd probably like having Shutterfly give you your Christmas cards for FREE too, right? Go HERE to participate...and ENJOY the upcoming holidays!

xo,
Ariel