Thursday Deal Finder

Thursday Deal Finder by Grace Hester Designs

Borders has just released their super coupons which is valid only for 4 days. I am zoning in on the $5 off 2 kids books - some books have just not been available at my local half-priced bookstore and I can check prices online at borders.com as well before heading there.

To view the full list of coupons, click on the link below
Borders Printable Coupons

The Best Cupcake Ever (in my opinion)...

A disclaimer: I can't cook to save my life. My husband is the one that does the cooking in our family and if he doesn't cook, I forget to eat! Anyway, he is always trying all sorts of awesome recipes and I will share them with you... He gets most of his recipes from allrecipes, but he always adds a special twist.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake!

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

* 1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
* 1 1/3 cups water
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours. (This "cookie dough" is a slight variation from the kind that you cook - it has no baking soda or eggs. Since it won't actually cook, there is no need for these ingredients... not to mention the risks of eating raw eggs.)
   
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
3. Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer to break up. Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil; continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake (as it cooks, the cake batter will envelop the cookie dough - the cupcake will cook, while the cookie dough only defrosts!).
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Buy more than one

Hello, it's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday Time Saving Tip. Here, in Ontario Canada, we are gearing up for back to school, which happens in early September. Or in my family's case we are gearing up for school as my oldest will be attending for the first time.

Asking experienced Moms they all told me to buy more than one of anything that will be lost. Some say their children are always loosing lunch containers. One said each fall buys 6 pairs of mittens for each child so she doesn't have to hunt down a new pair after all the stores have sold out. Which brings up another time saving tip. Label everything well! Maybe it will find its way home after all. Hopefully?



Todays time saving tips is buy more than one, and with these adorable Etsy finds how can you not?

Monday Interview- Meet Joy Charde

Wanna know a little more about the Busy Mom who helped us set up our Ning site and whose name and pic you see on the side bar? I know I did. Both Joy and her shop are adorable...

- Who are you?
Joy Charde

- Where do you live?
Troy, NY

- What do you do?
Currently, I'm the business manager of the Troy Public Library, but I was teacher for 10 years before I made the career change.

- How many kids? And husbands/partners?
My husband (Luke) and I have been married for almost 11 years, and we have a wonderful 7 month old baby boy - Jude.
And so you have a shop…:

o What’s its name?
The Art Of Joy

o What do you sell?
paintings and paper goods (I'm really into paper right now)

o But how on earth do you find time!?!
That's the hard part... still trying to figure this one out. I don't have to go to work until 3pm. So I stay up way too late working on my stuff and try to sleep in a little in the morning.


- Anything else you’d like to add…
Our busy moms group rocks! You guys are awesome!

If…

- If you had a million dollars…
I would buy a lot of art supplies!

- If you were an animal…
I would probably be a beta fish. I would enjoy just hanging around in my bowl watching everyone.

- If you were a plant…
I would probably be a Jade plant, since it's easy to maintain and would pretty much grow anywhere there is sun (I'm a California girl at heart).

- If your house was on fire and you only had time to save one object it would be…
My laptop (I have everything on my computer - pics of my fam, artwork, etc.)

- If you were a famous person…
Hmmm...Maybe Brian Williams since he seems to know everything. Oh and Tim Gunn since he has such an eye for fashion!

- If you could choose to have one amazing skill…
There was this girl on the show Heroes that would watch a skill or something on TV and then she was able to do it. That's the skill that I would want...Wait, I think that's actually a super power... For skill - I want to be able to do some amazing bass guitar riffs!

Thursday Deal Finder

This Thursday Deal Finder has been brought to you by Grace Hester Designs.

Have you seen the Daily Deals on Target.com yet? Basically, they showcase something fresh, cool, coveted each day at a super low price, and free shipping (US). Most of the items sell out due to deep discount and free shipping so check the site daily.

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - ask for help

It's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday time saving tip. My tip of the week is.

"Ask for help."

This is a lesson I learned the hard way. I'm one of those people that spreads myself too thin until I eventually explode. I exploded this past week and poor DH took the brute of it. I finally did something which I should have done ages ago. I asked him to help around the house more. Then today I was at my brick and mortar job (as a cytogenetic technologist) and what happened? I spread myself too thin, but this time I accepted someones offer to help and felt much better.

It's too easy to get overwhelmed by all the things we busy Moms have on the go. It's okay to ask for help.

Monday's a cool day! - Meet maryanne with Bagelcreations

This week’s interview is brought to you by pioupioukids. Maryanne from Bagelcreations is passionate about sewing and very creative. I bet her bestseller must be those bright colorful cup cozies, the “Chico cozies”. Put one of those around your morning coffee and the day ahead of you will look much brighter! She also makes fun pouches, bags, wristlets… anything a woman can fashion!

-       Who are you? My name is Maryanne Taylor

-       Where do you live?  I live in Chico, California

-       What do you do?  I work part time as a behavior consultant for children with Autism.  The rest of the time, I run my business and spend as much time as possible with my kids and husband.

-       How many kids? And husbands/partners? I have two boys, an 8 year old and a 21 month old and I have one wonderful husband!

-       And so you have a shop…:

o      What’s its name?  Bagel Creations

o      What do you sell?  I sell handmade purses, totes, pouches, card holders, coffee cozies, baby items and other creations.

o      But how on earth do you find time!?!  I make really good use of nap time and my husband helps give me time in the evenings when he gets home from work. I do a lot in little spurts throughout the day.  I steal 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there when I can. 

-       Favorite book – I can’t remember the last time I had time to read!

-       Favorite movie – The Princess Bride

-       Favorite song/ band/ singer – Live

-       Favorite dish – Anything my husband makes

-       Favorite hobby - Sewing

-       Favorite time of the day – coming home from work

-       Favorite time of the night – that moment right after the kids are both asleep

-       Favorite part of the body - Eyes

-       Favorite color – Purple

-       Favorite Sesame st. character – Cookie

Tueday's Time Saving Tip - starting a project

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another tuesday time saving tip. This weeks tip is.

"Assemble everything you need before you start the project".

I don't know about you but I'm a busy Mom who has difficulty finding time to start a project. Sometimes starting the project is more difficult than actually doing it. There's nothing worse than getting halfway through a project and realizing I'm missing something. Right now DH is out running for a supply he forgot to get before he started his. It's a huge waste of time. So make sure you have everything you need before you begin.

Monday Interview- Meet Jennifer with Geekling Designs!

Hi Everybody, It's Trina here, and I'm excited to introduce you to Jennifer with Geekling Designs. Her stuff is adorable! Very creative. And her shop is great! I love the pictures. Enjoy!


Who are you? My name is Jennifer Thornton, and I am the owner of Geekling Designs.

Where do you live? In beautiful Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.

What do you do? I am a "mom-preneur"

How many kids? Husband/partner? I am married to my husband Rob and we will be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary this September. We have a beautiful daughter named Natalie, who just turned 1!

And so you have a shop:

What's it's name? Geekling Designs
What do you sell? Affordable Onesies, T-Shirts and Gift Sets, as well as custom orders for those who want something very unique!
How do you find the time? Good question! I try to get as much work as possible done during nap times and bed times. I also have a very supportive husband who pitches in whenever he can!

Some of your favorite things?

Movie- Love Actually. A romantic comedy about the different forms of love.
Color- Blue
Food- Chocolate - or a good plate of pasta
Kids book- "I have to go!" by Robert Munsch
Time of day- Bedtime!
Cartoon Character- Marvin the Martian

I would like to thank the Busy Moms of Etsy team for being such a wonderful support system. Juggling being a Mom and Business Owner can be tough, and it's nice to be able to have the support of other Moms who are in the same roles as I am.

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - break it down

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another time saving tip. It's easy to get over whelmed when you have a large task or project. You can do it, just break it down into small chuncks. When I was in university someone told you actually learn more when you study in 5-10 minute chunks because your brain is fresh and not overwhelmed. The same rule can apply to anything in life. Cleaning, cooking, creative projects, even writing blog posts (like this one).

You can do it, you do have time, just work on it a little here and there when you have time and you'll be finished before you realize it.