Shopping for Christmas: Mens Gift Guide

holiday shopping, mens gift guide

The holidays are our favorite time of the year. Being together with loved ones around good food, and making precious memories are what we hold most dear. Our family has beautiful traditions, and we want our children to hold those close to their hearts (just like we have), more than the presents and all the “excess” the media and retail outlets prioritize.

Having said that, we like to give a good gift like anybody, and we are going to get our holiday shopping done early this year. As we run around trying to clean and cook for a lovely holiday, we want to have those shopping items off our list. Plus with all the struggling supply chains, shipping delays and job vacancy woes, there’s not time to waste.

We’ve put together Christmas gift guides to get those ideas flowing for you. We hope it’s helpful and you find something for the man/men in your life.

Men’s Holiday Gift Guide

  1. No Bull Shoes: These are so good looking, and Jessica’s husband loves them. He had them for a year, and they’ve held up great. No bull shoes:
  2. Vuori Joggers: Just like we love being comfortable, the men do too. These feel like butter, and your man will thank you.
  3. G Shock Watch: These watches have such rugged look, which we love. Plus, they are excellent quality. We avoid the apple watch, so this is a perfect go-to for us. Perfect for teens, too.
  4. Theragun: This is actually on our husbands list this year! If he’s extra nice, he will wake up on Christmas morning to this.
  5. Stanley Water Bottle: This is our favorite water bottle, so let’s hydrate the men, too!
  6. Greenlights Book: We absolutely LOVED this book. It’s a wonderful read/gift for any man or woman in your life.
  7. Men’s Cheyanne Sorel Shoes: These almost look like Converse, but they look warm, comfortable and not bulky at all. Plus, they are water bottle for the winter elements.
  8. Huk Waypoint Hoodie: The men in our lives LOVE these shirts. They are so comfortable, they wear them year-round. If your husband loves to fish, they have fantastic fishing shirts, too!
  9. JBL Speaker: We have both big and small JBL speakers, and bring them everywhere. We love them, and the quality of sound. Also, a good gift for the teen in your life (our 13-year-old is getting it this year).
  10. Microspikes: If you live in an area with snow, these are a must. We like snowshoes, but use these way more. They are easy to travel with, quick to put on, and provide great traction. Great for women, too.
  11. Carhartt Beanie: There’s something about a man in a Carhartt beanie that we love.

 

 

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Homemade Layered Waffle Cake Topped With Sprinkles

waffle birthday cake

July is birthday month for Jessica’s family. With all three of her kids born in July, there’s a lot of birthday breakfasts and baking at her house. This year she combined breakfast and cake for the ultimate Homemade Waffle Cake. This was so delicious, plus the sprinkles make it so colorful. It’s semi-homemade because she used a boxed cake with the recipe, and adjusted it to make waffles. Add it to your next birthday menu. Seriously, so good. The kids LOVED it.

Get the recipe and details on Momtastic here.

BTW, if your looking for the best birthday gift to give a little baker (or older baker), this waffle maker is our fave. The kids love to make waffles, and all the fun colors (and AMAZING price tag) make it a great gift. Here’s the same waffle maker, but cheaper at Target.

mini waffle maker

DIY waffle cake

 

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

go ask your father mug-target

Mother’s Day is coming up, May 9. We know how much work, worry and love goes into raising our own children, so we appreciate all the amazing mothers out there. We learned from the best; our mom was wonder woman. We owe our mother so many thanks, especially for giving us the greatest gift of all, unconditional love! Take the time to call your mom, stop by, send flowers or buy her something special.

We’ve rounded up some fabulous ideas below that you still have time to order!

Happy Mother’s Day!

mothers day gifts

  1. Bloody Mary Pitcher with the BEST bloody mix everThe Real Dill (If you live in Colorado, you can get this at grocery stores and liquor stores): We LOVE, LOVE this Bloody Mary mix. It’s the best. And, this pitcher is the perfect match for it.
  2. Raise them kind sweatshirt: This is so cute, but also a good reminder about the importance of raising kind kids. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the competitive things such as grades, sports, making sure our kids have the best of the best, but it’s important to remember to teach them to be kind.
  3. A good book, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: We love Kristin Hannah books. This is on our reading list. We haven’t read it yet, but we hear it’s good.
  4. Cuisinart Electric Kettle: We use our electric kettle everyday, at least 3x a day. This is a MUST for every home, and every mother or woman who makes coffee or tea. Gift this kettle with a bag of coffee, or your moms favorite tea.
  5. Vuori joggers: Gift mom with the best joggers ever!! We love these, and recommend them to everyone.
  6. Miroco Frother: Yay to homemade frothy espresso drinks at home! This is a fun kitchen gadget that froths happiness in a cup every morning.
  7. PJ Salvage pajamas: Give mom the gift of really comfy pajamas. She will look forward to bed, and feel like the queen she is in these pajamas. PJ Salvage is one of our favorite pajamas brand.
  8. Yeti wine rambler: Give mom a to-go cup for her wine. It’s dishwasher friendly (YAY), and will keep her wine chilled as she sips!
  9. Oak and Luna Name Chain Link Necklace: Chain necklaces are a favorite for us these days, so how great is this chain necklace that you can customize with names!? We would be thrilled to open this on Mother’s Day.
  10. Custom Name Bead Bracelet: We have similar bead bracelets, and we wear them everyday. It’s a great affordable gift for moms and grandmothers.
  11. Magnolia Table Cookbook or Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: We love the recipes from these two women. Some are simple, and some push us outside our kitchen comfort zone, but they are all so yummy.

 

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Say I Love You With LaCroix This Valentine’s Day + Free Printable

say i love you with la croix this valentines day plus free printables

This is not sponsored. We just love to sip LaCroix, and wanted to spread sparkly water joy this Valentine’s Day! We have been on the hunt for small gifts to give teachers and loved ones this Valentine’s Day. We are last minute, of course, and that was not ideal for shipping and bargains, so we had to improvise. We thought about some of the simple things we personally love (and could buy with a quick trip to the store), and the bright LaCroix cans in our fridge illuminated like a glowing lightbulb. We made some colorful labels, and voila…a cute (and super affordable) DIY Valentine’s Day gift was born. LaCroix valentine’s!

We love you so much for following us, we are sharing the FREE PRINTABLE with you today. You can print them and give to anyone in your life. There’s one specifically for teachers (yay for all of our kids teachers who have been in the classrooms with our kids this year), and others, such as coworkers, neighbors, coaches, friends, the staff at the post office, doctor’s office, etc.

The printable files available are for LaCroix flavors, lemon, lime and watermelon:

  • Lime so glad you’re my teacher!
  • You’re simply the zest!
  • You’re on in a melon!

This gift is a small token of affection, but it’s the thought that counts. And, positive and loving thoughts go a long way! So, let’s get started. 

lemon watermelon and lime lacroix for valentines day

Materials needed:

It’s literally as easy as printing the labels on sticker paper or thick cards tock, cutting and then taping with washi tape to the LaCroix can.

If you want to nix the whole straw, and washi tape thing, that’s totally fine. We also found it incredibly easy to print the labels on Astrobrights Sticker Paper, and stick it straight to the can!

Happy Valentine’s Day!watermelon lacroix for valentines day with free printable

 

lemon lacroix for valentines day

 

lacroix favors for valentines day and free printables

 

lacroix for valentines day and free printables

lemon watermelon and lime lacroix for valentines day

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Amazing Resin Projects To Try This Weekend (Just In Time For Valentine’s Day)

resin hair clip and heart keychain

Resin is one of those mediums we see everywhere, and it’s been on our must-try list for a long time. We’re happy to report that we finally got around to it. We made some fun heart-themed gifts for Valentine’s Day – DIY keychains and DIY resin hair clips. We’re basically obsessed with all the amazing things you can make with resin and epoxy, and hope this is just the beginning of the things we will create. There is somewhat of a learning curve with resin, at least for us, so hopefully this is a helpful tutorial, and you will be crafting with resin in no time.

Kimberly at A Girl and A Glue Gun has so many tips and trick when working with resin and epoxy, and we highly recommend watching her videos. She made some amazing coasters, jewelry and keychains.

DIY Resin Keychains & Hair Clips

Materials:

  • Art ‘N Glow Resin – if this doesn’t arrive in time from Amazon, your local Michaels or Joann’s has resin, too
  • Heart silicone mold (Walmart for $4)
  • Hair clip set
  • Keychain accessories or this keychain kit (helpful if you want to make alphabet letters in the future)
  • Glitter (just about any glitter or small sequins will work – you can even use dyes, alphabet beads and dried flowers and photographs). We did’t use the dye this time. We have used it before, and it works great)
  • Small disposable cups and popsicle sticks
  • Disposable table cloth and disposable gloves (very important – it was messy for us)
  • Multi-purpose lighter or match
  • e-6000 or clear gorilla glue (the other that doesn’t expand)

Directions:

First, we want to apologize for the fact that we don’t have photos of the process. Our hands were wet with resin and didn’t want to mess with a camera at the same time.

Step 1: Follow the directions that come with the resin kit, very carefully. Put on gloves, and set up space with disposable cloth. It’s crucial is have good airflow while stirring and pouring resin. We always have a window open close to the craft table when working with resin. Fresh air is your friend with this one. The first step will be to pour a small (1-2 tbsp or so) amount of resin and hardener in separate cups, then pour an equal amount of each into another cup. The two you pour in together is what you’re going to pour into your project, so estimate the right amount. You will have to stir the two together very slowly for 3-5 minutes. You will see some bubbles – we have found that the slower you stir, the smaller and less bubbles (which is a good thing). Once you are done stirring, pour in another cup, and then add your glitter, a couple drops of dye or whatever you are putting inside. Stir and/or mix it in with a popsicle stick.

art n glow resin

Step 2: Pour the resin and add-ins in the molds.

For Hair Clips: You will want to carefully pour to the top of the hair clip molds. If any excess overflows, carefully swipe off with the side of a popsicle stick or wipe with paper towel. You can move any sprinkles or glitter around with a toothpick if you need to.

Hearts: Pour about halfway, not to the top of the mold. If you are adding small alphabet beads, pour a tiny amount of resin in the heart, and then add the beads (you can use a toothpick to help place or wiggle them around), hold a flame close to the top of the resin if any bubbles (they will pop magically), and then pour the rest of the resin to cover the letters The heart should be about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Step 3: Once the resin is in the mold, you will want to take your lighter and hold it closer to the surface of the resin. We learned this from A Girl and A Glue Gun. It’s amazing – the bubbles pop when the fire gets near it. Carefully hover the lighter over the surface of the resin to get out all bubbles.

Step 4: Wait 24 hours for resin to completely dry/cure. This is super important. It’s hard to do, but you can do hard things! Once 24 hours has passed, push the object through.

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

 

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

Step 5:
Hair Clips: You’re ready to glue the heart resin clip topper onto the actual metal clip. Add e-6000 glue to the metal clip and place the resin topper to the clip. Use chip bag clips to keep the resin in place on the clip. Let dry for at least 2 hours, but 12 is preferable.

Heart keychain: To make this a keychain, you will need the kit mentioned above with the keychain loops, screws and mini drill. Drill a hole smaller than the screw into the top of the letter, so you can twist the eye screw nice and snug in the letter. If you don’t have a drill (like us), you can use a jewelry pliers to twist the eye screw into the letter. It can be frustrating at first, but after a couple twists, it will hold in place, and then you twist further until it’s fully in the letter. Next, add the letter, and you have a darling new keychain.

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins