Free Cards from Shutterfly

Shutterfly is offering 3 free custom greeting cards again! You only have to pay shipping which is approximately $1.07 with tax. New members will also receive 50 FREE 4x6 prints upon registration. Use coupon code SUMMERCARDS. Offer expires September 1st.

I did this for Father's day and I love how they turned out so I am going to do it again, but this time, I'm concentrating on future birthday cards instead and maybe back to school cards as well?

Free Whataburger on August 3rd

Free Whataburger for their 60th Birthday - Pull out your best orange outfits and wear them with pride. They are celebrating their 60th birthday on August 3rd from 5pm-8pm. Just stop by your neighborhood Whataburger, show off your orange and get a free Whataburger!

Ribs

I found this rib recipe that I love years ago and have been making it this way ever since. Not only does my hubby enjoy this meal, so do my kids.

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds pork baby back ribs (2-3 racks)
• Barbecue Sauce

Rub Mix

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup paprika

Directions

The night before cooking the ribs, prepare and apply the rub. Simply mix all the rub ingredients together. Rub mixture all over the ribs, then wrap them in heavy plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Grill ribs over indirect heat on a covered grill for 90 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees.

Baste with barbecue sauce and cook 30 minutes longer, or until the meat is very tender.

Add some starches like sweet potato fries and call it an evening!

A Craft Room in the Making

I have so many arts and supplies that it is spread through out the house. It's crazy to have to go from room to room to retrieve things for my craft projects. When Mr. N. said that he was moving out of his office to work upstairs for a more "feng-shui" environment, I was more than happy to move in.

There is a lot of furniture in the room, since it needs to accommodate my scrapbooking supplies, my sewing supplies, and still house places for all my computer needs.

I moved my bookshelves and filing cabinets into the room. I thought it would look a little funny, it being black and the rest being an espresso color, but because it is on different walls, I don't think it looks all that bad.

It is definitely my Pottery Barn loving room (of course that was before I discovered what I could do with a miter saw and some wood screws). I am happy with the results thus far, I was able to move the kids craft table into the room as well. My kids were ecstatic to have all their coloring supplies downstairs. There are still a few more finishing touches that I want to make. I plan on sewing new draperies. I made the ones hanging specifically for my hubby and now am wanting something a little more feminine. I also want to make something to store all my ribbons and fabric so that I am not searching through boxes for the perfect piece.

If you are curious about the furniture. The black book case and shelves are from PB's Bedford Collection, the espresso desk on the back wall is from PB's Thomas' Collection, and the Kid's table set are from PB's Carolina's Collection. I originally had the Bedford craft table, but decided to sell it because it was a little too tall for my liking. I couldn't use it to sew.

There you have it, my craft room in a nutshell. I look forward to adding the last details to finishing it off.

A New Patio Table

Last week, I showed you an inspirational outdoor furniture set. Despite the fact that I am redoing my craft room, I simply could not resist making a trip to buy lumber, just in case, well, just in case I did find the time to build something.

Of course, finding perfectly straight, unknotted, and unblemished wood proved to be non-existent. By the end of my shopping trip, I had the guys in the lumber department willing to chip in. I don't know if it was because they were bored from lack of customers on a Thursday afternoon or if they looked at me in my dress and wedges (yeah, I was coming home from work) and couldn't but feel sorry for me trying to reach and pull 2x4s off of a shelf that was inches higher than my 5 foot height.

I decided that because of the inaccuracies of store cuts, I would do all my cutting at home so I drove my 12 foot pieces with the trunk hood open all the way home. Good thing I was only half a mile away from my house.

....and on Friday, I put my craft room on hold and started building. I won't go into detailed steps on how to build it because you can find that on Knock Off Wood's blog.

I will say that I finally splurged on a Kreg Jig. I've been wanting this for a while now and I finally took the leap and bought it. Instead of having to drill screws into the wood on the outside, I am able to do it from within, hiding all holes and at the same time saving me from having to fill the holes in with putty.

Do you see any holes from the outside? I am loving my Kreg Jig at the moment.

It allows you to angle your screws from behind.

Of course, I had to make what seemed like hundreds of holes.

Since I had less than perfect wood, I spent two hours sanding all my cut pieces. It was horrible, but very necessary.

After the sanding, I stained everything. Since the grooves were only a 1/4" thick, staining would be a little difficult if I did it after I assembled all my pieces.

I am not sure whether I am in love with the seeing the contrast of the grain. I bought a semi-solid color rather than a solid color and I wonder if I would be happier with a solid color. For now, it will do.

And the results:

A table for what seems to be eight. I do love the clean lines of this piece.

Now, all it needs are the benches and chairs. I can't wait to finish this project up. I'm also seeing maybe an outdoor rug, some bench cushions and a burlap table runner to make this the perfect dining area. What do you think?

Inspirational Backyard Furniture

Having to pull out additional tables and chairs to dine last week at our pool party made me go searching for some outdoor pieces.

courtesy of West Elm

I saw this inspirational piece yesterday in my search and absolutely am swooning all over it. With any inspiration, comes motivation and with motivation comes a goal. My goal is to build this. I'm currently in the middle of my craft room re-d0 so I don't have any time to run out and get started on this right away, but it is a goal of mine to build this as soon as I have a chance.

Not to exclude the kiddos from getting their own modern table, I have discovered this:

courtesy of Knock Off Wood

I can't wait to turn my inspiration to reality.

Black Friday in July at Target!

Each year I look forward to Black Friday for all the deals that it has to offer. Today is Target's Black Friday in July. Stop on over to Target.com and find some fabulous deals. I found some great things. What's even better than that? Use coupon code TOEY738U to save an extra 10% off. Have fun shopping, but hurry, sale is TODAY only.

Get Circus Tickets for 50% Off

I'm excited about this offer. A. hasn't been to the circus ever so I wanted to take him this year. Use code ASY when ordering your tickets to Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus and get 50% off. Code works with tickets priced $35 and under. With lowered ticket prices, it also means lowered fees as well! To see current tour locations, go here.

20% off Coupon at Disney Store

Get 20% off your entire purchase at the Disney Store now until Sunday, July 25th. Click here to print your coupon to use in stores or use promo code DISNEYFAN for online purchases.

15% Off Entire Purchase at Michael's Friday Only

Get 15% Off your entire purchase at Michael's. Coupon is valid Friday only. Print coupons here.

Cilantro Salsa Dip

Ever since I tasted the cilantro salsa dip at a local restaurant, I knew I must have this recipe. It turned this cilantro non-lover into one that now loves it. We had some friends over this weekend and I knew this dip would be perfect.

After much googling, I found a recipe online. I followed it to a T, only to find that it was too salty to serve. Instead of throwing out the batch of salsa, I decided to make another batch without salt and combined them together. After all was said and done, it seemed as though we had made over a gallon of salsa!!! I ran out of food containers. Good thing Mr. N absolutely LOVES the dip. Best of all, even my 2 year old loves it.

If you are a cilantro lover, this is the dip for you. One batch makes a lot so be prepared to jar some of it or have a lot of friends over. Here is my modified recipe of the Cilantro Salsa Dip.

Ingredients

2 (28oz) cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes
3 jalapeno peppers (this will give a mild to semi-medium sauce..add more if you want it spicier)
5 bunches Cilantro
2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black pepper

Directions

Boil the jalapenos until tender. Drain. Remove the seeds and membranes. Remove and discard the stalks off one bunch of the cilantro, then coarsely chop the leaves and set aside to be added to the salsa at the end.

Remove and discard the stalks off the remaining bunches of cilantro. Working in batches, in a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos. As each batch finishes, pour into a large bowl. When it's all blended, add in the spices and oil and mix well with a spoon. Add in the chopped cilantro and mix again. The flavor intensifies over time.

Of course, I tend to go over board in trying to please everyone so I served two other dips as well just in case we had any friends that weren't the cilantro loving fan.

Free Einstein Bros Bagel Fridays in July

Bagels and coffee are $2 on Tuesday at Einstein Bros and FREE on Fridays in July!

Print your reusable coupon here.

Patio Furniture

I'm always on the look out for great sales. A couple of weeks ago, Target clearanced out their patio furniture. I was able to scoop up a great deal on seating. Since most parents want to be right next to the pool to watch their kiddos instead of sitting near the dining area, we lacked enough seats for everyone.

At 75% off, I thought these chairs were perfect for our backyard. The light fabric means minimal fading (hopefully).

With a few additional umbrellas, I was able to create shaded areas around the pool which we were lacking as our back yard faces the south. Although, I am happy I thought ahead to pour the decking with umbrella sleeves, I should have thought to do the same on the seating area on the other side of the pool.

I'm super happy now that there are enough seats to accommodate several people now.

Here are my chaises that I contemplated building, but ended up buying. I wanted as little maintenance as possible. With chaises out of wood, I would have to stain and seal every couple of years to keep it looking new so I decided to go with my favorite patio furniture material, rattan.

Free Doublicious at KFC!

Right now through July 21st you can get a free Doublicious sandwich from KFC with a drink purchase with this coupon! Check out the participating locations here.