This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for any purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
​

     It has been 1 year since I bought my, what still seems very new to me, car!  At least because of the pandemic, I haven't put as many miles on it as I might have. (Except for that trip to Disneyland in February and the one to Wyoming in May.)  ​When I purchased my car, I was very surprised when all of the "paperwork" for the warranty, etc. was handed to me in the form of a little flash drive!  (I realized then that the digital age had truly invaded my life whether I was comfortable with it or not.)     
​
     The other day, I found that car warranty flash drive in my sock drawer.  I also had a couple of them in my jewelry box that are loaded with pictures. On my kitchen counter I have an SD card that came with my new phone.  Anyway, I realized that I needed a way to store these little things in a way that I would be able to easily find them when I need them and not have them cluttering up various areas of my house. I figured you guys might have this need as well, so I did the research and the work and I have some solutions for you! 

    It is very interesting to me that when I searched on line for ways to store flash drives, I mostly found boxes to hold a single drive or little contraptions to hold 1 flash drive.  That was weird to me.  They are such little things, there had to be a way to store them in a group! Finally on Etsy, I found a few options such as this one that I found in the shop M3is3D.   I haven't gotten permission from them yet to use their picture, so click over to it through that link and you will see this cool device that would be great to have standing on a computer desk to have all of your flash drives or SD cards handy whenever you need them.  

     For my personal use, I thought I would like to be able to put a folder in our filing cabinet that would hold the cards and drives in one place until I need them on occasion.  I decided to craft one with little pockets that my cards and drives could slip into and I could label them to help me remember what is on them.   Here is what I used:

• Manila File Folder.  I just used a plain one, or you could buy a fancy one if you would like.  Mine is only fancy on the inside. 
• Scrap Booking card stock and papers of your choice. 
• Paper cutter
• Roll on adhesive, similar to what I used here. 
• Washi Tape
• cellophane tape
• Ruler

     First, I covered the inside of the folder with a decorative base card stock.  I bordered it with a decorative washi tape.  
     Then, I simply cut pockets in 3 1/4" squares out of card stock. and used the roll on adhesive to stick my decorative paper on them.  I also cut smaller pockets for the SD cards.  I measured how I wanted to arrange them inside the folder and attached them with roll on adhesive and then covered them with the wide cellophane tape to sort of laminate them in place.  Here is how it turned out:
​

     If you would rather keep your drives in a binder on a book shelf, here is one more idea.  

• Get a binder
• Get baseball card sleeves
• Put them together and slip in your SD cards and thumb drives.  Be sure to put a label on the front of the pocket to tell you what is on them or if they are blank! 

Bonus Tip:  I also use these pockets and a binder to hold and organize my grocery coupons! 

    Okay!  There you have it!  3 ways to help you figure out how to store those flash drives and SD card!  Did you even know that you had a need for this?  You're welcome!  Let me know if any of these ideas work for you. 
​

A couple years ago, I showed you how I made this Daniel Tiger birthday cake for my daughter's first birthday. That has been one of our most popular posts, so I thought today I'd show you what I did for her third birthday party! 

She has been adamant for a few months that she wanted an elephant birthday party. So I set about figuring out what one does for an elephant party. I am going to show you the cake I made and give you the recipe for it. I also want to tell you about the games we played.

First, a word on decorations. I went with easy and got grey balloons and plates. I got small clear sparkling cups for drinking.

​Now, on to games!

Creating a twist on the classic pin the tail on the donkey game is always fun and easy to do for a kids birthday party. Since this was an elephant birthday party, of course I had to make a pin the trunk on the elephant! I'll be uploading a copy of this to our subscribers only page this weekend, so you can print it and have a pin the trunk on the elephant game for your own elephant party! So make sure you subscribe to get a copy of it!

Of course, all the rules to this game are the same. This is a picture of her cousin after he pinned his trunk perfectly (we think there may have been some fraud involved). It is a fun game for all ages!

The second game we played was one my MIL came up with. She ran to the store and found a bag of unshelled peanuts (no small feat in December when they aren't in high demand.) She and Emily hid them around her yard. Then when her cousins came over they went on a peanut hunt. All of her cousins at the party were her bigger cousins, so they let the 3 year old birthday girl win. But a hunt is a fun activity when the weather is nice. It'll help the kids work up a nice appetite for the elephant cake you'll eat later!

A few other fun ideas for elephant party activities are making elephant masks for the kids to wear, like these here.

I was pretty happy with how this cake turned out. Drawing is not my forte, everyone else on this blog is much better at it than I am. Fortunately, an elephant head is a pretty simple shape to duplicate! So, if you're like me and think you can't draw well AT ALL (honestly people, my stick figures don't usually turn out right) I am here to tell you, you CAN make this elephant cake! 

You can see from the picture the eyes are a little uneven and the trunk isn't perfect. Guess what, it's your kid's birthday party so, it's okay! Emily loved her elephant cake, and that is what mattered.

I even drew these little elephants on the side. They weren't perfect either, but they still looked like little elephants. I am really happy with the overall look of this cake, and you will be too!

The recipe I'm sharing with you is my go to recipe for chocolate cake. It comes from the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. It is such a moist, delicious chocolate cake! It also holds up well for stacking!

There you have it. A simple formula for a fun elephant birthday party.

If you're like me and love spicy food, maybe you add hot sauce to every thing you eat, then you will love celebrating International Hot and Spicy Food Day January 16th. And also if you're like me, the problem arises that not everyone in your family can handle hot and spicy food. For instance my 3 year old doesn't handle it well, nor do my parents. This means I have to get my spicy food some other way.

That's where chili garlic oil comes into play. It's the perfect condiment. You can make a bland meal spicy while allowing others to eat their food unadulterated with heat.

Are you the lone spicy food lover in your home? Will you be trying chili garlic oil? Let us know!

This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for any purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

​Date nights are an important part of every relationship, no matter how long you’ve been together. But they don’t need to be expensive or intricate. Sometimes, it’s best to keep it simple and just have fun together! Here are 5 easy date night ideas that will keep the love and excitement alive in your relationship.

How well do you really know your partner? Put it to the test with this fun date night challenge! Head to your nearest Target, Walmart, or even Dollar Tree and pick out one item for your partner from each of the categories below.

• Favorite Color
• Favorite Drink
• Favorite Snack
• Something to Wear
• Something to Do Together
• Something that Reminds You of a Good Memory Together

Check out separately and keep the items hidden until you get back home. Then, one category at a time, reveal what you bought each other. It’s so fun to do and it’s nice to see how well they really know you!

This is one of my favorite date night ideas. Grab some cheap supplies, turn on a tutorial, grab your favorite drinks, and you’re set! Here’s what you need for this one:

• Acrylic Paints
• Paintbrushes
• Canvas
• Palette
• Water cup
• Dry rags
• Newspaper or plastic tablecloth 
• Your favorite drinks
• A Painting Tutorial from YouTube

Lay the newspaper or tablecloth down over the surface you will be painting on. This will protect it from getting dirty. If you want to take this to the next level, you can also set out some of your favorite snacks or even create your own little charcuterie board! Set up your painting stations and choose a painting tutorial from YouTube that you would like to do together. By the end of this date, you will have some beautiful artwork to remind you of an amazing date night!

Picnics are very underrated as dates in my opinion. They are so easy to put together and there usually aren’t very many distractions around, which means all of your attention will be on each other. Pack an easy meal, a comfy blanket, and you’re set! Here are some easy ways to make the experience even better:

• Take pillows and extra blankets. If you’re out during daytime, you can find shapes in the clouds. If you’re out at night, do some stargazing!
• Take a portable speaker so you can have some background music playing to add to the mood.
• Take something you can do together, like a simple puzzle, card game, or mini paintings.
• Don’t forget dessert!! We have tons of dessert recipes you can choose from.

If you’re not comfortable going to a movie theater right now, you can still have an awesome movie date! Movie marathons are fun because they take a classic movie night just a step further. And there are so many awesome movies to choose from! Harry Potter, Avengers, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings are probably some of the most popular, but you can choose any movies you like, even if they aren’t from the same franchise!

Here are some tips to give you the best experience:

• Choose an evening where you’ll have plenty of time to be able to watch multiple movies. 
• Make sure you have plenty of food and drinks available! You can make one main meal and start off with that and then move on to snacks or dessert as the night goes on.
• Take advantage of the time between movies. Get up and stretch, take a bathroom break, and throw away any trash you have around you. This way you can just focus on the movies while they’re on and there will be minimal cleanup when it’s all done and you’re tired!
• Have lots of pillows and blankets handy and turn off all the lights. The best thing about watching at home is that you can get wayyyy more comfortable than you can at a movie theater!

This is a fun twist on a regular dinner date. Find a recipe you’d like to try and make it together! (We have lots of recipes to choose from if you’re unsure of what to try.) Make it even better by making a multiple course meal, complete with an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. You can have fun and bond while making the meal and then enjoy the fruits of your labor together. Yum!

No matter what you do on your date night, remember the important thing is spending time together and having fun. 

Which date idea are you going to try?

• Fabulous Date Ideas for Newlyweds and Oldlyweds
• 5 Inexpensive Last Minute Date Night Ideas
• Renny's Recipes: A Romantic Dinner for Two
• Seven Recipes to Make Your Valentines Day Delicious​