Southern at Heart

1. I love a good deal 2. I love coupons 3. I typically only buy things that are on sale 

I'm a stay at home mom, we live off of one income. We live in Southern California where the price of living is out of control. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to save money and cut spending without losing the lifestyle we love.
Here are a few tips and sites that I use to make life a little more comfy:
1. The obvious, cut coupons. I love the Sunday paper and the coupons that come with it. I only snip coupons for items that I need or know I will use. All the other things that seem like a good deal usually end up making me spend more money that I planned on.
2. Social Networking. Uh huh, Twitter and Facebook are actually helpful other than seeing what your long lost BFF is up to. I follow and "like" several stores and companies because they update what's new or on sale and usually always post special coupons that can only be found on their social networking sites. 
3. Websites. Di…

I thought it would be fun to share a couple of my favorite small things around the house with y'all. I always love seeing different bloggers homes and favorite things so this is the start of mine. This months favorite things sort of has a theme. See if you can guess..

Jewelry tree that is currently in my bathroom.
It will be moved when I find a new piece of furniture for our room.
I love the nest.























This is a two for one deal. Birdhouse and candle that reside in Kate's bathroom.






















Three for one! Score!
Cross. Candle. Bird.
They are in my kitchen.























A stone carving with Isaiah 62:5, all about the Bridegroom A sweet treasure found in Old Town Orange.
Oh, and another candle.
This is on my man's nightstand. 























Delicious candle and delicious face I wake up to every morning. This would be part of my nightstand :)














Fresh cut herbs...
Love the fresh smell they leave in the bathrooms.
























My teeny tiny herb garden.
I am currently growing rosemary,  lavender and tomatoes.
More coming this spring.













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My mommas group met at the park on Thursday. It was so good for Kate and I to get out of the house and enjoy precious friends and enjoy all the young little lives that we have. The last thing I want to do it sit and be sad. We started our afternoon on the train. Kate loved it even though she looks extremely grump in this picture. She has mastered "the look".

















She loved seeing all the duckies and peacocks. 
I can't describe the joy this little one brings to our hearts. She has helped ease the pain that I've experienced this past week. There is nothing sweeter than little ones who are so innocent and pure.

 We had a little picnic lunch which there are no pictures from because I threw food in my mouth and was chasing after Kate the whole time. It didn't help that we ate right next to the horses. My girl loves the nay nays.  And praise the Lord! My girl finally has hair long enough for her own piggies!!!  Ahh, I've waited for this day forever! 
She loves the kak kak…

My sweet grandma has heard the words "well done, my good and faithful servant". She took her last breath last night at 8pm and ran into the arms of her Maker. Her infections are gone, her depression has been wiped away and she has been made whole and perfect. Her body lays lifeless here on earth but her soul has been made new and she has entered into eternity with God. What a great reminder that our bodies are just shells and weren't made to last forever. We were made for a greater purpose and right now my grandma is experiencing that. After I got the news last night, I wept. Death is something that is never easy no matter how prepared you think you are. We were desperate for the Lord to take grandma home, to take her out of her suffering but hearing the words that she is gone weren't easy to hear. I cried for hours. I laid in my bed and memories of my grandma and grandpa flooded my mind. Such good memories. The one thing I kept picturing was my grandma at the gates …

Lemon juice isn’t just for a tasty lemonade in the summer. Lemons have natural antiseptic qualities that make them an amazing natural alternative for cleaning and deodorizing. Lemons are refreshing and tough on messes. Here is a list of my top ten household uses for this winter citrus!
1. Quarter a lemon and run it through the garbage disposal to get rid of nasty odors and freshen the drain. 
2. Remove food odors from wooden cutting boards and counter tops by rubbing the surface with a lemon.  Also use on wooden cutlery and bowls. 
3. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar to clean copper or tarnished brass. Rinse and dry immediately after using.
4. Add half a lemon to the dishwasher load for sparkling spot-free clean smelling dishes. 
5. Use lemons to clean sink faucets and remove lime scale build-up. 
6. Mix lemon juice and water in a spray bottle for a natural air freshener.
7. Make your own all-purpose cleaning solution. Combine lemon juice, vinegar and water in a spray bo…

It was a cool and cloudy day in our usual sunny So Cal but that didn't stop us from having a play date and housewarming party. Kate had her BFF Ava over for lunch today in her new house. The two of them were cozy in there and were very busy chowing down on apples, veggie sticks, animal crackers, grilled cheese and ham and stealing each others sippy cups.  These two are darling together.   The blond and the brunette, both with blue eyes.   Look at Ava, shes got her eye on Kate's veggie stick..  Her BFF brought a housewarming present. I about fell over and died with cuteness when I saw what she  brought for her new house..
 Does she know us or what?! A cupcake set with extra frosting to boot!  Are you serious? This was for me right?   Tea time in Kate's house just got a whole lot more exciting. The sun is now shining and my girl should be wakin' up soon, which means I really should be planning dinner but instead I'm making fun snacks for my little to enjoy outside with our …

I'm about to be completely transparent. My heart is hurting. I can't help but look back at the past 20 years and cry. I'm crying because those days are gone and I will never ever get to experience them again. They were days filled with spending the weekend and weeks in the summer at my grandparents house, working on their farm, getting spoiled rotten and eating my heart out. They were days filled with so much laughter and joy. Those days are the reason why I am an animal lover, why I have the sense of humor I have, why I love deep and laugh often. I am crying because those days at my grandma and grandpa Parker's house are over. My grandma is dying and not expected to live through the week. She is suffering and she is ready to meet Jesus face to face. She has been ready for a while and the reality of her life coming to an end is hurting my heart. I will rejoice for her when she takes her last breath here on earth because I will know where she is. I know she will be heal…

Disclaimer: I am not a single mom :)

My man is on day 3 of overtime and I already feel like a single mom. It takes a little bit of time for us to get used to his new schedule. He is working 12 hours a day 6 days a week right now. It will soon be 7 days a week. This post is not to complain about his schedule. We actually really like it. Minus the time part. Overtime is awesome and we're thankful for it but goodness gracious, I miss my husband and Kate misses her daddy. She didn't get to see him yesterday and all I heard today was "dada, daddy, dada, daddy". When he called to check in on his girls today she took my phone and ran around the house with it up to her ear and had her own conversation with him. :::hilarious::::

To all my real single moms out there. You are amazing.
Seriously. I don't know how you do it.
I know that at the end of the day my husband will be home and in two months we'll be back on a normal schedule. I don't have to worry about working b…

Valentines celebrations kicked off last Thursday with my moms group. These girls are wonderful and I love them to pieces. I seriously love our bunch. Kate was having a melt down, can you tell?
Sarah made a delish chicken salad and I made heart scones with devonshire cream It's not a party unless there is good food involved :)
We had craft time for the kidlets.  Which really means we gave the babes crayons and paper and let them have at it while the mamas had craft time. I admit it. I'm a Martha Stewart wannabe compared to all my girls who are the real deal.
The result of our craft time... Kate's hand prints for daddy and all the grandparents How sweet is this?
I once again attempted to be Martha Stewart and made these sweet little desserts S'mores y'all!!!


So, to be honest I think Valentines day is a bit cheesy. Or at least it can be. Chris and I don't get too fancy with it but we did have a great day celebrating L O V E
I had the best morning at Bible study. The Lord…

I am so excited about my "new site".....This is the same ole blog I started 3 years ago, only with a new name and a little face lift. I will be changing a few things as I go but decided I should keep the blog unlocked during construction. I had no idea how many of you like to read "Keeping up with the Andrews" on a daily basis until it was in hiding. Y'all are so sweet and it brings me much joy hearing how much you enjoy keeping up with my little family. That is exactly that this was intended for. I started this blog with intentions of keeping our family near and far update with things that are going on in our life. As the years have passed it has sort of blossomed into a place for friends, family and strangers near and far to keep up with us. I've had several people ask if I feel exposed with putting our life on the internet. Yes and no is my answer. Yes, our life is exposed but that is our choice and not everything that we do, say or see gets published. O…

I heart Valentines Day.
It's all things pretty and delicious.
My two favorite colors shine that day {pink & red}
and it's the one day where you can totally get away with eating chocolate [all.day.long]

Our house is decorated and goodies are being made.

And Kate got an early Valentines present from her mimi and papa
Check it....

A pink retro kitchen























Ohhh we're having fun!
Can't wait to share all of our other goodies with you next week!

Happy Thursday y'all.

Our girl is growing up so fast. Last night we decided it was time for Kate to have her own place so we packed up and headed to Toys R 'US. Not sure it was a good idea taking my husband with me. Talk about a little kid's fantasy store. My man is 29 going on 9 at heart. I did a bunch of searching around to find the perfect house for Kate and when I came across this little cottage it was like a match made in heaven. It's called the Neat and Tidy Cottage. I promise I did not name it. Y'all how perfect is that? You know me, neat freak and all.
I only wish I had a video camera last night in the Toys R 'US parking lot. We brought the new XTERRA and one thing for sure, it's not a truck. This was our first big purchase without the ghetto fabulous truck and for one tiny second I wished we had it last night to take the new cottage home. The car seat had to be moved, one of the seats had to be folded down and the cottage had to be taken out of the box to fit. It was a very…

Most of you know that I am the owner and creator of The Ritzy Glitzy Baby Boutique. I'm coming up on a year of being in business and am having an absolute ball with it! I have the most amazing clients. Most of my business are referrals and my shop has become to "go to" place for the bling pacifier. I don't plan to do this forever but for the time being I find it pure joy to sit down at night and create sweet little orders for babies around the globe.
I am so excited to share that I have my first big giveaway on a pretty awesome blog! Her name is "Blair"...not really but that's her pen name for blogging. She's southern, darling and straight up. I love her and am so glad that she agreed to host little ol' me on her blog. Check me out at The Heir to Blair

Leave a comment on her blog for your chance to win $30 worth of goodies, you pick!

Happy picking and commenting!

This past week has kicked my but big time. I'm a little feisty tonight and I think you'll understand why in just a moment. And let me warn you right now that this post is not lady like or very cute. Anything is fair game at this point.

Monday afternoon: Kate throws up after her nap. I will spare you the details but it was one of those where I picked her up and put her in the bathtub with her clothes on to take them off and then scrubbed her. And when I went to clean up the disaster I had to hold my breath. Thank God for leather furniture and Clorox wipes. 

Tuesday Night: I went to Yacko aka Bunco but we talked and ate instead of playing. Super fun catching up with old neighbor friends. The last 5 minutes I started to feel sick and 5 minutes after that, it was all over. Y'all I threw up for 14 hours straight! I am not kidding. 9pm to 11am. I slept 30 minutes within those 14 hours. I have never been that sick with the stomach flu before. I can't tell you how many people I …