Reduce Reuse Recycle

Remember when I revealed my minor obsession with adoration for address labels?

Vistaprint is the source of many of my personalized address labels and, unfortunately, the smallest batch of labels one can order from the site is 140, which means I have looooooots of extras.

In addition to these beauties, though, I also receive a ton of address labels from the various charitable organizations we support.  In fact, the number of labels I get sent by charities is totally overkill -- it would be MORE than enough for a business, and I'm just one person!  I don't even KNOW that many people to send cards to!  ;)

When we moved last year, that meant the many address labels I'd been hoarding storing quickly became useless.  Technically I could have still used them (because luckily, mail never really comes back to me as undelivered) but there was no need, since I quickly received new address labels in the mail with my new correct address information on them.  So, what to do with all those old labels??

Reduce, reuse, recycle, of course!!!

I cut them up and created homemade stickers for a special set of twins I know!  There are pumpkin stickers, snowflake stickers, cartoon animal stickers, shape stickers, and more...

I simply hate waste, so my first instinct is always to brainstorm a creative way to re-purpose an item in lieu of tossing it.  I don't know if it's the good example my mom set for me as a kid {she did work for the town supervisor's office so knew all the recycling rules!} or my elementary school science fair project of creating recycled paper out of shredded newspaper that set me on this path, but I am a recycling addict!  This was a very easy way to re-purpose address labels I no longer needed AND create a little DIY gift for Lauren & Natalie... a win-win!  I'm not sure if they ever actually used them, but I sure had fun creating them.  :)

Happy Belated Earth Day!!!  What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?  Any recent recycling projects you care to share?  I love me a good recycling experience!!!

Spring Is {Finally!} In The Air

Well, technically spring arrived a few weeks ago, but the only thing I've felt in the air thus far has been a chill.  I wore my down coat to work as late as yesterday, for crying out loud!  But, since the forecast predicts that the next few days will be in the 50s and 60s, I figured it was time to "officially" acknowledge spring by posting photos of our Easter and spring decorations -- better late than never!!

French Doors near Foyer

Console Table Behind Sofa

Decorative eggs make great fillers
in vases on our dining buffet!

Our Mantle - TaDa!

My favorite Easter decoration  :)

It took Shep a little while to spot the phone in the Easter basket, and when he did he asked if I'd gone crazy...  I giggled uncontrollably to myself as I was setting it up -- I thought I was sooooo clever.  :)

In terms of supplies, we already had the baskets, little yellow duckie, purple ceramic bunny and the plastic fake eggs from a couple years ago {#easterdecorstaples}; I bought the glittery "Happy Easter" sign from Christmas Tree Shops for $1 last year {why yes I do love a bargain!}; scooped up the "Happy Spring" mantle banner from Duane Reade for $2.99 {score!}; and splurged for the super cute white lambs and painted eggs for the vases from Pier 1 {this season}.  It certainly isn't the most elaborate Easter decoration collection, but it worked for us!

Anyone out there have photos to share of YOUR spring decor?  I'd love to see it!  :)

Sale Adjustments

I just made back $7 by making a 30 second phone call!  How?  Sale adjustment to the rescue!!!

'Caitlin' Chevron Knit Throw, Plum

It's just my luck that a blanket I bought on sale would get even further discounted not even 2 weeks after my purchase!  Well, it turns out that Nordstrom has a "Sale Adjustment" price policy {here} that saved the day!  I made a quick call to their Customer Service Line and was off the phone in less than a minute with $7 credited back to me.  Now that's what I call efficient customer service!  :)

The funny thing about great customer service is that it's a relatively inexpensive way for a company to encourage its customers to support the company, and increase sales!  For example, I just took a couple minutes to post a very positive product review online {which I don't often remember to do}, I'll definitely considering buying from Nordstrom again in the future, and now I'm telling my readers about my great experience... all because of a 30 second positive experience!  I guess it's true what they say: creating great customer experiences is the best kind of marketing strategy!

Happy Hundred

Happy 100 blog posts to us!

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Wow, it's hard to believe This Is Life At Our Home has published 100 posts since its inception in 2011!!!!!!!!!!  {Actually, this post makes 101, but who's counting?!}  When I created this blog on a whim after really missing the blog Shep and I wrote together while planning our wedding, I honestly wasn't sure whether we'd maintain it or what I'd have to write about.  Although I certainly wish I had more time to write more posts more regularly, I'm proud that I've kept it up {even when it was hard to find time!} and hope to adopt a more frequent posting schedule moving forward.

Because I'm a data nerd, here are some blog stats to help celebrate this momentous occasion:

• 100 posts
• 50 published comments
• 15 subscribed followers through email, blogger & feed subscriptions
• 5,275 total pageviews over the life of the blog and 557 pageviews last month
• Our most-read post received 15 pageviews
• Readers in TEN countries:  United States, Russia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, China, Canada, Finland, Moldova & Poland {WOW! This just made my year!!!}

To ALL our readers and especially to those who have left comments, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!  You know who you are and I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.  I enjoy writing as a way to relax after a long day, share good tips I've stumbled across, and most of all, to connect with others!  Receiving comments on a post is the blogger's equivalent to receiving a care package in the mail, so please keep them coming!  I will never forget receiving a comment {in French!} from a French reader who used Google Translate to read our posts.  Shep and I were actually in Paris at the time and I nearly burst from excitement!  It's so encouraging to know there are people out there actually reading this stuff and having the chance to interact with some of you through comments is icing on the cake!

Because I'm Polish, the mere mention of the number 100 begs for the opportunity to sing Sto Lat, so I'm singing it to this blog!  Cheers to 100 posts and here's to many more!  ;)

Free Cupcake Alert!

Attention all cupcake lovers in the NY Metro area!

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Sign up for New York magazine's New York Deals and get a FREE cupcake (up to $3.95) from any of the 39 Crumbs Bake Shop locations in the NY Metro area!  New York Deals is New York magazine's short list collection of what its editors think are the best deals in NYC.  It's free to sign up and you can receive alerts delivered via email or view them by visiting their website.  As with most promotions, by signing up for this offer you are opting in to receive communications from New York Deals and Crumbs Bake Shop.  But, in my professional deal-seeker opinion, there is very little risk for this deliciously sugary reward.  ;)  So sign up today and enjoy your free cupcake by April 29th!


Disclaimer:  I have not been paid or otherwise encouraged to promote this free cupcake alert.  I simply believe in sharing great tips like this!  Enjoy!