I Scream, You Scream!

... We ALL scream for ice cream!!!  Well, maybe some of us scream a LOT louder than others!  ;)  Those of you who know me personally know I am an ice cream FIEND.  My adoration of the treat borders on addiction.  And I don't want help or an intervention -- I just want more ice cream!!!

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Well, I'm in luck because today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!  {Yes, that's really a thing.}  I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that in honor of the occasion, I had myself an ice cream sandwich!  Actually, I was planning to have one {or perhaps two} regardless...  ;)

And because I LOVE not only eating ice cream but also talking about it, I thought I'd recommend 2 of my favorite deliciously low-guilt options:

Check them out in your supermarket, and let me know what you think!  For low fat, I think they're both high in taste!  And they're just the right size for a little late-night snack.

So, did anyone else indulge in an ice cream sandwich today?  If not, I highly recommend you do.  :)


Note:  These opinions are completely my own.  I wasn't paid or otherwise encouraged in any way to promote these brands.... I just wanted to share some of my fave treats with my readers in honor of Ice Cream Sandwich Day!  ;)

Wayfair Rewards

I want to let you in on a little secret.... it's an online website that has zillions of really nice items for sale at surprisingly affordable prices!  Most of their items ship free (and fast!) and their selection is huge -- I can (and have) spent hours drooling over their merchandise.  Plus, their customer service is top notch.

Introducing...

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I discovered this internet gem about two years ago and have been smitten ever since.  The icing on the cake is a really neat rewards program that allows you to accrue credits for each purchase you make and apply those credits toward future purchases!  That's right... you get free stuff for shopping!  Signing up for Wayfair Rewards is free, and easy.  You fill in your email address and then get 3% back on a zillion things home!

And, if you use my referral link to sign up, we'll both get a discount on a future purchase!  Most items on the website ship for free, and the prices are really affordable.  So, click on my referral link and start browsing!  You have nothing to lose, but I have a feeling you're going to find something fantastic to buy.  ;)

http://www.wayfair.com/invite?rfr=27636292505

Member Benefits:

+ Earn 3% on every purchase you make.

+ Receive an extra $10 for every friend that you refer.

+ Get access to exclusive members-only email offers.

To give you a taste of their selection, here is some of my favorite Wayfair eye candy:

Crosley LaFayette Expandable Bar Cabinet in Vintage Mahogany

Kaleen Regale Blue Rug

Graham & Brown Watercolor Meadow Printed Canvas Art

Well, what are you waiting for?  Get shopping!  This site has everything you could possibly want, and more!!!  If you've already bought something from Wayfair, I'd love to see what it is!  :)

NOTE:  For reach friend who makes a purchase after signing up for Wayfair Rewards through my referral link, I'll get a $10 credit.  You'll get the same once you refer friends, too!!!  I was not compensated in any way by Wayfair for writing this post and the views expressed are solely my own.  I simply love saving mula, and also love passing savings on to friends, so it's a win-win!  Enjoy!!!

Escape to Lenox

A couple weekends ago we escaped to "The Blatnyre" in Lenox, Massachusetts.  We arrived on a Friday night to this beautiful sight:

Upon check-in, we found some treats in our room:

We didn't have much planned for the weekend (except relaxation) but we ended up having a great time!  We enjoyed a gourmet homemade breakfast each morning we were there.  From the whole wheat lemon poppy pancakes to the egg white omelettes -- everything was delicious!  There was hot chocolate, tea and coffee aplenty, plus a small fruit salad and biscuits served with homemade jams!  Delish!

On Saturday afternoon, we took a horse drawn carriage ride through the snow:

Check out this scenery!

The grounds were as blissfully quiet as they were beautiful. After our sleigh ride, we decided to get energetic and go snow shoeing!  It was my first time, and it was not as hard as I expected it to be.  Though my left shoe did fall off twice in one hour and I did temporarily lose my hat in the snow...

We warmed up by one of the fireplaces in the mansion before heading back outdoors to take a few spins on the tennis courts homemade ice rink!

And because no ice skating experience is complete without delicious hot chocolate and HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS (!!!!!, with banana bread!!!!!) we indulged...

The Blantyre offered a complimentary wine tasting to guests on Saturday evening, after which we received a tour of their wine cellar.  Wooo weee!!!  What a collection.  Their collection makes ours look like a few bottles in a cabinet.  Oh, wait...  ;)  After the tour, we listened to some piano music in the Music Room Lounge and then enjoyed a fantastic Chateaubriand dinner pour deux in the formal dining room.

On Sunday, we spent some time at the spa, which was very cozy and relaxing.  After getting our massage on, we headed out to visit The Normal Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

And to cap the day off right, since it was past lunch time and getting verrrrry cooooooold, I had to enjoy one of these from a local bakery shop:

All in all, it was a great weekend and the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.  If you ever get the chance, I'd highly recommend spending some time at The Blantyre!

Alas, Monday eventually came and it was back to reality.  But our mini escape definitely made heading back to the office easier.  :)

*All photos are the property of This Is Life At Our Home*

To Do Lists

Shep and I are big fans of to-do lists.  We have apartment to-do lists, life to-do lists, vacation to-do lists, hurricane prep to-do lists, and even weekend to-do lists.  For some reason, it seems more fun to spend our free time doing things we don't necessarily want to be doing when we get to check them off a piece of paper as we go.  {Wait a minute, that doesn't sound very fun at all.  We've been duped!}

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Last weekend we accomplished a LOT.  We:

• Wrote a letter to Visa customer service
• Replaced chandelier bulbs
• Took photos of defective/damaged items bought online for Christmas
• Took down all our Christmas decorations and our tree  :(
• Purchased 2 large bins to store additional Christmas decorations received this year (on clearance at Walmart = score!)
• Visited our storage unit to put all decorations away and get humidifier out
• Replaced our HVAC filters
• Looked up some crock pot recipes
• Researched (aka stared at pinterest for hours) chaise & settee chairs for fireplace area
• Looked at some potential entertainment center units to replace our current one
• Bought tea lights
• Bought chalk
• Took our car for oil change/check-up
• Contacted our realtor to renew the lease for our old apartment
• Applied some wood polish on some scratches on our wood floors (don't ask!)
• Purchased a gift for an upcoming event
• Did 4 loads of laundry (gulp!)
• Returned some Christmas gift clothing + shoes that didn't fit
• Laid down new rug purchased for fireplace area
• Went on a dinner + movie date night!  :)

Phew!  What a busy weekend!  No wonder it flew by.  ;) 

Whatever we don't accomplish one weekend, gets moved to the list for the next weekend.  Hopefully one day our list will look like this:

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Until then, a girl can dream!  ;)

Now it's your turn.  What's on YOUR to-do list?

Cool Customers

{Disclaimer: This post is very delayed, but better late than never!}

This summer, Shep and I officially became "Cool Customers".  How, you ask?  Let me tell you!...

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Our electricity provider, PSE&G, has a program called the Cool Customer Program.  The gist of it is that customers who enroll get a new fancy shmancy programmable thermostat installed free of charge AND a $50 statement credit.  Once you're enrolled, PSE&G has the ability to cycle your air conditioning compressor in order to minimize the impact of high energy demand on the electric system.  This is especially important to them in summer when temperatures soar and ACs roar, because the cycling ability allows them the opportunity to avoid blackouts.

Shep wanted to join the program for the free thermostat (he's been wanting to buy a new one since we moved in!); I liked the idea of $50 worth of free electricity (to help counteract my darling hubby's hobby of turning on, and leaving on, every light in the apartment).  But, the program seemed a little "big brother"ish to me.  I like being in control of my own home's temperature, thank you very much!  Plus, we didn't really need new thermostats; we already had programmable ones!  Shep's curiosity took charge so he called PSE&G and spoke with a service rep, who explained that it would be a rare occurrence (and pretty dire circumstance) for them to actually exercise their ability to cycle the system.  That put Shep at ease, but I still wasn't buying it.  So, I asked around at work and did a few minutes of online research to perform a quick cost/benefit analysis.  Before signing up, I wanted to ensure the pros of the program outweighed any potential cons.  Lucky for me, a couple of colleagues of mine had joined the program the previous year and confirmed that PSE&G had never to date adjusted their AC cycles.  This made me a lot more comfortable, so we took the plunge.  Well, to our delight we received TWO free programmable thermostats (which were installed very quickly and painlessly by a PSE&G representative) and a $100 statement credit, because we have 2 HVAC units in our condo.  Woohoo!  Double the benefits and no additional risk... that's my kind of offer!  ;)  Oh, and as expected, we didn't experience any compressor cycling at all throughout the summer.

In summary, I'd definitely recommend the program to anyone out there considering it!  As far as we can see, there's nothing to lose by trying it out!

Do any readers out there have any experience with a "Cool Customer" program?  I'm curious to hear about other power companies out there that have similar programs, so do share!

{I was not asked or encouraged by PSE&G to write this post; the views are my own and I'm voluntarily sharing them.}

Yard Sale!

Last weekend, we had a yard sale at my mom's house.  We originally hoped to have the sale at the beginning or end of summer, but you know what they say about the best paid plans and all.  Having been through it though, it's probably better that we didn't have it sooner because even though it was the first week in October and temperatures were cool the sun was strong and we were hot!!!  I think I would have melted into a puddle sitting out there all day in July or August!

Shep and I have been designating things as "yard sale" for what feels like a year now.  Each time we came across something in our apartment or storage unit that we couldn't find a place for or no longer wanted, we'd yell "YARD SALE!" (similar to how a granny would yell "BINGO!" in a game hall).  It kind of turned into a joke, and we'd giggle every time we designated something to be sold.  We did such a great job of "de-cluttering" our living space that we created a huge pile of items in the extra bedroom of our apartment.  Talk about counterproductive.  ;)  Eventually, we de-cluttered the yard sale staging area by driving multiple car loads of crap yard sale goodies to my mom's house, including a cargo van full of furniture and other crap treasures (huge thanks to my brother who helped out with that task like a rock star!).

Curious what we had for sale?  Here's a sample....

It was scary to see how much STUFF Shep and I had accumulated to sell, especially since we've only been married for 3.5 years, and we live in a condo!  A lot of our overage was due to having too many lamps, for example, after merging homes years ago and never down-sizing properly at the time.  Other items (like all the blue boxes above) were a result of recent upgrades in our new apartment to lighting and bath fixtures.

All in all, it was a productive first yard sale, and we made $231.35!  Not bad for a couple of amateurs!  Because knowledge is power, we created a tip list for any brave souls out there in cyberspace who will one day master your own first yard sale!

Lessons learned:

• Advertise, advertise, advertise!!!  We actually took it a little light on the advertising since this was our first sale and we didn't want to be overwhelmed.  We also didn't have a need to sell everything at once though.  The Monday before the sale I put an ad on craisglist that included a description of the items I was selling, the time and date of the sale, the location of the sale (we included directions but not a street address for privacy reasons), and some photos of key items.  I also included a note instructing "cash only" and "no early birds".  Saturday morning, I refreshed my ad so it would appear toward the top of the listings and visible to those searching that day.

• Have change on hand: People will pay for a $5 item with a $50 bill, and will also pay in quarters so it's a necessity to have change and small bills on hand.  Before the yard sale, we stopped at the bank and got approximately thirty $1 bills, several dollars worth of quarters, and about eight to ten $5 bills.  We had some $10 and $20 bills on hand as well, which came in handy to break larger bills without needing to give all our small bills away.  After the sale I had $50 in one dollar bills, which solicited a very intriguing look from the bank teller when I deposited the money.  I just smiled politely and handed the wad of ones over.

• Price items reasonably:  This was probably the hardest part of the day for us.  Some of the items we were selling were either of great sentimental or monetary worth.  However, those shopping at yard sales are looking for bargains, not memories, so price accordingly if you truly want to sell your stuff!  I think we did fairly well in this category, but there is definitely room for improvement next time.  For example, I had about a dozen glass vases I was trying to sell for $5 each, which I think I'll mark down to $3 next time around.  One pair of grumpy old garage sale ladies actually uttered the phrase "YEESH!" while looking at some of our items.  I think at the time they were looking either at purses that I was trying to sell for $5 or a perfectly working and almost new cordless vacuum cleaner for $15, I can't remember.  But, both are pretty good prices if you ask me, so I'm not sure what they were "yeeshing" about!  I think they were professional pickers and generally grumpy, so I tried not to take it personally.  A gentleman proclaimed to Shep that we would "never sell anything at that price!" (that price being $3 for a hardcover book in excellent condition), so Shep invited the man to make an offer.  The man offered $2 and a sale was made.  Flexibility is key!

• Staging is important:  Think of your yard sale as a department store -- group similar items together, arrange items in an attractive way, and ensure all items can be easily seen.  One thing we're going to do next time is rent or borrow a rack, to more easily display the many pieces of clothing we want to sell.  I managed to sell a couple shirts and a few hats this time around, which were folded nicely and placed in bins, but I think a clothing rack is going to make a huge difference next time.

• Be ready for early birds:  We woke up super early and made it to my mom's house in record time; however, the items took a bit longer to pull out, set up and price that we predicted (rookie mistake) and one or two shoppers arrived before the official start time of the yard sale.  Even though I specified "no early birds!" in my craigslist ad, some folks arrived early so be prepared!

• Have a plan for after the sale:  In this case, ours was to shove everything back into my mom's garage at the end of the day, where it will sit until our next yard sale in the spring!  It's hard to predict what will sell, so be sure you're not stuck with a bunch of stuff you have no room for when the day is done.  If you absolutely must get rid of all items by the end of the sale, start marking prices down in the afternoon and have transportation or help (or both!) on standby to help haul the items away to a local charity or drop-off location.  Many charities will accept used clothing, furniture, housewares, but some have strict rules so make sure you research ahead of time!

• Buddy up:  It's good to pair up with at least one other adult.  At times, there were nearly a dozen people simultaneously perusing the items, asking questions, asking to pay, etc.  At other times, there were no guests, so we took turns going inside to cool off or grab a bite to eat.  I wouldn't advise holding a sale on your own -- it's a lot easier, and more fun, to share the responsibilities!

So there you have it, folks... Yard Sale 101 as told by Nicole & Shep.  :)  Any readers out there have any great advice to share?  We'd love to hear it!

Fantastically Free!

Remember when I won a gift certificate to One Kings Lane, courtesy of a giveaway Erin hosted over at House of Turquoise?  {I do -- it was one of the most exciting things that happened to me this year!}

Well, ladies and gents, I've spent my OKL gift certificate and I want to show you the fantastically free items I got!

First up, a pretty wreath of dried hydrangea blooms, purple sinuata, white larkspur, natural phalaris, mint flower and fern, for our front door:

Rustic Romance: Jewel Collection 18" Wreath
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It was packaged well so it arrived in great shape, and up on our front door it went!  Since we live in an apartment building, our front door is metal and we're not permitted to drill through it.  So, I used a handy dandy removable Command hook, which is working perfectly!  The only minor hiccup is that I placed the hook too close to the peep hole in our door, so the wreath blocks our view of the hallway.  Ooopsie.  What can I say... it was late and I was tired.  It's not that big of a deal since we don't really get any strange(r) visitors, but one of these days I do plan to spend the 5 minutes it would take to reposition the hook.  ;)

The next item I ordered was this toilet paper holder:

Bath Boutique: Jumbo Tissue Cylinder
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Our master bathroom is pretty large, but there is a serious lack of storage space.  {Boooo.}  This functional but attractive paper holder is just the thing we needed!  It's large enough to hold extra big rolls, and it fits great in the nook between our porcelain throne and shower stall.  I don't think I need to explain the value of having toilet paper within easy reaching distance.  ;)  Who knew a paper holder could be pretty?!  Not I!

And last (but not least), I purchased this little bath tub caddy:

Bath Boutique: Spa Bathtub Caddy Gift
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Admittedly, I have yet to use the gorgeous jacuzzi bath tub in our home (although we've lived here for 9 months now!)... but when I finally do get to test it out, I now have a little caddy to store some bath goodies.  And, although I've also never read a book in the tub in my entire life, for some reason the book stand in the caddy called out to me.  What can I say, I'm weak.  ;)

So there you have it.... my three most recent fantastically free finds!  {Say that three times fast!}

What do you think of my finds?  Have you purchased anything from One Kings Lane yet?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!

P.S. -- If you're not yet a member of OKL, click here to sign up and get $15 off your first purchase!

Lovely Labels

I looooove address labels.  Shep might say that my love of labels boarders on addiction... I don't know if I'd agree with that characterization, but I definitely admit to having a quite large collection, especially for someone who doesn't even send snail mail all that often!  I can't help it, I have zero restraint when I see a cute design I like... something inside me gets giddy and I have to have them!

I can thank (and blame) my obsession with personalized address labels mostly on Vistaprint.  I'm not quite sure how they stay in business with such a pricing model, but Vistaprint often has "free" sales, which means many of the items on their website are free of charge; the customer must only pay for shipping.  In my opinion, the $2 postage charge for 140 address labels is well worth it considering the plethora of designs one can choose from, and the ease with which they can be customized.  After the very first time I ordered, I was smitten.

Here are some of my faves that I've created over the years:

The very first design I ordered!
Apparently after one gets engaged, one must buy labels.

I ordered these for our wedding save-the-date magnets!
Cue the music to "Memories" from Cats...

We used these the first time we sent joint
Christmas cards out.  Not very holiday-ish;
not sure what I was thinking (except blue).

Look familiar?  I needed them in blue
for our wedding invitations, of course!

If you guessed holiday cards you'd be right!
These are from December 2010,
when we were still in our first apt!  (sniff)

Our first labels with our new apt address on them.

These are the latest addition to my collection!
Aren't they so sweet?!  I'm in LOVE.

Speaking of love, that last label design happens to coordinate PERFECTLY with these postage stamps I have, which makes me doubly excited to send mail out!

2011 USPS Love Forever Stamp

Good thing I hoarded purchased a ton of these when they came out, because I just checked the website and it doesn't appear these are being sold any longer!

Well, there you have it -- my love for personalized address labels (and pretty postage stamps) is out in the open.  They say that admittance is the first step to recovery, but I don't want to recover!!!  My name is Nicole, I'm an address label collector, and I'm proud!!

Any other stamp, sticker or label collectors out there?  We collectors need to "stick" together, so tell me about what collections you have!  ;)



Note: I have not received any payment or other perks from Vistaprint for this post.  I just love their labels so much I had to share!

Free Shutterfly Photo Book

Free alert!!!  Through Wednesday, September 12, Shutterfly is offering YOU (and me!) a free* 8 x 8 photo book!

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Click here for more info and to order!  I've ordered a couple photo books from Shutterfly in the past: the interface is easy to use, the quality is pretty great given the price, and they're delivered quickly!  I definitely plan to utilize this end-of-summer offer.... hmm, maybe on a France vacation memory book!

*You'll be charged for shipping, but it's still a great deal considering these books are typically $29.99!

I'm not receiving any payment or other perk for referring this offer - I just wanted to share this great deal as a PSA to my trusty readers!  Enjoy!!

Car Damage Woes

One Saturday morning in March, Shep came into the apartment exclaiming that he'd seen that our car had been hit in the garage while parked, but there was no note left and the garage attendants had no record of the incident on their video footage.  I thought:  "WHAT?!?!  The garage we pay a pretty penny to park in each month???"  Yep, that one.  Shep was, understandably, very upset that the car had been hit.  After all, our beloved CR-V is only 2 years old and we've been so careful with it!  I tried to reassure my hubby that if our car had to be hit the best possible scenario was for it to be hit while parked, with no one inside that could get hurt.  Although I believed what I was saying, I was still pretty annoyed.  What kind of person hits a car and then drives away without leaving a note?!?!  We went down together to survey the damage and saw this...

The first thought that ran through my head was "phew, it could've been a lot worse".  The next thought was "how much is this going to cost to fix" and "uh oh, are we going to have to pay for these repairs since there's no other party to blame"?  And if so, "is our insurance premium going to increase because of this????".

Scared, I attempted to call Geico, our auto insurance company, anonymously to investigate whether or not a hit-and-run-while-parked claim would affect our insurance rates.  Unfortunately, they weren't able to provide a definitive answer without looking into my specific policy.  I thought for sure that as soon as I identified myself that I'd be on-the-hook and would surely be told me new insurance rate would be approximately 1 billion dollars a year.  ;)  To my great surprise, I was advised by my claim specialist that although I would be responsible for our deductible (which is less than ideal since we weren't at fault for our parked car getting hit by a jerk that drove away without taking responsibility for his/her actions), our insurance premium would not increase as a result of this incident.  PHEW.  What a relief that was!  The Geico claim agent walked me through the process, referred me to a local body shop that could do the work, and told me he and his colleagues aimed to provide 10-star service.  I rolled my eyes as I thanked him for his time and hung up the phone.  To be honest, I was expecting to be lied to, ripped off, misled and more.... but let me tell you something -- we did receive 10-star service from the Geico claims rep, the on-site Geico adjuster at the body shop, and the shop personnel they referred us to.  All in all, it was a relatively painless process, given the situation.

Why am I writing this post?  A couple reasons:

• to recommend Geico.  They really did everything in their power to make the process as simple and convenient for us as possible and we were incredibly satisfied with their service.  In case you're wondering, we gave them the 10 stars they earned on the follow-up survey we received.
• to provide others that find themselves in a similar situation with some info on what to expect if you're the victim of a hit-and-run-while-parked.  (1) Don't panic.  (2) Snap a quick photo of the damage.  Try to obtain any security footage that may exist of the incident.  (3) Contact your auto insurance agency as soon as possible.  Although there was no time frame within which we had to make the repairs according to the Geico policy, I am sure this varies according to the insurance company so the sooner you look into it the better.
• to highlight that random accidents happen all the time, and nobody can predict when/if this kind of thing will happen.  Of course, if your names are "Nicole & Shep" chances are higher it will happen to you.  ;)  Take this into consideration when choosing your auto insurance coverage AND deductible.  Yes, you can control your driving, you can take defensive driving courses and measures to keep yourself and your car as safe as possible, but there are no guarantees.  Life happens!  That's what insurance is for.  ;)  Just be sure that you can live with the policy and deductible you choose for yourself.

Well, that's our bad luck story!  Do any readers have any additional advice to share?  Has anyone been the victim of a hit and run, either on the road or while parked?