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Fun Picnic Ideas
The weather is warm, the grass is dry and the days are getting longer, what a perfect combination for an outdoor picnic with family and friends! Whether you like to go to public parks for your picnics or just set up a nice spot in the grassy area of your backyard, picnics are about spending time outdoors with the people you love while sharing stories and eating delicious summer foods.
Don’t forget that planning a picnic should be just as fun as having a picnic, so we’ve made the ‘planning a picnic’ part a little easier and a little more exciting with these cute ideas!
Picnic Table/Blanket Spread Ideas:
- Individually wrapped picnic pieces
- Modern picnic totes: replace the basket
Portable Picnic Food Ideas:
Food that is made ready to eat and in its own containers, such as mason jars, makes a picnic much easier and less messy. For kids, making separate lunches and placing them in a bag or container makes it easier to set up once you find your perfect picnic spot.
- Mini individual baked mac & cheese
It doesn’t take much to have an enjoyable time at a picnic- so don’t sweat the small stuff and enjoy the outdoors!
Photo Credit: Rowena
What You Need for a Stress-Free Family Road Trip
There is nothing more exciting than planning and prepping for a family road trip. But there is also a down side to family road trips, trying to keep your children occupied and happy throughout the journey.
We’ve compiled a list of resources, games and other activities that will keep the little ones happy and the driver sane!
What not to forget on a road trip:
-If your car has a built in DVD player, then don’t forget DVDs and headphones!
-Snacks & extra food such as homemade sandwiches
-Small toys to keep the kids entertained
-Family friendly music
-Blankets & pillows for napping/fort making
-Ginger or clove candies/Dramamine for kids prone to car sickness
Road Trip Games:
-The original homemade kids toy, a cootie catcher!
-Urge your kids to create a ‘travel journal’
-Road Trip scavenger hunt
-Printable car bingo games
-Counting cows car game, pretty self-explanatory!
-Here are more road trip game ideas and tips:
27 Free Games to Keep Kids Entertained
Road Trip Snacks:
Packing simple and quick snacks will save you time, money and stop the “I’m hungry” whining
-Small bags full of popcorn or goldfish crackers
-Individually wrapped fruit leather or fruit snacks
-Capri-Sun or other plastic container juice boxes
-Celery sticks inside a peanut butter container
-An array of finger food snacks in a craft organizer container
-Apple slices with an open yogurt container inside of an old sour cream container
We hope these games, snacks and tips help you have one of the best family road trips ever. And we’d also like to remind everyone, just because you are on a road trip doesn’t mean you have to stop recycling! Look up recycling centers in the areas you are traveling too or ask around at the gas station when filling up.
Happy Road Tripping!
Photo Credit: Patxi Lzkue
Michigan Summer Car Shows
Nothing says summer in Michigan like an outdoor classic car show! Go out and enjoy beautiful summer weather in Michigan by checking out some classic cars made in Michigan. A fun way to bring back memories and to create new ones, so don’t miss out on these local car festivals near you!
June 9th – Potterville, MI – Potterville Gizzard Fest Classic Car Show
http://www.oldride.com/events/9407294.html
June 9th- Vicksburg, MI- – Vicksburg Old Car Festival
http://www.vicksburgoldcarfestival.com/
June 10th- Shelby Township, MI – Cars ‘R’ Stars
http://www.oldride.com/events/7745109.html
June 22 – 23rd- St. Ignace, MI- “Antique on the Bay” Car Show
July 14th-Scio Township, MI – Road Cruise
August 18th – Woodward Avenue, MI – 18th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise
http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/Home.aspx
June-August –Mount Clemens, MI – Downtown Mt Clemens
http://www.mountclemenscruise.com/michigan-car-cruises.html
All Summer- Brooklyn, MI -Michigan International Speedway Racing Events
http://www.mispeedway.com/Get-Tickets/Event-Calendar.aspx
If these aren’t enough to curb your car gazing appetite, here is a huge list of all the car shows happening throughout summer around Michigan.
Photo Credit: Jurg Vollmer
Fun Mother’s Day Ideas
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13th. This is a holiday created to celebrate all the mothers in the world who helped bring you, me and everyone else into this world. Since our mothers spent so much time taking care of us and pampering us, we get to repay them with a special day of love and pampering made just for them! Here are some fun gift and activity ideas for the mother in your life.
Gifts:
-Check out Groupon.com- they have lots of amazing Mother’s Day centered deals, great if you are on a budget!
-Here is a Mother’s Day Gift Guide based off of different mothering styles.
- Although it might seem overplayed, buying your mother her favorite flowers with a nice vase always gets a smile!
Activities:
-A close to home, simple picnic shows your mom you care!
-Ask your mom what she wants to do. Participate in one of her favorite activities.
-Breakfast in bed is an obvious winner, as always.
-Spend an entire day with mom and end it with a home cooked meal- her favorite meal.
And of course, don’t forget about all the other women in your life who are mothers too!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
Photo Credit: Gareth Simpson
Exciting and Useful Paint Techniques
The sun is staying out longer, so we can begin enjoying the weather and cleaning out our winterized homes. As you are cleaning out your home you may realize you need to touch up some paint in a few rooms or that your living room just needs some extra ‘pop’. Luckily, right now would be the best time to do this!
Check out HGTV’s array of painting technique videos ranging from creating your own wall stencil to painting over tile. These videos are sure to inspire and to inform!
Photo Credit: Jon Ross
Best Things to Buy in May
We’re in the beginning of another month which means new products have gone on promotion and others have hiked their prices back up. Sometimes items that we would think would be on sale this month aren’t, and that is exactly how stores get us to spend more money!
So let’s fight back and strategically purchase items we need only when they will be on sale. We’ve got a list of items to buy and items to wait on for the month of May:
What to buy:
- Spring clothes
- New mattress
- Home office furniture
- Outdoor gear
- Gym memberships (it’s easier to haggle during warm weather months)
- Computers- desktop and laptop
What to hold off on:
- Jewelry for mom on Mother’s Day (choose a different type of gift)
- Outdoor grills
- LED LCD TV’s
This small list should save you some money before ‘vacation season’ and be sure to keep an eye out for coupons to help you save even more on your purchases. If possible hold off until Memorial Day for big purchases, often times Memorial Day deals are among the best deals of the year.
Happy shopping!
Photo Credit: sushiina
Celebrate Cinco De Mayo
Tomorrow is May 5th, which means it’s that time of year to celebrate Cinco De Mayo!
If you have Hispanic roots, you already know the excitement and fun of celebrating this holiday. Cinco De Mayo is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico. Here in America we use Cinco De Mayo as a day to celebrate Mexican heritage and pride.
So how should you celebrate? You can start off by cooking up some delicious Mexican fare and for adults, washing it down with a nice, thirst quenching margarita! Some festive decorations are a fun addition, but not a must.
We picked out a few delicious and simple recipes for you to try:
Not sure where to get authentic Mexican ingredients? No problem, Southwest Detroit has you covered, here are some grocery stores to check out. If Detroit is too far you can always find staple ingredients at Kroger and Meijer.
Enjoy!
Photo Credit: David Roseborough
Stay Healthy this May
Did you know that May is Hepatitis Awareness Month? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a Viral Hepatitis division, which is leading a national education initiative. This initiative aims to decrease the burden of chronic viral hepatitis by increasing awareness about this hidden epidemic and encouraging people who may be chronically infected to get tested.
This year, May 19th will serve as the first ever Hepatitis testing day in the United States. Educating yourself and your family about Hepatitis and other infections can be a very important step to take to keep your loved ones healthy for a lifetime.
Hepatitis A is the most common form in children, and with minimal or no symptoms, you might not even know if you child has contracted the infection! Stay informed and up to date, here is more information about the infection and how to protect your children.
Take advantage of this awareness month and read more about the initiative to share with your friends and family. Have May be your month to prepare everyone for a healthy and fun summer month to come!
Photo Credit: Vectorportal
Save Money by NOT Buying These 5 Items
We all know that not all of the products we buy are necessities to our everyday lives; and we also know that we can save money by not purchasing certain products. But when it comes down to it, we might not even realize how much extra money we are spending on products that can easily be replaced with reusable options or just get rid of them all together.
So what products should we rethink about adding to our weekly or monthly grocery lists? Below, we’ve got 5 items that you definitely can live without that can save you quite a bit of money!
Bottled water: Although .99 cents a bottle doesn’t seem like very much at the time, think big picture here. For a 6 pack of bottled water you pay about $6.00, maybe less. Tap water is free and unlimited so you automatically are saving money! The U.S. makes sure our drinking water is clean and free of any harmful chemicals. But if that still isn’t good enough for you, consider purchasing a filtered water pitcher. You spend about $20 one time, and have filtered water for up to 3 months!
Individual yogurt cups: Yogurt is very good for your digestive system and your overall health. But buying yogurt in individual plastic cups is not good for the environment or your wallet! You’ll save lots of money if you purchase large tubs of your favorite flavor instead. If you take yogurt to work with you, just use a reusable plastic container.
Cable bill: Feel like nothing is ever on TV when you want it to be? Is your cable bill getting higher and higher? Consider getting rid of cable all together and just streaming your television shows online. Depending on your service provider and your package, you will be saving approximately $60+ a month by only paying for Internet! That is a lot of money that you can use for so many other things!
Paper cups/napkins & bills: Paper cups and napkins are big money wasters at home. Replace your paper cups in the bathroom with a glass cup. Instead of paper napkins try using cloth. And last but no least, ask to get your paper bills electronically. You will be saving yourself money and helping the environment.
Electric hand appliances: Although this isn’t a regular expense, this is a completely unnecessary one. Why spend $50 on an electric can opener when you can spend $5? This goes for most electric hand appliances, save yourself the money by buying the simple manual tools. Another perk with buying the cheaper versions: if they break, they don’t cost very much to replace!
Want to know exactly how much money you are wasting? Watch the video.
Photo Credit: Steven Depolo
Ketchup or Ranch – A Fight for American Domination
With grilling season right around the corner, it’s time for us American’s to stock up on our favorite barbecue friendly condiments.
Besides BBQ sauce, everyone loves to have ketchup on hand for a variety of foods and dishes. In fact, it’s been known to be the top condiment in America. But now it looks like Hidden Valley Ranch is trying to work its way up to be our condiment of choice for “everything”.
Hidden Valley Ranch was created in an actual dude ranch in the 1950’s in California. The company is now coming out with a new style of ranch that is no longer a dressing, but instead has the same consistency as ketchup.
So before this new ‘everything’ style ranch hits the shelves, comment below and tell us which is your favorite condiment: ranch or ketchup?
Photo Credit: a2gemma