Tips for Having a Successful Move

Tips for Having a Successful Move

I'm kind of an expert at moving. From the time I was born, to this very day, I've moved 15 times (number 16 coming soon). 10 of which have been in the last eight years, from the time I was a freshman in high school, to an adult at the ripe old age of 23. So I can vividly remember the packing, the throwing away, the unpacking, the new schools, new friends, new neighborhoods, cities, all of it. I think that I'm naturally pretty good at the whole, "bloom where you're planted" thing, but I have learned a few things over the years that have definitely helped with life and all of the crazy transitions it can throw at you. Below are some of my personal tips for any moving situation, whether it be across country, or to a neighboring town.



1. Get Rid of the Junk: If you haven't touched it in at least 6 months, there's a good chance that you're never going to use it again. Save yourself the packing effort and get rid of it. Unless it's tax documents... keep those because then you'll want to buy a house and realize that you don't have every tax paper from the last three years and then you'll have to call the IRS and wait for them for three weeks, and then the house you wanted will be sold to someone else already. (Not speaking from any sort of experience at all on that one...)

2. Map Out Your Future Home Before You Get There: People make fun of me because I plan for everything. But I think it's a good thing in this case, and then once you get there, you kind of have a semi-idea of where things are. I love to use Neighborhood Scout, it tells you where the best and worst neighborhoods are in every city, the crime rates for the city as a whole and per neighborhood, school ratings, appreciation rates... It's basically a planners dream. Then once you pick out your dream neighborhood you can head over to Hot Pads and find your future home... this is an almost daily activity for me with our recent job hunt.

3. Get Involved in Your Community, Fast: For me I'm glad that I'm a member of this church. It has congregations all over the world, so no matter where I live, I'll always have instant friends that way. If church isn't your thing, join a gym, volunteer, get to know your neighbors, build relationships with co-workers... the faster you get involved the easier it will be.

4. Just Be Yourself: Definitely don't lie and tell people you're color blind, have your drivers license if you don't, and a million and one lies that will spiral out because of two lies you told on the first day of school in 10th grade... was that TMI of my fatal downfall in high school? Pretty sure everyone hated me by 12th grade (with good reason)... Just be yourself it's always a million times easier.

5. ABF Moving Pods: We did this when we moved from Utah to NC and it was infinitely easier, and cheaper, than driving a moving truck. Plus they put a huge pod in front of your house, you load it up, they pick it up, and ship it to the front of your new house. So easy!

6. Unpack as Fast as You Can: This may be a no brainer, but the sooner everything is unpacked, the sooner it feels like home. One apartment that we lived in while in Provo, UT, we pretty much lived out of boxes that were in our dining room for 5 months... and it was miserable. (Although I was pregnant, finishing my dental assisting certification, doing full time hours in the clinic on top of another full time job, while Derek was working and doing school... so it was a miserable 5 months in general I guess)

There you have it, my amazing (or not so amazing), words of wisdom with moving. What has made moving easier for you?

Nestle Toll House Rolled and Ready Cookie Dough

Nestle Toll House Rolled and Ready Cookie Dough

You might have noticed a lack of mouth watering sugar cookies over here throughout the years. That's because I'm not very good at making them. We all have our kitchen struggles and mine comes in the form of mixing flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla together while trying to make them into cute shapes. I'll never understand the people that can actually consistently roll out 1/4in dough. I use a rolling pin too, just sometimes my dough is as thick as a mountain in some spots, and is translucently thin in others. Sugar cookies are not my thing. 

It is for all of the reasons above that I was super intrigued when I heard about Nestle Toll House's new Rolled and Ready Sugar Cookie Dough Sheets. It takes the guess work out of sugar cookies, and you can go straight to having fun, and creating lasting holiday memories with your kiddos. I was surprised at how easy it was to cut out the shapes, remove them from the cutters, and bake them! And once they come out of the oven, you can actually tell what shape they're supposed to be... another thing I struggle with!

For more mouth watering recipes, and a $.50 coupon, head on over to Nestle's website to get some mouth watering Christmas baking inspiration










Thank you to Nestle Toll House for sponsoring today's post!

Pesto and Red Pepper Bruschetta

Pesto and Red Pepper Bruschetta

This post has been compensated by Mezzetta Foods by their advertiser, Linqia. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and dashingly handsome toddlers are my own. 

The holiday season is typically a time of year when everyone remembers and recreates the traditions of their families. For me the holidays were always a time when all of my siblings and I were together for a short period of time, (my sister moved to Iowa when I was 5ish, so whenever she came home it was a party!) and we would spend about a week stuffing our faces with delicious meals, mostly made by my dad, but my mom can whip up a pretty good holiday ham too.

Now that I'm older, and have my own family, great holiday meals and gatherings are constantly on my mind. I definitely want to be that house that everyone flocks to for the holidays, so over the last couple years I've been curating an arsenal of holiday recipes. One area that I've been lacking in though, is horderves. I'm definitely that person that invites people over for dinner, and then lets them starve for 15 minutes while I'm putting the finishing touches on dinner. But this recipe is quick, and easy, and the colors of it just scream Christmas, so I'll definitely be making it a lot this holiday season. 

I made these last night to go with our spaghetti dinner, and they were so delicious! Mezzetta really out does themselves on the quality of their products. I can't wait to incorporate them into some of our favorite recipes this holiday season. I'm already drooling at the thought of swapping out my normal pasta sauce with Mezzetta's homemade style marinara sauce in my favorite lasagna recipe. This year Mezzetta wants to help you celebrate the holidays by giving everyone a chance to win a gift basket full of all of their amazing products. They're giving away one basket each day this month, giving you 31 chances to win! You can enter to win by heading to their site here! Also, don't forget to print off this $.50 off coupon before you head out to the store!







red pepper bruschetta


Ingredients:
1 Baguette
1 Jar Mezzetta Deli Sliced Red Bell Peppers, diced
1 Jar Mezzetta Basil Pesto
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°. Slice Baguette into 2in thick pieces. Spread a little pesto, bell peppers, and cheese on each one. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.