Daily Art - Feeling the love!

It's Valentine's Day.  Here's my love, photo edition!

Love is....my heart

Love is....Deuce "Bag", the smug, furry one

 Love is....family

Love is....cousins

Love is....creation

Love is....free!

Whether or not you celebrate Valentine's Day with a special somebody, or think it's the worst kind of Hallmark holiday, your love isn't just about a relationship, or just one day.  Go out and spread the love!

Daily Review - Groovebook (plus a free one for you!)

 

I suspect that Shark Tank is one of those shows that a lot of people watch but don't usually talk about.  I love it, personally.  There's always that moment of "that's brilliant, why didn't I think of that", or the eye-rolling at Mr. Wonderful's royalty based deals.  Recently, the owners of the Groovebook app were featured.  I'd actually heard of Groovebook before they showed on Shark Tank, but their appearance inspired me (and I'm sure many others based on how slow their servers were the weekend after the show aired) to give it a try. 

For those of you that haven't seen it, Groovebook is an app for printing pictures off your phone.  If you're anything like me, you have hundreds that may or may not get uploaded to Facebook/Instagram but then just sit in your phone memory.  For $2.99/month (incl. S+H), as a subscription service, you can upload 100 photos a month to Groovebook, and they send you a printed book with those photos.  The photos are 4x6 and perforated so that you can pull some out to give to friends and family, pull out to put in a scrapbook, or frame.  I just got my first book and I love it!  I just uploaded the photos for my second book (which was quick seeing as I think their servers recovered from the post-Shark Tank rush) and I'm already excited to receive it.  On the show, they did make a deal with Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary, so I'm curious to see what happens next, but I really hope they hold on to this original model.

The photo paper feels a little thinner than prints you might order from other services, but at $0.03 a print, they're a great value (compared to the $0.10 or $0.12 you might pay elsewhere).  I also love that each photo has the time and date stamped right above the perforation.  The app itself is pretty easy to use.  I like the advanced photo option where you can pick how many of each image you want in the book.  There's a little "ticker" at the top of the screen to let you know how many photos you have left.  Once you've selected them all, you simply upload to the service and a couple weeks later your book arrives.  I also like that you can order additional copies for others, which is great if you're being harassed by family members for new photos of the little ones!

I did notice that there was a coupon code (JACOBS87) for a free Groovebook in the back of mine, so I wanted to share it with you all.  Overall, this is definitely one I'd recommend to anybody looking for an easy, and inexpensive, way to get those photos off your phone and into your hands.  With a free coupon code, there's no excuse not to try it!


DISCLAIMER:  I received no compensation for this review.  I just think it's a neat product and wanted to share because I like you guys!

Daily Art - Griffith Park Observatory

Today's Foto Friday takes us to the Griffith Observatory here in Los Angeles.  I consider myself very lucky to have access to the Observatory.  Not only does it have beautiful views all across L.A., including downtown and the Hollywood sign, it's a pretty cool place to go, even without the aspect of being able to learn things about space...for free!

 
What do you consider to be a local treasure in your area? 

Daily Dish - Lemon chicken with roasted cauliflower

When you co-worker gives you lemons, make a chicken dish!  That's pretty much how this happened, and it was good! 

This recipe (from the Barefoot Contessa) for lemon chicken not only highlights the lemon really well, but it also contains a ton of garlic, which is always a winner for me.  We used chicken without the skin, although I can imagine that the skin-on version is pretty amazing.  The prep time is very quick and then you just pop it in the oven and forget about it for 30-40 minutes, which makes it weekday friendly. 

As a side, roasted veggies are one of my favorite things - not only super simple but they taste amazing.  I broke a head of cauliflower into florets, then tossed with olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese.  They went into the oven, with the chicken, for about 25 minutes.  That gave me ample time to clean up and be able to eat knowing the kitchen was already clear. 

Overall, this was an easy to prepare, healthy, low calorie meal with a nice punch of flavor.  Highly recommended!

Daily Art - Foto Friday Redux

Recently, I joined the Instagram bandwagon and, although a little late to the party, it's definitely got me remembering to snap photos frequently, even if only on my phone.  That being said, I'd like to restart the Foto Friday thing that I was doing a couple years ago, each Friday sharing photos I've taken that I love.  They may be new photos, they may be old, taken with my DSLR or just on my phone.  In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Instagram @dailydoseofdeuce.  My photos there are as random as my blog posts - everything from pics of the little one, to food, nail polish, and more.  :)

Daily Dish - Oatmeal in a jar

Before the holidays, I'd been on a pretty fantastic weight loss curve.  Then the holidays happened and I may have over-indulged just a little.  Time to get back on track though.  I've been looking for some healthy food hacks that are quick, simple, tasty, and don't take much time to prepare.  I think it's fair to say that Pinterest will always offer up something I've never heard of before that is just crazy enough to try....and that is how "oatmeal in a jar" happened.

The beauty of this is that they're quick to prepare, easy to make ahead, healthy, inexpensive, and the possibilities are endless!  I used an 8oz mason jar and filled it with:
 - 1/4 cup uncooked oats
 - 1/4 cup almond milk
 - 1/4 cup plain whole fat yogurt (which is what we have in the house for the little one but could obviously be substituted for a low fat or greek yogurt instead)
- a dash of vanilla extract
- half a pear (which is all that would fit into the container when I was done)

Give it a good shake, then leave it in the fridge to "cook".  By my calculations, before adding the fruit, this 8oz serving was only 136 calories, but more filling than a granola bar or similar breakfast item that you might grab while heading out the door. 

Seeing as these keep for several days, it's easy to make a few days at a time, mix and match what the fillings are, then grab and go in the morning on the way to work.  I would even say that these are kid friendly so could easily be made for the whole family to enjoy.  Here's a link with some flavor combinations to try.  Enjoy!

Daily Craft - A Baptism Bookmark

Happy New Year folks!  2014 already?  I hope you all had a wonder-filled holiday season and that Santa was good to you. 

It's day 2 and being back at work seems like it came entirely too quickly.  Nonetheless, I'm feeling good about the upcoming year.  At the very least, I hope to spend more time out and about with Owen as he's now old enough to really start appreciating more activities - the zoo, museums etc.  I'm also thrilled that he's soon to be prime crafting age - more felt and paint for everyone!! 

This project is actually something I did a few weeks back, but I wasn't able to get it to the recipient until yesterday so didn't want to post anything lest I spoil the surprise.  Close friends of ours have a baby girl who was recently baptized.  I can't say I know much about appropriate gifts for baptisms but I did know I wanted to make something that she would (hopefully) treasure as she got older.  My original thought was a necklace, but then I found some simple shepherd's crook bookmarks and decided to go in a new direction. I wire wrapped some glass pearl beads left over from the jewelry I made for her baby shower, then added a small pink cross with Swarovski beads as the feature. 

I just love how this turned out and I really hope this is something she'll use for years to come to mark passages in her favorite Bible.  In the end, despite the convenience of the Kindle or Nook, reading a book on paper still can't be beaten in my eyes.  I bought more bookmarks so hopefully I can execute a few more ideas soon!