2014 Project Life {SUMMER SNAPSHOTS + INSTAGRAM}

I have not posted my weekly spreads in a few months. Why? Because I don't do weekly in the summer. On top of everything else I have going on, we cram in tons of FUN FUN FUN and I want to capture a snapshot of everything (but then where would I find time to keep up with PL?!) I would have to use a whole album just for the summer if I did full spreads during this busy time. Instead, I capture ONE image or make ONE collage image per activity/event/moment I want to remember, edit in Instagram, and print in a Polaroid style photo. I label each pic and then lay them all out over several pages. This way, I spend minimal time editing and embellishing during a time when I know I will fall behind and get discouraged. Plus I love that the summer part of my album stands out in this way, just like summer stands out from the rest of the year! This year it took 6 pages! Take a look :)

The cards I used came from various summer themed sets, except the one that says "Vacation," I cut from some ombre paper I had and used some thin alpha.

I really love how the summer Instagram photos turned out for this year. I can't wait until next summer already!

De-crust the Uncrustable {make ahead PBJ lunches for school}

Part of my organizing process coincides with my money saving techniques when it comes to the weekly lunches for my husband and my kids. I have to make things that can be made ahead and ready for the entire week, otherwise my weeks get to hectic and I know I would forget and end up missing lunch days. My daughter loves PBJs, and they have protein rich peanut butter, so I let her have one everyday. It makes her happy to bring a sack lunch, and she eats every strange and crazy thing I feed her for dinner, so I let her have this one. We tried the uncrustables, which are fantastic, easy, and fairly cheap. But I wanted to out-cheap them and DIY my own make ahead freezer PBJs. Heres the process:

Its as easy as it looks. Take a loaf of bread or two (I am using 100% whole wheat), some P and some J, make 20 or so sandwiches, zip lock them shut, freeze, enjoy later! If your worried about soggy bread, try spreading the P thinly on both sides and putting the J in the center of both slices.

My husband gets sandwiches, rotisserie chicken from Costco (split into 5 meals), casseroles, etc. Both of them get a basket of sides/drinks that vary from week to week.

Uncrustables are around 50-60cents each. The cost to make them yourself is around 25cents per sandwich. Knowing your awesome and made your kids lunches from scratch (the easiest way possible), priceless!!