Download the entire 32 page Christmas Activity & Coloring Pages today. Available year-round in my Etsy shop. SHOP NOW I have been dreaming of this project for several years and I finally made time for myself to create a fun activity book and coloring pages for Christmas. I designed all of the artwork and pages on my iPad using an Apple Pencil (think digital sketchbook and pencil). Who this was designed for: Parents to keep their kids entertained over the holiday break or while quarantining at home. Teachers to use in their classrooms for holiday parties.Scouts & clubs to use with their students around the holidays.Adults to use to unwind from a busy day. Some of the pages are simple designs. There are a few "finish this" style designs where you or your child and finish drawing the character, decorate the Christmas tree, or design the perfect gingerbread person. Others are a little more time consuming collages of different design elements that will take longer to ... [ Read More ]
Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town 2020
Yes, we did our first theme park during the pandemic and it was safe and enjoyable. Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town is a beautiful experience running through January 3, 2021. Safety first. Let's chat about the safety of the park and how they are helping their guests and staff stay healthy. Advance tickets: You'll need to grab your tickets in advance because they are limiting their park capacity this year. Parking & Tram: I would recommend walking into the park instead of taking the tram. That was the only part of the day that didn't feel socially distanced. Temp check & masks! Before you can enter the park everyone walks through a thermal tent that checks for temperatures. Don't forget your mask because they are required throughout the entire park at all times (unless you're eating). It was nice that the employees monitored the masks and kindly requested guests to keep them over their mouth and nose. Animals! Walking through the park felt open and ... [ Read More ]
Simply Earth August Unboxing *Spoilers*
I just received my August (2019) Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box and wanted to reveal the goodies inside! As a member of their Squad ambassador team Simply Earth sent me the box for free AND they have provided me with a coupon code for you! If you use coupon code BACKTOCALLEYFREE you’ll get a bonus $40 gift certificate when you subscribe to their monthly subscription box. To learn more: http://bit.ly/2XfM77e (referral link) I'm learning more and more about Essential Oils and how to safely use them thanks to their fun subscription box and website. They even have a FREE ebook; Essential Oils for Beginners, that is packed full of useful information, dilution guides, and tips for using essential oils with children and pets. It's such a great resource. Want to see what's in the August Essential Oil Recipe Box by Simply Earth?? Inside the August Recipe Box you'll find: -Clear Skin Essential Oils Blend-Frankincense Essential Oils-Rosemary Essential Oils-Clove ... [ Read More ]
Natural Slime Recipe with Psyllium Husk Powder
Post contains affiliate links. A few weeks ago I received a new essential oil subscription box from Simply Earth AND their bonus box. They asked me to join their #squad and share my experiences with you about their program. I've owned several different essential oils over the years but I've never gotten into all the brand oil clubs. Honestly, I'm just now starting to learn how to safely use these oils and incorporate them into some fun DIY recipes around the house. If you'd like to see what's included in the Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box (and big bonus box) click over using this referral link: http://bit.ly/2XfM77e. If you use coupon code BACKTOCALLEYFREE you'll get a bonus $20 gift certificate! If your kids love making slime like my kids do, they will LOVE this recipe! This recipe does require heating the ingredients so make sure a parent helps and make sure you let this cool down for at least 20 minutes before letting your kids play with it. It gets very hot!! ... [ Read More ]
Give the Gift of Awesome Photos
I am a "Picture Play" affiliate and earn a commission when you order through my links in this post. Have you ever wanted to take better pictures with your iPhone or Android? Did you know that there are a few free or low cost (like less than $5) apps that can make your regular iPhone pictures 10X better? It's possible with some of the tips that Jill Krause (and Happy Loud Life) shares in her new Picture Play ebook. I have a fancy DSLR that I bought a few years ago and kinda learned how to use, but it's so big and bulky that I never take it with me. I'm really happy with the overall quality of photos from my iPhone 8+ but it doesn't always take perfect photos. Sometimes they are too dark, or too light, or there are things in the background that are distracting. This is one of the photos I took a few years ago with my DSLR. It showed up in my memories this week so I thought I'd try to edit it again using the tricks in Picture Play. Look closely behind her head, in the new version I ... [ Read More ]
2019 Planner | Printable or Digital Versions Available
I did a thing!! I created a 2019 printable and digital planner!! You can find this planner in my Etsy shop as a digital download! Where did 2018 go? I cannot believe we're almost halfway through December and 2019 is just around the corner. I was organizing my desk this weekend and realized that I needed a new 2019 planner. This year I've placed with several different planner options and found a few that are really helpful. I'm not a big spender when it comes to planners and can't stomach a $30-40 planner (or more with all the extra options and accessories). They are incredibly beautiful but I fear that I wouldn't use them enough or the right way. Sure there's no "wrong way" to use a planner, but it would likely get set aside and forgotten after a few months. What has worked for me? iPhone Calendar Apps For important events, appointments, and scheduling I still rely heavily on my native iPhone and Google calendar apps. I can sync them together and share them with other ... [ Read More ]
What Are You Thankful For?
How is it that Thanksgiving is NEXT week? This year is flying by so quickly that I can hardly keep up. My kids just keep growing, life keeps moving, and our schedules keep getting crazier and crazier! If you don't follow me on Instagram you may have missed a few of the recent things going on our in our lives. Like.... My daughter is a Junior Girl Scout this year and is really blossoming into a wonderful leader. My son is 15, learning to drive, got his first job, and opened his first bank account. My latest doodles and designs; like the one shown above!! It's hard for me to get excited about Thanksgiving; which really isn't any different from any other year. This is the most hectic time of year for our family and for my job. We host a huge Black Friday weekend sale and it's very time consuming and exhausting to plan; however it's a great reward when the weekend arrives and our customers flock to our store looking for deals!! My "work day" on Black Friday actually starts ... [ Read More ]
Sprouts Grocery Haul | Organic & Natural Farmers Market
This post is a paid sponsorship with Sprouts Farmers Market. If you follow me on Instagram (@BackToCalley) you may have noticed that we toured our local Sprouts grocery store last week for a blogger/influencer event. We were guided by a dietitian, Abigail Dougherty, who talked about some of the plant-based options that are offered at Sprouts. My daughter tagged along on the tour and we both got to sample a variety of plant-based foods, drinks and desserts. As part of the campaign we received a gift card to come back and shop with so I thought it would be fun to show you what we brought home. With this weeks meal plan I am trying to incorporate some more fall veggies with a little more variety than our boring broccoli and green beans! Link to YouTube video embedded above: https://youtu.be/fmaJ9MXTiDU Funny side story, after I filmed the video I realized that I was missing an entire bag of groceries. Of course it was the bag with the receipt in it so I didn't even ... [ Read More ]
FREE Cloth Diapering Coloring Page
Hello cloth diapering friends, thanks so much for visiting! While my own kids have graduate from cloth diapers, it's still my passion to educate and share our love of cloth diapering with others. During the day I spend my time working for Kelly's Closet managing their social media and marketing department. It may sound like a huge company; but in reality there are just 3 employees including myself! I colored this earlier today while waiting to take the kids to school using Tombow Dual Brush Pens. In the evenings when I'm not helping my kids with homework, leading my daughter's Girl Scout troop, watching soccer practice, or shuttling kids to and from.....I enjoy all things creative! I've recently started designing cloth diaper designs for walls and apparel. I have a big creative to-do list for design projects that are cloth diaper related; like this fun coloring page! All designs are created by me; original work!! You can visit my Etsy and TeeSpring shops anytime; I have more ... [ Read More ]
Easy (and Wholesome) Last Minute Family Meals for Back to School
A special thank you to Coca-Cola Florida for sponsoring this post and helping make our busy week a little more manageable. For a limited time you can save $2 off ready to serve meals with a Coca-Cola product at Publix, Wal-Mart, and Target stores in Florida. #CokeAmbassador #BackToSchool #Whatsfordinner Our kids started back to school last week. I love everything about summer and the laid back routines; so getting back into a routine is much harder on me than it is for the kids. They thrive off routine and have been ready for school to start again. With school starting back that also means my schedule gets flipped upside down again and the juggling begins. PTA meetings, Open Houses, curriculum nights, Girl Scouts, and homework take up our afternoon and evening hours. I try to be organized and plan meals for the week; but some nights are just too chaotic to try and cook a wholesome meal while juggling all the things! These are the nights that I'm thankful for ready to serve ... [ Read More ]