...Meg's life changers

Hello "I Simply Love" Readers! I've been reading Anne Carlyle's blog since she first launched it and was so honored to be asked to be participate in Anne Carlyle's Life Changers Series! Mine are kinda all of over the place but I hope they are helpful!

1. Pinterest: I feel like this one is kinda a given for most people but, (and I'm not bragging), I was one of the earlier people to jump on the bandwagon and then quickly sucked everyone I know into it! While I do find myself doing a lot of virtual shopping or day-dreaming about what my house should look like in the future...it has been a way to help keep myself more organized! Additionally, I am terrible in the kitchen but mostly that is because I have never had any inspiration and so I love Pinterest for giving me ideas and allowing me to save the recipes all in one place! I've even cooked a meal or two thanks to my pins.

2. SIRI and the IPhone 4S: I say this with the huge disclaimer that I am not at all technologically savvy. I usually just get the same cell phone as my brothers so they can tell me how to use it, (no jokes there)! And while my brothers did have to teach me how to use this phone, it truly is a life changer for me. Sometimes Siri is more like this you-tube video than helpful...BUT I spend about 1 hour in the car every day commuting and being able to talk to her and have her send a text or save a thought I have or even call someone, makes everyone in my life feel much better about my safety!

3. Electronic Coupons: Now I'm the girl that reads the blog or watches the show where people save TONS of money by "couponing" and I'm inspired for about 5 minutes and then I realized I have neither the patience nor the time to try and really commit to "couponing"...and if I were being honest I don't have room for all the extra stuff I would have to buy! So when I discovered electronic coupons I thought I had truly struck gold. Now I'm not sure if all grocery stores have these but we primarily shop at Harris Teeter and Kroger and they both offer these! Basically I signed up for their weekly email and so I go in once a week and scan through the coupons that they have available. I am then able to click on them and simply save them to my frequent shopper card, (that is already on my key chain) and then when I check out, I just scan that and POOF...coupons and instant savings! 

4. Calphalon's Grill Pan: Now I know that I've already outed myself as less than amazing in the kitchen. That being said I have MAJOR love for all kitchen accoutrements...they almost make me want to become a domestic goddess! However unlike some accoutrements, the grill pan is well loved AND used by me, (well and my fiancee)! My mom got this for him for his birthday and we use it probably 5 times a week. We love cooking on the grill and I feel like that love only gets more intense during the winter when its too cold to go outside. This puppy make grilling a year round possibility and I can even do it. We have cooked everything from steaks and hamburgers to fish on it. I've been eying this handy little extra that turns it into a panini press because how awesome would that be?

5. Liquid Palisade for Cuticles: One of my favorite ways to "treat yourself" (does anyone else watch Parks and Rec?), is getting a manicure. However I do not have a steady hand so in order to have one that looks decent I have to pay for one. While I'm more than happy to do that every once in a while...getting a manicure weekly just isn't in my budget. So for at home manicures, I started using liquid palisade. Basically you paint in on the skin around your nail and it acts as a buffer. I will warn you that you need to peel it off rather carefully or it can pull away a little of the polish, (depending on how unsteady your hand is), but overall...life changer!

6. Smith's Rosebud Salve: Now while all the advertisements claim that you can use it on everything from chapped lips to scratchy elbows...I can't attest to its magic on anything other than my lips! I probably have 3 or 4 little tins of this because I use it all the time and get really frustrated when I can't find it. It soothes chapped lips and gives you fantastic shine without being sticky. 

7. Spin Pins by Goodie: I'm not sure when I first learned about these but to say they changed my life is an understatement. I first started using them when they only had the ones for creating a bun and now they have a whole collection. I love that I can get up in the morning and twist my hair into a bun and spin two little "pins" into my bun and I'm done. No trying to rangle 50 bobby pins or try to pretend that I'm good at doing anything other than blow-drying my hair straight!

8. Dry Shampoo: I know that Anne already mentioned this as a life changer...but I grew up in a house full of boys so I'm often late to the hair and make-up train of what is new and amazing. I jumped on the dry shampoo train in the last couple of months after a lot of coaxing from my hair dresser...I really wasn't sure that someone with really fine hair could really make this work. Happy to report that I find it as amazing as everyone else and my favorite additional trick is spritzing my bobby pins with it to help them stay in my hair!

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