Walmart Haul

This haul is also a YouTube video! Check  it out here.  

Hello everyone! After dropping the kids off at summer school, I went to Walmart for a few things for the weekend. 

We were originally supposed to be going camping this weekend, but do to the rainy weather forecasted, we canceled and have another trip planned for next weekend. Hoping for better weather. 

So I was left with a change of plans and a need for a new menu for the weekend. 

This morning I went to a Walmart neighborhood market. I prefer a supercenter but there isnt one close to me, so the market will have to do. 

On to the haul...

When walking up to my house, i plopped the groceries down outside on the table and got right to work filming my YouTube video. No rain yet!

So this haul is done Al Fresco! 

Spent $65 and a lot of this will last us more than the weekend. 

Here is the haul in its entirety. 

First up, Frozen foods...

I really love the Fast Fixin's Chicken Breasts with country gravy. These are perfect with the Grand's biscuits. The biscuits are a better value to me because I dont have to make 8 at a time, like with the canned biscuits. I also think they taste better and have a better texture than the canned ones. 

I also got Foster Farms chicken patties and Star Wars chicken nuggets featuring BB-8. These are both great options for a quick lunch or dinner. My son is a huge BB-8 fan and chicken nuggets are his favorite so this is a dream collaboration for him! .

See... I wasnt lying. My son will want chicken nuggets for breakfast once he realizes these exist! 

That's it for frozen. Let's move on to...

Meat...

This chicken was a great deal! 1.99 a pound and enough for at least 3 meals. 

I got some Nathan's hot dogs for 3 bucks and some sausage for breakfast this weekend. 

Bread...

We got more hot dog and hamburger buns, cinnamon bread for french toast this weekend along with the sausage, and flour tortillas

Dairy

Lactose free 2% milk and nondairy Coffee Mate in Hazelnut and salted butter. My daughter has issues with milk, as do I, so we really are careful with dairy products. I am mad at myself for not buying butter at costco. It is alot cheaper to buy it in bulk. This box of butter today was almost $4. Ugh!

Fruits and veggies

I got a small bag of green grapes. They were a great deal at $1.48 a pound. My kids like red grapes best but they were out. I guess the rest of the city prefers red as well!

The bananas looked good but the strawberries not so much. I wish Oregon Strawberries were still in season but they aren't!

Ugh again!

Cans, mixes, and snacks

Pretzel sticks for $1 and Juanita's tortilla chips. Stove top stuffing and I know you saw the Oatmeal pies. Hiding is the Hungry Jack hashbrowns. I love those. They make the best hash browns ever. I'm not sure why dehydrated potatoes taste so good but they do, so I stopped questioning it!

And last but not least...Green chilies. 

The chicken, tortillas, green chilies and tortilla chips are for an upcoming blog post for my Chicken Dinner Mondays series. Hint! Hint!

My favorite thing from this haul?

Hands down the stuffing! However, being the hero that brings home BB-8 chicken nuggets to my little boy trumps the stuffing any day!

Have a great day! 

. 

Blue is missing

We have two cats and I have been planning a blog post for them this past week. My hubby said something about it Saturday, and I decided last weekend I would start taking some pics of them and start preparing a post. I thought it was a great idea and was already thinking of ideas.  Unfortunately, that has not happened and here is why...

Our cat Blue, that we have had for 4 years, is missing! The last time we saw him was Saturday, so this is officially the longest he has ever been away from home. Both of our cats, Blue and Grey are outdoor cats but we are their owners and they are fully aware of that. They hang out in our yard, and Blue, especially will be waiting for us when we come home most of the time. We tried to keep both of the cats in when they were younger, and they just kept running out. Overtime, we saw they knew where they live and they always came back.  They listen for their food being set out and rush inside. Blue has been known to take long cat naps, and is a great cuddler. I look forward to the times I do get to take a nap, and always love when Blue is there. When he was a baby, he used to climb onto my chest and just stay there while I walked around with him. I tried it a while ago, and he is way too big now but I sure miss that. 

Our whole family is attached to Blue, and we would be devastated to find out something awful has happened to him. So, needless to say, this week has been difficult.

We have went looking for him but I dont know where he goes. He usually goes through our backyard into the next block's neighborhood but from there, I have no clue. Its very woodsy over that way and he could be in an infinite amount of places.  Blue is wearing a tag with our phone number and an inscription talking about how much we love him and call me for a reward. He is also microchipped and I have heard no word on his whereabouts. Blue is very territorial and has gotten into some fights with cats from the neighborhood that DARE to come in our yard, but it has been some time since that has happened. 

I have heard many stories of cats just venturing out, finding better places to eat and sleep, and worse scenarios like cats go off to die when they are old or sick, people steal other peoples pets, and other horror stories. I'm trying to stay hopeful but its hard. Also that it was just the 4th of July, some pets get scared and hide. We tried to bring him in before the fireworks, but couldn't find him then or now, still. My husband told me his aunt Gladys' cat, Tippy was gone for 6 months one time and came back after that long. I cant imagine how awful that must have been for her and how happy she was to finally see him again. 

My kids are aware he is gone and have been calling for him and trying to help find him as well. I am not sure how to have a serious conversation with them about what may have happened to him. I dont want to even think about it. 

As I was preparing for this post, I realized I have hardly any pictures of Blue. What pictures I thought I had, I cant find. Its very sad and I regret not having more pictures of him. He is a beautiful maine coon cat and is very comical. 

He likes to hide in the strangest places : boxes, suitcases, had to pull him out of the dryer before and be careful to never leave it open again, under the bed, in the pantry, in the bathroom closet, in the linen closet, I have turned my house upside down. He isnt here. And if he was, the sound of his cat food can opening always brings him out of hiding. 

He always comes back. Always, every time. If he misses a day, he is back the next day, and here all day eating and resting and laying around protecting his turf from snakes, birds, mice, and other cats. 

Although I can do without his "gifts" he occasionally leaves on the back porch that he has caught because he loves me (ewww!), I miss him terribly! We all do. 

Come home Blue. I have the fancy cat food waiting for you, and maybe some ham as a special treat too! 

Chicken Dinner Mondays: Popcorn Chicken

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is having a great day !

In honor of this All American Holiday, I have decided this is the perfect day to share my recipe for Fried Chicken. I perfected this recipe sometime ago and always use it when I make fried chicken for the past several years. My family loves it. This recipe can be made with any type of chicken. I mainly make it with chicken strips, breasts , or cut up as popcorn chicken like in the pictures. But it is also great for cup up whole chicken fryers, or wings. This recipe cuts back on the mess by using a ziplock bag to coat the chicken. If you like it spicy, add your favorite seasonings to the flour and the egg mixture if you like. The secret is in the baking powder. It adds tenderness to the crispy outside that really makes this fried chicken totally legit!

Mom's Bags of Tricks Fried Chicken 

Popcorn chicken edition 

Serves 4 

1 pound chicken breasts 

2 cups flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper 

2 tbsp seasoning -I use italian seasoning or dry ranch powder 

1 egg

1 cup prepared ranch dressing (I make my own Hidden Valley Ranch) 

1/4 cup milk 

pinch of salt and pepper 

2 ziplock gallon bags

tongs 

4 cups canola oil 

candy thermometer 

meat thermometer 

In a deep pan, add the candy thermometer to the inside, not touching the bottom and heat oil to just above 350 degrees. I find that when it is at exactly 350, the temperature drops very fast. Heating it to just above, allows for not such a drastic drop in temperature right away. While the oil is heating, place chicken, with a sprinkling of water into a ziplock bag and pound lightly. Remove chicken and cut into small 1 inch pieces. Pounding the chicken prior to cutting gives it a more authentic pop corn chicken shape. If you dont pound it, the chicken holds its shape pretty well and looks more  like chunks and less like the popcorn variety. 

Take the second ziplock bag and add the flour, baking powder, salt pepper, and seasonings. Close the bag and shake to incorporate all of the ingredients. 

Coat all of the chicken in the bag by throwing pieces in, one at a time, using tongs to help you place chicken and remove it from the bag. 

Next, in a bowl, add ranch dressing, egg, and milk and whisk together. 

Add coated chicken to the egg mixture one at a time with the tongs and coat on both sides. 

Add the chicken back to the flour mixture and coat again using the tongs.

 

Flour, ranch, flour, fry 

 Place chicken in a single layer on a plate while the oil heats. 

This method keeps my hands from getting messy. The clean up on this dish really is minimal. I throw the ziplocks away, wash my hands and in a few minutes, I'm ready to fry chicken!

Just above 350 degrees is perfect. 

I added the chicken and as you can see...

The oil only dropped slightly 

Fry the chicken util golden brown and 165 degrees in the center 

Once the oil is hot, start frying the chicken in batches. For popcorn chicken, I can usually do it all in 2 batches. Each batch takes about 5-7 minutes plus the time it takes for the oil to reheat back up to right above 350 degrees. Place cooked chicken on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Although my Grandmother used paper bags. This works too.

Speaking of my Grandmother and fried chicken...

She made the best fried chicken I ever tasted and my mother doesn't have the recipe. I only had her chicken a few times in my life, but that was enough to resonate in me as the best fried chicken in the world.  I had to come up with a way to have delicious fried chicken that could somehow possibly be close to as good as hers, so after a long time of perfecting this recipe, I hope she can look down upon me and approve! She always made me chicken strips. Which I think sparked my lifelong love of chicken strips and the will to perfect this recipe. 

A Lot of the times, I do make chicken strips. They are equally delicious as popcorn chicken. 

I attempt gradient nails (Three Times)!

I love getting my nails done at the salon. I always just get a gel manicure (or a polish change when I cant afford a manicure). But, over time, bills and other things have taken priority to me getting my nails done. And because it doesn't really matter where my nails are done, just that they are done so they dont break, I've been doing them myself.  I've used different colors, but I dont do much nail art myself. I prefer glitter polishes. Well, I actually prefer holo glitters actually but I cant afford them. I never really realized there was a difference between holo glitter and not holo glitter. Holo means holographic and I learned all of this and more by watching one of my favorite youtubers Simply Nailogical. I stumbled upon one of her very popular video Polish Mountain. This video has received almost 13 million views. Watch Polish Mountain here. Christine, AKA Simply Nailogical, is adorable and funny. Shes very entertaining and I have learned alot from her. Halo Christine if you are reading!
Anyway, she makes doing your nails yourself look very easy. She inspired me to try something different, so I tried gradient nails...three times. I looked at different tutorials for gradient nails, including some by Simply Nailogical. Here she makes it look super easy.

Last week, I was included in an Influenster  Virtual Vox Box for Sinful Colors Kylie Jenner Denim and Bling. I picked up two from her line, with the 4th of July as my inspiration I went with the blue Kobalt, and the clear glitter Konfection, plus from the Sinful Colors Professional line, Snow Me White and Ruby Ruby. Before I even tried gradient nails, I did my mani using these 4 colors, finished the Virtual Vox Box for Influenster, and even posted a lame video on YouTube that you can see here.  

Once this was complete, I wanted more of a unique design so I decided to try the gradient idea. 

First Attempt  

According to all the tutorials I saw, your supposed to use liquid latex  on the skin around your nail to make clean up easier. I did not do that. Your also supposed to brush the polish on a makeup sponge and then dab on your nail. I did this and it didn't work right for me. I kept trying different things after that, just to try to get the hang of it.

Attempt 2 (Meaning, I didn't give up) 

I repainted my nails and used Big Peel Off Base Coat by Sally Hanson on the skin around my nails. Then I did about 4 coats on each nail using the gradient technique with a make up sponge. I tried more placing the sponge on the nail and rolling it, then dabbing it. It seemed to work better for me.  After peeling off the peel off base coat, washing my hands, using a green kitchen scrub pad, and acetone nail polish to clean up all the mess on my nails, I was finally done. (An hour later!)

Although its still not perfect, like Simply Nailogical gradient nails, it was only my second time. It will work for festive 4th of July nails just fine. We will be in the dark anyway!

This prompted my third attempt because now I'm an expert. Just kidding, this is not a tutorial. But I could use more practice, so bring on the next victim...

my 11 year old daughter Ruby (who was very excited the red Ruby Ruby polish was being used!)

Third Attempt (Getting the hang of it) 

Because Ruby's hands are so small, and her nails are so short, I knew I would have trouble doing the horizontal gradient so I went with a vertical gradient, except for her thumbs. It worked a lot better on her hands and looks so unique. Painting other peoples nails is very difficult for me. And she was wiggly, but the beauty about this look is its very forgiving. If you mess up, it kinda blends right in. 

This mani party prompted an impromptu photo shoot...

So, my opinion on gradient nails...

I think it looks great. I'm not a professional and I have done way better jobs on my nails most of the times other than these three attempts, but for trying something new, I think I did ok. 

However, 

This took a long time (over two hours to do both of us), and used a lot of polish, and remover. 

While painting Ruby's nails, I realized I really am getting the hang of it, and hers were done a lot quicker with less mess and frustration. 

Because practice makes perfect, 

I will try again after these chip off with a different color palette. 

Christine, if your reading, thanks for the inspiration and thanks for making such informative and entertaining videos. 

Check out the Awesome Simply Nailogical on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGCVyTWogzQ4D170BLy2Arw

One Month Blogaversary! + June Favorites!

Happy One Month Blogaversary to ME!

I think I will write this whole blog post in purple to celebrate!

And any celebration needs decorations...

There, much better.

This is very exciting to me. I have been blogging for an entire month.  I love writing and have always been way better at writing then speaking. Writing has always come easy to me and gives me an outlet to get my ideas out of my head and documented before I forget them! 

My goal for this blog was to do a post a day. I had a few ideas for content when I first started but wasnt sure how I would reach my goal of 30 blogs in 30 days. Somehow, the more I wrote this past month, the more ideas I came up with! I have lots of ideas currently in my brain, which translates into lots of upcoming blogs. Like I said, the more I write, the more I WANT to write and the more ideas I come up with. 

Well, here I am, one month later. I have reached my goal and surpassed it, posting 36 blogs in 30 days receiving a total of 2057 views! That boggles my mind. I am not viewing my blogs that many times, I know this for sure. So that means, SOMEONE, or several someones are reading my blogs. Being able to share my ideas with others interested in the same things as me, is a great feeling. 

Infact, Blogging is one of my favorite things for the month of June!

This just evolved into a favorites blog...

June 2016 Favorites... 

#1 Favorite thing about June: Blogging

I will keep blogging and see if it is still on my July favorites list at the end of the month. Waking up every day, full of ideas, sitting in front of my computer, pouring my ideas into my blog  has become my new norm. Thank goodness I have the summer off!

 Speaking of having summer off...

#2 Favorite thing about June: Having summer off 

I love working for the school district. I love my job. But I also LOVE having the summer off. It is something I look forward to as soon as school starts in September! (Once school is over however, I look forward to its return as well!) Having the summer off allows me freedom to spend more time with my kids. We have camping trips planned and other things we want to do. Summer allows for a more relaxing environment in my house. There is no homework, no school functions, and no early bed times. 

Summer allows me time to work in my garden, organize my house, blog, and be lazy. I can take the occasional nap or read a book. I can cook more as well in the summer. 

#3 Favorite thing about June: This picture...

My children sitting in front of the campfire, behaving nicely, sharing and getting along, totally content with being in their pj's, watching a movie, while camping. No fighting, just laughing and smiling, happiness and having fun. This is a mother's perfect picture!

#4 Favorite thing about June: This silly guy will probably always have something on my favorites list every month ...

Always photobombing my attempts at a picture of a nice married couple. Still my favorite though!

#5 Favorite thing about June: Fishermen's Bend Campground 

Considering we spent 6 nights here over two trips just in the month of June, it is definitely on my favorites list. I love this place. I wish we could find a way to live here. I wish we could wake up everyday in this beautiful place. 

But if we did that, I wouldn't have my next favorite thing...

#6 Favorite thing about June: My garden 

I have been growing my garden since March, and it really looks awesome at this point. Everything is in bloom. When I go outside, I am transported into this beautiful place, which was totally what I was going for! 

#7 Favorite thing about June: Camping Manicure Party 

Going camping with my family and my friend Chere and her family is definitely a June Favorite. We had a manicure party which was totally fun! Painting one's nails while camping is probably against some rule somewhere but Oh well! We had a party anyway!

Now that I've gotten all my sentimental favorites out of the way, time to talk about my favorite products from June...

#8 Favorite thing about June: Stove Top Stuffing 

I'm not even going to show a picture. There really is no point. Everyone knows what this looks like and I have no reason to show myself eating stuffing or the box for that matter! HAHA . Let's just say, I love stuffing. I eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack. Not everyday but I did it eat it several times a week in June. Stuffing is such a comfort food for me. 

#9 Favorite thing about June: Pink Peppermint Foot Lotion from Lush 

Hubby bought me this for Mother's day and I spent the month of June "Lushing it out" like hubby says. After packing for a camping trip for hours, then setting up camp, this stuff is amazing on my tired, sore, swollen feet and ankles. I will possibly always use this lotion. I love it and its for sure one of my June favorites. 

Ge your own Pink Peppermint here . 

#10 Favorite thing about June: Lumene Bright Now Vitamin C night cream 

I admit, I have never really taken good care of my face. It is hard to be able to keep up a regimine due to time and money. BUT, Im trying now and I am glad about that. I love this face cream. It makes me feel fancy and my skin is glowing ! 

Again, Happy One Month Blogaversary to Me! 

And thank you to all of you who have read what I have to say. 

For the month of July, I have yet again set the goal for a blog a day. 

I am hoping to see some comments from readers in July. I didn't receive any comments in June at all. I'm assuming no negative feedback means i'm doing something right! But, I can take criticism very well. I am always looking for new ideas and inspiration and always trying to make new friends. 

Again,

 Happy One Month Blogaversary to Me!

Disclaimer: This blog is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. 

Be "Practically Cozy" while camping

We love to go camping, and love the idea of glamping. BUT, we have kids so glamping to the amazing extreme that glamping is, is unrealistic. Plain and simple, I dont have enough room in my Forester, or money in my account to allow us to truly experience glamping to its awesome capacity. One can dream, and in the mean time, one can find solutions that are inexpensive and space saving. We purchased a soft travel bag for the top of the car. With this bag, and careful packing in the car, I can maximize my space and bring more items with us to really make our campsite feel like home.

My version of camping can be referred to as "Practically Cozy". What I basically do, is make us feel like we are at home, but we are camping. I make camp cozy, but it is also practical for our family, budget, and vehicle.  In order to achieve this, we first need the right camp site. We have a list that we do not budge on. Maybe a little, but we really try to stick to these must haves in a camp site:

1. Electricity (water in our site as well is nice but not required). 

2. Playground (we have camped without a playground and I just have to be more prepared to entertain my kids. A playground can save space because we dont need to bring as many entertaining objects. Saving space is important when you are trying to be Practically Cozy. The more space I have, the more I can pack to achieve maximum Practically Cozy status.

3. Close to the bathroom/shower (running to the bathroom is not Practically Cozy in any way!).

We really dont waver from this must have list. If there is no site available within 200 miles with electricity, WE WONT GO! We are not prepared to camp without it ever. Being Practically Cozy campers, we MUST have it. We need electricity to plug in our electronics, our lights, and our electric blankets. We use an air pump for our air mattresses. Without electricity, we couldn't be the quintessential  Practically Cozy campers that we are. Our site would be less comfortable, less pretty, and less homey then we want it to be. The idea is to be together in a relaxing environment, to feel like we are on vacation, even if its for the weekend, and to enjoy ourselves in an inexpensive way. Without our Practically Cozy touches, we would just be camping. On the ground, in the dark, without a phone. Listening to our children fight, complain, and tell us they want to go home. We dont have to worry about that because my children are also Practically Cozy campers and never complain. Why would they? When they are camping the Practically Cozy way, they feel at home, but we are camping. They love it. And so do we.
In order to truly achieve Practically Cozy camping status, you we need some essentials to help elevate your camping status. We are tent campers, and that wont change for a very long time and this is just something hubby and I accepted a long time ago. We invested in a large tent as our personal getaway and it really is just that. We love our tent. It can be divided into two rooms. We have shared it with our kids, and friend, but to truly be Practically Cozy, we take the whole tent for ourselves. I try to make the bed nice, using our electric blankets and a nice down comforter (No sleeping bags allowed in our master suite. And if we do use a sleeping bag, its under the sheets on the air mattress for added cushioning and coziness). We have a double high air mattress which really helps elevate us to Practically Cozy campers. Besides the tent, bedding, and lighting, there are other things that turn an ordinary campsite into a Practically Cozy campsite in no time flat!

Top 10 essentials for Practically Cozy Camping 

1. Campstove: A campstove totally elevated our camping. Before we got one, we just had a small bbq and a campfire. Adding the campstove allowed us to immediately feel like we were at home. It works just like my stove top. As far as meals go, the possibilities are endless. Plus we use it to boil water for washing dishes, to heat up my cold coffee, and to quickly boil water for apple cider or hot cocoa for the kids.

2.Headlamps: It will get dark eventually, and when it does, life can get more difficult fumbling around with a flash light in the dark. Headlamps changed all that. We put them on and go about our night. We can wash dishes, clean up camp, read, play games, walk to the bathroom, or whatever else we need to do. I keep all the headlamps together so they dont get lost. When it gets dark, we all know right where they are.

3. Candles, LED stringed lights and  tealights and a good lantern : Besides the lights we put up around the canopy, we have them all over camp and in our tents as well. We have several strings of LED lights. They really add a Practically Cosy touch. Not only do they look pretty, they help us see in dark areas and in our tents.  The candles and LED votives add a homey touch and I make room for silly items like that in my purse so I'm not taking up space on frivolous items and still get small glamping touches. When it comes to a lantern, we didn't play around, We bought a nice Coleman propane lantern and I'm glad we did. It works great and provides a lot of light.

 

Practically Cozy camping adds things we need, such as extra light at night and things that remind us of home and add a glamping touch, such as these votives. Stringing lights around camp adds light and beauty all at once. 

4. Bug repellent, citronella candles, sunscreen, and air freshener or febreeze: Without these four items, Practically Cozy camping cant truly be achieved. Having to deal with mosquito bites and sunburn all weekend isn't Practically Cozy in any way.  Having to deal with an occasional bad smell from whatever source the bad smell came from, such as child accidents, also isn't Practically Cozy. When we are at home and smell something bad, we febreze it. Having nice smells in the tent is a nice touch for Practically Cozy camping.

This is my favorite citronella candle. The scent isn't overpowering and it really keeps the bugs away We had it going almost the entire time on our last four night trip, and it lasted the entire time. I only got bit by mosquitos after I put it away while packing up. 

5.Canopy: A canopy is very practical to have, It provides shelter from the sun and rain, and gives us a commonplace to gather. We can have dinner at the picnic table, which is reminiscent of home. I can hang things from the canopy, which is even more practical, such as paper towels, pots and pans, lights and decorations.

6.Tablecloth: Tablecloths are an easy add for Practically Cozy camping. It gives us a clean and pretty surface on the picnic table. We bring several and can change them as needed. I have cloth ones, but also, cheaper disposable ones can be easily purchased at the dollar store. These can be wiped up and are actually very durable. 

7.Decorations: This can be done very easily in many ways. I made a banner from scrapbook paper, laminating sheets and twine as you see above. This simple DIY project can be found in my blog here. Other easy ideas include small rocks, twigs, shells, and flowers that my kids  have sometimes  accidently picked while camping. I make a centerpiece with these items on a table for all to enjoy. This adds a Practically Cozy element that is simple and a lot of the time, its free.  We also bring a few items with us everytime we go camping. I decorated these rocks with glitter and temporary tattoos for my wedding two years ago, and adding them to our campsite is very Practically Cozy. The little turtles were made of sculpey clay and go everywhere with us.

 

8.Speaker: Having a wireless speaker with bluetooth capability, and electricity to plug it into is super important to turn your campsite into something worthy of Practically Cozy camping status. Music helps keep boredom away and really livens up the place. 

9.Coffee pot: I have to have coffee in the morning. And Iced coffee in the afternoon. I cant live without it, and as a Practically Cozy camper, I never have to. I bring a 4 cup coffee maker with me, which is enough for the morning and i put the leftovers in a bottle and into the cooler for iced coffee later in the day. 

10."Me time" stuff: Packing for a camping trip, driving to the campsite, then setting up camp is honestly exhausting. (it is definitely worth it, but exhausting nonetheless). I bring lots of things that really provide comfort after all that work. I bring nail polish for an impromptu mani party with my daughter, pink peppermint foot lotion from Lush, to help my poor achy feet and ankles after all that work, amazing smelling body wash, and a nice night face cream. These easy touches can be thrown in my camping purse and are at easy reach during the trip which really elevates me to Practically Cozy status!
Now while none of these items are essential to surviving in the woods, they are essential to elevating my family to Practically Cozy camping status that works for us. Remember that being a Practically Cozy camper adds practical touches while adding a homey feel that will guarantee you a great camping trip.  Having these extra touches allow you and your family to focus on why you are camping in the first place: to spend time together in the great outdoors and make memories that will last a lifetime.