November 2011
The Power of a Simple Gift
I woke up a few Saturdays ago, early like I always do, to a long email from my nephew. It was totally out of the blue and threw me for a loop considering he has never emailed me before. This is what he wrote: I don’t know how to start this letter in a way that could ever fully explain what I am about to say….But if there is one thing I wish to get across, it is that this letter is written with the weight of a million words, experiences, and people that I have met, that all wish to say one thing. Thank you. It may have been ... read more
5 Tips for Throwing a Fabulous Holiday Party {On a Tiny Budget}
First of all, if any of you are popping by for the first time after watching The Daily Buzz or reading The Charlotte Sun, I just want to say welcome to LWSL! There is a lot to see so please take some time to explore some of my most popular posts! If you like what you read, I encourage you to subscribe to the weekly LWSL newsletter , or join me on Facebook & Twitter. If you are looking for the latest Cyber Monday deals, please visit my sister site Saving Well Spending Less! * * * But on to party planning….The main thing to remember when planning any party ... read more
handmade holiday gifts: felt & button hair clips
I took a tiny break from all the Thanksgiving-Black Friday craziness this week to do another fun & easy little craft project. These adorable hair clips look complicated, but I swear they’re not! I made 8 different clips in only about an hour. For the Roses: 1. Cut a small circle out of felt (the bigger the circle, the bigger your flower). Use a sharp scissors to cut a spiral into the circle as shown. You can make the line wavy or straight, depending on how you want your roses to look. 2. Starting with the outer end, begin rolling felt, tightly first, then a little looser as the rose ... read more
coupons 101: how to make drugstore scenarios
It’s the day before Thanksgiving which means the countdown is on to some of the biggest sales of the entire year. And while most people don’t automatically think about heading to Rite-Aid, CVS, or Walgreens when they think about shopping on Black Friday, the fact is that all three drugstores feature some pretty exciting sales, at least exciting for those of us who love shopping with coupons. I’ve been wanting to do a more in-depth post about how to make drugstore transaction scenarios for a long time, so I figured what better week to do it than Black Friday week? CVS especially has a ton of fun freebies and money ... read more
A New Holiday Tradition {The Elf on the Shelf}
As much as I love Thanksgiving, I gotta admit that I am counting the days until I can decorate our Christmas tree, start listening to carols, sip hot chocolate while watching It’s a Wonderful Life, & just soak up the joys of the holiday season. I’ll admit it, I’m a total sap when it comes to all things Christmas and each year my main goal is simply to create wonderful memories and traditions that my girls will always remember. And we have a lot of traditions! They start on the day after Thanksgiving, when we put up all our decorations and then decorate a gingerbread house. We have a wooden ... read more
handmade holiday gifts: faux silk pomander
I love DiY but the past month or two has been a little hectic. There has been very little time for creativity and I hate that! For me, the process of creating something beautiful has a life and energy all its own. No matter how dark my day, I can’t help but feel like I’ve accomplished something when I finish a cool craft project. Thus, I figured the best way to motivate myself to tap back into my creative side would be to do a handmade gift series this holiday season. Nothing like a little public accountability, right? From now until Christmas, every Friday I will feature a new handmade ... read more
Money Management for Kids: The Gift of Financial Stability {#kidworth}
I love my mom and dad but they weren’t always the best at teaching us kids about financial responsibility. Growing up, money was simply something we didn’t talk about. I don’t blame them–I honestly believe they did what they felt was right–but I do think that lack of a basic understanding about money unfortunately started me on a path of bad money management, one that has taken much of my adult life to overcome. As a parent, I don’t want to see my kids take that same path. I don’t think any age is to young to start teaching your kids financial wisdom–at least in the most basic of terms–or ... read more
operation christmas child 2011 {filling our boxes}
This week is National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child which means you have until Friday to get your boxes filled and dropped off (if you haven’t already!) Princess and I spent some time this past week getting our boxes ready to go. We had such a fun time doing it–she was even more into this year than last year–and we had enough stuff to complete 12 boxes. (A little short of our goal of 15, but still 2 more than last year!) It was definitely a multi-day project to fill this many boxes. We collected items all year, but still also made a few OCC-specific trips to Target to ... read more
Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Beyond: Tips for Getting the Best Deals this Holiday Season {Without Losing Your Christmas Spirit}
It’s that time of year, and unless you’re one of those crazy annoying, er, I mean proactive people who manage to shop a little throughout the year and have all your holiday shopping done, you are probably starting to gear up for gift-giving season (or you’re trying to avoid it like the plague and procrastinating as much as possible.) It is far too easy to go overboard and blow your budget at this time of year, so I thought I would take some time to talk about some tips and tricks I’ve learned for scoring the very best deals this holiday season. After all, no one wants to spend more ... read more
change is good {survey results}
Sometimes life throws you for a loop and your only option is to react and simply make the best of it. As a general rule, I like to plan ahead. I love checklists and schedules and all things organizational, and I’ve never met a planner I didn’t like. While I do have a tendency to pack far too much into a week, as long as things are going smoothly, I can usually manage. The problem is that things don’t always go smoothly, and that is when the trouble starts. I get behind and then I get stressed and then I turn into someone I don’t want to be: A mom ... read more
new york, new york! {save up ’11}
It seems like a lifetime ago already, but last month I had the amazing opportunity to attend Save Up ’11 in New York City with 40 of my fellow Savings.com DealPros. It was my first time ever visiting NYC, and I was more than a little excited about it, (which you all probably figured out when I asked you to help me pick the perfect dress to wear!) There were so many great moments that I’m afraid I would bore you with the details; suffice to say being able to connect & share ideas with 40 other like-minded bloggers was fantastic. They had so many great insights and ideas, especially ... read more
LWSL Holiday Planning Guide {Free Printable}
The holidays are right around the corner! I don’t know about you , but my feelings are mixed. On the one hand, I truly love this time of year, but at the same time, I can’t help feel a little stressed. There are so many expectations! So many things to do! So many things to buy! As my girls get older, I am finding it increasingly important to keep my priorities in check. I want them to grow up knowing the true meaning of Christmas, not being caught up in the commercialism of it all. I want them to remember happy memories with our family, the special traditions and the ... read more
