September 2012
the ground rules {day one}
I’m not sure how many of you are on board for this month’s challenge but the gauntlet has been tossed and I am calling on ALL of you to try, in your own way, with your own rules, to do this with me. Right here, right now commit to a whole month of no spending: 31 Days of Living Well and Spending ZERO If you’ve read this blog for longer than a week you probably already know that my husband and I just finished a 30 day spending freeze. For the entire month of September, we cut out all of our non-essential (and even most of our ‘essential’) spending. (To ... read more
In Search of Financial Peace {5 Things I’ve Learned So Far}
When I started this blog 2 years ago, it was not because I was some slick money guru or finance major who wanted to pass on my certified wisdom to the world. Far from it, actually. I started this blog because my spending was out of control. I was unhappy and bored, and my husband and I were on the brink of both divorce and financial ruin. I started this blog to save my marriage, my family, myself. My goal was simply to figure out how to stretch my budget so that I could buy all the things I wanted. It was pretty simple math, actually: the less I spent ... read more
so you had a few things to say…. {reader survey results}
Earlier this month I posted my third annual LWSL reader survey. While this was my third go-round at posting this type of survey, I realized that I haven’t been all that good about sharing the results. I guess I just assumed it wouldn’t be all that interesting to y’all. But, since I’ve had a few people ask about it, I thought this year I’d share a few of the insights I’ve picked up and what that will (hopefully) mean for this blog in the future. So without further ado, here is what you had to say: On what type of posts you prefer… I was happy to know that the ... read more
Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Icing {Recipe}
When it comes to autumn baking, it is hard to go wrong with pumpkin and cream cheese. Add a little maple to the mix and you’ve got yourself a little piece of fall-licious yumminess right there in the palm of your hand. The girls have been begging for weeks to make cookies with frosting, while I’ve had a major craving for all things pumpkin. As it turns out, it was the perfect combination. Cookie Ingredients 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 2 ... read more
fabric covered candles {easy DiY}
Can you tell I’ve been feeling a little crafty lately? Between all the running around we did all summer and then Princess not wanting a birthday party, I think I was feeling a little pent up on the creative front. Whether it was change in season or that life has calmed down, or perhaps our spending freeze, the need to make pretty things suddenly just exploded out of me and I was powerless to resist. I think Husband is concerned that I might start decoupaging the children next. Luckily for him, I am down to my last bottle of Mod Podge. Last October The Nester wrote amazing series called 31 ... read more
I’m a Blogger, Not a Saint {Confessions of an Imperfect Life}
This was not the post I was supposed to write. Today’s post was supposed to be an inspiring collection of charming and poignant photographs telling the triumphant-yet-funny story of my harrowing Highlander 3 Mud Run saga over the weekend. In my mind I had it all planned out; all I needed was the pictures. Oh, and to actually participate in the run. But it was not to be. I’l spare you the details of my excuses because at the end of the day, there is only one reason I dropped out: I am a big fat chicken. The ups and downs of this thing called “blogging” never cease to amaze ... read more
pottery barn-inspired no-sew halloween bunting {DiY}
Two years ago I spotted a darling little bunting in the Pottery Barn Kids Halloween catalog. Back then, I was just starting out on this little thrifty journey of mine, and as tempted as I was to order it, I decided it would be far more cost-effective to purchase the materials and make my own rather than pay the crazy price they were asking (I think it was around $60 or so.) Photo Credit: Pottery Barn Kids, 2010 So I headed to Jo-Ann’s and picked up 2 fat quarters of orange and black fabric with the best of intentions. And then Halloween came and went and I never seemed to ... read more
a new season of worden farm {sign up by october 1st}
We finally sent in our payment a few weeks ago and I am literally counting down the days until the new season starts at Worden Farm! Last year we really enjoyed getting our boxes of farm fresh veggies each week and though the girls were hesitant to try new vegetables at first, by the end of the season they had become true veggie lovers. Towards the end of the season we discovered the joys of actually going to the farm to get our vegetables, and this year we plan to go every week. One of the most common questions I get from readers who are trying to save money with coupons ... read more
Dutch Babies {Recipe}
Oh, Dutch Babies….how do I love thee? All that buttery goodness, clumps of powdered sugar, crispy crust and light-but-dense center, drizzled with real maple syrup and oozing with down-home goodness. Honestly, although my family likes a lot of different things, there is truly only one dish that can make all four of us downright giddy in anticipation. It is the one dish that we always make for special occasions, for guests, birthdays, & holidays. It is hands down my family’s favorite breakfast. So what are they? I’m not really sure how to even describe it–a cross between a baked pancake and a soufflé, I suppose, but with none of the ... read more
fall leaves canvas {easy kids DiY project}
We had a one-day cold front pass through last week, (and by cold, I mean 85 degrees instead of 95), which I took as a clear sign from above that it was time to dig out the bins of fall decorations. I also took it as a sign that it was time to rock the skinny jeans & knee-high leather boots, even if it was only for one day, and even if I was so hot I thought I might be going through early menopause. Hey, us Florida girls have gotta take what we can get. But I digress. In my eagerness to embrace all things fall, I decided we ... read more
get ready for 31 days {living well & spending zero}
First of all, I just have to say a huge thank you to all of you for your kind words, tweets, Facebook shares, comments & emails after Friday’s post. Seriously, WOW! Who knew there were so many people on board with the idea of completely ruining our children’s childhoods? And now…..on to business! If any of you read The Nester (and if you don’t, you should–she is awesomesauce in a jar!) you probably already know that every October she hosts a series called 31 Days of Change, where she writes a 31 day long series on some profound topic and invites other bloggers to do the same. Last year I ... read more
Why I took my kids’ toys away {& why they won’t get them back}
If you follow Project Simplify 365, you already know that I’ve been on a mission this year to simplify my family’s life and rid ourselves of excess. Over the course of this past year I have probably given away about 75 percent of their toys, keeping only the items that I felt encouraged their imagination and that they actually played with. I thought I was doing pretty good. Even so, there were warning signs that my kids still had too much stuff. In June, we took a field trip to Reptile World in Orlando. Afterwards we decided it would be fun to take the girls to dinner at a dinosaur-themed ... read more
Taco Casserole {Recipe}
We are a full two weeks into our one-month spending freeze and so far, so good. I thought for sure we would run out of food in a week but at this point both our freezer and pantry are still brimming, which makes me think a.) we may have had too much stuff and b.) we could probably extend our spending freeze for another month without even coming close to running out of food. In all honesty, the hardest part about figuring out what to cook is the mental block of thinking there is nothing to make, when in fact there are all sorts of ingredients to choose from. The ... read more
3 easy reptile crafts for kids {DiY}
A few weeks ago (or was it months….) I mentioned that we were studying reptiles in our homeschool science class. For reasons that I still don’t understand, my normally all-things-pink-and-pretty girly girls are really, really, really fascinated by snakes, lizards, alligators, & turtles. I suggested a few times that we move on to something else but Princess, who literally gets attached to pretty much everything–she has been known to burst into tears when I throw away a popsicle stick–begged every time to just do reptiles for “just one more week.” In any case, all that time spent studying reptiles gave us plenty of time to do lots of different reptile-themed activities. ... read more
the school of edie {thoughts on redemption}
A couple weeks ago I had the great pleasure of spending 3 days visiting my dear friend Edie. The girl is like a walking crash course in Southern Hospitality, and her gifts and talents seem to know no bounds. Whether it be homeschooling, gourmet cooking, baking, decorating, or reading classic literature, her insight & creativity never fail to blow me away. Let me tell you, if I didn’t absolutely adore her and want to scoop her sassy, sweet boot-loving self into a little bundle and put her in my pocket, I might just hate her. But, even so, Edie is special to me in a way that I don’t think ... read more
