End of the Week Links: DIY/Home Tour/more

Some good stuff going on out there:

I fell in love with this beach home when I saw it on Blueprint Bliss. I pretty much think I need that coffee table, even though we'd have a hard time getting around it in our family room. You can read about it here.

I've had this laundry drying rack dog-eared in my Ballard Designs catalog for a while now... Well, Ballard Designs, Shmallard Designs. Kate, aka Centsassional Girl, created her own drying rack and gave us thorough DIY instructions on her blog. I am so very impressed (and thankful)!

I'm always on the lookout for a fun project to do with the kids. This letter art is especially great because it'll be a framable keeper and I think all ages will find it creatively entertaining.

Drawing a blank as to what book you should read next? You could always consult The Book Seer. (Thanks, Olivia, for the fun link!)

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me about my family rules post. I feel filled up with encouragement! A few people asked about a custom set of family rules so I added that to the listing to my shop. Thank you so much!!

Don't forget to enter the Good Look For Less wardrobe consultation giveaway. I'll be drawing a winner Monday night to announce Tuesday! Oh, and look for my sister's shopping list and outfits on Jill's blog on Monday... She did a stellar job for her!

A thought for the weekend:

Have a happy one!

Learning to Pick My Battles

This is how my daughter left the house 3 out of the past 7 days.

Yes, that's 4 headbands, a side ponytail, and a scarf. The first day I tried to talk her out of a headband or two. The second day I didn't say anything, but I did feel the need to comment to another mom we ran into that she did indeed put this ensemble together herself. Finally, by the third day, I didn't blink an eye. I let her freely express her own fashion sense. I'm learning to let the little things go. And she's learning to be an independent thinker. Sounds so great, but it's soooo hard. I'm working on it.

{image from here}

I might, however, have to step in with the little guy if he continues to follow so closely in his sister's fashion footsteps.

Spending Hiatus: My Plan (and a giveaway):

My grandmother used to be a personal shopper. She had a client list of some well-to-do ladies and would actually get paid to assist them in spending their money. Sounds like a pretty good gig, all the way around.

Well folks, I have my very own personal shopper of sorts! While I'm no well-to-lady, Jill, from The Good Life For Less, just did a mini consultation for me. This is going to come in quite handy in carefully planning my future clothes purchases, while staying on my spending hiatus. (No more toilets for me!)

I'm thrilled with what she came up with... She sent me a shopping list:

And then put together six outfits for me (check out more of them here). Here's one of my favorites:

While I'd love to go blow my whole budget on a shopping spree, I've learned quite a bit during my spending hiatus. My plan is to update my wardrobe with a few pieces gradually, and I think having a plan is going to be quite helpful in sticking to our budget. It will take some restraint, but I like that this fits better into my new, simpler, less-is-more attitude I've been cultivating. And I will use my own personal look-book to make smarter purchases and not go aimlessly into the mall. (That would surely prove disastrous.) I feeling great about the plan.

Okay, now here's the best part: Jill is offering to give away this same mini consultation to someone over at my place! We're so lucky! It's such a neat service she's providing, and I'm so excited that someone else is going to get to benefit from it. All you have to do is visit her blog and/or stylebook and let us know your thoughts in a comment below so you can be entered in this giveaway.

I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, August 4th. Thanks, Jill, for the awesome giveaway!! (Sorry the images are all off and wonky-looking... I can't seem to fix it and I'm letting it go... for now.)

Family Rules

Ever since I saw this, I've wanted to somehow display the rules we have for our family. I've been thinking on it for a while. (Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas.) This is the list I went with:

I printed out these six statements that I thought encompassed the respectful, considerate behavior we encourage in our family. Then I just slipped them into some 5x7 frames (from Ikea) to coordinate with the others we have in the hall, and hung the set right outside the kids' bedrooms.

My goal was to positively display the expectations we have. I also wanted them to be fun and easy to read. I figure we can refer to them and visit them as needed throughout the day. My friend, Angel, even suggested to use it as a subtle reminder, "Remember what the blue rule says." I like that application too. And apparently the bright colors are taking the edge off of the rules because my daughter commented how "pretty" they are on our wall. Let's see if she's so smitten with them as to remember to "Use kind words and a pleasant tone" with her brother today. We'll see...

I recently expanded my shop to include some printable things, so I thought I'd make these available over there as well. Hope your Tuesday is grand... Mine should be, as I'm sure my little ones are going to have spot on behavior! Ha!

Meal Plan Monday

This week is an easy one. Hubby has decided to go on a four-seven day fast (Hubby does this on occasion because "by not devoting energy to the metabolic process, your body not only cleanses, but you gain clarity, focus, and spiritual awareness."), so our week is going to be quite a bit different. While I don't completely understand the fasting process (I know I don't have the self-control to make it more than a few hours), I'm going to be as supportive as I can by preparing food that will least likely tempt him (ie: no big, fat steak dinners). This week will also be easy on the budget, as we'll be feeding one less body for the most part, and I'll be using some easy stand-bys from the freezer stash. The kids are going to be thrilled with the menu and I'll be getting a mini break from cooking. With all of that in mind, here's our week:

{I finally painted up those other frames...

They might just make an appearance in my shop. Stay tuned...}

Monday:

chicken tenders

green beans

Tuesday:

hot dogs

fruit salad

Wednesday:

spaghetti

Thursday:

fish sticks

strawberry salad

Friday:

salad with grilled chicken

(kids will eat theirs a la carte: tomatoes, chicken, cucumbers)

Saturday:

out to dinner

Sunday:

b for d

eggs, sausage, fruit

What's for dinner at your home?

And while we're on the subject,

What are your thoughts on fasting?

End of the Week Links

Here is some of the good stuff I spotted this week:

As if I needed yet another reason to love chalkboard paint. Check out these clipboards. They might just have to be made.

I love brownies... I used to make them so often that I had the process down perfectly, but now I don't, and they are always just not quite right. (Of course they still get eaten.) I came across this How-to-make-the-perfect-brownies recipe and it's got me hankering to give it a go asap.

My friend Jennifer told me about this neat handbag website/store where you can design your own purse. She went to Chicago and actually designed in the store. I'm having to settle for the virtual route, but it's still pretty darn fun.

Here is a list of marital tips for surviving tough economic times. Good stuff.

I can't remember who turned me on to this color scheme designer (I'm thinking it was Violet Posy... Was it you, Liz?), but it's quite cool to play around with while seeking creative inspiration.

Oh, and don't forget to enter my friend Tonya's giveaway in honor of opening her new shop. (If you look closely, you can see the piece she made for me. I love it!!)

Thinking about this:

And this:

Have an awesome weekend!

Summer Slush: How Refreshing!

I have a wonderful friend who recently hosted a swim party at her house. She does this often, but this one was particularly fun because it was a "grown-up swim party". The invitations said something to the effect of, "We love our kids. We love your kids. But this time the pool will have NO kids." It felt pretty strange to arrive with only one bag over my shoulder and a dish to share, rather than schlepping the goggles, swim diapers, water wings, towels, extra set of clothes, snacks, water bottles, and the likes. It was quite liberating.

It was such a nice time to actually sit and relax poolside. It was even nicer when my friend emerged with a tray full of the coolest aluminum glasses filled with "summer slush". Oh. My. Goodness. This concoction was so refreshingly tasty. I had to get the recipe... It turns out that it's very simple and inexpensive: Just my style! I also did a little perusing to locate some of those vintage cups that she served our drinks in.

{can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Enjoy!

Spending Hiatus: Big Purchases

So I finally have some real confessions to fess up to, but it's way less exciting than it sounds: We bought 2 toilets this weekend. Woohoo (said in a less than enthusiastic voice). While this felt extravagant and definitely was not on my exclusions list, it was somewhat necessary. Bah.

Our area is running a voucher program to help residents upgrade their "thrones" and help save water. If your toilet(s) qualify (our 50+ year old ones had no problem), the city will send you a $90 voucher per potty. So with the expiration date approaching we headed out toilet shopping. My usual glee in going to Home Depot for home improvement materials was lacking on this trip, especially after seeing just how many choices (pressure, bowl shape, seat type, and on and on) and just how far our $90 would get us toward a qualifying toilet. (Did you know you could spend $600+ on a flipping toilet?) So after much deliberation (funny to even think about our whole family standing among the porcelain bowls contemplating flush ratings) we settled on this duo:

Thrilling, I know. (Did I really just post pictures of toilets on my blog? So sorry.) While these shiny new thrones (with their elongated bowls and comfort heights!) will be a big improvement from our old ones, the experience less than fun. The problem is that I had way more exciting versions for our first big purchase in mind than this. I am, however, thankful that we are now in a position to use the voucher toward the purchase.

Oh, and while trying to fix our dripping kitchen faucet this weekend, the plumber (aka hubby) broke it, so we had to purchase a new one. I'll admit that this purchase was way more fun... The new faucet totally doesn't go with the rest of the kitchen, but it will serve as inspiration for where the kitchen is headed (and I love it!):

So there you have it. Any big purchases on your end?

A Question for You & a Winner

The future owner of these cool coasters is:

Lucky ducky!! Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway, and a big ole thanks to Mandi for making it possible. Definitely keep an eye on her shop and blog for more great stuff!

I'm working on a little project and I'd love your input...

What are your top 5 (or so) family rules in your house?

Thank you for your thoughts on this. I'll share the idea I've got brewing soon.

Monday Meal Plan

{image via Real Simple}

Here's what I've got planned for our week:

Monday/Wednesday:

cheese and spinach manicotti (we didn't get around to this last week)

Tuesday:

mac and cheese for the kids

salad for me

(hubby gone biking)

Thursday:

black bean and cheese nachos

Friday/Sunday:

grilled chicken

corn salad w/ feta and walnuts

(I happen to have corn, feta & walnuts on hand.. Thanks RS for checking my pantry!)

green salad

Saturday:

pool party bbq

Not too shabby considering there's just $70 left in the monthly food budget... Next week should be interesting!

What's on the menu at your place?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway going on over here... I'll be drawing a winner for the coasters tonight!

End of the Week (LOVE) Links

{image via here}

This is a list of links to some pretty awesome sites and individuals who have been making me smile this week. Here's to the blogs and bloggin' people who have been showing me some love this past little while:

Thank you One Pretty Thing for featuring my menu planner! It felt awesome to see my little project amongst her "Daily DIY" finds... Definitely check out the gobs of great DIY's over there. So very many neat things, so little time!

I won this completely jam-packed prize package from LobotoME via The Bright Side Project for being so absent-minded... "What's the most absent-minded thing you've done?" If you can answer this question, you could definitely benefit from this line of organization tools too. Love the LobotoME Brain Fog blog too!

Helen from The Museum Cupboard sent me this surprise that she put together with her perfectly thoughtful attention to detail. Check out her blog to find the most interesting vintage items she finds, along with her creative gift ideas.

A very sweet Olivia from MooMama mailed me a kindness package as a part of her Pay It Forward project, even though I wasn't among the first 3 commenters. She's just nice like that. Her whole blog is as well. Notice the kindness cards, with my favorite quote on one?

You all know how I love tags... Jorja-B tagged me in 6 Things That Make Me Happy. You can read mine here, but you have to go see hers: She's presented her 6 things in a cool way. Thanks, Georgia, for the tag!

{image from here and quote by George Elliston}

Have an beautiful weekend!

(And don't forget to enter to win those cool coasters from Shoestring Home!)

Snack Idea

{image via here}

You know, sometimes it is all about the presentation. Some foods become a little more irresistible when served in bite sizes, or arranged a certain way, or the likes. My daughter gobbles up her cherry tomatoes when they form a the mouth of a smiley face on her plate, but will complain about them if they're just in a jumble on that same plate. Not sure what the reason, but it's true. Enter the perfect snack vehicle: Muffin tins!

There's a whole flickr group dedicated to this. I found it following a link from lobotoME to my happy life blog (two very good blogs, by the way). I'm ready to give it a go. I'm picturing little gal doing her homework while happily (and healthfully: Shhh!) snacking from a muffin tin. Maybe I'm dreaming... Maybe not...

{image via here}

It's worth a try! What would you put in your muffin tins?

Spending Hiatus: Let The Games Begin!!

{I've been just waiting to be able to use this sentiment!}

My spending hiatus has moved into a new stage because...

my incredibly awesome husband has a new job!

We have collectively breathed a sigh of relief over here. The past six months were possible due to sticking with the hiatus, along with lots (and lots) of support from family and friends. With a paycheck coming our way (HALLELUJAH!), I know the true tests are coming. Now that there's actually money to be spent, the budget will most likely be harder to adhere to, but we are determined to stick to it. We've got to catch up a bit and definitely want to be prepared in the event this happens again.

Back when I set out to officially begin this process I made a list of exclusions that were considered okay to spend money on. While I'm happy to report that we have moved into the first addendum, I'm not sure if it's all that important to add everything on it. We'll see. We've got another budget meeting scheduled to figure it all out (this one with a bottle of wine to celebrate... I told you it would be hard to stick to). So it's game on for us! I'll report back next week...

Thanks for your support through this!

Check out this cool store & a giveaway:

So you might have caught on that I've acquired another new favorite online store. I highlighted a few products from Shoestring Home in some past End of the Week Links. I just can't seem to stay out of that store. Mandi's got such a wide variety of offerings available and each one is oh-so-cool. Of course I am in love with her wire baskets, but here are a few more glimpses into her great store:

And guess what? Mandi's giving away a set of coasters to one Perfect Sentiment reader! The Modern Twist Birds 'n Trees Coaster Notz are similar to the wine glass tagz I fell in love with a few weeks ago, in that you can personalize them with names and reuse. They are awesome and could be yours:

To enter just become a follower and leave a comment about your favorite item(s) from Shoestring Home. I'll announce the winner in a week, on Tuesday, July 21st. Be sure to stop by and say hello to Mandi over at her blog, My Shoestring Life too.

Sidenote: I've started to host a few giveaways here and there because, well, it's way fun to win stuff... I have been so lucky to have won several giveaways (some seriously awesome stuff!). It's such a nice surprise when it happens and it has made this economic slump quite a bit more bearable. There are so many generous folks out there with great businesses, and I'd just like to help spread it around. I'm having a great time "meeting" these neat people and getting to showcase their stuff. And I love that someone gets their day made with a little surprise. I hope you're enjoying them as much as I am!

Monday Meal Plan and the DIY planner (finally!)

I finally transferred the pictures over of my little diy planner project... All it is is a regular frame with a paper slipped behind the glass instead of a picture. And I'm using a Vis-a-vis marker (leftover from my teaching days) to write on the front of the glass. It just wipes clean with a wet rag. You could also use a normal dry erase marker. I'm bummed that I didn't remember to get a true before picture, but this still gives you the idea:

1: Prepare your frame. I just used a garage sale find (thanks to my mom who is an expert garage-saler) that measures just a tad bigger than 8x10, but any frame would work. I had to cut out the back and clean it up a bit because mine was really old and dirty. I removed the back and the glass, so I just had the frame to work with.

2: Sand & wipe down.

3: Spray paint. I just used high gloss white because I had already had it. Hind-sight, I think the high-gloss finish was a good choice due to the fact that it might get some marker on it.

4: Print out your meal planner (or draw or paint if you are more artistically inclined than me).

5: Reassemble & hang. I used those nifty 3M picture hanging strips to adhere it to the side of my refrigerator. (I got mine from Target and the frig idea from my uber creative friend.)

So there you have it. Pretty, darn simple, huh? I just got some more frames (again thanks to that awesome, thrifting mom of mine), so I'm thinking about making another one, and if it turns out cute I might do a little giveaway. What do you think?

Oh yeah, our plan for the week... Our menu is looking quite similar to last week, but it was such a winner both in cost and deliciousness that I'm rolling it again, with a few tweaks:

Monday/Wednesday:

Soft Tacos

chips & salsa

Tuesday:

Hot Dogs

Fruit

Thursday:

Breakfast Taquitos

Friday/Sunday:

Manicotti

Salad

Saturday:

Out

What's on your menu this week?

End of the Week (lack of) Links

It's Friday, and usually by the end of the week I've got a whole slew of great stuff that I'm wanting to share with you. Not this week. It's not because of the lack of completely awesome things out there either. I just literally didn't have time to peruse as much this week. I did come across this, and I think it's a lot.

{I found this lovely image here.}

Have a good weekend! May you enjoy it, lots!

What's Your Stance...

On themed birthday parties? It seems that once a kiddo hits 3 years old, the probability that they will want a character themed party is pretty darn high. I am not a big fan of characters... In fact it makes me cranky to think about the oodles of money that is made off of marketing everything you can think of to our children through a popular name/movie/character. I've even gone as far as to refuse to buy any clothing item with a Disney character on it (okay, we do have princess pajamas). But when it comes to birthday parties, I soften up a bit. It's kind of fun to go over-board and indulge in these fancies once a year.

Soooo, we've had a royal dress-up party, a Snow White party (she actually stopped by for a visit!), and a Barbie party (complete with one of those cakes made into a dress around the doll). I'm sure there's to be an Elmo party or maybe Star Wars, in our future as well.

I know I'm not the only one either... In the last month, I've been asked to make a Cars invitation, a Spiderman card, a princess fairy tale invite, a Paris & poodles soire, and others. My usual simple, no-fuss creative style goes out the window when I get to create one of these themed guys. There's something so fun in fulfilling a kiddo's little fantasy surrounding their ideal birthday party.

So where do you stand on themed children's birthday parties?

Sidenote: My little guy is only turning 2 next month, so this birthday is still mine. It will be a simple gathering, with not a character in sight. (Ha!) Next year, I'm sure he'll get me back and it will look like dinosaurs threw up all over the house. Looking forward to it!

Spending Hiatus: Contemplating...

My motivations for going on spending hiatus weren't really my own. While I would love to claim grand and selfless reasons such as mindful living, raising less-entitled kids, and reducing my materialistic tendencies, the reality is that we were sort of (ahem) forced into it. The greatest thing is happening though... All of those grand reasons are actually happening.

I am aware that it's going to take effort to keep this trend going... Summertime has allowed us to retreat some and hug our family in tight, but influences are everywhere. My daughter spent a morning at her gran's house swimming and playing. They got to watch a TV show while there, and my daughter came home talking about how she really wanted a Thumbelina doll. ("Did you know that the dolls can change wings and they each have a different color and the flower petals are actually their wings and...") It didn't take but one commercial to get right into that sweet, growing mind. And she's not the only one.... Hubby had an interview yesterday morning, and I found my mind drifting to how we're going to spend the "extra" money should he get the job.

It's tricky. I'm glad to be going through this though. I'm thankful that it's got me mulling over my values and the example I'm setting for my kids. I don't completely know where we'll end up. Will we turn the tv back on when the money is there (and catch the end of So You Think You Can Dance)? I don't know, but I do know that I'll be at least more mindful and my whole family will be better for it.

A Winner(!) and Twitter(?)

The winner of the rose ring giveaway is...

Congratulations! I sent you an email. Thank you, thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway. And a big thank you to Lory for sponsoring it... Your jewelry is beautiful!

...Okay, so I now twitter. (Or is it tweet?) I'm not quite sure why I caved, but I did. Now I've got a cute little bird over there on the right side of my blog who says you can keep track of me (thrilling, I know!) via twitter just by clicking on him. I'm so not the most interesting person around town, but I'll be answering the ongoing question "what are you doing?" The pressure got to me: I now tweet. (Or is it twitter?) You?

Where do you stand on the Twitter movement?

Meal Plan Monday: Budget Cut

Here's our very budget-minded meal plan for the week. We had a budget re-evaluation last week and decided to drastically cut the food budget to help take us further through our employment dry-spell. Our meal planning is going to have to get a little more creative to make sure we stay within the new parameters. I was planning to research some more on cheap-but-yummy meals, but the busy weekend didn't allow for it. I'm going to go with one of our simple, inexpensive go-to's, the 3 ingredient chicken caesar salad and a few others. Here's my effort for this week:

Do you have any very budget-friendly meals to share? I'm certainly on the lookout!

Oh, and don't forget about the opportunity to win a cool rose ring. The winner will be determined tonight.

End of the Week Links

Here's a group of neat things from around cyber-town:

This daily affirmations game is a fun novelty gift to have on hand. There are also fortune telling and question versions available.

Remember those cool vino tagz from last week? I haven't been able to stay out of the The Shoestring Home's store. They have the wire baskets I so want to organize my pantry and workspace. LOVE all of these!!

I need this rustic cubby-holed cabinet something serious. Unfortunately it's only for local pick up, so if your in NY or nearby you should snatch it up. If not, definitely check out The Farmhouse Shop I found via The Lettered Cottage (perhaps I've mentioned my love for TLCbefore) for some other neat things.

Check out this fun DIY project with Starbucks frappicino bottles. I love having an excuse to indulge a little in such a sweet beverage. Yum!

These are not only a pair of way cute shoes, they are made out of colored pencils which makes them way cool too. (found via this great blog, Fancy Schmancy: Thanks for the head's up!)

Have a fun and safe Independence Day!

{vintage postcard via here}

And Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the rose ring from The Sunshine Studio. Oh, and Lory's got a great giveaway going on at her place right now too!

Dreaming of... THIS Kitchen

I love this kitchen! I'd take just about every aspect of it. Farm sink: check. Wood floors: check. Breakfast bar (with cool barstools): check. Just drop it right in my house, please.

Of course the rest of the house is pretty much perfect as well:

Thanks to Blair from Delight By Design for introducing me to the designs of Jessica Helgerson. Love, love, LOVE!

Spending Hiatus: Some Low/No Cost Summer To Do's

Our summers in the past have been looser in all ways... schedules, bedtimes, and budget. We tended to go traveling some and eat out more. To keep in line with the spending hiatus and this pesky no-job thing, we're having to get a bit more creative for our summertime entertainment. I've been doing some perusing for interesting & creative things to make and do. I find that when I'm prepared and armed with ideas, the "I'm bored" and "There's nothing to do" comments don't send me over the edge (not quite as fast at least). Check out these fun ideas:

My daughter's favorite activity when we go to Home Depot or Lowes is to check out the paint chips. Now we got a real excuse to collect them. I can't wait to try this fishy project:

I love how this better-than-tie-dyed shirt turned out. This parent led project is definitely something that could be made without having to purchase anything. And you end up with a cool, "new" shirt as a result:

This fun "Summer Tweets" project (that I first saw via one of the wonderful blogs that I read, but I didn't make note of which. Darn it.) would definitely be a keeper and not find it's way into file 13 (ie: the trashbin). I'm in the midst of collecting fabric scraps as I'm not yet a sewing gal. The finished product is beyond cute:

Do you remember sifting through rice as a kindergartener? Sadly, I don't think this fits into our our public school curriculum anymore, so I think I'm going to have to recreate if for my kids. The whole colored rice process looks like some educationally fun times.

My daughter would love to spend hours on end on the computer although we prefer to limit it. This new (to us) site had me parked at the computer for a few minutes with the kids: Bembo's Zoo takes the letters in the animal's name and transforms them into the animal's image. It's somewhat mesmerizing and not really a zone out for hours on end type of computer game. While this isn't artsy at all, I think it would be a great springboard into something crafty with the alphabet. I'll be thinking...

Here are some of my favorite sites for craft projects to do with kids: No Time For Flashcards, Preschool Playbook, Unplug Your Kids, and Family Fun. I also posted some links to some good-old fashioned activities this weekend over at Mostly Mod.

Do you have any fun, creative ideas to try this summer?