Thankful Thursdays 4&5

I know, I'm behind. I have a lot of great ideas and stories to tell, but need to get out from under this post-remodel mess. I am hoping to get more of my recipes, art, and DIY projects up for you. I'm also planning to do a photography series. SO what was I thankful for last week? Honestly, it is hard to remember last week. I do know we went out to eat, so let's talk about coupons.

I'm thankful for all of those great coupon websites. You know, like Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Local, and our local Plan!t Kane and Fox Valley Deals. We are starting to get on a strict budget, and doing really well (future post). We have student loans that we are determined to pay off as soon as possible, so we are limiting what we spend. A friend (<-amazing Portland photographer!) posted an article from You Need A Budget that said "Until you’re completely debt free, everything you purchase is financed at the rate of your highest-interest debt." And I don't know why nothing else really has, but holy crap did that resonate with me. So with that thought, our credit card bill has already dropped by half. (We charge just about everything to it to earn cash back and pay it off monthly).

One of the ways we accomplished this (other than not needing to buy so much for the house) is by limiting our eating out to once per month. We want to spend as little as possible, but also want to have fun. We've been sticking to a grocery budget fairly well, but looking at our categorized spending on food in general was an eye opener. Eating out once a week adds up fast, and we don't order the prime rib. Although we rarely ever eat out without a coupon, it has turned into a game for me to only go out if we can get half off, or at least one entrée free. We tried an awesome new place in town, O'Sole Mio with a $30 voucher that we purchased from Amazon Local for $15. If you're a local, we highly recommend it!

Now for this week...it's been a little hard with the hubby working late (coaching) a lot of evenings. We miss him and it just isn't the same when he isn't here. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, but this week I am very thankful for it because it allows me to keep in touch with him throughout the day. While of course he is busy teaching and coaching, he has a moment now and then to say hello and chat during his lunch and it makes getting through the long days much more tolerable. Not to mention it allows me to keep in touch with friends and family while I'm cooped up with the little ones all day :) The trick is balance.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated by O'Sole Mio or any of the above companies mentioned and/or linked to. I will, however, receive a bonus if you click through and sign up/purchase with Groupon & Fox Valley Deals. These are all companies I use personally and wouldn't recommend them to you if I didn't have a positive experience with them :)

Fun & Organizing with Liquid Chalkers!

 I have been working on getting our house organized since the hubz finished remodelling our second floor. No more dressers and desks in our living room and we finally have a place for everything...now we just have to get everything in its place. It's a slow process but it is happening! We have an itty bitty kitchen, which I love, but it means I have to get creative with organizing. One small step I took this month was to create our "hub" in the kitchen. It includes our meal calendar, a to-do list, and a couple of spaces for some fun. Liquid Chalkers helped me out with this. Read on and check out my photos to see how they can help you get organized, and have some creative fun as well. You'll also find a discount code at the bottom of this post :)

So first, we stopped by Goodwill, as we often do, and I picked up some picture frames for $1-2. I realize I could have gone to the dollar store...but those frames are garbage. These are nice, wooden frames of much better quality. So here they are before:

And after! (These will be going in my 50's inspired kitchen once we get around to remodelling it. For now, they will be hanging on some pretty sweet wallpaper...)

The top left is my meal calendar which you can find here. I realize not all Meatless Mondays are meatless, but some Taco Tuesdays are...I was in a hurry when I filled it out this month. I keep it the same for a few months in a row, but updated it with some more hearty meals now that it's getting cold. Links to the recipes, if I use them, are included. Having a print version helps me to see what I need to thaw or soak for upcoming meals! And I can use the Liquid Chalkers to keep track of which day I'm on (you know that gets difficult sometimes) and to make notes or swaps as need be. Not to mention to fill in the calendar as the months change.

 As you can see below, these wipe off very easily on glass. For the "note paper" frame, I drew the lines on the back so they stay put. Now we can write sweet, funny, or important notes to each other and ourselves. Yay! The frame of us was just to add some family & fun to the wall. As you can see, the Liquid Chalkers worked very well and are nice and vibrant!

Now onto some fun with the markers! One of the toddlers I watch has a birthday coming up this week, so I thought I'd try my hand at a birthday sign for him on his big day. I didn't plan on Cookie Monster, but after some sketching and playing around with the markers on our easel, the texture of them had me thinking fur, and a Cookie Monster book happened to be nearby. So this is what I ended up with:

You can easily erase where you  need to to add detials or fix some mistakes (as you can see I need to clean up a bit more by his eye). After I let it sit and dry for a bit, some colors did need some water to help cleaning up, but every surface will be different so make sure you test a spot first! I'd be weary of items painted with chalkboard paint (especially the DIY kind), but you can buy chalkboard contact paper or write on any non-porous surface with Liquid Chalkers!

The two photos below show each color on the chalkboard and then on the whiteboard. They erase much easier than typical dry erase markers and didn't leave a stain on my whiteboard. Bonus! The chisel tips and rich colors can provide a lot of great detail if need be.

A few more ideas:

• Decorate for the holidays!
• Leave yourself notes and reminders on your mirror
• Have a glass coffee table? Go nuts! Draw boxes underneath and get your toddler sorting!
• Liquid Chalkers would be much better for decorating a car...while they would come off easier...they would come off easier! The typical paint markers for cars took some good scraping after our wedding (a year later)!
• Decorate windows or mirrors for your family members birthdays while they sleep. What a fun surprise in the morning!
• TIP: When decorating glass, if you need some help with drawing, print a photo to trace on the other side (this is especially helpful for text...writing backwards isn't easy!)

Go to www.LiquidChalkers.com and use discount code: EXCLUSIVE15 for 15% off your order!

 

DIY Babywearing Halloween Costume

We had a costume party to go to this past weekend so I threw together a costume for our little guy with some materials I had on hand. Granted, this could have been better, but it worked and I didn't have to buy anything. If I did it again, I would have done two layers of the "egg" and stuffed it. And I also would have had a more contrasting outfit for him, but again, last minute and this was still adorable. It was super easy and I've included the pattern for the tail and hat attachment. This could also be used for a baby dinosaur (my original idea but it was more involved and I ran out of time).

For the egg, I used felt because it is more stiff, but I think fleece would work well, especially if you plan on doubling it up and stuffing it (the stretch would make that even easier on you.

I traced the Baby Bjorn onto paper first for some reason. You could definitely just trace it (or whatever carrier you are using) right onto the fabric. (I realize these aren't the best carriers because of hip issues, but he'd push his way right out of the Moby now and I couldn't find our Mei Tai carrier. One day won't hurt and I hold his legs up most of the time anyways). 

So first, trace your carrier (twice if you want to stitch them together and stuff it). Make sure to leave some extra fabric for tabs to help attach it. For example, I left extra at the bottom and cut a slit to put the bottom of the carrier through. I also left two tabs to cut holes in to slip the top straps through. This will depend on your carrier. Obviously, make sure you don't fold or attach fabric anywhere that would compromise the strength/safety of your carrier! Also cut some zig zags at the top and arm/legs to get that newly hatched look.

Next, for the tail, I had yellow felt that I turned into a tail. Use the Tail Pattern to quickly cut out, trace on your fabric, and cut again. Once you have this cut out, fold and stitch where it overlaps. Then, cut at the slits shown. Cut out a 4" circle of the same fabric (or the egg color would work as well). Stitch the cone to the flat circle. Before you get to the very end, stuff it well with batting or cotton balls, or extra fabric, really whatever you have on hand that is fluffy. Then, finish up the stitching.

 

Once you have your cone, to get the cute little duck tail look, stitch up, over about an inch, and back down. Then tie a knot and pull until it is perked up to your liking, then double the knot (I used coordinating embroidery floss but thread should work just fine). 

 

Now to poke it out of your egg! Find the center of your egg, about where you think a tail would be. Cut a 3" X. Then, cut some zig zags for that broken eggshell look. Poke your tail through the back and stitch it on.

Now for the hat. We had a little duck hat on hand to attach a little "broken eggshell" to. You can use this pattern for any baby hat, though you may want to shrink it a bit for a newborn, I think the oversized shell would be cute. Cut out the pattern, trace, and cut out your fabric. Stitch it at the overlap and cut your zig zag again. I only did about 4 big stitches to stitch it to the hat because I wanted to be able to easily take it off later.

 

Then it's time to put it all together! Again, it would be better if we had some orange pants and a more yellow shirt, but it worked regardless :)

With some stuffing and a better outfit underneath, it'd be super cute! But this was a good, no-cost & quick alternative :)

Happy Halloween!!

Saving, Earning, Re-using, & Giving With Campusbookrentals.com

When my husband and I were in graduate school getting our teaching certificates, we were on a budget and searched for the most cost effective way to get the textbooks that were required for our classes. We researched and compared every book we needed across a handful of websites. Then, we came across CampusBookRentals.com and compared their rental prices with other popular textbook retailers & renters. The vast majority of the time, it was much cheaper to rent through CampusBookRentals.com than it was to purchase the book compared to what it may be sold for later (those darn revisions...grr).

Image created by April Duda w/permission

  I was in a cohort taking 8-16 week classes and was able to adjust how long I needed the book, which made it even cheaper since I didn't need it an entire semester. While they offer paid shipping options, say if you need your book tomorrow, they offer FREE standard shipping, both ways. They send you a postage-paid and addressed envelope so you can conveniently return your book at no extra cost to you. Since we have used them, they have made some fantastic developments!

Source

For one, they make a donation to Operation Smile for every book rented. So not only are you saving money and helping out the planet by reusing books, you are helping out children in need of life-saving surgery. Operation Smile is "a mobilized force of medical professionals and caring hearts who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery and related medical care for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate." To find out more about this amazing organization, please click the links above, or go to www.operationsmile.org.

Another development CampusBookRentals.com has made is a program called RentBack. Rather than selling your books back at the end of your class, and getting depressed when you take that big hit, you can use RentBack.com to rent your books out to other students. You stand a chance to make 2-4 times more dough than you would by selling it! You can check out their site and see if your book is a hot renter or not to help you decide if you'd be better off renting or selling...or propping up that crooked table. Unfortunately, my Art History books from 2006 are not considered hot renters. Shucks. To find out what Rentback.com is all about, check out their video here, or take a gander at the infographic below (Click to enlarge):

Source

You may be asking why I'd choose to blog about a textbook rental service. There are a few reasons actually. One, I've used their service and had a great experience with it. When I began this blog, my goal was to help make my readers' lives more simple by sharing what has helped me, and CampusBookRentals.com helped my family save money when we were living in a 220sq ft apartment and racking up student loan debt. Another goal of mine, is to share tips for green living and its importance with my readers, and I feel that this service promotes that lifestyle by reusing textbooks. I also believe in being kind to one another and supporting organizations and initiatives that make a positive impact on the world, like Operation Smile. I would have rented my books from them anyway based on cost alone, but to know that they turn around and make a donation for every rental is the icing on the cake. 

To sum up all of the awesome things CampusBookRentals.com has to offer:

• Save 40-90% off of bookstore prices

• Free shipping both ways

• Can highlight in the textbooks

• Flexible renting periods

• Donation to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

• If you change your mind and/or drop your class, you have 21 days to return your rental for a full refund

• If you decide to keep your book, you just pay them the difference and it's yours
• Fantastic customer service (in my experience!)
• 15 Day grace period for returns
• Their envelops are bright colored, so they're not as easy to lose!
• Sale! Use code FallSale70 for $8 off any order over $70 (limited time)
• Went and bought that expensive Art History text? Check out RentBack.com

I was compensated by Campusbookrentals.com for this post. Please view my disclaimer for more information on how this does not effect my personal opinion.

 

Woolzies Dryer Balls - Review & Giveaway - Sweet Summer Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the

Sweet Summer Giveaway Hop

hosted by

Planet Weidknecht

and

Passport to Frugal

From August 17-31, you can visit all the participating blogs listed below and enter to win their wonderful prizes to top off your summer in a sweet way. Each blog is offering a giveaway prize of at least $25.00 and you might be lucky enough to win them all!

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"This set of six handmade pure wool dryer balls are special in several ways. They deliver the same benefits for laundry as conventional fabric softeners WITHOUT all the nasty chemicals. They save everyone a lot of money by eliminating the need to continuously spend on fabric softener liquid and sheets. They cut down on the time it takes to dry a typical load by at least 25% thereby saving everyone even more money and cutting down on fossil fuel usage. Finally, being as that they are handmade in the democratic republic of Nepal, they provide a steady source of income to the desperately needy women of that developing nation."

After learning what dryer sheets actually contain (All D's & F's according to the EWG) and what they do to your clothing (animal fat anyone?), I stopped using them and looked to alternatives. I also stopped using fabric softener and replaced it with distilled white vinegar. Our clothes and towels were still soft and felt even cleaner! Perhaps it was in my head, but I loved knowing they weren't coated with toxins and gunk. I was noticing some static cling issues and would occasionally throw in a dryer sheet with the towels...while making an "eww" face. 

First, I read that you can roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer as a replacement for dryer sheets. And although the Woolzies product insert actually recommends doing that along with their dryer balls, I feel I need to do a bit more research first to see if anything comes off on the clothes at high heat. I'm sure it doesn't, but since the ball does wear down over time, I'm just not sold on it. In my mind Aluminum=bad (I'm a new mom researching vaccines...and deoderant). Then I started seeing ads for wool dryer balls.

My first thought? "Psh...I could make those and save a ton of money! I'm a super-wife!" But then I saw that a skein of pure wool yarn costs about $8, and you'd probably use almost a full skein per ball. Even if you only needed 4 skeins, that's still $32ish. Then you have to roll them and felt them which required a few runs in the washer and dryer. Woolzies will only cost you $35 and they're already made for you. Yay! So this is a case where I'd prefer to purchase over DIY (which is rare for me!). Since I'm newly a work-at-home momma, I'm also always looking for ways to save while reducing toxins and waste. These were a fantastic solution for us!

Woolzies sent me a box of their dryer balls (6) to try out and review (they were also awesome enough to sponsor this giveaway!). I started using them right away and took some notes on drying time since they claim to reduce it by at least 25%. I didn't do the math, but it did significantly reduce the drying time, even for towels. I was able to use the "less dry" setting on every load of laundry from clothing to towels to our comforter, and they came out dry, soft, and fluffy. I use low heat on clothing (which is better for them, too!) and they still come out dry on the "less dry" time setting. I'd occasionally find a thick collar or wasteband still damp, but would rather let those air dry than wear out the rest of our clothes.  

Now let's think about this...if you have 6 balls rolling around in your dryer, they are going to break up the load. This allows more air to flow between your laundry. Hence the recommendation to throw in a few tennis balls with a large comforter. Guess what? Tennis balls stink. Bad. (Are they loud? Our laundry room is in the basement and our living room is right above it. We can watch TV without hearing them. When the house is quiet, yet we do hear them. But unless you sleep next to your laundry room, I wouldn't worry about the noise. It also depends on how large of a load is in the dryer). Woolzies dryer balls work very well for large bath towels, are awesome at breaking up large loads of little baby clothes, and are a HUGE help when I can't hang dry my cloth diapers and need dry inserts and flats STAT.

A couple of examples to give you an idea of the size. The hubby pointed out that not everyone would know what an Oball is. Though if you have a baby, you should. We love this thing.

So do I recommend Woolzies dryer balls? Hellz yeah I do. 

• Reduced drying time?  Yes
• Left clothes/towels all snuggly soft?  Yes
• Reduced static? Yes
• Save $$$? Yes (A box of 160 sheets will cost you around $11 for 240. Dryer balls last at least 1000 loads. So dryer sheets = $.05/load. Dryer balls = $.03/load. Woolzies Dryer Balls will save you $15 over those 1k loads. That adds up!
• Left animal fat and, let's just say crap, all over my laundry?  No, no they did not. (If you do want a scent to your laundry, you can use some pure essential oil to put a drop on a ball or two). 

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a set of 6 dryer balls from Woolzies! Giveaway runs through the 31st!
(Woolzies sent me this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion and review. A positive review was not required.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop Giveaway!

Welcome to my first giveaway post! I'm pretty excited...and even more excited that I have the opportunity to participate in this Blog Hop to celebrate summer! This giveaway is for a set of four stainless steel drinking straws to help you reduce plastic waste and enjoy those refreshing cold summer drinks even more :) 

After reading and entering my giveaway, make sure you check out our hosts: Cloth Diapering Again, The Inquisitive Mom, and Our Piece of Earth and the grand prize giveaway! Not to mention all of the other bloggers who are participating (linky at the bottom of this post). Good luck!

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 Stainless Steel Drinking Straws

(Image from Amazon.com - This photog's camera is getting some TLC)

When I found out I was pregnant, I kicked my coffee habit (only a mug or two a day) right away. Even though I read that 200mg of caffeine a day was perfectly safe, I also read a comment that said "better a headache than heartache" and it really stuck with me. I would have a sip now and then, or a tiny bit in my almond or soy milk just to get that coffee taste when I was missing it. 

Then, after our little E arrived and I recovered from the birth (about 2 or 3 weeks), I really started wanting my coffee back but wasn't sure about drinking it while breastfeeding. I was still being very cautious, but the hot weather was making me miss my iced coffee. So I started making coffee cubes (I used silicone trays I found at Target so I could pour the coffee in hot). The cubes are each around an ounce. I didn't feel too worried about slowly drinking 2oz of coffee as it melted in almond milk (with a little bit of organic sugar). What I did start to feel guilty about was using a plastic, disposable straw everyday. So then I began looking into alternatives. 

The options I found were hard plastic, glass, paper, and stainless steel. The paper straws are adorable and would be super fun for a party but do get soggy if they sit in the drink for a little while. Ew. I'm just not a big fan of plastic and try to avoid it. Now, I love glass, but they were a bit more expensive and even though some say they are unbreakable, I just wasn't sure. What I do like about these is that they are clear so you can truly see if they are clean, but that isn't something I have worried about with the stainless steel straws. In the end, I decided to go with stainless steel based on their price, shape, and material.

What I love about these straws:

• Eco-Friendly!
• No BPA (which is in your basic plastic straw from what I understand)
• They're fun & make me feel nostalgic 
• They get cold with your drink which is awesome on those really hot days
• You can use them to sip hot drinks, which you should not do with plastic (I have used the SS ones once for hot tea and the straw got warm but not burning hot - Although I can not be held responsible if you burn yourself, your drink my be hotter than mine and I wouldn't recommend giving it to a child until you know the drink is cool enough).
• I find them very easy to clean with the included pipe cleaner

Cons (Honestly, I couldn't find any. These are what I have read in other reviews):

•  You have to clean them (well, duh. But it is easy with a pipe or brush cleaner and hot soapy water. Try to rinse after use or soak in hot soapy water)
• You can't bite them...duh again. I was a straw biter, too. But that really is a bad habit and these can help you kick it!
• They don't bend. No, they don't bend more than they already are. I've never found this to be a problem and think they are bent at just the right angle. 
• They're expensive! Sure, they are more than a pack of plastic straws. But they will pay for themselves, prevent you from sipping BPA, and help the environment. They are less than glass straws and I think very reasonable.  

 Where can I get a set? (This is a self sponsored post so I may recommend a few different vendors)

• Here is a set of 10 for $18 on Amazon with free shipping if you have Prime
• Here is a set of 4 for $9, also free shipping with Prime
• If you don't want a bend and prefer a straight straw (good for those reusable to-go cups!) you can find those here.
• Enter the giveaway below to win a set of four! (Open us US only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Welcome to the Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop Giveaway, hosted by Cloth Diapering Again, The Inquisitive Mom, and Our Piece of Earth, in celebration of babies and mamas! There are two grand prizes up for grabs, one open to US and Canada, and one open just to the US.

Don't forget to enter the grand prizes!

 

Go here to enter to win a grand prize!

Each blogger has a prize worth at least $25 on their blog, so hop around on the linky and enter to win some summer baby loving.

Cloth Diapering Again, The Inquisitive Mom, Our Piece of Earth, and Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop Giveaway participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfilment.
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