Savings Saturday: Pillows

Goodwill find of the week!

Olive green accent pillows $3 each

I just threw them in the wash and they came out perfectly!

No Spend Month Challenge

I want to try this idea I found at Small Notebook.

The "No Spend Month Challenge"

Start with a goal amount. Let's say $300 for a month
Goal to spend $40 on food and about $30 on gas per week for a month.

The Challenge:

To spend $300 or less this month.

The Purpose:

To be mindful of where our money is going, to find free forms of entertainment, and maybe even expand our cooking endeavors.

The Details:

This month we have a budget of $300 to spend.

Included (taken from Small Notebook. ):

food & eating out
gas
clothing
household necessities
entertainment

Not included:
Gifts.
Rent, insurance, and bills
Health expenses
Work expenses
Savings and investments

The Habits:

Don't impulse buy. Make a list of the things that we are wishing for, and then save up to purchase them. Maybe in the mean time, a few things will drop off of the list.

Eat at home instead of splurging.

Be mindful of how much we are driving.

Try to use what we have in our pantry instead of buying more groceries every week.

Weddings by K.I.S.S

My hubby and I started a business:


Here is our website:
Weddings by KISS

and my blog to showcase the photography side of the business:
Photography by KISS

We already have about five clients!

The Farmer's Market and other fresh adventures

We decided to check out the local farmer's market which is held very Saturday morning from 8 am to 1 pm just outside of Austin. There was live music, fresh eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread, chicken, meat, fish, organic popsicles (strange sounding, but delicious), etc. We spent way too much but we did pick out a few things we plan to make regular, weekly purchases.

To top it off, Alek made Creole for dinner with the shrimp we bought from the Gulf fishermen at the Farmer's Market.


I know, I need to work on my food photography, but it was an awesome meal! I'm a lucky girl to have a husband that loves to cook as much as I do.

There was another experiment we tested today. On Monday we put strawberries into vodka to distill and today we tried it out. I put mine with lots of sprite but it was pretty yummy.


Also we might've sold our truck (we'll know on Monday) which is exciting because we are considering leasing the Toyota Rave 4. Alek puts a lot of miles on the truck right now and it just isn't a practical vehicle for us right now. So keep your fingers crossed for us!

Wicker wonderland aka Goodwill

We stopped by Goodwill yesterday to search for some cheap wooden picture frames to repaint and I ended up finding all of these baskets for $7 total. I was planning on buying some wicker baskets for storage but at a retail store that would've set me back about $30-$40. My bathroom is one step further towards being organized and on a budget too!

Birds and the Beach

I'm trying to decide what to do with our very bland bedroom. Alek won't let me paint it : P so I'm having to be more creative. I'm in love with the Shabby Chic beach look and since we have to stick with white walls and the white furniture given to us by family, that seems to be the best alternative.

Step 1. I found the duvet cover on sale for $40 at Bed Bath and Beyond (Steal?...yes!) Doesn't really go with the beach idea, but I thought maybe I could make my own version of Shabby Chic something.

Step 2. We just put the curtains up today; I think they make the room look a little less washed out.

Step 3. I'm hoping, with the help of my handy husband, to make the headboard shown in the photo above. It's made out of a mantle or crown molding with hooks and a bench cushion.




Step 4. On top of the mantle, I plan to place picture frames painted the color of the birds on the duvet (teal, orange, and green).

Step 5. I found an old birdcage at Goodwill and I'm considering doing something like Make and Takes because I am still a kid at heart. Or something like the photo below, with plants inside the bird cage:



Just a few clean, fresh, fun looks for eye candy (most of these are from Decor Pad:

Thank you

When I was a kid, I had a journal in which every day I would write the things for which I was thankful. It helped me to remember all of the wonderful little details of life. I'm not overtly religious nor do I know if there is a God, but I feel that there is someone or something to whom I should be thankful for the wonderful blessings in my life. It's hard to say "Thanks" without have a "you" to say it to.

Thank you for loving, hard-working, helpful, handsome, sweet, and overall wonderful husbands


Thank you for kayaking on summer days.


Thank you for fishing on a quite lake.


Thank you for tiny details sometimes only a camera can capture.

 

Thank you for green plants and brown dirt and colorful flowers.