Although I was originally intimidated by the seemingly long process of soaking, draining, rinsing, and slow cooking dried beans, I quickly realized it only requires a few minutes of hands-on work for a HUGE amount of homemade refried beans!
In my opinion, they taste significantly better than canned beans, and they freeze really well!
For the past 5 years, we have had ONE nice-looking vegetable garden — the others have been completely covered with weeds by fall.
This year, we’re trying something new to (hopefully) help us keep the weeds down– boy does it look ridiculous! I’m almost a little embarrassed to share pictures on the blog!
In general, when it comes to books, we almost always borrow instead of buy. However, I will admit to having a teeny-tiny “soft spot” for toddler board books!
I realize there are hundreds and thousands of amazing children and toddler board books — in no way do I think my list contains the “best books” or the “right books” — they are simply the books all 4 of our kiddos have loved and enjoyed over the years.
I don’t think waking up early is essential for productivity or a lifetime of success. It’s completely possible to sleep in and be productive during different times of the day… HOWEVER, based on the number of emails and comments I’ve gotten asking about our 4am wake up time, I figured it was time for another blog post.
If you’re interested in learning to become a morning person (something I DO think you can learn), I hope the 4 tips in today’s post will help!
While I certainly don’t think it’s our job as parents to entertain our children all summer long, I DO think the summer months at home together can be a lot more enjoyable if we try to plan a few fun (or special, different, out-of-the-ordinary) activities each week.
Today I’m sharing SEVERAL of the extra special, frugal family-fun things we do together each summer. Hopefully it will spark a few ideas for things you could do with your family as well!
Summer is here… well, almost! Nora has 2 more days of school left and then the “lazy days” of summer are officially here!
Come read about what we’ve been up to these past few weeks, some of our upcoming summer plans (we’re trying camping for the first time!), and all the food I’ve been making and baking (I got a sourdough starter!)
Summer break is officially here! Dave is completely finished with his school year, his classroom is cleaned out, and all his grades are entered. We’re looking forward to hanging out at home for the next 10+ weeks… that’s one of my favorite things for sure!
I’m sharing a few more of my favorite things in today’s post!
Although I do try to stay on-top of my home, family, and business responsibilities, I’ve noticed that the easiest times for me to procrastinate are when I have one larger project or to-do looming over my head… can you relate?
Today, I’m sharing a super simple 5-minute procrastination hack that works so well for me!
Since summer is just around the corner (YAY!) and kids will be home for lunches again, I thought it might be good timing to share some of our favorite EASY at-home lunches.
Our lunch options are much more limited than our dinner options, but we still have enough variety ready to go each day that we don’t get bored or feel like we’re eating the same things day after day.
After a decade of living frugally in an effort to pay off our mortgage early while also paying out-of-pocket for our many home renovations, Dave and I have basically kept the same frugal lifestyle, despite the fact that we no longer have nearly as many expenses.
So what are we doing with the extra money? This is a question I’ve been asked countless times over the past few years — and one I’m finally answering today!
I recently shared some of our freezer meals creations on Facebook, and many of you asked me to share a list of the meals we were ACTUALLY eating (with links to the recipes). So that’s what I’m doing today!
These 10 meals are all ones I’ve made for our family in the last 2 weeks, pulling most (if not all) of the ingredients directly from our freezer for fairly quick and easy week night meals — perfect for this busy time of year!
I am not one to follow fads or trends, I have never been the type to “jump on the band wagon” just because “everyone else is doing it”, I rarely have super strong opinions about specific topics, I don’t see many things in life as “black or white” with no middle ground, and I strongly dislike all-or-nothing decisions and situations.
Instead, I opt for a mentality of all-things-in-moderation — which has been a HUGE asset in my quest for simple living.
Over the past 18 months, my cooking style has drastically changed and as a result, we’re buying most of our pantry staples in bulk.
I feel like I finally have a really good storage solution for all our bulk pantry staples — which is what I’m sharing today, complete with my first-ever chalkboard label project!
One thing I have stressed over and over and over again in my own life, with past clients, with my children, and here on my blog is the importance of planning ahead.
I could talk about planning ahead all day long, but if I had to boil it down to one single reason why planning ahead helps me to simplify, streamline, and de-stress my entire life, it would be this: Planning ahead lets me focus on the IMPORTANT instead of dealing with the URGENT.
I’m honestly not sure if braided rugs are in-style, trendy, or even remotely popular right now, but I really like the look of them in my home! They fit my semi-primitive-country-farmhouse style and they add a nice pop of color to my otherwise very white spaces!
Since I get SOOOOO many questions (and compliments) about my rugs, I thought it was time for a full-length blog post!
I often find myself striving for improvement in almost every single thing I do — which can lead to feelings of being inadequate and not good enough (I’m sure some of you can relate!)
Today I’m sharing the super simple technique I use when these thoughts creep into my brain… I’d love to know how you handle these thoughts as well!
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