Sustainable & Creative Living
With hurricane season at its peak right now in Florida, it’s time to make sure we’re all prepared for natural disasters and emergencies. As we’re getting our families ready for evacuations, it’s important to remember our furry friends. It breaks my heart to read stories of pets left behind in a storm but if you don’t have a plan in place I can see why it happens. [Read more…]
I love easy crockpot meals that taste like you spent hours slaving over a hot stove cooking them. This Crock Pot Hamburger Casserole recipe is absolutely delicious and so simple to make.
My son loves ground beef and hates his veggies so I’m always trying to hide them in our meals whenever possible. I was a little skeptical making this because I’m always worried he’ll see green and immediately [Read more…]
This is something that has been on my mind for the past few months. It’s a pretty well known and common tradition that when a couple gets married, the bride takes the husband’s last name.
I can honestly tell you that the idea of doing this, throughout my 7-year relationship, crossed my mind maybe less five times. Truly, I rarely thought about it, except for the passing Pinterest browsing. It’s never been something super important to me.
When we got engaged, I still didn’t think about it for the first few months. Then it started popping up in my wedding planning. At first, I thought, no big deal, just some paperwork. Then I started really thinking about it. Throughout this entire wedding process, I have grappled with which wedding traditions to hold onto and which one to leave behind.
We just celebrated my son’s 2nd birthday a few weeks ago, which was perfectly themed “Cars.” He’s a typical little boy who loves anything with 4 wheels! After spending months of planning his 1st birthday party, I decided to make the second-year celebration a little more low key. So, this time around I bought most of the decorations instead of making them. I was able to find a lot of the Cars themed party décor at Party City and Walmart (which you can check out below). The one party décor item I made was this DIY Cars Theme Cake Pop Stand. J loves cake pops from Starbucks (a horrible thing I blame myself for) so I decided on cake pops this year instead of a cake.
Don’t be intimidated by the all the steps, it’s actually quite [Read more…]
One of the issues I struggle with most in my life is a balance. I often say I want more of it, and yet I often take on more projects and new responsibilities. I know that I really don’t want to do less—I want more time to do more things. Obviously, since I will never have more than 24 hours in a day, I try to be more efficient.
Lately, I have been all about DIY – I’m planning my wedding and it seems like there’s always something to DIY. This week, it’s a picture frame that’s part of a larger project (more info to come later). But you don’t have to be planning a wedding to appreciate this DIY.
You can easily buy a distressed picture frame from TJMAXX or Ross but where’s the fun in that? This simple DIY takes any old wooden frame and gives it a rustic, coastal feel.
While surfing Amazon one night, I got excited when I came across a feature that listed Key Items to Work into Your Wardrobe, so I got inspired to do a post about it. At first, I thought I hit the jackpot – easy shopping all in one place, right? After clicking through and the checking prices of all these cute fashion items I now desperately wanted, I was quickly [Read more…]
Summer is coming to close and school is back in session (at least here in Florida) and we’re all excited about it.
While I haven’t been in school for years, “school” supplies are still my favorite thing ever. I guess you could also call it stationary and office supplies. At my corporate finance job, we were obsessed with office supplies. We were always buying new sticky notes, notebooks, pens, and anything else we could find for each other. This year I had at least 3 new planners.
I think anyone who shares the obsession understands why back to school is fun for everyone, not just students.
Road trips are tough on everyone. Especially little kids. Wait, no they’re tougher on the parents. When my little J was an infant, he hated his car seat so car rides were very stressful for Mommy. Even a 2-mile ride to the grocery store felt like a 20-mile ride. I tried everything that I could think of to soothe his cries and keep him entertained. Mirrors, squeaky toys, rattles, teething toys. Nothing worked.
I even took one blogger’s advice and made a [Read more…]
Thrifting is one of my all time favorite pastimes. I love shopping – probably more than most people. Even if I’m just looking around, I’m enjoying myself. But thrift shopping takes that enjoyment to a whole other level.
I love when I can go to a thrift store and just see what different or interesting pieces I can pick up. Whether it’s a cool vintage item or something that can be repurposed, I love it.
Buying anything used and reusing it is also another way to keep from contributing to more waste in the world. When you reuse something it’s one less thing in a land fill. It doesn’t seem like much but it adds up.
Everything in my life requires simplicity, and meal prep and cooking are no exceptions! Simple rubs for meat, chicken, or fish are the perfect way to add flavor to your meals without a lot of fuss.
These rubs can be pre-mixed and stored in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 months–preferably away from light and heat. Use about 2 Tablespoons per pound of meat, chicken, or fish. Pat on evenly. Put on at least 30 minutes prior to cooking or grilling.
Hot Florida summer days call for some major cool down tactics around my house. My tiny toddler works up a major sweat running around the park and blowing bubbles in the backyard. DIY Summer Popsicles are an easy and healthy way to cool down overheated children without feeling guilty about [Read more…]
In just a few short months I am getting married! I have been working on all kinds of DIY projects for the big event. Since it’s a barn wedding, we’re going for the rustic feel with touches of our love for all of things nerdy. [Read more…]
