Search Results for: blog decorating your home one step at a time

How Small Temptations Can Ruin Your Budget

Sometimes it’s not the big expenses that shatter your resolve to save money, it is the small temptations that will get you. It is those small temptations that I, personally, most have to guard against. For example, although my husband and I often like to stop at the Apple store and look at the iPads whenever a new one is released, we aren’t in danger of purchasing one any time soon. It just doesn’t make that much sense to spend that much money when our emergency fund isn’t, well, as fully funded as we would like and we still owe … Continue reading →

Hidden Dangers

Keeping a home is more than just making sure everything is in order and the laundry is caught up. It is about more than decorating and using the best cleaning products. It is also about safety. Did you know that your home has hidden dangers? Let’s look at where some of those dangers are lurking. How often do you clean out your lint trap in the dryer? You should do this every time you change a load. And you might want to take it a step further and vacuum out the filter chamber. A buildup of lint can lead to … Continue reading →

Hooray For Grandfathers

Father’s Day is this weekend, and it is time to celebrate all of the fathers in our lives and the lives of our children. If a child is lucky, he will have the opportunity to enjoy a relationship with not only his own father but the fathers of both of his parents. Unfortunately, I never met either of my grandfathers because they passed before I was born. I had a step – grandfather, but he passed before I was old enough to remember anything about him. My husband was able to enjoy a relationship with his grandfather when he was … Continue reading →

Give Your Space a New Look

Updating your space this month can be quick and easy. You don’t need a lot of money or a lot of time. You don’t even need a lot of design expertise. Just use the following guidelines to give your space a new look, just in time for spring. Rearrange Your Furniture It is amazing how easily you can update a space simply by rearranging the furniture. You can start with taking the existing furniture in the room and rearranging it, but also consider swapping out furniture and accessories from other rooms. For example, I originally bought two matching chairs for … Continue reading →

Keeping Your Little Ones Safe this Halloween

Halloween is only a few days away. Have you planned out your trick-or-treating route yet? It is important to make sure your children are trick-or-treating in a familiar area and know exactly where they are going the night of Halloween. The last thing you would want is your child to wander off and get lost in the middle of nowhere! Always make sure there is an adult with your child. Some kids like to go trick-or-treating in a big group of friends. While there tends to be safety in numbers it is still important to have at least one adult … Continue reading →

Craft: Wooden Name Plate

Are you looking for a fun and easy craft to do with your children? I love crafts. I also love to mix it up a bit and use materials other than construction paper, glue, and markers. I have a ton of craft supplies that I never seem to use due to time constraints or because I do not care to clean up a huge mess. This craft is fun, uses fun materials, and is not messy! You may not have the materials on hand but everything is easy to find at your local craft store. No need to spend a … Continue reading →

What speaks to you?

“You don’t need to have a home that’s like anybody else’s. Take the ideas that speak to you. Use your imagination. Create something wonderful…” ~Oprah I was recently asked if I would write for the Home section of the site. I admit, at first I hesitated. I’m not a very homey person. I don’t know the ins-and-outs of decorating, entertaining, or gardening. And, to be completely honest, I worried about writing on a topic that I don’t feel as confident in. Then I realized something… a lot of people don’t feel confident in these areas. A lot of people are … Continue reading →

Book Review: “My Gift to You” by Lori Nawyn

Trish Ingram has a secret. Beneath the facade of the perfect housewife lies a woman who is emotionally insecure, battling her own feelings of doubt and discouragement, wondering if she’ll ever really measure up to the standards she has placed on herself because of her past. Her need to remain in control at all times has alienated her from her family and friends, who feel that she is reluctant to give of herself. But if she opens up and becomes vulnerable, she’ll get hurt … so she believes. She maintains her distance for her own self-preservation until a good friend, … Continue reading →

Nostalgia Nights

After the heavy topics of the last few days I thought I’d opt for something lighter today. What about taking a step back into the past? Hold a nostalgia night or several. It could be good for your marriage. Recently Mick was talking about soothing that happened when we were younger, which is what ca gave me the idea. We decided to hold a series of nostalgia nights. Starting with our wedding photos, we followed the course of our life together via the photo albums right up to the wedding of our son. Our wedding photos didn’t take all that … Continue reading →

How to Have A Frugal Halloween

One of the most frightening things about Halloween is how much it can cost. Do you know, I saw a recent retail report that showed that American’s spend more money at Halloween than at any other time, with the exception of Christmas? This just strikes me as incredible. At the end of the celebration, what happens to all of those goods that are purchased? Do most people have anything to show for all of that spending? I get it. I mean Halloween can be a fun holiday. There is candy. Candy is probably a good enough reason (although there is … Continue reading →