May
2010

frugal friday (just barely) – finishing baby step 3

categories: finances, financial freedom, frugal, our financial story

yesterday we took another HUGE step towards financial freedom. we finished dave ramsey‘s baby step 3!!! this means that not only are we debt free, but we also have 3 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund. i cannot express to you how free this makes me feel. it took ten months for us to get through the first three baby steps, but it has been an awesome journey. we have taken control of our finances and are able to give more than ever before.

here’s the thing – i am TERRIBLE with money. when i left home for college, i made one bad financial decision after another. i maxed out 8 credit cards, bought a brand new car i couldn’t afford, and spent whatever i wanted. i consolidated all of my debts into a big loan and paid on it for several years. while i was paying it off i opened up new credit cards at gap, banana republic, old navy, and victoria’s secret, then got a new visa and discover card for good measure. i was basically a disaster. i was always later with my rent, trying to explain myself to roommates, and completely unable to get it together.

in early 2006, i felt really convicted and overwhelmed by the way i was dealing with money. i again consolidated my debt and cut up all of my credit cards. by the time i married jed in 2008, i was completely debt free. jed was a different story. he still had a few credit cards, a major loan from his parents, and the dreaded student loans. still, i thought we were doing ok. we were very frugal throughout the first year of our marriage, and never used credit cards. but, we still had all of that debt hanging over our heads.

last year we were introduced to dave ramsey’s ideas by jed’s brother, sam. he and his wife michelle had taken control of their finances using dave’s plans, and were eager to share the program with us. i fought it. big time. i did not want a budget. i did not want to sacrifice to pay off “his” debt, when i had already worked so hard to pay off mine. one fateful weekend we were driving to houston and happened to listen to dave’s radio show. it was a “debt free friday” with people calling in to scream, “we’re debt free!!!”. i was hooked. we started the program the next week, and the rest is history. we have found such freedom.

if you are drowning financially, or even just struggling a little, go check out dave. his ideas are not rocket science, just the common sense that we try to hide from as we run up our credit card bills. i am not receiving any kind of compensation for this post, just trying to share the wealth.

i’m linking to:
Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!


May
2010

blooming in my living room

categories: decorating, frugal, photography
i put away my spring decorations,
and decided it was time for summer.
i learned how to make paper flowers when betsy (friend and younglives leader) taught our younglives girls a few weeks ago.
i needed a refresher, so i looked to a few of
the great tutorials out there in blogland.
some didn’t turn out well. they went into the recycle bin.
all of the decent flowers went on green fuzzy pipe cleaner “stems”
and then into my mason jar collection.
i made 3 different sizes for 3 displays
on a bookcase and 2 end tables.
the photo effect used is “1960s” on picnik.
they were fairly quick and easy to make, and cost almost nothing.
i think they make my living room come alive
with bright colors and fluffy blooms.
are you ready for summer?

i’m linking to: All Thingz Related DIY Day @ ASPTL http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

May
2010

welcome to texas. let’s make breakfast burritos.

categories: frugal, recipes, texas
first things first. grab a cup of coffee. this is my favorite mug, from our honeymoon in charleston.
until i married jed, and we moved to texas, i had never heard of a breakfast burrito. when he offered to make them one morning, i was confused and doubtful. he cooked them for me, and my life was forever changed. seriously. we eat them at least once a week for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. there are a million different ways to make them, but here’s how we do it. put your bacon on first, 2 slices per person. we use lean turkey bacon. we tried the extra lean and it was basically turkey jerky. the lean still has flavor but is better for you than the real stuff. feel free to use the real stuff or even breakfast sausage or chorizo. you can’t go wrong.
the next thing you need are your hashbrowns. we use these fresh, never frozen babies from simply potatoes. they don’t have anything added, and are just less work.
brush olive or canola oil on your pan and then lay out the hashbrowns in a thin layer. we use 3/4 cup per person. cover them and let ’em sit for a bit on medium heat. you will need to flip them once.
grab your eggs next. we use 2 per person (sometimes 3 for boys).
beat those huevos, then add 1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice. we like colby jack. add the egg/cheese mixture to your hashbrowns when they are about done.
breakfast burritos are best on freshly made flour tortillas. it is just science. we are trying to be healthy though, so we are using these tasty wraps.
your bacon should be cooked, so slice it up.
toss the bacon in with everything else, and mix it up.
load it on your wrap or tortilla and you are ready to go.
the only seasoning we use on the burritos is tony chacere’s. it is great on everything, as advertised. you might add salt and pepper to taste.
i like to put a little salsa on mine. jed prefers his without. the choice is yours. sometimes we add refried beans to the mix, and it is never wrong.
enjoy your taste of texas. what is your favorite breakfast food?

The Girl Creative Keeping It Simple


Apr
2010

frugal friday – estate sale decorating

categories: decorating, family, financial freedom, frugal, photography

we love estate sales, and have had a lot of luck with great finds lately. here’s the big one…
isn’t she lovely?! we had an ikea ektorp couch that was great, but we needed more seating. jed loved the back support of the ektorp, and wasn’t liking anything else. please excuse the ugly rug. it belongs to our landlord and she makes us keep it to “protect the floors”. u.g.l.y. you ain’t got no alibi…
at an estate sale in a ritzy neighborhood, we found this bigger 2×2 ikea ektorp sleeper & storage couch. it is $1200 new, and the people bought it one year ago. they had an extra brand new cover for it worth $200. they wanted $800. we bought it for $600. cash works. we loaded that sucker in the back of the truck, stuck the wicker set up front, and rolled through the ritzy part of town like the beverly hillbillies. it’s ok, i’m from arkansas.
we called a friend to help us move the couches, and he bought our old one on the spot for $300. so, we basically got my dream couch for $300. amazing!
what is your favorite estate sale/thrift store/flea market find? what would you love to find? now i just need some new throw pillows…


Apr
2010

frugal friday – dinner @ home

categories: family, financial freedom, frugal, meal planning, recipes

last august we made our very first budget as a family. to figure out how much to budget we had to look at what we actually spent in a month. whoa. it was disturbing. the biggest shocker was how much we spent dining out. oh. my. goodness.
we are both work full time, and often when we come home we are too tired to cook, and dallas has so many great restaurants. the combination was proving to be destructive to our finances. we decided to set a relatively low dining out budget at $150 per month. you can spend that much on one good meal in dallas pretty easily. when the money is gone, we are done dining out. we have stuck to it since then, and it has been good for us. it is very difficult, as i’m sure you know, but we are trying to cook at home as much as possible. here is a meal we had this week:
we had a big batch of fresh strawberries that we sliced up, for 99 cents a lb at aldi. i looked at bagged lettuce and it cost $6.99 for red lettuce and spinach. i bought a head of each for $2.69 total, and they made double the salad. i added some low fat feta and black pepper. we used balsamic vinaigrette one night and raspberry vinaigrette another night.
we also tried the barilla plus pasta this week, and it was actually good. i’ve had bad experiences with whole wheat pasta in the past, but i’m loving this kind. it has to cook a little longer, but that’s ok. we browned some lean ground turkey and added it into the mix. we tossed it together with organic vodka sauce and fresh parmesan. the whole shebang took way less than 30 minutes, and unlike rachel ray my lettuce does not show up shredded during commercials. i love dinner @ home.

dining out was our budget buster. what is yours? have you conquered it or is it a work in progress?

i’m linking to:

Friday Follow The Girl Creative

The Trendy Treehouse


Apr
2010

to the one i love….

categories: family, jesus, love

today is my sweet husband’s birthday. i love him more than i ever thought possible. he is so good to me and loves me so well, because that’s how jesus loves him. he is a godly man who sacrifices his time and energy so that high school kids can know the love of jesus. he is the hardest working person i know, and will make an amazing father when the time is right. i am so thankful for him. happy birthday jed!


Apr
2010

picket fence wall art, finally finished

categories: crafts, decorating, frugal, handmade, photography, weddings

remember that piece of picket fence i picked up off a curb, cut into pieces, and hung on my wall? you can see that project here. my crafty to-do list is approximately 9 miles long, and i’ve been meaning to finish this piece off by adding hemp clotheslines and some of our favorite pictures. the inspiration was this:
this is the barn where we held our wedding reception. we had clotheslines hung throughout the barn with our favorite pictures attached with little wooden clothespins. one line held my pics, another held jed’s. at the end of the barn were 2 lines hung with the pictures of our dating and engagement story. my life, his life, and now our life together…
we still have all the hemp cord and pictures mounted on cardstock. we picked out 6 of our favorites and i hung them with the same cord and wooden clothespins. now we have a piece of our wedding reception in our bedroom, just in time for our 2nd anniversary next week.
i love it! we’ve included pictures from my baptism, our engagement at disneyworld, jed with his brother and daddy, jed and one of his best friends, our first date, and me and one of my best friends. we can always change them out later and mix things up.
it cost absolutely nothing, and is so personal for us. it makes my heart happy every time i look at it. that, my friends, is my new decorating rule. what in your home makes your heart happy every time you see it?

i’m linking to:

DIY Day @ ASPTL
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
The Trendy Treehouse


Apr
2010

i heart avocados… so let’s make some guacamole!

categories: frugal, recipes
first – go enter my giveaway to win some of my designs and a $25 pottery barn giftcard. click here to enter.

almost every thursday we head over to our friends’ house for tacos. typically a big crowd shows up, anywhere from 8 to 20 or so folks come over, and the berres always host. how do they host this dinner each week with out going broke? they ask everyone to bring one item, and do tacos every time to simplify things. the last 2 weeks we have been in charge of the guacamole, so i thought i’d share my method.
i use fresh ingredients, no mixes or pastes. for our group (which can put down some guac) i use 8 large avocados, 2 tomatoes, half an onion, and sometimes one bunch of cilantro.

cut the avocados in half.

de-pit those beauties. watch your fingers. you’ll see why.

scoop out the goodness. get all the way down to the skin.

taking out the pit is the hardest part. this is not my first avocado injury.

mash up those avocados with your trusty potato masher. then add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and garlic to taste. squeeze the juice of 2 limes on top and then stir.
this dip is husband approved. he tests it to make sure all the spices are just right.

there you go, delicious guacamole for 10-12 people. make some to share.

The Girl Creative Friday Follow

The Trendy Treehouse