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Why do a budget reset?
A budget reset to me is when I look at my monthly budget of income and bills and make adjustments to the different categories. Some bills alternate between seasons (gas bill is high in winter, electricity bill is high in summer), I may have a new grocery bill goal or there is a change in income. When should you do a budget reset? new job (increase or decrease in pay) loss of job when you realize your budget is not working for you when a recurring payment ends (car payment, medical bill) you want to save more How do you do a budget reset? I have attached a form that…
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Dahlonega Gem Panning
We live about 1 hour and a half from Dahlonega in the North Georgia Mountains. Dahlonega is an old gold mining town which features a gold museum in the town square as well as a gold mine, the Consolidated Gold mine. The mine is the largest hard rock gold mine east of the Mississippi. The mine was founded in 1896, and focused on removing gold trapped in quartz veins throughout the property. Gold mining They offer a 40 min tour of the mine followed by a short video showing you how to pan for gold which you try your hand at. This actually is quite difficult and since we were on a time schedule…
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Transitioning a jumpsuit for fall
I actually kind of forgot about my jumpsuit until I was brainstorming ideas for fashion blog posts for the fall. Then I remembered my Amazon black jumpsuit and how comfortable it is! Now, here in Georgia, we will probably have warm weather till close to November with the occasional need for an extra layer on some days. With that in mind, I came up with several outfits using my jumpsuit as a base to build on. Fall accessories I wore this outfit to run some errands this past Friday and while the morning started at 64 degrees, the high was 90 so there was no need for layers. I used…
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Porch makeover
We have a covered porch on the back side of our house which faces the children’s trampoline. It is nice in the fall and spring when the mosquitoes are hibernating. My husband’s grill and smoker stay on the porch because it is about the only spot where the wind doesn’t blow crazy (well, as crazy). My mother in law’s treadmill was there for most of a year but when we put it out to the street, I decided I wanted to make the space cozy but on a small budget. The items I started with were a red bistro set I had bought at Kroger several years back. Behind the…
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Summer in Review
Well, this summer was a summer to remember! We visited several countries, several places in the US and spent some quality time with friends and family. I am actually having a hard time adjusting back to the routine of daily life as I miss my special friends and also miss the places we visited. We made some wonderful memories to cherish and I hope my children remember these summers when they grow up! France and Spain It had been 6 years since we had visited France so we decided this was a good year for that trip since my youngest wasn’t 2 yet and we would save a lot on…
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Little white dress
We all have one or more little black dresses in our closets but do you have a little white dress? This particular dress is a few years old from the Target Who What Wear line. Even though I love many things about this dress, I probably only wear it about once a year. I love the ruffles on the hem, sleeve and body of the dress. This is one of the few items in my closet with ruffles! I have worn this dress for Easter the year I bought it but felt it was too short for church so I have worn on dates after that. I wanted to wear…
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Summer favorites
Today, I want to share some of my favorite summer purchases! #1 Instant pot Well, this is my top purchase even more than my favorite #2. My instant pot is my new favorite kitchen tool! I bought this one on sale for $50 and no regrets! My favorite things to make in it are rice (I never could make it right, now it is 2 cups of rice, 2 1/2 of water and voila, 12 min in the instant pot!), sweet potatoes, carrots, cooking chicken for recipes (10 min!!) and a few recipes such as crack chicken and hawaian chicken. I also use the crockpot function and got rid of…
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Nickel and Suede, Liberty MO
So I couldn’t help myself knowing that the Nickel and Suede shop in Liberty was only 30 minutes from my friend’s house and kind of on the way to my 2nd friend we were visiting and we stopped by for some shopping. It was a little difficult to enjoy the experience with the little one not wanting to leave my side; another boy was tired and cranky and everyone wanted to be in the store. I finally convinced all of them to stay outside after they had a quick look see inside. I went in with the illusion (my son’s word) of only buying two pairs of earrings. While I…
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Maxi dress for church
Why is is that most of my maxi dresses are sleeveless? I do love a sleeveless maxi for wearing for everyday or on date night, but it limits them for me since in church we cover our shoulders. So I went about looking at my closet to find a couple layers I could add to one of my favorite dresses. I like that the waist is at the natural waist because I have found that a lot of maxis have empire waist and those do not do me any favors (and make me look pregnant). The dress is about 4 years old and I have worn it for pictures at…
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Chores and allowance
Has anyone figured out how to do allowance and chores in a fair manner? I change the way I do this with my kids every month or so because I haven’t found a perfect way to do it. I like to give my children money/allowance to help them learn several skills: saving (for something big or little) sharing (tithing for church or charities) planning (what will you use your money for) teach child that things are not free (they sometimes have to buy their own toys or treats) a little math (counting money and subtracting/counting up towards goal) Chores My children do not have a long list of chores: they…