A Little Break

There are some exciting things going on right now. Although at this very moment I'm waiting for the dryer to finish so that I can pull the warm clothes out and lay them flat so I don't have to iron them. So "right now" isn't actually that exciting. BUT all of this is to say that I will be back to my regularly scheduled Monday Wednesday and Friday blogging schedule on Monday October 7th.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming fall, Christmas and winter seasons and writing about it here on the blog  :) See you on the seventh!

Little Things And A Birdhouse

Sometimes I get frustrated and I wish I could do all the updates to my house at once. But it's in those moments that I have to remind myself of how lucky I am. The picture above is of a painting by my grandpa with books from my husbands grandma and the little bird house I bought at a craft show for $15. All of this is on top of my piano, which I am so blessed and lucky to have.

I have to remember it's these things that matter. Family, friends, and filling your home with things you love; even if that last part takes awhile.

My Favorite Personal Finance Books

If you hang around with me for more than two minutes you'll discover I like books and personal finance. Which means I really like books about personal finance.

I only have two books pictured here but I actually have three favorites. I don't own the third one (hence no picture) I read it from the library a few years ago.

First up, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I think anyone could follow this plan and achieve success. I love how simple and straight forward it is, which makes it easier to understand for everyone. Even if you don't follow his plan 100% (for example baby step one of a $1,000 emergency fund just seems like not enough money to me; so personally I'd prefer to save a little more,) you can still find lots of success. I also love listening to his radio show and that he is always consistent with his answers.

Second is The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. I like how this book explains that if you set yourself up to save (and the book tells you to do it by automatic drafts into savings accounts) how you can become a millionaire. This book also talks about how debt won't make you rich and to be rich you should live below your means and save and invest your money.

Thirdly is American's Cheapest Family by Steve and Annette Economides. This book taught me practical ways of keeping track of my money and showed me that I could reach any financial goal no matter my income with intentional spending so that I am not wasting my money. This book was also very easy to read and had lots of useful tips.

Do you have any favorite personal finance books?

Happy Friday!

Welcome to Friday! Like always I'm here to share five high lights from this week.

 1. Football is back! I love watching the Colts and the Manning brothers play football.

 2. This is what happens when you're sneaking crackers and chocolate chips from the cabinet,  the cat goes "exploring" (And yes we still have Peeps, my husbands sweet tooth is not as big as mine and he hasn't eaten them yet. Actually I should probably just throw them away.)

 3. We used our grill for the first time. We just made hotdogs for the maiden voyage but they were yummy. Next up, burgers on the grill. I love me a good hamburger.

4. They are doing road work and when they tore up the road the exposed some of the brick underneath. It's fun to imagine what my cute little historic town used to look like.

5. I had an impromptu day with my mom. What could have been a really bad day, turned out to be lots of fun. I'm thankful that she's doing well and we got to spend some time together.

A Little Bit Of Fall

Happy Monday!

This weekend I was excited to decorate for fall but when I got out my decorations I realized I don't have all the many. But I am happy for the seasonal spirit the decorations I do have bring to our home.

 

These little pumpkins are from the dollar store a few years ago and the table runner I got for $7 at a craft show. It's a little country but I like the colors. Plus if I get tired of it I can flip it over to the solid deep green color that is on the back. It totally clashes with the fabric on my chair seats but oh well.

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 Three little pumpkins sitting in a row.

 I also hung this little wreath on a door off the kitchen. A few years I had a craft day with some friends and we made these out of materials all from the dollar store. It was a fun project, I should do stuff like that more often. I picked the wreath hanger up at the dollar store too, maybe I'll have to make a few more wreaths for different seasons and switch them out.

Are you decorating for fall? Do you go all out or just little touches here and there? 

The other thing I'm excited about for fall is baking. I haven't been in the kitchen much this summer so I am looking forward to making some yummy treats this fall.

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday! I'm linking up with Lauren to share my five favorite things from this week.

1. The hubby and I went to this Ohio State game on Saturday. I love football but I also love the marching band. I wish they would show the half time show on TV! Go Bucks!

2. My sister threw a lovely house warming party. She asked me to doodle on the craft paper table "cloth" and I snapped this picture mid-doodle which is why not all the food is out yet. It was fun to catch up with family and friends.

3. I won a $15 Subways gift card. Which would make for three meals if I go myself or just one meal if I go with my husband. (Hubby already suggested going out to lunch with it.)

4. My co-worker brought me this huge cinnamon bun just because! I was nice took half of it home for my love but it was yummy and delicious. The perfect way to start fall.

5. Not pictured but a high light from this week was working in our yard like I mentioned yesterday. More yard work will be happening this weekend, but I love watching it transform.

I Am Blessed To Have Yard Work

My back aches, my legs are sore and two nights ago I woke up at 2:30 am crying because my arms hurts so bad I couldn’t sleep. Was all this pain worth it? Yes. A million times yes. 

We are redoing the landscaping at our house. Many of our bushes and trees were overgrown or planted in the wrong spot. My husbands parents (who are amazing people) shared their time, energy, tools and wisdom with us to work on this project. We still have more mulch to spread, bushes to plants and grass to mow but I don’t mind all the work involved because this is our home. 

Our Home. We are so blessed to live in this house and taking care of it makes me acknowledge just what a blessing it is. The landscaping is the first major project we’ve taken on and despite the blood, sweat and tears (yes there was all three, and all from me!) I’m excited to finish this project and move onto the next. I love working with my husband, I love making our home our own. I love this house.

Happy Labor Day!

I'm taking today off from blogging to celebrate Labor Day! I've got a lot of yard work on the agenda for today so wish me luck!