Donut Themed 1st Birthday Party!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Wow, this past week and a half was stressful and chaotic to say the least. Hurricane Irma blew through our state last Monday. Our area was supposed to get a direct hit by a Category 4 Hurricane, but by the grace of God it was only a Cat 1 when it got to us AND the eye shifted to the east of us. Of course I don’t wish that on anyone or any area, but I am thankful that our county was spared from the worst of it. Thankfully, we did not have any damage to our home and the clean up only involved a rake. We were without power though for about a week and had to toss everything in our fridge, but we were able to stay with my parents who had power and AC!

The days and moments leading up to the hurricane were so incredibly stressful for everyone in our area (and state for that matter). There were gas shortages, food and water shortages, and supply shortages – especially plywood. Everyone was faced with the decision to either stay and ride out the storm, or evacuate to safety. The challenge with leaving is that EVERYONE else leaves at the same time and you get gridlocked on the interstates and risk running out of gas – the gas stations also run out of gas too! We spent all week preparing our home, boarding up our windows, gathering hurricane supplies, and figuring out the best plan for our family. We decided to stay and ride out the storm at our church. We felt very safe there and actually could not hear the storm at all since we were in an interior room with several floors above us.

Amidst all this hurricane madness, Adelaide turned one year old! We were not going to let this stupid storm prevent us from celebrating her birthday. So on the Friday before the storm, our families gathered at our home for Addie’s donut party! We wanted to keep everything simple from the start, so we only invited family. (I used an app called HobNob to create her invitation which was sent via text message. I highly recommend it!) Our house is very small, and this worked out perfectly. We also just served donuts, ice cream, and coffee.

Addie LOVED the attention – especially when eating her smash cake. I had all these intentions of making a healthy smash cake, but with everything going on I just ended up making a boxed funfetti cake with white icing (that I dyed pink) into the shape of a donut using one of my grandmother’s jello molds! Ha! It was perfect and Addie really was only interested in the icing anyways.

Her decorations mostly came from Oriental Trading and Target.
Her party dress is from remiegirl.com – Remie Ruffle in Mint Chip.
The donuts were from Jupiter Donut Co. in Palm Harbor, FL and the donut holes were from Dunkin.

And for birthday presents, we also didn’t want to go overboard. While family gave her several items, Kyle and I gifted her the following:

*The following are affiliate links which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using one of these links.

1. 3 Books, with our favorite being Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
2. Skip Hop Explore Egg Shaker Trio
3. Wooden Peg Puzzle
4. Little Tykes swing

We had such a wonderful time celebrating our sweet Adelaide Anne. It was definitely a birthday to remember and I’m thankful that Hurricane Irma didn’t spoil our fun!

Love your home

Beautiful Pinterest pins and perfectly crafted Instagram posts of cozy, well decorated and put together homes flood my feeds. There are times where I’ve wished that my home looked like what I see in those posts. I think to myself, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if my home looked like a house from HGTV’s Fixer Upper?” “I really wish my house had a second bathroom and a bigger kitchen.” And the list could go on.

While it is certainly ok to hope and dream, it is never beneficial when that hoping and dreaming result in discontentment and envy. I had to stop myself a few weeks ago when I was just dying to get a different couch to replace the IKEA one that we already have. I had all these reasons why I wanted it – the one we have now is too small, I want to be able to take naps on a more comfortable couch, I want to provide better seating for guests. Kyle and I even went to some furniture stores and found a couch on sale that we both liked. But then all these questions arose – would it actually look right in this space? Is it going to be too big? Will we have to rearrange the decorations on the wall so it looks right?

We didn’t buy the couch, and I’m glad. When I got home I started really thinking and realized that my reasons for wanting the couch weren’t out of necessity. The couch isn’t broken or worn, it really does look great in the space where we have it, and Kyle does not mind napping on it (I’m still working on that one). Also, we have an almost 1 year old – which means things are only going to get messier, ha! So why spend money on a couch that my daughter will inevitably spill juice on or may one day decide she wants to color on?

This experience has encouraged me to be more content with my home and the things in it, and to be thankful that I have this sweet little house for my sweet little family. I am now trying to make it a habit to always stop and ask myself before buying something for our house – do we really NEED this? Is the item I am wanting to replace broken, or completely worn out? If not, then I let it rest. This is helping me to love my home the way it currently is, and to be thankful for what God has given me. Not to mention, it’s saving us money haha!

I encourage you to find 5 things today about your house/home that you love. Here are mine:

Although my kitchen is very tiny (like only two people comfortably fit in it at at time), I love that I have a window right above my kitchen sink, and that many of the original features are still in place keeping it’s 1950s vibe.
While we only have 1 full bathroom in this house, I love that we do have a second toilet in the garage. I certainly wouldn’t send my guests out there, but it is nice to have as a backup haha! I also put twinkle lights in there and decorated it to make it feel cozier.
Speaking of garage, I love that we have a garage! While we don’t park our car in there (who does? LOL), it provides us with extra storage space that we need since our house is only 1,250 square feet.
I love the dining table that my husband and his dad built. It is beautiful and special, and adds character to our house.
Lastly, I love that we have a tree in our front yard. To me, there is something about trees in front yards that makes a house feel extra homey, cozy, and inviting.

Love your home!

Seven legit, fun and easy ways to make extra $$

So I thought I’d take a second to put together a list of different ways that I easily make a little extra cash using my computer/phone. These are easy to do when you are vegging out in front of your TV or waiting in the doctor’s office, and even while you shop. (Um, getting paid to shop? Yes, please!) Now, these certainly aren’t ways to allow you to quit your day job – but you really do earn real money by doing these things. Not just giftcards or store rewards – actual cash! (The majority of your earnings can be redeemed through a paypal account.) Ok so here we go!

If you want to know more or join any of these, feel free to click on the links provided. To be upfront – some of the links contain my referral codes so if you sign up, I get a little perk. But usually there are perks right off the bat for you too when you sign up!

*I also suggest to set up a separate email account (I use gmail) specifically for these types of programs so that you don’t get a bunch of spammy emails to your daily/personal email. Call it your “free money” email address and use it when signing up for any of these. 🙂

Ibotta
So far I’ve earned $63.25 using Ibotta! There is an app you can download on your phone, but you can also use your computer. You start out by searching for rebates from 100s of stores. I primarily use it for grocery shopping – Publix, Target, and Whole Foods are ones I use often. When you go shopping, be sure to buy the items you have rebates for and save your receipt! Then when you get home, you redeem your rebates by submitting a picture of your receipt and scanning the products you purchased with your phone. The scanning part is fun! haha! Then your account gets credited. Once you reach $20.00 in earnings, you can redeem the cash by having it sent to your paypal account. https://ibotta.com/r/rcrrise

Swagbucks
This is a site that has several different ways you can make money – surveys, polls, shopping offers, playing games, searching the web, etc. It can be fun! They have an app as well that you can download to your phone or tablet. You earn points and can redeem those points for cash (to a paypal account). http://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=38540530

SurveyJunkie
This is a survey site where you get paid to take surveys for companies. I started using this site a couple weeks ago and so far have $16.71. This is one of my favorites because I feel like you get a lot of survey options and if you don’t quality for one, you still get a few cents credit. Use paypal to redeem your cash earnings. https://www.surveyjunkie.com/?

Ebates
This is a really awesome website that also makes it EASY to make money while you shop online. All you have to do is anytime you are shopping online, FIRST go the Ebates website and search for the store you want to shop from – most stores are included! You click on the store link from Ebates website, and once you have done that, you shop as usual. When you check out, that purchase will be registered with Ebates and if it qualifies, you can a percentage cash back in your Ebates account. What is cool about Ebates is that they mail you a check of your earnings and there is n. A real legit check! LOL! So far I’ve earned $13.27 using Ebates – I probably would have more if I remembered to always go to Ebates first before shopping. If you install a simple plugin to your internet browser (they show you how on the website) it makes it easier to remember to go through Ebates before you make that purchase! https://www.ebates.com/r/LAMULL18?eeid=28187

Inbox Dollars
This is another site very similar to Swagbucks where you can take surveys, watch videos, etc. to earn points which can be redeemed for cash. So far I’ve earned $7.25. I just started using this one. https://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref31293817&s=7

UserTesting
This is a very interesting opportunity but it is a bit more involved. This is a site that companies use to have people test out their websites. When you work on a “test”, your screen and voice will be recorded as you nagivate the website and complete the tasks given. These are real companies who want real feedback – so you have to take it seriously and follow instructions exactly. You will get paid $10.00 per test. The testing opporunities aren’t necessarily plentiful as you have to qualify for the test (they look for certain people/demographics depending on the company/site). You have to be comfortable with using a computer and talking your thoughts out loud as you do the tasks. And being ok with them recording your screen and voice. I’ve only done one test so far, and my $10.00 is pending. https://www.usertesting.com/be-a-user-tester

Chase Freedom credit card
Ok, so this one has been the biggest extra money maker of all for my family – HOWEVER, I DO NOT ENCOURAGE CONSUMER DEBT. We use this credit card like a DEBIT card – meaning we use it for purchases, but pay the bill off IN FULL every month. So the credit card company does not make any interest off of us and we basically get paid. You have to be very good at keeping track of your spending and sticking to a budget for this to do more good than harm. If you do not think you have that kind of self-control, then please don’t do this! Chase is not the only credit card that gives cash back rewards – this is just the one that we have used since 2011 and this is the ONLY credit card we have. Since 2011, we have earned a little bit more than $2500 cash (we redeemed our points for cash and they put it right into our checking account). Yes it took time, but that’s about $416 a year. If you think this is something you can manage, you can use my link and earn a $150 bonus with Chase Freedom when you sign up. I can be rewarded too if you apply here and are approved for the card. If you have a family or friend that you know who uses chase and you would rather apply through their referral code – please do! I’m all about helping friends and family out. https://www.referyourchasecard.com/2/F0SUOL8JVJ

So adding all of the above earnings together – I have made around $2,610.00. I’ll take it!

If I learn of any more fun and easy money making opportunities, I’ll let you know!

10 Fall Activities (when it doesn’t feel like fall outside)

Fall is just around the corner (and by that I mean the beginning of September ha!) and I am so excited even though it’s still like a million degrees here in Florida. Wahhh! Here is a list of activities that I plan on doing that make me feel like fall, even though the temps scream summertime and the palm trees are aplenty!

*You can certainly include children/family in these except for maybe #6, 8, 10. Mommas need some me time, am I right?

Bake chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, make extra and give to your next door neighbors.
Grab a pumpkin spice latte from your local coffee shop (get it iced if it’s just too hot outside) then go to a pumpkin patch, and pick out a pumpkin (or 5) to carve/paint and/or decorate your front porch with.
Go to local farmer’s market, buy apples, make apple pie when you get home.
Print out fall/Halloween themed coloring pages from online, pop some popcorn (if you’re adventurous, add reese’s pieces or chocolate chips while the popcorn is hot) and watch one or all of these movies while coloring: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Hocus Pocus, Halloween Town.
Make your house smell like fall with stovetop potpourri. Include oranges, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sticks.
Crank up your AC, light a fall scented candle, cozy up on the couch with a big blanket, a hot beverage of your choice, and a good book or magazine. (Magnolia Journal anyone?)
Go to a craft store and buy supplies to make a fall wreath for your front door or as an inside decoration. If you’re not crafty, buy a cinnamon broom instead and wrap some silk fall leaves around the handle and call it a day!
Go to your favorite clothing store and purchase at least one item that looks and feels like fall (plaid shirt, scarf, or boots). If you’re feeling spendy, buy a whole outfit!
One evening, light a fire in the firepit (if you don’t have one, you can buy one from Lowes/Home Depot), roast marshmallows and make smores while listening to music that feels like fall – for me it’s folk/indie such as Sufjan Stevens, Iron&Wine, Bon Iver, or Penny&Sparrow.
If all else fails, log into Pinterest, type “fall” in the search bar, and get lost in all that gorgeous, pinspirational goodness!

Adelaide’s Nursery

Kyle and I had a blast putting together our sweet baby girl’s nursery. We turned what was our “office/2nd guest room” into her nursery. Here is what it looked like before

We always wanted to change out the floors in this room. Having a baby was the perfect time to make the change! We got a great deal on some carpet ($0.99 per square foot!). We also liked the color that we had already painted this room when we moved in – which is a light sage/minty green. We decided to keep the color and do an accent wall.

We found the perfect pink for the accent wall!

Dad and Nick helping remove the quarter round so that we could install the carpet.

Our pretty new carpet!

One word – IKEA

I found a similar accent wall on pinterest and wanted to incorporate that in her room. I couldn’t imagine doing this on all four walls! It was very time consuming!

All done!

The rocking chair was Kyle’s grandmother’s. We gave it a fresh coat of white paint. My mom gave us the pillow and recovered the antique stool that we found at Marquette’s salvage.

Don’t worry – we know not to have anything in the baby’s crib! She hasn’t started sleeping here yet so her stuffed animals are doing the job for now. 🙂