My Mobile Recap

This past weekend I headed out of town to my parents in South Alabama to help my Mom clean out her house! My parents have lived in the same house my entire life and are looking to build again on their beloved farm. 

Well, after my grandfather passed in April this year and having to clean out his house, my Mom and Dad decided they were going to lighten their load before they move again. Cleaning out my Poppy's house of 87 years of accumulating stuff was rough on them. 

I had told my Mom that I would come and help her clean out as her birthday present. I really enjoy throwing away and hate clutter so it was a win-win for both of us. The thing is, my parents don't really have clutter, just a large house with 38+ years of marriage, kids and grand kids memories. 

My Mom had already gone through a bunch of rooms and drawers by the time I came so what was left wasn't as much as I had thought- although the rooms left to clean out were the worst. 

We walked through the house, she told me what she had done and what would like to be finished. 

The easiest way to clean out is focusing on one room at a time. It gets overwhelming jumping from one place to the next. We also started from the top of the room and worked our way down - from book shelves to what was on the floor. 

I think all in all it was a successful clean out and my Mom was happy with the result. 

What was your weekend like? 

Home decoration

I get antsy often with my house. I am truly thankful to have a beautiful home at 26 with everything I need and most of what I want. But I do get annoyed with it at times when I look around the house and its not what I imagine it being. 

I have so many ideas but to get it where I want it takes time, money and creativity. I see ideas on Pinterest that I love and have the worst time recreating it.

One day though, it will be like I imagine it looking. Until then, I guess I will stick to daydreaming about the rooms below:

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Clean Living | The Honest Company

When I started searching for Clean Living household products I had some difficulty. I was finding products, but some I wasn't so crazy about- they either smelled great and didn't clean well or made me want to gag. 

Finally, I stumbled upon The Honest Company from a Sponsored Ad on Facebook (of all places). I clicked on their link and fell in love. 

The company was started by Jessica Alba who was looking for non toxic products for her daughters. Having trouble finding anything decent as well, she started her own line of safe, body, baby and bathroom products that are never health compromising chemicals and compounds.

I ordered a sample pack of their products and was elated!

I now have a subscription where I can bundle products I want and have them ship when I want and save money. Pretty sweet. Oh, and they also donate diapers from every ordered placed. Even better.

Some of my favorite products have been:

The Shampoo+body wash

Conditioner

Toilet cleaner

Multi-purpose cleaner

Body lotion

Laundry detergent ( not pictured, just finished and ordered new one)

I use these products every day in my home and feel great using them. They aren't loaded with risky chemicals that most companies don't think twice about adding to our products. 

Give them a try and see what you think. 

Last week chaos & dogs

Last week I was again MIA from blogland but not because I just wanted a break like two weeks ago. No, last week Stephen and I house and dog sat for a family while they were on vacation. We were back and forth between their house and ours and I was slammed with babysitting jobs as well. I'm not used to taking care of animals normally and these pooches needed lots and LOTS of attention. They were diva dogs.

At one point during the week, one of the dogs escaped while we were gone to bible study and I flipped my lid.  We searched the streets calling for him, checking the fenced in back yard where he had been, knocked on neighbors doors, calling the animal shelters and vets near and still no sign of the dog. After an hour of calling for him, I heard a girl say she found a lost dog two hours ago. I ran to meet her and it was our dog. I was so relieved and swore right then and there I was not a animal person and I'm never owning a pet. 

I am glad I got a weekend at home to catch up on life, do laundry and grocery shopping. 

Not to mention I actually got to spend some time with my husband this weekend since I didn't get to much during our house-sitting week. 

Back to normal life. :)

Morning routines

Honestly, I really don't have a set  routine anymore. It went out the door the day I quit my full time job. On days like this, where I don't have babysitting or have to wake up early, I roll out of bed, walk to the kitchen, make breakfast and pack Stephen's lunch. 

Its my favorite kind of morning. There is no rush, no time I have to leave the house by. Its just me working in the kitchen readying for the day. Its quiet and peaceful. 

Stephen wanders out from the shower and we sit and enjoy our meal together. We chat about things we plan to do today, our dinner plans with our small group and other whatnot's. 

Its a simple morning "routine", but I am thankful for it each and every morning. 

Happy 237th birthday America!

Happy 4th of July friends! Today, we celebrate our nations independence and gracious give thanks to those men and women who have fought and died protecting our country's freedom.

Clean Living l Homemade whole wheat tortillas

Welcome back to my Clean Living series. Today, I have a treat for you! I hope you all try it out, because once you make the switch you will never want to go back!

A staple in our home since switching over to clean eating has been homemade whole wheat tortillas. They are easy to make, delicious and practically go with anything. Besides, they taste so so so so much better than anything you could buy at the store. 

 I use these for wraps, use as a chip for salsa and even as the bread in homemade pizzas. My hubs even likes it in his soup or with his eggs at breakfast. 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oil (I have used coconut, olive oil or avocado oil)

1 cup warm water

2 pinches of salt

Directions: 

Add all ingredients in a bowl expect warm water. 

Mix together well and gradually add water until the dough is smooth. 

Divide you dough into 10 pieces or if you use it to make pizza it will make 3 pizza crusts. 

Use a glass or rolling pin to flatten out. I have to add flour to my table and glass so the dough will not stick.

In a skillet, turn the heat to medium/high. 

Place you dough in pan and leave for 30 seconds. Turn over and do the same to other side. 

Eat and enjoy. These babies do not last long!

What's your favorite clean eating staple in your house?

Vacationing on a budget

How do I budget when on vacation? Great question self, how do YOU do this? Honestly, I am having some trouble with it.

 Looking back over the past year of marriage, Stephen and I had some pretty big trips. We went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, Maui for our one year anniversary and a couple of day trips here and there.

You see, for all these trips, I was employed full time except Maui, which we used my payout from my former jobs vacation days to pay for this. We haven't taken a vacation since I quit my job and I am trying to figure out how to even go about taking one without breaking the bank. I do pull an income, but almost all of the money I bring in besides tithe goes to our savings and emergency fund. We want to have a safe nest egg in case life hands us tons of lemons. So not dipping into the saving or giving up our financial goals is important. 

So how do I take Stephen on a much needed break from his work that's cost efficient and fun? My plan is to go this month to Savannah, GA (about 7 hours away from our home) and enjoy 3 days of  "us" time. If you're like me in this, here are 3 ways to manage to enjoy ourselves without trouble financial issues afterwards.

1. Staying in a hotel that's off the beaten path. 

For us, we don't plan on staying in the hotel room much, besides sleeping. We are spending most of our time exploring, so we don't need the most luxurious hotel in the hot spot of the city. We aren't going to stay in a scary, near abandoned unsafe area, but we don't need the most fantastic hotel ever. 

2. Shop at your local grocery store and pack meals to go. 

I know this is not the most exciting way to have fun, but it can save so much money besides eating out. Most hotel rooms have a mini fridge for cold foods. If not, by non refrigerated foods like bread, bananas and peanut butter for lunches. Simple is key here. Don't spend hours slaving in the kitchen.

3. Make a plan on what activities we want to do ahead of time. 

Making a "plan" can help cut down on costs. If there is a certain  tour we want to go on, we look up coupons before we leave home or cheaper times to go. We also research free things to do that still give us a great experience on vacation. 

 You can apply all three of these ways to save on any trip anywhere and feel good about being smart with your money. 

The week without social media

Last week, you might have noticed I didn't blog at all. I wasn't too busy or anything, I just wanted a short break from blogging/twitter/Facebook. I don't spend exuberant amounts of my time on social media but I do tend to be on these more than I should/want. I was allowing it to preoccupy more of my time than I desired, so I took an impromptu break and was so glad I did.
I have been cutting down on the amount I post from 5 days a week to 3 mainly for the reason above - to not be consumed with the online world and more present in my friends and family's  daily lives.

Please don't get me wrong, if it weren't for social media I wouldn't be able to talk to one of my best friends in England, or connect with some amazing women who I have met through blogging. But for me, right now, less really is more and I am loving my "free time".