Greetings from my dusty little corner of the internet! Apologies for the blogging hiatus – it’s been a busy summer. Work has kept me on my toes, and there’s been plenty of fun that needed to be had with our littles. My husband’s family was here for a couple weeks as well… great to see… Continue Reading
Our yard and garden – five year update
Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of moving into our house and getting our dog back (best day ever!) This place has certainly come a long way in half a decade. We finished the basement, which has been a huge improvement. And the yard has gone from being a field of weeds to being a place… Continue Reading
Should we prioritize our taxable savings over our retirement accounts?
My husband and I have always been big fans of retirement accounts. We both opened 401(k) accounts when we started our first corporate jobs in our early 20s. When we left those jobs to become self-employed, we rolled the funds over to IRAs. But we had a period of about 18 months when we didn’t contribute… Continue Reading
Giving our boys the world
We’re not usually procrastinators when it comes to projects, but this one took a while. Back in January, I ordered a world map wall mural when it was on sale on Zulily (normally $100, I got it for $40). And then it just sat in its box for five months. We had never hung wallpaper… Continue Reading
Kids need a Lego umbrella? Show them how to make one!
Our older son loves Lego. He’ll play with it for hours, and he’s usually creating things he dreams up himself. But he also enjoys following Lego instructions, and he adores a book that he received for his birthday, full of instructions for creating all sorts of landmark buildings using Lego. Some of the structures require… Continue Reading
I cut my own hair!
And I really like how it turned out For years, my husband has been cutting his own hair. Most of the time, he just shaves it all the way off using the closest setting on the clippers, and then waits a few months and does it again. Sometimes I’ll give him a snazzy haircut that… Continue Reading
Cosmetic home improvement – making a list and waiting a few years
Some friends of ours are remodeling their kitchen this spring, and I know that the end result is going to look amazing. I was flipping through the kitchen catalog with them when they were looking for ideas, and all of the kitchens are pretty great. I had to stop and remind myself that our kitchen… Continue Reading
I finally made my own sunscreen!
And I’m pretty darn excited about it I’ve been reading posts on other blogs about making sunscreen (this one was really helpful), and I decided to make my own. I now have this lovely little jar of whipped sunscreen in the fridge: Storing it in the fridge keeps it nice and fresh, but it also… Continue Reading
Our little grill is just fine
I hope all my northern hemisphere readers are having a great spring! Summer is trying its best to get here, and that makes us think about grilling. So I have to tell you about our grill: Here she is on the inside: You can see how big she is in relation to the little propane… Continue Reading
Our New Washing Machine
Five years ago, when we bought our house, we got a great deal on a second hand washing machine. That machine served us well ever since, but it started to fritz out a couple months ago. It wasn’t spinning the clothes out, and would sometimes just stop in the middle of a cycle. We live… Continue Reading