Money Smart Moms

Change the Look of a Room

One of the simplest ways to update the look of a room is with a coat of paint. Colors create feelings in us, and while a soft moss green can soothe us, a bright red color can stimulate us. Simply rearranging furniture is another great way to make a room look freshened up.

If you’re looking to change your room more completely, consider updating a piece of furniture, or your entire set. We made a drastic change in our family room going from a sectional to a loveseat and two rocking chairs. We also completely removed the coffee table, and the room opened up, looked more inviting, and warmer. Whether you’re looking for name brand furniture like Lane or Bush furniture, look online for the best prices and comparison shop before buying. One furniture store you may want to check out is BestPricedFurniture.com.

Colorful rooms trigger a tingly feeling as do music ringtones. Any sweet song or jingle of choice can be downloaded and played as a polyphonic ringtone anywhere, anytime. Downloading a variety of mp3 ringtones has been made extensively easy by the latest cell
phones.

Last Minute Hustle and an Ace Up My Sleeve

Last night I glanced at the calendar and panic set in when I realized my vacation is almost here. Oh my gosh, I hadn’t made some decisions yet! That made me move a little quicker. I decided on two things that required reservations and action, and made the phone calls around 7pm last night. It’s all said and done, my details are firmed up. Where did my organized brain go, because anymore, I’m scrambling to catch up, when usually I’m ahead of the game?

My son was excited when he heard the details I took care of. There’s still one surprise he doesn’t know about, and I’m not going to tell him. A mom always has an Ace up her sleeve!

Save More Money Shopping Online

I was working on a website yesterday that talks about laptops and laptop bags. One of the things I mentioned was how happy I was with my laptop bag I got from eBags. I ended up getting a padded backpack, and my wide screen fits in it just fine. I love the padded shoulders and straps, the durable material, and that it has some personality. I have the burnt orange and black colors. I love them, and will definitely order from them again.

One thing that I like to do is look for coupons when I shop online. When I was ordering not only did I use a promotion they were having, but I found an online coupon (code) and ended up saving oodles of money. If you’re looking for ebags coupons, CouponKathy.com has them! You can find all sorts of coupons there, and save money. With the holidays around the corner, I’ll be doing a lot of online shopping. The coupons end up saving money, and they are so easy to find. Sort through and you can find coupons for lots of major retailers at the stores you’re looking at. Find what you want, go grab a coupon or code and get it cheaper. It’s a no-brainer if you ask me. Bookmark CouponKathy.com so you have it handy when you’re doing your shopping!

While you’re at it, don’t forget to send flowers to mom. You can get your ftd coupons here. She’ll be thrilled that you thought of her. Don’t worry, I won’t tell her that I reminded you.

Hollow Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone.

Do you still get excited? I just can’t really get into anymore. I’m not much of a party person, and my trick-or-treating days are over. I used to enjoy seeing the little kids dressed up in their costumes, but my boys are teens now. These days, we end up going out…otherwise the dogs go nuts each and every time someone not only knocks, but walks by our large bay window. It’s a howling experience….haha, get it? Seriously, it’s enough to drive you nuts.

We’ve created our own little tradition now for Halloween that consists of going out for dinner and the store. Tonight, I may catch an early movie, since my husband has to work a little later tonight. We’ll meet up for dinner after the movie. I guess my trick-or-treat days are pretty much null and void.

High Rolling Times

My friends are heading to Vegas shortly. I’m not positive which Las Vegas hotels they are staying at. I can’t wait to hear all about the blog expo. I seriously wanted to be there, but since I’m traveling to Florida shortly after, I just couldn’t pull off both. Hopefully I’ll get there next year.

With being near Atlantic City and growing up going to casinos, I guess I don’t feel the urge so much. My friend’s dad was high roller, so we were down there a lot. We used to go down and go to the beach or boardwalk in the daytime, then go to shows at night. I saw so many entertainers growing up! He was a big bacarat player, and would play all night long.

Do you remember back in the day when the casino floor actually closed at a certain hour! It wasn’t always 24 hours there. I remember in the morning one time they had the ropes up at the Harrah’s, and they were just about to reopen the casino floor!

Stacks of Stuff

I have stacks of things. I have stacks of books I’m waiting to read. I have stacks of magazines with articles saved to go back to. I have stacks of papers on my desk on topics I’d like to write about. I have stacks of mail I’ve been sorting through and page shredding, and I have stacks of laundry to get done today.

They are neat stacks, but they are stacks none the less. I’m slowly learning to get rid of excess, and each time I go through a stack, my goal is to get down to 1/3 of the original. Not a problem once I start, but then I start adding to it!

At some point I’ll have 1/3 of what I had! It won’t be tomorrow, because I don’t feel like going through those stacks of things right now. Later…..yeah, you’ve heard those words before.

Great Gift Ideas

It’s that time again, and you’re probably like me, what do I get him for Christmas? When I run out of regular ideas, that’s when my mind really starts ticking. It’s when I don’t have something in mind that I start to get creative. Rather than a gift certificate to Home Depot, or cologne and dinner out, I start to dig and come up with better ideas. Some of my better ideas were a trip to DC to enjoy the museums and a new grill.

This year I may do something car related. If you’re guy drives a pick-up, you may want to consider a truck toolbox from BuyAutoTruckAccessories.com. Since my husband drives a Jeep and car, I may pick out something for his Jeep. It’s his do-everything on the weekends kind of truck, and he loves it. Speaking of truck toolboxes, I had a black one that went into my truck a few years ago, and it was fabulous. It was so useful, and I loved that I could lock it for security. You can find them in different styles and brands. If you’re looking for a great deal as well as a good selection then shop BuyAutoTruckAccessories.com first.

Weeding Out Websites and Projects

I have a lot of little side projects going on right now, and quite frankly, I think I keep taking on new projects without evaluating the other ones. It’s easy for me to jump from thing to thing, and the variety keeps me satisfied. I think that as the year is coming to a close, I’m going to go back and see how each thing is performing, how much satisfaction it provides to me, and if I have a goal to move forward with each thing.

I’m going to do a clean sweep of my own online projects. The thing with me is I’ll easily take on more, and by the end of December it wouldn’t be unlike me to have added another 3 to 5 projects. I’m forcing myself to stop, slow down, evaluate what I have in front of me, and weed out things that are time wasters or things that aren’t accomplishing what I wanted them to.

We Love Our Kitchen

When we remodeled our kitchen, we had certain standards we wanted to keep in mind. We knew we wanted stainless appliances, and we wanted particular cabinets and hinges. We always wanted a quality faucet for the sink, which meant we were interested in a top quality brand like Kohler, or a Moen faucet. We ended up finding a gorgeous sleek design in a brushed nickel that complimented the appliances and blended nicely. Some people want to make a statement when they redesign, we wanted to have a comfortable blend of style and workspace. We wanted colors, tones and textures that complimented each other nicely, without anything being too bold. We absolutely adore the finished project, and have been happy with it since it was completed!

If you’re looking for faucets, the first place you should check out is Faucet.com, where you can find a huge selection of faucets. Navigation is easy, just search based on the room, style or brand. You’ll easily find what you’re looking for!

Our Lake Out Back

It’s been a drenching rain here since yesterday! Our backyard looks like a swamp right now. Big Dog decides maybe she doesn’t have to go out after all once the rain starts pelting her…and she’s back in within moments. My poor husband is out cleaning the gutters right now, due to leaves falling and such heavy rain, you really don’t want a clog!

It’s supposed to go all day long today. Little Dog doesn’t mind the rain as much as Big Dog (the prima donna), and comes in soaked. We have towels in the sun room so we can dry them off really good before they come in. This way they don’t track mud in.

When you start seeing lakes, ponds and swimming pools in your backyard….where there was once grass, it’s not a good sign!