bring joy

Pregnancy & Baby Essentials: What’s Worth It, What’s Not

Anna, of And Then We Saved, did a recent post about the cost of pregnancy & babies, where as a first time parent, she outlines all of their purchases & costs for pregnancy & the baby. While I think she’s done a marvelous job saving money & she is more than prepared for that little one, it got me thinking. How things have changed from when I had my first, to how things are now that I’m expecting our 5th.

When you’re a first time parent you don’t know what you need, so I think the tendency is to buy everything.

And if you go into Babies R’ Us, forget about it. That store will hypnotize you into thinking you need bottle warmers, nursing pillows & stools; diaper pails & stackers; a bassinet, a crib, & a toddler bed; a jogging stroller, a lightweight stroller, a full-size stroller, & a...

New Series | Frugal Tuesdays + Reader’s Question: Is there hope for us?

debt-free, frugal life

Hello there.

For my American friends, don’t be sad about our government’s inability to get along & have the maturity & wherewithal to agree on anything. I have a new series for you!

I’ve been thinking a lot about self-reliance, living within our means, being practical/frugal & smart about money. You know, most of the things the government can’t seem to figure out right now. These are themes that don’t seem to go away–they’re ever present, particularly when the weight of debt is on your shoulders.

So, for the next while (maybe permanently) I’ll be devoting Tuesdays to everything money related: saving, how to be more frugal, getting out of debt, & so on. I welcome any of your questions or suggestions for future posts.

Today, I’ll be sharing a question from a reader, Amanda.

Email #1 she...

{MM} 9.30.2013

marvelous mondays

from octoberspice, tumblr

I have a little surprise for ya.

As you know, I’m working (feverishly) on getting together my ebooks that I’ll be releasing in November. I have one that’s nearly finished & I would like to give it away–you know, for free. My other ebooks will actually cost money (because despite existing virtually, actually do take quite a bit of work, turns out), but this one (which was not on my original list of ebooks to do) Simple: 15 plant-based recipes to get you started, will give you a taste for what’s coming in my premium cookbooks & ebooks.

I hope to have out to ya’ll sometime this week or next. I’ll keep you posted. I have to say, it’s been a blast cooking/baking & otherwise honing my culinary energies into creating something special for you.

♥ These images...