7 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A Car

I never wanted to become a van mom.  Growing up we either had cars or SUVs but never a van.  After my husband and I got married, we went through a couple of cars that got us through college before purchasing our first used SUV about four years ago.  Our daughter was about 15 months old and when we got pregnant with our second child a couple of months later, we felt even better about our purchase.  Fast forward to last month when my husband started having problems with his car (the first car we bought nine years ago).  We knew we were going to be adding to our family (although no one else did) and had been discussing purchasing a new car to replace our SUV.  We just expected that we'd have a few more months before we needed to make a decision.

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Deeds of Gratitude: A New Thanksgiving Tradition

When I was growing up, the dictionary was one of my best friends.  It wasn't because I loved looking up words and their meanings.  No, it was because whenever my mom used a word I didn't know and I said, "What does that mean?" that she would say, "Go look it up."  I had kind of a ridiculous vocabulary for an elementary student as a result and even got questioned by my teachers a few times because they thought my mom had written a paper or done my homework for me.  A desire to understand the meaning of different words has stuck with me throughout the years and as we approach Thanksgiving, I've been considering the difference between two words: thankful and grateful.

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DIY Owlette and Cat Boy Masks (PJ Masks)

"Bedtiiimme...is the right tiiimmme...to fight criiimme!"  If your kids are PJ Masks watchers like mine, you've probably heard this song more times than you can count.  And maybe your kids want to dress up like the characters from the show, complete with masks.  And maybe you don't want to spend $12 on a mask.  I try to keep things pretty simple when it comes to Halloween costumes for my kids and I like to DIY them when possible.  If you have a little time, a desire to save some money and the DIY spirit like I do, then you've come to the right place!

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My Favorite Black Home Decor Pieces

When I was in college, I briefly considered going into interior design.  I took the introductory class and while I enjoyed learning about it, it definitely wasn't where my passion was.  A lot of what I learned has stuck with me though and I've tried to incorporate it into my home as I choose pieces for different rooms.  As it turns out, black is a great choice when you want to ground a room and using it for larger pieces, such as furniture, is very common.  You don't want to overuse it, otherwise you end up with a space that is, well, dark.  But used wisely and in moderation, black is a great color (or neutral if you will) to add to your color scheme.

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$10 @ Target: 50/50 Split

While I'd like to think the majority of my Target runs are pretty successful when it comes to bang for my buck, my most recent trip was definitely in the minority.  I bought just two items: a Halloween bowling activity for my kids and a pack of plain white t-shirts for my son.  Super fun, right? *wink*

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Halloween Popcorn Box Party 2017 + Marshmallow Popcorn

I will be the first to admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  I could easily do without the stressing about costumes, buying treats for kids I don't know and scary, creepy things that pop up (sometimes literally) this time of year.  Maybe it goes back to the year my dad took me to the neighbor's "spook alley" which completely freaked me out and gave me nightmares and which I still remember to this day over 20 years later, thank you very much.  But give me pumpkins and cute witches and I'll be content to make my way through another Halloween season.  *wink*

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Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins

About a week ago, I woke up early in the morning and the thought that popped into my head: pom poms.  Why pom poms?  Well I'd been trying to decide how to finish off my most recent project and the solution had eluded me until early that morning.  This is literally what goes through my brain sometimes when I'm working on a project that I've been thinking about a lot.  And you know what?  Pom poms were the perfect finishing touch. *wink*

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5 Ways To Give Service (When You Don't Know How To Help)

I've felt a little overwhelmed lately with how many disasters, both natural and man-made, have plagued our world in recent years.  I feel like every time I open a news website or scroll through my Facebook feed, there is always something else that has happened: earthquakes, mass shootings, hurricanes, flooding, kidnappings, beatings, car accidents, bombings and the list goes on.  I'd like to think that maybe I just wasn't as aware of them when I was growing up because access to technology was so much more limited.  But I'm scared and I'm sad, because I think the truth is that those things are becoming more frequent, as much as I want to believe otherwise.  So many faces and names and tragedies and hardships that it's easy to feel helpless, or even like what little I could possibly do doesn't matter.  What can I do when I feel like the world is falling apart?  How can I help others?

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3 Inexpensive Ways to Pamper Yourself

By the time I was in my junior year of college, I had three years of living on my own under my belt.  Where my money went was completely up to me.  I remember when I first started buying the foaming hand soap from Bath and Body Works. It was more than twice as expensive as the other stuff from Walmart, but I didn't care.  Why?  Because it was a small indulgence that wasn't going to break the bank, but it sure as heck brought a smile to my face.  As I was studying and had my hand under my chin trying to understand a new concept or review for an exam, the soft smell of coconut lime verbena would drift up to my nose.  You know the saying "money can't buy happiness"?  Well, I think that it should be changed to "money can't buy happiness, but it can buy back a little bit of your sanity".  Too long?  Maybe.  But still truthful don't you think?

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September in Numbers

I looked up at the mountains near my home the other day and was shocked to see them bursting with color.  I thought, Can it really be this time of year again?  So soon?  Obviously the answer is yes, although it's hard to believe time has flown by so quickly.  I love fall for many reasons, including the changing of the leaves, wearing hoodies and crisp afternoon walks around the neighborhood.  Summer left much sooner than I was ready, but we had a lot of fun things happen as it finished up and fall began.

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