Category: Thrifty Tricks

Three Years with our Mini Bernedoodle

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Hey and Happy Thursday! Today I wanted to share a little more about our Mini Bernedoodle, Nellie who just turned 3! I can’t believe how many views these posts have received – there must be an increased interest in the breed! So, if you were anything like me 3 years ago – searching for any information I could find about Bernedoodles, you’ve come to the right place!

First, I always start out by saying, we had no intention on a dog. We thought our lifestyle would be WAYY too busy for a dog, but it is crazy how you find a way to make it work. It also helps that I am a stay at home Mom, so I am around her a lot, that made us feel more comfortable with the decision. Getting a dog was one of the best decisions. She brings us pure joy. We are always fascinated by her (and the fact there is an animal living in our house).

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Tip Jar: Budgeting tips for 2025

Tis’ the season! This past weekend, my husband and I sat down to do the annual exam of our household budget and savings plan for the year ahead. We thoroughly look at our budget and realistically examine potential expenses and find ways to cut/save money for the upcoming year.

The cost of living increase does make it difficult when it comes to trying to save and budget. We have a firm understanding of our budget and update an excel doc we’ve been using for years to see what has changed. One of things I cannot believe is how much our grocery and food spend has increased over the years. It’s slightly sickening!

Having a detailed awareness of your budget can allow you to prepare for future expenses (i.e. school, home projects, home maintenance issues, etc.), reconsider what items are truly important and remove things that waste money all while challenging yourself to become a better saver.

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Our Two Year Old Mini Bernedoodle, Nellie

Happy Thursday, everyone! I’ve decided to write a post about our dog, Nellie, today! She will be turning 2 in a month (I can’t believe it!) and I’ve noticed a lot more traffic to my Nellie posts as of recent! I thought I would share a brief update as well as any information I feel could be helpful!

I’ve shared this a million time, we had no intent on getting a dog. We say it all the time, it as the best decision ever for our family. We love her so so much!

I also have shared before, I never grew up with a dog and literally had no clue how to do this dog parent thing. I read through Casear Milans’s (the Dog Whisperer) book – there was really good intel in there, but a lot we didn’t listen to. Nellie is overall a VERY good dog. She is super sweet and has come to understand certain boundaries (i.e. our property and walking without a leash).

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Our Cleveland Staycation!

Happy Tuesday my blog reading friends! As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we did our annual staycation to end winter break and I have to say it was a good one! Not only was I grateful for the things we have in our life, but I was beyond blown away at how BLESSED we are to live in such a beautiful city.

Cleveland, Ohio gets a bad wrap. Not sure why, but in the past decade at least, there have been incredible transformations to the Downtown area. I have a great pride and love for our hometown and if you chose to visit it, I think you would be shocked too.

I highly recommend making a trip to Cleveland, especially if you have kids, there are plenty of things to do!

Summertime is obviously one of the best times to visit, you have the Flats, which allows you to dine on the gorgeous riverfront. There is Lake Erie and the Lake Erie Islands, where you can spend time on the beach or near the water! There is Cedar Point, an incredible place for families, I’ve shared this before. There are world class museums, beautiful architecture, incredible history, the second best Theatre District outside of New York City AND I cannot fail to mention our awesome sports teams, ha! Basically, you should add it to your bucket list!

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One Year With Nellie – Our Mini Bernedoodle

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Hey, hey, hey everyone! Happy Thursday! We celebrated Nellie’s first birthday a month ago and ever since I was planning to share a post about puppy! So, that’s what I’m going to share here today!

We had no intent on getting a dog – in fact we had told Audrey so many times “we’re never getting a dog?” Fast forward and we both say how it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. While it’s been a bit of a learning curve, sweet girl has been amazing and fairly easy for us! There are a handful of basic obedience things we need to brush up on (she gets overly excited when she sees people – which is our fault we greet her with over excitement all the time) but for the most part, she is a very good and a total sweetheart – especially with our kids and others.

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Surviving Winter: My Household Must-Haves

Happy Tuesday! Haven’t been here in a bit! It’s always a goal of mine to be consistent on here, but at the same time, my family and mental well-being are more important! I have become better at not stressing about posting super regularly! I’m just out here trying to do my best! With that being said, I had this on my blogging calendar for today and didn’t want to miss it!

Since we are from Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, you know we’ve got WINTER experience! While we’ve had a seemingly mild winter (knock on wood) there are still things we use, do and/or need to “survive” our winters around here. Today, I’m sharing a list of my fav household items that help us “survive” winter!

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Look For Less: Drug store beauty products that rock

Happy Thursday! This week is just flying right on by. We have a sick kiddo in the house and I have been using this time to think through some garden related items! What’s crazy to me is that I am about to start seeds in my basement this week. Seriously?! I’m extremely pumped to get growing again!

Today I’m sharing my tried and true beauty favs that’s I’m obsessed with! I’m not a beauty guru, but I can attest to these drug store products I’ve been using for a long time that won’t break the bank and last forever!!

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Thrifty Thursday: 2023 – No Spend January Challenge

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It’s that time of year again! A time that I actually love – looking ahead to a new year and setting goals and realistic expectations for our household. Budgeting is something we rely HEAVY on! When things fall off the rails, we look back and see what went wrong and how we can improve it as best we can.

Coming off a holiday break and Christmas can be a tough way to end the year in the budgeting department. That’s why I’ve decided to jump on the NO SPEND JANUARY train again this year.

If you missed it, I blogged about it last year – it was a huge success and a great reset for us!

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Amazon Prime Time – Some Recent Purchases and my Tried & True Favs

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Good morning and happy Wednesday! It has been BUSY around here, my goodness! This time of the year, I start the process of winterizing all the things! I try to button up as many outside items I can while the weather is still a little nice! I was planning on sharing some of my recent Amazon purchases and now that it’s Early Prime Deal Access for Prime holders. I thought I would share some of my tried & true favs around here.

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Just a few of my favorite FALL things!

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Happy Fall all! Honestly, it is such a bittersweet time of the year for me. I truly love our summers here in Northeast Ohio – I love the weather, the long days, gardening, being outside – all of it! Fall is an absolutely beautiful time here too, but I start to think about winter. Doing my best to embrace all that fall has to offer and forget about hibernation season.

MorE

Thrifty Thursday – Spring Clothing Haul – Creating Capsules for the kiddos

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! Hope you are able to enjoy a beer and a corned beef sandwich, I know that’s what I plan on doing tonight! For today’s thrifty Thursday, I’m sharing (yet again!) how I shop for my kids clothing. I shared a toddler clothing capsule on Black Friday because that’s when I do a MAJOR winter clothing haul at Kohl’s. You can also check out last year’s spring clothing haul post. I absolutely love the Jumping Beans brand – it’s affordable, very basic and has ALL the essentials!

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Dollar Tree Finds – Easter Basket Edition

Happy Monday! Today I’m sharing some recent Dollar Tree finds that are perfect for your kids, grandkids or niece and nephew Easter baskets! Dollar Tree has some super cute Easter/Spring items in stores right now and I recently went in to grab some things for an Easter egg hunt at our house this year!

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Tip Jar: RECAP No Spend January Challenge

It’s February 1st, which means the NO SPEND JANUARY challenge is officially complete. Today I’m sharing a recap of the challenge – some of the successes and some of the failures/updates that need to be addressed. I might even extend this into February and March, which are two more months where there isn’t much going on and we should utilize this in order to save BIG TIME

I know I mentioned this before, but summer can get crazy and the budget is even more difficult to figure out. The kids are home, spending ticks up a little bit – i.e. grocery budget increase, pool maintenance, having family and friends over, cookouts, parties and going to parks, on little trips, etc! These winter months are the perfect time to try to save as much as we can to make up for a variable summer.

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