File this under “no recipe recipes” that make life easier. One of my personal favorite meals is a good baked potato. But! Since having kids and a whole family to feed, I find baked potatoes sort of a pain to serve. By the time I get all the potatoes fluffed up and topped with butter and other toppings it seems to take forever and the food is cold by the time I get things to the table. I decided to … Read More
Spotlight On…. Kids Bath Renovation Inspo
We are gearing up for this winter’s renovation to begin (finally!) and I’m getting all my inspiration/ideas/sources organized so I can put things in motion. As with all things in this renovation, the starting place is our budget! It’s SO easy for budgets to get blown in the process of renovating (or building!) because little things turn into big things and they add up. I’ve budgeted EVERYTHING line by line for each room of this renovation so we can decide … Read More
Easy Dinner Idea // Burger Bowls
Hi, friends! We are back into the swing of regular life over here with school starting for three of our four kids and our regular childcare rhythm going. That also means sports and activities are starting to ramp up and our evenings will be getting a bit busier as we head into fall. This recipe is more of a “no recipe recipe” (admittedly, one of my fave kinds!) but has been a hit at our house with both adults and … Read More
Blueberry Crumble Coffee Cake
I’m a BIG fan of breakfasts that can be made ahead of time and require very little clean up during the morning rush. Muffins, pancakes and waffles (frozen in advance), and coffee cake make for easy mornings when heading back to the school rush. This coffee cake base was rustled from a very old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook passed down to me – probably decades old – yet filled with amazing recipes that stand the test of time. I … Read More
The Meal Plan
I did a little virtual tour of our weekly grocery haul over on Instagram and got a few comments from you all asking for the full meal plan! This week I was a little less “planned” and did my grocery shopping in person at our local Walmart. I feel like our dollars stretch really far at Walmart and was reminded of what a great selection our local Walmart has when I was there this week. I think my budgeting skills … Read More
Ainsley’s Favorite: Wild Berry Smoothie
Ainsley loves wild berry smoothies at our local coffee shop. But as a mom, my preference is for something both a little less expensive and a little more nutritious. I came up with a smoothie that Ainsley loves (she is pretty picky on taste!) and I can feel good about. It’s easy to make – we usually have all these ingredients on hand even when the pantry is pretty empty – and made with zero added sugar. Ainsley is also … Read More
June Recap: Grocery Budgeting
Now that the month of June is coming to a close, I’m ready to do a full (transparent) budget recap for you. Since I declared this the summer of grocery budgeting, I wanted to show you what it looks like for our family and what a tremendous impact it made this month! I looked back on another month (March) which was a pretty typical month for our family in terms of spending. I added up all our grocery spending PLUS … Read More
Homemade Pesto
While I’m not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination, I AM a big fan of my little herb garden. My mom got me two large garden boxes to hang on our deck and it’s been the most successful I’ve ever been at keeping herbs alive and thriving! I also learned a bit more this year about how to property cut basil leaves to help your plants continue to flourish all summer long. If you want to learn more … Read More
Meal Plan :: Week of June 7
I’ve been sharing more about meal planning and budgeting for meals over on Instagram and really been enjoying the challenge of sticking to a grocery budget of $200/week. It’s really stretching me to think more intentionally about food and also plan ahead for what we are going to eat each week. You can check out this week’s grocery haul over HERE where I shared a full video of what we bought this week! Since a few of you said that … Read More
Oat Flour Banana Muffins
Muffins are a family staple food in our house. My family all loves muffins and I find that a batch usually lasts no more than one or two days before they are gone. Banana muffins are a staple because we almost always have leftover bananas at the end of the month and bananas are so dang affordable. These banana muffins are low in added sugar, easy to pull together in just a few minutes and incredibly tasty. You can buy … Read More
Summer Of…. Grocery Budgeting
This is probably a funny time to embark on a grocery budgeting challenge when we have all the kids at home for the summer and kids are snacking more than ever, but with how much more expensive life and the grocery store has become, I’ve been feeling the pull to be more disciplined about our spending at the grocery store. I’ve realized as our family has grown that if I don’t take time to plan meals and grocery shop intentionally, … Read More
Summer Skin Guide
We are wrapping up the craziness of May and I’m, quite honestly, pretty excited to have this month in the rear view mirror. We have settled into our new house (sort of) and are getting into the swing of the summer schedule this week. Summer weather means I’m also scaling back some of my skincare routine and focusing on lightweight products that pack a performance punch. Here are some of my tried-and-true favorites if you’re looking to do the same … Read More