welcome

Welcome to the new Life…Your Way!

Grab a cup of coffee and a snack and sit for a while because there’s a ton for you to see, but keep in mind that we’re still unpacking and chances are you’ll run into a few broken links or missing images along the way. Just ignore those (or feel free to send me an email if you want!), and I hope to have everything ironed out very quickly!

Reconciling Frugal Living and Unnecessary Splurges

September 9, 2010
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We all have them — things we’re willing to spend more money on even though we try to live a frugal lifestyle overall. For some it may be Starbucks, while for others it may be designer shoes, eating out as a family,  a more expensive hair stylist or a trip to the most magical place [...]

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How to Pack a School Lunch Your Kids Will Eat

September 9, 2010
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Just like that, we’re back to school. This year, it’s hot to brown bag your lunch again, packing up food from home and bypassing the preservative-laden pizza, translucent mashed potatoes and the steamed vegetable medley. But when you’re competing with cheese pizza and chicken nuggets every day, how can you ensure that the lunch you [...]

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Tips for Getting Out of the House with Small Children

September 8, 2010
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I’m not an expert on much, but with four little ones under six (at least for another month or so!), I can pretty confidently declare myself an expert in this area. If I’m honest, though, my husband is the real expert in the family because he regularly takes all four girls out by himself to [...]

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Quick Tip: Use ClipX to Save Your Copy History

September 8, 2010
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Hi. My name is Mandi, and I have obsessive copying disorder. Several times a day, I copy something with the intention of pasting it right away only to get distracted and end up copying something else over it before I make it to my final destination. Please tell me someone else out there does this [...]

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Accessories for Moms to Spice up Any Outfit

September 8, 2010
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A couple of years ago, my New Year’s Resolution was to be more feminine. I’m proud of the fact that I don’t feel like I need to put makeup on every single day and that I’m not really high maintenance (at least not when it comes to my appearance, ha!), but I’d taken that idea [...]

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Decorating for Fall: A Tour of Our Home

September 8, 2010
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I love fall. I love the chill in the air, apple picking, drinking hot cider and just hanging out on our front porch as a family. Truth be told, we use a lot of organic materials like bundles of sticks and wooden accessories as part of our regular decor, so we don’t make too many [...]

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The Dirty Dozen / Clean Fifteen Cheat Sheet

September 7, 2010
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I’ll be honest that on the organic/crunchy spectrum, my family is really just at the beginning of this journey. In my head, I know that there are certain foods that are more important to buy organic because of the pesticides used in growing them and others that are okay to buy conventional, but I can [...]

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Question of the Day: Do You Cook with Stoneware?

September 7, 2010
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It’s funny, because when I was a teenager and my mom started using Pampered Chef stoneware, I swore I would never cook with it in my own kitchen. The idea of using a dish that you didn’t wash with soap — you do know you’re not supposed to wash them with soap, right? — was [...]

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The Importance of Adding Value to Achieve Success

September 7, 2010
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Whether it’s at work, at home, or in the community, most of us want to be successful, contributing members of society. Since some of our bars are set higher (or lower) than others, it’s pretty obvious that what defines success will be different to each and every person. We all have different measures and definitions [...]

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Decorating with White: A Clean Slate

September 6, 2010
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The maxim goes that we shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day. But the one place I think we might want to wear white—no matter the season—is in our homes. Buy White, Accent in Color White is the foundational color that allows you to express your own style the best. If you buy white basics, such [...]

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