My Happiness Project - June: Make Time for Friends COMPLETE!

Sunday, June 30, 2013


photo by Pensierovia PhotoRee


My Happiness Project for the month of June was to Make Time for Friends.

Here were my goals and here's what I did with achieving them. 


My ways to do this were:  

1. Spend more time with my close friends
2.  Keep in touch better
3.  Remember special occassions

1. Spend More Time with My Close Friends.
This was easily accomplished by spending a few more nights each month with my best friend Daniela when she needed me most!  

2.  Keep in touch better.
I have made sure to talk with each of my close friends multiple times a week, and with my best friend, we speak every day! Texting worked when our schedules clashed, and phone calls worked when they didn't.

3. Remember Special Occassions.
I made sure to mark my best friend's sons birthday on my calendar and I'm attending his birthday party in July!

These all made me feel better about myself because I am being a much better friend and I do feel more loved in general!

Check back tomorrow for July's Happiness Project which is to Buy Some Happiness!

Tracy's Closet - Buy and Sell YOUR Style

Saturday, June 29, 2013

I received credit to Tracy's Closet for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.


Tracy's Closet is an awesome website that basically acts as a giant yard...er, closet sale where people just like you and me can list our clothing to make some extra cash, and then spend it buying items that are from other people's closets. You can connect with people that share YOUR style and all you need to bring with you is whatever you have in your closet that defines you aka YOUR STYLE. Sell your items you no longer need by uploading your closet, earn points, and then shop the closets of other women. All you need to include with your photos is a small description! Oh, and shippping is free!

Tracy's Closet has fashionable and stylish women and if you like someone's style in particular, you can shop the rest of their closet, or continue to check back and see what else they sell from their closet.  

This site is very different from others in that they use a point system where points are earned by uploading items to sell (you can just take a photo with your smart phone!) , referring friends, and checking in daily. There's NO seller fees!

AND...if you become a member today you will earn 100 points ($10) in a credit to use for your first purchase!

So join here: http://www.tracyscloset.com/index-register.php?utm_source=outreach&utm_medium=momspark&utm_campaign=beta

And make sure you follow Tracy's Closet on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.



I received credit to Tracy's Closet for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

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My Fancy Desk Supplies, Budget Plan, & [Week in Review]

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In case you were busy this week, here's what you missed on Ask Away!



What I Give A Cup About! #GiveACup

Friday, June 28, 2013

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Image and value provided by our partner, Peet's
A lot of people make comments about how much work 4 Chihuahuas must be.   And you know what, they are right, especially in the morning. There are two things I do in the morning EVERY MORNING!
I hit start, on my coffee maker and I feed my dogs and let them outside.  Every morning, like clockwork I do these two things, even if I am exhausted.   Why? Because I Give A Cup!!!

And actually, you can let everyone konw what you Give A Cup about too, in the Internet's very first social sampling experiment.  Peet's Coffee actually spent 5 years coming up with the perfect dose for each coffee blend and they use a different kind of filter that allows more flavor to pass through the cup.  So I can enjoy my coffee and enjoy my life of animals.   And even though this week I said I Give A Cup about hot dog eating contests, I'm waiting for the week where they ask if I care about animal shelters and other animal-related subjects.   Because if I vote that I Give A Cup about that, I might end up helping send Peet's Coffee down to an animal shelter!!  

 

It's up to us to decide where Peet's Coffee goes, so you have to vote and share and participate!   If you give a cup about locally grown food, maybe they'll show up at your local farmer's market!  

The topics are funny, entertaining, and current and your vote will determine where they show up!! Each week a new sampling is hosted so make this a regular part of your web browsing routine!!





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3 Rules of Men's Grooming -- Man-friendly Product Alert!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

This site has affiliate links and sponsored content. Read my Disclosure Policy.

That's right...men need to special products to, especially for their faces.  Think of how hard their skin takes a beating with the dirt, sun, sweat, etc. from a long day at work, or a day at home working on the house and doing repairs.   So ladies... if your man is always asking what he should do for his skin problems, look no further!   Here are three important grooming tips brought to you by ME and GO 24-7,  product line that can help your man follow these rules!







Rule Number 1:   Use a hot towel to open the pores before shaving and use a cold towel after.   This will help prevent redness and nicks.  

Rule Number 2: Even if your guy doesn't have hair, he still needs to wash that area of his face/head.  

Rule Number 3: Exfoliate once a week to prevent ingrown facial hairs!    

And GO 24-7 has an amazingly luxurious cleanser for his face and a moisturizer to keep his skin soft and smooth.  Nobody wants to be kissed by a grizzly bear now do they? 

My Guide to Being on a Budget


This post was last updated September 28, 2018




A step by step guide to being on a budget

You know the feeling of debt, right? That horrible weight that's always on your shoulders because you owe a lot of money, and have no idea how to pay it all back because you currently live paycheck to paycheck. It seems to be the norm now so it's really not that weird is it? Debt is normal these days..... Being debt free isn't. And if you're reading this post that's about to change. My book, Fixing Your Finances, can help change everything for you and one of the parts of fixing your finances is being on budget. And if you're looking for a group of folks doing the exact same thing you're about to do, look no further than my Fixing Your Finances Facebook group.

AND big news! 
 Enroll in my Fixing Your Finances e-course for the sale price and you'll learn everything you need to in order to reduce your debt and become debt free, build up a savings fund, stop using or safely use credit cards, and live on a balanced budget where you can actually control your spending.  I promise my course WILL help you.
Fixing Your Finances Book Cover 
I used to be terrible with money and it all started with my credit cards. I had used them for many years to cover emergency expenses which actually weren't emergencies. I needed to put groceries on a credit card because somehow I didn't have enough money left in my paycheck most weeks to get them. I thought it was because I didn't make enough but really it was because I wasn't managing my money the right way. I always thought being on a budget meant you couldn't spend money. In reality, it means you manage HOW you spend your money in a very disciplined manner.
Cash Envelope System




See that adorable Filofax cash envelope system above? I made that when I finally was getting on the right track, and I am now debt free because I paid off my credit cards and got into MUCH better financial shape. In fact, my credit score is 832 the last time I checked.

I have been on this system for years and I have way less financial stress than I used to. I even have some budget spreadsheets you can get for free here.

So without further ado I present the Ask Away Guide to Being on A Budget!



1. TRACK YOUR DEBT



An excel speadsheet used to track debt pay down
Note: These are not actual amounts I owe, this is an example.


Make a list of:

- each debt you pay down each month
- the due date
- minimum payment
- total amount you owe

Then put it all into an excel spreadsheet like I did in the above example. You can get my Downloadable Debt Pay Down Tracker for FREE here.  I set up formulas to subtract my payment and show what I owe in the next month. The only thing this spreadsheet doesn't show is finance rates, so just know that your actual amounts owed may differ when you factor in that charge.
 It may be worth taking a look online to see how personal loan interest rates are calculated to give you a better understanding and allow you to factor in interest when creating your budget.

 2. MAKE A LIST OF HOW YOU SPEND

Look at where your money has been going over the last few months and then figure out what categories you will need money for each month. Your debt is generally a fixed expense each month that can only be decreased as you pay it down.

So make a list of your expenses such as:
- Groceries
- Dining Out
- Fun money (movies, tickets to events, etc.)
- Clothing
- Pet Supplies
- Medical expenses (medical bills, prescriptions, co-pays)
- Vet Appointments
- Car expenses (oil changes, car repairs, inspection, registration)
- Gas for your vehicle
- Miscellaneous (random things here and there like maybe a coupon holder, new pens for at home, etc.)

You may need to print out a few bank statements and look at all your expenses and decide what category each one is.

Look at what you spent on them and figure out which ones can actually be thrown out.

For example - You NEEDED an oil change for $40 last month, but you didn't need the decorative car mats for $50 since your regular car mats are just fine. So add up in each category the expenses that you NEEDED.

This will leave you with a ballpark amount of money that you will put towards each category on a monthly basis.

3. MAKE A BUDGET



an excel spreadsheet showing a budget
Note: These are not my actual expense amounts. They are just an example.

In order to make a budget you will need to first figure out your monthly income. This would be the money you make on a REGULAR set basis - like your paycheck.

Then, you need to list the categories from Step 2, and figure out how much to designate to each category every month. Add up the fixed expenses from Step 1 (credit card payments and car payments that are considered debt) and list them in the CREDIT CARD or DEBT category.

*It might be difficult to figure out how much to designate to each category, and you will find that when starting out, you'll end up changing the amounts every month until you find a number you are comfortable with. That's NORMAL.

Here is a (MADE UP) example of monthly amounts and categories:
Groceries - 300
Fun - 80
Savings - 40
Debt - 100 (yea right, this is just going from the above example)
Vet - 40
Car & Insurance - 100
Dining Out - 20
Miscellaneous - 20
Pet Supplies - 60
Medical - 60
Rent - 500
Cell - 80
Gas - 100
Parking - 155 (yes, it's extremely expensive to have a safe parking spot for work in the city)

I also included fixed expenses such as my phone bill, and my car insurance (which I lump into the Car Category in general).

Put all of these categories into an excel spreadsheet as a budget.

You can set up a formula so that your monthly fixed expenses, and your budget category expenses all get subtracted from your monthly income, and it will show you what's leftover and whether it's negative or positive. You want to make sure you play around with the numbers until that Difference = $0. Yes, I'm serious. You want to account for EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR that goes into your bank account, so that you have no room for spending carelessly.

You can get my FREE Budget Template here.

   




"But, what if something out of the blue comes up that doesn't have a category?"
Well, if it's an emergency, then Step 5 will explain why you are covered. And if it's a category you didn't make up... then you may need to add it to your spreadsheet and figure out an amount to designate towards it each month. A great example is computer expenses. As a blogger it's a tragedy when my computer crashes and it can be a big expense to get fixed so I decided to designate $10 a paycheck to a computer fund. I may not use it for an entire year but it sure is nice to have. This kind of acts as a mini savings instead of just an envelope category.

You'll learn more in the next 2 steps...


"What if I have an expense that I pay online directly from my bank account and I can't leave $0 in? "
I have expenses like that too and instead of leaving $0 in your bank account, just leave the amount that you will need for your bills.

4. USE BUDGET ENVELOPES FOR SPENDING CASH- NO DEBIT/CHECK CARDS


Cash envelope system with categories
You can find an upclose look at this envelope system here.

This is the fun part, at least for me because I love being organized. And instead of just using typical envelopes I opted to get a nice little organizer from Target and I eventually made an even cuter envelope system using a Filofax organizer, which you can see here.

I made tabs for each category that I deposit cash into every payday. No more spending with my debit card because it was a bad habit for me. Cash makes you way frugal and way more apprehensive to give it away. This means you will think TWICE. I can tell you first hand that this WORKS!!!!

On payday, I get cash from the bank and I put it into each category. I even have little pieces of paper in each pocket of my envelope system to track how much I put it in each month and when, and what I spent it on (including the receipts).

"What if I have money left in the envelopes at the end of the month?"
Well, you can keep it in there and that way you will always have a mini savings for each category. Or if you want to move it to another category go ahead. This is a great part of the system because you can do whatever you need to with it. Whatever works for you - no rules!

"If I am short in one category, can I take from another?"
This is a tricky one and generally I don't let myself. But sometimes when something happens like say my bill for a dinner with friends is over the amount I have in my Dining Out category. In this case I might grab from the Fun category because technically dining out IS fun.

But other than that, if I don't have the money in the clothing category for the shirt I want, even if I'm $5 short, I don't get it.... that's all part of the discipline process. And you know what? I'm still alive and thriving even though I never got the awesome shirt I loved. In fact, I end up forgetting about most things by the time I get home.

5. Build an Emergency Savings Fund

An ESF (Emergency Savings Fund) is the fund that you can tap into for emergencies such as but not limited to:

Expensive Car Repair
Medical Emergency
Speeding Ticket
An Emergency Home Repair

The beautiful thing about it is that after you tap into your category for that type of expense, and you still don't have enough money, you ALWAYS have your emergency fund.

There are 2 golden rules to know about the ESF:

1. You always want to have AT LEAST $500-$1,000 in your ESF.

2. You ALWAYS replenish it after you take from it and you ONLY take from it when it's an EMERGENCY.

An ESF is NOT to be used for these NON emergencies:
A purse/pair of shoes/shirt you want but can't afford
A fund for splurging on a new HDTV
Bar Money

"I live paycheck to paycheck, there's no way I can come up with $500 for an emergency fund within a few weeks, NO WAY!"
That's what I said the second I heard Dave Ramsey say this. And then mid thought, he interrupted with something along the lines of "If your child (in my case my dogs) needed an expensive vaccination and their life depended on it, and they would not survive if they don't get this shot with a week, you WOULD find a way to get/make extra money for that shot, wouldn't you?" I answered out loud "YES!". So this emergency fund is no different.

EMERGENCY SAVINGS FUND

In order to come up with $500 for an emergency fund there are several things you can do... and I did all of these:
- sell things on ebay, Craigslist, yard sales, pawn shop
- sign up for survey sites (legit online survey sites that I posted about here )
- Get a second job or side job (I have my blog) but you can always Uber, do Rover, or any kind of gig you can find.
- Limit your fun/luxury expenses for a month (no pedicures or fun money, no dining out)

I went through my closet and sold clothes, I thought twice about every piece of furniture I owned and ended up selling a couple things via Facebook Yard Sale groups, and I sold large items such as Kitchen appliances on Craigslist. All the money I made went directly into my emergency savings fund.

I signed up to do sponsored campaigns on my blog to make extra income to go directly towards my emergency fund.

I even cut back on my fun money for a couple months to come up with the rest of what I needed in order to have $500 in my ESF.

You have NO IDEA how amazing it feels to look at my bank account online and see $500 in an emergency fund. Actually I have more than that because I have money automatically put in it from my paycheck every 2 weeks!

Build up your ESF first BEFORE you start paying down debts!

Once you have your emergency fund, you won't have to worry about using your credit cards for emergencies" so just pay the minimum payments on your debt and credit cards until your ESF is full.




6. BUILD YOUR MINI SAVINGS FUNDS USING ENVELOPES

Like I said before - the mini savings accounts are wonderful with the envelope system. You can make them temporarily and adjust your budget to include them. For instance, if you need spending money for a vacation planned for the end of the year, putting $20 a paycheck into the Vacation Spending Money savings is a GREAT IDEA. 


I weighed the benefits of a pet emergency fund vs. pet insurance and it's more sensible for me to put money aside each paycheck in my vet fund.

**Side note: To get more for your money when you use spending money for trips - ask yourself DO I REALLY NEED THIS?


7. STOP SPENDING!



I know, it's hard to stop the things you are used to but trust me, it's possible! Stop going out so much and eating out so much, stop doing luxuries that cost you money... and if you can't stop them at least do them less often.

Some of the ways I cut back are:
- I purchased a $5 kit from Walmart that had all the scraper tools and files that they use in a salon for a pedicure, and I now do manis and pedis for myself. This saves me at least $50 a month.

- Use coupons and always search for discounts at www.retailmenot.com before you order something from a website.


- Eat less - opt for healthy meals and healthy snacks instead of tons of processed foods as snacks that you munch on in front of the TV late at night.


- Stop buying so much of the same stuff! Where what you have, do your makeup with what you have, and eat what you have before you go buy more. (This is also part of being more of a minimalist)


- Cut back on bills by going through them one by one and seeing if you can lower your cell phone minutes or data package (If you have Verizon, contact this guy who hooked me up with great deals on my bill - say I sent ya! ), downgrade your cable plan, save money on your electric by turning your thermostat down a degree (or up)
- Instead of meeting friends for dinner and drinks, invite them over, make cocktails, and have everyone bring an appetizer and then eat and drink on your patio.
- Attend local events instead of national events. Local BBQ's at vineyards, and local street fairs, local car shows, are much cheaper than going to a big fancy car show, a concert, or going to a huge amusement park numerous times each month.


8. STOP USING CREDIT CARDS AND DEBIT CARDS


I put all of my credit cards in my safe right away. No need to have them, because if my ESF is full than I can always use that instead of credit. I cancelled and cut up a few of my cards over the last year (1 every 6 months).
 

The only thing I use my debit card for is Gas since I don't want to pay with cash each time at the gas station, so instead of a zero balance in my bank account, I leave money in for the bills that get taken out of the account and money for gas.






Again, you probably can't pay your bills in cash so that's why you can leave the designate amount for each bill in your bank account as well.



Example - My phone bill is $80 a month so every payday I actually transfer $40 to a savings account that I labeled "Bills". Then when it's time to pay the $80 bill I make sure I transfer $80 back to checking.

And if you insist that you MUST build your credit score up by using your credit cards..see what Dave Ramsey has to say about that... it's okay if you literally make a purchase, then pay it off three days later... but do NOT spend beyond your allowance based on what you have in your envelope for that category.


9. PAY DOWN YOUR DEBTS


Do all of the things from step 6 to get money for your credit cards. Pay the minimum on all, except your lowest balance card. That way, you pay it down sooner, and feel more accomplished. So if you come up with $50 dollars a month that you have leftover in your budget when you try to zero down the balance, apply that to your debt payments.... in addition to what you were already paying as your minimum payment. Then when that cards paid off... you take the $50 plus the minimum payment on the card you paid off (say it's $25) so that's $75, and you apply that to the minimum payment on another card. It's called a debt snowball.

I apply any extra money I can to my debts. I sell stuff all the time, I put gift money towards my debt, I sold DVDs and CDs on Music Magpie to get extra money. I go at it so hardcore, and if I have extra money in my FUN envelope at the end of the month, sometimes I even put that towards my debt!

Remember, the sooner you get money together to fill your emergency fund, the sooner you can put any future extra income towards your debt!


10. SAVE


Make sure that after you pay off your debts (or even while you are paying them off) you make sure you put money aside in a savings. You can have it in the same savings fund as your ESF, or a different one. I have $40 a month that goes into my ESF so even when I hit the $500 mark, money still kept going in there.

After a few years of chipping away at it - this finally paid off and I am DEBT FREE and you can read about how I did it here. still working on saving and paying down my debts but I am doing a great job.

Here was my timeline:
August 2012 - Started budgeting
December 2012- Paid my car off

January 2013- Used what I paid in car payments before to build up ESF right away
February 2013 - Paid store credit card off
March 2013- Paid another store credit card off
April 2015 - Became Debt Free!
May 2015 - Bought a house with my boyfriend (now my husband







Make sure you sign up for your free spreadsheets here, purchase my book, Fixing Your Finances and join my Facebook Group!







Guide to being on a budget









LDuncan Apparel Review

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

This site has affiliate links and sponsored content. Read my Disclosure Policy.


LDuncan Apparel is an online shop that offers fashionable accessories at reasonable prices.  You won't sacrifice quality either because everything is made with the highest quality! Whether it's sunglasses or a handbag, LDuncan Apparel wants you to enjoy your accessory and not break the bank.  After all, you work hard for your money so you should get to show it off without feeling broke, right? 

There is a great selection of accessories, but more importantly a great selection of handbags for you to choose from.  They come in different sizes, styles, and colors, and there is a nice detailed description of each item!

 



I received the Crystal Clasp in Light Pink Bag.  I absolutely love this gorgeous classy handbag! It's such soft leather and I love the straps, they are perfect to hold on to.   The gold accent wings are so elegant and give this bag a great evening look.  I use it as an everyday bag because with it's 3 compartments, it can still hold all of my stuff!

I fell in love with a few other bags on the LDuncan Apparel website and I gurantee you if you head on over there, you will find AT LEAST one that you adore! 

The LEGIT Way I Make Fast, Easy, Extra Cash Every Week - Surveys!!!!

Monday, June 24, 2013

 photo IMG_2869_zpsdd4993b8.jpg


I posted this a while back when iI started this blog but I am posting it again.... I know it sounds to good to be true because everyone always says "Take surveys and earn cash NOW!" and then you  start to register and it asks you to subscribe to mailing lists, etc.  So how do I have the legit sites that don't spam at all?  Well, I started back in 2005....  before everyone and their mother started doing surveys and before everyone and their father started scamming you into thinking you could do surveys for money.   The small number of sites I use, I have used ALL these years with no problem.  From them, I get 1 of 3 things - either points that I cash out at to get a cash voucher or a prize (free movie tix or free magazine subscriptions or gift cards to restaurants ), Paypal or check that I now cash out monthly,  or samples that I get to keep (perfume, foods, beauty products, etc.)

I promise that you have MY WORD that these will not spam your email.   These are legitimate ways to make cash from online surveys.

So why doesn't everyone do it?  Because some people don't think it's worth it to:
1. Register and  fill in profiles (something that takes a couple hours to complete all the screening profiles but you do it once and you're done)
2. People don't like waiting a couple weeks for rewards to process.
3. People don't like doing this in their extra time.  

I've done it for so many years it's routine.  I do some at breakfast, and some at night.   

The sites I use are:

Survey Frequency: I usually get 3-5 surveys a week from them. 
Survey Rewards: $1-$3 sometimes more for product tests (lots of opportunities for that) and you can cash out once your account hits $5
Reward: I cashout via Paypal and I generally get $10-$15 a month from them. 


Survey Frequency: 3-5 per day.
Survey Rewards: $1-$3 sometimes more.
Reward: Cashout via Paypal once your account hits 100 points ($10) and I generally get $20-30 a month from them.


Survey Frequency: I usually get 1-3 surveys a day from them.
Survey Rewards: $1-$4 sometimes more for product tests.
Reward: You can get an amazon gift card, visa e-card, or some other gift cards.   

Survey Frequency: I usually get 3-5 surveys a day from them. 
Survey Rewards: Using the point system surveys are anywhere from 35-100 points.  They also offer opportunities for product tests.  
RewardL You can cash out once you get 1010 (I think) points and that equals about $50-$53 in cash which they send via check.  They are also adding a PayPal option! I generally get $50 every 1-2 months  from them. 




Survey Frequency: I usually get 3-5 surveys a week from them. 
Survey Rewards: $1-$3 sometimes more for product tests and you can cash out once your account hits $5
Reward: I cashout via Paypal and I generally get $10-$15 a month from them. 

Paid View Point
Survey Frequency: Daily
Survey Rewards: 50 cents until you get to 10000 points then they cash rolls in. I can cash out each month at about $25-40.
Reward: Paypal Cash.

My advice to any of you is to be patient. It took me a few months to get the hang of everything but it is worth it. the amounts I get I look at as gas money or grocery money for the week. And if instead, you would spend time watching TV, then why not watch while you fill out surveys on yourlaptop. DUH! All of my friends that tried it after me and stuck with it are so glad they did!

Also - The amount I make would be way more if I didn't work full time and do my blog part time.  So if you are unemployed, JUST THINK about how much money you can make!


And of course, I am always here to help!


Be sure to join my Facebook group, Fixing Your Finances, to help you with your finance journey along the way.  


This site has affiliate links and sponsored content. Read my Disclosure Policy.


Organized Hallway Closet

What's the first part of your home that you can possibly get to that can either be organized or disorganized?   The entryway closet in the hall in our foyer!  And although I didn't get a before photo...just trust me when I say there was NO ROOM for anything.  



I took each jacket out to make sure that they fit, if they didn't they were donated.   Then, boots and seasonal shoes whent in the plastic bin on the bottom.   And winter things like gloves, hats, and scarves all got split into separate bins and placed up top.   

Simple as that!
The Mom Creative
A Bowl Full of Lemons
”A

Pink Blush Maternity Review & *Giveaway* Ends 7/1

Pink Blush Maternity has a wonderful selection of fashionable and trendy maternity tops, bottoms, and dresses to keep you looking and feeling great, before, during, and after your pregnancy.  The prices are so affordable and fair and the selection is just amazing!





I received this gorgeous White Floral Maternity Tank and the beautiful thing about it is that whether you just had a baby or you still are working on your post baby body, it will look great on you, and I am proof of how it won't even look like a maternity top!!  In fact, I decided to wear it as a dress in this outfit!

I love how it fits and the gorgeous printed design on it is so elegant and classy.  I also love how soft this is and it stretches so well that you never feel it squeeze you!   Throw on a pair of strappy sandals and you are good to go!

One winner will get a $25 gift certificate!
WatchOutForTheWoestmans

CarDecor Safari Floor Mats Review

This site has affiliate links and sponsored content. Read my Disclosure Policy.

Ladies, it's okay if you aren't a car expert like some guys out there are.  I know that my boyfriend is always doing things to modify his car.  As for me, well I'm satisfied with just styling it up a bit, even just on the interior,  which is why I love CarDecor.com!  They have an awesome selection of car decorations for girls at a great price!! 

They have all kinds of items from floormats, to stickers and magnets, and even seat belt and headrest accessories!


As you can see, I received Textured Zebra Gray Floor Mats from CarDecor.com.   There are 2 front and 2 rear mats.  THey are made from a durable gray carpet and have non-skid backing.  They are compatible with most all vehicles.  I love the perfect size - 17x26 front and 17x13 back and I love how stylish yet subtle these look.  I was worried they might look tacky but the gray is perfect with my gray interior!   My old floor mats were so dirty and grungy even after I cleaned them so this was a nice change after 6 years!

I take pride in my car, especially since I worked so hard to get it and pay it off so I like celebrating it by decorating it up a bit and showing it off. I already received many compliments about these mats and I must say, I love getting in my car and seeing them everyday! SO ladies, if you are bored with your car, spice it up with some decorations and other accessories from CarDecor.com!

If you follow my blog on Google Friend Connect ((VERY IMPORTANT))

Sunday, June 23, 2013

If you follow me on GFC you have to make sure you click here and then hit FOLLOW.    Bloglovin is going to be what everyone uses instead of GFC since it's going away SO PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW ME ! :) Thanks


Also - If you want to move all the blogs you follow on GFC and google reader, over to blog lovin, just create an account with your email address OR with your facebook account... Go to settings, scroll down  and then click on the IMPORT BLOGS button and all of us will magically be imported to Bloglovin and you can enjoy us in your feed.   

XOXO


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Cat Crib Review

Life is not always calm and peaceful with dogs AND cats in the same house together, which is why it's important to remember to make life for both types of pets as easy as possible.  And when dogs get frisky, they tend to chase cats, so it's always a good idea to have an escape for your kitty!  This is why the Cat Crib is a must have!   Plus, it will keep fur off of your HUMAN furniture! The Cat Crib is a little hammock than can be attached underneath virtually any chair and allows a little elevated escape for your cat to relax or sleep!

I received a Cat Crib and it was super easy to put up.  I actually put it in the dining room under the cat's favorite chair!  It's nice to no longer have cat fur on furniture which can be very embarassing when guests are over and you have to rush to their seat and clean the fur off before they even notice it!  

You know what else goes unnoticed?  THE CATS!!! Because when my dogs are rushing around the house chasing each other they don't even bother to look up.... and since the cats no longer have to relax on the floor in the plain open view of the dogs, it makes for a more peaceful home!

My New Handbag - The Guess Roselle Satchel

Friday, June 21, 2013

So I caved and got a new handbag.  I got a good deal on it from the Guess website though and I am selling one of my older bags I have in order to make up for buying a new one.  So here she is... the Guess Roselle Satchel!  I love the floral.  Even inside there are flowers in the lining!!


I especially love the handles they are very sturdy and the whole bag is so so soft as it's made of faux croc skin.  It is the perfect height and my purse organizer even fits inside.  This bag is so gorgeou!!!  

UNEEDIT.com Alera Neratoli Chair Review & *Giveaway* Ends 6/28

UNEEDIT.com is the place to go for office furniture, industrial equipment, janitorial supplies, office supplies and more, all at extremely discounted prices!  

 I had my old faux leather chair for so many years at my work desk at home and while I thought I really was comfortable in it, I noticed that over the past 2 years my back hurt more, I couldn't get comfortable, and I found myself laying on my bed to type on my computer instead of sitting at my desk.  But now that has all changed all because of the amazing new chair I get to enjoy for many years to come!

I received the Alera Neratoli Mid-Back Swivel / Tilt Chair.  It has the softest black leather and I love the shiny chrome frame! It has such a great cushioned feel and a slim profile which is exactly what I like and what my last office chair lacked.  It has a waterfall seat to reduce pressure on the back of the knees so you'll have better circulation.  And the padded arm caps are great and really make this luxurious. It was actually really easy to put together as well! 


It regularly retails at $449 but UNEEDIT is now offering it for $150!  That's quite a deal considering how luxurious this chair is!


And one lucky winner will get the Alera Neratoli Mid-Back Swivel/Tilt Chair for themselves!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Canvas Prints *Giveaway*

Thursday, June 20, 2013

photo prints
Have you heard of Easy Canvas Prints, where you can get your favorite photo printed on canvas so it can easily be hung and displayed in your home?   What a great idea and a fantastic website!


It's great for getting a canvas print of your  friends, family, loved one, or even just showing off a beautiful photograph you took by displaying it on your wall.  It's also a great gift idea for newlyweds, new homeowners, new parents, and even at the holidays.  

I would totally use this to decorate my home with photos of the things that mean the most to me so I can see them on a daily basis and remind myself.  And we all know that with me, the photo prints would be of my dogs!   So if you are a pet owner like I am and you are as obsessed with your dogs as me, then you probably

I learned a lot from Easy Canvas Prints and how great it can be even for a business, for instance... Easy Canvas Prints highly recommends:
banner maker

You can make a banner to show off your business or to get creative for a welcome home party, or a congratulations on a new family member!

Now you can win a 16 x 20 print from Easy Canvas Prints in their giveaway!

 Enter the giveaway here: 
a Rafflecopter giveaway