I just had to quickly share that my Save the Date cards arrived in the mail yesterday!

Vistaprint was having a special deal that you can get 100 postcards for free, but you have to pay for shipping. I thought these were well worth the $6.50 charge for shipping. I picked the 21 day shipping option, and they were in my mailbox 3 days later!

I was so impresses with the quality, I ordered advice cards and photo sharing cards. I will post what those look like as soon as I get them.

Also, I absolutely cannot wait for Tuesday to get here... my dress should be delivered!

My love proposed to me on Valentines day and since then I have been thinking about wedding stuff non stop. Here is an update on how things are going.

FYI, the wedding colors are black and white with green as an accent color. We plan to have around 100 guests. It will be in March of next year.

We have found the venue and booked it :)



It will be at a country club. We will have the ceremony on the 2nd story veranda. The picture above will be the backdrop of the ceremony. The reception will be inside the adjoining banquet room. Finding a place on the budget we have set seemed impossible, I looked at tons of venues around town, and this place was in the nicest location and was surprisingly the least expensive!

I have made most of the flower arrangements already. I opted for silk flowers because I would like to keep my bouquet longer than just a few days after the ceremony. (Also, the stores are selling silk flowers that are in season, if I didn't get them now I would be cutting it really close to have them done before the wedding).


(Top Left - my bouquet, top right - bridesmaid bouquet, bottom left - grooms boutonniere, bottom right - table centerpiece)

I had the ring pillow from my parents wedding, but the colors or style didn't match, so I took it apart and re-made it. (I forgot to take a picture of it before I took it apart)

Here is an unfinished picture of the wedding invitations. There are some elements of the invitation that I have not decided how I want yet, so they are not in the picture. I will post a picture once they are done though.

(The invitation closed)

(The inside of the invitation, the inside right flap has a pocket for the RSVP card, that is one of the elements I am not done designing)

Favors. What do I say... these little things can get expensive fast! I searched for an inexpensive but unique idea and came up with coasters. I followed these instructions.

The last thing I have made is a cardbox. This is the box that sits on the gift table and guests who brought cards can put them in there so they do not get misplaced.

I found a dress I love and I should have it next week, but I am not going to post a picture of it just in case my love happens to look at my blog :)

What are some of the things you did or made to keep the wedding under budget?

I have been trying to find a jewelry organizer that would work in the empty space in my closet, that didn't cost a fortune for quite awhile now. After looking at several sites and stores just to come up empty handed, I decided to make something that would work for my needs.

I had a small makeup bag that I stored my necklaces and earrings in, but it just turned into a tangled mess. More often than not, I would also forget what I had in there and it would sit un-touched for months at a time. Here's how I made the above jewelry organizer:

Everything that I needed to make this organizer was purchased at Walmart. I bought a coat hook for $12, a picture frame for $4 and some ribbon for $3. I carefully removed the glass and inserted some plastic canvas in it's place. For the hanger, I measured the length of ribbon I would need, tied the bow, and folded the ribbon over itself in the back a couple of times and drilled a small screw into the frame to fasten it on.

Now I can simply hang all the earrings with a hook on them into the canvas. For the earrings that do not have hooks on them, I took a small plastic bag, (like this one), punched a hole in it and put a earring hook from my craft supplies, like this through it to hang it up.

Problem solved! Now I can see what I have in an attractive, organized way and I still had enough money leftover to get that necklace I've been eyeing :)

If you missed part 1, click here.

Recycling can seem like such a hassle, so how would it fit in on a blog that has set out to help you live a simpler life? I want to share a few things with you that might make it simple enough, you might consider joining me!

6. Go Paperless: Try to stop using paper plates & towels (plastic utensils fit in well with this one too) and use cloth. Good quality cloth napkins, hand towels and dish rags can often be found at thrift stores for much less than buying from a big box store.

7. Put it to the curb: Find out if your area has curbside recycling, also check to see if RecycleBank will pick up in your town. (They reward you with points for your recycled material which you can turn into rewards).

If a curbside pickup is not available, locate the nearest recycling drop off center to you and try to incorporate a bi-weekly trip around your other errands & shopping trips. You could even see if a neighbor would be interested in alternating trips with you.

8. What about the odd stuff: What do you do with batteries, CFL light bulbs, old cell phones, electronics?

• For battery recycling locations, check out http://www.esho.com/
• CFL Bulbs, check out the EPA website
• Cell Phone recycling, check out call2recycle.org (or send them in for Swagbucks)
• For old electronics, check out this page on the EPA website

9. Swap or donate your stuff: Arrange a swap with some family, friends or neighbors and swap some stuff. Give your items a second life and get some "new to you" items in return. Just because you don't use it or love it anymore doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't.

If a swap doesn't seem likely, maybe donate the clothes or VCR you don't want anymore. Let's do our best to keep these items out of the landfills. (Please use your best judgement when donating items, if it's stained, torn, or broken beyond repair, it probably will be thrown out at the donation site).

10. Spread the word: Try to start a recycling plan at your office, put some boxes in various places for paper collection and a separate waste basket in the break room for cans.

At the company I work for, the cans are sold to an aluminum recycling plant and the profits are used to buy a special treat for the office a few times a year.

The best way to spread the word though, is to do it through your actions. Rather than just telling people what they should do, lead by example and maybe they will follow along.

What tips do you have to make recycling easier or more convenient?

Recycling can seem like such a hassle, so how would it fit in on a blog that has set out to help you live a simpler life? I want to share a few things with you that might make it simple enough, you might consider joining me!

1. Start at the store: Try and buy foods and products that have less packaging. The less packaging you bring into your home, the less will end up needing to be recycled or be thrown into the trash. Also, don't forget to bring any reusable bags you may have. (If you do not have any reusable bags, consider paper. If that is not a choice either, there are many places to recycle the plastic bags or you could drop them off at a thrift store, most will gladly accept them).

2. Make it convenient: Instead of keeping the recycling container in the garage, try putting it where the trash can should be. Make recycling easier by keeping the recycle bin close by and have a small bag for trash which could be taken to the garage at the end of the day.

I have also noticed several stores selling multiple compartment trash cans, although sort of pricey, could help with recycling. If you have the money in your budget for it, and the space as well, it could make your efforts quite a bit easier.

3. Opt of out junk mail: I don't know about you, but most of the paper in our house is brought in from the mailbox. Store fliers, credit card offers and magazines come in by the bundle. Not only does this take up a lot of space in my recycle bin, it takes up my time trying to decide what needs to be shreded or tossed or put in my to be read pile.

If you are interested in opting out of junk mail, check out the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse for more information.

4. Stop buying bottled water: Do you purchase a lot of bottled water? Maybe a faucet mounted filtration system could save you a lot of money and help cut down on the waste. If the convenience of taking it with you is key, a reusable bottle may work for you.

5. Make a list: Keep a handy list of things that can and cannot be recycled. If you have to question whether plastic #5 can be recycled, it will probably end up in the trash. You could post this on the inside of a cupboard door or on the side of the container itself, where ever makes it convenient. Recycling Revolution has a decent list of common items that can be recycled, check it out here.

In an effort to keep things short and sweet, tips 6-10 will follow later this week. Even if you cannot make all the changes, every little thing counts. It takes time to develop new habits or routines, and the best thing to remember is to just keep trying.

What tips do you have to make recycling easier or more convenient?

Everyone loves free stuff! Here are a few things from areound the web that you can get completely free!


Christian Audio gives away one free ebook each month. This month you can download Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders by using code SEP2010 at checkout.

Womenshealth.gov is giving away a free 2011 Planning Calendar. They will begin shipping them in December.

Joyce Meyer Ministries is also giving away a 2011 calendar - sign up here!



If you play free games on Pogo, you can get 10,000 free tokens just by solving the puzzle! You can also get another 10,000 tokens for another promotional puzzle here.



Finally, my favorite freebie of all, you can download hundreds of free songs everyday on Amazon.com :)