Life in the Low Country... is there any other way to live?

This past Sunday Jeffrey and I went to an oyster roast. This was my first roast so I had no idea what to expect. They pulled the oysters right out of the bay on Johns Island. The boiled them and dumped them all out on a table. We grabbed utensils and opened the oysters and ate them right there fresh out of the water!!! These were the BEST and BIGGEST oysters I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I must say, life in the low country is amazing!

We had a rocky beginning (aka our first year), but Jeffrey and I are really enjoying and truly LOVING life here in Charleston. We also have some great/exciting/amazing news coming to the Blog in the coming weeks so keep a look out! We are so blessed!!!!!! 

Write the Word

Life isn't easy. It is messy, funny, unpredictable, and at times down right hard. If your life is easy all day everyday, well then don't tell me! Although life is hard, God grants us grace and peace if we ask for it. Over the past year, my faith has grown tremendously and I see clearly (most of the time). Two things have helped me personally in my faith walk.

1. Write the Word: Each day you start the devotional by writing one thing that you are grateful for. I love this because it causes me to concentrate on the many blessings I have in my life. The devotional then gives you a verse to write and a place to journal "What's on your heart". I love this because it not only makes me read and write the verse but then has me dive into self reflection.

2. Power of a Praying Wife: I read the book and I could see a HUGE change in my prayer life. Through my prayers, I could also see a big change in me and the way I saw life and my husband, Jeffrey. Things didn't magically "get better", but I gained trust, faith, and peace which is so much better!

If you're looking to grow your faith or simply a new devotional, I highly recommend these. I leave you with this song which has really spoken to me this week!!! No matter what, HE is a good, good father!

Happy Monday, may God truly bless you today!

Living Well in March

Jeffrey and I did so well on our Live Well Spend Zero month last September, we decided to do another one. For the month of March we are going to focus on "us" as a family and dive into scripture while spending zero "extra" money. Last time we saved over 2,000 extra dollars in addition to our monthly savings!

I would love for you to join us on this journey or encourage us along the way. This is one of the hardest things to do, but it is so rewarding. Give me a shout out if you would like to join and I will send you encouraging words and tips/tricks!

Here is how you start!

#1. Still pay bills (obviously). 

#2. Make sure your monthly budgeted savings goes where it is supposed to go. 

#3. Budget gas. This is the hardest for us because we are ALWAYS traveling and on the go. 

#4. Look in your pantry. What do you already have that you haven't eaten? Make sure to include those on your dinner list.

#5. Budget your groceries. Since I am gluten free and we only eat organic (sorry not budging on this one) our grocery bill is a little higher. We budget $80.00 a week and stick to it. 

#6. Don't go out and "stock up" on "things" the month or week before. That's not the point. The point is to live on what you have and to be grateful for those things. 

#7. Don't go out April 1st and have a shopping spree, that defeats the point. Last time we did this challenge, I gave myself an amount to use the next month. I carefully thought about what I wanted and only used what I allotted myself. It was fun looking and debating what I wanted. It is amazing how many things you can talk yourself out of because you don't really need them. 

#8. NO going out to eat. This was really hard for us because Jeffrey and I are social butterflies. We found that we would still go out with friends, we would just eat before or after. We never deprived ourselves of "friend-time".

#9. Use your gift cards. As a teacher, I get a ton of gift cards. Jeffrey and I save them for these months so that we can use them when we feel like "cheating". We never spend over the amount on the card though. 

#10. Tell everyone you are doing the challenge. We were open and honest with our friends about what we were doing. This helped a lot because our friends would cheer us on! 

Jeffrey and I have big financial goals and achievements ahead. We are doing this challenge for extra encouragement and finances that will help our future goals. Also, we like to do these challenges for future travel???? (I am thinking Hawaii... Jeff says England). Enough about finances and IRA's! Join me and lets save some money! Who cares what it is for. Who cares how much money you make or what debt you have. Everyone can benefit from this challenge!

I am so excited to see the outcome! I will keep you posted every Wednesday in March with our results. Happy Saving my friends!

This Guy!

Jeffrey turned the big 3-1 Saturday! I cannot believe he is into his thirties, gasp! That means I am turning thirty in 10 months, eehhhhh. I asked Jeffrey how he felt and his response was, "the same". Typical man!

Thirty treated Jeffrey very well, I cannot wait to see what thirty-one has in store. To celebrate my amazing, hard-working hunk of a husband, we started our day with coconut pancakes. YUM!

Then we met up with friends and brew hopped Charleston. I mean, look at this view from Charleston Beer Works!!! We literally live in vacation.

After that, we went to Queology on East Bay in Charleston. Y'all, Charleston has the BEST food. This was the best BBQ and the staff was amazing. We got four FREE apple-cider shots for the entire table of eight. Happy Birthday Jeff!

After a very entertaining and delicious dinner, we headed over to Escape in 60, Davy Jones Locker! Again, we broke the record and escaped in 32 minutes! We did have 4 engineers and 3 Georgia Tech graduates so we had a slight *major* advantage!

How do you like to celebrate birthdays? 

Friday Favorites

Currently...

#1: Eating: Gluten Free Chicken Soup
I caught the nasty stomach bug that is going around. I thought I had escaped the sickness, but yesterday around noon the bug got me. Since Jeffrey is in Kansas I had to be "adult sick". Let me tell you, there is nothing worse then being sick and alone. Since a trip to the grocery store was out of the question, I decided to throw carrots, peas, and a ton of chicken stock and broth into my crock pot and nap on the couch. Y'all, it actually tasted really good! The soup was so warm and yummy. The best part? I actually kept it down!!! Now, that's a win in my book!

#2: Using: Essential Oils
My favorite oil this week is peppermint! Once the stomach bug hit me, I took peppermint capsule and rubbed peppermint on my stomach. The oil cooled and soothed my stomach almost instantly.

#3: Making: Smoothies
My smoothie this week has been a chocolate mocha! It is so delicious.

Chocolate Mocha Smoothie

8 oz. coffee

1 scoop of Juice Plus chocolate protein powder

12 oz. coconut milk (non-dairy)

dash of cinnamon 

#4: Watching: Marvel's Jessica Jones
Since I have been home, I have been binge watching Netflix. I stumbled across this show and it is actually pretty good. It is about a girl who is a Private Investigator who has a very dark past. She was abducted by a man who she presumed dead, but she is now realizing he is alive and is back at his old game. Although this is a great show, I will totally be binge watching FULLER HOUSE all weekend! Who else is excited????

#5: Confessing: 
I had a really boring week. Truth: there is pile of laundry a mile high on my floor, my kitchen is a mess, and I was sick for 1/2 the week. On a positive note, my Netflix shows have been on point!!!!

Happy Friday!

What are you currently loving?

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean

I am a clean-freak, neat-freak... heck I am a freak that likes things clean and organized. Since we have all discovered I have an obsession with cleaning, lets talk about cleaning supplies. I love a great all purpose cleaner! There is something about the smell and ability to remove grime that gets me every time.

Most cleaners are FULL of harmful chemicals and can actually harm you or your loved ones. I began using all natural, organic plant based cleaning supplies about two years ago and I am never looking back. These items work better, smell better, last longer, and are not harmful. WIN-WIN! I would love to wash my dishes, clothes, and entire house with these organic supplies, but it does get expensive. I have researched making my own, but lets be honest, ain't nobody got time for dat!!

The other day while I was searching for all natural cleaning products I stumbled across ePantry. This website has any and every all-natural, organic cleaning home-good product you could ever image. You can also schedule for monthly or bi-monthly shipments. Everything is sold cheaper then anywhere I have seen and they ship free.

I ordered Mrs. Meyers cleaners and Seventh Generation dishwasher and washer products. I ordered over ten items and I paid less then $35.00! That is amazing. This neat-freak is one happy girl. 

I am all about skipping the store, paying less and having amazing products sent to my doorstep free! If you love all-natural products I highly recommend this site. Use this link to order now!

What cleaning brands and products do you love?

Bark Box

Let's talk about Bark Box. This is a company that delivers a box of goodies each month to your dog. They normally have two toys, two bags/boxes of treats, and one bone. I was hesitant at first because I was worried the boxes would not be good. I tried Birtchbox and I hated it. I was paying to clutter my drawers.

Well, this Christmas when we realized we were terrible parents and got nothing for Roxie we scrabbled and ordered Bark Box for 6 months.

WE HIT THE JACKPOT! We love it and Roxie is overjoyed every time we open her box. The box is themed so all the treats and toys match whatever the theme is and it's so cute. Roxie absolutely loves the treats and they are full size bags. She has yet to finish her January treats and it's almost March! The themes are precious too!

December- New York City theme
January- Hippie theme
February- Chinese New Year theme

The toys are great too. Roxie usually destroys her toys in 5 seconds and never touches them again. With Bark Box, I find her cherishing her toys. It's so strange. She will walk around the house with them. Get this, she hasn't destroyed a single one and she plays with them all the time. WHAT!?!

Jeffrey and I are going to totally buy a year supply when her 6 month boxes run out.

What toys does your dog love to play with?