Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Washi Tape Wednesday: Link Up #6

Welcome to my Link Party - Washi Tape Wednesday! 

Washi tape is one of my new found loves. It's a craft supply that is super affordable and there are so many uses for it. From decorating, to labels, to color coding your planner - the possibilities are endless. 

This is a place where you can link up your best washi tape post of the week. 


Link up rules

-Follow Crafting a Fairytale on GFC & Bloglovin'

-Add my button or do a text link back to my party in your post


Crafting A Fairytale 
 


-Link directly to your post and not your home page. No items for sale, etsy shops, ect.

-Spread the word of Washi Tape Wednesday

-Check out other links and leave a comment! 

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I have been seeing all these cute cards around Instagram lately that I'm obsessed with. I didn't dabble around with a card this time, but something similar. 

I had some random tags laying around that I figured I could spruce up with some washi and then use them for all my upcoming gifts.
 {Yes, I'm thinking of gift giving season already!}




I think the blue and black tag is my favorite. 


This week, I was kinda stumped on what to do. I was looking at my small collection of wash tape thinking I needed to expand my color selection. 
Where do ya'll get yours? Preferably for cheap, because we are on the saving money kick.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Recipe: Fried Egg & Avocado BLT

Fried Egg & Avocado BLT




3 slices of pre-cooked bacon
1 slice of tomato
1 egg
1 half an avocado 
1 slice of cheese 
2 pieces of bread
lettuce
mayo


-Toast your slices of bread

-In a greased skillet fry 1 egg
{I like mine with the yoke broke because it makes the sandwich less messy} 

- heat up your pre cooked bacon in the microwave as the package directs

-slice up your avocado and tomato 

-complete the sandwich by adding mayo, bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, cheese, and avocado 




This is such a quick and simple dinner that is so delicious. 
I also love any recipe where I can get all the food groups in one dish! 




Monday, July 29, 2013

Pinned it, did it - - OOTD

I love Pinterest for all things fashion related. 
Usually, it's me dreaming of having all the pieces already in my closet, but sometimes I already do. 

Inspiration:



My version:


Shirt // Forever 21
Skirt // Gordmans
Necklace // Groupdealz



I got a lot of compliments today. 
Thanks Pinterest! 


Linking up with The Pleated Poppy and Style Elixir.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Weekly Inspiration [7]: To Love & To Cherish

What is love?


Love is patience. 
Love is kindness 
{try and be as polite to your spouse as you are to other people}
Love is selfless & sacrificial.
{it does not brag and is not arrogant}
Love is having good manners.
{let them know they are appreciated}
Love is being a servant with our hearts and our hands. 
{it says I love you with your actions}
Love is having a short memory.
{not easily angered, and remembering that forgiveness is a decision}
Love is being truthful, always. 
{it's easy to do what's not right. true love strives to do what's right according to God, even when it's hard. }
Love is ALL IN. 
{there is no plan B}


What is not love?
Love is not words alone.
{our actions must match our words}
Love is not knowledge. 
{love is practiced}
Love is not actions alone. 
Love is not jealous.
{trust and communication is needed to be successful in love}


Do you love your spouse? 
Does your actions match your words?
Are you being truthful and doing the right thing even if it's hard?
Are you as polite, kind, and good mannered towards your spouse?
Are you all in? 


When you spend every day and every night with your spouse, why would you not try and have the best relationship possible? My hope is that you read this scripture and realize you only live one life, you only have one time to get it right, so we need to make the most of it. 
Be happy and love hard. 


Check out last week's post on God's design for marriage.

Friday, July 26, 2013

5 on Friday: Football

THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

Linking up for 5 on Friday! 


1. 2 weeks till Christian starts football season = 2-a-days
I love watching him coach.
 It is such a turn on! ;)



2. I can't wait to spend the weekend in Kansas City, Sept 15. Let's hope the boys smash the chiefs. 

Dallas Cowboys Logo




3. Speaking of the Dallas cowboys, Dez Bryant is such eye candy. 
Who agrees? 





4. I hope my babes are this stylish!


Bows, ruffles, leggings. <3



5. Please come link up with myself and Erin & Erin next week for all things football. 

Love, Fun & Fotball

It's a time to discuss all things football. 
Anything is game:
 favorite team/player, favorite outfit, favorite tailgating recipe, favorite tailgating game, show us your homemade touchdown dance, anything!! 



Can you tell I'm a little excited for football season?
There's nothing better then some boys of fall. 

Life Lately: According to Instagram

If you aren't already following me on instagram, you should totes go and do that, I'm tiffross5!


What's going on lately you ask?




I got a new macbookpro this past weekend and I'm having so much fun decking it out! I love the great deals you can get on Amazon. $1.99 for the chevron keyboard and $10.99 for the blue case, keyboard, and screen protector = awesome!!



My hubby does a fabulous job at picking out jewels for me. 
I'm obsessed.



We had lunch with one of my best friends this past weekend and her little girl Aynslee. She makes my heart happy. 




CT and I are currently working our way through all the Harry Potter dvds. We have gotten through 2/8 so far. 
Then if I get around to it, I'll start to re-read the books. Wishful thinking!



Last weekend we went to a Vows Marriage Conference hosted by our couples pastor at our church. It was extremely interesting, and it feels good to invest in your marriage and to be proactive.
Read about some of it here and check back in the next few Sunday's to learn more about what we learned! 



I have a picture of this quote on the home screen of my phone. 
A daily reminder that we all live a beautiful life. 



Nice little day date we had.
 Picnic, feeding the ducks, and some golf range!
 Cheap and fun, you can't beat that!


Linking up with Life Rearranged. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Washi Tape Wednesday - Link Up #5

Welcome to my Link Party - Washi Tape Wednesday! 

Washi tape is one of my new found loves. It's a craft supply that is super affordable and there are so many uses for it. From decorating, to labels, to color coding your planner - the possibilities are endless. 

This is a place where you can link up your best washi tape post of the week. 


Link up rules

-Follow Crafting a Fairytale on GFC & Bloglovin'

-Add my button or do a text link back to my party in your post


Crafting A Fairytale 
 


-Link directly to your post and not your home page. No items for sale, etsy shops, ect.

-Spread the word of Washi Tape Wednesday

-Check out other links and leave a comment! 

----------------------------------------------------------

This weekend CT and I upgraded our old PC to a new macbook pro! I am in love with it. The battery has lasted 3 full days, it's super quick, and I love the fact that I don't have to get worried about it getting viruses. 

So I went on amazing as soon as I got home for a cheap cover to protect this bad boy. 



Who doesn't love the color robins egg blue?
I also then found this super fun keyboard cover. 



Pink + Chevron = totally my style. 


I figured if my computer was going to be super cute that I needed to make the charger super cute too. 



Why not add a little washi tape to spice things up. 
Now that I see all the colors together in this post, I'm not sure I like the blue.
I'll have to see how it looks when everything comes and I get the cover and keyboard put on. It may be too blue so I might have to redo it. 
Good thing it's super easy to remove. 
That's a plus and negative to washi tape. 

What color do you think would look good? 
I'm thinking probably pink.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

I got a secret, can you keep it?

So. . . "I got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it, in your pocket. Taking this one to the grave. If I show you then I know you wont tell what I said. Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead." 



I am obsessed with Pretty Little Liars and more importantly their style. 
I having the darndest time trying to figure out who "A" is though. Each week we get no where closer to finding out who it is. If I had to guess I would think it would be Spencer's mom. 
It's just a hunch, but seriously who is it already?


Anyways, to the fun part. 
Each one of the girls has their own unique style completely different from the others. 
Spencer's is more classy with a bit of preppy mixed in. 
Hannah's is more chic and girly with a few vintage pieces.
 Emily's is more sporty and comfy casual. 
And Aria's . . .  I l-o-v-e Arias! 
Girly mixed with a little punk, and lots of black!
 I totes want her wardrobe as my closet. 









She pulls it off so well plus she's gorgeous so that helps. 


Who's style do you like the most? 


Monday, July 22, 2013

My Version: Cash Envelope System

If you have been around the blog awhile, you would have read a nice little post titled: FML . . . Student Loans.
 Basically it just recaps how much I loathe our student loans and what new systems we are trying to set in place to help reduce them. 


What we decided on was to do a modified version of Dave Ramsey's cash envelope system. 



Our version goes a little something like this:

- There are many budget printables floating around the web - but I easily created my own with just a simple pen and piece of paper. 
I starting by writing down everything I thought we spent money on. 


My list: 
Rent, car loans, student loans, insurance, cable, cell phones, electric, gas, cc bill {the months we have one}, tithe. 
These are the things that get automatically withdrawn from our account, so they don't go in an envelope. 

Christmas money, groceries, gas, entertainment (weekly money as a couple- can be used on dinner, movies, zoo, etc) , beauty (nails, spray tan, hair cut), tickets (we are big sports fans so this will cover our trips and actual tickets) , gifts (baby showers, birthdays) , lunch, prescriptions, dr. bills, car registration/tax, bentley, play (hobby lobby, car wash, toys, etc). 
These are things we have envelopes for and will pay strictly cash for. 



- The purpose is to assign every dollar a category.
 At the moment we have a good amount in savings so we don't have a separate category for that, but Dave Ramsey says you should have $1000 in an emergency fund. 


- Most categories don't 'roll over', so if the money isn't spent at the end of the month it will get divided into two place: savings & which ever loan we want to pay off first. 
Then there are categories that 'roll over' {i.e. - Christmas, tickets, car reg/tax, bentley, play} which will continue adding up all year. If we have left over money in those categories at the end of the year we will do the same thing, divide it up. The point is to budget all year for the roll over categories so there isn't a big chunk of change missing one month. 


- So, since I get paid bi-weekly and Christian get's paid monthly, what works best for us is that since his paycheck gets direct deposited we keep that in there for the automatic bills, and we cash most of my paycheck to put in the envelopes. 

{How funny do you think I looked the first time asking for hundreds of dollars in mostly tens and fives. Needless to say it was a lengthy bank trip that day.}



The first few months will take a little adjusting. What I have found is that we may have to adjust our numbers each month based on our electric, gas, and dr. bills, the things that really vary month to month. Since this is our first month doing this budget thing, I will find a printable that will allow me to keep track of the budgeted amount and the actual spent amount. This way I will be able to look back of the months and see any trends, etc, and where I need to adjust my numbers.

I also discovered that I have a few more categories to add: ct gift, tt gift (christmas, birthday, anniversary, valentines), for the home (new pans, sheets, any bigger purchases), vacation, and car maintenance. 



Do you do a similar budget? What do you do different that might benefit myself and other newbie budgeters? 


PS- Check out here for my crafted version on the cash envelopes. 
That is until I find time to make a fabric one! 




Sunday, July 21, 2013

Weekly Inspiration [6] - God's Design for Marriage

This past weekend, CT and I attended a marriage conference at our church. No we don't have marital problems, there's just no time like the present to be proactive! It was four hours on Friday night and four hours on Saturday morning, and I feel so renewed and reenergized with our marriage.

God's Design for Marriage



Genesis 2 states that God created marriage to fix a problem, not to create one.
Once married - Who we chose is ultimately who God chooses for us.
 Regardless of the situation, you are married to the right person. 
Our goal should be to love the one we are with. 
It's not about finding the 'right' person {because no one is perfect}, but loving the one you are with. 
We need to work on and strive to love like Christ. 


Being a good husband and wife is a choice we make. 
We need to choose to focus on the positive, commit to no plan B {no divorce}, and we need to take action in our marriage. 




Have you invested in your marriage lately? 
You have to work at what you love. 





Friday, July 19, 2013

The Liebster Award

A few days ago I was nominated for the Liebster Award for newbie bloggers that have less then 200 followers. It's a fun way to connect with bloggers who are in the same beginning stages as your are. 

I was nominated by Tennsley at New Mom Diaries.





So what is the Liebster Award?
It is an award given to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.

The rules of the award are:
1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

3. Answer the questions posted by the nominator. 

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself. 

5. Create 11 questions for my nominees.

6. Contact your nominees and let them know they have been nominated. 



 Lets begin . . . 


11 Questions from Tennsley:
  1. What is your fave food?
    My moms meatloaf

    2. Sweet or Savory?
    Savory


    3. Winter or Summer?
    Summer

    4. All time favorite movie?
    Love & Basketball - "double of nothing"

    5. Fave holiday?
    4th of July

    6. What’s your favorite thing about blogging?
    I love being able to share my ideas/crafts with the world wide web, while always getting new ideas from all you other amazing bloggers. 

    7. What do you want to be when you grow up? ;-)
    A stay at home wife and mother. I know I would be FAB at it!

    8. What’s your summertime jam right now?  What song got you bobbing your head?
    Pink - Just Give Me A Reason
    {you should hear me singing this in the shower or car. YIKES!}


    Chocolate chip or Sugar?
    Chocolate Chip

    Pants or dresses?
    Dresses

    The mountains or the beach?
    Most def, the beach!


11 random facts about myself

1. My favorite veggie is turnips.

 2. Oldest of three girls.

 3. I am deathly afraid of tornadoes but I love thunderstorms. 
Check out this post for how I am pro-active and a little crazy in my preparation for them.   

4. I have a boy middle name = Ross. 
I use to hate it but now I love it and think it's the coolest thing ever.

5. I played college volleyball as a defensive specialist.

6. I am the worlds worst speller. 
Thank heavens for the squiggle lines underneath misspelled words.

7. I have two tattoos - one on the inside of my ankle of a tribal wolf {my maiden name} and a heart on the inside of my ring finger <3

8.  I want four children.
Ideally, two boys and two girls. If I could pick, boy girl boy girl.

9. I have a 'special toe' as CT calls it. 
My second toe most of the time curls slightly under. 

10. I am a shoe-a-holic with way too many to count.
 Tennies, sandals, heals, flip flops, flats - I don't discriminate.  

11. I name most all my beloved possessions. 
Michael = my Michael Kohrs bag
Piper = my first car - burgundy Mitsubishi eclipse 
Willow = my current car - white dodge charger



11 questions for my nominees

1. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
2. Favorite quote?
3. Chewy candy or a candy you have to suck on?
4. Favorite part of your home?
5. If you planted a garden, what would you grow?
6. What is your zodiac sign & does it match your personality? 
7. What are your favorite baby names?
 8. If you could only have 3 things on an island with you what would they be?
9. Number one thing on your bucket list?
10. What is your guilty pleasure?
11. Who's your fave - Kim, Kourtney, or Khloe Kardashian?



The Blogs I nominate are . . .        

 
 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

My Dream House: According to Pinterest [4]

Linking up with Michelle for "Oh How Pinteresting"


Feel free to check out my dream house part 1, part 2, and part 3.

 
Before I start, I just want to throw this out there: Pinterest is the deadliest website ever. 
It has my expectations so high for how I want my future home. 

 










  • How magnificent is all the natural light coming in from the windows and doors. I love the color on the walls too.
    Mint is so hot right now!
  • How sweet is this little dog bed. Bentley would love to have his very own hide-a-way. And it's so chic. 
  • This is the perfect breakfast nook. I don't think anything could make this  any better. I love the mismatchness of the chairs and pillows.
    Absolutely perfect.
  • This closet has me drooling. CT and I would be set for life. And a plus, there would be no need for dressers because of the built in drawers. 
  • How fab is this great room? Exposed wood beams, the walk way upstairs, the floor to ceiling stone. WOW!



    Do we have any of the same tastes?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Washi Tape Wednesday - Link Up #4

Welcome to my Link Party- Washi Tape Wednesday! 

Washi tape is one of my new found loves. It's a craft supply that is super affordable and there are so many uses for it. From decorating, to labels, to color coding your planner - the possibilities are endless. 

This is a place where you can link up your best washi tape post of the week. 


Link up rules

-Follow Crafting a Fairytale on GFC & Bloglovin'

-Add my button or do a text link back to my party in your post


Crafting A Fairytale 
 


-Link directly to your post and not your home page. No items for sale, etsy shops, ect.

-Spread the word of Washi Tape Wednesday

-Check out other links and leave a comment! 

----------------------------------------------------------

If you follow me on
 
or


you would know that Christian and I are trying out this whole Dave Ramsey cash envelope budget system. 
{Tune in Monday to hear more about our version}

Until I have time to make some pretty fabric envelopes, I decided to go with the old fashion paper type.


I got these from walmart for $5. 
I liked the color of them, but I wanted to Tiff-a-fy them a little more by adding some glitz with washi tape!






Again, simple and easy and it just looks fun. 
I think my fav is the purple with black tape. 

PS - I found the glitter tape at Walmart for $1 in the scrap book section.
 How awesome of a deal is that?  


Tell your friends about the link up. I would love to get some new ideas!