I like cute money

The envelope way of saving/spending has been around for quite sometime.

 Dave Ramsey was the one the who came up with this plan of attack for people to get out of debt and stay out of debt while saving for retirement and to be rich!

The first time I watched his series at my church I was probably 16 or 17. I was making money but wasn't sure what to do with it besides pay for my gas and car insurance. I hadn't thought about really saving, unless you count saving for the new pair of jeans I wanted!!

His teachings about saving was so easy and clear though I could understand perfectly.

So slowly I started trying to save more by putting a center amount of money (Like $20+) in center envelopes (Gas, Car, Clothes, Gifts, Phone... ) when I would get paid.

 I did this for a couple months and then out of the blue when my car broke down for no reason, I panicked and for a split second I thought "How am I going to pay for this?!"

Then it hit me, "Oh YEAH my envelope!" from then on I always tried to keep the "envelope way" up. I haven't always been perfect about it, let's be honest... it's hard to not spend money on stupid things!

But knowing that Cain and I would be on a budget when we got married it made it "easier" on me to keep it up, because I knew it would help us out in the end (And it has!)

Most of our bills are online so I don't find the need to do our bills in envelopes, also with our over all savings I do that online. So I use envelopes now for the things we want/need. And when we reach our goal of money for the thing we want, we start a new envelope for the new thing!

Tip: Don't have to many envelopes at once! You'll never reach your goal if you have to many things to save for.

When the new year came around I thought I would update my envelopes and make them a tad more cute thinking maybe that more money would make it's way there if the envelopes were cute, right?!

We will see about that ;)

This was so cheap too! Actually it was sort of free! I already had the envelopes, paper and glue! But if you didn't it still is super cheap!

I found this cute label template online at Sonya Deheart Designs but you could find different styles through Pinterest or make your own!

All I did was cut them out and glue them onto the envelopes!

Start start saving! It's fun to reward yourself with the things you want. Like Cain's new TV :)

My flower

I asked Cain last Monday if he could run to the store real fast to pick up a few items I had forgotten at the store when I had last went (That's a normal thing!)

Cain has always been so willing to help out with things around the house and never complains about helping me out, I'm so thankful for that. While he was gone I was able to finish some editing and get lunch on the table! 

When he came home I knew something was up, he had a little grin on his sweet face that said "I have a surprise" :) As I started to peek around his back to see what he was holding he quickly moved away. 

I knew it, something was up!

He handed me a card first, it was a sweet card that he had crossed out "Happy Birthday Wife" and added "Best Wife of the Year" and then that's when I saw my flower. It had not bloomed yet but it was still beautiful and I was so thankful for his thoughtfulness. 

Well just this weekend it bloomed and it's even more beautiful and it smells amazing! The sun was shinning the other day so I took that moment to capture it's beauty.

It's no longer sunny out and the snow is about to come full force here in Indiana, but I have this flower still showing me beauty everyday... 

I'm not a perfect wife, I make mistakes and have to apologize often. But to know Cain appreciates me and thinks I was the "Best Wife of the Year" means so much.

 Now when I see this pink flower it will remind me to appreciate the husband I have and to always show him kindness, because that's what he deserves.

The Cave | Patriotic Corner Spotlight

I am just crazy about our new home. I love the creak in the wooden floors and the sun light that comes into the dinning room just around 9:00am....

This morning I walked out of my office to take a short break from work and stood there staring at the little things I have placed around the house. I have not yet decided where everything will go and I am guessing nothing will ever have a place where it "belongs". One picture might travel through out the house many times and that's okay by me :)

I'm going to highlight some of my favorite little spots/rooms around our cave this year. Some places still need finished (Bedroom, kitchen and studio) so stay tuned for that!

 Now hear me out, I am not a great decorator! I'm sure if I had all the money in the world to buy the cute Pinteresty things my house would look like it was out of a magazine, but I don't and it does not!

But something I am good at is making it our home. I know myself very well and I am still learning about Cain but I think I know what he does and does not like! The things that are here, are here for a reason and we like it the way it is.... all the imperfections and all.  So it might not be fancy but we are okay with that!

This corner has had a few different items there so far, but while I was moving things around last week (Due to my dad deciding to move our couch around to see the TV better lol ) I decided to put some of my plants in one place... then I added a little more to it and this is what I got! I love this patriotic corner so much!

(At the bottom of this post I share where I got everything!)

1) This fake tree I got at a garage sale last summer .. I think for $5

2) You can't see the whole thing but it's a snowman, star and flag. Was given to me from a family member!

3) My dad rocks! He gave me this plant and the pot when we moved into our cave. It's a "Mother in Law" plant

4) Cain made this stand/crate out of the scrap left from my studio background, LOVE IT!

5) This "Starts & Stripes" canvas was from Hoppy Lobby. I got it really cheap after The 4th of July. Maybe $3?!

6) I LOVE this stone that was given to Cain as a Christmas gift form his Aunt Rhoda. She bought it at a Flea Market in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Can you say AWESOME? We will keep it inside until one day we are settled down and I have my dream flower garden... then it might find it's way there :)

7) This candle holder was from Goodwill, 50 cent!

8) This picture is one of my favorites, it was taken July 2013 at Fort Sam in Texas. I made it into a canvas on Shutterfully.com

9) Another great plant from my dad! Not sure what kind though (Dad, can you help??)

Well there you go! Another peek into the cave. It's coming along nicely. I love this home and who I share it with :)

New Year

Happy New Year!


New year, same schedule. Cain is already at work this morning and I am up and starting my work day too! This is Cain's three, 12 hour shift weekend. These weekends are hard because I spend the days alone but it does give me time to catch up on things while he is not here to distract me!

We started our new year at a wedding I was photographing! They did a late reception that people were able to stay at and party until the new year came. I was happy to have Cain there with me so I wasn't without a New Years Kiss!

The DJ was nice enough to steal my camera for a minute so I took a quick break and danced with my sweet heart on a slow song.

A lot of the revolutions for this year have already been put into action but there are a couple I still need to buckle down on! It helps me to write things out and that's something I have yet to do! But first I REALLY need to edit some photos. So off I go... hope this weekend is a great one for everyone!