• Beautiful Pool area at the Grand Solmar
    Mexico,  Money Saving Tips,  Travel

    Surviving Timeshare Presentations in Los Cabos

    When you travel to Mexico, you will be given many opportunities to attend a timeshare presentation. You don’t even have to look for these offers, they will come find you. Timeshare sales are a big business in Mexican resort towns. We have sat through a few timeshare presentations in Mexico and we want to use our experience to help you. The following article features our experiences surviving timeshare presentations specifically in Los Cabos. The advice shared in this article is meant to be light-hearted, yet informative enough to help you determine if you want to avoid timeshares or use them to your advantage. To be honest, I don’t enjoy these…

  • Birthday,  Celebrations,  Money Saving Tips,  Recipes,  Snacks

    How to Throw a Great Dog Birthday Party with Items From the Dollar Tree

    This year my son turned 12 and requested a dog themed birthday party…how fun is that! As usual everything seemed to come together for a fun party that was enjoyed by all our guests. One of the main ideas was to serve food in doggie bowls that actually looked like food a dog would eat. This created so many funny moments as the boys devoured their treats. Here is a “ruff” idea of what we served our guests when they arrived at the Dog Party: Dog Water Bowls (made with blue Jello) Dog Chow (recipe here) Mini Hot Dogs Dog Pound Lollipops (Oriental Trading Co) Puppy Chews (Pepperoni Sticks) Dog…

  • America the Beautiful, National Parks Pass
    Favorite Things,  Great American Road Trip,  Money Saving Tips,  National Parks,  Travel

    America the Beautiful National Parks Pass

    Did you know that the United States is home to 59 National Parks and 117 National Monuments? There is so much natural beauty in the US just waiting to be explored. Three years ago we set out on our first family roadtrip to one of the top national parks in the country, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. While there we purchased the standard 7-day pass for the park, but quickly upgraded to the America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass when we realized what a great deal it was. National Park entrance fees will run you about $30 per car for a 7-day pass for one park. This is an amazing…

  • Junk refunk vintage maket truck
    Home Decor,  Money Saving Tips,  Summer

    Junk Refunk: Vintage Market

    Junk Refunk: Vintage Market Today there were three amazing vintage junk sales on my calendar that I wanted to explore. Two of them were within 45 minutes of each other, so those are the two we decided on. Our first stop was the Outdoor Vintage Market at Wade Creek House Antiques in Estacada. This was set up like a farmers market combined with other vendors selling antiques and handmade repurposed items. I didn’t end up finding any treasures at this sale, but my friend Anne walked away with a cool rustic mirror framed in barn wood for her bathroom.  These pillows are all the rage over on Instagram and I…

  • Thrifty Thursday floral arrangement
    Blog,  Home Decor,  Money Saving Tips,  Spring

    Thrifty Thursday

    This is the first of what I hope will be a regular feature on the blog. Each week I would like to showcase either a new thrifty treasure, or an idea that will save you money. Whenever I thumb through magazines or catalogs I make little mental notes of design trends, table-scapes, wall arrangements etc and then I try to replicate those designer looks at a much lower price. Kinda makes me feel like I’m getting away with something! If you are a brand-name kind of girl with unlimited funds this may not be for you, but personally I love challenging myself to find just the perfect piece at a great savings. Some…