Freelance Friday - Favorite sites and farewell

Well, here it is, the last post of this blog! It has been a fun journey and it's been wonderful to be able to share with you all the cool stuff we've discovered. We'd like to send you off with some of our favorite sites that can hopefully help you in your quest for frugality, fun, and such.

Baby Cheapskate - for all frugal baby-related purchases, from diapers, to wipes, to toy and clothes deals

The Frugal Girls - a fun money-saving website

I Heart Organizing - probably one of my all-time favorite blogs, what I dream about organizing! She also has fun, free printables to help you get organized

SayMmm - a free website to help you with meal planning. This is not a blog but a site to help you organize your meals and recipes. It takes a little work at the beginning to enter your recipes (or links to recipes) but it will help tremendously in the long run. Make a weekly meal plan by choosing the recipes you want for the week and you can print out a detailed grocery list! So cool!

Kristie already mentioned some other of my favorites, so I won't repeat them.

Again, thanks to all of you for a fun blogging journey!

Freelance Friday - Favorite Sites

Here are a few of my favorite money saving, recipe, crafting websites to read on a daily basis:

Freebies 4 Mom - If you love free samples and great freebie tips and coupons, check her out!

Stretching a Buck - This is a great money saving blog!

Weelicious - Wonderful, healthy, easy recipes for the whole family.

Confessions of a Homeschooler - This site has tons of free downloads/worksheets and great ideas for teaching kids at home or just keeping them entertained when you hear . . . I'm bored. :) It's not just for homeschoolers!

Money Saving Mom - The original pioneer in the money saving blog arena.  She has great tips on saving money, using coupons, freezer cooking, meal planning and so so much more.

No Time for Flash Cards - Fun crafts and projects for kiddos.

Totally Target - Yes, you know I am a loyal Target shopper so Totally Target is my favorite Target deals website!

Freelance Friday - Smoothie Help

So maybe this is old news for some of you - but I just "discovered" this and it has revolutionized my smoothie-making: make yogurt ice cubes!

I make my own yogurt and every once in a while a batch ends up runnier than I like it. I used to just deal with it and eat (or should I say drink) it, but always found it hard to feed to my daughter on a spoon. Last time though, since we were leaving on vacation and had a bunch left over, I decided to pour it into an ice cube tray, then transfer the frozen cubes to a freezer bag.

Can you say "score"? I actually like the way my smoothies turn out better now! I don't need to add ice cubes and I find that the smoothies are creamier. I think I'm going to start looking for yogurt on clearance (usually with a close expiration date) so I can pay very little and make a bunch of yogurt cubes!

What are some of your favorite smoothie recipes?

Freelance Friday - Pursuing your children's friends

I enjoyed this article from RooMag.com about Pursing Your Children's Friends.  Great, simple and important ideas.

Freelance Friday - Date ideas

I love this idea of a "date jar" - especially since it has ideas for different budget times. For us, some months are better than others as far as "extra money" goes, so these ideas are great! Plus, for an indecisive person like me, it would be super helpful!

There are 3 categories: 1. dates that take a little more money and planning, 2. cheap dates that don't take much planning and 3. "stay at home" dates that take no money. Go check it out on Life in the Green House blog!

Source: lifeinthegreenhouse.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Freelance Friday - Bubble Snakes

This is a fun idea to try!  Bubble snakes!!  It's on our summer to do list.

DIY Giant Bubble Snakes from Confessions of a Homeschooler

or

Colored Bubble Snakes from Housing a Forest

Freelance Friday - 30 Questions

I found this list while browsing on Pinterest . . . and thought that it might be a good idea for long rides in the car with my husband (like we will be taking this week). Or these could be fun questions to get conversation (and laughter) going on a date night - you might be surprised at the new things you find out about your date / spouse!

Freelance Friday - GroopDealz

There are so many deal sites out there today similar to Groupon, which I highly suggest becoming a member.  One smaller sight that I recommend is GroopDealz!  They have fun, quirky, inexpensive smaller items.  Lots of trendy necklaces, adorable neckties for boys, fun leggings for girls and I can't remember seeing anything over $15 shipped. 

Here is one necklace that I purchased for $4.99 shipped:

Freelance Friday - Easy Cleaning Schedule

Here's a nice and "easy" cleaning schedule that I think would work well for me. I have a similar one posted on my fridge, but I might have to give this one a try to see which of the two I like best. Make sure to go check out the entire post!

Source: tipsandpix.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Freelance Friday - A Father's Day Free Printable

With Father's Day quickly approaching Sunday, this A Book of Dad FREE download from the girls at eighteen25 is a fun idea!

Freelance Friday - Natural Home Decor

The Frugal Girls have a great post on DIY Natural Home Decor - go check it out!

Freeelance Friday - Reading

I love these two posts about reading to your child:

Tips for Spicing up story time for your child from The School Sparks Blog and

4 Tips to Get Great Deals on Quality Children's Books by Charity from the Homeschool Experiment.

Freelance Friday - Take time to slow down

My friend Johanna has a wonderful blog where she writes almost daily about things that are so helpful to me. I'd encourage you to stop by and read some of her entries.

I thought this post about "Living slowly is beautiful" was a particularly good reminder to slow down in the midst of our crazy-busy lives! Take a minute to read it and enjoy!

Freelance Friday - 54 uses for binder clips!

This is a great post . . . 54 uses for binder clips!  Who knew . . . I hope you find a few that work for you.

Freelance Friday - Toddlers and Sharing

I'm not familiar with the website itself, so I can't vouch for it, but I thought this particular article on Toddler Sharing was quite insightful. Even if you don't have a toddler, it's a good article to read!

Freelance Friday - Birthday Balloon Wreath

I love changing out my wreaths on the front door on a seasonal or monthly basis.  One night on Pinterest I came across this website with 90 beautiful wreath ideas.  Scroll down to number 10 and see one of my favorites, the balloon Mickey Mouse wreath.  This is my version that I made for less than $10.  It will grace our front door around the birthdays of those in our house!

Balloons - 2 pkg of 72 for $4 each
Floral Pins - 2 pkg for $2
Small Wreath - .50 at thrift store (haystyle type wreath)

The kids LOVED helping me with this project.  Click on the this link for the direct tutorial!

Freelace Friday - Genius Meal Planning

Wow! I admire the work of this ingenious mom and sure wish I could put this together! Maybe someday I will. Do you have a way to meal plan that works well for you? I'd love to hear it!

Freelance Friday - A Kitchen Tip

This is a great tip from Our Best Bites for a no mess piping bag!

Freelance Friday - Spring and Summer Party Ideas

I don't know about you, but I love Pinterest. I love it because it helps me organize ideas and tips. Now when I find a good idea, I "pin" it to the appropriate board (kind of like a virtual cork board) and know exactly where to go to find it again . . . unlike my piles of papers that are somewhat organized (or not).

One of my boards I pin to is "Cake and party ideas." I thought I'd share some of the fun ideas I've found for Spring and Summer themed parties. Clicking on the picture will take you to my Pinterest board. For those of you not on Pinterest, if you click on the link below the picture it will take you directly to the websites. Enjoy!

Source: tasteofhome.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: tasteofhome.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: kraftrecipes.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: chickabug.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: bakerella.com via Anouk on Pinterest

The ones below are just pictures for ideas - there are no website links

Source: Uploaded by user via Anouk on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Anouk on Pinterest

Freelance Friday - Super Mom or Abiding Mom

Confessions of a Homeschooler has a great free printable that is a wonderful reminder of the type of mom we should strive to be . . . Super Mom versus an Abiding Mom. Click the link to download and print a copy.