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Birthday Cake Part II

Making chocolate wafer cookie for my son’s ice cream cake was a bit different from the kinds of cookies I normally make. Wafer cookies need to be cooked long enough to be crispy and in my mind over baked. I am a huge stickler about over baking cookies because I like my cookies soft and gooey (they taste so much better). However, I had to go against my years of baking experience and “over bake” the chocolate wafer cookies! Once my over baked cookies cooled, my son and I smashed them into small crumbs, mixed the crumbs with melted butter, … Continue reading →

Magazines and Minimalism

I’ve always loved magazines with their glossy photos of the perfect living room or birthday cake or beach vacation splashed across the cover. They are filled with helpful advice from how to save money at the grocery store to how not to marry the wrong guy. My love of magazines started way back when I was a little girl tagging along with my father when he went to the newsstand in Brooklyn to pick up the paper. Sometimes the evening edition wouldn’t be in, and we had to wait for a few minutes until it arrived. I spent those minutes … Continue reading →

Toddlers and Popsicles

With summer on its way, no doubt that you will be faced with the issue of popsicles (or other frozen treats) and toddlers. These two things seem made for each other. You can almost hear the groans of mothers all over, though, when they contemplate the mess and the extra sugar involved when toddlers and popsicles get together. Here are some tips to help parents and kids alike enjoy this little staple of summer. To help contain the mess, you can fashion your own drip tray. Use plastic lids from formula, small oatmeal containers or other packaging. Cut a slit … Continue reading →

Completing Home Improvement Projects with Children

One of the reasons that I think our house isn’t getting improved as fast as we would like it is the fact that we have three young children. Projects are constantly interrupted by the needs of the kids, and it is usually hard to find a long enough block of time for larger, more time consuming projects. But believe it or not, things can get done. Just yesterday, we were able to build a new fence, apply teak oil to some outdoor furniture, clean out a couple of boxes of clutter from the basement, build a log holder from a … Continue reading →

Four Ways to Save Money on Birthday Cake

This week we are in the middle of trying to finalize plans for an upcoming birthday party for our two sons. Two boys with birthdays only a month apart means one party to save the relatives from traveling, but two separate cakes with different themes. All of that cake can add up in expense. Here are four different ways to save money on birthday cake. With these various options, you should be able to find your own great way to shave off some of the cost of the birthday cake. Buy a regular birthday cake but skip the special decorating. … Continue reading →

How to Celebrate Good Times on a Budget

Think you can’t afford to have fun on your birthday, anniversary, or other milestone? Think again. The month of May is chock full of special occasions for my family. From birthdays to Mother’s Day, Memorial Day to graduations, there’s no shortage of celebrations in the coming weeks. Typically, I would be concerned that all of these “big days” would put a big dent in our family’s budget, but as I mentioned in my previous blog, fortunately these special occasions are yielding some major savings. My email inbox is filled with deals from hotels, theme parks, and restaurants offering freebies and … Continue reading →

Affordable Fourth of July Family Getaways

Where will you be when the Fourth of July fireworks light up the night sky? For some families the long Independence Day holiday weekend is the perfect time to hit the road for a much needed summer getaway. And while patriotic travelers don’t mind busting out the red, white, and blue for the Fourth most would like to limit the amount of green they dole out on their vacations. Just in time for the upcoming holiday weekend the following lodgings across our proud nation are offering Fourth of July travel deals to lure you to their turf to celebrate our … Continue reading →