New Year's Resolutions

I know, I know, I've been away forever! But all that's about to change. I decided to share my New Year's resolutions with my readers so that I have people to keep me accountable to my new goals.

First, like so many other people, is to live a healthier lifestyle. That includes exercising regularly, eating better and taking better care of myself in general (taking my vitamins, getting enough sleep, etc.).

Second, another popular resolution, is to be better with money. My husband (that's right, I got married since my last post!) and I have created a budget to follow starting in the new year along with a plan to save money. We are also committing to completing the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University courses in our quest for financial freedom!

Third is to start preparing freezer meals. For any of you who may not know what that is, it's cooking meals ahead of time (generally in one day) and freezing them so that you can just pull them out of the freezer and heat up when you're ready to enjoy them. I enjoy cooking and I want to do it more. Since I generally never feel like cooking after a long day at work, I thought freezer meals would be the best route to go: I cook on the weekend and I still get to enjoy homecooked meals during the week.

Thank you to all of you who've stuck it out with me this year. I will do better for you in 2014! Happy New Year!

Chalkboard Spice Rack

Several months ago, my grandmother gave me a spice rack that she had bought a few years back. It is a wooden, revolving rack with glass jars and green lids. The spice names were printed on clear stickers that were stuck on the lids. It's a really nice spice rack...but I knew it could be better.

My kitchen colors are (going to be) red and white so the green lids clashed with my chosen scheme. Plus, half the spices are ones I rarely use and they were all pretty old. I figured I would give my new spice rack a facelift so here's what I did:

I emptied all the jars, peeled off the stickers, and washed and dried each jar and lid. Then I took some black chalkboard paint and carefully painted the outside of each lid and let them dry for several days. I painted on a second coat and let that dry for a few days.

Once the paint had cured on all the lids, I used a liquid chalk marker to write in all the spice names. (I had initially tried using a regular piece of chalk but it chipped the paint and didn't write as neatly as the marker). While the lids dried, I cut several small pieces of masking tape and wrote down the spice's expiration date. I stuck the tape to the bottom of the jar, filled it with the corresponding spice and then added the labeled lid.

I really like the chalkboard lids because all it takes is a damp paper towel to wipe off the name, should I want to switch out a spice to something else!

Crocheting the Day Away

Let me tell you, if you don't already know, planning a wedding is a ton of work! I am so sorry I have been MIA for a few months. It doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of blogging though!

When I have been taking a break from wedding planning, it's been to work on expanding my Nice and Knotty business. I have come up with some new items and I opened up a store on Etsy in April! You can check it out here: NiceandKnottyOnline. I would love to hear what you think! I am hoping to get some more items listed in my shop soon; it is looking a little bare.

Here's a few photos of some of my newest items:

Baby Loafers

 Slouchy Beanie

 Baby Bikini

If you have any ideas for suggestions for new items to make, color combinations or comments in general, please share them!

Double Duty Decor

I have always known that my wedding would be something that my future husband and I would have to pay for on our own. Even as a young girl, when I daydreamed about my big day, I was being practical and frugal. Now that the time as come for me to actually start planning, I am trying to make my wedding elegant yet thrifty. I have scoured the Internet in search of money-saving wedding ideas and one idea I repeatedly came across was to make the wedding favors double as centerpieces. Genius idea? Yes! Easy to come up with? Not so much; at least not for me anyway.

I am not big on flowers and giving flower centerpieces as favors is just not my style. I was leaning towards the idea of candy or some other treat that looks nice on display and could be taken home for later but my fiancé mentioned that he thinks a wedding favor should be something that people can keep to remember the special day and edibles wouldn't allow for that. Hmm, good point, honey. I searched online for more ideas. I found votive candle holders that could be etched with our names and/or the wedding date. I love candles! But I didn't love the idea of giving someone a candle holder with our names on it. Unless those people happen to be our parents, I didn't see that being a good favor. Then I came across these little beauties! 

These are Chalkboard Frosted Glass Tealight Holders from David's Bridal. The plan is to write wedding day-related things on them and then our guests can take them home to erase and reuse as they like. Plus, I won't object to keeping any extras!