Because life should be lived as freely as possible!
Photo Credit: Johnny Valiant on realsimple.com
Next time you are out yard sailing, or maybe at a cool antique shop, keep your eyes peeled for some neat looking books. Check out this idea from Real Simple – “real” book shelves in 3 simple steps! I LOVE this idea and can’t wait to spruce up my reading corner with some cool book shelves! Plus, this is a really inexpensive way to get an adorable look for less!
I thought all our wonderful mommas out there would love this awesome pin I found over on Pinterest courtesy of Musings from a Stay at Home Mom-make your own playdough and save! Nothing we love more than that, right? 
Don’t forget to follow How About Free on Pinterest, we are always digging up great stuff!
Photo Credit: Grandmas Home Remedies
Ugh, we live in Florida, land of insects, rodents, and other creepy crawlies that freak me right out. Our dogs have fleas for the first time in their lives, and I have been horrified by the flea repellent. Bond hates it, he runs whenever it’s time to reapply, and I am not crazy about putting harsh chemicals on their skin. Plus, it is super pricey!
I have been doing some research into natural flea control and I found one article that I thought I would pass along. It is for a homemade flea collar using nothing more than a nylon collar and some rosemary oil. I’ve also heard from readers that they use Avon’s Skin So Soft (which I can attest to it being a pest deterrent since my father used to practically bathe in it before heading outside) and Johnson&Johnson’s Baby Oil. What natural remedies have you tried?
In need of a quick dessert to take to a bbq tomorrow? I was thinking of getting a dessert at the store tonight and had a $6 pastry item in hand when I decided to skip it and see what I could whip up at home. I realized I had all the ingredients for peanut butter cookies, so I googled a recipe and found this one. I didn’t follow it exact (there was no time for freezing the dough for 3 hours). I also used crunchy peanut butter and added a couple handful of chocolate chips as a last minute tweak. They are hands down the best cookies I have ever had in my life! You probably have the few basic ingredients you’ll need to have them warm from your oven in no time! Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!
Turn the water heater down on your thermostat to 120 F (or even 110 F will still give you a steamy shower) and it’ll slash $30 or more a year on gas, electricity, propane, or oil! Thirty bucks might not sound like that big of a deal, but it’ll take you less than a minute to do it, and over 10 years of being in your home you’ll have saved $300 or more! You’ll also be protecting your children as 120 F is the recommend temperature to prevent children from being scalded. 
Photo Credit: Johnny Valiant on realsimple.com
Next time you are out yard sailing, or maybe at a cool antique shop, keep your eyes peeled for some neat looking books. Check out this idea from Real Simple – “real” book shelves in 3 simple steps! I LOVE this idea and can’t wait to spruce up my reading corner with some cool book shelves! Plus, this is a really inexpensive way to get an adorable look for less!
Oh! I totally love this idea! We never, ever, ever, ever, EVER have enough clips to go around! Thanks to Crafting in the Rain on Pinterest!
If you have a knack for baking, you might like the 12 piece cupcake decorating kit by Wilton on sale over on Amazon for just $5.21! This set gets 4.3 out of 5 stars including these:
“I am very new to baking and decorating and this was kind of idiot proof. I made super cute cupcakes for my son’s Halloween Party at school.” “I bought this set for general cupcake and dessert decorating. I used it to frost cupcakes I was taking to a picnic, and they looked AMAZING! Several people thought they were from a professional bakery. I’ve never used pastry bags before, but it was so easy, even with a thick peanut butter frosting. I highly recommend this set, especially for the price.” What I like is that you can save lots of money decorating your own “designer” cupcakes or start up a little side job for extra cash. Two friends of mine bake cakes and cupcakes on the side and are doing really well at it! Check out the set on Amazon here.
Turn the water heater down on your thermostat to 120 F (or even 110 F will still give you a steamy shower) and it’ll slash $30 or more a year on gas, electricity, propane, or oil! Thirty bucks might not sound like that big of a deal, but it’ll take you less than a minute to do it, and over 10 years of being in your home you’ll have saved $300 or more! You’ll also be protecting your children as 120 F is the recommend temperature to prevent children from being scalded.
I love berry season, but hate when they go bad so quickly! I have thrown away more containers of blackberries than I care to admit. Check out this super easy way to make your berries last a lot longer:
When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider work best) and 10 parts water. Add the berries to the mixture and swirl it around. Drain and rinse. I absolutely hate vinegar but this mixture is so diluted you can’t even taste it. Still, I rinse it off for my own sanity.
The vinegar kills off any mold spores and other bacteria that might be floating around on the surface of the fruit. Raspberries will last a week or more and strawberries will last closer to two weeks without getting mushy and gross. How cool is that?
