Happy April! The birds are chirping. The sun is staying out later. And it’s snowed, it’s rained, and it’s been 50 and sunny…all in the past week. Welcome to springtime in Chicago! With the arrival of spring (and the other three seasons that also sporadically burst onto the scene), I thought it was finally fitting … [Read more…]
Kids are really expensive. But what if you can get cheap toys? Cheap toys when they’re babies, toddlers, and kids. OK, never mind cheap. What if you learn how to get free toys? Kids are expensive anyway. But that doesn’t mean that learning how to score toys for less isn’t important. It is. In fact, it’s become … [Read more…]
In the name of science this blog, I attempted a thing: I recycled my shoes. More specifically, I tried recycling my shoes at DSW. I’ve learned a lot of lessons decluttering. One of the most important lessons is that sometimes things are just garbage. But sometimes things aren’t. That’s how I felt about these shoes. … [Read more…]
Even though the polar vortex has passed, we’re still deep in the throes of winter here. And for whatever reason (OK, we all know the reason – it’s the never-ending gray and cold), time seems to drag. But we’re already a month into the new year, and one of my biggest priorities for this year … [Read more…]
I contend there’s no better city in the world in the summertime than Chicago. Kanye put it in a song, so it must be true. Though summertime Chi does coincide with construction season (if you’re not familiar, that’s any season that there isn’t still snow on the ground), summer is a pretty magical time here. … [Read more…]
It started with a plunger. A few days into the new year, I noticed our guest toilet was draining a little slowly. Considering the previous owners thought nothing of using the heating vents, the gas fireplace, and the bathroom sinks as garbage disposals, this fact didn’t really surprise me. In fact, like any former Girl … [Read more…]
Earlier this month, I turned in my paperwork for my twelve-week maternity leave. While I plan on doing a post in the near future with all the gory, number-crunching details, the short story is it is entirely unpaid. Our income won’t drop for another five months, but we’re already looking hard at what to do … [Read more…]
With Teacher Appreciation Week and the end of the school year fast approaching, some people might be considering giving gifts to their children’s teachers. In fact, Pinterest is burgeoning with creative teacher gifts, many of which fail to take into consideration the cost and talent it might take to design the crafts. When it comes … [Read more…]