bridal shower outfit

I had Lane snap this picture quickly on Saturday as I was running extremely late to my cousin's bridal shower (please ignore the tupperware of play food in the background, the disheveled, wet hair, etc). 

As I stood and "posed" for the picture, I asked myself "Why do I do these outfit posts?" and I realized you may be wondering the same thing.

boat neck shirt- Old Navy (from a decade ago)

jean jacket- American Eagle (from highschool?)

skirt- thrifted

awesome bag- France (gift from Katie!)

necklace- Uganda (gift from another friend)

(also wearing black tights and flats)

After some soul searching (not really, just thinking), I came up with several reasons we do this. I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat, so here they are:

1. I am a stay-at-home mom- It's true, some days I don't leave the house... or really get dressed. I'll be honest, although I wish I put outfits like the one above together for library story time or a park play date, I do not. I am more likely to be wearing jeans and flannel, or running pants. So, when I do put a little more thought into my outfit, I would like to document it.

2. I, like my children, don't have a huge wardrobe- I probably have more clothes than I need, but most of my clothes have been given to me, are second hand, really old, super cheap, or all four. I actually find it fun, and a bit of a challenge, to put an outfit together using what I have rather than going out and buying something new. Having a personal style doesn't mean you have to spend a bunch of money on clothing.

3. This is a girly outlet- I am at the stage in life where I don't have enough to time or energy to paint my toenails or even blow-dry my hair (as evidenced above), so it is nice to talk about clothes and feel a little bit like a girl.

As I was driving to the shower, it hit me- is it taboo to wear black to a bridal shower? The wedding is next month and I was going to wear a black dress with pops of color- is that kosher? I so don't know these things, please clue me in if you are style-savvy!

Thanks!

Ashley

ten tips for building your child's wardrobe on a budget

I consider my children to be well-dressed. As in, they are appropriately dressed for the season and the occasion. I think they always look pretty darn cute, even though they don't have the hippest clothes out there. The most amazing part of this is that I hardly ever buy them clothes, and when I do I don't spend much at all. Here are a few tips I've learned over the last 3.5 years that have helped me to keep the clothing budget low:

1. Keep this in mind: it's okay to not have the trendiest kid on the playground.Your kid may be the cutest, but if you're on a strict budget, your children will not be donning the adorable vintage dresses or Baby Gap onesies that the other children do. And that's okay. A child can have just as much fun in second hand Osh Kosh as they can in Baby Boden.

2. Say "yes" to hand-me-downs. Always. No matter what. Say "yes". Whatever you don't use you can always give back or hand down to someone else.

3. Ask to borrow specific items you need. Luckily for me, I have a lot of friends with kids who are open to sharing and swapping clothes back and forth. When I need to fill in particular gaps in my kid's wardrobe, I usually ask my friends who have older kids if I can borrow the item I need. For example, I needed dress shoes to go with Elle's Christmas dress (a hand-me-down). I asked a good friend who has three older girls. She not only had the perfect little pair of shoes in Elle's size, but also offered tights to match. Money spent on Elle's Christmas outfit = zero dollars.

4. Shop garage sales over consignment stores. From my experience, consignment prices are always too high. However, people having garage sales are usually in a purging mood and will generally just want to get rid of all their kids' old clothes.

5. Splurge on important pieces. By "important" I don't mean those size 2T True Religion jeans you want for your toddler. "Important" means the practical stuff. Buy good cold weather gear, for example. I was able to splurge on a nice new pair of Bog boots for Eleanor so she can go puddle jumping with James. I justified spending forty dollars on a pair of kids shoes because we hardly ever have to buy clothes for Eleanor; when I have, they have been second-hand and extremely inexpensive.
Tip #1 is important to keep in mind here, because practical and trendy do not always go hand-in-hand. Sadly, Bog boots do not come in hipster chevron or bohemian tapestry, so Elle is stuck with neon pink. But, her feet are warm and dry on our outdoor adventures.

6. Remember: kids do not need as many clothes as you may think. After all, they will grow out of their current outfit in about five minutes. Even when my children have a chock full closet, they always end up wearing the same few outfits over and over. You really only need a few basic, comfortable pieces for them.

For when you absolutely must go out and shop for clothes for your kids:

7. Make a list. Like you do with groceries. Write down exactly what your kids need in which sizes and how many. Do not stray from your list.

8. Go straight to the clearance section. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.... because you will spend it. Shop the clearance. We have had great luck with Old Navy clearance. James has about a half dozen long-sleeved shirts we bought for as little as $2.50 a piece.

9. Don't be fooled by coupons. Often times they exclude clearance, or even sale prices. Coupons also usually have a minimum, so you will end up buying more than you need.

10. Shop online. If you shop from home, it may be easier to stick to your list than if you go into the store and get distracted by all the cute clothes on half-sized manikins. Additionally, there is generally better availability of items online versus at the store.

Are these tips helpful? Are they things you already do? What tips do you have for buying kids clothes?

I would love more advice as my kiddos get older and need more and more clothing!

Thanks,
Ashley

eight ways to save money in 2014

Anyone who has known me for long will probably be surprised by this post. Although my family is fairly frugal, I have never been the wisest person when it comes to money. But the silly (stupid?) combination of moving to one of the most expensive North American cities, grad school, and having a baby have forced me to embrace a healthier financial lifestyle. Plus, my husband's apparently insatiable appetite for education means we are probably looking at another 4-7 years of the grad school lifestyle. Here are some concepts that have helped us a ton:

1. Track your spending (duh ). How can you know how much you can spend if you don't know how much you have? We use mint.com to track our spending and set budgets. It's pretty much the best and simplest thing I have found. We are terrible at tracking ourselves and this is almost a no-brainier technique.

2. Embrace homemade. Thanks to Pinterest and the resurgence of DIY lately, this is pretty simple and in fashion. If you can cook, a homemade meal is almost always going to save you money. Bake your birthday cakes. Sew your curtains. Make your own peanut butter, almond milk, salad dressing, bed frame, liquid soap... Whatever you find inspiration in! Homemade and hand-made things are often higher quality and more memorable than store-bought.

3. Keep your home company-ready (whatever that means for you). That way you can have a friend over for tea instead of going out, or entertain visiting family instead of spending money at a nice restaurant. 

4. Live in the smallest space you can realistically function in. Smaller= less rent or morgage to pay. Smaller= less space to fill up with stuff. I'm frequently saved from making an extraneous purchase when I realize it will just add to the clutter in my home.

5. Decide what's worth a pretty penny to you, and spend your dough there. For me, it's travel. For Nate, it's tech. We would rather wear second hand clothes and have these things as part of our lifestyle.

6. Buy in bulk, but only if you won't consume it faster. When we first moved to Vancouver, land of expensive meat and dairy, we started making trips to Costco in Washington state to 'save money'. We soon found that having that much food on hand just meant we ate it more often than we normally would. Now we shop sales here, and eat less meat and dairy (except for this month). Our exception? Household items. I would bet you're not going to clean house more often because you have plenty of cleaning supplies stashed away. And if you do, I say more power to you.

7. Sometimes you have to spend to save. If you realize after tracking your spending that you give a third of your income to Starbucks, it's time to buy an espresso machine and become your own barista. Another place this is quite true is items around the house- if you could possibly foresee having a need for an item for the rest of your life, spend a bit more now for something high quality that you love. Ikea dishes just break and then you have to spend more later.

8. Know thyself. If you're apt to overspend occasion when you see that thing you must have, or your favorite band comes to town, or you just want a fancy meal out on occasion, then factor that in. Frugal isn't always fun, so leaving room for occasional irresponsibility is actually really responsible.

What would you add to this list?

Xo Katie