One of my favorite parts of creating a home is watching it come together one thoughtful decision at a time. From unboxing to hanging the final panel, this was one of those projects that felt immediately worth it. 🙌 I spent a long time deciding on fabric, color, and style because I wanted something timeless that would grow with our home, not something I’d want to replace in a few years. One detail I thought was especially thoughtful is that @threegirlscurtains washes every panel before shipping, so they arrive clean and ready to hang. Safe to say... I already can’t imagine this room without them. Curtain Style: Lucy Color: Light Khaki Unlined, Memory Trained, pre-washed

I feel like I could do this trend a billion times over, I’ve already got a home building edition one coming your way too. 😂 Any you agree with? worth the money trend, worth it, expensive but worth it

I can’t believe I used to think I was meant for the big city 😂 Growing up, I couldn’t wait to get out small town Wisconsin. I wanted to see more, do more, build something that felt entirely my own. For the longest time, I thought that meant I had to leave, move somewhere entirely new. Funny how life changes you. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that doing things differently was NEVER tied to where I live. I could build the life I wanted anywhere. Do things the way I wanted to, anywhere. Somehow, I ended up building it right where it all began. But I notice the things I used to overlook. The familiar faces. The community events. Back roads, and Friday night fish fry’s. There’s also something really beautiful about the lifestyle living in a rural community gives us. We can live below our means without feeling like we’re missing out. We spend Saturday mornings baking at home, and random Friday nights at free community events, cheering at little parades in neighboring towns. We go to the different parks and grab ice cream from local shops, but we realize that making memories don’t have to cost much at all. I still have big, big dreams. I mean you know me, I like doing things my own way. 😂 But these days, I don’t feel like I have to leave home to become the person I was meant to be. As it seems, home was never holding me back, it’s right where I’ve needed to be all along.

For us, credit card points have become a way to spend, guilt free. Could we redeem them as statement credit?Absolutely. But I know myself well enough to know that if I did, I would never buy the little things (or sometimes big things!!) that wouldn’t break the bank but make me feel guilty for spending on them because I don’t reallllly need them. Instead, we let the points accumulate until there’s something we’d like to have but don’t really want to spend cash on. Sometimes it’s practical, sometimes it’s a small upgrade, and sometimes it’s just something that we’ve been eyeing up but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. It’s a tiny mindset shift, but it makes those purchases feel intentional instead of impulsive. Of course, this only works because we treat our credit cards like debit cards. We use them for purchases we were already going to make, we never carry a balance, and we pay them off in full every month. The rewards are a byproduct of our spending, not the reason for it. I’m always fascinated by how differently people use their rewards. Are you someone who cashes them out right away, saves them for travel, or waits until there’s something specific you want? Credit card strategy, credit card points, credit card spending, intentional spending

The delusion genuinely needs to be studied 😅

I never met a thrift store I didn’t like, but before thrift stores became one of my favorite places to shop, they were honestly one of the easiest places for me to overspend. 🙈 I used to wander the aisles, find things I might use someday, convince myself I’d never see them again, and leave with a cart full of “good deals” that didn’t actually need or have a use for. Learning to walk away from something, even when it’s inexpensive, was a muscle I had to build and it wasn’t easy!!! I thrift very differently these days after basically cutting myself off from the thrift for what felt like years 😅 I laugh now, but at the time it was intentional to solve two problems: spending and clutter. Now, I usually go in looking for something specific, or I keep an open eye for pieces that genuinely fit our home, BUT every visit reminds me of something far bigger. Walking through a thrift store is one of the clearest reminders of just how much we consume. A lot of these items were purchased brand new not that long ago, donated, and now they’re waiting for a second chance. The things that don’t find one often end up in a landfill. That’s why I genuinely think everyone should wander through a thrift store once or twice a year. Not necessarily to buy something, but to be reminded that the things we buy have greater impacts. You might find exactly what you need, for a fraction of the price. Or you might leave with nothing at all… and that’s a win too. For me, thrifting isn’t about buying more. It’s about buying better, buying with intention, and remembering that “new” isn’t always necessary. What’s the best thing you’ve ever found at a thrift store? #thrifting #thriftfinds #thriftstorefinds

A reminder that not every day needs to be full, and it certainly doesn’t need to be expensive!!! I’m a working mom who’s passionate about building a life that feels rich in meaning and not just money. I truly believe life can be full without feeling the pressures of spending money all the time. Around here you’ll find a mix of transparent money talk, intentional spending, DIY projects (we’re making an our house a home!), the start of our little homestead, and honest conversations about building your dream life alongside the life you already have. If there’s one thing I hope I can do, it’s encourage you to go after the things you want in life. I hope you’ll stick around!

I have a confession to make. 🙈 For the last four months, I wasn’t tracking our spending in real time. With moving, finishing projects, paying contractors, and trying to keep up with all of the little things that come with a major life transition - it was lowest on my priority list. Of course, it still matters to me and when I finally went back and tracked everything, it wasn’t what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our everyday spending was actually pretty consistent. Sure, groceries were a little higher than normal, but there were reasons for it. We stocked our freezer, bought our beef for the year, and made a Costco run (which never helps the grocery budget 😅). Outside of that, our gas, restaurants, subscriptions, childcare, and other day-to-day expenses were all pretty in line with what we’d normally expect. Was it still an expensive season? Absolutely. But not every expensive season is a bad one. Sometimes you’re not overspending. You’re simply spending on something you’ve been planning and saving for. Personal finance isn’t always about making every month look the same. It’s about making sure your spending reflects the season you’re in. personal finance | intentional spending | money mindset | budgeting | working mom| financial freedom | financial literacy

Basically the older I get, the more I realize that life is full of things that feel SO conflicting. 😂 Feeling deeply grateful for the life you have, and still wrestling with questions on what’s next. Being confident in decisions, but still wondering “what if?”. Being excited for things to come, while staying present in where you’re at right now. No complaints here, just sharing some things that have been living rent free in my head lately. I hope my little corner of the internet can be a place where we normalize talking about the parts of life that don’t fit so neatly in the highlight reel. Deinfluencing | millennial mom | working mom | reflective thoughts | real life | relatable motherhood