One pretty kitty

Edie really loves our cat. Anyone who knows me or Dave knows that we were not historically cat people. When we moved into our house, Edie would search for cats on our neighborhood walks, so we decided a cat might be a nice, low maintenance addition to our family.

Enter Catsby. (I was reading 'The Great Gatsby' at the time of adoption. And I absolutely love naming stuff).

We all fell in love with Catsby pretty quickly. She's a young curious girl and she loves being outside. She stalks through our lawn as if she's a panther. And yes, she's brought us home a couple birds and a dead mole. Yum!

When we ask Edie what she dreamed about the night before, she says Catsby. When we inquire about what she's drawing, it's Catsby. Apparently all of her teachers know about Catsby too. Based on her love affair, it was pretty obvious Edie should be a cat for Halloween.

I just had to buy these shoes. I wish they came in adult sizes. Edie refuses to wear any other shoes since they arrived.

I picked up a black ballerina dress and a leopard-print sweater, as well as some ears. I drew whiskers with eyeliner and a nose with lipstick for 'catface'. Edie started meowing as soon as the outfit was complete. She had a parade at school, and we took her trick or treating on our street and my parents' neighborhood for her first real Halloween (last year was cancelled because of Frankenstorm, the year before she was only a few months old).

When we returned from my parents', our street was absolutely crawling with children. I've never lived in a place with such a vibrant Halloween street. There were tons of cars parked too, which meant people flocked here from other 'hoods.

Edie loved handing out candy to all the kids. She just waited at the door, candy in hand, and shrieked with delight when they approached, "More peoples! More peoples!" She gave each princess, goblin, and ghoul a hand-picked candy. It was the cutest thing, and I just had to write it down before I forgot.

p.s. I was really proud of her costume last year, and hardly anyone got to see it. She was a garden gnome, and I may recreate it next year. I better hurry before she insists on picking her own costume.

Happy Halloween peoples!

Ode to the Cheapskate

Some people are good a being cheap.

Am I saying that right? Some people just know how to pinch a penny. They eat, pickle, or trade all the food that grows in their gardens. They set a grocery budget and honestly stick to it, and when they decide not to use their credit cards, they forget those evil plastics even exist.

This may seem like a quaint, old-timey scene, back when many women owned one dress and baked bread from scratch. But some modern day folks are budget mavens, and they're great about spending less. I have a girlfriend who would go on haitus from

buying clothes for 6 months or so. By the end of that time, even I got sick of her wardrobe. She rarely bought coffee, and religiously brought her lunch to work. But she bought a beautiful home with some of the money she'd saved. Another family member will wring his hands, heavily debating before buying an album on iTunes.

Honestly, I'm not stellar at sticking to the family budget. I'm not terrible, but it's hard when two adults are sharing an account and able to make spending decisions. Life is expensive. Dave is not a big spender. He shops for clothes about once per year (last week in August), he buys decent beer, and extended cable t.v. is non-negotiable. On the other hand, he recently asked me if I'm single-handedly keeping Zappos in business. Yes I bought a few shoes last month, but they are replacing ones that I've rocked for years. I swear.

There are a few tips I've encountered to cut spending, none of which seem to fit into our lifestyle: carpool ("Anyone else want to swing by daycare for 15 minutes on our commute?"), eat less meat (Dave looks crestfallen if there's no animal on the dinner plate), color your own hair (done with that adventure at age 22), and clip coupons (ugh).

I do succeed in a couple cheapskate ways. I am an avid library book borrower, I get 80% of Edie's clothes at the local consignment shop, I am not too proud to pick up side-of-the-road toys, and I always turn off lights when I leave a room. The most old-ladyish money-saving thing I do? Recycle plastic baggies and aluminum foil.

I like using Peapod for groceries to stick to the budget. Sometimes my strategy to trim costs works, and I spend time deciding which items to put back on the virtual shelf when I've gone over my limit. This is a bit harder to do in a brick n' mortar store. Other times I stick to my budget, and the quantity of food that arrives is so paltry I rush to review the receipt to make sure Peapod didn't leave one of our bags in the truck.

Mint is an online resource that is great for budgeting and tracking spending. Again, sometimes I am right on target, and I spend my set amount on gas, entertainment, or clothing. Other times I blow the budget out of the water and feel guilty and anxious about it until the next month when the numbers reset.

While I will likely never be known as the lady who stretches a dollar, I am also not getting my nails done or driving a car I can't afford. Our laptop is five years old, and our couches are hand-me-downs. It's all about balance. I just need to find that happy money medium.

32 things in 32 years

As I near my 32nd birthday, I thought I'd round up some random things that I've learned over the years. Some of these things were instilled in me from a young age, while others I've picked up along the way. Some are just my opinion, others are life's great discoveries or pieces of advice I try to follow. I had a hard time editing this list, which is good, because if I only had 32 guiding thoughts in my back pocket, I'd be pretty lame.

1. A good mom goes a long way.

2. Everything is better with cheese on it.

3. Saturday morning is the best time of the week.

4. Trust your gut, even when it tells you something you don’t want to hear.

5. My happiness is directly impacted by how much I’m working out (or not). Even a 10 minute run improves my outlook on life.

6. Sometimes, things can be just good enough. It’s okay if the pillowcases don’t match the sheets, or if you use bottled curry sauce rather than make your own.

7. Be a good parent, but don’t forget to be a good spouse.

8. Owning a house is a huge amount of work. Which is why I’ve let our garden go “back to nature” and we have a cleaning lady.

9. Once in a while, consciously be grateful for your health.

10. Don’t buy faux-Tupperware from IKEA.

11. Whether you are looking to buy a mid-century modern coffee table, find a roommate, or unload some extra mulch, Craigslist is an amazing resource.

12. Let your kids eat breakfast for dinner once in a while.

13. Guacamole is probably my greatest adult discovery.

14. If you're not into a book, put it down and move on to the next one.

15. If you get a chunk of money (bonus, tax refund, whatever), spend it like this: half to pay off debt, a quarter to savings, and the remaining quarter on a treat such as a golf trip (Dave’s choice) or leather boots (my choice).

16. Skype narrows the distance.

17. Write and send thank you notes.

18. Take risks big and small. This goes from trying a new recipe to making hard decisions that will significantly change your life, like moving to a new city. You will fail, but you will also grow and learn, and sometimes succeed.

19. Holding a sleeping baby on your chest is the best feeling.

20. If your husband likes spaghetti and you don’t, make him spaghetti once in a while.

21. Contribute money to your employer-sponsored retirement account. On top of getting the free employer match, it is money you won’t even miss from your paycheck.

22. Look people in the eye when talking, and when toasting.

23. Car camping counts as camping.

24. Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t that good and Starbucks is a total rip-off. Make coffee at home, but treat yourself once in a while.

25. If you are over the age of five, don’t ever wear your pajamas in public. Even on exam day. This goes for sweatpants too.

26. Know when to put down your iPhone.

27. In a pinch, it’s okay to distract your kids with iPhone apps when you are trying to complete a task or visit a friend in public.

28. You don’t have to go to college as soon as you graduate high school. Figure out what direction you want to go, at least somewhat, before racking up enormous student loan debt, or depleting your parents’ life savings, on tuition.

29. Exercise is the fountain of youth. Walking counts.

30. Don’t pay a contractor without a contract, and definitely don’t pay them up front.

31. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. People will assume you know what you're talking about if you wear a suit, or the suit coat alone.

32. Do one thing at a time.