Home & Lifestyle

If you’re like 99.9% of mothers, when you are under the weather you suck it up buttercup and get stuff done! I’m working hard on joining the 0.01% of moms who actually stop and take a time out. I think it makes us better people to put our own names higher up on our list of things to do. In working towards that goal, I have some suggestions.

There is something almost magical about that first Saturday of the year when you wake up late, open your curtains and windows to let the glorious sunshine and fresh air in, and realize that spring has officially sprung. I immediately associated my acknowledgement of spring with the need to clean, re-organize, and refresh my home, beginning with the living room. So with my “spring refresh” hat on, here are my plans for the next month or so—plans that you can easily incorporate into your own spring living room refresh.

Moving is always a drag. Add small kids and/or babies to the mix, and it can be even more challenging. I know, having moved twice in my son’s first 3 years of liife. Here are some tips to help make the move run more smoothly with young kids in tow.

How fast do you get out of the house when you have kids? We all know 45 minutes spent at the front door without ever crossing the threshold is not unheard of. I make a habit of getting everything ready hours before we actually have to be anywhere.  It is a feat of incredible magic and coordination to get out the door without screaming your head off, breaking a sweat or a nail or both. Here are a few suggestions that may help.

I’ve been to my fair share of weddings. Heck, I’ve been in my fair share of weddings, so I know all to well that as much fun as they can be, the can also get a little pricey. The good news is that you don’t have to remortgage your home or sell a kidney to get the happy couple a wedding gift that won’t just be appreciated, but will actually be a welcome addition to their home. Here are some great wedding gift ideas that won’t break the bank.

When some people get married, they light a unity candle to symbolize two lives becoming one. But with more and more people moving out and buying their first home long before they find a potential partner, getting married means more than just two lives becoming one—it means two homes becoming one as well.

When I was in Grade 3 my mom enrolled me in Ukrainian Cross Stitch lessons. I had always been a creative child, but cross-stitch took my abstract painting and Play-Doh-ing to a whole new level. There’s something inspiring about being able to look at a pile of “stuff” and see something beautiful. It’s almost like being a MacGyver of sorts. Some might see a twig and a glue stick. I see a beautiful centerpiece. The thing is, to craft like a pro you don’t just need the desire to do so, but you need the right tools and an organized space.

Even if your dining room table is currently covered in electronics and newspapers or your closet is chaos, there are still simple steps you can take to organize your house. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming either – just take it one baby step at a time. Here are a few proven organizational strategies I’ve used to get control of my clutter and organize my home like a pro.

Money – you can’t live with it, you can’t live without it, and it’s all too easy to let it slip through your fingers on a day-to-day basis without even knowing where it’s gone off too. I think it’s a real skill balancing a household budget, and it’s all too easy to slip back into free and easy spending. But if you put a few of these tips into place, you’ll start seeing positive results right away.

I’m by no financial expert, but I have two things going for me that have made me somewhat of a pro in the “know where your money is going” category. First, I work for a large financial institution and part of my gig is to understand what we all “should” be doing with our finances. Second, my financial history is very similar to the Titanic—an epic fail—so I have had to make changes in my life to avoid future “icebergs.” So with that said, here are some tools, tips, and tricks to help you know where your money is going and be a financial rock star in 2015 and beyond.