by Mrs C | Dec 30, 2021 | Blog
Dinner parties can be a lot of fun. It’s a great opportunity to get together with friends, catch up, and just spend some time having fun. Hosting one can be a bit stressful though. There’s a lot more work that goes into it than just showing up and enjoying yourself. If you’re planning to host a dinner party at your home, there are some things you definitely need to consider well in advance.
Plan Your Menu
This is arguably the trickiest part of putting together a dinner party. You want everyone to enjoy the meal you put together, and that can feel like a lot of pressure. This is where knowing who you’re going to invite can come in handy. If one of your guests is vegan, take that into account when planning your menu. The same goes for any other dietary restrictions your guests might have. The easiest approach may be to pick your protein and then plan your side dishes around it, keeping any restrictions in mind so everyone has something they can make a meal of.
How to Get Deals
This is where planning in advance can really pay off. Throwing a dinner party can get pretty pricey pretty quickly. Scoring deals on various items can really help cut down on some of the costs. Once you have an idea of what your menu is going to look like, take some time to shop the sales at the grocery stores in your area. You may be able to find different ingredients at reduced prices. Clip coupons and take advantage of deals. Identify the ingredients on your menu that have a longer shelf life and those that need to be gotten fresh. That way you can reduce costs further by making sure you don’t have to buy something more than once because it went bad before you got to use it.
Sending Out Invitations
No one’s going to come if they don’t know there’s something to come to. That’s where sending out invitations comes in. The formality of the event will dictate what sort of timeline you should use when sending out your invitations, but about three weeks in advance should be good. It will also have some sway over what sort of invitation you should send out. If it’s a casual get together, a phone call, electronic invitation, or a pre-printed invitation work just fine. More formal events warrant a more formal invitation.
It’s the Details That Matter
The details can make a huge difference in the experience your guests have. Remember, humans tend to be very visual creatures, and we tend to eat with our eyes rather than our mouths or stomachs. That means that the way you present your food matters. Toothpicks add detail to your food presentation that will impress people. They can be great for appetizers and larger dishes that you want to keep intact, like a kabob or a large burger.
Remember to think about the other senses as well. The lighting can have a huge impact on the atmosphere, as can any background noise. Adjust your lighting accordingly, and carefully consider your choice of music if you choose to have any playing in the background. Think carefully about any non-food scents you might introduce as well. You don’t want them clashing with the delicious aroma of the meal you’re about to serve.
Timing the Dinner
The timing of your dinner matters in more ways than one. First, be careful about selecting the time you intend to serve dinner. It should make sense for the meal you’re serving and the date you’ve chosen (so probably don’t go for 4pm in the middle of the work week). From there, think about what sort of experience you want your guests to have in the time leading up to the dinner. Do you want to involve them with preparing the food? Do you want them to mingle while you put the finishing touches on the table? All of that will depend on the timing you choose for your dinner. Just make sure you don’t leave them without something to do before dinner gets underway.
Creating a Comfortable Space
Dinner parties should be comfortable for your guests, which means one of your jobs is to make sure that your home is a comfortable place for them to be. Carefully consider how much space you have in relation to how many people you want to invite. Too many guests will be cramped and crowded. Too few and things may get awkward and uncomfortable unless everyone is already very good friends. Speaking of which, have a plan for guiding the conversation. Preventing awkward silences from developing is one of your responsibilities as the host.
Giving yourself plenty of time to plan and prepare is the key to throwing a successful, fun dinner party at your home. If you’ve never hosted before, feel free to reach out to a friend or two and ask them for some help. That can go a long way towards relieving the stress you might feel by trying to handle all of it by yourself. Just make sure you can count on the people you ask for help. You don’t want to find yourself left hanging because someone fell through on what they were supposed to do at the last minute.
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by Mrs C | Dec 30, 2021 | Blog
Let’s be honest, shopping for clothes can be the best of times and the worst of times. If you don’t know what you’re looking for or don’t feel confident in your body, it can be super frustrating to spend many hours trying on different outfits. However, when you find clothes that do make you feel happy and confident, it can help you to feel better each day. If you’re anticipating a clothing shopping trip, here are a few tips that you should follow.
Set a Budget
First off, it is important for you to set a budget for yourself, especially if you’re not buying clothing for a specific event or purpose. If you just go shopping and don’t put a limit on yourself, you might end up spending way more money than you originally wanted to. Setting a budget for your clothing shopping can also help you to determine how badly you want to buy a certain item, and can help you to prioritize what you really need. For example, if there is a really nice pair of shoes that you’ve been looking at that are out of your budget, rather than spending more than you should, you can find a similar pair of shoes that fit your budget and feel better about your purchase.
Shop During Deals
Next, it is great to shop for clothing during deals. There are clothing sales that happen all throughout the year depending on what stores you shop at. However, there are often pretty big sales that happen around the holidays, since lots of people will be gift-giving for loved ones and want to get good deals. There are also often sales on clothing as seasons end or in the off-season. For example, if you’re wanting to buy a new swimsuit, you’ll probably be able to find a cute one on sale during the winter, as opposed to the summer, when they’ll be in high demand and will likely be full-priced.
Compare Pricing
A good skill to develop while shopping is to compare the pricing of similar clothing items. If you shop looking for deals, good prices, and expensive brand dupes, you’ll end up with fashionable and cute clothes without having to spend an extreme amount of money to update your wardrobe. For example, Target often has clothing dupes for stores like Free People. If you compare the pricing of the Free People product to the Target dupe product, you’ll be able to save a lot of money shopping at Target.
Know Your Size
Even though this might seem sort of obvious, it is so important to know your size before you go shopping. Sometimes, people feel uncomfortable measuring themselves or don’t realize when they gain or lose a bit of weight, which can make it difficult to buy clothing. It is especially important to know your size if you are shopping online for clothing, as you won’t be able to try on the clothing item before you buy it. For example, you should measure yourself before buying dresses so you can avoid having to return it.
Don’t Impulse Buy
One weakness that many people have while clothing shopping is impulse buying. Lots of people impulse buy when they aren’t planning on buying clothing, but see a sale that they feel like they have to take advantage of. However, the problem with shopping like this is that you can often end up with clothing items that you don’t love and don’t want to wear often. Even though not all impulse buys cost a lot of money, it can still be wasteful if you don’t end up wearing the clothing item.
Avoid Flash Trends
Another pitfall that you want to avoid while clothing shopping is flash trends. Similar to impulse buys, flash trends refer to clothing items that are momentarily trendy but that won’t turn into items that you’ll wear long-term. They might get worn one or two times, but will spend most of their time untouched in your closet before you throw them away and they get sent to a landfill. It is important to avoid these types of purchases, not only because they waste your money, but also because they can harm the environment if they get thrown away.
Shop in Person
As one last word of advice, you should try to shop for clothing in person when possible. Online shopping has absolutely exploded over the past few years, and online giant stores such as Amazon are working hard to sell lots of clothing online. However, the issue with buying clothing online is that you can’t always guarantee that it will fit, look the same in person as it did on the website, or suit your body type. Often, people end up returning a lot of the clothing that they buy online. So, in order to avoid this issue, try to shop in person when possible.
Now that you’ve learned a few of the best tips for clothing shopping, you’re ready for your next shopping spree. Keep these tips in mind to be able to make smart purchases that will be worth your money while fitting in your budget, and that will be worn time and time again. This will help you to develop a wardrobe that will help you to look forward to each coming day.
Read this next: How to Save Money During Your Holiday Shopping
by Mrs C | Dec 30, 2021 | Blog
Thrift shopping is the perfect activity to find unique items, furnish your home, and stay environmentally friendly. What was once used by someone else can be brand new to you for a fraction of the original cost. Many homeowners underestimate the number of diamonds that can be uncovered while thrift shopping. This article will discuss ways you can give your home character and items you can get at a thrift store.
Wall Art
Current trends have a variety of frame types, sizes, and pieces on the wall of a home. You could go upscale and spend a lot of money to fit current trends. Or you could find very similar and likely just as valuable items for a significantly lower price tag. Most thrift store inventory is ubiquitous prints, word art, and wine by numbers. But there are always diamonds to find in the stacks of frames. You can always paint or change out the artwork in the frames to better match your home aesthetic.
Dishware
Thrift shops are great places to find whole sets of dishes for as little as $20. At a thrift store, you can also go for the coordinating but not matching aesthetic by looking for similar pieces. Mismatched dishes add a homey and cozy vibe to your kitchen. You can find many pieces for your kitchen at a thrift store, but be aware that some dishware should only be bought new. Perhaps the biggest advantage is the greater sense of calm if a dish does break; there is no need to worry because you didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of money on the dish.
Lamps
As with most other home decorating elements, vintage lighting is in style. Purchasing brand new or truly vintage lighting can be expensive. However, there are some amazing finds that are often overlooked that you can get at a thrift store. Most thrift stores have multiple outlets in their lighting section. This is intentional so you can test the lamp before taking it home. When looking for floor lamps, you may have to go multiple times as floor lamps tend to be less common at thrift stores. But lamp bases are almost always in stock. Give your lamp a bit of a clean and add a new shade to give it a natural place in your home.
Furniture
One of the most amazing things about buying furniture at thrift stores is that you can turn it into anything you want. The key to finding good furniture is looking for items that have “good bones”. Make sure the materials are high quality. Take care of your furniture according to its materials needs. For example, you should keep wood furniture out of the sun to prevent damage to it. With a little creativity and effort, old furniture can be repurposed into something new. A rickety old nightstand can look like a designer piece with a little paint and elbow grease.
Books
Part of the value of books depends on its demand and desirability. When books go out of print, their desirability significantly increases. It can become almost impossible to find a copy of your favorite classic. Classic books of all genres find their way into thrift stores. Most of the time the person who donates their book doesn’t even realize what they are giving away. Books can be a great decorative piece and educational piece in your home. Look for books written by well-known authors, first editions, first prints, books in great condition, and special editions to truly maximize the value of the books you purchase.
Toys
Kids outgrow toys quickly. One month they are into trains, the next it’s cars. They can also quickly get over older toys they once loved because they are too “big” for them! With the quick cycle your kid goes through toys, it can feel like a waste purchasing new toys so often. Purchasing toys at a thrift store is an economical way of providing toys for your children. Just because something was loved once, doesn’t mean it can’t be loved again. You certainly want to disinfect the toys you bring home, but you will find their enjoyment and cost much more compatible.
Seasonal Decor
Seasonal décor is another category that can often feel wasteful. These items only come out once a year and remain hidden for the rest of it. Purchasing seasonal décor at thrift stores is a year-long endeavor. Keep your eyes open for Christmas, Easter, and Fall decorations all year long. You can get uniquely personalized items that add character and cheerfulness to your home without breaking the bank.
Shopping at a thrift store is a lot like a treasure hunt. You won’t always find something, but when you do it will be a hidden gem. Give your home character by shopping for home items that you can get at a thrift store.
Check out this article on the big expenses that come when your kids become teenagers!
by Mrs C | Dec 15, 2021 | Blog
The holiday season is one of the most magical times of the year. People are kinder, more generous, and it offers a great opportunity to show your love and appreciation to those around you. And one of the most established traditions of the holiday season is gift giving. But gift giving can easily become a huge expense, and this expense can make it difficult for many to give the gifts they want. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few ways that you can save money during your holiday shopping this year.
Use Coupons
Coupons are basically free money. When you use coupons to save money on your holiday shopping, you are honestly just manifesting additional money, and making the holiday season less expensive for you. Look online and check in-store flyers for coupons on items from electronics to wine and cheese. If you can’t find a good gift with a coupon, then you aren’t looking hard enough. Search far and wide, you will be blown away by all the options and variety that there is amongst coupons out there during the holiday season.
Look For Holiday Deals
If you aren’t finding any specific coupons that are speaking out to you, then you should look for specific holiday deals. Around the holidays, many stores and retailers participate in holiday deal days, where almost everything in their stores is on a steep discount for the holiday season. This is a great time to buy almost anything, including mattresses. Mattress deals can last far into the holidays starting around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Look online or ask a store associate in person when they are anticipating having their holiday sales and plan your shopping accordingly, you could save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Make Gifts at Home
Another great way to save money with holiday shopping is to make gifts at home when you can. While this isn’t always doable for every present you hope to give, sometimes doing a little something homemade special can help you save some money here and there on fluff items that you don’t need. Making CD’s, a painting, a handwritten card, or a scrapbook are all great and thoughtful homemade gifts that your loved ones are going to cherish.
Holiday season means gift giving season which means shopping season. And the cost of holiday season shopping can very quickly add up if you’re not careful. Try these three tips to help you save some money on your holiday shopping this year.
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by Mrs C | Dec 9, 2021 | Blog
Everybody talks about how expensive children can be, and it’s true. But just because children can get expensive doesn’t mean that your spending has to get out of control.
As your little ones grow up into not-so-little ones, the amount of money you’re shelling out tends to grow as well. Here are a few areas that you can expect to see an increase in spending as your kids get older.
Food
This may go without saying, but just in case—get ready to spend A LOT more on food! As your offspring leave childhood and head into the teenage years, you can be sure that you’ll be spending more of your income on food. In fact, teenagers need more calories per day than any other age group, simply because of the rate at which they are developing.
To prepare for this increase in appetite, plan to spend more time shopping for healthy, wholesome foods and snacks as an alternative to fast food. Fast food may be quick and accessible calories, but it generally doesn’t provide much nutritional value and too much of it can contribute to obesity and other health issues.
Braces
Braces and other dental procedures can often be an unforeseen expense. Dental work can get notoriously expensive, but sometimes having dental insurance can be sort of a catch-22. Dental insurance can cut the cost of braces in half. But at the same time, paying for years of dental coverage when you’re not sure how much you’ll be utilizing it is somewhat of a risk. Ultimately, the choice is up to you.
Entertainment
As kids head into the teenage years, entertainment (and for you, paying for entertainment) becomes a much bigger deal. Teens like to go shopping, hang out with friends, and spend money on eating out and having fun. In fact, teens account for about $250 billion of consumer spending per year.
Keeping up with teen spending can seem overwhelming, but it’s also a good opportunity to teach your kids about money management, work ethic (i.e., getting their first job), and self-control. Try looking at it as a learning opportunity rather than a hole in your wallet.
The teenage years can (and probably will be) some of the most challenging, financially, mentally, and emotionally. But knowing what to prepare for may help you feel more confident with the situation and help you to make better decisions in the future.
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by Mrs C | Dec 9, 2021 | Blog
For many adults, home ownership can feel like the most important accomplishment they are working towards, but it can also feel impossible to achieve. That said, homeownership is attainable, and it comes with some pretty amazing benefits for all homeowners. If you are on the fence about buying a home, it is important that you know what that step could do for you.
No More Rent Increases
The first thing you should be thinking about is that when you own your own home, you no longer have to worry about rent going up. Instead, your mortgage payment will stay constant and can even get lower if you pay extra to reduce the interest you’ll need to pay. You can also decrease your mortgage costs further by refinancing at a good time to acquire a better interest rate. Dealing with rising rent is a huge struggle, but if you own your own home, that is not a challenge you have to deal with anymore.
You Have More Control
When you’re renting, your landlord is in charge of almost every decision you make about your home. But when you own your own home, you can make the decisions yourself. You can make choices that save you money and make your home more comfortable. For example, split HVAC systems are one of the most efficient air conditioning systems for your home. When you own your home, you can decide on everything from the colors of your walls to your HVAC and even the way you get electricity into your space. All of those choices help you to turn your house into a home.
It’s an Investment
Generally speaking, homeownership is one of the safest investments you can make. Rather than renting, when your money goes to someone else, your mortgage payment goes towards building equity in your home. Over time you can make money from your home that you can use to relocate, or even just to improve the home you are in. Making those kinds of choices can help you to improve your home and get more out of the place where you live.
Your home should be working for you, and when you rent, it is working for someone else. Taking the step to become a homeowner can feel overwhelming, but it comes with many benefits. Start saving for a down payment so you can get closer to the home of your dreams.
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