Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Budget battle

It’s easy to forget your wins, small or big.  Time to celebrate something for me.  Tomorrow marks one year since I purchased the domain gardeninginhighheels.com.  I didn’t do anything with it until….6 months later….but the idea is that I bought it.  I had the idea.  I went for something different.  And I loooove it.

And it took me a while, but I finally made the leap and opened a blog-specific Instagram account.  Can you tell that I need to mull things over for a while before I do them?

Ironically, for big things like buying a car, I decide I want a car, then I go buy it.  I can’t/don’t want to take time thinking it over.  I wonder what that says about me..

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food BudgetSo for this week’s Project:Food Budget, I was pretty good.  I spent $39.34 total at Giant Eagle.  I purchased a few cleaning products (on sale with coupons) so when I deduct $5.99 for Lysol (totally not edible so I’m totally not counting it!) and tax, I came in at $32.93.

I should have another dollar off of that because the sign on the hamburger buns said they were free at Giant Eagle.  Whatevs.

I also bought 4 lemons in the Strip for $2, so grand total for all food is: $34.93, $15.07 under budget.  Can I roll that over to next week?  I think it’s going to be stock up week.

I still haven’t made it out to Trader Joe’s or Aldi, but the Trader Joe’s circular did advertise chia seeds 12 oz for $4.99.  I normally pay about $10 for 16 oz and I go through chia seeds in my water, Emily’s banana bread, and these summer staple lemon ricotta chia muffins from Table for Two.

In case you’re wondering, I buy bananas just so they’ll get old and I can make banana bread.  I love banana bread.

Other things I made this week include this amazing chicken meatball recipe.  I cheated and used pasta instead of zucchini.  Also, instead of ranch dressing mix, I used fresh herbs from the garden.  I can’t wait until my zucchini is finally ready for harvest!  I split the pound of ground chicken and made patties for “burgers” and enjoyed on my not-free buns.

I also made Laura’s sweet and tangy macaroni salad.  It is amazing and a staple of my lunch this week, I’m sure.  I used flavored oil and vinegar from The Imperial Olive and it’s incredible.

I’ve also been making a batch of brown rice and using it for a side dish one night and any leftovers get turned into Emily’s rice and pear porridge for quick breakfasts that I take to work.

I put it in a mason jar and someone literally asked me if I eat anything not served in a mason jar.  The answer is no.  It was during my jar-salad kick.  I think I may have a slight hipster problem.

I still have to figure out a menu for this week, but I know at least on Wednesday,  I will again be mooching a meal off of my family.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been driving to my aunts’ house where my father has been staying and spending some time with them.  I always leave with leftover and they always ask me why I need to go grocery shopping afterwards.

Well this week, he’s moving back into his house for a while.  Mostly independent, with the exception of the first night getting used to the environment again.  So that meal is covered.  I think.  Either way, yay for independence and progress in health.

If you need some budgeting illumination, check out what these other budgeting beauties are up to! Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Red Pen Mama / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller / Shea Lennon

Have you joined the budget battle? How did you do this week?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Refresh yourself

This weekend, I enjoyed myself very much.

  • I imbibed at the Tar and Feather 2015 event at Wigle Whiskey.  As pictured here.
  • I visited Spoonwood Brewing Co (look for a review soon on PCBN).
  • I watched a Pittsburgh Passion football game.  Those ladies are in full-on beast mode all the time.
  • I went to Jack’s for the first time.  There’s a blog post in there somewhere.
  • I checked out Neighborhood Flea.
  • I watched The Office and A Few Good Men.  I have to stop and watch that, Goodfellas, and Clueless when they’re on.
  • I read a little People Over Profit.
  • I talked to my mom.
  • I spent lots of time with Jonathan.

And I’m sorry to say, I didn’t write something for today.  Everyone needs a weekend to relax and repair and re-everything.

So while I didn’t write anything groundbreaking, I did an important step towards Being A Better Blogger, which is refreshing your mind.

It was so needed after the past few months I’ve had.  Guys, blogging every day is hard.  I never pretended like it wouldn’t be, but dang-nabit it’s a lot of work.

Since I’m pretty tapped today, check what my other co-conspirators are writing in our quest to Be A Better Blogger.

How did you refresh yourself this weekend?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Sunday Lately, 24

This week I’ve been doing oil pulling.  It’s that thing in which you swish coconut oil around in your mouth like mouthwash for 20 minutes and it’s supposed to reveal a whiter, straighter, prettier smile that also opens into a studio apartment and a million dollars.

It’s kind of gross.  I’m trying to stick it out though.  In other news, we went to Wigle Whiskey‘s Tar and Feather party on Friday night.  It rained for most of the evening, but it got nicer at the end of the evening and we got to watch the tax collector get dunked.  It was a great time.

Tar and Feather party at Wigle Whiskey

Updating

Instagram!  I’ve been on the fence about opening a blog-specific Instagram account, but I finally did it!  You can find me at instagram.com/GardeningInHighHeels.  It’s going to be more focused on “blog stuff” like gardening, updates, and interacting with bloggers/readers.

Reminding

I signed up for The Joy Equation with Molly Mahar and I need to remember to take the workbook to Staples and print/bind it.  It’s beautiful, full color, so it would totally kill my printer if I did it myself.  I also would never get it bound.

Needing

To catch up on other blogs and leave comments.  That’s my favorite part of blogging and I’ve been putting priority on other things in my life.  What are your secrets for balancing all aspects of blogging?

Wearing

This awesome Blogger, Maker tank from Katy’s Handmade Escapade shop!  I love the way she’s laid out the words so each one is kind of different and the font that she chose to use.  And the fact that it’s totally comfortable!

I want to live in this shirt this summer.  It’s also really hot and swampy here, so the less layers, the better.

Being

Hot and swampy.  The humidity here has felt off the charts.  Today so far is a little cloudy and cooler.  I think this week is supposed to be rainy.  It’ll be great for my garden in terms of water and not so great in terms of weeds.I spent about 2 hours yesterday weeding that damn garden and I know it’s one of those fruitless jobs, like vacuuming, where as soon as you do it, you can’t really tell you did it anything.

Fresh Essie mani and fresh herbs

Weeding a garden is the best accomplishment.

What have you been up to lately?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

When Things Get Messy

When I was in college (and even high school) and I was struggling through a math problem I couldn’t solve, I would get so upset.  I would crumple up my paper, cross things out really hard so the paper tore, throw my pencil, and generally melt down.

And once I did that, I felt better.  I was able to refocus and 9/10 times, I would figure out the problem.  I’m not the best at math, but that’s a pretty good track record.

I’m really not a person who cries at the drop of a hat.  Usually I can keep things in check until it’s more appropriate.  Like Kelly Cutrone says, “If you have to cry, go outside.”

But like when I was trying to work through a hard math problem, I still have some moments when the stress and frustration gets too much and I want to sit down, get a carton big bowl of ice cream and just pout/whine (I originally wrote “wine,” which is totally acceptable, too).

Again, I get up and feel better and move on with clear eyes.

When this happens to me, I like to turn toward certain ladies who are so motivational and inspiring.

Inspiring resources for when life gets messy.

Molly Mahar‘s Stratejoy is fantastic.  I signed up for The Joy Equation course and I know I will love it based on the past Holiday Councils that I’ve attended with her.

There’s something about the way that she speaks to me that just touches something that both calms and energizes me.  And her Instagram is insanely beautiful/adorable/unapologetically, “Hey this is life,” which I love.

Along the same lines is Nicole Antoinette from A Life Less Bullshit.  Her energy is totally different than Molly’s, but she’s still a huge proponent of accepting that things get messy, not showing a Pinterest-perfect facade, and saying, “Listen, life gets sucky, get up, show up, and do the work.”

And her No BS Lab is fantastic.  It’s where I got all of the podcasts I listened to going to Virginia (that you can read about here and here).And finally, I love Marie Forleo‘s coaching.  She’s more business focused than life focused, but there are still gems that are applicable to everyday life.  Her personality is like sitting down with that friend who will tell you, “Get over yourself and do the work or stop whining about it.”

Of course, there are friends who will listen and commiserate.  I love those people in my life.  But I can’t share them with you (well, I can tell you about them, but I can’t say, “Here’s my best friend’s number, call her if you need someone to make you laugh.”)  These ladies..these I can share with you.  They’re great people to follow.

Who gives you inspiration when you need a reality check?

Five Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging

When I started blogging, I pretty much did it sporadically and very not-seriously.  Aside from a handful of accounts, I didn’t realize that you could really be a “blogger” and not “someone who has a blog.”  There’s a difference, people!  I was so not aware that there was the community out there.  If I had known these things from the get-go, I might be in a different place.

5 things I wish I knew when I started blogging. Don't make these mistakes!

It is an investment

Time, money, energy…blogging is an investment.  The more serious you want to be, the more of an investment it is.  Blogging can truly be a full time job, but you also have to dedicate full time energy to it.

Pick where you want to invest and do so wisely.  If you don’t want to commit to blogging every day (like us over in the Be A Better Blogger Challenge!) pick a schedule so your readers know when to expect to see your new posts.  They’re excited to hear from you!

Also choose where you want to spend your money.  Sure you don’t need a premium theme right out of the gates, but you probably will want that in the future.  Pick something that can grow with you.  Same with your domain name and your hosting.  Make sure that you have invested in a solid foundation.

It’s okay to stumble and then come back

I’ve “rebranded” myself so many times.  I stopped writing for large chunks of time.  I didn’t have a Facebook page for my blog for a long time.  It’s okay.  You’re learning and growing.  It’s perfectly fine to stumble and come back stronger.

Be authentic

There are days when I feel like I’m still trying to find my true voice here and other days that I say, “Boom, this is me, this is what I sound like, deal with it.”  In my head, I’d like to think I’m a lot more unapologetic than I actually am.  This is why I love Laura and Katy so much.  They are 100% them and it totally come through in their blogs.

But no matter what, be true to you and who you are.  There are posts of mine that I read and I’m just like….that feels awkward to me.  Your readers probably feel a little of that, too.

Find your support group

Get a group of friends together, find communities online, and get interacting!  It’s so helpful to have people to bounce ideas off of and turn to when you’re struggling.  They’ll help you sort through where you want to be, where you are right now, and connect the two.

The SITS Girls is a great community, so is BlogHer, and of course, you can check out what Marissa has to say about finding your tribe so you can make your own group.

Decide what kind of blogger do you want to be

Part of this is why it’s handy to have a tribe.  Maybe you don’t know what kind of blogger you want to be.  Maybe you’re a Seinfeld blog like Katy, maybe you have a clear focus like Kristin.

I wish I would have known what I wanted to do when I started blogging.  I kind of just opened up a blog because I thought it would be fun and filled in the blanks from there.  I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s nice to have more of a direction.

What do you wish you knew when you started blogging?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Let’s Play

           

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together