Another month as come and gone, my friends, leaving us all wondering where the heck 2017 is even going! Last month I shared some of my favorite things from the month of March and am trying desperately to stick to monthly shares as a routine. I love reading other monthly round-ups myself and hope you like seeing them as well. So, I’m going to try to always share 10 things I love from each month right here with you.
1.Resetting and recharging
April was a big month of hitting the reset button for me. I’ve been going through some personal struggles the past 6 months or so that I’ll share with you all at some point, but am not ready to yet. But, an outcome of this struggle has been forcing me to take a step back and look at myself and my current life situation. To appreciate what I have and continue to persist on working for what I want. I’ve been implementing this across all aspects of my life from not just my thinking but also my outlook on my future, where I am, my career, and more.
2. Spring has SPRUNG
Wow, Spring has finally sprung here in Connecticut this April and it’s SO energizing. The warmer weather and seeing all the plants and flowers come back to life honestly gives me such a boost of endorphins! Springtime in New England is pretty hard to beat – once you get past all the rain. I occasionally lust after the idea of moving somewhere permanently warm, but watching the seasons is a pretty amazing thing- it’d be hard to give up. Michael and I got our outdoor space (mostly) setup at the new house and I’m looking forward to many dinners sitting out under the open sky!
3. Spring Cleaning
April is the month to spring clean isn’t? While we did some major spring cleaning in the form of yard work around our house, I’m more lovin’ the cleaning I’ve gotten done here at BFC and over on CaffeinateAndConquer.com – I finally checked so many things off my to-do list this month. Granted, I still have a lot I want to get done, but I’m happy with the progress!
Here on BFC I finally created the “save time” and “save money” tabs (at the top of the layout) to share a feed of the newest blog posts that’ll save you time and money! For the longest time, I knew I loved sharing posts that helped. At the end of March, I was sitting in my car thinking “well if it saves you time or saves you money…I’m writing blog posts about it.” I’m not sure where it came from but it hit me! It was like this little tagline for BFC I’d been searching for for years! I plan to add one more tab called, “Have Fun,” just for all the fun and random posts I still like to throw in. But, I feel like this overall concept has finally allowed me to hone some of my effort and ideas! I’m evening bringing the idea over to the BFC YouTube channel and lovin’ the stuff I’m coming up with!
4. Outdoor Adventures
Finally, we can get outside! Michael and I moved at the end of January and our new house is walking distance to a lot of great little spots. I’ve been so obsessed with being able to just open my front door with the dogs and go for a walk. Our past two houses were both on busy roads and we lacked that luxury. It seems like such a little thing but it has been amazing. I walk more with the dogs, and Michael and I go for more walks together, too! I find walks so therapeutic and energizing, like I talked about here, so for me, it has been perfect.
5.Pom-pom everything
It’s no lie I’m hooked on poms. I just can’t stop. My newest adventure has been creating my own DIY pom pom trim. You can use this on anything! I added it to a fun off the shoulder dress, but honestly, the possibilities are endless. I just adore anything with poms, they are too fun and too colorful.
6. This carrot Cake
I took my hand at making my first ever carrot cake for Easter and I’m not even bragging when I tell you it was the best carrot cake I have ever had ever. It was seriously so good. I followed this recipe exactly, and let me tell you it’s the best you’ll ever have.
7. The Blog Audit
I launched The Blog Audit over on CaffeinateAndConquer.com this month! I’ve been wanting to have services offered forever and am so happy to finally have them! A blog audit is a customized check-up on your blog along with personalized tips and tricks on how to improve. Also, if you’ll indulge me in a little self-promo, they are currently $100 off the usual price as part of their launch, so if you want in, now’s the time!
9. ‘dis Guy
Ok, I already swooned over him enough in this post about how to know if he’s the one, but you can’t hate on a girl for giving her hubs some extra love in the monthly round-up can you? Michael and I have been through so many chapters in our lives and I’m so happy I have him by my side to go through it all.
9.Save those dollas
In March Michael and I took a little money challenge to see how much we could save in one month and it really opened our eyes to the money we were spending that we didn’t need to. We cut a ton of stuff from our budget. I plan to get more detailed posts up about this in the future. In the long run it has not only saved us money, which is obviously good, but also made us re-evaluated a lot of things we were spending money on. We challenged ourselves to find thrifty date ideas or find ways to visit with friends that didn’t add up to a $150 night out tab.
Like I said, more to come on that in the future, but until then, I did make a recent video about some stuff we cut from our budget:
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10. Home
In an attempt to save money – explained above- Michael and I started staying in a lot more and honestly really love it! I thought we’d get cabin fever but it has given us time to do simple things like yard work and small home projects. I am so happy in our new home that we moved into. I feel like we’re just settling in and making it our own more than we did anywhere else – even if it is a rental space. We redid the bathroom and have been making ourselves a lot more at home! It’s strange to explain but this house just suits us. It has a more open concept living that works well for us. It gets great natural light that makes it feel happier and more inviting. Not to mention, it’s just the perfect size. It’s too large like some houses we’ve had that feel impossible to fill but still awkwardly collect clutter you don’t need. But, it’s also not too small that we feel like we’re bursting at the seams. Oh, like my tassel planter? I made it and you can too.
Quick Recap…you should check out these links!
The Blog Audit – get a checkup on your blog…currently $100 off!
Rental Bathroom Makeover – tips for redoing your rental space.
THE BEST Carrot Cake – no seriously, the best.
10 Things I Cut from My Budget and Don’t Miss at All – save yo dollas.
