Mommy Needs Some New Clothes!

Stay-at-Home Mom's Money Guide: The First Year

2012-02-15T07:42:00.003-05:00

I consider February to be the beginning of our financial year, since this is the time we do our taxes and find out how much money we get refunded (or, in the years when Hubby was freelancing, how much we owed). This will be our first full financial year since having the Lovely, and I thought it would be a good time to discuss how we're planning on managing it without me working full time.

As I mentioned in my previous post on pre-baby planning, I hadn't originally planned to be a stay-at-home mom. In fact, I wasn't actually confident enough to quit my job completely. I'm still doing relief work at the veterinary hospital, but only 1-2 days per week. We're lucky in that Hubby's boss is pretty flexible with his schedule, so he can work four 10-hour days per week and take off the day I'm working to stay home with baby. And since we had already been living off just his income for a while (with my paycheck going into savings), the change to me being mostly stay-at-home was less of a shock than it might have been.

Don't automatically assume you can't afford to stay home. I remember thinking that exact same thing when I read a passage in La Leche League's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding about how children are meant to be with their mothers. That chapter left me in tears, obsessing over how I could not afford to stay home, and wondering what sort of psychological damage I was going to do to my daughter by continuing to work (note: new research shows that working mothers are not doing any psychological or developmental damage to their children by working). But that book certainly got me started thinking about staying home, and they did make a good point about weighing the costs of continuing to work (such as paying for transportation, day care, and things like that) against the loss of that income. Depending on how much money you make, it may be a smaller gap than you would think.

There is still a gap though, and I'm not going to try to sell you on the idea that everything will be sunshine and roses. Money is tight, but this is what we're doing to make it work our first year as a family.

Breastfeeding. I was really depressed to hear that 1 in 8 low income families water down their babies' formula to make ends meet. Please don't do that. Your baby needs those nutrients! This is part of the reason I decided to breastfeed. Not only is it the most nutritionally complete food for baby, it's free! Does it tie me down? Yes. Is there a learning curve? Yes. It took me and the Lovely no less than 3 weeks to figure out how to do it (I was syringe feeding her pumped milk during that time), and another couple of weeks after that to become comfortable with it. But it is so nice not having to worry about how I'm going to feed this child on our tight budget. Formula is expensive! I know not all women are able to breastfeed, but I strongly encourage all women to consider it and give it a try. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a great resource to get you started (but you may want to skip the chapter that discusses going back to work).

Diapers. The one thing I was most excited about on my baby registry (besides the most perfect rug for the nursery) were cloth diapers. My mother-in-law was vehemently opposed to those, since apparently they caused diaper rash in her children. But I desperately wanted to avoid spending money on disposable diapers and decided to give them a try anyway. They work fine for Little Lovely, but I suppose it depends on each individual child if they're going to get diaper rash from them or not. We do use disposables for overnight (because they're more absorbant) and when we're out in public (because they're easier), but by making cloth diapers our go-to, I'm sure we only spend about a quarter of what households that only use disposables spend on diapers. We use bumGenius as diaper covers for prefolded cloth diapers (see this how-to on using cloth diapers). bumGenius is great because the array of snaps makes them adjustable from 7-35 pounds, which means you don't have to keep buying larger sizes as baby grows.

Groceries. A few years ago I got in the habit of planning our meals two weeks at a time. Why two weeks? Because I loath going grocery shopping, and that's how often we got paid, so it made sense to buy the groceries when we got paid. Maybe a week at a time will work better for you, but by making out a menu, you'll be able to make a list of exactly what you need at the grocery store and nothing will go to waste. Our current food budget for two people is $370/month, and that's enough for us to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods and have enough money left over for pet and baby supplies, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. How is that possible? Because I plan our meals and buy only what we need. Sometimes I'll plan vegetarian dishes or meatless pastas to stretch our dollars further, but we certainly don't go hungry. We also almost never eat out since I started planning our meals because I don't have to think about what's for dinner anymore, so we've saved money in that area as well.

Now what's different about this year than in years past is an idea that was put in my head by my friend Sarah. She directed me to a local farm that sells cows and pigs whole or buy the half or quarter, to be slaughtered and sold for wholesale prices. Of course the trick is that you need a giant freezer to keep all that meat in because you have to buy that meat all at once. Why that sounds very Lucy Ricardo--I think I'll do it! So we're putting part of our tax return toward a freezer for the basement and will be buying a whole lotta meat with the credit card--with the plan to pay it off with the money we're saving in our grocery budget.

Rainy day fund. Don't attempt to be a stay-at-home mom without a safety net. As tight as things are, it was important to me to still be able to put a little money aside each month just in case. You never know when you're going to slip in dog pee at the bottom of the stairs and have to take your daughter to the emergency room, or when you'll be driving to a quilt show when suddenly your front bumper decides to fall off, or when your pug will lock your dad in the garage and he'll have to break down the door to get back in (true stories). In these situations it's nice to have a little cushion you can dip into so you don't have to rely on credit cards to get you out of them.

The little extras. There are some things that aren't so much necessities, but that I am unwilling to go without. Among these are hair appointments, Christmas gifts, and Halloween costumes. All three of these things I've worked into our budget. I figure if we save a little each month for Christmas, then by the time Black Friday gets here, I won't have to worry about how I'm going to pay for it. The same goes for Halloween. Once upon a time Americans would save up for things they wanted instead of buying them with credit cards and paying for them later. That's the philosophy I've adopted with our financial plan. Saving up is much less stressful than paying back (see my first post on paying down debts), and you earn interest instead of paying it.

What we're giving up. Ah, that's the million dollar question and probably what you're most interested in hearing. Actually not that much. We had already paid off our "unnessecary" debts and gotten used to living on one income before the baby came, so there wasn't much else that needed to be cut back. But we have severely cut back the amount we're contributing to Hubby's IRA (he does not have the option for a 401k through his employer). That might concern some people, but I'm not worried for now because when we bought our house, we bought it with the intention of never moving again. In other words, we plan to pay off the mortgage and not have housing as an expense when we retire. That significantly reduces the amount of income we'll need in retirement, doesn't it? Obviously when we can, we'll start contributing more, but for now it's going to take a back seat. We're also giving up most of our frivolous spending, and that has been equal parts painful and unnoticed. But we do still have random income from Hubby's freelance projects and my crochet website, and we're satisfied with that as frivolous income for now.

What we're gaining. A chance to raise our child on our own terms, since we rarely have need for outside baby-sitters now. Time to get to know our little girl and watch her grow. And all the smiles and giggles she has to offer. Those don't cost anything.

Stay-at-Home Mom's Money Guide: Pre-Baby

2012-02-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

At the ripe old age of <late twenties>, I have quite a few friends now who are on the cusp of starting their families and who are asking me how the heck can I afford to stay home and raise my daughter. This post is for them, and I'm actually going to do this topic in two posts. Today I'll talk about what we did to prepare financially before the baby arrived, and later I'll talk about what we're doing now.

To be honest, I never in my life dreamed I would be able to afford being a stay-at-home mom, but you would be amazed what you can make work when you want something bad enough. And I'm not going to lie--I wouldn't be able to do it without my husband. Unless you have the foresight and discipline to save a year's worth of cash for the occasion, you need some kind of support--be it from the baby's father, your parents, or some other family willing to help you out.

Before Little Lovely came along, I planned to take the standard 3 months maternity leave and then return to work at 30 hours a week (the minimum for full time at my job). If I had planned all along to stay at home and raise her, I might have done some things differently, but I have no regrets about the way things turned out. And knowing what I know now, here's what I would recommend to anyone who is expecting or expecting to expect in regards to their finances.

1. Start living on one income now. This is good practice anyway, even if you think you are years away from your first baby. I think it was when the recession first hit that I read a financial article about couples living within the means of one income just in case one of them should happen to lose their job. I talked to Hubby about it, and we decided that since he made more money, we would use his paycheck to pay all the bills and my paycheck would go into savings. This is our third year living this way, and in that short amount of time we were able to save up for a down payment on a house, pay down almost all our debts save for student loans and car payments, and take a trip to Ireland for our fifth wedding anniversary. We went from being thousands of dollars in credit card debt to owning our own house! And when I made the last-minute decision not to go back to work full-time, it wasn't as much as a shock to us since we had already been living on one income.

2. Prepare your insurance for pregnancy. This is something you should get a jump on before you even start trying for a baby, because there is a one-year waiting period before pregnancy is covered. Not all health insurance policies cover pregnancy, and some require maternity riders for an extra premium. Look over your plan to see what's covered. Also note what copays you will be expected to pay and start saving for that now. When I had Little Lovely, I paid $300 in doctor's office copays, $80 for ultrasounds, and $700 for my hospital stay. That's $1080 in copays with an insurance policy that covers maternity! Without maternity coverage having a baby in a hospital can cost $10,000-20,000, but birthing centers may have options for significantly less. Also, consider signing up for short-term disability insurance if you don't already have it. These policies will typically pay you the income you lose for 6-8 weeks of maternity leave, and may pay even more of the baby has to spend any time in the NICU. If your employer doesn't offer short-term disability insurance, then consider how much money you'll need to cover bills and groceries for your maternity leave and start saving for that now as well.

3. Pay down as much debt as possible. The fewer monthly payments you have to make after baby's arrival, the better, because you never know what situations might come up in which that money will be better utilized. There is no way I could afford to be a stay-at-home mom if we still had the credit card debt we racked up in college. We went through a debt settlement agency to get rid of it (debt settlement is a scary process that involves not paying on your accounts until your creditors get desperate enough that they're willing to negotiate down the debt). I would not recommend that route unless you are very brave, because it will also wreck havoc on your credit score (although we were still able to buy a house within three years of settling our accounts). If you think you have the stomach for it, then go for it, but I would never do it again. What I would instead recommend to my friends is to tackle your accounts one at a time. Make larger payments on one account and minimums on the others, until the one account is paid off, and then move on to the next account. Financial advisors say to start with the accounts with the highest interest and go from there.

I know it seems scary and impossible in the early stages of financially planning for baby, but the hardest part is actually starting. Once you get in the habit of putting more money into savings or toward your debts, you won't even miss the money. It was all going to go to somewhere anyway--why not put it somewhere useful? Believe me, after baby arrives, you'll be glad you did.

Next week I'll talk about what how we're managing our finances now that baby is here.

Baby-Proof Earrings

2012-02-04T08:56:00.001-05:00

My daughter, who is coming up on six months old, has started her "grabby" phase. She's been pulling at my hair for several months now, which is why I look to Ponytail Alternatives to avoid her little fingers instead of leaving my hair down, but recently she has discovered her toes, Daddy's coffee, and my earrings.

No, I am not going to forgo wearing earrings during this phase. Nor am I going to put my lobes at risk of tearing. The solution for this situation is simple: look for earrings with baby-proof clasps. They look like this:

See how the clasp pops open? That's the key. When baby pulls on the earring, the clasp pops open and frees the earring painlessly from your ear.

Of course, their are a couple of concerns you should keep in mind. The first and most obvious one is that you might lose the earring after baby pulls it out, so don't go all out on these. Save the precious metals for when baby is past this phase.

The second concern is that if the earrings are small enough, they may present a choking hazard. Of course, if your baby is close enough to you to pull your earrings, then obviously baby is under direct supervision, and you will certainly feel it if your earring comes loose. Just don't let baby put it in her mouth, and opt for larger, too-big-to-swallow earrings if you can find them.

Quick Fix for Greasy Bangs

2012-02-01T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm currently in a love-hate relationship with my bangs. I was completely in love when I first got them, but I've had them for almost three years now and am starting to feel like the Big Bang movement is on its way out. But then again, they look so cute on Zooey Deschanel. Maybe I'll keep them a bit longer.

The other issue that plagues many in the Bangs Gang is that of the greasy bangs, especially if you're like me and only wash your hair twice a week. But never fear--I have a fix for that, and it's a dry shampoo hiding in your kitchen. The secret ingredient is corn starch! It soaks up the excess oil in your bangs on contact.

If you feel funny about using what's essentially a food ingredient in your hair, consider this: the main ingredient in baby powder is none other than corn starch! Seriously, check the label. So you can use baby powder if you'd feel less strange about it, but it's essentially the same thing (plus fragrance and sometimes some vitamin E).

To use corn starch as a dry shampoo, simply sprinkle a pinch or two in your bangs and brush it out. Make you you do a good job with the brushing or else you'll end up looking dusty. Here are my results with the trick:

Before

After

This trick also works on greasy roots if needed.

Easy Whole Wheat Bread

2012-01-25T14:46:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law, with whom I've been friends since we were nine, claims I once called myself a lazy perfectionist. I don't remember ever saying this, but it does ring true. In my idea of the "perfect" me, I would be like June Cleaver, baking my own bread in my immaculate kitchen. In reality, I am more like Lucy Ricardo--not the best housekeeper or cook in the world, but not the worst either.

I really like the idea of baking my own bread, but was always too lazy in the past to try it. It sounded like too much work with all the kneading and rising involved. Then last Christmas that same sister-in-law bought me a cook book that changed my life: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. What a brilliant concept! Here are two people who felt exactly the same way I did about homemade bread and through some serious trial and error, figured out what steps in making bread were really unnecessary--to include kneading.

Their Master Recipe is fantastic, but since I'm on a whole wheat kick, I've been using their 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe. I did make a couple of changes, however. It wasn't rising as high as I wanted, so I increased the amount of yeast. And instead of using traditional whole wheat flour, I've been using white whole wheat flour (which isn't bleached; rather it's made from naturally white wheat). The white wheat flour is lighter, which gives the bread more rise, and has a milder flavor than traditional whole wheat. I also use more dough per loaf than they recommend, because I like a nice, big loaf. And since the authors of the book have given permission to post modified versions of their recipes, I'm going to share it with you here. But please do check out their books, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and release your inner June Cleaver!

Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Makes 2 loaves.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
2 tbsp granulated yeast
1 tbsp and 1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup honey
5 tbsp vegetable oil
6 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour

Directions
1. Mix the yeast, salt, honey, and oil with milk and water in a 5-quart container.
2. Mix in remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a wooden spoon.
3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and flattens on top, about 2-3 hours. If desired, refrigerate after the initial rise up to 5 days.
4. Lightly grease a nonstick loaf pan. Using wet hands, scoop out half the dough and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Drop the loaf into the prepared pan. The pan will be filled slightly more than half-full. Refrigerate the other half to bake on another day (but within 5 days of mixing the dough) or prepare a second loaf pan in the same manner.
5. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flour the top of the loaf and slash down the center, using the tip of a serrated knife.
7. Place the loaf on a rack near the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until deeply browned and firm.
8. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Pan-Less Egg Breakfast

2012-01-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

When I was pregnant with the Lovely, everyone warned me about how much time babies require from their parents. What I didn't realize until she was born is how much time babies require from their parents. Holy cow! I thought I was a good multitasker before, but now I feel like I'm working toward a master's degree in time management. And I'm only working 1-2 days a week! I don't know how you full-time working mommies do it. I commend you.

Since the Lovely takes priority, house work doesn't always get done in a timely fashion, although I do make an extra effort when company's coming. And dishes obviously can't wait to be done, so the less mess I make in the kitchen, the better. That's why I was really excited when I heard about this yummy breakfast idea. Eggs, bacon, bell peppers, and no frying pans. The only clean-up involved is a sheet of aluminum foil and a couple of plates and forks.

Yield: 2 servings if accompanied by a side dish (hash browns, toast, etc); 1 serving as a complete meal. Multiply accordingly.

Ingredients
1 large bell pepper
2 strips bacon
2 eggs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut bell pepper in half. Remove seeds and scrape insides with a spoon, being careful not to break through the skin. Line each pepper half with a strip of bacon.

3. Place peppers, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Drain any bacon grease and carefully crack one egg into each pepper half.

4. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until egg whites are set and yolks are desired doneness. Remove from oven, carefully drain any remaining bacon grease, and sserve immediately.

Ponytail Alternative: Side French Braid

2012-01-16T11:42:00.000-05:00

I recently participated in a career fair at a local high school, and it was amusing to me to see the students running around in fashions from over 20 years ago as if they were something new. And no, I'm not that much older than these students, but still old enough to remember the first time these fashions were in vogue (I was very picky about my clothes as a child).

What I liked seeing the most were the hairstyles. Two things that were big in the 80s were French braids and side ponies. Well today I decided to combine the two looks into one style.

If you know how to French braid, this style is easy enough. Simply brush all your hair to one side, start your French braid as usual, but braid it toward the side of your neck instead of straight down the back. Let the end of the braid hang over your shoulder. Easy. Relaxed. Romantic.

Emergency Chapped Lip Remedy

2012-01-11T16:41:00.001-05:00

Whether going au naturale or wearing the latest make-up trends, nothing ruins a pretty face faster than dry, flaky lips. I'm a summer girl, and this is by far what I like least about the winter. Well that and the cold. And the gloom. And the darkness.

But chapped lips are at least something I can fix. Forget the lip balm. That never seems to quite do the trick, does it? While soothing, it doesn't solve the flakiness issue. What's needed is a lip exfoliant to remove all the dead flakes of skin. My remedy is simple and requires only two ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

It's so tasty, too! Just slick a bit of honey on your lips, top with sugar (I use raw sugar but brown sugar works well too), and rub your lips together vigorously until all the flakies are gone. Then lick off the excess, apply some of your favorite lip balm, and you've got yourself some smooth, supple lips. Repeat as needed.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T13:26:00.001-05:00

This is not going to be a long post; just a quick something to say, "Happy 2012!" and announce my resolutions. I figure if I make them public I might have some more motivation to do them.

So in my continual quest to be the best "me" I can be, here are my goals for this year.

1. Get my pre-baby body back. This is an obvious resolution for a new mom, but I'm tired of being able to see my lunch in my belly after I've eaten it (read soft abs). To accomplish this, I will lose those last few pounds that I allowed to hang around through holidays and start doing my pilates workout again 3-4 days per week. My diet strategy is simple: I can eat whatever I want as long as I limit my calories to 1600 calories per day. This may seem like a lot for someone who wants to lose weight, but I'm also breastfeeding, so technically I'm still eating for two.

2. Put the kids first. That sounds so cliche. But what I mean by that is to pay attention to Little Lovely everyday. She's not going to be little forever, and I get so easily distracted by things, whether it be the house that needs cleaning or email that needs responding, or any number of random things that pop up during the day. I am so blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, and I don't want to waste that gift. So my goal for this year is to pay attention to Little Lovely first, then come back to those other things.

In that same vein, I don't want my nephew to think we've forgotten about him now that we have a baby. I want to make sure he knows that he is still very precious to us, and try to spend more time with him.

3. Be the person I want my daughter to be. I know that's kind of a catch-all and a cop-out, but there are a lot of little things I know I do that I'd prefer not to pass along to the Lovely. Things like being impatient, not showing enough appreciation for my loved ones, not being spontaneous, being too focused on my to-do list, being petty, and not showing my husband I love him enough. I know I probably won't be able to fix all these things in one year, but I can commit to making a start.

Sugar Wax

2011-12-03T13:47:00.015-05:00

A while ago I decided it was easier to just have someone else do my eyebrows for me rather than doing them myself at home. It wasn't so much that it was difficult for me to do; I was just tired of paying for the wax in addition to having to do it myself. If I was going to spend money anyway, I wanted someone else to do it for me.

Well being on a budget again has made me reassess my beauty needs and decide it's probably a good idea to start DIYing again. But I really do hate paying for wax. I can't stand paying for something I know is just going to end up in the trash. And then I discovered that I don't have to buy wax because I can make my own with common ingredients around the house. Bingo!

The type of wax I'm referring to is sugar wax. Sugar waxing or "sugaring" is a hair removal technique that actually comes from ancient Egypt. Since the wax is essentially a thick sugar syrup, similar to honey, it's almost impossible for bacteria to grow in it so it's pretty shelf stable. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium high heat until amber-colored. Do not stir while cooking, as that will encourage the wax to boil over. Pour into a pint-sized mason jar and allow to cool before placing the lid on it. Use within one year.

Use
1. Cleanse the area to be waxed.
2. Soften a small amount of wax (about 2 tablespoons) in your hand, until it is pliable.
3. Apply wax in the direction of hair growth. Immediately cover with a strip of cotton fabric, pressing it firmly into the wax.
4. Wait a minute or two, then pull off the cotton strip in the opposite direction of hair growth in one swift motion.
5. If any little hairs are left behind, you can press the cotton strip back on the area and pull them out, but use fresh wax and a new cotton strip for each new area.

Note on Eyebrows: I highly recommend splurging on a professional waxing the first time you shape your eyebrows. It's so easy to screw up the shape if you've never done it before. A professional treatment only runs about $20 and will give you a shape to work from in future DIY waxings. However, for those of you artistic beauties who think you can manage it yourself, I'll follow up this post with a separate post on eyebrow waxing later this week.

Style Challenge: Winter Afternoon Outdoor Cocktail Party

2011-11-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine got engaged over the Spring and was anxious to be a bride this year, so she had a short engagement and set her wedding date for November. I like the idea of a fall/winter wedding. My husband and I married in September, which is just at the end of "wedding season," and I felt like it was a bit more relaxed as a result.

However, my friend was also set on having an outdoor wedding, which for November is kind of a gamble. She may get sunshine (and she did), but at that time of year chances are good it's going to be chilly. Luckily she planned the ceremony for the afternoon, so even if we didn't have the sun on our side, at least the attire could be a touch more casual and thusly warmer.

But then I finally got around to looking at her wedding website. Under "dress code," she wrote "cocktail attire." Huh? As my husband put it, none of these things go together: winter, outdoors, cocktail, afternoon. This was definitely an interesting style challenge, because not only must my outfit match all these attributes at once, but it must also be breast-feeding friendly (read: I can't wear something that requires me to completely undress in order to get access to my bewbs).

Now "cocktail attire" does not automatically mean "cocktail dress," which would be impossible to breast feed in. When I hear "cocktail attire," I ask myself, "What would I wear for drinks with Frank Sinitra?" The answer is always something classy. After considering what in my closet is both classy and warm, this is the outfit I created.

The sweater and tights kept me toasty warm while the pearls and taffeta skirt kept things classy. And to up the trendiness, I finished the look with the snakeskin pumps my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas (she gets her shopping done ridiculously early)...

...and my new snakeskin clutch, which so far has been my only style purchase this season.

For my hair, I used Petra Guglielmetti's tutorial for Taylor Swift's braided bun. I tweaked it just a touch. I didn't curl my hair beforehand, choosing instead to just curl the wispies that fell out of the bun, and I French braided the bottom half of the upper braid.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the look. And it was a beautiful wedding.

Whole Wheat Brownies

2011-11-19T15:49:00.004-05:00

When my Aunt came to meet Little Lovely just after she was born, she made an off-hand comment that sort of stuck with me. She said that she had heard once that you should eat foods that remember where they came from. In other words, the less processed, the better, because who knows what nutrients and digestibility you're losing when it's being processed. I had been on the verge of living by that philosophy on my own, but that comment cemented my decision to do so.

So I like to cook with real butter (eek!), whole milk (egad!), and other non "diet" foods. And recently, I've become taken with the idea of using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. Whole wheat flour is less processed than white flour, so none of the nutrients in the wheat are lost. It is higher in fiber and protein, so it keeps you feeling fuller longer than recipes made with white flour. It also has a comparatively lower glycemic index, which means it's better for diabetics because it doesn't cause as much of a swing in glucose levels as white flour does.

Baking with whole wheat flour can be tricky, however. It has a much bolder flavor than white flower, which can't always be disguised in the recipe. It also tends to be more dense than white flour, which can affect the recipe's ability to rise. This is why whole wheat flour cannot simply be substituted for white, and unfortunately, there seem to be precious few baking recipes out there that use only whole wheat flour and not a combination of whole wheat and white.

But seeing as how I'm a bit of a brownie addict and stubborn when I set my mind to something, I was determined to come up with a brownie recipe that uses only whole wheat flour and still tastes like brownies. After several trials and errors, I am pleased to say I have perfected it, and now I'd like to share the recipe with you. I promise you won't be able to taste the difference.

Whole Wheat Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch square pan or 11x7 inch brownie pan.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and butter. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies set up.

The Black Friday Game Plan

2011-11-16T13:10:00.003-05:00

Next week is one of my favorite days of the year: Black Friday. Yes, I am one of those people who wakes up in the middle of the night to be herded like cattle into an over-crowded store and fight with other normally rational people to get the good stuff.

You may wonder what about this scenario appeals to me. Black Friday is not actually the biggest shopping day of the year, after all, and sales are abundant through Christmas. The appeal is this: the adrenaline rush of seeking out and capturing that prize before it sells out. The satisfaction of completing all of my Christmas shopping in one day. And of course, the sales. This is my super bowl.

However, in order to have a satisfactory Black Friday, one must have an organized game plan. A coach wouldn't put you into a football game and simply say, "catch the ball" (look Dad--I'm using a sports analogy!), nor should you set foot in any store on Black Friday without an idea of what you're after.

This is my general game plan, which I have found to be pretty successful the last 6 years.

1. Make out your list of people who will be getting gifts from you.
If you already know what you'd like to get certain people, put that on the list. If you don't know what a certain someone would want (we have several people who are difficult to shop for in our family), ask them for a wish list before the big shopping day. My friends and family know I do this every year, so they're used to me asking for Christmas lists at the beginning of November. If they don't have a wish list, consider if they would like something handmade or edible from you and decide what that something should be.

2. Find a shopping buddy or two.

My sister and I on a shopping expedition.

Shopping buddies can be a help or a hindrance. In order to be a help, you need someone who won't be clingy and stick to your side the whole time. You need someone that can help you divide and conquer. Keep your cell phones accessible and on vibrate (you won't be able to hear them in the crowd). Let your shopping buddies know what items are most important to you at each store, so they can keep an eye out for them. And if one of you gets done shopping before the other, get in line to check out! Often times the check-out line wraps around the store, so it's helpful to have someone holding your place in line while you finish looking for those last few things. But don't sign up for too many shopping buddies. Black Friday is hectic enough without having to keep track of 20 people.

3. Examine the Black Friday ads.
No need to wait for the Thanksgiving Day newspaper anymore to see what's going on sale. Most of the big chain store ads can already be found on BlackFriday.info. If you see something that someone on your list would like, and you hadn't already decided what to get that person, add it to the list. Be sure to note whether that item is a doorbuster, and what time that store opens. Pay special attention to the craft store ads if you're planning on giving handmade gifts. You can save big on craft supplies on Black Friday. And don't forget--holiday decorations go on sale on Black Friday too.

4. Buy the Thanksgiving Day newspaper.
I know I just said you don't need the Thanksgiving Day newspaper to see the ads, but a lot of stores will offer additional savings via paper coupons that can only be found in their circular. Michaels, for example, usually has a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase (including sale items), but you need the paper coupon to get it.

5. The door busters determine which stores to hit and when.
Remember I said to mark which items on your list are door busters. Door busters are usually offered in extremely limited quantity and often sell out within minutes of the store opening. Big ticket items such as TVs, electronics, and that toy-of-the-year, will only go to the first handful of people in line at the store, so if that's what you're after, be prepared to stand in line for hours before the store opens, and still potentially not get it. With other door busters, like clothing and kitchen appliances, it's probably safe to get there when the store opens, but I wouldn't wait much later than that.

So this is the key: determine which door busters are the most important to you so you know which stores to be at and at what time. Luckily the stores open at all different hours on Black Friday, so it's possible to be present for the opening of more than one store. For instance, Kohls opens at midnight this year and Michaels opens at 6am, so I can be at both of them when they open. If you're not planning on going after the door busters at a particular store, save that store for last.

6. Set a budget, and stick to your shopping list!
I cannot emphasize this enough. If you're planning on saving any money at all on Black Friday, you must stick to your shopping list. It's very easy to get caught up in the adrenaline rush and the grab-and-go mentality, and the next thing you know, you spent way more money than you intended, despite the savings. Make a list. Set a budget. Stick to it. Do it now while you're still sane and not sleep deprived.

7. Be flexible.
As I said before, a lot of the really good deals are offered in extremely limited quantity, so be prepared to be disappointed. Have some "back-up" gift ideas just in case.

8. After the stores, finish your shopping online.
I usually get the majority of my shopping done in the physical stores on Black Friday, but some people on my list ask for specific, hard-to-find items. For these people I shop online. You may have heard of Cyber Monday, which is the online equivalent of Black Friday that occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving, but most online retailers also offer sales on Black Friday. Amazon is one well-known example. Or if you're completely wiped out from the physical stores, feel free to recoup and finish your shopping on Cyber Monday.

Happy shopping, everyone! And good luck.

Ponytail Alternative: Curly Top Knot

2011-11-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

Top knots are having a moment in on the red carpet as the newest go-to glamour style. Most of the time I think this look is a bit too severe (although Glamour has some tips on how to make the look work), but there is one variation of this look that I really like: the curly top knot.

This has been my I-don't-feel-like-doing-my-hair style of late. The curls add just enough softness to the look to make it friendly, and it looks super cute with today's mod bangs look. And it's easier to do than you might think.

How to Do it:
Pull your hair into a high ponytail and secure with an elastic band. Wrap ponytail into a loose, messy bun, letting the ends fall free as they desire. Secure with a bobby pins. Curl ends under with a 3/4-inch curling iron. That's it!

Anti-Frizz Serum

2011-11-09T12:15:00.007-05:00

When I was a teenager I went through a phase where I wanted to make all my own beauty products. My motives weren't that "natural is better" or that it might save me money, but that it would be fun to experiment with ingredients and be able to tailor a product to be exactly what I needed. Then I entered the real world, and convenience took precedence as my life became consumed by college and finding myself in my career and social lives.

But life has begun settling down over the last year, and lately I've been revisiting the idea of making my own products. Not only is it less expensive, but it is better for the environment, and I don't have to worry about what kind of carcinogenic ingredients may be in the products I'm using.

This brings me to my first recipe: anti-frizz serum. I love John Freida's anti-frizz serum, but it gets pricey when you have to use it every time you wash your hair. And I have (almost) always had long, thick hair, so I have to use a bit more than the average Jane in order for the product to be effective. When I was in high school and didn't have money to spend on such fancy products, my solution was to use cooking oil in my hair. That may sound strange (and my dad used to laugh at me for it), but it actually did a decent job on cutting down the frizz.

Now that I've been able to do a bit more research on using oil in hair, I've created a more sophisticated recipe for my anti-frizz serum. It uses olive oil, which is a natural moisturizer and provides some UV protection (good for color treated hair); and jojoba oil, which is chemically similar to the natural oil your body produces. The addition of the jojoba oil is important, as it helps the olive oil to be absorbed into your hair and adds shelf stability to the serum. The essential oil is optional, but will make your hair smell nice. I've been using this recipe for about a year now and can no longer live without it.

Anti-Frizz Serum

Ingredients
1/2 cup pure jojoba oil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Optional: 30 drops pure essential oil, your favorite scent (use tea tree oil for naturally oily hair)

Directions
Mix all three oils together and store in an oil dispenser.

Use
Dispense a few drops to a quarter-sized amount into your hands and apply to wet hair (since water does not mix with oil, the wetness helps to disperse the oil over your hair). Use the smallest effective amount in order to avoid that greasy look. Apply only to the ends if your hair is short, or the bottom half of your hair if your hair is long. Avoid the roots. Start with a few drops, then gradually use more as you become comfortable with using the serum, until the desired results are achieved. Comb through and dry as usual.

Note for Ladies with Naturally Oily Hair: It seems counterintuitive, but oily hair is often worsened by over-washing, meaning either using too harsh a shampoo or washing too frequently. Over-washing strips your hair and scalp of its natural oil, and your sebum glands react by overproducing oil, thus making your hair look greasy more quickly and needing to be washed sooner. Too combat this vicious cycle, consider either using a gentler shampoo or washing less frequently. Unfortunately it may take a few washings for your sebum glands to adjust to your new wash routine, but they will adjust. I only wash my hair twice a week and have no problems with the greasies when using this serum. You'll also notice in my list of ingredients that I recommended using tea tree oil for naturally oily hair. Tea tree oil is a natural astringent and helps regulate oil production.

Easy DIY Tron Costumes

2011-10-26T13:19:00.011-04:00

If you follow my cat's blog, you probably know from last year that my husband and I are a little crazy about Halloween. We love it so much that a couple of years ago after going broke one Halloween, we decided to start a Halloween fund so we could save up all year for the occasion and not worry about breaking the bank.

This year, our first Halloween with the Little Lovely, we decided to do Tron because we couldn't resist the idea of a glow-in-the-dark baby.

So after stalking the cosplay forums for a bit, I ordered my supplies. I went with the gold standard of electroluminescent (EL) wire that was introduced by Tron Guy way-back-when, since it glows brightly and produces no heat.

Intimidating, I know. But don't let the wires and battery packs scare you. These ended up being both some of the easiest costume and most spectacular costumes I've ever made. Since I had some trial and error with the human's costumes, I'll demonstrate on our dog's costume. He's going as Clu.

Materials - read the directions before ordering!
- EL wire or EL tape (available as a kit with the inverter from Glowhut.com)
- Inverter or adapter, if you don't get the kit (read the specifications and make sure you get the smallest one that will power the amount of wire or tape you need)
- White crayon
- Yarn or string
- Clear beading thread and needle if using EL wire; Velcro tape if using EL tape
- Batteries
- Electrical tape
- Notepad and pencil
- Measuring tape
- Black clothing

Optional, depending on the complexity of your design:
- EL rings (available on eBay)
- Inverter splitter (also from Glowhut)

Step 1
This project requires a bit of advanced planning. Unless you know something about working with electricity and soldering (which I don't, nor did I want to try to learn lest I electrocute my child), then you need to figure out how to lay out the wire or tape so that you don't have to cut it. This may involve cutting slits in the costume so the wire or tape can run underneath the fabric in places where you don't want the wire to show. Keep in mind also that one end of your wire or tape will be connected to an inverter (the battery pack), so you should decide at this stage where the inverter is going to go. Note: The wire is much easier to work with, as it is nice and flexible and can be used for curves, whereas the tape can pretty much only be run in straight lines.

So your first step is to draw out your design, keeping in mind that you will be using one continuous line of wire or EL tape. If your design is very complicated, you may want to consider buying multiple lines of tape or wire in shorter lengths, but then you will either need multiple battery packs or a splitter to connect them to one battery pack. Note: If using a splitter, keep in mind that each battery pack can only power so much wire or tape, so if you are connecting multiple wires, you may need a larger battery pack to keep the lights glowing brightly. Use the total length of wire or tape that will be connected to the inverter to determine what size inverter you will need, and try to avoid using more than one splitter per inverter.

Step 2
Once you have your pattern drawn out on paper, draw it onto the piece of clothing you will be using with a white crayon. Follow the crayon marks with a length of yarn, then measure the length of the yarn to determine how much wire or tape you'll need.

Step 3
Attach the wire or tape to the clothing!

If using EL wire:
Start with the end of the wire that does not connect with the inverter, and lay it along your design. Stitch the wire to the fabric using doubled-up clear thread. Do not pierce the wire! Sew the thread around the wire to attach it to the fabric. Continue sewing until your entire design is covered with the wire.

If using EL Tape or Rings:
Use the same procedure as you would if you were using wire, except start at the end that connects to the inverter, and use Velcro tape instead of a needle and thread. Stick one side of the Velcro to the back of the EL tape and the other side of the Velcro goes along your design on the clothing. You may need to reinforce the Velcro to the fabric with a bit of hand stitching. Again, don't pierce the EL tape!

When you get to a "break" in the design:
Cut a slit in the fabric where one line of light ends and another slit where the next line begins. Thread your EL wire or tape through the fabric.

Step 4
When you get to the end of the design, it's time to deal with the excess wire or tape.

If using EL wire:
Thread the wire to where the inverter is going to live. For my dog's costume, there was a little pocket on the back of the jacket I bought that was the perfect size for the inverter.

Roll up the rest of the EL wire and secure it with electrical tape. If the fabric of your costume is very thin, you may need to cover all the excess wire with electrical tape to keep it from glowing through the underside of the costume.

If using EL tape:
Any excess tape can actually be cut off. The tape on the costume will still glow since it will be connected to the inverter, but you will need to cover the cut end with electrical tape to avoid any nasty shocks.

Step 5
This is the fun part! Connect the inverter to the tape or wire. If you have more pieces of wire than you have inverters, use a splitter to connect them to the inverter. But for safety's sake, don't use more than one splitter per inverter.

Add the batteries, and watch it light up. Ta-da!

Update:

Happy Halloween from Tron Dog!

Flower Hair Clips

2011-10-17T11:45:00.006-04:00

This weekend we took Little Lovely on her very first trip to the pumpkin patch to get her first Halloween pumpkin.

It was a beautiful day, albeit windy, and I was glad she had her little sweater. The night before the trip I was seized with the idea that she should have a grey sweater for the occasion, so I whipped one up for her in about three hours (see my Three Hour Baby Sweater crochet pattern).

The flower clip in my hair was inspired by this look. Flower clips go for up to $30 in retail stores or on Etsy, but you can make one yourself in about 5 minutes for just a few dollars.

Materials
1 artificial flower with a fairly flat bottom
2 artificial leaves
1 metal hair clip
Hot glue gun and glue

Directions
Cut the stem from the flower (if there is one) as close to the bottom of the flower as possible, so that the bottom of the flower will lie flat. Glue one leaf to the bottom of the flower, and glue the other leaf to the bottom side of the top prong of the hair clip.

Finally, glue the flower to the top side of the top prong, so that the top prong is sandwiched between the two leaves.

When gluing the leaves, take care to cover as much of the top prong as possible so it won't be obvious in your hair. As soon as the glue dries, it's ready to wear.

Preparing for the Next Fashion Season

2011-10-12T17:51:00.000-04:00

With every fashion season comes new exciting trends that send women clamoring to the nearest shopping mall, eager to be the first of their friends to be seen in them. For the gal that likes to stay on top of trends, this habit can really wreak havoc on your wallet.

Universal Style Tip: Start each new fashion season by going through your closet with a new eye. What do you already have that fits in with the new trends? You don't need to buy a whole new wardrobe every season. My personal rule of thumb is if I already have 5 pieces that work with a trend I like, then I don't feel the need to buy anything else. If I have 3-4 pieces, I still don't feel the need to buy anything new unless it's a look I can't get enough of. If I have less than 3 pieces, then I'll consider buying something new, but again, only if it's a trend I like. Then everything I already have gets moved to the front of the closet for the season.

Let's see what I currently have in my closet that works with the Fall trends.

Fall 2011's Top 5 Trends from Glamour

60s "It" Girl

Think Marlo Thomas for this trend, not Mad Men. To be honest, this is not my favorite trend. It's all about boxy shapes, and I like showing off my waist (at least back when I had one). So needless to say, I didn't have much in my closet to show for this trend, save for my tall boots (although my bangs are pretty "It" girl). I do like the geometric shapes though, so I whipped myself up a mod headband earlier this week. But since this is not my favorite trend, I probably won't be picking up any more 60s pieces for my wardrobe.

If you want to be a 60s "It" girl for less than $45, I recommend this cute pink dress and my It-Girl Headband.

Weekend Jeans

Does anyone really need to buy anything for this trend? Who doesn't love comfy jeans and cozy sweaters? I've always loved the leggings under jean shorts look (although I still have 10 pounds of baby weight left before I'll be able to button those shorts up). I also love the belted sweater look, which I wasn't able to do during the spring when I was pregnant. My ankle boots, while not very rugged, still work for casual, and my gray cardigan can go over anything. Skinny jeans are on their way out, but theu still look new when rolled at the cuff.

Keep warm this weekend for less than $45 with this Croft & Barrow sweater and these fur-trimmed fingerless gloves.

Dressing Like a Lady

I've always been a girly-girl, so this almost isn't a trend for me. I love lady-like and girly looks, and this season channels the 30s. My beige floral dress would be right at home in a Depression-era movie, and my flared pencil skirt might have been worn by a secretary. My striped tights, granny heels, and pearls might not have been worn by my great-grandmother (she lived on a farm), but they could have been.

If you want to dress like a lady for less than $45, check out this lace flapper dress, or make your own 30s fashions.

Black & White

I've actually been into the black & white look for some time now. I found a couple of dressier pieces (my paisley dress and camisole) as well as my everyday tote. Then it occurred to me that I could also wear a black tank top under my white lace sweater for yet another black & white look. But really, this trend is pretty easy to cheat on. Do you a black top? Do you have a white skirt or pants? Then you've got yourself a black & white look!

If you're looking for more black & white for less than $45, check out this polka dot scarf and polka dot tights.

Snakeskin

Behold! We have come to the weak spot in my wardrobe this season. I pulled out my old snakeskin skirt that I first bought in high school, but that's all the snakeskin in my closet. I do have one pair of pumps that are crocodile, and since it's in the reptile family, I'm going to give them a by. I do like this trend though, and since my current purse is begging for a replacement, I'm thinking I'm going to get myself a snakeskin clutch.

Get the snakeskin look for less than $45 with this snakeskin wristlet (which is probably the one I'm going to buy) and these snakeskin pumps.

So there you go. I'm ready for the Fall 2011 season and all I'm buying is one fashion accessory.

Ponytail Alternative: The Braid

2011-10-10T15:30:00.001-04:00

What I love most about the 80s revival the fashion world is experiencing is the return of the braid. So pretty!

The braid is my new favorite go-to when I don't feel like thinking about what to do with my hair. When you're pressed for time, it's so easy to just pull your hair into a ponytail, but unless you're taking the time to "bump" it, texturize it, or sleek it, let's face it. Ponytails look like you just didn't want to be bothered with your hair that morning. Braids are great because once you get the hang of them, they only take 5 minutes and suddenly you have some very un-boring hair. And they look good on all hair types even (sometimes especially) when they're messy.

As you can see, I have naturally curly hair, so I like to Dutch braid the top half (that's an inverted French braid) and let the bottom half do its own thing. Here are some more grown-up ways to wear braids, and some tutorials to get you started.