How to Decorate on a Tiny Budget

Today I am going to share with you some of my tips for decorating on a small tiny almost nonexistent budget. As some of you may know, my husband and I are both students and are determined to graduate without any debt so we keep the budget tight. When we moved into our little home I was bursting with ideas for how I could decorate it. I wanted so badly to make the whole house look like a house tour on Apartment Therapy. The problem was that decorating costs money, and I couldn't help but get a little bit discouraged at first. I realized after a few months that it would come together but I had to be patient. After living here for a while I finally feel like it is a home, it showcases my personal tastes and style, and I have resisted my urges to spend whole paychecks at west elm (so far!) So without further ado, here are my tips:

image source

Home

Home by Phillip Phillps

Find the mp3 here.  

"Home" is my absolute favorite song right now. I may or may not have (I totally did) cried my eyes out in my pregnant, emotional state the first time I heard it. I am a lyrics person, and I think the lyrics are beautiful. 

It was right before I wrote this post, and we were also in the stressful but exciting process of buying a house.

Well, we got the house, and we will be moving next week! I can't wait until the moving mayhem is all over and I hope we'll be all settled way before baby #2 makes their debut. I have so many fun projects and ideas in store for you guys as we make a few adjustments to our new house.

I was thinking back today to when we first got married. We lived in a tiny, super old, one bedroom apartment that had mold in the bathroom and the kitchen. It smelled funny.  We couldn't have been happier.

We also had the opportunity to live for a few months in a teeny tiny studio apartment in NYC with no dishwasher and constant city noise. We couldn't have been any happier.

I think back to the first house we bought, which was the first home Luke ever knew. We couldn't have been happier there. We saved up and spent hours painting his nursery just to move 3 months after he was born to a new place, away from family. We have now lived here for almost a year. Even though I miss our families, it is amazing how happy we are, and how quickly this new place has become our home.

I guess what i'm getting at is, as Luther Vandross has said, "a house is not a home". I'm so grateful to have Bryce and Luke, who turn wherever we are into my home.

Wish me luck during this crazy transition from one home to another :). 

Our Week in Pins and Photographs

I thought this week I would share a recipe I found off pinterest that I have tried and tested! For us, this balsamic pork was a new idea and really yummy! Bonus, you make it in the crock pot! Try it, you'll like it!

Thanks, C+C Marriage Factory!

Junie Blake Giveaway Winners!

Neither of our original winners contacted us withing the allotted time period (and we couldn't reach them) so new winners have been chosen! 

Our lucky new winners are:

Princess E. and Me 

and 

Blake and Allyse Boardman

Please contact us via e-mail within 48 hours to claim your $30 gift card!

Polka Dot Bottle Vase Tutorial

Hey guys! I did this project for See Vanessa Craft a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm sharing the full tutorial here in case you missed it! I decided to make a polka dotted bottle vase because I love polka dots and can't get enough of them lately. It was inspired by this Milk Jug. I saw it on Pinterest, wanted it, and then thought "I could just make that, and not pay for it." Win-win. So I was able to do it at no cost to me since I just used things I already had at home. I will estimate what I paid for the materials though so that you all can see how wonderfully cheap it would be even if you don't have everything.

Free Summer Time Printables

For some reason the other day I woke up craving fall. I just wanted a cool breeze, a sweater, a pumpkin cookie, colored leaves. I wanted to break out a bunch of fall projects, but then I realized I hadn't even made a summer printable yet. So I forced myself to backpedal a little bit. 

I'm so glad I did. Making these printables made me remember all the things I love about summer. It is such a happy and energetic time. I'm recommitted to making the most of this one! 

If you saw this post, you know i'm obsessed with the song from this first print. Wouldn't it be cute in a nursery as well?

Printable here.

Printable here.  

Happy summertime! Let's enjoy it while it lasts. 

 

*This post may be linked up at one of these fabulous linky parties, check them out!

Free Amazon Prime for Students!

Hello student friends! Amazon is offering free two day shipping for six months through the Amazon Student Program. You get all the benefits of Amazon Prime, like free Kindle e-books and instant streaming of shows. So, it's a no brainer. I did this last year and it was so great, and even after it ended they offered me 50% off the normal yearly fee of amazon prime when I wanted to sign up. Yes, please! You'll love it.

Junie Blake Giveaway!

Okay people today is your lucky day because Junie Blake is sponsoring a giveaway for two $30.00 gift cards, starting right now! 

Haven't heard of Junie Blake? Here are a few of our favorite items: 

 

The Kelly Skirt $39.99 

  

The Bren Top $34.99

 

The Emma Dress $59.99

Aren't they great? We love how everything is already modest.

So here are the details: 

The giveaway will run from now until Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. The two lucky winners must contact us within 48 hours to claim their prizes or new winners will be chosen.

Mandatory entries:

1.) Follow this blog (see right sidebar)

2.) Like Junie Blake on Facebook and post about this giveaway in your status. Then, leave a comment on Junie Blake's page letting them know what your favorite dress is!

Bonus entries: 

3.) Like Pretty Providence on Facebook

4.) Follow Pretty Providence on Twitter

5.) Follow Pretty Providence on Pinterest

6.) Follow Junie Blake on Twitter

{Please leave a separate comment for each entry because we will be using a random number generator to determine the winner, and you want to make sure all your entries count!}

What are you waiting for? Enter & win! 

-Jessica & Sarah

Holiday Planning: Less Stress & Money, More of the Good Stuff!

This image is a free printable poster from q.a. design that I added a little extra text to. Jenna is so talented and kind for offering up her pretty things for free :) Go check out her blog to print it (without my text) and browse all the other wonders she has to share! 

We have all been there. It's Thanksgiving. You are enjoying pumpkin pie and good company, but there is something on your shoulders: worry. Worry that you don't have the cash to buy all the gifts you want to buy for your loved ones for Christmas. Worry that you feel you have to buy something for someone and you have no idea what to get them. (Office party name-drawing!? No thank you.) Well, it doesn't have to be that way. I used to get a little frantic when the holidays neared, knowing that I should've started preparing earlier, should've budgeted, should've left myself more time to adequately celebrate the purpose of the holiday and spend time with family and friends rather than being out running errands up to the minute the clock struck 12, spending money on random things no one really wanted. No more! I'm starting now, and I have a plan.

New! Free $2 Amazon Credit!

 Oh hey! New music time again! This time all you have to do is link your twitter account with Amazon.   Get your $2 Credit here! After you link it and receive your credit I suggest going into your twitter permissions and revoking Amazon's access because otherwise they will continue to tweet for you! It only takes two seconds. Yay for new music! This offer is available through July 27.

Need some inspiration? They have a bunch of songs for 25 cents! Or, some really great albums for $3 or $4. I recommend Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine or really any of these albums!

Happy music shopping :)

How to Vacation on a Budget

Ah, vacation.

Vacation can be a touchy subject for budgeters. I know it is hard for us. When you are used to living in the "save first" mindset, it is easy to feel like you will never have enough extra for a big splurge. Luckily, vacationing doesn't always have to be a big splurge. Here are a few of my ideas for vacationing on the cheap, and of course, still having a blast.

The expenses of vacation can be divided into three main categories: travel, accommodations and food/entertainment. I am going to tackle each of these ideas separately and give you a few ideas on how to save in each category.

freebies & deals for your weekend: music, photo books, cash back!

The free $2 music credit I wrote about last week is still available! They have extended the deadline so if you didn't take advantage of it yet, go use it! :) Go here to get the details, sign up and get your free songs! One of my favorite albums ever is on sale for $3.99 so if you don't know what to use your credit on I recommend The Avett Brothers: I And Love And You. Amaaazing. You'll thank me later.

Also, Nordstrom is having their half yearly sale right now and Ebates is offering 5% cash back! There are some great deals to be found. I like this bag. I like it a lot.

My Publisher is once again offering a free photo book to new customers. Just go here, enter your e-mail address and they will send you a code for your free book. You will most likely need to pay shipping, which is usually around $7. Guys, photo books are great gifts, so even if you think you don't need one of these think about your mother, who would love it, make them and hand them out at Christmas!

Last but not least! A free photo book offer- this one's for everyone! You can get a 5x7 softcover photo book for free and just pay shipping ($1.99) from Snapfish when you enter code HPReward at checkout.

Fine Print: U.S. customers only. Use coupon code HPreward at checkout by January 31, 2013. Free 20-page 5” x 7” softcover photo book is redeemable via mail-order only and cannot be used for in-store pick-up. Free 5” x 7” softcover photo book includes the first 20 pages only; additional pages will be charged at regular price.

Our Week in Pins and Photographs

For me, this was totally a "how have I not thought of this?" pin. Such a brilliant idea! With our beach vacation coming up I definitely want to make a big beach blanket for the little man to crawl around on (not that he'll stay on it) but at least we'll have plenty of room. Great summery colors too!

 

Thanks, My Material Life

Room Makeover Under $150: Mint, Coral and Gray

lamp - curtain panels - rug - print - fur pillow - chev pillow - gray pillow

I have two rooms in my house that I would love to decorate. One being my bedroom, and one being my spare bedroom that is used as our walk-in closet slash husband's drum studio? Yeah it's tiny. We've never bothered to decorate either because no one sees them, but I think I'm ready. I rounded up these pretty things as I was dreaming up my color scheme based around that beautiful rug Urban Outfitters has to offer right now. I feel like these could really transform ANY room, without breaking the bank.

Chunky Strawberry Topper Copy Cat Recipe

I am in love with Jamba Juice. I swear I could eat there every day. Unfortunately, they don't have a location where I live. (What the heck?!) It is so hot here I crave one once a day...at least.

Anyway one of my favorite smoothies is the chunky strawberry topper. So, this week I made it my mission to make my own version, and I think I did pretty well! I love the unexpected marriage of strawberries and peanut butter. I feel like that extra protein gives me the burst I need in the mornings these days.

Here's my recipe:

Another Guest Post at See Vanessa Craft!

Hey guys! I'm so excited for my turn to be guest posting over at See Vanessa Craft today.

Make sure you go check it out!

If you missed Sarah's guest post last week, find it here.

Love you guys!

Guest Post: The Anywhere Outfit

Hi ladies! I'm a twenty-something sarcastic, curly-haired chocoholic - but you can call me Michelle. 

Sarah + Jessica were nice enough to have me guest post today. Normally, I blog over at Wishful Thinking, where I write about design, fashion, music, thrifting, DIY projects and my new puppy. Everything you see on my blog is $100 or less. Truth be told, that's often too pricey for me. Most things fall right under the $40 mark.

Today, I put together something I like to call the anywhere outfit. For me, summer means picnics, concerts, bbqs, weddings and graduation parties. It also means job interviews, lunch with mom and grocery shopping. I need an outfit that can handle it all - for CHEAP! These items range from $1.80-$22.00 each, so they won't break the bank. I recommend pairing some pieces you see here with ones already hanging in your closet. There's really no reason to buy a fifth brown belt!

I hope you like what I've put together. Please stop by my blog and say hi! I love meeting new bloggers. If you really want to stay connected, you can also find me on Etsy, on Twitter, on Facebook and on Pinterest. Thanks for reading; I look forward to meeting you all.

Ebates: Cash back on online purchases!

 Do any of you use Ebates? If not, you're going to love it! Ebates is a rebate program where you sign up for the program and then you go through them to your favorite online stores and earn a percentage of cash back on each purchase! It's super great. I have been a member for a while now but I don't do a ton of shopping online with the exception of Amazon.com. Amazon was previously not included in Ebates' retailers but guess what? They just partnered up and I couldn't be happier about it! I literally buy everything online from Amazon. Now I can get 3% cash back on all the stuff I'm already saving on by going through them. Awesome. And on the rare occasion that I purchase something from another online store I always go to Ebates first. J. Crew's cash back is 6% right now, and on top of the fact that they are offering 40% off on their FINAL SALE items, we budget conscious ladies can find some nice things guilt free! (I am eying this cardigan, it's only $21, normally this much.) So if you're interested, sign up here! I mean... if you are going to buy something online, why not get a few bucks back later?!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

While I can't claim "best enchiladas in the world" (because I haven't tried all the enchiladas in the world...j/k) I can only say that they are my personal favorite homemade enchiladas. These are a definite staple in our home and I hope you enjoy them as well!

Our Week in Pins and Photographs

My husband served a two year mission for our church in Budapest, Hungary and "sajt" aka: mozzerella sticks are a popular treat over there. On special occasions he will make them and they are a-m-a-zing, but I was really excited to see this easy, low calorie, bake-able option. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks, Never Trust A Skinny Cook!

DIY Magnetic Fridge Frames

My Version of a BLT Pasta Salad

I love BLT's. Oh so much. It feels like we eat them at least once a week, because husband loves them too. You would think I would love BLT pasta salad...not so much. I don't love salads of any kind that are coated in mayo (and most BLT salads are). Furthermore, I don't love mixing lettuce and pasta in the same dish, with rare exceptions. So, I made up my own "BLT" based pasta salad that avoided the aforementioned things. I hope you will think it is yummy whether you like traditional BLT pasta salad or not!

You will need:

High Fashion, Low Budget...It's Possible!

 Hey everyone! We have another inspiring guest poster here today to share her ideas on how you can be totally trendy without breaking the bank! If you missed the first posts of the series here's where you can find them:

My Monthly Budget--A Love Letter To Myself

Budgeting on a Budget

A Thrifty Tip from Across the Water

 

 Today we are excited to introduce Jalynn! She is so sweet, fun and fashionable! Without further ado...

  If someone were to glance in my closet they would automatically assume that I belonged to a high-class family with a six digit income. Never would they imagine that it belonged to a lower middle-class, one-income, frugal woman who has never set foot in any high fashion store that wasn't part of an outlet mall. No, I don't consider myself "poor" in the least bit, but by the time the bills are paid each month I have little leftover to spend on money and shoes. In fact, the actual money that I'm able to spend on these luxuries is around $40, usually less.  So how did I build up such a fanciful closet? By doing what I do best: SHOPPING!!

In my opinion, shopping is a talent. Just like any other activity, anyone can do it, and most of them do, but to be good at it takes hard work and practice. You have to find the deals. You have to search through racks of clothing. You have to pull out the needle and thread every once in a while. You have to take advantage of sales, and shop the right places at the right time. For a stay at home mother and student, it's easy for me to shop whenever I want. (Which is probably how I got so good at it!) Most importantly, you have to have an IMAGINATION!

This is how I shop like it's what I was born to do:

Target Apparel Coupons!

Target has some great apparel coupons available right now. The above four expire August 12 so you have a good amount of time to find some good deals but I suggest printing them now because they could disappear at any time. Head to the clearance racks! I frequently get stuff for free or less than a dollar doing this. Just make sure you read the fine print as some coupons exclude certain items. They are good in-store only and none of them exclude clearance or have a minimum purchase amount this time, so these are golden! Get them here. Anything you have been eying at target lately that you know you'll use your coupons on?

I'm hoping to find a pair of these cute jeans to use my $5 off coupon on, total being $5.98! 

MORE free music from Amazon!

Guys, head over to Amazon right now to get your free $2 of music from Amazon MP3! Just go here and enter code HEARTMP3 and you're golden! Note that this offer cannot be combined with the $3 they offered from AmazonLocal last week. Once you've entered your code, head over to the Amazon MP3 store and take advantage of this sweet offer! These Summer Jams are only .25 cents if you haven't already taken advantage of them!

*This $2 credit will expire at midnight on July 11, so make sure to use it asap!

Time and Money

Get the free printable here.

I just love this quote. I think it is perfect, and I am definitely going to print it out somehow to hang in my house as a reminder. 

As a parent, it is really hard sometimes not to spoil your kids. It is also really easy to reward them with "things". I think it helps to remember that not only is budgeting the smart, and necessary, thing for our family right now, but it will help me to raise the kind of children I want to. 

I want to raise children who know how to make smart financial choices. 

I want to raise children who exemplify gratitude and humility. 

Most importantly of all, I want to raise children who know how much I love them. 

So here's to spending time and focus on what is really important. 

 *This post may be linked up at one of these fabulous linky parties, check them out!

Our Week in Pins and Photographs

This side table is actually a waste basket spray painted and turned upside down. So pretty! I love it and want to make five for myself now. Commencing search for similar baskets now...

Source: Thank you, House of Turquoise!

Campfire Banana Boats

Did everyone have a fun and patriotic 4th? Mine was great! I went camping with my husband and some friends of ours, we watched a ton of hot-air balloons rising from the top of a mountain, saw The Amazing Spiderman (loved) and then watched the fireworks from every direction on the same rooftop where husband proposed to me on July 4th 2009. Can life get better? I submit that it cannot! We had these delicious banana boats on our camp out so I am going to share the how-to in case you haven't tried them before, they're divine.