Happy Weekend! (Didn't We Just Do This?)

It seems like we just had a weekend! I'm not complaining - I love me a short week - but this week has flown by. I'm looking forward to date night tonight (Z is planning out where we are going) and then hanging out with my dear friend and her mister at Golden Gardens (I've never been!) on Saturday. Z is also on call all weekend... so hopefully no emergencies come up...

I'm also looking forward to doing some shopping looking with maybe a little buying (out of my allowance, of course - I haven't already forgotten, don't worry!). If you have any suggestions of places to find awesome vintage/antique goodies, please drop me a comment! I love checking out new places. I saw a sign for an antique mall in Puyallup on the way home last weekend, so I might see what I can find there.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Summer is almost gone, but it's still hanging on, so do enjoy it!

Photo found here.

PS I've always wanted to go on a hot air balloon... Have you ever been?

Obsessed: Barn Wood Tables

Currently I am obsessed with these barn wood tables (top two images from A Beautiful Mess; bottom two images from Wit & Whistle). I love the texture, the blend of colors, the herringbone, the detail. They're just so much more interesting than a regular wood table. Tons of character and I like that. Plus the thin hairpin legs are such a good mix with the natural toned wood. Love love love it.

I'm hoping to someday make one of my own. And hopefully soon... I've already decided I'm only asking for power tools for Christmas (hint hint ;). Then all I have to find is some barn wood and some hairpin legs! I'm thinking mine will be a side table for next to the couch. Must make one of these pronto!

September is Savings Month!

This month we are going back to the basics. Remember when we were on our strict Spending Diet? Yeah me neither. Haha. It's definitely been a while. The spending diet worked so well for us when we first started. We were able to go to Europe last summer, but after that we kind of fell off the wagon. We have still been taking out our monthly allowance ($100 each), but we've also gotten a little more lenient when it comes to eating out (and I may have had a few necessary sessions of retail therapy - oops!). Especially with our date nights. We usually try to find a good happy hour, but at the same time, it's worth it to us to spend the extra money to have that special couple time. And we probably will keep that factored into our budget just because we both think it's so important, especially as we get more and more busy with Z's school and my work (and two puppies!).

I read an interesting article this past weekend in Real Simple magazine about how women are naturally less of long term savers than men (Women & Money: Why You Need To Take Control Now). Men think more about saving for retirement and getting set up for the future, whereas women think more short term and goal-oriented. Women are better at finding good deals and saving money in the here and now. For instance, bargain shopping and clipping coupons. We're also good at saving for goals like buying a house or going on vacation, too. The article also talked about how in the past men were the bread winners, earning the money, and women decided how to spend it. It makes sense that women are in that mind set given the past and social norms. Just recently have times changed where there are actually strong women role models for saving and being financially savvy.

The article hit home for me because while I may work in tax accounting, I'm not great at finance. And, I can also identify with the short term and goal-oriented saving. For instance, when we started the spending diet over a year and a half ago, our goal was to travel around Europe. Now, we are kind of in limbo - Z hasn't had a real break in school where we can plan for a vacation (hopefully December???) and we are still a ways away from buying a house. It made it so much easier to stack away the bones when we had something to look forward to.

As for the short term saving, I am always up for a good deal - my new favorite hobby is hitting up Goodwill to find hidden treasures and give them new life. While that may save me a few bucks in the short term, it's not doing me any favors for retirement. My main take away from the article - I should be saving more for the future! At the same time, Z is still in school and it is difficult to build up any good savings - besides my 401(k) (which is probably the easiest way to save!) - when we are constantly having to buy books and supplies and tuition, etc. But at least it's something for now.

On a slightly different note, it seems like retirement, or at least the thought of it, is changing. People are living much longer now - well past the age of 65. How much money do you need to live on for 15, 20 , 25 years after that? A lot! It's kind of crazy when you sit down and add it up. What about living now? Spending your money how you want when you are young. Seeing the world while you can still walk around it without a walker. Doing the things you want to do before it's too late. I'm not saying you shouldn't save at all, but if we are starting to live longer, eventually we are going to have to start working longer (We'll be lucky if we see any social security!). Just something to think about. Mix it up a bit! :)

So, with all that said, we are going to be saving fiends this month! No more eating out (except for the allotted once a week date night), much less Starbucks, and no more impulse buys. We can do it!

What are you saving for these days? Vacation? House? Retirement? Just because? What's the easiest thing you've ever saved for? The hardest? 

Photo found here.

Labor Day Camping - Alder Lake

Hey guys! I hope you had an amazing long weekend and got out to enjoy the sun! Such beautiful weather!

We had such a great time with family at Lake Alder this weekend. Alder Lake is down near Mt. Rainier and was only about an hour and a half from our house. I loved not having to drive to far. It was so close to Mt. Rainier, which was beautiful! The lake is from a glacier too, so the water was more turquoise and really pretty. There were trees everywhere (well, it's WA, duh!) and was such a secluded and lovely setting.

We got there Friday night after Z was done at the hospital. Side note - last week he started his third rotation in general surgery and it's a tough one! The hours are long, but he's learning lots. Three more weeks and then he's off to Silverdale for Orthopedic Surgery! OK, back to camping! We had some amazing brats that Schmev and Nae (my in-laws) picked up in Eatonville (the really small town about 10 minutes from the campground). They were delish! I think I've only had a better brat in Germany. So we had them again on Saturday too. So good. And yes, I only have ketchup on my brats. Who needs anything else?

We went on lots of long walks down to the lake and over to the nearby dam. It was pretty cool to see and actually very picturesque. See how blue-green the water is?

The campground has a nice swimming area for the kiddos, although the water near the shore is a little mucky. Saturday, my sister-in-law, Bethany, came over with her "nephew" William. He's such a cute little guy at almost two years old. We took him down to the lake and let him wade in the water. He was a little hesitant at first, but then he loved it!

We took the pups down to the lake too, although a different part (no dogs allowed in the swimming area). But around the corner had an awesome view of Mt. Rainier and the rest of the lake! It was a great lake for boating too! If only...

Chloe - Zach's parents' dogs - looooooooves the water. She's a golden retriever, so she was pretty much born for it. She could go fetch the ball, log, anything in the water forever. Our two furry boys on the other hand, are not so fond of the H20. But, Brody did have his first swim! He had been eyeing Chloe jumping in again and again and finally jumped in too! Surprise - he knows how to doggie paddle! Haha. Although he was so startled by the cool water that he was scared to go in again. Poor little buddy.

Here he is longing to swim after Chloe...

And there he goes! Jumped right in! Notice Buster looking on...

And, immediately comes out. Buster was checking if he was OK. :)

Then we tried a couple more times to get him to go back in. No such luck.

And no such luck with BBoy either.

So then we took a break and took some family pictures! That's Schmevin doing Usain Bolt. 

We played lots of cards and games (pinnacle and hearts and dice) and at some point the puppies got put in time out. :)

We had such a great time! Sunday we went over to Centralia (only about an hour away) to see my parents and my aunt, uncle, and cousin that were up for the weekend. So much fun to see the family! 

What did you guys do this weekend? Camping like us? Whatever it was I hope it was amazing!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Oh man, this has been a long (yet quick) week. Does that make sense? Work is picking up for the 9/15 deadline. Zachary is back from Pendleton, but it's still an adjustment going from single mama for a month to having the family back together. I love having him back but change is always hard. 

What are you doing for this long weekend? We are going camping with the in-laws and I'm super excited! We're taking the pups and it should be a nice relaxing weekend full of campfires and smores, long walks, and plenty of pinnacle. Sunday/Monday we are also heading to my parents house to see my aunt and uncle! I haven't seen them forever so it will be really nice. 

My baby brother also has his first football game as Quarterback Coach for the Linfield Wildcats! Go Dude!

Are you excited for football season like the entire Boehme/Kane family is?!?!?! GO HAWKS! GO CATS! GO ZAGS! GO DUCKS!

Have a great weekend!

Photo found here via Poppytalk

Gettin' Our Bob Ross On

We had a blast painting one of our favorite landscapes last weekend - the Seattle skyline (although it didn't have any trees or little squirrels). Painting, combined with wine (and healthy appreciation for mustaches - ahem, Colleen, ahem) made for an awesome night at Canvas! - a paint & sip studio in downtown Kirkland! I'd been wanting to go for a while now and even though I'm not the best artist (I'm no Bob Ross - definitely far from it) I love being crafty and creative. 

We had Thai food before we went and then wandered down to the Kirkland waterfront for a quick photo. Sutira turned me on to Thai Iced Coffee! Have you had it? You MUST try it. It. Is. Amazing. I already decided I have to order it every time I have Thai food from now on. It's that good. Think sweetened (and strong) coffee with a dash of heavy cream on top (I never said it was the healthiest thing on the menu).

I really hope that is not a cat on a leash behind us in the above photo... kinda looks like it, no?

On to the wine and painting! It's a little spendy coming in at $40, but Sutira found a living social deal that ended up being about $27/each for a party of four! The deal included two bottles of wine between the four of us and painting, so it wasn't a bad deal at all. Plus, it's more for the experience, right?! And I'm all about experiences. 

We were the first ones there at 6:30, which meant we got the best spot with a view of the instructor. They had very light appetizers (think chips, salsa, grapes, cheese + crackers, pound cake) and a bar with beer and wine. Since we had wine included in our deal, I'm not sure if you have to pay extra to get a drink or not beyond the $40 regular price.

They give you four paintbrushes in various sizes, then you fill up on all your paint. The instructor then teaches you step by step how to paint! It's like a grown up paint by numbers. Pretty awesome. And as you can see, all of our paintings turned out pretty darn amazing (ifidosaysomyself).

Getting our paint on! Colleen is not impressed...

Ready to paint!

The sweet set up (Rule #1: Don't mistake your wine glass for the water glass to clean your paintbrush).

I don't remember what was so funny... but we sure had fun!

Here's a bigger and more elaborate version of what we were painting.

On all the walls they had inspiration of all the different painting they teach. You could actually paint whatever you wanted, but we all figured it would be better to just stick with the instructor. :)

Me and my masterpiece! Yes, my space needle is ginormous (that's what he said?). I just wanted to make sure if was the focal point... totally planned it that way. :)

Sutira and Colleen.

Colleen's masterpiece (can you spot the mustaches?).

Sometimes you just have to turn is upside down.

Ellie's masterpiece.

And here's Sutira's masterpiece already up on the wall at her place!

The whole group!

The whole process went surprisingly smooth since the instructor gives you each step. When you layer all the different pieces like they show you, it's actually pretty easy! Although, with two doctors-to-be and an accountant in our group you probably won't be surprised that we were the last group to finish up our paintings (perfectionists, much?!).

We had a blast, and I would highly recommend going if you want something fun to do with a group (and have the bones to spend). There was even a bachelorette party painting right next to us! I know there are a few other similar places around the Seattle area, too.

And one more time because we did so awesome.

Have you ever been to a place like this? If so, what did you paint? Did you find it easy? Challenging? Frustrating? Do tell!