I started posting these "view through my lens" posts last year to help recap each month through my iPhone shots to keep random snapshots saved and easy to find.
This was originally supposed to go live on Monday, the 29th, however after some technical difficulties and a small large computer glitch, I am back from my computer hiatus, everything has been fixed and we are back in action!

L and I went to Portland, Maine in the beginning of the month to see one of our favorite bands (Breaking Benjamin) perform an acoustic show in the State Theatre. It was honestly, the best concert we have ever been to, and I have the cozy, quaint and very small venue to thank. I didn't feel one bit out of place drinking my vino at a rock concert there. This show was a little sentimental to us, as Breaking Benjamin was one of our first dates over 6 years ago. Truly a wonderful show and even better company!

 While in Maine, we also swung by my parents house and picked up Macy Cat from her little one month Mainecation. We missed her so much and are so happy to have her back. She is thrilled to be back in her little Boston apartment looking over the neighborhood from HER window.

I love this picture my mother sent me of her hens on a snowy day. 

Getting ready for our annual ski trip to Okemo with my new favorite ski socks from Darn Tough. They have gondolas and Yeti's!

I sure wish I could find the pictures of me standing next to this sign when I was a youngin'!

Perfect snow on a perfect day!

My very favorite ski bunnies!

My sisters and I choreographed a sister dance! I also put together a recap video from our trip!

I put together this cute ski trip packing list to help myself and others organize for their next trip.

Had a small moment where I remembered I was in debt to the government for student loans and needed to start thinking ahead! I'm going to create a string of posts or a page to track my progress!

 I added this wedding mad libs printable to my Etsy shop for the future brides!

Couldn't help but snap this precious photo of Macy Cat helping me organize my bureau!

 Looking forward to what March has in store for us!

January

WEBSITES that I love! (That aren't shops)

(via)
If this was a post highlighting all of the shopping websites that I frequent, it would be mighty long and probably pretty boring. The number of bookmarks that I have is quite extensive, however, there are a handful of websites that I enjoy visiting that don't involve buying something (sometimes). Aside from the ever popular Pinterest, Youtube, Netflix and Buzzfeed, I have a few other favorites that might not be as popular.

1. myregistry.com
   I feel silly admitting to this, but I use myregistry.com as a running shopping/wish list for myself. It's so easy to keep everything with direct links to products that I would like to potentially buy located in one spot. While the actual purpose of this website is to use it as an actually registry where you add a bunch of items and then share the link with others, I like to keep it to myself. On the occasional birthday/Christmas, I'll share the access password with L if he needs a little help with gifts ;) mine is basically the entire container store.
   
   
2. theSkimm.com
   There are two emails that I look forward to receiving every morning. Our local neighborhood newsletter, and theSkimm. I'm not one to sit in front of the TV or computer dissecting the news all day, so this broken down, simplified, and easy to read newsletter is the perfect dose of news and information that I can browse through to give me an educated understanding of current events.
   
   
3. theONION.com
   For something a little more satirical, I can spend hours browsing through and reading articles on theONION. While they certainly do cover current events, they incorporate a fun and fictional spin to each of their stories.
   
   
4. lifehacker.com
   I am always looking for ways to maximize productivity, which is why Lifehacker is my most recent favorite! I always go straight to the "Two Cents" section (which can be found by clicking the upper left hand corner) for the articles that I find the most informative. It's filled with interesting life tips and hacks that you might not have found elsewhere!
   
   

What are your favorite websites!?

WHO • WHAT • WHEN • WHERE • WHY

WHO

• These amazing people who restored my faith in humanity. I think my cat loving soul burst a little when I saw #13, #14 and #21 (: These are the things that make me smile.

WHAT

• I bit the bullet yesterday and took advantage of J. Crew's extremely low prices by gifting myself this intarsia sweater. (: I have been thinking about this sweater all season and finally decided I needed it when it was a mere $30 (it's still on sale)! If it comes in time, I'll be able to wear it for our next ski trip to Loon. I also love this and this one by Gap,  

WHEN

• The next time you're stuck in a rut, maybe reference to this list of 21 ways to feel better. I always find that distracting myself with something else that is more exciting leaves me in better spirits!

WHERE

• Your house! This hometown map puzzle by L.L. Bean is the perfect housewarming, Christmas, and/or birthday gift for anyone, including yourself! You punch in where you live, and they will map out a puzzle with your home in the center, shaped as a little house puzzle piece. It's darling and I desperately want to buy one for ourselves for our little home in Boston. Then you can put a layer of Mod Podge on top and have it framed (that's what my mom did and it looks awesome)!

WHY

• I'm on a mission to take better care of my skin. Since you only get one chance with it, I'm implementing a new regimen that will hopefully keep it young forever. Recently, I've been doing a lot of research and have been very happy with Josie Maran's argan oil. I'm also looking into buying some 20% glycolic peels, any recommendations! This article by Cosmo was very helpful and interesting to read!  

I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!!

5 Simple Ways to Put Money Back into your Wallet

STUDENT LOANS = MY ARCH NEMESIS While I am not required to start paying them until November of 2016, I do have the number that is due and it haunts me. Being as money conscious as possible, I have been very aware of these numbers and have an idea as to ways I can tackle them without accruing much interest. I'm looking forward to writing an ongoing post/journal in the future that highlights the ups, downs and progress made with paying these loans off. With so many very big expenses creeping up (house, car, etc.) I'm going to be working my butt off to save as much as possible and make these high interest loans disappear. With a little over 20k in the hole, I'm currently allocating $100 a month out of my income to help shrink that big number as much as possible before they start accruing interest in November.
The five tips below are what continue to work for me and could possibly work for you as well!

1. SELL YOUR STUFF ON EBAY - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, people will buy anything. I have an entire container filled with items that I have listed or would like to list on eBay. While I certainly find myself donating a majority of the items that we no longer have space for in our home, I do like to see how items that still hold monetary value will do on the eBay market. For the most part, everything sells! Using the eBay app on your phone is the EASIEST way to go about selling items. You can create the listing and take pictures all at once, as well as track the progress of your items that are for sale at the click of a button. I am constantly cleaning stuff out and making room, so eBay is essential... not to mention it really pays off!
   
   
2. OPEN AN ETSY SHOP - I live my life by planners/printables and have always created and referenced to different printables for different tasks. It hit me one day that since I enjoyed designing them so much and using them for myself, why not put them out there for others to utilize. I opened my Etsy shop, kaylieDESIGNS, back in October of 2015 with only a few printables in my shop and have been slowly growing since them. I'm still trying to figure it out, but thus far I can certainly say it has been nothing but positive! While the shop is still very small, it does pay for my monthly electric bill which I am more that pleased with. It's the small things! (:
   
   
3. SELL OLD TEXTBOOKS ON AMAZON - I have recently implemented a "15 minutes of cleaning" rule for myself where I set a timer and must clean as much as possible in that time frame every day. It has truly made a difference because it allows me to tackle the smaller cleaning tasks that I try to avoid. The other day, I found myself sorting through some old text books that I would NEVER use again. EVER. Think, Organic Chemistry. Why in the world am I taking up precious space in our tiny city apartment for unused items like large school books? What a waste! I always turn to Amazon to sell my books, however other sites like Chegg are great resources as well! All you have to do is punch in the ISBN number and they will tell you what they're willing to buy it off of you for. All you have to do it throw it in the mail with the prepaid mail label and you are golden. When they receive the books they will verify that you sent the correct item and then allocate the funds to you via an amazon gift card.
   
   
4. ONLINE SURVEYS - Surveys! I have searched long and hard for a survey site that works for me. There are so many out there, however I question the validity of many of them. Thus far, my favorite to date is, i-say. Once you sign up and they are able to match survey subjects to you, you can pick a survey to take. Be warned though, you may not qualify for some. For the most part, the surveys are pretty quick and they usually average at around 90 points which is equivalent to ~$0.90. Pennies, literally pennies. However, they do add up quickly and after you hit 500 points (~$5.00) you can start cashing them in for rewards. I currently have 2125 points (~$21) sitting in my rewards bank which I will probably continue to save up and cash in for paypal funds. I try to do around 3-5 surveys a day which in the long run is around $100 +/- a month. This is easy cash that helps to alleviate my student loans!
   
   
5. SHOPPING WEBSITES - Shop until you drop! I am a BIG online shopper. Nothing beats laying in my bed with my pajamas on, shopping the best deal and steals! The convenience is incomparable and some of the deals you can find are great! I have been using Swagbucks for awhile now to help get some extra money back. Similar to eBates, all you have to do is make sure you run your purchase through the swagbucks portal and they will give you a percentage back if your order qualifies. If you choose not to use them for their shop and earn program, you can also take surveys and other tasks for points. Similar to iSay, each swagbuck is worth a penny that you can redeem for rewards. I currently have 8,057 SB to redeem, but am waiting until I reach 10,000 SB so that I can trade it in for a $100 Paypal gift card. Easy, peasy, and mindless money all going towards my student loans... I love it! I want to kick myself every time I forget to use it. It's like throwing money away!

Do you have any financial goals? What do you do for extra cash here and there?

Wedding Mad Libs!

Hot off the press, I have a new printable in the shop!  In an effort to design something new each month and continue to build up my little Etsy shop, I have recently added Wedding Mad Libs!
I'm sure you've seen this same idea floating around pinterest before, so I thought, why not design something similar for my sister's upcoming nuptials! As the self-appointed maid of honor for the wedding that she refuses to make a big deal about, I am secretly planning all kinds of fun things that I'll bombard her with later. In fact, as soon as I hit publish on this post, she'll probably send me a screen shot of this with the stink eye...
These wedding mad libs are so much fun for your guests to fill out! Whether you use them for your guest book, or to track who came they're great for receiving wedding advice and feedback from your seasoned (or not so seasoned) guests!

I printed these on a metallic cardstock and love how they turned out! I would not recommend printing these on regular printer paper -- use cardstock!

The download is a full page (8.5" x 11"), however there are two printables per page. The picture below represents how the PDF will print after you download (minus the "draft" watermark). Just cut right down the middle!

kaylieDESIGNS Etsy Shop
Wedding Mad Libs
LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT readers can take 50% off of anything in the shop until the end of February with the coupon code:  LIFEASYOULIVEITFEB16

WHO • WHAT • WHEN • WHERE • WHY

(The best sugar cookies in all of the land)

WHO

• Martha and I speak the same language when it comes to our homes. I could spend hours browsing her website finding fun articles like how to save time on homekeeping tasks. My favorites are the linen labels, pipe labels and donation bag. 

WHAT

• I knew that I wanted to link back to this shirt from Anthropologie today, however I felt a little bad knowing that it was priced at a plump $68. When I went to grab the link I saw that it was on sale! Holy great balls of fire I jumped on it and put it in my shopping cart ASAP! I went with the white! It's such a cute pleated cotton tee with lace and pom poms that will look great with leggings! I've read that it's sheer though.

WHEN

• Spring is practically knocking at our door (every other week) and has me in the green thumb mood! I came across this chart that tells you when to plant your veggie garden and got so excited!! Last year, L and I planted tomatoes and veggies in a little flower box and tried to grow them on our roof deck. Nothing grew, and they are still sitting up there. Green thumb fail!

WHERE

• The Country Chic Cottage - go there and print off the adorable pantry organization labels that she designed. I'm a big container geek and throw everything into these Sistema containers for a clean, streamlined look. I usually just throw a label on the front, however this label has instructions as to how to prepare the food. Bingo! Plus, they're so stinkin' cute too!

WHY

• I recently created a new Instagram account that is specifically for the blog, @lifeasyouliveit_blog. Now that Instagram makes it so incredibly easy to switch back and forth between accounts, it only made sense to dedicate a new, clean space that strictly caters to the blog. It's not that my old account didn't, however it was a random mix of everything making it sometimes difficult to navigate. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Okemo Ski Trip Recap Video & a Free Printable!

One of my recent favorite things to do is to record little clips from trips that we take and compile them into a fun little mini video. 
I made our first one back in August that recapped our trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and have slowly been adding little videos to my youtube channel since. There's been the Myrtle Beach trip, Macy Cat's Purina Muse ad, and most recently the Sister Dance! Going into our annual ski trip at Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont I knew that I wanted to put together another video to capture all of the good times and fun memories with the family!
While the quality of these are less than perfect, it's the best I can get out of my handy iPhone 5, and I'm okay with that!

 

In addition to this video, I wanted to share with you a printable that I designed to help make sure I packed everything for our last ski trip.   

Follow this link to google docs to print a copy for yourself (: I'm thinking about designing an adventure kit for my Etsy shop, this would be included in it as well as other vacation-y printables.

I hope wherever you are you're getting lots of snow and gearing up for a fun and snowy trip!! (:

HAPPY 3rd BLOGIVERSARY, LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT!!

It almost completely slipped my mind, however I am reminded every day before Valentine's Day that another year is in the books for this little blog of mine!
HAPPY 3 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY, LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT!
I created this blog back in 2013 as a creative outlet for my DIY projects and can't believe the growth that it has had over the past couple years. Never would I have thought that I would still be typing away sharing my two cents, have a post go viral, or start my own little Etsy shop. The ever growing plans and opportunities that are ahead of any and every blogger are unlimited and it truly is very exciting to think about.
The first post that I ever published was my "FUN DIY VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT FOR HIM" project that I had put together as a gift for L. A rookie at best, I only included one picture (which was of the final project), and a little blurb about it. I look back and smile because it truly was a labor of love, and then a little bit more love to put it up on the blog. Maybe someday I will filter through my older posts and update them with better pictures, especially the ones that get a lot of pageviews.
I'm a big list maker and goal setter, so it only seemed appropriate to pull together four goals to hopefully see myself reach by year #4!

1. Post at least ten times a month - this probably seems like a small number to some, however, when the creative juices aren't flowing, I'm on the struggle bus and have to really focus to pull together a publish worthy post. I feel as though ten is a good, consistent number that is very attainable. I don't care if it's ten posts in a row, or 2-3 posts a week... it's happening! (:
2. Move to .com - It's been three years and I am still riding the .blogspot.com train. I know, somebody needs to cut the cord! Honestly, I'm in a little bit of a pickle because lifeasyouliveit.com is already being used and I'm not quite sure what other domain name I could use without detaching myself too much from "the brand". I've thought about completely rebranding the entire blog but have started to think that that may not be the best option as I feel as though LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT encapsulates the content of this blog really well. What are your thoughts with .org? Does anyone use it for their blog?
3. Double the pageviews that I had in December - I feel as though this goes hand in hand with the "post at least ten times a month" goal. I'd like to think that it is not all about the numbers, however it is one of the best ways to measure your progress. I did not start tracking my stats and using google analytics until September of 2015. Out of the three years I've had this, only 5 months of them I have tracked and recorded this kind of information. I don't know why I didn't reference to that information earlier, however I sure am glad that I do now! I look at the numbers that I had in December of 2015 and hope that I am able to double that by December of 2016!
4. Design 10 for items for my Etsy shop - I consider my Etsy shop and the blog as one entity, and would love to see these grow together. I try my hardest to design a new product for the shop every month and have a handful of ideas up my sleeve. I want to make sure I am continually contributing to this little shop so that it can continue to grow!

Thank you, everyone, for your continued support! Have a happy, happy VALENTINE'S DAY tomorrow! (:

our SISTER DANCE!

Did anyone go to see the movie Sisters featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler?
There's a scene in the movie where Tina and Amy are hosting a party and a song came on that they had choreographed a dance to as kids. They of course remembered their fun dance perfectly and performed it for their crowd!
Upon seeing that, my sisters and I, who together danced for over 30 years, found it absolutely imperative to choreograph our own sister dance to the popular song "We Like to Party" by the Vengaboys! 
Being that we all live in different states, we would send each other little clips of 8 counts that we had choreographed so that the other sisters could learn it. Over the course of a week, we had finished choreographing our entire dance and had pieced it all together during our family ski trip to Vermont last week. 
We are certainly no experts, but we sure did have a ton of fun putting this together! I hope we grow old dancing to this song together (:
Please don't mind the terrible iPhone quality video... we put this together on the last day before we went our separate ways. There are certainly a few hiccups, however that's the best we could do after an exhausting day of skiing and only a week to learn it. We will perfect it later on, maybe for S's wedding!? ;)
Many thanks to our brother, Ty, who recorded this for us. Despite our best efforts, he did not want to be apart of our sister dance :(



I hope you enjoyed our #sisterdance !!!!

Valentine's Day Gifts for HIM!

If being crafty is not your forte, yet you still would like to get your hunny something special that won't (or maybe will) break the bank, here are some quick picks that you might want to get him!  

...to make things even sweeter, most of these ship Amazon Prime (except the charger and packing cubes), so you'll have them just in time!

 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

I think this Hershel Supply Co. tote will be L's next bag. His current tote is one that he has had since high school and it has held up very well! 

I'm also a fan of this warm beanie, and I know he would be too! 

Beats Pill... it's perfect, small and very compact. Great for travel and at home.

And because you can never having enough charging cables, here is a 10' long one.

The art of brewing fascinates me, which is why I think it would fascinate him as well. L and I both enjoy a good cider, so why not make it yourself!?

Yeti Cooler... I think every guy wants one to have one.

Nalgenes are perfect for taking to the gym, hiking, camping, anything! L and I got some for Christmas and use them religiously. 

I think I already professed my newfound love for packing cubes on here, however it I have not... they are the best! I got some for Christmas, and now I feel as though everyone needs them!

He already owns a pair of darn toughs, however I'm sure he'd be okay with me adding another pair or two to his collection! They are the best for hiking, skiing, and everyday use! AND they're guaranteed for LIFE. When you wear them out (if that's even possible), send them back and they will hook you up with a new pair. MADE IN VERMONT! (:  

What are you planning on picking up for your guy on Valentine's Day? Some Love Coupons? ;)