Update 12/30/2014: I just posted pictures of each of the charts for you to download if Google Docs does not work. Hope this helps! -Kaylie

Update 04/24/2015: I have been receiving a handful of inquiries as to where to find a jar similar to the one I used. This one found on amazon is very similar!

Looking for an easy way to have an extra $1,378 in your pocket next Christmas for all those December expenses!!?

I invite you to try the 52 week money savings challenge!

I completed this challenge this past year and was able to have plenty of money in the bank for Christmas and then some… I'm talking over $700 left over to do with what I please.

It's very quite simple and extremely basic.

Here's the name of the game!

Each week of the year, you save that much in dollars!

Week ONE: You save $1

Week TWO: You save $2

Week THREE: You save $3

Voila! By the third week in January you have already saved $6!

You keep doing that all the way through the end of the year so that come December you have cash in hand and are ready to shop!

…ORRR… maybe you're saving for a HOUSE, a TRIP, a WEDDING, or a CAR… ANYTHING!

Come and join the money savings fun with me and let me know how you do!

Want to make your kids save to? Have them save in quarters, either in 25 cent or 50 cent increments!

Print out these templates and paste them onto a jar!

I want to save in One Dollar increments!

I want to save in 50 Cent increments!

I want to save in 25 Cent increments!

I want to save in One dollar increments Backwards!

I want to save in dollar increments bi-weekly!

I want to save in dollar increments monthly!

Start your savings adventure NOW!

P.S. If you want to read some updates from my savings challenge last year… I have some posts here, here, and here!

Happy New Years!!

Kay

30 by 30

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying the very last week of 2013!!

Starting January 1, 2014 I am going to start checking things off of my 30 x 30 list!

I always see people that have these, and being huge list maker myself, I find it a great way to make and meet bigger goals in life!

Granted I have NINE years to complete this list… it's never too early to start!!

Most of the 30 goals that I set are larger and will take time to achieve…

(via)

Here's the run around! (In no particular order)

1) Earn a bachelor of science in biology

2) Pay off my undergrad loans

3) Run a half marathon

4) Run a full marathon

5) Go to grad school

6) Adopt a fur baby dog

7) Go to New Years Eve in NYC

8) Vegas it up!

9) Buy a car

10) Hike Mount Washington

11) Plan a canoe/kayak trip town the the Saco River

12) Take a cruise to Bermuda (since they dock in Boston! -so close!!)

13) Meet A7X in person (please, oh please… back stage passes!)

14) Go scuba diving

15) Visit Alaska

16) Visit Hawaii

17) Get a professional job doing something that I love!

18) Get married

19) Buy my first house

20) Start a family

21) Learn a second language

22) Swim with the dolphins

23) Maintain a healthy lifecycle

24) Save up an "emergency account" that will keep me floating for at least 1 yr

25) Take a road trip from coast to coast

26) Go to a drive-in movie theater

27) Flip a house

28) Take a polar plunge

29) Complete a triathlon

30) Take another missions trip!

What's on everyone else's 30 x 30 list!?

The Friday Five!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

I have so much to share, that I figured… what better way than to link up with April, Christina, Natasha and Darci again!

-ONE-

21st Birthdays!

L and I celebrated our 21st birthdays this week! Twenty-one has got to be FUN! We drove back to Ohio for Thanksgiving and were able to renew out licenses and get our official ID's!

When we got back in Boston, I made him a scrumptious confetti cake, exchanged our gifts, and we went out to dinner at The Marliave, where we wined and dined like a King and Queen!

-TWO-

Okay guys! I have been having a serious pet withdrawal ever since I moved to Boston. 

No animals = a sad Kaylie.

I ended up taking Macy Cat back to Boston with me after break, and I love it!

She was so patient the entire 13hr+ car ride!

..and yes, she's a total city cat. All she does is sleep all day, so she's a happy cat.

On a totally random note, check out this awesome costume I picked up at TJ MAXX!

I die.

-THREE-

The Ice Skating rink in the Common has been up and running… and it is on my "Christmas To-Do" list.

-FOUR-

My sister made these awesome stockings from old flannel shirts! I will have to have her guest post on them! How adorable!?

-FIVE- 

I'm a little late with my Advent calendar.. but it is almost completed! Basically, I have 25 fun Christmas activities to do each day of December! Stay tuned for the post!

 Have a fantastic weekend! 

I will leave you with this unedited picture of the tree at Faneuil Hall!

BEAUTIFUL!

Five For Friday

Happy Friday!!

I am so very excited to reach the end of this week!

Linking up with these ladies again to celebrate Friday!

-ONE-

Thanksgiving is creeping it's way around the corner!

My roommate and L said I couldn't decorate for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving, so I settled on this "Give Thanks" Bunting Banner that I downloaded from here.

LOVE IT!

 -TWO-

The other night we decided to have a try to "make your own pizza" night!

My roommate picked up some supplies from Whole Foods, and we found ourselves elbow deep in pizza dough, hashing out a plan for some scrumptious pizza's!

Steph should clearly work down the street at Regina's (The best pizza in ALL of Boston). EXPERT!

My dough and cheese pizza was SO OH OH GOOD!

-THREE-

I don't like it when stuff is randomly out and not put away. Everything has a container, and every container has a label. I'm that person.

SO, you can only imagine my excitement when I found one of favorite food storage container brand (Sistema) had a baking line to store your baking supplies! Woohoo!

I picked up two large and two small, and started filling them, and I am LOVING how they look!

(Please ignore the crappy iPhone photo resolution)

-FOUR-

The semester is FINALLY coming to an end. Thank goodness!

All my labs are officially done, except for the final lab reports and practicals... and lecture is boring me. I have two finals (Organic Chemistry and Organismal Biology) left, one of which will be wicked easy, and the other which will shred me into pieces, causing my brain to fall out. Take a guess as to which is which! Next semester I am registered to take a cell class, as well as Organic Chemistry II. After Orgo II next semester, I will officially be done with all the chemistry I need to graduate! What a fantastic feeling that will be! I hate chemistry so much.

-FIVE-

My little sister is flying into Logan tonight! Heck Yea! I haven't seen her since July!

I have all kinds of BOSTON fun planned for her!

Including...

Those should all be on your "Boston Bucket List" if you ever come to visit!! This place is packed full of everything! 

Have a splendid weekend!

Everybody Loves Fall

It is taking every ounce of energy to focus all my blogging energy towards fall and Thanksgiving, opposed to the "most wonderful time of the year"!!

I'm here to recap you on some glorious Halloween FALL TIME FUN!

I'll start you with a pumpkin story.

I bought these two (rather large) pumpkins at Haymarket (a farmers market down the street), around the beginning of October. I was walking on my way home from Faneuil Hall, and thought "hey, we need some fall fun for the apartment, $3 for a pumpkin is a good deal"! So when I went to pay for it, he told me he would give me 2 for $5, an even better deal! Getting back to the North End with these two suckers was a pain in the ass workout that I NEVER ever want to relive. Eventually, after much sweat and two nice guys that helped me when I got to my street, I put them out on the fire escape and they rotted the next day. EXCELLENT! We left them out there for a couple more weeks because they stunk, were really squishy.. and we really, REALLY did not want to touch them. Eventually, L came and saved the day and helped bag them up for us. 

After that rotten experience, I went to Kennebunk and made my brother spend some quality pumpkin carving time with me!

He cheats...

 But I was seriously LOVING how these turned out!

 In the apartment in Boston, we have this random shelf that I wasn't sure what to do with?

It quickly turned into our "seasonal shelf" and is going to be decked out for every holiday!

It just finished up being decorated for Halloween, and is making the transition into Thanksgiving!

I'll post updated pictures when it's finished! (: 

 

BY THE WAY, I printed that Halloween printable from somewhere online... and they spelled "Lantern" wrong --fail

Chocolate Fudge

Can I share with you some of the most delicious, richest, to die for fudge ever!?

We scouted this recipe out from an island up by Michigan that is KNOWN for its fudge!

 You will need:

2 packages of CHOCOLATE CHIPS

1/4 cup BUTTER, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon SALT

1/2 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT

2 cups SUGAR

1 cup EVAPORATED MILK

12 large MARSHMALLOWS, cut into halves

...and voila! Homemade fudge!!

The fudge tastes 50x better if you let it sit, chill, and form in the fridge!

 --Kaylie

Pumpkin Dip

How is the beautiful fall weather treating everyone? Climates have been fluctuating so much around here! Yesterday, it was so gorgeous, not too windy with a comfortable cool... and today it's raining!? 

I JUST WANT SOME SNOW!

I am doing everything in my power not to start decorating for Christmas, however to my roommate's dismay, I have broken out the Christmas tunes! They're so much fun!

This year we would LOVE to get a real tree up to our apartment, however.. FAT CHANCE... we live on the top floor, with a tiny stair well in the middle of the Boston. We are definitely going to try though!

In the spirit of fall, I've whipped up a batch of some Pumpkin Dip. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, and just had to give it a whirl!

This dip only calls for 5 simple ingredients and is wicked easy to prepare!

For this dip you will need:

15 ounce CAN OF PUMPKIN

5 ounce box of INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING

16 ounce container of COOL WHIP

1/2 Tablespoon of PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

1/2 Tablespoon of CINNAMON

 

First, mix pumpkin, dry pudding mix, cool whip, and pumpkin pie spice together (by hand) in a very large bowl.

 Next, let chill for several hours.

Finally, sprinkle the dip with cinnamon and serve with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or apple slices!

Thanks to Christina over at Carolina Charm, I'm eating my weight in Pumpkin Dip! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!

ENJOY!!

--Kaylie