Well, it happened again. 
Almost a year later after my first computer snafu I had my Macbook unexpectedly go out on me again, reducing me to tears... yet again. And because I never learn... everything was gone. again. Every single document, picture, and download. Thankfully, after a quick trip to Micro Center in Cambridge, they were able to back everything up on an external hard drive, wipe the computer free, and re-download everything. Thank goodness!
I wanted to share a few pointers that I have learned throughout the process from both crashes.

1. BACK EVERYTHING UP
   This sounds like a no-brainer, however, I OBVIOUSLY did not learn the first time. It is safe to say that everything is now living in a little external hard drive that I can frequently update.
   
   
2. YOUR BOOKMARKS WILL BE SAVED IF YOU USE GOOGLE CHROME
   Yes, they will be. So make sure you are bookmarking everything under an account. I have hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks saved for random sites that I know I will want/need to revisit later on.
   
   
3. ICLOUD DRIVE - WHAT A GENIUS IDEA!
   I used to save everything that I needed onto my desktop where I could access it easily. That worked up until I had no desktop. I'm not sure why I haven't been doing this before, however it is so easy to move an iCloud drive folder down onto your dashboard and access all of your documents from there. Now everything is simultaneously saved no matter what device I access it from - my work computer, iPhone, iPad? It's all there and updated!

Now that everything seems to be back in working condition, I hope to pick up where I left off and continue posting away! (:

View through my lens: February

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!!