Fancy But Frugal

Hi guys! 👋 Long time no talk. I've been off of social media (we'll get to that later), so I wanted to catch you up on what I've been up to the past 2 months for my #monthlydoseof challenges! I'll keep it short and sweet, promise!  MAY My challenge for the month of May was to get a #monthlydoseof meditation . Speaking of meditation, does this conversation sound familiar  to you: Them: "Hey, do you meditate?" You: "Ugh, I've tried, but I'm SOOOO bad at it"  This used to be me to a T. I love the idea of meditating, but I always end up daydreaming, praying, or falling asleep. I knew I wanted to give it a sincere shot this month, so I enlisted a little help with the Oak App (link here ). It has sessions for meditation, breathing, and sleeping, and yo u can personalize the session by choosing which voice is used, the type of background noise and the length of the session.  The app looks like this:  During May, I did 5-minut...

Ciao, bella! Just a quick blog to summarize a cheap, easy, and fun trip Italy! There are a few things you need to get started: quick fingers, $400, and a spontaneous spirit! ✈💼 Where did we go? We visited Milan and Lake Como, Italy over 4 days. How did we get there? Call it luck, website error, or whatever you want. While searching for a Memorial Day trip on a third-party website (initially looking at the Caribbean or Puerto Rico), I stumbled upon a $400 direct, round-trip flight to Milan, Italy with perfect flight times. Pretty sure that it was a mistake, I yell across the room to Jon “I don’t know if this is legit, but let’s try it!”.  Boom . Booked. Fast forward to a couple hours later the airline when the airline tries to cancel our ticket, because it was indeed a mistake. In comes my husband’s charm. “But sir, we received a confirmation and have already booked accommodation, tours, everything. I assume you will be refunding us the full cost of this trip?”...

This month’s challenge was slightly different than the others. Drum roll please…. I had a #monthlydose of No Coffee! I didn't do “no caffeine” - because I'm not a complete psycho. I wanted to specifically cut down on coffee because I feel like it's a mental addiction ( maybe physical too?? ).  Also, since joining the work force, I’ve needed my morning coffee to lure me out of bed. No coffee, no wakey . And there have been times where I've had a 2-3 cups a day to get through busy days. It’s been a crutch I lean on for quick energy, but I know that there are other, healthier ways to get that fix. (Let me know all of your ideas - I’ve heard lemon water!?). 🍋  I also was looking back at college pictures (I didn't drink coffee until after I graduated college), and my teeth were so white . Don't get me wrong, I still brush my teeth the normal amount that you’re supposed to, but it has stained them and messed with my pH level (per my dentist). Further, most...

24.  That’s the number of people who messaged me to tell me their own story after news broke of our miscarriage.  24.  An astonishingly high number of people in my own circle who quietly had a miscarriage; some who had  never told anyone  because of guilt, shame, and fear of what others would think.  24.  Why is this such a taboo topic? How can society give women the courage and strength to share their story? How can you be a safe person for your friend who just had a miscarriage? It’s hard; I get it. I never knew what to say (or not say) when my friends had a miscarriage. Here are some tips from my experience of how to comfort someone during this time: • Don’t ask why . Please educate yourself. A quick Google search will tell you that most of the time, miscarriages happen due to chromosomal issues. Something just didn’t match up right. Even knowing this, I can assure you that the mom is replaying every move she made and every food she ate, w...

During March, I got my  #monthlydose  of   Yoga! Traditionally, I'm a fair-weather yoga fan. I go through phases of practicing and then I won't do it for another year. I enjoy it but don't prioritize it for financial, time, or whatever reasons, but I know the benefits of it are real. This year, two different doctors have recommended that I start practicing yoga for stress relief and and to help with tension in my head and neck, so this month's challenge was   literally   what the doctor ordered .  So what did I do? I was budget friendly of course ( #fancybutfrugal ) and did an at-home yoga program through Beach Body on Demand (it's like Netflix for workouts and so affordable! Check it out here:  https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/ ). I did the 3-Week Yoga Retreat over 4 weeks so that I would have a few rest days each week. It's a beginner/introductory yoga program, and each session is only ~30 minutes. Very doable for almost anyone, and I highly ...

My challenge for February was to get a monthly dose of being pescatarian (vegetarian + fish). I eat meatless almost every day for lunch and several times a week for dinner and always wondered what it would be like to do it full time. On top of that, Jon and I both got blood tests results back in January and were instructed to eat less red meat, so this seemed like the perfect challenge for February. So, what did I do? I ate only vegetarian (not vegan) and fish in February. I had to think ahead/out of the box for cooking and ordering food, but overall it wasn’t that bad. My only cheats happened a couple times when friends graciously hosted us for dinner. I wasn’t going to abstain from the delicious, heartfelt meals they cooked for us - that would be rude! What happened during this month?: ·         -I craved sugar/sweets. I’d already been having issues with hypoglycemia for a couple months - this means I don’t have enough blood sugar, which can lead to d...

This year I'm going to try something new. I always research healthy habits to try but never fully follow through, so each month this year, I will challenge myself to a new healthy habit - like a monthly dose of medicine. When the month is over, I’ll write a #Monthlydose blog about how it went and what mental, physical, and emotional effects the new habit provides. First up: the ever-popular Dry January . I love (and I mean LOVE) a happy hour with friends or a nice bottle of wine with dinner, but it’s happened a little too casually and frequently lately. So I decided to try dry January, which means no alcohol all month and is traditionally used to detox from holiday eating and to start the year out healthier. Honestly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It helped that I was busy at work, sick for a week, and that my husband was supportive and participated too. I also had several friends that were doing Dry January, so I had support and accountability, which is su...