Summer vacation is right around the corner and it’s a great time to start planning different activities for your kids. Summer reading programs hosted by local public libraries and businesses are a fantastic way to encourage your children to read (or be read to) and earn prizes for doing it! Jen from Thrifty NW Mom, Karrie from Happy Money Saver and I have teamed up to bring you the most comprehensive list of summer reading programs in the Pacific Northwest. In this post, I have listed national summer reading programs as well as local programs in Western Oregon and SW Washington. Head to Thrifty NW Mom for a list of Puget Sound programs and Happy Keep Reading
National & local summer reading programs for kids
Homemaking Your Way: Emily’s Top Ten
This is Emily's final post on our Homemaking Your Way series. Catch up on previous posts here. If you have been following our Homemaking Your Way posts, you know by now how I am wired (weird?). Like many of you, I feel most relaxed and operate best in clean, organized spaces. I originally titled this post as Top Ten Tips, but that didn't really seem to fit as these are just homemaking habits that work well in my own home with my personality. Top Ten Quirks probably would have fit the best. These are just a handful of ways I keep my home running smoothly and my sanity within normal ranges. Maybe some of these will work for you. So here's my Top Keep Reading
Groupon: $20 to Old Navy for $10
My, oh, my. We were all just waiting for this deal to come around. Groupon is offering $20 to Old Navy for just $10. You may purchase your Groupon from any Groupon city and redeem it at any Old Navy store: Chattanooga, Tennessee (8:59 pm Pacific) Portland, Maine (8:59 pm Pacific) Savannah, Georgia (8:59 pm Pacific) Fort Wayne, Indiana (8:59 pm Pacific) Fayetteville, North Carolina (8:59 pm Pacific) Rochester, New York (8:59 pm Pacific) Kalamazoo, Michigan (8:59 pm Pacific) Lexington, Kentucky (8:59 pm Pacific) Ocala, Florida (8:59 pm Pacific) Albuquerque, New Mexico (10:59 pm Pacific) Ogden, Utah (10:59 pm Pacific) Reno, Keep Reading
Homemaking Your Way: Emily on toys
This is the eighth installment in our series, Homemaking Your Way. Catch up on the first seven here. How can I get those strawberry jam stains out of the dining room rug? Why does my son hate vegetables? How do I teach my daughter not to begin every sentence with, "I need..." Why are there not more Starbucks drive-thrus in the greater Portland area? I have no clue. In fact, I could write an entire post on all the things I do not know about this thing called motherhood. Half the time, I'm just making it up as I go along [don't tell my kids]. However, there is one thing I know for sure: my kids have too many toys. In our home, toys seem Keep Reading
Homemaking Your Way: Angela on laundry
This is the seventh installment in our series, Homemaking Your Way. Catch up on the first six here. About a year ago it finally dawned on me that I was running a small business from home (this blog) and that I am really unable to "do everything" that a typical homemaker does during the day. I just don't have the time, the energy nor the desire to be any sort of "super woman." I took a cue from some very successful bloggers and decided that it was really okay to farm out some of the daily tasks that I wasn't completing on a regular basis. The one thing that I was consistently failing to carry to completion was the laundry. Right off the bat Keep Reading
Staycation (and vacation!) ideas from all over the United States!
Yesterday Emily posted on tons of frugal things to do in and around the Portland area as a part of the nationwide Year of the Staycation series. Today we are pleased to bring you links to Year of the Staycation posts from around the United States. Each post is organized by geographical region. Be sure to check out your summer travel destination as well as your local area for fun and frugal ways to make the most of your vacation! Frugal Vacation Tips Vacation or Stay-cation: Eating without Busting the Budget - Eat at Home Pacific San Diego, California - Life As Mom Yosemite National Park, California - Handbook of Nature Study Seattle, Keep Reading
Year of the Staycation: Portland
If this is your first visit at Frugal Living NW, welcome! Our goal is to help you save money so you can reach your family's financial goals. We focus on deals in and around the Pacific Northwest, with a special focus on Oregon and Southwest Washington. To stay up to date on the deals, subscribe to the daily email (it's FREE!) and "like" Frugal Living NW on Facebook. Go here for a list of staycation ideas from around the United States! ******************************* A staycation : period of time in which an individual or family stays and relaxes at home, or vacations in their own country, possibly taking day trips to area attractions. I love to Keep Reading