#PhotoaDayMay: Pink

This absolutely gorgeous fuchsia flower is in a hanging planter on my back porch. When several buds had begun blooming late last week, I snapped a few photos of them and they came out so good that I’m using one of them as my desktop background right now. Seriously, I can’t get over the vibrant color and how beautiful these flowers are. To boot, this plant attracts hummingbirds that frequently stop by for a snack which has been really awesome to see. Nature is good.

Here are two more photos:

If you want to join in, check out the May Photo a Day Challenge List.

Freshen Up Your Bathroom Routine with the Cottonelle Clean Care Routine #NameIt

Annual spring cleaning is a time of rejuvenation and infusing new life into your home after the cold and seemingly endless winter months. Your home can start to feel incredibly dreary and stale after being cooped up for so long in the same old surroundings, and spring cleaning is the perfect time to not just dust and deep clean your home, but to also dress the beds in fresh new linens and even change up the decor in some of the most-used rooms in your home. Doing this is a surefire way to liven up your home once again and make it a space you can’t wait to relax in. Another area that you can freshen up this spring cleaning season (and beyond) is your bathroom routine, which is made easy with Cottonelle.

#PhotoaDayMay: Something You Made

I am not a big maker of things. I’m not very crafty and I don’t possess much natural artistic ability, so the list of things I have actually made is quite short. I have made quite a few websites (design/graphics/coding), including this one, but posting a screenshot of this website just seemed like it would be a total copout. So here is a picture of flower bulbs I planted a few weeks ago in what just may be the coolest planter ever, which I picked up at Walmart on a whim for about $20. The flowers, a type of lily I can’t recall the name of at the moment, have grown quite a bit in the past weeks and I really can’t wait to see what they look like when …

How to Create a Stunning and Safe Nursery on a Budget

Expecting a baby can easily bring on a wide range of emotions, including the obvious…happiness. But let’s be honest for a minute, it can also bring on some anxiety because it will most definitely change your life, but I think I can speak for the majority of parents here in saying the change is well worth it. However, new parents-to-be might also feel a little anxious about finances, because kids do come with a price tag that seems to grow as they do. Not to scare you or anything, but it is reality. If you are a little apprehensive about finances right now, or simply prefer to put more money into their college fund (never too early to start), the tips I am about to share will help ease your mind.

A nursery doesn’t have to cost …

#PhotoaDayMay: Snack (and My Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox)

I have tried to like soy products, and I have had some success in the past with soy, albeit those successes have been very few and far between. However, I cannot help but to be indifferent when it comes to SOYJOY. I received this all-natural, gluten-free bar of fruit and soybeans in my Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox, and while I have no idea why they included a food item in a box full of beauty products, I opened up this strawberry-flavored bar this afternoon for a quick snack in between work tasks.

SOYJOY has been around for a while, but this was the very first time I tried it, and I really wasn’t impressed. The texture of the bar was thick and it was dry; its only saving grace is that it’s …

#PhotoaDayMay: Grass

Every spring it seems as if everyone I communicate with retreats to their gardens and post plenty of pictures of the amazing things they have grown. Throughout the past few years, I have been remarkably jealous of these people growing their own vegetables and herbs because I had been living in an apartment with absolutely no outside space to call my own, and indoor container gardening was out because I have two cats who have completely destroyed whatever plants we had the audacity to bring inside. This year I stopped being jealous because I was finally able to start my own garden in the yard of our new house. (If you’re an apartment dweller right now reading this with a grimace on your face because you’ve been wanting to start a garden …