AWESOME Giveaway at Blue Cricket Design

There is a giveaway going on over at Blue Cricket Designs that is just too awesome to not share!

Over $3000 in prizes! Can you believe it? And get this, there will be 3 winners who not only win 1 prize but rather a prize package with gifts from a bunch of sponsors! Here are a few of my favorites:

A 5x7 frame from My Hoot Designs

$50 gift certificate to My Thirty One- LOVE THEM!

A Custom Vinyl Stencil from The 36th Avenue

You should definitely head over to BCD soon & enter to win! 

Modern Translation: The Awesome Wife's Guide (Rule #15)

(This is the 16th post of this series. Click here to read the entire series.) 

 * Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. 
  
 
I have a $160 electric bill that proves I follow this rule.

And a dual tap kegerator taking up prime real estate in our tiny little kitchen.

And 1/3 of our bedrooms dedicated to the "man bunker."

My husband is probably a good 10-15 degrees warmer than everyone else in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where we are. As you can assume, this is problematic in the summer. A problem compounded by the fact that we do not have central air conditioning. 

Our electric bill is plagued 3-4 months of the year by a window air conditioner in our bedroom and a very... very... very old wall unit in our living room. (The latter of which is blasting out a rude musty smell as we speak.) To eleviate the pain, we try to turn them on as infrequently as possible. 

Probably 4 out of 5 of the times we turn the air on, I would be fine leaving them off. Last year we even managed to turn them on only 4 times all summer. The Hubs, however, gets extremely uncomfortable whenever the temps rise above 85. So uncomfortable, in fact, that this year I've had the air running at least 60% of the time. 

Comfortable Husband- check!

I have probably mentioned before how much I love living in Central PA. The top two reasons why? 

1) Everything is easier here. There are back roads everywhere to avoid traffic. I have yet to wait in line at the bank. The cost of living is decently affordable. 

2) Craft beer. It's everywhere here. And it's GOOD! I couldn't tell you the last time I drank a Miller Lite. It has to have been at least 3 years. Microbreweries are very popular in Pennsylvania and we happen to be friends with the owners/brewers of one of the best- Bavarian Barbarian Brewing Company. 

The Hubs and I bonded over craft beer. It was a passion of his and something he could teach me. I enjoyed learned. Beer had become a part of our lives. As are recycling centers. After a couple of weeks of making special trips early Saturday morning to drop off a large bin of brown glass bottles, I decided it was time to give into the Hubs request for a kegerator. So, my mother and I went in together & bought him one 2 years ago for his birthday. 

Seriously, his wife & his mother-in-law bought him a kegerator. My husband should be the happiest man in all the lands!

Cool drink in hand- check!


And the bunker thing: I think that's sort of essential for men. My dad has a bunker too. Men need space. They need a room that doesn't have to always be clean (because it's so easy to just close the door when company comes over.) A room where all the gaming systems in the world can be piled up in the corner (and not in my living room). A room where dirty socks can lie on the floor and pint glasses can sit for days. 

Let's be honest- the rest of the house is ours!

Dear 1950's Housewife, 

I am going to agree with you 100% today. My husband spends most of his day uncomfortable. He has to wear uncomfortable clothes & shoes to work, sit in an office that has fluorescent lights (which give him migraines), and deal with some people who don't have a clue what they are talking about or doing all day long. If there is something I can do to make him comfortable at home, then I should do it. Where else are you suppose to feel the most comfortable, if not home?

Have a pleasant day, 

The 2010's Housewife

Crazy Clearance at Kohls

I sort of wish Kohl's began with a "C" instead of a K to make my title look more like a tongue twister, but then my husband would get it even more confused with our hardware store, Cole's. If I had a dollar for every time he got into the car thinking he was going tool shopping!


Anywho, Kohls.com is having an awesome clearance sale right now- 60 to 80% off! On top of that shipping is 99 center per item or FREE with a $75 purchase. Of course, as usually is the case with Kohl's, it gets even better. Do a little google search for "kohl's promo codes" and see what's out there to save even more! Last I checked there was a 20% coupon floating around. <wink>


Here are some good deals I found flipping through today:

Kohl's Cares® Food Network™ Solid Apron $4 (down from $10)

Kohl's Cares® Food Network™ 3-pk. Bar Mop Kitchen Towels $2 (down from $5)

Kohl's Cares® Food Network™ 2-pc. Mixing Bowl Set $4 (down from $10)

What a cute gift those 3 items would make! And just $10 for the set! There are a ton of different items from the Kohl's Cares line so be sure to check them out. Why not help a great cause while saving money?

Carter's Checkered Smocked Dress - Newborn $5.20 (down from $26)

They also have a ton of baby stuff marked way down, so if you have a new little one at home or need to buy a gift for a baby shower, now is the time to stock up.

San Francisco 49ers Heart and Soul Tee $17.50 (down from $22)

The Sports Fan Shop has lots of mark downs for the hard to shop for men in our lives. You can start tucking away Christmas gifts or send a new high school grad off to college with some team gear.


If you find anything awesome, some back & let me know!

Displaying My Collection

I have been collecting flattened pennies for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I were little, my dad would take us down to the train tracks to lay pennies out. We would go back later and collect the smooth, shiny, flat pennies. I loved it.

My husband had fond memories from childhood that involved trains too. His family had a number of electric train set that they would play with and set up around the Christmas tree each year. For our wedding save the date cards we took a photo of one of this train sets and stuck flattened pennies with our names & wedding date on them. I loved those too. 

I have a couple dozen pennies collected and I stored them in special collector books made for flattened pennies. Once or twice a year I would remember about my little collection and pull them out to enjoy. Pretty much every other day they were out of sight, out of mind.


I really wanted to find a way to display the collection, but in a fun way. My first idea was to glue them around the outside of a wide wooden frame so I bought a frame. Once I got it home I realized that it would probably take a lifetime to fill up the frame. It's not everyday you come across a flattened penny machine.

My plan B was to glue the pennies to the glass inside the frame and add pretty scrapbook paper for the background. I ended up with one full frame and one frame about half full. I went ahead and hung the partially empty frame, along with his mate, in our guest room/my craft room. I figure I can add to it as I travel to new destinations and collect new pennies.

Has anyone else out there had trouble finding a way to display an interesting collection?

Linking Up @ Today's Creative Blog & The Thrifty Home & Savvy Southern Style

Modern Translation: The Awesome Wife's Guide (Rule #14)

(This is the 15th post of this series. Click here to read the entire series.) 

* Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day. 

I think I'll break this rule down piece by piece. 

"Don't complain if he's late home for dinner..."

My initial thought is "don't complain if you come home & there is no dinner." Manners apply to everyone, even husbands. If I am taking the time & energy to loving cooking a meal for you, than it's only polite to be on time & hungry. I have no problem if the Hubs is late, as long as he calls & gives me the heads up. It's just common courtesy.

"... or even if he stays out all night."

Unacceptable. Non-negotiable. Seriously, did the 1950's husband just randomly stay out all night without telling his wife? And did she seriously just deal with it because he's job is stressful? That's a bunch of B.S. Husband- listen up. If you decide to stay out all night without telling me, I will sit at home all night long switching back & forth from worried out of my mind to plotting just how I am going to rip you a new one. There is a 50% chance of me thinking on the latter when you finally decide to walk your butt back in through that door. How do you like those odds?

 "Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day."

Missing dinner, okay... I can see that. Not spending the night at home- not a chance in h - e - double hockey sticks what he dealt with that day will compare to the worry I went through that night. With that said, I recognize & understand that my husband has a stressful job. I try to do all that I can at home to help him deal with and shake off that stress after hours. That's my job. 

However, does having a stressful job give someone permission to be rude or have bad manners? No. Does it give you the right to be a bad husband? No. Am I going to have my own stressful days & require some tending from him every now & again? Yes. Is there a chance we will both have a stressful day & end up taking it out on each other? Probably more than once.

Such is life. 

Dear 1950's Housewife,

I don't know whether to nominate you for sainthood or check you into a mental hospital! You had me until the "out all night" business. 

I've heard that relationships are suppose to be 50-50. However, I think they work better when they are 100-100; when each person gives 100% of the love they have to give, 100% of their effort, 100% of themselves... and respects the other 100% of the time. 

You don't always have to agree with one another, but you have to always, always be respectful of one another, and some of the things you talk about lead me to believe your husband doesn't fully respect you. Staying out all night without calling- that's just disrespectful. As is being late for dinner, for that matter. 

I think it's time you give the man of yours a piece of your mind! And that's what I have to say about that. 

Have a pleasant day, 

The 2010's Housewife