I'm Back!

Can you believe it's been about 6 years since I have done anything with this blog? Where I have been you ask, well let's see....
My kid's have grown! 

My oldest is driving! What?!? Yes, she is a rising junior and looking at colleges (waste of time since the only school she wants to go to is UVA and she will easily get in there!) She still plays travel soccer which keeps us all very busy. 

My middle one is starting middle school this fall! Oh my! She's not our athlete but she supports her siblings in everything they do. She has found her passion, sign language. She takes private lessons and has learned so much and wants to do this for a living! 


My youngest is now 7, in school full time (going into second grade) and now starting sports this year (we had him in sports, it was too much with 3 kids so he took a year off)

As a family, we have stayed busy. Continue to be a large part of our church, volunteering and staying active in all groups, youth, children and missions. We have started going each summer (this will be our 4th year) as a family along with 25 others from our church to attend a mission in Beverly, Kentucky to Red Bird Missions in August. We love our week serving there and love it! 

So why am I back you ask? Well, Ruffles and Bow Ties is growing. I have started doing the larger craft bazaars in my area, I have opened a second shop which is all my housewares. I have opened a Shopify shop to reach those who don't want to shop on Etsy (can you believe there are some who just don't like Etsy!). I started a blog for the my business, you can visit here. I am never the best at constantly posting on any blog, but I found that while I was posting on my business blog I had so many ideas. I had ideas about posts about kids and parenting, about being a mommy this day in age and how it compares to our moms, about school and our kids, about life and faith and I really could keep going on and on. All these ideas were floating in my head and they just didn't feel the vibe I had going on with that blog. So I thought, well I have another one, lets get that back up and going! I'm back!

I'll be posting regularly now on this blog, more so to clear my head of all my thoughts and opinions. I'll still post some savings tips, still post about my simplest life and even refer to my other blog here and there. 

I'm really excited to be back! I hope you are excited to read more about my nutty life! And I hope you share with your friends, I would love to share with everyone! 

More sewing items

I have been pretty busy this summer sewing for the kids and for others. The business has taken off but not as much as I would of liked. It keeps me busy when I don't have things for the kids to do, but I would like it to be a little more. But enough of that...I thought I would share some more pictures of things I have done this summer! Remember you can visit my store on etsy or Like my page on facebook, Ruffles and Bow ties...and remember I would love to make your next outfits :)

Pink polkadot tie dress (fully lined)

Little mermaid Tie dress fully lined

Tag blankie with embroidered name



Lounge pants in flannel




Ladybug tie dress fully lined. Made 3 of these for matching set for siblings with matching headbands




More flannel lounge pants



My newest style...Knot dress..in Nebraska print for football season!

A Big Change in Habits

So my posts on this blog have become very slow...I don't forget about posting I just don't have much to say (if you know me that's very surprising). Over the past couple of months our shopping habits have changed. As many of you know I am a SAHWM who babysits here in the house. Because of this I don't plan to run errands are leave the house during the day. I have been doing this for almost 4 years now, and when I started my habits changed. Over the years I have worked hard trying to find the best solution to grocery shopping while saving as much money as possible. Like most everyone I too change my shopping habits regularly. While I was pregnant and after I had our youngest shopping from home was very convenient. I got almost everything online, many through Amazon.com or through ebates.com. This way I was saving while shopping for convenience. Now that my son is a bit older and the 2older kids are in more activities I tend to head to our Target here in town. I have matched up coupons and saved a bunch. So buying online now is always an after thought. The kid are older, so fighting for the computer time is not something I look forward too! I still have my favorites that I hit up but it's not a regular thing to find awesome deals daily online.
I have also realized I don't shop for clothes very much anymore. I went shopping about a month ago when my MIL was in town and bought the kids a couple things off the clearance rack. My oldest commented about how long it had been since they got new store clothes! We go through their drawers regularly now and get rid of items that are too small or they will never wear. Then we evaluate whether we need to replace those items are there are still enough clothes to choose from. Our family tends to shop for the kids on holidays and buy them clothes. I make most of my youngest daughters clothes now that I have learned to sew. She loves being able to wear new clothes all the time...and they don't cost nearly as much as running to the store and buying them.
I guess I wrote this post to reassure myself it's OK to change my habits, but also to reassure my readers that it's OK to continue to change your habits. Getting in a rut and not being happy is no fun...change up your routine every now and then, especially if your going to save more money in the long run!!! So let me know what you have changed lately!!!