We recently purchased two kayaks and having never kayaked before we really did not know what to expect. However, the truth is....we are absolutely hooked!  

We love it and can't wait to get out there every chance we get now, and especially to get a chance to go fishing :-)

The Kayaks cost a little money to start with (though these were a relatively inexpensive model), but if we take care of them they will literally last forever so they were definitely a worthy purchase that will be fun for a very long time to come.

They are light-weight and can easily be transported using a small trailer or in the back of our pick up truck so we can just pick them up and go to any local lake or river we choose at any time we choose. Of course, in the Adirondack park there are so many FREE access points for people to drop in their kayaks and go that we could choose a different one every time and never run out of options.

There were a lot of reviews online about these particular kayaks and we took the time to reach through each and every one before deciding that these were still the best kayaks for us. In the video we address the common complaints and show you how we either fixed them, or discuss why we didn't have an issue with it. 

Check out our YouTube video review and watch us paddle around for the first time ever!

You won't believe how easy it really was (And how great these kayaks are too!).

Oh, and did I mention the best part? THEY ARE MADE IN THE USA!

Click here to watch the review on YouTube!

Made in the USA clip art from ​http://www.clker.com/clipart-418724.html

Check out our second trip as beginners!

And check out how we fixed the tracking problem!

Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,

There is simply nothing that compares to sleeping under the stars (sort of) on your own land for the first time! That is exactly what we did recently and I can honestly say we really didn't want the weekend to come to an end. With no cell phone service, no electric and no running water (other than our little creek) we were in our glory staying overnight. Even with the temperatures dipping down below 27°F our newlywed children were perfectly fine sleeping in their little tent!  

None of us can wait until we can do it again! Really :-)

We loved camping out so much that we can't wait to do it again!
Read more about our land
and our future Homesteading Dreams here.
Sincerely,

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com.

Having an RV (recreational vehicle) is awesome! It gives us the freedom to be able to travel and always have a comfortable place to sleep with no worries. It is also super convenient to just pull onto the side of the road if  you have to go to the bathroom! No more painful waits for the next rest area or searching for a gas station with a working bathroom.  Maybe that's just me. Either way having an RV with all the comforts of home and stocked with just about everything  you need for traveling makes traveling simply delightful!

​However, our RV, being inexpensive and small, did not come with most of the comforts we wanted nor did it have a lot of space for all of the above, so here is what we did to make it like home for us.

1. The Bed
We chose an RV that had a bed that never needed to be 'broken down.' In other words, in many smaller RV's the bed is also the kitchen table and benches.  We made sure this was not the case for us so even though our RV is small (18') it has a permanent bed. The bed also had to be a decent size. Our RV is a queen size bed and this was very important to us. 

• ​To make it more homey we made our own custom headboard. Note that the bed was meant to be slept in with our heads at the other end, but we couldn't cover up the emergency escape window so we covered the window at the other end instead. To make it we simply cut a piece of Luan to size, covered it with a foam, and then stretched material over it using staples to hold it all down. Now we have a soft back to sit against while in bed. Note that because it shows through the window we also covered the back to look nice! Here is a great DIY of how to make a foam headboard, but note that we used 1" velcro to hold it to the wall instead and had to make a few customizations so that it would fit our trailer bed instead (we left the bottom part off).
• Next we improved upon the mattress.  The mattress it came with is thin and uncomfortable so we purchased a 3" foam mattress topper with gel cooling. It makes the bed so amazingly comfortable we don't even want to get out!
• Last but not least, we purchased a nice matching comforter set and some extra decorative pillows. I don't know, it just looks nice and is easy to 'make' on the fly (check out my post on Ways to Simplify Your Life Now).

2. The Entertainment Center
OK, I know it is not camping if you have an entertainment center, but really. It's not exactly camping to stay in a nice trailer with the comforts of home anyway!  At our age, we just don't care. We want to travel all around the country and at the end of the day we like to relax and watch some TV. Even if it is just a DVD, we don't care. It is relaxing. So Since our RV didn't come with an entertainment center we had to make our own!

• First we purchased a TV/DVD combination unit because it would take up less space. It is a great little unit but the sound could be better. 
• Next we purchased a TV wall mount. We mounted it to the side of the kitchen cabinet which is very secure and the TV can be moved so that we can comfortably watch it from the bed or the kitchen area.
• Lastly we purchased a pre-stained wall shelf that matched the stained wood in the trailer. We had to custom cut it to fit between the kitchen cabinet and the cabinet holding the air conditioner. We used metal L brackets to mount it to the cabinets on each side. We avoided putting anything into any of the outside walls.
• For 'looks' was purchased an extension cord and a special wire channel to hide the cord under down the wall to the outlet. This was so that we could plug the TV cord into the end of the extension cord under the shelf and out of the way and not visibly see any wires.
• Lastly, we contacted the RV dealer and purchased matching wall paper to cover the channel with. It matches the walls perfectly!

3. The Bathroom
I don't know about you, but this room is pretty important to me! In a small trailer you get a small bathroom. In our case it is really, really small. In fact, it only came with a tiny shower, a toilet, and a mirror on the wall! Nothing else but a door!   

• I have no idea why it didn't come with a towel bar or toilet paper holder, but these are the first two things we added. They were easy to install on the wall between the bathroom and the closet, that just happens to be on the right side of the toilet. It makes sense to have them there so I am not sure why the trailer didn't come with them in the first place!
• A small caddy with a handle to hold soaps and shampoos is all that was needed in the shower. It can be hung on one of the hooks on the back of the door when not being used.
• A nice soft brown toilet shaped rug fits nicely on the floor (after we custom cut one corner) and is great for keeping your feet warm and absorbing water when getting out of the shower.
• Lastly, we just added metal over the door hooks. This is simply to hang our wet towels on after getting out of the shower.  

4. The Kitchen
Of course this is really part of the bedroom, the living room, and the dining room! Ha Ha. But who cares? It's still my kitchen and I knew I could improve upon it!

• Added a magnetic bar to the stove to hang our knives on. Despite how many bumps we have hit a knife has never, ever fallen off!
• Hung a paper towel bar the upper cabinets over the counter.
• Bought a small electric coffee maker with a metal pot that can't break, but also keeps the coffee warm!
• We have a bamboo utensil and napkin caddy for all our silverware! It's easy to use in the trailer, or to take outside if we are barbecuing.
• Bought simple matching dishes and cups to always keep in the trailer. The dishes are kept on a plate cradle in the cabinet to save on storage.
• Theres no oven so we purchased a small simple toaster oven. 
• We hung acabinet kitchen towel bar on the pantry door.
• We added sticky tape hooks to the inside of the pantry door to hang all the cooking utensils.
• We stocked the kitchen will all the basic needs: pots, pans, knives, silverware, potholders, utensils, towels, matches (to light the stove with), dish soap, sponges, napkins, and more!​

5. Key Holder

•  We added a key holder basket to the side of the cabinet so as soon as we walk in the door we can hang our keys or find a small flashlight quickly!

Now our trailer is always organized, ready, and feels like home no matter where we go!
Happy Travels!

I used sharpies to decorate my Easter Eggs this year.  I wanted to try something different, and I have to say I was happy with the outcome! 

Seriously, all you need are some hard boiled eggs, sharpie markers and minimal drawing abilities.   If you can draw a simple flower,a leaf, a line with curls at the end, and make a few dots, you are good to go!

Just start at the ends and work your way down to the other end, or do both ends and then fill in the  middle.  Either way, who cares?  Just keep it simple and fun, because in the end it's just an egg you are going to crack open and eat!

And if you feel extra ambitious, you can color it in!  They look awesome both ways.

The whole idea is to just have fun!  I know I did :-)

It's that time again....a new year with new resolutions.  How many of us actually accomplished all of our resolutions from last year?  I know I didn't.  But this year I have a plan!  FIVE SIMPLE, yet life changing, resolutions!  Each of the 5 resolutions is simple and straightforward  so they should be easier to follow through with, right?  Well, hopefully! But the real plan is that they become lifetime habits that I eventually don't even have to think about!

​1. Eat Whole Foods - this is not a diet but if done properly should lead to losing weight and feeling more energetic.  Eating whole foods means exactly that: eating fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats instead of anything that is processed.  If the foods are all organic, then even better!  If the food required some sort of processing in a plant and has ingredients added for whatever reason, then it is OUT!  Need some help with this?  Then check out the following site:

• Five Foods You Should Never Eat - this is an excellent informative video by a nutritionist about why diets don't work and why eating whole foods does work.  Of course it goes into 5 foods everyone thinks are healthy, but really aren't.  The video is a little long and the goal is to get you to buy into their program at the end, but the information and inspiration makes it well worth watching!

2. Exercise - Five minutes a day is all that's needed to get started and it can be simple like walking to the store instead of driving!

• Check out 4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit.  They share a simple, and painless way, to get started now.  I started today!

3. More Quality Family Time - are you usually too busy for your spouse, children, or even your parents or siblings?  Then make time for them before it is too late!  It doesn't have to cost anything either!  You can simply make a plan to do something for 1-3 hours each week.  It can be as simple as playing a game like monopoly, or going for a nature walk at the local park.  The idea is to make it a priority and schedule it in if you have to!  

• Read How to Make Quality Family Time a Priority.  The article shares many great points about why and how to do this!
• Check out my Pinterest Page Inexpensive Fun for great ideas for spending quality time with anyone in your family this year!

4. Organize - get the house in order!  This will make everything so much simpler this year.  It makes it easier to clean, takes less time to find what you need (Don't you hate searching for something?), and of course frees up quality time to spend with your family!

• Check out The Household Organization Diet - this gives a list of 15 minute per day tasks toward cleaning, organizing, and decluttering your home in just 31 total days.  It was created for 2015, however I am pretty sure it will also work for 2016!
• Check out How to Become a Minimalist - yes, this is the new "buzz word" however, I think it is a great one and I truly live by it as much as I can. Why?  Because I believe in it.  I believe that too much stuff leads to stress (must protect and take care of that stuff), less time for other things (stuff must be organized, cleaned, and have other stuff to supplement it)....etc.  I think you get the picture!  You don't have to go to extremes, however less stuff = simpler life with more time for your family!  Not to mention you can save a lot of money....
• Check out our Pinterest Home Organization Page for more ideas!

5. Grow Your Savings - even if you have debt, it is important to have some money in a savings account.  Having money saved makes me feel protected in case of emergency like when our stove blew up last year.  I usually set a certain goal to reach each year. I don't always meet it, but it helps!

• Check out How to Grow Your Savings for basic steps to getting started.  
• Check out The Budget Diet - How to Cut Your Spending by $400 a Month - not all of these will work for everyone (For example where I live there is only one electric company.) however there are some great ideas that will definitely  help you to get money in the bank!
• For more ideas on how to save check out our Pinterest Board Household Debt/Budget.

Every year for Halloween I give out candy.  Every year for Halloween I eat the candy before Halloween  and end up having to buy more.  Then I eat that candy and have to buy more again, and so on.  I never have leftover candy and it's not because we get a ton of kids knocking on our door.  I just have absolutely no willpower.  I have even purposely bought candy I don't like so I wouldn't eat it. Guess what?  I ate it.  Come on, admit it, because I KNOW I'm not alone!  Well, this year I was determined to change that pattern and do something different.  I wanted it to be fun, so when I saw glow sticks on sale I thought, "Why not? Who doesn't like glow sticks?"  Then I realized this year Halloween is on a Saturday and that means kids out after dark.  Why not help them be safer by giving them something bright to wear at night?  By this time, giving glow sticks as my trick-or-treat give-away was a no brainer.  Here's what I did.

Supplies Needed:

• Glow Sticks (3 per favor) with connectors
  
• Orange Cardstock or Construction Paper
  
• Printer
  
• Scissors
• FREE Printable Pumpkin Cut-outs - This is a pdf file with four (4) pumpkin cut-outs to a page.  You can click on the link or the picture below to download.

I love tie dyed clothes.  I don't know what it is about them but they just make me feel happy.  Maybe it's the combination of wild colors, or the designs, but whatever it is I really like tie dyed clothes.  That's why I decided to take a day and do some tie dying for fun!  Well, a little for fun and the rest to give as gifts for birthdays or Christmas.  Despite the fact that I hadn't tie dyed in over 20 years I am very happy with the results.

Check out the kit by clicking the picture above or here: Rit Tie-Dye Kit (affiliate link)

Supplies:

• Rit Tie Dye Kit (This is a one step kit so there is no soaking with soda ash before hand!)
  
• Latex (or other) Gloves (the ones that come with the kit are rally crappy)
  
• Cheap Plastic Tablecloth
  
• Grocery Store Plastic Bags
  
• Rubber Bands (some do come with the kit)
  
• Water (a hose or a bucket would do)
• Large rag or towel that can be ruined
• Crummy clothes or apron
• About 5 - 6 Shirts or more depending upon the size and how much dye you use on each

Getting Ready:
You definitely want to do this outside.
Cover a table with the cheap plastic table cloth.

Rubber-Banding the Spiral Design:
I decided to do the spiral pattern for most of the shirts.  I followed the video tutorial below.  I did not follow their instructions for dying though because they had way more colors than I did - I only had three tubes with three colors (red, blue, and yellow). The directions for coloring the rainbow using only three colors are below.

Rubber-Banding the Sunflower Design:
I couldn't find any instructions online, so I kind of made up my own based on what I thought might work. I basically just did the front of the shirt with the design by banding a small portion for the brown center. Then I pleated and banded the next section for the yellow flower petals.  That was it for the flower.  For the rest of the shirt I just banded it however it worked out naturally.  I guess you could say I 'winged' it.  It really didn't matter to me since it was an experiment.

The Next Day
Using a milk crate, gloves, scissors, and a hose, I simply took out one shirt at a time and hosed it down until no more color ran from the shirt.  Then I clipped the rubber bands and removed them and hosed the shirt for a few more minutes to be sure all the color was done washing out.  After all the shirts were rinsed I washed them on hot temperature, short cycle, in the washer machine and hung them out to dry!  All done and happy with the results :-)

For as long as humans have been planting and growing their own crops they have been battling to keep the birds away.  Scarecrows, at one time found in just about every garden, are now more common around Halloween.  Why?  Well, frankly, they just don't work that well.  

Make your own scarecrow!
Whether it is for Halloween or to keep in your garden, here are three different plans at different levels so you can build your own scarecrow.  Enjoy:-)

Looking for something inexpensive, simple, and fun to do this summer? Then consider having a backyard campfire complete with marshmallows, a sing-along and ghost stories. No matter what age your guests are, it's sure to be a big hit that everyone will want to do over and over again!

When I was growing up we used to go camping all the time. Whether it was upstate NY or on the beaches of Fire Island, there was always a campfire involved. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of singing around the campfire with family and friends. In fact, the picture above was taken just this summer while visiting my parents in the Adirondacks - in their backyard! No matter how old you are, campfires are fun and you don't have to travel farther than your backyard to create new memories!

BACKYARD 
No backyard?  No worries! Would someone you know be willing to share theirs? Is there a park or other similar place near you that permits campfires? You can call the local parks you know of and see if they allow fires or find parks in your state using America's State Parks.   Many parks already have fire pits ready and waiting to be used!

WOOD
Yes folks, you can't have a fire without something (usually wood) to burn.  

• Buy: Lowe's is currently selling Lost Coast Forest Firewood for $6.88 (.75 cubic feet).
• Find: Collect dead wood from around your yard and neighborhood.
• Recycle: Burn wood scraps from projects.  I would avoid burning CCA-pressure treated lumber which contains chromium, copper, and arsenic.  

SEATING
There are a lot of options here!

• Furniture you already have: folding chairs, beach chairs, etc.
  
• Guests can bring their own folding chairs (Check out Modell's Canvas Camp Chair for $9.99 with a carry bag!).
  
• Use blankets, towels, or even sit-upons!

CAMPFIRE SNACKS
In my opinion a backyard campfire is nothing without being able to roast marshmallows and make s'mores! Making them is pretty easy, but you do need a few things and being prepared ahead of time makes it very simple (And we all love simple, right?).  

• Purchase marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey chocolate bars. Keep an eye out for combination coupons - they have been in my Sunday paper several times this summer  so I am sure you can find them too!
  
• Preparing the s'mores ingredients ahead of time makes it ready-to-go and  makes a nice presentation as well!  

MARSHMALLOW STICKS
You can either make your own, improvise, have guests bring their own, or buy them!  

• Buy:  I actually have telescoping marshmallow sticks.  I bought a set of 8 and kept two for myself when I was making "Summer Fun" gift baskets (actually coolers filled with goodies) last year!  For a less expensive alternative you could purchase wooden sticks instead. They cost less for more, however they do not last long. 
• Improvise: use skewers or long oven meat forks. However, be extra careful about getting too close to the fire and since they are probably made of metal they will transfer heat to your hands so be careful about getting burned.  This is definitely not an option for children!
• Find and make your own!  If you live in an area with some trees or woods, you can probably find some good sticks to use. Make sure they are at least 24" long or more, especially for children.  

SING-ALONG SONGS
What's a campfire without an old fashioned sing-along? If you or your guests play an instrument, then even better!  We have a lot of guitar players in my family so besides the classic campfire songs we always sang a few oldies too! You can choose to sing whatever songs you want or even just listen to music, but I am not joking when I say sing-a-longs are fun!

• FREE PRINTABLE:   CAMPFIRE SING-ALONG SONGS & GHOST STORIES BOOKLET

GHOST STORIES
Depending upon the age of the guests, these can range from funny to scary.  Either way,  ghost stories have been told around campfires for a very long time....

• A very thorough collection of short ghost stories!
• FREE PRINTABLE:   CAMPFIRE SING-ALONG SONGS & GHOST STORIES BOOKLET

CAMPFIRE SAFETY
A few important things about fire safety (learn more at Smokey The Bear): 

• Have a bucket of sand and/or water nearby. 
  
• Never leave the fire unattended.
  
• Be sure to put out the fire properly when done.

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