HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Dear Blog,

Today is our 1 year anniversary together. There has been ups (Italy) and downs (a certain lack of blogging at times), but so far it has been a really fun ride.

Let's hope there are a lot more entries to our story.

Cheers! I have some exciting (no-I'm-not-pregnant news) to share next week. Stay tuned! 

Influenster VoxBox

I recently signed up for a new website called Influenster. What is that, you ask?  

Influenster is a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products. I got my first VoxBox last month. 

It was the Sugar and Spice Voxbox and came with the following complimentary full sized products for me to try out and review. Please NOTE: I received all products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.

Influenster VoxBox

Colgate Optic White Toothbrush, Toothpaste + Mouthwash

REVIEW: I wasn't impressed with this product - it stained our countertop with its strong whitening agents and left an off aftertaste in my mouth after brushing. We went back to using our usual vivid white toothpaste. I like it a lot better. 

 

Dickinsons Oil Controlling Towlettes

REVIEW: I love these. They are really great for taking off my makeup at the end of the night when I am too lazy to actually do a full blown face wash. It leaves my face very soft and supple and it tingles. Love that! I would definitely buy them.
 

Vaseline Spray & Go Lotion

REVIEW: This is my favorite invention ever! Have you tried the new continuous sunscreen lotion? This lotion uses the same concept AND it's really nice because it isn't sticky and dries very quickly. Which means I can put it on right before slipping my jeans on. Yep, I said it - or you can put it on right before bed (like I usually do). I would most definitely purchase this -- and it comes in a couple different scents which I would love to try.

This was the first time I have ever gotten anything for free because of my blog BUT I don't want you to think that I am selling out.  I will make sure that my interests and blog continue to stay aligned.

Goodnight Interweb!  

Hawaii Bound

Well, this post is coming to you from the SEATAC airport floor. I am sitting on the ground, charging my iPhone and waiting for this beauty to be ready to board.

I might blog from Hawaii, I might not. You'll just have to wait and see.

Have a wonderful 2 weeks. Stay warm, Seattle!

I survived.

Well folks, I survived another tax season, my 5th to be exact. I don't know why I am surprised because I always do. The whole 2.5 month ordeal actually flies by so fast and before I know it, it's spring. I am headed on a much needed vacation next Monday to Hawaii to visit my parents, brother, his girlfriend and some high school friends. I couldn't be more excited. I haven't been to Hawaii since October 2010. I usually go at least once a year to visit family, but my family came to Seattle in 2011 for my August wedding and we went on our European Adventure to Italy in 2012. 

So, finally I get to go to the beach, eat my favorite foods and spend quality time with the fam for 2 weeks! I am also headed to Oahu to visit friends from high school for a weekend. I'm sharing some of my favorite Hawaii photos from years past.

No filter, baby!

Yes, that is a Tide swimsuit.

Kauai Trip with Jake, 2009

Kauai Trip with Mom, 2006

Waipio, Hawaii

Rusty, everyone's favorite puppy! Can't wait to see him again.

Running Waters Beach, Kauai

Kauai, The College Years

Umm.... no comment.

The fam!

Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii

Kauai with Jake, 2009

I am loading up my kindle with library books to read. Let me know if you have any suggestions for summer beach reads!

FINANCIAL GOALS UPDATE

We started our spending diet {term explained and inspiration here} in January 2013 and I am proud to say that it's a success {so far}.  We cut our monthly spending allowances down to less than a third of what they used to be. Crazy, I know! It has been an adjustment and we don't get to go on spending sprees as much as we used to but we are pumping up our savings which is really nice. 

Peacefulness is this Cherry blossom tree on a Sunday walk.

We were able to meet one of our spending goals which is to pay off my credit card earlier this month!!!!!!!!

When I made that last payment in early April, it was incredible. I have had credit card debt ever since I graduated from high school (10 years now). It was never anything too crazy. For a long time it was under $1,000 but it was just a burden. At the highest balance, I had over $6,000 in debt at one point and I just knew it had to stop.  Part of the problem was that I relied on it after I "ran out of money" at the end of each month and I used it as a crutch to get me to the next paycheck and I just felt like it was a cycle that I could never get out of. But now that it's paid off, I don't even have the urge to charge anything! Because I don't want my balance to be anything but 0.00. I am pretty proud of us for being able to save and pay off my credit card so quickly.

My credit card never looked so good.

From this post in September 2012:

My Financial Goals for the next 2 years:

1. Pay off my credit card debt   ACCOMPLISHED 4/2013

2. Start a savings account and put money away each month  {{IN PROGRESS}}

 

Now, how do I reward myself? As far as shopping goes, I have never been much of a bargain shopper.  Most of the time I make myself decide if I like something before I look at the price tag so it doesn't sway me either way. Sometimes I set a limit for how much I think it's worth.  I try to spend "smarter" which means thinking about things for a couple days before buying them but doing that got me into trouble when my size was sold out the very next day. So sad!!!! Like most things in life, I think spending money is all about balance.

 

Now that tax season is {almost} over, I am going to start having a lot more free time on my hands. This is where it will get tricky with the spending diet. But if we can keep up our plan, we will be in a lot better financial shape now than we were just 6 months ago.

 

If I can do it, you can too!

 

Cheers,

Kim

LLS Presents.... The Big Climb!

Happy Easter everyone! 

I am sad to say that this has been the longest streak that I've gone without blogging {~3 weeks). Life has been so busy lately. But it's about to get a lot more relaxed - only two more weeks until tax season is over and I will breathe a huge sigh of relief to have my 5th tax season {6th if you count the tax season where I interned} in the books {pun intended???} I feel like so much has happened over the past couple weeks. 

Let's start with this: Last Sunday Jake and I did the Big Climb with some of my former co-workers. I think this is maybe my 4th time participating in this event. Anyway, it's a fundraiser put on by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where climbers have to either walk or run up 69 flights of stairs in the tallest building in Seattle {The Columbia Tower}.  It's easiest if you are in generally healthy shape but it always falls during tax season when I haven't been working out much. Jake and I had been taking walks around the neighborhood 3-4 times a week after work but I'm not sure how much that helped. The actual climb goes by pretty quick - 15 to 20 minutes, and we usually listen to music so that helps. It was a rough one this year and I had to take several breaks, but the important part is that I finished and got to enjoy this view at the top!

View from the top of the Columbia Tower

Jake had to take these photos because I was "resting" by the fan... haha

Here are a couple more pictures from the event -

Jake and I ready and refreshed, before the race.

Team NDH @ The 2013 Big Climb, Columbia Tower, Seattle

You can still donate to the Big Climb if you are so inclined. Thank you to everyone who donated and who participated! We couldn't have done it without you.

I promise not to wait 3 more weeks until my next blog.... but keep in mind that I am always instagramming so you can follow me there @thevintagemodern

Seabrook Weekend

As you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging much. That is what working 60+ hours a week will do to a girl. But the good news is that it all ends next month on tax day....April 15th is coming up real fast. I can't believe February is over already. That went by in a flash! 

Last weekend I had the pleasure of having my one Saturday off a month during tax season {!!!}, so we headed outta dodge and drove 3 hours to the Washington Coast. The Pacific Ocean looks a little different from this side of the water as opposed to Hawaii, but it's still beautiful.  In a different sort of way. 

Have you heard of Seabrook? It's a brand new town near the Washington Coast that was established in 2004.  There are currently 200 cottages in the town with about 100 participating in the vacation rental program. We stayed at the Evergreen Cabin in Seabrook - it's the only LEED certified vacation home in Washington state. Pretty cool huh? We loved it! We watched movies {the 5 year engagement and celeste & jesse forever}. We got to drive and walk {reluctantly} on the beach. We had a sun shiny nice Saturday but a rainy Sunday.  

Here are some pics of our Washington Coast weekend!

It's the Evergreen Cabin! Our home for the lovely weekend!

Hope you are having an awesome weekend!