No Baby... For Now...

The past few months have been full of lots of baby showers, babysitting, and overall questions about when we are having a baby. For awhile there I was almost ready to start trying to have a baby and now I am in a totally different space. After babysitting for 2 days straight (a couple of weeks ago) and planning 3 baby showers in  the past 6 months, I am quite exhausted by the whole idea of a baby right now. I have also had to realize that I am only 24 years old and have plenty of time to have a baby. I don't want to come across as negative but I am really not interested in having a baby right now. Instead I want to spend time alone with my husband, spend time with my friends, travel, and enjoy this time in my life. I am trying to live in the present instead of 5 years down the road and just enjoy my current life. I know that someday we will make great parents and I have no doubt that the time will come, just not right now. So as far as my challenges, I am currently putting the challenge of "Saving $2500 in Baby Savings Fund" on hold. I want to focus my financial efforts on paying down debt, enjoying life, and saving for retirement. Who knows what the next couple of years may bring us, but for now I am working on living in the present... which currently means I do not have a baby nor am I trying to have one!

Ranch Picnic Potato Salad

My husband and I have been invited to our friend's house tomorrow night for a BBQ and we are bringing this delicious potato salad recipe. I put together the recipe tonight, so that it could chill overnight in the fridge. This recipe is easy and delicious (I tasted a bit tonight). 

Here is the recipe:

6 medium potatoes (cooked, peeled, and sliced)

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1/4 cup of sliced green onions

2 tablespoons of chopped parsely

1 tsp of salt

1/8 tsp of black pepper

1 cup of ranch dressing

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped

paprika

Combine the potatoes, celery, green onions, parsely, chopped eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir together dressing and mustard in a small bowl. Pour mixture over potato mixture and toss lightly. Sprinkle with paprika and cover and refrigerate for several hours.

I hope you make this recipe for your next BBQ or potluck and hope you enjoy!

Book Club Email Invites

Today I sent out the email invites for my first book club meeting on August 9th! I have invited nine of my close friends to join me for a fun ladies book club. I am hoping we have a great group of ladies to choose some fantastic books to read and have a great time. Stay tuned for more details about starting my very own book club!

Huge Milestone - $10,000 in Retirement

As of this morning, my retirement accounts have reached my mini goal of a $10,000 balance. I currently have $7,719.52 in my Roth IRA and $2,368.26 in my 401k for a total of $10,087.78 saved. This is a huge milestone for me and I am so blessed to be able to save for retirement at such a young age. Reaching this milestone has motivated me even more to reach the $15,000 mark by next March. In order to reach this goal, I will need to save an average of $625 for the next 8 months. That number does not factor in any market gains, so I may only need to contribute about $500 or so. I am planning on trimming the fat out of my budget and increasing my contributions to my 401k in order to reach this goal!

Budget for Wine and Cheese Party

Since the invitations have been ordered, it is time to start planning and budgeting for my wine and cheese party. I want this to be a nice party for my guests, but I would also like to stay within a reasonable budget. My plan is to buy 5 different types of wine and set them up with different cheese selections as well as a few appetizers. I would also like to put together some wine themed favors for my guests to take home. I am planning on a budget of $125 for the wine, cheese, and the food to make the appetizers and then $75 for the paper products and the favors. I tend to get carried away with my party planning so it will be a challenge to stay on budget!

Wine and Cheese Party Invites

I just completed the order from www.tinyprints.com for the invitations for my wine and cheese party in September. You can see a proof of the invites here. I am excited to start planning this relaxing wine and cheese tasting party for my close family and friends. Even though the invites were a bit pricey ($30.35 for 15 custom invites, envelopes, address labels, and shipping), the money is well worth how adorable the invites are and the quality that comes from this website. I will be posting party planning details as the date gets closer!

Cheesy Artichoke Cups

This afternoon I hosted a lunch and movie afternoon for some of my girlfriends and I made this delicious appetizer recipe called Cheesy Artichoke Cups, from Pampered Chef's website. This recipe was easy to make, delicious, and the presentation was beautiful! I made a few modifications to the recipe (as I often do), and instead of olives I used sliced green onions. I also added a bit of whipped cream cheese in addition to the mayo to give the recipe some extra creaminess. I hope you make this recipe for your next get together with friends and family and I can assure you that it will be a hit!