I have really had to tighten the (designer) purse strings lately. Less eating out, shopping for black high heels, and filling the Beetle's tank with gas to go driving aimlessly on Sundays. All in the name of bill-paying - sigh! This new cheapskate attitude of mine, while annoying to friends who want to go out for drinks and dinner, does have one nice benefit: I have been learning to love what I have, and see what's around me in a different way. One thing I've always loved is decorating my house (and before that, my apartment)...but that usually came with a price tag. Now that I am cutting back on shopping sprees, I've come up with some ground rules for keeping your home beautiful, even when you have little (or no) cash to plunk down.

1. Clean well and regularly! I know it sounds boring and basic, but nothing makes your home look better than keeping it tidy, organized, and dust/grime free. I like to start by picking everything up that is out of place, clearing one room at a time. Do the "most important" rooms first - that way, if time runs short and you haven't gotten to that spare bedroom, you can close the door and call it a day. Next, cleaning and dusting, and finally, vacuuming. I always start the cleaning phase by completing the task I like least - for me, that's washing and drying the dishes - because that makes everything afterward seem easy.

2. Make everything smell pretty, and create some ambiance while you're at it, with candles. I have a candle in every room of my house! I tend to go for clean, light scents in the spring and summer, and vanilla-y scents in the fall/winter, but that's just my preference. One thing to keep in mind is that a little goes a very long way. Too many scented candles can be overpowering, so balance them with a few unscented ones as well. A great trick is to think outside the box when it comes to candle holders. I've used dollar store plain, straight drinking glasses lined up in a row with white candles inside (looks prettier than it sounds)! Take a look through those boxes in your attic for pretty coasters, glassware, little trays, etc. I employ the same concept with vases - lots of non-traditional things work. Last night, I picked some Lilly of the Valley that I discovered near my house, and used a clear toothpick container for the vase. ;-) Speaking of flowers...

3. Fresh flowers and plants add a thoughtful, pleasant touch. I prefer to buy mine from the grocery store (Price Chopper usually has a great selection), and take them home to re-arrange myself in a vase. It's literally the difference between spending $5.99 (from the 'Chopper) and spending $59.99 (by ordering them from the florist). Better still, pick your own! If you don't have any planted flowers in your own yard, would a neighbor mind if you snipped a few lilacs? Look for patches of wildflowers in wooded areas, too. Just don't pick any poison ivy - hee hee. If you're not a flower person, any green plant will do. Even some interesting branches in a tall vase works.

4. "Art" is very much open to interpretation. Few of us have $200 or more to spend on a big painting to hang over the couch/fireplace/what have you. There are hundreds of options when it comes to hanging art on your wall. Remember the yellow picture frame they hung around the peephole of their apartment door on Friends? It was unusual, and it totally worked. Garage sales are great places to look for old frames that you can use as is, or scrape and repaint yourself. What you put in them is up to you - maybe a photograph you love, some cool printed wrapping paper that goes great with your decor, a map of your favorite city in Italy, or a finger painting from your little one. You're going to look at it often, so choose something that you think is beautiful, and let your personality shine through.

5. Change your perspective. Moving the furniture around can completely change the look, flow, and use of a room. Even something small, like swapping the throw pillow on your couch with the one on your bed, or the chair in your study with the one in the hall, can give the room a totally different vibe. Think about what you do in the room, and make sure your new design is conducive to that activity. My husband and I are total TV and movie buffs, so a clear view of the TV is a necessity for our living room and bedroom. Not thrilled with the idea of lugging your furniture around without knowing if it will work? Use paper to cut out the shapes of each piece, break out the crayons to color them in, and use a blank piece of paper that's the shape of your room for the background. Now you can move the "furniture" around any way you'd like, to see if it looks the way you want it to. Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, tape the pieces in place and you have a blueprint for moving the furniture.

6. Clutter is your enemy. Sometimes it just takes a different way of thinking (or even a different opinion - grab a friend!) to see what you do and don't need hanging out in your space. Things that have just always been there - the stack of newspapers, DVDs, books - might serve you better in another room. After 13 years, I still cannot convince my husband that his decades-long collection of sports magazines is unnecessary. But I have gotten him to store them in the attic rather than leave them in a precarious, leaning stack on our living room floor. I'm not a big knick-knack person, but I like to change the few objects I do have on my coffee table up every now and then. Change is good! Try getting creative with hiding your stuff, too. I love anything that has hidden storage, like the bench in my hallway and the basket where I like to store umbrellas, hats and gloves. Look around for ways to repurpose what you have for storage. Maybe the candy dish you never put out could hold your keys? A small statue or sculpture could work for hanging necklaces that are in a pile on your dresser. Organization doesn't have to mean Rubbermaid containers (although my basement is so full of them, I ought to take out stock in the company).

Happy beautifying!

I love a good pedicure. Alas, I am a gal on a budget this summer, so this article was right up my alley. Enjoy!

http://www.realbeauty.com/skin-makeup/nails/care/at-home-pedicure?src=rss

As a girl who really loves her gym (Gold's in Niskayuna), I get annoyed when other patrons don't follow the basic rules of etiquette. Obviously, it's a gym, we're all there to sweat and enjoy exercising, and we all do it differently. Some people couldn't imagine doing cardio without their iPod. Others only work certain muscle groups on certain days. Me, I'm more of a free spirit - I just do what I feel like doing once I get there. I'm just proud that I showed up. ;-) Being that I wander all over the place, I've seen quite a few breaches of basic gym etiquette that I think are worth mentioning...here are my top no-nos:

1. Your cell phone does NOT belong on the gym floor. Despite the fact that almost every machine in my gym has a little sign that clearly states "Cell phones are NOT permitted on machines," I have been stuck next to so many people who insist on taking calls while working out. Usually the conversation starts like this: "HELLO?! *huff, puff* NO, THIS IS A GOOD TIME, I CAN TALK! *huff, puff*" Followed by either a discussion of plans for later that night, or even worse, business details that could certainly wait until after the cardio tour-de-force. Not only do I find this annoying and obnoxious, I really hate it when someone breaks my cardio concentration!

2. If you are sick enough to not be able to go more than two minutes without sneezing, hacking, and/or blowing your nose, please stay home. Nobody wants whatever it is you have.

3. Speaking of sneezing...please do not drown yourself in perfume and/or cologne before working out. I know you don't want to be stinky, but I promise, deodorant and regular showering is enough. Besides the fact that some people (er, me) don't want to get a headache from your liberal application of Shalimar, others may actually be allergic.

4. Realize that not everyone at the gym is looking for a date. Most people at my gym are very friendly, and not creepy at all. But there are a few people that clearly think we are in a nightclub. There are some men who think staring at all of the women on the cardio deck is completely acceptable. And there are women who have enough makeup on to appear on television (not to mention: not enough clothes on to leave the bedroom). Don't get me wrong, when you are single, the gym is a perfectly acceptable place to meet new people who may share your interests. But it is not a place to go trolling for the opposite sex. Most of us are actually here to work out.

5. Please wipe down your equipment if you have sweat all over it. Trust me, after I am done with the elliptical, it practically needs to be hosed down. I would never dream of leaving the handrails sweaty and grimy for the next person. There are wipes all over the place - use them! If not, you will run the risk of getting a well-deserved evil eye from other gym-goers as you walk away.

I don't know about you, but I slept horribly last night! Our bedroom is on the second floor, and it felt like an oven. In retrospect, we probably would have gotten more rest sleeping on the couches downstairs. I'm not the best sleeper to begin with - I've dealt with insomnia since I was a teenager. So even the slightest annoyance - wrong temperature, too much light coming into the bedroom, noises outside, extra stress causing my wheels to spin - keeps me awake. Luckily, my husband has no such issue, blissfully snoring away about 30 seconds after hitting the sheets. I envy him!

I read this article today and thought it was pretty interesting. In case you are wondering, my "sleep personality" is "The Freefaller." ;-)

http://www.shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/what-does-your-sleep-position-reveal-about-your-personality-1338293/#pollId-00F628E0516E11DFA207A34EA49182FB

Puma - 20% off women's footwear, apparel & accessories
Posted 3 hours, 5 minutes ago
In honor of Moms and women everywhere, Puma is cutting 20% off all women's footwear, apparel and accessories. Take this chance to save on cool styles for Mom, or pick out a few for yourself. There's no coupons to worry with, as all discounts are reflected at checkout. Keep shopping this sale through 05/09/2010.