Bringing Beauty to the Backyard

 There's something within me that loves seeing not-so-pretty things become beautiful, especially when I play a role in it. Seriously, I love vacuuming because I enjoy turning leave-covered rugs and dirt into well-angled vacuum lines. I love quickly picking up a room and seeing it look a million times better. And I love doing home projects to make old or worn things look oh-so-much better. Call me crazy, but there's something about it that's so satisfying. As teachers, summertime is the big time for the Kleinmeyer household to tackle home projects, especially those that involve the outdoors.

I love the outdoors, and would seriously spend all of my time outside if I could. Hosting others in our home is hugely important to me, and I needed an outdoor space where I felt like I could do this. Thus, a major selling point of our house was the deck.  I love the two levels, and we spend a lot of time hanging out on it, sharing meals and laughs with friends and talking until way past dark. Last year, Aaron and I spent hours and hours replacing worn boards and re-staining the pesky little slats. (Thankfully, we'd had some hail, so our insurance helped cover the cost!) I love how it turned out. We added globe lights and purchased some hanging baskets, which sat empty after I decided to throw a few extra bulb flowers in them just to see what happened. Fail.

This year, in the spirit of the "learn fearlessly" part of my life mission, I've been super excited to learn more about flowers and work a bit on some landscaping on the side of our house, as well as over our deck. First, I tackled the hanging baskets. I knew that I wanted perennials, since I wanted them to come back without having to re-plant them every year. I found some pretty geranium perennials, and went for it. Transporting them into my hanging baskets wasn't hard, and I already love the way they dress up our deck.

Hanging baskets and globe lights for the win. Simple things can make a big difference.

When it came to planting things in our newly-cleared out flower bed, I knew I also wanted something that would come back year after year. It's much easier on both the wallet and the schedule. (I mean, who wants to spend $40 on flowers that die after one year?) I had no shame in asking some friendly-looking ladies at Lowe's which types of roses to buy and how to prune, and at 75% off, I couldn't say no to four bushes! I'm already dreaming of fresh cut flowers in a vase on our dining room table, and Aaron won't even have to buy them.

Our new landscaping. Out with the weeds and in with the beautiful.

One of our first roses.

We found two hot pink rosebushes that didn't need pruning, and put those on the ends, then filled in with some bushes that will produce cut roses in light pink and red. After starting our planting, we realized we need a few more plants. When we went back to Lowe's, we found two hydrangea plants on clearance. I think they're gorgeous, so we got one blue and one white. Had to grab landscape fabric and mulch to keep out all those pesky weeds. Worth it. I've found I actually love working with flowers- it's pretty peaceful and stress relieving.

Hydrangeas! Found on clearance at Lowe's for $5. 

Every good deck need some awesome lighting that won't break the bank. We love the globe lights (pictured above) that we bought right when we got married. Two years in and still going strong (both us and the bulbs, people)! You can find some super reasonable lights at Target right now! For the space above our bar set, we found this nifty candle globe on sale at Home Depot. Finally, I've got some cute Mason jars with sand that I grabbed at CVS for cheap- still figuring out where to put them. All in all, I love our space and having people fill it!

Globe candle votive holder. Home Depot.

If you're looking to furnish your outdoor space without breaking the bank, or need to do some saving up before you buy anything else, check out how we made it possible as young homeowners. And remember, baby steps! Add one thing at a time. Shop clearance (even for flowers and outdoor decor! Flowers go on clearance simply because they don't have time to water them all and are often overstocked).  If you need any help, or have any questions, comment below or contact me here. Have so much fun creating the perfect outdoor space for YOU.

Currently,
Kelsie

I'm linking up with The Crafted Sparrow, The Girl Creative, The Painted Drawer, Chic on a Shoestring, Just Us Four, The Pretty Pintistic Party, Just Another Linky, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, and Imparting Grace. 

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How the Ks Came to Be: The Story of Us

In honor of our second wedding anniversary next week, I decided it was time to tell our story. It is a story of hesitance, beautiful pursuit, and rich grace- a story of letters, worship, and falling in love with a best friend. So, dear reader, sit back, kick up your feet, and enjoy the story of us: the Kleinmeyers (also known as the Ks.)

Aaron and I first met when he was in 8th grade and I was a sophomore in high school. Yes, I'm a cougar, but to be fair- we're two years apart in school but only a year and a few months apart in age. Anyways, I didn't even know who he was, as I was way too cool to be thinking about dating younger middle school boys. We met at church, and he swears up and down that the first time he saw me I was up on stage singing and his mom leaned over to him and asked, "What's wrong with that girl?". His response? "Absolutely nothing."

The "man-van plus Kelsie" on a church trip.

The majority of our early pictures together look something like this. Aaron and I both in the same place, but nowhere near "together". Aaron was younger and dating someone else, so I never even thought about being attracted to him. He was a sweet guy with a great voice and a love of strawberry lemonade, but I wouldn't say I knew him well. I was off at Mizzou except for the summer, and he was a high schooler.

Fast forward a few years to the end of college. I was finishing off my student teaching in Kansas City, and Aaron was finishing up at Maple Woods. He was actually transferring to Mizzou just as I was heading out. Our lives overlapped again at church, where we both helped with the youth. We sang together and lead retreats and other events. A healthy friendship started growing. He asked me out to dinner, and I said yes, but then realized it was a date, so I backed out. (Don't worry, I obviously got my head on straight eventually.)

 For my grad party, I asked if anyone had a Mizzou flag that I could borrow. Aaron said he did, then bought one and let me keep it as a gift. (Clever, huh?) I hung it in my classroom at school. Aaron started texting me every now and then, just to ask about school. I didn't know this yet, but he had taken a year off of dating after his last break up, and the very day that he had circled on the calendar to start dating again, I had come back into his life. His patient pursuit had begun.

My first classroom, complete with the Mizzou flag Aaron gave me.

When the winter of 2011 rolled around, I was halfway through my first year of teaching, and was also coaching basketball. Aaron was home on break from college, and we lead worship again. He showed up to my basketball games, and I started to figure out that he liked me. We went to a game at Liberty North with a married couple, which was a bad idea because we weren't even dating. I friend-zoned Aaron. Thankfully, I didn't scare him off.

Then one week, Aaron received an anonymous letter from someone at our church. The letter told Aaron to take me out on a date, and $50 was enclosed to help him pay for it (you can't make this stuff up!). Aaron told me about it, I laughed, and he said that he would put it into his bank account and maybe take me out someday if I'd let him. At this point, I was scared to lose a friend, and didn't know what I was feeling. But he'd get his chance.

Leading worship together in Aaron's pre-haircut days.

To everyone else, Aaron and I were a no-brainer. People saw us sharing a water bottle before worship and assumed we were dating. My younger brother asked my mom when we were going to get married, to which she replied, "They should probably date first." My dad even said that he wouldn't be upset if I went to a different church to meet a guy, unless I was going to marry that "Aaron Kleinmeyer guy". Everyone knew him, and everyone loved him. (And with a heart as big as his, how could you not?) Aaron conveniently started to come home more for church, and he even found his way to my parents' house for lunch with my family.

Things really started progressing through February and March. For the first time ever, I knew what it felt like to be truly pursued (and ladies, you should always be pursued). No longer was I wasting time decoding text messages from prospects or dreaming up reasons to talk to a guy- Aaron was intentional about texting me, asking questions, and being real. Our phone conversations about church and worship turned into hour long convos about everything while I walked on the treadmill in our basement. A simple question about my day turned into a two hour exchange about our life goals and dreams (separate, though aligned). Safe to say, the Lord was doing a work in my heart as I saw a man that I looked forward to speaking to and being vulnerable with. One who truly cared about me from hours away in Columbia. One I grew to long to talk to and be with.

A Group of our Kiddos at the Dare to Share Conference 2012.

That St. Patrick's day, Aaron and I were both attending the Dare to Share Conference as leaders for our church. The trip was taking place in St. Louis, so I was coming from KC after school, and Aaron was going to be picked up in Columbia. I knew this was a make or break it thing. We had been talking so much that this was either going to be incredibly awkward or incredibly perfect. As we both sat in a leader meeting together, I had my arms folded. Aaron did too, and when his hand accidentally brushed the back of my arm, tingles shot down my spine. I knew that I could be, and was, attracted to Aaron. On the way home, I may have gotten pulled over in Columbia after we dropped Aaron off because I was so caught up in emotion that I forgot to turn on the mini-van's lights. Oops. Needless to say, I woke up the entire van of sleeping kiddos. The secret was out. I was falling for Aaron. I cancelled a triple date I had been set up on a month before, and Aaron asked to take me on a date in KC over his spring break so that he could officially ask me out in person. I agreed.

Our first date was March 28, 2012. It was everything a girl could've dream of. We grabbed dinner at Bo Lings, bought our journal, and slow danced in the rain before heading to the midnight premiere of Hunger Games. The next morning, I took Aaron to the airport so he could fly to Texas with his grandma to get Tori (the car we recently said goodbye to). We started our long distance relationship of journal writing, Skype dates, and talking on the phone. I loved falling in love with someone from a distance- hearing his voice made me melt, nothing was based on the physical, and it was always so exciting to actually see each other in person.

Our first boyfriend/girlfriend picture, on Easter.

Pretty much right away, I knew we were going to get married. We'd been very intentional about the start of our relationship, and wouldn't have been dating if we couldn't see ourselves getting married. That April, my childhood neighbor was getting hitched and I was going to be a bridesmaid and sing in her wedding. I was able to recruit Aaron to help sing, partly because I think we harmonize well and partly because I wanted a reason for him to come to the wedding. (And who doesn't love a guy who can sing?). At the reception, we slow danced together, and for the first time, I knew that this was what it felt like to be in love. For the first time, the guy I was dancing with couldn't take his eyes away from mine. For the first time, I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. That night, people asked me when we were going to get married. I told them we'd only been dating for a month. But when you know, you know.

The night I knew, without a doubt, that I would marry Aaron.

The next eight months were a whirlwind as Aaron moved to his grandma's for the summer, and then to Independence to student teach. We found out what dating in the same city was like. Being only 45 minutes away was way better, but I still hated every goodbye, and dreamed of a time when it would be good night instead. As each month ticked by, Aaron stuck around, and I stopped worrying that I was going to mess things up like I'd always seemed to before. That November, we made it through my grandma's death and funeral, and Aaron was my shoulder to cry on. Little did I know, he'd already planned a big surprise engagement with my best friends, asked for the blessing, bought a ring, and kept my grandma in the loop before she passed away. But how Aaron popped the question is a story for another day. For now, just know that it was perfect.

Visiting the Alamo on Aaron's birthday, while on a Non-Stop YL trip, just a few days before he proposed.

Every day I am so thankful for the amazing way that the Lord brought us together. I recognize that He had his hand in our story from the beginning, and only when I truly relied on and found my meaning in Him, was I able to open my heart up for Aaron. I'm so thankful that Aaron was patient and persistent with me, that he found me to be someone worth fighting for. I'm thankful that I took a chance on an amazing man who is truly my best friend, my partner in crime, and my biggest fan. All of the waiting, the heartache, and the loneliness that I felt through college and beyond was worth it. Our marriage is the best adventure I've ever been on.

I've heard it said before: "Run as hard as you can towards the Lord, and then look around to see who's there with you." That's our story. Aaron and I both were running towards the Lord, while pursuing kids and leading others in worship. Then we looked around, found each other, and realized that we were in it together. To this day, we're still in it together. We fight together in the trenches for our YoungLife kids to know Jesus. Few things in life bring me more joy than praising God together in song, or feeling my heart melt as I watch Aaron love kids well. I am so blessed to have a godly man who leads me and loves me with more grace than I'll ever deserve. He'll say I'm a catch, but he's wrong. He's the catch. And I'm so thankful that he chose me, and continues to do so daily, despite my stubbornness and imperfection. It's the most beautiful picture of loving me like Jesus does.

He liked it, so he put it a ring on it. And the rest, my friends, is history.

Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite. I can't wait to see the rest of it unfold.

Currently,
Kelsie

I'm linking up with Twinkly Tuesday, Purposeful Faith, Teaching What is Good, Testimony Tuesday, Intentionally Pursuing, The Painted Teacup, Messy Marriage, Sweet Little Ones, Amy Schlichter, Organized 31, Bliss and Faith, Welcome Home Wednesday, Let's Be Friends Blog Hop, and The Modest Mom Blog. 

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Behind the Tagline.

You may have noticed the three little fragments up at the top of my blog, right under Currently, Kelsie:

LOVE FIERCELY. LEARN FEARLESSLY. LIVE FULLY.

You may be wondering, what do those mean? Why did she choose those? If that's the case, you're in luck. 

Contrary to popular belief, I did choose these words for reasons other than the fact that they all are verbs that start with "L" followed by adverbs that start with "F", (sorry, I'm an English teacher. Yes, this parallelism did make me happy). Anyways, I chose these words because they are really things that I want to live out. I want people to see the real me as I strive to love, learn, and live with the best of 'em. It's part of my mission.

I squint when I smile. But I'm usually laughing, so this is the most accurate picture of myself I could share in a post that talks about being genuine and tackling my life missions.

LOVE FIERCELY.

One of the things that I really want to do most is to love other people well. I want to love my husband, my family, my friends, my students, my YoungLife kiddos, and anyone who may wander into my life- and I want to love them well. Obviously I'm not going to be in head over heels, tingles when they touch your hand kind of love with all of them, but I want them to know that they matter. I want them to see that I care and to put their needs first. I want to do this so fiercely and so genuinely that people can't help but wonder why. I want to choose daily to love them more than I love myself, which is a challenge for sure. It's a goal of mine to choose love in the moments when I'm most angry or upset. Though this may be easier said than done, it's worth it. I want to love others fully and with grace. I want them to see that I love them because Jesus first loved me. I want them to feel valued.

The head over heels, tingly when you touch their hand kinda love is reserved for this guy.

LEARN FEARLESSLY.

Though I like to be right (I'm a bit stubborn...), I've come to terms with the fact that I don't know everything, and I never will. There is no shame in needing help from someone to learn something. On the contrary, it is rather freeing and exciting to truly learn something from someone else. As a teacher, I'm a firm believer in being a life-long learner. There is always something more to learn, something to improve on, and someone who is better at something than I am. These teachable moments are not to be feared, but rather to be embraced with excitement. And they're actually kind of fun! I'm constantly learning how to be a better wife, a better friend, and a better communicator. Heck, I'm learning to drive stick shift this summer (hopefully), with the help of my hubby, and I just taught him to ski. Teaching and learning go hand in hand, and it's one of my goals to never be too afraid to learn, or too worried about how it will make me look. Admittedly, I'm a work in progress.

Thankful for life's moments that give me the chance to learn and grow. Through failure, we learn the most.

LIVE FULLY.

This was the original purpose behind the launch of Currently, Kelsie. As a twenty-something woman living in today's culture of social media and Pinterest, I found myself struggling with comparison and jealousy of others. I found myself wanting what they had, or wishing I could change something in my past to be more like they had done it. I found myself wishing away my current years so that I could be on to the next phase of life: if only I was dating someone, or married, or had a house, or had babies, or insert whatever you want here. I had to stop and remind myself that I am only blessed with a short life, and that I'm never guaranteed another moment on this Earth. I sure better enjoy every single second that I am given, while still setting my eyes on eternity. This is why the last part of my mission tagline is to live fully. I want to enjoy every stage of life that I'm in, without living in the past or rushing to the future. I want to live with purpose and adventure, saying yes to the important and eternal things, and no to the things that will only bring me down. I want to look back at the end of my life and think, "Yep, I did it right. Would do it all over again if I could." I want to be true to my heart and my God, and to know that I found joy in the little things, without worrying too much about the big things that I couldn't control. 

This is my wish for you as well, dear reader. Love fiercely: make a difference in someone's day, in their life, in their world. Learn fearlessly: never be too old to try something new, to let someone help you, or to fail at something. And live fully. Enjoy it. Have some fun, but not too much to regret it.  Thanks for coming along on this journey with me, to learn from the past, look with hope toward the future, and to live fully in the current.

Currently,

Kelsie

Need help with your own tagline? Want to come up with your own mission statement? Shoot me a message on the Facebook page, or share a comment below. 

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Preparing for an Adventure: Packing Cubes

This post is from the archives. To hear all about our trip, click here!

The secret is out friends: Aaron and I are going on a 15 day trip to Europe this summer! We'll be adventuring through Dublin, London, Paris, Geneva, Venice, Florence, and Rome. We are BEYOND excited, and have been in the planning stages since about March (though I was in the dreaming stages since January....or basically for my whole life). We are kidless, petless, grad class-less, both off for the summer travelers who said "now or never", and we chose now! I couldn't be more thrilled. I'll be turning 26 in Paris. Seriously, someone pinch me.

With a trip like this, we are going to be doing our major flights in and out of Dublin and Rome. In between, we'll be connecting the dots with some small EasyJet and RyanAir flights, and then with trains! We'll be spending our nights in anywhere from hostels to 5 star IHG hotels that we got for free (see how we did it here). Since we will be on the move so much, we'll be walking with our stuff quite a bit. Thus, the dilemma of bags and packing.

REI Lookout Pack from REI Outlet.

After speaking with a few different friends who had done similar trips in the last few years, we decided to go with backpacks. My lovely friend Lauren, who is basically a pro after her 5 week long trip to Europe last year with her hubby, recommended checking out REI Outlet for a bag. She also suggested getting packing cubes. Check out her awesome blog, Sobremesa Stories for other tips and sweet stories! Thanks to her ideas, I found a few great deals on bags and Travelwise travel cubes online. Yep, I'll be fitting everything I need in this bad boy! 

Like any good traveler, I needed to give this a trial run (or two, or three). I typically am not a super light packer, because we often go on "you get a 50 pound bag for free, so you may as well fill it" kind of trips. But I like a good challenge, and I recognize that I often over pack because I think "I may want options". So, with my competitive blood flowing swiftly through my veins, I decided that for our week long trip to Colorado, I would only be using my REI pack and my Travelwise packing cubes. Aaron wasn't able to get an REI pack, because the men's bag sold out while in my cart (major bummer), but we were able to find him a really great deal on a JanSport bag, also through the REI Outlet site. I figured hey, if I can shove all my t-shirts into the top drawer of our dresser, surely I can shove them into this pack using my cubes, right?

Here's what I started with:

Step One. A girl's got needs. And I consider myself fairly low-maintenance.

I used three of our five cubes: the smallest, one medium, and one large. Still had two left from the five piece set for Aaron to use. I packed them by type of clothing, and used one for laundry on the way home.

Step 2: Into the packing cubes we go. Left out the shoes and makeup bags to shove in crevices.

Finally, it's time to put them all into my backpack.

Step 3: It took a bit of shoving and sliding around, but everything made it into the bag pretty easily!

 My favorite thing about the packing cubes is that they bring such organization to my bag. Aaron went without packing cubes, and his clothes were thrown all over our room (or maybe that's just because he's a guy?). Mine on the other hand, were taken out and slid right into the dresser drawer. I put shirts together, pants/shorts together, and underwear/socks together, so I knew exactly what was in each of my cubes. I'll seriously use these little guys for every trip I go on, and you can quote me on that! Although I'm super cheap, and don't like spending money on non-necessities, I would argue that these are going to be one of my favorite and most used travel purchases ever. Just roll things up and you wouldn't believe how much you can fit in them.

These little guys are going to become my best buds. I'm excited for many travels with them.

Bottom line: packing cubes are reasonably priced, and help with organization, compact packing, and ease of packing/unpacking. Since Aaron and I will be checking in to about 8 different hotels during our stay, I'm going to love such stress free packing. No searching through clothes for me this trip. Make the most of your space!

Do you have European travel tips to share? Need more packing advice? Let me know on Facebook, or by commenting below. I'd love to hear your suggestions or give you my own! Thanks, friends. May your bags be light and your packing cubes full.

Currently,
Kelsie

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Family Fun in Frisco

For pretty much every summer of my childhood, my dad's side of the family hopped into our cars and  caravanned out to gorgeous Summit County, Colorado. My brother learned to ride his bike there, we all learned to ski by age five, and we spent weeks at a time hiking, biking, fishing, and exploring the gorgeous mountains. If we didn't make it in the summer, we visited over spring break. This last week was a special treat, because I got to spend it back in Colorado with my family for the first time since 2010. And this time, I got to bring my hubby along for his first visit! Mountains are so amazing to me; they always remind me just how small I am.

Kicking off our trip at the Continental Divide.

We always stay in Frisco, Colorado, a sweet little mountain town nestled right between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. Check it out here. The city has grown a TON since my parents first started coming out in the late 80s, but it still has a small town feel with well-kept paths and a cute main street. They always have fun events going on, especially during the Fourth of July. What is ruled by skis and snowboards in the winter becomes mountain biking and hiking country in the summer. While there are occasional mountain storms, they don't last long, and the weather is always a nice escape from humidity. There is nothing like mountain sun.

The condo where we spent our week- "Papa Bears".

When we go, we always rent out condos from various owners, but our favorite has always been Mountain Side condos. They have a great clubhouse with some amazing outdoor hot tubs, and various sizes of places to stay, ranging from apartment style 1-2 bedrooms with lofts, to townhouses, to full houses that can hold up to 15 people. They also have access to tennis courts and a fishing lake, and are right off of the bike path. We took a rainy bike ride back from Breckenridge, a mostly downhill 9 mile trip that's actually super fun.

Our condo had access to Bill's Fishing Lake, just a few steps away. It was beautiful.

Aaron and Kirk caught fish! I had a nibbler that got away.

When we stay, we usually prepare meals ahead of time and cook them in the condo. It saves time and money, and the condos' kitchens are always fully stocked and ready for use. Plus my mom's an awesome cook, so that's a perk. We make a lot of runs to Safeway. It was a special treat to go out to eat to celebrate my mom's birthday while we were there! After dinner, we play cards and crazy board games or fall asleep to movies.

We celebrated Momma's birthday at a Mexican Restaurant in town.

Skiing in the summer is a well kept secret. My dad and I actually once skied in July. No lie! The only place that is normally open late enough for this is Arapahoe Basin. This time of the year, you can get excellent prices on ski rentals and lift tickets. We always use Pioneer Sports. They're great. We got a super deal, so my brothers and I decided to take Aaron on his first ski trip ever. The first run may have been a little iffy (since the bunny slope was closed this time of year), but by run number two he was getting off the lift and skiing down the entire mountain like a pro. It's a little slushy at the bottom by the afternoon, but the temperatures are glorious.

Sibling Ski Selfie. Arapahoe Basin is open through June!

It's so fun exploring the Summit County area. Great ski resorts like Keystone, Vail, Copper Mountain, and Breckenridge are all a few minutes away from Frisco. We went down to the Breckenridge area to do some shopping and ate some amazing cookies from Mary's Mountain Cookies. Seriously, get a sandwich cookie. There are lots of deals on ski gear this time of the year. The resorts are much more laid back this time of the year, but their events start up again in mid June. You can even ride the lift up for free at some of them.

A quick visit to Copper Mountain. Everything is closed for "mud season".

We drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park one day. Sadly, there was a lot of snow so the road was closed part way through. We made the most of it, parked the car, and just walked on the road for a while. We even enjoyed a picnic lunch while a few elk nibbled on some grass in the background. Everything is so beautiful here.

On a hike to the falls on our Rocky Mountain National Park visit.

Safe to say, the mountains, and this man, will always have my heart.

I'm so thankful that we were able to escape away on a mountain adventure. If you have any questions about Colorado, or Frisco, please let me know! I'd love to help you plan the perfect family trip to the mountains. Contact me here, or on my Facebook page. Or you can always comment below. Thanks for reading, friends!

Currently,
Kelsie

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The IHG Rewards Club Credit Card: Stay for Free

A few weeks ago, I shared some tips on using the Southwest Rapid Rewards card to fly free. Check out that post here. Flights are a huge expense, but if you can get a free place to stay, it can be an incredible help on the ole wallet. So here's the second installment of travel tips on Currently Kelsie, this time telling you how to get free hotel stays using the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) Rewards Club Credit Card.

The Intercontinental Hotel Group, otherwise referred to as IHG, consists of several hotel brands including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Intercontinental, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites. Their rewards program is free to join, and offers points for hotel stays. You can also earn points by doing the dining or cruising rewards programs, but the best way to get them in a hurry is with the credit card. At the time of this post, IHG is offering 70,000 points when you signed up for the credit card, but when we got the card, we got 80,000 points. Sign up when bonuses are highest in order to maximize your free stays.

How It Works:
You apply for the card. Once you receive it, you have to spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening the account. Then the 70,000 points are yours! It's pretty easy to reach this within a month, just by buying groceries, filling up the gas tank, and paying bills. You can always purchase pre-paid gift cards as needed.

The Rewards:

• 70,000 bonus points can usually get you at least 10 hotel room stays, as long as you are decisive about which hotels you use for points. Point Break hotels are the real way to go (more on that later).
• An Annual Free night that you can use ANYWHERE in the world ANYTIME. (Aaron and I are using ours at a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland that would be worth over $600. For free.)
• Automatic 10% point rebate. You use them, you get them back. It's a beautiful thing.
• Platinum Elite Status, which gets you priority check in and room upgrades.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees. Super nice if you're going out of the country.
• $0 Introductory Annual Fee. Only $49 the next year, which is nothing since you get your free night anywhere in the world. A no brainer.
• Earn DOUBLE Points on gas, groceries, and at restaurants. Really adds up!
• Roll-Over Nights. If you don't use them, you don't lose them. And dates are never blacked out.

Using the Website and Booking Rooms: 
Their website, http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/reservation, is easy to navigate. When you sign up for the card, you are automatically given a member number. You use this number and password to access hotels online. Just search your destination, dates, and select "Reward Nights" under Rate Preference. List view will show you all of the hotels that match your search, as well as the number of points required to book them:

Notice how it allows you to book nights with points, or with a combo of points and dollars. This can help if you have some points, but not enough, or if you want to break up the use of your points. San Fran is pricey for points.

Using the Map View is super helpful. You can see all of the different IHG locations in the area. This is an example using San Francisco, CA. The map view is perfect for planning road trips! Also, San Francisco isn't the best place to use points....it's pretty expensive.

Point Break Hotels:
Point Break Hotels are one of the BEST things about this card. Every few months, IHG releases a list of hotels across the world (with most in the US) that you can get for only 5,000 points. This is HUGE because it means that you could get up to 14 free nights just on your card bonus alone (and remember, you're going to earn points for all of your spending too!). It's best to be flexible in order to really use these. Think about various places you would like to go that are within driving distance. You can only book two nights per each specific Point Break hotel for that round of released options, but you could book as many total as you wanted.

This is a selection of the Spring Point Break hotels, available to book through July 2015. You'll have to have your points earned in time to book fast when they come available. Being flexible on your travel location is huge.

How We've Used the Card:
Aaron and I have stayed ten nights for free so far on this card, and we still have points to use! We used three free Point Break nights for our Southwest Spring Break trip. For Spring Break 2014, we used seven free nights as we drove across the Southeast. You can really maximize this card when you have a car (either rental or your own). This way you can stay at Point Break hotels or other cheap point hotels across the nation, stopping to sleep for free before you head to your next destination. Staying out in the suburbs is always worth less points than staying in the city, but it's so worth it. Honestly, we don't even bother booking reward nights unless they are 10,000 points or less. You really want to get the most bang for your buck (or free points in this case).

Ready to Get Started? To apply for the card, check out this link.
Still have questions? I would love to tell you about our experiences or answer any questions you may have. Click here to contact me, or comment below. If you'd really like to dive deeper into making IHG work for you, check out this awesome guide: http://travelisfree.com/2014/07/29/the-complete-guide-to-ihg-rewards/. If you liked this post, and want to be updated when new travel tips or posts are shared, click here to sign up for our newsletter. Happy Travels!

Currently,
Kelsie

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Squirrels in the Attic: A Survival Guide

In honor of spring cleaning and the joys of home-ownership, I've put together a small survival guide to offer you guidance on what to do if you find squirrels in the attic. Enjoy.

1. Realize that the strange scratchy sound you're hearing on the ceiling is in fact a live animal.
2. Remove clothes from the closet and figure out how to get into the attic.
3. Prepare the bravest member of your family for entry. Don't forget the baseball bat.
4. Scream loudly and move attic door around so all animals are scared away.
5. Climb through hole into attic and pull self up to look around by iPhone light.
6. Locate hole where squirrels are getting in.
7. Attempt to close hole. If possible, climb on roof to do so.
8. Continue to hear noises. Proceed to step 9.
9. Get poison. Place in attic.
10. Wait. It may take days; it may take weeks.
11. Find dead squirrel on the sidewalk as you are leaving for friend's wedding.
12. Husband is gone, so work up the nerve to grab shovel and flip dead squirrel into your landscaping. Try not to stare at its still open eyes.
13. Smell strange smell in house.
14. Go into attic for recon.
15. Have bravest member find dead squirrel and hand down in plastic bag to partner waiting below.
16. Throw away, while trying not to think about the fact that you're holding a dead squirrel.
17. De-stinkify your attic.
18. Celebrate your success.

And yes, this was a true story. Happy home ownership!

Currently,
Kelsie

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A Young Homeowner's Tips for Saving Money

Aaron and I have now owned our sweet first home for almost two years. We aren't real flashy people. We like to have an inviting place where we are comfortable having lots of people over, but we aren't willing to go broke just for aesthetics. Over the past few years, we have figured out several things that have helped us to throw extra money at our principal each month, while also paying off any student loans we had in our name. Here are a few of our favorite secrets to living well and saving money on a young homeowner's budget.

1. Cut the cable.
We don't have cable. We pay for internet, but we have never spent a dime on cable TV. Netflix is amazing, and only $8 a month. With all of the add ons and extra fees that cable companies offer and slap on your bill these days, cable can be over $100 a month. Saying no for the past two years has saved us around $2,400. That's more than enough to pay for a nice cruise, a deck upgrade, or an extra payment on the good ole mortgage.

2. Embrace the hand-me-downs.
Aaron and I were blessed to have several pieces of furniture given to us when we first moved into our house. Our dining room and kitchen tables, a sectional with a pull-out couch, and a bed set were all given to us by those who were happy to be rid of them. And we actually had a decent amount of furniture to furnish our four bedroom home. If you aren't blessed with as many hand-me-downs, not to worry. There are several opportunities for you to find these things: garage sales, antique markets, and thrift stores. Someone's old piece could be a great addition to your place, and you can always give it a little TLC or paint upgrade to make it really pop. Then someday, you can start to buy some new things for yourself little by little, without breaking the bank. You can see how we put some of these pieces to work in our own home by checking out this post.

3. If at all possible, DO IT YOURSELF.
Again, I'm blessed in this category. Aaron is amazingly handy. I mean, the guy works on cars and re-built part of our fence last year. Not to mention all the little things he can do with electrical and toilet issues. If you're not blessed with an Eagle Scout hubby, not to worry. Thanks to the internet, there are several little things you can figure out how to do or find on your own that can save you loads of money. If there's a job that's really meant to be left to the professionals, ask around, use your connections, or find someone local as much as possible. They are likely going to take good care of you for a lower price, and may even give discounts to repeat customers.

4. Regulate the temperature.
One of the biggest changes in homeownership is having a lot more space. This is awesome, but you also have to heat and cool that space accordingly, which can get pricey when you've got numerous floors and vaulted ceilings like we do. A few months ago, Aaron and I got a new thermostat put in for free by KCPL. The thermostat is not only pre-set, but can be adjusted instantly through an App on my phone. We tell it when we are coming home, and when we are gone, and the temperature adjusts to keep our home at the most cost efficient temperature. Our bills have gone way down.

5. Wash in cold. 
Washing your clothes in cold water will save you money. It takes less energy for the machine to wash things in cold, and thus your bill will be much lower. Seriously, I'm not making this stuff up. Check it out: http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/tips-laundry. It's fine to do the occasional hot or warm load of sheets or towels, but otherwise, stick to cold. You could save over $200 a year.

6. Shop clearance, embrace imperfection, and be patient.
We scored big at a 70% off sale when our local K-Mart went out of business. We got a huge steal on a nice patio set for our deck, an outdoor bar set, and a great grill. You don't have to do this all at once though (we just couldn't pass up the deals). Be patient. Don't worry if some rooms sit empty. Add a piece or two at a time to your home. Be on the lookout for clearance markdowns- they could be discounted because of a minimal scratch or dent that you really could care less about. I love love love shopping thrifty, and it makes it even more fun when you find something you love at a great price. Be patient, be choosy, and don't go over the amount you budgeted for a certain item. Odds are great that it will go on sale, especially if it's a seasonal item.

At the end of the day, owning a home is a huge commitment, but it's so much fun. By just following a few simple steps, you can save a lot of money, which then allows you to splurge on that vacation, that new piece of furniture, or that unexpected maintenance necessity (which likely WILL happen). A home is an amazing investment and a great place to live a life and grow a family. We love our home, and all of the people who bring life to it.

What's your favorite thrifty homeowner tip? How do you find ways to cut the costs of homeownership? Let me know on the contact form, or comment below! Like what you're reading? Click here to subscribe to the Currently, Kelsie newsletter. I'll keep you up to date on recent posts, and provide some extra bonus tips on living well. Happy home ownership!

Currently,
Kelsie

I'm linking up with A Fresh Start, The Shabby Nest and Chic on a Shoestring. Check them out! 

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A Letter to My Students

Dear Students,

We did it! Woohoo! We made it to summer. Yes, certain days crawled by, but it seems like just yesterday that we were learning each other's names. Then we blinked and another year was in the books. I usually won't admit it, but a part of me gets a little emotional when I say goodbye and ship you off to the next grade, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on our time together. Because you matter.

Thank you for filling my desks each day and making my room full of life and laughter. Thank you for making me smile, and saying just the perfect thing to bring my spirits up on a bad day. Thank you for sharing your life with me through writing and conversation. Thanks for keeping me up on the modern lingo and newest YouTube videos. You keep me young. You give my job meaning.

I'm sorry that there were times I was too overwhelmed and exhausted to chat with you. I'm sorry that there were times when I got frustrated, or lost my patience after stretching it as far as I could. But mostly, I'm sorry that we ran out of time. I'm sorry that this is our last day together, and I'm even more sorry that I won't be seeing any of you again next year. At least not regularly.

Truth be told, I'm going to miss you all quite a bit. I'll miss your jokes and your smiling faces. I'll miss the funny things you say that crack me up. But mainly, I'll just miss you. Even you, class clowns. You know who you are. Yep, I'll miss you too. You are much more to me than your actions.

I hope you learned something from my class. I hope you learned to like at least one book. I hope you feel more comfortable with writing. I hope that speaking in front of a large group isn't quite so scary now. But most of all, I hope that you saw my passion- my passion for teaching, my passion for kids like you, and my passion for life. It is my hope that I showed you that you matter and that you have potential and purpose in life. Because you do. Trust me, you do. I hope I taught you to laugh at yourself and to never be too busy to have fun.

You're off now to bigger and better things. In a few short years, you'll say goodbye to high school and hello to the rest of your life. I am so excited to see all the amazing things that you'll do, and the amazing places you'll go. Wherever life takes you, I hope you remember to live fully and enjoy every second of the moment you're in. Because trust me, they go oh so fast. Too fast. Then one day you wake up and you're my age and you wonder where the last ten years of your life have run off to.

So enjoy it, dear students. Enjoy the time you have here. Make the most of it. Don't wish it away. Laugh daily. Love each other well. Sacrifice for others. And never give up on your dreams. Because if you think you're too cool for something fun or you think that you're better than someone else, you're really just hurting yourself. You're stealing your own joy before you even get to experience it. Be a kid. Live a life of fun and adventure. Support and build up; don't tear down and destroy.

For now, it's time to say goodbye. Come back and see me. You know where I'll be. I promise I won't forget you, and I hope you don't forget me either. I can't tell you how much joy it brings us teachers to have a student come back and say hi, or tell us how they're doing. Because you will forever be a part of our story here. Now go write your own.

Currently,
Kelsie (aka Mrs. K)

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Sweet Little Bride

Sweet little bride, you're in for the ride of your life. It's one of the hardest, most humbling, most wonderful experiences on this earth. There's no way to be fully ready, but you'll be just fine.

You'll get lots of advice, and you won't listen to all of it. You shouldn't. No matter how hard you try, you'll still get caught up in planning a wedding. You'll know that your marriage is more important than one day, but inevitably you'll worry about the little details that no one else will notice. There will be a day when you'll compare your wedding to those of others, and if you aren't careful, it will steal just a little of your joy.

Sweet little bride, you'll learn more about yourself in your first few months of marriage than you ever thought possible. You'll be met with the ugliest parts of yourself, and you'll wonder how you could ever be so selfish, or why you get so incredibly upset about the littlest things. You'll wonder who you've become.

And oh, sweet little bride, you'll know heartache and the pain of thinking that your groom can fulfill you. He can't. You'll have unrealistic and unspoken expectations, and he will too. You will be more frustrated than you ever thought possible. You'll hope he'll morph into who you want him to be, not who he is. Then you'll realize you need him to be who he is.

You'll struggle to say goodbye to your independence and hello to thinking like two people living as one. You'll realign your priorities as you work on submitting and not leading. You'll navigate through balancing two families and their different ways of life. You will worry about letting others down. And you will let them down.

But it's okay, sweet little bride, because you'll also know joy. You'll watch him from across the room, and your heart will leap in knowing that he is totally and completely yours. Forever. You'll dream of babies and making a house a home. You will wonder how you could ever love him more. And yet, everyday, you will.

Grace. Oh, I pray that you will know grace. More grace than you thought a human could give. Grace and love from someone who won't run away when you're sobbing on the floor, who'll still love you and kiss you goodnight before you fall asleep. Who will hold you in his arms when you need it most, or make you laugh after you just had a fight. Who will pursue you daily. You'll know love and commitment in a totally new way.

And oh, dear one, I hope you'll know trust like you've never known before. You'll know the ins and outs of someone more intimately than you ever thought possible. You will know that he always has your best interest at heart. You'll share secrets you'd never tell another. Part of you will always be with him. And part of him with you.

It won't be easy, sweet little bride. But I can promise you, it will all be worth it. So worth it.

Currently,
Kelsie

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