Mandi Ehman's Blog, page 52

Scholastic Teacher Express Summer Steals

I love this sale and wait for it every year!

The Scholastic Teacher Express store offers great discounts on ebooks and printable worksheets in a variety of subjects. The math ones are my favorite because the girls use them to practice math skills all year long, but there are also mini plays, unit studies, flash cards, etc. Although I probably wouldn’t pay $5-10 each for them, I’ll happily pay $1 each.

{Although…I have to limit myself to $10 or I’ll go overboard and then the files will sit unused on my computer!}

Head here to see the full selection.

Scholastic Teacher Express Summer Steals

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

    Related StoriesMy Top 10 Tips for New HomeschoolersYou Can Do It Too! {Encouragement and Resources for Homeschoolers}What Is a Classical Christian Education?

6 Ways You Should Be Using Glycerin at Home

The following post is from Emily of Live Renewed:

Glycerin has always been one of those mystery products to me. I’ve heard about it a lot in natural living circles –  “Oh, glycerin is a great natural health and beauty product!” — but didn’t actually know what to do with it.

I’ve actually had this bottle of glycerin just hanging out in my cupboard for a while now, but I only use it for making homemade foaming hand soap (see more below!). And while it’s an important addition to the soap, I really like the products I use to be multi-functional, so I decided I needed to find some other ways to use up my glycerin.

I’m excited to try these new uses for glycerin over the next few weeks:

1. Homemade Foaming Handsoap

The reason I have gylcerin is to add it to my homemade foaming hand soap. Just a squirt into the bottle does the trick; a little really does go a long way.

I added glycerin to my original recipe of just castile soap and water because I found that my hands were really getting dried out in the winter time using this soap and had heard that glycerin was good for moisturizing. And as a bonus, it makes the soap smoother and glide more easily on your hands when washing.

2. Homemade Toothpaste

I’ve been thinking about jumping on the homemade toothpaste wagon for a while. It seems so easy, frugal, and so very healthy and natural to be able to pronounce all of the ingredients in your toothpaste. But on the other hand, I’ll be honest that it weirds me out a bit. I don’t know why. I’ve tried a homemade version of just about every other personal care product that I use on a regular basis, but for some reason just not toothpaste. I think that’s going to have to change though.

This recipe at Crunchy Betty that is all of those things I mentioned — easy, frugal, and healthy. And I love that it uses ingredients I already have on hand, including gylcerin. I’m putting this one on my list of homemade products to try soon!

source: Intentional by Grace

3. Homemade Herbal Tinctures

Making my own herbal tinctures has long been on my list of new natural living things to try. I think they can be such a great addition to a natural medicine cabinet. I really appreciate Leigh Ann’s step by step guide to making herbal tinctures with glycerin and am looking forward to making some tinctures with herbs from my garden this summer. Especially an echinacea tincture because we have plenty of echinacea flowers growing in our flower beds!

4. Revive Dried-Out Play Dough

This is an interesting one that I’m excited to try out, because it always feels a little bit sad to me to throw out homemade play dough just because it’s dried out. I always wished I had a way to moisturize it and make it like new again. Glycerin to the rescue! Beth at Red and Honey shares how to revive your play dough by adding a bit of glycerin and kneading it in.

5. Homemade Bubbles

My kids love bubbles and can go through bottles and bottles of bubbles in the summer. Although bubbles aren’t expensive to buy, I hate to throw away — or even recycle — all of those plastic bubble containers, so we like to make our own homemade bubble solution.

To make homemade bubbles, mix 1/4 cup natural dishwashing detergent, 3/4 cup water, and 5+ drops of glycerin to help the bubbles form and keep their shape.

6. Homemade Moisturizing Hair Spritz

I’ve read a lot about how glycerin is a great hair moisturizer, especially for curly hair. In the summer time, my usually straight hair becomes almost, not quite wavy because of the humidity. I can scrunch it with a lot of mousse and get it to look a little bit curly, but I’m wondering if using a hair moisturizer with glycerin will help it to be even more curly. I’m excited to try it over over the next few weeks!

Mix one part glycerin with two parts water (distilled or rose water are preferred) in a spray bottle and spritz onto hair. Use once a per day on hair as a moisturizer/refresher.

These are a few of the ways I’ve found to use glycerin. What are your favorite uses for glycerin around your home? 

Emily McClements is passionate about living with compassion and caring for creation in a way that will impact the world. She is a blessed wife and mama to three young children, and blogs about her family’s journey toward natural and simple living at Live Renewed.

6 Ways You Should Be Using Glycerin at Home

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

     
CommentsThanks for this post! I have only used glycerine in homemade ... by Heather @ My Overflowing CupThank you for this list! I purchased a bottle of Glycerin a few ... by Sara KilpatrickRelated StoriesBalancing the Risks of Sunscreen & Skin Cancer

Weekend Reading: June 21, 2014

Can you believe this little guy is almost 8 months old?! That’s two-thirds of a year!

In addition to standing while he plays, he’s got mad butt-scooting skillz (although he hasn’t quite figured out how to crawl properly). He’s also started “talking” constantly, and we’ve even gotten some “mamamamama”s.

We’re enjoying our time in Florida, despite a serious case of swimmer’s ear for our 8-year-old (no more swimming for her, ugh!), and we’re looking forward to a few more fun outings next week, like a trip to the Brevard Zoo!

Here are some of my favorite posts from this week. As always, check out what I’m reading and what I’m pinning to see the other posts that make me stop and think (or, you know, drool…). You’ll find new posts all week long!

Summer Fun

Subscribe to the free BundleoftheWeek.com newsletter to learn more about this week’s summer survival kit bundle, with ebooks, printables and more to help you thrive this summer!

My “Just Structured Enough” Summer Schedule For Kids  | The Happiest Home


Working hard at keeping summer simple | The Art of Simple


Behold: Summer | Circe Institute

Take Control of Your Life

From Our Head to Our Feet | Becoming Minimalist


How To Know If You’re Setting Yourself Up For Failure | Storyline


The world doesn’t owe you a room with a view. | Slow Your Home

The Truth About Sex Trafficking

What modern-day heroes look like. | Rage Against the Machine


3 Tangible Ways to Stop Sex-Trafficking in the U.S. | Jamie the Very Worst Missionary

Have a great weekend!

Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Weekend Reading: June 21, 2014

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

    Related StoriesWeekend Reading: June 14, 2014Weekend Reading: June 7, 2014Weekend Reading: May 31, 2014

How to Offer Advice {And How Not To!}

I’ve been the recipient of a lot of advice lately — some solicited, some not. If I’m honest, some of that advice has left me frustrated, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why some of it rubbed me the wrong way while the rest did not.

I am 100% sure that I’ve broken all of these rules at some point in the past, but life is about learning better and then doing better, right?  So whether you’re a parenting, natural health or financial “expert,” here are some dos and don’ts for sharing your wisdom with others:

1. Don’t offer advice just to show off your expertise.

It’s obvious when you’re being a know-it-all, and no one likes a know-it-all.

Offering advice shouldn’t be about you and what you know, so take time to consider whether you truly have something to add or if sharing what you know will add to the person’s struggle, cause more confusion or make them feel even worse.

2. Share your advice privately.

If you haven’t been asked for advice, but truly believe the recipient could benefit from it, share it privately rather than publicly. Advice that is offered privately just feels more sincere and personal.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a long email from a friend in response to something we were dealing with. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by one more piece of advice, I was honored that she took the time to type out all of her thoughts (on an iPad, even!) just to share them with me.

3. Share from your personal experience.

Similarly, rather than telling someone what they should do, or what you would do if you were them, tell them about your own experiences and how you dealt with them. They don’t want to be judged for their decisions, and hearing your personal story is a great way to share what you know without coming across as the know-it-all from #1.

4. Acknowledge that your advice may not be what they’re looking for.

When a dozen people are offering you different and often conflicting advice, it can be frustrating to feel like you have to defend your choices to each of them.

A friend of mine offered to chat through an issue with me and then sincerely acknowledged that we were probably getting a lot of advice from a lot of different places. She went on to say that she completely understood if we didn’t take her up on the offer. It was such a relief to have her say that upfront (so that I didn’t have to worry about offending her) and also confirmed that she was truly offering advice with our best interest at heart.

Bonus tip: Don’t minimize the problem.

I hesitated to add this one to the list because I know people do this from the kindness of their hearts, but I think it deserves a mention anyway:

Be careful that your response to other people’s problems doesn’t simply minimize what they’re going through.

It’s our natural tendency to assure others that everything will be okay, but whether the problem someone is dealing with is real or imaginary, it always feels like a bigger deal to them than it does from the outside. Minimizing their concerns doesn’t really assuage their fears but instead makes them feel like you’re dismissing what they’re going through.

Instead, just be there. Let someone know you care, that you’re praying (if you are!), that you have been through something similar and know what it feels like to be worried, etc. Don’t say “I’m sure everything will be okay” or “It will all work out” or “Don’t worry.”

Like I said, I know I’ve broken all of these rules in the past. The point of this post isn’t to make you feel bad if you have too; it’s to share what I learned as the recipient of advice so that we can all keep them in mind for the future!

What else would you add to this list?

Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

How to Offer Advice {And How Not To!}

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

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Scheduling Your Day Without Losing Your Mind

The following guest post is from Sarah Mackenzie at Amongst Lovely Things:

It happens every summer as I try to craft a daily schedule: I take out a sheet of paper, I scribble out some lines to mark days of the week and hours of the day, and I squeeze. I take all the glorious things and try to wedge them into every nook and cranny of the week until they all fit just so. If I’m lucky, I can make them fit. Barely. But that doesn’t usually happen.

It doesn’t really matter if we have the most beautiful, carefully thought-out plan if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get to it. Look, if God expected us to get 36 hours worth of work done in a day, he would have given us 36 hours to do it. If we have more to do than time to do it in, the simple fact is this: some of what we are doing isn’t on His agenda for us.

Two principles have been especially helpful to me in simplifying the schedule: starting with a time budget and insisting on margin.

1. Start with a time budget.

Tell me this- when you create your family budget, do you begin by listing all the things you’d like to be able to afford? Do you create a master list: a nice mortgage, a new SUV, a family vacation somewhere tropical, a food allowance that allows for eating out every single week? No? Then why on earth do you do it with your time?

Don’t begin planning your day by listing all the things you want to pack in. Begin by looking at what God gave you (I’ll give you a hint: 24 hours, and not all of them are for work). Now consider your non-negotiables. You know: sleep, eat, shower, pray.

See what’s left? You don’t get any more than that, sister.

You have to begin with what you have, and what you have is a fixed amount of time. Doing it any other way is going to be an exercise in both frustration and anxiety, because we always want to do more than we have time to do.

I can’t base my family budget on my desire to spend Christmas in the Bahamas, and I can’t base my homeschool schedule on my desire to do hands-on history, grow an organic vegetable garden, take weekly field trips, and study a new composer and artist every week of the year. I have to consider reality, and usually it’s helpful to start there.

2. Insist on margin.

Once you figure out how much time you have in your daily budget of hours, only fill 80% of it.

Fact: if you plan three hours of schoolwork into three hours of work time, you will never get it done. You’ll be chasing that list of to-do’s and you’ll never ever catch it.

Richard Swenson, author of Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, says that, “Margin is the space between our load and our limits. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Margin is the gap between rest and exhaustion, the space between breathing freely and suffocating.”

If anyone can be sure that “unanticipated situations” will arise, it is a homeschooling mother. It’s helpful to allow room for them, even if we can’t necessarily see them coming.

If you want to be a peaceful homeschooling mama and you want interested, engaged students, you have to schedule margin into your day. This is where it gets tricky, of course, because if you’re only going to fill up 80% of your day, you’re going to have to seriously simplify your curriculum; there’s no way around it.

Teaching from Rest

Need some help? I’ve got some ideas for how to simplify your curriculum without lowering your standards in Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace.

Use the code LIFEYOURWAY to get 15% off through July 4th, 2014.

Does your daily routine or schedule include margin?

Sarah Mackenzie is a smitten wife, a homeschooling mama of six (including twins!), and the author of Teaching from Rest: a Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace. She writes about books, babies, and heaps of grace at Amongst Lovely Things and hosts the popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast.

Scheduling Your Day Without Losing Your Mind

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The Productive Morning Routine I Never Expected

I’ve been a work-at-home mom from the moment I found out I was pregnant (since I was already working from home at that time), and for those 10 years I’ve lived by one simple rule: get up early and get as much done as possible in the early morning hours.

While this might sound stressful to many people, it was actually a really easy rule for me to live by because I’m naturally a morning person. As in I actually like to get up by 5 a.m. and take full advantage of those quiet early morning hours. You know you’re truly a morning person when your ideal vacation includes watching the sun rise every morning!

Because that was my natural rhythm anyway, it just made sense to devote those productive, quiet hours to getting my work done so I could focus on my family later in the day.

Except it never quite worked out that way.

Most days, I gave my best hours to working and was burnt out and ready to be alone to recharge by midday, which doesn’t exactly work with a gaggle of kids in the house.

I tried variations of this schedule — including working until 8 and then taking a break from work for a few hours — but again, it just didn’t work as well as I pictured. It was a struggle every day to tear myself away from work and focus on family stuff and interacting with my kids, which I’ll admit made me feel like a bit of a mom failure.

I can’t remember why I decided to try a new schedule one more time, but after we got back from vacation last month, I decided to try an entirely different approach. Instead of working first thing, I committed to NOT opening my computer before 9am.

Although my wake-up time is still at the mercy of Jackson’s night, an ideal schedule is getting up by 6am, which gives me three full hours before I have to get to work. Instead of diving right into work, I start by making a quart of iced green tea for the day and folding a load of laundry before putzing around the house cleaning up random things, opening the curtains for the day, and turning on some music.

I then turn my attention to things like personal development (more on this in a separate post), studying for the Essentials class I’m tutoring next year, breakfast, reading my Bible, exercising and taking a shower. I never get to all of those things in a single day, but by the time I’m ready to get to work at 9am, I no longer feel burdened or torn between my to-do lists, and I’m better able to focus on what needs to be done.

The girls play upstairs until 7:30 or 8, so I sometimes get time alone for my Bible study and personal development…and sometimes they’re swimming all around me, offering comments, asking questions, etc. I’ve learned to go with the flow and appreciate the heartbeat of our home during these morning hours so that I walk away feeling energized even when I haven’t had an hour of quiet to journal. And sometimes we’re even able to sneak in a quick family walk to start the day.

My plan is to push my work time back an additional hour in the fall to give me more time for working one-on-one with the girls on their schoolwork before they jump into their independent work.

I never would have imagined that giving up my “best” hours would actually make me more productive when I do sit down to work, but this schedule has made the elusive “work-life balance” feel a bit more attainable. I don’t deal with guilt for being absorbed with a work project, the girls get their tanks filled at the start of the day, I’m finally staying on top of the laundry again, and I’m actually much more productive at midday then I’ve ever been in the past.

P.S. Why I’m not really a fan of work-life balance anyway.

Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

The Productive Morning Routine I Never Expected

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

     
Comments“I’ve learned to go with the flow and appreciate the ... by Heather @ My Overflowing CupI love this idea – I have noticed that I love quiet in the ... by theconfidentmomI found that I do better if I work on all of my “personal” ... by HeatherRelated StoriesCharge What You’re Worth

Life Your Way’s Looking for an Intern {And What’s In It for You!}

As the summer days tick by, I’m in full project mode on the blog! For our family, the fall season and the holidays are our magic-packed seasons, so I work hard during the summer to make plenty of time for family activities during the last few months of the year.

One of my goals this summer is to get the archives cleaned up here at Life Your Way. To do this, I’m looking for a blog intern to help me with some of the more tedious tasks such as fixing broken links, categorizing posts, etc

Although an internship is, by definition, an unpaid position, I’m not just looking for someone to do grunt work for free. Instead, I’m hoping to create a win-win for a blogger who is looking to learn more, network and grow. To do this, I’ll be offering free coaching and mentorship in exchange for the work they do.

Sound intriguing?

Here are the details and more information on how to apply:

Dates: July 7-August 15, 2014

Commitment: 10 hours per week for 6 weeks

Tasks include but are not limited to:

editing old posts (categories/tags)
fixing broken links
updating recipe posts with the printable recipe format

Requirements:

current blogger with a basic understanding of WordPress and HTML
time available to meet the commitment of 10 hours a week (although you’re free to set your own schedule)
someone with questions about blogging and growing their blog
detail-oriented, willing to work on tedious tasks

Coaching package:

week 1: 45 min Skype chat to understand goals, questions, etc
week 2: written site evaluation {design & navigation}
week 3: 45 min chat
week 4: written social media report
week 5: 45 min chat
week 6: final written report with additional resources and suggestions

To apply:

Please complete the form below.

Full Name*Blog URL*Email Address*3-5 sentences describing your blog experience:*3-5 sentences describing your VA or administrative experience, or why you're right for this opportunity:*3-5 sentences describing your goals for your blog:*

Life Your Way’s Looking for an Intern {And What’s In It for You!}

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

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Cut the Cord: How to Break Up with Cable TV

The following post is from Lauren Rothlisberger of Get Me Geeky :

During my husband’s 2007 deployment, I made a discovery: I really don’t care about watching TV. Not that I don’t appreciate a good TV show, but in the 15 months he was gone I turned on the TV a handful of times. Things are different when he is home, as we do like to dive into a good TV series together. Anyway, it disgusted me how much we were paying for DirectTV for little to no use. Shortly after, we got rid of it all together. We lived without any cable access for a few years, but were eventually duped back into DirectTV so we could watch our Redskins games from afar.

We are now approaching the end of our contract and I am ready to be rid of it again. In doing one of our finance “check-ups” I realized I could devote that money to doing something fun together as a family once a month instead of a cable subscription. Things have changed a bit since we last got rid of cable so I wanted to do a little research to review the options. We have had Apple TV for years, but I wanted to see if it was what we wanted for our upstairs TV as well. There are also a few “issues” to resolve, mainly sports.

Let’s take a look at the ways you can access television if you don’t have cable. Basically there are two ways: streaming media (e.g. Apple TV) or an antenna.

Antenna

The antenna blows people’s minds. Many of us have forgotten that there are a whole bunch of channels (NBC, ABC, CBS) we can access with just an antenna. Now don’t worry you’re not going to have to make your youngest child stand there holding the rabbit ears in place to get a good signal. These antennas have come a long way, even since we checked them out just a few years ago. They are slim, sleek, and take advantage of digital signals with multi-directional technology.

Mohu is a highly rated company. You can even check your zip code on GoMohu.com to determine channel availability.  These antennas range from $25 to $150 dollars, but it is a one time cost only.

Streaming Media

Streaming media is the other way to access TV and movies. Streaming media means it comes in over the internet rather than cable or satellite. With streaming media you need a piece of hardware to be the bridge between your TV, the WIFI, and the software connecting you to the actual media (think Netflix). There are some TVs out there that qualify as “Smart TVs” and connect directly to the internet allowing you some streaming options, but so far they are pretty limited.

With the streaming option you purchase the box, but in order to access media you typically have to have a subscription to a service (Netflix, HBOGO) or have bought the media at some point.

The Catch: Be sure to research whether a particular channel needs a subscription before you dive in. Some channels may only offer limited access. You may see a channel such as ESPN listed, however you can not actually access this unless you have another existing cable/satellite subscription.

Let’s look at the options, they all vary slightly in price and options.

Apple TV:

Apple TV jumped on the streaming media bandwagon first. They introduced a box years ago and have been tweaking it ever since. You can access iTunes Movies and TV shows in addition to a growing number of channels and streaming options. Netflix, Hulu Plus, and HBO Go are all an option. The price is reasonable at a one time cost of $99.

Biggest Pro: If you are a real Apple household, the integration with the iCloud, your photos, your iTunes library is really nice. I have always enjoyed the screensaver mode which projects all our family photos on the TV if the Apple TV is on and we are not actively watching it.

Biggest Con: Apple TV does not offer access to the Amazon Prime’s instant video. Rumors are this may change with the next Apple TV release.

Roku:

Roku has been around for a while as well. They offer a HUGE variety in channels, at this time they are advertising access to over a 1000 channels. They offer three different models, 2 of which are cheaper than AppleTV.

Biggest Pro: This is a bit of a “bell and whistles” pro, but you can plug headphones into remote.

Biggest Con: You can play iTunes media, but it requires a third-party app. This extra hassle is probably not worth it if your media is mainly on iTunes.

Fire TV:

Amazon recently entered this space with their own streaming media device. It is a also a box and gives the standard option of channels. They send you the box preregistered with your Amazon account making it very simple to set up.

Biggest Pro: If you have used one of these streaming devices before you know how hard it is to search for things with that tiny remote. With voice search you can find what you are looking for in half the time.

Biggest Con: This is a pretty big con if you are a big Apple person. You will not have access to any of your iTunes media.

Chromecast:

I am going to throw Chromecast in here, but it is really not on par with the other players in the field. It is basically a small receiver you can plug into your TV then you can stream from your computer/device to the TV. There are certainly cool uses for this (hotels TVs), but probably is not a good option in replacing your cable plan.

What about sports?

This is one of the most common questions. Sports are a little tricky. If you are local to your sports team your antenna should pick up the games and all major sporting events. You can also look at a subscription to the MLB, NHL, or NBA network. You can then access these games from your streaming box.

The Savings

Last of all let’s look at the savings. This is a really rough estimate, but lets say you paid about $100 a month for cable/satellite, that comes to $1200 a year. If you invested in a streaming box and an antenna that would be about $150 plus $7 a month for something like Netflix, that comes out to $234. Obviously these are some loose numbers, but it is clear you can save money in the long run.

Do you use a traditional cable or only streaming media (or maybe nothing!)?

Lauren Rothlisberger blogs and consults over at Get Me Geeky. As a military wife and mom of three girls five years old and under, she loves focusing on technology and productivity and finding new ways to simplify her life. She recently started putting together MacMinis, which are easy to follow videos for Mac users, and also wrote an ebook, Evernote for Moms.

Cut the Cord: How to Break Up with Cable TV

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

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Giveaway: iCoffee Brewer {ARV$169.95}

I really like coffee. Actually, I like tea too (a lot!), but coffee is my first love.

Here’s the thing: When it comes to coffee, I know what I like (Starbucks!) and what I don’t like (Dunkin Donuts, ew!), but I’m no connoisseur (unlike this guy).

In general, I just like coffee, and I’m not especially picky about it (except Dunkin Donuts, ew!). I also really, really like to try new coffees and new coffeemakers. I have a Bilaette moka pot, a Chemex, a french press and a Keurig I keep around solely for guests who don’t want to mess with gadgets when they want a cup of coffee. They all make specific types of coffee, and I know which one I want to use when, but I couldn’t describe the variations or how I make those decisions even if you paid me.

All of that to say, when Remington shared their new iCoffee maker with me and offered to send one to me so I could try it, I was intrigued!

This coffee brewer is a one-of-a-kind system that took seven years and more than 1,257 prototypes to perfect. Using a patented SteamBrew technology, this brewer actually pre-steams the coffee before brewing and then stirs the grounds as it brews so that each coffee ground is surrounded by water at the perfect temperature as it brews.

This forms a rich crema and eliminates bitter and acidic aftertastes for a smooth, creamy cup of coffee.

The benefit, for me, is that I can get the same type of flavor that my Chemex offers without standing over the cup pouring the water by hand bit by bit. It’s also a great option for guests so that I’m not keeping a separate machine around just for them.

The one drawback is that the iCoffee does not use a paper filter, so you still need to clean out the basket in between pots, which can take some getting used to if you’re using a traditional machine.

{Hint: Lately I’ve been adding a sprinkle of cayenne in with my grounds. Which is yummy even if it does give my coffee quite the kick when I go a little overboard!}

Enter to Win

This week, Remington is giving one lucky Life Your Way reader an iCoffee brewer of their own.

To enter, fill out the form below:

The giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, 6/20. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Unfortunately, due to the international laws governing sweepstakes and lotteries, we’re only able to offer these giveaways to U.S. residents 18 years and older.

Giveaway: iCoffee Brewer {ARV$169.95}

© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved

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Weekend Reading: June 14, 2014

Who needs baby toys when your big sisters have toys like THIS?!

We’re heading to Florida for two weeks tomorrow. Actually, we planned to leave Monday,  but we decided to just rip off the bandaid and hop in the car tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. for the 18-hour drive!

Thankfully, because we’re staying with my parents, we really only needed to pack clothes and activities for the drive, so that part was easy. But we have a busy day today with friends, which means we’re probably going to leave the house a little messier than usual. I’m sure we’ll regret that when we get home, but I’m not going to worry about it in the meantime!

Here are some of my favorite posts from this week. As always, check out what I’m reading and what I’m pinning to see the other posts that make me stop and think (or, you know, drool…). You’ll find new posts all week long!

Live Your Best Life

Subscribe to the free BundleoftheWeek.com newsletter to learn more about this week’s personal development bundle, with ebooks, worksheets and more to help you live your best life!

Why the World Needs the Makers to Say No Boldly | The Nesting Place


20 Things to Stop Letting People Do to You | More Great Minds


It’s not about you | Seth’s Blog

Encouragement for Parents

A Simple Tool for a More Positive Home | Hands Free Mama


To the mom who fears she is failing | Finding Joy



The Essence of Fatherhood: 6 Simple Lessons | zenhabits


Book Lists for Kids

Beyond Little House: Middle-Grade Frontier Books | Caroline Starr Rose


A summer reading list for tweens | The Art of Simple


25 Chapter Books for Summer Reading | Make and Takes

Have a great weekend!

Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Weekend Reading: June 14, 2014

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CommentsThank you so much for including me on your list, Mandi! by Caroline Starr RoseRelated StoriesWeekend Reading: June 7, 2014Weekend Reading: May 31, 2014Weekend Reading: May 30, 2014