I recently teamed up with some other fabulous bloggers to be paired up for a fun mug swap that was hostessed by Ashlee of  On The Front Porch Looking In & Syndal of Synfully Delicious  -huge thanks to them for coordinating!

I did a craft swap years and years ago but haven’t done a blog swap since I started Frugal Beautiful!  I would love to do this again, it has been so much fun!  Basically, you get paired up with someone, tell them a few of your faves or some tidbits about yourself and then you see what they come up with!  I had a hard time finding her a mug, she likes Snoopy so I ended up having to buy hers online but I hope she likes it!

I’ve been thinking of doing an Easter or Spring Swap with bloggers since this one has been so much fun…maybe a beauty swap or some fun things for spring?  Maybe just keep it simple with a lipgloss swap or nail polish, who knows!  Anyhoo…onto the swap!

I got paired up with the fabulous Mariasol of Such Life in the Tropics and sent a mug to her (which I’m hoping she got in time) and she sent me one!  I’ve never been to the Cayman Islands before so this tropical treasure was just the perfect gift as the weather starts warming up here!

Look how cute she decorated the box…it was adorable!

Thanks again to Mariasol, I love my muggy! ..and seriously, I am thinking I should do a swap, it’d be a great way to meet up with other bloggers!

  First thing’s first- I’m pretty nervous to announce this.  It takes some serious ovaries to be a new blogger and announce to your readers and the world that you love what you do and you want to make a living from it.

In 2012 I want to make $30,000 in blogging income.  

Here’s the thing- since I’ve started blogging, I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been.   My first month in, I agonized over having to pay to register my domain,   I was that broke and terrified about starting a blog.   I had no idea if I could really make money blogging, and I didn’t know if anyone would read my writing.  Looking back, it’s sad to see that I worried over such a small amount of money in the scheme of things, but I couldn’t yet see the possibilities enough to have faith in myself.

As I look towards the next year, I know my calling is to serve.  

There are so many people out there just as broke and terrified as I was.  People in debt, people making pennies while they go back to school,  people starting over.     I have been fortunate enough to get through the lean times without losing my mind.  Through the pain of losing someone I loved, going through graduate school and starting over in a new part of the country I had never even been to, much less moving here alone and with almost no money or a job lined up.

I learned to find happiness amid the chaos and strife, and  I hope I can teach others how to make the best of difficult situations and limited incomes to grow wealth and of course, make the most meaning out of our lives in the process.

If I can help someone else navigate life’s challenges and grow this blog to do so, that would be amazing.   I have seen other bloggers write with a servant’s heart and still pay the bills and live a life of leadership, I dream of doing the same.

I have never made $30,000 in my life.  I’ve been in college, and when I wasn’t I was working for a non-profit.  $30k is a huge stretch, but not impossible.  I will hustle and I will help people.

If you’re interested in more information, head over to onlinemoneybloggers.com -the more the merrier in this challenge!

September is ooovahh.  How did I fare with my goals?

• Sign up for yoga and go at LEAST twice weekly   I succeeded except for this last week for the Financial Blogger Conference!  

• Put together an AWESOME “Geek Chic” fashion feature for the blog {and look adorable doing so.}  This has been moved to October… do you have any suggestions for your favorite geeky looks?

• Get all of my books for fall classes from the library so I can be cheap and not buy a $40 used paperback I can’t resell   DONE!  I saved over $350 on 11 books.  

• Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day (and lower my carb intake by eating nuts/fruits/veggies for snacks)   I made it a point to try making my own juice to eat for breakfast and lunch with spinach, bok choy & assorted fruits but stopped for a bit since I need to find a better juicer/processor.  I did though make it a point to get fresh fruit and raw nuts to snack on and incorporate more healthy snack bars instead of candy bars at school.

• Donate Blood (if I could flippin’ find a place to do so!)  I did not get this done

• Go through my wardrobe and donate 1 bag of clothing   Two bags!  

• Finish “Slow Love” and write a review  

• Keep up with 3 blog posts a week despite crazy grad school classes

• Avoid failing statistics class {a biggie}

• Procure a pair of knee-high argyle socks  

• Perhaps win a Plutus award for Best Frugal Blog!  I was a finalist, but the prize was won by a great blogger, Trent at The Simple Dollar, one of my favorite blogs!  

October Goals

This month I’ll be heading to the west coast for a week for a family wedding and…a trip to Disneyland!  I cannot wait to visit with my Dad and see our pugs- Bailey, Kahlua and Martini (and take bets on how much weight they’ve gained since Dad loves to spoil them!)  I hope to offer some fun giveaways on the blog and brainstorm my next big project (since I quit my job, woo hoo)  while preparing for a frugal holiday season and bracing myself for winter!

• Start brainstorming my holiday gift guide and compile my holiday gift crafting

• Go to Disneyland & take lots of pictures! 

• Take an inventory of all my clothes & weed out what doesn’t work to have a kick-@$$, streamlined and fully utilized wardrobe.

• Earn some MONEY because I quit my job! YAY! 

• Decorate the apartment for Fall (craft my own?) 

• Get better lighting for vlogs & learn to photo edit

•  Celebrate Halloween! Who has plans??!

Grad school is back in full force, p’wning me and my life so I’m going to go for these crazy goals best I can.  I’m going to have to keep everything oober-organized and prioritize, which can be terribly hard when your studies, your work and the need for “me time” are all equally important!

You can place your bets on how well I do now.    Heck, you could even help with one and vote for me for Best Frugality Blog at the Plutus Awards!  I’ll be attending the Financial Blogger Conference at the end of the month, and you can totally help me celebrate my goals by putting in a vote, THANK YOU!

• Sign up for yoga and go at LEAST twice weekly

• Put together an AWESOME “Geek Chic” fashion feature for the blog {and look adorable doing so.}

• Get all of my books for fall classes from the library so I can be cheap and not buy a $40 used paperback I can’t resell

• Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day (and lower my carb intake by eating nuts/fruits/veggies for snacks)

• Donate Blood (if I could flippin’ find a place to do so!)

• Go through my wardrobe and donate 1 bag of clothing

• Finish “Slow Love” and write a review

• Keep up with 3 blog posts a week despite crazy grad school classes

• Avoid failing statistics class {a biggie}

• Procure a pair of knee-high argyle socks

• Perhaps win a Plutus award for Best Frugal Blog!  Please vote!

Hello lovelies!

I knew this picture of an adorable kitty would draw you in…muahaha!  Hopefully it’ll bring us some good luck!

You know here on FrugalBeautiful.com I try not to bug you or ask for favors (okay, well, that’s a lie since I so totally asked for help to Rescue Ralph, then to honor Kassie)  but this a smidge different!

I’m attending the first ever 2011 Financial Blogger Conference and they will be honoring some of their attendees and other blogs on the interwebs with Plutus Awards.  

I would so TOTALLY be grateful if you could give FrugalBeautiful.com a vote for a Plutus Award in these categories:

• Best Frugality Blog
• Best Blog for Gen X/Y
• Best New Blog
• …you know since they don’t have a “most adorable personal finance blog” category.