I’m a big fan of a good deal. I’m not an extreme couponer by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t buy anything without looking for some sort of coupon or discount code–especially if I’m making a purchase online. When Coupons.com offered me a $50 gift card to The Children’s Place to put together as many looks as possible, I took it as a direct challenge.

My little one does not need any clothes. In fact, between hand-me-downs from her big sister and friends, I should really weed some things out for donation or to sell to places like thredUP. Samantha, however, was in serious need of some summer options.

So, on Memorial Day weekend–when there were some great sales!–I headed on over to The Children’s Place in search of pieces that could mix and match effortlessly. We ended up with these three looks (and Ellie’s bathing suit!).

My favorite part is that Samantha can put together so many different looks with these pieces and a few others she already has (like say jean shorts or a white tee) and I know she won’t clash too terribly. She’s at the age where she wants to put her outfits together herself and they sometimes still make me cringe a little. Or a lot.

It’s no secret that I’m not exactly Betty Crocker. My husband is the chef in our house and my daughter will be the first to tell you that Daddy is good at making “food food” and Mommy is good at making sweets (ie throwing together a box of ol’ Betty Crocker’s brownies and adding in some chocolate chips for good measure).

My husband keeps telling me how easy all of his delectable concoctions are. I think he’s trying to hint that maybe I could get my ass in the kitchen once or twice a month if I follow a couple of his simple recipes.

Normally, cooking together would go under my list of the worst cheap date ideas ever. Mostly because (like my six-year old), I don’t really enjoy doing things that I’m terrible at (I’m talking to you, bowling). And let me tell you. If Bobby Flay saw my chopping skills, he’d be horrified. I also don’t enjoy my husband telling me that I’m doing something wrong. At all.

Still, I put on my big girl panties, braved it and actually learned how to make some insanely delicious homemade tortillas.

At this point it should be pretty clear that I’m obsessed with green smoothies, right? I drink one for breakfast just about every morning and sometimes have them as snacks. Like most people, I was a little skeptical about them at first and was both thrilled and pleasantly surprised when I finally cracked and tried one.

And I’m not the only one who is crazy about these things. In fact, one of my most popular posts was one on smoothie recipes. Since it was posted, I’ve had readers (strangers, friends, family, just about anyone) contact me to ask me to share some more.

I experimented a little and am totally excited about what I came up with…

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of buying a container of big, juicy strawberries only to have them go gross within a couple of days. All berries really. And grapes too, while we’re at it. So I hit up Pinterest hoping to find a magical spell that would keep fruit fresh–even if it got pushed to the back of the fridge and I forgot about it for a couple of days.

The Pinterest gods were on my side and I found a great trick from The Frugal Girls: vinegar. Now, don’t go running with your nose all scrunched up in the air. I know you don’t want your fruit to smell (or, worse yet, taste) like vinegar. I don’t either. So I was a little skeptical.

But when I opened my refrigerator and no less than half of a container of strawberries I had bought days before were mushy and gross, I threw caution to the wind.

The post said to soak strawberries in a mix of one part vinegar to ten parts water and let them dry completely before putting them in the fridge in an uncovered bowl.

Now, we all know that I’m not the best at following directions. Sometimes it turns out OK and other times (like my pathetic attempt at a mug cake or that time I tried to make one of those yarn balls), not so much. This time though, a little improvising worked out fine.

Aside from checking out The Frugal Girls post, I consulted a couple of other websites about vinegar washes. They all had pretty much the same information. The difference was in the water to vinegar ratio and the method of storing your fruit. I decided to be wild and crazy and wing it.

I filled my sink with water about half way and then threw in a cup of vinegar before dumping in a three pound container or strawberries (go big or go home, peeps). I let them sit for ten minutes or so, stirring it up with my hands once in a while to make sure every bit of strawberry benefited from the soak.

Next up was drying the berries. The vinegar is key for killing any ickies that might be on there (think mold spores). Some people even say it may help get rid of some pesticides. But vinegar is not the only key to this process. You also have to make sure everything is completely dry before you store them. Moisture is the enemy here!

I put the berries in a colander for a bit before laying them out on a towel. I made sure none of them were touching to help the drying process. When I was satisfied that they were dry, I put them into a Rubbermaid produce saver container (they have a little tray on the bottom that allows room for water to drip if there’s excess moisture) and laid a paper towel on top to soak up any that way. I’m not a big fan of leaving things open in the fridge, so I tested my luck.

Well, when I went to take pictures one week later my berries were just as good as they had been on day one. In fact, we ate the last of them on day eleven and they were still in perfect condition.

Needless to say, I’m a total convert and have now started soaking all of our fruits (as you can see from the picture up top). I only soaked those yesterday morning so I can’t tell you with absolute certainly that it works just as well, but I have no reason to believe it won’t work.

And, in case you’re wondering: the fruit doesn’t even have a hint of a vinegar taste or smell. I didn’t rinse my strawberries after the vinegar wash to be extra sure about it. I had a feeling from my green cleaning escapades that it wouldn’t be an issue (my house never smells like vinegar after it dries), but I tested it to be sure.

VERDICT: I could not be happier with the outcome. I plan on soaking pretty much any produce that comes into my home in this wash. It saves me money and ensures that I clean my sink regularly (for the record, I clean it with baking soda and vinegar—I’m a big fan of DIY green cleaning and I don’t want any chemicals in my wash!) 😉

I rounded up some super cute gardening tools for moms and kids that will make you majorly heart-eyed. From hand tools and watering cans to cute gloves and stuff to keep the kids busy, gardening with kids has never been more fun—or less stressful!

The buds have just started to pop out on the tree in our front yard and I have been straight up giddy with excitement. After a long, cold, ugly winter, the first signs of spring make me bounce around like a kid on Christmas morning. My tween thinks it’s incredibly uncool and embarrassing. But I can’t help it. Everything seems new in spring and new is exciting.

Once we have a warm week or two (which we’ve finally had here in New York) I get itching to have flowers everywhere. Inside, outside, everywhere I look. Ellie, my 7-year-old, does too. “When are we gardening? Can we garden yet? Is it still so cold at night that it will kill all of our flowers? Flowers! Flowers! Flowers!” Ease up off me, kid!

My problem is not that I don’t love flowers. Obviously, I do. My problem is that I have not achieved my dream of plant lady status just yet.

Whether it’s too cold or not, my plants will die. I never remember to water the things! Plus, I always forget that the spot on our deck where I really want to put them is incredibly sunny. When I forget to water them, they bake and a lot of tender loving care is required to revive them. I realize this and am diligent and try really hard… until I forget again.

I’m a work in progress, alright? 😉

But I’m a sucker and I have a soft spot for flowers and for my daughter’s excitement over them and for seriously cute gardening tools.

Maybe, just maybe, if my daughter and I both have gardening tools that we adore, we’ll remember to use them all summer long.