Christina Tiplea, Author at Christina Tiplea

Cheap and Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies

June 2 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Health, Saving Money

I’ve been having a beast of a time with my allergies these past few weeks. I’ve dealt with seasonal allergies and some mild asthma for years now and find myself getting sinus infections every once and awhile, but nothing compared to this year.

Two weeks ago exactly I felt perfectly fine when I woke up, but then all of a sudden started getting facial spasms on the left side of my face, which then turned into tingling and that side of my face becoming numb. Scary, right? At first I brushed it off as maybe being dehydrated or something minor, but then my hubby urged me to go into immediate care in case I was having a stroke or something more serious that was going on. [Read more…]

7 Truths About Self-Employment

May 27 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Self-Employment

I left my full-time office job in January 2013 to pursue self-employment. You can read more about my freelance business here if you’re interested in learning more about what I do. It has been a wild ride filled with many ups and downs, and I have learned many valuable lessons along the way.

I think most people envision self-employment as being the holy grail of work. It is perceived as being the ultimate freedom in choosing to use your time as you please and doing what you want to do, when you want to do it.

While there is definitely a lot of flexibility and benefits that come with being self-employed, it is by no means a perfect situation. Like anything, it has its faults. [Read more…]

Keep or Toss? 12 Questions to Help You Declutter

May 20 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Cleaning & Decluttering, Simple Living

We all have excuses as to why we keep certain items in our home long after they have served their purpose. Whether it’s out of shame from spending too much money on it, or the guilt of receiving it as a gift, there is always going to be a reason to not get rid of something. Because of this, it’s important to be a bit ruthless when you are in the process of decluttering.

I know from experience that this can be a tough process to go through if you aren’t armed with the tools you need to help you get to your end goal – a clutter-free and simplified home!

I’ve complied a list of 12 questions to help you declutter that I’ve found to be extremely useful in my own decluttering missions. This is a no-nonsense approach to decluttering and will really help you to determine what you should keep and what you should toss. [Read more…]

10 Ways to Stop Emotional Spending

May 18 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Saving Money

If you’re familiar with some of the money-wasting habits I’ve given up, you know that I’ve struggled with emotional spending in the past. I would often use shopping as a crutch to briefly make myself feel better about whatever was making me feel down in the dumps.

I didn’t go into debt over it or anything, but it certainly didn’t allow me to be saving as much money as I could. And I definitely didn’t find any fulfillment in the purchases I was making through it.

[Read more…]

5 Inspirational Quotes

May 15 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Simple Living

As long as I can remember, I have always been an avid quote lover. There’s something really uplifting to me about finding the perfect quote that resonates with me and provides some inspiration, happiness, or an increased sense of mindfulness. [Read more…]

Summer Bucket List

May 13 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Family, My Life

With summer just around the corner, I am really looking forward to creating some fun memories with my little family in the upcoming months. Summer has always been my absolute favorite time of year. Perhaps it’s because I’m a summer baby (born in August), but I’m hoping my Little Miss (who was born in June) loves summer just as much as her Mama always has! [Read more…]

Inspiring Stories About Motherhood

May 8 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Family, Weekend Reads

The happiest of Fridays to you!

It has been gloriously beautiful in Chicago suburbia this week, and we have been thoroughly enjoying it. We even busted out our baby pool and let Little Miss splash around in the water a bit. She loved it and I was loving a great excuse just to be outside with her and get to sip on some iced coffee….absolutely delightful. We are officially in my favorite time of the year where the sun shines bright and I get to wear flip flops. Life is good, friends!

We are gearing up to celebrate Mother’s Day and I am so excited to be celebrating it as an official Mom this year. The past 10 months of Motherhood have been filled with kisses, tears, hugs, a lot of poop, but most of all – a heck of a lot of love and joy! [Read more…]

8 Easy Ways to Save Money on Baby Expenses

May 6 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Family, Saving Money

We have so many friends and family members expecting babies in the coming months, it seems we’re in a baby boom around here lately! Many of them have due dates in September, and I cannot wait to meet all of the precious little ones on the way. Needless to say, I’ve had baby fever. Funny how that works when I actually have a baby of my own who wakes up quite frequently during the night still. Alas, I’ve learned a lot about how to easily save money on baby items in the past year or so, and wanted to share the top 8 ways that we save money on baby expenses in our house. [Read more…]

My 17 Favorite Uses for Coconut Oil

May 4 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Health, Saving Money

Do you remember in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding how the Dad was obsessed with using Windex as a solution for everything? Well friends, coconut oil is my Windex 😉 . Every time my husband tells me about an ailment, my first response is typically me asking if he wants some coconut oil for it, hah! It’s safe to say I’ve developed an obsession with it in the last few years. It all started when I was first pregnant with Little Miss and was looking for more natural ingredients to incorporate into my beauty routine. It really blossomed from there and now I use it for pretty much everything. [Read more…]

Happy Friday + An Interview

May 1 by Christina Tiplea Filed Under: Weekend Reads

Happy May 1st, Friends!

Where did April go? I feel like I say this every month, but time is truly being stolen from me lately. Although my whole house has been sick this past week, so summer can definitely start to settle in as far as I’m concerned. It started with Little Miss on Saturday, and then by Tuesday I was out for the count and my hubby came down with it on Wednesday. I’m sick of being sick so many times already this year! Any remedies you use to ward off sickness in your house? Please do share them with me! [Read more…]