What's New With You? Linkup #2

Hi everyone!  Thanks for stopping by today for the second "What's New With You" Linkup!  Kristen and I were so happy with the response from our first one, so I can't wait to read all of your posts again today!


Let's get into it and talk about what's new in my world!

House Hunting


Yes..again.  I hope that one month I'll be able to take this off my list!  I've talked a lot about the ups and downs of house hunting, and I finally have some positive updates to share.  First, some story time.

I talked last month about getting into a bidding war for house #1 and losing.  Right after that, a great house popped up on the market in my ideal neighborhood for a steal.  I knew it would go quickly, so I scheduled a visit with my realtor that night and had my parents come along.  We pulled up, and- no lie- there were ten other people there.  Crazy!  We then learned that there were offers pouring in for this house and we had 24 hours to put in our highest and best offer.  Needless to say, we ended up not getting the house.

Fast forward to a week or so after that, and I was looking around at houses that were above and below my price range just for fun (it's always kind of entertaining and depressing to look at million dollar houses) when one popped up right down the street from that "perfect" house.  It happened to be on the same street as another house that was sitting on the market for a while and had a ton of issues.  Dan and I always said that we would love to live on that street if only a different house was for sale.  It almost felt like fate- so we immediately put in an offer.  Once again, it was a bidding war, but we finally won!

This all happened about a month ago, and there have been a ton of negotiations going on.  We're still negotiating after the inspection, which is why I've been cautious to share any news.  I'm so afraid of jinxing what I think is the right house for us!  I'm just hoping that everything works out, and we'll be moved in by the next What's New With You link-up!  Wish us luck :)


Saving Money

Thank you to everyone for suggesting that I try out Aldi's for grocery shopping!  I'm too embarrassed to share how much I spend on groceries,  but I'm so happy to say that in February, I spent less than half what I did in January!

So far I've liked most of the products that I tried from Aldi's, but here are my absolute favorites!
- Barrisimo K-Cups : I got the hazelnut flavor and it's amazing
- Dried fruit and nuts : Great selection and really cheap price.  I use these to make my energy bites!
- Chocolate : So many amazing flavors.  I think my favorite is the coffee and cream one


Featured Blogger

I want to start a feature during What's New With You where I introduce a new blogger that I found through the linkup!  It's my way to thank you all for joining in and hopefully share some of the love.  This month, my featured blogger is Life By Nadine Lynn!  I should have known I would love Nadine's blog just by the description-
I love dogs, books, shopping, make up, and all the sparkly things. Follow along with me as I try to balance loving all the delicious foods and being healthy, shop like a fashionista with a budget, and laugh because life is too short!
Sign me up!  Thank you to everyone for linking up, and if you want to be a featured blogger next month make sure you link back to both Kristen and myself!


Your turn!  Link up any recent blog post to let me know what's new with you.

Please include a link to Kristen and myself.

Stop around at some of the other links and make a new blog bestie!

Share our button on your page:


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Comments

  1. I'm so using this to make my life update announcement next week, but lolz we already know whats going on in each others lives! I'm excited to see where this house lead takes you because I have a really really good feeling about it!

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    1. Haha for real! You have the insider access :) I have a good feeling about your updates as well!

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  2. Yay for the accepted house offer! My hubby and I are currently house hunting as well and it is SO tough!!!

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  3. I hope everything works out with the house!! I've been in that position and you are totally right not to jinx it! Fingers crossed for you though :)

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    1. Thanks Heather! It's so frustrating and stressful!

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  4. Oh the dreaded house hunting. My husband and I will be starting that process soon and it kind of freaks me out. I know what I want and don't want but I don't want to be rude haha. Congrats with finding the PERFECT house! Best wishes for a smooth process.

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    1. It's kind of a fun process! You definitely learn a lot. I'm just not very patient so all this waiting about really kills me and keeps me up! Don't worry about being rude- this is a big investment so you should get what you want! Thanks for the good wishes :)

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  5. good luck with the house! it's always such an exciting yet frustrating thing at the same time.

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  6. Exciting about your house hunting! Thanks for hosting a great link up!

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  7. I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! No jinxing, I have a feeling this is it.

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  8. Thanks for featuring me!!! :) Good luck with the house. Bidding wars are so stressful then you get back the inspection results and you are like oh man, this and this has to be done in order for this to work and then you wait and wait. I hope everything turns out for you, but just remember if it doesn't that it wasn't meant to be. I am a firm believer in that! The housing market there sounds crazy good right now!!!

    I have been meaning to check Aldi out and give it another try because I have heard that they are getting more organic items and that their brand is getting better quality ingredients and stuff. Our grocery bill is ridiculous too. It is expensive to eat healthy! Happy Thursday!!!

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    1. Thank you Nadine! I will be a little heartbroken if this doesn't work out but luckily I can move on from things quickly. We'll see what happens :) Definitely check out Aldi!!

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  9. I'm so happy that the foundation problems were just needing a new downspout and gutters. At least they let you sweat that out! NOT.

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    1. PS I'll link up with you tomorrow :D

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    2. I'm relieved too! We'll see what happens next. Such a funnnn process (not). Lol!

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  10. Fingers crossed on the house & so excited for all the potential DIY stuff you might share if you get it...you would share, right?!

    Yay for trying Aldi & saving $$$ in the process. I would also say I've always been impressed with their cheeses & specialty salami & packaged type fancy meats if you ever need to put together a classy cheese plate.

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    1. Of course I will! I have big plans :) I haven't tried their cheese yet so I'll add that for next time!

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  11. Ahhhhh congrats Gretchen! That's so exciting and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that the rest of the process goes smoothly :) Also.. LOVE Aldi. It's so much cheaper! I like to still go to a different store to get more brand name things- Lara Bars and peanut butter, but I don't mind doing that at all if it saves me so much money.

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    1. Thank you Amanda! I agree that I can't do all of my shopping at Aldi's but getting a big chunk there helps!

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  12. awwww first off, Nadine is legit one of my besties so i'm so glad you found and love her as much as I do. she's the best!
    yay for winning the house bidding war!! good luck with everything though, hope you are finally done and moved in by the next link up! i'm so happy for you :)
    i have an aldi's right down the road from us, but i always forget to go there for my 'big shops'. and when i do remember, i don't really need anything haha. i am going to try and go there and do a big shop sometime this month and see how much we save. i definitely want to cut our grocery bill in half!
    yay for our second link up :)

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  13. Congratulations, Gretch! This is absolutely WONDERFUL news! Can't wait to hear more (and see all the DIY projects) over the coming months. So happy for you.

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    1. Thanks Emma! Just hoping the seal the deal in the next few days :)

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  14. Aldi ROCKS. Their produce prices are great and I love the weekly meat sales too. I wish they did cage free eggs, and I know they're going more organic so hopefully that's in the future.

    Congrats on your news!

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    1. We actually have cage free at my Aldi's but they're separate from the others. Hopefully you'll get them soon too!

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  15. Aldi ROCKS. Their produce prices are great and I love the weekly meat sales too. I wish they did cage free eggs, and I know they're going more organic so hopefully that's in the future.

    Congrats on your news!

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  16. Real estate is INSANE here too. Andrew puts a sign in the ground and then literally seconds later he's got everyone phoning him not only to get in and look but they're giving him offers over the phone without even checking it out!

    But the one thing I know for sure is that wherever you end up is going to be the perfect place for you.

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    1. Wow! That's crazy. I guess it's a seller's market so that's good for you!

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  17. Congrats on getting the house! It's so frustrating when you keep hitting a wall, but worth it when things finally fall into place. So exciting!

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    1. Thanks Tracy! There's still a chance we could end up not getting this house but I'm hoping for the best :)

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  18. YAY for the house success! Fingers crossed that the inspection negotiations go smoothly! I went to Aldi once and will never go again. I was appalled that the fruit & veggies were just out in the open, and those I did buy went bad immediately. They definitely have great deals on packaged items, but I don't really buy those things.

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  19. OMG That is SO exciting! Sending all my prayers your way in the hopes that this all works out (it totally sounds like it will!). And I am so happy you are shopping at Aldi, it is amazing the amount of money I save by shopping there!

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  20. Exciting news about your house! House hunting is both a lot of fun and a lot of heartache... I've got my fingers crossed that we find one of our own soon :) Hope that everything goes well with yours & that you're able to move in soon!

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  21. CONGRATS ON THE HOUSE! We'll be ready to buy in a few months...and the market is so crazy here. We went to an open house on Sunday...only to get there and see that the sign said 'pending' and they hadn't even had time to cancel the open house. Yikes. And most houses are pending after a max of 5 days. So. Depressing. I love Nadine's blog, so awesome you featured her!

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    1. Ugh it seems like it's crazy everywhere! What's going on in real estate lately lol. Hope it settles down when you're ready to look!

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  22. That is such exciting news about the house! Hopefully the negotiations work out well! Real estate is crazy, isn't it?

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  23. WOW, congratulations about the house!!! You must feel so great! And I agree that going into open houses is a fun/sad activity. Always just imagine, what if, what if? But how amazing you have your very own home. Yay!

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    1. Thank you! Maybe I'll keep going to the open houses. You never know if one day you can afford those mansions!

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  24. House hunting sounds just about as stressful as job hunting... yikes! Congrats and sending good luck vibes your way :) Also, I don't know what it was about January but I spent more on groceries than I had in AGES too. Cut it down a bit in February but not enough—that's a project for March now too! ;)

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    1. Thanks Alyssa! It's all stressful haha! Good luck saving money in March!

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  25. Congratulations on the new home!!! I wish you all the luck in the last final parts!! =) I really need to switch to Aldi too...I spent wayy too much on groceries!! =P

    thank you for the link-up! =) Melanie | Blog: Toots + Dill

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    1. Thank you Melanie! And thanks for joining in :)

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  26. Congratulations on the house! I hope all goes well!

    Aldis is just awesome! and I was very surprised to find how fresh a lot of their products are! I have a hard time leaving the store without at least 1 bar of chocolate from there!

    Thanks for the link up! have an awesome weekend! and I hope all goes well with the finishing house negotiations!

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  27. Congrats on finding your house! Sometimes it might take a little longer than expected, but that just means you haven't found the perfect house yet! We're so bad about grocery shopping too! Half the time I don't even look that much at prices, which I know that I totally should, so that's great that you were able to cut your spending in half, just by going to a different store!

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    1. I should be better about looking at sales and couponing and stuff :( I can always work on saving more money!

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  28. Congrats on the house!!! Here's hoping everything goes well with the inspection. I legit just looked up to see if there was an Aldi in Cincinnati, good news - there is!

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  29. Congrats on the house! That's so exciting! I hope everything with your negotiations go well!!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  30. Ah! House hunting seems soooo stressful!

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  31. Keeping my fingers crossed that you get the house :)

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  32. Good luck with the house! I hope everything works out for you! :-)

    I love saving money, but I've never been to Aldi. I know we have them in our city, so I'm not sure why we've never checked it out. I should actually probably just tell my husband to try it out because he does about 90% of our grocery shopping! Haha.

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    1. Thank you! It's worth a try just to see what you think :)

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  33. Congratulations on the house! That is fabulous news!

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  34. Good luck with the new house! How exciting!

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  35. Aw, hoping everything works out well with the house! (And for what it's worth, I've read that it's a common thing for realtors and car salesman to schedule people to look at the house/car at the same time to increase your interest in it and make it look more desirable etc.) And now I wish we had and Aldi's here so I could cut my grocery bill in half!! wow!

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    1. They're so tricky! Just like when they say there are other offers coming in you have no way of knowing if they're bluffing to get you to move quicker or not. I hate real estate :(

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  36. Congratulations on winning the bidding war! I can't wait to read all of the adventures that come with owning a house (I am going to live vicariously through you)!

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  37. Yay so glad you guys got the house this time!! That's awesome. Budgeting is so hard, but I think trying makes us do a better job even if we slip up some! :) XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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    1. I agree! Even if I trip up and end up getting a latte, I'm still saving so much more than usual that it really doesn't matter. Plus that latte feels so much more special since I don't get one every day :)

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