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Sweet Summertime & Back to School

Well…. Summer (break) is over and now it is back to school! What a wonderful summer it was! I hope it was restful, relaxing, and rejuvenating for you. 


During our last HOORAH before the new school year, I thought to myself “It has been a super long time since I opened my computer to write a blog post.” We did a stay-cation to New Roads, the hubby’s hometown, and this is exactly what we all needed. 


Check out the link on AIRBNB if you are curious to view our stay-cation place. The views, the cozy cottage feel, and the decks/patios were amazing to wind down before school starts. 


Before the trip, I bought these cute little “tackle boxes” or storage containers from Dollar Tree. I have been wanting to try out the Snack Mom Hack for a while. Before we left four our staycation, I packed up the Snack Boxes. They were a big success and baby boy enjoyed his assortment of snacks. We will use these in the future and might be good for hubby's fishing or hunting adventures.




I did not have a lot of sign ups for our last AFTM giveaway; therefore, I thought it is time to do a triple giveaway on this post. (Please complete this google form if you want to be entered in our triple giveaway!) https://forms.gle/8UZssYQgYEHdLvjn7 (I will contact the winners September 3rd or 4th.)


1. School supply gift basket ($20 value) - all picked out from yours truly! 

2. Mary’s Sweet Treats (1 dozen Back to school assorted cookies) I stumbled across this Facebook page and figured I would order some back to school treats as well as thank you cookies for our wonderful daycare teachers we will miss dearly. A little bit about Mary and her sweet treat business… 


I’m a single mom with two kids; a 7 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. We live in Youngsville. I’ve been baking for about 6 years! I started because I needed a last minute treat to bring to my sons Easter party (at like 10pm the night before because I forgot 😂). I started seriously baking/taking orders about 3 years ago! I started with custom decorated sugar cookies and slowly started doing cupcakes and cakes over the past year!


  1. Took’s Market Wednesday night dinners 

When I was scrolling through Instagram one night, I landed on Took’s post about a Wednesday night family dinner. We tried it out and then were hooked despite my husband’s comment about saving money. He is the cook in our family; therefore, enjoys cooking instead of take out. He complimented the dish and said he want to try out other meals by Took’s Market.  The ordering and pick up was easy and I learned about a cute little store in the middle of Lafayette. (I will let you pick out the Wednesday and pay for your dinner, you will have to pick it up between 4-6). 


A few other savings and meal ideas for the start of the new school year… 


  • Toot Toot’s Kitchen- (Flash Sales)  A few years ago, Toot Toot’s Kitchen started in Youngsville. I met the owner, who was a former educator, and fell in love with the home cooked cooking and catering business. Since then, she has expanded her business, but the food is still delicious. Be sure to sign up on her website and facebook page for new menus and flash sales. This would be a great option for yummy food without the hustle and bustle of cooking when school starts, 

  • Hello Fresh- Last summer, my mom and I tried out some of the prepackaged grocery/meal prep deliveries. We liked them, but thought they were somewhat overpriced. We loved the new meal ideas and the convenience. I recently got a coupon and trying them again. Feel free to use this link to try them out! https://www.hellofresh.com/pages/share?c=HS-K0CW7WH1X&utm_campaign=clipboard&utm_couponvalue=100&utm_invitername=Frugal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=raf-share 



During the last week, my biggest adventure was starting a new school year, at a new school, in new grade level, with my baby boy. He LOVES school, but the transition has been up and down. He started PREK3 and I started my 10th year and teaching 3rd grade. I love being on the same campus as him (YAY, one stop in the morning), but it has been hard trying to explain to a 3 year old that she has to teach the big kids while he goes to PreK3 at 7:40 am. Both of us are not morning people, but we are adjusting to our new normal. 



Huge shout out to my teacher mom friend, Cristi! She made this awesome balloon arch for our first day at our school! Check her out on Facebook! 


Remember to sign up for email updates if you have not done that yet! 
https://forms.gle/3dp8riCGeK55RTch6 

Stay tuned for more adventures of a Frugal teacher mom…. 


XOXO 

AFTM

(Natalie Chustz) 


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