May Link Love: Some Top Notch Posts Written by Some Top Notch Bloggers

This May has been an interesting month to say the least. First off, as you may have noticed, and as I mentioned in my post about making a few changes to my blog, I’ve cut down from posting everyday to only 3 days a week. It puts less pressure on myself, I’ve got more free time to explore some other areas in my life, and I’ve also got more time to read other great blogs! So, instead of doing a weekly round-up of my favourite blog posts, I thought I’d just do it at the end of every month (or the start of the next month, depending what day it falls on). The following are posts I’ve read and got an instant reaction out of, read more than once, or just f***ing loved reading:

On authenticity of blogging by Musings of Abstract Aucklander 

I love Eemusings’s bluntness, honesty, and her passion for blogging. As a fellow blogger, I love reading blog posts about other bloggers blogging (try saying that three times fast). I’m also curious to see what other bloggers’ experiences and outlooks are, because even though we are all just typing away on our own computers, in our individual homes, leading our very different lives, it’s interesting to see how we are all connected in this weird personal finance blogosphere.

Leaving a bra on the kitchen table: An ode to living alone by BrokeTO

First off, the video BrokeTO includes at the bottom of her post is hilarious, and completely true. Secondly, I love the list she shares about what she used to do in her apartment alone, such as tell her cat about her day and have solo dance parties, both of which I have also done.

My Minimalist Tendencies by My Alternate Life

Jordann has some great arguments for why living with less is actually a good thing. I completely agree with living somewhat minimally. I moved three times in about a year, and having minimal furniture, clothes and other stuff made moving way less of a hassle than it could have been. I also agree that living with less stuff just makes life a little easier to handle. When I have too much stuff, I sometimes feel overwhelmed, as if I’m living in a hoarder’s house and one day I’ll be found dead buried beneath a mountain of shoes, newspapers, and beanie babies.

First Job Out of School by Frugal Portland

Besides me being completely enamored by Portland (there’s so many more craft beers I didn’t get to try!), Frugal Portland basically described my first year out of college in this post. I was a total keener in school, and when I finally finished and was thrust into the real world, it felt as if I was standing in a cozy, familiar coffee shop, then pushed into the freezing cold without a jacket on. I definitely panicked and considered going back to school (even Law School, but I couldn’t even get through the first 3 questions of the practice LSAT).

The Race to the Alter by Fabulously Frugirl

Even though I’m engaged, I’ve always considered myself single at heart. What I mean is I’ve never been that “relationship girl”, possibly because I was “single Jessica” for years before meeting my BF. And when I was single, I loved it. I loved being completely independent, especially when I would see how some of my girlfriends would change completely based on who they were dating, or would whine constantly about they are frustrated with their current friends with benefits situation, but would never leave the guy for fear of being alone. In Frugirl’s post, she talks about her new perspective on marriage and how she doesn’t see the need to race to the alter just because that’s what may be expected of her being almost 30. Hear, hear! Take your time girl! My BF and I waited just under 5 years to get engaged, and I’m so glad we took that time to really get to know each other, talk about all those important issues, and see if after 5 years we could still stand each other. So far, so good!

I’m an independent lady after all, and that’s why I loved reading this post. I think taking the time to be single is important to becoming the woman you are meant to be. I was single for a while before I met my BF, and honestly, I have always said, and still say, I would rather be single than be with a guy who doesn’t treat me right. I just don’t get those girls who stay with a guy for fear of being alone. Being alone is f***ing awesome, and you are better than that girl! I love that Fabulously Frugirl isn’t rushing to the alter with her BF and taking the scenic route, that’s what I did, and personally, I’m glad we waiting 5 years before we got engaged.

There are a ton more blog posts I’ve also really enjoyed reading this May, but I don’t want this to become the longest blog post in history so I’ll just leave it at these five. Cheers to all you awesome bloggers out there, and keep on bloggin’!

What’s your favourite blog post you’ve read this May?

-Mo’ Houses out!

Image: muJqBly/rgbstock

10 Classic Movies You Should Watch Because They Are Free at the Library (And They Are Amazing)

I think I’ve mentioned in one of my posts before that I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Film, so I’ve watched my fair share of films. Actually, I’ve seen a shit-load of movies. That documentary about paraplegics playing rugby: Yup, I’ve seen that. That Akira Kurosawa film that inspired George Lucas’ Star Wars. Yeah, I’ve seen that. That Canadian indie movie starring Callum Keith Rennie: Oh, I’ve definitely seen that one (to be fair he’s in almost every Canadian indie film in existence).

That being said, although I did work at a video store for a little while when at university, most of the movies I watched I got for free from the library. Actually, before I started film school, when I was still in high school, my dad used to bring me home a stack of classic movies from the library to watch every weekend, just so I’d be off to a great start once I started school (I know, I was a keener). So, since I’ve got a pretty extensive repertoire of films under my belt, I thought I’d write a post listing 10 classic movies you should watch because they are awesome, and you can get them for free from the library. If any of these films aren’t at your library, well, maybe they’re on Netflix, if not, then maybe it’s time to suck it up an pay the $10 to see it at whatever art house movie theatre is in your city. If you live in Vancouver, I’m talking about the Pacific Cinemateque.

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How My Homemade Banana Bread Will Always Kick Starbucks’ Ass

Everyone knows that cooking from home is cheaper than eating out. Well, except for my BF who doesn’t quite believe this is true. Maybe it’s because when we go to Costco our bill always ends up being over $100 just for some shampoo, chicken, and fruit bars. Anyways, I thought I would try to calculate just how much cooking from home actually costs starting with my banana bread recipe that he loves.

Since I found it impossible to find any prices online, one day I walked around Save-On-Foods and wrote down prices for all the ingredients I needed. I came home, did some math, and found out that my recipe for a loaf of banana bread only costs me $5.02 to make! Divide that into 8 thick slices and that’s only $0.63 per slice. Suck on that Starbucks! $2.25 for a slice of banana bread? I don’t think so. Plus, it’s all whole ingredients, no preservatives, and I used organic eggs. Keep in mind, I bought all of these ingredients from Save-On-Foods (not the cheapest grocery store) and none of these items were on sale. So, I’m sure if you made an effort to use some coupons or went somewhere a bit cheaper like Great Canadian Superstore or No Frills, this recipe could be even cheaper.

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I Think It’s Time for Some Goal Restructuring…

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, I’m making a few changes to my blog so I can have some more time to focus on a few other areas of my life. Since it’s somewhat of a new beginning, I thought it was also time to look at some of the goals I set for myself in January and do a bit of restructuring. These were the goals I set at the beginning of the year:

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I Did It! I’ve Reached 100 Posts! Now for Some Changes…

Today, I have officially published 100 blog posts since I launched Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses on December 15, 2011 (that’s minus all photo and guest posts of course). That’s 100 posts in only 4 1/2 months, and I’ve gotta tell ya, as much as I am so in love with blogging and so thankful for such an incredibly supportive personal finance blogging community, it’s been tough to write a post everyday of the week for this long. I seriously don’t think I even wrote this much in university, and I did an Arts degree, which was all essays, all the time!

That’s why I’ve decided to scale back a bit. A while ago I was emailing back and forth with Modest Money and I was telling him how I was finding it hard to balance blogging Monday to Friday with my regular life, and he suggested I try blogging on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. After some thorough consideration, I’ve decided that’s what I’m going to do. At least for the next few months, then I’ll see if I want to change it up again. Now, that’s not to say that I won’t on occasion throw in an extra post here and there, but for the most part, it’s gonna be 3 posts a week.

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The Weirdest Google Searches I’ve Gotten Thus Far

I started this blog back in December, but it wasn’t until mid-February that I actually started getting visits via Google Search. And I’ve gotta tell you, the searches that are drawing people to this blog are totally bizarre and I love them. I know this isn’t a completely original idea to list some of the weirdest Google searches as a post, but I just really wanted to share these with all of you. All I’m gonna say is lots of people have found me by googling “fish bowl centrepieces” and “kony 2012”:

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My Trip to Portland - Part 3: Trip Photos

So since I’ve been yabbering on and on about my trip to Portland, I thought I’d finally show some of the photos I took so you can really get the full trip experience.

Crème brûlée french toast at The Original. So good, you don’t even know! My BF got this other dish called the Elvis Presley, which I believe was french toast, peanut butter, and bacon. It sounds gross but it was actually quite delicious.

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My Trip to Portland - Part 2: The Dream of the Nineties is Alive in Portland

Well, the dream of the nineties wasn’t really alive in the part of Portland that me and my BF visited. Our hotel, the Hotel Deluxe, was situated downtown and I guess that’s just not where all the hipsters hang out. During the daytime at least. At the stroke of midnight, they all seemed to come out in their plaid shirts and big plastic glasses, lining up around Voodoo Donuts and playing Ms. Pac Man at Ground Kontrol. And how do I know this? Because my BF and I were amongst them! Minus the hipster garb, though I do think my BF was wearing one of his plaid shirts that day.

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