This is a really special post for us!!!! This is Life Full and Frugal’s 100th blog post!!! We thought y’all might like to meet the gals of Life Full and Frugal. So today, we are sharing a little bit about ourselves, reflecting on where we have been and dreaming about the future!

 

SHANNA

I can’t believe this is Life Full and Frugal’s 100th post! It’s really hard to believe that we published our first post back in the fall of 2011. I wrote a funny confessional about my latest kitchen catastrophe on Facebook. That’s when Starla and Sierra approached me with the idea to start a blog together. What an amazing journey we have embarked upon since that first attempt at blogging! We have embodied what Ann Lamott says about making progress: “Small is how blessings, healing, progress and increase occur.” The three of us have moved along at a snail’s pace trying to figure out the technical aspects of blogging and the abstract universe that is the internet and the blogosphere. There have been so many times when we have felt completely and totally inadequate. However, we have always felt the pull on our hearts to be creative, to add beauty to the world and to bless others with whatever wisdom we have gleaned from our experiences.

The title of our blog was partly inspired by John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Starla, Sierra and I believe that Jesus has come to give us life, full and abundant. But sometimes that abundant life feels so illusive when set against the backdrop of the pain, suffering and poverty of our lives. This blog is the word of our testimony: that our good Father plucked us out of our poverty and showed us how to live in the abundance of His Kingdom. Our hope for the future is to inspire you and to show you how to live in the eternal blessings of the Kingdom, no matter what form of poverty Satan is using to keep you from the abundant life!

In Honor of Life Full and Frugal’s 100th Post, Here are 12 fun facts about Shanna:

These are a few of my favorite things: [in my best Julie Andrews voice!]

1. Favorite Color: blue! “It makes my eyes dance!” (quoted from our mother!)
2. Drinks: coffee, sweet tea, kombucha (mine or Starla’s, or Reed’s Culture Club Cabernet Grape, or GT’s Mystic Mango)
3. Books: The Chronicles of Narnia (currently listening to The Horse and His Boy on cd with my boys! It’s our favorite!) The Hobbit, The Mark of the Lion series, Beautiful Outlaw and Waking the Dead by John Eldredge, Captivating by Stasi Eldredge, The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard, and a new favorite: Sabbath by Dan Allender (most of what I read is children’s literature. Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming is one of my fav’s!)
4. Movies: Tangled (beats Frozen’s hiney, hands down, end of discussion…) the Despicable Me’s (well, the third one was ok, I guess) Pride and Prejudice (old AND new) …anything Jane Austen, Anonymous, A Good Year, Braveheart, Tarzan, Hidden Figures, etc.
5. Music: I love almost everything from classical to rock, jazz, 80’s, 90’s…etc.
6. Random Stuff: I sing…all the time, but my best performances are in the shower and at the kitchen sink.
7. I speak in movie quotes quite fluently, but mostly from Pixar movies.
8. I love shoes and purses, but I hate shopping for clothes…unless it’s online shopping.
9. I LOVE decorating and buying stuff for my house, most of which comes from antique stores, flea markets, craigslist and TJ Maxx. I have a serious fetish for dishes of all kinds.
10. We eat Mexican food at least once a week.
11. I am NOT a morning person.
12. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish. I am a homeschool mama to my two boys!

SIERRA

I cannot believe this is Life Full and Frugal’s 100th post! We sheepishly started this blog six years ago after several friends and family members suggested we share our way of life with the world. As far as I was concerned, I really didn’t believe I had much to offer. I believed the majority of the interesting ways we managed to save money, eat well, and decorate came from Starla’s brilliant mind. But somehow through the journey, I have managed to very nervously write an article here and there, hoping that I could somehow contribute to this blog. Sharing your creativity can be scary, you know? It feels very vulnerable, very naked. Having said that, I have so much respect and admiration for those I look up to creatively! If they were brave enough to risk- risk being imperfect, risk judgement- why can’t I do the same?

As time has gone on, and I’ve grown, I’ve been stretched, and I’ve developed myself, I have come to realize that I really do have some practical and creative ideas and advice to share with all of you! This realization has helped me to come out of the shell of insecurity and self-doubt. In my heart, I have decided to stop hiding my talents and start risking before a good master. So here’s to the next 100 posts! We are really looking forward to continuing the journey of sharing the lifestyle of living abundantly on less with all of you! May it bless you as much as it blesses us!

-Sierra

P.S. I have to give so much credit to my precious sisters, Starla and Shanna. Their kindness, dedication, and encouragement are the foundation of this whole thing. I love you girls!

In Honor of Life Full and Frugal’s 100th Post, Here are 12 fun facts about Sierra:

1. Guilty Pleasure: Gluten-free boxed mac-n-cheese. Like I can eat a whole box by myself…. And that white queso dip you get from a Mexican restaurant.
2. Tea or Coffee: Coffee! My favorite brand is Community Coffee or Jacobs
3. Movies I Love: Sabrina (the newer one), Spanglish, and Broken English
4. Books I Love: That’s tough! I have a list: My Antonia, The Awakening, A Room With A View, The Mark of the Lion Series, Captivating, Waking the Dead, A Million Miles in a  Thousand Years, & The Divine Conspiracy….and maybe some others, but I’ll stop.
5. Favorite Color: BLUE!
6. Languages: English/German
7. Favorite singer/musician: Ray Lamontagne, Brooke Fraser, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Amy Winehouse
8. Addictions: Shoes! It’s kind of ridiculous…..Probably clothing as well. Peanut butter. Also, I would love to have another house just to buy furniture for. I have a special weakness for couches and chairs for the living room, and marble topped tables.
9. What is one thing that is always in your fridge: Cheese, butter, & sour cream
10. Worst job you’ve ever done: Cleaning out a pig barn. That was a bad day.
11. Dream vacation: Ireland. And I am actually going later this year!
12. Favorite sport: Volleyball

STARLA

Here we are celebrating Life Full and Frugal’s 100th post! It is funny to think that this all started with a suggestion. And with that suggestion, we went out on a wing and a prayer and started the blog. This journey has been fun, a challenge, and a lot of technical difficulties.

God has been so faithful to teach me in this process. I have not always been a willing pupil, but he is always faithful to see me through.  He has taught me so much about life, and a lot about myself. The blog has brought up some insecurities that I have had to work through, but it has helped me to mature. I have learned to make a penny squeal, and I have relished the challenge to live abundantly on less. God has shown me that my quality of life does not depend on how much money I have, but by trusting and abiding in Jesus for everything.

To be honest I really love the blog! It makes my heart sing to think 100 posts! Hooray! I can’t wait to see what the future Holds with Our Teacher Jesus and my Beloved Sisters. Many thanks to you, Shanna, Sierra, and Jesus!!

In Honor of Life Full and Frugal’s 100th Post, Here are 12 fun facts about Starla:

1. Favorite book? David Copperfield, The Count of Monte Cristo, Divine Conspiracy, Tales From the Arabian Nights, Gone With the Wind, Out of Africa, and so many more!!! That was hard!!!
2. Pie or Cake? Blueberry Pie
3. Coffee or Tea? Indian Spice Chai,
4. Favorite Composer? Vivaldi, Mozart
5. Guilty Pleasure? Expensive Perfume
6. The Mountains or the Sea? The Sea
7. What is always in your purse? lip gloss
8. Pet Peeve? When people do not put the toilet seat down.
9. Favorite Night Creme? Shea Moisture with Frankincense and Myrrh
10. My favorite female in the Bible? Esther
11. Town or Country? Country
12. Places I want to visit? Russia