The Story Behind TSAF

First and foremost, I am so humbled you are here reading this! TSAF is a love letter/brain dump to all the lessons and tricks I have learned along the way to make living life so much sweeter. I am passionate about economical living and maximizing your time/energy so you can pour into the things that matter most: family and friends!

Origin Story:

Both of my parents are from Argentina and met in California as neighbors. They got married after 3 months and are still married after 40 years! My family relocated to Eastern Kentucky a month after I was born. I know, how do a bunch of Argentinians end up in the smallest town ever? My grandmother was a seamstress (hence stitches in TSAF) and she worked for an equine textiles company in California that relocated to Mount Sterling, KY. My dad wanted to start paramedic school part-time to support his 4 kids and God set it up that Lexington, KY would have one of the only 2 part-time programs in the country! My momma (who you'll hear all about) is resilient, inventive, and the most amazing person I know. She gave birth to me alone in California (dad had started school, taken my brother Alex, and was setting up for us) and moved 3 kids to Kentucky by herself a month after giving birth!

Passion for Cooking:

We did not have much money growing up but my parents always made sure we had plenty to eat! Part of that meant being creative a lot of times. I credit my mom for the ability to look at a few pantry items and whip up a whole meal. In this blog I'll teach those skills to you too including what are our staple pantry/fridge items.

Argentinian Torta Fritas

Featured in Meals Section

I've always been very into the tasting part of cooking

You always have to wash down any meal with Mate

Passion for Stitches and Crafting:

My maternal grandmother sewed most of my clothes growing up (see pictures below) and instilled a love for sewing in me. In college I taught myself how to needlepoint and even needlepointed my husband a special belt for our wedding. Now I am learning how to make stitching more affordable along with other crafts so I can expand what projects I can make.

The GOAT herself
Grandma Blanca

My sister is 3 years older than me and we'd always get the same homemade outfits so I'd wear the same thing for years!

Hand and machine sewn clothes

Passion for Teaching and Time Management:

I am a firm believer in work smarter and not harder. I used to get overstimulated (I still do sometimes) with all that there is to do to run a household, have a career, eat healthy, exercise, read, grow personally/professionally, and be a good friend! Sheesh that list alone is exhausting. I've spent a lot of time tweaking morning routines and schedules to make my life run as efficiently as possible so I can spend more time with the ones I love.

I love love love my job! It can be challenging and you plant seeds that you might never know how they turn out. But, it is the most rewarding career. I became a teacher through Teach for America and have been in the profession for ten years. I love to share tricks that make my job a lot easier and are sustainable from year to year. We need more teachers to stick around!

I learned everything I know about grit, humility, and sacrifice from this man.

The motivation(s) for maximizing my time!

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