About Randi

Hi! I’m Randi & I am so glad you are taking the time to get to know who I am- silly ol’ me. I want to share tid-bits of the good, the bad & even the regular humdrum stuff— here goes:

A little background about me- I grew up in Oceanside, New York (Long Island). Earned a BFA in Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design. I’ve been creative all my life. I was the kid that drew all the time & when my friends were in their clubs or sports, my mom said she didn’t know what I would want to do so she signed me up for art classes. Good choice! I absolutely stunk at writing & grammar so its pretty funny that I love to blog. But in some ways that’s a good thing because it helps me write exactly how I speak. And I really do! Friends who know me tell me they can hear my voice when they read what I write. Just a little heads up, I can be a little obnoxious & sarcastic but not mean, just silly. o- And I curse way too much when I play tennis, drive  & when I talk. LOL-

The best parts of my life:

• Grew up in an awesome family.
• Have & had some amazingly wonderful friends past, present & always.
• Married to Todd who is my best friend, my soulmate & my rock- though this is something you can hear way too much in a sappy movie or watching “Say Yes to the Dress”, this guy is all that for ME. He’s a great father, husband & human being & held my hand throughout lots of difficult times (look at the worst times list)
• My 3 kids are my most everything- hard to find the words to describe – each of their births, watching them as they grow up- They are my everything always.
• My other interests: walking my dog, playing & watching tennis, reading, purge watching tv series & so much more.

There is a worst parts of my life too. I never hide the “shit-list” because it makes me who I am today. And if my bad experiences helps one person- gives them education or support or strength— well, that gives it all purpose. I also put put it all out there so if you want to know who I am, you need to know the paths I have walked:

• Lost 2 out of 5 pregnancies. Those were really difficult times.
• My middle child has Autism. Autism SUCKS too. But we are so so blessed for all the good. He is such an amazing person & we LOVE him so very much. He’s 19 now & goes to a residential school for intensive therapeutic education & support. We hope this helps bring him to his fullest potential (my fav part of blogging, I can use poor grammar because its so appropriate at times).
• I am a Breast Cancer Survivor- CANCER SUCKS TOO! Big time. I was diagnosed in April of ’08 and I am so thankful to call myself a survivor. The diagnosis was difficult, the cancer was very aggressive & I really didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. But we fought (yes, WE, cause I had quite a team supporting me) full force & I am here now to say so. Its shaped me though & anyone who has survived cancer or lost a loved one to cancer knows it changes us. It makes the saying of enjoy each day- REAL. I take nothing for granted and I am so happy for each day here. I hardly ever say “let’s wait till retirement” or “let’s wait till the kids are grown”- Todd & I try to do something bucket list worthy once a year.

*on a side note, after this new blog transition is completed, I will add links to more details about the stories above.

Now to the present & future too- For so so many years of doing our “thing”, Carol & I have talked about wanting to put it all out there in blog-land. Share our little tricks, our experiences & treasure hunting- I mean, shopping. We finally decided to do it! We both have our differences yet we both love give our family the best of everything & make it work on a frugal budget- thats how we came up with our name FrugElegance. Take some time to get to know my good friend, & FruGirl, Carol. She probably wont say this so I will add it here- She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She is one of the nicest people I know! I am so so lucky to have her as my friend & FruGirl sista’.

Well, I am pretty much on brain overload right now from switching over to wordpress. And really want to get the main pieces of this site put together. So come back soon to see the updated version I (re)write where I tell you about how I love chocolate, great food, tennis, walking my dog…

See you soon

Randi~