Our favorite frugal place for breakfast

Oh, IKEA, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

My husband has had IKEA in close proximity to him for most of his life; I, on the other hand, had never been to one until I was 19 years old.  So he thinks I am fascinated with the place because it is still somewhat of a novelty for me.  Regardless, there are so many things I love about this store.

There's the endless inspiration attained from walking through the perfectly styled showroom.  There's the classic fresh/modern/functional/simple Swedish design.  There's the affordable furniture, which is why about 75% of the furniture we have purchased came from there.  There's the inexpensive housewares which are much cooler than other big box stores, and cost way less (49 cents for a coffee mug!  $3.99 for a kitchen rug! just about any frame you'd want for under $10!)

And then, there's the restaurant.  It's not fine dining, but it's cheap, good, not terribly unhealthy, and European.  It's basically a cafeteria, but that's what keeps the cost down.  They have specials every day of the week, and a Swedish food section should you want to take home a bag of Swedish meatballs, lingonberry preserves, muesli, caviar, or salmon paste in a tube (cue vomit sounds).

Lucky for us, Monday is Rob's day off, and it's also free breakfast day.  From 9:30 to 11:00 you can simply show up and get a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes.  For us, we get 2 regular plates, ask for a smaller third plate for Liam, then I get a free cup of coffee with my Ikea family card, so we only pay $1.61 for Rob's lingonberry juice.  It's not the most gourmet breakfast ever (powdered eggs, thin bacon, frozen potatoes), but it's tasty and most important, free. Also, the same breakfast is only 99 cents any other day of the week.

If you live near an Ikea, check out their restaurant specials for a cheap meal out!

A special treat: Cheese fondue!

So, I turned 27 yesterday.  I am still trying to get over the fact that I am ALMOST 30.  I can't complain about this to my husband because he is over 30 and has no sympathy, so I will complain instead on here.  :)  Anyway, it was a lovely day spend having breakfast with my little boy, shopping in Pittsburgh's Strip District, having a special dinner at home, followed by a coffee and Scrabble date with my husband at one of our favorite coffeeshops.  Perfect!

Speaking of dinner, we decided to eat at home instead of going out because this was a fairly expensive month for us, plus we are saving up for Liam's first birthday party in a little over a month (sob!).  I still wanted to do something fun, so I made cheese fondue.  We love fondue, but haven't had it in a long time.  I'm also very happy to say that I kind of invented the recipe.  I looked at lots of recipes but had a specific taste in mind, which I successfully ended up creating.  Yay!  Here's my recipe:

Cheese Fondue
8 oz. (1/2 pound) each of Emmentaler and Sharp White Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of nutmeg

Toss the shredded cheeses with the cornstarch.  Rub the inside of the fondue pot (or a saucepan) with the garlic, then discard.  Bring lemon juice and wine to a simmer, reduce heat and slowly stir in the cheese a little at a time, stirring until smooth with each addition.  Before serving, top with nutmeg if desired.  Serve with your choice of dippers (we had fresh baguette pieces, mini sausages, peppers, and carrots) and enjoy!

Note: Emmentaler is an imported Swiss cheese which I got in the Strip district but I'm guessing it isn't widely available.  It was also $5 for half a pound.  You could probably use any Swiss cheese. 

My $9.56 Fall Mantle

I can NOT even believe this summer is almost over!  Or that I'm about to have another birthday, or that my little boy is almost ONE.  The past few months (more like the past year) have seemingly disappeared.

I am not particularly excited about the end of the summer because it seems like we didn't get the chance to do many fun summery things due to a busy schedule and the infernal temperatures for most of the past 3 months.  HOWEVER, the end of summer means the beginning of fall, which I am definitely excited about.

There is a new epic time-waster in my life (Pinterest) which I'll write more about later, but the upside to the countless hours I've spent on that dang website is lots and lots of inspiration for all kind of things, including fall decor and recipes.  I've been wanting to change up our mantle for awhile now, as it has been the same since we moved a year ago and it's not really anything to write home about; just a smattering of some random vases, candles, and so forth.  I got a lot of ideas on Pinterest for a fall mantle, but I really didn't want to spend a lot of money.  So here's what I came up with:

Things I already had: mason jars (they seem to be all the rage these days, good thing I have lots!), coffee beans (used to fill a couple of the jars), yellow vase, votive and pillar candles and jar candle (I seem to hoard candles, I forgot I had all these), candlesticks, and frame.

Things I bought on sale at JoAnn: garland ($4.79), berry sprigs (2 @ $1.79), and a package of leaves ($1.19) one which I put in the frame, and the rest I'll also use for a centerpiece.

I would be prouder if I had done it for less, but 10 bucks isn't bad, right?

Easy Summer Skirts

I saw this online awhile ago, and it is just BRILLIANT.  Luckily I already had some elastic thread in my sewing stash, so I quickly set out to make one of these. 

It turns out, they are so easy and fun that I've made 3 so far and have material and supplies to make even more!  I bought some men's 2XL shirts on a super-cheap clearance rack and made a couple following the directions (although, I found out I had to take in the sides of the top of the skirt about 4 inches BEFORE shirring). 

I also had some cute fabric that I wasn't sure quite what to do with, so I whipped up another skirt using plain old fabric.  I took a skirt I already had to use as a pattern, cut 2 pieces of fabric the width of the bottom of my pattern skirt, and cut a slight A-line to the top (but made the top much wider because the shirring takes in several inches).  Then I sewed the sides together and hemmed the bottom, and did a very simple hem on the top before shirring.  At first it was a little loose around the waist, but I was thankful later because washing and drying the skirt shrunk it to a perfect fit.  It took less than an hour, and the ones I made using t-shirts took even less--about 20-30 minutes!  So fun!

Excuse the bad picture--It's a self-timed shot!

ZUCCHINI!

Wow, my last post was a long time ago.  I'm still here!  This summer has been wayyy more busy than I ever anticipated it to be.  Anyway, we had a WONDERFUL time at my brother's wedding last weekend...it was so special and the wedding, along with all the details involved, was beautiful. 

While we had been harvesting a couple zucchini, green beans, green onions, and lettuce from our garden before we left, we came back to the LAND OF THE GIANT ZUCCHINI.  I'm estimating that, in total, we've picked over a dozen zucchini that are all the size of a burly man's forearm.  That's a lot of squash!  I've been working really hard to use it all up or give it away, and have tried some wonderful recipes in the process.  Here are some of them, for those of you who are in the same boat as us...and if you don't have a garden, zucchini are really cheap in the grocery stores right now, so try some of these out!

-Zucchini Quiche.  I discovered this last summer when I was pregnant, and made a couple to put in the freezer for postpartum meals.  It's definitely a keeper!

-Zucchini Bread.  I've tried a lot of zucchini bread recipes, and this is by far the yummiest.

-Stuffed Zucchini Boats.  I didn't follow this recipe exactly, but this is the general idea.  The other day I made it Mexican-style with taco meat, beans, salsa, and cheddar....also good.  A tasty low-carb meal!

-Zucchini Carpaccio Salad.  (Side note: if you haven't discovered the Smitten Kitchen blog yet, you can thank me now.)  I haven't made this yet, but plan to this week!

-Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Cake.  I actually made this for a birthday cake a couple years ago.  It is (perhaps surprisingly) delicious!

-Vegetable Lasagna.  Yum!

A List. And a dinner plan.

1.)  Forgive my absence since my last post; due to the nature of my last post, you might have guessed that I was trying to regain peace and balance and sanity.  If you guessed this, you were right!

2.)  I did a non-frugal thing and bought some Vibram FiveFingers.  They were more expensive than probably the past 3 pairs of shoes I've bought combined, but they are AWESOME!

3.)  Our garden is really flourishing and I love it.  We've already harvested lettuce, green beans, a few zucchini, basil, green onions, and spinach.  There are lots of little green tomatoes out there too!

4.)  In my last post I wrote about Liam now crawling and getting into EVERYTHING.  We went out and bought one of those baby gate play yards, and it's possibly one of the greatest inventions ever.

5.)  If you like to sew like me and have a little boy, check this out: 25 things to make for a baby boy.  It's refreshing to see this after seeing countless dress/frilly/girly tutorials on the web!

6.)  I've also written about doing the Supreme 90 Day workout before.  Overall, I'm very pleased with this system, and for only 20 bucks, you really can't go wrong.  I'm on day 21, and it really does produce results.  However, I'm looking to really lose weight, and thought I've lost inches, the scale hasn't budged. at. all.  Frustrating, given how hard I'm working, but I do feel stronger and more in shape.  So I decided to do another fairly non-frugal thing, and I ordered Insanity.  I actually did get a pretty good deal though...I bought it used on Amazon and had about $45 in Amazon gift cards from using Swagbucks, so I only paid about $40.  (Compared to almost $150 brand-new).  It's going to be hard, but I'm excited to put forth the effort to see results!

7.)  Is anyone else a little angry with Netflix for raising their prices?!?  We now pay $9.99 per month for unlimited streaming of TV shows/movies on the Wii and unlimited DVD rental (1 disc at a time).  In order to keep it that way, we'd now have to pay $15.98.  Still cheaper than cable, but irritating.

8.)  Happy Bastille Day!

9.)  Here's our dinner menu this week (week of 7/10):

Monday: Pasta with red sauce, steamed peas
Tuesday:  Beef with Peppers, rice
Wednesday:  BBQ chicken in the crock pot (easiest thing ever.  Put chicken in the crock pot, cover with BBQ sauce.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.), corn on the cob, baked potatoes
Thursday:  Swedish meatballs (from the freezer), mashed potatoes, sauteed zucchini and onions
Friday:  Homemade pizza
Saturday:  leftovers
Sunday:  Shredded Chicken Sandwiches (a NW Ohio specialty!)

Overwhelmed.

So, today was just one of those days.  Actually, this WEEK is just one of those days...er, weeks.  I picked up a lot of extra hours at work this week, which is a mixed blessing-good because we have some additional expenses this month, and not so good because I've hardly seen my husband since Sunday, and I'm completely exhausted.  Not to mention I haven't had any 'me' time (other than exercising), which I value not for selfish reasons, but because it refuels and recharges me. 

Plus, Liam is now very much on the move!  We are so excited for him and it's the greatest thing ever to see him get his motivated 'game face' on right before he charges across the room to get something.  Or more accurately, get INTO something.  So, in a nutshell the past week or so has consisted of me doing the following: working, chasing Liam, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, chasing Liam, exercising, cleaning, picking up things Liam has scattered, doing laundry, chasing Liam, etc.  You get the picture!  You also notice that things like relaxing, writing blog posts, and watching a movie with Rob weren't in the list. 

I think that, as a stay-at-home-mom (-ish, give or take a 15 hr/wk part time job) it's so very easy to get to the point of becoming overwhelmed.  Maybe even more now than ever before.  Overwhelmed at the thought of all the laundry that's not being done at any given time, overwhelmed at all the areas of the house that aren't orderly and organized, overwhelmed at all the things that still need to be cleaned, overwhelmed thinking about whether or not I am growing spiritually/becoming a better wife and mom, and overwhelmed at the thought of whether or not the baby/children are getting the right attention/discipline/stimulation/guidance/nutrition/nap time.  Yeeesh.

Maybe the biggest thing I've learned so far in my 9 short months of being a mom is to just (cliche alert) take things one day at a time, and not let myself get wrapped up in yesterday or tomorrow.  That's really, REALLY hard to do.  But at least I can now recognize when I need to step back and assess the situation and realize that, in fact, the house is not a pig sty (even thought there may be clutter or a week's worth of dust lying about), and though my kid might be screaming he in fact is a happy baby who has all his needs met, and though there's perpetually at least one load of dirty laundry we still have clean clothes in the drawers and towels in the closet. 

I've learned to be satisfied (most days) with accomplishing just one or two things, even though my list usually has at least a half dozen more to be done.  And even if I don't get one or two things done, I'm still ALWAYS thankful to be spending my time with my precious little boy.  And in the long run, that is far more important than fretting about the dust collecting on the mantle.  :)

I'm tired...dinner menu tomorrow!

Neglected on the Needles

That title sounds more than a little weird.  Ha! 

I accomplished a lot on vacation last week, including making several hats to build up my Etsy store inventory again (to be revealed soon!), three skirts (using an awesome new technique I discovered, I'll post more later!), and another big project that I can't talk about until after my brother's wedding.  :)

Now that all that is done, I want to work on a few treasures I found at the bottom of my yarn baskets when I organized my massive yarn stash a couple weeks ago.  My poor husband....I bet he never knew he would not only be marrying me, but also boxes upon boxes of yarn.  Hopefully I will finish at least ONE of these neglected projects before the end of the summer, given my tendency to start about 10 projects at once and then not finish 3 or 4 of them for a year or two.  Here they are:

This was going to be a tank top.  I started it over 2 years ago, and I really love the delicate yarn (it's knit with 2 strands at once) and how it creates a light, airy, organic texture.  The sad thing is, I don't think it would fit me now, if I kept knitting it in the size I started.  So, I either plan to start over in a bigger size (thank you, motherhood), or make something else out of the yarn.

This is the first of a pair of mittens.  The pattern is a really cool fair isle design, and I made a pair just like this (but in burgundy and white) for my mom a couple years ago.  That pair was my first experience with intarsia knitting, and it's really fun....it just takes me FOREVER.  I'm determined to finish this pair before this winter!

This is a pretty scarf/wrap I started last summer while I was pregnant.  I thought I'd make something for myself before my knitting time became forever scarce once the baby came.  Then, a couple weeks later, I learned how to crochet and haven't touched it since.  I'd also like to finish this before cooler weather comes again!  (and as a side note, I'm pleasantly surprised how much time I still have to knit/crochet, even with how busy Liam keeps me!)

This is about 1.5 hours' worth of work on a really gorgeous felted oversize tote bag.  It has a floral pattern on one side, and reminds me of those really pretty tapestry bags.  The pattern is from a book I got for Christmas, so it's the newest of these neglected projects--so I may finish the others first, but I WILL get this one done, sometime!!!

I'll update this post when I finish these projects...which will happen between my never-ending list of things I want to make for my Etsy store, plus winter things I want to make before winter comes, plus Christmas gifts...sigh.  I think somebody has a skewed sense of what she is able to accomplish in a reasonable amount of time!

Dinner/Supper: Week of 6/27

Here's my grocery totals this week, followed by the meals planned.

Purchased with a Groupon at T-Bones

T-Bones: (A local, high-end grocery- I only went there because I had a groupon for $30 of groceries)
Whole wheat penne
Salsa
Milk
Turkey Italian Sausage
Beef stew meat
Chicken thighs & drumsticks
Mushrooms
Whole Wheat flatbread
Sour cream
Onion soup mix

Total spent: $15.98 ($15 for the groupon a couple months ago, $0.98 out of pocket)

Aldi: (not pictured, mainly because it was for last Sunday, and also because I forgot to take a picture)
Fresh mozzarella
Tomatoes
Chips
Hamburger/Hot Dog buns
Bowtie pasta

Total Spent: I lost the receipt, but under $10, because I used a $10 bill.  :) 
Grand Total: $25.98 (ish)
It was a light week grocery-wise.  Good for the wallet!


And here's the menu:

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff (recipe on this blog, under the 'recipe' label)

Wednesday:  Pinto Beans (recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook), rice, salad

Thursday:  Pollo Asado (looks delicious!), green beans/wax beans from the garden, flatbread and hummus

Friday:  Turkey Italian Sausages with peppers and onions


My garden is just starting to really produce lots and lots of stuff....it's exciting!  Can't wait to plan next week around what I'm able to harvest.

Dinner/Supper: Week of 6/20

Sorry this is so late--the week is almost over!  Yikes.  We had a great vacation, and though Rob came back last Sunday, I actually ended up staying in Ohio till Wednesday.  A couple of things came up, and it was nice to have an unexpected couple of days.  So, we didn't have much of a shopping trip/dinner menu this week.  Rob went to Aldi when he got back and proudly reported to me that he spent $26.36.  Love him!  I don't have the receipt to list all the items, but it was lots of basics like fruit, milk, cereal, etc.  The stuff we didn't buy for awhile before we left.  Then yesterday I spent $4.98 on a rotisserie chicken, and bought some baby food.  So we still came in under budget.  Anyway, here's this week's menu, Wednesday-Sunday.

Wednesday:  Taco Salad/Haystacks (I don't really know what to call this...you crunch up a bunch of tortilla chips and pile all the taco fillings on top)

Thursday:  Rotisserie chicken, wild rice, corn

Friday:  Skillet chicken, broccoli and penne  (this is one of our new favorite recipes!  I'm using leftover chicken from Thursday)

Saturday:  Leftovers or homemade waffles (Liam and I will be spending most of the day in the car attending a wedding while Rob's at work, so I doubt that we will even get to have a meal together)

Sunday:  I don't have a plan yet.  Hopefully some sort of a belated family dinner to celebrate my in-laws' anniversary.  Which I knew was this week, and even talked to them on that day, but didn't have my days of the week straight enough to put the date with the day.  Fail.  I'm losing my mind.  Happy anniversary anyway, Mom and Dad Barone, if you read this!!


I have lots of things to post this coming week--I went overboard in the sewing/crocheting/knitting categories while on vacation!

Vacation Discoveries

So, I've decided that my dream job involves being on vacation full-time, forever.  Sounds fair, right? 

Ha.  Seriously though, this week has been so nice.  And it's not over yet, but I will be so sad when it is. 

We've gotten to spend time with family we don't get to see as much as we'd like.  And sleep in (till 8:00, that is).  And do fun things like visit the zoo and Cedar Point.  And attend bridal showers and help out with preparations for my brother's and soon-to-be-sister-in-law's upcoming wedding.  And spend countless hours doing things like watching Star Wars (Rob) or the Food Network (me), or playing with an almost-crawling baby on the floor, or hitting little plastic wiffle golf balls around in the yard, or taking long bike rides, or making impromptu trips to get ice cream or coffee more times than we'd care to admit.

Also, I personally have gotten to stay up WAY too late surfing the web every night and not feel guilty about it, because I'm on vacation after all, and surfing the web usually brings me some sort of epic inspiration/motivation/creative ideas....usually.  Sometimes it just means I have wasted an hour on Facebook. 

But I'm going to focus instead on some of the wonderful things I've discovered this week--and since I've hardly done any cooking the past few days, and am generally doing non-domestic things instead, I decided to share with all of you some of the things I found and want/want to do NOW love.  

1) Cloth Diapering 101.  Okay, so this one is kind of domestic.  I just thought it was cool how my last post was about cloth diapering, and then this popped up on one of the blogs I usually read.



2)  Knitted Minion. 
 
How cute is this?  I must make one IMMEDIATELY.  Regardless of how useless/impractical it is.  If you haven't seen 'Despicable Me,' go rent it.  SO CUTE.



3) Fila Skeletoez

 I know the whole barefoot-running thing might just be a fad (though I do understand the health benefits), but I have to confess that I have wanted to try out the Vibram Five Finger shoes for awhile.  They're really expensive though, so I was glad to hear that Fila has made a cheaper version.  I tried on a pair today...they're SO comfortable!  Definitely hope to get a good deal on these sometime.



4)  This area rug. 

 

Liam will, literally, be crawling in a matter of days.  *sniff*  It is so adorable to watch him try to figure it out, and though he's been scooting himself around the floor for a couple of weeks, in just the past 2 days he's really been trying to propel himself using his legs, and has also pushed himself up on his hands and toes.  This also means that our beloved wool kilim rug, which last summer seemed like the perfect choice for our living room, is no longer practical as it is not soft at all and will produce rug burns like crazy.  I guess we weren't thinking very far ahead with that one.  We're going to be getting something like this one that is simple, soft, inexpensive, and newly-mobile-baby-friendly to use for awhile.

5) Supreme 90 Day.  I will admit, the pictures on the website are so cheesy that I couldn't even bring myself to put one here.  Anyway, I have been interested in doing the P90x and/or Insanity DVD workouts for awhile now, but they are SO EXPENSIVE.  Even used, they're still pricey, and I have now lost a handful of eBay auctions trying to get my hands on a set.  Then I heard about Supreme 90 Day, and have read countless reviews which say it is a great alternative.  The best part?  It costs $19.99.  No joke!  I ordered mine from Bed, Bath, and Beyond today (with free shipping!) and am excited to start.  I'll share my (hopeful) recommendation and results after I give it a try!

I think I'll stop there for now.  I have added approximately 2 dozen new bookmarks to my browser in the past week!  Perhaps I have too much time on my hands....?  Oh, and if any of you have feedback about P90x/Insanity/Supreme 90 Day, let me know!!

Our Cloth Diaper Experience: The Stash

It's been awhile since my last post--but I'm back!  Last week was busy but we're on vacation right now so all is well. 

I've been meaning to write a little about our experience with cloth diapering for awhile now.  I know this may not be interesting at ALL to some people, but hopefully somebody out there will appreciate this!  In all reality, these diapers have probably been our biggest money-saver to date in our married life so far.  I'll write in a separate post sometime about the cost breakdown and how much using cloth actually saves (I had to make a detailed spreadsheet to convince my husband that it was worth it--but it worked!).   Since we are using disposable diapers at my parents' house, I had a chance to snap a photo of Liam's entire stash before we left, all clean at the same time.  (For the record, they're never all clean at the same time!)

We have several different kinds of diapers, and all the ones you see pictured are either one-size (meaning they will fit from birth to potty-training), or sized to fit from about 16 pounds to potty-training.  Peeking out from under Liam's crib is a plastic bin of cloth diapers he's already outgrown.  We used extra-small and small prefolds and covers until he was about 3-4 months old.  Here's what the rest are:

1) Thirsties duo wrap diaper covers (6 total), used over prefolds (#3)

2) Snappi diaper fasteners (3 total)-used to fasten #3, instead of diaper pins

3) Bumkins and OsoCozy prefolds (18 total)-the absorbent part of the diaper.  We have two kinds because I got the Bumkins with a groupon-type deal for half off.

4) and 5)  Econobum prefolds (15 total) and covers (5 total).  I have to say, these are my favorites.  They are so easy to use because the prefold just lays inside the cover (no Snappi needed), and they are SO inexpensive!  They come in different package deals, and I'm thinking about getting another set of a dozen prefolds with 3 covers because right now I have enough to last for just over a day (I wash diapers every other day).  Plus they're easy for my husband to use.

6)  Planet wise (2 total) and bumGenius (1 total) wetbags-these are waterproof and I use them to hold dirty diapers when we're away from home.  They contain the smell really well, and can be washed with everything else.

7) BumGenius 4.0 one-size pocket diapers (7 total).  These are the easiest to use because they go on just like a disposable diaper, but are also the most expensive.  And unfortunately for us, they leak the most.  I'm not sure why, but they just don't work for Liam as much as the others.  They're very handy to have for quick changes though.

8)  Flip diaper covers (2 total) and stay-dry inserts (4 total)--these are made by the same company as Econobum and bumGenius.  I bought them really just to try them out, and I do like them a lot.  Liam usually wears one of these to bed with two inserts stuffed inside--I've found they don't wick moisture like the Thirsties covers sometimes do.

So, there you have it.  (Is anyone still reading at this point?!?)  Cloth diapers have come a long way from rubber pants and diaper pins!  I'll try to make my next post have a little more universal appeal.  :)

P.S.  My two favorite places to buy cloth diapers: Mom's Milk Boutique and Happy Baby Company (Pittsburgh's own cloth diaper shop--about 15 minutes from our house!)

Dinner/Supper Menu: Week of 6/6

I feel like I just posted last week's menu....?  Well actually, I didn't get it posted until Wednesday but still--the weeks just seem to fly by.   I'm keeping grocery shopping to a BARE minimum this week because we're leaving for our vacation next Saturday (woohoo! we're going to Findlay again...maybe not the most tropical location to some folks but we're looking forward to alot of R & R!) so I don't want a lot of food laying around.  Every meal listed can be made from stuff we already have, so I only need to buy a few fresh fruit and veggies and possibly a little baby food.

Here goes:

Monday:  Grilled cheese and tomato soup (can you handle the exotic cuisine?!?)

Tuesday:  Grilled chicken sausage, veggie, and potato packets, also known as 'hobo packets'

Wednesday:  frozen pierogies, salad, and fruit

Thursday:  Roasted whole chicken, mashed potatoes (can you tell I have potatoes to use up?), broccoli

Friday:  BBQ Chicken Pizza (using leftover chicken from Thursday, and using my bread machine pizza dough recipe)

Saturday:  Leftovers for lunch, packing snacks/getting road trip food for dinner on the way to Findlay (probably from Sheetz, it's our favorite road trip fare!)

Sunday:  We'll be in Findlay--where the standard Sunday night meal is pizza (yes, again, we are pizza lovers after all) at Jac & Do's!

Dinner (Supper) Menu: week of 5/30

I am continually reminded (most recently, when we were in Ohio visiting my family for a long Memorial Day weekend-good times!) that I was raised in the land of 'breakfast, dinner, and supper.'  As in, breakfast is breakfast (I don't think that's ever anything else, anywhere) dinner is eaten around noon, and supper is eaten in the evening.  I don't know what happened, but somewhere along the way I conformed to the ways of the 'city people,' who eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Anyway, as a way to keep myself accountable to sticking to regular meal-planning, I'm going to post our dinner/supper menu for each week, because whenever I don't I end up going over budget at the store.  Breakfast around here is usually oatmeal, fruit and yogurt, cereal, toast, or muffins/waffles if I've had some extra time.  On the rare occasion when Rob and I are both at home for breakfast, I'll make eggs or omelets.  Regardless, I'm not including breakfast in the meal plans, nor lunch--which is usually leftovers or a sandwich for Rob, and leftovers, eggs, a sandwich, or a smoothie for me. 

So, here we go.  Whee.

Monday:  Last day of our long weekend at my parents'

Tuesday:  Cookout with our small group

Wednesday:  Lemon Pepper Chicken and Green Beans, cut-up oranges, salad (from our garden), and Strawberry Summer Cake (this is in the oven right now, and smells SO GOOD!)

Thursday:  Burritos (killing 2 birds with one stone--making some for the freezer), rice, frozen vegetables, fruit

Friday:  Homemade pizza

Saturday: Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Salad, veggies and flatbread with homemade hummus (this will probably be lunch since I'm working around dinnertime)

Sunday:  Meatballs from freezer and whole wheat penne with red sauce

Anybody else having something yummy this week?

Things We Don't Spend Money On

Note: One purpose I have in keeping this blog is to share ideas with others who may be looking to save money.  This list is in no way to tell you how I think you should (or shouldn't) spend your money!  Just wanted to give some ideas that work for us.

Things we don’t spend money on:

1)  Cable/Satellite.  We have a regular old antenna/digital converter box combo that works just fine for us--we get the major network stations and we figure it will keep us from watching too much TV.  Recently, we also joined Netflix and are able to stream movies and TV shows through our Nintendo Wii.  It is every bit as good as having cable with the selection they have, plus it’s available anytime!  And for $10 per month (compared to at least $40 or $50 around here for the most basic cable), a great value.

2) Toothpaste/deodorant/shampoo/etc.  These are usually free, or just a few cents.  I play ‘the drugstore game’ to get these free most of the time.  Sometimes it means buying 4 or 5 at a time, but if they’re free, does it matter?  It keeps us from paying full price when we actually need them.

 3) Coffee and tea.  We get these for free because I work at a certain name-brand coffee shop.  I get a free pound of coffee or box of tea every week.  I know this is something that’s specific to us and won’t help everyone else, but it really has saved us a lot of money!  I also have a single cup Keurig brewer, so I do occasionally buy a package of K-Cups.  They’re really expensive, though, so I plan on getting a reusable K-Cup filter to put my free coffee in.

 4) Credit card interest.  This past year, we were able to eliminate all credit cards and all credit card debt between the two of us.  It is so liberating, and I highly recommend doing everything you can to maintain a cash-only lifestyle.  Student loans and a car payment are enough for us to deal with, and credit cards just open up another can of worms.  I don’t like ‘em!

5)  Disposable diapers.  I know cloth diapers aren’t for everyone, but if you’re a parent of young children and REALLY want to save money, give it a serious thought.  More on our cloth diapering experience later, but in short, we spent about $350 on everything we needed to keep Liam in cloth diapers until he potty-trains.  If an average disposable diaper is around $0.20 (this is usually on sale and/or with coupons) and he uses an average of 8 diapers a day (that’s being generous), that totals about $1,500 for two and a half years of diapering.  For ONE child.  We spent $350, and can use them for more than one child!  Enough said.

6) Summertime fresh vegetables.  We have our own garden, and are able to raise enough veggies to eat, plus enough to can/freeze for later in the year.  Nothing like getting organic produce for free!

7)  A home phone line.  For us, this would be totally and completely useless.  We both relied exclusively on our cell phones before we were married, so it only seemed natural to keep it that way.  Plus it’s another monthly bill we don’t have to deal with.

 8) Takeout pizza.  We love pizza around here, enough to have it once a week for dinner.  Except, we don’t buy it.  I make it at home, using my bread machine to make the dough and making the sauce from scratch (ahead of time, and stored in the freezer).  The prep time is a fraction of what we’d wait to have it delivered, and it’s so good, and healthier too.  And when it costs around $4 for two 8-cut pizzas (which provide lunch for the next day too, plus usually a snack!), I certainly don’t miss paying 4 or 5 times that much.  We also occasionally have a frozen pizza.

9)  Newspaper subscriptions.  We read the news online, and I usually buy a Sunday paper to get the coupons (which pays for itself, most of the time.)

10) (Most) Prepared/Convenience Foods.  Any way you look at it, convenience items cost more and make your grocery bill higher.  I make big batches of homemade meatballs and freeze them, then I always have something to pull out for a quick meal and can prepare them in a variety of ways.  I store canned salsa from our garden (though this past year, it didn't last very long!  we like salsa) and freeze homemade marinara sauce.  Lots of times, I use Penzey's French Vinaigrette seasoning mix to make our own salad dressing.  Even cutting back on just one or two prepared items each week will save money.

Hopefully this will give one or two of you an idea for saving a little money!

Tutorial: Embellished T-Shirt

 

















Yay, my first tutorial!  I've been seeing a lot of embellished t-shirts in stores lately, and am aghast at how much they sometimes cost, since they can be made so easily!  So, I decided to make one to show you how easy they are.  The one I made doesn't require much sewing skill at all, in fact, you could totally make one without even owning a sewing machine.  It really is that simple. 

I was inspired by the nautical theme that seems to be the trend this spring, plus these embellished shirts from Anthropologie:

($48?? Really?)

And from Target ($15, but still...):

Anyway, here's how I made mine for under 5 bucks.   I found this shirt at Wal-Mart for $4 (regular price)!  They had lots and lots of colors, and I plan on going back soon to get a couple more.

I'm a sucker for seersucker (ha!).  It's just so summery and versatile and preppy.  I got a couple yards a few weeks ago for around $5 on sale.  I plan on using the rest to make a skirt for myself, or an outfit for Liam (or both!).  

(I didn't bother ironing the fabric--the end result is supposed to be a little 'raw' and messy.  As you can tell, I usually don't iron my tablecloths either.)  Next, I cut 4 long strips of the fabric, about 1 1/2 inches wide and running the width of the fabric (44 inches).

There are lots of ways you can make fabric flowers, but for mine I used a similar method to making a flower out of frosting...start in the middle and coil around, twisting the fabric as you go.  I made a couple stitches every 1/4 way around or so.

It doesn't have to be perfect--the goal is 'shabby chic.'  I tucked the end of the strip behind the flower and stitched it into place.  I ended up making 7 flowers, making some much smaller (by coiling around less).

I also cut some leaves (4 fabric thickness) and pinned everything the way I wanted it to look.

Then stitched it all into place! For added texture, I stitched 'veins' on the leaves.  Note: you totally don't have to do this on a sewing machine...it just takes longer by hand. 

All done!

I really like how it turned out!  (Not the greatest picture, it's hard to take a picture while wearing the shirt.)  And for just over $4 and about an hour and a half of my time, not too bad of a deal!

Brainless Meals: Chicken Stroganoff (and weight loss update)

So, I have been a little recipe-heavy with my posts lately...I have some crafty things to share soon but I discovered a couple great recipes in the past couple days that have immediately won a spot in our menu rotation.  One is this great, EASY (seriously, less than 5 minutes to prepare) dish which is a nice change of pace from your traditional beef stroganoff (and a little healthier too).  And scoff if you will about the canned cream soup and onion soup mix--I don't even care.  My husband said it was one of the best things I've ever made.  (by the way, I used reduced-fat cream of mushroom, and light sour cream.)  Serve it with the standard egg noodles, or if you're a fellow dieter you can substitute brown rice or steamed veggies.  I LOVED this over steamed broccoli.  Enjoy!

Chicken Stroganoff (from Faithful Provisions) 

1 pound frozen chicken breasts (I didn't thaw them and it still turned out great)
1 container (8 oz) sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion soup mix
16 oz container of sour cream

Place frozen chicken breasts in bottom of a crock pot (I greased mine).  Place mushrooms on top of chicken, mix remaining ingredients and pour over mushrooms and chicken.  Cook on low for 5-7 hours, stirring hourly.  Shred chicken or cut into chunks right in the pot before serving. 

Mmm...I want some right now.  So yummy! 

In other news, I wrote about Spark People a few days ago, and though I still agree that it is a great program, I have actually gone back to Weight Watchers after realizing that the issue was my computer (rather, Firefox) and not the WW website.  I do like Spark People, but for whatever reason I seem to be more motivated with Weight Watchers...I still think it's the $20 per month.  Plus, I've found it's a bit easier to use if you cook at home most of the time and need to figure out the nutritional information of a particular recipe.  I'm slowly getting back on track after the disastrous spell I had during and around Easter (I gained about 3 pounds in a little over 2 weeks...yikes!) and now I'm more motivated than ever.  Plus, there have been some fabulous weather days lately (until last night, at least) so I've been able to get outside more.  Yay!

Happy Mother's Day! And some recipes.

What a blessing to have my first Mothers' Day (as a mother) today.  Liam was such a good boy all day even though he has thrush in his mouth (calling the doc tomorrow) and Mommy put his shoes on too tight for church (poor thing, his feet were so red! oops).  He is such a joy and blessing and we are so thankful for him!  Rob was so sweet too--after a crazy weekend which started off with taking him to the ER Friday night, he wasn't feeling the best but still got me a sweet card and the new Adele CD, made lunch after church, and offered to grill tonight when we had Rob's family over. 

I wanted to keep tonight's grilled menu simple but a little more lady-friendly (read: something other than just brats and burgers) so I made one of my favorite meals: grilled chicken, steak, and veggie kebabs with seasoned rice.  We also did make some burgers for non-kebab lovers, had a couple different salads, and angel food cake with strawberries too.  Since I worked the closing shift both Friday and Saturday, I also wanted most of the prep work to be done yesterday before work so I could relax this afternoon.  The following recipes are standbys for me--the marinade is a recipe my mom got from Bill Knapp's (a restaurant that used to be in my hometown years ago) and can be used on any kind of meat.  The seasoned rice recipe is actually a homemade mix--very handy to keep around for a quick side dish, and much better than buying boxes of Rice a Roni.  Enjoy!


Honey Chicken Marinade
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons crushed garlic or garlic powder
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vinegar
2/3 cup oil

Mix well and pour over steak, chicken, pork, kebabs, or fish.  Marinade several hours before grilling.
*Note: this time I used 1/2 cup ginger ale instead of apple juice and ginger because of an apple allergy.  It was still good!  I also use low sodium soy sauce, and not quite as much oil.



Seasoned Rice Mix (from Taste of Home)
3 cups uncooked long grain white rice (I use instant, and sometimes brown rice)
6 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Combine in an airtight container with a lid.

Additional ingredients for each batch: 
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil (I use maybe half a tablespoon)
1 cup rice mix (above)

Combine water and butter or oil in a saucepan, bring to a boil.  Stir in rice mix.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  (if I use instant or brown rice, I just refer to the instructions on the box).

Envelope System, Revised

I'm guessing that most of you out there who actively maintain a tight budget have heard of Dave Ramsey.  If you haven't, you should check him out...his money management tips and advice are phenomenal, and he has some strategies that are very easy to follow.  One of those is not a new concept--the cash envelope system.  It's so simple, and isn't rocket science--lots of people have followed this system for years before Dave was ever around.  For a long time, I was not very good at sticking to a budget.  I started this system about a year and a half ago (when we got married), and it makes managing money ridiculously simple as long as you are diligent. 

We recently sold my car and are now a one-vehicle family, which has given our month-to-month budget a lot of breathing room.  We now have a jump-start on building up the savings towards a house, and additionally it frees up my income to save more per month as well.  As a result, I have re-worked our envelope system since our monthly needs have changed with the elimination of one car.  Here's my envelopes-hopefully I can inspire one or two people to take a critical look at how their money is being spent!

-Groceries.  I used to budget $35 per week for groceries, including household items and toiletries.  That may seem really low, but I've really gotten the hang of couponing to get things for free, plus I now know all the most reasonable prices for things, and which stores to get them.  I'm upping this amount to $40 per week because we'd like to buy more fresh produce (as opposed to frozen).  This means the grocery envelope will have $160 at the beginning of the month, and when it's gone, it's gone!

-Eating out/Date night.  This is something we'd like to do more of.  We usually only eat out 1 or 2 times per month unless we go out with extended family.  I'd personally like to make this 1 time per week, because that means less dishes for me :)

-Clothes.  Not sure how this will go yet, because I've never had an envelope for this before.  Hopefully it will eliminate the blow of buying new clothes only twice or 3 times a year, and also impulse clearance-rack purchases.

-Gifts.  Self-explanatory, plus I will be adding more to this starting in July for Christmas purchases.

-Fun!  Movies, music, going out for coffee or ice cream, etc.  I also tend to make lots of trips to JoAnn fabrics...so I'm putting those expenses in this category too, since it's a hobby.

-Stock-ups/Deals.  This is a much-needed envelope for me.  So many times I see a great deal or see something we could really use on super-clearance, but I don't have room in the budget for it.  This will allow for these purchases...plus garage sale season is coming up!

-Doctor visits/medicine.  To cover our co-pay at unexpected visits/checkups plus any needed medicine.  Just last week Rob had a nasty sinus infection  that wound up costing $60 between the visit and the prescriptions.

-New camera.  Eventually, I'd like to buy a snazzy new camera.  I'm just starting to get into photography (lots, LOTS to learn!) and am borrowing a camera from my mom to get my feet wet.  Any extra money, including rebates and gift money, goes in here (separate from savings).

So that's a lengthy list, but there it is.  I'll keep you posted as far as how it's going--wish me luck!

Weight Loss on a Budget

So, I've been actively trying (with some success) to lose baby weight over the past several weeks.  I've lost a little, but still have a long way to go.  (By the way, anyone who ever told me I'd lose 20 pounds right away in the hospital, and then the rest would just 'fall off' when breastfeeding...you lied.  Just saying :) )  I decided that the best way to motivate myself would be to pay to lose weight...as in, the longer it takes, the longer I keep paying.  So I joined Weight Watchers Online.  I will say, it is a fabulous program, very easy to follow, and pretty affordable at about $20 per month.  Plus I've lost about 10 pounds so far. 

HOWEVER.  I am very frustrated with the technical side of the website.  For some reason, every few days, without reason and without me changing my cookies or whatever, I can't log in.  I type in my username and password, and every time it takes me right back to the home page.  And I'm paying for this (non-) accessibility.  Very frustrating.  So I canceled my subscription.

Enter Spark People.  A completely FREE way to track calories and weight loss online!  I learned about this from one of my best friends a couple of years ago, but was honestly never really diligent enough to enter in every single thing that I ate.  Now that I'm used to doing that with Weight Watchers, I think this will be a smooth transition.  It really is simple to use, and from what I can tell (it's still day 1) it has similar features. 

So if you're looking to lose weight but really don't have it in your budget to pay for a diet plan, check it out!  I'm also planning on featuring several weight-loss-on-a-budget ideas and tips.  And if you think this topic is about as exciting as staring at a wall, forgive me.  Hopefully it helps someone out there!  :)

Homemade Easter Treats

It's been a few days since my last post, but oh my, it's amazing how busy the past week has been!  The week before Easter is always a busy time for us, but it's also always very special and meaningful...lots of wonderful church services and family time. 

It was so fun to put together Liam's first Easter basket.  I found many reasons not to do it this year (he won't know if I don't, he doesn't really need anything, I shouldn't spend any money, blah blah blah) but I couldn't resist.  It really was fun, and I was able to do it very inexpensively.  I found a couple of great online tutorials, which I used to make a couple cute little toys which cost (together) less than $5 to make.  Then Rob picked out Liam's first Hot Wheels car (a Dolorean, of course!), I added a cute pair of baby sunglasses, a sippy cup to try out in a couple months, an illustrated Bible, and a little duckie to a basket I got half-price at JoAnn Fabrics.  Here's the links to the homemade toys:
Crinkle-bots

Amish Puzzle Ball

And of course, here's our handsome man with his basket and goodies, and also with mommy and daddy:

Hope you all had a blessed Easter! 

This weekend....

If this weekend goes as planned, I'll have part of our garden planted by Sunday night.  Gardening is something I've really grown to love in the past couple of years (even last summer when I was huge and pregnant and couldn't bend over to pick out weeds!) and this year I've decided to expand and grow some things I haven't tried before.  We have to be a little creative, though, as we rent our home and the only place we can use as a garden is an old flower bed we ripped out when we moved in...and we can't dig up any more of the yard.  So, I'm resorting to lots and lots of pots and planters, as well as some other possible ideas....pictures to come!  Here's what I'm planning on so far:

-Tomatoes (a couple of varieties)
-Zucchini
-Peppers
-Carrots
-Green onions
-Spinach
-Lettuce
-Wax and green beans
-peas
-herbs: mint, basil, rosemary, parsley

...and I'm still not ruling out others!  My goal for this weekend was to get some of the early stuff (lettuce, spinach, carrots, etc) planted in pots.  We'll see if that happens...the weather is not so great today.  But I'm hopeful!  And very excited to have a break from frozen vegetables.  I also received canning supplies for Christmas this year, so I'm excited to dive head-over-heels into that. 

I've been wanting to share a great post I found this week on one of my favorite blogs--we've been trying to reduce/eliminate lots of disposable products in our home (more on what we use/don't use to come), and though I already use a couple from this list, it still gives some great ideas on things you wouldn't expect:

SQC: 7 Unexpected Ways to Replace Disposable Products

Brainless Meals: Chile-Chicken Enchiladas

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photo from Betty Crocker

There are nights when I willingly put forth a lot of effort for a meal, following a recipe with lots of steps and creating a mountain of dirty dishes along the way.  But there are just some days when that's not going to happen, and thus I introduce a new theme: Brainless Meals.

I've tried a lot of recipes for enchiladas...many involving lots of steps, making homemade sauce, etc.  They're all really good, but this one is quickly becoming my favorite not only because it's easy, but because it really IS good.  And it's so much easier to make because it involves opening cans of things and dumping them together...not much work required.  At 6 ingredients and a little over 5 bucks to make, it's a winner.

Chile-Chicken Enchiladas (adapted from bettycrocker.com)

1 can or bottle enchilada sauce ($0.89)

2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken (I use a big can from Sam's Club--$2)

1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese, Monterey Jack or cheddar ($0.89)

1 cup sour cream ($0.59)

1 can chopped green chiles ($0.50)

8 flour tortillas ($0.99 for 10)

total cost: $5.86*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish.  In a medium bowl, combine chicken, about 2/3 of the cheese, sour cream, and chilies.  Spoon about 1/3 cup of the mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll up the tortilla and place seam-side down in baking dish.  Top with remaining enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes longer.  Serve with chopped avocado, green onion, lettuce, and/or tomato if desired. 

*Note on total cost: Actual price I paid for the ingredients.  Most were purchased at Aldi.

DIY Swiffer WetJet Refill

Without a doubt, my Swiffer WetJet is my favorite cleaning tool.  Our entire house has hardwood floor (laminate floor in the kitchen and bathroom), so mopping at least once a week is a must.  I'm not complaining though, because I love hardwood floors and you can get them way cleaner than carpet.  Mopping can be a drag, though; if it weren't for the WetJet.  No buckets to fill, no wringing out the mop, just spray and mop, and toss the pad when you're done.  Or use your own reusable pads (more on that another time). 

The mopping solution can be expensive though--two bottles is over $8 at Wal-Mart, which is highway robbery to me.  And of course they make the bottles so you can't screw off the top and refill them....or so they think.  Mwahaha.

This video shows you how to refill the bottle.  It's ingenious. 

Homemade Marinara Sauce

One way to easily cut grocery costs is to make more things homemade.  I realize many people are much busier than I am, but I promise that any recipe I share on this blog is: a) easy, b) cost-effective, and c) worth whatever time it takes.  This is now one of my favorite things to make homemade which I used to buy in the grocery store.  It's cheap (less than 5 bucks to make), tastes better than the jarred kind, and is very versatile.  Also, it makes a lot (around 10 cups, give or take)...which makes it even more cost-effective.  I set aside some to use right away and freeze the rest in 1 or 2 cup portions.

Homemade Marinara Sauce  (adapted from an old Cooking Light magazine)

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 Tablespoons minced garlic (I usually use 5-6 cloves, or 1 1/2 Tablespoons garlic powder)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups chicken broth or equivalent amount of hot water/bouillon
3 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add sugar and herbs, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in vinegar and cook 30 seconds.  Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a simmer.  Cook over low heat for 55 minutes (you should only see a couple bubbles rising to the top every couple seconds) or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.  If freezing, let cool completely before ladling into plastic bags or freezer containers.


And that's it!  About 10 minutes of hands-on time, and from what I've seen a 28-oz jar of pasta sauce is at least $1.50, usually more.  The most expensive ingredient here is the tomatoes (a dollar a can where I shop) and so for a little over 3 bucks you can make over 2 times as much sauce as you'd buy in a jar.  I use this for everything-pasta sauce, pizza sauce (can be thickened with a little tomato paste), meat sauce (just add browned meat), dipping sauce for breadsticks, etc.  You can adjust the seasonings to fit your taste, of course, and you could add more veggies or meat.  The original recipe also included fennel seed, which is not really my thing. 

Enjoy!

Welcome!

Since May of 2009, I have had many huge life-changing events take place: I got engaged (May '09), moved into my own apartment (July '09), got married (Nov. '09), found out I was pregnant with our first child (Jan. '10), moved AGAIN (June '10), and gave birth to our precious Liam (Sept. '10).  All the while, I went through many confusing job interview/let-down scenarios, and finally realized that God was calling me to give up the fervent search for a full-time job and stay home with little man instead, working 15 hours part-time on the side.  Whew!  It's been a whirlwind, and it hasn't even been 2 years yet since this all began.  Yet, I wouldn't give up any of it for a second...everything happened exactly as it should have.

Along the way, I have learned many lessons from the simultaneous increase in expenses/gradual cut in our family's income--and these lessons have changed our whole outlook for the better.  As I have learned a great deal about maintaining a frugal home from reading other blogs, researching endlessly, and thinking outside the box; it is my hope that I can bless someone else with some great money-savers, tips, and creative outlets for the home.  I firmly believe that, with an open mind, ANYONE can drastically lower their expenses and still enjoy great food, small luxuries, and a fabulous home. 

I also want this to be a sounding board for others out there who may be in a similar situation and have other great ideas to share--so if you have a great tip or idea, please let me know!!