Mending

Today I sat down and did some mending.

I sewed a button on some pants and fixed the handle that was coming loose on a tote bag.

I had this shirt I purchased at a thrift store last summer. I really liked the shirt but after wearing it a couple of times, I noticed the neckline was a little lower than I cared for.

Since I'm super high-tech and cool and all--hahahaha--my first thought was to discreetly safety pin the placket together right above the top button so that it wasn't quite so low.

But instead, I remembered there was an extra button on the inside tag so I simply added another buttonhole to the shirt and sewed the button on.

Of course, it took me only a couple of months to get around to this project which took me less than 10 minutes to complete!

I've only known how to make buttonholes for a couple of years now and it is a handy little skill! Although, I don't know if it could be called a skill, since my sewing machine does all the work. But it's a good thing to know how to do.

Sometimes it's tempting to forgo the fixing and mending and just get rid of the item and buy another one. But I feel that a big part of frugality is taking good care of what you do have. If it's worth fixing and repairing, then repair it and keep using it! Doing this helps to slow the buying cycle and saves money in the long run.

Frugal Five

Five frugal activities from the past week:

1. Went to the dollar theater to see a movie with friends. Tickets are $2 on weekdays and $2.50 on weekends. Much less than the regular theaters where tickets are around $10 each! You do have to wait a while for new  movies to get to the dollar theater but the savings is worth it in most cases! Non-frugal- we bought popcorn and a drink. Frugal- It was "Stimulus Tuesday" when most concessions are discounted. Unfortunately, our Sprite was missing the Sprite; it was only seltzer water. They were out of Sprite when we went back to replace it, so gave us a bottle of water and refunded our money for the drink. So in the end, we only spent about $6.50 for movie tickets, a bottle of water and a large bag of popcorn.
2. Sam's Club has bags of small cucumbers that I really like. They're tiny and skinny and taste much better than the fat cucumbers normally found at the supermarket. The downside is that they go bad really quickly and I would end up throwing at least a quarter of the bag away! This month I was determined to not let that happen! I cut a bunch of them into a cucumber salad then a few days later added the rest to the salad bowl as well. Yeah for no waste!
3. We've been needing a shower caddy to store shampoo bottles and such. We used to have one but it must've gotten yard saled or donated when we didn't need it at our last house. I really need to have a talk with the person who keeps decluttering around here! LOL! Anyways, we needed a shower caddy. I looked at Wal-mart last weekend and the least expensive option they had was $10. Umm...no! Especially considering that our last one came from a  yard sale for 50 cents! This week, I popped in to Dollar Tree for a few other things and noticed they had shower organizers for $1. It's a little smaller and perhaps not quite as sturdy but it does what we need it to do!
4. Did an online survey(about 15 min.). These only pay $3 each but it all adds up. We add this money to our Christmas envelopes!
5. Did some mending-- sewed a button on a pair of pants, fixed the handle on a tote bag and put a buttonhole and button in a shirt. More on that in a later post.

If you're interested in more frugal reading, The Cultivated Nest has a wonderful post with 21 Frugal Tips To Try This Year. Lots of good ideas to consider if you're looking for more ways to save money and live frugally!

What are your latest frugal accomplishments?

Pinned It, Made It: Fabric Scrap Letter

 I pinned this fabric collage letter  from this site a long time ago. While it would make a great kid's art project, I was immediately inspired to do something similar with a chipboard letter 'C' I had on hand.

I've had this 'C' for a LONG time--maybe 4 years? It's one of those inexpensive letters from Hobby Lobby.

Anyways, I was in the mood for some crafting the other night, so I pulled out the letter, my overflowing scrap bags--seriously, they're so full I can't get them shut!- Mod Podge, and scissors and got to work.

This was a quick and relaxing project! I trimmed all the edges the next morning after it was dry. Added some buttons, stapled on a  ribbon hanger and it was ready to hang on the door.

I love the red and aqua color combo right now so that's what I used for this project! I hardly made a dent in my scrap collection so stay tuned for more Scrap Busting projects coming up!

**Thanks to Tammy for hosting Pinned It, Made It Mondays!
 

Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today, I was meeting my husband for the first time!

We first met online via this site and then met in person at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. You can read a bit more about that meeting here.

So tonight, we celebrated 10 years by dining at Cracker Barrel!

Thinking Ahead To Christmas 2013

Every year, I have these grand plans of getting my Christmas gifts and projects done way ahead of time. And every year, I'm scrambling at the last minute.

We live away from all of our family so either we ship gifts or travel; usually both, since there's no way we can get to everyone over the holidays. Since it's highly unlikely we'll get everyone together in one place.

This past Christmas was the first time we didn't ship or find creative means of "shipping" gifts to everyone! My family was here from the West Coast and then the day after Christmas we traveled to Andy's parents to be with his family which isn't as far away as the West Coast, thankfully!

Anyway, it can be a hectic time getting everything and us ready to go!

So I'm thinking of a bit different strategy for this year--possibly working on a couple gifts each month?

I could at least try it.

Our Christmas list is fairly short. We don't give gifts to everyone we know. We have 16 family members (parents, grandparents, siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews) that we give gifts to. We keep things fairly simple here, usually in the $5-$10 range per person. I like to make a lot of my gifts if I have time. Some gifts will cost $0 because of having the supplies already and then for some one else, we may purchase something that costs $15. It all shakes out in the end!

This year I enjoyed giving small bags of goodies to our neighbors and mail carrier. I also usually give something small like that to my childcare families. I don't usually give Christmas gifts to the children I babysit. I do however help them make a little something for their parents! These gifts are very inexpensive.

At Christmas this year, I started taking notes of some things that would be good gifts for family members, including some favorite candy or snacks. I knew I would forget by next Christmas if I didn't write it down so I immediately started a list on my phone which I can transfer to my notebook later.

This week, I've been working on some fabric gift bags for us to use each year. I've wanted to make them for several years and then would wait until the last minute when I didn't have time! So that's my first project for the year.

Time to get moving!

Have you started to plan for next Christmas yet?

**I already had this post written when I read Monica's post for today! Apparently, I'm not the only one who is already thinking about Christmas!

Keeping Track Of Napkins

When my parents and brother were here visiting in December, I used a tip I learned from Thrift At Home to keep napkins separate.

I wrote each family member's name on a clothespin and clipped the clothespin to the napkin.

Super easy and I have plenty of clothespins!

We use our cloth napkins for a few meals unless they're in need of washing so this was a great way to keep track of everyone's napkins!
 

Frugal Five

Five recent frugal things:

1) Stayed in budget with my grocery spending for the first half of January. Hope to keep going with this-- I'm getting back into the habit of knowing my prices so I can figure up roughly how much everything is going to cost before going to the store!

2) Chose to stay home and watch a movie we had (a Christmas gift!)  vs. going out.

3) Made a freezer cooking plan based on what we already had in stock. Pinto beans, pork roast, carrot cake, pancakes from a gluten free mix, etc...

4) Accepted garden seeds saved by family members: pumpkins, zinnias, marigolds and another pretty yellow flower that we don't know the name for. Excited about this!

5) Cooked a roast and saved the cooking broth and bone for a yummy soup base later. 

How have you saved money recently?

Pinned It, Made It: Hanging Christmas Cards

It's once again time for Pinned It, Made It Monday and I'm sharing the super simple way we hung our Christmas cards this year!

The idea came from this pin and this blog: Tie ribbon around the cabinet door like this:

Then hang your Christmas cards and photos on the ribbon like this:

I used clothespins to clip the cards and it worked great!

Pretty sure we'll do this again next year!

**If you have a minute, head over to Country Girl At Home to check out the other Pinned It; Made It posts!

Spring Cleaning 365

Have you heard of Spring Cleaning 365?

When you sign up for their email list, you'll receive a daily email with that day's cleaning task. Most tasks can be completed in 15 minutes or less.

I received my first email on New Year's Day and so far really enjoy it!

Well... enjoy may be a stretch but for someone who really doesn't like to clean and doesn't have long stretches of time to devote to deep cleaning, I think this will be very helpful in staying on top of things! And a nice addition to the basic cleaning I do each week already.

One positive aspect of this project is the fact that I can participate when I can and skip when I can't. I like that it's possible to just jump in where you are without feeling like you're way behind.

Today's task was to clean the refrigerator, which I'd already planned to do this week before grocery shopping. We were out of town all of last week so we had eaten up most of the food in the fridge before we left. So the fridge is pretty empty.

My sister is probably twitching right now--she always comments on how empty my fridge is! And this is even emptier than usual.

No worries--the pantry and freezer are fairly well-stocked so we've been eating very well. But I really do need to grocery shop this weekend!

This was an easy task--take everything out and wipe shelves down with soapy water. I cleaned my produce bin as well; it needed it. Refill fridge.

Total time: about 15 minutes!

For my January habit, I chose to work on my office/sewing room for 5 minutes each day. In 30 days, I hope to see a huge improvement! But already, I can see my sewing table again!

Would you like to accomplish a cleaner more organized home this year while only investing a few minutes each day? Sign up for Spring Cleaning 365!

Cash Envelopes

New Year's Day was not only the start of a new year but a new financial month. We do most of our bill paying on the 1st of each month. To get things started off right, I replaced our tattered cash envelopes with new ones!

I've seen some very nice fabric cash envelopes out there and have even thought about making something, but for now, plain white envelopes work really well for us. During the past year, I started  keeping them in a zippered pouch which keeps them all together very nicely.

I've written about our cash envelopes before, but time has passed and we've changed a few things and do more in envelopes than we did then.

When preparing to purchase a home, we got a credit card. While we don't want to rely on using credit cards and we were very hesitant to go this route, this was a way to build up our credit and make it a bit more current. So we started using the credit card for gasoline purchases and then paying it off each month with money we had set aside in that category. To be honest, I've gotten really used  to the ease of paying at the pump and it would be hard to go back to using cash to pay for gas! But we would if needed.

I don't take all of our envelopes with me when going out; only the ones I plan to use. This has saved us a good bit of money when we realize we don't have the right envelope with us and making the decision to just not purchase rather than borrow from another envelope and reimburse once I get home. Sometimes, we will just borrow from another category but not always. That takes a lot of brain work, people, and a lot of times it's just simpler to say, "I don't have enough cash for that today" rather than try to remember all the borrowing and reimbursing!

There's been the occasion where I forgot the cash envelopes all together only to arrive at the grocery store with no money! It's not fun to have to go back but it is what it is.

Our current cash envelope categories are:

Groceries (food, paper and cleaning products, personal care)
Christmas
Play Money (our small monthly allowances that we can use however we please)
The Gingham Cottage expenses (supplies for my Etsy shop and keeping receipts for taxes.)
Vitamins/Supplements/ Non-prescription Meds
Eating Out/Entertainment (I include gift cards and Groupons in this envelope.)
Clothing and Shoes ( I use this when shopping at yard sales too.)
Hair (Hope to learn to cut Andy's hair myself soon; I get maybe 2 haircuts per year.)
Home (Small repairs, furnishings, decorations)
Office (Office supplies, stamps, printer ink--this is mostly used for buying ink!)
Childcare (Stuff for the kids as well as keeping receipts for tax purposes.)
Thrifting**
Dog Food and Treats

**Indicates categories we don't fill regularly but only when there is a little extra money.

There are also some categories where we don't always need money every month. Dog food is one of these. A 50 pound bag of food from Sam's Club lasts us about 2 months so we can skip some months on that!

And of course, as life happens, we make decisions on a monthly basis if we really need to add money to certain categories. Sometimes unexpected expenses come up and we choose to cut back in certain areas to allow for them.

We haven't really sat down and talked about specific financial goals for 2013 yet. A personal goal that I hope to implement is staying within my grocery budget. I've gone over a lot in the past few months and feel I can do better with some careful planning each month. I am also trying to be even more careful with my purchases not only to save money but to reduce the clutter and the amount of stuff that goes in and out of our home.

We love our cash envelopes and feel that they are a great tool to helping us stay on track financially!

**This post is part of Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom!

Top 12 In 2012

Can you believe that today is the last day of 2012?

I thought it would be fitting to leave with you my top 12 favorite posts from 2012.

1. Settling In--We bought our first home this year!
2. Room To Breathe-- Stay tuned as I revamp our routines in the new year and continue to find my groove in my ever-changing schedule!
3. Resourceful Drawer Pulls-- Still love these!
4. Dear Cookies
5. Valentine Getaway
6. 7 Things We Don't Usually Spend Money On
7. Expensive Free-Range Chicken Challenge--Continuing to work on stretching the grocery budget and using resources wisely in order to afford  better quality food!
8. Inexpensive Photo Album Gifts
9. Gingham Pennant Garland Fun
10. Birthday Party
11. How Not To Be A Good Host
12. Mailbox Facelift

Happy New Year!

See you in 2013!

Chili Dog Casserole

I've been craving chili dogs recently and wondered how I could make a bunless gooey casserole version to switch up our Saturday night hotdog dinner.

A quick google search told me I was not alone in making something like this! One version I saw used croutons for the bread part which certainly sounds delicious!

Basically, I looked at a couple recipes, picked out a hot dog chili recipe to try and then layered the ingredients in a baking dish.

30 minutes later, we had hot bubbly gooey deliciousness!

Down here in the South, we eat our chili dogs with slaw on top. I believe that's referred to as "all the way".  I used to think that sounded and looked gross...until I tried it. It is so good!

I made coleslaw to serve with this casserole. Whether you eat it on top or on the side is up to you!

This recipe fills an 8-9 inch square baking dish and serves 2-4. Double the recipe to fill a 9x13 pan.

This would be a good freezer meal-- assemble recipe and freeze before baking.

Chili Dog Casserole 

Serves 2-4 

4 hot dogs, sliced in rounds
1 recipe prepared hot dog chili or buy a can from the store, whatever floats your boat
Shredded cheddar cheese, probably about 1 cup
Yellow mustard, optional
Chopped onion
Ketchup, optional--I'm a mustard girl when it comes to hot dogs. But hey, if you like your ketchup, by all means, knock yourself out!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hot dogs in a greased 8-9 inch square pan. Cover with chili. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Squeeze mustard and/or ketchup on top, if desired. Sprinkle with chopped onion.

Spoon this gooey yumminess on a  plate and eat with coleslaw!

Freezer Casseroles

This week, I'm going to be stocking my freezer with some casseroles and other easy to heat and serve dishes.

We have family coming to visit us during the month of December and I thought some freezer meals would come in very handy so I'm not spending all of my time in the kitchen while they're here.

I was inspired by Good Cheap Eats to have some casseroles ready to just pop in the oven! Then all I'll have to do is serve a simple side or two such as a salad and/or veggie to have a filling meal. We won't have casseroles every night---we'll change things up with some crockpot meals too.

 Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash prepared and ready to freeze!

Since changing our eating habits, I've realized that we don't eat that many actual "casseroles" anymore.

But I've come up with a decent list that includes some "tried and true" recipes that we like as well as a few new ones!

Tried and True:

• Unstuffed Pepper Bake
• Chicken and Brown Rice Stuffing Bake
• Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash--I hadn't thought of freezing this recipe until I saw this!
• Several Egg Casseroles for breakfasts. 

New to Me:

• Broccoli Chicken Cheese Bake
• Ham and Swiss Pork Chops- from this cookbook.
• Pineapple Chicken--also from this cookbook.

Not Really Casseroles but Easy Make Ahead Meals:

• Meatballs
• Sloppy Joes-in-a bowl: Freeze sloppy joe meat, cooked brown rice and some shredded cheddar cheese in a meal kit. Serve with chopped onions, black olives, pickles, tomatoes, peppers or whatever you desire!

I'll start working on this list tomorrow and see how it goes. Even if I only do half of the things on my list, I will still be a couple of steps ahead making for a smoother December!

What's your favorite freezer recipe? 
 

Bumbo Seat Recall

Bumbo has issued a voluntary recall on some of their seats due to the fact that an infant can fall out.

 

To correct this problem, they are sending repair kits which include a safety belt for the Bumbo and a warning sticker to place on the outside of the seat.

My husband jokes that the sticker is to provide reading material for the baby. :-)

Since I have a new baby starting soon, I went ahead and requested my repair kit. It arrived a couple of days later and I installed the new safety belt last night.

Ready for baby!

Just a FYI to any of you who have Bumbo seats--you may want to check and see if yours was included in the recall!

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie

This Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie was my "fancy new recipe" contribution to our Thanksgiving dinner. When I saw the recipe in the November issue of Southern Living, I knew I wanted to make it!

This recipe called for a long list of yummy and not-so-healthy ingredients. Which is why we served it for Thanksgiving dinner. Because a) Thanksgiving is a holiday so therefore, we can eat whatever we want, right? and b) We had plenty of people to share it with so we didn't eat it all ourselves!

Anyways, this pie was to. die. for.

 What could be better than chocolate chips? Chocolate chips with cream, cream cheese and sugar, of course!

And since the chocolate layer isn't rich enough, why don't we add caramels, butter, cream, sugar and nuts?

Yes, why don't we?

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Pie, ready to serve!

**Click the link above for the recipe!
**I substituted walnuts for the pecans. 

Thanksgiving "Shepherd's" Pie In The Crockpot

Another delicious way to use Thanksgiving leftovers!

I layered a variety of Thanksgiving favorites in the crockpot for our weekly church fellowship potluck today. The result was very good!

Ingredients(varying amounts of each; this is a "use what you have" dish!):

• Stuffing
• Chopped turkey
• Gravy
• Green bean casserole**--other vegetables can also be used.
• Mashed potatoes

My gravy was extra thick on Thursday and it always gels up when cold anyways, so I put it in a saucepan and added a little milk.  Then I whisked it while it heated on low until it was nice and smooth. Still a good gravy consistency but not nearly so thick--it stretched a little further this way!

Cold mashed potatoes are usually pretty clumpy too, so I added some milk to those as well and stirred.

To make your Thanksgiving "Shepherd's" Pie, layer in a  greased crockpot:

1. Stuffing.
2. Chopped turkey.
3. About half of gravy.
4. Green bean casserole** or other veggies. 
5. Mashed potatoes.
6. Gravy. 

That's it! Cook on low for about 4 hours.

The layers and flavors all kind of mix together into something very yummy and comforting!  I wasn't sure how it would end up in the crockpot but was very pleased with the result.

**I had mixed feelings about putting Green Bean Casserole in this. But it tasted great--I think the extra flavors from the sauce really helped the whole dish.

Keep in mind that your crockpot should be at least half full to cook properly. I used a 5 quart and added an extra thick layer of mashed potatoes to fill it up more!

Buy Handmade!

In honor of Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, get 20% off anything in my shop when you use the coupon code CYBERMONDAY12 at checkout!

Coupon code good through  Monday 11/26/12.

Thanks for looking!

Turkey Dinner Soup

I bookmarked this recipe a while back to make with Thanksgiving leftovers! It's from the cookbook Is It Soup Yet?

If using leftovers, this soup comes together in about 15 minutes. I made it for lunch today and we both really liked it!

Turkey Dinner Soup
Serves 4

2 cups turkey or chicken broth
2 cups leftover cooked vegetables: such as cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, corn, green beans
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon celery salt (I left this out since I didn't have any.)
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons cooked whole cranberries (optional)

Pour broth into a medium-sized saucepan. Add vegetables, dill weed, celery salt, and salt. Cook vegetables for 10 minutes on medium-high heat until heated up. Add turkey and potatoes. Pour 1/2 cup milk into soup and heat through. Whisk 2 T. flour and 2 T. milk together. Add to soup, stirring well. Serve immediately. Top with a spoonful of cooked cranberries if desired!

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner

We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner for twelve at our house this year!

Preparations are well underway.

Several side dishes are in the freezer, the turkey has been roasted and sliced and pie crusts have been made.

Mom shared with me how a turkey can be baked ahead of time and reheated on Thanksgiving Day. Wrap the sliced meat in foil. Freeze or refrigerate. Place foil packs in crockpot and heat before serving. I've tried this before and the meat was very tender and fresh!

Doing the turkey in advance is nice because then you don't have the big turkey to take care of at the same time as everything else!

Pie crusts have been made. I planned to buy pie crusts this year but at the last minute decided to just make my own since I had all the ingredients. I'm no expert when it comes to pie crusts( lots of patches to cover tears!) and while my homemade ones won't win any beauty contests, they taste ok!


Thanksgiving Menu

My sister and family are coming for Thanksgiving plus some local friends. My sister and I are doing the bulk of the cooking but the other guests are bringing some things too. I've marked my contributions with an *. I think we'll have plenty of food!


Turkey*
Ham
Gravy*
Mashed Potatoes*
Green Bean Casserole*
Butternut Squash Casserole*--changed this recipe a bit and used squash instead of pumpkin.
Brown Rice Stuffing*
Stuffing*--we love Stovetop!
Artichoke Casserole
Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Applesauce*
Olives*
Pickles
Deviled Eggs
Another side dish or two from guests

Pumpkin Pie*
Caramel Chocolate Pecan Pie*
Another dessert or two from guests

Cranberry Juice mixed with Ginger Ale*
Sweet Tea

What's on your Thanksgiving menu?

Broccoli

This head of broccoli was picked from my fall garden today.

I planted 6 broccoli plants and now all 6 have broccoli heads growing. Most are still very small--this big guy was the first!

We watched him grow for quite a while and finally decided he was big enough to cut.

I'm super excited about my success with broccoli. I've been a rather negligent gardener this season... Broccoli will certainly be on my list to grow again in late winter/early spring. 

I planted broccoli and cabbage plants for my inaugural fall garden and so far, so good. I planted green bean seeds too, but none of them came up.

It would be fun to serve broccoli from our garden at our Thanksgiving dinner!

Snippets Of Life

• I sent in our registration for an event the other day. This morning, the event coordinator sent a nice email thanking us for registering and asking what the extra enclosed $12 cash was for. Well, we have absolutely no idea where it came from or why I had enclosed it! So we figured the best route was to just give that as a donation!
• Toddler Girl mentioned her "Urkle Mark" (Uncle) the other day.
• One of Baby Boy's favorite "chores" is helping to feed Rock. When we mention feeding the dog, he runs to the laundry room door and waits to go in and get the food for him. I measure it out and he proudly carries it to the dog bowl. The food occasionally does get dumped elsewhere but B.B. still mostly thinks picking up things is fun so it works. 
• Overheard in the grocery store parking lot. Mother to son in the most gentle of tones: "No. It was like you were an animal in there!" 
• Andy on men and women: "Men wear dress shirts. Women wear shirt dresses!" 
• Toddler Girl ate a huge lunch one day. I asked her," Did you eat a big lunch?" Smiling proudly, she responded," I ate a big lunch! It was fun!" 
• It had been one of "those mornings".  It had stopped raining but the ground was still too wet to play in the backyard. So I decided we would go for a walk. And I did mean walk! No stroller for little people to ride in, we were going to all get some exercise (read: wear little folks out so they'd take a good nap)! I told Toddler Girl we were going to get some exercise. About halfway through  the walk she said, "This is exercise!"  
• Baby Boy (soon to be known as Toddler Boy) is quite attached to his Pooh bear. The other day, he and Pooh came over to be cuddled. As I picked them up, I said, "I love a boy and his Pooh!" Then I thought about what I'd said... We won't say that anymore. LOL!!!
• Toddler Girl is very into everyone else's business and likes to make sure all of our ducks are in a row, so to speak. Andy said jokingly one day, "T.G., we need to talk about ducks!" To which she replied quickly, "Talk about Baby Boy's ducks!" Case in point. Hahaha 
• And one more about Toddler Girl--she is in such a  cute stage right now:  She loves to sing and make up songs as she goes. We were out for a stroller ride and T.G. was singing and humming very happily. Then she sang, "We take shoes off in the bouncy house!"

What's going on in your life? 

Pumpkin Cooking

Our neighbors gave us 2 big pumpkins a few weeks ago. I used them as outdoor decor for a while and then brought them in to cook before they started to rot.

Pumpkins can be hard to cut when raw, so I followed these instructions on how to cook whole pumpkins in the oven.

Super easy!

I got 12 cups pumpkin puree from the 2 pumpkins. I froze some in 2 cup portions(equivalent to a can of pumpkin) for many baking recipes and some in 3 cup portions which is perfect for pumpkin soup.

Some yummy pumpkin recipes we like:

Pumpkin bread
Pumpkin spice oatmeal (although since going mostly grain-free, I gag at the thought of eating a bowl of oatmeal!)
Pumpkin soup (I add chicken)
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin pancakes
Cooked pumpkin with butter and salt & pepper

I'd also like to try this crustless pumpkin pie, although making a regular pumpkin pie recipe without the crust works just fine too!

What's your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Saving The Change

One tidbit I took away from reading Money Saving Mom's book earlier this year was her suggestion of saving $1.25 each week.

She explained that while $1.25 only adds up to $5.00 a month and saving $5.00 a month equals only $60.00 a year, it's getting into the habit of saving money. Typically, once you  start seeing a little money start to add up, you will look for other ways to increase your saving.

We are already in the habit of saving pretty consistently but I decided to take her challenge! Even an extra $60 a year sounded good to me! And I knew that we would be needing to purchase some furniture before too long and some extra cash to set aside for that would be super nice.

 I began by adding $1.25 to the fund each week by using some change left in our grocery envelope.  At the end of each month, I went through all of our cash envelopes and saved the change. I also began to save half of my "play money" ($10) each month and added that to my little stash  as well.

As our pile of change began to grow, we dubbed it "The Couch Fund" as a couch was one of the first items we needed to purchase.

We started our little fund in March and by July we were able to purchase some furniture off Craigslist-- a couch ($85), patio table ($60) and 4 patio chairs ($15).

I will note that we had also stashed the earnings from a spring yard sale (approx. $150) and also $100 we made by selling an extra lawn mower that was left for us by the previous owner of our house. These two "deposits" helped to beef up our little fund a lot!

We're still squirreling extra change away regularly hoping to purchase a new-to-us dining room table and chairs soon.  We continue to watch Craigslist and thrift stores/yard sales and while we wait to find just what we're looking for, we continue to add to our savings!

Once we purchase a table, a vacuum cleaner (new or factory-refurbished) is next on the list!

I like that we haven't had to add another category to our budget to save for these things but have been able to squeeze some extra change out of the existing budget instead. 

Yes, this takes more time than putting a purchase on the credit card! But it is so rewarding to see your savings grow and then to be able to pay with cash.

We started filling this jug with our extra pennies back in 2007. We wonder how long it will take to fill!

**This post is part of Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom.

Stick Wreath

One thing we have in abundance at our house is sticks! The little ones love to pick them up and play with them.

So when I saw this cute stick wreath featured on Crafting a Green World, I knew this would be a good fall project for my little brood.

All of us were able to participate in gathering a basket full of sticks and then the next morning, Toddler Girl and I assembled the wreath.

For the cardboard circle, I traced a dinner plate onto cardboard (used one of our recently emptied moving boxes!) and then used a bowl to trace the inner circle.

In the tutorial, she wrapped her cardboard circle with twine but I didn't have any so I used strips of burlap instead. A nice rustic and natural look!

I squeezed tacky glue for each stick and T.G. stuck them on the wreath! Tacky glue takes a long time to dry; I set the wreath out of reach for the rest of the day.

Yes, hot glue would be faster but then T.G. wouldn't have been able to help which was really the point of this project! And I have a love/hate relationship with hot glue--it doesn't always work as well as I think it should!

A brown gingham ribbon was used for hanging and our stick wreath is now hanging by the door where the littles hang their coats and bags.

We love our simple fall wreath!

Snippets Of Life

• Toddler Girl saw me getting Baby Boy's pacifier (which attaches to him with a clip). She said, " Oh, _______(Baby Boy's) leash!"  LOL!!!
• We have a little weather station in the house which tells the temperature and shows a little man dressed in weather appropriate attire. On this morning, Andy announced that we should be wearing wet suits, trench coats and hats. Hahaha 

• In the "things you never thought you would say" file-- Me: "Let's not wipe our noses with the lion's tail!" 
• A black sock accidentally got in with the load of whites to which I added bleach. It's kind of a blackish brown now...
• A wooden skewer works to unlock inside doors....
• Toddler Girl has been talking about "horsey-ducks".  
• Toddler Girl said she wanted Andy the other day.  He picked her up and she wiggled out of his arms and pointed to me saying, "No, that one!" She can say my name but prefers instead to refer to me as "Mommy" or her latest, "You!"
• I asked Andy the other day if the pants I was wearing made me look "extra plump". He assured me that no, they didn't. What was he supposed to say!?! We've been laughing about it ever since. Extra Plump. It could be a new size--XP. LOL!!!
• Baby Boy is usually circling as I get Toddler Girl settled in for her nap. She sprawls out on her mat and says, "Kiss!". He comes over and kisses her. She did this yesterday then called to him again- "Hug!" He came and kissed her again. She has it made, doesn't she? 
• This post is brought to you by Prednisone, which I've been on for a week now, due to an allergic reaction. It's amazing how energetic I feel when taking this stuff! I also eat a lot...

Pinned It, Made It: Can I Clean My Bathrooms In 15 Minutes?

Can I clean my bathrooms in 15 minutes?

Always looking for ways to streamline my cleaning tasks, I pinned this article that tells how to clean two bathrooms quickly--in 15 minutes!

The question was: Would it work for me?

Well, let's find out!

Before starting the timer, I gathered all rags and supplies, including mop water.

I then set the timer for 20 minutes since I was planning to sweep and mop as well. (In the blog post, she did floors another day.) Floors already take me a while to complete--we have a good amount of hardwoods--so I'd rather just do the bathroom floors at the same time as the bathrooms!

She suggests starting with mirrors them cleaning toilet in Bathroom #1. I squirted toilet cleaner in both rooms first. Then back to #1.

Bathroom #1: Clean mirror, spray sink, counters and toilet with cleaner. (We don't use the shower/tub in this room so no need to clean weekly!) Run to Bathroom #2.

And yes, I'm cracking myself up with my references to the bathrooms as #1 and #2. LOL!!!

Bathroom #2: Clean mirrors. Spray sink, counters, toilet, tub/shower. Run back to #1.

Quickly scrub toilet and wipe down what was sprayed before. Repeat in #2.

Look at timer--exactly 15 minutes!

Back in #1, sweep floor and mop. Run to #2 and do the same thing.

Finish up just as timer beeps--20 minutes from start to finish!

The verdict:
It worked! But I moved fast--no dilly dallying!


My notes:
This was enough time to quickly do the basics but no extras such as dusting or wiping down cabinet doors. I'll do these things as needed on another day when I do dusting and cleaning surfaces.

This worked well for my size of bathrooms--small-average size.  Large rooms may take longer to clean.

I'm a timer motivated cleaner so this method is working really well for me-- I'm not as apt to put it off when I know it will be done in 15-20 minutes!

**This post is part of Pinned It, Made It Monday at Country Girl At Home.

Winner!

The winner of the pumpkin giveaway is...

Wendi!

She commented that what she loves most about fall:

"The thing I love most about fall is the changing leaves. It is like a new picture outside my window each day."


Congratulations!


For the rest of you, I'm offering a coupon code good for 15% off anything in my shop through October 31, 2012. Use  coupon code FALL2012 at checkout!

Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

I've wanted to make pumpkin pie play dough for fall for a long time! And finally got around to it this fall...

It helps that the littles are really getting into play dough now. And our last batch of Smurf-blue  dough was needing to be replaced.

I looked at a few recipes on the internet and came to the conclusion that by adding pumpkin pie spice and red and yellow food coloring (to make orange) to my basic play dough recipe, we would have pumpkin pie play dough.

I am super practical and prefer the simple route for many things,can you tell? I mean, why reinvent the wheel play dough when you can just add to it to get what you want?

I didn't have pumpkin pie spice and I saw no reason to buy any so I just added a couple shakes of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves that I had in the cabinet. If you really want pumpkin pie spice, here is a recipe to make your own! I didn't measure the amount I put in but I knew it was ready when it smelled so good I wanted to eat it.

I'm really happy with how it turned out--nice and orange and smelling just like pumpkin pie!

One of my favorite smells of fall!

In The Shop: Kitchen Towels

A brand new batch of kitchen towels are in my shop!

Cheeseburger Mac (Homemade Hamburger Helper)

I've been making Homemade Hamburger Helper type meals for  five years, since I first saw this post.

I didn't grow up eating Hamburger Helper and have only had the boxed kind a couple of times in my life. I do like easy skillet meals, though, which prompted me to try this in the first place! The homemade kind doesn't have all the chemicals that the boxed kind has so it's much better for us!

Our favorite kind is Cheeseburger Mac which I've adapted from the original post.

I know some of you are thinking, "I didn't think she ate pasta!" Which we really don't very often since eliminating wheat. But after a year of no pasta, I discovered that I could make this with rice pasta instead and it is super good!

The Tinkyada brand of brown rice pasta is very good. I bought a bag at a dent and bent type of store for $1 last year. We liked it. But regular price is around $3-4 a bag. That's high for pasta, especially if you aren't allergic. Since then, we've tried Trader Joe's brown rice pasta for $1.99 a bag(16 oz.). It's just as good! Since this recipe only takes 8 oz. of pasta, I can make two pots of this, each which serves us for two meals. Not bad, frugally speaking!

Cheeseburger Mac 

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup water or broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Ketchup and yellow mustard, a few squirts of each
1 cup diced tomatoes, drained
8 ounces pasta-- rice pasta, regular pasta, whole wheat, gluten free,whatever...
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:
1. Brown a half pound of meat and chopped onions in a skillet. Drain grease. I reduced the amount of meat from a whole pound to a half pound; we don't think it's made much of a difference in taste! This is one way I'm able to stretch the more expensive grass-fed beef and afford to eat it.

2. Pour one cup of water or broth in a measuring cup; add a teaspoon of cornstarch and mix well. Pour it into skillet and bring to boil.

3. Add several squirts of ketchup and mustard to pot. We really like the cheeseburger taste this gives but you can skip if  you want!

4. Stir in diced tomatoes.

5. Add noodles and stir them in. If needed, add more water so the noodles can be mixed in without clumping too bad. The water shouldn't cover the noodles! As they cook, keep an eye on the noodles and stire often, adding a bit more water if needed.

6. Cover and simmer, stirring often until noodles are soft, about 10- 15 minutes.

7. When noodles are done, turn heat to low and add a handful of cheese, stirring it in until it melts. Turn stove off, sprinkle more cheese on top and serve to your hungry family!

Enjoy!

A Bushel Of Pumpkins And A Giveaway!

Remember these pumpkins I made last year?

I recently whipped up a big batch of them and they are in my shop. 

But for fun, I'm also offering up a set of 3 pumpkins as a giveaway here on the blog!

The giveaway will be open all week and I'll draw a winner on Saturday, October 20.

To enter: Simply leave a comment on this post for a chance to win! Make sure you leave a name and a way to get in touch with you if you win--an email address, link back to your profile or blog that includes an email, etc. I can't give the prize to Anonymous or to someone that I have no way of getting in touch with!:-)

For additional entries:

(Leave a separate comment for each one.)

• Leave a comment stating what you love the most about fall!
• Leave a comment stating your favorite cool weather or fall food to cook or eat. 
• Leave a comment sharing your favorite fall activity! 

Happy Fall! 

Pinned It, Made It: Pajama Pants

For today's Pinned It, Made It Monday, I'm sharing some pj pants I made a few weeks ago.

I'd pinned the instructions for making pj pants by using an old pair of pants for the pattern.

Back in the spring, I'd thrifted a delicious ruffled vintage sheet that was just dying to be made into something sweet! Pajamas seemed to be just the thing.

My husband said as soon as he saw me pull that sheet out, he knew it was going home with us! Smart man!

So anyways, I needed some new pj's and I thought, "Why don't I try making some?" So I did!

The instructions for the pants were very clear and detailed, making them easy to follow. The pants sewed up with very little trouble. I used the ruffled edge of the sheet for the hem of the pants eliminating the need for hemming.

I will say that the fit of these pants is a bit wonky on me. If I were to make these again, I'd need to do some tweaking. I'm not sure sure if the fit issue is the pants I used or the tutorial!

But at any rate, they are still wearable! And I really like them! I think they're super cute and feminine. 

I made a matching top from a Burda Young Fashion pattern. I can't locate the pattern at the moment for the exact pattern number. I've made several things from this pattern--a loan from my sister. I promise I will give the pattern back! Hahaha.

**This post is part of Pinned It, Made It! Monday over at Country Girl At Home. **

Picnic On The Deck

Now that fall is here and the days are cooler, we're enjoying much time spent outdoors! The littles enjoy playing outside so much that one day I decided to set up a picnic on the deck for lunch.

Toddler Girl (age 2 1/2) especially got into the idea. When she saw me moving their chairs outside, she ran to help!

We'd gathered a basket of sticks that morning for another project so I set those on the table for our centerpiece.

 I enjoyed the change of pace and the bright sunshine while we ate! The littles enjoyed it too, for the most part. We could hear construction going on behind our neighborhood, acorns falling and planes in the sky!

But for a dose of reality--- the lunch time/before nap time slot with toddlers is not usually all sunshine and roses! The littles were tired, irritable and one person did not like their lunch and made it known loudly. I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed our charming little picnic too! :-)

In spite of all this, a picnic on the deck is something we'll be doing more often!

It's a simple fun way to enjoy our lovely fall!

Organized Art Cabinet

Even though we have a play room now, we keep most of our arts and crafts supplies in the kitchen. We typically do these sorts of things at the kitchen table and it's nice to have everything easily accessible and out of reach of the toddlers.

I must admit, I feel spoiled to have so many cabinets in my kitchen that I'm able to devote one to non-kitchen items!

The art cabinet hadn't been properly organized yet; most things were stuffed in every which way and the organizing containers I did have in there were too big for the space making it a pain to pull anything out!

I rarely purchase organizing containers for a project but eventually I figured a few bucks would be worth having this area nice and neat! I just wasn't coming up with enough recycled containers on my own that were really what was needed.

I found these clear plastic bins with snap-on lids on clearance at Target for $2 each. I took a chance and bought four hoping they would be the right size for the space and the items being stored.

They worked great!  Labels were created from scrapbook paper scraps and packing tape. A plastic salad container was pulled from the recycling bag for stickers and I used one of the bigger bins from before to house all the random craft supplies that are not needed as often (pom poms, foam sheets, pipe cleaners, etc.) on the top shelf.

Next to our art cabinet, there is a skinny cabinet with 3 shelves where I've stashed some extra stuff like crayons, markers and colored pencils for older kids, some large bottles of paint, and some small toddler activities.

I love how these shelves are organized and how easy it is to pull out supplies and activities for the little ones!

Snippets of Life

1) Toddler Girl is at a very possessive stage of life. Real life example:

Toddler Girl holding toys.
Baby Boy stands and looks at what she has.
T.G freaks out: "Noooo! ______ (Baby Boy's name), mine!"
Me: " It's ok. ______ (Baby Boy) can look."
T.G. regains composure and holds toys out importantly towards B.B. "Ok, look!"

2) Abby and Dolly are two dogs in our neighborhood. They are known to roam occasionally especially around their own property. So we often see then when we are out and about. Unfortunately, Abby and Rock don't seem to get  along the best and usually bark and growl at one another.

One day recently, we were out for our walk, me pushing the double stroller with Rock on the leash by our side. Everything was fine and dandy until we approached Abby's house. I saw Abby and Dolly coming out carrying on and sensed Rock stiffening up. About that time, T.G. yelled, " Oh lordy! There's Abby and Dolly!"

She sounded so funny, I could hardly stop laughing.

Ahem... I do use the phrase Oh lordy on occasion.

3)  Baby Boy was enjoying emptying a bag of scrap fabrics the other day while I picked out a few pieces for a project. Rock, everyone's favorite, was nearby. I noticed Baby Boy laughing and laughing out loud and glanced over just in time to see him put a piece of cloth on Rock's head. He then stood back and laughed then repeated the whole procedure. Rock was such a good sport about his "hat"! And clearly, Baby Boy was amused!

4) Baby Boy loves tractors and notices them (riding mowers) when we're out. T.G. likes anything that B.B. likes so she likes tractors too! We like to sing a song about tractors and T.G. requests it often. So we sing. But for some reason, talking and singing about tractors makes her think about crackers. Haha.

5) We usually purchase natural peanut butter that needs to be stirred. I hate stirring peanut butter! It's so messy. Lately I've noticed that I'll wait and let Andy open the new jar of peanut butter. That way he'll stir it up. Which he doesn't mind doing. Plus he's just really nice like that!

6) A couple frugal blogs I've been enjoying lately are Living On Less Money and The Non-Consumer Advocate.

7) A verse I've been pondering: "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." Daniel 12:3.

What's going on in your life?

Crockpot Sausage and Sweet Potato Stew

This is a wonderful cool weather stew! It's easy to put in the crockpot on busy days.

Plus with sweet potatoes and vegetables, it's really quite nutritious as well! Any sausage can be used-- turkey, pork, beef. I've used both keilbasa/smoked type sausage cut into slices and bulk roll sausage that I cooked and crumbled. Both are tasty.

I like to serve this stew with a green salad topped with fresh apple slices and walnuts or pecans!

Sausage and Sweet Potato Stew

Makes approximately 8 servings; freezes well.

1 pound cooked sausage, any kind, even homemade.
4 small sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces; about 2 pounds or 5 cups.
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups broth, chicken or beef

Combine all ingredients in greased 5 -6 qt. crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Make Your Own Sausage

When I was getting my recent beef, pork and chicken order together for a local farmer, I noticed that they were sold out of their sausage, which we like very very much!

Instead of sausage, I ordered some of their ground pork instead. And I've been adding a few seasonings and making my own sausage!

I adapted a recipe from the Not Just Beans cookbook using spices I had on hand. Really, seasoning your own sausage is quite simple. Spices can be adjusted according to your tastes.

This is more of an Italian-style sausage. I use it wherever we would use sausage-- for breakfast meat or in recipes. 

1 pound ground pork or you can do a 50/50 combination of beef and pork
1 tsp. dried minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. minced garlic or 1 clove fresh (finely minced)
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

A teaspoon of fennel seeds can also be added for a more authentic taste but I didn't have any so left it out!

Sprinkle seasoning over ground meat. Knead until thoroughly blended. The Mix 'n Chop from Pampered Chef works wonderfully for this job! Make into patties or form into roll and refrigerate for 2-3 days to allow flavors to blend. I usually use it right away although the flavors are not as developed.

When ready to use, cook as you would cook regular sausage.

**Tomorrow I'll be sharing a yummy recipe that includes this sausage--perfect for fall!

Another Year

Today marks 8 years of marriage for us!

I looked at Andy the other day and asked if we were the same kids who got married 8 years ago. He said he didn't think so.  A lot of change and growth has occurred in the past 8 years. Good change and growth, I might add! But at the same time, so much about us has not changed.

We're still us.  And I like that.