Menu Plan, Week of July 11th

I am really trying to step up the healthy eating this week. We will see how it goes...

Breakfasts:

Baked granola, fruit

Lunches:

Hummus with whole wheat pita and veggies

Dinners:

Chicken with Indian simmer sauce, rice, steamed veggies (x2)

Italian chicken with side salad (x2)

Dinner out (x1)

Homemade pizza

TBD

Weekend Goals

I don't have many plans this weekend so I am hoping to get a lot of house stuff done. Here is my list:

Cleaning Goals:

Laundry

Clean out freezer - need a better way to inventory. Had to toss some food... :(

Mop hardwood floors

Clean kitchen (cooking tomato sauce is MESSY!)

Bathrooms

Kitchen Goals:

Make tomato sauce

Make more pesto if basil is ready to harvest

Some freezer cooking

Home Improvement Goals:

Replace kitchen faucet

Paint hallway wall red - taped, primed, 1 coat painted, 2nd coat painted

Possibly transplant cucumbers to ground - made a trellis instead so the vines can climb

Donut Muffins

My mom used to make these muffins when I was growing up and they have always been a favorite of mine. They have a very mild flavor and make a great breakfast or snack food (in my opinion).

The recipe calls for sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on the outside of the muffin but I have never done this.

This is the recipe I used. It made 9 good sized muffins. Enjoy with milk :)

Menu Plan, Week of June 27th

Oh my I definitely ate my weight in delightful foods on my cruise last week. So this week is all about recovery and getting back into normal life (and normal pants). ;)

So here is what is on the menu:

Breakfasts:

Homemade donut muffins

Oatmeal

Fruit

Lunches:

Hummus with pita bread and veggies

Dinners:

Chicken with steamed veggies

Summer rolls

Pasta with homemade pesto

Dinner out

Personal Development Goals: May

Well I've been slacking on my goals to keep up with the rest of my life. Sometimes you have to prioritize things just to get through the month.

So how did I do this month?

2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Not accomplished. I've been looking for a book to read and keep coming up empty handed. I got some great recommendations this past weekend though so hopefully this will change next month!


- Try 1 new recipe per month. Huge success here.

Spinach Brownies
Delicious! This would make a great side dish or appetizer. I'll definitely be keeping this one around.


- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Nothing here.


- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Success!!
I actually volunteered twice this month so I am finally getting on track with this goal. I volunteered at 2 car seat events in my county. This is somewhat related to my job but both events were on weekends so they don't count towards my work hours.

Not a bad month!

Spinach Brownies

Holy deliciousness Batman! I realize these don't sound at all delicious. In fact, they sound a little disgusting.

I had a picture of these but I can't find one so you'll have to rely on the recipe picture. If you are looking for a delicious way to use up some spinach, this is the recipe for you! It tastes sort of like an onion/spinach quiche. My guess is that you could vary this pretty significantly to accommodate whatever veggies you have laying around.

Check it out!

Variations on a granola bar

You may remember a past post about homemade granola bars. What you may not know is that I am absolutely obsessed with these. So is my boyfriend. He requests them often and challenges my ability to make different 'flavors.' Here are some variations on my original granola bar recipe...

For all of them, follow the baking instructions in the original recipe.

Minty White Chocolate Granola Bars

1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 - 1.5 cup honey (have to guess based on consistency)
1 teaspoon mint extract
4 cups oatmeal
1 cup rice krispie cereal (or in my case, Krispy Rice!)
Flour, wheat germ, wheat bran, flax meal, etc to equal 1/2 cup.
1 teaspoon baking soda
White chocolate chips

*Note: these turn out softer than the originals but once they are chopped up and in the freezer they are fine.

"Butterfinger" Granola Bars

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup softened peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups oatmeal
1 cup rice krispie cereal (or in my case, Krispy Rice!)
Flour, wheat germ, wheat bran, flax meal, etc to equal 1/2 cup.
1 teaspoon baking soda
Chocolate and butterscotch chips

These are REALLY good.

I am sure there will be more variations in the future. This recipe seems to handle changes really well.

Menu Plan, Week of 5/30/2011

So I fell off the face of the earth again. Fear not, faithful reader(s), I'm still here. This is what I am eating this week:

Breakfasts:

Homemade granola bars

Homemade banana bread

Fruit

Lunches:

Pita bread, hummus, veggies

Summer rolls

Pasta salad

Dinners:

Summer rolls

Pasta salad

Green salad with chicken

Snacks

Homemade apple sauce

String cheese

2011 Personal Development Goals: April

I'm not even sure I want to post these because I've done so poorly with them this month. But in the interest of full disclosure, here we go:


2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Fail. I read most of 1 book.

- Try 1 new recipe per month. Nope. It was enough that I managed to eat this month.

- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Half success.
Well I did work on my garden this month which is a do it yourself project but it isn't exactly something complicated so I am not sure if that counts. I'll count this as a half success.

- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Fail.
I might need to remove this from my goal list since I have failed repeatedly at it. But better to aim high I guess.

So ya, not a great month but that is life for you! Sometimes you have to focus on other things!

2011 Home Remodeling Goals: April

March and April were VERY busy months so there wasn't much time for home remodeling. But I still managed to get a few things done (though not anything on my original list!).

2011 Home Remodeling Goals
- Tile Backsplash for Kitchen - not yet
- Paint rest of house (dining room, hallways, living room, master bedroom) - not yet
- Replace light fixture in dining room - not yet
- Replace kitchen faucet - not yet
- Replace towel racks in all bathrooms - two down, one to go!

Other:
- Replace master bathroom faucet - done!
- Replace 1/2 bathroom faucet - done!
- Decorative elements in foyer - done!
- Front landscaping - done!
- Back landscaping - done!

Financial Goal Update: April

I've had some busy months but I've been able to stay mostly on track with things. Here is where things stand right now.

- Pay cash for all home remodeling goals so far so good
- Make an extra principal payment each month yes!
- Pay off 5% of my mortgage this year. I have paid off 0.99% so far this year. YAY! Almost 1%!
- Up my retirement savings by maxing out my Roth IRA. 68% funded!
- Continue saving for a new car. Yes
- Pay for all travel in cash So far so good and still saving for summer travel :)
- Pay for Christmas gifts in cash Saving for this goal

Front landscaping

I finally got around to adding some flowers to my front yard. I don't exactly have the greenest thumbs when it comes to flowers so I am hoping that these make it through the summer. So far they are still alive so I count that as a step in the right direction.

Here is my front yard before. I have some tall bushes and then 2 rose bushes. I recently added the cute little solar lights that line my walkway. It is nice to have them on the nights I come home after dark.


So here are the plants I added. I think it is a nice touch. It isn't anything too exciting but I like that it makes my house stand out from the rest a little. I also added the same plants on the other side of the rose bushes.


And here is my cute little house :)

CSA Week 2

Week 2 of my CSA and I am loving all of these delicious veggies in my house. This week was another good one with lettuce, spinach, strawberries, broccoli, and asparagus. Plus I still have a bunch of greens left over from last week. So I need to start eating some more salads.

Here is my half of the haul this week:


In other news, I'm drowning in strawberries. So I might have to get creative to use all of them up!

PS: You may remember that last week I got radishes. Turns out your should not put them in the fridge. So, lesson learned there.

Garden, Week 2

Nothing too exciting happening in the gardening front. My plants are getting bigger and looking good! Here is week 1 for comparison. As you can see pretty much the only difference is that they are a little bigger. The tomato plant has quite a few flowers on it so I am hopeful that I will get a decent number of tomatoes.

And the good news is that no rabbits have gotten to my plants yet!

Menu plan, week of 5/1/11

So what am I eating this week? Excellent question.

Breakfasts:
Homemade granola bars
Fruit

Lunches:
Work lunch
Peanut butter sandwiches
Leftovers

Dinners:
Summer rolls
Homemade pizza
Something else depending on the CSA delivery

Snacks:
Strawberry shortcake
Fruit

Pantry Organization

I'm not sure what it is about my pantry but it seems to get out of control so easily! One day everything is nice and organized and the next day, it is a complete EXPLOSION!

I'm in the process of a pantry makeover right now. I'm trying to limit the mount of processed foods I keep in the house. Instead, I'm trying to make my own convenience foods and do a lot of cooking from scratch.

Anyway, here is the before shot:

It is almost impossile to photograph the inside of my pantry because it is located in a hallway. Also, because I live in a townhouse and don't have a garage, I have to keep my recycling in this closet. It isn't ideal and it definitely adds to the clutter but it is the best option at this point.

And here is the after:

It took me only about 5 minutes to clean out some things and put everything back where it belongs. I'd say this was 5 minutes well-spent!

How to make delicious Brussels Sprouts

I love brussels sprouts. Seriously, I love them. They are like little balls of deliciousness. I hadn't ever eaten a sprout when my good friend taught me how to make them a few years ago. I haven't stopped eating them since.

First step: Steam the sprouts. I use fresh sprouts and trip the hard part on the bottom off. I steam them until tender.

Step 2: Heat up a little olive oil and butter in a pan. I often will saute minced garlic or some chipped onions in the butter before adding the sprouts. Add the sprouts to the pan.



Step 3: Saute sprouts until slightly brown on outside.

Step 4: Enjoy!


Instead of garlic and onion you could also use bacon or something similar. This variation is also delicious but I generally don't have bacon around so the garlic version is easier!

Note to self: stop being lazy and use a real camera instead of your camera phone!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles

I decided to take a trip to Harris Teeter to see what I could get since it is a Super Doubles week. Unfortunately, pretty much everything I had a coupon for was out...(extreme couponing?!?) so I just got a few things.


3 bags of steamfresh broccoli
1 bag of steamed rice
2 bags of cheese
1 box Kashi granola bars
1 GINORMOUS jar of tomato sauce

Total value: $23.23
Paid: $7.08

Not a bad trip!

My Coke Rewards

A tower of coke tops ready to be put into my My Coke Rewards account. This has got to be one of the EASIEST ways to earn prizes. Well, easy if you drink Coke products!

I started collecting bottle caps at the end of January and I already have enough points for a free photobook from Shutterfly! Wahooo!!! Now the question is, do I trade my points in now or save them for something else? Hmmmm!

CSA Week 1

I am BEYOND excited that it is CSA time again. I know that in about 5 weeks I will be totally sick of greens but when I opened that box today and saw all of those beautiful veggies I almost wept with joy. Ok, so that might be a little dramatic, but I was pretty darn excited.

There was a surprise in the box this time - radishes. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH RADISHES? I have no idea blog readers, no idea. It is time to work the google on the internet machine to figure something out. I will of course report back with what I came up with. I am not sure I've ever eaten a radish before....

Anyway, here is what was in the box:

2 heads of lettuce
1 bag of arugula
1 bag of misc. greens (no clue what it is...but it tastes ok)
1 bunch broccoli
1 bunch radishes
1 pint strawberries

Of course I split this with a friend so my haul was half of all of that. Here is my half:

Doesn't that look delicious? I am hoping to get more strawberries next week! Oh, and no arugula is visible in this picture because I don't like it and made my friend take all of it! :)

2011 Garden

I was inspired by my friend Jack's rocking container garden, and decided to give container gardening another shot. Long-time readers may remember my garden from last year. I'd call it moderately successful. I did grow some plants, but a lot of them ended up as breakfast for a furry critter.

So this year I'm trying gardening 2.0, the table top edition.

But first, I had to do some serious damage control. At some point this spring some weeds decided to take over my pots.


Anyway, I got rid of the weeds, added some fresh soil and went to town. The result - a table top full of plants!

I have: tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, basil, sage, and rosemary. I planted A LOT of basil. I really love basil and want to have enough to try to make homemade pesto this summer.


In fact, once I finished I had a few more plants than I had pots so I created a little bed next to my house for the extra basil plants. The pieces of wood were left in the yard by the previous owner so I decided to repurpose them. Hopefully that (or the scary flamingo from my mom) will be enough to keep the rabbits away but we will see!

Menu plan, week of 4/25/11

I am hoping to get back to a much more normal schedule this week after the past few weeks of craziness.

This past weekend while my friend was in town I cooked us a feast of butternut squash risotto, baked chicken, brussel sprouts, and homemade rolls. So I'll be eating my way through those leftovers for most of the week.

Plus, this is the first week of my CSA so I am guessing that I'll have some veggies to get through once I pick up my delivery on Wednesday!!

Breakfasts:
Homemade granola bars
Fruit

Lunches:
Sandwiches
Leftovers

Dinners:
Panera night w/Candice
Leftover pizza
Misc. Leftovers

Snacks:
Apples
String cheese
Graham crackers
Chocolate chip cookies

Final Update: Day o' Productivity!

I think I am about to call it a day. As you'll see, I was pretty darn productive!

The final tally:

Outside:
- Sweep front steps
- Sweep back patio
- Clean patio chairs
- possibly purchase patio table if I see one
- plant flowers in front
- plant veggies in back (pictures coming in future post!)
- clean out car (well...I got all the junk out. I wouldn't exactly call it "clean" in there yet though)

Upstairs:
- Guest room laundry
- Guest room bathroom
- Master bathroom
- Vacuum
- Declutter master closet
- Dust

Downstairs:
- Vacuum
- Wipe down tables
- Dust
- Mop hardwood floors
- Bathroom
- Tidy up dining room
- Clean out fridge of old food and completely clean it
- Toss old coupons
- Install programmable thermostats (this looks hard - might have to wait for an assistant)

Errands:
- Lowe's to get plants, soil
- Return library book
- Grocery store (waiting for HT Super Doubles this Wednesday!)

Hopefully the rest will get done the rest of this week!

Update 1: Day o' Productivity

It has been a slow start to the day because my trip to Lowe's took longer than anticipated. Plus it is about 90 degrees out so I am putting off some of the outside work until it cools off a little this afternoon.

But here is what I have accomplished so far:


Outside:
- Sweep front steps
- Sweep back patio
- Clean patio chairs
- possibly purchase patio table if I see one
- plant flowers in front
- plant veggies in back
- clean out car

Upstairs:
- Guest room laundry
- Guest room bathroom
- Master bathroom
- Vacuum
- Declutter master closet
- Dust

Downstairs:
- Vacuum
- Wipe down tables
- Dust
- Mop hardwood floors
- Bathroom
- Tidy up dining room
- Clean out fridge of old food and completely clean it
- Toss old coupons
- Install programmable thermostats

Errands:
- Lowe's to get plants, soil
- Return library book
- Grocery store

Day o' Productivity

I've been out of town A LOT for the past 2 months. It has all been fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat but it has meant that my home to-do list has been put aside. As a result, I am way behind on certain things PLUS my house is a mess. So it is time to get on top of that.

Here are my (ambitious) goals for the day. I realize I probably won't get them all done but at least everything is written down so that I can come back and finish throughout this next week and in future weekends.

Outside:
- Sweep front steps
- Sweep back patio
- Clean patio chairs
- possibly purchase patio table if I see one
- plant flowers in front
- plant veggies in back
- clean out car

Upstairs:
- Guest room laundry
- Guest room bathroom
- Master bathroom
- Vacuum
- Declutter master closet
- Dust

Downstairs:
- Vacuum
- Wipe down tables
- Dust
- Mop hardwood floors
- Bathroom
- Tidy up dining room
- Clean out fridge of old food and completely clean it
- Toss old coupons
- Install programmable thermostats

Errands:
- Lowe's to get plants, soil
- Return library book
- Grocery store


Aaaaaaaaand, I'm off!

One way to save a buck...

Turn it into an elephant! Thanks to the magazine on Southwest's airplanes, I'll probably never spend this dollar! :) Now that is one way to save a buck!

Fantastic freebies!

I had a wonderful surprise in my mailbox a few weeks ago (and yes, I have been busy enough that it has taken me a few WEEKS to post about this)!

It was the Target Beauty Bag freebie and it had some real goodies in it!


The bag had a full sized chapstick and some other samples. I have been using the chapstick and have really been liking it. This is why freebies are a good idea! I probably wouldn't have purchased the product on my own but now that I've had the opportunity to use it, I'll likely purchase it in the future!

There were also a lot of great coupons which I will definitely be putting to use in the near future. Plus, it all came in this cute bag, and you can't beat a cute bag, right?!?!

2011 Personal Development Goals: March

I haven't had too much personal time this month but I did the best I could!

So how did I do this month?

2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Only read 2.


- Try 1 new recipe per month.
Well I made a variation of my granola bars (white chocolate and cranberry) but I am not sure this counts as a new recipe. Will have to step it up in future months!


- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Yes!
I replaced the fixtures in the half-bath!

- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Fail.

2011 Home Remodeling Goals: March

I haven't had too much time for home improvement projects recently but I have made some progress...

2011 Home Remodeling Goals
- Tile Backsplash for Kitchen - not yet
- Paint rest of house (dining room, hallways, living room, master bedroom) - not yet
- Replace light fixture in dining room - not yet
- Replace kitchen faucet - not yet
- Replace towel racks in all bathrooms - two down, one to go!

Other:
- Replace master bathroom faucet - done!
- Replace 1/2 bathroom faucet - done!
- Decorative elements in foyer - done!

Financial Goal Update: March

Well this is a little late but better late than never, right?!?

- Pay cash for all home remodeling goals so far so good
- Make an extra principal payment each month yes!
- Pay off 5% of my mortgage this year. I have paid off 0.97% so far this year. YAY! Almost 1%!
- Up my retirement savings by maxing out my Roth IRA. Not maxed out yet, but contributing!
- Continue saving for a new car. Yes
- Pay for all travel in cash So far so good and still saving for summer travel :)
- Pay for Christmas gifts in cash Saving for this goal

Menu plan, week of 4/10/11

This is going to be a short week here at home because I have some very exciting plans coming up! :)

Breakfasts:
Homemade muffins, homemade granola bars

Lunches:
Chicken sandwiches, fruit

Dinners:
Misc. leftovers

Snacks:
Cheese sticks, fruit strips, cookies

Freezer Cooking

March and April are ridiculously busy months for me. I am traveling non stop and just running around like a crazy person in general So when I had some time this past weekend I decided to do some freezer cooking to try to stay on top of my food choices so I don't feel temped to pick up convenience foods.

So I ended up making 2 personal pizzas (4 meals total for me)


And 1 small beef lasagna which will last 2-3 meals.


I also made some Jasmine rice and chicken curry (3 servings) for the freezer but forgot to take a picture! I am far from being fully covered but I am hoping these will fill in some gaps when I would otherwise decide to eat out!

Drug store deals

I recently had some luck picking up some needed items playing the drug store game. I even ventured into a Walgreens for a deal, something I've never done before!

At Walgreens I picked up 3 toothbrushes. I needed one for myself and I always like having extras around for guests.


At CVS I used some expiring ECBs to pick up some cheap body wash. I am now all set for a long time! I was on my last bottle of body wash so this was definitely a good find!

Home improvement: Foyer

So this wasn't specifically one of my home improvement goals but it is something I've been working on figuring out. I have very large walls and very tall ceilings in my house so I have been having trouble finding things for the walls that don't look absolutely ridiculous.

I was given a beautiful cherry blossom picture for Christmas and I wanted to highlight it appropriately but it looked so silly on the wall by itself. So, I added some photos of cherry blossoms that I had taken through my years of living in DC. I had quite a few to choose from.



Ta da! Highlights the cherry blossom theme and takes up a lot of space on the wall. Wahoo! Now I just need to get those walls painted but that is another project :)

Half bathroom project

I had some downtime this weekend so I thought I would tackle the towel racks in the half bathroom. The ones in place weren't my style so I thought I'd make some updates.

So, the before pictures:

Hand towel rack:
There was a full towel rack behind the toilet which seemed silly since 1. it is a half bath and 2. the rack wasn't high enough above the toilet to have a towel. So that had to go!



So here is the after - I replaced the hand towel and toilet paper holders and added a decoration behind the toilet.




I am pretty happy with the result and the best part - I paid cash!

Menu plan, week of 3/21/11

Well I've fallen off the face of the earth recently thanks to a really busy work schedule combined with the flu. It was amazing. I'm trying to get back on track in more ways than 1! I've totally been slacking in my healthy eating and my exercising so this week I am hoping to pick it up again.

Breakfasts:
Homemade granola bars, fruit

Lunches:
Peanut butter sandwiches, veggies, misc leftovers

Dinners:
Beef lasagna, steamed veggies, something with chicken tbd

Snacks:
Homemade apple sauce, cheese sticks, goldfish crackers, graham crackers

Financial Goal Update: February

I am feeling good about what I've been able to accomplish this month in terms of my financial goals. I am making a lot of baby steps!

- Pay cash for all home remodeling goals so far so good
- Make an extra principal payment each month yes plus a little extra!
- Pay off 5% of my mortgage this year. I have paid off 0.75% so far this year.
- Up my retirement savings by maxing out my Roth IRA. Not maxed out yet, but contributing!
- Continue saving for a new car. Yes
- Pay for all travel in cash Saving for summer travel
- Pay for Christmas gifts in cash Saving for this goal

Menu plan, week of 2/28/11

I've fallen off the wagon a little bit here with my exercising and my healthy eating so this week I want to step it up again.

I have a lot of veggies and some chicken here so I am hoping to have a lot of salads for both lunch and dinner.

For snacks I have homemade granola bars.

Breakfasts will be oatmeal and fruit.

2011 Personal Development Goals: February

One month of 2011 is already behind us! How is it possible for time to go so quickly?

So how did I do this month?

2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Very close to accomplished!

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Book 5
Book 5: The Last Olympian

I am really happy to have finished this series. The author has written a number of other books that I've started reading!

The Red Pyramid I started reading another series by the same author. They are just so fun!

Clive Cussler book - 3/4 finished so I guess it doesn't count...

- Try 1 new recipe per month.
Yes! I made some wonderful bread in the bread machine. I am now obsessed with it :)


- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Yes!
I feel so accomplished this month! I replaced 2 bathroom faucets this month. Even though this was not one of my home improvement goals, I am really happy that I did this!

- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Fail.

2011 Home Remodeling Goals: February

Despite doing a few home improvement project this month, I haven't actually crossed any goals off my list! But I learned some skills that will help me accomplish some other goals so it all works out.

2011 Home Remodeling Goals
- Tile Backsplash for Kitchen - not yet
- Paint rest of house (dining room, hallways, living room, master bedroom) - not yet
- Replace light fixture in dining room - not yet
- Replace kitchen faucet - not yet
- Replace towel racks in all bathrooms - one down, two to go!

Other:
- Replace master bathroom faucet - done!
- Replace 1/2 bathroom faucet - done!

What should I do next month?!?!

Menu plan, week of 2/21/11

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal, fruit

Lunches:
Peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers

Dinners:
2 dinners out plus 1 dinner at a friend's. Chicken and Dumplings

Snacks:
Cereal bars, string cheese, rice cakes

Wardrobe Challenge

I was really inspired by a recent guest post on MoneySavingMom's blog about simplifying your life. Although I am pretty good at getting rid of things, I still feel like I have too much stuff - especially when it comes to clothes. Part of this is left over from when I didn't have a washer and dryer and only did laundry once every few weeks. Back then I had to have enough clothes to get me through a few weeks. Plus, my job had a strict dress code so I had to be very dressed up everyday. As a result I ended up accumulating quite a large clothes collection. I've been good at getting rid of things here and there but when it comes to really giving my wardrobe a makeover, I really don't know where to start.

So, I've decided to see how I do with a limited wardrobe for the next 2 weeks. This is what I chose:

I have:
3 pairs of pants - 1 khaki, 1 black, and 1 jeans
2 cardigans - 1 purple, 1 brown
2 sweaters - 1 pink, 1 tan and black
2 button down shirts
1 long sleeved t-shirt
1 short sleeved t-shirt
This does not count workout clothes, pjs, etc.

So, this doesn't seem like very much but lets look at the combinations.

Pink sweater x (jeans, khaki, black)
White shirt & pink sweater x (jeans, khaki, black)
Tan/Black sweater x (jeans, khaki, black)
White shirt x (jeans, khaki, black)
White/blue shirt x (jeans, khaki)
White/blue shirt, purple sweater x (jeans, khaki)
White shirt, purple sweater x (jeans, khaki, black)
White shirt, brown sweater x (jeans, khaki)

For more casual:
White t-shirt x (jeans, khaki, black)
purple t-shirt x (jeans, khaki, black)
White and purple shirts x (jeans, khaki, black)
purple shirt, purple sweater x (jeans, khaki, black)

So all in all, with this combination of clothing items I can put together 33 potential combinations. THAT IS MORE THAN I NEED IN 1 MONTH!

Plus that doesn't count accessories. I don't have much but I do have a handful of necklaces that I can rotate in and out to change things up a little bit.

So I am going to see how this goes. I am actually pretty excited about it. I tend to wear the same things over and over again anyway so this won't be much of a stretch for me. I am thinking I will move everything in my closet that is not part of the challenge over to one side of my closet so it is clear what clothing items I have to choose from.

I think it going to make getting ready in the morning A LOT easier too! One caveat - I am allowing myself some leeway based on the weather. Since it has been a bit variable here recently I may need to swap in some warmer options. :)

Nothing to say...

It was bound to happen, blog world. After a good month and a half of almost daily posts, I find myself with nothing to say. I have no shopping trips to tell you about. I haven't done any recent home improvement projects. I have no motivating quotes. In short, I got nuttin!

I know you are probably feeling very sad and alone right now. But don't worry, I am sure I will do something blog worthy soon. :)

Grocery store deals without a coupon

Want to save money on groceries but don't want to bother with coupons? No problem! Check out the great deals I got on these products without handing over a single coupon.


How did I do this? Check the markdown section! My Kroger has a few bins in the back where they keep marked down items. Sometimes you get lucky and get there right after they fill it up.

The total list price for all of these items would have been $21.34. I paid $10.12. That is a savings of >50% and I didn't use a single coupon!

I always recommend checking out the markdown section just to see what is there. Often there won't be anything interesting, but every once in a while there are some great deals!

February Grocery Budget Challenge: Update

So it has been 2 weeks since I started my $20/person/week healthy eating challenge. So how is it going?

Well to be honest, not great. I think it is probably possible for me to spend only $80 for the entire month, but it would require me to cut back on my grocery shopping. Since I am trying to be realistic and spend as I normally would, I don't think it is realistic in the long run for me to stick with the $20/person/week budget.

I am going to continue with the challenge to see how far I get. I'll post another update at the end of the month!

Menu plan, week of 2/14/11

So what am I going to eat this week? Well that is an excellent question. I am getting low on some pre-made goodies so I might need to schedule a freezer cooking session sometime in the near future. Perhaps on Sunday?

Breakfasts
Oatmeal, fruit

Lunches:
Peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers

Dinners:
Chicken with steamed veggies, cous cous
Pasta with meat sauce and salad

Milestones

Ok yes I took a picture (but don't worry, I didn't take it while driving!)

My car hit a major milestone this week - 100,000 miles! Can you believe it?!? I got the car new in June 2003 so all of these miles were with me in the car. We've had some good times!

This is another example of how little steps can lead to something larger. Individual miles aren't much on their own but take 7 1/2 years worth of miles and you have 100,000. The same applies to nearly everything. Saving a few pennies here and there doesn't seem like much, but look at that savings over the course of a year - or even a decade - and it adds up to a significant amount. If you would have asked me 7 1/2 years ago where I would be at 100,000 miles I can guarantee you that I would not give you the answer that is my reality right now.

Anyway this got me thinking. For some reason, I am often asked when I plan on getting a new car. Because I can 'afford' to get a new car and 'afford' to have a car payment, it is assumed that I would want to do that. The thing is - I don't. My car is paid for. My car works just fine. I like my car. Why would I trade that for a monthly payment when I don't have to? I plan on getting a new car when this one stops working and I am hoping that won't be for a very long time! :)

Frugal Tip: Car Maintenance

I pretend to be 'handy' around the house but when it comes to cars, I can't even fake it. So I leave all major car maintenance concerns to the professionals at my friendly local Honda dealership. Because it is important to me to keep my car running in tip top shape, I consider this money well spent.

So how do you save money on car maintenance when you know NOTHING about cars? Easy - do the things you know you can do.

I can't change my oil, rotate my tires, or do any of the standard vehicle maintenance things that are necessary to keep my car running. But, I can top off the fluids, change the windshield wipers, and keep the car clean and vacuumed. All of these are very simple and require very little skill. And by doing these myself I save $$!

Small organizational project

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I always seem to be on the lookout for ways to organize and streamline my life. It is amazing how much of a difference a small change can make.

Recently I installed some hooks in my closet to hold belts. I initially purchased this set of hooks as a key hook but I ended up using something else to keep my keys organized.

I only have 2 belts - one black and one brown - but it is amazing how easily I can misplace them! Prior to installing these hooks I'd just keep my belts sitting on the top shelf in my closet. I can't reach things up there very well so it wasn't a great storage place for them.

So now they are easily accessible right inside the closet door.

Why I make my bed

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about motivation and why people are motivated by different things. It really got me thinking about why I do the things that I do.

It is no secret that I am motivated by setting goals and making lists. I am much more likely to do something if it is written out in front of me. Accountability is also important to me, but I don't need it for everything. For financial goals I like to have an accountability partner (thanks Jack's mom!) to keep me on track. But for cleaning, I am fine being accountable to myself.

It seems that I am in the minority for my love of having a clean and tidy house. It is not difficult for me to keep up my motivation for this.

My friend asked me why I make my bed every day. I took a little while to think about this and the best answer I could come up with is that it makes me happy and starts my day off right. Yes, I could absolutely survive without making my bed every morning. However, I find that when I start my day with an act of organization such as making my bed, I am committing to continue my day in an organized and purposeful way.

You may remember what happens when I don't follow my schedule. It is bad. Could I get through life with a messy house and disorganized life? Absolutely. But I would probably end up wasting money, wasting time, and in general not having as much fun.

To some it may seem silly that the simple act of making my bed can make all the difference in how my day goes, but for me it makes perfect sense. Maybe I'm in the minority on this one but it works for me and that's all that matters!

Organizational System Update

So I've been using my new organizational system for about a month now and I am LOVING it! Seriously, why didn't I do this before? I love seeing exactly which chores I still need to do. Also, knowing that I can pick and choose chores depending on my schedule/mood that week really helps to keep my motivation up.

Anyway, since I do most of those chores once every 2 weeks, I have found that I am starting realize it would be nice to know how long it has been since I last did something. From my list I can easily see that I've accomplished it during my 2 week period but I don't remember exactly when I did it.

So I have tweaked my system. Instead of just putting a mark to indicate that I've finished something, I am now putting the date.


I think this will really help me stay on top of things a lot better.

I've also realized that it is important to allow myself the ability to change things. What works for me now might not work for me next year. Similarly, what works for you might not work for me. Being efficient is all about figuring out the best system for you at this moment.

CVS Trip

I am really trying hard to maximize my grocery dollars this month to see if spending $20/person/week is a realistic goal for me. One way to do this is to play the drug store game. I tend to focus on CVS because it is the closest store to me and it is much easier to pay attention to only 1 store at a time. There are only so many hours in a day, you know!

This challenge is different than a typical "eating from the pantry challenge." I am not trying to minimize my spending. I am still shopping as I typically would and when possible I am building my stockpile so that I don't pay full price for items in the future.

So, with $3.50 in ECBs and a $3/$15 coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I headed to CVS with the goal of adding to my stockpile.

This is what I got:


Grand total: Around $7 including tax plus I earned $2 ECBs back that I will roll into another deal. Not bad considering each laundry detergent retails for $7.

I haven't bought laundry detergent in over a year and these bottles combined with what I still have left will probably last me close to that long again. So cross laundry detergent off the list of things to buy in 2011 :)

Menu plan, week of 1/7/11

I am sticking with my "veggies, veggies, veggies" deal this week. Especially since I still have some veggies to get through so they don't go to waste!

So what am I eating this week?

Breakfast:
Cereal bars, oatmeal, fruit

Lunch:
Salads, chicken sandwich, leftovers

Dinner:
Baked chicken with cous cous and steamed veggies
Curry Chicken with steamed veggies and naan bread

Snacks:
String cheese, apples, skim milk chocolate pudding

Sounds good right?

Two important lessons

I had 2 really important lessons reinforced for me this weekend as I cleaned out my car for the first time in a ::ahem:: really long time.

You'll never believe what I found in my trunk - treasure!! Seriously! I found 2 tins full of coins. I vaguely remember packing these up at some point but obviously I had completely forgotten about them.


Finding these coins gave me some motivation to head to my nearest CoinStar machine to see how much this treasure was worth.

Ready for it? $80. I had $80 in coins sitting in my car and I had no idea. WOW!



This really reinforced to me how easily little things can make a difference. The majority of those coins were pennies. Do you know how many pennies it takes to make $80? A LOT! Individually they aren't worth much but together you can end up with a lot more than you expected.

This is a great reminder to keep on top of the cleaning and to limit the clutter. When things are cluttered, important things (like $80!) get lost.

Home Remodeling: Faucets, part 2

On the heels of my successful master bathroom faucet project, I decided to tackle the half bathroom. This bathroom has a pedestal sink and started with a chrome faucet and chrome drain.



Since the pedestal sink has very limited access to the plumbing components, I decided to go with a new chrome faucet so that I wouldn't have to touch the drain. I am very glad I decided to do this because it was definitely challenging to access everything.

Anyway, here is the finished product! I love how it turned out. I am not generally a huge fan of the chrome finish but in the half bath I think it works really well. I still need to replace the toilet paper and hand towel holders so I am thinking I will choose something with a chrome finish to compliment my new faucet!