Blogging breaks

Blogging breaks seem to be the pattern that I have noticed for myself. It looks like I go through spurts of writing and then life catches up to me and I stop for a bit. Oh well. I guess I will never be one of those “mommy bloggers” who make gobs of money and has tons of followers. But, that’s okay. I’ll just keep plugging along and letting life take its course. After all…I’m only going to get this chance ONCE. I AM wanting to start writing a bit more now that school and schedules are the theme this month. Missing you guys!

..and the winner is…

I was just contacted by BloggingForBooks with the winner of the B.T.C Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook. *Drum Roll, Please* The winner is NAOMI B.!! Yay!!! They will be sending you an email regarding your winnings and how they can ship it to you. Congratulations, and enjoy!

Book Review: The Big-Flavor Grill

I was really excited to review a grilling cookbook, as my husband is awesome with the grill. I couldn’t wait to try out some smokin’ good recipes. It’s mostly a book about using pre-rubs for flavoring instead of time consuming marinating of your meats for grilling. Unfortunately, I didn’t see very many recipes in this book that suited our tastes and cooking style. One thing that I did like about the cookbook, is the fact that it had more than one recipe for each meat, and also a few side dish recipes to accompany the dishes. If you have a basic charcoal grill, I might recommend this to you to liven things up a bit, but otherwise, I advise checking this out from a library or borrowing from a friend to make sure it is what you are looking for, instead of purchasing it right off the bat.

*I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.”

First Ever Blog Give-a-way!

Hi guys! I’m so excited to announce my first ever give-a-way on my blog. You can win one of the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbooks that I reviewed a few weeks back.

This really is a great book! All you have to do is go HERE and fill out the form. Anyone can enter..local friends or out of town buddies. The company will be sending the book out to you for me. Isn’t that great?!  The contest starts on July 31, 2014 at 6:00am EST and ends on August 20th, 2014 at 11:59pm. One winner will be chosen at random on August 21st, 2014 and will be alerted by email. THANK YOU SO MUCH to BloggingForBooks for sponsoring this give-a-way! Good Luck!

Book Review: B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

I just finished reading B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook by Alexe Van Beuren with recipes by Dixie Grimes. Yes, I said I actually READ it. Normally, when receiving a cookbook, I skim through the recipes and don’t actually read everything in the book. This one was different. The stories Alexe tells of starting a small grocery store on a typical small-town main street, and her rise to creating a thriving small business is nothing short of inspirational. Dixie’s recipes are sure to have you itching to get in the kitchen and create, too. So many good, Southern recipes in one place just might be considered a crime in some areas! I can’t wait to start cooking through this collection. I highly recommend this cookbook. You won’t regret it. You can read Chapter one {here}.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own.

Review of “Modern Pioneering”

I just got through with reading the book “Modern Pioneering” by Georgia Pellegrini. And let me tell you, I LOVED it! This is exactly my type of book. She doesn’t go into too many of those homesteading subjects that are beyond the modern gal. Almost all of her ideas and recipes were actual things I would try. She did have a few things that were a bit “out there”…..for example: She had several fig recipes (I’ve never even eaten a fig before) and she had several page on growing mushrooms and mushroom recipes. This gal does NOT eat fungi. Sorry. I preferred the second half of the book over the first, but it was all worth reading. Overall, I’m sure to be referencing this book often. I would definitely recommend purchasing the book if you are even halfway interested in this type of modern self sufficiency…or at the very least, checking it out at your local library.

 

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own.

Frugal Friday VI

There’s not much frugality going on this week, as I am HERE:  Yay for vacations !!!!

 

Frugal Friday V

Here’s what I’ve done this week to be Frugal:

Earned another $5 in Swagbucks

Finished putting together my new sewing nook, so that I can get inspired to start sewing again to be even more frugal

Made a vegetable beef soup for dinner with corn, green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes from garden harvests…and venison harvested by one of the male’s in my household

We found a volunteer tomato plant out behind the building we previously used for a chicken coop…It had 11 tomatoes on it, ready to be harvested! Free food is awesome!!

Went to six Dollar General store to find 40 pack of Glad Trashbags for 1.37 a box. These were regularly priced at 7.50 a box. I got 8 or 9 boxes. A friend told me about the sale, and I hit as many stores as I could to stock up for awhile. This is one way I try to be Frugal all year. If I find a good sale on something, I try to stock up with at least a year’s worth of the product. Usually, sometime during that year, I can find another sale to stock up for the next year…and so on. I’m still using dryer sheets that I got for free using coupons THREE years ago!

..And probably the most Frugal thing I did this week, was make the joint decision with my husband NOT to purchase a new car (with a car payment) and instead look into making arrangements to get the transmission fixed in my van that went out on Thursday.

What did you guys do this week to be Frugal? I love hearing your ideas!

Sewing Nook Reveal

I’ve been inspired by Pinterest to “fancy up” my sewing nook. I am thrilled with how it turned out. By using coupons, thrift store finds, and gifts from others, I was able to create this little area for around $50.

I bought my sewing machine 18 years ago, and it looks old and raggedy..but it still works great! My mother-in-law handed down the serger about 7 or 8 years ago, and I’m still learning how to use it properly. I have been mostly self-taught in all aspects of sewing, with just a few pointers from some good friends and LOADS of trial and error.

I purchased the old sewing machine table at a thrift store for $10. A friend gave me some left over greenish-blue paint that I used on the top and legs, so that was free.

The table the serger is sitting on is an OLD typewriter stand that my dad passed down to me. The top got ruined in the tornado, so I decided to sand it down and paint it. I went to Lowes and had them use their machine to scan the color on the “inspiration” plaque and then had them mix that color in one of those little sample paint cans that cost 2.97.

The chair was purchased at a thrift store for $5. I went to Hobby Lobby and used a coupon for the material. It was around $8 with the coupon…a little pricey, but I wanted a nice fabric that would last.

I bought the two signs from Hobby Lobby with their 40% off specials of the week. The inspiration sign was $2 something, and the Scarlett O’Hara sign was $5 something. I really liked that one since I usually am putting off my sewing projects indefinitely…! I made the cute flower on the sign out of scraps from the chair fabric, and also used scraps to make the ruffle on the lamp shade (the lamp was give to me from a friend a few years ago).

I bought the thread holder full price at Walmart for $9 something..which was still a good deal. Hancock fabric was selling the exact thing for almost $20 and Michaels had it for close to $15. It pays to shop around.

My sewing box was given to me by my sister-in-law, and the basket under the table that holds my knitting/crocheting items was given to me by my mother-in-law. (Yes, I DO have great in-laws!)

Also, not shown in this picture is a chest of drawers that holds my patterns, materials, crafting supplies and sewing supplies.

I’m super excited about starting my next project, now that I have my sewing nook completed! Any ideas???

Frugal Friday IV

Seems like once you fall of the frugal wagon one week, it sure is hard to get back on the next! It’s been a busy week for me, and when I am busy, it is hard for me to concentrate on being very frugal. Hmm..let’s see…

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some material (with a coupon) to recover a $5 thrift store office chair that I am using in the new sewing nook that I am creating upstairs. My sweet husband took a few minutes and re-upholstered it for me and I absolutely love it. I will post pics of my nook when it gets complete (and yes, this is MY project, so it isn’t going to take two or three years to finish like SOME people’s projects….I won’t mention any names here, but said person lives with me!!!)

I made a home-made pumpkin pie completely from scratch. I had cooked a pumpkin last fall, and froze the pumpkin puree. I made the crust from scratch. When looking over the recipe, I realized I did not have the usual evaporated milk called for, so I kept googling until I found a recipe that had the ingredients that I had on hand. I ended up using cream and the pie was delicious! Using what you have on hand, and not running to the store for every little item is VERY frugal!

Yesterday I had lunch at Starbucks for .29. Earlier in the year, I had purchased a Groupon (before Starbucks’ irritating stand on marriage was brought to light) and I refused to use it. This week, I received an email stating that it was getting ready to expire. While driving around town running errands with only $3 cash in my wallet, I started to think of where I could eat for cheap. I saw the Starbucks sign in the distance, and immediately started salivating just thinking of their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Before I realized what I was doing, I was standing at the counter with the Latte in one hand, and a ham & swiss pannini in the other. I know, I’m weak!

The only other real frugal thing I did this week was say “yes” to subbing at the school again. If I am working and making money, it means I am not in town spending it!

What did you guys do this week to be frugal?