updates!

Now is the time to revisit some past posts and give you updates on how some of my projects turned out...

Homemade Bubble Bath: partial fail. The coconut oil feels great, the essential oils smell great, but WHERE ARE THE BUBBLES? Not a one could be found. So I am officially changing this project's name to "Homemade Bath."

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent: partial fail. Everything was going smoothly until I added the Lemi-Shine and my powdery concoction almost immediately solidified into a brick, kind of resembling a salt lick. My grandma lived out in the country and had one of those. Anyway, I am still using it and it seems to work well. It just sucks to chisel it out of the tupperware with a butter knife. I'll let you know if I come up with any solutions.

By the way, interesting that I regard these two projects as "partial fails" instead of "partial victories." I will instead go the way of Joel Osteen and call them "partial victories."

Snowflake Lane (date night): epic success. When we got to Bellevue and walked into the fray, I cried. I am pregnant, which may have contributed to my overwhelming flood of emotions. But I am telling you, people...it was magical. Snow falling, happy Christmas music playing, and everyone was so happy and excited! I imagine it will be a little bit like this in heaven. I never, ever thought I'd compare downtown Bellevue to anywhere but hell. But there it is!

That's all for now. The happiest of merry weekends to you all!

date nights on the cheap

Hi friends!

Well, it's Christmastime, which means that Jesus gets a birthday and all of us run out of money.

In light of this, I was inspired during a conversation with Kristen from my Community Group to give you all a few suggestions for date nights that could save you some money during this pinched season.

1) Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. Okay, I hate beer. But my husband loves it. And the Red Hook beer tour is only $1. That means two dollars buys you an hour or so of date night fun, the equivalent of two pints of beer for your husband (if you give your beer to him), and two cute little Red Hook glasses that are good for milk-and-cookie dipping moments. Afterwards you can head down to their restaurant and grab an appetizer (or a full dinner, but that's not very low-budget :)

2) Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. Let me just say that the hot chocolate at Honey Bear Bakery in Third Place Books is really delicious. And you can linger over it in a for-here cup, or get it to go and spend time browsing shelves of new and used books. Their gift store also has some pretty awesome stuff to browse through. If you make it in early enough, the library downstairs might be open, and libraries are always a good place to find random, free DVDs to check out, which would make your cheap date night complete.

3) Subway is having Customer Appreciation Month, which for you and me means $2 6-inch subs (if you get Meatball, Cold Cut, or Veggie). Two dollars! Subway's not the most romantic place to spend date night, but it's a good cheap place to get started!

4) The Crest Movie Theater in Shoreline. This could be a good finish to your Subway date night. The Crest plays older movies and tickets are only $3 each. It's really fun, and a good chance to catch a movie you missed while it was in theaters. Last week Charlie and I saw The Help. Really cool movie.

5) Snowflake Lane in Bellevue. Haven't been yet but hoping to make it this week. Apparently there's a big fiesta on the streets of Bellevue at 7 p.m. that involves fake snow, a drum line, and peppermint-flavored suckers. All for free! Does it get any better? If you feel extra inspired, make the short jaunt up to Kirkland and visit Urban Coffee Lounge. I heard it's the best coffee on the Eastside, they may make you a cute Christmasy drink, and they're open until 9 or 10 p.m. all week (double check their site for exact hours).

That's all I've got off the top of my head. Please feel free to post more ideas in the form of a comment. Merry Christmas-ing!

budgeting words from the not-so-wise

Let me just start off by saying that I have no authority whatsoever to be writing a post about how to save on groceries. I'm serious. I have blown our grocery budget every month since we got married except for maybe one or two. My kind husband insists it's because we didn't budget enough. And while I want to agree with this assessment, it has still always made me feel like a failure in this area.

Given my deep desire to not fail, I have sought out ways to save.

My most time-consuming effort has been couponing. Websites like Coupon Connections and Thrifty NorthWest Mom are good places to start if you're interested. Be warned - couponing is not for the faint of heart. But when I am intentional about not letting it stress me out, and making it work into our family's schedule instead of being ruled by it, I generally have really good results. And it's actually kind of fun sometimes.

I have also made spreadsheets. Many, many spreadsheets. I have tried to track the cheapest price for different items of food, what store to buy them at, how much each recipe will cost, etc. This, friends, is not my forte. I remember dragging myself through Fred Meyer one night, Charlie at my side with his calculator, estimating our final costs and determining if we should buy peanut butter this time or wait. This didn't turn out to be the way to go for our family. Maybe it is for yours. You gotta find what works.

Okay, so here are ten ways I have found to save money on groceries.

1. Sometimes I try to cook meals without meat because meat is the single most expensive item to buy, especially organic. I found a website that describes what complete proteins are: http://www.fitsugar.com/Whats-Complete-Protein-Inquiring-Vegetarians-Want-Know-165298. The main reason (besides taste) that meat is good is because of the protein in it, and so making a complete protein by combining foods (like rice and beans) works just the same. And I learned that you don't even have to have them in the same meal - for example, you could have rice for dinner one night and a bean burrito for lunch the next, and it still works! It's a little complicated so I'm still trying to work it into our system. But something like Cowboy Caviar is delicious and does make a complete protein (corn and beans) and is also a good filler for burritos.

2. When a recipe calls for meat, I usually cut the amount by 1/3-1/2. Like I will only put half the amount of chicken in Chicken Tortilla Soup, but since it's shredded it still goes a long way and there's some in every bite.

3. When I'm buying a really big chunk of meat like a pot roast I usually don't buy organic. We just can't afford it right now. I've come to terms with that. Maybe someday.

4. I have started checking couponing websites like couponconnections.com to just see what's on sale, and then I'll find a recipe based on that. Like last week I saw that eggplant was on sale, so I googled "eggplant recipe" and found Eggplant Parmigiana. To be honest, it wasn't very good, but it served its purpose as dinner for a night. Google also has a new feature...if you search for a specific ingredient, in the left side toolbar you can click "Recipe" and can check boxes to indicate what other ingredients you do or don't have, and it will automatically narrow your search results for you. Pretty cool. So I've been trying to buy stuff on sale or with coupons.

5. I limit what I buy organic to three top priorities: meat, dairy/eggs (excluding cheese - for some reason I don't care if my cheese is organic), and produce on the "dirty dozen list" - the top 12 foods with the most pesticides in them, and the top 15 "cleanest." I wrote them on an index card and keep it in my wallet so I can reference it at the store. The rest of my produce I've decided it's okay to buy non-organic. And sometimes it just makes sense - why buy an organic watermelon or orange when you're going to throw away the outside anyway?

5. Soups are really good ways to get lots of nutrition without spending a lot.

6. Look at your last grocery receipt and pick one thing you could have made instead of bought. Sometimes it's just not worth it, but other times it is if you have the time - homemade brownies, bbq sauce, mayonnaise, hummus, bread stuff, breakfast muffins, etc.

7. Snacks and lunch supplements made of fruits and veggies tend to be less expensive than store-bought, packaged stuff like chips or whatever. But it depends on what your family will tolerate :)

8. Generally I tend to split my shopping between Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's. TJ's produce has never really worked out for me, and Fred Meyer tends to have a good organic selection. Safeway, Albertsons, QFC and Top Foods seem to be more expensive and I try to avoid them unless I'm going in for sales, looking for managers' specials, or have coupons.

9. Buy from the bulk section. Fred Meyer, QFC, Central Market, and Whole Foods all have bulk sections. This is almost always cheaper than buying a package of something. I always try to buy things like spices, arborio rice, nuts, and specialty flour bulk. Saves a ton of money.

10. Buy dried beans and google how to soak and cook them. This is super cheap, but does take time and planning ahead.

Here's what I've learned: you have to find what works for you and for your family. There are a million ways to save money. Pick one and start there. Baby steps. Homemaking is a lifetime endeavor - you don't have to be saving in every possible way at once. I promise you will burn yourself out if you try.

Or maybe you don't want to work at saving on your grocery bill. There are a million ways to earn money to supplement your budget, even from home. This works too. Get creative.

But don't forget that the whole point is to be a blessing to your family. If a certain method or activity gets too stressful or time-consuming, it may not be worth continuing, even if it means spending more. Adding an extra stop at an out-of-the-way grocery store to save fifty cents on beans might not be the best way to love your family if everyone's already tired. Buy that item at the more expensive price and call it wisdom. I learned this principle from Charlie. I didn't believe him at first but now it's starting to sink in.

By the way, a great resource for more information and ideas is MoneySavingMom.com. I haven't explored it in depth yet but I'm excited to dive in.

Okay, that's all I've got. I'd love to hear other ideas about this - please leave a comment!

caramel delight

Halloween Party tonight! Or, should I say...Harvest Celebration! My personal opinion it doesn't really matter either way. I am no closer to worshipping Satan than I am to harvesting anything. But to each his own. Either way, October 31 is a great excuse to hang out with people!

I bought some apple juice and will use last year's Trader Joe's mulling spices to kick things up a notch. But the real excitement is the caramel sauce! I know, my life has become so, so small... :)

Okay, so I've never made candy before. Always looked like a real pain. But today is Charlie sick and asleep in bed, unfortunately unable to entertain me, so it seemed like a good chance to try something new and potentially messy.

Here's how my first attempt turned out. I won't tell you the source of the recipe because I'm sure it's not her fault. I only had a meat thermometer that went up to 220 degrees. I just had to guess when to pull it off the heat. And apparently you're not supposed to scrape the sugar into the pan that got stuck on the sides? But I did. It was bothering me. Okay, anyway... here's what not to do:

Looks like barf. Might still taste good though... hmm...

And then I thought of my newest favorite blog, and she did not fail me! Pioneer Woman, thank you for a caramel sauce recipe that is truly easy, delicious, and seems like cheating but who cares.

The result:

Well, the picture's not very good, but I will tell you I have literally been back to the kitchen three separate times now to try to lick a little more out of the pan. So, so tasty. It will be perfect on top of cider and whipped cream!

Happy October 31!

cold weather comfort

Today I have a recipe for you.

It is most definitely soup weather, and I am embracing the season. I discovered this recipe last year and have made it countless times since. Call it a hug from me to you.

One note: I would only attempt this recipe if you have an immersion blender. I have never had good experiences with hot liquid in upright blenders. If you don't have an immersion blender, get yourself to Goodwill and buy one today! They are so super handy.

Enjoy!

Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup

serves 4-6, takes about 35 minutes

2 Tbsp. butter

2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, washed and chopped

3 russet potatoes, peeled (or not) and chopped into small chunks

1 quart chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt & freshly ground black pepper

chopped fresh chives for garnish (I use dried and add them with the leeks)

bacon, chopped into small pieces, cooked and drained on a paper towel (I added this to the recipe for Charlie, who thinks everything is better with bacon)

In large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and saute leeks until soft, about 2-5 minutes. Increase heat and add potatoes and stock and cook until potatoes are cooked through and beginning to fall apart, about 15-20 minutes at a boil. Remove from heat. Submerge the immersion blender and puree until smooth with some chunks remaining. Add cream, blend to combine, season with salt and pepper. Put into bowls and top with chives.

On another note, want to know what one of my favorite dried herbs is? Parsley. It doesn't taste like much so you can basically add it to anything to make the meal look more fancy. I am all about fancy.

apartment therapy

Our bedroom! Done!

A few days ago I was wandering despairingly from room to room - are you noticing I do this often? - because once we got our furniture situated in the correct rooms I lost all motivation to finish decorating. Every room was undone and slowly causing me mild depression. This morning I came to my senses.

I woke up and realized there was nothing personal about our bedroom. I looked around and had no sense of context. Who am I? Where am I?! I realize these questions probably have deeper roots in my current identity crisis, but I decided the temporary solution would be to hang photos.

I'll let you know if I feel more situated when I wake up tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, here's a picture of how our bedroom has turned out so far. My favorite part is that Charlie loves it. He really wanted the bedroom to be a BEDROOM, not a multi-purpose/office/sewing/craft room. And he totally feels like we did it! Awesome! Because we are still in an apartment and not our Barbie Dream House, the sewing table did end up in this room. But it's hidden, tucked away in a little alcove. Bet you didn't even see it in that first picture, did you? Well, that's partly because of the camera angle. It's not totally your fault. Don't feel bad.

Surprise!

And just so you know, finishing this project has truly relieved a lot of mental angst. So my encouragement to you is to finish something! Anything! It's a surefire way to find a little bit of joy.

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent

It all started with the homemade laundry soap. I'm not sure if I shared about that, but it's been awesome. My most recent endeavor was making homemade dishwasher detergent. For no particular reason. I'm not so concerned with the earth right now, although that is a factor, and I'm not too worried about money, although that is also a factor. It mostly just sounded fun and home-makey. And now that I have a mechanical slave called a DISHWASHER I needed something to feed it.

So I made this lady's recipe (thank you, lady). And because we had some Amazon credit I bought the Lemi-Shine (didn't feel like emptying 50 packets of Koolaid into my washer) because I think it was cheaper per unit than the Citric Acid, and we already had the Borax and Fels-Naptha because of the laundry detergent. So for me, it was really cheap. I don't know about you. I don't think like that. My friend Allie thinks like that, and she does lots of calculating on her blog. It's awesome.

I'm really tired, so I don't have much more to say about this, except that it works. Our dishes are sparkly clean and I am a happy camper.