Frugal Friday - Pantry Cooking

I've been having a great time learning more about double coupons and playing the drugstore game. I've been doing pretty well too - in fact, I think I have enough stuff now that I need to take a break from shopping and just do some cooking.

My plan is to get to the back of the freezer and look through the pantry thoroughly in the next few weeks. As we get into hotter weather, I really like to have a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, so I'll definitely keep buying that stuff. I'm also interested in trying new recipes, so I'll be browsing my cookbooks and checking out helpful sites like allrecipes.com that let me search by the ingredients I have.

Among the things I know I have to work with:

A couple frozen pizza crusts

Lots of flour

Random grains I didn't have a good plan for (wild rice, barley)

Random legumes that only my husband maybe knows what they are (Indian store impulse purchases)

Chutney that is good with rice and yogurt

Puliogare powder (also goes with rice and yogurt)

Rasam mix (rice and tomatoes)

Canned tomatoes

Pepper jelly (is there even a good use for this? people keep giving it to us because my husband likes spicy food)

Lots of sticky rice and seaweed for sushi (veggie only!)

Random rice noodles we didn't have a plan for

Rice paper wrappers for spring rolls

Various under-used spices



I made this list without even looking. That means these things have been around for too long and made it onto too many previous lists. So here's some accountability by sharing it! We'll have to see how I work these items into the meal plans for the next few weeks. What this list definitely shows me is that buying things without a plan is not a good idea. Buying things with just one recipe in mind isn't great either. Who knows, maybe I'll discover some great new dishes and these will be useful after all.

By the way, I still think that stockpiling food can be a good idea, especially given concerns over rising grocery costs. However, it's never a good idea to leave food sitting around too long, and these things really should go. I'll still keep an eye out for extraordinary deals as we do this.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Old Irish saying...

(Photo from our second trip to Ireland.)




I can't remember where I found this one, but I keep it by the computer to remind me to get to work!

"You will not get the field plowed by turning it over in your mind."

Works for Me Wednesday - Cooling the House with Fans

Yesterday was the first day this year that I wanted an air conditioner. I'm sure we'll put one in the bedroom at least, but I hope to use fans as our primary means of cooling the house. Here are a couple ideas:

-Put ceiling fans in every room that you can. The come in all sorts of designs and are not hard to put up. (This Old House online has a feature on doing this right now.) These keep the air moving whether the windows are open or not, which is a huge help.

-Use your attic fan. Or if, like me, you don't have an attic fan, put a box fan blowing out in one of the windows on your highest floor. For me this is a finished attic with regular windows.

-A great technique is to open as many windows in the house as possible and turn on the fan early in the morning. That way you pull the coolest air of the day through the house. When it starts to heat up, close the windows and keep that cool air in. This works especially well if you have insulated windows. You can then use the ceiling fans to keep the air from getting too still.

-Also, remember to use curtains and shades on the side of the house that gets direct sun to keep more of the heat out. Light colors are good, or you can get curtains designed to reflect the sun back out.

Check out more helpful ideas for Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

Fixing Up Old Furniture - A Free Bookcase

We've had this bookcase for about 7 years now. It came to us after years of use in a little boy's room. It was free and certainly sturdy enough. The only bad thing about it was that the backing had a bunch of stickers on it. Not surprisingly, when we went to taking them off, the paper finish on the backing came off too. It didn't look very good.

I came up with a very easy solution. We had recently painted the room it would go in a nice pale green. I had leftover paint. I just laid the bookcase on its back and painted the backing the same green. It blended in with that room very well and has been a nice accent in the places we have lived since.

We've now replaced all of our other IKEA/fiberboard furniture, and if you look hard, you can see the edges of the shelves don't look so great anymore. I'm planning to retire this one to pantry use in the basement. It will still be useful, and I'll still enjoy the pretty green color.

Sunday Sample Roundup

I didn't get as many samples this week, but they are all very useful:

Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste - this is my husband's favorite and it will be great for travel

Sensodyne Toothpaste - I need this kind of toothpaste, also a great size for travel

Dove Ultimate Clear Deoderant in Cool Essentials - a nice scent, also great for travel

(Looks like I better get to planning a trip sometime soon!)

Seattle's Best Coffee in Vanilla Bean - I already tried this one - it's very yummy. It came with a $1 coupon, and a list of flavors. I know which one I have to try - Cinnabon! I pretty much can't eat those things anymore because I'm not used to eating much junk, but I love the smell. I'm hoping this coffee gives me the taste without the blah feeling.

Single Serve Beverage Mixes - Kool-Aid, Crystal Light Immunity, Country Time Lemonade, plus a $0.50 coupon

Super Savings Saturday - Selling CVS finds

I barely did any shopping this week, opting instead to eat through our pantry. I wanted to share instead how I turned a money-making deal at CVS into even more of a money-maker by selling it online.

Remember a few months ago when Oasis mouthwash was free at CVS and with a coupon they paid you to take it home?

I considered giving it away, but decided to play with selling it on eBay. I did sell this lot of 3. I didn't get a lot for it, but what I did make was just extra on a deal that already paid. I also sold a couple of those fancy razors they were giving away.

I think I'll try this again in the future with excellent deals. I find the eBay marketplace to be rather inconsistent though, so I don't plan to buy anything I have to pay for and try to sell it. If you want to try this, also consider the time involved. I've sold other things on eBay before, so it didn't take me a lot of time to do this.

For more stories of saving success, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Frugal Friday - Local Plant Sales

Springtime is when a bunch of local organizations in our area have plants sales to raise money. Most of these places are parks or gardens of some kind. In my experience, the plants tend to be good quality. By buying at one of these events, you support a local organization and get something nice.

I recently learned another trick though: go at the end of the sale and they will have a lot of plants they want to unload quickly.

Back in March, I think, we happened to go to Longwood Gardens, which is quite a drive for us, when they were on the last day of their orchid sale. I got the beautiful plant above and 8 others (I went a little overboard) for $5 each. This is an unheard of price for orchids. We did have to pick through some damaged plants, since it was the end of the sale, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we got. I'm hoping to do this again next year intentionally, and keep an eye out for similar opportunities closer to home.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Scheduling, Re-categorizing...

Sheesh. I though I was being so organized having things set up in advance. But I managed to post what was supposed to be this Saturday's post yesterday! Many apologies to those of you who subscribe. That one will reappear sometime later - I wasn't even done editing it!

On the whole, though, I've been enjoying the new scheduler function. I'm definitely learning that I can be more organized about blogging and have just as much fun while spending even less time on it. Things have been nuts around here, so that would be nice. Between a busy holiday weekend and more PhD blitz days (where my husband needs the computer all day), I think the scheduler will be seeing a lot of use.

I think I must have messed up my scheduling as I was going through and re-categorizing all my old posts. I still have about 50 more to go. It seems pretty silly to me that a librarian didn't make use of the labels field. Go figure. I started this shortly after I stopped my last library job - maybe I was rebelling?

Anyway, hopefully I'll have my act together better going forward. Today I have a lot of stuff on my schedule - home tasks, garden tasks, some errands, and a good dose of music and art. Have a great day and a wonderful holiday weekend!

CVS Strategy - Multiple Transactions

As I was commenting recently at Chief Family Officer, I told Cathy about my strategy for doing multiple transactions without annoying the cashiers. I thought this was worth a brief post as well.

I have sometimes had mildly negative reactions from cashiers at CVS. (I've actually had the opposite experience from Cathy - I find the CVS cashiers to be nicer about it than Walgreen's or Rite Aid. That's part of why I do those deals more often.) I think mostly they are confused about the fact that the store is not suffering because you do these deals. The manufacturers pay for these opportunities - it's a marketing expense. That's how they pay for the coupons too. No one needs to worry about the well-being of the store - if offering these deals stops being beneficial for them, they'll stop offering the deals. But remember, the cashier earning a sad, low wage (I've been one!), may not understand all of that. Don't worry too much about their opinion of what you're doing, but make an effort to make life easy for them too.

I do two things to make this problem more comfortable for everyone:

1) I don't try to do more than one transaction at a time - I go through the line with one transaction, put that stuff in my car, and come back again. That way I don't hold up the line with my more complicated plans. I also find it's easier for me to keep things straight this way. I try to go when it's very quiet, so this doesn't take forever.

2) I have a couple of CVS stores I pass while doing other things during the week, so I'll also try to hit more than one store, or come back a couple times to break it up. I don't drive myself nuts with this, but it can actually be more fun to me to go twice and be less stressed about being an inconvenince to the cashiers.

Obviously, it's easier for me to stop in a store multiple times than it is for most of you moms out there. I'm sure I'll have to adapt my strategy a bit someday. But for now, this works well for me and makes doing multiple transactions much more palatable.

Keep CVS shopping fun. If you're finding it to be a burden, rethink what you are doing. I really find it to be entertainment, not just good stewardship of our funds. My husband says it's like watching me participate in a sporting event. Have a good time with it!

Works for Me Wednesday - Freezing Sauce

I think this is an idea I initially read about in the Tightwad Gazette. I've gotten so accustomed to doing it, I hardly think about it anymore.

If you have some leftover sauce of any kind to freeze, consider freezing it in an ice cube tray. After the cubes are frozen, you can pop them out and store them very efficiently in a ziplock bag. Now you can pull out just as much as you need to use. This is great for me, because sometimes I want enough for a dinner for the two of us or more, and sometimes I want just enough for me for lunch. I do this with pesto and spaghetti sauce most often.

It also works well for juice. For example, if you have some lemons that you don't think you'll use up before they go back, just squeeze the juice and freeze either in an ice cube tray or a small ziplock bag, in a quantity you can foresee using at one time. This is very useful to have around.

For more ideas, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

100th Post!

I can hardly believe I'm up to my 100th post already! I've had a bunch of fun and continue to learn a lot.

I debated a while before starting a blog. I enjoyed what I read on other people's blogs and felt I did have ideas I wanted to share. My experiences as a librarian held me back a bit - I value my privacy and know all too well how many strange people there are out there.

However, everyone who has left me comments so far has been very nice. Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement and "meeting" you.

Thanks also to those who have subscribed through RSS. What a compliment! I'm still a bit confused at times by the idea that this stuff does actually get read. I recently had a day with almost 500 page views - pretty wild.

I hope I have shared at least a few good things with you. I have some plans for upcoming posts that I think will be even better.

More pictures - I know I love a blog with pictures. In fact I read several decorating blogs as well as frugality/homemaking/personal finance blogs. As I look around my house almost everything has some sort of frugality story to go along with it. So I'm hoping to highlight more of those things and share my techniques for making my home comfortable and attractive without spending too much money.

More book reviews - I haven't gotten as much reading done as I would have hoped recently, but I'm looking forward to posting more reviews. Several years ago, when money was a good bit tighter and I was working full-time as a reference librarian, I got just about every book on saving money that I could find - in our entire state. I kept some decent notes and I'm starting to read through them again. For me, this was like another Master's degree, but this time in something really useful. I'd love to share more of that with you.

Have a great day!

Digital TV Converter

If, like me, you don't have cable, you'll soon need a converter to continue to be able to watch TV. The government is offering coupons for $40 off of one of these devices. I checked at Radio Shack yesterday, and they seem to cost about $60.

I hear HGTV calling me, saying, "get cable, get cable, it's the perfect excuse." I think I will resist and pick up my converter sometime soon.

You'll need to request the coupons, which will come to you in the mail. Go here for all of the information you need.

Commitment to Loveliness...

Emma over at Charming the Birds from the Trees is hosting this again. I appreciate the reminder to make my life more beautiful. Here are my five things to work on this week:

1. Figure out what bedding I want to use on our new bed. (We switched from plain old mattess and boxspring to a beautiful wood bed, but now the dust ruffle doesn't work and my coverlet is looking shabby. I need to experiment.)

2. Weed! I have been putting this off because I had a concert to play recently and gardening is hard on my hands and arms. We've had lots of rain and the weeds are growing faster than my "real" plants.

3. Plant my vegetables.

4. Find an outdoor chandelier for our covered patio.

5. Wash my car. We have some cute, chirping baby birds living in a nest in a gutter right next to the driveway. My black car looks so bad, between the pollen and the birds.

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't get through everything we had planned for last week, so I'll be re-using a few meal plans. That's always a nice bonus. I'm trying to use mostly stuff we already have, since I've been getting things on sale.

Monday - salmon, leftover Chinese vegetables, rice/wild rice blend

Tuesday - garlic pasta with fake chicken, brocolli

Wednesday - dosas, sambhar with vegetables

Thursday - puliogare powder/rice, vegetable

Friday - black beans (slow cooker) and rice with cheese, salsa, etc

Saturday - fake buffalo wings, couscous, carrots

Shopping list - peanut butter, mexican cheese blend, sour cream, fruit

For more menu plans, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Sunday Sample Review

This week was good for samples:

Dove Pro-Age Shampoo and Conditioner

L'oreal Skin Genesis SPF 15 Lotion and Serum Concentrate

Icy Hot Medicated Patch

Prilosec OTC (someone in my family can use this)

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub

Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste (great for travel)

Total Cranberry Crunch cereal

Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee (this is a big one - 2.5 oz)

I'm enjoying pausing to notice these things. It really is a nice little supplement to the things we buy.

Super Savings Saturday - CVS Success

This week was good for me at CVS. I went in with $15 in ECBs, a $1 off Aquafresh coupon and spent an additional $3. In four transactions, I came out with $18 in ECBS and:

8x10 and 5x7 photos
3 Colgate 360 toothbrushes
3 CVS brand Allergy Medicine (like Claritin)
3 Aquafresh toothpastes
3 Addidas men's deoderants
2 Tums 24 ct
2 Skor bars and a Special Dark bar (I was forced to throw in chocolate to make the deals work.)

I love this store! It's not just saving money, it's quality entertainment too.

For more savings stories, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Frugal Friday - Easy Way to Save on Electricity

I was watching an episode of HGTV's Living with Ed recently, which showed a neat setup where you could turn off all of the non-essential electric devices in your house with a single switch. This prevents thing that draw electricity even when they are "off" from wasting electricity. It's a great idea, and one I might consider if I owned my house.

I don't own, however, so I need to go for simpler but perhaps less elegant solutions. The system we use is one we've had for years.

The devices that draw electricity while they are not being used are things that are always ready to be turned on (like your TV or stereo) or things with a clock (like your microwave). Our solution is to put things like this on powerstrips that can be easily switched off when the devices are not in use. We have one for the stereo system, one for the TV/VCR/DVD player cabinet, and one for the computer and accessories. We just get in the habit of switching them off and it's an easy way to save some electricity. The power strips also serve as another layer of protection for these expensive items.

One more thing that constantly draws electricity - chargers, such as for your cell phone or iPod. Do yourself a favor and unplug these things when you aren't using them. Or put them in all together and plug them into a power strip too.

This is one area where the environmentally friendly thing is also absolutely a money saving thing. I'm not sure of numbers for the savings, since we've been doing this for years, but I do know our electric bills are much lower than the average bills of other people we know with similar living spaces.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Sample to Request - Freshaire Paint

I saw the post about these free samples at Money Saving Mom and thought about getting them, but didn't do it at first. I do have some painting to do, and I love the idea of low or no-VOC paint, but I figured it would be too expensive to bother with.

Then I was at Home Depot, in the paint section, and discovered that the paint really isn't insanely expensive - about $36 a gallon. Not as cheap as normal, but since this project keeps getting pushed off, and maybe I'll be lucky and end up doing it while pregnant, it could be a worthwhile purchase. Yesterday there was some in the oops paint section, but not the color I needed - maybe I'll luck out and find what I want there next time. Also, according to one of the people who commented over at Crystal's blog, you get a paint coupon with your free sample order.

If you are interested in trying some free samples, head over here for the information. The folks answering the phone are friendly and helpful, and located in Cleveland, OH. In other words, it's an easy call that won't bring down your day, as some customer service calls do these days.

This is one of those environmentally friendly thing that does cost a little more than usual. For us, with a history of allergies and asthma, I think it could be a worthwhile expense. Keeping healthy is always most frugal in the end.

Giant Food Stores: Free Plus Overage Cereal

Giant (this is the mid-Atlantic Giant, different from the other Giant in other parts of the country), has the new Live Active Cereal from Kraft on sale for $2.39.

You can get a coupon here for $3 off this cereal. (Thanks Money Saving Mom!)

I had never tried a coupon with potential overage at this store before so I wasn't sure what would happen. They gave it to me. I'm liking this store better and better. And I don't even have to go through any traffic lights to get there! (This store has changed hands three time in the last 10 years or so, and often the changes have not been for the better. So this is great news for me.)

Works for Me Wednesday: Running Plan

For a variety of reasons (stress reduction, health, fun) my husband and I decided we wanted to start a running program. We have both been in better shape than we currently are, though we aren't doing too badly. Running seemed a natural choice since we have a track up the street and a great neighborhood for running in too. Have been a high school athlete (and maybe a little bit stubborn?), I tend to push myself too hard when I start a new workout program. After all, I once could have done so much more. This has sometimes led to injury in the past.

We happened to talk to a very overweight aquaintance recently who told us about the couch to 5k running program he had started. I was happy for him that he was taking this step to improve his life. I also figured that if he could do it, it should be easy for us.

I found the plan here. We've now been doing it for four weeks, and I like the results. I would definitely have pushed myself harder, and having the planned workouts has been a huge help in restraining myself. I'm feeling stronger and healthier already and my husband has lost a few pounds.

Running is naturally a frugal type of exercise. You just need some shoes and comfortable clothes. If you've been pondering how to get in shape for the summer, I recommend this plan, along with some stretching and walking. Mix it in with whatever else you like to do.

I hope you found this idea useful. Check out more of Works for Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Biscuits!!!

In the past few years we've been to Ireland three times and England once. (Thankfully my husband's job paid for two of these trips.) One of my favorite grocery items there are biscuits. Shortbread is good, but I do love the chocolate coated digestive biscuits. Chocolate and cookie, and you can even tell yourself they are a bit healthy! (Well, at least that's what I do.)

Last time we went to Ireland, that was actually the main thing I brought home for myself. I haven't ever seen them in a store here. It occurred to me the other day to check on Amazon to see if maybe I could have them delivered. It turns out you can!

These are my favorite biscuits. Normally I'm more into dark chocolate, but on biscuits I prefer milk chocolate. McVities is my favorite brand, but Cadbury makes some pretty good ones too. They are a bit pricey and the shipping is rather expensive because they are coming from England, but it's way cheaper than a trip across the Atlantic! Now I can feel free to eat up the ones I brought back. (Hmm, maybe it's not the best thing to find out after all.)

I'm going to try to remember in the future that if there's is some odd food or ingredient I'm looking for, Amazon can be a good source. Little luxuries like this balance out the frugal diet we usually keep and make it easier to stay on track financially.

Book Review: The Indian Vegetarian

I got several comments on the dosas in my menu for this week. Where do I get the ingredients, what do I eat with them, etc...

For ingredients, your regular supermarket has a lot of what you need. I'm impressed with how stores have been adding a greater variety of ethnic ingredients. I go to one of the good Indian grocery stores in Philadelphia a few times a year when I'm there for some other reason. We used to live there, so it's fun to go back a visit. I suspect that there are websites you can order special spices or mixes from too, but I haven't pursued it myself.

With the dosas, I'll eat dosa podi with oil. (See the comments on the menu post for a recipe). Sambhar, a kind of soup/sauce, is also good. Or a potato curry stuffing (again, recipe link in the menu comments).

I've been fortunate to learn some Indian cooking firsthand from friends and even better, the mother of one friend. Much of my Indian cooking education, however, has come from this great book:



Unfortunately it looks like it's out of print now. It's great! Her recipes are easy to understand. Some are definitely complicated, but she often offers easier versions for you to try too. I've made at least 20 things out of this book, and they have all been good. The curry sauces are yummy. The pakoras and koftas are great too. (Plus I learned you can freeze them and heat up later!) The pistachio cookies are very good and so easy. Lots of great vegetable dishes too. This is a book I keep returning to so I can learn more.

Another advantage of learning from a book - unlike some of the websites with decent recipes, she explains the ingredients she is using. In fact, there is a huge opening section all about this. It will help you find what you need at a store, make substitutions if necessary and just make sense of the recipes you may find elsewhere too. I highly recommend it. Happy cooking!

Sunday Sample List

I've decided to do one sample posting a week, listing everything I got that week. I think that will be less fussy than a daily list. With blogger's new function of scheduling posts in advance, I can make these post come on Sunday, even though we seldom even turn on the computer on Sundays.

So this week's samples:

Three tea varieties and a good coupon from Yogi Tea.

Dove Ultimate Clear Deoderant in Energizing. This scent is described as grapefruit and lemongrass. It doesn't seem very citrus-y to me, but it's not unpleasant. I'll stash this away for travel - I love having a smaller deodorant so I can fit more in the regulation size ziplock bags.

A diaper, which I immediately threw in with the baby stuff stash so I didn't have to look at it. Mother's Day can be tough for those of us with several dead children and none alive. Someday, it will be useful.

That's it! I must have a bunch more coming from Walmart and other places soon. This was definitely a light week.

Menu Plan Monday

A mostly vegetarian menu. Tuesday and Thursday we may have to eat dinner separately because I have evening events to attend - slow cooker meals are great for these days, I can just set the cooker to warm and the meal will still be fresh and inviting when my husband gets home.

Monday - Greek salad (need to use up that great feta cheese I found last week)

Tuesday - Black beans (in the slow cooker) and rice, with various toppings

Wednesday - Salmon with whole wheat couscous

Thursday - Split pea soup

Friday - Dosas with dosa podi (Dosas are a South Indian crepe made of rice and urad beans and the dosa podi is a red spicy powder than includes lentils. So, though you would guess by looking at it, it's a good protein source. I get the dosa mix from the store but make the dosa podi in the blender. I'll add a vegetable side to this.)

Saturday - Jalapeno popper pizza (using a frozen pizza crust I made last week)

Shopping list - carrots, nutritional yeast (need to make more instant stock for soups - for the recipe see the cookbook Miserly Meals), salad, long grain brown rice, sliced jalapenos, Mexican cheese blend

The Value of a Stay-At-Home Mom

Here is an article at Fox News about what a stay-at-home mom would earn if she were compensated in dollars for her work. We stay-at-home wives are a rarer bunch, but I'm sure we're worth a lot too. I think it's encouraging for those of us who gave up pretty nice jobs to come home to see this sort of valuation. Not that the money is the most important thing, but it doesn't hurt.

Remember, too, this is the value of a typical SAHM. For us black-belt tightwads, I'm sure there should be a higher price. Don't you agree? :)

Super Savings Saturday - Grocery Store Guarantee

I had two great grocery trips this week, each coming in at less than half the original price after all discounts were applied. I also got the free 8x10 print at Walgreen's - a beautiful print from our last vacation. But the highlight was a discovery about my closest grocery store's policies.



I purchased a package of Stonyfield Farms YoMommy yogurt with a coupon I got here. This was a $1 coupon, and Giant was running a double $1 coupon special, so the yogurt cost less than 50 cents. I was delighted with this to begin with. I was in a hurry and didn't check the date on it. When I got it home, I looked at it and found the date was April 29 - more than a week past the pull date. I took it back. They not only replaced it for me, they gave me double the price of the yogurt back. That meant I got free yogurt and about $5. They were happy I pointed it out too - most of this variety of yogurt that was on their shelf had expired. So everyone was happy.



It might be wrong to deliberately make this kind of thing happen, but I am pleased with the end result. I was annoyed at the inconvenience of returning to the store, but because of this good response I'm not put off of going there in the future.



By the way, purchasing prenatal yogurt is not any kind of happy announcement. I figure food is food, and the whole idea is a bit silly anyway. Plus, if it's good for being pregnant, I'm sure it's good for trying to conceive.



For more stories of savings success, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Frugal Friday - Frugal Gardening from a Beginner

I'm new to gardening, so keep in mind, my plans may or may not work out well! But I'll share what I've been doing to keep my costs down while attempting to make my backyard more beautiful.

I live in a small rental house with a small yard. I don't want to put too much money into the yard, especially since I probably won't take the plants with me when we leave. However, it just looked awful, so I was determined to add some color to it.

I started by ordering a pre-planned garden package from Spring Hill. I ordered while they were having a half price order sale, so I got about 15 plants for $30. I adapted the layout plan a little to suit my yard, and so far the plants are doing well. Part of what I like about ordering from them is that the plants are guaranteed - they will give me my money back if I give it a fair try and they don't succeed. Hopefully that won't happen, but it's nice to know anyway.

As I cleared away the weeds, I discovered a few good plants already in the yard - a lilac, a hydrangea and a few rose bushes. I wanted to add similar plants to these, or at least plants that went well with what was there.

I had a potted hydrangea I had used as a centerpiece inside, so I planted that. I also added the two rose bushes you see in the picture above. They were $4 each at Aldi and are already growing quite well.

In my limited space in the front, which is pretty much container planting in boxes that are part of a deck, I put inexpensive petunias from Produce Junction. With a little attention (making sure they don't get cooked in the bright sun they get), they are really taking off.

This week a relative gave us a hot pepper plant and a tomato plant that he grew from seed. I'm planning to add another tomato and a bell pepper to that, but I'll wait a few more weeks to put these more tender plants into the ground. I need to work out a rabbit-defense system first too. I'm also planning to get some herb plants to put in a rectangular planter I already have. Hopefully that will deter the rabbits too.

So, those are my frugal gardening attempts so far. I've spent about $50 including some additions to the soil. I've had a great time, gotten some good exercise, and my yard looks better already.

If you have any suggestions or warnings for me, or any favorite gardening books, let me know. I'm knew to this and eager to learn. It's a fun experiment.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Ads for Charity

You may notice that I have added some advertisements for charities I have mentioned in previous posts to the side and bottom of my blog. (If you read in a feed reader, click through to my site to see.) Heifer and the Hunger Site are places I have supported for years, and I'm happy it occurred to me to further support them in this way.

If you click through to Heifer, you can give a monetary gift that will help the fight against hunger. It's really interesting to learn about the way the gifts get used too. They focus on teaching independence and self-sufficiency, which I think is very important. A gift may not be a good thing if it keeps people dependent on future gifts. Heifer really gets that.

If you click through to the Hunger Site, you can make a donation happen without giving any of your own money. The advertisers on this site pay for your donation - you can click once per day per cause. Along with hunger, you can also help out in the areas of breast cancer, child health, literacy, saving the rainforests, and animal rescue. If you purchase from their advertisers, you give an even larger donation. But what I love about this site is that it is a way for anyone, whether they have money to give or not, to help others. It's a great idea. I use this as my homepage, which helps me remember to click everyday.

Magazine Review: Romantic Homes

I love decorating. I love reading about decorating. I don't generally watch TV, but when I do, it's sure to be HGTV - I have my mom tape it for me sometimes. I love watching the shows that show you how to do a lot with a little money - like Sensible Chic, Design on a Dime, or Decorating Cents. I feel like I learn something even if I don't like the design they do - it's about the thought process.

Romantic Homes magazine serves a similar function for me. I have to admit that I'm not enthusiastic about some of the style changes they have made in the last year or so - more retro designs and bold colors - closer to Cottage Living and less Shabby Chic. However, there is a DIY, crafty, resourceful tone that makes this magazine a fun read whether I love all the elements of the final design. Great finds from thrift stores and garage sales are often highlighted, and then shown in an attractive and useful setting. I think this can be helpful - it's like a practice run for your own treasure hunting.

The article that originally got me to subscribe to this magazine was a fantastic example of making something beautiful out of humble materials. The couple featured had put a trailer onto land I think they intended to build on someday. I can't remember whether they abandoned that plan or not, but you might have wanted to after seeing what they did with it. They added inexpensive interior details - molding, beadboard, lots of paint - and made it into an incredibly homey and relaxing place. Architectural features, found inexpensively of course, were included to give a feeling of age and depth that would otherwise have been lacking. Beautiful fabrics made a big difference too. I was so impressed. At the time I was dealing with a boring and small city apartment and very little funds. I figured this was a good magazine for me.

While it's not my absolute, number one favorite magazine (I'll review that one soon), it's worth taking a look at. Do you ever go to a bookstore and just grab a few magazines to browse while you are there? If you feel bad about this free use of their materials (though you shouldn't, they set it up that way because it increases their sales), just buy a coffee or snack to enjoy while you browse. Lots of fun for just a little money. Next time you have the opportunity, I recommend checking this magazine out.

Saving on Stamps

I'm sure we've all heard about it, but do you remember that United States Postal Service rates go up on May 12? Did you know you can purchase forever stamps at today's prices which will be good no matter what the rates change to in the future? You can buy them online or at the post office. This is an investment you are sure to see a return on. I keep meaning to get some, so I'm telling you as a reminder for myself. :) For more information, look here.

Unrelated: There are a few new samples at walmart.com today. They include Ban deoderant, Crystal Light drink mix and Benefiber.

Clinique Happy - for free!

Crystal posted about this opportunity last week. You make an e-card type thing at this website, and you get a coupon for a free purse sized bottle of Clinique Happy. You need to take the coupon into a store that sells Clinique and ask for your free perfume. I always feel a little silly about things like that - but not silly enough to not do it.

I got a free sample of this back in February and decided I really like it. It's light and fresh. I was actually thinking about buying it! Fortunately, I can put that off a while longer.

If you like this perfume, or just want to give it a try, spend a minute or two at their website to do this. It is silly, but not too time consuming. I thought it was a nice treat that added a bit of luxury to my day.

Three Random Things Meme

Saving Money and Being Happy tagged me to do a three random things about me post. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond - it has been nuts around here!

Let's see:

I met my husband in high school. We're going on seven happy years of marriage.

I used to be a competitive swimmer, lifeguard and swim instructor. Oh boy, just realized that was 10 years ago. That's scary.

I play the viola. Pronounce it vee-oh-la. Good. Please, don't send me any viola jokes, I've heard them all already! (note to non-musicians - like blond jokes, but worse)

I'm not a fan of chain-letter-type things, so if you'd like to consider yourself tagged, please comment and let me know. If not, have a great day. :)

Organic Dairy Coupons

One of the food items I do spend quite a bit on is organic milk and yogurt. I tried it for health reasons, but found I really like the taste and quality better too. Right now there are a bunch of coupons you can print for Stonyfield Farm organic dairy product here. They also have some soy products if you don't do dairy. The coupons expire soon - 5/15/2008.

Combine them with an in-store sale if possible. Or use them at a double coupon store - I'm fortunate that my closest supermarket doubles coupons up to 99 cents everyday, and is running a special doubling $1.00 coupons right now. (The store is Giant, for those in the PA area. Not sure how far this chain has spread, and I know there is another Giant chain elsewhere.)

Menu Plan Monday

Here's our menu for this week. I've decided I really like planning ahead because it makes life less stressful. My husband has decided he likes it because he has something to look forward to.

Monday - Greek salad with feta cheese, chickpeas, olives

Tuesday - Frozen rigatoni and meatballs (he'll be having dinner out, so this is just for me)

Wednesday - Garlic pasta with fake chicken (Morningstar brand), steamed baby carrots (which were free last week at my local Giant store)

Thursday - Black beans and rice with toppings (I'll do the beans in the slow cooker)

Friday - Jalapeno popper pizza

Saturday - Lemon pepper tempeh with spaghetti (this is one of our favorite special occasion meals - he'll love it after a long day of PhD writing)

The only thing I have to go buy for this menu plan is cream cheese for the pizza. I'll also get salad, eggs, and strawberries for our morning yogurt. I'll probably make some whole wheat bread at some point too. We already have plenty of flour.

Check out more menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Super Savings Saturday - Rugs and Roses

I also had a couple good grocery trips and got my free stuff at Rite Aid. However, my two favorite finds for the week:

A beautiful area rug from Kmart. Surprising, huh? I figured I'd check their rugs while I was there for some other stuff, and was happily surprised to find one in a traditional pattern with a good amount of detail - often the cheaper rugs look cheap because the detail is not there. It's synthetic, but that's fine with me. It is in my dining room, and if I only had more time on the computer, I'd show you a picture. The base color is a deep maroon, but there are also shades of green, blue and tan. It's neutral enough to go with any tablecloth. I'm always nervous about our light colored wall-to-wall carpet in there - we're in a rental - so this will help with any crumbs or spills. It is a little bigger than 5'x7', and it cost just $40.

It wasn't originally $40. In fact, when we found it, it had no price tag on it at all. Since I liked it, I took it to customer service to check the price. It turns out that it had been returned and then marked as clearance. It was also in an area that was difficult to reach. So we got a great deal on a rug big enough to anchor our dining room table. It pays to ask!

What I really love it that it has made the room look a lot more finished. You have to walk through our dining room to move between the living room and the kitchen, and I think this visually separates the eating space. It is very traditional and looks great with our mahogany furniture, which we inherited from my husband's grandmother.

My other favorite find was rose bushes for less that $4 at Aldi. I've been doing a bunch of gardening. Our sad little rental yard has been so neglected. So far I've put in a butterfly and hummingbird attracting set of plants from Spring Hill Nursery, and some petunias from Produce Junction, but I was looking for some more. I love roses, especially yellow ones. Our yard has a few there already - I can't wait to see what kind they are - and I will be adding a yellow climber and a white upright variety. This is a great deal for healthy looking plants.

For more tales of saving success, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Frugal Friday - Local Sightseeing

I got a few minutes on the computer! So here's my quick tip:

Gas prices are getting higher and higher. I think a lot of us will be looking to do some more local sightseeing this summer. I've got a list of places I have meant to see for a long time - I'm hoping to work through it. They are all things I can drive to within about an hour and be home the same day. I think I'll also be looking for some nice weekend getaways to take once my husband gets done his PhD. (Right now Saturdays are PhD time.)

I bought camping gear in anticipation of this, so I definitely want to use that. I can find lots of great places to go by checking out our state park system. (To find yours, just google the name of your state and the words "state parks.") I'll also take a look at New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia - our surrounding states. These campgrounds tend to be affordable and very pretty. Remember to find any nearby national parks too.

For other options, check out a sightseeing guide for your area. We always use these when we plan trips far away, and they are a big help. Why not try one for your own area? I'm always surprised to see great things I didn't already know about that are very nearby. Your local library will probably have several you can choose from. There are special guides for sightseeing with kids too.

Instead of looking at the rising cost of a more distant vacation as something that takes away from your fun, look at it as an opportunity to discover the great attractions that are nearby.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.