My Homemade Cleaner Trifecta

2015-02-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

If you've followed this blog for a while, you likely know that I derive more satisfaction and joy from homemade cleaning concoction than a person probably should, even though I'm not a clean freak. I think my love of homemade cleaners is found in the principle of them. To be honest, I don't know if it's the frugal or au naturale part of me that enjoys the idea of homemade cleaning solutions more.

The frugalista in me loves that inexpensive household items like vinegar or baking soda can work just as well as, if not better than, the more expensive pre-made cleaning solutions at the store. Homemade cleaners are cheap! I haven't bought an all-purpose cleaner, powdered cleanser, tub and tile spray, glass cleaner, toilet bowl cleanser, or furniture polish in years.

The eco-friendly granola girl in me likes the homemade cleaners because they give me peace of mind. I don't have to worry about my kids coming in contact with toxic sprays and cleansers. No fumes, no skin irritants, no poisons to ingest. I don't have to worry about the effects of my homemade cleaners on their ever-growing and developing bodies and brains. I also love that I don't have to worry about what kinds of chemicals I'm washing down the drain or flushing down the toilet when I use homemade cleaners.

So, today I'm sharing my homemade cleaner trifecta, the three homemade cleaners I use the most at my house over at the

Lovely Links: "I Survived My Whole30!" Edition

2015-01-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

First of all, Happy New Year!

Secondly, I'm on the last day of my Whole30!

(source: instagram.com/whole30)

After indulging this past holiday season (read: cookies for breakfast! Eat all the chocolate!), I decided a Whole30 was in order and started on January 1. For those of you not familiar with the Whole30 program, it's basically a dietary reset. For 30 days, you eliminate grains, dairy, sugar (white sugar, honey, syrup, any added sugar), legumes, and alcohol (that last one was the easiest part for me, Mormon girl that I am, haha!).

What was awesome this time around (this is my second Whole30 -- I did one this past September, in preparation for my family's trip to Hawaii) was that my husband did it, too. Let me tell you, having someone else doing it with you makes it so much easier, even if that other person doesn't think it's all that hard to follow. As I grumbled over zoodles (basically, cutting zucchini into noodles), he was like, "You know, I think I prefer these over pasta!" Grrr.

So, yeah, Day 30 is here. I survived! It was definitely hard at times, but after a couple weeks the sugar cravings subside and you get used to the program. There were definite ups and downs, times when I felt angry and deprived (I found myself sniffing chocolate cupcakes that a neighbor gave us at one point. Seriously.), but more than that, I feel good. It feels good to not have sugar highs and lows. It feels good to eat nothing but whole foods. It makes things taste better. Take fruit, for instance. Once I was off refined and added sugars, eating a strawberry tasted like candy!

Oddly enough, I haven't lost much weight this month like I did in my first Whole30 (I lost 12 pounds in a month that first time!), but I do have more energy, feel less bloated, my skin looks better, and the whites of my eyes are even whiter (and oddly enough, I swear my eyelashes got longer). My husband has noticed a few benefits, too. The main one for him was that his gastrointestinal issues (he doesn't have a gallbladder so it can sometimes cause some GI troubles for him) got dramatically better. It's been cool to do the program with him, because in the past he's not really cared that much about health and nutrition (he let me do all that stuff since I'm in charge of the grocery shopping and meal prep). Now, that's he's done the program, he understands better the value of it all. He was checking the labels on things more even more than I was (I was bummed when he noticed that the Trader Joe's sriracha sauce had sugar in it. Womp womp.).

The biggest pay-off, though, is the satisfaction in knowing that I did it, that I stayed strong and focused. I definitely have a clearer idea of how I want to eat from now on, too. I'm glad we did it -- it's certainly been a learning experience for my husband and me.

So for this edition of Lovely Links, I thought I'd share what helped me through my Whole30, just in case you ever decide to do one. I highly recommend giving it a try -- these resources will definitely help.

BOOKS

It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig -- This is a must-read if you're going to do a Whole30. All the science behind it (written in a totally readable, uncomplicated way) and the why and how. Really, it's a good read, whether you're going to do a Whole30 or not.

Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong -- I love this cookbook SO MUCH. It's seriously one of my favorite cookbooks, period. Everything I've made from it has been so delicious. A few favorites that helped me and my husband with our Whole30 (and my previous Whole30): madras chicken salad, chicken nuggets (no breading and they're awesome!), kai jiao (Thai omelet - so tasty!), curried cream of broccoli soup, uova in purgatorio, and bacon-topped deviled eggs (they've become a regular thing my husband makes -- yum). Her recipes for paleo ranch, Louisiana remoulade, and paleo mayo are delicious and so simple to make, too. You should have this cookbook, no matter what kind of diet you follow. It's that good. (Looking forward to making the walnut prawns recipe next week -- couldn't make it during the Whole30 because it has honey in it. Holy moly, the walnut prawns recipe is sooo good.)

Make It Paleo: Over 200 Grain-Free Recipes for Any Occasion by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason -- This is a good resource for easy paleo recipes -- lots of good basics here. I like the recipes for salad dressings and prepping vegetables as side dishes. One great thing about this book when it comes to the Whole30 is that it has lots of breakfast recipes (a good thing for me since breakfast is the hardest for me to give up. I love my pancakes and waffles. And French toast. And oatmeal. And cold cereal.). Side note: it's worth mentioning that the chocolate chip cookie recipe in this book is surprisingly delicious -- and very NOT Whole30.

Well Fed 2: More Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan -- I kept seeing this book on all sorts of posts about doing a Whole30, so I picked up a copy. This book is a great resource because it complements It Starts with Food really well and almost all the recipes are Whole30 compliant. There are many great ideas on how to keep your menu full of variety by making your own sauces, dressings, condiments, burgers, and sausages. I really liked the Taj Mahal chicken recipe. This book also got me to try plantains (which truly is something for someone who has had a lifelong aversion to bananas. Still do.) -- I totally recommend Trader Joe's plantain chips now.

INSTAGRAM

I love Instagram -- it has pretty much replaced Facebook for me. Instagram has been a great resource during my Whole30, too. Here are a few accounts that I follow:

@Whole30 -- the official Instagram account for the Whole30 program. It's been so helpful to have it give daily inspiration and information, like "on this day, you're probably feeling ____" or answering frequently asked questions. I also like getting direct info and answers in the comment section from Melissa Hartwig, the creator of the program.

@Whole30Recipes -- Exactly what the name implies, just a lot of Whole30 recipes. It's hit and miss for me -- sometimes the recipes look absolutely delicious, other times not so much. Every week there is a new contributor that posts recipes and it's been a great way to find people to follow.

@nomnompaleo -- Michelle posted posted daily throughout the Whole30, a new recipe for each day. Lots of the recipes were from her cookbook, but there were new ones, too. Plus, she's just funny.

@Amazon_Ashley -- Her Instagram feed is great. Lots of delicious recipes and encouragement. I really love how real she is. Still need to try her sweet potato bun recipe. I bought her ebook when it was on sale -- it's called Clean & Colorful Cooking and it has some really simple recipes in it. I haven't made any yet, but I'm excited to. (Tip: be sure to have the underscore in her name or else you get redirected to a different, much more adult account. Yikes.)

@littlecoconutty -- This is such a beautiful feed (she's a graphic designer, so it makes sense). Recipes and encouragement to be found.

@pretend_its_a_donut -- Just discovered this one this week, looks fun. And I really like her account name.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Dreading Your Whole30? Just start it now (with 9 planning tips) -- Modern Mrs. Darcy
I read this post last year before I did my first Whole30 and it inspired me to take the plunge. PS -- this is one of my favorite blogs, mostly for book-related reasons.

The Round-Up: 30 Days of Whole30 Recipes -- Nom Nom Paleo
Yep, I'm mentioning Nom Nom Paleo again. (I think I may be becoming a NNP fangirl.) But her blog is a really great resource, too.

Spicy Shredded Pork -- The Pioneer Woman
I made this pork shoulder recipe at least twice (maybe three times?) during this month's Whole30. You can find the recipe in her first cookbook, too. I omitted the brown sugar and it was still good. This recipe is great because you can cook up a pork shoulder (I do it in my slow cooker) and then use leftovers in recipes all week -- I particularly like making a salad with it, with a dollop of salsa and guacamole.

Paleo Egg & Chorizo Muffins - Sweet C's Designs
One thing that got tiring for me with the Whole30 is that there is a lot of meal prep, which can be inconvenient if you're in a hurry. These egg muffins (I used loose sausage instead of chorizo) are super-simple to make and you can freeze them. When you want a muffin, you can just reheat it in the microwave or oven.

Pizza Stir Fry Recipe -- Wellness Mama
Friday nights are pizza + movie night at our house, which is a problem when you're doing a Whole30. I will say that this recipe doesn't come close to the deliciousness that is pizza (not that the recipe is bad or anything, but I just really, really, really love pizza), but it definitely helped on Friday nights, even though I still shot more than a few wistful glances at the pizza my boys were eating. Sigh.

The Whole30 Timeline -- Whole30.com
"Day 1: What's the big deal?
Days 2-3: The hangover
Days 4-5: Kill all the things.
Days 6-7: I just want a nap." This timeline walks you through the ups and downs of the program. I'll be honest, the first Whole30 I did was an emotional roller-coaster for me and I felt those ups and downs hard. This time wasn't so bad, especially since I had my awesome husband along for support. But I still referenced this a lot to keep me focused and to know what to expect -- and I thought it was kind of funny, too.

So, yeah, I made it through my Whole30. It was hard, but not the hardest thing I've ever done. And you know, I'm going to keep following it pretty closely. I feel that good. That said, tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I'm totally having a (smallish) piece of her birthday cake. What's more, I'm going enjoy that cake and I won't feel an ounce of guilt because I actually feel in control. No more sugar dragon ruling my life. And that is the best result of this Whole30 experience.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

A Christmas Edition of Random Reuses

2014-12-17T11:32:00.003-07:00

If you've read this blog for a while, you may know that I'm always on the lookout for ways to reuse items around my house, even if it's just once, before it goes to the trash. It's been a while since I've done one of these Random Reuse posts, so I thought I'd share a few reuses to help during the Christmas season!

Rolls of wrapping paper can turn into a big, wrinkled mess in no time (especially with kids wanting to wrap their own homemade gifts). One way to keep your rolls of wrapping paper a little more tidy is to keep them rolled with this handy-dandy cuff made from a toilet paper roll. I saw this idea years ago on Pinterest and it works really well. All you have to do is cut in a line down a toilet paper tube so it opens up and then put it around the roll of paper. Easy peasy!

While I'm on the topic of wrapping gifts, one thing I always do is reuse the boxes from cereal and crackers for gift boxes. My mom did this all the time when I was a kid. I mean, why spend the money on gift boxes for family gifts when they're going to be torn apart? This is a good thing to do if you have someone that tries to peek under the wrapping before Christmas, because all they'll see is a cereal box. I like using the cereal boxes because it makes things a little more confusing, adds an extra level of mystery because the shape gives nothing away. Plus, there's the inevitable joking (at least it happened with my family growing up and now) when you open presents Christmas morning -- "I've always wanted a box of Cheerios!".

Maybe this is a super-obvious tip (I never know with these reuses. Am I clever or are these common sense? Oh well.), but if you need a hook for an ornament you can always use a stretched out paper clip. Personally, I think they hang better than those flimsy ornament hooks that get tangled up in the box.

I'm sure I'm not the only who does a lot of baking during the Christmas season (have you tried my recipe for the BEST gingerbread cookies ever? Because if you haven't, you should). One thing I've been doing is saving my butter wrappers when I've used up a stick of butter. When it's time to bake a batch of cookies, I use the little remnants of butter on the wrapper to grease my cookie sheet.

Finally, what list of Christmas reuses would be complete without the wrapping paper tube-turned-sword? Having grown up in a house full of boys and now currently being outnumbered by boys again, I know all too well that paper tube sword fights are an inevitability around Christmastime. And, let's be honest, they're one of the best (and most fun) reuses out there.

Classic Wet Shaving: The New Old-Fashioned (and eco-friendly) Way to Shave

2014-12-08T12:10:00.001-07:00

My husband hated shaving. He avoided it. He looked forward to camping and vacations partly just because it meant he wouldn't have to shave. I think avoiding shaving was a main part of his motivation to grow a beard in the wintertime.

However, I've always liked it better when he's clean-shaven. The smell, the smoothness -- all good things. But then I found out why he disliked shaving so much. The various creams and gels on the market really irritated his skin. The razors tugged on his skin, especially on his neck, and left a bunch of little, red bumps on his lower jaw and neck. He would also get ingrown hairs from time to time. Shaving was uncomfortable and unpleasant, but he did it anyway. I could understand why he didn't like doing it.

But this all changed over four years ago. Now he doesn't mind shaving at all. He even looks forward to it a little because he says it's relaxing.

What changed? He learned about traditional wet shaving. Not only does he greatly prefer it, but it also happens to be a frugal and eco-friendly way to shave. Talk about a win-win-win situation (or would that be four wins because I get a cleanly shaven husband more often...)

Now that the holiday season is in full-swing, I thought I'd write a post about the many benefits of classic wet shaving because new (and better) shaving tools would make a great gift for the guys on your shopping list!

You can read the rest of my post about the health, frugal, and eco-friendly aspects to wet shaving at my monthly post at here. (You can also find my past posts on the topic of wet shaving in my archives here and here.)

Homemade vs. Pre-Made: Bread Stuffing for Roast Turkey

2014-11-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, my favorite thing my mom makes is her stuffing. Same goes for all three of my brothers. We've always piled it on our plates at Thanksgiving. And once we all started bringing spouses and significant others to Thanksgiving dinner as we grew up, they all dug into the stuffing and loved it, too. It's just that good!

Contrast that with the first time I tried stuffing that's made from a boxed mix (the Mix-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Rhymes with RoveTop.). Ugh. My mom totally spoiled me. I couldn't eat more than a bite of the pre-made stuffing. It was dry and flavorless -- it sort of tasted like it was made of the box it came in.

Like so many things, the from-scratch version of stuffing is actually really easy to make. My mom's amazing recipe is actually really basic, no fancy ingredients whatsoever. I've never made the boxed kind of stuffing, but I can't imagine that making it from scratch takes that much longer. Seriously.

Not only does this homemade version of stuffing taste a bajillion times better than the pre-made variety, but it's also much healthier in comparison. The boxed kind is laden with preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils. Ick. Another reason to make your own stuffing: it's actually a frugal dish to make (it's a great way to use up stale bread). You likely have every ingredient already in your pantry or fridge.

My mom's recipe for stuffing comes from an old cookbook from around the 1940s. The cookbook actually belonged to my grandmother. There's no cover on it anymore, so I can't even mention the title. My mom doesn't really follow that recipe closely anymore -- she just mixes it up, eyeballing the amounts and tasting it as she goes. Like with her potato salad, I decided to document the process and write it all down. The recipe I'm sharing with you today is sufficient for a 10-lb. turkey, but my mom always makes extra, too.

So, please, for Thanksgiving this week, step away from the packaged stuff and make your stuffing from scratch. You'll never go back to the box.

Mom's Bread Stuffing for Roast Turkey

(sufficient for 10-lb. turkey)

One 1 ½ lb. loaf of white bread

2 ribs of celery, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1/4 cup onions, chopped

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, minced

1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup chicken broth

Remove the crust from the bread and cut into a 1-inch dice. White bread does taste best in this recipe, though my mom has used wheat in the past. This stuffing is a great way to use up stale bread. Mom has used up stale hamburger/hot dog buns and other breads (like French bread) in the past with this recipe.

Dice up the celery, chop your onions, and grate the carrots (I just use my box grater). Want to feel all cool and culinary? These three ingredients together are called mirepoix. Now you can regale your Thanksgiving guests with this bit of knowledge. ("Oh this stuffing? I made it from scratch. So simple. First you start with a mirepoix...")

The orignal recipe my mom referenced didn't call for parsley or sage, but they do add a really great flavor to the recipe. Feel free to omit if you don't have them, but I highly recommend both herbs.

In a large skillet or pot (I used my Dutch oven) on medium-high heat, melt the butter then saute the celery and onion until soft and yellow.

Add carrots and herbs to the celery and onion. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

Add the bread and the poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir and add broth. Let the mixture cool a little before stuffing it into a turkey.

Sooo, I actually I don't have any pictures of using the stuffing in a turkey. Let me explain...

The reason is that when I made this batch of stuffing pictured it was to take to a Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. I didn't have the turkey available. So, yeah, this stuffing can be enjoyed even if it's not actually ever stuffed in the turkey. Just serve it warm (put it in the oven or on the warm setting on a slow cooker) and it's ready to go.

That said, while this stuffing is good when it's not actually stuffed into a turkey, it's even better when it is. When you cook the turkey with this stuffing inside it, the juices from the turkey give the stuffing such a great flavor. Cooking the turkey with stuffing inside does slow the cooking time, but I think it's worth it.

When you stuff the turkey, make sure to do it lightly. Do NOT pack the stuffing into the turkey tightly. If you have extra stuffing, you can bake it in the oven alongside the turkey in a dish. You don't want to understuff the turkey, either -- all the the juices from the turkey can make too little stuffing soggy. From what I've read, a good guideline is 1/2 to 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound of turkey.

There are a few food safety concerns regarding stuffing a turkey. You have to make sure that everything is properly cooked and heated through before you serve the stuffing. All the juices should run clear when the turkey is done (including on the inside where the stuffing is). Stuffing, like the turkey, needs to reach a minimum temperature of 165°F. If the turkey is done before your stuffing has reached this temperature, put the stuffing in a dish and let it cook in the oven longer.

Another food safety tip: stuff the turkey right before you're going to roast it. Don't let the stuffing sit in the bird for any extended period of time -- that creates a perfect environment for bacterial growth. (For more tips about stuffing turkey safely, you can read here.)

Once your stuffing has reached the proper temperature, remove from the turkey and put it into a serving dish (alongside a couple of the other sides I've put on this blog: homemade cranberry sauce and the only yam side dish I like). I hope you'll love it as much as my family does!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Hope your celebration is wonderful!

4 Green (and Frugal!) Solutions for All Those Autumn Leaves

2014-11-10T11:07:00.001-07:00

I love every season. Truly, I do. But there is just something about fall that makes my soul happy. The crisp air, the gorgeous colors, the spicy smells of cinnamon and clove, the harvest, canning, Halloween, pumpkin everything. Seriously, I could go on and on.

One drawback to autumn for many people is raking and cleaning up all those fallen leaves. Don't get me wrong, having leaves scattered all over the lawn is fun for a little while and the kids love playing in them, but eventually you have to face reality and clean them all up. Often, people will rake, bag up all their leaves, and toss them in the garbage.

I don't know if it's the gardening geek or the eco-friendly part of me that balks the most at the idea of throwing leaves into the trash. Fallen leaves totally have a second life in your yard and garden!

Autumn is still in full swing here (though there is snow in this week's forecast) and we still have plenty of leaves to rake up and still more that have yet to fall. To read about how I use leaves to help my garden (a great frugal choice since leaves don't cost a thing!) and how I'm actually excited to make my first batch of leaf mold (I seriously am. Thank you, Alys Fowler.), check out my monthly post over at (This post is linked up to Little House Friday DIY Linky.)

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

Another 100 (Painless) Ways to Live Frugally

2014-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

This past summer was fun. Full of camping trips, picnics, road trips, hikes, and plenty of lazy days. Fall has been pretty amazing, too -- vacations, birthdays, milestones, and, of course, Halloween.

And I have slacked (yet again) here on this blog of mine. For, like, almost six months.

But nevermind that! I am making up for it today with my THIRD list of 100 (Painless) Ways to Live Frugally. (You can find list #1 here and list #2 here, in case you missed them.)

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to come up with another list. I mean, that is 300 tips total. But during the months since I last posted (and you thought I was only slacking off...), I stewed over this list, wrote tips down as I thought of them, browsed through some things on Pinterest, did a little research, and checked back and forth through my other lists (so it wouldn't get repetitive). So, after all that, I'm feeling good about this latest list.

Here's the thing about this list and the other two: lots of these suggestions don't seem like they'd make much of a difference on your budget. And that's true -- if you only do a couple, you may save a few bucks here and there. But, let me tell you, the more you apply to your life, the more you will notice a difference. I can totally attest to the way little actions add up and help your bottom line.

So, without further ado, here is the list!

1. Be honest about your budget and money-saving goals. Tell your family, friends, coworkers when things don't work with your budget. There's no shame in trying to live within your means. If anyone gives you any grief, just remember what Dave Ramsey (my personal finance guru) says, "the goal is not to be normal, because...normal is broke."

2. Wash plastic zipper bags. As I read over my previous lists, I couldn't believe I hadn't mentioned this tip. It's like the classic frugal lady thing to do. Now before you think I'm nuts, I don't wash every single zipper bag my family uses. I don't reuse bags that have held meat or other wet/sticky/gooey things, but if I've stored dry items in them like pancakes, waffles, bread, vegetables, etc., I always rinse them out and reuse them. And since I haven't used paper towels in years, I use my old paper towel rack as my plastic bag drying rack.

3. Every list about saving money has this tip, but I'm totally going to add to the chorus: Get rid of cable TV. On my first list, I mentioned Netflix for cheap DVD rentals. But I wrote that list back in 2010, before the wonder of streaming video. Now, there are so many options to stream TV shows and movies (including ones on cable). Nowadays my family uses Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime to watch the shows we like -- and for way cheaper than cable would cost.

4. Do you garden? If you do, stick to heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables and save the seeds from your garden produce. Last year, I grew a good portion of my tomato crop from the tomatoes I grew in 2012. This may just be the gardening geek in me, but there's something kind of thrilling about saving seeds that you would've thrown out or eaten and then growing more food from them. As mentioned above, this only works with heirloom seeds, not the hybrid varieties. For more info on how to save seeds, this book is a helpful resource; for the method I used to save my tomato seeds (it takes a few more steps, but is still easy), you can check out this link.

5. Speaking of seeds, it's a good idea to test seeds before you plant them. I don't test out my brand-new seeds, but I do test ones from previous seasons and ones that I've saved from my garden. That way, I don't waste time planting seeds that won't grow and I don't waste seeds that would grow. Often, people will just toss seeds from previous years just because the package says they're meant for a certain growing season. Testing seeds is super-easy -- you can find my step-by-step tutorial here.

6. Use nature to dress up your home. No need to buy expensive floral arrangements -- just head outside into your yard or neighborhood. In the winter, you could clip pine boughs, boxwood, or holly and put it into a vase. In the early spring, I'll usually put blooms from the pussywillow in my yard in a vase (without water -- that way, the soft buds stay on indefinitely) or force forsythia blossoms inside by cutting a unbloomed branch and putting it in water (you could also force blossoms from cuttings from fruit trees). In the summer, I like to make bouquets from the flowers and herbs in my yard; sometimes, I'll give myself a dozen roses from my rosebush. In the fall, sometimes an arrangement of leaves does the trick. I've even gone and clipped the weedy sunflowers that grow along the roads here and brought them home.

7. School book orders are a great source for cheap books. Often, you can find paperback versions of books that usually only come out in hardcover when you order from school book orders. If you don't have children in school and don't have access to book orders, ask a friend or a teacher you know. When my oldest started kindergarten a couple years ago, he started getting book orders and my friend down the street (whose kids weren't school-age yet) ordered books from them, too. I actually just talked to another friend a couple weeks ago who is a teacher and she told me how she gets credit for her classroom library the more people order. She said she'd love it if people she knew did book orders through her!

8. Meal-planning is one of the best ways to save money, but sometimes it can be daunting. One way I've made meal planning much easier is to do theme-nights. At my house, Mondays are soup/sandwich nights in the fall and winter (in spring and summer, it's salad/sandwich night), Tuesdays are for international dishes, Wednesday is fish night, Thursday features a slow-cooker recipe, Fridays are our pizza + movie night, and Saturdays are for leftovers or eating out (I don't plan Sundays because they're usually big family dinners at my parents' or in-laws' houses). You can read the post that inspired me to meal-plan this way at this link.

9. In my second list, I mentioned using military and teacher discounts, but failed to mention that there are lots of discounts for seniors and students. To get senior discounts, you don't always need to be 65+; lots of senior discounts start at age 50. As for students, I wish I would have known about a lot of these when I was a poor college student. To find a list of senior discounts you can go here and for student discounts, you can check out this link.

10. Speaking of student discounts, Amazon Student is an amazing deal. When you enroll, you get six months free (this includes 2-day Prime shipping, exclusive deals and promotions, and the possibility of earning $10 credits for referring people), then after six months you get all the Amazon Prime benefits for only $49 (half the price of a Prime membership). If only there had been something like this when I was a English major in college, when I had to buy all those books. (Join Amazon Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for College Students)

11. Don't turn your nose up at hand-me-down clothing, whether for your kids or yourself. Sometimes when we visit my in-laws' house, there will be a big garbage bag of clothes from one of my mother-in-law's friends. I'll usually only end up liking a few things, but, hey, free clothes!

12. Another way to save money on clothes: organize a clothing exchange. It can be with your family, neighborhood, church, any group. People clean out their closets and bring what they'd like to donate and then swap.

13. Skip the toxic herbicides like Round-Up and make your own weed killer. It isn't hard to make at all and only requires vinegar, salt, and dish soap. You can find the recipe I use and proof of the results here.

14. Pay attention at the check-out counter at stores. It doesn't happen too often, but there have been times when I've noticed that I've been charged twice for things. Of course, I've also had times when I haven't been charged for something and let them know - not only are they glad when I tell them, but it's good karma, right?

15. U-pick farms and orchards are a great source for inexpensive produce. Back in September, we picked delicious organic apples for 1.25/lb! It's a great activity to do as a family -- I had both of my boys, plus my niece and nephew, in on the action. There's something pretty satisfying about picking your own food.

16. Keep paper that is blank on one side for scrap paper. No need to waste new paper or Post-It notes. I remember when I was in middle school, the school collected all the one-sided used papers from the students (there were bins in every classroom) and then made it all into pads of paper that students could buy for super-cheap. You can make your own notepad from scrap paper -- this pin I found a while back shows how.

17. If you use Redbox, there are lots of codes for free rentals online. I work with the teenage girls at my church and for a service activity, we printed off a bunch of free codes and taped them to the Redbox machines to surprise people. Who doesn't like saving a couple bucks? There are lots of lists of codes; here's a list I found.

18. Let your lawn grow longer. Longer grass requires less water because the blades of grass shade the soil better so it doesn't dry out as fast.

19. In my second list, I mentioned re-growing green onions, but there are plenty of other foods you can re-grow from scraps. This year, I planted a few ends of romaine lettuce and it totally worked! My mom also tried this with celery with equally good results.You can find a handy how-to chart here.

20. Meat can be expensive, especially if you're trying to buy sustainable, local meat. One way to save on meat: buy a whole animal. I have yet to do this because I don't have a separate freezer (I know, what am I thinking? Just trying to find some space for one.), but I want to. If you don't eat a lot of meat, considering splitting with family members or friends. I'm thinking next year of splitting the cost with one of my brothers or my parents. For an interesting post on the process I found, you can read here.

21. Expecting a baby? A maternity band can extend your regular wardrobe through your whole pregnancy. When I had my second child, I wore all of my regular clothes my entire pregnancy because of that stretchy tube of fabric. Mine came from the maternity store, but I've seen tutorials on Pinterest on how to make them yourself, too. You can read about my experience with the maternity band here.

22. We limit our eating out and when we do go to a restaurant, we only drink water (well, except at Mexican restaurants -- it's had to resist horchata). Just skipping the soda or specialty drinks can save a good chunk of change.

23. Witch hazel is a wonderful (and cheap) facial toner. I've been using it for weeks now. At night, after I've washed my face, I'll put a drop of essential oil (I like to use frankincense) on a cotton pad and then some witch hazel. I love it.

24. The bulk section at certain grocery stores can save you a lot of money on pantry staples. I've mostly seen the bulk sections at health food stores like Whole Foods, but they are becoming more common (like at WinCo). The bulk section is cheaper because you don't have to pay for the packaging. I buy my various flours, nuts, popcorn, spices, seeds (like flax and chia), sucanat, and oats in the bulk section for much cheaper than it costs packaged on the shelf.

25. Another tip about grocery shopping: try to go grocery shopping less often. Set a goal to only go once a week -- no little trips to pick up extras. I know all too well that a quick trip into the store for one or two items can evolve into a whole shopping cart full of things. Do that too often and it adds up! Once you've got once-a-week shopping down, see if you can work your way down to biweekly or even monthly shopping trips.

26. Do you have a gamer at your house? I most certainly do -- my oldest son plays a couple games, but the main gamer in my house is my husband (who also happens to make video games for a living. Hooray for Disney Infinity!). The Playstation Plus program is a great way to get games for cheap. It costs $50/year. Every month, my husband gets two free games per platform. That means he gets two games for our PS3, PS4, and Vita each; that's six free games a month and 72 a year! Even if you just have one platform, that's still 24 games a year. Now, my husband is not always interested in the free games that are offered, but he likes enough that the Playstation Plus membership more than pays for itself very quickly. And they don't just offer obscure games to members -- recently, members were offered the newest Tomb Raider game. There are other memberships for different consoles like Xbox and Nintendo, but I'm not as familiar with those.

27. While we're on the topic of video games, use stores like GameStop to sell and trade your video games and pick up used games that cost less.

28. Control impulse spending at the grocery store by putting one of the small shopping baskets into your cart. Every time you deviate from your list, put the item in that basket. Once you're done shopping, you will have a pretty powerful visual of how much of your spending was based on impulse. From there, you can more easily and objectively decide what to keep and what truly isn't necessary. (I learned that tip from this helpful book.)

29. Make your own spice mixes. I love Pioneer Woman's taco seasoning and use it a lot. Another one to make yourself is pumpkin pie spice.

30. This Christmas season consider replacing your incandescent Christmas lights (both indoors and outdoors) with LED lights. It's a bit of an investment because they cost more than the cheap strands of incandescent lights, but they totally pay for themselves. LED lights will not only last much longer than the incandescent ones, but they use less energy. Less energy used = lower energy bill. Check out this site to see charts showing the savings of using LED lights -- there is a HUGE price difference.

31. Grow your own garlic in your garden. It's so easy to grow and homegrown garlic tastes amazing! You might still have time to plant yours, depending on where you live (I'm planting mine this week). For my post about how I grew my garlic, you can read here.

32. Another tip I can't believe I didn't include on the other two lists: skip soda. If you buy a $5 case every week, that adds up to $260 a year. Plus, you'll save money later on in life when you don't suffer from the health risks associated with too much soda consumption.

33. Did you know you can fix broken underwire bras with moleskin? No more stabby bras!

34. When driving long distances, use cruise control to save gas. Using cruise control can save up to 14% on each gallon of gas (the average, though, is 7%). The only time cruise control isn't a wise idea is when driving in the mountains -- all those up and downs can be hard on your engine.

35. Instead of buying the canned stuff (which is usually full of junk anyway), make your own enchilada sauce. It is crazy-simple to make and tastes waaay better than the store-bought variety. Oh, and it's cheap (around 80 cents per 2-cup batch). The recipe I use can be found here.

36. Curling your hair without heat can actually save you money. Heat-less curling eliminates the need to buy an arsenal of tools and hair products, like curling irons, wands, flat-irons, or heat-protectant sprays. Heat-free curling also save you money because it's easier on your hair and undamaged hair means less trims, cuts, and trips to the salon. For ideas on how to curl your hair without heat (and even while you're sleeping), check out this post I wrote about it.

37. Before purchasing online, check sites like retailmenot.com or freeshipping.org for coupon codes.

38. Before going to the grocery store, check out Lozo.com. You simply enter your grocery list and the site finds coupons for the things you're going to buy.

39. Forget store loyalty and shop at multiple stores. There are stores that have better deals than others on certain items. This where keeping a price book really helps (see #70 on my first 100 list). It takes a little extra planning and bit of extra driving, but it's usually worth the effort. I plan my grocery shopping so that I don't have to make special trips to four different stores every week. For example, I only shop at Costco and Trader Joe's once a month, so when I go I stock up on the best buys from those stores so I'll have enough to last the month.

40. When fruits and vegetable start to look a little iffy and wilted, freeze them before they spoil. I use this tip most for berries since they start going bad so quickly. It's a good idea to blanch your vegetables before freezing them because blanching them stops the enzyme process that is breaking the food down. You can find a helpful chart on how to blanch and how long to blanch certain veggies here.

41. Making your own yogurt is surprisingly easy and inexpensive. I made a quart of yogurt for $1.50 (and that was using organic milk, which costs a little more than regular). No special yogurt-maker needed, either -- I use my slow-cooker. Learn how to make your own at my post here. Once you make your own yogurt, you can also make Greek yogurt and, even better, homemade frozen yogurt (which is transcendent) -- tutorial and recipe can be found at my post here.

42. Extend the life of your mattress by flipping and rotating it regularly. I like this helpful way to remember which way to flip and rotate.

43. When you use your clothes dryer, try to dry loads of clothes back to back. This appliance uses a lot of energy (about 13% of a household's average use) to heat up, so loading it again when it's already warm can save on energy costs.

44. I feel like I'm wading into dangerous territory here, but don't be afraid of the re-gift. Granted, this needs to be done carefully, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. That said, I'll admit that I've passed on items that I knew I wouldn't use and have given them to people who I knew would enjoy them (and they totally did!). Just don't do it the way someone did when my husband and I got married: I will never forget opening one of our wedding presents (an ugly dish set from the early to mid-90s) that literally had a layer of dust on the box. I'm sure the people who gave it to us just went digging around in their basement for something to give away. So, yeah, this tip ventures dangerously into cheapskate territory. Use it with caution. No one wants to be called, with an accusatory finger, "a regifter."

45. Foraging is a great way to get food for free. It's gotten pretty popular lately and there are all sorts of books on the topic. This past summer, my youngest brother went with a friend up to the high mountain area by my hometown and picked morel mushrooms. They got a lot of them and when you consider that morels cost anywhere from $30-50 a pound, they got a pretty amazing haul. But you don't have to high-tail it to the mountains to forage for food - urban foraging is popular, too. Before you do go out to forage, it's a good idea to do your research or go with someone with experience (like my brother did) so you don't pick something gross or, worse, toxic.

46. Make your own facial masks and scrubs. It's ridiculously easy to do and there are all sorts of recipes for them on Pinterest (you can find some of the ones I've pinned here). One that I've really liked was a simple facial mask made out of oatmeal, milk, and honey (no exact measurements, just mix the ingredients until it forms into a paste) -- it's supposed to help remove blackheads and it actually made my skin feel tighter and softer.

47. Earning college credits is much cheaper if you do it while still in high school. If possible, encourage your high school-age children to take concurrent enrollment and Advanced Placement courses to help save on college tuition costs later. When I was in high school, I paid a small fee and through concurrent enrollment I was able to get college credit for classes I was already taking. I also took an early morning class via satellite at my school (though the credit ended up not applying to my degree...womp womp). Also, for a small fee for the test (I think it was $50, but that was back in the 90s), I took both the AP exams for U.S. History and English and passed, which eliminated the need for me to take some of the introductory history and English courses once I was in college. Although I didn't quite do it, it is totally possible for a high school student to earn their associate degree before they even have their high school diploma!

48. Another way to save on college tuition is to attend a college within your home state. As of this writing, the average cost of tuition and fees at an in-state public university is $8,893 per year. Once you cross the state line, the average cost for a public university is $22,203. That's almost triple the cost for just for leaving your home state!

49. Looking to add a furry friend to your family? Adopt a pet from the local animal shelter or Humane Society instead of the pet store or a breeder . Not only is it cheaper (and sometimes even free) to adopt from the shelter, but often the animals there have already been spayed or neutered (as was the case with our cat). The best part of adopting a shelter animal: you may save a life! We adopted our super-sweet kitty, Mr. Cairo, from the local Humane Society two years ago this month and we could not be happier with him.

50. Experiment with the amounts you use when it comes to hygiene products. You don't need to have a long ribbon of toothpaste on your toothbrush like they show on commercials. I know I use too much shampoo and conditioner (I'm still used to having almost waist-long hair and get a big palmful of shampoo), so I'm trying to use less. See how well things work when cut your amount in half and experiment and adjust from there.

51. OverDrive is a great way to borrow e-books and audiobooks from your local library. You can read my post about it here.

52. Upgrade your appliances to energy-saving and water-saving ones. This is one of those spend-to-save tips, but you truly can save money in the long-run by replacing them.

53. When booking a flight, choosing a flight with a very early or very late departure can mean a cheaper ticket. When I booked our latest vacation a couple months ago, I picked a late, overnight flight and got a cheaper fare that way. (By the way, both of my boys totally slept through the entire red-eye flight. Woohoo!)

54. When planning a vacation, try to book your flights and hotel stays on weekdays. Leave on Thursdays, not Fridays, and come home on Mondays, not Sundays, if possible.

55. When booking a hotel, stay in a hotel that serves a complimentary breakfast. Makes such a difference in your food budget. Do a little research, though, to make sure their breakfast isn't terrible (like a hotel we stayed in once by Disneyland. Our breakfasts were days-old pastries, orange-green oranges, and mealy apples. Yuck.).

56. One more travel tip: travel in the off-season of where you're going to go. Not only does it cost less, but the crowds are smaller, too!

57. Have you heard that you can sharpen disposable razors with a pair of jeans? I just learned this tip. Now, my husband hasn't used those disposable cartridge razors in years (you can read my posts about traditional wet shaving here and here), but I still use a disposable razor (it's a little trickier to use the double edge razor on legs and underarms). You can watch a tutorial on YouTube here.

58. Purchasing memberships to local zoos, museums, and aquariums that you visit regularly can save you money in the long-run. Usually, the membership pays for itself after a couple visits. Take the new aquarium in my area: for adults it costs $15.95/visit and $10.95/visit for kids; a year-long family membership costs $150 (which covers two adults and four kids). One visit for my family of four costs $53.80. By the time we hit our third visit to the aquarium, the cost of the annual membership will have been covered (if we filled the quota for the membership with four kids, the membership would pay for itself in two visits). After that third visit, it's like going for free every time. My family has annual passes to local museums and the aquarium and we love them.

59. Cancel magazine subscriptions that you don't read. I know from experience how easy it is to keep a subscription going because you have intentions to read that pile of Martha Stewart Living or Real Simple, but they end up still going unread. That's when you pull the plug and cancel those subscriptions. There's a good chance get like 100 notices (okay, I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way) from the magazines, letters that say that you're going to get the very, very best offer ever if stay on their mailing list. Ignore them.

60. Keep a running list for groceries. As you run out of something, make a note. It's so easy to use the last of a jar or bottle of something and then forget to replace it when you make your shopping trip later in the week. If you keep a running list, you'll remember those little odds and ends and avoid extra trips to the store to pick up one thing that usually end with much more than that. I use this one -- it has a magnet attached to the back so I can keep it on my fridge.

61. When fruit gets too ripe, dehydrate it -- either with a dehydrator or your oven. Fruit leather is super easy to make. I use the master recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Homemade Pantry (you can find a couple variations of her recipe here). Or you could make apple chips - another easy way to use up fruit before it spoils.

62. I just learned that you can wash and reuse disposable swim diapers. Of course, this only applies if they have only been wet. (Throw them out if your child has gone #2 in them. And you have my sympathy -- few things worse than changing a poopy swim diaper. I know all too well.) You can read all about this tip here. Of course, I learned about this trick once my little guy was potty trained and stopped wearing swim diapers.

63. It may sound kind of nuts, but don't throw food away just because it has passed the best-by and sell-by dates stamped on it . Those dates are more like guidelines, not hard and fast rules. You can eat food safely when it passes those dates. Lots of people (myself included before I knew the guidelines) waste a lot of food because they think those dates are expiration dates. Trust me, they're not. You can find out more about what the best-by and sell-by dates mean in a post I wrote here.

64. Once you know what sell-by dates mean, look for food at the grocery store that are almost out-of-date. I've gotten really good deals on meat and dairy just because the sell-by date was either that day or only a day or two away.

65. Consolidate the errands you run into one trip. This not only saves money on gas, but it also saves you time, too.

66. Switch from your bank to a credit union. Since members of the credit union are the owners, there are significantly less fees than with a bank. Plus, credit unions often better interest rates on checking and savings accounts than banks do, too.

67. One way to feed babies frugally: baby-led weaning. Basically, instead of giving babies special baby food, you let your child feed him/herself what the family is eating. The term "weaning" in this sense doesn't mean to stop nursing; it actually follows the British sense of the word, which means to add complimentary food. No need for jars of baby food or special cereal. With my first child, I totally bought boxes and jars of baby food until our pediatrician said it wasn't necessary. So with my second child, I just gave him what we ate (for the most part) once he showed interest in what we were eating (of course, keeping in mind certain guidelines, like avoiding honey). Funny thing is, at the time I didn't know there was a term for what I doing. For more information about baby-led weaning, you can check out this site devoted to the topic.

68. Get the most out of that basil plant by propagating it. By using this method I found, you can grow a whole new basil plant using a single stem! From what I understand, you can use this method with other herbs like oregano, lemon balm, and mint, among others.

69. Making an extra mortgage payment a year can save you thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. There are a few ways you can do this, whether it's putting an extra $25-50 a month toward your principle, adding a lump sum toward your principle once a year (like around tax refund time), or setting up biweekly mortgage payments. You really should check out this informative article I found about how to make an extra payment; I especially like the article because it does the math and shows you how that extra payment can save you a lot of money in the long run.

70. Make your own dry shampoo. It requires only two ingredients and takes almost no time to make it. To find out how, check out this blog for the details.

71. Frozen fruit and vegetables at the grocery store are a great way to get healthy produce cheaper. These fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of freshness and flash frozen. So not only are frozen fruits and vegggies just as healthy as fresh produce (if not healthier), but also less expensive. I love buying produce this way because I don't have to worry nearly so much about it going to waste because it got rotten.

72. Avoid buying clothes that are "dry clean only".

73. Shop your own house to update rooms of your house. This is a tip I learned from the book The Nesting Place. For instance, that lamp in your bedroom might be just what your living room could use. It's funny how something you see every day in one part of your house could be just the thing that breathes new life into a different area of your home.

74. YouTube is a great (and free!) source for DIY tutorials. For example, my husband used YouTube videos to help him fix both our washer and dryer. Doing that saved the cost of hiring a repairman or, worse, replacing the appliances completely.

75. Refrigerator pickles are really easy and cheap to make -- and they're really delicious. No canning required. You simply mix up the brine, add cucumbers, and let them sit in the fridge. Once you eat all the pickles, simply add more cucumbers to the brine, let them sit for a couple days in the fridge, and, voila!, more pickles! You can find the recipe I've used at this blog. For what it's worth, when I made them the first time, my husband declared that they were the best pickles he'd ever had.

76. Garbage Soup, AKA using up the wilted, forgotten produce in your fridge to make dinner. Check out this post from Nom Nom Paleo (where I first heard the term 'Garbage Soup') for the details on concocting a pot of it.

77. The concept from #76 can also apply to smoothies and juicing: when fruits or veggies start to go past their prime, throw them in the blender or juicer instead of throwing them in the trash a few days later.

78. Make your own cake flour. No need to buy a whole box or bag of cake flour for recipes you'll only make now and then. You can find the crazy-easy tutorial from one of my favorite blogs here.

79. For a cheap clarifying shampoo, just add baking soda. Instead of buying a separate shampoo to remove all the excess build-up from things like hard water, products, and the environment itself, simply add a little baking soda to the amount of shampoo you're going to use at that moment (that means don't add it to the whole bottle of shampoo, just to the amount in your hand). The coarseness of the baking soda strips away all the build-up. I do this about once a week or so and every time I do, my hair looks and feels so much better!

80. Skip the store-bought calendars and just print your own off at home. I print off one every month and stick it on my fridge. I particularly like the free printable calendars at The TomKat Studio -- I've used theirs for the last couple years.

81. Instead of buying new furniture for your home, makeover furniture you already have with new knobs, upholstery, covers, shades, paint, or finish. It's amazing what a difference a coat of paint or new fabric can make.

82. Don't waste water when you're waiting for the hot water in the shower or bathtub. If running a bath, plug the drain right away. The cold water will balance out with the hot water that comes later. When showering, let the cold water run from the tap into a bucket or watering can until it gets hot, then start the shower. I totally get if that tip about the shower seems a little silly to you, but collecting that water in the shower (which really adds up fast, by the way) was what allowed me to water my tomato and flower pots outside in the summer of 2013 when we had strict outdoor water restrictions.

83. Limit the number of baths you take and take showers instead. Showers use much less water and energy than baths. An average bath uses 35-50 gallons of water (an average shower uses 10-20 gallons) and a hot shower uses only 20% of the energy it takes to run a hot bath. Treat baths like a treat.

84. Shorten your showers. I'd feel like a huge hypocrite advocating the super-fast Navy shower (more power to you if you can do it), but just cutting 1-2 minutes off your shower can make a difference, saving around five gallons of water. When you consider, as mentioned in #83, that the average shower uses about 10-20 gallons of water, five gallons is a pretty good fraction of usage.

85. Do you use a Kindle or other kind of e-reader? In many cases, book downloads are much cheaper than the hard copies. And you don't have to worry about missing out on good deals because there are people who keep track for you! One of my favorite blogs has a regularly updated list of Kindle deals, most of the books featured costing less than $5.

86. While I'm on the topic of downloading books, classic book titles are public domain, so they're often free to download from sites like Amazon and if they do cost anything, it's only a couple bucks at the most. Public domain titles are ones from authors whose intellectual property rights have expired. These authors include people like William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, the Bronte sisters, and many, many more. This means you can download some of the greatest works of literature for free. That said, romantic that I am, I still buy hard copies of classics for my home library, but it's nice to have them on my Kindle, too, so I can take them with me anywhere easily.

87. Preserve your herbs, whether they come from your garden or the store. You can find a full post on how in my post here.

88. Pre-bagged produce is quite often cheaper than loose produce. By pre-bagged, I don't mean the pre-cut or pre-washed bagged produce (like baby carrots or salads). The pre-bagged produce I'm referring to includes things like the 2-lb. bags of whole carrots, the 5-lb. bags of onions, or 10-lb. bags of potatoes. Check the price of the loose produce, do a little math to see how much it would cost to buy the amount in the pre-bagged version of the fruit or vegetable you're getting, and then decide.

89. When you do buy pre-bagged produce, pick the heaviest one and weigh it. Often, the people who pack those bags will add more just to be extra sure they meet the weight requirements. Since the pre-bagged produce is sold by the unit and not the pound, you can sometimes get a little more for free.

90. Instead of buying packaged lunch-meat in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, buy it at the deli counter. There, they'll slice whatever amount of meat you want, how you want it sliced. I often buy sandwich turkey and ham that way, as well as pepperoni for homemade pizza.

91. Shred your own cheese instead of buying the pre-shredded bags of it. If you look at the unit price between the blocks of cheese and the pre-shredded bags, you'll see that there is a big cost different. Grate your cheese either the old-fashioned way with a box grater (still how I shred mozzarella) or do it super-fast with the grater attachment of a food processor.

92. Know the best times to buy things: clothes, cars, electronics, tools, and more. Check out this helpful calendar I found to help keep track of all the different dates.

93. The biggest water user in your home: the toilet (as much as 27% of the water in your home is used here). Watch out for leaky toilets. A leaky toilet that runs all day into the bowl can waste hundreds of gallons of water. To check if you have a leaky toilet, add some food coloring to the tank. If you can see that color in the bowl within 15 minutes of not flushing, you have a leak. Such leaks can be pretty easily fixed and most often don't require the help of a plumber.

94. Actually do those online surveys at the bottom of your receipts. Yeah, they can be kind of tedious, but they can save you money. For instance, for five minutes of my time, I can get 10% off at Old Navy; that could easily be $5 saved in five minutes. I also get extra fuel rewards for completing the surveys from my local grocery store.

95. Make the most of natural light in your home instead of relying on electric ones. I always wait as long as I can before turning on the lights in the house in the evening -- this may be due in part to my money-saving goals, but also because I prefer natural light waaaay more (lights on in the daytime drive me nuts!). You can find a list of five easy ways to maximize light in your home here.

96. Seal your home for winter to save money. You can find a great post that I found about different ways to seal it here.

97. Eat out too much? You're not alone; it's a very common thing nowadays. And I get it. Some days are just crazy and it's so much easier to pick something up or go to a restaurant. That said, eating out can be a big budget-buster. Don't worry: I'm not advocating eliminating eating out (this is a list of painless ways to live frugally, after all), but it's a good idea to cut back. I read a great tip to help you cut back on eating out: track how much you eat out for a period of time (a week, two weeks, or a month, depending on your habits) and then make a goal to cut that number half. That's not too painful, right?

98. Stockpile. Know what your households staples are, know the best price to get them at, and when you see that price, stock up. One smart idea I read somewhere is to set aside 10% of your grocery budget solely for stocking up on them items you buy most.

99. Repeat after me: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I've known quite a few people who have gotten lured and pulled into all sorts of investment schemes, thinking it'll be a fast track to financial security. I've yet to see it work for someone. In all honesty, getting rich quick usually doesn't happen -- and even when it does, it can often be fleeting. Save yourself the money and heartache that comes along with get-rich-quick schemes.

100. Dream. Okay, that sounds kind of cheesy, but, seriously, make plans. Why do you want to be financially secure? What is your end goal? We have a lot of goals, but one of our dreams in particular is to travel with our family. Last month, the four of us went on an incredible trip to Hawaii, completely debt-free. I'm not sharing this to brag at all, but instead to say that it came after a lot of hard work and sacrifice. It was our first big vacation in a long time (I hadn't even been on a plane since 2008) and it came after many long hours for my husband at work (both at his daytime job and doing freelance work at night) and from with me implementing many of the ideas on this list (and the other two). But, man, it was worth it. When you have a plan and a dream, it gives your work and efforts purpose and direction -- it's what keeps you going when it gets tough.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

(This post is linked up to Homestead Barn Hop and Little House Friday DIY.)

A Summertime Staple: The Best Classic Potato Salad

2014-06-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

I wasn't always a fan of my mom's potato salad. In fact, I wouldn't touch the stuff when I was a kid. Thing is, I don't know if I even tried it back then. I probably did what my own kids do whenever they see something new on their plates: assume it's gross before even trying it. Another reason I might have avoided it was that I didn't really like eggs when I was a kid, especially the hard-boiled ones.

Fast-forward to my later teenage years when I overcame my prejudice and tried it. When I did, I finally understood why everyone else was heaping it onto their plates at family picnics and barbecues. Mom's potato salad is simple but delicious, balanced in its flavors, and even kind of colorful. I may be just the teensiest bit biased, but I think my mom makes THE BEST classic potato salad. And I won't even go into how it's superior over the store-bought stuff in the deli section of the grocery store or in tall tubs at Costco. I mean, that just goes without saying.

The recipe was my grandma's first (it's actually her birthday today). Even though my grandma passed away many years ago, whenever my mom makes this recipe, it's like part of her is back at the gathering. Last year, when my mom planned a picnic with a few of her brothers, they all requested that she make their mom's potato salad.

I've asked for the recipe a couple times, but my mom doesn't have it written down. She makes it from memory, eyeballing the ingredient amounts and consistency of the salad, tasting it all as she goes. This past weekend she made it again for a Father's Day picnic, so I took notes. I figured I should write it down, you know, for posterity's sake -- and yours.

Grandma Erickson's Potato Salad, aka The Best Classic Potato Salad
5 lbs. potatoes (my mom uses Yukon Gold, but you can use any variety), boiled, peeled, and cut into bite-sized cubes
2-3 ribs celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup chives (or green onions), finely chopped
8 large eggs, hard-boiled, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet pickles, finely chopped, with some of the pickle juice reserved (we used these pickles we canned, but the store-bought sweet pickles work fine, too)
1/2 cup peppers, finely chopped (we used these pickled peppers, but you can use pickled peppers, pimientos, or fresh red bell pepper)
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1 cup mayonnaise (Mom swears by Best Foods/Hellman's mayo)
2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp. ground pepper

Boil potatoes until soft. My grandma always boiled them with the skins on -- makes them easier to peel. Peel potatoes then chop into bite-size cubes

Boil the eggs. Be sure that the eggs are thoroughly cooked. Word to the wise: before you peel all of them, check one of them first. You wouldn't want to boil a dozen of your chickens' lovely eggs, peel them all, realize that they weren't cooked through all the way, and have your mom tell you that they can't be used. Not that I would know from experience or anything. (ahem.)

Perfectly cooked eggs have a tender white and the yolk is pale yellow, fluffy but firm. Undercooked hardboiled eggs (like the one on the left in the picture above) have a damp yolk that is more dark-gold than pale yellow. Be careful not to overcook them, though, or the yolk will have a harmless-but-ugly grayish-green ring around it (Helpful tutorial for hard-boiling eggs can be found here.)

Cut the eggs up well, so that they're almost crumbly. My mom likes to use a paring knife to cut the egg up in her hand. I helped her out and did the same, holding it as I cut it the way I would an onion.

IMPORTANT: let the potatoes and eggs cool completely before you make the potato salad. If you don't, it will turn into this hot, mushy mess instead of a cool, refreshing salad. Who wants that?

Put the chopped potatoes in large bowl. Drizzle with reserved pickle juice (and the juice from the pickled peppers, if you're using them), about 1/2 cup (if you're using the juice from pickled peppers, too, do 1/4 cup pickle juice and 1/4 cup pickled pepper juice).

Add salt, pepper, and chives. Stir gently so the potatoes don't get mushy. For the best results, stop at this point and let the mixture chill overnight. This lets the flavors really seep into the potatoes. This step isn't completely necessary, though.

Add the chopped pickles, peppers, celery, eggs, mustard, and mayonnaise. Fold these ingredients in gently, too. Taste the salad and add more salt and pepper, if needed, depending on your preferences. You can also add more mayonnaise, too, if you want a creamier consistency.

Keep the salad chilled until served -- and be prepared for future requests.

A Round-Up of Random Reuses

2014-06-09T01:55:00.001-06:00

My grandfather grew up during the Great Depression. As you can imagine, during that time he learned some pretty thrifty habits, ones that stayed with him for the rest of his life. One of those habits was reusing things before he threw them out. He definitely took the mantra "waste not, want not" to heart.

My family and I always joke that my grandpa was green without even knowing it. He was ahead of his time! We kids would drink out of washed-out plastic yogurt cups instead of glasses when we needed water.When we wanted to draw, he would pull out a big tin of broken crayons (probably from when my mom and uncles were kids), which we would use to draw on the back of paper that had already been printed on. He had a bar of soap at the sink in the bathroom made exclusively out of saved-up soap slivers (you know, that little slip of soap that remains when you're almost finished with it) -- I just thought it was rainbow soap and he bought it that way. He had a specific drawer in his kitchen where he stored plastic grocery bags and bread bags and every doorknob in his house had rubber-bands around them. The guy didn't throw anything out unless it had been very thoroughly used.

When I first started blogging as the Parsimonious Princess years ago, some of the very first posts were about reusing things that others would throw out. I call these "random reuses" (what can I say? I'm a sucker for alliteration.). Maybe it's in the genes, but I love finding a second life in things; it's a sort of challenge. Today, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite reuses, the ones that I either use the most, the ones that I have benefited most from, or the ones that simply would have made my Grandpa proud.

Find out how I've reused household items like empty gallon jugs, old t-shirts, mesh onion bags, bread tabs, plastic lids, and tomato cans in my monthly post over at The Green Phone Booth!

(This post is linked up to Simple Lives Thursday and Little House Friday DIY Linky..)

Lovely Links: The Return of Summertime Edition (+ Some Thoughts on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day)

2014-06-06T09:46:00.000-06:00

I love every season but, oh, summer! I love the freedom of it and the simple joys that come along with the season. Simple joys like flowers from the yard. The other day, I gave myself a bouquet of two dozen roses. Not only are they gorgeous on my kitchen table and smell heavenly, but they were free! The rosebush in my yard is exploding with blooms right now, as well as many of my other flowers: yarrow, Jupiter's beard, lilies, bachelor's button, salvia, lamb's ear, sage. My house feels so much cheerier with all these flowers, both inside and out. I always try to keep fresh flowers in my home. I tell you, they're good for the soul and I heartily recommend giving yourself a bouquet today, whether it's from your yard or from the grocery store!

Here's a mish-mash of summery links to celebrate this first week of June!

Summer Goals...with a Plan :: 71 Toes
I don't know about you, but I've been seeing all sorts of blog posts about summertime lists: bucket lists, to-do lists, checklists. I'm not the most organized of people, but I do want a little structure for my kids, especially my older son, this summer. This post at 71 Toes is pretty amazing (seriously, these people are super-parents). If I'm being honest, their summer goal-setting, checklists, and plans may be a bit too structured and organized for my brain, but the post is still giving me some good ideas on how we want to organize and plan our summer.

It's Okay to NOT Have a Summer To-Do or Bucket List :: Life As Mom
Then again, summertime is supposed to be about freedom and relaxation, too. One of my best friends and I were just talking yesterday about easy it is to feel overwhelmed by bucket lists and the feeling that you alone are responsible for making summer perfect, magical, and memorable for you and your family. While I plan on making some goals and plans, I believe I'm more in favor of the fluidity of the approach in this post.

Old Fashioned Lemonade Recipe :: Making This Home
Lemonade and summer are pretty much synonymous. I like this recipe because of its simplicity and because it sounds likes it's more on the sour side. I believe a truly good glass of lemonade should make your lips pucker a little. (I'm totally going to try this lemonade in my other favorite summertime beverage -- you can find it here.)

10 Creative Ways to Make an Outdoor Oasis for Kids this Summer :: Apartment Therapy
I want to do every single one of these.

How to Build a Water Balloon Launcher :: Frugal Fun for Boys
Making this soon. My boys (as well as their neighborhood friends) will LOVE it.

Strawberry Sorbet Recipe :: Andrea's Notebook
This recipe sounds super simple and delicious. Plus, it doesn't have that much sugar in it. I'm totally counting a bowl of this sorbet as a serving of fruit.

On a more serious note...

I couldn't write a post today without mentioning the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Years ago, while I was visiting the Special Forces Museum at Fort Bragg, I came across a quote from John Stuart Mill that really struck me and that I think of often when I think of the military:

"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

This quote offers such an interesting perspective and insight into the character of those who do fight our wars. That's what really humbles me about the picture above, why it is so moving -- in that boat sit men, all of them having lives and families back home, ready to head onto the shores of Normandy seventy years ago, knowing full well they might not survive. I wonder how many in the picture did. And if they did survive, they most likely survived with painful memories of that horrific but tremendously important day in history. I'm willing to bet that each one of those men in that photograph were afraid as they sat on that boat, but their courage lies in the fact that they went ashore anyway.

I come from a military family -- my grandfather fought in the South Pacific during World War II and my dad served a full military career during many conflicts, including Vietnam. I have a particular soft-spot in my heart and deep respect for the military. Yet, more than ever, days like today strike a little closer to home because I have a brother currently deployed and serving in Afghanistan. I understand the cost of freedom in a way I haven't fully appreciated before. There are no words for my gratitude for the brave men and women who have served and serve our country today, who are willing to pay the ultimate price to defeat tyranny and defend freedom. On this 70th anniversary of D-Day, I remember and honor the bravery of them all.

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.

High and Dry: Why the Clothesline Deserves a Comeback

2014-05-12T12:40:00.001-06:00

Throughout my childhood, we had a clothesline. It was just out the back door of the house, right past the laundry room. In many ways, the clothesline almost seemed like an extension of the house, like an outdoor adjacent room. I can clearly remember my mom always hanging out the laundry. I loved to play in the damp rows of clean towels, cloth diapers, jeans, and sheets as they billowed in the breeze. And, to this day, one of my very favorite smells is clean sheets that have been dried on a clothesline; when you lay down to sleep on them the smell is heavenly. If the sun has a smell, that has to be it. When my family moved away from the house with the conveniently-placed clothesline, my mom used the clothesline less and less for everyday laundry, though she still used it for sheets and pillowcases.

Despite all my pleasant memories of having a clothesline, I'd never given much thought to having one of my own until a few years ago ago when I got really interested in cleaning naturally. I remember reading books about green cleaning and being amazed/horrified by all the things in dryer sheets. A ton of chemicals are used make laundry static-free (you can find a list of the ingredients here). I wanted to use a clothesline just to avoid the toxins in dryer sheets! (Sidenote: even if you use your dryer, you don't need dryer sheets or chemical softeners -- vinegar does the trick!)

I've also since learned that dryers are a major energy-using appliance. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the clothes dryer alone uses up around six percent of your home's energy usage. Of all household appliances, the clothes dryer comes in at #2 for using the most energy; the refrigerator comes in at number one. Isn't it interesting though, that, unlike the refrigerator that is on 24/7, the dryer ranks so high even though it is only used in spurts, just a few times a week? I've read that running a clothes dryer is the equivalent of turning on 225 CFL lightbulbs for an hour. And that's for an appliance that we don't have to use.

Let me repeat that. You don't have to use a dryer.

To read the rest of this post -- about why the clothesline has lost its popularity here in America and why it deserves a comeback -- check out my post at The Green Phone Booth (where I contribute every second Monday of the month)!

{This post is linked up to Homestead Barn Hop.}

Book Report: What I've Been Reading

2014-05-08T13:50:00.004-06:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books. It feels weird to type that, because I've been a bookworm since I learned to read -- frankly, I'm obsessed with books. Oddly enough, though, I found myself reading less and less over the past few years. I got so busy with all my responsibilities as a mom that I put my favorite pastime on the backburner. Not anymore! This year, I've made my personal reading a priority again and, well, let's just say I wish all resolutions were this enjoyable to keep!

I thought I'd share a few of my recent reads with you -- at least the ones that are applicable to this blog. (If you're curious of all the other books I've been reading/listening to, you can check out my Goodreads profile here.)

{Pssst! Let me just say from the get-go, any of these books would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift. If you order today with Amazon 2-day Prime shipping, you'll most likely get it in time! Or you could be all old-school and go to an actual bookstore...}

Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes by Catherine McCord
One thing I am adamant about in my kitchen is that I will only cook one meal at dinnertime; I'm no short-order cook. The kids eat what the adults eat (and vice versa). As I was looking for some more kid-friendly recipes, I was drawn to the premise of this cookbook: one family, one meal. I was curious how she could make food that wasn't too intense for kids but not too bland for parents. This book has lots of simple recipes and my family has enjoyed almost everything I've made from it. Particular favorites: the graham crackers (I actually prefer her recipe over the one I've been using from The Homemade Pantry), enchiladas, pumpkin waffles, pesto meatballs, cottage cheese pancakes, and wonton soup. This cookbook is definitely a great resource for family-friendly recipes and ideas.

I did a have a couple drawbacks about the book: one, the book is full of photos of the author in such posed situations (she mentions in the book how she used to be a model and it shows); I would rather see more photos of food than of her working in her garden, looking over her shoulder at the camera, or gnawing on a chicken kabob. Another drawback: I came to this book for some help with a picky toddler and I found all the talk about how absolutely amazing her kids are and how they eat every single thing ever offered them kind of annoying/frustrating. But, I have to give credit where it's due -- that picky toddler has eaten pretty much everything I've made from the book!

Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong
Last year, my doctor advised me to limit grains and dairy in my diet. When he told me that, I immediately thought of my dad, who has followed a paleolithic diet for years (right before it started getting all popular) and decided to turn to some of the paleo cookbooks for ideas of what to eat. I'd flip through various paleo cookbooks, thinking some of the recipes looked good, but they mostly made me miss all the foods I really wanted to make. (Spaghetti squash can never replace regular spaghetti for me, no matter how hard I try).

Anyway, I found Nom Nom Paleo a few weeks ago and was blown away because every recipe in the book looks delicious! Seriously, I would make any of them. Unlike other paleo cookbooks I've come across, the writing style is fun to read, not preachy, not dogmatic, no doom-and-gloom talk of how wheat will kill us all. I'm still working on cooking through this cookbook, but I'll tell you, what I have made has been awesome. One stand-out: the walnut shrimp. It was just as good as the kind I order at my favorite Asian restaurant. I couldn't believe it was paleo! My husband took the leftover spiced maple walnuts from the recipe to work and his coworkers loved them. My family doesn't follow a strictly paleo lifestyle, but this book definitely has a place on my kitchen bookshelf (yep, I have one -- cookbooks are my weakness) because I want to feed my family whole, unprocessed foods. I can't recommend this cookbook enough!

The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It, Too by Alys Fowler
I can't quite remember where I saw vegetables incorporated into flowerbeds for the first time. I can remember, though, how the purple cabbages were woven in with the flowers and how brilliant I thought it was. Over the years since then, I've become enamored with the idea of turning yards and lawns into mini-homesteads. So when I saw this book, I ordered it right away. My impulse buy did not disappoint at all.

Simply put, I loved this book. So often, gardening books get complicated and/or formulaic; this book is neither of those things. Alys Fowler's approach feels so natural and the way she writes is so friendly, like she's walking you through her garden and giving you information, recipes, and tips as you go. Like the tip about making fertilizer out of comfrey -- I'm still excited about that one and trying to get some Russian comfrey into my garden as soon as possible. One other kind of silly thing I loved: this book is so British! The Anglophile in me couldn't help but sigh over phrases about how rhubarb is "a doddle to grow" or the best ways to grow courgettes and aubergines (zucchini and eggplants). This book was a lot of fun to read and it made me even more excited to get out in my garden and try new things!

Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze
If you've read this blog for a while, you probably know that I am a Dave Ramsey devotee. I wholeheartedly believe that his program of seven "Baby Steps" leads to financial peace. My husband and I have completed Baby Steps #1 and #2 and we're close to finishing #3. If you haven't read The Total Money Makeover, stop reading this post now and get your hands on a copy!

Since, as I said, I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey, I preordered my copy of his latest book, Smart Money Smart Kids. I went into this book already familiar with his program for kids, but I still learned a lot. I could write a whole post about Dave's program for kids and teenagers, so I will soon. But for now, I'll just say that this book should be required reading for every parent. What a world it would be if the next generation followed the principles in this book!

The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith
This book surprised me, to be totally honest. I'd read lots glowing reviews of it, so I ordered a copy. At first, I only liked it and found myself sort of wondering what all the fuss was about. I found myself wishing it had more actual decorating ideas/how-to instructions -- the perfectionist in me likes having things spelled out and I struggle with improvisation and experimentation (which is a big theme of this book). But as I continued reading, I caught the vision of what this book is really about: transforming the place where you live into a home you love. I finished the book this past Monday and already I find myself feeling less intimidated and more excited about decorating my house. In fact, the day after I read it, I finally took down the curtains I've hated for years but have been too afraid and overwhelmed to change. Right now, I'm looking at the new drapes in my family room as I'm typing this and can't help but feel a surge of happiness. I love that room more now than I have in a long time!

In terms of how this book relates to this blog, Myquillyn Smith's message about contentment, gratitude, and finding joy in your present situation goes hand-in-hand with frugality. I know I've found myself thinking more about what I wish I had and about plans for someday, instead of living in the present. She also shares lots of tips of how to decorate inexpensively, often using things you already have and breathing new life into them. The writing is funny and moving all at once (I was in tears by the end). I wish I could buy a copy for each of the women in my life!

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

Lovely Links: Lovely Locks Edition

2014-05-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

About six months ago, I chopped close to fifteen inches off my hair.

Since I don't dye my hair and because I'd worn it up so much (being a mom with nearly waist-length hair meant lots of braids, buns, and ponytails), my hair was healthy enough to be donated. I even got a $10 discount for donating (everyone wins!). I've always had long hair, but I was ready for the change and barely flinched when she chopped that long braid off.

As the lady was styling my new haircut (which I loved), she was suggesting all sorts of products and tools I would need to style my now shoulder-length hair. Like I said, before the cut, I wore my hair up most the time; I didn't have time to blow-dry or curl all that hair! But once it was chopped off, I was told that I needed a flat iron, curling wand, salt spray, heat protectant, and mousse.

Confession: I was so excited about my stylish new hairdo, I bought all of it.

Granted, I didn't buy the $100 flat-iron the stylist told me I needed and the salt spray was basically free with the discount for I got for donating. Still, I spent a good bit of cash buying these supplies. I felt a little strange buying all those beauty products. I mean, I'm the girl who has washed her hair with baking soda, cleaned her face with oil, and is using the same solitary eye-shadow compact I bought at least two years ago.

Since I'm a little paranoid about frying my hair, I go easy with my styling tools, limiting myself to only 2-3 times a week. In the process, I've found a lot of alternate ways to curl my hair. In many ways, I find myself preferring the look of the heat-less curls over the heat-styled ones.

But why am I blogging about my hair on a blog about frugality? Because as I've been thinking about it, curling your hair without heat can actually save some money.

One way that heat-free curling can save you money is that undamaged hair means less trips to the salon. Split ends are often the result of heat damage and the only way to get rid of them, despite what many shampoo commercials say, is to cut them off. Unless you're particularly brave and can cut your own hair or you have a stylist in the family, you'll have to pay to get your damaged hair trimmed. There are lots of in-salon treatments for damaged hair, but the prices for them can range anywhere from $40 to $600 (seriously -- I did a little reading and there are these keratin treatments that can cost that much!). Even if you skip the professionals and try to fix heat-damaged hair at home, it can still get costly.

Another way heat-less curling can save you money is pretty obvious: you don't need to buy an arsenal of tools and hair products, like curling irons, wands, flat-irons, or heat protectant sprays. For most of the heat-less curling methods out there, your needed supplies are likely things you already have at home and if you don't have them, they don't cost much. Usually, you just need a couple socks, some bobby pins, or a headband to curl your hair.

Here are a few of the many ways you can curl your hair without heat, often while you're sleeping:

No Heat Curl Headband Tutorial :: The Paper Mama

This was one of the very first tutorials I pinned on my hairstyle board on Pinterest and one of the first I actually tried out. When I had all my hair wrapped up, it looked like some kind of weird hairstyle Princess Leia would have, but I went to sleep on it and hoped for the best. It totally worked! I got lots of compliments on it the next day, so, of course, I explained how to do it to a bunch of people. My friend has a darling little girl with super-fine, super blonde hair and she tells me this method is the only way her daughter's hair will hold a curl. My sister-in-law, Katherine, also swears by it and always has great results. I love this curling method for vacations -- it's so easy to just pack a headband! (The link at the top is where I first saw the idea and she has a video there (but it's kind of long). This pin has a quick and simple overview of how to do it; I would've put a link to that but I couldn't find the original source.)

Natural Waves :: Join the Mood

I like this tutorial because it doesn't have to set overnight to work. Plus, sometimes I'd rather have some soft, natural waves instead of curls. This method only requires some water and bobby pins.

Foam Curls :: The Shine Project

Of course, no post about heat-free curling would be complete without mentioning foam curlers. If you're like me, you have childhood memories of wearing pink foam curlers to bed at night (ouch) and waking up with Shirley Temple-esque curls. Even though foam curlers haven't changed at all since I wore them in the 1980s, there are ways you can use them stylishly in the 21st century. The link above is proof.

{source}

Bed Head Beach Waves :: Maskcara

Beach-hair waves are in right now and the whole goal is to look all windswept like you've been to the beach. I find it funny that often a lot of work is required to curl and style your hair so it looks like you didn't do it. In any case, this tutorial looks pretty simple and I'm totally going to give it a try.

Hair and How We Do It, Including Sock Curls ::

71 Toes

This curling method looks really, really easy and only requires 3-4 socks to do it. I hope my hair is long enough to make it work because I really want to try it this weekend. I love doing my hair Saturday night instead of when I'm trying to get my boys ready for church on Sunday.

How to Rock 4 Awesome Vintage 'Dos ::

Refinery 29

Empty coke cans, pink foam rollers, hand-ripped rags -- this post shows you how to use all them (though not all once) to get gorgeous hair. Seriously, each hairdo is gorgeous. Who needs a blow dryer or curling iron anyway?

Hope your weekend (and your hair) is lovely this weekend!

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.

11 Reasons You Should Consider Beekeeping

2014-04-14T06:57:00.004-06:00

This month marks the two-year anniversary of my husband and I becoming full-fledged beekeepers. I love telling people that I keep bees - some react with fascination, others think I'm nuts. There's this notion that beekeeping is complicated, scary, and even dangerous. Really, beekeeping is none of those things. In fact, I'm convinced that just about anyone who cares enough about bees can become a beekeeper.

Here are eleven reasons why you should consider beekeeping:

1. HONEY!
I'll just get this one of the way: one of the best reasons to keep bees is for the honey! This past fall, we got our first honey harvest (we didn't get enough our first year since we had such dry conditions in 2012). You know that difference between a store-bought tomato vs. a homegrown one? Same goes for honey. I've never tasted better honey in my life! I remember eating it the first time, honeycomb and all, and feeling such a sense of awe and gratitude for those bees. Sadly, we are on our last jar of the liquid gold. Our September honey extraction can't come soon enough! (You can read all about our honey extraction experience here.)

2. Having beehives helps your garden grow....and your neighbor's garden, too.
Having tens of thousands of honeybees living in your backyard means lots of pollinators for your garden. Our beehives are actually located in my parents' yard (since our city banned beehives up until last year) and I asked my my mom if she noticed a significant increase in her garden's production. She told me that of everything in her yard, her raspberry bushes have benefited the most -- she had more berries on them than in years past, thanks to the bees. I'm practically begging my in-laws to let me and my husband put a couple hives in their yard since they have a bunch of fruit trees; I'm sure their yields would be even better if we could get more pollinators there! (Note to self: forward this post to hesitant father-in-law...)

3. Beekeeping is a great way to be self-sufficient.
Keeping bees is a wonderful way to be self-sufficient - honey is a great replacement for regular white sugar. There are some start-up costs that comes with beekeeping, but it's a worthwhile investment. If I remember correctly, we spent about $350 when got started -- that price included our two hives (with three deep boxes each), two beekeeping jackets and hats/veils, gloves, a hive tool, a smoker, and, of course, the bees (that price doesn't include the class I took, but that didn't cost much, either). After a few honey harvests, the hives will pay for themselves. The only real expenses after the initial start-up costs are for mite treatments (all-natural) and any supplemental feeding that may be necessary. Another self-sufficiency facet: in terms of food storage, you can't beat the shelf life of honey because it lasts forever. Archaeologists have found honey from the ancient Egyptians that can still be eaten today.

4. It takes very little effort and time to keep bees.
Do you have a dog or cat? You spend more time taking care of that pet than you would a couple of beehives. Even in the peak summer months when my husband and I do regular inspections, we probably spend less than an hour a month taking care of them. Seriously. The less you bother the bees, the better. All they really need is a short-and-sweet inspection every 10 days or so. The only time-consuming part of beekeeping is the honey extraction, but that part also happens to be a lot of fun.

5. Honey is good for your health.
Honey has been used for centuries for health and medicinal uses. Honey contains flavonoids that have been shown to reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. Honey is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide in the honey. For this reason, honey is actually a great treatment for wounds. I love adding honey to hot water and lemon when I have a cold, cough, or sore throat. Honey is actually as effective, studies have shown, as cough syrup. Another health benefit of honey is with allergy symptoms. Although there are no conclusive studies, many scientists believe as you ingest the pollen spores in honey in small amounts at a time, your body gets used to them and your allergic response to them diminishes. (One other medical sidenote: Did you know that scientists have found that bee venom can kill HIV? How crazy/cool is that?!)

One caveat: to get many of the health and medicinal benefits, you need to use raw, unprocessed (and local, particularly in terms of helping with allergies) honey. Most of the honey at the grocery store won't cut it. That's where beekeeping comes in: you can't get honey that is more local and raw than the honey that comes from your backyard.

For the other six reasons to consider beekeeping, check out my post at The Green Phone Booth!

{This post is linked up to the Homestead Barn Hop, Simple Lives Thursday, From the Farm Blog Hop, and Little House Friday DIY Linky.}

How My Garden Grows: My Not-So-Complicated Planning Process

2014-04-09T10:20:00.001-06:00

Years ago, I took a gardening class about flowerbed design and soon found out that my method of flowerbed design was all wrong. What was my method? Impulsive buying of pretty plants at the local nursery. No rhyme or reason, just whatever caught my eye. While fun, that approach doesn't yield the best results; it creates more of a mish-mash of a flowerbed (albeit, a pretty mishmash).

Same goes for vegetable gardening. Sure, you could head to the local garden center or Home Depot and pick up a bunch of vegetable starts, but you probably won't get the most success from your garden that way. A garden plan will help you make the most of the space you've got.

Over a week ago I mentioned that I'd be sharing my garden planning process here. Let me say from the get-go: I'm not really the planning, super-organized type of girl. I've been known to keep a daily docket/to-do list from time to time, but I'll probably never be one of those people who has a household management binder. More power to those types, of course, but the all-or-nothing perfectionist in me gets overwhelmed simply at the idea of that much planning and organization. I hope you weren't expecting something complicated, mathematical, or super-scientific. I don't have any cute printables to help you plan your garden, either. That's not just not how I roll (though, for the record, I do love nice printable charts).

This is the process I've used for the last few years works for me. No hard and fast rules here; just inspiration to help you figure out your own planning process.

The first step of my planning process often starts when there's still snow on the ground: research and reading. In those months and weeks of winter, that time that toys with my emotions with warm days then snowy ones, dreaming about my garden does a lot to help my spirits. You can read about some of my favorite gardening books here (many of which are pictured above). My other favorite source for garden inspiration and information is Pinterest (you can find my gardening board here).

Next, I read and review my garden journal.

Do you keep a garden journal? Because if you don't, you really ought to consider writing in one. I started keeping one back in 2012 and I love it. (For more detail on why and how I keep one, you can read my post about it here).

It helps so much to be able to read the details of the previous year's garden because by spring, I have only vague memory of what I did. My journal lets me know exactly what I planted, when and where I planted it, how it worked, and my successes and failures. Reading and reviewing my journal helps me organize my thoughts and it helps me not repeat the mistakes I've made.

My next step is seed inventory. This is when I go through my seed collection and see what I have leftover from last year (and the year before that, in some cases). This is where seed testing can be helpful and necessary (read here for how to test your seeds before planting them). I can't tell you how many times I've bought a packet of seeds even though I already had enough at home. When I did my inventory this year, I found three packets for the same kind of Swiss chard.

Once I know what seeds I do have, I make a list in my garden journal of what I want to grow and what I'll need to buy. I love flipping through seed catalogs to help me plan my garden. When I've purchased the seeds or retrieved them from my jumbled stash, I write down the exact variety each crop I'm planting that year.

I buy my seeds from my local nursery/feed store and through the mail. My favorite mail-order seed company is High Mowing Seeds. (And, no, they're not paying me or giving me seeds to say that.) Personally, I prefer to use organic, heirloom seeds in my garden. Heirloom vegetables are perfect for frugal gardeners because you can can use the seeds from the produce you grow and plant again. I was practically giddy last year when the tomato seeds I'd saved from my 2012 tomatoes sprouted and grew!

Once I know exactly what I want to grow, I have to figure out where I'm going to plant everything. I draw up my garden boxes in my journal, along with notes for each container and pallet I have, too.

One thing I am trying to keep in mind as I'm planning where I'm going to plant each vegetable is crop rotation. I made this little table in my journal last year and I found myself flipping back to it many times as I was figuring out my garden plan this past week. (You can find more in-depth info about crop rotation here. My chart in my journal doesn't include their 'rebuild' step. Oops.)

I assign each of the vegetable crops I want to grow to specific garden boxes and pots, depending what was grown there last year and what plants grow well (or don't grow well) together. I also take into account how much I want to grow (depending on how much my family eats of that particular vegetable, how much canning I want to do, etc) and how much space that will require As I plant them, I'll make a note of the date when they were planted on my garden map. The plan pictured above is from last year; it's nice to see at glance the story of what happened last season so I can plan accordingly for this season. It also makes me mindful of my calendar, so I know when to plant those tender plants, especially.

Does having a garden plan ensure you'll have a perfect garden? Obviously not. Despite plenty of planning and effort, my garden last year was just 'meh'. But having a plan still made it less frustrating and keeping track of it all will help me not repeat some of the mistakes I made. And, of course, no garden works without...well...work. But that's what's nice about having a garden plan -- your work has purpose and direction, along with (hopefully!) some delicious results.

{This post is linked up to Simple Lives Thursday, Homestead Barn Hop, and Little House Friday DIY.}

Lovely Links: Garden Planning Edition

2014-03-28T15:52:00.000-06:00

Spring is finally here and with that comes gardening again! I turned over my garden beds a few days ago and, man, it was nice getting my fingernails all dirty again.

I feel like I'm a little behind schedule in my garden, though, since I'm still in the planning stages. The only things growing in my garden right now are the Swiss chard that overwintered (yay!) and the 30+ heads of garlic I planted last fall (YAY!). Next week, I'll post about my garden planning process here, but I thought it would fun to give you some inspiration for your weekend. Whether you're growing a windowsill herb garden, a few containers on a patio, a garden in a corner of your yard, or a full-fledged homestead, here are a few links I've come across to help you plan your best garden yet!

1 Really Great Reason to Grow Food this Year :: Gardening Jones
On the fence about even bothering with a garden this year? Planning to grow a garden but need a little more motivation to dive in? The one reason described in this post is motivation enough.

Organic Vegetable Gardening 101 :: My Humble Kitchen
Great, basic info with links to posts about ordering seeds, the different types of seeds, succession planting, and more -- though I prefer the milk-jug seed starting method to starting them indoors. I'm also in love with the vertical planter boxes in this post.

Our DIY Raised Garden Beds - Chris Loves Julia
$10 Cedar Raised Garden Beds - Ana White
I love my raised garden beds! If you don't have them yet, here are a couple great tutorials for getting yours started -- or, if you're like me, to rebuild yours because the wood frames of your existing garden beds are rotting away.

The Living Jigsaw: Planning for Crop Rotation in Your Garden :: Designing Edible Gardens
I've known for a while that it's not a good idea to grow the same crops in the same spots every year, but until last spring, I had no idea that you should rotate what type of vegetables you grow in each area of your garden in a particular order. Now that I understand the concept, it actually makes planning my garden easier. Leaves - Fruits - Roots - Rebuild -- this post explains it all.

How much you need to plant to feed your family :: New Life on a Homestead
This post has a list of how much you would need to grow to feed yourself and your family for a year. It's interesting , but it's also a bit overwhelming. While I would LOVE to be that self-sufficient, I don't have enough room in my garden beds to grow all that. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and bummed, I look at this list as a good guide to how much to plan on growing in the space I do have.

Lawns into Gardens :: New York Times
Speaking of garden space, my latest fascination: turning lawns and front yards into gardens. I mean, my lawn gives me grief every year (dandelions everywhere and it won't stay green); why not grow food instead? My husband isn't on board with this idea and I guess my boys need some grass to play on, but a girl can still dream.

Front Yard Vegetable Garden :: The Art of Doing Stuff
Now, this is something I could do...

One last thing: as you're deciding what to grow, consider growing some of the bees' favorite fruits, veggies, herbs and flowers.

Hope your weekend is lovely!

How to Make an Essential Oil Reed Diffuser

2014-03-20T14:25:00.002-06:00

A couple fairly new developments, resulting from Christmas gifts I got a couple months ago:

One -- I'm kinda sorta falling in love with essential oils. I mean, I've dabbled in essential oils for the last couple years, but this past Christmas my mother-in-law gave us the Family Physican Kit from doTERRA and it's AMAZING. I've used every oil in that kit (except for oregano - I'm a little scared of that one.) and love them. Even my skeptical husband has become a bit of a believer. Balance (the oil pictured above) isn't in the kit but I love it (and I used it for the project I'm going to describe). Though I'm still an essential oil novice, I'm really impressed by how much punch these oils pack and the many, many ways they can be used.

Two -- For the first time in my life, I'm in possession of a bottle of vodka. My brother and his wife gave it to me for Christmas and everyone had a good a laugh about it when they gave it to me. Why? I'm a life-long Mormon and I've never so much as tasted a drop of the stuff, let alone owned a whole bottle. (It was a big deal for me when I bought my first can of beer at age 30 -- to kill snails, of course.) It's actually a really thoughtful gift because my brother remembered me mentioning that I wanted to try making my own vanilla extract and to do that you need vodka. Seeing as I don't frequent the liquor store and all, I've never gotten around to buying a bottle of it. So, for the last few months, I've had it up in my cupboard, next to all the jars of homemade jam and salsa.

So besides the fact that the essential oil and the vodka were Christmas gifts, what do they have in common? They're two of the things needed to make an essential oil reed diffuser.

I first came in contact with reed diffusers about eight years ago when I was working at Pier 1 Imports. I mostly waddled around the place because I was pregnant with my oldest at the time and just working to fill some hours since I'd quit my full-time job at Barnes & Noble. Granted, the diffusers weren't always so pleasant with the pregnancy-induced superhuman sense of smell I had, but I thought they were cool. Instead of spraying chemicals into the air or using those scenty disks you plug into the wall, the scent of the oil emanated from these skinny sticks that you dipped in them. Who knew?

A few months ago, I noticed that my doctor's office had an essential oil diffuser that was pluged into the wall and I wanted one -- I loved the way it made the room smell! Turns out, the diffuser he had in his office costs over $100. I'd love to have one still and there are all sorts of benefits to diffusing essential oils into the air, but that's pretty expensive. Then I got to thinking about the reed diffusers from my days at Pier 1.

Of course I consulted Pinterest and found out you can make your own diffusers with essential oils. There are a bunch of different methods and ingredients people use. One big difference I found: some use alcohol and some use a carrier oil (like almond or safflower). I opted for the alcohol version because I happened to have some on hand and I like that if this diffuser gets spilled (or knocked over by a kid or cat), it won't leave a big oil stain behind.

After some reading and experimentation, I've found the recipe I like and I'm going to share it with you today!

To make your essential oil reed diffuser, you'll need:

a small glass jar or vase; the smaller the opening, the better
1/4 cup water
2-3 Tablespoons vodka
essential oil
bamboo skewers (how many you use depends on how many fit in your jar)

I scrounged around my house trying to find a container that would work well. It can be as fancy or plain as you like. I was planning on just reusing something from my collection of saved jars. I couldn't decide between a spice container from Ikea, a bottle from some yummy organic cream, and an old baby food jar (I don't know where that came from, to be honest), but then I remembered a little vase my mom gave me last summer. Though all the others would have worked all right, I liked the vase because it had the smallest opening; the smaller opening keeps the liquid from evaporating as fast.

Fill your jar/vase with the 1/4 cup water.

Next, add the vodka. The purpose of the vodka is to help emulsify the water and essential oil. I started with two tablespoons but ended up adding a little more when I saw that the oils were still separating from the water. (Photo credit: my seven-year-old actually used my DSLR and took this photo for me. I was pretty surprised that he got a clear picture!)

Add the essential oils. I started with 10 drops and then gradually added more until the scent was as a strong as I liked.

Stick the bamboo skewers in the jar/vase and you're done. I read that some people think that you should opt for the actual reed sticks for your diffuser (and I think they're pretty inexpensive) because they work better, but the bamboo skewers work, too. It's what I had on hand so I went with them. So far, so good. Every few days or so, flip the diffusers to refresh the scent.

After I made mine, I was feeling pretty proud and I put it in a corner of my kitchen. Not the best idea -- the scent that is put out by this diffuser is subtle and seemed to be pretty easily overwhelmed by the various other aromas and smells that come out of the kitchen. So I moved it to my living room (it seemed like a good spot by that painting, in particular). I could smell it a little but not as much as I'd liked. I was totally bummed -- had my experiment totally failed?

Still not willing to accept defeat, I took it up to my room, thinking a smaller and more enclosed space would be better. Sure enough, that was the ticket. I put it on my dresser and gives off a nice, subtle smell. I'm sure if you used a bigger vase/jar, doubled the recipe, and used more skewers (or actual diffuser reeds), you could use this homemade diffuser in a bigger room. But to use what is pictured here, I suggest keeping it in a smaller, more enclosed room -- like a bedroom or bathroom.

Skip the chemical (and toxic) air-fresheners that don't really smell like anything anyway. Try out this simple air-freshener to give your home a pleasant and aromatic lift.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

{This post is linked up to The Homestead Barn Hop.}

How I Get the Most Out of Our (smallish) Local Library

2014-03-06T14:03:00.003-07:00

There are a few topics that once you get me talking about them, I pretty much can't shut up: Mary Poppins, natural childbirth (two babies sans epidurals, thankyouverymuch), the superiority of the A&E film version of Pride and Prejudice, beauty pageants (grrr!), and the flagrant use of pluralostrophes, just to name a few.

But, without a doubt, books are at the top of that list. Nothing gets me as excited, emotional, and passionate as the topic of books and the importance of reading. In fact, it's taking pretty much all the restraint I have to not go on and on about my love of reading: my bookwormy childhood and adolescence, my college experience as an English major, the time I spent as a Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble, how The Read-Aloud Handbook shaped a huge facet of how I parent, share my other all-time favorite books, refer you to my bibliophile Pinterest board, tell how I'm writing a novel....see, I'm doing it anyway. Stop, Heather, stop.

As you can imagine, I also have strong feelings about the importance of libraries as well. As Walter Cronkite said, "Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." Libraries are absolutely essential.

That said, my local library and I sort of parted ways for a while. Quite a while, actually. I could never find what I wanted. The selection seemed paltry. Granted, I live in smaller city, so I can't totally blame them. I didn't really even bother with the children's section because I'd had the same kind of luck there, too. So I fed my Amazon habit and bought a lot of books instead of borrowing them from the library. I used PaperbackSwap (an excellent resource) to curb my expenses, but I was still spending a lot of money on books. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't use the best money-saving resource for books there is -- it was the library's fault, right? Right? Riiiiight...

Then in 2012, when my oldest started kindergarten, I had an idea to listen to audiobooks with the kids in the car since we had a little bit of a drive to school (about 15 minutes each way). I knew the local library had an audiobook section for kids so I tried it out. Pretty soon, we started checking out some of the picture books in the section nearby and before I knew it, trips to the library were becoming a biweekly thing, if not a sometimes weekly trip, with us leaving with a stack of books.

What I've learned is that I wasn't really approaching the library in very constructive way before. Sure, the selection wasn't great (for the record, it has gotten better), but I expected it to serve me, thinking I could just walk in, find exactly what I wanted easily, and leave. That doesn't always work with a smaller library like ours. It takes some advance planning, as well as use of all of the library's resources.

Here are five ways how I have finally made our local library work for us -- and save us money in the process:

1. Make a list.

There are so many great resources for finding reading suggestions! I love all the great lists you can find on Pinterest; Goodreads is also a great resource for book recommendations. I'm sure there are plenty other resources to find books that I haven't tapped into. I used to try to write them all down, but I found the best way for me to keep track of all the books I want to read and the books I want to get for my boys is through PaperBackSwap. Signing up for PaperBackSwap is totally free (you can read more about the program in a past post of mine here). I use the wish list and reminder list in my PaperBackSwap account to keep track of of the hundreds of books I want to read. (So many books, so little time...)

2. Check the library's website first.

When I've found a book that has piqued my interest, I head over to my local library's website to check their online catalog. If the book is in their catalog, I put it on the reminder list in my PaperBackSwap account; if it's not in the catalog, I put it on my account's wish list. This helps me know at a glance what my library has. If I think ahead enough, I'll check the library's website before we go to see if the books on my reminder list are available or if they're checked out.

3. Keep a list with you.

A lot of the time, my boys and I will just hit the library on a whim while we're out on an errand. Instead of trying to remember what I have on my reminder list, I just pull out the list I keep in my wallet. (Granted, I could log in to my PaperBackSwap account on my phone but the site doesn't really have a great mobile version -- at least last time I checked). I also keep a list in the bag I take to the library for our planned trips, just in case I'm in a hurry and don't have the time (or I'm too lazy) to check online. This list is just a bunch of titles that are on my reminder list, along with the last name of the authors. I really like and often use this printable for a good pocket-size list, but your list doesn't have to be fancy. Take the picture above -- that pink pad of Post-It notes next to the stack of books is the list I've been keeping in my library bag.

4. The library's waiting list is your friend.

I totally under-utilized the waiting list option back when I was frustrated with my local library. I would complain about the library not having what I wanted, but I never did anything about it besides leave empty-handed. Now, I'll get on the waiting list for books that I know I want to read, even when I'm in the middle of a bunch of others. It's always a fun surprise when I get an email from the library when I've made my way to the top of a waiting list. I do this with books for the kids, too; I'm off to pick a book for them up off the hold shelf today.

5. OVERDRIVE!

I don't know how long my library has had OverDrive, but it's pretty new to me. And let me tell you -- I. Love. It. Basically, it's a way to download books from your library onto your computer, e-reader, iPod, and/or phone. My first love will always be tangible books, but I'm trying to be flexible and open-minded when it comes to e-books. Quite often, the library won't have the physical copies of some books I want, but they'll have the e-book version as an option. The books are available for 1-2 weeks (depending on the limits set by your library) and when the time is up, they automatically return themselves. No need to worry about overdue fines or the library cop coming after you.

I use OverDrive in two ways:

I first learned about OverDrive when I read about it on this post about getting into audiobooks. Listening to books with my boys in the car had been so much fun, I wanted to do it just for myself. I followed this helpful tutorial to help me download audiobooks onto my iPhone via the OverDrive app. It's so easy! I love that I can take whatever audiobook I'm listening to with me everywhere. Unlike with CDs, I don't have to worry about losing my place or having a CD player. I just plug it into the adapter in my car or into my portable speaker. I also love the feature that lets me speed it up -- lately I've been listening to the book pictured above at the 1.5x speed.

I resisted getting a Kindle for so long. However, once I realized how that there were a lot of books I could get via OverDrive, I was finally convinced and my husband got me a Paperwhite for my birthday. Like I said before, I definitely prefer holding a real book and turning real pages, but I'm digging this little Kindle. Today, I downloaded my first e-book via OverDrive and it was really pretty easy; I used this tutorial to help me do it.

I still have my book-buying Amazon habit and I still fully intend to keep buying the books I love for my home library, but I have saved quite a bit of money since the library and I got reacquainted. And I have to say, I didn't realize how much I'd missed that feeling of carrying an armload of borrowed books out of the library, because it is a pretty fantastic feeling.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

My 32 Favorite Parsimonious Posts on My 32nd Birthday

2014-02-24T17:01:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday! I've made a solemn vow to never be one of those women afraid to own her age, so I will unabashedly tell you that I'm turning 32 today.

And since I've been itching to getting back onto this blog (all of my writing time has been going into working on the second draft of my novel) and since I enjoy a good list, I thought I'd share my favorite posts from this blog -- not just the ones that are most popular, but the posts that I had the most fun writing, the experiments that made me feel validated, the high points of my frugal journey, and the tips/recipes that have been the most useful to me.

So, without further ado, here are my 32 (in no particular order):

1. Another 100 Painless Ways to Live Frugally - January 2013
I surprised myself with this post. I wasn't sure I'd be able to come with 100 more ways. I'm currently working on list #3.

2. Out to Dry: How I Stopped Using Dryer Sheets - July 2010
Definitely one of the tips I use the most. I haven't bought dryer sheets since 2010. Vinegar in the rinse cycle does the trick.

3. How We Start Most Mornings: Blueberry Spelt Pancakes - July 2012
I've been making these pancakes for years and the family loves them.

4. Our New (and Healthier) Waffle Recipe - April 2012
Another breakfast staple at our house. These waffles are delicious!

5. The Quilting Post: The Reveal, Plus 10 Reasons Why You Should Try - March 2011
I was so proud of myself for finishing that quilt, back when I was uncomfortably pregnant with my second child (who's going to be three next month -- crazy!). I still tuck him in every night with that quilt.

6. Homemade vs. Pre-Made: Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies - March 2011
This post makes me all sorts of sentimental. I did all of it when I was was two days overdue with the baby mentioned in #5. It reminds me of what it was like when it was just me and Max one-on-one and all the baking we did. One of the pictures has him in it and he looks so little. Yep, all sorts of sentimentality going on there. Oh, and I should mention that the recipe is really good, too.

7. Why and How I Keep a Garden Journal - August 2012

I am seriously missing my garden journal. I can't wait to get my hands dirty and then keep track of it all in here.

8. A New-Old Method: My Husband's Experience with Traditional Wet Shaving - June 2010
My husband is pretty patient with all my frugal endeavors and experiments, so I'm glad that this experiment worked out so well for him. His skin has improved so much since he tried this shaving method and he doesn't hate shaving anymore. One other reason I love this post: I loved getting comments from guys about it and seeing it being linked to traditional shaving forums; it just made me happy.

9. Sudsy Savings: Two Homemade Hand Soaps - March 2012
One of my most popular posts on here and for good reason: homemade hand soap is much cheaper than the store-bought stuff. I mostly stick to the foaming one but both recipes are great.

10. Some Thoughts on Open-Mindedness and Frugality - January 2013
This was the post where I had to eat some humble pie. I like this post because it pretty much shows what my entire frugal journey has been like. I've learned to never say never. Plus, I loved this post because I got some really nice and insightful comments on that post.

11. Expecting Wonders: How to Test Your Seeds Before You Plant - March 2013
Anything that takes some of the uncertainty and waste out of gardening is always a plus.

12. The Easiest {and Best} Roast Chicken Recipe - May 2011
I love this recipe. A lot. It's crazy-easy and so delicious.

13. How I Learned to Knit - January 2012
It was a long road, but I was so happy when I finally figured it out. I've been pretty lazy in terms of knitting lately, but I still love it so much.

14. Off the Needles: Max's Birthday Slippers - October 2012

Hands down, my favorite thing I've knitted.

15. Off the Needles: Wintry Weather Cowl - February 2012
Another knitted favorite. Still used regularly when it gets cold.

16. Gardening Without Soil: How to Grow Sprouts in Your Kitchen - February 2012
I felt pretty awesome when this worked out, even though it was so easy.

17. High and Dry: Why I Use a Clothesline - April 2010
Another reason I'm excited for spring: using my clothesline again. There are few smells I love more than clothes that have been dried outdoors.

18. My Favorite Part of Halloween: The Homemade Costume - October 2010
It really is my favorite part. Granted, it's the part that keeps me up at 2 AM, bleary-eyed in front of the sewing machine. But, oh how I love it. The planning, the trip to the fabric store, the sewing, and then seeing my family in their costumes. Warms my heart. I'm already planning this year's costume (think kaiju).

19. Our New Chickens and Our Homemade Brooder - March 2012

I'd wanted chickens for years. I remember driving home with the three little chicks peeping in their box in the passenger seat and thinking, "I can't believe I did this." But here we are almost exactly two years later with our little flock of the same birds (minus one that turned out to be a rooster) who are still supplying us with eggs.

20. The Chicken Tractor Kevin Built - April 2012
I'm married to a really awesome guy. Just saying. And I kept my part of the bargain and played a video game the whole way through.

21. How We Made Our Chickens' Water Poop-Free - June 2012
Chicken keeping game-changer. Seriously.

22. When the Moon Hits Your Eye: Easy & Delicious Homemade Pizza - December 2009
I love this recipe because it takes only 45 minutes from start to finish. Works great for my family's Friday night tradition of pizza and a movie.

23. Abbey's Award-Winning Chocolate Zucchini Cake - August 2012

If you only grow zucchini to make this cake, it will be time and garden space well-used. A-MAZ-ING.

24. Meatless Monday: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese - August 2011
Skip the neon-orange boxed stuff and make this. My boys gobble it up, even including the broccoli I add to it.

25. My Garden Highlight of 2013: Homegrown Garlic - October 2013
My garden wasn't so great last year, due in large part to some serious water restrictions and some snails and slugs. But the garlic! The garlic alone was consolation because it was so good! I'm down to one large clove of it and I can't bring myself to use it. Keeping my fingers crossed that the garlic I planted last fall will start sprouting in the next few weeks.

26. Canned Heat: How to Make an Emergency Heater - February 2011
This is, by far, the most popular post on my blog (100,000 views. Crazy!). It got featured on a bunch of websites, including Babble and Buzzfeed. I love having these heaters in my car in the wintertime -- they give me a lot of peace of mind.

27. More Good, Cultured Fun :: Making Frozen and Greek Yogurt - July 2013
The homemade frozen yogurt I made this past summer is, without a doubt, one of the most delicious things that has come out of my kitchen lately. Or ever.

28. Sweet Success: Our Very First Honey Harvest - September 2013

Awesome, in every sense of the word. I've never loved thousands of little insects more than I did that day in September when we harvested 35 pounds of honey. How those honeybees make such a perfect product will never cease to amaze me. And word is from my parents, our honeybees are venturing out of and buzzing around their hives again!

29. My Fall 2012 Canning Recipe Roundup - October 2012
I love canning and 2012 was one of my best canning seasons yet, even though I felt, at times, like I lived in the kitchen. Totally worth it.

30. Only in December: The Best Gingerbread Cookie Recipe - December 2010
I made at least five batches of these cookies this past December. This recipe went nuts on the Internet this past Christmas season, even getting featured on the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post, alongside the likes of Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson, and The Food Network. I'm glad so many people loved them as much as my family does!

31. How Empty Milk Jugs Changed My Garden - July 2012
I wrote this post as a guest post on another blog called The Green Phone Booth and it was wildly popular (not to toot my own horn or anything but I think it's still the most popular post on their blog, according to their sidebar). Milk jug mini-greenhouses are THE way to start seeds. The second I hear anyone mention that they're going to start their own seeds, I can't help but go on and on about this method as if it were gospel truth or something. One of the best discoveries I've ever made.

32. "We're Debt-Free!" : Of Car Payments and Baby Step #2 - January 2013
Definitely the best highlight since I started this blog back in 2009. I mean, that's one of the main reasons I do all this stuff, right?

The Green Juice Recipe My Entire Family Loves (Yes, Loves)

2014-01-08T11:56:00.003-07:00

Here we are in January yet again. Clean starts. New goals and resolutions. Here are my three for 2014:

Finish Baby Step #3.
Read more books.
Eat more vegetables.

Granted, I've got a bunch of other little goals and ideas, but these are my main three for the year. I figure a lot of those aforementioned "little goals and ideas" of mine fit somewhere in those three goals.You can be sure that there will be posts on here about my progress on each of them.

These goals also happen to branch out to my aspirations for my family. Take the whole vegetable thing. I'm just as concerned about getting more vegetables into my boys' little bodies as I am mine, if not more so. These boys of mine are growing like crazy and they need all those vitamins! One way I've been getting more vegetables, particularly of the green variety, into everyone in my family (including the husband) is with our juicer.

Years ago, my parents gave us (and each of my brothers) a juicer for Christmas. My parents had just gotten into juicing months before and wanted us to benefit like they had. They got us a Jack LaLanne juicer from Costco. It was something I probably wouldn't have bought for myself, but we ended up being so glad we got it. One reason: it got more vegetables and fruit into our diets, including then three-year-old Max. Max has never been a picky eater and loves fruits and veggies (I used to bribe him to be good at the store when he was four with promises of Caesar salad). Jonah, however, is definitely the pickier eater of my two kids and getting a balanced diet into him is much harder. Enter: our green juice.

This green juice mostly consists of vegetables, but it still deliciously sweet and refreshing. I believe I got the original framework for the recipe from Dr. Oz when he was on Oprah. I can remember Oprah tasting it and saying that it tasted like "a glass of fresh" or something like that. Really, that's a perfect way to describe this juice.

Now I know there is some debate between the benefits of juice vs. smoothies. I love smoothies but have yet to master smoothie making, especially when it comes to green smoothies (mine always turn out looking like brown sludge). Some say that juicing is more healthful, others argue that smoothies are better. There is also the issue of waste -- there's no leftover pulp when you make smoothies. That said, juicing works well for our family. We all love coming up with various concoctions with our juicer, though this green one is our favorite and go-to recipe.

What does this have to do with frugality? Not only is juicing a great way to get nutrition and stay healthy (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all), but it's a great way to prevent produce waste. Instead of tossing out over-ripe fruit and wilting vegetables, juice it. Produce that might not look too appetizing to eat out of hand or in a salad, works well and tastes fine when it's juiced (as long as nothing is spoiled, of course). I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who buys produce with great aspirations to eat all of it but then doesn't get around to it. Juicing (same goes for smoothies) is a great way to make sure the produce you buy gets where it needs to go: into our bodies and not into the trash.

So, here's how I get a good portion of these fruits and vegetables...

...into this almost three-year-old's tummy, all before 9 AM. (See how he's still in his Mickey jammies?)

To make our family's favorite green juice (the amounts in the parenthesis will yield about four cups of juice) you'll need the following:

spinach (about 2-3 big handfuls)
cucumber (1 medium sized)
celery (2-3 ribs, 4 if small. Be sure to include leafy tops.)
Italian parsley (about 1/3-1/2 of a bunch)
apples (2 medium apples)
lime (1/2 of a small one)
lemon (1/4 of medium one)
ginger (1-inch chunk) {I don't always use this but it does add a nice flavor and helps with digestion.}

This recipe is certainly not one of absolute measurements -- I mostly just eyeball it -- and it can be adjusted to how many servings you need. In the past, I've substituted pears for apples and beet greens and chard for some of the spinach. I also leave the peels on the apples, lemons, and limes.

Juice according to your juicer's directions. My boys love helping with this part -- it's what got both of them to drink it at a young age. They think it's a lot of fun. Jonah loves to put the ingredients down the chute and Max likes to push the ingredients down with the...what's the word?...pusher-downer thing. Yeah. That's what it's called. *ahem*

Once all the juice has been extracted, give it a good stir. Again, my boys love this part -- when they're both helping make juice, they each have to have a turn with stirring. It's like stirring some kind of potion to them.

And there you have it: our family's favorite green juice. Some people balk at the idea of drinking something green, but it really is so tasty. Any doubter is quickly converted after a sip or two.

My boys seriously guzzle the stuff. Jonah had his finished before I even started mine.

About the pulp...

One of the big arguments against juicing is the pulp that goes to waste. It's a valid argument -- that is beneficial fiber. It doesn't have to go to waste, though. It can easily be used in recipes. My mom has used the pulp from her homemade carrot juice to make muffins. You can find all sorts of recipes online; this book also has lots and lots recipes using the pulp. I've never really baked or cooked with the pulp, but I still don't waste it. It always either goes to the compost pile (to help grow new vegetables!) or to the chickens (though I take the citrus peels out before I give the pulp to them). The ladies in the backyard love it when I take the pulp out to them -- I love that it makes for even more nutritious eggs.

After I'd been juicing for a while, I picked up a book that my mom suggested. Along with a bunch of recipes, it also has a section that lists the health benefits for each type of juice. I thought it was interesting so here are some of them: (Note: I'm just sharing what's in the book. Take it for what it's worth and check with your doctor if you have questions. I'm certainly no doctor; I got my degree in English, people.)

Spinach juice helps cleanse the kidneys, liver, and digestive tract. Improves regularity. Helps prevent bladder cancer and stomach ulcers. Fights infection. Helps lower high blood pressure and maintain acid-alkaline balance.
Cucumber juice cleanses the kidneys. A weight-loss tool. Helps lower high blood pressure. Excellent for skin problems. Excellent daily source of fluid.
Celery juice cleanses the kidneys and liver. Useful for weight loss. Helps maintain both acid-alkaline balance in the blood and calcium levels. An excellent mixer with other, stronger juices. Treatment for gout and ulcers.
Parsley juice cleanses the urinary tract and the blood. Treats conditions of the kidneys and liver. Helps prevent many cancers such as kidney, liver, urinary tract. Good for circulatory deficiencies. Good for general heart health. Can be used for weight loss. Good for the eyes.
Apple juice is good for healthy skin and hair. High vitamin C content protects against cold and flu. Pectin cleans out toxins and helps maintain regularity. Eases indigestion. Good juice for a weight-loss program. Flushes kidneys and liver.
Lime juice is good for colds and flu, indigestion, and skin problems, liver problems, constipation, anemia and other blood problems.
Lemon juice is good for treating minor bruises, for pregnant women, as a tool for weight loss, and to prevent colds and flu.
Ginger helps relieve upset stomach and aid digestion.

If you have a juicer and it's collecting dust in your pantry or cupboard, get it out and give this recipe a shot. Your body will thank you. Quite a refreshing way to start the year.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

Wrapping Up 2013: The Year's Most Popular Parsimonious Posts

2013-12-28T11:50:00.001-07:00

I know it's a little cliché to say, but I can't believe how fast this year has gone by!

Lots happened this year in our little family. Max entered first grade this past fall. I tell you, I cried the first time I packed a lunch for him. All's well now, though -- we've both adjusted and are doing fine with the whole transition. My Jonah is almost three; I can't help but still think of him as a baby. It's bittersweet to watch my boys grow and get older, but, luckily, they just get better with age. My husband Kevin had eventful year at work -- he's a video game artist for Disney Interactive and the studio he works at made the popular (and super cool, I might add) game Disney Infinity. He's also been busy doing freelance work. As for me, I've just kept busy taking care of this family and home of mine, though I did have one big milestone this year: I finished the first draft of my novel! It's been years in the making and now I'm busy with the second draft. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably have it ready to publish by the time I'm 40. *sigh*

In terms of frugal and homestead-y milestones, we had a couple. The first was at the beginning of the year when we finally paid off our car and became DEBT-FREEEEE! (sorry, it has to be typed that way. If you're familiar with Dave Ramsey's show, you'll know why.) We've since been working on Dave Ramsey's third baby step and our emergency fund is over half-way funded. Another milestone: our first honey harvest! I can't even begin to express how exciting it was to fill all those Mason jars with honey from our very own beehives - or how much love and gratitude I felt for all those thousands of little honeybees.

Now I know I didn't post so regularly in 2013 -- about half as many as I did in 2011 and 2012. Honestly, I've let it go a little so I can juggle all the things in my life. I've never been very good at balancing my time. I feel a new year's resolution coming on...

Anyway, I thought I'd do what I've done the last couple years and look back to see which posts were the most popular (according to page-views) and compile a list of the top ten. I'm always intrigued by the posts that get the most attention -- sometimes I write them thinking, "I'm probably the only person who finds this interesting." It's always a nice surprise to find I'm not alone.

10. Peel Appeal: 7 Ways to Use Citrus Peels

It's that glorious time of year when citrus is in season, when oranges come close to tasting like candy. Save those peels and zest, boil, scrub, clean, sweeten, burn, and/or soak them. Really, it's kind of a shame that peels ever get thrown out.

9. Off the Needles: Chunky Fingerless Gloves

I love these fingerless gloves. Not only are they comfy and cozy, but they're also great for beginner-level knitters. There's plenty of winter left, so I'd definitely recommend knitting up a pair.

8. Expecting Wonders: How to Test Your Seeds Before You Plant

Planting seeds is always a sort of act of faith. You put these little things into the soil, give them some water, and expect them to sprout -- or at least hope they do. It's a beautiful concept. That said, there is one way to ensure that they will actually grow and that is to test them. It's super easy to do and it can save you the heartache of planting old seeds that won't germinate.

7. Observations & Lessons Learned from My First Winter with Chickens

As I type this, all three of the ladies are weathering another winter out in the backyard. Winter hit us really suddenly this year; one day the high temperature was in the 50s, the next day the high temps were in the 20s. Even worse, one of my hens was in the middle of molting (seriously, feathers EVERYWHERE) and another was still growing hers back from her molt. Neither they or I were quite ready for winter when it hit, but we've gotten back into the swing of things. Both ladies are fully feathered again and all three are laying. It's definitely not as enjoyable to keep chickens this time of year, but it's not too bad. That post I wrote last February has been a good reminder for me as we do this whole winter thing again.

6. Some Thoughts on Open-Mindedness & Frugality

Basically, this is the post where I ate a big helping of humble pie. Never say never, I learned.

5. Paleo(ish) Almond-Buckwheat Pancakes

For this being one of the most popular posts of the year, you'd think I would make these pancakes more often. I honestly haven't made them in months. In fact, until I saw this post was one of the more popular ones, I sort of forgot about them. Seeing as I may have overindulged this Christmas season, I'm thinking I'll revisit this recipe soon.

4. "We're Debt-Free!" : Of Car Payments and Baby Step #2

That post was basically the blog-equivalent of my debt-free scream (not familiar with that is? It's basically this). And I'm totally going to use that inspirational/cheesy picture I found when I did an image search for "freedom" again. Being debt-free is an awesome feeling and worth the work it takes to get there.

3. Homemade Weed Killer: The Experiment and the Results

Vinegar to the rescue again. Granted, it needed a couple helpers in the form of salt and dish soap, but it killed those nasty weeds!

2. I Made Laundry Detergent! (Again) : Easy Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Homemade liquid laundry detergent doesn't get easier than this. It takes five minutes to make, tops. No boiling or grating soap required.

1. Another 100 Painless Ways to Live Frugally

This post went nuts this year! It was a follow-up to my first list of 100 painless ways to live frugally -- personally, I think this list is better than the first. Currently working on the third one, though coming up with another 100 is going to take some creativity, for sure.

{Although this post isn't from 2013, I have to mention my post about my gingerbread cookies. It went crazy these past couple months, getting thousands and thousands of visits. One reason: it was featured on the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post. It was pretty crazy to see my little blog and the recipe featured next to recipes from Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson, and the Food Network.}

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog, whether you've been following along on my frugal journey these past four years (wow!) or if you've just found me via Pinterest. I hope my little space here has helped your life in some way. I enjoy writing it and I love taking tons of pictures of food, kids, animals, and inanimate objects for it. This blog keeps me focused on my money-saving goals partly because I feel a sort of accountability to you all. Plus, trying new things and sharing them with you keeps this homemaking and child-raising stuff fresh and fun for me. I'm not perfect at it -- not even close -- but it stays interesting due in part to you.

May 2014 be your happiest year yet!

Off the Needles: Simple Knitted Christmas Stocking

2013-12-12T21:15:00.003-07:00

Christmas is less than two weeks away and there's still so much I want to do. Make a gingerbread house, cut elaborate paper snowflakes, see a live Nativity, take my boys to visit Santa, decorate my home with various homemade garlands and wreaths, create amazing homemade gifts, make salt dough and cinnamon ornaments with my boys, and do some service projects as a family. Basically, I want to actually do some of the things I've been pinning on my Christmas board on Pinterest.

So far this month, we've squeezed in a few Christmas movies (my oldest is a little obsessed with Home Alone), drank through a couple cartons of egg nog, read some Christmas books (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is just as funny when you read it as an adult, just sayin') and I've baked dozens of gingerbread and sugar cookies.

There's still a lot I haven't done. And that's okay. You have to find a careful balance in December, I think. Try to take on too much and the month starts feeling more frantic than festive. Someday I may be able to juggle all those other projects and pins I want to do; for now, I'm just glad if I remember to move the Elf on the Shelf every night.

There is one project I am working on this month: a Christmas stocking for my younger son. Last year, I knitted one for Max, my older son, and it turned out pretty well. Not perfect, of course, but that's what's great about handmade stuff. My boys will know that it was knitted by hand by their mom. There's love knitted into every stitch, baby. Last year, I waited too long to start and was only able to finish Max's stocking; tonight, I'll be casting on and starting Jonah's red and cream stocking.

The photo doesn't quite do it justice. Stockings don't look nearly as good laying flat as they do hanging on the mantel. Since I don't have a fireplace or mantel (we leave a key for Santa under the doormat), I can't do the classic Christmas stocking display. That said, it really did turn out nicely, with that classic stocking shape to it. Most importantly, the stocking worked perfectly last year. It stretched really well and held a lot of treats and toys.

Last year when I decided I was going to knit stockings for my boys, I searched all over Ravelry for a good pattern. As you can imagine, there were lots and lots of them. Problem was that a majority of the patterns had all sort of complicated, albeit lovely, designs. All I wanted a nice, simple stocking pattern. After some more searching, I finally found a pattern from Very Pink. It is the perfect simple stocking pattern and great for beginners because there is a video for each step of the knitting process (Very Pink's knitting videos are the best ones I've come across, hands down. I'd watched some of her other ones before I worked on this project.).

The pattern costs $8 to download. To make each stocking, I used two skeins (one cream, one green or red) of worsted weight yarn. You can find my Ravelry notes for the project here. I highly recommend this pattern, especially if you're a beginning-intermediate knitter like myself.

After the husband and I get the kids to bed and I remember to move that Elf to another part of the house, I'll pour myself a cup of egg nog or grab a sugar cookie, see if there are any good Christmas shows on Netflix, and cast on a stocking for my two-year-old. A pretty cozy way to spend a December evening, if I do say so. Makes all those other stressful aspects of the season seem a lot less important.

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.

Soup Weather Again: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2013-12-04T12:54:00.001-07:00

Hey Blog! Long time, no...write?

Anyway, it's December (can you believe it?) and it is so cold! On Monday, our high temperature was in the 50s; today, we'll be lucky if we hit the 20 degree mark. Brrr!

The upside: this is perfect soup weather! Not only is a hot bowl of soup so welcome on a cold day, but soup is also usually easy to make. Even more, the frugalista in me just loves what an inexpensive dinner soup can be. I love that I can whip up a big pot of soup for under ten bucks (or even five, in some cases) that will fill my family up at dinner and still have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Today, I thought I'd share a favorite of mine: roasted butternut squash soup.

And let me tell you, if you had told me that a squash soup would be a favorite of mine a few years ago, I would have said you were nuts.

For most of my life I've been squash-averse. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it was from the time my mom tried to trick my brothers and me by using squash instead of pumpkin in a pie. (The lady next door told her we wouldn't notice. We did. Mom had a surplus of squash so I can't blame her for trying.) Poor Mom. She would grow loads of squash in the garden but she was the only one who would eat it. I can remember times when I'd come home from school and the house would smell delicious. My brothers and I would run up the stairs to the kitchen to see what Mom had in the oven. To our disappointment, she was roasting squash. I have no idea why we turned our noses up at it when we thought it smelled so good. I mean, isn't that a pretty good indicator that it might be tasty?

My mom works at a restaurant and a few years ago, she brought me a cup of the popular butternut squash soup from there. As you can imagine, I didn't want to touch it.

With a little more coaxing, my mom got me to finally try it and, to my great surprise, I LOVED it. I wanted her to bring it every day she worked. It was sweet but not too much so and it had this subtle curry flavor to it. Since then, I've opened myself up to the world of squash and it's really not that bad. I'm thinking I might be planting a few butternut and spaghetti squash next year in my garden.

This week I finally made my own pot of that butternut squash soup and it was so easy -- I figured it'd be a nice way to get back onto this blog of mine. This recipe comes from the restaurant -- I was so happy when it was printed in their free newsletter.

I was going to do a step-by-step recipe with lots of photos, but I tell you, the days are getting so short and by 4:45 it was getting too dark to even get a good picture. But, seriously, this recipe is so easy, the step-by-step instructions aren't really that needed.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
serves 6

1 butternut squash (get one of the bigger ones at the store, I'd say), peeled and medium diced
1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch salt and pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups chicken stock (you could also do vegetable stock if you want to make this meatless)
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (none of that fake pancake syrup stuff)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half & half and it worked fine)

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, toss the diced and peeled squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper until it's nice and coated. Put the squash on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until it's browned.

While the squash is roasting, place cook the onion in pot with butter until the onion is translucent.

Add the stock and roasted squash to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the squash is tender. Pour into a blender (you could also use an immersion blender, but it'll probably take longer) and puree until smooth.

Return the puree to the pot. Add nutmeg, cloves, curry powder, and maple syrup. Stir in cream. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately. Optional garnish: top with roasted pepitas.

Avoid that bitter Arctic blast that's hitting most of the country right now. Stay inside and make a pot of this. It's for the best.

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.

My Garden Highlight of 2013 : Homegrown Garlic

2013-10-14T18:08:00.001-06:00

This year's garden was...meh. I feel guilty even saying that -- I mean, the fact that you can plant tiny seeds and get any food from them later is nothing short of miraculous. But this year's harvest? Not much to brag about. The cucumber plants put out a few, but not in quantities like last year. The beets were radish-sized (that was my fault -- I bought the wrong variety). The greens (that weren't eaten by snails) were mostly pretty bitter. My cauliflower turned purple (again, my fault). Slugs went to town on my cabbage. The majority of my tomatoes are turning red in my kitchen right now instead of on the vine (though I did get a lot and they were spared by our early frost). The zucchinis didn't really produce (again, my fault. I ran out of space and tried growing zucchini in a pot. Doesn't really work.). My pumpkins turned about half-orange before an early frost.

That said, the parsley I grew from seed has provided all the parsley I've needed over the summer and even now. The peas were dependable as ever. The raspberries and blackberries in my yard produced more than last year (mmmmm...raspberry jam). So don't think I'm ungrateful or anything when I say the garden this year was just...meh.

Except for the garlic. Oh my goodness, the garlic was the highlight of my garden this year! And I'm telling you this because NOW (mid-fall) is the time of year to plant garlic.

I'd tried growing garlic in the past with little success. Turns out, it was because I was just using cloves of garlic from the grocery store. When I would grow the ones from the grocery store, the leaves would come up and I'd get excited, only to dig up walnut size heads of it (the cloves were teeny-tiny).

Determined to grow my own garlic successfully, I did some research and ordered my garlic bulbs. I went with the garlic variety called Music -- one of the most popular varieties, especially since it's one of the easiest to grow. I picked a hardneck variety over softneck because I'd heard that it was better for harsh winter climates. I also went with hardneck because I wanted the garlic scapes (more on those later).

I planted mine right around Halloween last year with high hopes (I could've sworn I took a picture, but I can't find it now). I've heard of soaking garlic bulbs in a mixture of water, baking soda, and fish emulsion first, but I didn't. I'm sure it's helpful and I was going to try, but I was worried I had procrastinated too much and just wanted to get the bulbs in.

I loosened the dirt in the bed I chose, buried each clove (pointy end of the clove up) about three or so inches down, put a layer of straw over the bulbs as a protective mulch, and hoped for the best. It was actually a lot of fun to plant a crop when the weather was turning colder -- it felt kind of strange but in an awesome way, to think I was planting something in late October that I wouldn't enjoy until the following summer. (For some tips on choosing and planting garlic you can look here, here, and here.)

We had a really cold and really snowy winter here, and from time to time, I'd look over at the bed where I planted my garlic and wonder. Even with our rough winter, when the snow melted little green leaves poked above the soil.

Those green leaves just kept getting taller and taller. Still, I didn't get too excited since there was a chance that there could be nice long leaves with only tiny little bulbs beneath the soil.

In late May, I started noticing the little shoot coming out of the middle of the green leaves, called the scape. It's the flowering part of the bulb that gets sent off about a month before the garlic should be harvested. It's important to cut the scapes off fairly soon, since they'll interfere with how the bulb grows and use up energy that should go to the bulb instead of the flower. The cool thing about these scapes is that they're edible and they're delicious (and they make a pretty great accessory a la Creature from the Black Lagoon, as you can see above).

I used the garlic scapes to make THE best pesto that's ever come out of my kitchen. It had such a great garlic but-not-too-garlicky flavor. I would honestly grow garlic just for the scapes so I could make this pesto again. For some other ideas for how to use garlic scapes, check out this link.

Around the beginning of July, my garlic was showing signs that it was time to harvest because the lower leaves were turning brown and dying. The key is to harvest the garlic when the lower leaves are brown but the upper ones are still green. You don't want to wait until the leaves die completely because that can affect the bulbs negatively, making them split and the coverings of the cloves won't develop properly. As excited as I was to dig those garlic bulbs out and see how big they were, I moved slowly and carefully since garlic heads are pretty delicate and if you accidentally cut or bruise them, their storage life is diminished.

To my delight, the bulbs were as big, if not bigger than the ones I've used from the grocery store for years. They all turned out beautifully -- every single clove I planted resulted in a head of garlic. I couldn't wait to whip up some kind of Italian dish to use them in.

Thing is, it's totally fine to use the garlic straight from the garden, but if you want it last for months, you have to cure it. You can find a great and thorough post about curing and storing garlic here.

You know how a supermarket tomato can't even compare to the way a homegrown tomato tastes? The same goes for garlic. My mom (she grew garlic for the first time this season) and I can't stop gushing about how much better this garlic tastes, how much it adds to the things we cook. The flavor is so much stronger and delicious. It will be hard to ever go back to buying it from the store when I run out. This fall, both my mom and I are planting extra garlic in our gardens -- we're totally determined to each get a year's supply.

Seriously. If you have a garden space, order some seed garlic and plant it soon. Next summer, you will be thanking yourself that you did.

{This post is linked up to Homestead Barn Hop.}

Lovely Links: 'National Preparedness Month' Edition

2013-09-13T19:35:00.002-06:00

My blog is certainly not an emergency preparedness blog; there are a ton of other blogs that cover that topic extensively. I'm definitely not an expert at prepping, either -- I just barely started putting our 72-hour kits together a few months ago. I find it interesting and somewhat amusing, however, that my most popular post to date on this blog is about emergency preparedness. A lot of people really wanted to know how to make an emergency heater, I guess. (Really, you should make one -- it only costs five bucks.)

For the Lovely Links post this month, I thought it'd be appropriate to have an emergency preparedness theme since September just happens to be National Preparedness Month. What does emergency preparedness have to do with frugality? Plenty, in my opinion. I believe that emergency preparedness goes hand-in-hand with self-reliance and frugality.

I'm certainly not as gung-ho about emergency preparedness as some people I've met (as in, the types of people I think secretly want a natural disaster/zombie apocalypse to happen so they can use all their supplies), but I try to be smart about it. Like I mentioned, I've been working on putting together a 72-hour kits in backpacks for each member of my family. We've got a good amount water and food stored. We've got those emergency blankets and sleeping bags that look like aluminum foil, 100-hour candles and glowsticks, a battery/hand/solar-powered radio, and, of course, plenty of vinegar. I do need to work on our first-aid kit, though.

Oh, I do have those emergency heaters on hand, in case we ever need them.

{source}

Thing is, emergency preparedness can get overwhelming. There's so much you can do and it's hard to know when you've done enough (at least, I worry about that). It'd be easy to get carried away and just buy everything at once. Going into debt is definitely not the way to get prepared for an emergency -- in my opinion, debt is just another kind of emergency. The best way to go about it, really, is to do what you can little by a little, with the resources you have.

Here are a few links I've found in my efforts to get my family a little more prepared, should disaster strike. You can find more ideas on my emergency preparedness board on Pinterest.

How to Store Water :: Family Survival Planning
Storing water is probably the most important thing you can do in terms of emergency preparedness. You can live three weeks without food, but you can only live three days without water. Plus, it's also necessary for hygiene and sanitation. This link is great because it tells you how to store water, as well as dispel some myths about water storage (it's not so hard as some people think). There are also helpful links within this link (you got that?) about where to find water in an emergency and one about how to purify water.

Evacuate Your Home - 9 Checklists to Help :: A Pinch of Joy
If you've been following the news, you'll know that a lot of people in Colorado have had to evacuate over the last couple days due to severe flooding. An evacuation can be necessary for so many reasons -- last year, my brother-in-law had to be evacuated from his home because of a wildfire. This link is great because it's so organized -- I am not an organized person, so I appreciate people who like to come up with systems and checklists. This link will help you get all organized and ready to make dealing with an evacuation a lot less stressful.

36 Lessons Learned from Testing a 72-Hour Kit :: Survival Mom
This post is great because there are plenty posts about putting together a 72-hour kit but not so many about actually using one. I like the good, practical advice given here. Plus, I always enjoy a good list.

The Tackle-Box First-Aid and Wellness Kit :: Abide With Me
Remember how I mentioned I need to work on my family's first-aid kit? I love the idea of using a fishing tackle box - it really makes so much sense. The only thing that would be comparable would be one of those Caboodles from the 1990s. I'm sure my mom didn't save the one I used back in sixth grade, so I'm thinking I'll go pick up a tackle-box soon.

Lessons in the Aftermath of a Disaster :: Homestead Revival
It's almost unavoidable to read or watch the news and not see some kind of coverage of a disaster somewhere. This post is helpful because it shows what lessons we can learn from others and it's a good basic review of the essentials of preparedness. I like it because it helps me evaluate how prepared my family is. Definitely worth a read.

Every time I think about emergency preparedness, I can't help but think of a verse from one my church's books of scripture: "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." So, yeah, it can be kind of unsettling, scary, and even depressing to consider the worst-case scenarios as you prepare for an emergency, but being prepared gives you a sort of power. It's amazing what having the right supplies on hand, organized, and ready can do for one's peace of mind.

The Parsimonious Princess

My Homemade Cleaner Trifecta

Lovely Links: "I Survived My Whole30!" Edition

A Christmas Edition of Random Reuses

Classic Wet Shaving: The New Old-Fashioned (and eco-friendly) Way to Shave

Homemade vs. Pre-Made: Bread Stuffing for Roast Turkey

4 Green (and Frugal!) Solutions for All Those Autumn Leaves

Another 100 (Painless) Ways to Live Frugally

A Summertime Staple: The Best Classic Potato Salad

A Round-Up of Random Reuses

Lovely Links: The Return of Summertime Edition (+ Some Thoughts on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day)

High and Dry: Why the Clothesline Deserves a Comeback

Book Report: What I've Been Reading

Lovely Links: Lovely Locks Edition

11 Reasons You Should Consider Beekeeping

How My Garden Grows: My Not-So-Complicated Planning Process

Lovely Links: Garden Planning Edition

How to Make an Essential Oil Reed Diffuser

How I Get the Most Out of Our (smallish) Local Library

My 32 Favorite Parsimonious Posts on My 32nd Birthday

The Green Juice Recipe My Entire Family Loves (Yes, Loves)

Wrapping Up 2013: The Year's Most Popular Parsimonious Posts

Off the Needles: Simple Knitted Christmas Stocking

Soup Weather Again: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

My Garden Highlight of 2013 : Homegrown Garlic

Lovely Links: 'National Preparedness Month' Edition