It's Frugal Being Green

Low Key Grocery Shopping with Coupons

Carrie — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Just a few weeks ago I was lamenting my compulsive urges to buy ridiculous amounts of things like pasta at one time just because there was a good price, but now I’m glad I did it. With the cancer, I’m not planning to be in the mood to chase down deals for at least the next three months. I’ve got cupboards full of food to eat without having to do much grocery shopping.

The only thing I really needed today was milk so I picked up a gallon.

I also got some sweet potatoes which were $0.49/lb. My favorite sweet potato dish takes an onion so I got one of those too (onions and sweet potatoes are both on the clean 15 list so I went with non-organic to get a better price, I do have the clean 15 and the dirty dozen lists posted on my refrigerator for easy reference and I’m really making an effort to start following them on a regular basis.)

Safeway had a coupon for free breakfast sausages with a $20 purchase and even though I’d like all my meat to be organic, I just can’t resist free sausages.

To get the rest of the way to that $20 threshold, I picked up some Smooth Move tea (specifically recommended by my doctor to combat a certain uncomfortable chemo side effect), Fiber One yogurt and toaster pastries (had coupons for both and they’ll also help with that side effect), and a couple cans of tasty looking organic soups (I do love to make my own soups but just don’t have the energy or freezer space for that right now and need some quick, easy meals on hand).

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A Lesson on Mental Slowness via my Recycling Bin

Carrie — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:25:12 +0000

Mental slowness is one of the side effects of both the Vicodin I’m taking to manage the pain related to my cancer and the chemotherapy to treat the cancer. It’s a side effect that is supposed to worsen over time so I figured that one week into the treatment, it wouldn’t be an issue. Boy was I wrong.

I use a dishpan under my sink to collect my recyclables so that I don’t have to go out to the garage to drop off each individual container. The dishpan was getting full so today I walk out to the garage to empty it into the cart. The recycling cart is split down the middle and has a blue side for containers and a green side for paper. Normally the green side is on the left and the blue side is on the right but when I got out there today they were switched around.

My first thought is that the lid must have just fallen off and got put back on the wrong direction so I open it up and discover that it’s bolted on quite securely so it falling off isn’t even possible.

My second thought is that my next door neighbors unbolted my lid, switched it with their lid, and then put my lid back on their cart the wrong way. Why I would ever think that requires a bit of a back story:

Shortly after I moved in, my next door neighbors tried to recycle old paint by precariously balancing it on top of their recycling cart. The paint spilled all over their cart and they have been trying to switch carts with me without me knowing ever since. I figured them out and solved the problem by writing my house number on my lid.

But I checked the bottom of my cart and it was paint free like it’s supposed to be so obviously my neighbors had no part in the change in my cart.

So my third and final thought was that the city must have changed the configuration of their recycling trucks and unbolted and turned around the lid.

And doesn’t that seem like a completely reasonable explanation? So I dumped my containers in the blue side and went out to lunch with my parents.

I knew I wasn’t feeling well today so I had them drive and when they dropped me off after lunch, I asked them if their recycling cart had gotten switched around too (because obviously, if the city had to switch mine to accommodate the new trucks, they’d have to switch all of the carts in the whole city).

My dad, who took my garbage and recycling carts out to the street and back this week since he was stopping by my house those days anyway, says “Oh, maybe I just put it in backwards.”

And I think “Oh! That makes so much more sense!” All I need to do is turn the whole thing around but it took hours to figure that out.

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What Does CRV Mean and How Does It Work?

Time to Squeeze in an End of the Year Charitible Donation

Carrie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:10:21 +0000

I’ve posted before about how I think donating cash is most frugal and green and thus beneficial for charities. They don’t have to spend money sorting, storing, and transporting donated goods and can instead buy what they need as close to when and where they need it.

If you’re looking to make a tax deductible donation in time for your 2009 taxes, you’ve got just a few more days to squeeze in a donation.

Historically, my favorite charities have been the American Red Cross and my local public schools via Donorschoose.org.

This year, I have a couple more charities that I’ve become personally involved with and will be permanently moving to my favorite charities list:

American Cancer Society
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America
Look Good, Feel Better (I have absolutely no doubt or worries about my treatment being effective which leaves my hair as my biggest concern about my cancer. Look Good, Feel Better is a specific program sponsored by the American Cancer Society that teaches free classes about wigs, head scarves, drawing on your eyebrows with makeup, and anything else you might want to know how to do so you don’t feel like you look so weird. I’m attending the class Monday night and looking forward to it has pretty much been the highlight of my month.)

Copyright © 2009 It's Frugal Being Green. All rights reserved.

Time to Squeeze in an End of the Year Charitible Donation

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What I’m Reading 12/18

Carrie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:25 +0000

I haven’t been keeping up with my RSS reader as well as I would like to be these past couple weeks so I have only a couple links to share today.

My first chemo treatment on Monday seems to have gone pretty well. I’ve had some side effects but none especially severe and I’ve been at work for at least a bit every day since Monday. The treatment center does have wireless internet so maybe during my next treatment I’ll bring my laptop and get caught up on my blog reading then so I have more awesome links to share next time.

Consumption: A Thought @Bonne Vie
Medical Bills & Personal Finance @Chief Family Officer (I’m very fortunate to have great insurance and be only a couple hundred out of pocket at this point. I’ll be detailing my costs involved with having cancer in my budget wrap ups starting at the end of this month.)

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T-Minus One Week Until Christmas

Carrie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:12 +0000

One week to go before Christmas. If you’re Christmas shopping isn’t done yet then crunch time is here. If you’re still struggling for ideas, take a peek at my holiday gift guides:

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Deep Cleaning the House Before Chemo

Carrie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:35:21 +0000

My first chemo appointment is in about an hour and fifteen minutes here. So now that we’re in that strange I should have left for work 5 minutes ago so I’m ready for my day and have absolutely nothing I’m supposed to be doing gap of free time, I tell you about how I spent all day cleaning my house yesterday along with a little help from my dad and my sister.

I’m not normally a fan of antibacterial products being used by normal healthy people, but lymphoma is a cancer of your lymphatic system which is a critical part of your immune system and add to that that chemotherapy will compromise my immune system even further and in just a few hours here I’ll have virtually no defense against bacteria on my own.

Yesterday morning I went grocery shopping to pick up all the things I needed for my meal plan and at the grocery store I also picked up some Lysol spray and some antibacterial multi surface cleaner (products I wouldn’t be using if I were healthy).

After cooking up 12 servings of meatballs and a double batch of cranberry muffins for the freezer and cutting and seasoning all my other raw meat so that it’s ready to just pop in the pan, I cleaned every surface in the kitchen with antibacterial surface cleaner.

I’m also going to have to get in the habit of not reusing the same glasses for washing down my pills and instead start washing those after each use. I’ll have to actually wash the coffee pot more than once a week as well. Basically we’re to the point where everything needs washed after even one use. My dishwasher has an extra hot antibacterial setting and until I’m cancer free, I’ll be running it on that setting daily even when it’s not completely full.

In the bathrooms, all surfaces were cleaned with the antibacterial multi surface spray. My sister came over and helped me out by mopping all of the tile and linoleum floors in my house.

In my bedroom, I’m caught up on all of my laundry and it’s all put away. All towels and bath rugs and bedding was bleached and washed on hot and then put back in it’s place just as clean as can be.

My dad helped out with the vacuuming. I’m sure it’s only been a few weeks since I last vacuumed but somehow he filled the vacuum cleaner almost 10 times. (Really, I’m not sure how the cat has any fur left since she’s not that big and most of it was cat fur.)

Speaking of the cat, while on chemo, I’ll need a mask and gloves to clean her litterbox myself, but my dad has offered to come over and take care of the big weekly cleaning. She’s an indoor only cat so I don’t have to worry about her bringing in germs from the outdoors.

All of the light switches and door knobs throughout the house got a good dose of Lysol spray.

So for the past 12 hours now, the house has been about as spotless as it has ever been.

I’ll be breaking out the antibacterial products again to clean up after preparing things like raw meat or to wipe down potentially germy surfaces after anyone comes over but I still believe that if you have a properly functioning immune system then you do not need much more than good old soap and elbow grease to get your house clean.

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Meal Plan 12/13

Carrie — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:00:35 +0000

Earlier this month, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I’ll be starting chemotherapy tomorrow and I have no idea how the side effects will affect me. One of the major subsets of side effects is that chemo messes with your digestive system; if I am interested in and able to eat all, everything might taste different.

I’ve gotten tons of information on how to deal with the side effects from the oncology department. It’s interesting to note that one of their recommendations on dealing with food is to cook when you feel good and freeze it to eat later so you have something nice to eat even when you aren’t feeling good.

The suggestion for dealing with food that tastes different or has less taste than normal is to really ramp up the sauces and spices.

The nutrition guidelines recommend lots of protein via lean meats, dairy, nuts, and beans to help build new healthy cells as quickly as possible. They also recommend not skimping on the fat and sugar because weight loss of more than 10 pounds can mean that the treatment plan needs to change. The packet even goes so far as to suggest putting extra butter and sugar on any food you do feel like eating if you’re having issues with not being able to eat.

So since chemo starts tomorrow and today is the last day I’m sure I’ll feel good (or at least okay enough to cook), I’ll be cooking up a storm. Here’s the plan:

First up are complete items that I’ll finish so they’re ready to eat this week:

Turkey Meatballs from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast (I’m planning to make a huge batch of these and freeze them in single portions to toss in anytime I make pasta)
Chili for a Crowd from Real Simple magazine (make a huge pot and freeze in single servings, make it spicier than usual)
Chocolate Crackles from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Cranberry Muffins from The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
a couple loaves of pumpkin bread from a boxed mix

Then we’ve got some prep work so things are closer to ready to eat for future weeks:

prep some chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing as marinade and freeze; those can go with pasta or mashed potatoes at a later date
prep chicken strips for Garlic Chicken Stirfry from The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
prep flank steak strips for fajitas

After this week, I may not be eating enough or able to plan my meals far enough in advance to post a weekly meal plan so this may be the last one for a few months but once I’m cancer free, meal plans will be back.

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Holiday Gift Guide: Top 10 Etsy Gift Picks

Carrie — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:12:22 +0000

I’ve already shared my Under $20 Holiday Gift Guide, my Consumable Christmas Gift picks, and gifts that I still use years later, but maybe this year you want to support some independent artists and budding home entrepreneurs by buying their handmade wares as gifts for your friends and family. After hours and hours of perusing, here are my top 10 Etsy gift picks:

	Clay and Salt Mud Bar
	Kyomai Salty Bar
	Beeswax Mason Jar Candle
	Del Mar Soy Candle – Dead Sea Salt and Bay Rum
	20 Personalized Peacock Note Cards
	BLUE OWL TO DO LIST note pad
	Copper Plated Owl Earrings
	Kristy Necklace in Plummy
	Willa Necklace – Gold Filled and Emerald
	Pink Freshwater Pearl Bead Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Ring

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Meal Plan 12/6

Carrie — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:47:30 +0000

I’ve got a ton of chili left over from last week so I’ll be eating a lot of that this week. Also planning:

Maple Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes from Real Simple magazine
Pumpkin Muffins from Baking: From my Home to Yours

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What I’m Reading 12/4

Carrie — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:25:26 +0000

$2 off Coupon for Method Products @Frugal Living NW
Ask Unclutterer: Keeping cardboard boxes? @Unclutterer
Do you use all your vacation time? @Funny About Money
Facebook: iTunes Free 20 Song Sampler @My Good Cents
Freezer Cooking: What Can You Freeze? @Life as Mom
Use a 20-Year Plan to Build a Stable of Quality Furniture @Lifehacker

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Holiday Gift Guide: Consumable Christmas Gifts

Carrie — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:25:48 +0000

I’m very anti-clutter and consumables are perfect as gifts because the recipient is absolutely not expected to keep the gift around forever.

Here’s a collection of consumable items I’d be thrilled to give or receive this holiday season:

	Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark This is my all time favorite Christmas candy.
	Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee Making coffee at home rather than buying a finished cup every morning is a great way to save money and having a fun and special coffee to brew is a great treat. (Don’t forget to click through eBates if you’re ordering online from Starbucks.)
	Cowgirl Creamery Cheese I love cheese and I love that they’re local to me (though they ship nationwide).
	Root Beer Mini Keg Now I’m not a root beer fan myself but my dad and my brother are so into fancy root beers lately so this might be perfect for the guy on your list.
	L’Occitane Shea Butter Soaps I also hear their shea butter hand cream is fabulous.
	Lush Ocean Salt Cleanser I’m really into salt scrubs right now but I also love their bar soaps and bubble bars.
	Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lipbalm The lipbalm alone would be great for stuffing those stockings or add some of my other favorites like the Coconut Foot Creme and Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beat Shampoo if you want to put together a little gift set.
	Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Set Unless your friends and family are really into cleaning this might be an awkward Christmas gift but it would make a really cute hostess gift if you’re headed out to a holiday party.

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25 Days of Free Christmas Music from Amazon

Carrie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:21:06 +0000

We all know how I love free and legal music downloads. Now through Christmas, Amazon.com is presenting 25 Days of Free with one new free and legal Christmas song download available each day!

I’ll be checking back and downloading my new song every single day. As they’re added to my iTunes library, I’ll also make sure they hit my Christmas playlist so that I can turn the Christmas music off come December 26th.

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November Budget Wrap Up

Carrie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:20:34 +0000

So, how did I decide to account for my raise in my budget? After taxes I’m making about $225 more per month so I added $100 to my monthly everything else budget. I changed my old ING “Fun Money” account (left all the money I had in it there) to be a “House” account to save up for buying a house maybe in about 5 years and the other $125 a month from my raise will automatically go into that account.

What’s the number one thing I want to see that extra $100 a month going towards? More organic products in the produce, meat, and dairy departments. As you can see, I spent a lot more on groceries this month than I did in months past (I also had to do all the Thanksgiving shopping even though we ate at my parents’ house since they were on vacation until the day before Thanksgiving).

My biggest purchase in November was a leather jacket which I’ve wanted for some time now. I’m 6′ tall and have extremely long arms which makes jacket shopping hard but I found out that Nordstrom offers free personal shopping service and they were able to hook me up with a tall sales associate who knew all the items in the store with extra long arms.

In addition to my regular paychecks with my 10% raise that kicked in this month, I brought in another $248 income from bank interest, blogging, iStockphoto, eBates, and rebate checks.

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Meal Plan 11/29

Carrie — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:18:48 +0000

Simple, Perfect Chili from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Basic Breakfast Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks with scrambled eggs and bacon on the side
pasta and sauce, hummus and pitas
Chocolate, Chocolate Chunk Muffins from Baking from My Home to Yours

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Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts from Years Past that I Still Use Today

Carrie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Many years ago when my sister was still very young, I remember my mom going around the family and asking each of us kids if we wanted quality or quantity in our gifts. That first year my brother and I picked quality and my sister, the youngest, picked quantity. After that first year, we all picked quantity every year. Each year we’d get one main gift and a few stocking stuffer type items and that would be it.

One high quality item that I’ll use for years to come and a few small items like some chocolate, a book, lipbalm, and cute socks or slippers are all I want for a perfect Christmas.

Here’s a retrospective of some of the Christmas and birthday gifts I received in years past that I still use to this very day:

	Nikon d40x (the d40x is a few years outdated now, the d60 is the current model)
	Nikon 55-200mm VR Lens
	Canon sd550 (the sd550 is a few years outdated now, the sd1200 is the current model)
	Apple Time Capsule
	Rose Fiestaware For Christmas one year I got 4 dinner plates, 4 rimmed soup bowls, and the elusive Betty bowl which could only be ordered out of the Betty Crocker catalog with Betty Crocker points. Rose is now discontinued but I’ve almost got a full set filled out in cobalt and use it along with my rose pieces.
	Franciscan Desert Rose Piggy Bank Mom bought these new at Macy’s almost 20 years ago (I got Desert Rose and my sister got the apple pattern). I keep unusual coins like drummer boy quarters and Indian head pennies in it now and it’s become quite a collectible in the passing years.
	Return to Tiffany Heart Tag Key Ring You don’t have to break very many cheap key chains before this Tiffany key ring pays for itself. It also keeps you from shredding your nails every time you need to move your keys around. I’ve had mine for 5 years now and mom’s had her’s (which had the oval tag but she took the tag off) for 20+.
	Nordstrom Lined Leather Gloves
	Classic Pearl Stud Earrings

Copyright © 2009 It's Frugal Being Green. All rights reserved.

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts from Years Past that I Still Use Today

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How to Make a Meal Plan

Carrie — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:17:38 +0000

Over at One Starry Night, Sarah is asking people to share their process when it comes to meal planning. Here’s mine:

I start by taking stock of what meats I have in the freezer. Meat is the most expensive component of my grocery budget; I’ve been buying organic chicken and ground beef at Costco lately and I don’t have my own Costco membership so I can’t necessarily pop over there any time so I make sure to work with what is already in the freezer. Most weeks I make one chicken dish, one beef dish, and one other dish (either vegetarian or using bacon, turkey, or some non-chicken/beef meat).

Put your plan together when you’re hungry or having food cravings. It makes it so much easier. I note tasty looking recipes I find online throughout the week and then fill in the gaps from my master index of recipes from my cookbooks and magazines.

If I’m planning to make a main dish that doesn’t already include a vegetable, I select an in season and on sale vegetable from the weekly grocery ad to prepare along with that dish. I keep my freezer stocked with frozen veggies like peas and pepper strips so I can add them to any dish on a whim. I love berries and always pick them up when they’re in season and on sale and I always make sure to have a few apples on hand for snacking (apples keep really, really well).

I’ve got a wicked sweet tooth so most weeks I plan to bake one dessert item. Cookies and cupcakes are especially good for those of us cooking for one because it’s easy to freeze some of them; pies and cakes are tricky because you really shouldn’t eat the whole thing by yourself before it goes bad and it’s hard to preserve just part.

Some weeks I cook up a breakfast item like scones, muffins, or quick bread. On days I don’t have a fresh baked breakfast item, I eat cereal, oatmeal, or toast possibly along with fruit, bacon, and/or eggs.

For lunches and for dinners on nights I’m not cooking, I eat my leftovers. For variety I usually put one or two servings of each dish in the fridge and the rest in the freezer for later weeks.

After my list of recipes I’ll be cooking that week is complete, I put together my grocery list based on any items I need for those recipes that I don’t already have. Basics like milk, eggs, and flour get added to the grocery list as soon as I notice I’m running low.

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Meal Plan 11/22: Thanksgiving Week

Carrie — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Thanksgiving is this week. We will be celebrating at my parents’ house this year, but they are on vacation and not arriving home until Wednesday night so I’m doing all of the grocery shopping and a good chunk of the cooking. I’m taking the day before Thanksgiving off work and I’ll be busy cooking up a storm that day.

Thanksgiving menu:

Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Dinner Rolls I’ll bake these ahead of time
Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing from Sunset magazine, I made this last year and it was amazing so we’re having it again; I’ll cook this at my house Thanksgiving morning
Cranberry Sauce mom made and canned extra last year
Green Beans we’re going to cut corners here and heat up a bag of frozen beans
Fruit Salad apples and oranges from the trees in my parents’ yard
Gravy corners cut here too with a packet of Brown Gravy mix
Pecan Pie my personal favorite Thanksgiving food, I’ll bake this ahead of time
Pumpkin Pie mom can’t imagine a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie so I’ll bake this ahead of time too

After Thanksgiving I’ll be eating tons of leftovers but what will I be eating before Thursday?

Simple, Perfect Enchiladas from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (I split the recipe in half when I made it a couple weeks back and that other half is still in the freezer ready to be baked)
Baked Eggs in Bacon Baskets (I first made these a couple weeks ago and have been obsessed ever since)
Tortellini
and I’ve got a couple servings of leftover Pumpkin Turkey Chili and Romano Ranch Chicken and Rice left in the freezer

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What I’m Reading 11/20/09

Carrie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:54:59 +0000

Cakespy: Homemade Starbucks-Style Cranberry Bliss Bars @Serious Eats
Libby’s Fears Canned Pumpkin Shortage This Thanksgiving @Slashfood
Philosophy Gingerbread Man Shower Gel FREE Sample @Deal Seeking Mom
Shopping estate sales for deals @Funny About Money
Top 8 Plastics Recycling Tips @Focus Organic

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Review: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Carrie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:00:33 +0000

The Pioneer Woman Cooks has been out for a couple weeks now and I’ve made four recipes from it so far:

Maple Pecan Scones I halved the recipe on the frosting on these and it was still way more than enough
Chicken Pot Pie perfect, amazing, and way better than even Costco’s take and bake chicken pot pies
Ribeye with Whiskey Cream Sauce this is the only one I wouldn’t make again, not because it wasn’t good but because I have other better recipes for preparing steaks
Simple, Perfect Enchiladas not that simple but much better than any other enchilada recipe I’ve ever tried and I’ve tried lots, I used Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce and highly recommend it as well

All of these recipes were more complicated that my typical prepare in 15 minutes, one bowl or one pot items. The recipes all have very detailed instructions with a picture for each step which makes them really easy to follow and easy to do even though I think the recipes are somewhat advanced.

The recipes in this book are all full fat and not for the feint of heart. Three of the recipes called for both butter and cream and the fourth recipe involved “lightly” frying tortillas. But all that fat made everything absolutely delicious.

So what didn’t I like about the book? No table of contents and she’s got main dishes in at least 3 different chapters so once you know the recipe is in there it’s kind of a pain to find it again. Also, the recipes are interspersed with photos that aren’t of the food. I would have rather those photos be grouped at the beginning or end or left out completely.

Overall my opinion is yummy, yummy recipes and great instructions but the layout of the book doesn’t fit my style.

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Seeking Crock Pot Recommendations

Carrie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:42 +0000

Curiosity is about to kill the cat. I grew up in a home without a crock pot and never really understood why someone would want one. But after months of reading about them on other blogs, I’m curious. I sure love the idea of coming home from work and having a fresh home cooked dinner ready for me.

Because I have zero experience with crock pots, I need you to recommend your favorite brand or model to me or tell me about what important features I should be on the look out for.

I’m usually cooking for one and my 9 inch wide freezer can only fit so many leftovers so something that’ll cook up to 4 servings would be perfect.

What do I need to know about crock pots?

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eBates

Carrie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:16:20 +0000

eBates payments for the third quarter of 2009 should be arriving any moment now.

This time around I’m receiving $51.71 via Paypal (and they’re set up so that no Paypal fees get taken out of that amount which is nice). This quarter I shopped at Apple, eBay, iTunes, J. Crew, Vision Direct, and Vista Print.

I’ve been a member of eBates since 2004 and have now received a total of $440.14 in cash back just for clicking through their site before placing orders I’d be making anyway.

If you’re not already a member it’s definitely worth signing up. If you’re planning to sign up I suggest you use one of my eBates links so that we both get $5 when you make your first purchase.

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Become a Fan of It’s Frugal Being Green on Facebook

Carrie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:01 +0000

I’m a bit of a late adopter when it comes to anything Facebook related. My friends still tease me about being the last person ever to join despite the fact that I joined a couple years ago and other friends have joined since.

But I finally got a Facebook page set up for It’s Frugal Being Green and I invite you to become a fan.

Becoming a fan of It’s Frugal Being Green on Facebook will add a link, the first few sentences, and a picture from each new post to your Facebook feed as they are posted. It’s a great way to keep up with It’s Frugal Being Green if you’re on Facebook all the time.

If you’re on Twitter don’t forget that you can follow me there too! Send me a message so that I know you’re a reader and can follow you back (you know how it gets so hard to tell spam and real people apart sometimes).

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Holiday Gift Guide: Under $20

Carrie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:11:36 +0000

The holidays are rapidly approaching. Gifts have ceased to be a big deal among my friends and family, last year my family did no gifts, the year before my parents gave us some cash and I only exchange presents with one friend anymore (last year I got her a ticket to Wicked so we could see it together and that was totally awesome). But I love to make wish lists despite the fact that I don’t expect anyone to get me a single item on them. So for those of you with friends or family who share my sensibilities, here are some gift ideas:

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer – $14.97 – Foer’s first non-ficition book (I loved his fiction books), this is a look at eating animals from all perspectives

Fiestaware 10 inch Pie Baker in Cobalt – $16.99 – I’d especially love to receive this with a delicious homemade pie already baked in it

Oxo Good Grips Dough Blender – $7.99 – would go great with that pie pan

See’s Dark Chocolate Soft Centers – $19.10 for 1lb – get a better deal by buying See’s gift cards at a discount at Costco and then using those to buy the actual chocolate

iTunes Gift Cards – any amount – I love media and I love supporting the copyright holders by paying for my digital media

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A Testiment to Quality Over Quantity

Carrie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:36:47 +0000

December 26, 2004 I bought a very nice, small black leather Coach bag. It’s almost 5 years later now and I’ve used it almost every day and it’s still in fantastic condition. I believe I paid $130 for that bag new at Macy’s.

Before I bought that one quality Coach bag (and I do believe their leather bags are quality but I just don’t think they’re cloth bags feature the same durability), I was buying a couple new $20 bags a year. A $130 bag has now lasted me almost 5 years. That works out to $26 a year at this point. Buying a higher quality item and using it longer works out to a lower “cost per wear”.

For Christmas the next year, my parents bought my little sister (who was in high school at the time and I might consider her a bit spoiled because of this but I also suppose that if she’s spoiled then I am too) a very similar black leather Coach bag. I helped pick it out at the Coach outlet store. It’s a bit bigger than mine but has all the features I consider important like a short enough strap that I can feel it under my arm and it completely zips shut at the top so that A) I don’t spill things and B) it’s harder for people to steal things. My mom thinks we paid about $70 for it at the outlet-weekend-before-Christmas sale price, at the new Macy’s price it certainly would have cost more than mine.

Now I’ve had my purse for almost 5 years and my sister has had her purse for almost 4 years.

Saturday, my sister and I were eating lunch and she reached into her purse to show me some pictures on her digital camera and I made a comment about how nice all the free space in her purse looked. She made a comment about how her shoulder has been hurting her so she wishes her purse was smaller and she couldn’t put so much stuff in it. One of us suggested a trade (it all happened so fast that I can’t even remember who it was) and within seconds she was shoveling our stuff out of our purses so we could do this trade.

Went each went home from lunch with a new purse that easily has another 5 years of daily use in it at zero cost.

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Meal Plan 11/8

Carrie — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:00:08 +0000

This week I’m trying out a two week meal plan. Safeway is having a couple fantastic sales lining up today – free breakfast (bread or english muffins, orange juice, eggs, and bacon) when you spend $50 and a $10 Kohl’s gift certificate when you spend $50 (Kohl’s carries Fiestaware and I love to work on filing out my set at great prices). My average weekly grocery spending is around $30 and I want to make sure I get to that $50 threshold so I’m going to buy two weeks worth of groceries at once.

Week 1: Everything is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The enchiladas I made from that book last week came out great so I’m testing a few more recipes here and then you can expect to see a review posted soon.

Ribeye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce, Creamy Rosemary Potatoes
Chicken Pot Pie
Maple Pecan Scones

Week 2:

Steak with Crispy Potatoes and Pistachio Pesto from Real Simple magazine
Cheese Flautas with Cilantro Pesto from Martha Stewart Living magazine
Baked Shells with Winter Squash from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
Pumpkin Muffins from Baking from my Home to Yours
Gingerbread Cutouts from The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (I picked up a nice Wilton gingerbread man cookie cutter at Michael’s that was originally $2.99 and I had a 40% off coupon and I’m excited to use it, I’ve borrowed my mom’s super huge gingerbread man before and used this recipe and it’s obviously one of the best recipes in my kitchen because it’s the dirtiest page of all my cookbooks but her gingerbread man is so huge that the cookies break too easily)

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