Pinterest

You open up your newest issue of Better Homes & Gardens-ok, maybe it's from a couple months back because you're a little behind on your reading, and you see a great recipe idea or maybe a really pretty bedroom color scheme or flower bed arrangement. Snip, snip. You cut out the picture. Your single snippet becomes a small pile. You then take your little collection over to a series of bulletin boards hanging on a wall, placing your new recipe on the "Food" board, the bedroom color scheme on the "Home Decor" board, and so on. Welcome to Pinterest! That's it in a nutshell except that your bulletin boards are in the Pinterest cyberspace world. As you're web browsing you have the ability to "pin" anything you think you might want to take a second look at or keep for inspiration on your designated Pinterest boards. The idea is simple, but very addicting! You can also follow other people or their specific boards-like if you really enjoy their craft ideas, but aren't big on their obsession over Marmosets Board.
It's a nice way to keep your finds organized. You can only join when you receive an invite though which shouldn't be very difficult to find. Pinterest is growing in popularity quickly! You also need to make sure you "install" (very easy) the "Pin it" button in your favorites bar so that you can pin items anytime you want. Lastly, watch out! It's highly addicting to pin items to your boards and browse other Pinterest members' boards for "repins" and "likes". Like I need another excuse to be on the computer! My poor hubby.

Blog Shout Out!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout-out and show some support for Two Kings and Their Little Ladybug, a family who have been in the process of trying to adopt a little girl from China since November of 2007. That is over 3 1/2 years of waiting for this little girl! Their blog has been set up as a fundraising sight to help them bring a new daughter home. With that being said, they are currently doing a raffle for an American Girl Doll giveaway, valued at $100, your choice. If you'd like to donate there is a "Chip in" box on the left hand side or give some support by spreading the word.

Quick! The Baby's napping-Must go faster!

And this is me today! Off I go to get myself another cup. So little time, so much to do!

We Made It

Just a quick update so as not to leave everyone hanging- we made it through! Our power was out from about 8 AM to 7:30 PM. Thank you CL& P workers! You're amazing! We expected not to get power back until at least the next day. From what I'm seeing it looks like Connecticut made out pretty well in all of this. It could have been much worse. We were downgraded from a level 1 to a "Tropical Storm". My family lives in more central CT and on fairly raised ground, so flooding shouldn't be a problem for us, but I know it is and will continue to be a problem in other areas of the state. The other positive note- it's sunny and pretty today-perfect for all of the cleanup that will be taking place.

A Hurricane's a'comin!

Yep, there's a hurricane coming my way! I'm in central Connecticut, so we'll see what happens. The storm is projected to pass about ten miles from us. I'm a California girl, so "hurricane" is are not my in my vocabulary, but I suppose it's about to be! My husband joked and invited someone over to our "hurricane Irene party" saying we were having "Rib-Eye of the storm steaks" and drinking "hurricanes". No, but seriously, we're prepared. Bottled water has been purchased. Groceries are stocked. The cell-phones are charged. Flashlights and candles are sitting out, and I'll be filling up the bathtub shortly. Good luck to everyone on the East Coast! You will be in our prayers.

What's the Deal With the Lettuce!?!?

I was recently reading a post from The Farmhouse Kitchen in which the author was mentioning that they almost always have tacos once a week because it's easy, and you usually have the ingredients on hand. For us, in California, that would have been true, but in Connecticut, I've found it's more difficult to keep fresh ingredients (specifically produce) "fresh" for long-mainly lettuce. What is it with the lettuce here?! It doesn't seem to last long at all! However, I must confess I've been slacking on using one of my secret "saving money in the kitchen" weapons. What is it? Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a secret now would it? Ok, ok. I'll spill it. My "secret saving money in the kitchen weapon" is the Progressive Lettuce Keeper. I know, rather anticlimactic, but it's awesome, and it works (and it's only $13.98 on Amazon)! It's not just for storing lettuce either. You can use it for all sorts of produce. The lettuce keeper has a little guide on the front that tells you which veggies need the vent open or closed and which need water at the bottom of the container. My favorite thing to use it for though, is lettuce. I have found my lettuce lasts significantly longer using this. And that's where the saving $ part comes in-waste in the kitchen means wasted $$. If a head of lettuce costs you $3, and you only got to use half of it before it went bad, that lettuce just turned into a $6 head! So, with that being said, I guess I'll stop grumbling and go get that puppy out of the cupboard and into the fridge ;).

The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking

A new book came out that many of us, if not all of us, could probably benefit from-"The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking: Decorating, Dining, and the Gratifying Pleasures of Self-Sufficiency on a Budget!" . This book is not in my budget right now, but when it is, I think I'll be purchasing a copy. It's gotten great reviews so far. Amazon's review calls it humorous, savvy, and user-friendly; "Kate Payne shares fun, low-cost (and often free!) creative solutions that will make anyone feel more accomplished in minutes." And who doesn't want to feel "more accomplished in minutes"?

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!

No blogging today! Go enjoy your family and friends!

My Weekend Field Trip: Aldi



This weekend I had the opportunity (yes, I said opportunity) to visit the grocery store Aldi with my hubby and kids. I have been shopping at Stop & Shop since that is one of two grocery stores in Cheshire. I like Stop & Shop, but it gets expensive, and on our fixed budget I needed to find a good staples store. Well, I’m happy to say I found it! We don’t have any Aldi’s on the West Coast, but I think we should. They claim to even beat out Walmart in prices (woot!), saving you up to 50% more than other grocery stores.

Aldi’s has several things going for it that other stores should take into consideration. You BYOB. That’s right; you bring your own bags. There are bags available for purchase (insulated for frozen foods, shopping bags, and brown paper bags) if you don’t bring yours. I know the paper bags were $.06 each. They do this in order to be more green-less plastic in land fills but also to cut back on their grocery prices. Yes, you do pay for those “free” grocery bags if you aren’t bringing your own at most stores. The cost of the bags is rolled into the grocery prices.  That $.05 or $.06 back per bag you get when you bring your own is just a reimbursement for the extra being added into your purchases.

Secondly, you need a quarter for a cart. All of their carts link up via chain. In order to use a cart, you must insert a quarter. When you’re done with the cart, you put it back on the chain, and you get your quarter back. This saves them money (hence you save money) because they don’t have to hire extra staff to chase carts around.

Another interesting detail is the fact that they don’t take manufacturer coupons. This one was a bit of a bummer for me, but after seeing their selection I get it. You don’t really need them (which saves me time) because most of their inventory are their brands. If you brought your coupons you wouldn’t find much of anything you had coupons for. By doing so, they don’t have to deal with manufacturers vying for advertising and shelf space, or the loss associated with any coupon fraud. If I’m dissatisfied with the quality of any of their products they will refund my money and the product (their double guarantee).

They don’t accept credit cards, which cuts back on costs. Nor do they accept checks because they just take up more time in the checkout process. Aldi sets out to make shopping at checking out smooth and fast. You will also find their stores to be small-yet another way they cut back on their grocery prices. Everything is bare bones. Rent is less due to the smaller size, as are their light and heating bills. All of these expenses get rolled into our groceries, so it’s no wonder their prices are rock bottom.

I still plan to shop at Stop & Shop because they carry certain things that Aldi doesn’t, but for the basics, Aldi is my new favorite store! If you have an Aldi near by and haven’t visited it yet, I would encourage you to check them out and see how much you can save. For more I information, check out their webpage here.

Kudos to Family Talk!

Since I have been living in Connecticut, I spend a lot of time in our basement (multi-purpose room) working on various crafty hobbies while the kids play. One of the things I like to do while I'm busy crafting is turn on Family Talk's podcasts, since I don't think I get their radio broadcasts here. The last two days they've had a broadcast called "The Flipside of Feminism" that has been just fantastic! If you're interested click here to listen to today's broadcast (this is part 2). To check out their other broadcasts and listen to part 1 (which I highly reccomend) go here . Honestly, Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson, someone I've grown up listening to, has really been a huge encouragement to me as a mom and wife lately. Their site is full of tons of great broadcasts and helpful information. If you ever find yourself needing a good kick in the rear, pull up a couple of podcasts for some motivation.