Yummmm

Have you seen Foodzie yet? It's like edible Etsy.

The Pantry and Spices section makes me crave time in my kitchen to try out one or ten. Honey and Jam is making my mouth water. (Raspberry Cocoa Preserves! Macadamia Nut Blossom Honey!!) The Bakery..., well you know me and all things baked just go together. And I could spend my life's savings in Chocolate and Candy.

I'm having to force myself to think long and hard about what my first purchase will be. To keep myself from buying up everything I see. Maybe it'll be that honey...

I must be crazy

Because I've been feeling like I don't have time to do anything for me, I decided to commit myself to something else. I've joined the Daring Bakers.

What does that mean?

Every month, a host (chosen from the membership) challenges us with something they've been wanting to try. The recipe is a secret for everyone but the membership until the end of the month when we all reveal how we did at once. It's a commitment because you have to participate nearly every month to stay a part of the group.

For September, we made puff pastry. Absolutely crazy. I've posted about how I did on my other, sorely neglected blog. So if you're interested in my massive failure, go check it out!

Pictures while cleaning

Our house was an absolute wreck after a few weeks of a mom who was too busy, kids who were sick, and over-full weekends. We spent all day cleaning and have managed to get our house back into livable shape.

After cleaning the playroom, Ethan reminded me that we needed to make room for his preschool artwork on the walls. The picture is documenting the wall of artwork from last year. We took it all down and saved just a few. Ethan is so excited about filling it up again this year!


At the end of a very long, very busy day, John and I sat down for our "date night". Looks like fun, huh? Folding laundry while we watch a movie is becoming a regular thing.

Challenge Update

So....

We've completely blown past the $25 a week. We were doing well until last night when John decided we were having an at home date night and picked up some things for a nice dinner. And then today Ethan and I picked up school lunch items. (Because he would have had some strange lunches otherwise.) And Sunflower market has 5 lbs of potatoes for 99 cents! (Starting tomorrow for you TX folks.) Gonna stock the freezer with some hash browns and french fries. Plus, a trip down to Sunflower means stocking up on a few things I can only find there. I don't make it down very often.

The plan for the next three weeks is to only buy milk and fruit. (Plenty of veggies in the freezer.) Barring great sales on items I need to stock up on, we shouldn't go too far over.

Budget Challenge

We've been living pretty frugally these last several (seven!?!) months. At the beginning we spent nearly nothing and managed to eek by when it came to the bills. Then with both unemployment and my job, we relaxed a little. Still not extravagant, but we aren't being as conscious of our spending as we should.

With the end of unemployment checks looming, we're trying to get ourselves ready. I've decided to attempt Owlhaven's sept grocery challenge. She has a family of 12 and it cutting her budget to $75 a week! (Really only possible because it's harvest time in her garden/farm.) For me, that's going to mean no more than $25 a week. I think I could do it with less, but this challenge is for me, not John. And that wonderful man does the majority of the cooking while I'm working. So I need to stay under budget while not making life too hard on him.

$25 a week isn't to bad for us at the moment. We have a large amount of dry goods in our food storage and a well stocked pantry thanks to food stamps back in the spring. Really, we only need milk, fresh fruit and veggies, and the occasional loaf of bread when I can't fit in making it myself. Plus a few odds and ends each week so that John doesn't have to spend lots of time every evening in the kitchen.

I think it's more than doable. Wish me luck!