This year for Valentine's day, Justin and I decided to celebrate at home. There were many reasons for this decision. First of all, we didn't feel like waiting an hour for a table at a restaurant, and when you're in a busy place waiting for service, it just isn't as romantic. Second, we decided that eating at home would give us more bang for our buck (which I'm all about). More food, more wine, you get the point. Lastly, with Justin working Saturdays, it's hard to plan anything because you never know exactly when he'll get off work. So, planning a Saturday evening dinner allowed us to have confidence that he would be home, and it also allowed ample time to get the kids settled in bed before our celebration.
We wanted to do something that we've never done before (or do very little). We also wanted to do something that was a little more romantic than a usual meal. So, we decided on fondue. It's not something we do often (in fact, we had NEVER done it!) and it's something that we have to do without kids (obviously a 4-year-old and hot liquids don't mix). It was so much fun! We started off with a cheese fondue, made with Swiss cheese, champagne, and an assortment of spices.
After the cheese, we enjoyed a salad to kind of neutralize the sharp taste of the cheese. We then moved on to the main course....chicken! We used peanut oil to cook it, and had a variety of sauces for dipping. SO YUMMY!
We had a blast. Who knew fondue was so much fun! We both agreed that this was our best Valentine's day together. Who knows...maybe we'll make it a tradition!
I like to spend money (duh). I like to save money(DUH!). I like to save money while spending money...that's like hitting the jackpot for me. I've gotten pretty good at deal hunting, stockpiling, and coupon clipping. I save (on average) $140.00 on my grocery bill each month by using coupons and stockpiling during sales. I'm not great at it yet, but I'm getting MUCH better, and each time I go shopping, it seems like I come home with more stuff for less money (hence the blog title). I've also learned to shop for gifts EARLY in order to snag some great deals. I'd like to share two particularly triumphant jaunts with you. First, Wal-Mart.
Here's what I got: Oreo Double Stuff Cookies (x2), Dove Hairspray, Citronella votive candles for the camper (x4), My Little Ponies (x2), Johnson's Baby Lotion (x2), Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula, Friskies Cat Treats (x2), a jar of baby food, Goodlife Recipe Cat Food Indoor Formula, Monopoly Deal game, Pictureka card game, Sorry Revenge game, Scrabble Slam game, Dove deodorant, and a candy bar for Kendra for behaving herself. Subtotal (before discounts): $65.63. Total after coupons: $30.95 for a total savings of $34.68. Now, a few things I didn't necessarily need, but who would pass up clearance citronella...or free Oreos...and I got a few things to put on my gift shelf. Not to mention, you always need lotion, deodorant, hairspray and cat food! If you figure it up, that's 1.35 per item!!
Today, I went to WalGreens and snagged some more great deals. Brace yourselves, folks, this one will knock your socks off.
This is what I got: Two jumbo packs of Huggies diapers, an 8x10 portrait, five 4x6 prints, a bottle of men's Dove body wash, and 2 pieces of candy (I'll explain those in a minute). Total cost of all items before discounts: $29.30. Total after coupons/discounts: $12.98, for a total savings of $16.32. Now, it doesn't seem like a lot, but I bought TWO jumbo packages of diapers for what you would normally expect to pay for one (nevermind the fact I got some yummy manly smelling body wash for Justin, some pictures, and two pieces of candy I will never eat)! See, here's the deal with WalGreens...however many items you have is how many coupons you can have. So, in my situation, I had register rewards plus a coupon for the diapers, so I had to throw in something cheap to use my two coupons (I couldn't find anything that was cheaper than $0.10). I also had 3 separate transactions, but to me, it was well worth the extra time to pretty much get body wash and diapers for free! The cashiers jaw literally hit the counter when she rang up my first package of diapers and my total came to $1.78!
I'm going to start keeping track of this. When I find exceptionally good deals, I'll post them...and if you're curious about any of the items I purchased and what I actually paid for a particular item, let me know...I'll tell YOU how to get them for dirt cheap!
I haven't blogged for a while, and feel the urge, so this will be somewhat of a diary posting.
I have a couple new recipes that I tried this last week, I'll get those posted later. They were yummy, definitely keepers!
The girls are still being the girls! Kendra and I were extremely excited to finally have a good snowman snow. We made a small snowman, and a snow heart. It was fun, although I'm not good at making snow anything, and the snowman crashed to the ground a couple times before we finally got him to stay up. Kendra has also started a new dance class, which she enjoys much more than the other one. Perhaps it's because she has friends there, or maybe it's because they get lots of chances to run and scream...I'm not sure. Either way, she's doing great. And...there will be several opportunities for her to perform, instead of just one, so I know she'll love that!
AJ is still growing like a weed. She's feeding herself finger foods, and grabs the spoon when I feed her. We've slowly started the transition to "table food". I'm still making the normal baby food, but if we have something she can eat, I mash it up and feed it to her. She loves meatballs and noodles, but isn't a huge fan of eggs. She's not walking yet (obviously) but she's pulling up on everything, dancing, and even getting adventurous enough to stand with only one hand supporting her. She'll walk with me, and I love when she looks back at me with a huge grin on her face. That was one of my favorite things with Kendra, too.
Justin started travel this week. Honestly, I have been so busy that I barely noticed he was gone, but it will be so awesome to have him home for a day (we only get Sundays together).
Here's a couple posts that I have in the works. I'm slow with them, so be patient. They'll be here eventually!
1. Kendra's wedding. 2. Two new recipes. 3. More home improvements!
As I mentioned in a couple previous blogs, I finished a big project.
This was my kitchen before. Ignore the mess. This is the only picture I had of my kitchen before.
That's my kitchen/dining room now. We like color on the walls, so we picked a greyish-blue, and painted the cabinets white. I also rearranged the cupboards, so all of my Fiestaware is looking beautiful in the see through cabinets. Again, ignore the mess in the background...I usually don't even attempt house cleaning until the kids are napping.
Finishing the kitchen got me motivated for more home improvement projects, so I did the bathroom next. No before pictures, sorry, but the cabinets were wood and the walls were a light tan color. Not bad, but it needed a new coat of paint something terrible.
I did learn some very valuable lessons while working on these projects.
Forget diamonds, mini foam rollers are a girl's best friend.
Sometimes it's a lot easier to make a mess and clean it up than it is to not make the mess.
In a large skillet over medium heat, briefly brown the cube steaks.
Arrange meat in a single layer in a 13x9 inch baking dish and pour the soup over the top. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
I actually rubbed my minute steaks with garlic powder and seasoning salt before browning. I would also recommend covering with foil for at least half of the baking time. All in all, these were very easy and very yummy...much better than frying!
As you may have guessed, the recipe challenge is over (for now). I really didn't think things through. It's tax season, which means audits, which means I'm a single mom for the next 4 months. I just don't cook big meals when Justin isn't here. I can't find time with how hectic the evenings are, and I have a finicky eater, so food just gets wasted when I cook big meals. Trust me though, it's not for lack of desire. I was having a blast. I love to cook. I love trying new recipes. So, I will start over in April, when my family is complete again. I'll still post lots of yummy recipes, it just won't be new things (well, new to me things).
We've also have had a few major events in our household. First of all, I started and finished a huge project this past week. I'll blog more about that later.
AJ has continued to blossom and grow...this is how I found her after her nap a week or so ago:
She has since pulled up in her playpen, on my arm, on Kendra's table (which incidentally fell over since it's a little kiddie card table) and the TV stand. Needless to say, the crib mattress is as low as it will go, and things are being picked up off of the couch, end tables, bookcases, TV stand, etc. constantly. She can also scoot a little bit while standing, and the other day she walked her truck from one end of the family room to the other. Look out world, she's growing up.
We also celebrated a birthday. Froggy turned 4.
No, it wasn't really his birthday, Froggy actually came into existence in June, but I didn't have the heart to break it to Kendra...she was so excited. She made the cake in her new Easy Bake oven...and as you can tell, she sampled some frosting. Thanks Grandma for the wonderful present...she loves it! We've also had some science experiments, thanks to Aunt Kari, Uncle Jake, and Trent. Colored water is fun to play with...especially when it changes colors when you pour it together. It's also fun to make crystals...or jewels as Kendra calls them. She is definitely all girl...obsessed with anything pretty.
Editor's note: Please ignore Kendra's attire in the above picture. I don't let her go out in public like this, but when she's home, she gets to pick out whatever she wants to wear. The girl can throw together some CRAZY outfits...and no matter what she's wearing, she's usually also adorning a crown and several (meaning 12) necklaces.
