A Peek Into Last Week (October 22-28)~

 endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

there is beauty all around us!

Hello! I hope you have had a wonderful week! It has been a week of gorgeous fall weather around here! It is the type of weather that energizes me to dive into all things home with wild abandon. 

Let's head on into the kitchen...

What I'm cooking, baking and eating ~ 

whirly, swirly cinnamon roll cake goodness ready for the oven~

Cheeseburgers, baked chicken leg quarters, chicken salad, cinnamon roll cake, granola, cinnamon raisin bread

Homekeeping ~ 

This week's focus was the master bedroom and closet. I spent time cleaning, organizing a decluttering my dresser and nightstand drawers.

What I'm watching/reading ~

Dark

 Netflix says about it: "A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations."

Althougj I enjoyed the series overall, it was a bit complex for me. It is one of those series I would have to watch more than once to be able to (possibly) grasp all of it's nuances. 

It has subtitles and contains language, nudity, and suicide.

Highlight ~

 

Soaking in, and appreciating, the beauty of my environment! 

Have a fabulous, safe and happy week ahead! 🍂👻🍫🍬🍭🎃🍂

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo, 

TJ

Five Frugal Things (and one, not so much)~ 10/26/22

what does a cat have to do with frugality? read on...!

There's no doubt that tightening up the budget takes more time, effort, thought and a dash of creativity. I don't mind though. As a homemaker,  it is part of my (personal) job description. A job description that I curate for myself to benefit our particular situation. 

As I've mentioned before, my husband is totally disabled. I had to quit working to stay home and take care of him, as he cannot do many things for himself safely that most of us take for granted. Because of this, we have been on a fixed income for over ten years. Until recently, we lived fairly comfortably on that amount and I,  admittedly, had gotten lax in my role as the penny pinchin' goddess that that I'm known to be in my household. Buuuut...today's a new day and we are feeling the squeeze, as are many.

This week, in addition to things so ingrained in my being that I don't even have to put thought into them anymore, I did the following to make our pennies beg for mercy, lol:

1)  Since groceries are my first line of defense when trying to save money, I started there. During the height of the "vid" I began taking advantage of grocery pickup. I never felt comfortable with it though, knowing that I was missing out on sales and in-store only markdowns that I employed during my usual, pre-vid shopping strategy. I have been back to shopping in stores for some time now and this week I scored a few things on sale:

*  five, eight ounce containers of fresh mushrooms. I  cleaned, sliced and simmered them in water, divided them into four ounce portions and froze them for future use. (If you haven't concluded by now..yes I am the freezer queen around here. I could and maybe I should do some canning, but it is too dadgummed humid (year round) for my liking, and I'll be doggoned if I'm going to add to that situation!) They were .99 cents each.

*  two 10 ounce bags of tortilla chips for .99 cents each. Hubby likes to have them with some of his meals.

*  two bags of shredded cheese (one 6 ounce and one 8 ounce) for .99 cents each.

*  one ten pound bag of chicken leg quarters for .47 cents a pound.

*  Roma tomatoes (a little over half a pound) for .99 cents a pound. 

*  organic granny smith apples (a little over two pounds) for .99 cents a pound. 

*  two bags of garden salad for .99 cents each.

*  I clipped a "$5 off $50 or more purchase" digital coupon that was applied to my grocery total.

2)  I harvested some sweet potatoes. I was growing them mainly for the leaves in order to have an additional source of greens to add to the veggie rotation. The sweet potatoes were a bonus! I still haven't harvested the ones in the container yet.

3)  I am focusing on using cloth napkins more often and less paper towels, with a goal to sew at least two new cloth napkins this upcoming week to add to the ones we have. Right now, we don't have enough to completely give up the paper towels.

4)  I sowed more seeds in the garden: a variety of carrot seeds, snow peas and mesclun seeds. 

5)  I began organizing cabinets and drawers in my cleaning zones in order to inventory and refresh my memory on items we have on hand (that can so easily become "out of sight, out of mind") so I don't run out of, and possibly buy, items we already have.

And one of the reasons we must plug those money holes...

this furry fella had to go to the vet for a second time to have a skin issue taken care of (the first round of meds back in August didn't completely take care of the problem). He has turned out to be a bit high maintenance for a cat (in my experience) but he is is sooo worth it! 

• “Frugality, quite simply, is about choosing the things you love enough to spend extravagantly on – and then cutting costs mercilessly on the things you don’t love.” 
• ~ Ramit Sethi
• I hope all your endeavors, no matter what they are, were successful this week!

Thanks for stopping by! 

💋xo, 

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (October 15-21)~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

a walk in the neighborhood on a cool autumn day reveals the nicest surprises! 

Howdy! So glad you are here! 

We have had several glorious days of cool, almost chilly, temperatures. My kind of weather! I hope your weather has been nice as well.

I must confess, I don't watch the news (too depressing😭) so I don't know what the weather has been like in other parts of the country (other than the hubs exclaiming that it was snowing in the U.P. of Michigan one day, lol. I lived there for a while in another lifetime so I guess he thought I'd be interested.😊). 

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

•  chicken broccoli "fettuccine"- made with jarred Alfredo sauce that was in the pantry, bought on sale several weeks back. And spaghetti noodles that have been in the freezer since I stocked up on pasta last November. I always keep chicken and frozen broccoli on hand as they are major components to my Dollface's homemade dog food.

•  chana masala served over rice. I keep an assortment of legumes in the freezer along with rice that is bought in bulk and divided into smaller portions. I used a sweet potato in place of the russet as that's what I had available. The rest of the ingredients I had on hand in the freezer (chopped onion and tomatoes leftover from previous recipes) and pantry (spices, herbs and seasonings). I had fresh cilantro,  lemons and ginger on hand. Since I had previously soaked, cooked, portioned out and froze the chickpeas/garbanzos for ready access, I made the recipe in a large skillet rather than in the slow cooker. My husband is not a fan of this type of food (more for me!) so I ate a portion for dinner and then divided and froze the rest for future meals.

Even though I'm trying to cut back on sugar,  hubby still enjoys sweet snacks. Rather than buying as many prepackaged snacks as we have in the past, I have resolved to doing more baking again.

•  enchilada casserole - this time I used chicken, pinto beans and a red enchilada sauce. 

•   Lemon Crazy Wacky Cake with an Easy Lemon Glaze (I only used 1 tablespoon of milk for a thicker glaze)

•  Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars (I used only 1 teaspoon of vanilla in order to conserve on this pricey ingredient, and all semi sweet chocolate chips since that is what we had.)

Homekeeping ~ 

This week's homekeeping focus was the bathrooms. Outside of regular cleaning, I spent extra time going through and wiping down cabinets. I checked expiration dates on medications and made note of anything that needed to be added to the shopping list.

Garden~

I sowed carrots seeds. 

Highlight~

 It goes without saying that the cool, chilly days we enjoyed were one of the highlights of my week. SO grateful! 

I hope your week was wonderful! 

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo, 

TJ

Friday Fave #4~

This week my favorite item is the L'Oréal Voluminous Mascara Original. I have lost count of how many times I have bought this mascara. I love how it separates my lashes without clumping for a more natural look. 

Yet, if I want a thicker lash look, this buildable volume mascara allows me to go in with another coat or two to "glam it up! 

And although I usually use either Blackest Black or Black Brown, you can buy it in a range of colors. They offer it in Carbon Black or even a range of fun colors like Deep Burgundy, Deep Violet, Deep Green, and Cobalt Blue.

Occasionally, I have gone off and bought a different type of mascara when I hear someone rave about their favorite mascara, as you can see here. I bought the L'Oréal Telescopic mascara on the recommendation of someone. Although it's not a favorite of mine, I still use it when I know I'll be at home all day. I find it to be a bit clumpy for my liking, giving me a "spidery" lash look rather than my preferred "fluttery" lash look.

Another aspect of the Telescopic mascara that I'm not a fan of is the skinny plastic brush. Somehow plastic bristled mascara brushes and I do not get along. I always manage to poke myself in the eye with them, leaving me with a mascara'd black eye mess that I have to clean up (another reason I don't use it when I know I will be leaving the house!🤣). I like the softer bristles of my beloved Voluminous-they don't try to poke my eye out😉.

All that being said, everyone is different and likes different lash looks and makeup looks. What works for me may not necessarily work for you.  I mean, someone loved the Telescopic enough to convince me to buy it! And apparently she is able to wield the brush around her eyes safely, lol!

If you already use the Voluminous, or decide to try it, I would love to hear your thoughts. And hey, even if you have your own favorite mascara, let me know! You might convince me to try it!

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

*these products are not sponsored and is not an ad~just a friend sharing with friends!

Five Frugal Things ~ 10/19/22

 While at the grocery store this past week to fill in the gaps in our pantry and fridge, I was just about to make my way to the checkout and then head on home. I scanned my list to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, glanced at the eggs and their price and wondered if I should go ahead and buy some now, or wait until my next shopping trip (we had eggs on hand at home). I decided to do some comparison shopping right then and there. I pulled up the Walmart site on my phone to check their present egg prices on the case of five dozen that I normally buy when I can't find a better price elsewhere. $18.12. EIGHT. TEEN. DOLLARS. and twelve cents. I froze inside. The last time I had purchased those very same eggs on September 30th, just thirteen days before, they were $12.40. Back in December of 2021 (I would buy other eggs when I could find them at a better price in between times), they were $6.11. In ten months time, the price of the same item has almost tripled.

I  know, I  know...everything has pretty much increased in price lately. I have seen and quietly contemplated the rising prices, as I strolled the aisles of whatever grocery store I happened to be in, trying to calmly process it all. I suppose the eggs were the thing that set off something in me that said, 

"this means WAR!" (figuratively and financially speaking). 

Granted, I am always pretty frugal in most cases but this moment in time, standing in the aisle of Aldi staring at the price of eggs in the case and then the price of eggs online, collided with a couple of undeniable facts. One: that we are already on a fixed income that's not going to expand and rise like all the prices of everything swirling around me and two: recent personal events (that I won't go into detail about here) that have shaken our financial situation like an earthquake that continues on in aftershocks, with no end in sight.

 “If we attack our problems with determination, we shall succeed.” 

~ Franklin Roosevelt 

So, if our monetary belts weren't tightened enough already, I determined then and there that I was going to go at the heels of this situation like a nipping, yipping chihuahua and once I had gotten in a good bite, chomp down on it like a pit bull to ride this thing out as best as we can. Because, I have lived long enough to know that...

~this too shall pass~

I am embarrassed to admit, but don't mind saying, I have gotten quite lax in all areas of my frugal endeavors since before the "vid" came to town. It hit home when I couldn't find a speck of flour in the stores to make bread (thanks nouveau vid bakers😉😆) and hadn't been stocking up on it (or anything else) as I had in the past. Lesson learned. Still, almost three years later, I have not returned to my former frugal glory😄 during that time.

In the meantime, I have decided to revive my Five Frugal Things posts, to help encourage not only myself, but hopefully you as well, as we all ride out this turbulent season, keeping in mind with optimism:

                        

     ❄️🌱seasons change☀️🍂

Without further ado, my five frugal things this past week included (but weren't limited to):

1)  I mended one of my favorite sheets that has developed a tear and a tiny hole. Mending a sheet, you say? YES! I love these particular sheets. They're perfectly worn-in-smooth, soft and cool (and for this woman-of-a-certain-age🙋‍♀️👵😉that's muy importante). I will mend these sheets until they can't be mended anymore, especially since good king sized sheets are pricey and right now, not in the budget.

2)  I ordered my eyeglasses online from Zenni Optical. My prescription was about to expire so it was a necessary expense since the last time I bought a new pair of glasses was over nine years ago. I was able to apply a coupon code which saved me $10 off the order. Ordering from Zenni is a first for me, so I'm a jumble of nervousness and excitement. 

3)  After my eye-opening egg ordeal 😄, I sat down armed with my recipe binder, file box and tablet in which I have many recipes bookmarked, and chose several inexpensive ones to get started that will allow me to use foods we have on hand already. I will continue to tweak my game plan in this regards in the upcoming days and weeks. 

4)  I upped my seed sowing. I have many seeds saved and want to focus on getting the older ones in the ground and containers first using the FIFO (first in, first out) mindset. Because just like me, those seeds aren't getting any younger! Luckily, in my area the weather is cooling a bit, making it a good time to sow many types of seeds.

5)  I tightened up my water conservation efforts around the house. I have never been wasteful with water but I know I could always use less. One major change I've reinstated is taking what I've heard called "navy showers". 

           I Can~I Will~I Must

If you have read this far, thank you SO much! I appreciate you joining me here.

Thanks for stopping by! 

💋xo, 

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (October 8-14)~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

How was your week? I hope it was a good one! I was able to be a little more productive this week, thank goodness. Here's a little peek...

gregg's mist

Garden~ 

I harvested swiss chard. I can't wait to incorporate it into something delicious (TBD)!

I sowed several different types of seeds: parsley, cilantro,  kale, spinach mustard, jalapeño, bell pepper, zucchini, turnip, radish and lettuces (Grand Rapids. Black Seeded Simpson, Four Seasons and Iceberg). Some of the seeds are several years old, so only time will tell if they are viable. I'm also experimenting with trying to grow more Gregg's Mist from (what I think is) seed from my existing plants. The butterflies love it!

We have not had rain in many, many days. Plus it hasn't been as humid on a lot of those days so I have had to water much more often. Our poor grass sounds crunchy when you walk on it if I don't. On the bright side, less humidity is making the mostly still warm October days, much more pleasant. 

Homekeeping ~

This past week's focus was the kitchen, dining room and breakfast nook. I focused on wiping down the cabinet facings, cleaning out the "junk" drawer and in the breakfast nook area, I set up a small table by the window for seed starting.

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

Egg salad (hubby likes his served with crackers and I have mine served on a bed of salad greens), cheeseburgers & pork burritos (using the pork from this recipe that has been in the freezer. A pork roast lasts the two of us an astonishingly long time. I cook it, we eat some right away, then I cool the remander and divide it up to freeze for future meals.)

I was thankful for being able to pull out a couple of "power food meals" (the one I made "Italiano" style back in September) one evening that I had previously frozen from leftovers, for a quick and easy (seems to be a favorite thread that runs through my mealtime repertoire, no? 😁) dinner for the hubs and me. DIY "TV dinners"? I'll take it!

I know I don't often mention veggies but yes, we do eat them alongside our meals. Common around here are: broccoli, cauliflower,  mixed vegetables, green beans, salads of some sort or crudités.

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.” 

~ Hippocrates

wanna go for a WALK?

Highlight~

The "cooler", less humid couple of days we had afforded us the opportunity to take a walk around our neighborhood. 

the pattern the wind created in these fallen leaves fascinated me!

I'm looking forward to more cool weather walks but enjoyed immensely these little tastes of being able to enjoy the great outdoors in comfort! 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time~

💋xo, 

TJ

Friday Fave #3~ (hint: it may include 🥧)

 

it's NATIONAL DESSERT DAY y'all! 

 This Friday Fave isn't something you or I would necessarily have to spend money on (other than maybe a tip to your server. PLEASE...ALWAYS tip your server. #beentheredonethat) It combines two of my favorite things: Friday and DESSERT! 

Of all the national this & that days, I think I may just love NATIONAL DESSERT DAY best!😍🍰And FREE sweets? Don't mind if I do~

Here's a few places that TODAY.com says may offer free desserts to celebrate this glorious day!

You're welcome😉

Now get on out there & get your dessert on!

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

*this/these product(s)/businesses/suggestions were/are not sponsored and is not an ad~just a friend sharing with friends!

{VLOG} Come Walking with Us | A Neighborhood Walk with Dollface Vlog~

 

Up for a little walk in the neighborhood? Come along with Dollface and me as we finally have the chance to get outside and enjoy the cooler weather! Video here .

Thanks for joining us!

💋xo,

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (October 1-7)~

 endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

This past week started off well enough. Business as usual. For most of the remainder of the week though, I was feeling terribly under the weather. I ended up just taking it as easy as possible, doing only the tasks and chores that were absolutely necessary to get us through each day. 

Luckily, I made good sized batches of the following👇 that got us through with fast and easy meals.

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

not fancy, just tasty!

Chicken salad (for sandwiches or to serve with crackers or...my favorite...served on a bed of salad greens.

Turkey chili (I made some into chili mac for hubby & I ate it "as is"-just chili.). 

I will see you soon~have a wonderful week and...

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

Friday Fave #2~

It's Friday, and time for another Friday Fave!

This week I've chosen the Suave Essentials Rose Water and Aloe Soothing Hand Soap With Aloe.

What can I say? I know everyone enjoys different scents-honestly, scents can be a bit tricky for me as many of them give me a headache or make me feel sick. But this scent, in my opinion, is heavenly, heady...dreamy. 

It isn't overly "rosy" smelling (my daughter will attest to that as she hates most rose scented products. It is just beautiful (am I gushing?!). I love it and have bought bottle after bottle.

And if you don't care for the plastic dispenser, you can always  decant it into a soap pump of your choosing. I don't mind it though since the soap is such a pretty pearly pink!

 

For a couple of dollars, what have you got to lose? Besides, if you are like me, you can give it a sniff in store before you ever bring it home.

I hope you try it and I hope you love it as much as I do. Just be sure to leave a bottle or two on the shelves for me, lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

*this product was not sponsored and is not an ad~just a friend sharing with friends!

Let me Introduce Myself-A Little About Me Video~

Hey y'all! I posted an "Intro/A Little About Me" video over on my YouTube channel if you would like to hop on over there to get to know me a bit better.

See you on over there!

A Peek Into Last Week (September 24-30)~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

Another week has just flowwwn by me! I am flabbergasted that October is upon us already. We are coming into my favorite seasons, fall and winter, when we finally get a reprieve from the suffocating heat and humidity. 

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.” 

~John Sinor

And before I go any further, I want to extend my prayers to all who are suffering from the devastating effects of Ian. Living in a hurricane prone area, I totally feel your pain, helplessness and overwhelm. 🙏

Homekeeping ~

This past week's homekeeping focus was the storage and/or laundry room. As I consider our garage to be an area of storage, I spent some time assessing my gardening equipment and cleaning and tidying the area where it is all kept. 

I also took the time to shine up my kitchen sink, and since it is such a fleeting victory (😉😄), decided to take a picture, so it would last longer~haha!

ain't she purdy?!

While I am on the subject, I don't want to give the impression that I am trying to come off as a "super homemaker". Farrrr from it. I deal constantly with fatigue and, what I consider to be a low level of depression,  or "the blues" as I like to call it. It has been a constant struggle for me since my husband had his stroke ten years ago and we were sent home with no manual as to how to navigate our "new normal". It was much, much harder the first few years, and I am finally at a more manageable place but I still have days where I only get the absolute minimum done in order to keep the state of our home down to a "dull roar". Not because that's what I want, but because that is what I am capable of. I say all this, not to gain sympathy, only to clarify. I have "zones" (ala the Flylady) to help keep me moving forward with my housekeeping, rather than being stagnant or falling completely behind. So, I like to focus on little projects or cleaning jobs in the different zones that go beyond the everyday cleaning tasks in order not end up on the next episode of Hoarders, 😆. Even if I spend only a total of five extra minutes for the whole week accomplishing one of those housekeeping goals, it still gives me a sense of accomplishment and encouragement. 

In this fast paced, show-only-your-"Instagram worthy"-ness world we live in, I must confess it is not easy for me to admit all of that, but it is my reality. And my hope is to be "real" with you.

Moving on, lol...

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

I baked another two full pans of chicken leg quarters, (quickly seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder and salt & pepper) to have for easy, heat & eat dinners. I also threw in a foil wrapped sweet potato to cook alongside the chicken for hubby's dinner one night (I'm sure I've mentioned it before but he and I are on two different wavelengths when it comes to meals, the kind and the timing of them). I came upon two ten pound bags of chicken leg quarters, week before last, marked down to .29 a pound so I brought them home, divided them up and froze them. Plus, hubby has been content with sandwiches (ham and cheese, pb&j-he's pretty easy to please) on other nights.

I am trying to lower my consumption of sugar (I have not one but many sweet teeth) for my health and mood, so I haven't been baking, other than bread for the hubs. Because of this, and since I do have a ravenous appetite for sweets, I have made sugar free versions of fresh lemonade, whipped no bake "cheesecake", chocolate mousse and a faux chocolate crustless "pie": sugar free, fat free chocolate pudding (boxed instant Jello) with zero sugar whipped topping (Cool Whip) since chocolate pie is one of my all time favorite kinds of pie (thanks to my great grandmother "Ma" (pronounced Maw-RIP) who made a mean chocolate merengue pie, and who contributed to the delinquency of a little sugar addict chocoholic piggy 🐷🙋‍♀️. The cool whipped topped instant chocolate pudding is as close as you're gonna get this girl to making a merengue pie😁.). 

What I'm watching/reading ~

The Into the Night series on Netflix. 

The Netflix site describes it as, "Passengers and crew aboard a hijacked overnight flight scramble to outrace the sun as a mysterious cosmic event wreaks havoc on the world below."

I describe it as, gripping.🤯

Well y'all that's about it for me this week. I hope you all had a good one. See you next time annnnd...

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo,

TJ

PS~ the Bar Keepers Friend is not sponsored and this is not an ad for it. I just love using it!(my savvier-than-her-mama daughter has told me I need to always make that clear, lol)