Posts
to this:
for only $0.50!
Thanks goes to the Bama Flea Mall with their rad finds and great prices. The dent that made this price possible is hidden against the wall.
Come across any great finds lately? Do tell.
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Our "New" TV Stand
As you may recall, Eric and I were on the hunt for a new TV stand back in February. Being avid craigslist-ers, we were determined to find a well-priced beauty we could adopt from another family.
I am here to encourage you, friends. Patience pays off.
Below is our original setup.
I am here to encourage you, friends. Patience pays off.
Below is our original setup.
And here is our new setup in all it's glory.
The details...
People actually paid us for our old TV and stand - $75 total.
We were lucky to find an antique, refinished buffet table - $200 total.
Do you revel in the benefits of craigslist? You can reduce the amount of material items in your home, increase your savings and/or find pre-loved, quality-made items that won't break the bank. Those are my excuses, anyway.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Gift Guide: Father's Day
Unless your dad is Barney Stinson, he neither needs nor wants another tie. If your dad is Barney Stinson, he doesn't need one but probably wants one and you likely can't afford his expensive tastes.
What am I trying to say, folks?
Regardless of who invested in your gene pool, be sure to follow the gift guide below to make your pappy happy.
What am I trying to say, folks?
Regardless of who invested in your gene pool, be sure to follow the gift guide below to make your pappy happy.
Shaving cream from a tube for a smooth face done the old-school way, $10
A masculine toiletry bag to store essentials when travelling, $30
Rad, casual sneakers so he looks stylish on summer dates with your mom, $42
A pictorial dictionary to enhance his already enviable vocabulary, $21
A collapsible bike to wow his friends and take up less room in the garage, $140
Two tickets for Super 8 so he can feel like a kid again, if just for a few hours, $18
The quittin' time clock because it's funny and gives him something to look forward to, $80
For an alternative gift, do what I did last year and invite him along for a morning hike. All he really wants is quality time with his family.
What are you getting your dad, grandpa or favorite guy for father's day?
I'd love to hear!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Kitchen Walls
Kitchen walls in an apartment are scarce. Ours boasts only a large framed chalkboard holding pictures, invitations and goals for the year. There's not much room for anything else.
One day, I'd love to decorate the kitchen walls in a creative way, like below. Enjoy!
With colorful, quirky art via catalogued life
One day, I'd love to decorate the kitchen walls in a creative way, like below. Enjoy!
With colorful, quirky art via catalogued life
With an herb garden, via tatertots and jello
And my favorite - with thrifted and painted bundt pans via hownowdesign
In what ways have you adorned your kitchen walls? I'd love to hear!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
What's Old is New
Eric and I hung out with a fun couple this past weekend, playing games and watching a rather silly British comedy.
Among other inspiring and just plain cool pieces in their home, I was drawn to the dresser they used as a TV stand. We happen to be in need of a new TV stand and I'm now scouring craigslist for the perfect fixer-upper.
My online inspiration is below. Enjoy!
Among other inspiring and just plain cool pieces in their home, I was drawn to the dresser they used as a TV stand. We happen to be in need of a new TV stand and I'm now scouring craigslist for the perfect fixer-upper.
My online inspiration is below. Enjoy!
{Joi removed the middle drawers and used the space as shelves
for the electronic players. The side drawers function as storage.}
{Laura added hair pin legs to an old cabinet to
house her husband's growing record collection}
Have you re-purposed something in your home? I'd love to hear about it!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Local Favorites: Used Bookstore
I will never own an electronic reader. When engulfed in a story, I need to turn the page, hold the binding, fold down the corner. And I want the book to be all mine. The freedom to take my time and read for understanding; or pull an all-nighter and pass the book along to a friend.
Enter 2nd & Charles. The used bookstore on crack. Even though the cashiers deny it, it's got to be based on McKay's in Tennessee. McKay's was a treasured spot for Eric and I. We bought our textbooks for cheap and racked up on fiction, non-fiction and good music. On recent trips to Chattanooga, I spent hours perusing the aisles with a goofy grin on my face.
2nd & Charles is exactly the same. It's huge. And it has huge potential. Already, I've scored the book Searching For God Knows What, based on a recommendation from a friend; Eric found a blues CD and White Stripes DVD.
You can buy, sell or trade. Trading is where it's at. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle people. As one sign stated:
Go home, pack a box with old paperbacks and CDs and get your trade on. Happy reading!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Quick and Easy
Last night we fell asleep at 8:30. Unintentionally. We were SO tired. It's nights like those when I'm grateful for a quick and easy meal. Today, I would love to share two of our favorites with you. Enjoy!
Veggie Stuffed Peppers
From (never home) maker, a fitness and foodie blog that I love! This meal takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. I'm obviously not vegetarian like Ashley and Stephen, but I've found that occasionally omitting meat allows me to spend less time in the kitchen on prep-work.
Griddled BBQ Turkey Sandwich
From The Cook Next Door, for when you need a fast meal AND meat. This meal takes about 20 minutes to make and is so mouthwatering. We are more specific in our ingredients while the original is more general. I am biased!
-Flip bread over. Place cheese and tomatoes on half of the slices. Place BBQ sauce and turkey on the other half of the slices.
-Griddle until buttered sides are golden. Place together and eat up. Yum!
From (never home) maker, a fitness and foodie blog that I love! This meal takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. I'm obviously not vegetarian like Ashley and Stephen, but I've found that occasionally omitting meat allows me to spend less time in the kitchen on prep-work.
Ingredients:
-2 large green bell peppers
-1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 can corn (drained)
-1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (drained)
-garlic powder
-pepper
-shredded cheddar cheese
-Cut peppers in half and clean out the seeds. Place skin side up on an aluminum foiled pan. Broil for 10 minutes or until the skin begins to roast and brown.
-While peppers are browning, combine beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic powder and pepper in a saucepan. Cook until bubbling.
-Remove peppers from the oven and flip over. Fill to overflowing with mixture. Top with cheese. Broil until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Yum!
From The Cook Next Door, for when you need a fast meal AND meat. This meal takes about 20 minutes to make and is so mouthwatering. We are more specific in our ingredients while the original is more general. I am biased!
Ingredients:
-Tomatoes
-sliced Jerk Turkey from the deli (Publix)
-shredded cheddar-jack cheese
-Sticky Fingers Original BBQ sauce (Publix)
-Italian bread loaf (sliced)
-butter
-Butter one side of each slice of bread. Lay non-buttered side on griddle.
-Meanwhile, lay turkey and tomatoes slices on griddle. Cook until turkey is lightly browned and tomatoes shrink up.-Flip bread over. Place cheese and tomatoes on half of the slices. Place BBQ sauce and turkey on the other half of the slices.
-Griddle until buttered sides are golden. Place together and eat up. Yum!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Eating on a Budget
It's official. We've embraced our Dave Ramsey lessons and now have a cash envelope for food. We have not eaten out for breakfast lunch or dinner since last Thursday (confession - a girl at work treated me to Subway for lunch one day, but that doesn't count, right?). This is HUGE and it's been tough. But mostly, I'm really enjoying it.
Here's what I've learned so far:
1. Plan ahead: I decided what meals we would be eating throughout the week, made a detailed ingredient list and attacked Publix with purpose. No excuses that we didn't have enough food at the house and no purchasing things that were not on the list.
2. Eat well: Not just healthy (although this is important). Enjoy what you eat! It makes is so much easier to eat at home if you feel satisfied with your meal.
3. It's cheap and fun to make it yourself: I am a salsa snob. Blame my mom. Blame my favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. I just can't eat salsa from a jar. Yuck! I bought fresh ingredients to have homemade salsa and homemade black bean dip in the 'fridge ready for a snack. Ours taste way better and is much more cost effective than buying it pre-made. Eric is GREAT at throwing together "a little of this, a lot of that" types of food. Also, I enjoy baking. I'm constantly on the search for a new cookie recipe. I love to bake a tray of cookies and put the rest of the dough in the freezer for later. Emergency chocolate craving? No problem.
4. Eat out, just be smart about it: Let's be honest. Sometimes, I don't want to mess up my kitchen. I don't want to slice, mix, preheat... I just want someone else to do it for me. No worries! There are ways to cut the bill here, too. For starters, we almost always order water. I love water and it's about all I drink. And guess what? It's free! Two sodas can add nearly $4 to your meal - yikes! When we eat Mexican food (when do we not?!), I almost always order a la carte. Eric eats his rice and gives me most of his beans and we are set! Also, if you are eating somewhere that serves bread with soup or salad (like our favorite Italian spot, Joe's), your meal can be a little lighter or you can share with someone (Although, don't let Eric fool you - he's a fit guy but he can really put it away at the dinner table. No sharing for us). If you can't share,leftovers become lunch.
5. Start building your kitchen staples list: We love flavorful food and fresh ingredients. I'm slowly learning to balance our kitchen and pantry so that we can make a meal at a moment's notice. Here's my list so far - peanut butter, honey, flour, sugar (brown and white), olive oil, chocolate, variety of cheeses, pesto, pasta noodles, frozen chicken, ground turkey, frozen corn, canned beans, canned diced jalapenos, canned diced tomatoes, chips, grainy bread (in the freezer), pizza crust, lemon juice, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, fresh bell peppers.
6. Check, Check, Check your kitchen first: If you saw my Mema's pantry, you would think she is still preparing for Y2K. Not so. She just buys stuff she already has. Although I'm not ready for a nation-wide emergency, I am guilty of purchasing food I have in my pantry simply because I didn't look first. Now, when I make my grocery list, I check my kitchen and cross off anything I already have. This seems like a simple, common-sense step, but it's an easy one to skip out on.
7. Be willing to adapt: Every meal wasn't amazing and I'm still learning. Next time, I'll include Eric more in the grocery list making - he helped me discover that eggs are incredibly cheap and useful. I'll continue searching for new recipes and advice. Keep what works, toss what doesn't. Be flexible.
Who knows? Maybe all of that cooking together and saving money will inspire spontaneous dancing in the kitchen. What have you learned about eating well, eating out, eating in and eating cheap?
{Images via Corbis Images and Cup of Jo}
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
