Kathy Zengolewicz

If you wait until the 23rd or 24th of December, you will have to fight crowds, you will have very little merchandise to choose from and you will wait in long, long lines. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, not stress.

Now, shop when you think the stores will be less crowded, like in the early morning or late at night. Some stores are open 24 hours, if that’s the case you can probably shop at 3:00 am. If you shop in the middle of the night, who knows, maybe you can get everything done in one night. Wouldn’t that be great!

Make up a list of specific gifts for everyone and stick to that list. If you know what you are looking for, chances are it will be that much easier to find. Set a maximum price for each gift and stick to that, also. Try not to use a credit card. Those little plastic cards will get you into a financial bind. Try to work within your budget. If you can stick to the budget, you’ll be that much happier on December 26th.

If you are shopping online, make sure to check out this site: http://www.couponcabin.com and http://www.currentcodes.com/ Also, do a google search of “coupon codes” (without the quote marks) and you’ll find promotional codes for lots of terrific sites.

I hope these tips help with your shopping and keep your stress level down. Remember to stop, relax a little and enjoy the season.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Landlord Ed Peirce refused to evict his tenants.  Instead, he got a job.  This is a beautiful story of kindness and mercy.

This chicken tenders picadillo sounds yummy and simple.  I might give this recipe a try some time soon.

I’ve had fruit pizza before and now I have the recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.  The pictures make the pizza look too pretty to eat.

To get educated about tea shopping, check out these 10 healing herbs used in teas.

Some days I can get a lot done and other days I feel so distracted or unmotivated. Hopefully, these 33 ways to get and keep yourself motivated will help.

Since I am the Thrifty Mommy, I’m known for saving money.  This tutorial, How to Make Your Own Granola sounds like a great way to save.

If you’re at a loss for space, check out these creative storage ideas at Apartment Therapy.

If you’ve found any great tips or articles, feel free to leave a link.

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My mouth is watering from just looking at these brownies from How to Cook Like Your Grandmother.  I don’t remember my grandmother making anything that looked this good.

These tea party flower sandwiches are so darling. So cute and dainty. These are perfect for a tea party with my little girl.

This short video of a kid parking his toy car will bring a smile to your face.

Nicole at Making it Lovely has organized her closet.  I am so impressed with her system.  After seeing this though, I am feeling a little sad about my pitiful clothes collection.

With the seasons changing, many people are complaining of allergies and sinus problems.  If you have a sinus infection or if you want to prevent one, you might want to try this inexpensive solution.

I’m a fan of Chinese food, especially sesame chicken.  Dexie’s sesame chicken recipe sounds delicious. The pictures are wonderful too.

Which articles are you enjoying?  Leave a link below.

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I know the title of this is “Links I’m Enjoying”.  I don’t enjoy family profiling, but I found Marye’s article very interesting and upsetting.  Check out Green Is as Green Does: Can a Large Family Be Eco-Friendly?.

I’m a bit of a tightwad, so I enjoyed reading about a cheap dessert, Depression Style Rice Tarts, at Baking Delights.

Fall is my favorite season so these Centerpieces with a Vegetable Theme at She Knows Parties made me smile. 

I’ve heard of making your own laundry detergent, but Trent at Simple Dollar has gone above and beyond.  He has a very thorough explanation of making laundry detergent, complete with pictures and video.

Snickers is one of my favorite candy bars.  So the thought of homemade snickers sounds wonderful but honestly I don’t think I’d trust myself with that much snickers in the house.

The thought of mixing veggies in with my chocolate doesn’t sound like something I’d normally do, but Christine at Boston Mamas enjoys creating dishes and making them a bit healthier.  Her chocolate zucchini cake looks yummy and sneaking veggies into the kids cake sounds like a win-win to me.

Have you found any interesting recipes or homemaking tips around the web?  Feel free to share the link here.  Happy browsing!

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Easy Patriotic Dessert Recipes

Too Many T-Shirts? Transform Them!

Recycle Your Old Books

5 Ways to Save Money on Kids’ Party Decorations

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Pork & Veggies Kabobs

A Simple Raspberry Sauce

How to Freeze Blueberries

Southwestern Style Potato Salad

Deep Fried Mash Potatoes

How to Make Paper Floofs for Your Party

How to Make a French Fry Cake

Enjoy! 

Do you have any links to add?

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Cindy at My Recycled Bags has recycled old t-shirts to make a really cute purse.

Erika at CraftStylish shows how to make tote bags from vintage bed sheets.

Mornings with Mom has a tasty looking homemade apple crisp that she says is quick and easy to make.

This newspaper hut is pretty cool.  Be sure to bookmark this for those summer days when the kids are bored out of their minds.  Whip out this idea and your kids will probably call you “the coolest mom ever”.

During the summer, my husband and I enjoy using our fresh tomatoes to make tomato casserole.  Michelle Smith also has a recipe for Greek tomato pie. 

Charity & the JAMband have seven songs that you can download for free.  Thrifty Mommy has more information about this.

For those of you that like to make handmade gifts, you might like this tutorial on making watermelon soaps.

I have a pot rack that hangs from my ceiling above my kitchen island.  I had never seen one that hangs on the side of your cabinets until I saw this DIY Simple, Modern Pot Rack tutorial.

I hope you enjoy these ideas.  If you have a recipe, cleaning tips, craft, etc, please leave your link in the comments.  Thanks.  Have a great weekend!

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I’m craving burritos since reading about these Brown Bag Burritos at The Finer Things in Life.  I need to find the time to make some of these and freeze them for quick meals.

A few years ago, I could have used this recipe for frugal potting soil.  I had some flower beds to build up and fill with dirt.  I remember buying the cheap potting soil and even then, it was pretty expensive.

Summer is just around the corner and that means cook outs with baked beans.  Passionate homemaking has a recipe for homemade baked beans.  I’m looking forward to getting another freezer so that I can begin to make large batches of foods to freeze.

These bacon wrapped hotdogs would go great with the homemade baked beans.  It’s time to fire up the grill.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my balance between computer life and home life.  It is a daily struggle.  How much time is too much?  Homemaker Barbi has part 1, part 2, and part 3 of Crystal’s interview.  

Hope you enjoy the links.  Do you have any homemaking links to share?  Please leave them below.

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Sandy has posted about a free subscription to Organic Gardening.  Hurry before they’re all gone!

FamilyLife Culture has an article on How NOT to Treat Your Mate.  All of us could probably use a reminder in these areas.

Each Easter, I look forward to buying a package of Peeps marshmallows.  Thig & Thistle has come up with a recipe for making your own.  You might want to bookmark this recipe for next year.

Melanie gives new meaning to naturally dyed eggs.  These eggs are beautiful!

I thought this list of wacky pet names was cute. Enjoy a smile or two.

These “pickled worms” would make a nice and funny treat or gift.

I’ve been saving all of our empty peanut butter jars and now I’m looking for cute crafts using the jars.  Any suggestions?

image by Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I have a weakness for sweets.  This Pomegranate Layer Cake at Baking Delights looks yummy.

Last year, my husband and I planted some tomato and pepper plants.  It was nice to have fresh veggies around and it definitely saved on our grocery bill.  Peggy gives us some reasons to start a veggie garden.

I’m all for saving time in the kitchen and making easy recipes.  Noble Pig gives us Cheater’s Key Lime Pie and The Lazy Cook’s Baklava.

After seeing The Spite House, my house seems rather large.  It was built in 1830 and is only 7 feet wide.  Thankfully, this is not the owner’s primary residence.

If you’re looking for a less traditional way to display your photos, then you might want to try these glass jar frames.  It puts old jars to good use.

Haywood’s Meadow has a great idea for recycling clothing into field bags and purses.  These are pretty cute.

Stephanie is quite busy growing tomatoes in her tub and trying to grow potatoes.  Last year’s potatoes didn’t do so well.  We’ll see what happens this year.  All this talk of gardens has me itching to plant some things.

Have you found any interesting links lately or have you written any articles that you’re particularly proud of?  Please leave them below.

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Post from: Keeping the Castle

Marye’s goat had babies over the weekend.  She just put up some new pictures and they are so cute!  I live out in the country and this has me thinking about getting some animals.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day.  Here are some unconventional ways to celebrate.

Did you know that’s it’s American Chocolate Week?  Hooray for one of my favorite foods!  Stop by Chocolate Bytes for some tasty recipes and info about chocolate.

A Healthy Balance has freebies posted each Friday.  Stop by and see what you can get for free.

Did you know that Dora the Explorer is changing?  Yes, she’s growing up.  It’s different, but she’s cute.  So long as she’s modest and doesn’t look sassy like those Bratz dolls.

Are you thinking about having a yard sale this spring or summer?  Before you do, you might want to check out these 30 yard sale tips.

It’s important to stay connected with those I care about.  I use email and phone calls a lot to stay in touch.  Notb4coffee has another idea for staying connected.

What links are you enjoying?

image from pecanknollfarm.com

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