Though I like to make big dinners for my family once in a while, the majority of the time I’d rather not spend more than I have to, and this is even more true when times are lean!

I really like this blog I stumbled across a while ago called $5 Dinners. Each week Erin posts a menu plan and then throughout the week she provides the recipes. Though this isn’t ideal for those of us who shop for dinner ingredients a week or two ahead of time, it works if you use the ideas a week or so behind.
The writing …read more

I’ve kept this shirt for 4 years because I am waiting . . .
for my torso to shrink
or the shirt to lengthen 2 inches.
I’ve got this crazy entitlement issue with my shirts. I feel I should be allowed to move my arms without showing my stomach.
The one with the pink scarf too. My mother bought them for me and it feels ungrateful to admit they don’t fit. What’s the statute of limitations on this?
My torso not only has to shrink for the striped one to fit, but my boobs do too. I’m holding out because shrinking boobs …read more

Where do you do your reading? Admit it, sometimes it’s in the john, if only because that’s the room with a lock on the door. Or perhaps the tub. When I’m having bowel issues a good book or magazine always helps me relax.
I’ve turned my entire bathroom into a library. The haphazard way of just putting books and magazines on the back of the toilet was driving me crazy. So, I added a magazine rack next to the toilet paper roll holder.
But, the part I love most about my library/restroom is the wallpaper. It’s the pages of a real vintage book. I …read more

I realized my daughter is starting Kindergarten in September and there will be this mad rush for school clothes.
I can’t really understand why kids need a whole new wardrobe for school. I mean, kids get clothes all year long these days right? It’s not like in my Grandma’s day when she saved up enough to buy her children two pairs of shoes a year, for school and Easter Sunday.
I went garage sailing and picked up about all she’ll need for about $12. I’m not about to blow a couple of hundred dollars for this consumerist tradition. I picked up a …read more

 I went out to Pier One and bought a ton of new furniture this weekend. NOT!
Actually, I scored a sturdy entertainment center at the Goodwill for $20. It was an ugly cream faux-wood color but it has great Zack-proofing storage so he couldn’t get into all the electronics.
Bought a $25 gallon of black paint – never skimp on the paint or it will look like crap – and painted the ugly stained-up end tables I was already using to match. Borrowed the primer from a friend who already had some – always prime or sand or the paint will peel off and …read more