Handmade by Grandma!

This is a little dress that E's grandmother made for her. I love it! Summer dresses are too cute, even if it isn't that warm outside. :)

Week of Food; Cake

Well, it wouldn't be a week of food if I didn't post chocolate cake of some sort, right? Well, since it's L's birthday tomorrow, I made this cake per his request. It's just chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting (I'm noticing a theme this week). Yummy, yummy!! This is probably the most amazing cake we have ever had... can't wait to get a slice tonight!

Food and Frugality

As this week is devoted to all things food, the topic of eating healthful meals on the cheap is something I think a lot about. Sometimes it seems like healthy and cheap are polar opposites, especially now that we have a kiddo to think about. Over the past year or so, our eating habits have definitely changed for the better, but we still have further to go. A few years ago we spent very little on produce, and would spend much of my shopping trip in the middle aisles of the store. Now I hardly go to the middle aisles unless we're out of the staples.

We are willing to spend a little more on food if it's healthy food, but there is a line that needs to be drawn at some point, right? Here are some ways we've tried to keep food healthy on the cheap, and some ways I *wish* I could.

1. Cutting out pre-packaged foods and cooking from scratch. Now all meal, desserts, etc. are done by hand. It is more time consuming this way, but it's a relief knowing what's (and what's not) in your food.

2. Going meatless or nearly meatless as often as possible. I'm almost willing to become vegetarian just to save the cash. I'd LOVE to switch over to all natural, organic meat, but it's SO expensive. One way would be to incorporate meat sparingly. Anyway, less meat often means less cost.

3. I have been pretty lucky to find produce (strawberries, green peppers, mango, bananas, avocado) when it's marked down, almost ready to be tossed. I take the produce home and freeze it. Thank God for our little chest freezer.

4. Soup, soup and more soup. Actually we're not soup lovers (despite my last post), but I try to incorporate it every now and then. It's cheap and healthy for you. I should do it more.

5. Buying oatmeal in bulk. We're trying to cut down/out cereal (now only L eats it regularly), and oatmeal is a great alternative.

6. Buying what is on sale, as far as produce goes. Use frozen fruits/veggies whenever possible.

7. U-pick farms. I'm looking forward to picking our own fruit in bulk and freezing for the rest of the year when the fruit is more expensive and not as tasty.

8. Cooking what's in our refrigerator before it goes back. I'm still working on this one.

9. Drinking more water and less juice/soda/dairy. It's free this way.

10. Being more creative with meals - also something I'm just starting to get the hang of. Using what's on hand as a substitution as opposed to running to the store.

I feel like we're getting there, but it takes much more meal planning and list writing than before, and well, organization is not my forte. :) Thankfully as a stay at home mom, I can spend a little more time in the kitchen, preparing food for the family. :)

Day Three: Soup and Sandwich

Wednesdays are busy around our house, as we have Bible Study at our house. Generally this means that I'm trying to get the house clean with a kiddo wanting to "help", and then the trick: keeping it clean. Dinners are generally pretty quick meals or made ahead of time.

Today we're having tomato and dill soup and grilled cheese sandwich on sprouted grain bread. I had tomato and dill soup at Jullienne Tomatoes.

It was amazing. I hadn't had tomato soup in years, and typically I never order soup in a restaurant, but this completely inspired me to make some at home. Now L isn't a huge fan of tomato-anything, but he was sweet enough to agree to having the soup tonight.

This soup is not as good as the restaurant's take on it, but it'll do. It's a little acidic for my taste, so I'll probably add a little sugar to it, and maybe a little cheese.

Day Two: Simple Pleasures

I've been craving lemonade for weeks, but didn't act on the craving until yesterday. Oh, my goodness... it was SO good. This was the first time I attempted to make lemonade from lemons I squeezed myself, and boy, it's much better this way.

Week of Food: Day One

Food helps make the world go round. :) Food is a lovely thing, so I'm going to honor the tastiness with a week of different foods that make me go " yummmmm". :)

I found strawberries on an incredible sale yesterday, so I bought a couple of containers (now I wish that I had bought more). Since it was Mother's Day, we sprung for some heavy whipping cream. Oh, my goodness... the yumminess of strawberries and homemade whipped cream is just divine.
The kiddo certainly enjoyed the strawberries and cream, too. :)

Springtime Rainy Days

I much prefer sunny days to rainy ones, especially since E will stand at the door and cry to go outside even if it's pouring. Ummm... sometimes I wish we owned a rain jacket and boots, so she could splash in the puddles and sometimes I'm happy to tell her "no, we need to stay dry."

And in rainy day "fun", I was completely inspired to clean and organize. Of course this doesn't happen often for me, so I tried to keep going without taking long breaks, in fear that this urge would leave. My house looks amazing right now... well as amazing as this rental place can get. Now if only it could stay this way FOREVER.

Lately I've been feeling the urge to buy a house. Hmmm... not good, because we're completely happy with this place in our lives. I'm glad that we can make our rent payment and not have to worry about utilities, lawn maintenance, broken appliances, etc. So, in an effort to squelch this desire, I'm focusing more on our little place and making it feel like home (which it really does feel like home, even moreso than our last rental which was larger and "nicer" according to some family and friends). Next task? Painting our bedroom, I think. It's really a dreadful color right now with a terrible border. Why do people put borders on their walls?! I HATE peeling them off.

In the spirit of spring, I bought some cheap yellow tulips when I was at the grocery store. I'm in love with them, and now yellow tulips may be one of my favorite flowers. Maybe God created flowers to make us smile and feel more alive?

I'm hoping to get some flowers planted outside in the next few weeks. It seems that E should like to garden at some level given her name, right? Shouldn't be too difficult, since that's where she seems to be the happiest.

Anyway, the kiddo is walking around in circles and loving it. I think I might join in on the fun.