image credit Guest Post by Kari Patterson Months ago I printed SPRING CLEANING across this week in my calendar. I've looked forward to it for months. No, don't love cleaning, but I do love having cleaned. I love having a home of peace, order, and beauty. Not perfect, not spotless, but fresh and fun. I feel happier when things are reasonably clean and as my husband says, “A happy wife is a happy life.” Now here's the thing -- I don't think any of us love cleaning, so how can we make the whole thing more enjoyable? For me, I feel better about my cleaning when I feel better about my cleaners. A simple switch to natural, homemade household Keep Reading
Vegetarian menu ideas
Vegetarian Menu Ideas As promised, here is a double menu plan for those of you who are interested in adding some meatless meals into your week. Whether you pick one day or a whole week, I hope you'll feel inspired with all the filling, satisfying meals to choose from. There are tons of options. Also, if you are trying to ease your family into the whole more-vegetables-less-meat mode, don't make it too hard on yourself at the beginning. Think about all the things that you are already serving where the meat wouldn't be missed too much. Burritos, stir fry, spaghetti, or pizza are all good places to start. Here are a couple tried-and-true meatless Keep Reading
Less Meat, More Vegetables (and grocery money…)
image credit My husband and I are documentary film nerds. We have more on our Netflix queue than new releases. We have watched documentaries on everything from hay bale houses to high wire walkers to quadriplegic rugby teams. There is some strange and fascinating stuff going on in the world. The topics that impact our daily life the most, however, revolve around food. Watching these documentaries, along with other sources, has changed the way we view and buy and eat our food. One of the biggest changes we have made over the last two years is to significantly cut back on the amount of meat we are eating. It started out as one of our monthly Keep Reading
Making Lemonade in December
image credit We all know the familiar saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This is all fine and dandy in the summertime, but who wants lemonade in December? Not me. I want sugar and spice and everything nice. At least that has been my attitude lately. Leave the crummy stuff for the other eleven months out of the year. December is supposed to be this magical month where nothing goes wrong... right? My little family is in month four of living with my parents, and my husband is in week two of recovering from gum surgery. Our stockings are buried in a storage unit instead of hung by the chimney with care, and my husband is just Keep Reading
Frugal Homemaking for December
DIY Wreath & Bow Making Did you miss out on your local wreath fundraiser this year? No worries. Make your own! Follow these simple wreath and bow making directions. As you know, you could easily drop a serious wad of cash on holiday decorations. Try this: skip the craft stores and shop your closets and backyard instead. Combining the great outdoors with items you already own is a beautiful, frugal option for decorating your home. Fill pitchers or vases with tiny tangerines, use fresh cranberries or small nuts in candleholders, or pile large pomegranates on a cake stand. Tuck greens on shelves or arrange branches in large vases. Candles, Keep Reading
{Simple Recipe} White Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies
Make these easy cookies for your next holiday party or gift package. Red Velvet White Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe & picture from Whipper Berry Ingredients 1 box red velvet cake mix 1 cup all purpose flour 2 sticks butter (softened) 1 egg 2 cups white chocolate chunks (also on sale at Fred Meyer) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy. Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely. Add white chocolate chunks, and mix for a minute or so until well combined. Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. (Yields 24 small Keep Reading
Herd Mentality Spending
image credit As a kid, my dad spent his summers working on his grandparent's ranch. His stories about the sheep have always fascinated me. They tend to move in a herd, not always in a logical or rational way. When one sheep makes a move, the herd often follows, without a clear reason or direction. Sometimes the results are humorous, other times they are tragic. I'm not a big fan of crowds, but I have an unnatural love for Black Friday. I think it's fun to be in the middle of all the rush and energy and craziness. But Black Friday and all the holiday shopping that follows can also lead to a budgeting disaster. For example, 5 am on Black Friday Keep Reading
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