I feel like I blinked and all the sudden the leaves are off the trees, the temperatures have dropped, and the holidays are here. October and November just disappeared. Is this what happens when you get older? I have no memory. I do have plans, though, so here we go. I am finally getting around to roasting and pureeing my poor neglected pumpkins. The lazy part of me wants to let them sit on the porch until they turn into mushy orange blobs that will get scooped into the compost pile. The frugal homemaker in me can't let that happen. I will lose sleep until they are converted into bags of frozen pumpkin goodness that will turn into scones and Keep Reading
Frugal Homemaking for November
What’s for dinner? This week’s menu plan (11/19)
Menu planning before and after Thanksgiving is not easy for me. I always have a hard time mustering the motivation to think of anything but stuffing and pumpkin pie. Then I'm surprised when my family is hungry on... Tuesday? Wait, guys, don't you know Thanksgiving is on Thursday? Can't we all just wait until then? Ah well, I'm going to be a step ahead of my little family this year and have dinner plans in place before and after our huge Thanksgiving spread. Here's what's for dinner at my house this week: Monday -- Sweet Potato Pancakes, scrambled eggs, Freezer Applesauce Tuesday -- Quinoa Patties, Kale Market Salad, Roasted Butternut Keep Reading
HOBO Lauren Wallet on sale $64! (regularly $110)
I love, love, love my HOBO Lauren Vintage Wallet and Amazon has it for around $64! What? $60! I know, that is a lot for a wallet. But it's functional, well-made and will last a long time. When I purchase something I plan to use everyday, I want to use it for at least 5-10 years. I'm not the type to cycle through with the fashions. I want something that is efficient and well made. The HOBO Lauren Vintage Wallet is just that. It's Italian leather with well built clasps and efficient use of space. It can be a wallet OR a purse. There is plenty of room to stash my cell phone in a side pocket but it's not too big to take up a bunch of room in a small Keep Reading
Welcome Box Update: Thank you, FLNW readers!
Last week, many of you stopped by one of our four Welcome Box drop-off sites and donated bags of toiletries, art supplies, toys, and snacks for kids entering foster care. Some of you even gave finished boxes packed with fantastic items. Thank you! We added your donations to some large donations from local churches and bulging bags from other individuals. By the time everything was gathered into one place, we had small mountains covering five different tables. A bunch of my friends got together on Friday, sorting and organizing these items into finished Welcome Boxes. Many of our children jumped in, filling boxes right alongside their Keep Reading
Easy Vegetable Pizza and Apple Monkey Bread using refrigerated rolls
As you know, I am a big believer in cooking food from scratch whenever possible. Making homemade biscuits, rolls, or pie crusts has become part of my normal cooking routine. So when my husband opened our refrigerator last week and saw six cans of refrigerated dough sitting on the shelves, he was a bit surprised. "Whoa! What is this world coming to?" I'm not sure, but I think I might like it. I recently had the opportunity to bake with two of Great Value's baking products: crescent rolls and biscuits. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the challenge and appreciated the time savings of working with refrigerated doughs. More on that next Keep Reading
What’s for dinner? This week’s gluten-free menu plan (11/12)
Menu Plan by Laurie Just a tiny bit of background information: three members of our little family of four (soon to be five!) are Gluten Intolerant. So I buy my husband his own bread and cereal, and basically everything else that comes into our house & out of my kitchen is Gluten Free. I have learned (over the years) many ways to adapt "regular" food to G.F, and I really don't get any complaints from my husband (and my kids just think this is normal as it's the way they've always eaten), so I think what we eat is pretty acceptable, even if one does not follow a G.F. diet. Enough about my issues, on to the menu! Here's what's for dinner at Keep Reading
Inexpensive birthday party ideas from the Dollar Tree
Do you have a birthday coming up? Ready to celebrate, but don't want to break the bank? My absolute favorite birthday party supply store is my local Dollar Tree! Not only do they have cheap party supplies, but they have an incredible selection for any type of celebration. My son, Matthew's third birthday was last month. We were headed to Great Wolf Lodge in the afternoon, but we wanted to have his party before we hit the road, so we kept it small -- just the family plus Grandma. The day before the party I hit the Dollar Tree and gave myself a $8 party budget -- one stop shopping plus paying less than a $10 bill? What could be better? Here's Keep Reading