Saving on your landscape!

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, Todd owns a lawn and landscaping business. So thankfully for me, that means free labor for boosting curb appeal (which also boosts your property value). But really, landscaping is easy and anyone can do it. So much easier than most DIY projects like learning to hang drywall. The biggest money saver though is buying young plants at places like Lowes and Home Depot. They have a yr warrenty (so save your reciept) and in just a few years, it'll look just as good as the plants you want to pay 4X as much for at the nursery! Here is a prime example!

This was the picture in the listing for our house. It had sat on the market empty for close to a year! It was UGLY! Original landscape from 1979 and hadn't beentouched since then. The beds wre overgrown, no mulch had been laid, even the weeping cherry was growing into the roof of the house! This was March 2007.

That same weekend we started removing the landscaping because it was just so ugly. That July, we gave the house a fresh coat of paint, got some new shutters and new lighting. We also took down the giant tree. Then in Oct 2007, after any threat of drought had passed, we put in the new landscape. We watched out for end of the year auctions and got some killer deals on a few plants. We also found hostas and daylillies for free on Craigslist. Note how small the plants in the landscape were at the time we planted them! But we had faith!

This is our landscape now, just two and a half years later. And this is after a good pruning where Todd cut everything back to size. The trees, both the weeping cherry and maple are doing great. The daylillies and hostas are already going to have to be divided this coming fall ad the hollys are growing tons of berries now. The privets along the garage were going crazy but considering they can be used for privacy, we cut then back quite considerably to keep them from getting overgrown.

An addition this spring was the small retaining wall around the weeping cherry. This fall we hope to get a nice size bed built around the maple tree extending towards the front left corner of the house.

Our First Garden

I've wanted a garden for years and finally the timing was right. We started falling in love with fresh from the garden vegtables last year after tending our neighbors garden for two weeks while they went to Florida. We also saw the joy Luke got from picking the tomatoes. We figured now was a perfect time to give gardening a shot! I did a lot of reading and decided the Square Foot Garden method seemed to be most kind to beginners. Todd still has a very "half cup empty" outlook on this whole garden thing, so I'm really hoping we get some beautiful produce from it!

Here is our three raised beds. Two on the ends are 4'x4' and the one in the middle is 3'x6'. Todd made them from composite decking leftover from our deck project last fall. They turned out great! And the grids were made from the roping we used to measure of the deck as well, so another free item w had around the house! I ordered most of our seeds from Seed Saver Exchange, but I must admit I never got around to starting seeds indoors. Being pregnant with #3 has me totally worn out. So I did have to buy a few seedlings from the local garden center, but all in all, we're still on plan.


Bed #1 on May 1st. This bed is planted with Amish snap peas, strawberries, Longfellow cucumbers, spinach and lettuce. I also have a border of dill and oregano by the cucumber, thyme by the strawberries, and marigolds by the peas. These are supposed to naturally ward off harmful bugs and disease.



Bed #2 is now a disaster and needs to be replanted....hence the reason I'm using photos from May 1st! This bed contained sweet onions, red onions, shallots, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. There is a border of oregano around the cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli, a dill border by the onions and broccoli, and rosemary by the cauliflower. Problem? I got a little cocky. Our neighbors have had gardens for years and had no problem with animals eating the seedlings. So, I figured why go to the extra effort, it'll be fine! Wrong! Sometime between Friday and Saturday, a rabbit ate all the broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage! Some of it is totally gone, some is just the stems eaten all the way to the soil. Not even sure if it's worth replanting these at this point with the temperatures getting warmer. But I can tell you....chicken wire is being wrapped around every single bed this week! I'm not opening a buffet line for nature!



Bed #3 still needs to be finished, but will eventually be planeted with carrots, lettuce, golden zuchinni, Kentucky Wonder pole beans, empress beans, Black Beauty eggplant, and more garlic. This bed also has a border of marigolds by the eggplant.

We still have a lot to do not only for our vegtable garden but also the gardening for all my flowers around the house, so this weeks to do list is rather long. I hope my energy returns as I cruise into second trimester towards the end of this week.

TO DO:
-put chicken wire around all beds
-make trellis out of cow panel or cement rebar for peas, beans, and cucumber
-set up trelis along house for pumpkins, melons, and more zuchinni
-drill holes in galvanized tubs/rubbermaid tub/strawberry buckets for drainage
-finish planting in bed #3, containers, strawberry bucket, potatoes in rubbermaid tub and along house
-put flowers in planters and hanging baskets around the house (thankfully I bought these all over the weekend, just need to plant them!)

Finally, a use for leftover taco meat!

Our family always manages to always have a little taco meat leftover, no matter how much I cook. I've recently stuck with 1 lb just because it's easy. I usually have about 1/4 lb left, which I throw in a frezer bag and it gets lost never to be seen again. So I'm always looking for ways to use it on something within a few days, but not something that is TOO similar to tacos.

Todd said he was in the mood for pizza, so into the kitchen I went searching for some kind of pizza to make. Low and behold, my taco pizza was born.

Crust is just a Betty Crocker pre packaged mix since I had it on hand, but any crust would do.

Sauce: 1 6 oz can tomoato paste, 3/4 cup water, 3/4 of a 1.25 oz package of taco seasoning, 1 tsp hili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder - mix all together and set to the side

Beans layer: mix 1 16 oz can refried beans, 1/3 cup salsa, and 1/4 cup finely chopped onions

Then begin to layer...crust, tomato/taco sauce layer, bean layer, crumbled leftover taco meat, some black olives if you have them left over from tacos, and some shredded mexican cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 min!

After done baking, we also drizzled it with thinned sour cream and some fresh green onion, but it's optional.

This recipe is enough for two pizzas but we would never need that much. Instead we used it for lunch the next day...layer of cream cheese, bean mixture, tomato/taco sauce, meat, cheese and olives. Makes a great dip for tortilla chips!

We're ready for spring!

Luke clearly is ready for some warm weather. This weekend, after having the stomach flu run it's course through our house, Luke told me it was time to go out and play. He must have taken his clothes off as he was playing in his room and then came to me with cowboy boots, Todd's winter hat, and holding his mittens saying it was "time for the fresh air mom!" He actually didn't have undies on the first time he came and asked, but I made him put some on and ask me again, HAD to take some photos for daddy!

He also picked out sunglasses that would be "pwetty on Brookey mom" while we were at the Carter's Outlet. Of course the second we got home, he said he needed them for the bright sun. Did anyone else besides him see sun on Sunday? Yeah...I didn't think so...


We did manage to get Brooke's nursery complete though this dreary weekend. Yeah, yeah, I know, this should have been done, oh, 9 months ago or more! Haha! And if I was even half a mom I would have gotten it done BEFORE her pictures in the nursery, but no, couldn't get that done either. Oh well, it is finally 100% finished!

Here is a good picture of the tissue paper poms I got from http://www.etsy.com/. The store is called Pros to th Host. I'm so going to be getting some of these for Brooke's first birthday party! SOOO cute!

And here's a closeup of the name art I made from scrapbook paper and framed with cheap frames from Kohls. They are hanging behind her crib.


These two photos are on either side of the window in Brooke's room. They aren't the greatest, but I needed something I coul get done in about 10 min while both kids somehow managed to nap at the same time. Todd woudn't let me spend any money so I already had these frames and scrapbook paper laying in the closet. The first is a bird on a branch and the second is supposed to be "mod" flowers that match the crib bedding. Not bad for free hand from the world's most uncrafty person! Haha!




I also have a few recipes to share. Todd and I were going through some old photos this week while we were all sick and came across some of our all time favorite recipes from this summer. I don't think I ever had time to share either of them, so I thought I'd do it now...maybe to get everyone motivated to start the seeds for their gardens soon! ;P

Anyway, the first recipe is a Grilled Eggplant Panini. The recipe can be found here: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/08/grilled-eggplant-panini-with-rosemary-garlic-aioli.html

We saw this recipe and just happened to have almost everything on hand. Our neighbors garden was overflowin with eggplant, zucchini and tomoatoes so we just had to try this out. Messy, BUT wonderful! We cannot wait for the first eggplant this season!

We served the panini with grilled broccoli (recipe below) and "fried" eggplant. Th fried eggplant was a little heavy with everything else, but I can't wait to make it again, this time as the main dish! All you do is slice the eggplant as thin as you can. Shake with a little salt an place on paper towels to get out as much water was possible. Then mix about a cup of mayo with a little lemon juice and some seasoning. We used a little seasoned salt. Then dip the eggplant into the mayo to cover all sides, then dredge in italian bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20 min, flip, and bake for 25 min more. Serve with a little warmed marinara sauce. SO good!

As for the grilled broccoli, this is a staple in our house. I'd never heard of this until my father in law started grilling all kinds of veggies. All you do is grab a square of foil, cut up a large head of broccoli, add a few tablespoons of butter and season with a littl garlic salt. Fold it up so none of the butter can leak out and then place on the grill for about 20-30 min depending on how hot you are cooking other items on the grill.

We made out at the Gap sale!

We ended up with a pretty heft haul at Gap yesterday for their 45% off sale! Even though there was a major winter snowstorm on it's way in, we trudged out in the snow, credit card in hand!

We got there about 20 min after they opened and boy am I glad we went early. Within 20 min or so, it got insanley packed! Todd found himself a pair of work pants for only $3 (!!!) as well as 3 pairs of jeans for around $15. I got Brooke a few of the favorites I've been drooling over on the internet for spring, as well as a pair of plain white Robeez sandals that will match many outfits this spring/summer. I got the most stuff for Luke for next fall. He got several pairs of shoes/boots, a book bag for preschool, and several shirts. I did pick up two pairs of pants for myself, but both just don't fit right, especially for $25 still. I'd rather get a pair from (gasp) JCPenney's for half the price. Sorry, I have a lot of love for the Worthington Wear pants for work!

Anyway, here is a few pictures of the kids in their new clothes:

I also bought about a bag full of sale extras to sell of Ebay. My "strategy" was to pick things that there was only one left of, thinking it was probably a popular item! Seems like it worked pretty well. I've started listing things on Gymbofriends and I've sold quite a few, but the only thing I'm getting from that is rewards and points towards silver. I didn't add any extra for them. Tomorrow I plan on listing on ebay and starting my bid at the price I paid. If they buy it for that amount, great, if they pay more, added bonus!

Our frugal dinner...

We got another surprise bill tonight...$241 at Gymboree that I thought was part of last month's $500 bill. Oppps! Yeah, this is a great example of how I got WAY off track on meeting our savings goals. And just because I needed to use my Gymbucks (aka, I bought $500 worth and got $250 off, plus another 5% off) is no excuse. I shouldn't have spent that much period on just part of Brooke's spring waredrobe!

I hate grocery shopping because it's one of the biggest budget items for us. I also hate grocery shopping because it feels like it never ends. Every Thursday I start thinking about it again. I'll write a list of what we have on hand and I'll try to mingle that with sale ads and coupons, but a lot of times I fall into the trap of seeing a recipe that looks delicious, and it might use up the chicken we have in the freezer, but then I need to buy 5 things to make the recipe. We also fall into the trap of quick snack items, especially for the kids.

My solution, a month long menu, well in our case it went from Sunday to March 18th, the day we leave for our Gatlinburg vacation, so about 33 days. We're going to try not to eat out or get carry out, not even for lunch, that entire time. AND we're going to try to stay under $50 every two weeks which is a BIG goal for us considering we have been spending about $150 every week.

I will post my monthly menu soon, but tonight's meal was frugal AND delicious, so I had to share. Our locally owned grocer had chicken leg quarters on sale for $.49/lb. I was able to get 6lbs (6 leg quarters - which is basically the drumstick and thigh I believe) for around $3. Last night I boiled them in some water and taco seasoning (I made a big batch of homeade seasoning since our family loves tacos). I then shredded all the chicken off the bone. I put 1/3 aside for tacos tonight and divided the other 2/3 into freezer bags, one for chicken tacos in the future and one for chicken tortilla soup next week. I then saved the chicken broth for both tonights spanish rice and next weeks tortilla soup saving me about $4 from two large boxed chicken broth.

For tonights dinner, I just tossed the shreded chicken in a skillet with more taco seasoning and just a tad of water. I also threw in a little corn to make it stratch a bit. We just threw that on some small soft taco flour tortillas we found at GFS for under $2 for 50 of them, topped them with chopped tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, a few packets of Taco Bell sauce I found in the fridge and a little sour cream.

As I side, I made spanish rice. I had remembered a recipe my brother had to make for his 4th grade class...a rice with tomatoes and bacon. For years I've tried to recreate it, but the second I laid eyes on this, I knew this was it. You have to check out this recipe at http://oneplusoneequalssix.blogspot.com/2009/06/spanish-rice.html. Added bonus...I've had two giant bags of long grain white rice sitting in my pantry for a long time, but never knew what to make with it. Pathetic huh? I'm a minute rice kinda gal. But this recipe not only used the rice (only 1 cup made a HUGE pot), but it also used up green onions I had for later this week, chicken stock I made last night, and a leftover can of diced tomatoes from dinner last night.

***These are borrowed pictures from the internet. Brooke was *dying* of strarvation, so I rushed to the table to feed her before I had time to snap pictures!***

Kids clothes...

I've only been shopping for kids clothes for about three years, but I finally think I've figured out the best way to save money. You know the old saying "it takes money to make money?" Well, I take that saying to heart! Well, not really making money, but maybe saving money.

Anyway, in the past, I've always been good about shopping clearence racks, buying ahead, buying used clothes, etc. BUT, almost everything I bought was just a single item. For boys, it was fine most of the time because pretty much anything matched a pair of jeans or khaki pants, but for Brooke this just hasn't been working out! Do you seriously know how many shades of pink there are or how hard it is to find plain jeans for girls without hearts or flowers embroiderd on them?!?!?

I recently joined a messag forum called Gymbofriends and started "educating" myself. My first thought was a bunch of prissy moms who blow money on their kids clothes. But I figured I coud scoop up the deals by buying their used clothes that were to small. But what I didn't know was all the coupon/sale savvy moms on that site. With the knowledge I've learned on that site, I am hoping to break even from now on as far as the kids clothes and a few items I might actually make money on! I first sarted buying Brooke's spring/summer clothes during the Gymboree Rd Balon Sale. Everything was $6.99 and under plus I used a 20% off coupon. I also got 5% off for using my Gymboree credit card and recived $25 in Gymbucks for every $50 I spent. I was able to sell those on Ebay for $5/$25 Gymbuck. I also bought a few extras and sold them on ebay. One dress was bought for about $4 and went for $25! Crazy! And the resale for these outfits are great. I should get back at least what I paid for these items after she's done wearing them.

Then the Old Navy Baby sale came around. I only got the kids a few things, $4 sweat shorts for Luke, brown thong sandals for Luke, and oxford shirt, anda dress for Brooke. I also got myself a pair of pants for work at 40% off. On top of the already reduced prices, I got free shipping for spending $50, $10 off with the THANKYOU code, and an extra 15% off. I ended up getting 9 things for $45!

Gap has always been my favorite brand for Luke but I just haven't seen that great of sales s I've been buying most of this spring/summer waredrobe online, through Gymbofriends or ebay, or in store at Once Upon a Child and Moms Market. I also bought him two pairs of jeans during their buy one, get one for $10 jeans sale yesterday because I coulld use a 25% off coupon in conjunction with it. $30 for two pairs of jeans isn't too bad.

But lo and behold, Gap is now having a ridiculously good sale tomorrow, 45% off for cardholders!!!!! That is like insane considering it'll sell used for about the same amount! I'm so excited to not only get a few things for Todd and I, but also to get a few things for Brooke. Luk may get another shirt or two, and another pair of flip flops, but that's it!

Another HUGE tip I've learned is buying things in outfits! For resale purposes, this is HUGE, but it also is nice for planning purposes. I've started keeping complete outfits in the kids closets in those canvas shoe cubbies. I don't always get the kids dressed (either my mom does or Todd when he gets home for work) and sometimes I'm embaressed at how mismatched they are. So this has helped us tremendously!

This sure beats reselling Circo brand shorts that I paid $5 for for $1.50 at Mom's Market though! It may have cost less overall, but the quality just isn't there so it's hard to justify asking much for it when it'll probably only last through one or two more kids. But quality clothes go for more resale becase the quality is so good. It still looks brand new even if we wore it every week all winter long! Not to mention they look cute nd "stylin" inall their clothes too! Now if I'd just dress like I cared as well...haha!

Anyone else have tips of cutting your clothing balance???