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We don’t have a TV. That’s why we’re forced to eat at a favorite pizza place when the husband’s favorite football team is playing. It’s a hardship all around. But if we ever do decide we need a TV I’m definitely going to remember this idea. I bet I could even find an old easel on Craigslist.
I can’t believe it’s true. Toddler L turned two yesterday. And with kids’ birthdays comes birthday parties. Luckily for me Toddler L doesn’t have a favorite cartoon character or TV show (he says TV when we turn on the radio, no TV may just warp his mind). He doesn’t have a favorite book and he hasn’t requested his room be covered in dinosaurs or cars. So for this year at least I got to choose what his birthday party would look like. What was the inspiration?
Beans. Yup, Heinz beans.
Not just any beans though, the baked beans in tomato sauce that are imported from England. (Yes, a U.S. company makes a product only available in another country that is then brought here and sold as an import.) When we found a big tin of them I thought they would be good for the party. Then I looked at the tin and found inspiration in the colors.
We used Pingg for the invitations. As much as I would have loved to send out handmade paper invites to all the kids we did the responsible thing and used their parents e-mail instead.
We were at a fabulous wilderness park with some less than fabulous metal picnic tables. Decision 1 – cloth or plastic? I heavily considered renting tablecloths but couldn’t justify the expense for a 2 hour party. So we went with plastic that could at least be recycled after. (I’m kicking myself for not bringing them home and using them for kids’ craft days. I blame lack of sleep for that faux pa.)
Table decorations were kept pretty simple. Beans tins (lots of beans were consumed in the making of this party) with flowers – some real, mostly paper – and a picture of Toddler L that I printed at home and attached to skewers. The pictures are already being recycled into another project. I also put out some rice filled bean bags I had made using the circles on a pillow case found at the thrift store. The colors matched the tins perfectly. The bean bags were later used for games.
We borrowed two canopies and put up some paper poms. They were pretty easy but very time consuming. The banner was printed at home and I strung the pieces on ribbon. It now hangs in Toddler L’s room.
The food was kept simple. We served pretzel Goldfish (Toddler L’s favorite food), pb & j sandwich cutouts, fruit, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (lovingly made by the husband), mini burgers made with organic beef (not pictured as they were cooking) and, of course, beans.
All of the serving dishes were from our kitchen. We used compostable plates, cups and cutlery. And thanks to some friends they actually got composted. Along with the pillow case I found a sheet that matched the teal color. I cut it up to make napkins which have since been added to our home collection. There can never be enough napkins with kids around.
These are the burgers. Aren’t they cute? I think they were a big hit with kids and adults.
We did have bottled water as it’s a must for these hot summer days. We had some large bottles for the adults and these smaller bottles for the kids. I’m not a fan of plastic water bottles anyway but half full ones left lying around really get my goat. We also had Sprecher root beer. It’s the best root beer I’ve tasted, it’s from the husband’s hometown and it comes in glass bottles. As a final option we made an apple, peach lemonade. (It was delicious. And it made me break the Compact. I just didn’t have a pitcher big enough. So I bought a beautiful glass dispenser with a tap. I’ve never seen one in a thrift store, I’ve wanted one for years and I know I will use it forever, so I don’t feel too bad about the purchase.)
I don’t know many toddlers that need to be hyped up on sugar, they really have enough energy already. (At least the one that lives with me does.) So I thought mini cupcakes would be perfect. For the kids at least, the adults got regular size indulgences – I need a full chocolate fix. They came from BabyCakes Baking Company and were amazing. I rented the cake stand from the shop so no added waste from making or buying one, and it was way cute. The cupcake toppers were printed at home and will be recycled into whatever projects I can come up with.
The true highlight of the party though was the pond. We bought a bulk supply of ranger approved food and handed it out to the kids to feed the ducks, fish and turtles. It was better than any games or activities we could have brought with us. It might have been better than the cupcakes.
All in all I’m pretty happy with how green the “teal” party was. I don’t know that we had any trash as everything was either brought home for another use, recycled or composted.
Could we have made less of an impact and stayed true to the Compact?
Yes.
Would it have been as fabulous and beautiful?
Nope.
So in this give-and-take life I’m pretty happy with what I did to get what I got.
Okay, I know it’s Tuesday. But I like order and systems. Chaos makes my head hurt. It makes my eyes go all twitchy. Menus go up on Mondays. I’m sure it must still be Monday somewhere. Even if that’s only in my head. Bear with me while I get through this. I’m sure things will be back to normal next week. (yeah, you can stop laughing now.) Let’s see what we’re eating…
Monday: stir fry
Tuesday: chicken parmesan sandwiches (actually monterey jack, but who’s checking?), mashed cauliflower
Wednesday: pepperoni pizza
Thursday: something from the pantry, sauteed carrots (some days are just harder than others)
Friday: london broil, green beans (didn’t get to this last week either)
Saturday: beef stroganoff
Sunday: french toast
Our budget was $80, we spent…
Vons – $25.81 (savings = $25.69)
Target – $3.60 (savings = $2.49)
Trader Joe’s – $11.49
Sprouts – $30.33 (savings = $0.05)
Cost Plus – $9.46
Smart & Final – $21.03
Okay, so I actually thought we were on budget, then I realized I was missing a receipt. At $101.72 I should feel pretty good about the 27% savings of $28.23 but it really just shows that we aren’t really taking this budget thing to heart. Too many “want” items that put us over the edge. More fruit than was really needed (is there really such a thing?), canned soda and bottled specialty root beer, English Heinz beans… all makes for a delightful fridge but not exactly being our most frugal.
On the topic of eating well. I was introduced to Cari, Adam and Emily this week. I encourage you to make an introduction. They all seem to be lovely people with some interesting things to say about food. And how much to spend for it. I feel a true kinship with Cari because she is trying to feed her family well without sacrificing things like organic vegetables, eggs and dairy. She is also making the bread her family eats and grows many of her own vegetables. I know, I don’t actually do the growing thing, but I still relate to her thinking. And I would at least consider trying it if we didn’t live in a small apartment on the second floor with a balcony that works really well for storage but not potted plants. I don’t anticipate I would be successful but I would consider trying. That’s something right?
I’m also considering a hiatus from my $80/week grocery budget to try $50/week food challenge. Now that’s $50 per week per adult (plus an additional $25 dollars/week for Toddler L). Sounds like a lot huh? But considering we buy organic eggs and dairy and produce when we can, it goes fast. Also, that $50/week is for all food. So that’s groceries, restaurants, snacks when out and about, the whole enchilada. Sounds a bit tougher now, huh? Not that we eat out that much, definitely less than once a week, but a single meal out can be half that budget. I am thinking we’ll be rolling over our savings for the times we do go out to make up the difference. So really, the budget could be considered $200/month/adult (unless it’s those weird months that have an extra week and then it throws everything off, like pregnancy, which is considered 9 months but it’s 40 weeks so really wouldn’t you say that’s 10 months because most people consider one month to be 4 weeks). Conscious stream writing is really just one long run-on sentence isn’t it?! At least when it’s my conscious stream.
For a while now (certainly since seeing Food, Inc.), I’ve been re-evaluating what our family eats. We are really cutting back on meat so that we can stay within a budget but still be good stewards to our health and environment. We are going to try only buying organic meat, which means not buying it very often. I would also like to buy mostly local produce from the farmers market instead of the grocery store specials. It may not be organic but at least it’s helping our community and not being transported from other continents, countries or states. We have made huge strides in eliminating the processed food we eat but I’d like to keep working on that. The husband loves him some granola bars, I’m going to try making those and see if they will meet his satisfaction. Also, I’m a real 1970′s kid in that I love mac n’ cheese from a box (the one with the cheese sauce mind you, not the powdered crap). I am going to try to kick that habit and bring in the homemade. We all have to make sacrifices.
Which would you choose, $80/week for all grocery including paper goods and toiletry or $50/week/adult for everything you put in your mouth?
We have officially started the second phase of this Compact adventure. (It’s a coincidence that we’re also halfway through it.)
Early Monday morning (so early most people would consider it Sunday night) Baby X joined the family and officially became Baby S. Now that we’re all back home and setting up a routine I have started to think about how the Compact will affect our newest family member.
When I decided we would follow the guidelines of the Compact this year we had a toddler. All in all, toddlers don’t need that much stuff. At least, this one doesn’t. Or at least he doesn’t know he doesn’t have or need much. We have had great success finding clothes and other necessities for Toddler L at the thrift and kids’ consignment stores.
Since we have said toddler we already had most of the baby items we needed. Bonus that they are both boys so I don’t have to dye pink bedding or traumatize a boy with a Strawberry Shortcake car seat. Are there other baby needs I don’t remember or am too tired to realize yet that we can’t meet in a Compact world? I don’t think so but I guess it’s all part of the adventure to find out.
I was very happy to see some changes in what the hospital thought we needed too. As we were at the same place Toddler L was born I remembered them being so nice and wanting to give us so many goodies when we were checking out. It wasn’t until I started to go through it that I realized there were at least three diaper bags and numerous cans and samples of formula. I already had a diaper bag and these “freebies” were all heavily branded by the formula companies. Another product I wasn’t really in need of. More than anything I remember the nurse’s surprise when I tried telling her I didn’t want any of it.
Just because something is free doesn’t mean I need it. (That goes for you too husband.) Other families might, so I will happily leave my share for them.
This time the bag of goodies arrived and I was the surprised one. The bag was full of diapers. Now that is something every new baby needs. (Yes, yes, I know all about cloth diapers and am a huge supporter, we just can’t use them – a story for another day.)
I only hope they re-distribute the many papers and pamphlets we were given that I carefully left behind after reading. Re-use comes before recycle.
On a completely different train…
If you have any suggestions for watermelon I’d love to hear them. We were given a good size one for the 4th that I assume needs to be cut into soon and with only the husband, Toddler L and I I’m not sure how we’ll get through it all.
Yet another week of staple based foods. I’m looking forward to having some more fresh fruit in the house, but until then the un-perishables will have to make do. Let’s see what we’ll be eating…
Monday: pesto pasta with shrimp (didn’t have this last week, can’t even remember why)
Tuesday: pork sirloin chops in tomatoes and capers
Wednesday: pizza
Thursday: chicken in orange sauce
Friday: fried rice
Saturday: a nice big salad (hoping to be on a regular schedule and home to eat produce)
Sunday: crepes (both savory: unknown and sweet: Nutella)
If you haven’t tried Nutella I dare you to. And then tell me it didn’t change your life. I introduced the husband to crepes and Nutella a few years ago. It changed his life. I think it’s part of why he was so happy to honeymoon in Paris. To walk down the street carrying a hot, fresh crepe slathered with the dark, rich, hazelnut goodness that is Nutella…now that is living.
Our budget was $80, we spent…
Sprouts Farmers Market – $43.24 (savings = $0.10)
Trader Joe’s – $22.13
Target – $14.71
Farmer’s Market – $4.50
A grand total of $84.58. It’s either the Nutella or the Farmer’s Market that put us over. Either splurge was totally worth it so I’m not even going to question it.
…
We had a great meal out last week. We will probably have a few more in the upcoming weeks, considering the influx of visitors we have coming and the likelihood that I will not be completely thrilled with cooking every day, what with a toddler running around and (hopefully soon) a newborn draining my last ounces of energy. (Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait. Seriously.)
We do try to limit our eating out to less than once a week though, more like 2-3 times a month. With what looks to be our future dining out adventures how do I take this bump in stride?
I can’t recommend it enough. $25 gift certificates for only $10. A few weeks ago we bought several certificates to some of our local restaurants (they are all independently owned) and have used two with visiting guests. Both experiences were great. No hassle. The staff was always accommodating and never questioned our using the certificates. There are, of course, some restrictions depending on the price of purchase and the establishment but nothing that would make it anything less than a great idea.
And what’s better than a great idea at 80% off? Quite often the site offers their certificates at a discount. As much as 80%. That’s getting $25 worth of food for only $2. All while supporting local establishments. There’s a win-win I’ll put my money on.
Go. Eat. Save.
Update: A reader brought an error to my attention. My math is sleep deprived too. If the gift certificates are offered at 80% off it’s a mere $2 for $25 worth of food. Don’t forget to read the conditions ($35 minimum purchase, Sun-Thurs or such things), but what a steal.
Restaurant.com is offering a current promotion (supposedly ending tonight 6/30/09) for 70% of purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate. Use code RECIPE during checkout. Grab the family or some friends and go support a neighborhood eatery.
Let’s see what we’ll be eating this week…
Monday: eggs in spicy tomato sauce
Tuesday: pesto pasta with shrimp
Wednesday: pizza
Thursday: chicken strips, carrots
Friday: spaghetti
Saturday: pulled pork sandwiches
Sunday: wholewheat pancakes (finally got in the whole wheat buttermilk pancakes last week – yummmm!)
This week’s menu is a lot of pantry items and I’m not planning a lot of fresh fruit and veg. That’s intentional, I’m not punishing my family. It’s that we don’t know from one day to the next if we will be at home the next week or so. I need foods that can keep if they don’t get made. No nice summer salads this week. Oh well, at least the weekly pizza is going well.
Our budget was $80, we spent…
Sprouts Farmers Market – $29.63 (savings = $0.10)
Costco – $49.64
Trader Joe’s – $5.50
Vons – $1.17 (savings = $2.80)
Walgreens – $1.16 (savings = $5.60)
A grand total of $87.10. Not bad considering most of what we bought were bulk items that will last from a few weeks to many months. Stocking up really can save big bucks when done right. Thanks to all the coupon experts out there that have made it so easy for me to save money.
It still surprises me how much I enjoy being in the kitchen. Sometimes. When it works, it really works. I have gotten so used to cooking now that it’s not a stretch for me to make from scratch something I don’t have in the cupboard.
Father’s Day dinner was steak, shrimp and a side of pasta. No veg but the husband was thrilled – all his favorites on one plate. To top it off I decided to have some ice cream with his wonderful oatmeal chocolate chip cookies crumbled on top. (Don’t worry, someday I promise to post that recipe so you can all judge for yourself.)
Somehow that didn’t seem like enough though. I needed chocolate syrup. I didn’t have any chocolate syrup, haven’t bought it in forever. No worries, I’ll make some.
What? Make some? Make something that can be purchased in a bottle for convenience?
Why that’s just crazy talk.
Yup. I’m crazy. Cuckoo. There I was, in the kitchen after dinner making chocolate syrup.
It took about 5 minutes. And then we had sundaes. And they were really good. You can do it too. Go ahead, try it. Chocolate syrup in the fridge whenever you want it? Life is good.
Here’s the recipe from Cooking Cache.
1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon vanilla
Combine all of the ingredients, except the vanilla, in a medium saucepan. Mix well. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Continue cooking until thick. Once cool, add vanilla.
(according to Cooking Chache – Cost Analysis: (30 ounces) Store bought: $1.89 Homemade: 90¢)
The real challenge is in waiting until the chocolate is cool to add the vanilla. I couldn’t. I needed to eat it right away. And it was good. I know I said that already. But I’m still surprised by the little things in life.
One last food item and I’m out of here. Some of you may remember my Life to Leftovers conundrum that Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food helped me out with. Or I should say his readers helped, much to our mutual delight.
Now I have a similar challenge for you. I just put about 2 cups of (unpitted) cherries and a handful of grapes in the freezer as they were probably hours away from being past there delicate prime. The grapes, I know, can be eaten as a frozen treat but what else can they do? And how about those cherries? I don’t make pies and I don’t can (yet).
What’s a girl to do?
Where do these weekends go? I have such big plans and then before I even know it, it’s Monday morning. I’m really trying to get some of the great posts I have planned written and up. At least I think they’ll be great. I guess you’ll just have to wait and decide for yourself. I will have Friday’s hint fully realized shortly, after all, it’s obviously a tie to Father’s Day coming up. (sorry just thought of that one as I was writing and couldn’t delete it!)
Before we get there though, I know you are all dying to know what the menu is for the week. Let’s see what we’ll be eating…
Monday: beans and cornbread (in true calimama fashion I don’t follow this recipe exactly but it’s pretty darn close, and easy, and good…)
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: pizza
Thursday: WOHO (wife on her own)
Friday: cheeseburger stuffed potatoes, salad
Saturday: london broil, veg TBD
Sunday: buttermilk pancakes (every week the pancakes seem to get bumped, but I’m determined to keep trying)
Once I finally got the whole pizza stone issue resolved I was anxious to test my skills. The final decision (with me as judge and jury of course), my skills need a great deal of refinement. But the pizza I made last week was really quite good. So good in fact, before we even finished eating I had decided to make it a weekly tradition of dough wrangling. The kneading part was a little bit of a challenge (okay, yes, I might have mentioned to the husband that we weren’t having pizza that night much less any other while I was fighting with it doing it), but once I got things under control it all went quite smoothly.
I’m a huge fan of plain, cheese pizza but this homemade thing has me thinking about toppings I would never try in a restaurant. Unfortunately, my childhood favorite of ham and pineapple (I don’t know why but this is very popular in Canada) will not be a staple as the husband doesn’t like ham. Ahh well, I like the pineapple part best anyway. I can work with that.
What are some of your favorite pizza combos?
Each week I look for ways to stay within our budget. Sometimes I even consider re-evaluating what that budget is or what it covers. I think I think too much. I’m not leaving nearly enough time for day dreaming about living in the French countryside or how I would spend a million dollars. I mean isn’t that what you do with your mental free time?
I’m going to take another look at this budget issue but for now I’m keeping it as is. Our budget was $80, we spent…
Sprouts Farmers Market – $29.83 (savings = $0.15)
Ralphs – $34.40 (savings = $41.59…seriously?!)
Trader Joe’s – $19.30 (savings = $4.04)
Bakery Outlet – $9.87 (savings = $4.18)
A grand total of $93.40. Over budget, but considering I saved over half as much as I spent I feel pretty good about it. The bakery was for three bags of flour and we got two boxes of English Muffins free. I can’t believe how much flour I’m going through and the outlet has the best price for times like this when I’m not catching a sale. And as the husband has an English Muffin pretty much every single day with breakfast the freebies were a major bonus.
With my new flour I did make English Muffin bread which turned out excellently (according to the English Muffin expert), so I hope to be making that more and buying muffins less.
If anyone who actually knew me read this blog they would be convinced aliens had taken over my body. Cooking, staying home with a kid all day, baking bread? What happened to the girl with the plan? The daily double latte? The high heels and manicures?
Mr. Dylan, you were right. The times, they are a-changin’.
Food Waste. Not too much but I’m yearning for the old days when I had nothing to photograph.
Technically, this pasta could probably be eaten. I packed it for Toddler L when we went out to dinner one night. Of course, he didn’t eat it. When we got home I forgot it in the diaper bag, so it went unrefrigerated until sometime the next day. Probably fine, but for a few bow ties – not worth the worry.
Better luck next week.
This is going to be a very short forum today. I’ve spent way too much time finding great project ideas and free downloads. I will be sharing some of them with you. Hopefully soon.
Until then forum amongst yourselves.
BTW, if you have great free downloads or DIY project ideas (of the creative bent) you want to share let me know. All credit goes directly to you. I may just add it to my personal projects-to-be-done-one-day file.
I’ll just leave you with this hint of things to come…
Well, I can’t say anything unexpected happened this past week. But it was a good week. I finally got around to making the mobile for the nursery I’ve been thinking about doing for almost two years. Better late than never. The husband and Toddler L both seem to really like it and I think it worked out quite well. In true artist fashion I can’t get overly effusive about my work, it could always be better but it’s good enough to put up in the house.
I can’t say the same for Sunday’s dinner. It was supposed to be crock pot brisket from a chuck roast. I liked the idea of it but unfortunately didn’t quite get the proportions right. Because I cook smaller quantities as it’s just husband and I, I’m usually adjusting recipe amounts and cooking times. Unfortunately, leaving the house to go watch the Lakers’ game threw off my cooking time adjustment. What was supposed to be brisket was headed towards beef jerky. Not that I don’t like beef jerky, it just wasn’t what I was planning for supper. Good thing we were having mashed cauliflower with it, that can save just about any meal. Hopefully this week’s experiments will have better results.
Let’s see what we’ll be eating…
Monday: chicken strips, chicken rice-a-roni (I know this isn’t even real food but I love it, so about once a year I make it)
Tuesday: yellow curry
Wednesday: pizza (not sure if I’ll be going thin crust or deep dish yet)
Thursday: penne w/ spinach and sausage, artisan bread
Friday: whole wheat pancakes (didn’t get to these last week)
Saturday: we’ll be out at an adults-only birthday party (probably my last for a while, so I’ll savor it)
Sunday: HOHO (husband on his own)
I got a great deal on a used pizza stone on Ebay (you’d be surprised how hard it is to find used stones), so I’m really looking forward to starting a home-made pizza tradition. And I’m even going to make more bread in the oven. I’m not sure I won’t use the artisan bread dough or bread machine for the kneading but it will come out of the oven and maybe even be the shape of a loaf pan.
I think that’s my only complaint about the bread machine. Bread just isn’t a square block that’s 9 inches tall. Well, mine is. But it kinda rubs me the wrong way. The husband already knows I’m keeping my eyes open for another machine with a horizontal pan. You may have no idea what I’m talking about. That’s okay. Sometimes I just talk for the sake of it.
In the continuing ups and downs of our budget, we are under this week. I’m feeling really good about that but I’m also wondering at what expense am I doing this? Let me explain.
Our budget was $80, we spent…
Sprouts Farmers Market – $47.42 (savings = $0.15)
Vons – $17.44 (savings = $8.58)
Trader Joe’s – $13.78
A grand total of $78.64. This week I didn’t buy any meat and I didn’t even buy several things I had coupons for. Now, they weren’t things we specifically needed this week but they were good deals on things we would use. If I had purchased them, along with a couple of things I would have liked to buy I would have been over budget. So I didn’t get the frozen peaches to make smoothies with. I didn’t get the Nutella that both husband and I love to indulge with occasionally.
How do I get everything we need plus allow a few (not over the top) indulgences and still feel good about the money we’re spending – or not spending? I have said before, there are a few things I’ve decided are worth the extra money. Typically that’s buying organic when I can. We buy only organic milk and eggs. A gallon of whole milk (for Toddler L), a gallon of 1% milk (for the husband and cooking) and a carton of eggs is $15 of any given week’s budget, if they’re not on sale. Ouch! I’d like to buy organic produce more often but it’s just not financially feasible.
How do you justify what you spend versus what you buy? Or do you not bother and wonder what I’m tying myself up in knots over?
I don’t have an art budget because my projects just don’t happen as frequently as I’d like. That’s probably a good thing, at least as far as the checkbook goes. My creative energy can get a little backed up though without an outlet. I’m sure it helps that I rearrange the furniture every 3 months. (I blame Toddler L and his ever changing needs, but it’s probably just my needs.)
What I’m trying (slowly) to get at is my need for another project. A project that requires fabric. Fabric that I can create and custom print. I don’t really sew but I’d like to change that too.
I know it’s not entirely Compact to have more fabric made than already exists, but sometimes what can be had at the local thrift store just isn’t going to meet the needs. When that’s the case, turn to Spoonflower. Upload your napkin doodles, illustrations or patterns and get your own custom fabric in the mail in a few days. There’s no minimum order and a price per yard higher than I would typically pay ($18-32), but within reason for a truly special project.
Would you consider having your own custom fabric made or is this just my design voice locking my Compact voice in a dark room and telling it to shut-up?
Gabrielle, over at Design Mom, took the plunge and went green.
And it’s gorgeous.
An old family piano that was in need of expensive restoration or replacement, both of which were out of the family’s budget, became a signature piece with just a little time and paint.
Unless your piece is a valuable antique don’t be afraid to get creative. For the cost of a quart of paint (or less if you go Compact in how you acquire paint), you can be green, blue or cherry red. Why replace, when you can re-do?
What can you add a little color too?
*I recommend low VOC paint for your projects. Even if you’re not going green you can still be environmental about it.
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