Fun Weekend

My weekend started off great when my UPS man, Jesse, surprised me with a box from J Caroline Creative. I wasn't expecting my fabric until Monday so I totally did a happy dance. I got ten different yards from Anna Maria Horner's new Garden Party line and it is absolutely gorgeous! The colors are more vivid and vibrant than anything else I've ever seen on fabric. Can't wait to play with this later today...


















About an hour later, my friend, Jenni arrived with her family. You may have seen her comment on the blog before and she participated in the swap last month and made a fabulous bag for Shanna. Jenni and I met through our husbands 3 1/2 years ago and became friends right away. Ten minutes after meeting each other, it felt like we had known each other for years. She is without a doubt, one of the nicest, honest, most caring peo pleI know and it's just so easy to be around her.
























We only get to see each other a few times a year and I was really sad when she left yesterday. I surprised myself and got a little choked up in the car when they drove away! It was just really nice to have a friend to go fabric shopping and talk crafts with. We also have grand plans to open our own young and hip fabric store. We're going to have a little playroom in the back for our kids and customers' kids so they can spend hours shopping and spending money in our shop while their kids have a blast. We'll have awesome coffee, good music, and lots of fun projects displayed. The only thing we have to work out is how to get her family to move here and getting the tens of thousands of dollars we need to start up but those are just minor details.


Before Jenni left yesterday, we went to The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay. I was really drawn to a bag they had on display and ended up buying the pattern. I normally don't sew from a pattern but thought I could learn some new skills from this pattern. I started working on view B last night using a pink and brown Amy Butler print and hope to get it finished later this afternoon.

Still on my zipper kick

Love how this one turned out. Popular color combo of black and turquoise and I think a versatile style, size, and pattern that could work well for casual or career. I'm still way too excited about zippers and really do think they give my bags some added value. Apparently though, not too many customers think so since I'm still not seeing the traffic in my shop that I used to. Damn this crappy economy!























































On a related note, my friend Lena came over today and I did some wheeling and dealing that convinced her to buy two bags instead of one. I got to thinking about Ebay's "best offer" option and wished Etsy had something similar. So, I'm making my own "best offer" option just for my blog readers. Only valid on items in my sale section and accepted or not accepted at my discretion. So, check out my sale items, convo me an offer, and I'll respond with a simple yes or no. Don't worry about offending me with a low ball offer. I'm the queen of bargains and coupons so I know everyone wants a good deal. Just don't expect me to give the stuff away:)

Ok, see that paragraph up there ^. I was just reading it to Crafty Papa for his feedback and he freakin fell asleep! It's only like 8 sentences. How did that even give him enough time to doze off?! And who could be bored enough by a potentially awesome bargain to actually fall asleep?

Wallet Watchin' Wednesday

Ebates. I'm sure a lot of you reading this are already Ebates members but this can serve as a good reminder to actually go through Ebates when doing your online shopping.

Basically, Ebates is an online discount program via money back and other discounts. When you sign up, you can enter your Paypal info. and then once each quarter Ebates deposits your cash back earnings into your Paypal account. You don't have to do anything at all expect go through Ebates to get to your shopping site instead of going directly to the site (basically, just an extra few clicks of the mouse). The list of participating businesses is looooong so I'm sure you can find several that you use on a regular basis for clothing, picture printing, gift giving, books, and more.

I've earned over $90 since I joined about two years. Yeah, $90 over two years isn't a huge amount but it is a week's worth of groceries for my family, or several Christmas gifts, a back to school wardrobe for Bella, etc.

If you haven't signed up and would like to, we can both earn $10 if you sign up here. And I'll send a zippered pouch to the first person to sign up under me.

And speaking of freebies, did you see my July promotion over there ------------>?

Lets pretend

that Etsy's ridiculous picture uploader ever works today. Then you'll find this fabulous new zippered bag in my shop. Are you feeling the zipper theme? I hope so because it's going to go on for a while.

I'm brilliant. Really, I am.

I'm pretty sure I'm the first person ever to figure out zippers all on her own. This is a very complicated (not really) art (not really) and I deserve some kind of award for attempting to master it without any coaching (really, an award). I set out to make a zippered pouch this afternoon and in 15 minutes, I was finished! And, totally unusual for me, my first stab is actually cute and functioning!
















It measures about 7" wide by 6" tall. I think the perfect size for a few pieces of makeup, fem hygiene products, money, business cards, candy, small bottles of liquor...whatever you want to keep contained and protected in your unorganized and crumb filled purse.


















Also made these two fabulous items that I'll list in the shop tomorrow morning. We're heading out to the drive in right now to see "Wall-E" and eat homemade kettle corn. Oh yeah, I made my own kettle corn. Wish I wouldn't have discovered how easy it for two reasons. 1) I'm confident I will make it every day now and will weigh 400 pounds by Christmas (Wait! I just had a thought! I'm going to add homemade kettle corn to my list of Christmas goodies for our neighbors and friends). And 2) Now I've decided I want to have my own gourmet kettle corn cafe. Last week I was planning to open a paint your own pottery shop. The week before that it was a gourmet doughnut and coffee shop with a child friendly atmosphere. But back to the kettle corn cafe...I would have all different flavors like maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, margaritas, vanilla bean, chocolate covered. Ok, off to eat some now.

Friday Favorites

Hydrangeas. Hands down, my favorite flower. I want to get married again (to Crafty Papa) just to see a sea of hydrangeas on all of the tables (I had pink and purple roses at my wedding, pretty, but not hydrangeas). I have a few hydrangea plants in my yard in various shades of pink, purple, and blue and I'm trying to find a good spot for some white ones. A few weeks ago, when we had the huge heat wave here, all of my exposed hydrangea blooms burned to a crisp. I almost shed a tear or two. I cut these from my yard yesterday...


















My Ikea mixing bowls. Sorry, can't find them on their website. We ditched our pyrex mixing bowls and replaced them with these a few months ago. It was Crafty Papa's doing and I love these new bowls so much, I will award him 2 points. The big mama bowl is so big, you can fit a large child in it. Yes, that's my tall 4 1/2 year old:)





































Vintage Chinese Pottery Shard Necklaces. I got one through a trade a few months ago for $138. It's gorgeous, substantial and really "makes" an outfit. I've since found a bunch of equally beautiful necklaces on Etsy that are much more affordable, I think because the beads used for the necklace aren't as expensive. Doesn't matter to me, I think these necklaces are all about the pottery pendant. I was supposed to use my allowance this month to buy myself one but I forgot and accidentally spent it on acrylic stamps. Some of my favorites are from Polished Two and Flourish Jewelry.

Wallet Watchin' Wednesday

So, a few months ago, my friend, Shanna suggested that I do a blog for my budgeting and green living tips. I don't think I have enough to say for a whole blog (I know, shocker) but I've decided to share a weekly tip on Wednesday. I'm definitely not an expert, but after struggling on one income for four and a half years now, I think I've learned a few budget-friendly things that might work for your family too. So here goes tip one...

Meal plan. Meal plan. Meal plan. Did I mention meal planning? Seriously, this is probably the biggest money saver in our house. Every Sunday, I sit down with my coupon folder and my weekly grocery store ad. I go through the ad and write down on my shopping list anything that is on sale that we use. Then, I look at the list, take stock of any meat or poultry in my freezer, and then turn the list into meals. I do have to supplement the list with a few items that aren't in my weekly mailer but once I get to the store, I can always find a brand that's on sale, it just wasn't advertised or maybe isn't a great savings. Before going shopping, I go over my list and pull out any coupons that go with my purchases.

When meal planning, I also schedule any dining out for the week and if something comes up and we eat out unplanned (rarely happens), I redo my meal plan and bump everything back a day.

The biggest keys to meal planning are:
1) Shop weekly to take full advantage of the sales.
2) Learn to eat according to what's on sale, not what you're in the mood for.
3) Convert to a "leftovers" family - I almost always make a meal big enough for two night's worth of dinners.
4) Steer clear of convenience foods. My kids do eat crackers, granola bars, etc. but the main part of their snack is usually some kind of fruit which when bought in season and on sale, is much cheaper than convenience box items.
5) Learn to use your freezer. When broccoli is on sale for a killer deal, I stock up and freeze. We have the best locally grown strawberries so I buy fresh and freeze for smoothies in the winter.

I remember back when I was working, my fellow manager told me a story about when she was a newly single mom standing in the checkout line with her preschooler. Her daughter looked at the lady in front of her who was buying grapes and she said, "Mmmmm, I love grapes but my mommy says we can't afford grapes today." When she first told me this story, I didn't have kids and we were more than comfortable on our two incomes. I thought the story was so sad. Now I have a completely different perspective. I have no problem telling Bella that we can't afford something and that if it's not on sale or doesn't fit into our budget, we don't buy it. I'm proud that when she plays grocery store with Matea, they use coupons and talk about sales. I think she's learning the importance of need versus want.

Anyway, our monthly grocery budget is $400 for four people. We eat out 3-4 times per month so this $400 needs to cover almost all dinners, all lunches and breakfasts, and snacks. When I make my list, I try to stay under $85 and allow myself to buy only two non list items once I get to the store.

So here's my meal plan and shopping list for this week. I spent $83.80 and saved $74.59 (47%).

Wed-Eating out for Papa's birthday
Thur-Turkey dogs with corn on the cob
Fri-Friend's house for holiday, taking cupcakes
Sat-Turkey Chili
Sun-Leftovers
Mon-Tri tip, rice pilaf, corn
Tues-Leftovers
Wed-Crockpot chicken, potatoes, veggies from freezer
Thurs-Leftover chicken sandwiches and salad, make homemade bread

List....
Mangos (3)
Watermelon
Ketchup
Rice(2)
Granola Bars (2)
Paper plates for party (2)
Turkey Dogs (3)
Tri tip
Coffeemate
Butter
Diet Pepsi
Cheese
Buns
Bread
Ground Turkey (2)
Kidney Beans (2)
Ranch Beans (2)
Tomato Sauce
Cantaloupe
Cooking Spray
Cake Mix (2)
Corn (4)
Bananas (12)
Oj