UUgghh!

I hate being sick. I have gone through the whole winter and dodged all manner of crud that my kids exposed me to and then... poof, I started to feel crummy last week. Nothing major, just a cold that has decided to invade my chest. But the one thing I hate is how I cannot seem to just rest. When my husband and girls are sick, I make them rest and wait on them but when I get sick I seem to just force myself to keep going. Why do we women do that? Today, I worked in the yard, enjoyed the sun, and now I am paying for it. I was not ready. So now I am in bed and just resting. I need to let myself get over this. Have my heating pad on my legs and my cough drops and hot tea at my bedside. I am cozy!

The Kindness of Mimi Sue

A couple of weeks ago, Sue of http://mimisuescottage.blogspot.com/, asked if she could send me a package. I responded yes of course and gave her my address. Today my box came. I cannot begin to express how touched I am that someone who only knows me thru blogging, would do something so wonderfully sweet. She sent me the little cookbook that goes to the Little Chef stove I had received at Christmas. I had wrote about the book in my blog post and found a picture of it online and she must have seen that. Here are all the goodies she sent me just because.

 She also sent me a bracelet with my intitial, a wonderful candy from Utah. (I already ate it) A darling ME magnet was also enclosed.

Here's the little cookbook.

It has recipes and sweet stories and the most wonderful vintage pictures. There's the little stove.

Thank You Sue! That is so wonderful and giving of you to do that for me. You are a sweetheart!!! I love bloggers. They are the best people. Especially Sue!

Elle Cottage

I thought I'd share a tour of the little beach cottage we run off to several times a year. It is owned by my in-laws and is called Elle Cottage. The name comes from the first two letters of each of my in-laws last names.

My mother in law is the queen of collectors and has decorated the house with lots of found treasures but mostly it is decorated with her mother's things. They were the original antique/ flea market junkers and bought antiques when no one else did and managed to collect many wonderful things for pennies back in the 70s and 80s. Hope you enjoy the tour.

Daffodils bloom on the little hill out front.

The beach is just a short walk away.

A cozy corner.

The window seat is favorite for the kids to climb up in and read.

We use china and sterling for dishes. Can you believe this? My MIL believes in using what you have.

Decanters collected over decades.

There is a bright galley kitchen.

There was a fairly large earthquake up here a few years ago and we could not believe nothing broke. Many things were teetering off the edges, but nothing fell.

It was cold and rainy the first day, so we had a fire all day.

A collection of teapots and pitchers.

I was a bit under the weather so this is what I did while the hubby and kids went to the beach.

Linking to:

Met Monday

Coastal Charm

A Stroll Thru Life

Tuesday's Treasures

Boogie Board Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

Faded Charm

Very Merry Vintage Style

My Romantic Home

Who knew?

How cute are these dishes? From K-Mart who knew? I was poking around on the internet and stumbled upon this cuteness.

And these cereal bowls.

And these cute chicken wire frames

And these darling vintage looking linens.

And this red heart hurricane. Red and Hearts!!!!!!

And this sweet apron.

And this sweet glider.

Guess who needs to take a trip to K-Mart.

Off For a Long Weekend

We are headed here for a four day weekend though the weather won't be as lovely. It should be rainy the first day or so but no matter. The cottage has a cozy wood burning stove and we will have lots of snacks (very important) and many games of Scrabble.

My honey and I will have our belated Valentine's dinner here on Sunday night. Well have to squeeze in some antiquing. See you all next week.

Critters in my Yard

I have a variety of critters in my yard that never bark or make a mess and are always staying where I put them.

Luv this giggly little pig.

This bear came home with us from Idaho a few years back. He has been dropped a few times by a certain short cake I know.

The only chicken in my yard. Not of the laying sort unfortunately. Or is it a rooster?

One day I will have to share the real live critters in my home.

Linking to:

Alphabe-Thursday

Tidy Mom

How to Make the Perfect Fried Egg Sandwich - A Rainy Day Tale

Today the weather has turned cool and rainy. My usual morning meal of toast or cereal was just not going to cut it. I felt like a good old fried egg sandwich. First, if at all possible, use a pan that fries up nicely so that your egg gets good and crispy and brown along the edges. The best pan ever for frying an egg...Le Creuset.

I inherited this little pan when we bought this house. It is fabulous. The perfect size for a single egg, does not stick, but fries the egg crispy, the way I LOVE it. I use a dab of butter in the pan and break the yoke as soon as I drop the egg into the pan.

For the bread, I prefer sour dough, as it toasts up very crispy. And you must use a good mayonnaise on the bread. I like Best Foods, but whatever you prefer. When the egg is crispy, just place between the toasted bread and get ready for a yummy breakfast. I make these for the kids or my hubby when they are on their way out and need to take a hardy breakfast to eat in the car. Wrapped in tin foil, they stay hot for a long time.

Salt and pepper are my seasoning of choice. I like to eat the crispy edges first.

Some coffee and a bit of sunshine from the yard. My little one picked these for me on Sunday and we have been watching them go to sleep and close up every night and wake up and open, the next morning.

Linking to:

Wassup Wednesday

Real Food Wednesday

A Beach Cottage

Share the love Wednesday

Thrifty Thursday

Tidy Mom

Gooseberry Patch

Frugal Challenge Update and THIS is Why I Use Coupons

Since starting my couponing journey last year, I have had to learn all the ins and outs of trying to buy things with the lowest OOP or Out of Pocket. Well, below is a picture of some items I paid ZERO out of pocket for. It is so nice to walk out of a store and you didn't spend one dime. It is really a high you get from such nice shops as this. Here is how I did it. I used my CVS Extra Care Bucks that were expiring, several coupons and the amount that was left over I paid for with a $10 gift card I received from My Points. So my OOP would have been 2.21 and with the gift card paying for that it was 0! Yeah. I am a mild couponer but sure love to stock my shelves with free stuff or cheap stuff. Who wouldn't?

Some things to remember when you first start:

1. Couponing is work. But you can choose how much time you want to spend at it.

2. Start small. I started with CVS and of course clipping coupons for grocery shopping. At this time I do not have a lot of time to run to multiple stores. Choose one drugstore and learn its ins and outs. I'm now getting many toiletries very cheaply and often for free.

3. You don't have to buy lots of papers to get coupons. I have one paper delivered every week and my in-laws get two papers and give me the inserts. I am not out to have tons of shampoos or other items because I don't have the room for storage. I do like to have enough until the next sale rolls around.

4. Couponing gets easier the longer you do it. Give it time. Like anything else in life, practice makes perfect. It also gets addictive. You really start to hate paying full price for things. 

5. When life is hectic, take a break. When I am busy or have sick kids, I don't deal shop. I just wait until the next week to start again.

 If you ever have any questions on starting to coupon shop and stockpile, please just ask. There are people out there that do far better than I ever do and have entire blogs on the topic, but for me it is a small part of my life that I do enjoy sharing via my blog. I'm happy to get others started.

Some of my favorite couponing blogs:

hip2save.com

weusecoupons.com

jerikayssearchfortheperfectdeal.blogspot.com

http://www.totallytarget.com/

I want to provide the link to one of my absolute favorite money saving blogs. She is straightforward and so informative. Right now she has a series on making money through rebates. 

Frugal Makes Cents

Oh I forgot one. This is a great resource of SoCal couponers as she is in our area but she shares nationwide info too.  http://www.saveathomemommy.com/

and

http://www.simplycvsshopping.com/

Linking to:

The Thrifty Home

Time Warp Wife

The Saved Quarter

Raising Homemakers

A Tour of my Fifties Kitchen

I love to see tours of other people's homes, especially kitchens. So in tune with that, I thought I would share my kitchen such as it is. If you want to see a kitchen from the fifties, I have one. Other than flooring and an added dishwasher, this is the home's original kitchen. We bought this house after my hubby's grandmother passed away. She was the original owner and the cleanest most persnickity woman I ever met. I mean that in a good way. It is the reason the kitchen was kept in such good care.  Ready for a time warp?

Love doing dishes and looking out my window.

Original stove hood. Copper is what I was told it is made of. Not sure about that.

Oranges from the yard.

Morning central.

 Original oven and my aprons hanging there. Of course the dirtiest one is on top.

Hung this pot rack here though it has never held a pot. Too low. Just old things from my mother's kitchen.

We cram this banquet with 7 people sometimes. Dad and I get the bench. The kids and their friends all squeeze.

Finally figured out where to place my spatterware coffee pot I just bought.

50s houses have lots of doors.

Snack jar I always keep filled for the kids. Usually it holds Goldfish but today I couldn't resist the Lil' Debbies.

 Just looking at these pictures reiterates the need I feel to paint this kitchen another color. It is indeed the color Bandaid as my kids say.

Okay do you want one now? They are great frozen.

There you have my simple kitchen. What I did not show you were the funky tiles I have strategically hidden. Turquoise blue Sunburst tiles. I even see dishes with that pattern in antique stores. Have never been able to embrace them but maybe someday I'll go more retro in here but I just love cozy so much more.

Linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
A Stroll Thru Life
Boogie Board Cottage
Show off your Cottage Monday
Coastal Charm
A Beach Cottage
Sue Loves Cherries
Faded Charm
Savvy Southern Style
Brambleberry Cottage
Vintage Thingies Thursday
My Romantic Home