Scenic California Coast and the Cutest Darn Mardi Gras Cupcakes

These are just some shots from the car driving up the coast  on a foggy morning to see the sea lions. 

On one side you have rolling hills and barns 

and on the other side of the highway you have the Pacific. Truly the most beautiful place in the world to me. My inlaws are getting up in years and may sell Elle Cottage someday and we will miss coming here so often. We will come but we will be renting houses like we used to do many years ago.

We love to visit the sea lions as this is their haul out area and the males, cows an pups are all scattered in the hundreds along the beach. Mating season brings the big boys out and they fight for territory on the beach. Fascinating to see.

They stretch all down the beach. Q says it stinks there. It does a little but it is so worth the sight.

Oh, and I had to share these. A Spoonful Of had these on her blog and I just thought they were perfect for Mardi Gras. She makes some great baked goods. Go over and check these out.

Easy Dinner Rolls

Back in my January no spend month I really pushed myself to eat out of the pantry as much as possible. Often my kiddos will invite friends and I scramble to stretch the meal. I found this easy dinner roll recipe that you bake up in a muffin tin.

Aren't they cute all rolled up in my muffin tin?

These would be perfect with the Mexican Meatball Soup I posted about a couple of days ago. This is from cooks.com and you can find the recipe here.

Linking to:
Success U
Organize and Decorate Everything
Wow Us Wed.
Raising Homemakers
Crystal & Co.

Coastal Weekend

This is where I am at the moment. I am at Elle Cottage for a few days. We are cozy with the wood stove blazing and a pot of tea steeping in the kitchen. 

Last night we went down for a sunset walk on the beach. All bundled up we waited for the sun to kiss the horizon.

Today hubby and I stole a little time to go to the darling nursery up here. It is ever so charming.

The deer are in the yard right now and Q loves it. She kept asking all week if we were going to visit the reindeer.
Tonight it is just the two of us for a nice dinner out. I am so looking forward to it. We head home tomorrow.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life
A Delightsome Life
Cozy Home Scenes
Wow Us Wed.

Mexican Meatball Soup

I love to use leftovers for meals the next day. One of my favorites in winter is Mexican Meatball Soup.

When I make Simple Spanish Rice I am often left with plenty of leftovers. So the next day I will use this as the base for my soup.

It is so easy too if you have some meatballs in the freezer. I love to make loads of them and freeze them in batches for spaghetti or soup and even meatball subs.

First saute some diced celery, onions and carrots in your pan with a little oil. Add some chicken broth. I keep the big boxes in the pantry but you can use bullion and water. Dump in your rice and meatballs and any seasoning you might like. I usually add a little salt and pepper and parsley. The rice is already seasoned with cumin and gives the soup a good flavor. 

Add a tossed Mexican salad and some tortilla chips for an easy supper.

Linking to:

Show & Tell Friday

BNOTP

Thrifty Living Series - Saving on Groceries/Food Budget

If you are going to pursue frugality in any way, this is one area you have to look at closely. It is an area that is often flexible. You can go out to eat every other night and easily spend hundreds a week or you can stay home and cook and spend only a hundred dollars a week. I am going to approach this post from my viewpoint. We are a house of six. Mom, dad and kids ages 20,17,14 and three. So in all reality I am feeding five adults and one child.

Before I came home full time it was not uncommon for us to eat out at least once a week and pick up fast food another night. Those days are long gone. We can easily go a couple months between sit down restaurant dinners but we still get some take out for lunches out about once a week. To go out as a family of six almost never happens. This is probably vacation meals or maybe some one's birthday but I usually cook meals at home for birthdays and holidays finding it cheaper and easier to just deal with a group at home.

So here is the main way to save money on your food budget...STAY HOME! Sorry but this is just the facts. Whenever we do eat out I am always thinking, "Gee that would have bought two meals worth of food." Cooking at home from scratch as much as possible is the cheapest way to go. Pre-made convenience foods tend to be more expensive per serving than a home made meal.

As for shopping I do several things. I buy most of my meat at Fresh n Easy and usually always the markdown meat that has to be sold that day. I just peruse the isle and grab whatever is marked down that I know we will eat and is a good value. I freeze it as soon as I get home and we have never been sick from it. I also have price points for sales that I will stock up on. For example .99 per lb. for chicken breasts on the bone is my stock up price. I have not seen it cheaper around here so that is what I look for. Meat is also now a condiment in many meals. Instead of a platter of pork chops say one night , I will cook a mark down pork loin roast and use the rest the next day diced up for pork fried rice. All whole chickens are always carved and then boiled for soup the next day. I use every scrap I can.

For produce I grow a small veggie garden in our front yard. This of course only off sets what I need to buy a little. Mainly, I make almost weekly trips to a local produce/bulk store and stock up. For about $20 I come out with produce and beans/nuts for a week or more. I do not buy produce grown in Mexico if I can help it. I buy seasonal produce for price and peace of mind. I do buy some produce especially berries at Sam's club. I fill in when needed with frozen or canned veggies.

Probably the most valuable part of saving on groceries is having a price book. I avoided it for a long time but could not really know the lowest prices for items until I really listed it all. I keep a small book and go through the sale papers weekly making notes of what the rock bottom prices were. When you know an item is at its lowest price, you then stock up and buy whatever you will need until the next sale. For grocery stores this is usually every three to four months. This is called the Pantry Principle. Start small and stock up when you can. If my husband has a particularly nice check (he is hourly) I will go to Sam's and stock up on the items I know are cheapest there. I can buy a 40 lb. bag of flour and it will last me about six months. I make all our own pizza crusts and we bake a lot of cookies and some of our own bread and muffins.

A well stocked pantry is your hedge against weeks where you are sick, your paycheck is low, a car repair that eats up your budget (we have a $1400 repair this week in fact). In my January no spend personal challenge, I did not go shopping for almost two weeks. So for one week I spent only $38 on milk, eggs and veggies/fruit. Now our cupboards we picked clean let me tell you. Kids will go for convenience first, then down to food they have to make. They were looking pretty sad. I made healthy plentiful meals, baked bread and cookies and made popcorn (oil and kernels in a pan) at night for snacks. The little one knew no different, her belly was full, the older ones felt a little more deprived and were excited to see me heading out for groceries one day. They had plenty to eat but missed the boxed snacks and easier foods.

Quoting Amy Dacyczyn, my frugal idol, "Whenever people complain to me that "I don't have time to do all of that frugal stuff," I wonder if they waste time running off to the store every time they run out of something. The pantry principle is one of many frugal practices that saves both money and time.

I could go into this subject so deeply we would be here all day and I may have to as this series progresses.

Here are a few of my posts on saving on food:

Cherry Picking the Deals to Spend Less

Why I Order Groceries From Amazon

Stretching My Grocery Dollar

Making Ground Beef Leaner

Don't Throw Food Away

Our Valentine's Day

 Do you see that hunk behind me there? He is so awesome. God I love him. Sorry I just do. I was out front taking pictures of my daughter getting ready to head out on a special date and he drove up. Some lovely flowers and Loft House cookies of course. I don't know what I am saying here but it was something good about the flowers. My kid was snapping pics.

They smelled so lovely.

My daughter getting ready to go out on a surprise date all planned by her boyfriend. She was so excited.

My younger girl making her famous brownies for all her Valentines at church.

She wrapped each one so carefully and finished with a bow.

nd of course my baby opening up her card from daddy. He always gives the girls their cards as he is there first Valentine in life.

My daughter's friend asked why we weren't out for Valentine's day and we laughed. That is for the young we said. Fighting those crowds plus we were just both tired from a long but lovely day. We will be out of town this weekend and will celebrate with a dinner for two at our favorite restaurant on the central coast. Hope yours was filled with love and the simple joys of life.

Linking to:
Wow Us Wed.
Raising Homemakers
Transformation Thurs.
Home and Garden Thurs.

Happy Valentine's to You!!

Love and hugs to all of you on this Valentine's Day.

You know I am a sentimental sap and just want you all to know how much I love my blogging friends.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO!!

Today is pretty much a normal day around here. Kids to school and piano lessons later and for dinner, BLT's and potato salad. Maybe something sweet for dessert but my rear does not need this. I have some goodies for the kids and hubby.

Finally I am joining Art @ Home's Love Poem Linky Party. After much searching for one I thought really evoked my feelings for the one I love, I chose this simple poem. My favorite time of day is when my man pulls up out front and he is home again.

All day I did the little things,
The little things that do not show;
I brought the kindling for the fire
I set the candles in a row,
I filled a bowl with marigolds,
The shallow bowl you love the best --
And made the house a pleasant place
Where weariness might take its rest.
* * * * *
You came into that quiet room
That glowed enchanted with the bloom
Of yellow flame. I saw your face.
Illumined by the firelit space,
Slowly grow still and comforted --
"It's good to be at home," you said.From a poem by Blanche Kuder

Happy Valentine's To Me

I was at our local garden center picking out some seeds and lovely chicken manure for my veggie garden and saw this sweet little metal pot. I placed it next to a pic of me and my original Valentine, my sweet momma.

I love me some galvanized metal so I caved and bought it for myself.

So nice to have some greenery inside. I hope it will be happy here.

We have this unruly rose in my backyard and this gardener did not cut it back this last year so look where it has climbed to.

Climbing, climbing...

Oh are we going to have a heck of a time getting it pruned out of my tree. My ornamental peach is just about to bloom so we will wait until it is done.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Tabletop Tuesday
Cozy Home Scenes
Coastal Charm
The Stuff of Success
Thrifty Thurs.

Winter Fruit Salad California Style

What do you do on a dreary California Saturday night that is threatening to rain? Why you barbecue of course and for sunshine you make a pretty fruit salad.

Take some California strawberries...

and some oranges from the trees out back...

slice a banana and there you have it. Sunshine in a bowl. Any my little one said it was the best fruit salad ever. That is only because her little mind probably doesn't remember the last time we had fruit salad last summer.

Linking to:

Seasonal Sundays

Sunlit Sunday

Masterpiece Monday

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Little Red House

Regaining Control of My Blog

You may have noticed a few changes on my header. I am thrilled. I loved my old one but didn't really own it as they say.

I have been on a mission to get full control of my blog. Over a year ago I decided to try and make my blog cuter and not knowing much about headers and html, I hired it done. I loved the header she created but she did all the work of implementing the changes and had the images in her Photobucket account. One day I woke up and my whole blog was a Photobucket warning, you know the one. She did update her account but I have been anxious to have ownership of my header and the account it is in.

The blog designer I used had moved onto other things and I was at a loss as to how to do the changes and in came Brenda and Claudia. Without my even asking, they came in and helped me figure out how to get the old header out of my html and my new one in. Brenda sent me many mock ups and Claudia walked me through some learning steps on the phone. I am so indebted to them. We are all busy yet they took so much time to get me through all this. Thank you dear blogging friends for your kindness. I owe you.

Anyway, I am dragging this out but I want to share this experience with you so that you all know that if you hire someone to help you with your blog, be careful to make sure you have the headers and such in your photo accounts as well as knowing how and where the items were placed on your blog. We invest a lot of time in our blogs and to have parts of it disappear and you not having control over it, is a nightmare.

I know there are lots of great designers out there but if you are going to use them keep my struggle in mind.

Linking to:
SNS 120
Show and Tell Friday
Your Thriving Family
Get Schooled Saturday
Sat. Spotlight
Sunday Blog Love
Seasonal Sundays
Nifty Thrifty Things
BNOTP
Barn Hop
Organize and Decorate Everything
Women Living Well
Trans. Thurs.

Girl Time

I had breakfast out with Patty and Shelly. Such a treat to have girl time and get in a good chat. I love them, they are such a blessing I have received through blogging and they live just minutes away. Shelly gifted me with this cute family jug. She said she was thinning things out and knew it would go well with my crocks.

Shelly I love it. Thanks!! It was a little lower than my thrift store large crock so I used some old books to prop it up. You know I was realizing that everything on this table except for the owl, was free or thrifted. See you don't have to spend much to decorate you home.

Linking to:
Show and Tell Friday
Common Ground
Seasonal Sundays

Thrifty Living Series - Entertainment on the Cheap

This week we are talking about entertainment and how to have some for little or no cost. Now this is an important topic in frugality as in order to keep frugal habits sustainable, you have to feel you are not deprived. Life needs to be fun and it really doesn't cost much of anything around here to have fun.

For the most part my husband and I would rather just stay home but of course our kids like to get out a little more. We have always home schooled so my kids are used to occupying themselves at home for longer periods of time but older kids do like to get out once in a while.

Really, I try to limit the running around and they know this so they will think ahead and come to me with an idea of how to get them to and from without too much extra driving. Our kids are expected to pay for their entertainment out of their allowance. This teaches them to find cheap entertainment and not ask for endless dollars to spend on movies and such. They are for the most part pretty frugal with what they spend out and it may be because they know they are spending their own money.

Honestly though, as a family, we stay home and just watch movies and play games. We enjoy this. We do use Netflix all the time and feel this is money well spent. We only have basic cable. Our major entertainment is really weekends on the coast using a family home and camping trips. We stay home most of the time and don't spend a lot so when we travel with the kids we will treat us all to dinner out and take advantage of some special excursions and stops at Starbucks, my favorite.

About twice a year we go to the movies and always go to the early bird showing for the cheaper rates. The library is another form of fun as we like to read and enjoy an hour or so at the library almost weekly. Entertaining friends is always fun and I can feed a group inexpensively if I make all the food.

Of course in Southern California we have lots of outdoor fun all year and we visit local parks and nature centers quite a bit. I love gardens and prefer these types of outings to museums. They are generally if not free, than reasonable.

Mostly, I would have to say, make your fun at home. If you are used to running around than give yourself some time to get out of the habit of always being on the go. By staying home you save gas, dollars on eating out and miles on your car. Enjoy your home. Get it cleaned up and straightened by Friday if you can so you can enjoy the weekend and not spend as much time cleaning. This way you will want to stay in and savor your cozy home.

Please visit Brenda at Cozy Little House, Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage, Jen at Muddy Boot Dreams  and Diane of Lavender Dreams and see what the other bloggers in this series are up to.


Linking to:
Katherine's Corner
Raising Homemakers
Transformation Thursday
A Glimpse Inside
The Saved Quarter
Ladybird Ln.

Comic Relief #2

I promised to share my funny story about our goofy dog. I am not kidding when I tell you I deserve a crown for living with this dog for so many years. She is the most busy, get into trouble girl. I swear in all seriousness this dog has ADHD. I think dogs can have issues just like people. You know that movie Life with Marley? I never needed to see it because I have lived it for over nine years.

Well, the other night we all heard the most loud ruckus. But what is funny is we all knew what the sound was.

You see our big dog likes to try to lick the dirty dishes when we are loading the dishwasher. We all shoo her away but my daughter's friend was trying to be nice and load his plate in the dishwasher. Little did he know you have to watch out for Sandy the plate licker. She eyed the unsuspecting loader and came a licking. Her collar must have become caught on the bottom rack. Of course the dog panicked.

Here is where the bottom rack should be.

And here is where it ended up. Across the front room and in my entry way. Once she became unhooked she continued licking. The poor kid looked like a truck had hit him and the rest of us knew what had happened. We all laughed and I of course snapped a picture. In our house you really just have to laugh or you will crumble under the chaos at times. Laughter just helps you get through the craziness of life. Oh, and my little one kept bringing me dirty forks as she kept finding them under furniture, thrown askew as the rack rattled across our house.

I added the Linky Followers thingy on my side. I know we are all worried about the Google followers going away so I added  the widget. You can get it too if you click on it.

Tomorrow is another installment from the Thrifty Living Series.

Hearts

Today I am joining Art @ Home's 14 days of love celebration.

I just love HEARTS. All manner of shapes, uses or colors. I have just always had a fondness for hearts.

Right now they are scattered all over our house of course in celebration of the day of love.

I checked in my cupboard and I have eight heart shaped bowls. This is the tiniest. I also have a heart shaped cake pan used every year on Valentines for some sort of cake of course.

We hang them outdoors...

And near our doors.

Q was having lunch and said she had found a heart shaped chip. She sure did.

And yes she was still in her jammies for lunch. With hearts on them wouldn't you know.

Linking to:
Bowl Full of Lemons
Wow Us Wed.