Meal Plan and Grocery Spending

I haven't been keeping up on the showing y'all the Meal Plans here.
Just too much to do some days, keeping track of dr. appts. and phone calls and cooking from scratch, cleaning and all that other junk.
Something has to give......

But I'm being all good and stuff this week.
I have still been recording my grocery receipts every week and so far in May, through the 24th, I have spent a grand total of $421.49 on food, with a reg. retail value of $699.21.

On my grocery list for this week?
Well it ain't much.

A quantity of "ICE" drinks at WeisPMITAMarkets
A few bags of Texas Toast Croutons on sale $1 ea.
A lb. of low sodium turkey deli meat.
A tomato or two for sandwiches.
And maybe some ice cream and milk for #2 Son.
That's it!

Trying to get through the last week of the month on $40 and keep the food spending well under $500.

I can't tell you what we ate last week except for Meatball Subs(turkey/beef balls and homemade sauce for me) on Wednesday, Honey Garlic Shrimp with coconut Rice on Thursday, a Roasted chicken on Friday and Chicken and Broccoli with leftover Honey Garlic sauce and coconut rice on Saturday.
The rest of the week was 'this and that' I put together from around the pantry/freezer mostly, trying to get back into my eating routine after the trip to Graduation last week when I went off the plan a bit.

This week I'm going into the week WITH a plan for a change.....lol

Sunday--Cookout...burgers, dogs, homemade potato salad and baked beans and new pickles(all low sodium except for the nitrite-free bacon in the beans)
Monday--Bob Evans cooked us dinner(used a coupon for a BOGO deal)...I had potato crusted flounder.
Tuesday--Chicken & Dumplings-using leftover roasted chicken-not sure how much of this I can let myself have yet
Wednesday--Catfish fry, leftover baked beans, carrots and potato salad
Thursday--leftover Garlic Chicken w/Broccoli and coconut rice
Friday--Ravioli in Sauce w/leftover meatballs, green salad
Saturday--Whatever is still leftover

The only cooking I need to do the rest of the week is make the Chicken & Dumplings, fry the fish, make spaghetti sauce and boil the ravioli.
Did I just say "only"?.....because this sounds like a lot as I look at that sentence.  ;-)

We are due for some really warm weather the end of the week(can you say 89??)so all meals are subject to change, needless to say.... lol

So that's where the food money stands now and what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.
What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy
 

Memorial Day 2013

Busy day here today.
We did our Memorial Day cook-out yesterday.  Today was all about working on projects both big and small around the house.

First I finished cleaning off the sofa and chair in the den and putting everything into the bookcase.....
Look!  I can even close the doors on some shelves......

 

Ignore that man behind the curtain that pile of crap still sitting on the ceramic garden seat next to the bookcase....

Then it was off to run errands....like furniture window shopping.....

Running to the beer distributor to stock Hubs up on liquid refreshments for the beginning of summer, to the garden nursery for plants and finishing the trip off with a late lunch at Bob Evans with a BOGO entrée coupon.....go me! ;-)

Then home to prepare the garden beds and do a little more yard maintenance and voila! We are ready to plant.....

Now it's time to chillax with drinks......

And a crabby summer snack gotten for half-price at the bakery.....go me again!

Tomorrow if the weather holds up I'll make a trip to a local cemetery and give some thanks & rememberance to the veterans I find there.


So what are you up to today?

Sluggy

Going Outside for A Change

It's a nice day today weatherwise.
It's going to be in the 60's.
Not as cold as yesterday so we will be outside this afternoon working on outdoor projects like the lawn, the garden, tree trimming, etc.

I've got yellow eye beans on boiling, almost ready to go into the crockpot for baked beans.
I can't have the canned baked beans(too much sodium!)so I have to make my own.  I will sneak in a little nitrite-free bacon, though not all the salt added to the canned brands.
We'll be grilling out today as well.

#2 son did some yard cleanup for me yesterday before he went to work at the restaurant and Hubs turned over the soil in the garden bed out back and the flower bed in front.
We are a couple weeks late in getting the garden refreshed this year.  Last weekend we were at Graduation and the week before it was freezing(good thing we didn't try to get an early jump on planting!).

Here's what I found when I went outside a few days ago to the garden bed.....

Those are 4 "volunteer" Collard plants.  I had Hubs turn the soil around them and not plow them under or pull them up.  Perhaps I'll have volunteer Morning Glories as well since I plant them over in that corner and they usually reseed from the pervious year's vines if I don't pull them out.

And the Rhododendron is in full bloom too....

Unfortunately I fear my lemon magnolia tree we planted 3 years ago out front is dead.  It just couldn't take the wacky weather last year and gave up.  sigh
I guess I have to move back down South if I ever want a true Magnolia tree in my yard again.....

I'm off to weed wack the yard....oh goody! ;-)
Are you working in your yard/garden today?

Sluggy

It Has Begun.....

With Favorite Daughter moving 1300 miles away from home and Oldest Son graduating from college and now officially out of the house, it has begun.
What you ask?
Why the Great House Fix-Up and Purge of 2013!
After years of neglect and deferred spending on our home, we are in Spend Mode.

I knew there was a reason I had been socking away all that cash in my yearly Savings Challenges!
But be advised that we will be spending with an eye toward frugality....how could I not?! 8-)

The game plan of Project Living Space is to--

A-Take care of many maintenance issues on the house, both inside and outside.
B-Upgrade and/or change out broken and "just doesn't work for us" furniture, appliances and features of our home.
C-Further purging and decluttering in preparation for selling and moving.  The timeline for this to occur is 3 to 5 years down the road.
It's the perfect time to start whittling down on the big list of things to get done to get this house ready to sell when we retire.

We began on a small scale the weekend before last, when Hubs and I replaced my old, ugly, ginormous, broken computer desk and equally worn chair with this duo from Office Max....

Though this new desk is only 12 inches shorter in length, visually it's so much lighter than the clunky massive looking desk it is replacing.  The computer drawer has a good strong magnet closure so I can use the pull-out tray as a real drawer to hold stuff instead of for a keyboard.
I'm not crazy about the velour on the chair, as it will retain heat(yuck!)but it "went" with the desk color and it was on sale and it was comfortable.
The desk was on clearance too and better still as far as Hubs is concerned.....no tools were needed to put it together! 
I didn't marry him for his handyman skills.... ;-)

The desk is small enough not to be a dumping ground for papers/dishware/office supplies/mail/children's items they are too lazy to put away/etc.  It can hold the printer, my laptop, a lamp, a box of tissues, a mouse pad and mouse, and a coaster.
Any more room than that and I can't help myself and not collect/hoard stuff on it. ;-)

And since I had a ginormous hanging file drawer crammed with assorted office supplies/computer peripherals/etc. in it's predecessor, this is what I now have to deal with today.....

And this.....

(But not the Chihuahua...I have to deal with her all. the. time.)

I have a Barrister Bookcase(the ones with glass doors) next to my desk area.  Hubs and I cleaned it out the old books, appliance manuals and cookbooks and all the stuff from the old desk I still need will go in that bookcase.
This is what I'm working on today.

If I remember, I'll post a photo of the finished product.

Now I know the desk and chair do not match my family room/kitchen color scheme but some of that will also be changing in the coming months as we progress with the Great House Fix-Up & Purge of 2013.

Do you have any house/apartment projects to start soon?
Have you saved up the funds to pay cash for what you need to buy to accomplish your project?

Sluggy

A Frugal Splurge

Frugal and Splurge are two words you don't normally see used together but today I am gonna use 'em.

I mentioned having spent money on a designer purse earlier this week while out in western PA to see my son graduate.

I was good all weekend, except for the motel room, gas costs to go out there, food, alcohol and buying a celebratory dinner for 11 people.....and then my long latent impulsive demon kicked in.
It kicked in at breakfast on Sunday morning.

But I am blaming my son's girlfriend.
It's all her fault!

She just had to bring her designer purse to breakfast.
And I just happened to notice the awesome fabric it was made from......

It's no secret that my absolute favorite colors are any shade/tint of purple and most shades/tints of green.
Loved this fabric!!

She said it was a Vera Bradley purse.
Now anybody who knows me knows I am not a slave to labels, brands and designers.
I had no clue it was a designer bag and I really don't care that it is.
I just knew I wanted a purse made of the same fabric as this particular one.
But I am frugal at my core so I was going to settle for just admiring her purse.

And then she said those little words I love......I got it on sale at the Vera B. outlet in Grove City.
I only go and buy things there when they have an additional % off sale going.

She had me at additional % off sale.

Since the outlet mall is only about 4 miles past our exit onto I-80 I asked Hubs to make a detour to the Vera Bradley store.

Here is my booty....

And here is the receipt in it's own little envelope.  How hoity toity....

I'm not going to show you the actual receipt.
Let's just say it's just over 3 figures......

But man, did I get some deals for those 3 figures.

I got this one of course....

 

I liked it because it had handles and a strap, so I can choose how to carry it, depending on the situation.

Then I got this one because it's summery and bright.....and it was on clearance so less than $20....

It has an exterior pocket, an adjustable strap and a drawstring.

And then, because I couldn't make up my mind and only get two, I got this purse......

It's lime green and bright royal blue and suits my darker moods.

I made these purchases because I have no summer purse.  I wore mine out last year.  These fabric bags are more casual and that's how I roll, especially in the summer.  My other two purses are black and that doesn't cut it in the warm weather....unless I want to take up being a Goth.

I also didn't go into debt to buy these and I didn't dip into money reserved for bills and needs so I refuse to feel guilty about buying these bags.
I could sit here and justify this purchase until the end of time but I don't need to since I can clearly afford to spend the money.
If I was in debt though, I'd be kicking myself for dropping the cash.

I couldn't believe that Vera B. store.  More paisleys than I've ever seen in one place in my entire life!
Some of it was ugly but some was very nice and all of it had reg. retail prices I couldn't believe.
It's fabric people, not spun gold!
You could drop serious bucks in that place, even at outlet prices AND additional discounts during a sale.

Have you spent money lately in a moment of impulse on a want?
And do you feel guilty for doing it?

Sluggy