Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Tuesday Thoughts About...

...New Year's Eve!

We have big plans. I thought I would share our tickets:


It's doubtful that we'll even make it to the ball drop!!




Monday, December 30, 2024

Me on Monday

I'm getting ALL my groceries HALF PRICE FOR LIFE!! Read that again--HALF PRICE--FOR LIFE! Yep, I am.

"How?" you might be asking. Did I win some grocery lottery? Well, yes I did--sort of! Here's how I'm doing it. 

From now on, I'm only going to buy the BOGO items. In case you don't know what that means, it's "Buy One Get One" for free. It's going to require diligence, planning (which I'm really good at), and going to the store every week. I can do it for these savings. 

We will eat based on what's on sale. Sorry, Butch if there's something you don't like. I'm on a mission to show it can be done. It also means that I'll be checking the Kroger ad too. Butch does the shopping there as I do not know the store layout. Another thing I don't like about Kroger--they don't put their BOGO's all in one place. You have to seek them out. Publix, you can just scroll through all of them at once. Win!

I'll be keeping track as I go along. I'm actually excited about this challenge for myself. Little things make me happy. Technically, this could be big. I have no idea what we actually spend on groceries now. Starting January 1st, I'll be keeping track. I also realize that I'll be starting that month with a pretty full pantry and freezer from the holidays. 

I realize that there are basic things we need that are never on sale. That's okay. My goal is to figure out a crazy, random dollar amount that will be my goal for every month of the year. I have one in mind, but might think it's completely unrealistic. Okay, I'll tell you--$200. Only two hundred dollars a month for groceries. I'm excited about that challenge. I think I can pull it off.  It will be fun to see if I can live within a reasonable budget for food--or an unreasonable budget. Whatever.

This will bring us back to our 1970's  food budget. At the beginning of our marriage, I budgeted $18 a week. If I went over even $2.00, that meant some other bill wasn't fully paid. I was able to stick to that amount without too much difficulty. 

By the late 70's and with the two girls, I was up to $50 a week. That's why I think $200 could be unrealistic. We'll see. I'll be sure to let you know how it's going. 

Here are some of my recent purchases that makes me think I'll be able to do the $200 thing. 

All of this was $62.00. I guess it doesn't look like much. Looks like I went over my personal weekly challenge of $50 by $12 for a week. I love a good challenge!

This was the last week:
I couldn't believe my luck that the chicken was BOGO--which I needed for two out of three of my holiday cooking "events."

These rolled under the seat--but I only got one of each as well as some other things above. You do not have to buy two to get the discount--basically half price.

Okay, so this all added up to $76.31. Looks like I'm going to have to start being a little more judicious with my selections if I want to stay within my $50 budget. Hmmm, it might be harder than I thought. We'll see...

Now that I think about this, I think I'm also going to set a limit on what I spend eating out. I eat lunch (and sometimes dinner) out several times a week. I'm always up for a good challenge. It's going to be hard to set an amount since I don't really know what I'm spending now. I'm also going with $50 for this too. Luckily I rarely have a cocktail which can be $18 or more! That will help. I'll keep you posted!

We haven't lived on a budget for probably 30 years. I'm not proposing that--going on a full budget--I don't want to get carried away here. 

As I said, we'll see.....

PS After I finished writing this post, I coincidentally watched a documentary on Prime called Living on One Dollar a Day. It's about 4 college guys who went to Guatemala to live below the poverty line for 56 days. Most people there live on one dollar a day. I had no idea the careful planning it would take. They were counting calories because their nutrition was suffering. They are working to make a little extra. This was so interesting. Makes me realize that what I am committed to doing is going to be easy in comparison!

I can do this!!! 


Sunday, December 29, 2024

Something for Sunday

All of our grandchildren are grown. It's to the point that I learn something new from them every time we're together. This time is was about Phrogging. 

Do you know what that is? I had never heard of such a thing. So, even though they explained it to me, I looked up the definition. It's a real thing!


"Phrogging is the act of secretly living in another person’s home without their knowledge or permission."

Then, they told me there's a show on Hulu about it. I have now watched 7 episodes. It's unbelievable. 

Give it a try. It's called "Phrogging: Hider in My House." 

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Scrapbook Saturday

I only did one scrapbook page in December. 
This one is about the Halloween luncheon that Connie and Amanda had in October. 

I seem to have lost my desire for scrapbooking. I don't know why. I guess I'll wait and see if it comes back. 

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Ten Things Thursday

Well, it's the day after Christmas. I'm doing what I normally do--a continuation of yesterday--starting the BIG clean and Christmas "takedown".
There is a lot to do but I've already done a lot. 

We were finished with our Christmas brunch by 12:30. I sent everyone home with leftovers and then proceeded to:
clean out both refrigerators
put away all the Christmas dishes
laundry
put away Christmas gifts

Still, there's much to do:
clean out the pantry
clean out wrapping paper & ribbon box
haul stuff up to the Christmas closet
put away all the Christmas stuff

I'm pretty sure you dont' want to hear about all the work I'm doing--so, how about some "Before and After" houses? 










I love all of these transformations so much. Just goes to show that you can make anything look beautiful if you have the money! 

Speaking of transformations, by tomorrow, my house should be transformed from Christmas to just our regular place. I do love the look of Christmas, but it flies by too fast. Until next year...


Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Tuesday Thoughts About...

..what most of us are doing today---cooking! 

After our crazy, fun-filled weekend, I went straight into cooking for the next three food events: Christmas Eve breakfast, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day Brunch. 

Butch has worked on all of it with me. So. Many. Things!

Anyway, I hope that if you are spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I do hope it looks like one of these--to be clear, mine doesn't!






Monday, December 23, 2024

Me on Monday

Well, the party was a great success. Now it's time to move on to the next thing. 

This is what I want to be doing:
Unfortunately, I do not get a breather! Today, Monday, starts the cooking for tomorrow--Christmas Eve breakfast, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning brunch. It's a lot. You can bet that when it's over, that photo above will be a reality!

I hope all my readers get a chance to kick back and relax soon! Merry Christmas to ALL.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Five Things Thursday

Today is my 2nd annual Charles Dickens party. This is the 181st anniversary of the publication of A Christmas Carol. What better group to invite than my book club?
I've said it before---many times before---setting the table is my favorite thing to do. As for the tablescape, I just pile up a bunch of stuff. In this case, anything I have related to Charles Dickens. 
Charles Dickens books and a picture of Charles Dickens (yes, I bought it at the Charles Dickens house/museum in London--been there twice).
A Fitz & Floyd Scrooge teapot and lots of candles. My table favors are little glass vials of loose tea. I do love table favors.

The pitcher is part of the Fitz & Floyd Dickens collection next to the Scrooge hat I decorated. I love everything about all of this.

On the menu:
Wassail
Potato cheese soup
7-Up biscuits
Grape salad
Tea punch
Pumpkin bars

I'll share pictures of my book club friends later. I do have a couple things up my sleeve. I'm going to have a little trivia quiz to see how much everyone remembers from A Christmas Carol. 

As far as movies go, I grew up with the Mr. Magoo version. My all time favorite version is A Muppets Christms Carol. If you look close, it's on the table with the teapot sitting on top. The movie is adorable. 

Also, I plan to toast Charles with this sentiment:
"I wonder if--all the way back on December 19, 1843--Charles Dickens had any notion that a book club in 2024 would be celebrating him. That's quite a legacy!! Here's to you Chuck!"

And legacy--it surely is. Happy Charles Dickens day! 


Wednesday, December 18, 2024

What's Been Happeniin' This Holiday Season!

There haven't been as much going on this holiday season. Still, there are a few things to share:
I had a festive lunch with my high school friend, Cathy. This was our first time here and the food was unusual and delicious. I highly recommend the "hot brown."

We went to the Buttermilk Ranch--all dressed up like a gingerbread house. 

I finally got Morgan and Olly's Christmas card after 10 days! It only came from Illinois, so not that far!

Aren't "the boys" cute in their festive scarves? They are really well-behaved for sure! I know, I've said that before, but it's so true!

Morgan and Olly went to some "dress like santa" bar party.
I'm not sure what it was all about, I think it was some sort of bar crawl thing where you visited several places. They went with friends. Sounds like fun. I would totally do something like this.


Sara, my garden girl, and her crew planted my winter boxes. I look forward to them every year. They also surprised me by decorating our mailbox--our Christmas gift from Sara.

Nicky always sends me pictures of Rio hiding during the holidays. 
She always loves to get under the tree. She doesn't bother anything, though, so that's good.

You never know where she'll turn up.

Speaking of Nicky, he delivers a beautiful poinsettia to me (and his mother) every holiday season.
They get bigger and bigger every year. It's so gorgeous! And that's why he's my number one son-in-law!!

Last Friday was our poker dinner. Unfortunately not everyone could make it.
From the left: Karolyn, Butch, me, Linda, David, Jack and Connie. We had the best time. We vowed to get together more often.

Also, last week, we went to the Bonefish Grill with Stephanie and Nicky. We used this special event to celebrate Steph's new job. It was the BEST deal! "Merry Martini" was a 5-course dinner paired with 5 different drinks. We started off with a glass of champagne with a bowl of lobster bisque--with lots of lobster on top. 

The second course was a shaved brussel sprout salad with pomegranate vinaigrette along with a pomegranate martini. Next came a seafood del mar with crawfish, shrimp, and scallops in an Alfredo sauce paired with a white Christmas cosmo. Next came a filet lobster thermidor with a Christmas martini. Finally, the meal ended with a gingerbread espresso brownie with a gingerbread martini. It was all so delicious--the portions were huge and we took a lot home with us. Since I was the driver, I had just a sip of each martini to taste them. They were all so good too. And the best part---the cost was only $75.00 per person!! Later, I priced out the cost of the food at $96.00 plus the drinks--which I have no idea what they cost--but 5 of them--probably at least $12.00 each--it was so well worth the cost. 

The downside, it was to be a "community" event--which meant that there were long tables. Luckily for us, we were at a table to ourselves, so we had the best time. 

Check out these events at Bonefish. You can rely on delicious food for sure--one of our favorite places. There's another one coming up in January. Check it out.

On Monday, Connie and I planned to pick up our old lady bridge friends--almost 97 now. Betty was sick and not able to join us.
We picked up Louise and took her to The Midtown Cafe! Another delicious lunch. 

Yesterday, I was at Richland for our annual Christmas bridge luncheon.
I snapped this picture at the entrance to the club--so pretty. 

After my post yesterday about vintage decor, I thought I would share this little lady.
She is so darn cute standing on top of those old blocks! I think I picked her up at some antique mall a very long time ago. She still makes me happy!

I thought I would share the entry when you walk through the front door.
This is the reason I wanted an open foyer/entry. We've been here for almost 30 years now and have the bannisters decorated every year.

The entry table differs every year.
It's pretty easy. You just pile on a bunch of stuff! Books are always a part of my decor. 

This is the latest needlepoint that I've done. 
It was a lot of fun to stitch. Wouldn't it be fun to have a complete red and pink tree? I won't be doing it as I am starting to get rid of and not replace my decor. I love it when it's done, but more work than I want anymore. 

Okay, I guess that's enough for today. 

The whole family starts arriving today to celebrate a couple very special birthdays. Mindy is turning 40 and Jordan is turning 30. We have a jam-packed, fun-fulled weekend planned--all a surprise for the birthday girls. 

I might be able to slip in a post or two, but no promises!