Make a Valentine's Day Gift for Pennies!

Valentine's Day is approaching and if you like giving sweet gifts to any of the young girls (or even adults) in your life, this post is for you! It takes a few minutes, requires no sewing, and costs mere cents!

Thrifty Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

I haven't posted a thrifty recipe in a while and as I was making up a batch of homemade chicken noodle soup today, I thought it would be a good post.

Fun, Upcycled Button Holder

I'm setting up a sewing/crafting corner and am on the hunt for pretty storage solutions.

This can was just begging to be reused, and when I got a great pack of buttons for Christmas, I knew it could be perfect for them.

Easy, Inexpensive Stocking Stuffer: Christmas S'mores

I haven't posted in a few days because we were out of town, celebrating the holiday with family. We had such a good time!

Today, I am finishing up some Christmas things, and one of them was so inexpensive and easy, I thought it would be a good post for the blog.  If you are looking for a great stocking stuffer that kids just love, these Christmas s'mores are easy and thrifty.

Thrifty Cooking: Meals 4 & 5 from the 5 Meals from One Turkey Meal Plan

This is the last installment in my 5-meals-from-1 turkey meal plan. I have to say, that $2.92 was the best investment I could make! The cooking method was great and the meat was flavorful. The first week, I made tacos, spaghetti, and modified BLT sandwiches. My family devoured them all, and the tacos and spaghetti were enough for 2 day's worth of lunches for my husband and I, so they were definitely more of a "serves 12" recipe! 

Simple and Cheap Christmas Gift: Felt Food

Most of us look for ways to save during the holidays. If you have a little one who loves to pretend cook, this gift idea is perfect. A sheet of acrylic felt is 29 cents, and you can get multiple pretend food out of it, or use up old fleece scraps. I sewed all of my "food" but I think you could do this with a hot glue gun, too.

Easy Christmas Card Holder Decoration

I secretly (not so secretly now) LOVE getting Christmas cards! They are always so cheerful and uplifting and I am sad that they aren't sent as much these days. However, I finally received one today and wanted to make a holder for them. (Well, my husband brought one he designed for his work home, so I'll count that one, too. I'll take what I can get these days!)

Thrifty Cooking: Meals 1-3 from One Turkey

Right before Thanksgiving, I scored an 11-pound turkey for $2.92, total! I told you guys about my plans for this guy,  but instead of updating the original post, I thought a new post would be less lengthy. When I cook like this, I always leave a day where I cook something completely different, so my family doesn't get tired of the main protein. Also, except for the sandwiches, I had leftovers, so these really serve more than 5. The chicken spaghetti probably comes in at under $1 a serving!

Upcycled Sewing Caddy

Lately, I have been having so much fun with hand embroidery. It's pretty surprising, since I am quite impatient (just ask my husband) and embroidery is very slow-going, but I just love the pictures the thread creates. My first try at embroidery was sprucing up a sweater destined for the donate pile; a Charlie Brown Christmas tree:

Simple Stocking Dress-Up (No-Sew!)

Our baby girl needed a stocking, and I came across a couple of plain green ones in my Christmas box. I decided I could cut out an applique design and affix it to the stocking.

Upcycled Baby's First Ornament

A couple of years ago, I made my son a baby's first ornament. I went to a big retail store, bought a fancy ornament, and followed the process I'll write out here. I love seeing it on our tree.

Easy, No-Cost Candy Cane Rag Wreath

I really liked how my Halloween rag wreath came out and wanted to do something similar for Christmas, although I did eye a white curtain and consider doing one like my fall shabby chic wreath. However, I already have a cute door decoration that I love, so knew that I wanted to work around it. I thought that a candy cane would be the perfect shape.

Thrifty Cold Monday Recipe: Ham and Bean Soup

I had posted in Meal Plan 1 a quick run-through of my bean soup recipe, but was asked by a couple of people for a more thorough recipe, so here it is. This is perfect for the cold weather, and you could easily make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the ham, and the bacon grease.

3 Day Meal Plan 2: Rotisserie Chicken

I have another delicious, low-cost 3-day meal plan, using one cooked rotisserie chicken. In this plan, I relied on helpers (mixes and prepared sauce) but you can very easily modify this to be made from scratch, and I usually do. It was just one of those weeks, and since we all have them, it's actually nice to show how an affordable home-cooked meal can still be put on the table, in very little time.

Swiffer Money-Saving Tip

You guys all may know this cleaning tip, but I thought I'd post it just in case.

I love my Swiffer mop. It's simple, lightweight, and quick. However, I hated spending money on the cleaning cloths. One day, I thought I'd see what happened if I wrapped a washcloth around it. Let the money-saving begin!

Quick Tip: Using Up Bananas

My 2 year-old has a condition best described by this internet meme:

3-Day Meal Plan 1: Rotisserie Chicken

One night, I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken at my grocery store. I served it with a nice salad and a couple of sides. But then I had leftovers...which would change my cooking life. I realized how many things you can do with a cooked rotisserie chicken! 

No-Cost Thanksgiving Upcycled Appliquéd Onesie

Whenever I see an adorable holiday-themed shirt, I first think of how cute it is, then think of how limited the wear will be. Yes, I'm just too practical (or cheap) to spend a lot on something my little ones will wear briefly.

With that in mind, I decided to upcycle and make my own Thanksgiving clothes for the babies. 

Turning Leftovers into a Sunday (or any-day) Breakfast Side Dish

Friday night, we had some delicious bacon cheeseburgers and seasoned fries from a great home town diner.

Exhibit A. Yes, it was as good as it looks.