Frugal In Florida

Stay Focused. That is Hubby's most famous line ... and everyone laughs when he says it to me as generally, it's because I've gotten off task, be it cooking for a group of friends or shopping for food. I DO have a tendancy to 'wander off' track!  But it's just funny because he always says "Stay Focused" ... So, I thought, what the heck, let's Stay Focused and put together our To Do List ... yup, I am a list lover, we all know that and nothing is more satisfying than checking off that stuff!! Here's what I have on task for the week ahead: Cleaning: Clear out cabinet underneath stove. Umm, this has really become a mess. I need to declutter and minimize, obviously. Drop off Goodwill bag and get receipt . Clean bottom 2 drawers of guest kitchen. Clean, organized and inventory guest freezer. Clean master bedroom walk in closet. Yes. Finances: Call Tmobile and rework bill. Budget for November. We have property ta...

Halloween is coming!!! That is my favorite holiday ... sadly, we've not celebrated it with a big house party in quite a few years, instead, opting to be the gathering spot for everyone to hook up and walk north to our favorite party ... used to be Shooters, but they renovated and went all upscale-like, so Paul and Young Ron are taking the party one block north to Bokampers ... so excited to see how this goes this year! So, needless to say, Friday night will be snack night ... but knowing Hubby, he will probably put some big @ss snacks on the plan ... just the way he is ;-) I've got a fairly steady schedule this week in the office ... not to mention a half day with my dad on Tuesday for doctor, blood work and eye glasses.  I'd like to take the whole day off but think I should hold off and see if I can't skip out early on Friday (which IS the last day of the month so I could be busy at the office, we will see) ... Costco shop on Saturday afternoon (for our anniversa...

I really like doing this post each week ... I think it keeps me a little more accountable and does make me think twice about some things... This was a really odd week ... probably because Sunday ended with me getting home late after having to run to the emergency room for my dad ... fortunately, he was released and doesn't seem to be anything "serious" but really, have YOU ever coughed so hard that you passed out? I haven't. Any way. The week went by real fast, I think ... and some things were frugal, and others, not so much. I did have a moment of self indulgence (I deserve it, damn it! Anyone? Raise your hand!) but otherwise, not a very bad week! Here are some of the Frugal Activities we did: 1. Avoided Costco, yet again! Eh, I do plan on going today though as it's our anniversary (whoops, we both totally forgot about it, is it the 24th or the 26th??) so I want to buy some nice rib eyes (not going to the $26 per pound place, sorry). 2.  Shopped at A...

I'll be honest, even though we ate all 3 meals from home for 7 days last week, I didn't follow the plan. There were some nights where I just had a cup of yogurt, a handful of chips and guacamole, etc. BUT at least we stayed away from eating out ;-) This week, I really really need to get focused and get to the gym at least TWICE (Monday and Tuesday) minimum! I'm paying big bucks for that special training classes and not using them ... time to step up and just do it! I've got a few things going on at work, but nothing that should lead to too much stress so the gym thing should be just fine. NOW I just need to prep a little in advance for dinner ... hence, the Sunday afternoon batch cooking and a crock pot meal or two! Some of the batch cooking stuff will be salad prep (romaine lettuce) along with pre-cutting the veggies.  I will cook chicken Sunday night when we are grilling already. I will also do some eggs in the rice cooker and maybe, make a batch of rice too. Plan...

Hubby's back home which means, it was sort of a frugal week .. I'm doing a different set up this week on the post as I'm a little short on time! We sold the living room furniture and the dude will come pick it up on Sunday ... $400 which isn't so very bad in the end. I had offered to have the Boy deliver it for "free" (I was going to pay him $50 to do so) but found out Friday that the dude and a friend would pick it up ... even better in the end! Been a real quiet week, busy at work for both Hubby and I ... shopped at Whole Foods twice and Publix twice. Spent about $280 between the 4 stops. More than made up for skipping the stores last week ;-( We are heading out on the boat today and will have a good time, I know. I'm always crabby when we first head out (before we leave the house) because I have SO much to do that I hate giving up my 8 hours for a boat ride ... but within 15 minutes of being on the water, all that anger, frustration, whatever it...

*It's October and time for the annual pilgrimage of pumpkin recipes ... so here's a re-post of one from last year! I can't believe it's FALL ... I mean seriously, where has the YEAR gone already? I have a confession ... I'm not a big pumpkin lover ... sure, I'll eat them yummy pumpkin bars with the creamy cheese frosting slathered all over the top ... but other than that, no thank you, very much. Until I made this recipe last September when Hubby was traveling ... and I had made it a few times since then ... but it's been a little while now ... so in honor of FALL arriving, I am re posting the recipe and making this as part of the Sunday morning breakfast for Sonny Boy before he heads back home ... The original recipe is from the  Practical Paleo  cookbook. I've been picking up the pumpkin at ALDIS because it's 99 cents a can and it's all pumpkin ... Oh ... I just remembered, it's time for Pumpkin head beer (and the newest ...

The kids are back in school, it's fall time AND Honey Crisp Apples are making their annual appearance ... yahoo!! This is a GREAT snack to offer up to the kids, family, friends, even strangers!  I have not been able to eat an apple any other way since trying this the first time and I make this at least 4 times each month ... Having a brunch (or in my house, just a bunch of people leftover from the previous night)? Serve up some apples! Need a healthy snack? Serve up some apples! Seriously. These are so yummy ... all the "kids" (who are in their early 20's) and adults (my friends, 40s/50s) love these things! So here you go, a repost of the original post from a while ago ... go ahead, give it a try! I had this  pinned  for a little while and kept thinking, I need to give this a try ... I mean, heck, it's super easy and sounds GOOD, so what took me so long? Them apples are called Pink Lady ...  The thought of cutting up the apples into these thi...