Frugal In Florida

Merry Christmas!! *This is a repost from last New Years and well, it's rather fitting again this year! I currently do not have the Prosecco, but DO have  4  now 6 bottles of Champagne in the  freezer  fridge (2 Moet, 3 Cuerve and 1 less expensive brand, NOT Korbel!)  Seriously, this is what I will most likely be drinking on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve!  Definitely on New Years Eve since I figured I'm starting another round of Whole30 on Friday and I sure as hell do NOT want to be hungover!  I have 6 bottles of champagne which should be more than adequate for the dinner toastings, the mimosas AND the midnight toast ... if necessary and see it on sale, will buy a few more bottles of Prosecco ( if  it's on sale). I DO have the POM so that's not a problem! Let's face it ... on a whim, I will sometimes buy things spontaneously, with good intentions ... just like when I bought 2 bottles of Prosecco a few months back. By the time I g...

*I plan to dip with my grain free biscuits in order to stay on track with my eating habits!) I try so very hard to stay away from grains and such, specifically, BREAD ... I love bread but it doesn't necessarily share the same affection for me ... But if I'm going to any Italian restaurant, you better believe I'm eating ALL the bread they bring to the table. Hubby knows that too ... so he grabs his single piece to set aside while I seriously stuff my face. How embarrassing it must be for my table mates ... Take me to Carrabbas and don't worry about feeding me anything BUT the bread and that dipping stuff ... OMG ... I've died and gone to heaven. I make a version of this for parties ... but it's not real heavy on stuff, just a lot of olive oil, a dash of red pepper flakes, a dash of garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If I'm up to it and have it, I will also add a small amount of shredded Parmesan cheese, but most of the time, not. All in...

Raise your hand if you already knew this? I DO and I still go there. I had that Living Social deal where you paid $10 for a $20 gift card dodaddy thing. So I figured, heck, I won't buy much because I just can't justify the cost of alot of the stuff. Yeah. So much for that theory anymore. Uggg... Browsing gets me in trouble every time. 3.63lbs of Honey Crisp apples ... been reading about these and since my boss was on this apple and peanut butter kick at the office lately, thought I would contribute ... de. LIC. ious! OMG. If you haven't tried them, you should. They are the BEST! $1.99 lb (organic!) and $7.22 total. I so see myself going back to buy more next week YIKES. Special sausage of week was chicken spicy italian, got 6 for $5.94 (this is how I try to introduce Hubby to new options) 1 thing of green onions (the garden ones are wimpy so these will be planted) $1.49 baby carrots, organic (the last ones were super sweet) $1.99 for a 1 lb bag pkg of snow peas ...

I can remember, oh so very long ago, when Biggest Loser was starting out. I remember thinking to myself, good Lord! Who would want to watch a bunch of very overweight people exercise, diet and whine?? Seriously. And I don't say it in a mean way. My own mother would qualify for the show based on her weight (but her age and health issues would not) ... I just couldn't grasp the concept of why the general public would spend an hour or so a week (more than that!) watching something like this. Guess what? I'm hooked. To see the transformation through sheer will ... to see the change in the people ... I just find in incredibly amazing. Last night, the one dude, Rulon , his athletics ability blew me away. Like that dude could seriously be a contender in some sports. Oh doh. He was an olympic athlete when he was younger. And then I see that he is a gym owner and motivational speaker. Huh. Just goes to show you how easy it is to gain weight and have it spiral out of contr...

This post is about ME. All me. Me Me Me. Well, and my friends. And my family. Ok, let's start with the ME: 1. I am a creature of habit, very much so. 2. I am a tightwad, yet I can certainly be a spendthrift too. This definitely needs to be looked into further, just not at this very moment. 3. I like to cook, but sometimes, just don't have the energy, ambition, drive, motivation, etc. 4. I love my family (most of the time). 5. I enjoy staying home and having everyone over to MY house :) So, what does this all have to do with a Frugal Friday post? Well, I've learned a  few things from those 5 points ... I am a tightwad WHEN I continue to stick with my method of thinking myself as such ... doing things consistently becomes a "habit", and cooking for myself, family and friends in the comfort of my home is definitely a Frugal Friday tip (not to mention, skipping that huge bar tab is a bonus!) I've started back up with the hosting Happy Hour Fridays...

See the Twins in the upper right hand picture?  We played with them on Saturday. Went to Boca Lake  and Sonny Boy went for the ride. What a blast. Beautiful weather, surprisingly. Ocean was FLAT, surprisingly. Water was DEEP yet crystal clear. And still warm! And the people watching was amusing.  Sonny Boy was highly disappointed that one boat played the Universal Fist Pump song (I have NO idea what the song is) and didn't do the fist pump. At that point, he asked if he could switch the Ipod to his, we said sure, and promptly listened to some mighty fine head banging hard core rock. :) Hubby and I tolerated it for what we felt was a fair amount of time (45 minutes or so) before switching back to our funk and groove music :) Again, food was brought from the pantry and fridge/freezer. Sandwiches (wraps), fruit, granola bars, sodas, water, beer (well, hubby bought the beer when he picked up the ice ... ICE is another one of those things that irks me but that's ...

Sunday night, we went with another couple to a restaurant on the beach called Cafe Del Mar. I didn't really want to go as I kept saying that it's Memorial Day Weekend and who in the hell goes out to some fancy restaurant on the beach to eat?? Well, we went. They warned us that we were not going for the food but the entertainment. Oh my god! Alex Fox. Google him, actually google the images. This man plays a wicked guitar! Usually, his 2 sons are with him playing but not that night. He had a drummer with him that has only played for 1 week and they were terrific together! We sat there from 8:30 to 11:30pm. The crowds were lined up on the sidewalk listening & watching the performance. They were selling cd's like crazy (from the looks of it!). The seating was packed which was why people were lined up on the sidewalk. It was breezy and no rain and the humidity was down, thankfully, so very comfortable (outdoor seating). Amazing. EXPENSIVE! $266 for the 4 of us. W...