Frugal In Florida

Hey, hey, looking to see what we've bought in the past week or so? Ugh, I haven't shared one of these post since ... late APRIL!? Sorry. Sorry, really, I'm sorry! I have most of my receipts but gosh, I can't recreate 6 weeks or so! We were in Houston the first week of June and then did a quick stop on Sunday morning at Winn Dixie ... I think we spent around $35 but I'm not 100% certain. The Princess, Baby Boy and Hubby In Law were here for the day and I wanted to make some hot dogs, baked beans and corn so a super quick stop was in order. Of course, I must have tossed that receipt! Seriously, though, go check out the recipe for the corn! Spot On! So we went the WHOLE week without a shop ... and then Whole Foods - June 15th, 2018 Total Spent - $101.60 Honestly, I went in with just a few things I wanted to get: watermelon, cucumbers, some other fruit and a bottle of wine ... yeah, right. Nom Nom Paleo Magic Mushroom Seasoning $7.99 peaches $3.95 (...

Hi! Been a little while and even though I'm a little more focused on the other site , I still want to keep Frugal in Florida and keep it more focused on money, saving and being intentionally frugal. Hence ... Money Monday! My little frugal tip for the week?? Fix it yourself! We had an issue with the front loader giving off a funky smell. I'm very conscientious to leave the door open a little bit to keep it from getting that mildew smell that the old front loaders are famous for so I knew it wasn't from that! I'm also very picky and make certain that after I take a load of laundry out, I pull that rubber gasket down in the opening and make sure there isn't a stray sock or other undergarment in there blocking the drain holes.  Been there, done that! What I did NOT know is that there is a 2nd filter that needs to be cleaned out periodically! Sad because we've had this washer for TEN years! First thing you have to do is UNPLUG THE WASHER and then pull...

It's been a few weeks, I know!  I haven't been shopping a whole lot which is probably why I felt the urgent need to hit up Costco last week .... And then I came down with something late Thursday ... not sure if it's a cold or what not. All I know is that I have been self medicating very heavily to kick it out of my system as fast as possible ... that could be why I have a foggy brain? Whatever ... Hubby comes home Sunday night, the Boy and his girl have gone to her parents house and I'm looking forward to sitting on the couch and watching yet another Christmas movie this evening!  I like being alone! Sometimes. Ok, ok, let's get on with what I bought this week, shall we? Luckys Market - December 20, 2017 Total Spent - $65.91 It's a new store in town and I had a $5 off $30 coupon. Should have made to trips. Oh well. Vanilla/Almond/Coconut Creamer $4.99 Mother's Special Body Oil $17.99 (for that pregnant lady) 2 pound beef tenderloin $29.98 ch...

For years, this dip was a staple at any party we were having. Crazy that I don't think I've shared it before and like, wow, really?? So here we go.  Afterall, it's that time of year where we start pulling out favorites for all those holiday get togethers! The recipe is simple and really, you can modify it so many ways. I've added shredded lettuce as a layer to be a tad healthier. We've topped with avocado when they were dirt cheap. Today, I'm just going to show you the original way we make it 95% of the time ... simple and definitely a crowd pleaser! 1 can of refried beans. I discovered these refried black beans at Trader Joe's! 1 jar of salsa (shelf stable) 1 container sour cream 8 oz bag of shredded cheddar cheese sliced green onions First up ... my number one tip? Drain that salsa. You may need to tap into a 2nd jar if its really liquidy. Spread the beans into a shallow dish. Dump the drained salsa on top of the beans and s...

We are seeing some cooler weather, by our standards, so I'm back to making soup again!  What? You don't call 75 at 6am cooler? You do NOT live in Steamy Paradise, do you?? We are counting down our days for our first REAL cold front to come through!   Now, THIS soup is yummy and I get really excited when I'm making it ... its just a little bowl of pure comfort food to me ... yummmy .... yeah, I'm also sooo over turkey at this point! The last few times I made this, I switched it up a little and used the refrigerated steakhouse seasoned diced potatoes .... I really liked the seasoned taters and plan to stick with that from here on out! Another thing I have to point out: toppings. I love toppings, but then again, I love a loaded baked potato ... so that's how you need to look at it. Do you like bacon, cheese, green onions on your baked potato? Then, by all means, add those to your cup of soup. Otherwise, eat it naked and make feel a little healthi...

*This recipe has been made so many times in my household! You can use chicken or pork as both work really well!  When Hubby comes home on Tuesday, I plan to have this going in the crockpot to make his day ;-) The very first time I made this, Hubby opted to take me out that evening so we ended up reheated this and served with some mashed potatoes and whew ... it was very very tasty! Those items above? That's all you need in addition to the pork chops.  Seriously. One packet of ranch dressing One can of cream of chicken soup 1 tsp fresh garlic chopped black pepper You are  chopping your garlic  in mass quantities, right? I mean really. All you do is spray the crockpot with spray, toss in the chop. Mix up the balance of ingredients in small bowl and spread over the chops. Go ahead and toss in any chopped onions you see in the fridge ... Put a lid on the crockpot and make yet another mental note to find a new handle to replace the broken ...

Well, this is the week I head back home. Hubby was to be coming too, but a few things came up so looks like he will be staying a little longer, maybe a week? That’s fine, I have a lot of things to catch up on at the office so I’ll have a few late nights as well when I get back to South Florida. I miss that view! And yes, I am still menu planning and meal prepping!  Prepping is really an understatement as Sunday morning, I believe a mouse might have moved in and died a slow death in the laundry room of the house … sad because Hubby and I have a joke when we open the doors: "come on in family of mice! Come on in out of the cold!" Well, apparently, one did and now (as of 11:30am  10:30am (did you turn back your clocks yet???) Sunday) we still can’t locate him! *The joke is because my father in law makes it sound like the mice are lined up around the corner waiting to dash in the door and garage as soon as an opportunity arises. I will no longer laugh at him as he ma...

HEY! Don't forget to change your clocks back tonight if you are in that funky time change area (we are!) I'm kind of looking forward to getting back home next week and using up the new appliances!  Here’s what we spent this past week while in NW Indiana still … Meijers – October 27 , 2017 Total Spent - $108.09 Hubby made this stop for some protein as our dinner plans fell through … good for him that apparently his cashier entered a code for him to get the “member discount” or whatever it’s called. 2 liter bottle of Squirt $1.38 Candy (??) $1.49 3 boxes of Little Debbies $5 for all 2 pkgs bacon $11.98 less $3 Large pkg of assorted pork chops $9.13 Margarita mix $5.99 2 pkgs sausage links $6 for both Bottle of Titos vodka $18.99 Bottle of Hornitos tequila $21.99 Bottle of whiskey $21.99 So much for ditching the booze! Not a fan of Hornitos but at least Hubby was thinking of me, I guess? Strack & Van Til – October 30, 2017 T...

Still in NW Indiana and well, it’s kind of hard to stay on track AND keep tabs on stuff! On Wednesday afternoon, we were down the street from the house on our way to go visit a friend and the front end of the jeep started to do some really odd things. Thankfully, we have a 90 day/3,000 mile warranty ... we are 60 plus days in and have over 800 miles left so the jeep is currently at the local dealership. I'm a little concerned in that it's Thursday and they are closed on Saturday and Sunday. HOW do working folks get their cars fixed around here?? I would say that yes, this would qualify as a frugal activity ONLY if it's really a front end issue. Hubby says it is and he is a #gearhead so yeah, I believe warranty will cover it. $100 deductible. I'll take it. Here’s some of the Frugal things we’ve done this past week: 1. Hubby made the last-minute run to the grocery store over the weekend. Generally, if he goes, we spend way less money. I guess we did in that h...

Hi! I figured I’d get back on the Frugal Activities train and start sharing my week in review! I know a lot of you like these posts because I share the frugal things I've done in the past week and the not so frugal things as well … some are good and some are bad. It’s all about full disclosure! So start checking back on Thursday or Friday and hopefully I will have these up to share. I used to do these on Saturday BUT I’ve decided to keep the Grocery Shops in Review on that day as it’s a habit for me now to share! Don’t mess with a good thing, right? So! You may have picked up that I’m in NW Indiana for about 17 days and well, the first few days we blew some serious cash. I finally told Hubby that we needed to rein ourselves in and get focused. Seeing my morning bank account alert freaked me out a little. So much so that I felt the need to move some cash from my savings account over to the checking account. And then I freaked out again as the savings account was lower ...

Hey, hey ... we made it through Hurricane Irma ... that was one LONG storm and after that, I'm not so sure I'd stick it out for another one! Our weather station bit the dust as for the wind thingy ... but the rain gauge shows we got over 13 inches of rain. And the power went out at 4am Sunday. Came back on at 5pm Tuesday. THAT was a miracle in my mind. So onward with #Shelftember! Sort of. See, I had to toss a few things from the freezer AND I've been feeding 6 adults as to the usual two of us ... hurricanes have a tendency to bring unexpected guests! It's fine, I'm glad that we are able to help, trust me. So, that brings me to this recipe. Me and the Princess ran to my office on Thursday morning so she could print out some labels for her baby shower while I tried to get my office back in order. That didn't happen, really, as we had some water damage in the two offices that face south due to the 8 plus hours of driving rain and wind! Whateve...