Less busy on Wednesday

I didn't have much on my list today. I cut out coupons, worked on my manicure and went to the bank for cash so while I was out, I stopped at Walmart, Dollar Tree and Aldi.

Walmart. -used 2 coupons from Sundays paper for lipstick and nail polish. 

  The gallon can of tomato sauce is make a big batch of pasta sauce to freeze.

Aldi- rest of the groceries were bought there. We didn't need much this week.

Most of the granola bars will go to work with my husband to keep in his desk drawer.

The other snacks are for the grands snack box.

See that clear tub in the pantry floor? It holds little bags chips, fruit snacks, granola bars. One of the grandchildren has a hard time when they have to leave so I first started the box so that child could get a treat to have on the way home and to make leaving not so difficult.

It worked, goodbyes are much easier and all the grands know where the snack box is now.

Dollar Tree - they have a new batch of solar powered wiggle animals. It is rainy today so neither one is swinging but they will be when the sun reappears.

This is the little measuring cup I got at the thrift store yesterday for 25 cents. It really is tiny, each line is 1 tablespoon or a total of 1/4 cup.  I think I will use it often, so many times I need a small amount like 2 T of oil or milk for a recipe......

Also yesterday, I cut back some of the dead zinnia and put them in a paper bag to finish drying. Each zinnia is filled with many seeds. I should be ready for next spring to grow more zinnias!

Supper tonight was some leftover grilled chicken legs, a big tossed salad and stir fried cabbage.

Grandchildren will be here the next couple days so housework will be done only on a must do basis. I won't be doing any big projects either, just watching grands ride bikes or play with toys and I sure lots of hugs will be involved too. 

Do Stuff Tuesday

I wrote another to do list with tasks I hope to do for the week, not just today. 

I fixed my husband's lunch bag first thing. 

Then I got busy with cleaning.  I vacuumed the carpets in the bedrooms and then shampooed those carpets. I used the homemade cleaner again and was very happy with how well it cleaned. 

Homemade carpet cleaner solution

I also cleaned and mopped both bathrooms and washed those rugs too.

In the garage, I swept and threw a few things away.

After I did the cleaning and found some spiders in the garage, I put down some bug spray in the garage and in the house. That made the house smell so I left for awhile. 

I stopped at one thrift store and found some play clothes. 

I also found a cute little 4 tablespoon liquid measure cup (it is in the dishwasher now, I will try to post a picture, I think it will be very handy!)

If you are not from the South, our supper will probably look and sound strange but it was delicious.

Garden tomatoes with cottage cheese, fried okra and kraut with weenies. The weinies are leftover Hebrew 97% fat free kosher beef franks. My husband bought the tomatoes and okra from a farmer selling them in a gas station parking lot. 

It's not crossed off on my list but I did finish the napkins. I made them from a table cloth bought on clearance years ago.  I used part of the table cloth to make an ironing board cover.  Their was a big odd-shaped scrap left. Last week, I cut it into as many 16 inch squares as possible.  After I machine narrow hemmed any raw edges, I ended up with 11 red checked napkins. 

I won't need to do much cleaning the next few days. 

Yesterday post got the nicest comments.  

I really enjoy reading what you all have been doing---

If you do stuff, stuff gets done! 

Do stuff Monday

Today was a free day- no appointments and no grandchildren - so I wrote out my to do list with more on it than I usually try to get done in one day. Surprisingly and happily, I got it all done my mid afternoon.

Scratching through completed jobs on a to do list is almost as satisfying as finishing a job.

This is a not a common sight in laundry rooms- empty baskets ! But that won't last too long....

The biggest job today was mowing and edging the front and back yard. Cooler temperatures and a nice breeze made this job easier. Here are the jumbo zinnias in the front flower bed - but please just look at the pretty flowers and ignore the grass growing around them, the weeds flat got away from me from this year. 

I also made a quick trip into Ulta to get some hair products my daughter in law recommended

And changed my Jamberry nail stickers. This is my second time applying them and I really like them but there is a bit of learning curve involved. The second time was much easier and faster than the first. 

Supper will be leftovers from Sunday along with some fresh tomatoes and cottage cheese so that meal won't take much time. 

I also got out this sampler and zigzagged the edge of the linen so it won't fray while I stitch it. I plan to start stitching it this evening. 

I am already thinking about tomorrow's list. Clipping and filing yesterday's coupons will be on it as well as straightening the 3 extra bedrooms and bathrooms. 

I hope you have had a productive Monday too! 

Just a funny for you

This is our grandson JJ, 15  months old. His big sister Elizabeth is behind the door in the bathroom.

His momma says JJ talks to Elizabeth under the door whenever Elizabeth is in the bathroom,

Hey- whatcha doing in there? The big people won't let me in the bathroom since they caught me playing in the toilet a few months ago........

Lunch for a group

Here is what I served for a recent meal when we had 12 guests.

Easy crock pot beef tips - except I baked ours in a Dutch oven in the regular oven- doubled the recipe

Make ahead mashed potatoes - this recipe does not use cream cheese like most make ahead recipes call for  - also doubled this recipe

Baked carrots

Green beans

Worlds Best Dinner Rolls - I followed the recipe exactly except I mixed them all by hand in a Tupperware fix and mix bowl. The recipe says to shape the dough into 24 rolls but I made them a regular dinner roll and had about 40. At 24, they would be very large rolls I think, more like a jumbo sandwich bun. 

Dessert was fresh fruit -a Georgia seedless watermelon, red grapes, strawberries and fresh pineapple-and a bag of Chips Ahoy cookies I got on sale for 99 cents. 

I usually bake a dessert or 2 but my husband and I have not been eating dessert for about 2 months and with all the other cooking, I just didn't feel like baking a dessert too. Unfortunately, 3 of the guests were disappointed with my baking slack off.  They did not leave hungry though, they just ate extra rolls and watermelon. 

Beverages were plain and sweet tea. 

I recommend all of the recipes.  And that is one of the ways I feed a crowd. 

Spur of the moment yard sale

We were out early this morning as we took the oldest grandson home after a sleepover here.

I had not planned to yard sale, but as we got home, we saw 2 sales right in our neighborhood.

The first sale had so much nice stuff and at very good prices. I considered buying lots of things but decided to just get what we needed.

This heavy patio set was $50. It needs a new paint job but other than that, it is perfect. It is very sturdy and should survive our harsh weather.  There is a hole in the center of the table to hold a big umbrella.

It came with 5 chairs, 2 are rockers and 3 are regular chairs.
We are really happy to get this. We've looked at new patio sets but they seem to be not sturdy, or too fancy or expensive or not strong enough for the Oklahoma weather. 

I also picked out a few play clothes for the oldest grandson. They were 50 cents each.

I was in Walmart yesterday and checked out the $1 rack that is still in the action aisle beside the shoe department. It was full of knit leggings in very bright colors - all seemed to be for babies size 0-3 months and junior girls size 0-2.  It was nothing we needed but I will keep checking that rack when I go to Walmart. 

Recent bargains

This bargain is about as good as bargains get.

I rarely shop at Walmart but it has been so hot and I had a short list with coupons so I went to Walmart to get everything and not make multiple stops. 

I walked through the shoe department just as they were doing some major shoe clearances.

These are all little boy shoes, sizes 7 through 12. They were all discounted to $1 a pair! 

It looks like lots of shoes but we have 3 young grandsons and there were many more pairs of shoes on clearance.

I also got 3 bags of socks and 1 pack of little girl undies - these were bags that had been ripped open- they were discounted to $1 as well.

The black socks bags held the full amount but the girl socks and undies were missing a few- I am not complaining though - $1 is an amazing price, complete bag or not. 

My daughter and I have both been back to Walmart, hoping to be there if and when little girl shoes get marked down to $1. We saw the men's and women's clearances and my daughter and I each got one pair of walking type shoes for ourselves. 

No success yet on shoes for the granddaughters but I'll let you know if we score. 

Have you found any great sales this month?

$1 flip flops dressed up with help from Pinterest

This $1 pair of pink flip flops is from Walmart, the ribbon is 1 1/2 inch wide and I just hand sewed it to cover the straps. The bows and buttons were hand sewn and then secured with a dab of E6000 glue.

The second pair were from Dollar Tree. They are not as thick as the Walmart one.
I followed this tutorial pretty much exactly as written.
Covered flip flops tutorial

I have been wearing them around the house and they are very comfy. I wonder how sturdy they are and if they will hold together, so far so good! 

If you want to fancy up flip flops, just search on Pinterest for flip flops DIY. There are many many cute ideas.  

First day of July

Don't forget to flip over your calendar pages

I like patriotic scenes so much that I have 2 calendars in the laundry room.

Both of these calendars were mailed to us from charity groups.

2 grandchildren a year ago- they are both much bigger now!

And clean out the expired June coupons from your coupon stash.