Monday to do list

I liked my decorated list so much last week that I did this week's list the same way.
You all liked it too, thank you for all the sweet comments.

Use what you have! 

Have you made your list yet?  I hope you all have a pleasant and productive week. 

Baking, CVS, and My Daughter's Home

I did some baking one morning last week.  All the recipes were simple, and cute little Braeden helped me lots.  He poured the measured out ingredients into the mixing bowls,  stirred lots and wanted to taste everything.

Aren't his dimples adorable?

we made 1 recipe of Coconut Macaroons from the recipe on the back of the bag of Angel flake coconut and we topped them with a little melted chocolate.  

hot dog buns from my grandparents bread recipe and 

another loaf of Raisin Nut bread, also from my grandparents recipe

a batch of Golden Raisin Biscuit Bars from  King Arthur Flour 

and my friend Lorita's recipe for 5 Minute Almond Cake

all of these recipes use basic pantry ingredients and are easy to make, even  with lots of help from an almost 3 year old.  

we ate some and put some in the freezer and enjoyed how nice our home smelled after everything baked.

I continue to bargain at shop at CVS.  This was a small trip last week and I got it all for $3.75.

No pictures but I already shopped this week's sale and for $20 in 2 transactions, I got 8 packs of Huggies diapers, 2 mens body wash and 2 gallons of Bordens milk.  And I left with $12 in CVS bucks to spend on the next deal I like.  

This CVS shopping really is worth the organizing it takes, 

I get most of my coupons from the Sunday paper as well as Internet printables, mostly from Coupons.com.

Coupons.com allows 2 prints of each coupon per device and I recently discovered it is very easy to print more copies using the Coupons.com APP on an ipod, or ipad or Iphone and a wireless printer.
That is how I got 8 $2 Huggies coupons I needed for todays deal  

My daughter is expecting their 3 child, a baby boy due in May.  She is continuing to decluttered and organize and decorate their home.  She did the master bedroom a few weeks ago but I can't find the photos.  Then she did their living room.  It is a hard room to arrange because one was is the doorway leading to 2 of the bedrooms.  One corner is a fireplace, then the French doors.  The other wall leads to another bedroom and the last side borders the kitchen.

This is a new furniture arrangement and I think it works best.  

No money spent in this room - just cleaning and reorganizing.

The next room she did tackled was turning this odd little space right off the front door into a toy room/play room.  They have a 3 bedroom home and moving most of the toys to this area means the 2 bedrooms should be fine for the clothes and sleeping areas.

This is a reading nook and a space JJ and Elizabeth are enjoying,

The storage units are new, I think she ordered them and the storage bins from Walmart.  The little table and chairs got a coat of gray paint and I helped her sew the plain white valances for the 2 windows.

I plan to be back tomorrow with another to do list and some replies.  I kind of got sidetracked this week as my husband has injured his shoulder and may need surgery.  I'll explain if it happens.  He will see a specialist soon.  

bye for now!

Back to my list

I've been a list maker all my adult life but It has been 3 weeks since I made my last weekly to do list.

I am feeling good and motivated and ready to get back to my normal.  

Maybe you all know about the vast product line of Erin Condren life planners, I just discovered them, and apparently just writing out a list on whatever paper you have is not enough.  You need a fancy personalized book with Washi tape and stickers and tabs to it all right. 

I think it is a great idea but it sounds like a job in itself to just keep it all up.  I won't be doing Erin Condren. 

I wrote out my list night and thought I could attempt to make it pretty.  My husband is used to me doing lots of crafts and fixing things up but when I told him I was going to decorate my to-do list, he looked at me like I was daffy and said "you're gonna do what?"  

So,  here is my decorated to do list.  I just used some rubber stamped designs on plain ole notebook paper.  

Now it's time to keep working on this list! 

Have a good Monday everyone!

Cooking and playing

We're having winter weather so I have been mostly at home this week.  I spent more time cooking too.

No pictures but I've baked 2 batches of raisin bread.  I use 1/2 of my grandparents Bread recipe as the base for each loaf, then mixed it in the bread machine and baked in the oven.  I double the sugar and add heaping 1/2 cuts of chopped raisins and walnuts and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.  Raisin bread is delicious toasted either for breakfast or dessert.

We had some Texas gulf shrimp in our freezer that our son brought back from vacation.  I don't cook shrimp very often but when I do, I usually boil them and this time I decided to fry it for a change.  I used this Recipe for Crunchy Fried Shrimp from All Recipes.com.  The fried shrimp were perfect and I think this method would work for just about fried anything.
Two grandsons spent the night with us and had this fried shrimp.  This morning when the oldest one woke up, he told me he really liked  last nights supper.  His little brother, though, only ate the crunchy breading and left bare shrimp on his plate.

Grandsons having fun in the snow.  

Our snow is pretty and fluffy and a nuisance for driving.  Thankfully it is not as heavy or last lasting as the snow the north is having. 

Off schedule....

I had a long lasting stomach bug almost 3 weeks ago. I've been better for awhile but I am still off my normal regular daily activities.  Not sure if it is just from being a little weak or if this winter weather is slowing me down or what. 

So that is my explanation for so few blog posts.  

Right now, I am waiting for these cinnamon rolls to cool.  My husband asked me to make them so he could share them at work, but he didn't request them until after supper or I would of started them earlier.

I am not a night owl and am normally asleep by now, but since I've been so off schedule, I am happily baking cinnamon rolls.  I wish you all could smell them- they smell great.  Once they cool off, I'll cover them up for the night and then in the morning, I'll frost them and maybe sprinkle with chopped nuts. 

I made 2 trips to CVS and combined manufacturer coupons and store coupons and sales and extra care bucks, the purchases below cost me 59 cents cash and my other similar purchase but is not photographed was less than $2.  And I have more than $20 in CVS bucks to spend on future purchases. 

If you are wanting to stretch your budget, I really encourage you to pick out a local store and look up their deals online, especially on a Facebook group or YouTube videos, as I've posted about before.  

It does take some research and organization but it really can add up to big savings.  

I shop CVS because there is one in my town and in a close convenient location.  

I see posts about great deals at Target, Rite Aid, Publix, Kroger- and others.  

Getting deals stretches our budget and it's fun! 

I think those rolls might be cool enough to cover up now and I am going to bed.  

I should have very sweet dreams as our home smells like a Cinnabon bakery 

Good night for now