First grocery shop in January

We ventured to Aldi this morning as we had 1 egg and no bread left, and no fresh fruit except grapefruit. 

So, in keeping with my plan of a pantry clean out,  below is what I bought.  

 I spent $17.

The only thing I bought that wasn’t on my list was the dinner napkins that were on clearance for .99

I might of bought 6 packs if I wasn’t on this plan.  We use cloth napkins except when company is here,  so 100 napkins will last a long time anyway.  

Aldi still had quite a bit of Christmas clearance but the napkins were all I even thought about buying.  

I hadn’t checked the grocery ad so I was happy to see grapes, oranges and apples were all on special this week.  

It’s still close to first of our pay cycle but putting together meals has been easy so far.  

I’m hoping it stays that way but time will tell.  

From the comments on my post 2 days ago,  lots of us are doing a pantry use it up this month.  

‘‘Tis the season for pantry challenges,  I see.  

The more, the merrier! 

Sewing for kids and crafting with kids

When our grands spend the night here,  they prefer to sleep in the living room.  

I finally got around to sewing up a couple of pillow beds for them.  

I used this tutorial 

cozy pillow bed  and it is clear and easy to follow.  

I used 2 flat twin size sheets that were in my sewing supplies- that made it go even faster as I used the finished sheet edges and didn’t have many raw edges to finish.  These 2 grands really like them! 

I had 7 older pillows and my daughter passed on 5 more pillows.  I plan on making a 3rd pillow bed, and will use a sheet for it too.  

If I was buying new pillows,  I would be sure to buy washable pillows- because kids are kids.   I’ve had pretty good success machine washing and drying regular pillows too.  

The sheet on the right is a vintage Holly Hobby one that I found at a thrift store years ago.  I think it’s so sweet. 

It feels good to do an easy and useful project without spending money or going to the store.  

Elizabeth got this lava lamp lip gloss kit for Christmas and we made them this afternoon. 

The kit had everything included except paper towels to clean up drips.  The instructions were clear and not complicated.  

The kids had fun making them but they don’t exactly look as great as the ones on the box.  

The lip gloss is liquid as it’s just mineral oil with a little flavoring and coloring added to it.  

It was a fun time but I don’t recommend this craft.  

Welcome 2019 and starting a pantry clean out

Happy new year to everyone 

We’ve had a fairly typical January 1st.  We eat black eyed peas and cabbage, always, as it’s a Southern tradition we just like. 

The little statue is a thrift store find, maybe 10 years ago.  I liked him when I bought him and I especially like him now as he looks so much like one of our grandsons.

In December,  I realized I have just been buying more groceries than we really need.  So, I bought a lot fewer groceries last month and we still have so much on hand.

So, my plan is to buy nothing in January except fresh things like eggs and produce.  And if we run out of a staple that’s essential,  I may buy it if needed.  My hope is to spend less than $100 this pay period.  

(Our pay periods don’t run exactly by a calendar month  but start around the 25th or so of each month.



Bottom of pantry

Top of pantry

The freezer section of our refrigerator 

2 photos inside the Upright  freezer

And I think there is a turkey in the freezer in the little fridge in my husband’s workshop.

We have more than enough meat on hand, plenty of baking supplies, frozen vegetables, juice, nuts. 

The pantry is full of canned goods, condiments, more baking supplies and dry goods.  

I’m not trying to go minimalist but many of our foodstuffs are going unused and I’m not wanting to buy new things and let current food go bad. 

As January goes on,  I’ll share some the dishes I’m cooking.  

I’ve seen several other pantry type challenges online.  I’m not linking up to them but may I peek in on a few of them for inspiration.  

Are any of you doing pantry challenges right now?  

Today’s crafting

We bought this huge white tree last year and put traditional ornaments on it. 

This year, when we unpacked it,  I thought it looked like a snowman.  So I looked on Pinterest and saw several snowmen trees for inspiration.  

The top hat is made from black posterboard and I used this pattern as a basis 

cardboard top hat DIY

The eyes and buttons are black yarn pompoms.

The mouth is chenille stems wrapped in black felt.  

The nose is a posterboard cone wrapped with orange yarn.  

The black scarf was crocheted by my mom, my husband used to wear it many years ago when he rode a motorcycle.  

It was fun to do and we are really liking our happy snowman tree. 

Cindy Lou Who Cape 
This is a fleece cape, also inspired by Pinterest, for a granddaughter to wear when her school has its annual Grinch Day.  I think it’s probably too long but it will be easy to shorten.  Fleece doesn’t have to be hemmed so I can just cut it to fit.  

I’m pretty fearless when it comes to whacking fabric 😂

‘‘Tis the season for crafting projects ❤️

Hello December

Hello everyone and welcome to December.  

It’s cooler here and it seemed like a good time to batch cook some pinto beans for the freezer.  

I think home cooked beans taste better and are thriftier than canned beans.  

And why do canned beans foam up when I rinse them? It’s almost like they have soap in them.  They don’t taste soapy but it sure makes me wonder.  

I soaked 5 cups of pinto beans overnight and seasoned them with cumin, onion and jalapeños while they cooked.  Then when they were done, I added salt and pepper to taste.  

We ate pinto beans with cornbread for supper tonight and I put 5 containers of cooked pintos in the freezer for future meals.  


Amazon has been running a deal on some Prime Pantry items,  save $6 when you buy 5 and free shipping on orders of $10 or more.  You must be a member of Prime Pantry which is $5.99 a month but I signed up for a free month and will cancel it before the 30 days expire.  

Some of the items also have coupons on them and the free shipping after $10 is for the total before coupons are deducted.  

I saw hundreds of comments about other shoppers doing this deal on a Facebook shopping list so I jumped on the wagon too.  

I ended up doing 9 orders and spent $52 for all the products below.  

All the pastas on the left are a gluten free variety.  

It was a good deal and everything I bought are things we use.  It seemed like an unbelievably great deal when I was doing it,  but now I think it was just a good deal.  

I think the deal is still going on and they change the items occasionally.  Go to Prime Pantry and click on the Buy5 save $6 icon and it will take you to the list,  if you’re interested.  


Below - Two books I’m reading and so far, I like them both.  


December came in like a lion last night with lots of wind and rain.  We’ve had this play house for about 7 years and this is the first time it’s ever  turned over.  

I’m hoping December will go out like a lamb.   It who knows? 

Hope you all are having a good weekend ❤️