Kitchen Layout Woes

Currently we are struggling with the kitchen layout.  I think Josh and I have this problem/creative process where we think we have something figured out, but there's this one thing that bugs us about it. At first we convince ourself we can live with it...and then as the time gets closer we gradually tear it apart until we come up with something totally different.  I can think of several times we've done this.  We did this when we were naming Waylon, but that's another story.

This is the rough layout that we originally were thinking we liked...

Josh is not a big fan of the booth in this layout.  I really want a booth.  I think it's such an efficient use of space... And they can have so much character with built in storage and cushions!  

So tonight we decided to take another look at it and see if we could liked moving the booth to be a part of the island...

Not bad... But Josh felt like it wasted some space in the dining room and I didn't like the bottle neck between the island and wall.

We decided to sleep on it, but I couldn't sleep.  I had to get up and draw this... Totally different.

When I started drawing I didn't think I would liked it, but just needed to get the idea out of my head and see it on paper.  Josh at some point had made the comment that we were wasting space by trying to have two large walkways into the kitchen.  I thought why do we need that?  The only draw back to this one is that there is a window that is along the far wall that is very low and we will probably have to block about a foot of the window.  That's a sacrifice I think I could make....for now anyway.  I guess I'll try to sleep on this now! 

Which one do you like?

House Updates for November

There is lots of activity going on at the new house!  The basement is fixed, the land is regraded, and new doors are installed!

The electricity is also back on which means that the next few things will be installing a security system, new garage door, and then on to the plumbing!  We had fun picking out many new things for the plumbing at Lowes!  Here's a few pictures of the things we decided on...

Yay, jacuzzi tub!!

Just the tub and surround here... Not the doors.  Too hard to wash up two boys with those doors!

Sorry these pictures are not the best but many of them were displayed really high or underneath a shelf.  The installed pictures will be much better!

I also got a chandelier from amazon that I love!

In other news we have a contract on our Lexington house!  Praise the Lord, it sold in two weeks!  Closing date is set for mid December!  It's going to be a crazy Christmas for sure!  

Big Way to Save Money

One huge way we save a lot of money is with our deep freeze.  We are able to buy many things in large quantities when they are on sale.  I buy a ton of meat that goes on sale due to the expiration date coming close.  You can just put it in the freezer and it's still good when you come back around to cooking it in a couple weeks. 

I have found things like bacon, sausage, and ribs on sale recently for 99¢/lb!  I just throw it in the freezer!  Other things I freeze are cheese, butter, soups, broth, bread, and deer meat (for all you hunters out there).

Also consider freezing leftover meals.  I do this in large and small servings for family dinners or to take for lunch.  Yesterday I found a Boston pork butt on sale for 99¢\lb.  It was 6.5lbs!  That's a lot of meat!  I've got it cooking in the crock pot with some bbq sauce, and I'll keep some in the frig for leftovers and then freeze the rest for later!

If you don't have a deep freeze I would recommend looking into getting one because you really can make your money back with your savings.  They do take up some room but keep in mind that they come in small and large sizes too. 

What's you favorite thing to freeze?

Couponing is back!

I haven't done much extreme couponing lately.  I haven't had the time or energy.  Plus, I've decided that for right now it's just not worth it unless Kroger is having a mega-sale.  Well it's been a while but the mega-sale is back this week!  It was definitely worth my time to clip a few coupons! 

Here's what I got...

Here's what I paid...

These are the things I got for free... Or practically free.  By practically free I mean I paid 4¢each for the Aveeno shave gel, but I made money on the cheerios and scrubbing bubbles so it evens out.

First let me explain Catalina.  A Catalina is basically a blank coupon that prints at the register and is good on your next purchase.  Normally for buying multiples of a product.  These coupled with sales and coupons made the shaving cream (basically) free and the scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaners were actually a money maker!  Here's how it breaks down.

The shaving cream was $2.79 each with the sale.  I had coupons for $3 off of two aveeno products.  Then at the register a $5 Catalina printed since I bought at least three aveeno products.  

So four shaving cream equals $11.16 total with sale... Minus $6 in coupons... Plus five dollars back in Catalina form equals...16¢!! 

The scrubbing bubbles were $1.69 each ($3.38 for two) minus coupons for a dollar each ($1.38) plus a $2 Catalina!  That's a 62¢ moneymaker!

As far as the other few things I got, the eggs and cheerios were free with a coupons that Kroger sent me in the mail!  I LOVE the personalized coupons they send!  We rarely have to buy eggs.  The yogurt was a free Friday downloaded coupon.  And the pasta was 49¢ each and you can print a coupon for $1/2 boxes.

Another great deal that I stocked up on... Butter!  They had this sale about 6 months ago and I stocked up but we just ran out of our stock pile last week so this is a perfect time for us!  Land O lakes butter is $2.50 with the sale (remember to buy things in multiples of ten)!  How do you stock pile butter?  It keeps beautifully in the freezer!  They only had 5lbs last night so I'm going back again during the sale for more!

Starting Renovations

So the first month and a half of renovations have brought a lot of change to the new house.  It's a long way from the finished product, but you have to start somewhere.

We started in the basement.  There were multiple walls that were caving in due to the drainage issues...all the water was draining towards the house.  First we hired cleaners to remove everything that wasn't steps, brick, or concrete downstairs and sprayed it down with bleach.  Then we had a guy come dig outside the problematic walls with a backhoe.  Josh and friends put up a brace to hold the house up while the wall was being replaced. After that block layers came in and busted out the bad wall and put up a new one!

Next problem we needed to address was the old cistern that was sitting below the porch.  Two walls were collapsing so we needed to do something with it.  Josh decided that the easiest thing would be to cut a doorway into it from the basement and have the block layers replace the damaged walls.  Bam! Safe room/storage cellar/storm shelter.

 

Next, is to fix the problem of water drainage by regrading the land so that water no longer drains towards the house.  

We have also been doing demolition to the upstairs.  Tearing everything out of the bathrooms and kitchen and taking out walls between the kitchen, dining, and family room to make it all open concept!  Pictured below: bottom picture is original kitchen and the top is with everything removed to see into the family room!  I know it's still intensely ugly and dirty but it's a start!

DISCLAIMER: First, I'm not a construction expert.  This is a very basic idea of what we did to repair the foundation.  Second, when I say "we" I mostly mean Josh, John, and Tommy.  They are the expert builders/masterminds.  Of coarse, I give my two cents when needed, but this stuff I left in their hands for the most part.  I'll have more input into finishing touches upstairs.

New house

I haven't had much time lately to post or even coupon because we bought a new house about a month and a half ago and we have been busy working on it and getting our current house ready to sell!  First, I just want to say that God is so good to provide our family with this house!  I'll admit that it's a little rough around the edges...ok maybe a little more than just the edges, but we got it at such an incredible price that we are going to have enough money to fix the problems and make it into what we want it to be!  It's the perfect location and it's on about 2.3 acres of land.  Great for little boy explorations!

Here are a few pictures that were before we did any work to the house...

Like I said...a little rough, but we are working hard and getting it fixed and cleaned up.  The basement has some issues that we are almost done fixing.  We had to completely replace several foundation walls and tear everything out of the basement and spray it with bleach... A couple times.  Next the land will need to be regraded to fix the drainage issues to prevent further problems.  Then we can get to work on the fun stuff!  I'll keep you posted on more of our house projects as we go!

One thing we have been doing to save some money while doing all these renovations is buying giftcards at Kroger.  If we are buying supplies at Lowes or Home Depot we always stop at Kroger first to get a gift card.  This way we get tons of fuel points to save at the pump!  We also have a Kroger visa card that we put it on that will give us money back each quarter!  If you shop at Kroger and use fuel points you should really look into buying giftcards for purchases that you are already making to get more fuel points.  

Also if anyone is in the market for a house we are having an open house on Sunday!

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1765-Yorktown-Rd-Lexington-KY-40504/77571835_zpid/

Brotherly Lovin'

Tonight I was fixing dinner and the boys were in their room playing together. Whitman would read his book to Waylon and show him the pictures and Waylon was looking up at him in awe of his big brother.  I was amazed at the intense amount of joy this simple show of love and enjoyment brought to my heart.  Then I began to realize that things won't always be this blissful.  As they grow up they are going to have their disagreements and fights, like all siblings do.  I realized how much the thought of this broke my heart.  

I then began to ponder my childhood and how it must have hurt my parents when we bickered and fought.  I guess I never realized how those moments must have hurt their heart too.  (Sorry mom and dad for hurting you.) It hit me that parents want their kids to enjoy each other.  Not just because they want well behaved children or for them to just stop trying to kill each other, but because it brings a super intense amount of joy to their hearts when siblings just love on each other. Also, nothing grieves their heart more than when their beloved children are fighting and trying to hurt one another.  In my head I've known this, but it wasn't until I saw my own boys playing together that I felt it. Feeling this is a whole different experience.

Since becoming a mother two and a half years ago I have learned a lot about how crazy Good is about His children.  I love my boys like crazy...like I could never imagine before I had them.  I'm not perfect (just ask Josh) so my love for them, while immense, is not perfect, but Gods love is perfect. To just imagine that God loves me more than I will every love my sons is overwhelming at times.  Tonight I glimpsed the sorrow it must bring Him when His children are not loving on one another, and the incredible joy He must feel when we do love each other as He would have us love.  Tonight I was challenged to continually bring my heavenly Father joy by loving my spiritual brothers and sisters in deed and truth.  And to be more intentional about loving my own brothers to bring my mom and dad more joy too! 

John 13:35

By this will all men know that your are my disciples, by your love for one another.

Razors

One thing I hate paying big bucks for is razors (can I get an amen)!  However, my husband and I both have sensitive skin and we need good razors or we break out.  When I started couponing I was excited about the possibilities of cheap razors, but even with coupons I still haven't found an abundance of great deals on high end razors. 

First, what is a good price?  Well, it just depends on what razor you buy.  For me, I look for at least four and preferably five blades and most of these are non-disposable.  Many times you can get the razor for a good price and then they stick it to you when you go to buy the refill cartridges.  However, if i can find a good blade for less than $2 I consider that a pretty good price.  Again, i realize you can buy razors cheaper, but most highend blades are about $3 or more.  Now, I'm even willing to pay two dollars for a whole razor and never buy the refills because some of the time that is what's cheaper.

This week at Walgreen's I got a decent price on some really nice razors and refill cartridges.  Hang on because there are about four levels of discounts to get your final price. 

**side note** What makes this a good deal for me is because I shop at Walgreen's every week and use their rewards system.  If you don't, then this is not a great deal for you.

Buy one Schick Hydro 5 groomer

But one Hydro 5 4ct cartridge refill

Together these are normally priced at $29! Yikes!

This week they are 25%off making them $10.49 & $11.24 each. So that brings us down to about $22.

At Walgreen's when you buy two you get 5000 points... Or $5.  Now we are at $17.

Right now at coupons.com there is a printable coupon for $7 off a groomer and refill cartridge.  Now we are down to $10! 

And finally to get it below the $2 each... Right now at Walgreen's you get 50 points for every dollar you spend in the beauty department when you scan the coupon in their weekly ad.  You get 1050 points for this purchase.

  Bringing your total to about $9 for five razor blades plus this razor has a nice trimmer on the end! You have to work a little bit for it, but I think this is a pretty good deal!

It will be about $16 out of pocket with tax and you'll have your 6050 points for next time.

Saturday Morning Krogering

Last week I didn't have a ton of interesting things on my Saturday trip, so I didn't do a post.  I did find some managers special bread items that I stocked up on and put in the freezer, but that was about it. 

This week I did have a couple really good/easy deals.  There is a downloadable coupon for 75¢ off Colgate toothpaste and toothbrush.  Pair this with the 10 for $10 toothbrush and toothpaste and you get them for a quarter each!  You can do it up to five times in a transaction.  Once you use it, the coupon will come off your card, so be sure to get five!  I was able to get the paste but they were sold out of the $1 brushes today.  The other deal I was excited about was with Red Baron Pizza.  These are on sale for $3.33 each and there a printable coupon or you can download one to you card for $1 off two making them $2.83!  My oldest loves these so this made me happy!

My Kroger right now has Cheerios Protein Cereal for $1/box.  There were coupons from the paper about three weeks so for $1 off one making them free! I'm glad I kept them!

Another thing I got today to help save some money was a $200 Home Depot gift card.  Right now you get 4x fuel points on gift cards.  Since the hubby is getting ready for a kitchen remodel, we will be spending this much and more at Home Depot anyway.   This will get us $1\gallon off on gas when paired with the 25¢ off from our Kroger credit card! 

Other great deals I got were some 69¢ Hawaiian dinner rolls, chicken breast cut into tenders for $1.99, and half gallons of milk for 99¢!  I also picked up some 99¢ raspberries (they were delicious) and had a Kroger coupon for a free dozen eggs!

Manager's Specials

I headed to the grocery store again early Saturday morning in hopes of finding some great manager special deals. Since the mega-sale is still going on its basically the same stuff as last week that's on sale and mostly toiletries.  I was not disappointed!  As I was walking past the deli this worker stopped me and told me she was putting out samples and to take whatever I wanted of this cart for free, and not to be shy about it.  Here's some of what I grabbed... And there was still a lot more left!

There were a bunch of meat and cheese trays, veggie trays, and yogurts with fruit.  I grabbed three of the trays and several yogurts (which made a great breakfast).  I'm going to put one of the meat and cheese trays in the freezer and take the other two to church tomorrow!  The early bird got the worm this time!

I also got 90¢ half gallon milk that went into the freezer!

A Gillette razor for $1.99 after digital coupon!

And since I needed a few disposable diapers I decided to get the Pampers that were $7.99 when you buy 5 things and then had coupons for $2 off the diapers and a coupon for free wipes when you buy a pack of diapers.  So about $6 for a package of diapers and wipes!  Not the best diaper deal but better than full price!

Pay Back

My friend's son is having his second birthday party this afternoon and it's officially time for some sweet revenge.  At Christmas we purchased some books and a small helicopter toy for him, because we were considerate.  What was Whitman given, you ask?  A TOY DRUM SET THAT PLAYS DIFFERENT PITCHES OF CATS SOUNDS!  Sorry, that type of treason cannot go unpunished.  Josh and I scoured Amazon for the loudest and must annoying toys we could find to bestow upon him for his birthday.  Here's what we found.

I don't get mad, I get even!  Happy birthday Aidan!

Walgreens Steal

So this has got to be my favorite  couponing trip thus far...  After register rewards and points I actually made about $0.20 and only had about $2.50 out of pocket!  Here's how I did it!

First Transaction I bought...

4- Revlon eye shadows $2.99 each BOGO 50% off
1- Got2b hair spray $3.99 get $1 register reward
2- Crest 3D White toothpaste or toothbrush 2 for $6 get $4 register reward

Coupons:
4- $2 off one Revlon eye makeup printable coupon
Clip the $1 off Revlon eye makeup coupon to your Walgreen's card (takes it off each one)
1- $2.50 off one Got2b hairspray from newspaper
2- 75¢ off crest toothbrush and toothpaste
Plus I used a $3 register reward I already had.
I paid $1.89 out of pocket and got a $4 and $1 register reward back.

Second transaction I bought...

1-Crystal light lemonade for $3 get one $3 RR
1- Got2b hairspray for $3.99 get $1 RR

Coupons used...
$4 RR from previous transaction
$2.50 off hairspray from newspaper

Paid $.73 out of pocket and got a $3 and $1RR back...

I paid $2.62 out of pocket got $2 more in RR than what I started with and earned 800 points between both transactions on the beauty products. Which means I came out with 18¢ and all these things!  Wow!

Weekly Kroger Trip

Here's the loot from my weekly Kroger trip minus the two gallons of milk that's in the frig!  This mega sale has a few pretty sweet deals!  Most of the best deals are on toiletries, so I stocked up!  I didn't buy many groceries this week because we just didn't need much.  The total came to $72 with $87 in savings... I'm actually a little disappointed in this because when I got home and looked at my receipt I saw that there was at least one $3 coupon that my cashier must have past over and there were some things that were all sold out that I couldn't get.  Overall though this is not too shabby! Here's a closer look at some of my favorite deals!

Gillette shave gel was $2.29 for a double pack and I had a coupon for $1 off, making it $1.29 for two bottles of shaving gel or 65¢ each!

These eye shadows were $1.54 each and I had a coupon for $3 off of 2. Making them 4¢each! Wow!  I also found some Cover Girl mascara on mangers special for $2.30 and I had a$1 off... Regular price was $9.69.

These pantene shampoo and conditioners are $2.69 each and there was a printable coupon for 4 off of two. Making them 69¢each plus free dry shampoo that came with them!

A couple other super easy deals that required only digital Kroger coupons were noxzema face wash that was $1.99 with the mega sale and then a digital coupon for $1.25 off. Making it about 75¢.  And Dove shampoo that was $2.17 with mega sale and digital coupon for $1.25. Making it about 90¢!

Kroger Mega Sale Bargain

This has got to be one of the best/easiest deals I've ever gotten!  Kraft cheese, which is normally $4.29 per pack at Kroger, is only $.49 each.  They are on sale for $2.99 and a dollar of each when you but five and then when you download the digital coupon this gives you another $1.50 off each...for a grand total of $.49 each.  This is a crazy good deal!  Mine are going in the freezer!

Krogering

My Kroger trip this week was pretty productive.  I found a few managers special sales, but not as many as last week.  Here's the receipt with the savings break down!

As you can see it looks like I spent way more than my normal grocery budget.  However, one of my best deals was a $50 Children's Place gift card for $40!  Just download the digital coupon to your card! This is going to make for some great deals when they have their end of season sales and have things for $1.99... Especially when paired with a 25% of your entire order coupon!  If you subtract that and a few household items my grocerys were about $55 and $8 for a whole turkey breast that is going to make many delicious meals!  Not too bad!

Plus you get 4x fuel points on the price of gift cards right now too.  I racked up the fuel points today too!

Grocery Budgeting

I've had a few people ask me about my grocery budget, $50\week for food and $50\month on meat.  To most people this has seemed near impossible or even laughable.  First, this is for a family of two adults with a two year old and five month old.  Second, this only includes food; not toiletries, paper products, soaps, clothes or anything else.  And finally the big secret, I don't always manage to keep it within this budget. In fact, I rarely do. 

The fact of the matter is that I just got tired of going to the grocery with no game plan and spending over a hundred dollars and then having to return every couple days to get things that I needed for meals I decided I wanted to cook... Or even more expensive, just going out to eat since I hadn't gotten what I needed to make a complete meal at the grocery.  I was spending close to or over two hundred dollars in food per week (if you include eating out).  This was just too much.  So we decided to make some changes. 

The first was to plan meals for the week then make a grocery list... It's not rocket science.  This made a big difference since we were much more likely to eat at home if I already had what I needed to cook a meal.  

Second, I saw what a big difference this made and decided to challenge myself with this budget.  If you don't have a goal then you tend to spend more.  I started looking at what was on sale and making my menu based on sale items.  Just these two steps made an incredible difference in our bank account.  Even though I go over the $50 all the time, being $5-$20 over budget is still a tremendous improvement.  

The last thing that I've started recently is using coupons.  We used to just buy the Kroger brand of everything, but after reading a few blogs and paying more attention to ads I realized you can get name brand things even cheaper sometimes.  I'll give you an example of a great deal I got at Kroger this morning on Horizon Mac and Cheese.  These are normally about $2/box...Far too much in my opinion for a box of Mac and cheese.  The Kroger brand is about $1 or less and the Kraft brand you can occasionally find on sale for $1.  I normally just stock up on Kraft when it's on sale because this is one thing where I don't like the Kroger brand.  Anyway, Horizon was on sale for $1/box which is good, but then I printed off coupons for 55¢/1 box making them 45¢ each!   Another deal I got was Chex Mix for 75¢.  They are on sale for $1/bag and I had a coupon for 50¢\2 bags.

Another tip that I've also found for getting some amazing deals is getting out early on Saturday morning.  This is when my Kroger store knocks down prices with managers special.  Things like milk that will expire in a week...I don't know about you but a gallon doesn't begin to last a week in our house.  Today they were marking down packages of bacon to $1 each!  I got plenty of bacon in the freezer now!  Here's the damage from my morning Kroger trip...the savings does not even reflect my managers special deals.  This week I was within budget with about $28 of this being meat and $40 being groceries! 

Coupons Gone Wrong... And Right

I've been couponing for a couple of weeks now and I actually feel like I'm getting the hang of how it works.  This has not been without any awkward moments at the register, but that was all in my first week and the worst one was not my fault. I won't get into that because it will be much funnier to tell you about my husbands unfortunate transaction at the register this past weekend.

There was this great deal at Kroger on hefty slider bags and I had a coupon.  This was the makings of a great deal...plus we really needed bags.  They were on sale for 99¢ each when you bought 6, and I had coupons for $1/2 boxes.  This made them 50¢each! 

Josh was going to Kroger late one night so I asked him to get the bags since they were out of them when I made my weekly grocery run.  He agreed and I gave careful instructions to only get the 99¢ ones if they had them and to buy twelve of them since you only get the deal in quantities of six.  When he got home and hands me the receipt that states he has bought almost $50 worth of hefty bags!  I was in shock!  He had grabbed the boxes that were nearly $5 each!  I asked how he didn't notice at the register that he was paying $50 for what I told him should cost $6.  He said he got distracted when the you-scan cashier asked him if he was going fishing or selling weed with all those bags!  The bags were returned the next day.

Here's what I got at Kroger today for less than $10!  

7 hefty slider bags

3 boxes of cereal

2 boxes of pasta

1 Bottle of acetaminophen

Bananas

My First Coupon Adventure!

As you might guess I live for a good bargain. For this reason I have always held people who coupon and get loads of groceries for cheap in high respect (as long as I'm not behind them in line at Kroger).  I'm not talking about the people on shows buying loads of worthless junk because it's a penny, but mom's trying to cut down on their grocery bill. 

This week I was reading a blog call Passionate Penny Pincher and she inspired me to give it a try.  So I set off to Kroger early this morning (so not to be super annoying when it's busy) with my coupons in hand to give it a try!  And turns out it wasn't so bad!  Here's my loot.  I only paid $17.75 and saved $28.89. 

I will definitely be doing this again when I have the time.  Honestly, it did take some time but, I can see how once you get polished at it it won't take much more time at all if you already look at the weekly ads to make a list like I do.  

Sourdough #3

After your dough has risen overnight is time to turn it out again.  So again dust your counter with bread flour and knead the dough again for a couple minutes.  Then divide your dough into two even leaves and place in two large greased loaf pans.  I like big loaves so I do two but you could do the small loaves too.

Let the dough rise in the list pans for about 8hrs in a warm place.  Then pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30mins.  Then enjoy some yummy bread!

Sourdough #2

After your fed starter has set for about 10-12hrs it's now time to mix up the dough.  Combine the following ingredients into your mixer...
1. 1&1/4 cup of starter mixed well
2. 1&1/4 cup of warm water
3. 1/2 cup of oil
4. 1 tablespoon salt
5. 1/4 cup sugar

Using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, gradually mix in 6 cups of bread flour. I do this over about 15 mins starting with about three cups and then mixing in another cup every 5 mins. 

After you have finished mixing all the flour in, dust a layer of flour on your counter and turn the dough out on the counter a few times until it's not sticky anymore.  Clean out your mixing bowl,oil it up, and place your dough in. Turn it over so both sides are greased up.  Place your dough in a warm place to let it rise about 8-10hrs or overnight.  Again I put mine in the microwave with the light on to keep it warm.