Shop til you drop.

I've dabbled with the idea for quite awhile now, but finally made the move this past week. It was a long time coming, and with all the potential benefits, why not give it the old college try? My friends, I've decided to become: a couponer.

You all know how much I love to save a buck, so this just seemed like the next logical choice. And once my dear friend, Jenny, gave me this absolutely amazing, perfect-size-for-coupons llama pouch, it was all over.

I mean c'mon... how can you NOT love that little bag?? It's a shiny, metallic, llama pouch! She knows me well. :)

One of my biggest hesitancies with couponing was the use of paper, but I've already found ways to deal with that. If I have to print them out at home, I use the backside of discarded school papers (which are headed to the trash anyway). And a lot of the stores are now going to ecoupons, which you can use straight from your smart phone or shopping card with zero paper necessary!

No worries- I have neither the time, desire nor space to become one of those stockpiling people you see on reality TV, but every penny saved is a penny that makes Laura happy.

You know what else makes me happy? Shiny llama coupon pouches.

For the love of reuse.

I am downright giddy to share my latest purchase with you all!

Everyone, meet our new reusable produce bags--

And produce bags, meet everyone. :)

Aren't they fantastic?!

They're functional and they make me happy and they equal less plastic use at the grocery store- and therefore, I love them! I rarely use produce bags for anything anymore... Do you really need a plastic bag to keep 4 apples together? And letting your oranges and mangos interact won't hurt anything... But for things like broccoli and onions- which tend to shed- these little guys come in very handy. Machine washable, big enough to hold whatever, color-coded tabs for whatever the heck I decide to color-code. Seriously, they're awesome.

Even the checkout girl today complimented me on them! And this was at Wal-Mart, people... where they hate pretty much anything reusable at the bagging carousel.

It's the little things.

Summertime Fun Time.

Hello readers! It is I, the one who has been off the radar for nearly a month. But I’m back! And here comes a blog… brace yourself.

Three of the past four weeks were spent writing a ridiculously stressful research paper. It was worth 30% of my overall grade, and I was more than a little tense. Both our bank account and my waist line took a hit with all the fast food, but I eventually got it all submitted! And then that fourth week was spent being tortured with my own thoughts that I had surely failed the class. It’s a long irrational story as to why I thought this, but I was constantly thinking of ways I could take it again next year while continuing to work and take the other courses on the docket. BUT! I was put out of my misery on Tuesday morning when the grades went up. I PASSED and will not be taking it again next year! 29% FINISHED with my NP program. Boo-ya! :) I'm out of class for the summer, and plan to enjoy it to the fullest!

Speaking of: I have 10 tomatoes ripening up, with one nearly all the way red! And two little jalapenos have poked through, after an intense battle with some little aphids who thought they owned the place…

Also- I've started a bit of a pet project in the kitchen. A few weeks ago, I learned that you can grow your own green onions right from the roots! No sunlight, very little care... just some water. So I figured I'd give it a shot!

Day 1.

Day 5.

Growing things is such fun!

AND- in exactly one month, I'll be headed to Nicaragua! I finished up my oral Typhoid vaccine just this morning, and am therefore "protected" for the next five years. Just have to pick up my Malaria pills, and I'm good to go!

Free time, veggies and traveling, Oh my! I do believe it's shaping up to be a good summer. 

Grow Veggies Grow!

School is especially busy right now. It seems every free moment is dedicated to writing a paper or studying for an exam or just being all around stressed-out... But last week (before the soccer spectacular), I took a few hours to dedicate to my patio garden. I learned a lot about the process of container gardening last year, and couldn't wait to start it up again!

Looks like the tomatoes are about to show up!

Cilantro and basil- Getting big quickly!

The jalapenos didn't fare so well last time. I'm hoping this year we'll have at least a few to throw in with the fresh tomatoes. Yay salsa!

Keebler enjoys monitoring everyone's growth as well.

No veggies just yet, but hopefully soon! And I think I've finally found a reason to move to a place with a YARD. Just think of what I could grow with actual soil! 



Cha-Ching.

I love saving money. Absolutely LOVE it. It's almost a game for me-- A game in which every single tiny penny counts. And the prize for winning the game? More money in our savings (aka: travel) account!

Just last month, I finally used up an AT&T gift card I'd been hanging onto... It literally had $.25 on it. But there was NO WAY I was throwing it away without cashing in its full value. We have this little basket on our kitchen counter, and it mostly collects coins and wine corks and half-used gift cards... After a card is semi-used, I grab a sharpie and write the remaining amount on it. (An excellent technique I picked up from my parents.) And Leo made fun of me on more than one occasion when he would come across that boldly-written $.25. But eventually, I successfully lowered our phone bill by a whole quarter! I win.

And last week, when we bought our beautiful new Ninja blender, we paid less than half price for the little bundle of joy! See, last year when we got our fancy new pots and pans, we got a $50 Bed Bath & Beyond gift card to sweeten the deal. It has ridden around in my wallet for a YEAR waiting for the perfect (necessary) item to pop up. Enter Ninja. Along with a 20% off in-store coupon, the Ninja was that much more fun to bring home. I win again.

My two rules: 1) never make a big purchase without getting an amazing deal. And 2) don't buy crap you don't need. Our old blender had been around for about 7 years, and had actually started bleeding oil every time we fired it up. We mopped up the oil and tried to nurse it back to health for many, many months before finally throwing in the towel and going shopping for the Ninja.

I got a random email the other day from Dave Ramsey's people. Not sure how I got on that list, but I think I may have found a new friend... I don't appreciate how he seems to charge for all of his advice, but from what I can tell: the man knows what he's talking about. I don't think I'm willing to pay for advice on how to save money at this point, but we'll see. I sometimes conduct spontaneous google searches on the subject and get all kinds of fun new pieces of advice for free.

Please don't judge me.

I'm also thinking about beginning to dabble in the world of coupons? But I'm torn. Coupons require using paper and printing paper and wasting paper. Saving money while filling up landfills... Still pondering the pros and cons of that one.

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas...

For years, I've been trying to get my family to have a "greener" Christmas- and for years, I have failed. But I will never give up! (I think they secretly enjoy my tears...)

My biggest request: stop it with the wrapping paper! There is zero reason to go out and buy wrapping paper. Get creative! Use fabric, or newspaper, or old shopping bags. Or... in case of an emergency (a fancy wedding where fancy wrapping paper is a must)- get pretty 100% recycled paper. Trust me, it exists.
And then... if none of that does it for you, this year I discovered a new option--

SNACK BAGS!! See that little guy there in front? He's wrapped in a Quakes bag! And turned inside out, the shiny silver part makes for a lovely little homemade bow. (The larger ones are wrapped in old shopping bags.)

I'm all about Christmas spirit, but don't really see why all the "stuff" needs to come along with it. I found this awesome website that agrees... a great place to get some green holiday motiviation!

No paper necessary.

Almost a year ago, we decided to go paper towel-less. Well, really it was my decision... Leo's line of thinking was more: "But they're so great. Why do they have to go away??" But being the awesome husband he is (who's learned not to ask too many questions when it comes to reducing waste), he humored me.  :)

 

 

There were a few bumps in the road, because instead of cutting back on our use, we just quit cold turkey. But with a few minor adjustments, it's worked out great!

We got one of those plastic cover things for inside the microwave... since splatter makes me crazy. And it cost literally $1.98. As for when Keebs decides to free himself of a hairball- dish rags work great, and then go directly into the laundry. The biggest obstacle had to do with adventures in glass cleaning. Other than newspaper (which we don't get), I had no idea what else to use to clean mirrors & windows. But it turns out, those microfiber cleaning rags you get for the car or even a cut up old t-shirt work wonders!

It makes me so happy when a change like this not only works, but works well. Toss those paper towels! You can do it, too.

Nothing a few hazardous chemicals can't handle.

After working on it for weeks, I submitted a very large paper today. And after taking a moment to enjoy a massive sigh of relief (and a mini happy dance), I decided to tackle a project in the bathroom I'd been putting off.

See, my eyeshadow applicator was falling apart. And because I'm awesomely frugal and resourceful and didn't want to spend a whole $2 on a new set, I decided that with a little glue, this one could be good as new. It was a brilliant idea in theory, but the outcome was not so great. I underestimated the porous nature of the sponges and used a little too much super glue... The result: super glue on 5 different fingertips and on our beautiful granite countertops. Yes- I'm an idiot. Technically, the applicator still works, and just to prove a point I plan to use it as long as possible. But a valuable lesson was learned. (and ps- the spot on the counter is tiny and I will be researching ways to remove it asap.)

I also made a decision while sitting in class today: Tomorrow will be a day OFF. No books. No work. No need for eyeshadow or applicators. My plan is to sleep in, gather my weapons of attack (vacuum, pledge, lysol, scouring pads, etc) and wage war against the mess that is our apartment. And if time allows, I'll also be scraping off the bird poo that is currently covering about 20% of my car. It shall be a cleaning extravaganza! And I'm excited. In preparation, I'm making the perfect playlists and trying to figure out if I'll be able to properly enjoy Pride & Prejudice (with my boy Colin Firth) all the way from the bathroom...

Ooo- maybe some of the cleaning solutions will also take care of my super glue fingers?? Bonus.

Excess rewards.

I had lunch at Panera the other day... and boy to do those people love their Panera cards. The guy at the counter asked no less than 3 times if I wanted one, and then acted as if I were a crazy person for saying no.

I've been noticing this trend lately. Every company who is anything special (or at least thinks they're special) now offers either a rewards card or a credit card or something of that nature. And then they commend their employees for bombarding you with offers to sign up for said cards. Frankly, it's annoying.

Not only do I not want to carry around your card in my wallet (after taking the time to go online and "activate" it), I also don't want to spend the extra money that will go along with buying or consuming the stuff I wouldn't have thought to buy before you sent me your coupons & discounts. Just because I can get it cheaper doesn't mean I actually need it. 

So, Mr. man behind the counter at Panera-- while I'm in love with literally everything on your menu, if you continue to ask if I'm interested in special offers, I will jump over the counter and flog you.

The Great Purge of 2011.

"Living More, With Less"

I love that quote. I think it sums up my ideal lifestyle perfectly.

I'm not big on stuff. We live in an apartment that's less than 650 square feet, and most people would probably come in and still think it's pretty empty. Cozy, but definitely not over-packed or especially decorated. And we LOVE that. I do enjoy color, so there's plenty of that, but as for picture frames everywhere, or random little sit-arounds... if it's there, we know exactly where it came from and what the story is behind it. If it doesn't have sentimental value,and serves no actual purpose, it's probably not in our home.

I don't know that I'll ever earn the true title of "minimalist" and that's ok with me. But I like to try.

And one major reason for that: flexibility. At this point, I really don't see Leo & I ever "settling" just one place. We're pretty nomadic, and living with fewer physical possessions makes that much easier. We have a beautiful apartment, with very nice furnishings, but all of it could be easily sold or donated within hours and we could be on our way in a matter of days if necessary. Buying a house just seems so permanent... and not for us right now.

We do have a small storage closet out on the patio that holds certain items like camping/travel gear, a cat carrier & moving boxes. But other than that- if something hasn't been used or worn in the past year, it's gotta go. And that's been part of my 3 days off this week! Purging. Now, I'm not going crazy about it... but it never hurts to prune. Do I really need to keep that pair of Dr Martens boots that I've had since 8th grade and keep convincing myself I'll wear at some point? Um, no. Or the extra dish towels that don't even fit into our one little "kitchen linen" drawer? Definitely not. And it's good to remind myself of that.

We've got what we need. There's not much space for anything else. And that makes me happy.

The littlest produce.

Forget the storms. Forget the tornados. Forget the damage.

We officially have something that outshines them all--

Our first ripened tomato--  Adorable... and deeeeeeeeelicious!  

the thermostat.

Some co-workers and I got into a discussion this week. And it was sparked by a battle that is waged constantly on the floor-- involving the thermostats. I swear, throughout the 24 hours of the day, those thermostats flip from 50 to 90 and back to 50 at least 6 different times. There's no such thing as a middle ground. If it's too hot in a room, someone goes in and cranks it all the way to 50. And then when it gets to the boiling point after that, someone else comes along and puts it to the other extreme. No room is ever just "comfortable." You're either tempted to hang meat or start shedding layers...

And so we all got to talking about our thermostats and what they're set at in our houses. When I mentioned that Leo and I have had ours turned off since at least late February, there was a collective gasp. Everyone thought I had absolutely lost my mind- but I promise it's all good.

As long as there's no threat of actual ice forming inside the apartment... Or on the other end- as long as we won't physically turn into one big Rangira puddle in the middle of the night... we tend to rely on either blankets or fans. Right now, we have a fan in the living room and another in the bedroom. And they work wonders. And I'm seriously considering getting a tiny one for the bathroom. See- the only time I'm even tempted to turn on the air is when I've just stepped out of the shower and start using a hair dryer and flat iron. There are times during hair fixing that I think my face might actually melt off-- but luckily it hasn't happened yet. We save a heck of a lot of energy (yay planet Earth!) and our electricity bills are simply beautiful.

We understand there will come that point during the Texas summer when we are forced to flip the switch... but for now- the windows are open.  :)

Tiny fruits.

I went out earlier to snap a picture of our first tomato...

And found he had a friend!

Baby strawberry!  :)

Don't ya just love crafts??

Our spices have been out of control. They've been housed in a big wal*mart bag since we moved in... no organization whatsoever... all sizes & shapes... and led to frustration every time we needed to dig and find something to cook with.

So a few weeks ago, I hatched a plan. Since we're a little short on kitchen storage, I liked the idea of the magnetic tins that stick to the fridge (or maybe eventually, the inside of a cabinet)... but I refused to pay what Bed Bath & Beyond was asking. So I found a way to do it for a fraction of the cost.

Thanks to a lovely website called http://www.specialtybottle.com/, I got the smaller tins for $.64 each and the larger ones for $.80. A definite stretch from the $2.99 each in stores!

And then with the help of a pack of little magnets, some super glue and my super-awesome new label maker... TA-DA!

And the finished product! 

Good for the eyes, and good for the bank account. Our cabinets are smiling once again.  :)