Random randomness
Let's talk about some random things today, shall we?
First up, I want to tell you that I've discovered, both by experience and by reading, that voles don't eat peonies.
Whenever I find a plant that voles don't eat, it's a minor life triumph.
I hate spending money on plants that get promptly eaten. It feels like flushing dollar bills down the toilet!
So, now I'm making plans to buy more peonies and plant them in all of the places.
(Other successes: hydrangeas, daffodils, and grape hyacinths. Also, oak trees. They've eaten zero of my oak trees.)
I bought some hot dog buns that ended up being pretty dry. So I cubed and froze them, and I think I'll use 'em to make a batch of dressing to go with the chicken I'm roasting tonight.
I have some celery that needs to be used up too, so this will be perfect. Two birds with one stone!
(I spatchcocked and salted the chicken last night.)
Some of you new Hungry Harvest members were asking how to plan to use what comes in the box.
Well, each week, you should get an email letting you know what's arriving, and you can use that info when you plan your meals.
Plus, you can click on the "Why was this stuff rejected?" button to find out why your items ended up with Hungry Harvest. I'm always curious, so I click every week. 😉
(Want to join Hungry Harvest or get on their wait list? Use code FRUGALGIRL to get 25% off your first harvest.)
I got a $10 coupon from Eddie Bauer in my email yesterday, along with a notice that they were having a 40% off sale.
I had to make a return at the mall anyway (online order that didn't fit, and I didn't want to pay return shipping!), so I stopped in and bought some new socks for Mr. FG (two pairs for $4.66 total).
He has a thing for new, cushy socks, so I knew this would make him a happy man. 😉
I also made another return in the same area, and it all was in conjunction with my dentist appointment, so yay for batched errands!
And that wraps up this edition of Random Randomness.
That's awesome about the peonies! I love peonies - I need to plant some at our new house! We haven't done much in the way of landscaping. We had voles at our old house and it was super duper annoying. Our neighbor cats at our new house are fierce hunters (they hunt and kill all day long! and bring their kill to our yard! yay! #notyay) and I have seen small moles they killed, but not voles. But I bet if we did have them around they would get them! 🙂 But I still want to plant peonies because they are just so beautiful!
Here's my randomness: I made the most delicious chicken patties last night: 1 pound of ground chicken, chopped up chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (about 3, it made them quite spicy), some salt and dried onion flakes and cooked them in my cast iron skillet. So delicious! 🙂 It was something I just made up because we had absolutely no groceries in the house after our vacation (the ground chicken and peppers were in the freezer). Oh, and I used up some sweet potatoes to make fries to go along with them.
Ugh, I hate garden pests! We're fighting a woodpecker right now who is a tomato-eating jerk. Ugh. I repurposed some of Mr. Picky Pincher's old socks by hemming them. Now I have three new-to-me pairs of socks. 🙂
Waiting to see those socks on your blog!
We save all our bread ends, extra hot dog rolls (my sister's boyfriend is on one of those no-bread diets so he eats a ton of meat and we end up with extra rolls) and make them into croutons. We've also done the dressing route as well. Amazing how many recipes there are out there for leftover and/or stale bread.
Also, new socks are the best. I need to replace most of my low socks for wearing with sneakers. The socks I have been wearing look nice but are made of Chinesium fibers which just don't hold up. Maybe someday I'll opt for merino wool or something.
I like how this "random" post is about living frugally and happily. The peonies look beautiful. I look forward to a photo of the chicken! 🙂
When I read "dressing" I thought of salad dressing, so I was intrigued how you were going to make liquid out of dry bread crumbs. 😛 Then I realized you meant dressing as in the stuff you put in turkey!
Oh my gosh! Me too!
I think it's interesting that the way your Hungry Harvest veggies look is basically what the veggies look like in my local Aldi and Walmart right now (I'm way up in Northern NY)... We're lucky to get what get up here! Local farmer's markets haven't started yet.
Peonies smell amazing!! I love them. Unfortunately they (along with many other plants) cannot grow by black walnut trees and our neighbor has two right next to our fence. BUT we are moving (finally! yay!!!) and our new house has nary a black walnut tree in sight.
This is completely unrelated (or random if you prefer) but it relates to frugality and it made me so very excited I had to share. Our current house is in a high crime area (right next to Detroit) and even though our new one is only the next city over, our home owners insurance dropped from $980 a year to $429. I could hardly believe it. I made the agent repeat it three times and double check. I can only assume our auto insurance will drop as well. So hooray for a better, safer neighborhood and lower insurance!
Well shoot! My Michigan insurance has never been that cheap!
We lived north of Detroit by a couple of hours, and now live in West Michigan.
Shop around! We moved from West Michigan and our home owner's insurance had gotten so high. But I finally got some quotes and got it lowered, I think around $400? We went with Allstate, but I'm sure there are others who can get you lower rates too.
Those are lovely peonies. That color is so vivid; I love it.
I had a credit with ThredUp because I returned slacks that were my usual size, but fit too large, so I looked today and found a nice Brooks Brothers quilted lightweight outerwear jacket to replace a jacket I gave up on this past winter, after many years of wear. I also found a nicer black tee that I needed. I had the credit plus I got 10% off my order today, so with shipping, $20.34. Not as cheap as some thrift stores, maybe, but not bad at all, since our local Goodwill charges $12 and $14 for jackets, and I'd had zero luck finding either article at the thrift stores, after looking for months. Here in North Florida, a light quilted jacket is perfect for many of our winter days.
We are under tornado watch almost all day. That makes for some (unwanted) excitement. I'm praying for all in the path of this storm.
I haven't decided on a new recipe for this week, but I hope to find one using ingredients I already have.
Our first ever successful spring onions are ready to pull, once this weather clears. We normally can only grow them in the fall. I almost bought onions at the store, then remembered I have them, just in the ground.
Socks -- I need some new low-cut socks. Anyone, any suggestions on a brand that won't stretch out so fast?
Same for weather here in South Georgia. We wear light winter jackets, so minimum outer wear is ever needed. That's a definite savings in the clothing budget. We aren't under a tornado watch, just tons of rain.
My grandma and my mom both grew peonies in their yards-they bring back such happy childhood memories!
Finally getting some serious rain in central Florida!
I "tried" to save money by buying dried ancho chiles to make into Ancho chile powder. I tried the food processor, then the blender and it still is not powder, so I ordered a coffee/spice grinder from Amazon because I don't want all my coffee to be chili flavored.
We have started having this recipe about once a week http://www.browneyedbaker.com/chipotle-chicken-recipe/ and with 2 T per recipe, a jar goes very quickly. I know that I will use the small coffee grinder a lot so it will be worth it, but I do seem to end up in these predicaments sometimes when I try to save money. 😉
Not the kind of predicaments that send you to debtor's prison or ruin the whole month's budget, just enough to be frustrating!
Beautiful peonies!
I have roses in the yard that are beautiful, yet I don't care for them. The former home owner had planted several of them. I have new neighbors on both sides of me. One of them has been planting like crazy. I told her husband they were welcome to dig mine all up and replant them. That lady was so happy. Meanwhile our weather is heavenly. We have been having mild weather for sometime. We didn't use much heat and now the A.C. has not been needed. The Windows are opened and we have box fans. I hope my electric bill continues to be low. I took my sugar cookie daughter out to lunch today with free meal coupons we received from the Zaxbys club we saw online. Sitting outside now with puppy enjoying cool weather.I start my last semester of nursing school on Monday. I bought my textbooks sometime ago so I could read them ahead of time. I am feeling quite confident I am prepared. I need to get a bird feeder. I have a pair of red birds out here eating the stray cats food. They are gorgeous.
The colors are so lively!
The voles. My God, the voles. Our front yard is practically as cratered and barren as the moon. I am less in "what flowers won't they eat?" and more "how much would it cost to make them go away forever?" Ugh.
Also, if I were crazy rich, I would wear a new pair of socks everyday. I like the fishiness, like Mr.F., but also the feel when you stretch your toes and the elastic feel kind of gives for the first time. Yes, I have thought about this. Makes your husband sound like average sock guy, right?
I adore peonies, and have some in our front yard. A good friend gave me divisions from her peony plants maybe - gasp! - 20 years ago, and I took divisions of my transplants when we moved to our current home 8 years ago. I would love some more, though.... So thankful for gardening friends!
Those peonies are drop dead gorgeous. I don't have voles, but I do have moles...and deer, rabbits, and a very bad dog, all of whom make my gardening life a bit challenging. I also have a husband with a sock fetish -- granted, he's on his feet all day and deserves some comfy socks for his piggies, but he's SO fond of the super-cushy SmartWool and REI socks that I do an entire load of nothing but socks every week...an ENTIRE LOAD. Next time he goes on a fishing trip with his buddies, some socks are going to disappear....
Ah randomness.
I took my car into the shop because the windshield washer fluid would not dispense. It was cheap to fix (by car repair standards) at $40. Yay! But while they were poking around in there they found a leaky water pump. Boo!
I was actually feeling up to cooking tonight, which is rare. (I cook all the time but I rarely feel like it. haha.) I had planned simple leftovers for dinner but while I was in the kitchen I made up some burritos to freeze for lunches and a coffee cake to take to work as a treat.
I had a terrible morning where I woke up super grumpy, literally cried through my work out, went in for a dental cleaning (where I was told I need both a filling and a crown), went to work for a few hours then took the afternoon off to take the car in and was given more bad news. But oddly, I feel happy and restful and peaceful tonight. Which is weird. But good.
Thank goodness I finally learned to save up for things - I have both a car repair fund and a dental fund going. I may still need to dip into my emergency savings for all this work, but not for much. Years ago, this would have caused me so much anxiety and stress.
I feel you on the cooking front. I rarely feel like doing it, but I cook anyway!
Too bad we don't live closer together...I am in MN...cause I could save you $$$ and split the 4-5 types of peonies I have. They are a nice perennial that holds up nicely. However I don't think they do well with shipping...then you loose the frugality of it ! 🙂