Patience Running Low...

So lately my roomie and I have been trying hard to cook at home. In the past, we have gone out WAY too much, at least 3-4 nights a week. This summer I have noticed that we were grilling a lot at home and having leftovers for lunch, I soon noticed that we were saving money as well. My roommate recently got a new job, about a month ago. She is now home at 4:30 and has more time to cook. However I have recently noticed that between both of us we were going to the store about 4 times a week and spending about $80 each time. I am sure you are all good at math and figure that that equal $260/week.

Everytime I get home from the store and putting away the groceries I hate the fact that I bought maybe 10 items and spent at least $60 to $80.

Today I woke up with a list of dinners I wanted to cook over this next week. So when my roomie woke up we came up with a grocery list and off to Costco we went, well about 4 grocery stores, 6 hours, $160, and alot of patience later we had our groceries for the week. Now some of you might say that $160 is a lot of money for 1 week of groceries for just 2 people, but we also bought bulk toliet paper, paper towels, diced and tomato sauce (so we can make speghetti multiple times this winter) and 4# of ground turkey. I think we did really good and do have to say that I am pround of us.

So here is our Menu for this week for dinner.

Sunday
BBQ ribs and asian cole slaw

Monday
Turkey Burgers and Fries

(photo courtesy of Dishing up Delights)

Tuesday
Speghetti with Garlic bread

Wednesday
Roast Beef with carrots, onions, and potatoes

Thurdsay
Mediterranean Chicken pockets with greek salad


(photo courtesy of Martha Stewart - Everyday Food)

Friday
Left overs

Saturday
Hopefully not here ! :)

Recepie for Sunday Night dinner

This recepie is from my mom, it is great to throw in the oven before you go to work on low setting or let it cook for 3-4 hours on higher. The longer they cook the more tender they are.


BBQ Spare Ribs

Pork or Beef spare ribs
Beef Bullion
BBQ sauce of choice
Water

Place ribs in a 13x9x2 baking dish place 3-4 beef bullion cubes and about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom. Cover with tin foil. Place in oven on about 250 (low setting) for 6 hours or 350 (high setting) for 3-4 hours. About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, pour off the liquid in the bottom, cover with BBQ sauce and crank up the heat to 400 -450 degrees and cook for 30 more munutes or to desired crispiness.

The side dish to go along with this is one of the best I have tasted so far, and so easy to make. It is a new receipe for me. My roommates mother introduced us to it.

Asian Cole Slaw

2 pkg of Beef Ramen Noodles
2c. slivered almonds
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c. vinegar
1c vegetable oil
1 pkg cole slaw

Toast ramen noodles (broken up), almonds, and sunflower seeds until lightly brown (suggestion: brown only ramen noodles until almost golden, throw in almonds and seeds for a couple minutes) tossing/stirring constantly to prevent burning.

Combine sugar, vinegar, oil and beef seasoning packets. Mix dressing, ramen noodles and slaw together right before serving.

Suggestion: Since this makes a lot, I just serve the dressing on the side and not mix the slaw and toppings. This way they stay crispy and not get soggy.

I am hoping to continue this every week. Wish us luck! Hope you all have a good week!

Sun & Sand HERE WE COME!!!

Cruise is booked!!

We are off to the great pink beaches just as it starts to get cold here. I haven't been to bermuda in a LONG time, actually I haven't been on a true vacation in forever! I don't think I can say as an adult that I have paid my way on a true vacation. Well that is just one more thing that I can check off my list. CAN'T WAIT!!!

almost there...

this has been a long time coming and still not complete, however, all the counter tops are installed... for now that is. (that is another story) but don't they look great!

i know that there is still work to do on the walls. We are planning on tiling the backsplash with subway tile and changing the color of the walls to a mossy green color. I did also find some great fabric to make a valance with.

i already love the way it looks. hopefuly the tiling will go much more smoothly than the countertop install. the only thing that worries me is i am doing the backsplash tiling and someone else installed the counters. YIKES.

So far here is the collage of how the progress has gone. the first 3 photos are of the actual demolition. the next 3 photos are the issues we have had and still have with the install. fixed the chip and the seam that is there is uneven and still waiting for a resolution. the last 3 are of the completed project as of today.

can't wait for it to be completed! almost there...

Memorial Day Weekend

every year i look forward to Memorial Day weekend. not only is it a time to pay tribute to those who serve our county, to many, it is also the begining of summer!

for the past 3 years that i have known my roommate, we have gone up to Long Beach Island, NJ (LBI), where she is from. it is about 18 mi long and at its widest point, .5mi wide. it is scattered with georgous houses and bungalows. it has great beaches, shopping and more than 100 restraunts. i would say that it is about 100x better that Ocean City, MD or Rehobeth Beach, DE.



this year we took advantage of the Memorial Day yard sales and i found a great table, for only $40. i plan to sand it down and restain it. similar to this one... i love the black chunky legs and the natural color top.


courtesy of Hudson Goods

it will be great and so much nicer that the table i currently have. the one i have now is so small!
there are some big changes going on here. we are currently living without countertops in our kitchen, oh, no sink or stove either. IT TOTALLY SUCKS!!!

we are eating off of paper plates with plasticware and plastic cups (feel like i am in college again) and washing whatever dishes we use in a small 1/2 bath. hopefully this week we will get a phone call to schedule an install date. it has been almost 2 weeks!

a lot of my inspiration has come from Layla over that The Lettered Cottage... I have posted about her before and i ADORE her kitchen... and basically all of her room makeovers... CAN'T wait to see her guest room makeover that is going to have it's full reveal shortly and on her blog she is giving away some of her Quote Jars... this would be so cute to put in the guest room!

To sign up for your own quote jars... visit The Lettered Cottage and follow her directions...

Good Luck... I am crossing my fingers....

You can also visit this other great blog and look at more great giveaways! I love free stuff...

LAS VEGAS!

Spring is Springing!

over the last few weeks i have noticed that the trees on my one hour drive to work have an aura about them. i love this time of year right before things start to bloom. The buds with their flowers about to break through give the tree a hue of color. around here in maryland there are so many flowering trees, i think the pear tree being the most abundant. as i took the dogs for a walk this afternoon, when the the sun started coming out i couldn't resist but to come back and get my camera. on our little walk i took photos of the trees that are just starting to bloom.

i can't wait till the weather gets a bit more warm and the rain stops! Almost Summertime! maybe i should just relax and enjoy spring.

Later!

Changes

2009 brought on a lot of changes for me. i started a new job, which has sucked out any chance of me having my own life, i feel that i am constantly at work and when i am not at work i am catching up on my sleep. i have gone on a diet and have lost ab out 14 pounds! i feel great about this. i still have another 26 pounds to go till i get to my goal weight, but i think this is a great start. clothes are starting to fit that haven't fit in a while and i am starting to like my wardrobe again. I bought a new sofa and chair and 1/2, which i love! my roommate and i have changes some accessories in the living room also. other changes that are in process are installing wood floors throughout my first and on part of my second floor, redoing and rennovating my kitchen and master bathroom. i think the hardest part of this is making a decision. i hate making decisions. what if it is the wrong choice? what if i spend all of this money and i hate it in the end? Well, here is what i am thinking... (beware, picture overload...)


The living room...



so i should have closed the armoir doors, but you get the idea. this is the new sofa, i haven't taken a picture of the chair and 1/2 because i am usually always sitting in it, but it is the same as the sofa, just one cushion and not 2. (this picture is already outdated. my roomate bought a flat screen this past weekend. loving the 40 inches!)

to the right of the armoire is the walk way to the kitchen. if i put wood floors in the living room to match the kitchen, i would fear that the living room would be orange also. so i have thought of changing the color to a darker, less orangy color. i have had some floor companies give me a quote. i about fell over dead! $4000 to do approx 400 sq ft! that is $1000/sq ft. thank goodness one of my best friends husband works with a builder and has offered to come and give me a quote and i found a mennonite family that cuts wood floors, and are realitively decent price.

The Kitchen...
these were pics that i took when the previous owners were still in the house, however the basics are still the same. orange cabinets, orange floors, and blue counter tops. i have painted the walls yellow, and have black accents so it looks a little better but still VERY orange.



notice that the floors, and cabinets are all the same color! UGH!

i have toyed with the idea to paint my cabinets. there are 27 of them and that would take a ton of work! i have thought of paying someone to paint the doors and i would do the frame of the cabinets, but the one person i consolted said that oak does not paint up nicely because of the grain in the wood. i don't know how much truth there is in that. my mother suggested that i maybe think about redoing the counter tops. i hadn't thought of this before. i mean, i HATE the blue counter tops. They are the whole reason why i painted the walls yellow, i mean, common, what goes with blue nicely. with the yellow walls came the chicken accessories that my mother got for me. i used them because i didn't know how to tell her i didn't want a county kitchen.

here are some samples that i am heavily contemplating.



i would repaint the kitchen color to green and possibly install a tile backsplash in neutral colors. I would love to change out the appliances to a brushed metal, but unfortunatly they are too expensive.

Here are pics of kitchens that I really enjoy...


(courtesy of HGTV- designer Beth Haley)

(courtesy of Layla)


i would love to hear your thoughts... Thanks for looking!

Too Stinkin Cute!

This is Presley, she is my roomates dog. She bought her a new toy a couple of weeks ago and Presley is in LOVE! It is about 2 times the size of her, but Presley just loves it! I snapped these pics while waiting for my roomate to come home. Presley must have hear a car pulling up because her eyes were looking in that direction, waiting for her mama to come home.

I can't believe that we have had her for 3 years! They were just too cute, I had to post.

Later!

Time Flies

wow...how time flies by so fast. i guess you can say i have been neglecting my blog. good thing i haven't neglected everything in my life, i assure you ellie has deffinaly been fed and walked twice daily (thanks to my roomie). christmas and the new year has come and gone. with the new year came a new job as well, so now i am working 4 days a week. january was a very busy month working almost 5 days a week with orientation. february has settled down a bit and in march even more (i hope). my sister came up to visit the begining of february and we had a lot of fun at the aquarium and she got to play alot with my neighbors daughter. over valentine's weekend, my neighbors and their little girls moved. i am really going to miss them. they were great neighbors. i got to know them shortly after they found out they were pregnant. her and my sisters due date was only three weeks apart. it was fun to see ally grow, especially since my own neice was 3 hours away. regan always has a playmate whenever she comes to visit. i think we watched ally when she was about 1 1/2 years old. I remember walking up to the high school playground and ellie was just a pup and wouldn't walk. we put her in the bottom basket as we walked home. after we got home, i put ally in the bath tub to wash away the sand and my roomie thought that it was weird to bathe a neighbors child. i am going to miss the summer days when i would take the dogs out and ally would come out to play with them. i am going to miss the little knocks at the door to see if amanda was home or if she could come out and play. in october we got to meet ally's little sister emerson. i am going to miss seeing emerson grow the same way that i have seen ally grow. i can't wait for them to move into a new house so we can come over and visit.
on thier last day ally came over becuase she was having a nervous breakdown as any 4 year old would when they see their toys being put into boxes. we made sugar cookies from scratch. here ally is hard at work...











well... as you can see i have been very busy. the next few weeks are busy. I am looking forward to the end of the month when i am going to my mom's to celebrate regan's 4th birthday! Until next time...