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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.


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Friday Night at the Movies – Footloose in the Cotswolds, Scotland, London, Bavaria and More

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A few days ago I stumbled upon a new series and I AM IN LOVE! If you enjoy informative {and calm} travel shows, I just know you are going to enjoy the Footloose and Classic Tour series by host Debra Rixon and her cameraman husband David as they travel around Europe exploring different countries, towns and ruins.

Right now this series is available with Amazon Prime and each program runs about an hour and a half. I’ve only been able to watch 3 of their shows so far but it’s such a relaxing program to have on the telly in the evenings while I’m working on my hooked rugs, that I plan to watch every episode I can get my hands on.

I hope you like it as much as I do. Peace out Girl Scouts & have yourself a great weekend,

~Mavis

PicMonkey Collage

Looking for more movies?

Check out the full list of my Friday Night at the Movies Selections or click on over & look at all the movies on Amazon Instant Video. There are a ton of videos to choose from that will cost you absolutely nothing {nada, zilch, free-o} with Amazon Prime; like thousands of regular movies & TV shows & hundreds of documentaries {Wahoo!}. Get all the details HERE!

 

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Ask Mavis -MacBooks, Wacky Pets, Chick Bedding and Dye Formulas

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It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers.

As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:

“Wanted to tell you I love your blog, AND you should watch this short film Pickle, by Amy Nicholson. I think you would like!”

My best-Nancy

Okay, so these people… are just a wee bit quirky. But I caught myself laughing out loud several times and wondering how many more pet stories could they possibly have? And wondering if I’d ever leave my pet with them. I mean, you can tell they are loving people, but…..  Bottom line, grab yourself a cuppa and hit play. It’s totally worth your time. Thanks Nancy!

“Mavis, I know you must spend a great deal of time on your laptop. I need some advice and I know you research products. The college my grandson will attend in August hinted that he may want to consider purchasing a MacBook. Do you have an opinion? MacBook is very expensive. If you can help, I would really appreciate it. I want to purchase the laptop for him, but wasn’t aware I would have to send $1,000.”

Yes, your grandson will need a laptop for college, but I think the real question is does he need a Macbook?

A new MacBook runs between $999 – $2,399. My husband and kids would both tell you Macbooks are the greatest thing ever and they are totally worth the money. I on the other hand, don’t like apple computers and have been using Acer laptops for maybe the past 7 – 8 years. They usually run about $300 and I buy a new one about every 3 years or so.

That being said, I don’t really know much about computers {maybe someone else can chime in}, but I do know about college aged kids. And my best advice is unless you are buying something your grandson specifically asked for {model number, color and everything} I would instead gift him a check in an amount you are comfortable giving with the understanding that the money is to be put towards a computer of his choosing. Computers are a pretty personal thing to most people, they definitely have their preferences, and although you could probably get an older model, or even a refurbished one for less, I would let him pick out his own computer.

Mavis: Thank you for sharing your amazing rug hooking journey. Because of your website and information I was able to learn how to dye wool. I love your hooking studio. Do you have any dye recipe suggestions for an antique black? I am struggling with this one.

Gratefully, Donna

Yes! I’m not sure where the recipe came from as I have had it scribbled on a piece of paper for a gazillion years but here is the recipe:

1/2 tsp. olive green
1/4 tsp. spice brown
1/8 tsp. silver grey green
1/8 tsp. black

The key to getting a good black, is using oatmeal or tan colored wool to start with. And of course, the longer you let the wool soak up the dye, the darker it will turn out.

Hi, Mavis! My husband and I recently moved to our dream home on 6 acres and are finally realizing our dream of having chickens. We decided to jump right in and now have 22 (!!) adorable chicks living in a stock tank in our spare room. While the smell is not terrible (we add pine shavings every day or so), I wondered if you have any tips beyond that to keep the tank from getting too stinky?

~Kelsey

In years past, I’ve used wood pellets and this year the local feed store where I bought my chick supplies was all out so I bought a bag of pine shavings instead. And you know what? I like the pellets better! 😉 Maybe it’s all in my head, but I think there is less of an odor with pellets vs shavings. That being said, 22 chicks in one stock tank is A LOT. And I think it may be the biggest contributing factor to having a stinky tank. Also, instead of adding new shavings to the tank every few days, I would be removing the old shavings and adding fresh shavings every other day to help reduce the smell.

Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.

Have a great weekend everyone,

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Daily Deals – Sweet Deals on Beauty Products, Camping Gear, Summer Fun and More

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Quote of the Day  “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” ~ Joseph Addison

Yesterday it was a high of 84 here with a few mini rain showers mixed in. The humidity level… WOWZAS! It’s like living in a greenhouse I tell you. And the plants {weeds included!} are thriving. I’m almost even tempted to set out my tomato plants and put a row cover over them. But if I did that, it would probably just snow the next day, right?

The temps in the house are holding steady at 70 degrees, but with a high of 79 degrees in the forecast today, I’m not sure what’s going to happen. It’s one big adventure after another around here. 😉

The weekend, it’s here. Get out there are have some fun.

♥ Mavis

*This deal post will be updated throughout the morning so be sure and check back for deals. * Amazon prices can change without notice. Please verify price before ordering. Amazon offers Free Shipping with a $49 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

Available Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂

Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

Attention Fred Meyer and Kroger Shoppers … Today only you can download an ecoupon for one FREE Doritos Blaze 3.125 ounce bag and 1 Everyday Living Measuring Spoons. Simply load the ecoupon to you Fred Meyer card and claim your freebie by 5/20/18. It’s that easy!

Home and Kitchen Deals

Have some extra carrots laying around?  This recipe for Carrot Cake Jam is HANDS DOWN my favorite canning recipe of all time. If you have not tried it yet you don’t know what you are missing! Get the recipe HERE or Pin it for Later.

Add on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

In case you missed it, a few months ago I stripped a few desks and is was as easy as 1 2 3. If you have furniture that needs to be refinished, pop on over HERE to check out my tutorial on How to Strip Wood Furniture Using  Citri-Strip Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel.

Kid’s Stuff

Attention all teachers, librarians or parents of kiddos 12 and under, Epic is a digital library where you can basically get access to over 25,000 of the best books, learning videos, quizzes & more, all on a site that is safe and kid-friendly. Go HERE to check it out.

If you have a Bank of America debit/credit card, you can score FREE admission into over 100 museums this weekend as part of their Museum on Us program.

This awesome program allows Bank of America card holders to gain free admission into any participating museum during the first full weekend of every month. How cool is that? Don’t forget to bring your photo ID along with your Bank of America card to gain free admission.

Go HERE to see if your local museum is on the list!

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery, Maine

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So I know a clam hut isn’t a bakery but still… My husband would not stop talking about the lunch he ate at Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery, Maine until I shared about it on the blog.

I spent every summer of my childhood on a boat, eating every kind of seafood imaginable and much to my parents and husband’s displeasure, I have had enough seafood to last a lifetime except for maybe 2 pieces of salmon a year. The novelty of eating any sort of seafood even on a cute a picnic table, is totally lost on me. But for my seafood loving husband, well now, that’s a totally different story. Apparently he’s on a mission to find the best seafood shack in New England. And lucky me, I get to tag along. 😉

You want to know a cool secret though? Seafood shacks all serve fries and some of them even serve ice cream {Bob’s does!} so date day {even when it’s his turn to choose} will still be a ton of fun.

Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery, Maine opened in 1956 in the backyard of Bob’s parents’ home {can you believe that!}.  Bob would cook the clams and his mother would make the pies they sold for dessert. People LOVED IT! The menu eventually grew to include clam chowder, lobster stew and rolls, and other favorites.

The current owner, Michael Landgarten who bought the place over 30 years ago still follows Bob’s original recipes, including Bob’s famous tartar sauce. I must admit, I did sneak a few bites of the HH’s coleslaw and sampled his tarter sauce, and they were both spot on.

The Kittery Outlets now surround Bob’s Clam Hut on the busy US Route 1 but there is ample parking and Bob’s truly is a Maine hot spot. It’s even open year round so you don’t have to wait until summer to get your fix.

Bob’s Clam Hut has even been featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the reviews on Trip Advisor are crazy good too. The HH ordered the clam strip dinner for $17.95 and said that without a doubt, he’d be back and next time, he was going to try the lobster roll.

So if you ever make your way to Kittery, Maine be sure and check out Bob’s Clam Hut! It’s a winner.

~Mavis

Bob’s Clam Hut
315 US Route 1 Kittery, Maine

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy