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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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Spring Bulbs 50% off at The Home Depot

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fall bulbs on sale

I wandered into The Home Depot this morning to buy a painting stick and noticed their giant display of spring flowering bulbs on sale for half off. Wahooooo! I don’t know about you but I’ve been waiting for those suckers to go on sale ever since I spotted them at The Home Depot this past August.

fall bulbs on sale

Tulips, daffodils, irises, alliums, anemones, crocus bulbs, you name it… it’s on sale for half off.

tulip bulbs on sale

So if you are looking to add to your bulb collection, or start a new one, head on over {or call} your local Home Depot because now is the time to stock up baby!

fall bulbs on sale

Guess what I’ll be doing this weekend? 😉

~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.

The Evolution of Fruit and Vegetables

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The Evolution of Fruit and Vegetables

Recently, One Hundred Dollar a Month reader, Tiffany, sent me a link on Facebook to an article about the ways fruits and vegetables have changed over thousands of years.  Turns out, the uber sweet fruits that we take for granted today haven’t always been the dessert-like whole food that we have come to expect.  Maybe that’s why our ancestors were so fit?  Not only did their fruit have less naturally occurring sugars, but it took them a heck of a lot more effort to get them to an edible state.  {Can you say beating the outside of the original watermelon with a stone until its thick skin broke open, revealing a tiny, bitter bit of fruit?  Uh, sounds exhausting.}

The article broke down a couple of the most common fruits.  Let me just blow your mind with these little tidbits:  The original peach {sounds gangsta :)} was about 1/4 the size of what we know peaches to be now.  It had waxy skin, was 36% stone, and only about 64% of the flesh was edible.  Corn was NOTHING like the big ear of potentially buttery goodness we eat today.  It was about 9 mm long, and it tasted like a dry potato.  Oh, and just to get into it, it had to be hammered repeatedly.

purple cherokee tomato

After reading the article, I’ve decided, we’re spoiled.  We have only the sweetest, juiciest varieties of fruits and veggies.  In fact, we ship them in from all over the world just to make sure.  I think it has gotten even worse since I was a wee kid.  When I was younger, the fruit was primarily what grew best in your region.  We just didn’t have access to everything under the sun {literally}.  How about you, do you remember eating a certain fruit or veggie as a kid that tastes different now?

~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.

12 Goals for the New Year Week 44 of 52

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I came up with 12 goals I’d like to accomplish this year with the hopes of being able to cross one off my list per month to make them more manageable. I thought a great way to hold myself accountable to the things I want to accomplish this year would be to do a weekly update.

After all, we all need a little help staying motivated sometimes. Here’s how I am doing so far:

tools on counter top

1. Clean, de-clutter and organize my entire home in 30 days or less. – So far this year I cleaned my closet, organized my kitchen, decluttered my bathroom, organized my office, gutted the garage, and tackled the laundry room.  But that was at the old house. 

Cameron and John Voight are back at the house today working on the kitchen and trim. Fingers crossed they’ll get a bunch of work done today and go home without shooting themselves with a nail gun. The gas guy is suppose to stop by as well and hook up the cook-top {fingers crossed!}.

how to loose a muffin top

2. Fit into the same jeans I wore 8 years ago when we moved into our {now old} house. Mission Accomplished!

I’m not sure if it was because of the It Works Ultimate Body Applicator {I wrapped twice} or working as Chino the Handyman’s sidekick for the past month, but the muffin top is gone. Let’s hope she doesn’t come back!

root vegetables

3. Travel.   So far this year I have been to Boston, London, Paris, Portland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Victoria B.C. Last week I discovered I hate sitting in the middle seat on an airplane. 🙁

iPhone text message

4. Send my daughter to college without having a nervous breakdown thus spending a week in bed sobbing.  Done!

invisalign

5. Get 3 new teeth. – Not yet.

6. Pay off my car. Done! I’m pretty sure the Volvo wagon was the best car that was ever invented.

primitive hooked rug

7. Finish this primitive folk art rug I started 4 years ago. Finished! It took me 6 months but I’m done {I’m working on a second one and I hope to have it finished by Thanksgiving}.

8. Do something together as a family ever Sunday. I got home late but we did manage to get a few more house projects done but for the most part it was a pretty lazy day.

9.  Secret Plan #1 – Sell our house. It felt like it took us forever, but we were finally able to downsize both our home and yard and let me tell you Bob, it feels good. Really, really good.

10. Secret Plan #2 Buy a smaller house.  Done!

11. Secret Plan #3 – Working on it. 😉

old tin pie plate

12. Convince the HH we should buy a Salt Box Style House in Colonial Williamsburg. Done! We didn’t buy a house in Colonial Williamsburg, but I did find us a vacation house on the east coast and we LOVE it. A giant galvanized bowl, an old tin pie plate and 2 stoneware mugs were my latest finds at the local thrift store. Buying second hand is fun!

jiffy pots under lights

13. Spend at least 1 hour a day working in my garden.  On the agenda this week: grow some sprouts and baby my basil plants so that when the kitchen is all finished in a few weeks I can have a mini indoor garden. 🙂

So there you have it, my goals for the new year.

How about YOU? How are your 2014 goals coming along?

~Mavis

P.S. YES, I know I wrote down 13 goals. I’m fairly certain I won’t be able to attain one of them. {gee, I wonder which one?} :) But I wanted to add it in there anyway because I believe in miracles. 

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.

Free Kindle Books, Dr. Who, Stocking Stuffers, Jell-O, Recipes, Coupons, Rebates and More

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dark laundry room tile

Well just say I’m feeling much better after yesterdays whine-fest. 😉 I painted a boatload of walls, ate well and  got 8 hours of sleep last night. Who could ask for more, right? 😉

Well, I have a quick question for you… which tile do you like better for a laundry room floor? The lighter tile on the left, or the darker tile on the right? Keep in mind my washer and dryer and laundry cupboards are white. Decisions, decisions.

Only 23 days to go until this remodel is over. WahooO!

♥ Mavis

knex building toys

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – 50% Off Select Building Toys from K’NEX

free kindle books

Available Kindle Books I think are cool…

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! 🙂

Jell-O Instant Pudding and Pie Filling, Vanilla

Get 6 Boxes Jell-O Instant Pudding and Pie Filling, Vanilla $4.23/$0.70 each shipped when you clip the 20% off coupon and use the subscribe and save option at checkout. Learn About Amazon Subscribe and Save

dr-who-glasses

According to my daughter, Dr. Who is the best show ever made! 😉

nutri grain fruit crunch bars

Print a coupon good for $1.00 off Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain or Special K Bars

owl bracelet

Great deals on bracelets:

Dansko Professional Patent Leather

Now is your chance to snag a pair of Dansko Professional Patent Leather Shoes for $79 shipped. These retail for $134 and are ridiculously comfortable! Shop Dansko Shoes.

cabelas bucks

For one week ONLY, save $20 off $100 at Cabela’s in Cabela’s Bucks. This promotion runs through Tuesday, November 11th.

stocking stuffers for men

More Stocking Stuffer Ideas:

How-to-Dehydrate-Mangoes

Both of my kids could eat these Dehydrated Mangoes until they made themselves sick. I have to agree, they are totally delicious. Find more dehydrated recipes on my Dehydrated Food Storage Ideas Pinterest Board.

the north face bomber jacket

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – The North Face Bomber Jacket

architectural; digest magazine

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Architectural Digest Magazine for only $5.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire tonight 11/5/14 at midnight EST so be sure and grab your subscription before then.

nordstroms sale

Calling all Nordstrom shoppers…The Big Nordstrom Clearance Sale has begun with prices up to 40% off in every department through 11/11/14. Don’t forget all orders ship for FREE and have FREE returns!!  Shop the Nordstrom Sale.

coupons for vacuums

A few deals on Vacuums:

Easy-Crock-Pot-Recipes-Sausage-Lentil-Soup1

This Crock Pot Sausage Lentil Soup hits it out of the park on so many levels. It’s a Crock Pot recipe, so it’s simple. It’s a warm, hearty meal when the weather is chilly outside. It has sausage that makes it oh so flavorful. It’s a winner all the way around! {Pin it for later}

pg rebate

Get a FREE $15 Prepaid Gift Card when you purchase $50 in P&G Beauty Products. If you buy CoverGirl, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay Skin, Olay Body, Secret, Ivory, Herbal Essences Hair and Body Wash, Aussie, Clairol, Safeguard, or Vidal Sassoon products you’ll want to Print this Mail in Rebate Form right away and purchase your products before 12/31/14 so you can score a $15 prepaid gift card. Simply spend $50 {after coupons} and follow the directions on your rebate form to get your rebate. Easy peasy! {Trail size products not included}.

olay bar soap

Here are a few Printable Coupons to use:

Find More Printable Coupons

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