One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1310 of 2143 - 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.

Harvesting Lettuce in Winter with Lucy the Puggle Dog

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 13, 2014 · 12 Comments

Do you have a dog? Do they help you in the garden? Do they think it’s their job to sample everything you harvest? Well, Lucy the puggle dog sure does.

I simply cannot set foot outside without her being 1 step behind me.

Yesterday, I harvested a few leaves of lettuce from the greenhouse. And wouldn’t you know, Lucy was right there ready to inspect the goods.

She nearly bit off my hand for Pete’s sake! Puggles love lettuce. Who knew?

Luckily there’s plenty to share. Well, as long as I’m just serving side salads every other day that is.

Last night’s pickings. Not to shabby for mid February if you ask me.

If you have never tried growing your own lettuce before, give it a go this year. It’s super easy to do and homegrown lettuce tastes 10 times better than the stuff sitting in those plastic bags in the grocery store.. Seriously, a packet of seeds will grow enough lettuce to last you all season and it’s even cheaper than a single package of bagged lettuce from the market.

You can do it. So get out there and grow! No excuses.

Just remember to grow a little extra for your four legged friends too. 😉

~Mavis

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Free Kindle Books, Dyson Vacuum Deal, Edible Arrangement Tutorial, Craft Magazines, Sara Lee Coupons

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 13, 2014 · 2 Comments

Is it just me or are you a total sucker for vintage watering cans too? Oh my word, I have no idea why I love them so much but it’s so hard not to buy one every time I see one at an antique store or vintage market. Please tell me I’m not the only one! 🙂

Happy Thursday everyone, here are a few deals for you. Have a wonderful day!

♥ Mavis

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – Dyson DC41 Animal Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Tangle-Free Turbine Tool

Available Kindle Books I think are interesting…

Grandma’s Herb Garden Secrets Free {kinda makes you wonder what grandma is growing}
Let’s Meet In The Kitchen $2.99
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers $1.99 {Great reviews}
An Amazing Journey Inside My Mouth Free
Chris Powell’s Choose More, Lose More for Life $2.99
Food Drying vol. 1: How to Dry Fruit Free
How to Make Moonshine $2.99
Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success Free {Very popular}

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can.

Amazon has the Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker on sale for $79.00 shipped. This pressure cooker comes highly rated by Amazon shoppers and has great reviews.

If you are a scaredy cat and are afraid to use one, check out my easy tutorial on How to Use a Pressure Canner. I walk you through the process of canning vegetables in easy to understand simple steps. Learn how to use a pressure canner HERE or Pin it for Later.

Check out these deals from Amazon Local:

If you need tissue paper and gift bags here are a few deals:

100 sheets of assorted Tissue Paper {20 Inch by 26 Inch} for only $9.99.
1 Dozen Assorted Gift Bags $9.95

A few more Amazon deals for you:

Bottle Gourd Sponge Makeup Powder Puff $1.03 shipped
48 Organza Drawstring Pouches Gift Bags Assorted Colors 4×5″ $3.11 shipped
Cosmetic Gadget Purse Organizer $3.69 shipped {I have one and love it!}
4 Boxes of Angel Soft Facial Tissue $4.74 *add on item
NAUTICA For Men By NAUTICA Eau De Toilette Spray $9.59
Get 48 Angel Soft Double Rolls for only $19.89 shipped when you clip the $1.00 off coupon {must be logged into your account to see it} and use the subscribe and save option at check out.
Ceramic Flat Iron Hair Straightener $38.99 shipped

If you are always losing your earring backs you can get 144 earring backs for only $0.63 shipped.

Check out these Arts & Crafts Magazine Subscriptions:

Print a coupon good for $1.00 off any ONE (1) Sara Lee Sweet Goods

Looking for something fun to make for Valentine’s Day? How about an Edible Arrangement? They are super easy to make and I show you how in my How to Make an Edible Arrangement Tutorial. Get the directions HERE or Pin it for Later.

Have you ordered your tomato seeds yet? Botanical Interests has all their tomato seeds on sale for 30% off! Wahooo! Here is a list of the tomatoes I’ll be growing this year:

Cherry Rainbow Blend {perfect for salads}
Pineapple Pole Tomatoes {These are FREAKIN’ AWESOME!!}
Italian Roma {for eating fresh and sauce}
Ace {for canning}
Cherokee Purple { the best tomato on the PLANET!}
Better Bush { for eating fresh}
Principe Borghese {for roasting and dehydrating}
Green Zebra {LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one}
Sun Gold {My daughters favorite}
Red and Yellow Pear {great for snacking and on salads}
Black Krim {The HH’s favorite}

Groupon has Jillian Michaels Workout DVDs on sale for just $5.99 each and there are several titles available.

Free Baby Leggings – Just pay shipping

Click on “Shop Now” and select any 5 baby leggings you like!

Once you have made your selection, you’ll automatically be directed to the shopping bag. Enter the promo code “ENBABY” and 100% off the cost of your selected baby leggings – all you pay are the Shipping fees! {About $2.59 a pair}

Get the 4-Pack of Door Stop Finger Pinch Guards for only $2.24 shipped. These would make a great addition to a baby gift basket.

Coupons for fruits and vegetables? No way!

Find More Printable Coupons

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Chicken Coop Photos from Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 12, 2014 · 7 Comments

Vicky and Buttercup

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples home and garden pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rockin’ backyard this summer. Keep them coming!

Check out these cool chicken coop photos and the stories behind them Vicky from Winston-Salem, North Carolina sent in:

Hi there, Mavis!

In February of last year, after months of online research, I purchased four 6-week-old Buff Orpington pullets. Until October, they lived in a Tractor Supply chicken coop and run. I let them out a couple of times a day, but they were getting a little “cooped up” (nyuk nyuk) in there. So we bought a Wichita-style chicken coop and everyone is happy.

I live in the city and am allowed a maximum of 5 hens (no roosters) with very strict rules about their living situation (3 square feet/chicken for the coop; 10 square feet/chicken for the run, which must be enclosed).

My girls are Buttercup (I’m holding her in the photo), Marigold, Sunflower, and Daisy. They are all Buff Orpingtons. Our winters are generally mild, but even after our recent frigid temperatures (it dropped to 5 degrees!), they have continued to lay regularly. Such good girls!

Check out all the fine art! Who wouldn’t feel inspired to lay a few eggs in here? 😉 ~ Vicky

Wow Vicky, I would have never thought to hang photographs of eggs in my coop to inspire my hens. I think you might be on to something. With all this cold weather we’ve been having, I’m willing to try anything to get my girls to lay a few more eggs.

Thanks for sending in your story,

~Mavis

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go HERE for the official rules.

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.

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 12, 2014 · 4 Comments

When I stumbled onto this cake recipe in Women’s Day magazine, I had a whole bunch of frozen blueberries in my freezer. The timing was perfect and the cake looked delish. So I got busy making it. The little kick the buttermilk gives it just makes the cake. This recipe is going in the permanent make-me-again file!

Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 3/4 cups buttermilk {How to Make Buttermilk}
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
1 bag {12 oz} frozen blueberries {2 cups}, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons coarse sugar, {like India Tree}

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the first 4 dry ingredients, reserving 1 tablespoon of flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, sugar, oil and lemon zest. Make a well in the dry ingredient and pour in wet ingredients. Mix just until combined {batter will be lumpy, do not over stir!}.

In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining flour to evenly coat. Reserve 1/2 cup of blueberry and fold the remaining blueberries into the batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar and bake about 70 minutes or until cake is brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove the outer ring and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

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