One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 770 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.

What’s Your Ideal Indoor Temperature?

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 6, 2015 · 27 Comments

In a perfect world, I would have the temperature set at 72 degrees, 365 days a year {and be wearing a light jacket}. The HH, not so much. He prefers it to be cooler…much, much cooler…in the summertime anyway. I’ve always known it was a male/female thing, but it wasn’t until I stumbled onto an article on treehugger.com that I actually got the science behind it.

According to the article, men are typically leaner than women. Their higher muscle mass equates to them having a higher metabolic rate, which keeps them significantly warmer. Apparently, women have a “20 to 32 percent” lower metabolic rate than men {on average, of course}, so it is harder for them to keep warm.

And you know when you walk into a bank or doctor’s office and are immediately wishing you would have stashed a sweatshirt in your purse? Well, likely those low temperatures are to accommodate men in suits–men who are already feeling a lot warmer than their professional female counterparts. It has always seemed like such a waste to keep buildings so cold, but I guess it makes sense that it is in an attempt to please 50% if the population.

If money was not an issue {hey, those a/c bills can be a killer in the summer}, and energy was limitless, what would be your perfect indoor temperature?

~Mavis

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Free Kindle Books, Chocolate Dip Bars, Camo Shirts, Nike Sleeves, Blueberry Pie and More

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 6, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Word of the Day: Salubrious Definition: Beneficial, healthful Used in a sentence: The salubrious climate helped him regain his strength.

Last night I planted my last row of green beans for the year. The weather so nice and cool yesterday it felt like fall {my favorite season}. If you haven’t sown your fall seeds yet… hop to it. Cooler weather will be here to stay before you know it.

Have a great Thursday!

♥ Mavis

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Available Kindle Books I think are cool…

The First Time I Said Goodbye $0.99
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You’ve heard of a one pot meal, right? What about a one pot salad? This Salad in a Pot Container Garden is perfect! Find more cool projects on my Container Gardening Pinterest Board.

Zulily has EMU Australia and Stride Rite Shoes on sale today with savings up to 70% off! Sign up for Zulily HERE.

Attention runners, Nordstrom has 3 Nike Arm Sleeves on sale for $20.10 shipped {was $30}. Perfect for fall and winter running.

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Cabela’s has the Men’s True Timber Performance Long-Sleeve Tee Shirt on sale for $8.99 {was $29.99}.

Check out these manly magazine deals:

Field & Stream $9.99 for a 1 year subscription
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Amazon Kitchen Deals:

Norpro Ceramic Pie Bird $5.08
Set of 4 Silicone Slim Spatulas $6.49
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Set of 2 Grabbag Grab Bag Reusable Grocery Bag $11.40 {Crazy good reviews!}
Prodyne Fruit Infusion Flavor Pitcher $18.99
USA Pans 5-1/2 by 3-Inch Strapped Mini Loaf Pan, Set of 4 $24.99

Blueberry Custard Pie. Pie makes everything better earlier? Then someone had to go and add custard to a pie and I was a goner. Seriously. The custard makes this pie. {Pin it for later} Looking for more pie recipes? Check out my Pinterest Dessert Board.

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – Men’s The North Face Leonidas Jacket $98.73 {was $199}

The Home Depot has the Greenland Gardener 42 in. x 42 in. Raised Garden Bed Kit on sale for $21.98 each. Amazon currently has these priced at $36.20.

Amazon Toy Deals:

Crayola 64 Ct Crayons $2.99
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Fisher-Price Disney’s Jake and The Never Land Pirates $19.99

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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.

Super Moist Chocolate Zucchini Cake

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 5, 2015 · 13 Comments

Truth be told, I get excited about very few things. But cake? Cake is one of them. And if it’s a chocolate cake that calls for zucchini {which I’m swimming in right now} all.the.better. I came across this recipe for super moist chocolate zucchini cake while I was cleaning out the craft closet this past weekend. I had torn a page out of the July/August 2013 issue of Food Network magazine a while back and decided to give it a try.

Seriously, if you make this cake, you will never buy another boxed cake mix again. Ever. This cake so chocolatey delicious, your family won’t even know there was zucchini in it. Mine didn’t. 😉

So drop everything, and go make this cake. And then call me so I can come over and get a slice.

Ingredients for the Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry.

Ingredients for the Frosting

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon extra virgin oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat the inside of a 9 inch pan with butter or cooking spray, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

Mix all the dry ingredients together {except the chocolate chips} in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the eggs, olive oil and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth {about 2 minutes}. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour into greased pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean.

Transfer to a baking rack and cool completely.

Directions for the frosting

In a small microwavable bowl add chocolate chips, honey and olive oil. Stir to coat and then microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Spread over cake. Cut cake. Stuff in face. 🙂 Happy Happy Joy Joy this cake is flippin’ delicious!

~Mavis

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Dorm Room Decorating Tips

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 5, 2015 · Leave a Comment

One of the biggest suggestions we’ve got for The Girl and dorm living was to personalize her room so that it actually felt a little like home. We started a Pinterest board a while back to get some inspiration and direction. The same general tips kind of keep popping up over and over, so I thought I would share a couple of them:

Get a rug. The floors are old linoleum most of the time. Covering the floors with a little color and softness actually makes it seem like someone lives there, not like you are at summer camp.
Add extra pillows to the bed. Extra pillows make it seem homey, and since their bed will also double as their couch, it will make it more comfortable.
Elevate the bed. This one is mostly practical. Lifting the bed to about 24-30 inches gives room to slide storage bins underneath. If you want to go all out, you can get a bed skirt to hide the storage bins.
Wall decals are perfect for decorating because they add a little personal flare without affecting your deposit.
A full length mirror {especially for girls} is practical, and can add a bit of decor.
For tons of extra space, you can loft the bed–either in bunkbeds, or to put a desk or couch underneath.
Bulletin boards {hung with removable 3M tape} allow you to pin personal pictures, quotes, etc.
Drawer organizers help keep desks clear of clutter.
Sites like posters.com have seriously every possible kind of poster you can imagine, and they are relatively cheap.
If you and the new roomie want to have your own space, consider rearranging the furniture. Use a bookshelf as a room divider.

There are literally tons of different {and cost effective} ways to personalize a dorm room. These were just a few of our favorites. Do you have any more tips for personalizing the space?

~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.