I'm usually cheap, but not all the time....

The majority of the time, I'm a huge cheapass.  How do you ask?  Well, when it comes to clothes I very rarely pay full price for them unless it's a "gotta have it" kind of thing.  I pretty much shop the sales, and/or TJMaxx, and always try to get it for 70% off.  Yes, that's my goal.  I know it's crazy, but if you shop often enough, you'd be surprised what you can save.  For example, at Christmas, I got my husband a $25 hat from Banana Republic for only $2.  Yes.  It was on sale, plus an additional percentage off of sale, then I used some rewards I had from my credit card.  Out of pocket, I only spent $2.  Now THAT is my favorite kind of deal.

I may be the best at getting great deals on clothes, but you can get just as good of deals on home goods and groceries.  Whenever I have a coupon for something I know that I will use in the future, I hang on to it and keep an eye out for the product to go on sale before the coupon expires.  The other great thing is that you can double up many store coupons with manufacturer coupons.  I try to stick to the groceries that are on sale when shopping, especially produce since we eat so much of it.  We tend to stock up on whatever we can, though we do have very minimal space to stock up on goods.  The biggest thing we stock up on is laundry soap, since it goes on sale for $1.88 per container back home.  So we bribe my parents to get it for us, or stock up whenever we're home.  It's too big of a cost savings not to take advantage of it.  When there are big sales on produce, we try to buy as much as we have space for in our freezer, and freeze whatever we can.  Which works out to be cheaper and healthier for smoothies.

I save and pinch where I can.  Partially because right now nearly every extra penny is going into savings for our house, but also because why not take a little bit of time to research and clip coupons to save quite a bit of money in the long run.  I keep saying that once I'm rich and famous, I won't be lazy and just go out and buy whatever just because I have the money, but I still plan to shop smart.

So even though I do pinch and spend smart 95% of the time..... there was this absolutely "just gotta have it" kinda purse at TJ Maxx a couple months ago.  I carried it around the store for awhile, while I was deciding on whether or not to buy it... since it was more than I typically like to spend on a purse.  It was an originally priced $400 purse.... and gorgeous!  So.... I had to buy it.  I just love, love, love it.  And apparently others do too, since I get compliments on it wherever I go.  :))

Moral of the story:  If you spend smart most of the time, it allows for more smart "splurges."

Do you save where you can, so you have the capability to splurge when you want to?

Cleanse Update - Final Days

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So at this point, I'm sure you all are wondering how everything went with the last week or so of the cleanse.  Rather than bore you with the details of what I ate each day, since it's pretty much the same as the previous couple of posts, I thought I'd just go over the cleanse itself.

As I mentioned before, the idea behind the cleanse was to rid our bodies of the sugar, flour, gluten, and animal by products.  From the first few days, I felt tremendously better.  I felt less bloated, and had a lot more energy.  Overall, I just felt way better.  My skin started clearing up a lot more, too.

We cheated a couple of times with pizza and Mexican, and I will say that the day after I ate bad, I felt like crap!  Workouts were rough the day after we cheated.  You know.... the more I ate the "correct" way during the cleanse, the better I felt, and the more I kept thinking, "there must be something to this Vegan and gluten free thing."  

Here I am, a couple of days after the cleanse, and I've now eaten some cheese and my body is already rejecting it.  My hands are swollen, my stomach is grumbling and I'm sure in about 3 days, my face will start breaking out again.

The biggest struggle I believe we had was the lack of planning and scheduling meals.  Since we didn't plan well, we ended up eating a lot of the same stuff, which of course got boring.  Being bored led to the cheating.

All in all, I'd say the cleanse was successful and a really good experience.  I didn't have a lot of cravings for bad food during the cleanse.  Though my husband wasn't so lucky.  Since he gave up coffee and caffeine, he was pretty miserable the first week.  He was going through some major caffeine withdrawals without his daily cup of java, so decided to try decaf, but hated that more than not having any coffee.  I plan to continue eating mostly gluten free and vegan as much as possible since I'm still continuing on my weight loss journey and I feel it's the next step for me.

Has anyone else out there tried a cleanse?  Has it worked for you?  I'm always open to trying new things.

Follow the entire cleanse series below....
          Days 1-4 - The Beginning
          Days 5-7 - Trying to Eat Right While Eating Out
          Days 8-11 - Getting Bored with food

Cleanse Update - Days 8-11

Follow the the cleanse from the beginning here.

All days --Basically I'm getting bored with the same kinds of foods.  Planning on searching for new ideas for next week.  Hopefully we can find something new and delicious... and exciting to make. 

What I ate....

Day 8 -- Breakfast -- Green smoothie -- Kale, strawberries, kiwi, banana

         -- Lunch -- Romaine salad with mushrooms, tomato and Italian dressing; hummus and tortilla chips

         -- Dinner --Fancy red potatoes :)

         -- Snacks -- Peanut butter and banana; no bake energy bites

Day 9 -- Breakfast -- Green smoothie

         -- Lunch -- Romaine salad with mushrooms, tomato and Italian dressing; hummus and tortilla chips

         -- Dinner --Grilled zucchini; popcorn

         -- Snacks -- No bake energy bites; Naval orange

Day 10 -- Breakfast -- Green smoothie

         -- Lunch -- Romaine salad with mushrooms, tomato and Italian dressing; leftover red potatoes

         -- Dinner -- Veggie Thai Spring Roll (SOOOO GOOD!!!); popcorn

         -- Snacks -- Peanut butter and banana

Day 11 -- Breakfast --Homemade oatmeal with apple, cinnamon and light agave nectar

         -- Lunch -- Romaine salad with mushrooms, tomato and Italian dressing; Strawberry/blackberry fruit salad

         -- Dinner -- **Cheat day** Slice of pizza

         -- Snacks -- Spoonful of peanut butter

Cleanse Update - Days 5-7 - Trying To Eat Right While Eating Out.

Pho Soup

Vegan Taco Salad

Rice Chex

Read from the beginning here. 

Days 5 though 7 were Friday, Saturday, Sunday.... of course the hardest days of the week in my book.  We always tend to run around more on the weekends or have no desire to cook after the long week, therefore tend to eat out more on the weekends.

Here's how it went:

Day 5 -Felt pretty good, but starting to wish I could have a bit of junk food in my life

Day 6 - Caved in and cheated a little bit with some Gluten Free pizza with cheese on it.... agh

Day 7 - Back on track again, but super bad munchies.  A result of yesterdays slip up?  Hmm... perhaps.

What I ate....

Day 5 -- Breakfast -- Green smoothie -- Kale, strawberries, kiwi, banana

         -- Lunch -- Leftover spaghetti squash from previous day, Hummus and rice crackers

         -- Dinner -- Ate at this place called Wild Cow in East Nashville.  Got a vegan taco salad.

             Looks great, and tasted pretty good too.

         -- Snacks -- No bake energy bites. These are homemade GF bites made from oatmeal,

             peanut butter etc.  Recipe to come.

Day 6 -- Breakfast -- Green smoothie

         -- Lunch -- Fajitas from Mexican restaurant

         -- Dinner -- Gluten free pizza crust with tomato and basil and cheese. *gasp* this is where we cheated.

         -- Snacks -- No bake energy bites; dried fruit bar from Trader Joes (these are AMAZING,

             healthy, updated version of fruit roll ups.  So good!!)

Day 7 -- Breakfast -- Rice Chex with Almond Milk

         -- Lunch -- Homemade veggie pho soup again.  YUM!!

         -- Dinner -- popcorn (typical Sunday night meal)

         -- Snacks -- Banana with peanut butter; energy bites; dried fruit bar.

21 Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse

source

My hubby and I have decided to do a 21 day cleanse in order to rid ourselves of the crap we tend to eat - gluten and animal byproducts.  The idea behind the cleanse is that it will clean our your system and break your desire to eat the bad flour, caffeine, animal products.  After all, those are the products that slow us down, make us feel like crap and overall, make us hungry all the time and fat.  And did I mention those products, particularly the gluten laced products, sugar, and animal products are typically what cause CANCER and early death?

That makes me NEVER want to eat animal products again......

Now, I know this sounds completely crazy to try and go vegan AND gluten free, but it's been surprisingly easy thus far and we're just starting day 5.

The general idea?  Eat FRESH.  

We've been eating mostly fresh veggies, salads, fruits, nuts, etc.  I love most of this stuff anyways!!  And So far with 4 complete days these are the current results:

-Days 1 and 2 - felt bloated from extra fiber from veggies and thought I was hungry constantly.
-Day 3 - munchies are GONE!  I no longer felt the need to eat excessively, eat sugar, etc.  Also cannot get enough water, I've been drinking almost double what I typically drink.  I guess due to the "detox" process of ridding the body of the crap.  Also, super tired.  Not sure if this is due to stress from work and/or a double workout on day 2.  Time will tell.
-Day 4 -  Feeling GREAT!  Realized I don't need as much to eat as I typically do consume.  Skin is starting to rid of the crap, too!!  They say a cleanse can be really good for people with acne and stomach problems, which is what me and my husband both have issues with.

What have I been eating, you ask.... FAN-TASTIC QUESTION!!
Day 1 -- Breakfast -- Green Smoothie made from Kale, Grapes, Banana, and Strawberry
          -- Lunch -- Salad with mushrooms and cabbage and balsamic dressing;
              Hummus with GF rice crax.
          -- Dinner -- Popcorn (yes, it's gluten free if you don't make the nasty bagged kind)
          -- Snacks -- Apple

Day 2 -- Breakfast -- Green Smoothie (same)
          -- Lunch -- Salad with mushrooms and cabbage and balsamic dressing;
              Hummus with GF rice crax.
          -- Dinner -- Homemade Chinese Pho soup (recipe coming soon!!)
          -- Snacks -- Apple and handful popcorn

Day 3 -- Breakfast -- Green Smoothie (same)
          -- Lunch -- Steamed broccoli and rice
          -- Dinner -- Tons and tons of green beans and a small batch of popcorn
          -- Snacks -- Banana and peanut butter

Day 4 -- Breakfast -- Green Smoothie (same)
          -- Lunch -- Sauteed zuchinni and mushrooms with brown rice
          -- Dinner -- Spaghetti squash with garlic, spinach, tomato and basil. YUMM!
          -- Snacks -- Apple and peanut butter

At this point, I'm really excited to see what happens with my body in the next few days, especially now that cravings are gone.

And yes, I KNOW I have a small addiction to popcorn.  it's a super quick meal for me when I don't have a lot of time. Don't judge. :)

Spaghetti Squash 3 Ways

There have been a ton of spaghetti squash recipes on Pinterest lately and every time I see them, I contemplate making something.  The hubbs made some spaghetti with spaghetti squash awhile back, but I wasn't a big fan of it myself.  So this week while my husband's away I figured I'd try it a couple of different ways by cooking it myself.  After all, it's a fairly inexpensive and healthy meal.  I'm determined to like it, so here are the first 3 recipes I've tried, and I'm sure there will be 1,000 recipe trials, too.

Version 1 - Garlic and Parmesan Cheese
Cooked spaghetti in oven according to directions on label, then added a bit of parmesan cheese, garlic and seasoning.  This was OK, however trying it for the first time, it was a bit different than what I expected.

Version 2 - Sauteed Garlic and Spinach

For this version I followed different cooking directions for the spaghetti squash.  The previous version says to cut the squash in half and cook for 45 mins, but doesn't specify to turn it upside down.  This one stated to turn it upside down, and BOY, does it make a difference.  The squash was more moist, more cooked and less crispy.  So much better!!  While I waited for the spag squash to cool a bit, I sauteed up some garlic and spinach and then tossed it into the spag squash.  DELISH!

Version 3 - Pesto, Tomato, Basil and Mushroom

As I mentioned before in my mushroom risotto post, I love mushrooms with anything and everything, so of course I put them in this version, too.  This one has sauteed tomato, basil, mushrooms and pesto added to the spaghetti squash.  I really wasn't a huge fan of the pesto with this, so if I make it again, I'll definitely tweak the recipe.

Are there are good recipes you've tried that you want to share?  I'm always open to more suggestions.

Makeover Stand Mixer

A few years ago when my grandmother passed I was handed down her 70's era Sunbeam stand mixer.  I've had it in a box in storage forever because we haven't had the counter space and, quite frankly, the color is just so un-appealing.  So what does that mean?  I decided to do a bit of research on painting an appliance, and wa-lah a much prettier (and PINK) mixer.  See pictures below.

Creamy BEFORE Picture

My original inspiration was the BRIGHT pink (aka Raspberry Ice) KitchenAid Mixer.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this mixer and wouldn't mind owning one some day, but right now this has to do, since I can't justify spending the money on it, especially when I have one that works perfectly fine.

The Process

DURING

Before I started painted, I taped up the silver knobs and pieces, and also stuck tape in the vent holes to be sure it didn't damage the fan or power parts.  Then, I did a light sanding on the mixer to help the primer and paint stick, then followed it by a coat of spray primer.  Once that dried, I did two layers of the pink paint, then finally covered with a clear coat to help it withstand everyday messes in the kitchen.  Since I was busy, I let it go a day or 5 in between coats, so it had PLENTY of time to dry.  Though the paint can said it only needed 30 minutes to dry between coats.  

Finished Product
As you can see it's not quite the same color, but I didn't have many colors to choose from.  Also, since I did only pink and a little bit of white, I may add a decal to it to give it a little "something," ya know?

Pretty in Pink!

Up close and personal.  Isn't it pretty?

Products used: 

Homemade Mushroom Risotto

When I found this recipe, I knew I'd have to try it. If its one thing I LOVE is mushrooms. I will put them on anything and everything. Love. Love. Love.

Mushroom Risotto
Serves 6-8 as a side dish, or 4 as main dish

Ingredients
6 cup chicken broth, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
1 clove garlic, minced
12-16 oz fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoon chopped chives
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.  Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 6-8 minutes Remove mushrooms and set aside.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the large saucepan, and stir in the garlic -if you're like me, you will add tons extra 'cuz it's amazing. Cook 1-2 minutes.  Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 35-40 minutes. If this is not done slowly the creamy texture of the risotto will not be right.  Once all of the broth is absorbed, remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, chives, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

Side Note
The original recipe also called for 3 tablespoons butter, however I haven't added it to my version and love the taste. Anything I can do to make it healthier I do. I also added quite a bit more garlic than the recipe called for and nearly doubled the mushrooms to make it with fewer carbs per serving.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Guess Where We Went....

Guess where we went for the day............

"The Biggest Free Party in the World"

 MARDI GRAS in New Orleans!!!  

Okay, so it was a month ago, but I keep forgetting to post pictures.

We went for just one day and night, since it's about an 8 hour drive from Nashville.  We left our house about 4 am on Saturday morning, and spent all day and night in New Orleans.  We went to a couple different parades, and got MASSIVE amounts of beads during them.  We actually weighed them when we got home and between my husband and I, we ended up with almost 20 lbs of beads.  TWENTY!  That is crazy!!

Halfway through the first parade....we more than doubled the beads after this.

Other than the parades, we walked throughout the French Quarter to see and taste part of the city.  We were told we had to try a beignet, a po boy sandwich, a muffuletta sandwich and a king cake.  Well, we tried all but the king cake.

We went to Cafe du Monde for one (or two) of the BEST beignet's.  Ever.  No need to go anywhere else for one.  Those were sooo yummy, gooey, delicious and powdery!  I don't have a picture since our hands were tied up with all the powdered sugar.

Josh got a Muffeletta at Central Bakery Co, the home of the original muffeletta.  Now, I'm not a fan of olives, but it tasted pretty good, and looked even better!!

I can't remember the name of the place I got the po boy sandwich, but unfortunately it wasn't that impressive.  I guess that's my fault though since I got turkey/cheese instead of something meaty/hearty.

Homemade Wheat Tortillas

My husband and I have tried to cut out purchasing pre-made groceries as much as possible.  Two reasons -- so we know what's in our food, and its much much cheaper to make/bake than to purchase things at the grocery store.

So this has lead to another homemade product: Wheat Tortillas.

Now, we've tried NUMEROUS recipes and most of the whole wheat ones came out really tough, but this recipe is PERFECT, in my opinion --- few ingredients, only 67 calories per tortilla, and pretty easy to make. This also goes great with my homemade taco seasoning.

Beef with taco seasoning, sharp cheddar, spinach, salsa and little bit of sour cream.  Perfecto!

Whole Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions:
Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in large bowl.  Pour boiling water over mixture and mix thoroughly.  Knead with a dough hook for 2 minutes.  This will help the gluten in the flour to develop properly and absorb the water.  Shape into 24 balls and let rest for 20 minutes.  Heat a cast-iron or non-stick pan on medium-high heat.  Roll out balls on an unfloured, ungreased countertop.  Roll as thin as you can and streth the dough when you pit it up to place on your pan.  Cook on both sides.

Storage:
Store hot tortillas in storage container.  I use a paper towel on the bottom of the container so the tortilla at the bottom doesn't get soggy.  The trapped steam will keep the tortillas soft.  You can also freeze them once the container is cool, however ours never last long enough to need to freeze them.

Outsmart Craigslist: How to Buy and Sell

Source

It never occurred to me that people could really be getting used on Craigslist until a co-worker came to me for my "expert" CL advice since I'm a CL frequenter. Whether it be buying goods for more than they should be, or selling goods for way less than they could get, a person can really get "taken" on Craigslist if you aren't careful.

Note: I don't consider myself an expert, but these are the things that have worked for me in the past. Many of these things I've learned from experience with buying and selling on CL.

Selling
-If you're willing to wait it out, you can make more money --- I posted a stereo multiple times and people offered pennies compared to what I was asking. I just kept re-posting it and one day a guy offers full price if I would meet him within 15 minutes. SOLD!

-If your goal is to just declutter and get rid of the item, low ball the price --- This has worked for numerous items for me.  It will get rid of the goods quick. SOLD!

-Post the price higher than what you'd like to get --- With all bargain shoppers, they're exactly that, bargain shoppers. Everyone is looking for a good deal. I've posted things $50 or more above the price I'd like to get (for a big/expensive item) just to give myself some wiggle room with negotiations. SOLD!

-Do your homework -- Make sure you aren't posting at ridiculously high prices. Check out the value on eBay or other sites to see what it's typically sold for today. Most things aren't worth what you originally paid. Hardly ever actually. SOLD!

-Don't be afraid of negotiations --- Most people will try to talk you down even once you've agreed on a price. Stand firm on what you've agreed on, if you're adamant about getting that price.  SOLD!


Buying
-Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate --- Don't hesitate to negotiate with others. Many people post things higher because they're expecting you to counter offer back. CHEAP!

-Set Your Standards --- I recently purchased a dresser with a very long, picky list of wants, one of those to spend less than $50. It may have taken longer, but I got exactly what I wanted. CHEAP!

-Again, do your homework --- Don't be afraid to look up prices online before buying. Many people don't research the actual value before posting and will ask what they want to get out of it. It's much harder for them to argue with you if you can show them a printout from eBay with the current value.  CHEAP!

-Be willing to walk away --- If you can't get it for the price you want, the product isn't what you expected, or are uncomfortable with the transaction walk away.  CHEAP!


Additional Buying/Selling Smarts
-Last but not least, when buying or selling play it smart --- When possible, meet in a well populated area during the day if you can. Also never go alone.

-When having people come to your house, always have another person home --- Many times my husband will also walk people around to the garage or basement so they don't walk through our house looking for items to steal (hey, you never know!)

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 5 - FINAL!!!!

THE TV STAND IS DONE...

Check it out!!

What do you think??  Have you tried to re-create any old or secondhand products as something new?

Price Breakdown --

Dresser from Craigslist - $50

Uhaul to transport dresser - $22

Primer $7

Paint $5

Spray Polyurethane $8

Spade to drill holes $10

Total ONLY $101!!!

Price for a store bought similar dresser.... $800 or on sale for $400 on Amazon.

That means, I saved $700!!!!!!!  WHOOHOO!!!!

Source

Follow the Entire Dresser Turned TV Stand Project Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 4

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 4

So, we did one thing a little backwards with the dresser....

We hadn't purchased anything to cut out the holes for the back of the dresser, in order to be able to pull the cords through.

Long story short..... we were done with all the sanding, priming, painting and top poly coat, and realized we still had to drill the holes.  Ooops!!

We went out to our local Home Depot and purchased a 1 1/2 inch spade bit to drill the holes in the backside.

First, we measured halfway between each section, to be sure it was centered, then measured up one inch, so it was close to the bottom and would have a less chance of being seen.

Next, we taped the wood around where we planned on drilling, so we would have a less chance of splitting the wood.

Then we drilled holes from the inside out.  That way, if the wood happened to split or tear, we wouldn't harm the inside "pretty" pieces that we worked so hard to paint.

Once we were done drilling, we just vaccuumed out the dust and wa-lah, DONEZO.

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Last Post, I mentioned that we screwed up with the paint, which resulted in streaky paint.  So we went to the paint store and got some more paint.  Thankfully they register the product to our name, so they were able to pull up the exactly paint color we previously purchased.  

Once we had the new paint, we decided to go over nearly everything REALLY well to make sure we didn't have any streaks left from "the mistake."  

Once the 3rd coat finally dried, we decided to go ahead and poly the top. 

In the past, we've always purchased paint on poly, but for some reason, this time when we went to the store, they had a spray poly.  We mutually decided it was better to use the spray so we don't have to try to clean the poly after all the trouble we had with it last time.  Note: do NOT get polyurethane on your hands... it's a pain in butt to clean off!  We tried EVERYTHING in our house to get it off.... body scrub, alcohol, dish soap... nothing worked!!

Color Sneak Peek......

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:
New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

After the primer dried, the next day we decided to start painting.  Of course, painting seems to take forever, especially since we did 2.5 coats and had to wait for it to dry in between.  We wanted to be sure it dried completely before putting another coat on top, so we only painted one coat per day.

Now, I say we did 2.5 coats because we did 2 coats over the entire dresser, but the last coat was meant to go over sections we felt needed additional coverage.  HOWEVER..... we were scrimping by on the last little bit of the paint and apparently it had a bit of white in the bottom of the can, so of course this means the last couple of sections turned out blue streaky.

Ooops!!

Once we realized what happened, we decided to go get another small can of paint, but since the paint store was already closed for the night, and we wanted the paint to dry completely, we decided it would have to wait until the next day....

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1