Hoarding or Money Saving?

This is my collection of oven mitts. On first glance I know you are thinking hoarding but I have a reason for having so many pairs. Well it makes sense to me anyway hee hee!

I love to shop second hand for everything I can and save money. Oven mitts are one of the things that do not come up all that often in the shops so I buy a set whenever I come across them if they are in good shape. I have not had to buy oven mitts at the store in years. If mine have a little accident or get too bad I can just go to my linen closet and grab a new pair. I have a spare ironing board cover ready to go when I need it too  - those are even harder to find and my spare was a very expensive one new and was still in the package when I found it at a second hand store.

If I can buy things I know I will be needing even if I do not need it right now for a fraction of what they cost new I think it is a wise investment . I will do this if I find something on clearance as well and I just put it away until I need it.

A word to the wise though - this can get out of hand if you are a person with hoarding tendencies. I do not go overboard. For example I will not buy anymore oven mitts until I get through some of the ones I have. I wouldn't have 3 ironing board covers either, one is enough since you don't go through them like oven mitts. We have a big old house with lots of room but I don't feel the need to buy just because I have room to put it. Well books might be my one weakness that way!  I have two shelves of books in my "to read"  pile and more being stacked on top so I really need to stop buying books for a bit! It doesn't help that I am the church librarian and I keep thinking "Oooo this book will be good for the library and this one and this one. The only trouble is I need to read these books first to be sure they are ok and I am backed up in my reading. *yikes!*

So yes moderation is the key to being wise and frugal and stocking up for tomorrow. ~smile~

Happy Friday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Bible Study Buddies

I try my best to make time each morning to do some personal Bible study. I hop into my recliner grab my Bible and my notebook. Today I was in James 2 and 3 - what a blessed time with my Father! I love this quiet time alone after the men are off to work and before the business of the day starts.

Today I had some friends to "help" me....

There couldn't be any more lovey and cuddly Bible study buddies could there? These are our cats Timothy (the dark one) who we really call Shmoo and Piggy. She is my sweetie cat. If it were up to her I would spend all day in my chair with her on my lap. ~smile~
It was a good morning!

Blessings,
Liisa

Special Items

 This is one of my most prized possessions it is a hand crocheted doily that my Great Grandmother made. She passed away at 100 in 2000. I loved Nanny Stewart very much and I miss her still so I cherish this handiwork of hers. For awhile I had it hidden away in my hope chest but then I realized one day that I never look at it or enjoy it which is sad. So out it came and it has been on my dining room table almost everyday since. Yes spills happen and my heart stops for a moment but in the scheme of life it is only a thing. My memories are not tied all up in it. It brings me far more joy to look at it everyday and smile than to hoard it away. Stains come out and it survives. ~smile~

 Upstairs I have a china tea set my Mother in Law gave me just before we married. It is in the protective padded cases it came to me in. My Mother in Law got it for her wedding from her Mother in Law. The truly sad thing is her whole marriage it had never left it's cases except to show me and I have been married for 26 years now and it hasn't left the cases in all those years. I am not even sure I remember what it looks like except it is blue and white. How awful to have something so lovely and be so scared of ruining it that I never even look at it!

 What good are they if they just keep getting passed on and no one ever sees them? It is just a padded burden when you move! No more! I am planning a tea with friends this minute and breaking out the tea set and sharing the story of it's heritage as we enjoy it!

Can I encourage you to enjoy your treasures?

Happy Thursday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Parsnips and Parsimony

I so love watching Parsnips and Parsimony on You Tube. They are a wonderful Christian Family in New York State. Art and Janelle are currently expecting their 8th child. They have a vlog of day to day happenings in a large homeschooling family. Janelle does a lot of coking from scratch so there are recipes and tutorials as well. One thing I really appreciate is that they show real life. So it is not always perfect but it is reality.
I really enjoy their vlogs and am so encouraged by them,  so I had to share!
Happy Viewing!
Blessings,
Liisa

Bountiful Blessings

I am so grateful for friends. My friend Leona recently went away on an anniversary trip and she asked us to pick her garden for her while she was gone so things wouldn't go to waste. What a bountiful blessing! We picked the garden twice and were blessed with many many tomatoes, peppers and two meals worth of beans. This is a picture of just a few of the veggies we received. Praise God for He knows what we need even before we ask and He always provides!

Happy Thursday!
Blessings,
Liisa

New Mommy Care Jar

I thought I would share an idea I had to brighten the day of a new mommy who was feeling weak having a bit of a hard go after some difficulties with the birth of her son.
She is such a sweetheart and I wanted her to know I was thinking about her and praying for her. I came up with a gift in a jar. Just a few little things but I think it turned out cute.
Here is a picture of the finished jar....

I used a soother paper punch on the tag and layered it over a piece of blue card stock. I used a scrap of fabric and tied on some raffia for a bow.

Now here is a picture of what I put inside....

I put in...
-6 decaffeinated tea bags - 2 green, 2 earl grey and 2 English breakfast
-2 "gourmet" lollipops
-Chocolate  - you can never go wrong with chocolate!
-I put some candies in a little zipper baggie and topped it with card stock and did the same for some caramels.
-A tube of lavender chamomile hand cream
-A little bag containing a set of magnets I made ( I will post about those soon!)
-Not shown here but I did add in a small note pad and a cute pen.

She was quite pleased and I was happy I could bring her a little something. It was really fun coming up with things to add in and I think I may do this again for other occasions.
Blessings,
Liisa

Meal for New Parents

Just a little quick picture of how I  packaged a meal for friends of ours who just had the cutest little boy. ~smile~

I am always trying to figure out the best way to bring a meal to someone so I thought I would share what I came up with this time. I don't want people to have to worry about washing dishes and returning them to me so I thought I would use a disposable pan. I didn't want to bring several pans so I got a rectangular one and put the meatloaf in one end, put the mashed potatoes in one corner squared them up to make room for the corn and sprinkled the potatoes with grated cheese. The corn I put in a baggie so they could pull it out and heat it separately as it did not need as much time as the rest of the meal. I think it worked well. I labeled the top with instructions to remove the corn and just heat the rest in the oven. That and a chocolate cake in another disposable pan and the meal was complete ~smile~
Blessings,
Liisa

I Love Long Walks on the Beach

Hmmm....sounds like a cheesy dating profile doesn't it! hahahahaha!
Seriously though my super romantic hubby took me for ice cream and a walk along the boardwalk at the beach to enjoy the sunset last weekend for our 31st "dating anniversary." We started dating when I was 15 and he was 17 so being teenagers we always celebrated our dating anniversary and we just kept going. ~smile~  I don't mean we do anything big and no gifts or anything but we acknowledge it and celebrate a little bit. I think it is important especially in this day of divorce and quick relationships to celebrate milestones and who doesn't love an extra excuse for a romantic evening out. *wink*
So take an opportunity to sneak away with your hubby and enjoy a nice time alone to celebrate your relationship.

Blessings,
Liisa
P.S. This is a Lake Huron Sunset - so pretty!

Menu Planning

I am getting started on menu planning for fall. This summer has been so super busy and we have been away so much, that added to my hubby's deep love for barbecuing and flying by the seat of his pants menu wise means that I have not had a menu plan since June! Yikes!
I love to have a menu plan. It makes me feel like I am in control of my day, I know what to buy on grocery day, I can save money and I never have to wonder what I am going to throw together at the end of the day. I thrive on lists and plans and order and feel all askew and unsettled when there is no plan not just with menus but in general so I am really looking forward to the settled pace and routine of fall as much fun as we have had all summer.

So what I am doing to start is spending the time to go through all my recipes and writing a list of meal ideas and where to find them so when I get down to actually planning the monthly menus I have a list of ideas and I can write where the recipe is right on the plan for each day. I have done this before and it saves so much time when you go to prepare your meal. Instead of just reading Katie's Taco Casserole on Monday I can know that it is in the Fix it Fast Gooseberry Patch cookbook on page 84. Also doing this gives us so much variety and prevents me from getting into a rut. I can use this list for all my future menu plans and won't have to go through cookbooks, recipe cards etc. every time I menu plan.

Just a little glimpse into what I am planning. ~smile~
Happy Monday!
Blessings,
Liisa

P.S. As you may be able to tell from the picture I love Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. They are so cute I love all the little tidbits and drawings on each page and the recipes are really good. ~smile~

Gifting Veggies

I had an abundance of cherry tomatoes and I planned to share them with a couple of neighbour ladies. I had them just in zipper baggies when I came across an idea in an old issue of Country Woman. The idea is to make paper cones to hang on doors. It kind of reminded me of May Day baskets.
Here are a couple of pictures of the ones I made.....

They are simply pretty card stock rolled into a cone shape. I stapled them together and added some tape to secure the edge all the way down. Next I punched a hole on either side of each cone and threaded through ribbons and tied knots to anchor. Inside I added a cone of wax paper (that I didn't staple or anything) just to keep any moisture away from the card stock. I filled them with alot more cherry tomatoes than you would think they would hold and headed out to deliver my gifts.
It was pretty early so I was able to just hang them on their doors to surprise them whenever they came out. ~smile~
I saw one of the ladies at church today and she said she was so thrilled to find it hanging on her door and wondered where I bought the container! hee hee! She was surprised that I made it!
It was a just a way to make a simple gift a little more special so I thought I would share it on here.

As a side note you can never go wrong picking up Country Woman magazines at second hand stores and yard sales. The information is always good and I grab all the ones I come across and save them to read at the time they would have come out. For example the one I found this idea in is from August/September last year and I kept it to read now though I bought it several months ago and I have spring ones I am saving to read in the spring etc.

Happy Sunday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Fast Fix for Under $4

This cute little bird cage planter was a gift I received a couple of years ago. It had ivy and several other plants in it and was really cute. I also received the bird as another gift and added it in. The only problem with it was that I have a black thumb not a green one and I bring death to plants everywhere! I tried over the years to pull out the plants that died and add in new ones but finally it got to the point that all that I could keep alive was a couple of wee little ivy plants. Yep it was pretty sad looking and it bothered me every time I looked at it. However it is such a cute planter and I love how it looks on the counter.

Enter the Fast Fix for Under $4! It occurred to me at last that I do much better with fake plants so off I went to the dollar store. I purchased some floral foam, a bag of moss and a stem of leaves. It took me less than 30 minutes to change something that had been bothering me for years into something that makes me smile.

So much better! ( It looks more like realistic plant in real life. ~smile~) I am so happy and it is a relief to be done with the struggle, I can just enjoy how cute it is and stop killing plants!

Blessings,
Liisa