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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.


one hundred dollars a month

Bits and Bobs for August – Beach Edition

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 10 Comments

bits and bobs: A random assortment of things; small remaining pieces and things

The beach, at sunrise. How.

Look what the tide brought in.

And what hasn’t been swept out to sea yet.

Another day another mask.

How does one forget their shoes at the beach?

Wouldn’t you notice there as nothing on your feet as your walking on the pavement to your car?

Did I mention that all these photos were taken around 6 am on a weekday? A morning when the only people on the beach were myself, Lucy and a granny with her dogs?

Those brown sandals, they’re still there! Not even a hurricane could sweep them away.

When I was a kid, water bottles were unheard of. When did people get so thirsty?

I can’t see the sea!

Hey! That looks familiar. 😉

I should open a beach gear re-sell shop.

What happens at the beach, stays at the beach.

Wishing you all the best on this beautiful summer morning,

~Mavis

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Garside’s Ice Cream – Saco, Maine

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 15 Comments

Last weekend we went with our neighbors to check out the tiny seaside town of Camp Ellis along the coast of Maine. I was so busy looking around at all the little shops, lobster pounds, bait and tackle place, gift stores, restaurants and houses along the shore, that I only took this one photo of a mural painted on the side of a building while we were in the little village.

There were SO MANY things to see! {If you’ve never been or heard of Camp Ellis before, Down East Magazine wrote a wonderful article about the place and you can read it HERE.}

On the way home we stopped off at Garside’s Ice Cream Stand in Saco, Maine which just happens to be a short drive from Camp Ellis. Our neighbors had been there many times before, but this was our first visit.

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to ice cream stands or any restaurant in general, I’m not an adventurous person and I almost always order the same thing. But my husband is the type who has to read the ENTIRE menu before ordering. {And it makes me crazy!}

Garside’s has been making and selling ice cream along Ferry Road in Saco, Maine since 1955 and man oh man do they have a ton of flavors to choose from.

I still haven’t tried Grape-Nut {it’s a thing here in New England, but I don’t know… I just can’t seem to muster up the courage to give it a go}.

So I ordered my usual banana split, and it was wonderful, a 5 out of 5. And the girl behind the window got major bonus points for asking do you want it traditional… {because what kind of crazy person would order anything else besides chocolate, strawberry and vanilla for a banana split!?}.  Seriously!

Garside’s Ice Cream, go check them out. You’ll be so glad you did. 🙂

Peace Out Girl Scouts, I’m off to pick tomatoes before it gets to hot out there,

~Mavis

Garside’s Ice Cream
320 Ferry Rd
Saco, Maine

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Read More Posts About Maine

A New Whale Tail Coat Rack for the Mud Room

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 18 Comments

It feels so good to have the garden finally in maintenance mode {harvest and the occasional watering} after all the hard work we put into it earlier this spring, moving the giant compost pile, getting rid of all those tree stumps, creating the brick flower border around the back and installing the raised garden beds.

It feels nice to have all that done because after a busy spring, it means I can begin to finish all those those smaller indoor projects I’ve been meaning to do since we moved in last fall.

This past week I tackled the mud/laundry room.

When we bought the house, it came with a stained brown shelf and a metal coat rack on the wall {the other side of the room is where the washer and dryer is}. It’s a good space, with plenty of room to come into the house after working out in the yard or a trip to the beach and set everything down… it’s just that I felt with the grey walls and off white trim it could be a better, brighter, more welcoming spot.

Last fall when I was re-doing our entry way closet while I was searching for some new hooks for the closet I came across these giant whale tail hooks. They were too big for the tiny closet I was doing at the time, but I had an inkling they would be perfect for the laundry room. And so I ordered them. And then they sat in their packing all winter and spring until we got around to updating the mud room.

First I painted the walls and ceiling my new favorite white {Behr palais white}. I even painted the trim and doors.

And then I scrounged around in the garage and found yet another trim piece up in the rafters that the previous owners {or someone in the last 90 years} had left behind and had the HH attach it to the wall for me.

And then I painted it out white, and the old brown shelf too. Check out the double dutch door. Talk about a difference between the old creamy off white paint {top} and the new bright white paint {bottom}. What a difference!

And then I had my resident handyman install the whale tail hooks for me.

I hung up a new beach towel and set a jar of dog biscuits on the shelf for Lucy and the little mud room makeover was complete.

Light and bright… just the way I like it. 🙂 Another project checked off my list! Hot diggity.

 

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The Best Sour Cherry Pie Recipe

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 11 Comments

I think I could live off fruit pies and tea for the rest of my life. Have I told you this before? Why do I feel like we’ve had this conversation like 20 million times? 😉 C’mon…. pie has everything you could possibly need to survive. Am I right, or am I right?

There’s fruit, grains {flour} butter {dairy} fats {CRISCO!} sugar {that’s a food group, right? I mean if you have crappy British teeth like me it’s a major food group I’m pretty sure of it}.

Our neighbors went cherry picking a few weeks back and shared some of their bounty with us, which was awesome because cherries can be hard to come by as they are hard to find in the shops and a lot of times you have to fight the birds for them.

Sharing is caring though, and so when I made this pie, I made sure to share a slice with the neighbors who brought us the cherries and we all agreed, this pie rocks.

So if you ever find yourself craving a sour cherry pie, this is the one you’ll want to make.

Ingredients for Pie Filling

6 cups {2 pounds} sour cherries, pitted
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons tapioca granules
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients for the Best Pie Crust on the Plant Earth

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shorting {I use Crisco}
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine pie crust ingredients together, divide in half, roll into a ball, use the palm of your hand to flatten crust to about 1 inch. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Roll out 1 crust and line a pie plate with it.

Mix the cherry pie filling ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat.  Pour the filling into the crust lined pie plate and add second, rolled out crust on top.  Crimp the edges of pie crust together and brush with egg wash, or cream. Cut a few slits in the top of the crust.

Place the pie pan on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the top crust is a nice golden color.

Let the pie cool before serving. Serve with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream if you’ve got it. 🙂

Have a wonderful day everyone, happy baking!

~Mavis

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Mavis Butterfield Etsy