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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.

Fancy Nuts on Sale, 25 Cookie Recipes, Online Deals and More

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Quote of the Day  “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” ~ Lucille Ball

Hello Monday!

On the agenda for today:

  • Try one last canning recipe for the year
  • Do laundry
  • Finish up the ornaments Mrs. HB wanted me to make her
  • Finish up a rug that has taken me way to long to hook
  • Make something delicious for dinner
  • Take a nap!

How about YOU? What’s on your list for today? Hopefully something more exciting than mine. 😉 Have a great day everyone,

♥ Mavis & Lucy

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Available Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂

Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

Looking for a few good Christmas cookie recipes? Pop on over HERE for a list of 25 of our favorites.

Home and Kitchen Deals

Each month, Amazon Prime members can download and keep one free book from their Kindle First selection of six pre-released picks. Here are this month’s selections:

Add on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

Once I started making my own DIY Italian Seasoning, I never looked back. You can find all my DIY Seasonings HERE.

Kid’s Stuff

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My 15 Goals for 2018 : Week 49 of 52

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“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey 

My goals for 2018

Goal #1 – Write Like No One is Reading.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~  Barbara Kingsolver

Goal #2 – Slow Down

We got a wee bit MORE wood delivered on Friday and after taking this picture, I ran inside to do laundry and when I came back out again the HH already had about half a cord of wood stacked on a pallet.

Look at the precision!   I think someone found themselves a new job! Bahahahha!

Goal #3 – Shop Small

If you are looking for a handwoven table runner or placements for your table, check out JeanElizabethStudio on Etsy, she can make practically anything and loves special orders. I was looking for something a little on the rustic/colonial side for our table and she made one for us that was SPOT ON! Handmade rocks if you ask me. 😉

Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day

So not going to happen this year. And you know what? I’m good with that.

Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden Done!

The snow in our backyard has pretty much melted, which is a good thing because I wanted to snap a picture of this section of tiny garden beds over by the potting shed. Last spring I had high hopes of having a little herb and pea garden in this section but the weeds quickly took over and then a bunch of thorn filled raspberry plants grew in and I threw in the towel pretty early. I’m hoping next summer though will be different!

Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area 

And now we have another layer! I think this beautifully speckled brown egg is from our golden cuckoo maran. Anyone out there have a golden cuckoo to confirm this?

Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables Done!

I don’t have new poundage to report but check out the birdhouse gourd I grew this past summer. After sitting in our garage for the past 2 months it’s finally starting to dry out. To some it may look like a moldy mess, but once this baby dries out, she’ll be beautiful. I haven’t decided though if I want to turn it into a bird house or keep it as a decorative piece.

Because the backyard is a frozen tundra, I haven’t been posting many garden updates lately but you can read about the latest ones HERE.

Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs Done!

So far this year I have finished 109 hooked rugs and currently have a few more in the works. I’ll update my Etsy shop until January 4th with my new pieces but right now, I’m enjoying some down time and working on a few other projects.

Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls

Naked doll bodies. I have absolutely no idea how they are going t turn out. But that’s part of the fun, right?

Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall Done!

Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries

A new bakery post…. coming soon. 🙂

Goal #12 – Start a Collection

It was slim pickings at the recycle center this week but I did manage to come home with a pretty blue vase {that I think a bouquet of creamy white peonies would look lovely in!}. I guess nobody is purging this time of year and that’s why the “donations” are down. I have a few things I cold drop off so maybe I’ll do that. After all, if I LOVE checking the little section of discarded goodies every week, I know other people do to.  🙂

Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books

I just started listening to 22 Britannia Road last night and so far so good.

Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes Done!

I made a new jam yesterday which brings my total to 12 different jams for the year. Yee-Haw! Another goal crossed off my list. I do have one more recipe I want to try before I’m done canning for the year but wowie zowie, it’s been fun.

Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project Done!

I didn’t make anything new this week for my Etsy shop {other than a few custom dog bone ornaments} but I am working on something special for a friend for Christmas. 🙂 I’m so glad I decided to try my hand a pottery this year, it’s been such a fun learning experience and am already thinking about what I want to try in 2019. 🙂

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.

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One Hundred Dollars a Month – Mavis’ Weekly Highlights 12/9/18

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Mavis Butterfield on Instagram – Follow me as I share some random goodness

Mornings with Mavis 

Stories From this Past Week

Peace Out Girl Scouts, have a great weekend!

♥ Mavis

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Kelly Needs Our Suggestions

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Hi Mavis,

Long time reader here in the middle of a small identity crisis. I am in my early 30s, happily married, until semi-recently employed, but currently (and mostly happily) a homemaker. We had planned on me being a stay at home mom, but that’s taking a little longer than hoped so I’ve found myself with more time than I know what to do with.

My husband is working full time and taking a night class to get a license, so I’m glad to be able to take some of the home burdens off of him but I also feel like I’m losing my mind a little. I volunteer and try to stay active, but I feel like I’m not contributing to my household (husband disagrees and is very appreciative) and that I should be working (mom, sister, all female friends work) even though I enjoy being home. Did you ever feel this way?

Anyway (sorry about the rambling!), I had thought about building a small roadside stand like the one you have to sell baked goods, small crafts that I make, and possibly a little garden produce in the summer. We live in a suburb of a large city on a semi-busy side street so I know I would get a decent amount of foot traffic. But the question I kept coming up with is: is this a good idea? It seems low risk and low cost.

Then I started researching the laws here and in checking with my city found out that a stand wouldn’t be allowed. I could legally have a shop in our garage or home, but that doesn’t appeal to us so I’m still brainstorming. So that’s a bummer for me.

Do you have any tips, tricks, or advice for me?

With gratitude,
Kelly

*********************

Dear Kelly,

Well, for starters I can honestly say the only time I ever had a desire to work outside of the home was when I was bored out of my mind 2 years ago. I was stuck at home and pretty much alone all the time {kids were off at work or school, my husband worked 80 hours a week, gardening season was over, and I had zero home projects lined up}.

To combat my boredom at the time, I took a seasonal job at a major retailer. And let me tell you, for this INTJ girl, it was a HUGE eye opener in inefficiency in the workplace. I quickly decided that after my 6 weeks were up, I really wasn’t missing out on anything, and I would FIND something to do at home instead.

If I remember correctly, I started hooking rugs and dyeing wool a lot more than I had done in previous years. The result was that I was I able to add more and more items each month to my Esty shop and bring in a little income at the same time. And then this summer, I bought a kiln and starting making ornaments. And then I added those to my Etsy shop too. And, before I knew it, I was looking at my Etsy shop one day and noticed I had over 200 items listed!

So. Maybe I am not the best person to ask for advice on this particular topic. Because honestly, my blatantly cliche advice would be to “Find something you love doing, and do it.” Or even better, “Do what you love and the money will follow”. 

See? Super cheesy, right?

Things I love to spend my time doing:

  • Arts and crafts projects
  • Gardening
  • Exploring new towns {but only if someone else is driving}

Things I’m hearing you say:

  • Gardening
  • Crafts
  • Baked Goods
  • Supportive Husband
  • Bored and need something to do
  • Don’t want weirdos in my garage

My immediate thought was –> How about setting up a summer booth at your local farmer’s market? This would allow you to be home all but a 12-18 Saturdays {or whatever days your local market is held on} during the summer months.

You could work on enough crafts to fill your booth for the summer season during the winter months, make your jams in season, and bring along any extra garden produce to sell in your booth as the season progresses.

The main thing I want to say though, is do not be so hard on yourself. Whether you feel like it or not, you ARE contributing to your household. While taking care of your husband and home isn’t a paying job, keeping the wheels turning is a tough gig. By taking care of all the seemingly minor things, you are reducing a lot of stress and burdens from your husband. You will figure out what you are meant to do, just give it time. 🙂

~Mavis

P.S. One Hundred Dollars a Month family….. Please, if you have some suggestions for Kelly, chime in. We are here to help each other. 🙂

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