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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.

Seriously…. What Are the Odds?

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By Mavis Butterfield on · Leave a Comment

I was out running errands yesterday when I stumbled upon not one, but TWO farm stands alongside the road. At farm stand number one there were geese, chickens and trees full of apples lining the long driveway {this was at someone’s home, not some huge tourist attraction or anything like that}. 

There were things like pumpkins, chard, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables you’d expect to see this time of year here in Maine. But the big thrill {for me anyway} was all the BAKED GOODS that were out on the table for sale.

And when I say baked goods… I mean PIE and granola and cookies! 

There was even homemade bread and cheese for goodness sake! 

Seriously, what are the odds I’d find pie for sale alongside the road? 

10 ounces of granola. THREE DOLLARS! Cashews, dates, dried cranberries, dried apricots, toasted coconut and who knows what else! 

All I know is this. If this isn’t a sign we’ve landed in the right place, I don’t know what is. 🙂 

Life is good!

Have a great day everyone,

~Mavis

P.S. I will do a proper post on the local farm stands around here once I find them all. {And do my due diligence and taste everything they have to offer! } 😉

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Monthly Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Trips – Week 43 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 23 Comments

Pizza Pizza $12

The good news is we found a pizza place. Or rather a small general store that sells pizza. General stores in tiny coastal towns are a major perk up here in Maine and we are so lucky to have one that’s not only reasonably priced, but one that’s close by as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that other than a couple of major stock up trips a year {I’m thinking quarterly, or if we’re lucky, twice a year} at a Market Basket or a Costco, we’ll probably be doing all our shopping there. 

And I LOVE that. I love supporting small hometown businesses with just a handful of employees that know you by name and offer good products. Shops that have fair prices and forgo all the silly advertising and hoops the big box stores make you go through. It gives me hope. Hope that there are other people out there like me who have zero interest in playing the game. That there are people out there who want to live in a world without the noise, the fluff, the superficial and fakeness of it all. Where people are just easygoing and kind.

Sorry about that, I got sidetracked. 

I think what I started to say was the good news is we found a pizza place… the bad news is it took us 3 days to eat the pizza because it was SO FREAKIN’ BIG.   Next time I think we’ll order a small. 🙂

General Store $12.30 {missing from the picture are 2 pears and two tomatoes}

Big salad with tomatoes, goat cheese, green pepper, pickled beets, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. 

Big salad 2.0 – Tomatoes, pickled beets, peas, salami, goat cheese, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds.

The HH’s favorite – Pasta with Rao’s marinara sauce. 

8 Can Taco Soup 

Dessert of the week: Upside Down Gingerbread Pear Cake. Absolutely perfect for this time of year. 

Salmon dinner. The HH tried a new recipe and it was a big hit {let me know if you want the recipe}. 

And last but not least, last night’s dinner: pickety bits on the dock. We had to bundle up a bit because it’s starting to get downright chilly around here.  🙂 Life is good!

How about YOU? What have you been eating lately? Are you craving Crock Pot meals and soups yet?

Have a wonderful Monday everyone, 

~Mavis 

Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries, Bakery Treats We Brought Home $24.30

  • Total Spent in October on Groceries and Bakery Treats $819.88
  • Total Spent in September on Groceries and Bakery Treats $71.47
  • Total Spent in August on Groceries and Bakery Treats $426.99
  • Total Spent in July on Groceries and Bakery Treats  $222.60
  • Total Spent in June on Groceries and Bakery Treats $194.12
  • Total Spent in May on Groceries and Bakery Treats $256.47
  • Total Spent in April on Groceries and Bakery Treats $1083.55 WOWZA
  • Total Spent in March on Groceries and Bakery Treats $446.03 {includes a $50 gift card}
  • Total Spent in February on Groceries and Bakery Treats $416.98 
  • Total Spent in January on Groceries and Bakery Treats $346.47
  • Total Spent on Groceries and Bakery Treats in 2020 $4284.56

You can go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories

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My 14 Goals for 2020 Week 43 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 27 Comments

 

My 14 Goals for 2020

Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7

Beach clean up. It’s not nearly as fun as where Lucy and I used to go walking, but when the tide went out the other day, the HH found a few water bottles on the shore.

We can see a several lobster pots and buoys from our dock so who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and one will come our way at some point. I think it would be cool to have a side of the garage with old buoys hanging from it like so many people around here do. 

Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself. 

I have learned that sitting around in your jammy jams all day {for several days in a row} is very calming. And being calm comes in especially handy when your husband tells you to come here… come take a look at this through his spotting scope several hundred times a day. 

I thought we were just moving to the water, little did I know we moved to a nature preserve. Since we’ve been here we’ve spotted the following creatures:

  • A pair of deer 
  • A Coyote 
  • A flock of 6 turkeys {where’s Mr. HB when I need him! I could have had Thanksgiving in the freezer 10 times over by now}
  • 2 Bald eagles {the HH even saw 1 swoop down and grab a fish out of the water!}
  • More ducks than we can count
  • Harbor seals 
  • Seagulls
  • Canada Geese
  • Oodles of Blue Jays

And this crane {or is it a heron?}. He comes and sits on the dock for an hour or so everyday. I told The Girl that when she comes she needs to bring her camera so we can get some better pictures to identify the exact sort of bird it is. 

Goal #3 – Get Organized

The plan is to sit on my keister and hook until Spring. So far so good. I hooked 10 {TEN!} rugs this past week {all of which I plan to turn into pillows for my November 6th Etsy shop update}. At this rate, I just hope I don’t run out of hooking projects. 🙂 

But just to be on the safe side… when the HH ran errands the other day, I had him pick up a couple of gallons of paint just in case. Anyone want to guess what color I had him buy? YOU’LL NEVER GUESS! 😉

Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows. Done!

Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over Done!

Goal #6 – Kitchen Update Done!

Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden Done!

Goal #8 – Explore More of Maine Done!

While I am done with BIG adventures this year… I am excited to get to know our new area and plan to keep an eye on what wildlife wanders through our backyard. Next year’s gardening season might be an interesting one as there are a lot of critters nearby. 

Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together Done!

Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books {1 more to go. I’m only counting real books, not cookbooks or home decor books}

This past week I listened to Save Me the Plums on audiobook, and it was pretty good.  It wasn’t the normal type of audiobook I go for {I LOVE biographies/autobiographies and historical fiction mostly} but when the pickings are slim, what are you going to do? HH if you are reading this… I think a 1 year subscription to some sort of unlimited audiobook service would make a great gift for your wife.

Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft Done

I learned how to make swizzle sticks with my former neighbor and I think they turned out great for my first try {you can see the kiln pictures here}.

Goal #12 – Visit 12  Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!} Done!

Now, I’m on the hunt for a local farmstand/egg lady. I haven’t been out much since we’ve been here {shocking, I know} but I thought I saw a few different signs for eggs on our way here so I know they’ve got to be close by. Maybe I should just hop on the car one day next week and go exploring. 

Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The Year DONE!

As of this morning, I have made 5195 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st. I LOVE SETTING GOALS… and then knocking them off my list EARLY! 

This past week I restocked the ornament section of my Etsy shop {whales, fish and lobster mostly} and now I intend to park myself on the couch all winter and HOOK HOOK HOOK. Life, the simpler the better if you ask me. 🙂 

Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}

  • The HH’s meal plan for the month: Asking “what’s for dinner?”
  • My meal plan for the month: Crock Pot soups and pot pies. YUM.

*********

Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.

Have a great Sunday everyone, enjoy the view.

~Mavis

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Gardening in Maine – Fall Clean Up and Wide Open Spaces

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 30 Comments

Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY! It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day here in Maine. 

Yesterday I went outside with my shopping bag in hand to scrounge around for some twigs to build a fire in the wood stove. And well, one thing lead to another and before I knew it I had my pruners and a rake out there and was yelling for the HH to come help me. 

Not get twigs, but to cut the scraggily brush and saplings that had come up along the edge of the of the property this year. 

I swore I was done with gardening projects for the year… but well, that didn’t last long. Even the HH was like what happened to you staying in your pajamas until next spring?  🙂 I don’t know, once a gardener, always a gardener, right? 

But just cleaning up that little stretch, it made me so happy. I do love a good mini project after all. 

I don’t think the HH was super thrilled though when I told him the area would look much better if the leaves were raked up and hauled off to the woods. 

But look at the difference… The right side of the of our little forest of birch trees that we worked on yesterday looks much more tidy and picturesque than the left. I guess that means we’ll be back out there today to finish up the project… just as soon as we take a few old lady pills that is. 🙂

I haven’t even begun to think about what we’re going to do with the rest of the yard. But with an entire winter to figure it out, all I can say is this… the possibilities… are endless, and I couldn’t be happier. 

Wishing you the very best on this gorgeous fall day, 

~Mavis

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Mavis Butterfield Etsy