One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 2 of 2187 - 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.

Gardening in New England – The Waiting Game

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 12, 2019 · 29 Comments

That feeling of bugs crawling all over you…. It really doesn’t go away until the snow hits the ground… does it. So far this season I have flicked one tick off my leg, and another off the nape of my neck. Which I might add was insanely creepy. Thank goodness for headlamps. And for The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird who isn’t squeamish about bugs.

It does make me wonder though, can you get head lice from gardening in your backyard? Because if you can, I’ll probably catch it this summer. The creepy crawlies, they’re out to get me.

{the soon to be pumpkin patch}

The backyard, looks like I’ve done nothing to it. If I was still in the PNW, this is what April would look like in my future field of dreams.

Maybe it’s a sign of getting older, but this year, like the last 3, have seemed to whiz on by. I can’t believe it’s almost the middle of June. I mean it looks like June, it feels like June, and the calendar says it’s June, but really? It’s June already?

{the soon to be raspberry patch}

The days are longer and while I am working on some sort of project every.waking.hour {even when I’m in the car!} I still can’t get everything I need to get done in the allotted time.

{the soon to be sunflower patch}

And I don’t even have kids to chase around anymore. They’re all big, and doing their own things now. It’s so weird. I’m 46…. and I don’t FEEL 46. Except for when I finally sit down at the end of the day.

Instead of popping a few Advil when I’m sore like I did when I was 30, these days I swallow a couple of my “old lady” pills and hope for the best.

Am I really slowing down? Is this what middle age looks like?

It rained like crazy yesterday morning. Lucky me, I didn’t have to water the pots.

Miss Lemon and company. * I spy an empty birds nest.

Our first strawberry harvest is just a week away.

And my favorite peonies are in bloom. Wednesday. Let’s do this. Aching bones and all. 😉

~Mavis

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How to Make Mint Extract

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 11, 2019 · 5 Comments

People use mint extract like it’s going out of style every year around the holidays. I personally love it best in my Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe. But did you know besides being used in cooking, it can also be used as a dietary supplement, as an herbal or alternative medicine to help treat all sorts of things like poison ivy or indigestion or bug bites, and even as a pest repellent?

And did you also know it’s super easy to make your own? Here’s the super simple recipe I use. After you’ve made it the possible uses are endless!

Ingredients

Fresh mint leaves
Vodka
Jars for storage {I like to use the Weck 5.4 ounce jars for gift giving}

Directions

Remove leaves from the stems of the mint plants. Wash well and then dry completely. Fill container with mint leaves. Smash the leaves down with a wooden spoon by pressing and twisting {you should end up with about half a jar full}. Repeat this process until about 3/4 of the jar is full of smashed mint leaves.

Pour the vodka over the top of the leaves, making sure all leaves are covered and submerged. Then seal the container up tight and place in a cool, dark place and soak for at least a month {more is best for stronger extract!}. Strain the liquid, discard the leaves and bottle your extract! See? Easy peasy!

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How Much We Spent on Groceries and What We Ate – Week 23 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 10, 2019 · 6 Comments

Breakfast in the garden: Apples and cheese.

Breakfast for dinner: The HH made waffles!

The last winter squash from our 2018 harvest. The chickens LOVED it!

Power lunch. The last of the leftover BBQ chicken from last week.

For the HH’s birthday, The Girl bought him a ridiculously sized roast and some corn. I have no idea what type of cut it was but we all agreed it tasted like the roast beef slices you’d get from a deli counter. It was crazy good.

There is a ton of cooked beef in the freezer now and I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. Part of me wants to save it for fall and soup season. But the other part of me knows that if I don’t do something with it in a timely manner, our entire freezer will be full of the HH’s BBQ escapades.

Chili using some of the leftover beef and cheater biscuits. What are cheater biscuits you ask? A bag of Fisher scone mix plus 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, 1 teaspoon dried dill and 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan.

Date day breakfast at The Gingerbread Construction Company {home of the best muffins on the planet earth}.

Date day linner at Buskers Pub in Newport, Rhode Island. Really cool atmosphere. Food, just okay.

5 second rule. 😉

Summer, it’s in full swing, and it’s so incredibly easy to just stuff food in my mouth on the go in between garden chores, dying wool, working on secret projects etc. but I need to remember to SLOW DOWN… and take a break. The HH is going grocery shopping today and I’m putting salad greens on his list. My goal is to eat a salad a day this week. Sitting down. At a table. Taking pause and to soak up all this beautiful weather we’ve been having lately.

Have a wonderful day Monday everyone. Don’t forget to eat your veggies.

~Mavis

Total Spent on Groceries This Week $0

Total Spent on Groceries in June $47.15
Total Spent on Groceries in May $262.39 {More meat!}
Total Spent on Groceries in April $284.56 {My husband bought a smoker and a BUNCH of meat!}
Total Spent on Groceries in March $321.69
Total Spent on Groceries in February $220.92
Total Spent in January on Groceries $41.19
Total Spent So Far on Groceries in 2019 $1177.90 {Goal is to average $150 – $175 a month for the year}

You can go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

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My 22 Goals for 2019 – Week 23 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 9, 2019 · 31 Comments

My 22 Goals for 2019

Goal #1 — Spend More Time Doing What I Love

The HH brought Lucy back from her yearly checkup last week {all her blood work came back great!} and when I looked at the form I noticed her weight had ballooned to 28 pounds! I knew she was looking a little on the chunky side, because last summer she was closer to 23-24 pounds and was looking nice and fit and had that nice curve {upward!} to her underbelly.

Bottom line… I blame it ALL on my husband. Yes, the steroids Lucy’s on probably have a little something to do with it, but the HH needs to stop giving her snacks. Or rather, when he’s snacking, he needs to resist the urge to give her a little bite. Because clearly, those {all 10 of them over the coarse of a day} little bites add up!

Goal #2 — Garden, Garden, Garden

The light pink peonies are starting to open up!!!

Goal #3 — Plant an Orchard

Look at all the blossoms on Miss Lemon!

Goal #4 — ~~Gussy Up the Potting Shed~~ Done!

Goal #5 — Grow Enough Extra Vegetables, Eggs and Flowers to Earn $1500 at my little roadside vegetable stand.

And so it begins. With a little luck, we’ll have a bumper crop of heirloom pumpkins, gourds and winter squash. The whole back portion of the garden has been planted with oodles of goodness. And now we wait….

Goal #6 — Finish Every Single Unfinished Rug Hooking Project in My Pattern Bin + 10 Things from back Issues of Magazines/Books I’ve Been Meaning to Make.

I updated my Etsy Shop last week and for the month of June am only working on ~~two~~ three pieces. A special order pillow, a special order of flowers and one giant turkey rug. In a perfect world, I would spend 8 hours a day hooking, sipping tea and watching documentaries.

This summer though, things has gotten off to a bit of a crazy start and last week I only got about 8 hours of hooking time in {thank goodness for long car rides!}. I’d like to say I need to be better at managing my time, but the reality is, I just need MORE time. Or for it to be winter. 😉

I finished 0 rugs from my pattern bin this past week.

I started the year off with:

73 rugs in my pattern bin {now down to 48}
183 hooked flowers {finished 108, now down to 75}
10 “things” from back issues of magazines {finished 0}

Goal #7 — Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns {with at least half of them being large ones}

11 down, 1 to go! Last Friday I added 4 new beginner rug hooking kits to my Etsy shop. My goal for the rest of the year is to work on creating a few larger hooked rug patterns {mostly seasonal ones} and then to get those up and in the shop before October.

New rug hooking patterns I’ve created and added to My Etsy Shop this year:

Goal #8 — Split and Stack 2 Cords of Wood for Next Winter

Nothing to report.

Goal #9 — Do Something with the 5,002 Photos on My Phone

No comment.

Goal #10 –Lose the Muffin Top

I bought 2 new pairs of jeans! The jeans fit my body type perfectly so I sent them back and ordered one size smaller. 😉 There are still 6.5 months left in the year. I better get a move on.

Goal #11 — Run, Walk or Crawl a 5k, ~~10k~~, Half Marathon and ~~Marathon~~

Nothing new to report.

Goal #12 — Read or Listen to 26 New Books {14 down, 12 to go}

Thanks to all your recommendations for The Great Alone, I was finally able to listen to it this week and WOW. What an engrossing story. One night I even stayed up until 1:30 am listening to the audiobook. The book was so good, I put it at my #2 favorite book I have read/listened to this year.

Well done team! 🙂 Anymore suggestions? Where the Crawdads Sing

I am waiting my turn on the library wait list for the following audio books:

Books I’ve Read or Listened to So Far This Year:

Marilla of Green Gables #1 Favorite
The Great Alone #2
Before We Were Yours #3
Secrets of a Charmed Life #4
Where’d You Go, Bernadette #5
Carnegie’s Maid #6
The Alice Network #7
The Shape of Mercy #8
Will’s Red Coat #9
Big Little Lies #10
Bunny Mellon {Doesn’t count because it was my second time}
Walden
Finder’s Keepers
Delicious!
Following Atticus

Goal #13 — Try 52 New Recipes.

14 down, 38 recipes to go.

I don’t think we tried any new recipes this past week, but I could use some help with all the leftover ham we have in the fridge. Something new. Any ideas? What is your favorite way to use leftover ham?

Goal #14 — Clean Up 52 Old Recipes on the Blog

8 down, 45 to go. Last week I cleaned up the Strawberry Pudding Cake recipe. I am behind on this goal big time, but once things slow down after gardening season, I think I’ll be able to knock a bunch of recipes out.

Goal #15 — Fill 100 Canning Jars 34 down, 66 to go.

Berry season is almost here! I don’t know how many strawberries or raspberries we’ll get this year, but I just noticed the farm stand down the road getting ready to open for the season.

So far this year I’ve I canned:

Goal #16 — Finish Furnishing Our House

We didn’t stop at any garage sales or antique stores this week but I did snag 7 cds from the recycle center. 🙂 Which was a good thing because when Lucy was a pup, she chewed up the antenna wire in the back of the car and so we’ve been radio-less for like 6 years. 😉

Side note: That Bryan Adams cd So far So Good… Wowza! Talk about feeling like a teenager again. There are so many good songs on it.

Furniture pieces I’m still on the hunt for:

~~Coffee table for the family room~~
Console, cupboard or sideboard for the one and only tv in our house which is in the family room. I could totally live without a television, but my husband says the tv stays.
~~Long rectangular table for the craft room.~~
Table for the formal dining room.
2 wing back chairs for the family room.
~~I’d also like to decorate the mantel in the keeping room~~ as well as put up some sort of decoration above the other 3 2 fireplaces in the house. I’m not one for a lot of things on the walls, but it would be nice to throw up a little pilgrim bling on the plaster.

Goal #17 – 52 Dates with the HH {19 down, 32 to go}

For date day last week the HH and I were in Rhode Island and one of our stops was Casey Farm in Saunderstown, RI. We ended up getting a private tour around the farm and our host Shelia did an excellent job sharing the history of the farm. We had a blast. We joined Historic New England a few weeks ago and are looking forward to seeing how many historic properties we can see this year.

Next up, the Sarah Orne Jewett House in South Berwick, Maine. 🙂 {If you’ve got a favorite bakery or lunch spot in the area, do tell!}

Goal #18 — ~~Take One Adult Education Class~~ Done {I’ve taken 2!}

I’m keeping the first class I took with my neighbor top secret for now {because it is directly related to my one of my secret holiday projects}
Spoon Carving Class with heather.

Goal #19 — Secret {for now} Holiday Project – Keeping mum about it until early September

I just pulled this plate out of the kiln this morning! I had started to make a plate and then realized halfway through the drying process that I didn’t have the proper tints to color the slip for a traditional trailing slip plate. I ended up putting on a think layer of creamy white slip and decided to try my hand a sgraffito this time around. I have since ordered the special glazes {I think I’ll need} but still, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

If I could go back in time, I would have made the tulip larger and not added the wing to the bird. I’ll add a glaze to the plate this week and then show you next Sunday what the finished product looks like. Even if it’s a total dud.

The goal is to create an entire set of old fashioned looking redware plates like the ones I’ve seen in the historic homes we’ve visited and the pages of Early American Life Magazine. Only time will tell if I’ll be any good at this.

Goal #20 — Create 12 Wowie Zowie Party Platters

4 down, 8 to go. Seriously slacking in this department. Maybe once berry season hits…

Goal #21 — Visit 12 General Stores

5 down 7 to go.

Anyone know of a good general store between the 95 south and the Route 1 heading towards the Southeast tip of Rhode Island? I am hoping to find a good general store for our road trip next week.

So far this year we’ve visited:

Harrisville General Store
Dodge’s Store in New Boston, New Hampshire
Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, New Hampshire
Dan and Whit’s in Norwich, Vermont
Hussey’s General Store in Windsor, Maine

Goal #22 — Compete with Carole….. Get on My Front Door Game On

Yesterday I came up with the MOST fabulous idea for a front door wreath! I can’t wait to show you. 🙂 🙂 🙂 It will knock Carole’s socks off.

Front Door Bling I’ve Made So Far This Year to Compete with Carole:

Late January : Valentine Heart
Late February : Shamrock
Late March : Giant Carrot
May: White wave petunia hanging basket

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How about YOU? What are your goals for 2019? If you told us about them HERE, check in! We want to know how you are doing. Because seriously, it’s so much easier to get those goals checked off your list when you have people rooting for you! 🙂

♥ Mavis

You can read more about my 22 goals for 2019 HERE.

Have a Great Sunday!

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.