One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 2 of 2270 - 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 Maine – Tidy Cat Buckets, Raised Garden Beds and a Greenhouse

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 31, 2020 · 28 Comments

Hello Friday!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared any pictures of my neighbor’s greenhouse and garden set up so I thought I’d show you how much everything has changed since I last featured their garden on the blog back in early June.

First of all, there are tomatoes EVERYWHERE!!! Inside and outside of the greenhouse and in about two weeks… holy canolies they are going to be swimming to tomatoes.

The bumble bee tomatoes I started from seed on the radiators earlier this spring are my favorite ones they’ve got growing over there though. Have you tried the bumble bees? Soooo good! And the colors are beautiful as well.

Thai basil.

They’ve even got cucumbers and green beans growing in buckets!

I noticed another gardener in town with probably {no joke} 50 tidy cat buckets in their yard filled with all sorts of plants. I should wander over there and see about getting a picture for you. It’s quite a sight to see. I just LOVE how creative people can get when it comes to growing food.

One side of the greenhouse has brussels sprouts, kale, chives and rhubarb.

Their brussels sprouts were attacked by bugs though so they probably are not going to end up with any. 🙁

And check out the garden boxes they built this year. The plants are just oozing out of them.

I wish I would have planted nasturtiums, they’re so pretty and you can use them in salads.

When I said they have a lot of tomatoes growing… I wasn’t kidding.

The plants were getting so heavy, they used torn up t-shirts to secure them to the stakes.

They’re baby cukes are looking good too.

Anyone here in New England grow artichokes? We both planted our outside at around the same time and so far… no sign of flowers.

I started the seeds in my favorite Jiffy pellets in early February and then moved them out to the neighbors greenhouse in early May, but now I’m thinking I should have started them indoors sooner. Anyone know for sure when the best time to start artichokes here is?

Delicata squash.

And tomatillos! I’ve never had one before… are they good? The neighbors say they’re great in salsa.

And last but not least… Morning glory. I wish I would have planted some. Maybe next year I’ll plant some along the back fence.

Well, that’s all that’s happening over here in zone 5b. What’s growing at your place? What are you harvesting these days? Curious minds want to know.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone,

Peace Out.

~Mavis

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Awkward Closet Makeover Before and After Pictures

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 30, 2020 · 15 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE a good checklist. The feeling of being able to check something off especially when it’s a dreaded project that you’ve been putting off… it’s just so gratifying to know it’s done and you don’t have to think about it anymore.

Our little house in town has two closets in the master bedroom. The first one I tackled as soon as we moved in. The second closet though, was a bit of an awkward one and I really had to think about how best to use the space to fit in with the overall look I was going for throughout the house.

Besides the fact that the whole closet was covered with wallpaper {and carpeted too, but we pulled that out immediately after moving in} the space felt very cramped. And I wanted to fix that… but how? That was the question I wrestled with for months. How do you make a space look and feel bigger than it actually is?

How do you open up a room when you’ve only got a 4′ x 4′ space to work with?

Besides getting rid of the old carpet and wallpaper, I felt like the plastic shelving in the room needed to go as well. The house is nearly 100 years old, and so at some point someone attached a set of plastic shelving racks into the window trim… which looked totally awkward to me. So I had the HH removed them.

Don’t get me wrong, storage space is key when you have a house that’s a bit on the smaller side, but to me, getting rid of the protruding shelving was necessary to opening up the space.

And so was getting rid of the wallpaper.

This time though, the wallpaper came off in giant sheets. I lucked out.

The light fixture also needed to be updated.

But rather than buy something new, I just updated it with my favorite metallic spray paint.

I’ve done this in multiple houses and I’ve always been happy with the results {and the money saved too!}.

After I painted the walls and updated the fixture I scrounged around in the garage and found some extra wood bits in the rafters and had the HH install them for me.

I painted those boards as well and then installed some hooks I found online that would tie in with the overall look I was going for.

And then I had the HH install a matching curtain rod and I hung the same light filtering curtains up that we have in our bedroom.

And this is the end result.

Freshly painted walls, trim {and the ceiling too!}, an updated light fixture, window coverings that bring in light, and a few custom hook racks for coats and other needful things.

Plain and simple, clean and crisp, just the way I like it.

It sure feels good to have another project checked off my list. 😉

Keep calm and STAY BUSY everyone. Have a great day.

~Mavis

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Bits and Bobs for the End of July – Beach Edition

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 29, 2020 · 31 Comments

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

With all this beautiful weather lately I’ve been doing a ton of walking down by the beach and the surrounding neighborhoods each day. Which is a good thing because all that walking burns calories and well you know, when it’s 80 degrees outside copious amounts of ice cream is a daily must have.

Does anyone know what this plant is called? Because of its size it must be a perennial. I’ve noticed it growing in a few yards and the bushes are between 5′ – 7′ tall. AND I NEED ONE! The flowers almost look like gerbera daisies {but they’re not}.

I don’t know about you… but I love a good picket fence.

And hydrangeas, you can never go wrong with those.

I don’t know who’s walking around drinking fireball {if it’s the same person or it’s a trendy thing} but I see these little bottles all over the place. In town near the gutters, in neighborhoods, in the brush alongside the road and the other day I even found one in my flower strip out front. Seriously, what’s up with that.

There has been a decrease in dental picks though…

And an uptick in masks on the ground.

I counted 27 within a 7 day period last week. TWENTY SEVEN!!!

I also found $1.50 at the beach.

And a nice pair of new sandals {wrong size} and one of those blender bottles.

Yesterday I spied one of those fancy Turkish towels on the beach and I took it home thank you very much! {Don’t tell my husband}

Eyeglasses, beach toys, even new hardcover books {The Other Mrs. have you read it?}. There are so many goodies being left behind at the beach these days… Every morning it’s like a little treasure hunt. It’s kind of exciting.

And the scenery, it’s always changing. Last night I spotted a guy fishing about 10 yards out. What for, I have no idea {maybe you do?}. The lazy days of summer, they’re here and I’m loving them.

Wishing you all the best on this beautiful morning,

~Mavis

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The Best Blueberry Pie Recipe

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 28, 2020 · 9 Comments

Blueberry season has officially started here in Maine and next week we’ll be headed up north to pick up our order of wild Maine blueberries. Apparently the blueberry season here only lasts about 2 -3 weeks, so you’ve got to get them while they’re in season, or NO BERRIES FOR YOU!

I think 20 pounds of wild blueberries should be enough for a few winter pies, a batch or two of blueberry scones, and a round of blueberry jam with mint for my neighbor gifts this year.

If you’ve never made a blueberry pie from scratch before and are looking for the best blueberry pie recipe on the planet earth… this recipe is for YOU. I’ve been using this recipe for over 20 years and it’s simple the best one out there.

Pie season… it’s in full swing! And I couldn’t be more excited about that. 🙂

Have a wonderful day everyone, life is good.

~Mavis

If Tim Burton made a blueberry pie, this is what it would look like. I see a face, do you see a face too?

Ingredients for Crust

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

Ingredients for Filling

5 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons granulated tapioca
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

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 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 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. YUM YUM YUM

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