One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 2 of 2243 - 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 – Mavis’ Weekly Highlights 1/18/20

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 18, 2020 · 1 Comment

Hello Saturday! It was 4 degrees outside when I woke up this morning. Clearly, I won’t be leaving the house today! 😉

On the agenda for today:

Paint Bats
Finish the grey house rug so I can show it to you tomorrow
Stay warm

Have a great day everyone,

♥ Mavis & Lucy

Stories, Recipes and General Nonsense From this Past Week

Small Business Saturday – 3 Things I Found on Etsy I Think Are Pretty Cool

Pin Alchemy – Anti-Social Butterfly Pin
PetitFelts – Whale Needle Felting Kit
OrnamentLetterpress – Bird Letterpress Card Set

Beef and Barley Stew – This pressure cooker stew is done in under 1/2 hour, and tastes like it’s been slow roasted all day. {Pin for Later}

During January, Prime Members Choose Two Kindles Books for Free! Pop on over HERE for more details/

A Movie Suggestion for the Weekend

Armstrong {It’s included with Prime!} Excellent! I give it 5 stars.

A Few Amazon Deals

Subscribe and Save Deals

Chapstick S’Mores Collection Lip Balm Tubes, 3 Count $2.51 shipped
New England Coffee, French Vanilla, 11 Ounce $3.21 shipped
Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues, 110 Tissues per Box 4 Boxes $5.07 shipped
Larabar Gluten Free Bar, Peanut Butter Cookie (10 Count) $5.28 shipped with 30% off coupon
Pasta Roni Garlic & Olive Oil Vermicelli Mix (Pack of 12 Boxes) $6.53 shipped
Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips, 1.5 Ounce Bags (Pack of 24) $7.55 shipped with $4.00 off coupon
KIND Bars, Honey Roasted Nuts & Sea Salt 12 Count $8.70 shipped
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch Breakfast Cereal, Original, 22.5 Oz (Pack of 16) $25.84 shipped

A Few Valentine’s

Happy Valentine’s Day, Curious George $5.33
Red Heart Shaped Sticker Labels, 1 1/2″ Diameter, 500 per Roll $6.99
Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink $7.89
How Many Do I Love You $7.99
500 Pieces Glitter Heart Stickers $11.99
Love Is My Favorite Thing $13.10

Looking for something unique and gluten free to make? This Flourless Almond Cake is pretty amazing! Get the recipe HERE.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

♥ Mavis

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What Do You Think… Subway, Honeycomb or Penny Tile?

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 17, 2020 · 212 Comments

Yesterday the HH and I bundled up and headed to The Home Depot to buy nails and look at tile for the kitchen. It snowed pretty good in the morning {about 4 inches?} but that didn’t stop anyone. It’s funny what you get used too isn’t it? If we were still in Western Washington, cities would pretty much would have come to a halt. But here, it’s just business as usual.

Plain, white subway tile. It’s a classic and my husband thinks this is what we need for the back splash in the kitchen.

I really liked the white herringbone pattern. But then we quickly moved on because the HH thought cutting all those pieces would be a nightmare, especially since he’s never laid tile before.

And then there was the penny tile. I love it but the HH said penny tile belongs in the bathroom, not the kitchen. I told him he was wrong and that I’d ask YOU.

The honeycomb tile was pretty cool too. But not with white grout. I think the grout needs to be a charcoal grey color. White would be too sterile. Plus a total pain in the keister to keep clean.

I really liked the look of this pattern as well, but felt like the tile was a little too much on the creamy side and had sort of a drab feel to it. But maybe for a bathroom?

We did agree on some knobs and slightly wider cup pulls that we think will help update the kitchen while still keeping with the feel of our classic 1920’s home.

Combine the tile and the kitchen hardware with this schoolhouse light fixture from Pottery Barn, and I think you can see the direction we’re headed with the kitchen update. While we both like the old creamy milk glass shades on the schoolhouse fixtures, I think using clear glass will give off more light during the winter months here in Maine. Plus, we’ll be able to use the Edison style light bulbs we both like.

We’ve narrowed the back splash tile options down to three. Subway, honeycomb and penny. Out of the three choices above, which one do you prefer? The above picture shows the cabinets with the current brushed nickle knobs and cup pull.

And here’s a picture with the updated bronze knobs and cup pull {the hinges would be swapped out to bronze as well}. The cabinet hardware makes a big difference, don’t you think?

With a little luck, the mini kitchen makeover will be done by Valentine’s Day. But out of the three tile choices above, which one do you think we should go with; subway, honeycomb or penny?

Have a great weekend everyone, and be sure and bundle up. Tonight it’s supposed to get down to 1 below. Yikes!

~Mavis

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Mrs. Hillbilly Checks In On Her Weight Loss Journey to Lose 36 Pounds – Week 3

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 16, 2020 · 39 Comments

Mrs. Hillbilly asked me if she could write a blog post once a week as a way to help keep her accountable on her road to lose 36 pounds this year. I said yes, because I feel she needs YOUR encouragement {and she’s tired of listening to my ideas}. I will be featuring her blog posts each Thursday during the month of January, and then tagging them on to my Goals for 2020 posts after that so we can all keep up with her.

Facts Over Wishful Thinking:

Starting Weight: 186 pounds
Current weight: 182 pounds
Starting Belly Button Circumference 41 inches
Current Belly Button Circumference 40.5 inches

Having been on {as I am sure many of you have} so many diet fads over my soon to be 54 years, I am so fed up with them. Don’t eat fat because fat is bad, Carb load you can burn it off, eat 5 mini meals a day {I found that very hard}. THIS diet, I could name at least ten off the top of my head, is THE one that will make it all happen for you! Plus, not to mention all the tidbits and advice from family and friends.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I worked hard to provide you a healthy meal after work, clean your plate there are starving kids in China, waste not want not. All these things, I admit, I have said to my own children. 🙁

There is so much guilt around food. I used to clean my plate then clean the kids as well. There was just something about throwing perfectly GOOD food away I couldn’t deal with. And that was a big hurdle to get over. I wanted to list ALL the diets I have been on over the years, but I know I wouldn’t remember them all. So, I am not going to even try.

So why intermittent fasting and why now? The now has to do with the state of my health but the why has to do more with science. And that my friend IS the key. As I mentioned I am prediabetic. So why would I want to keep myself in a constant state of glucose high? Eating constantly never will allow my body to recover and use the sugars and fats within by blood and hence body. If you don’t use the energy, that is sugar, it will turn in to fat. Duh. That’s a real simpleton’s way of explaining but it makes sooo much sense.

Fate do you believe in it? As fate would have it, today I was listening to Michael Medved. He is local talk radio personality, and guess who he had on as a guest? Dr. Jason Fung. Many of you have mentioned him in my last post. I had never heard of him so I listened and what do you know ??????? He was talking about intermittent fasting! I could not believe it. So soon after my decision and you mentioning him. Fate! The New England Journal of Medicine article {as well as his website} explains what he was talking about and why I believe this will be the last modification of my diet journey.

I am now for sure going to watch the you tube videos someone mentioned on Dr.Fung. I do have to share a somewhat creepy happening that happened after my blog post last week. Several of you mentioned the NOOM program, I received NOOM ads on all of my social media stuff. I hate to say it but I am staying away for that one! I don’t even know how it is pronounced, but in my mind it’s Nome. Sorry if I offended anyone. Forgive me.

Having just said that, I do not want to disparage anyone doing something else for their health and weight loss if it is working for them.
For me though, no counting, no weighing, no extra costs.

I am believing in fate,

~Mrs Hillbilly

Megan Needs Our Help Planning a Baby Shower

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 15, 2020 · 12 Comments

Hi Mavis!

I am in the process of planning a baby shower for a close friend, and I would like to do a big salad and a few soups as the lunch. But in an effort to plan ahead, I’d like to start making the soups now and freeze them, so that next month {shower time!} all I have to do is thaw and dump in a crock pot!

So that’s where I turn to you. You have so many recipes to pick from, but do they all freeze well? Some seem to be cream based, so I wouldn’t think so. Thoughts??? Suggestions???

Thank you from a very cold Michigan!

~ Megan C.

First of all, I love the idea of planning ahead to make setting everything up on baby shower day easier. Also, I think serving soup for a winter baby shower is a marvelous idea. Because seriously, who wouldn’t like a bowl of soup and some bread in the middle of February if they lived in Michigan? I know I would.

Soup is such a comforting food, plus serving soup and salad at a party is a nice change from the typical pickety bits or all dessert buffets people tend to set up while hosting parties at home.

Currently, my favorite soups are:

We have frozen all of the soups listed above, and once thawed and re-heated, they all tasted great. But we all have our favorites, and I know there are some out there with dietary restrictions, so I am hoping by sharing your comment on the blog today, we’ll be able to get other members of The One Hundred Dollars a Month family to chime in and offer their suggestions and/or links to their favorite soup recipes as well. 🙂

Here’s to a great party,

~Mavis

Dear Reader,

If YOU have any soup suggestions {or awesome baby shower ideas} for Megan, please leave a comment for her on the blog today. 🙂

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