Gingerbread Playdough!!!

I made this stuff last week for my classroom!   The kids loved it!  It smelled yummy!  (It looked questionable!)    When I added the spices...  I made sure it was a rounded off.  I wanted it to smell extra yummy!

Here are my little Ginger babies!   This was taken in December 2000!  Wow, time has flown!

Chicken Broth

It has been on my mind to attempt making broth from a Thanksgiving Turkey.  I noticed on FB that a high school friend of mine does it every year and she even asks neighbors for their leftover turkey bones.  If she can do it....  why shouldn't I give it a whirl?  Does it matter that her mother was a home economics teacher?  Yes?  NO!  That woman was my teacher as well.   I CAN DO THIS... I CAN DO THIS...(repeat 3x).

Earlier this week when my dear hubby brought home a Costco Rotisserie Chicken the other night for dinner, my brain started spinning.  Why not try it on a chicken first?   We first polished off most of the meat for dinner.   Costco chickens are huge!  They are a must-purchase-item!

Get out your large crockpot and one of those crockpot liners if you  have them.   They just make cleanup easier!  I usually find them on the bottom shelf at the store.

So, line the pot.  

Place the turkey/chicken carcass in the pot.  (bones, fat, any extra meat...the whole bird!)   

Grab about 3 carrots and 3 celery sticks and throw them in the pot. 

6 peppercorns & 2 or 3 bay leaves 

Add a garlic clove or two and also a large chopped onion.  

Don't chop anything too finely...you will just be straining it all out eventually! 

 Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  (I read that it draws the nutrients out of the bones.)

I wouldn't salt just yet.  Wait until you actually cook with it.

Cover with water as high as you can in the crockpot and turn on high for about 24 hours.

Strain it all and pour into freezable containers.  Enjoy!  

I will be doing this again with all the Thanksgiving turkeys this year!  

Hey neighbors..... Can I have all your turkey bones?

*mental note...maybe next time add some cilantro or rosemary?

Thrifty-ness, the lovely JG, & Vanilla-Bean-Oreo Ice-Cream.

As most of my friends know....  I like to save a buck or two.   My current job allows me to save even more than that.    I can't name location simply because there is a confidentiality clause  I am bound to.  I can, however, claim bragging rights.   Someone needs to do it.

Some recent  finds include........

Juicy Couture Charm Bracelet....  1.49   (EBAY is listing at $50.00)

Brighton Bangle........  1.49        (original price   25.00)

Brighton Votive Candle......  .99       ($24.00 in store)

Kate Spade Sunglasses...   .99     (original price...about 150.00)

Michael W Smith NEW CD......  .99     (original  price...  10.00)

Calphanon NEW non-stick omelet pan....  9.99 (originally $50?)

Super Cute Large Basket...  1.99

Cuisinart Ice-Cream Maker.........    about 1.99   (I had a $20 off coupon)   It was NEW and in the box.
(original price..  79.00 at Williams Sonoma)

Scentsy Christmas plug-in thing...   7.99       (EBAY lists it at $29.00)

Santa Claus  stand-up        3.99        (Kirklands @ $19.00)

Reebok's    12.99 .........  more that $50.
 
                                                    Cute CZ bangle bracelet.........  .75

                                                    Cute gold & blue long necklace........  1.50




Total Spent........   Less than $50.00

Total Saved.......       I could have spent about $400 on all this stuff.   I wouldn't have.

Now, about that Ice-Cream Maker.......   After using it several times this month, I believe that 

I would consider paying the full retail price.    It came with 2 freezer tubs......totally needed.    I just keep them in the freezer.   That way they are ready to go when the urge to make ice-cream hits.  BTW.......it hits my dear husband weekly.     This is a fun kitchen toy.  And it isn't loud like the predecessors are.   NO CRANKING NEEDED!

I was bragging to JG this morning about my new gig.  She was immediately envious of the low stress filled environment and of the sweet things I can find.    We were talking what I have been making with my toy.    Apparently her dear husband, KG, loves cookies & cream ice cream.....  He needs this.

Vanilla-Bean Ice-Cream

2 cups sugar
3 cups half & half
1 vanilla bean scraped  (I have also used plain vanilla.)
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Heat the first 4 together.   Stir a lot.  Have  8  (mixed up) egg yolks handy & at room temp.
Slowly temper a ladle or two of milk stuff into the yolks.   Slowly add them to the milk stuff.

Continue heating until it is thickened.  I use a wooden spoon.  It seems to show the thickening better.
It has been taking about 6-8 minutes.  STIR CONSTANTLY!

Throw out the vanilla bean at this point & pour all that goodness through a fine wire mesh sieve.
Add  3 cups heavy whipping cream and stir gently.  Cool down for a few hours in the refrigerator.

(I thought the sieving was a little weird at first....  just do it.  TRUST ME)

After I ran it through the machine I crushed up a sleeve of Oreos and stirred it together before refreezing.   Wait a couple of hours before eating.  It needs to mesh together in the freezer.   Eat a spoonful..... just for tasting and research.  Hide it from the kids.  Hide it from your husband.  Good luck  JG!

My dear husband also likes it with 3 mushed up bananas stirred into it before refreezing.

***  A friend of mine, MB, found  these super cute quart-sized ice-cream containers at Marshalls & TJ MAXX.  They were 5.99 and made of a really good hard plastic with silicone lid.   ADORABLE!      They were seriously needed and if you are going to make fabulous gourmet ice-cream......  Shouldn't it be served in a fabulous container?   ABSOLUTELY!

Walmart & their new policy for getting the best price.....

This is a copy of my friend, K.B. and her email from last week.......  I just wanted to share with those of you who shop at WallyWorld.  

SOOOOO EXCITED to share something with all of you this week!

WalMart has recently came out with a new program called Savings Catcher. You may have seen their advertising- it is pretty much everywhere. Right now, Dallas is one of Savings Catcher’s beta markets.

Basically, it works like this:

1.      After you shop, enter your receipt number and date at savingscatcher.com. You will need a WalMart account. You have a week to do this.

2.     WM has 72 hours to check the advertised prices for each item on your receipt with advertised prices in our area.

3.     From there, they will send you an email listing the dollar difference between anything you did not receive the lowest price on. The receipt will be broken into 3 sections:

BLUE- lists the items YOU price matched at the register or that WM has advertised

GREEN- lists the items WM found that you didn’t catch

WHITE- lists the items that do not qualify under the terms of Savings Catcher. This would include fruits, vegies, general merchandise, etc. You can find a complete list under the FAQ tab

4.     At that point, this credit amount is stored on their website and accumulated. Whenever you are ready, you can go in and “cash out” for eGift card to be used online or at the register.

This week I was determined to try the system out. After shopping on Friday, I came home and entered the receipt number into Savings Catcher. By Monday, I received an email stating that I have my first credit of $5.95 applied to my account! This was after I already saved $30.66 at the register. FREE MONEY- who can possibly turn down FREE?!?!

Well, while I know eventually this thing may put me out of an email- for now, I am going to relish in an additional savings opportunity and am thankful to be able to pass the information along to YOU! Don’t pass this up ladies- this is a slam dunk.

Please share with me how it is working for you as I would love to hear some feedback. I would also love it if you could send me a quick email to LMK how much you saved!

Blessings all, Kathy

Rom 8:38-39: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You do not have to have the ads with you to price match… if they ask you for them, show them a copy of their own policy. You can print it from here:http://corporate.walmart.com/ad-match-guarantee

WAL-MART SHOPPING & K.B.

As a former resident of Arkansas,  I grew up with Walmart.  I understand the place.  I understand it's philosophy.

But that being said, there are ways to shop at Walmart and save even more money.   The above grocery list was made by my friend, K.B.  I consider her the local queen of saving a buck or two around town.  The list is store specific and each number represents an aisle.  I simply print off the sheet and write down what I need.   Easy Peasy.   This list gives no man an excuse for not being able to find what is written down.  Again, easy peasy.  I will even tell him to look for "Great Value" brands.  It takes the guess work out of finding that name brand stuff.

Each week,  K.B.  compiles a list of where the best local price is and sends it out via email to all her local peeps.   WalMart has a price match guarantee and will always honor the lowest price.  After that, grab those coupons and watch the savings begin.  It is always magical to see that price drop.

http://corporate.walmart.com/ad-match-guarantee    Read this.  Know your stuff.  Print it off and be prepared to educate your local store.

Wal-Mart policy states that the original sales ad does not need to be shown.  All you need to do is tell them the price & corresponding store.   K.B. has it down to an art.  She uses colored stickers where she writes the new price on the sticker followed by store initials.  To help the cashier out.....she places all the stickered items face up on the belt at the end.  She also looks for her favorite cashier.    Rumor has it she has been known to bring them a treat during the holidays.   (NOTE THIS PLEASE:  it is important to make friends with the people who work at your favorite stores.  They will appreciate you & give you better service.  Retail workers are like that.)  

K.B. also recommends getting on the email list from your favorite restaurants.   Many of them send out special savings weekly.  Some of the ones I recommend are  Cinemark,  RedBox, Chili's,  Pei Wei & Starbucks.   If you don't like all those emails cluttering your inbox...grab yourself a specific email account just for this purpose.

I love getting her email.  She even throws in a scripture or two.   It brightens my week.  Thanks, K.B.!!

If you are one of my local friends and want a copy of the WalMart store list or on K.B.'s list........  you know how to contact me.

My latest project

  I have been wanting to find a large frame and customize it with a chalkboard.  

All summer, I  hit up several local thrift stores and several yard sales and found nothing acceptable at the price of almost "free".  Yea, does any of you feel my pain here?

Last week, at my favorite thrift store.......this little gem was just sitting there.  The price on it was $9.99. I did a double take and questioned the guy walking around.  It has a couple of dings on the top.  For a chalkboard in my kitchen.....I call it purposely distressed. 

The hubby cut a piece of masonite to size and decided to be a nice guy and paint as well.  He knows that I hate using a paint brush.  My preferred paint method is spray paint.  Yea, I am that lazy.

This is the finished frame and the new kitchen wall color.  He painted that too.

Next..........  I want to find a new kitchen table & chairs.  Well, maybe that and cross something off the bucket list.  Apple Pie?

Give this girl a can of spray paint & she can change the world.

Yesterday, I took pictures of a really ugly silver lamp.  I knew it had potential when it was purchased.  I had been keeping the lamp hidden in a closet upstairs until the exact idea came to mind.

They were decent pictures of an ugly lamp.   I saw them on the LED panel of my camera.  This morning when I tried to upload them ...they weren't there.  Neither was the flash card.  I hate it when this happens.

always here to help........

This is what I used.  It was about 6 dollars at Home Depot.   It was both paint & primer.  Nice.

So you get the finished product pictures instead.  Trust me......the silver finish was never a good idea.  I bought the lamp at one of my favorite stores for something less that 7 dollars.  I really don't remember the exact price.

Next......Trying my hand at repairing this webbing.  Maybe a little spray paint too.

My latest finds......

This like-new Italian Leather Chair.....  67.00  SOLD!

Laughing while a friend poses...........priceless.

I have been wanting another oval fiesta ware plate.  They are between 25 & 35 dollars retail.  I know this because I own 4 of them in other colors.  It all depends on where you shop.   Both appear to have never been used.  The smaller plate was 1.99.  The platter........  4.99.  YES,  I am winning the thrift shop game.   My friend up there, M.B.,  has mentioned we should start a blog and brag about our winnings.  Maybe I should tell her it's too late???  Nah!!!!

Hummingbirds...Bring 'em On.

I don't have them..... YET.    I ran across this feeder at the local thrift shop...it was 1.99!  The balloon top is glass and it has the colors baked on.  It is heavy and hangs by a beaded wire loop.  I love it.  I think it would retail for about 20.00.  It looks nice.

Hummingbird Food
2 cups water
1/2 cup white sugar.

Boil the water.  Add the sugar.  Stir it around for 5 minutes or so until the sugar is dissolved.
Squeeze in a few drops of red food coloring.
Cool.

Please don't buy this stuff!  It can be made for less than a quarter.  All it takes is about 5 minutes of your time!

Easy Peasy...Seriously!

(the above pan...Vintage .Le Crueset.  Price... 2.99.  Yes, the local thrift shop.)

Bring on the birds!

BIRD??  Did someone say Bird???  Tramp is quite the hunter.....

He is also quite the napper....

My son, the Superhero.

My youngest, C.G. needed an original superhero costume for a DNOW weekend at church.  He didn't have a clue what he wanted to be.  He is 13.  I can't fault him for that.....when you are cute the options are endless.  We went with what  could be made using my limited sewing skills. 

The idea is get 2  large t-shirts at the thrift shop.  Wash them!  I bought a red & a purple.  Cut them exactly the same size on the back side of the shirt and leave the neck hole open.  DO NOT CUT THE NECKHOLE apart!!  Flip it over so it is inside out and sew the two shirt sides together.  I didn't sew the bottom.  It was already finished and I didn't want to bother.  Turn them right side out, iron and then sew a line of topstitching along the outer edge of the folded seam.   I cut the large yellow sun shape out of yellow broadcloth and backed it with the iron-able wonder under.  After that,  I again topstitched the edges down and ironed on the "STASHE".  

That's it.  EASY PEASY!

The "Stache" was found at Hobby Lobby with all the other iron on decals and letters.

The big boy...... that would be R.S.  He is my oldest daughter's "SPECIAL FRIEND".   We like him.  

Chalkboard Coasters and other fun stuff.

Occasionally, I get a good idea.  This one started out at a gift shop near the Stockyards in Fort Worth.  The girls & I were shopping and I noticed the cutest little stack of coasters that were priced at 30 dollars for a stack of 4.  My first thought was........  Really?  Second thought.....   I can so do that!

The first stop was the local resale store.   I found stone coasters for this price.  Winning!
The second stop was the hardware Store for chalkboard paint.  It was 15 dollars for a quart.

I simply washed the coasters off with a warm rag and started painting.  

They needed more than one coat of paint.

The round ones were of a higher quality stone than the square ones.  Most likely,  I should have sanded the square ones down a bit.  The only painted coasters I found on Pinterest were made using the unfinished kind you can purchase at Home Depot.  The pinner said she found them for .15 cents and she had to prime her coasters first.  I purchased 8 for .29 cents.  I am still winning!

During the wait time I dragged out something else I purchased at the thrift shop.  It was kinda cute on its own.  It cost me $4.99.  I had other ideas for it.  

Did I mention it is metal???  Score!!

The surfaces need to be seasoned before you write on top.  This is easily done with a new piece of chalk.  Just turn it on its side and chalk it down.  Don't write anything at this stage.  Just rub the side of chalk everywhere and then rub it off with a dry rag.  I did this a few times..it was fun!

Tie them all together and give to a friend or invite a houseful over and share a meal.  Either way.........  They look beautiful!

That super cute painted clothespin magnet was only a quarter!

Now what else can I paint?

My weekend project....

My neighbor gave me this.   It was given to her about 15 years ago and wasn't new then.  She said that originally it had a china cabinet thing attached on top.   The hardware is screaming....... "Take me off and throw away IMMEDIATELY!!"  The color is saying......."Please paint me SOON!"  

I sanded...and sanded...and SANDED.

My husband sanded and sanded and sanded.

YES.....Maybe soon...it will be ready.

So.....7 dollars invested in a large can of stain and we have this..........

The doors didn't stain well.  We ditched them and decided to add a shelf across the middle. My hubby wanted to add some trim to the shelf so that it looks purposeful.  The stain is called "Ebony" and is a minwax product.  I stained the inside...after I took this picture.  But this picture really shows the difference in color from the original to the "Ebony" stain we added.  After that,  we added what seems like a hundred layers of stain.

And now I give you the finished project...  I absolutely LOVE it!   

An extra big "thank you" goes out to my friends,  D & L.  They are the ones who gave it to us!