#i got lots of stuff on super clearance at the grocery store last night so I’m prepping everything for the freezer

[lady-harrowhark]

finishing your biggest final project and taking long indulgent shower and spending the rest of the evening cooking in oversized pajamas is actually a fantastic feeling

[mythicaliz]

cheap eats tips

I got these asks last night but wanted to wait until i was on my laptop to answer them. so here are some ideas. they arent really recipes, just tips

tl/dr

Equipment

my number one way to save money is a chest freezer. obviously not everyone has the money to buy one or the space for one but you can find smaller ones on kijiji. alternatively, if you have a parent or friend who has a large freezer that you can easily access and is willing to give you some room in it that works too. we used to have a basket in my husband’s parents freezer before we got our own, and we give up some space in ours to a friend who lives near by. that being said, use whatever freezer space you have to stock up on things (more on this below)

a crockpot is also a great tool to have and you can find them cheap at thrift stores. It means spending 5 minutes in the morning and coming home to dinner already made. it can be used for so many things. there are no shortage of quick, cheap crockpot recipes on the internet but ill include some ideas below

Meat

- i pretty much only buy meat on clearance or sale. clearance meat is just a day or 2 before the sell by date so they have to get rid of it fast. it’s still fine quality. i just freeze it immediately (if you aren’t going to use the whole pack in one meal portion it out into freezer bags). This is why having a big freezer is handy. Once a pack of 3 chicken legs was on clearance for $2. we bought 24 of them and used them on the bbq, baked, in soups and stews, pulled the meat off for casseroles etc. we had like 6 months of chicken for under $50

-save your bones and scraps. have a bag on the go for beef scraps and one for chicken scraps in the freezer (do the same with vegetable peelings, ends, onion skins, etc.) throw a bag of veggie scraps and meat scraps/bones in your crockpot. cover with water and add whatever spices you like, peppercorns, bayleaf whatever. add a good amount of salt and a splash of vinegar. both of these help break down the bones and pull all the minerals from them. cook in the crockpot for 12-24 hours (you may need to add more water). strain it and you now have amazing bone broth which is incredibly good for you and a base for any soup. if you have the space you can freeze in ice cube trays and then put in a ziplock to have convenient broth chunks to throw in pretty much anything. but you can also just freeze it in tupperware, or zliplock bags or whatever.

-if you eat bacon save your grease. keep a mason jar in the fridge and drain any grease off into the jar. then you can sautee veggies and stuff in it and it’s already so delicious

-cut up meat and put it in soups, stews, casseroles etc rather than making it the centre of the dish. if you have 2 people you’re likely to cook 2 full chicken breasts if that’s the main part of your meal, but you could probably get away with one if you are making a dish where the chicken is cut up with lots of veggies and maybe some beans on top of pasta. get it? 

-not meat but eggs are always good to have on hand. inexpensive and so much you can do with them. (in an oven proof skillet: sautee up some veggies, whisk up some eggs and throw them in. top with a bit of cheese if you like. throw it in the oven until eggs are set. you have a fritatta you can eat for dinner or cut into wedges and eat hot or cold for breakfast or lunch)

Produce

-lettuce is a scam. don’t buy it. it’s expensive, has almost no nutrition and is pretty shitty for the environment. Spinach or cabbage is a better choice because you can make salads with it but if it starts to get past it’s prime you can cook it or freeze it and throw it in a soup or stirfry later

-root vegetables last a long time and are great. plus they add heartiness to any meal

-use your most perishable produce first, then move onto the heartier stuff. frozen is also great, and sometimes is more nutritious than fresh thats out of season

-apples. they last forever and if they get sad you can make apple sauce (in your crockpot! cup em up, skin on and all, add a little cinnamon and some water and cook until mush. then blend it up) or baked apples (cut em in half and scoop out the core a little. add a bit of butter and brown sugar in the hole. if you have walnuts or pecans you can throw some in there too. bake until soft)

Legumes etc

-legumes, beans, pulses are all amazing sources of protein and inexpensive. you can save even more money buy buying dried ones and rehydrating them in your crockpot. (rinse beans and put in crockpot with 2 inches of water above beans. they should take about 6 hours on high to be tender)

-lentils are also great and have a really nice flavour. you can also use them to thicken soups, one of my favourite dishes is called  Mujadara. it’s lebanese (like me!) you slowly cook a cut up onion in olive oil until it’s all caramalized and delicious. set it aside and cook equal parts rice and brown lentils. you can use water or broth for more flavour. cook until tender, top with your friend onions and it’s like heaven. i’ll cut up a tomato and cucumber and make a little salad on the side with it. 

shopping

-stock up on things when you can. say canned tomatoes are on sale. maybe you can’t afford to buy 10 of them, but even if you buy one or two extra cans then you’ve paid less and have them on hand when you need them. also, i realize room can be an issue. don’t feel like all your food has to stay in your kitchen. in college i had a bin under my bed with canned goods and pasta etc. as long as it’s nonperishable keep it wherever you can. 

-buy the largest size you can afford. for most things, it pays to buy in bulk. maybe you have a friend you can go halfsies on bigger items with. an example is rice. gigantic bags that could feed you for a year go on sale for $10. if you can, buy it.

-a lot of people live in food deserts. what that means is you live somewhere that it’s nearly impossible to walk to a grocery store so you end up shopping at convenience stores, gas stations and eating fast food. I suggest a well planned monthly shopping trip to a store that has good deals. Yeah you’ll pay for an uber, but you’ll save more than in the long run and have much healthier food. 

-don’t force yourself to eat things you dont like. so many people try to choke down kale. or rather they buy it and let it rot in their fridge. personally, i like kale, (im sure it helps that i fry up onions in bacon grease and then wilt kale in that :P) but just because it’s some super food doesn't mean you have to eat it or feel bad for not eating it. 

anyway that’s some advice!

[hooliainprague-blog]

family

26.4.2018

Today’s the day my family arrives in Prague, but they won’t be here until night. This makes it particularly difficult to wait around during my day of no classes. Sadie and I fed the birds like we usually do, but today the pigeons decided that they wanted to eat directly from our hands. Clearly, we weren’t mad.

After that, I just had a relaxing day in the dorm because I knew we’d have a lot to do this weekend.

I was supposed to meet my family at the hotel around 7:30, but it ended up being at 9:30 because the car company didn’t show up to get them because the flight was delayed. While I was waiting for them, I got a chance to see the projection of the Astronomical Clock for the first time, which is a lot more underwhelming than I expected. 

When they finally arrived, I hugged them all and my mom gave me a giant box of Cheez-its. Yeah, I’m happy!!

We walked to a restaurant for dinner and then walked to the Charles Bridge so they could see at least a little bit of Prague upon their arrival. 

27.4.2018

I slept in my dorm last night because I didn’t bring any clothes, and during breakfast, both my mom and my sister texted me that they think my dad got lost on his morning walk. Spoiler: he did. I also had breakfast in the hotel when I got there because I couldn’t resist. We started the morning by walking through Old Town Square and going to Vojanovy Sady, my favorite peacock park. 

We went to the Lennon Wall, but unfortunately, the pictures were ruined by graphic graffiti. We saw the big baby statues on Kampa Island and went to my favorite souvenir shop. 

We then headed to the Prague Castle on their first tram ride to see the changing of the guards and go through the main parts. There were a bunch of American flags on military vehicles, and my mom and I asked the only man who spoke English what it was about. He said it was some kind of celebration for WWII and 100 years since Czechoslovakia was proclaimed as a country. He gave us each a free pin for asking the question. 

I took them to lunch at the cafe I go to alone sometimes. I got a backpack full of things to spend the night at the fancy hotel. We stopped to feed the birds, walked across the Charles Bridge, and went to Tesco for some drinks and snacks. My dad is so impressed that he can buy 8 beers, 6 cokes, and a giant water bottle for under 8 USD. We dropped that stuff off at the hotel and proceeded to Wenceslas Square to get some fried cheese sandwiches. We also saw the Kafka head. 

I found the best juice ever at a grocery store, too.

28.4.2018

We all slept until almost 10 am and simultaneously almost missed breakfast at the hotel. Me, my mom, and my dad all got ready super fast and ran down to catch it while my sister kept sleeping. We then went to Petřin hill and almost died on the way up with my mom. We realized about halfway up that there was a stop for the funicular, so my mom, sister, and I jumped right on that while my dad continued to walk up. While we waited for dad to get to the top, we waited in the botanical garden up there and took some pretty pictures.

We then waited in line for the tower and did some climbing. I didn’t realize how much you can feel it swaying in the breeze from the top. 

We got my sister a hamburger and my dad a beer and went back to the garden so dad could see it. 

After that, we got on some public transportation to Vyšehrad because my family wanted to see something cool that didn’t have a lot of people. We walked around up there for a while. 

My favorite part about this picture is that you can see my mom in the bottom, and it shows how big this cathedral is. 

We tried to go to the raclette cheese restaurant for my sister, but it was closed. We went to Lokal instead, and I was thoroughly impressed. 

We just walked around for a while after that, stopped back at the hotel, and went back out to see the sunset over the river. 

29.4.2018

Today I ate breakfast in the hotel with just my mom. It was nice. We took the tram to Letna to see the metronome and hang out in the beer garden for a while. We drank some cider and beers and had a sausage and doner kebab.

We went souvenir shopping and then went back to the hotel so my mom and sister could nap. There was a man on the street playing music by running his finger over crystal glasses. That was fun to hear and see.

We continued on to get a glimpse of the dancing house and an island in the river. We ate some pasta at the Atmosphere Cafe/Pub for dinner, kept shopping some more, and got some gelato. 

Then my mom, sister, and I all went on an evening walk down some pretty streets and fed the birds the slice of bread mom had in her purse. I showed them another little town square, we bought some paprika pringles, and we walked across the Charles Bridge before going back to the hotel.

30.4.2018

I had class this morning, and it started 30 minutes late at least because people didn’t know that we were in the other building today. I went to the hotel while my family checked out. We stood outside for a while waiting for their car to the airport, and my mom and I ran quickly to a cute little souvenir shop to buy some t-shirts that were on clearance. We said our goodbyes until the end of May, and I watched their car drive into the crowds of Old Town.

I sat in bed for a little while, and then I went to the bus station with Sadie and Erin so they could try to get their money back for a bus ticket that they cancelled. We went to the Vodafone store to sort out our data situation, and I only had to pay $10 to top up my plan. We then took a tram for 14 stops to Pražačka for Walpurgis Night, which is a Czech tradition of burning witches. They were singing on stage with kids and had bonfires to cook sausages.

Sadie and I then ate some Chinese food and watched some youtube.

[canaryatlaw]

okay. so today was pretty cool. I think I woke up around 11 again, my mom once again asking if I wanted an egg sandwich, and saying they were going to go to Marshalls and possibly Belk and asking if I wanted to go. So I said sure, got up and started getting dressed. egg sandwich was ready by the time I got to the kitchen, I don’t really ever eat eggs that have just been like fried so this is a bit of a change for me but as long as there’s toast I’m good lol I just won’t cook them on my own like that (I never did scrambled when I was younger, but if I want eggs now I’ll generally either do scrambled or pull out my trustworthy egg cooker and do them hardboiled). But it was good, so I ate it and then people kinda did whatever for a while before I got into the car with my parents and my aunt and went to Marshalls. I looked at the shoes with them for a bit before wandering over to the juniors section. It occurs to me that at some point I should probably stop relying on juniors and wear like, actual women’s clothes being that I am like, an adult woman at this point, and like I do use the women’s section for things like business clothes because there are obviously aren’t many options for that in juniors, but for casual clothing for the most part I’m gonna be in juniors. so I went through the clearance section for a while and picked up a few things, like 3 pairs of casual pants (including these cute lavender ones with elephants on them that I was like okay I need this and then a romper and what I guess was considered a dress, though it kinda looked like a romper without the shorts part but with the tie around the waist that rompers sometimes have. but I knew I needed to try them on, so I did so and ended up with just the first two pairs of casual pants that I liked. It’s just nice to have comfy shit I can change into at the end of the day when I want to get out of my business or whatever clothes. I then went back through the front section with the shirts and stuff because I generally don’t need to try those on to tell if they fit, and I picked up a sweater that was super soft and on sale for cheap and a pink shirt that I liked the color of and some of the detailing. I went to check out with my stuff because it would just be easier than waiting for the rest of everybody to get their stuff together, and in their little queue section where they have a bunch of products they had like, three different types of wonder woman mugs and I was like okay I need one of these because I don’t really own very many mugs anyway, so I grabbed one and went to check out. my aunt came up a minute later and was like “do you want one of these wonder woman mugs?” holding up the two other ones and I was just like 😂 I got one but I appreciate it! lol. everything came to like $49 which is the nice part about shopping at Marshalls because just about everything is cheap. So I waited for a few more minutes for everyone else to check out then headed back to the car. we were in the same general shopping area as the grocery store where my girl cousin was currently on her shift working at, apparently she’s a “personal shopper” which isn’t quite as cool as it sounds lol but basically people put in to go orders online or something and she goes around the store getting all the stuff and then brings it to them when they come to pick it up. The adults decided they wanted Starbucks which there is one of them in that grocery store so we decided to go in there and bug my cousin and get coffee lol, my aunt is a bit coffee-obsessed, but I mean it usually works out to my advantage as far as getting stuff so it doesn’t bother me lol. So we went to the Starbucks and also tracked down my cousin, my dad got a straight up “coffee” because he’s boring, I got a pink drink because I’m super basic, my aunt got some sort of iced coffee drink, and my mom got an iced green tea latte made with coconut milk since she doesn’t do dairy. I gave her some of my pink drink too since it’s made with coconut milk as well, so I was explaining to her what it was exactly and how it came to be lol, and it’s a good option because it has a solid amount less calories than most of the other non-coffee options like their steamers (which is basically just steamed milk and syrup of choice) or fraps which of course have a ton of calories lol. My dad then of course struck up a conversation with the one barista that was working because he’s convinced he has knowledge to impart on every college student lol but she actually engaged with him pretty well and they had a nice conversation while my aunt ran around grabbing a few things, most seltzer and a watermelon, which we then went to check out and told my cousin we’d see her at home in a bit. We went home from there (or to my aunt’s home I should say) and just kinda chilled for a bit, the plan was to go out for like an early dinner because my uncle and boy cousin play on the same hockey team (which is adorable, I know) and they had a game tonight. So we waited for everyone to arrive at the house then headed out. There was 8 of us (my parents, my sister and me, and then my aunt, uncle, and two cousins) so we took two cars, split into “adults” and “kids” (me being considered a kid even though I’m objectively an adult because I’m still obviously someone’s kid here) and drove to the little downtown area they have to this restaurant that we had eaten at last time we were here. It was a little brewery/pub style place with pretty good food. We had to break up again into two tables but we were pretty close to each other anyway. We ordered a few appetizers which I probably ate too much of because I could only finish like half of my sandwich (I got a reuben, which I haven’t had since like, college, except I don’t really like rye bread so I just got it on a roll instead) so I ended up taking that home with me. Afterwards we walked around a bit, the area is right on the bank of the river that the town is next to, so we walked and checked out a few shops, including one I got a sticker and a few magnets from last year that has some fun stuff in it. Then we walked down by the river for a bit before heading back to the house. We basically settled in for the night from there, my uncle and boy cousin left for their game and we tried to find something to agree on to watch lol, we ended up watching a few episodes of parks and rec which is always a good choice, before deciding on a netflix movie called “Like Father” that had Kristen Bell in it and was basically about this woman who gets left at the altar on her wedding day and then sees her dad there after not seeing him for like 20 years or something, and they end up getting drunk and then ending up on the cruise that was planned for their honeymoon together, and adventure ensues from there. It was actually a pretty solid movie, good humor and general heartwarming story, so that’s nice. We had a lot of good movie choices on this trip, lol. We leave Tuesday so tomorrow is our last full day here. After the movie finished we went back to Parks and Rec for a few episodes before people generally started heading off to bed and eventually I did too, showered and now I’m here writing this. Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow, someone brought up the beach again but they didn’t want to get stuck like they did yesterday with only being able to go to the beach for a short period of time before it rains and they had to leave, because apparently it’s supposed to rain in the afternoon tomorrow (it’s legit been raining every day in some form or another, according to the local newspaper it’s been every day for like 16 days now or something crazy like that). So we’ll see what happens. It’s been a pretty fun trip, probably more enjoyable because it’s just my parents and my sister, my brothers staying home. We took a picture down at the river with the four of us and I was like “ah yes, my four person family” which is just kinda nice sometimes. Apparently it was National Sisters Day, so I took a cute picture with my sister tonight and posted it on various social media outlets (I’ll post it on here when I’m done with this post). I just love her so much, even if she’s kind of a brat sometimes, she’s 16, being a teenager isn’t easy, I know she’s just figuring a lot of stuff out and dealing with a lot, so I can’t really blame her for acting like a teenager. Plus she’s my baby girl and I love her more than anything, so you know. but yeah that’s about it, it’s only like 12:30 am now so that’s better than I’ve been doing the last few nights, we may end up getting up somewhat earlier tomorrow if we’re gonna go to the beach because the rain is apparently happening in the afternoon (I know I said that already but felt like it was important to mention again for context) and we’d want to get some more time at the beach before it rains, so we’ll see how that plays out. Signing off until then. Goodnight loves. Have a good one.

[stilliamgrowing-blog]

Jan 12, 2017 10:24am

okay so yesterday was my first full day living here. i was so busy literally all day, otherwise i would’ve written. it was a good day though! i got a lot done. i guess i should go back to tuesday and start from there. 

SO, tuesday, my flight landed around 1pm and my grandma picked me up from the airport. it was about an hour drive from the airport to Fort Collins, where she dropped me off and left me with my step dad. him and i got lunch, then shopped around a bit for things i’d need in my new house. we went to target and got a few things, (laundry hamper, body wash, towels, etc.) then we went  around to mattress stores to compare prices. dude, beds are so fucking expensive. like ridiculously. $200-thousands. after shopping around for a bit, we picked up my mom from work. i got a salad at the Sprouts right by her job, then they drove me to my grandma’s house, where i was set to stay for the night. after eating my salad, i got in bed and called D and fell asleep. 

yesterday morning, D and i talked on the phone first thing, which was super nice. this long distance thing is scary and i’m sure will be hard (it already is hard, i miss him so much it makes my heart hurt sometimes), but talking on the phone helps. and we set a schedule so that every tuesday/ thursday, we’ll FaceTime or Skype or something. we also wanna watch a show together. neither of us have seen Parks & Rec and we both have wanted to, so we’re going to start it. i think we’re going to watch the first episode tonight. but ANYWAYS, after D and i hung up, i went down to my grandma’s basement and started organizing my shit and getting everything together that i wanted to bring to my new house. i’d left a bunch of my stuff there for storage over the last few months, so most of my clothes were down there, as well as my art supplies and books, candles, blankets, etc. i got all that crap together, made myself a breakfast of scrambled eggs, salad, and oranges (i’m trying to be healthy) and then got dressed and loaded everything into her car. 

her and i left around 10:45 and headed to the Bed Bath & Beyond right by her house. we shopped around for a bit and found SUPER good deals on bedding. some of their clearance was an additional 50% off, so i got a really nice bed set that was originally something like $250 for only $30 (hell ya). she even got herself a bed set even though she didn’t need one because it was such a good price. afterwards, we drove down to Fort Collins and met my mom for lunch. We went to one of my mom’s favorite restaurants, a nice cafe, and the food was actually super good. i got a blueberry pancake, scrambled egg, and hot chocolate (yikes where’s the health? i don’t know). after we ate, we left and met my uncle at my new house, because he had transported my bed in the back of his truck ( i got so so so so lucky and my grandparents offered to let my take the full size bed and frame in their guest room, so i didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for a bed). we put all my suitcases and other random shit in my closet in my room, and he set up the bed frame, which is a super nice, solid dark wood. i honestly love my room and i’m sure i’ll love it even more when it’s better put together. three of the walls are this super nice pale pink, and the fourth wall is a weird blue, but i don’t mind too much. its right across the hall from the bathroom, and has a nice window that’s pretty big and gets beautiful morning light. 

after all my stuff was unloaded and the bed was set up, my grandma and uncle headed their separate ways, and my mom and i went to her house to let the dog out and breathe for a few minutes. then, we went to walmart and i found a pair of sheets that i really like that go well with the rest of my bedding. 

around 4 my mom and i went to meet this lady who had posted an ad on craigslist for a dresser for sale. its beautiful, wood matching my bed frame, with a mirror on top and five large drawers, and two little ones. that, plus a bunch of hangers and lots of closet space, works perfectly for the amount of clothes i had. the dresser is super nice too because it was barely used and all real wood (the previous owner was a 90-something year old lady who recently passed away). 

as we loaded the dresser into our truck, it started snowing. i haven’t been snowed on in years and i forgot how much i love it. it wasn’t too heavy, light and fluffy, and each snowflake that landed on me was like a little pixie kiss (from a pixie with cold lips). we drove through the snow, then unloaded the dresser into my new room. my mom helped me put it together, and make my bed with the bedding and new sheets, then she headed home and let me have some time to put things away and organize everything. a lot of my clothes are up on hangers, and in the dresser, and now they're all put away and it feels so nice. its really starting to feel like home. there’s still some stuff in suitcases, but its mostly just random stuff. 

around 6, my parents picked me up and we went to a little local restaurant where we met my sister, her mom, her best friend, and her best friends dad. it was bluegrass night, which was super cool. so i ate pizza and talked to everyone and listened to live bluegrass. 

around 8, we parted from everyone and my parents took me to target, where i got laundry supplies, a trash can, a tub to put under my bed, and some other stuff. then we went to a different store and i got some groceries. they paid for everything, which i can’t even express how much i appreciated. 

when i got home i put all my groceries away, then finished putting my clothes away, then got in bed and called D and went to sleep. this morning, i stayed in bed pretty late. i’ll get up when i’m done writing this and make some tea and breakfast and get ready for the day. i still have some unpacking i need to do, and one of my roommates invited me to go sledding if it snowed enough yesterday, so we’ll see. i think today will be a good day.