Oh Yes I Did!

Ever since my friends introduced me to the joy that are K-dramas this summer...I have been obsessed. I don't let myself watch many--in fact, I have only seen three--but when I watch them, I fall in deep. My first k-drama, Princess Prosecutor, is still my favorite because there it's a legal drama filled with fashion and great chemistry between the leads. I love how the story follows her graduation day to finding success as a prosecutor.

Anyway...a theme throughout the series is her fabulous collection of shoes. She wore these crazy multicolored spangled Diego Dolcinis with fishnet stockings on her graduation day:

Dramatic, yes?

Soon after, these bejeweled Jimmy Choos take center stage and reappear throughout the entire series.

For some reason, they don't look as nice in the movie stills but they are quite drool worthy. At nearly $1700, I think I will pass though.

Another pair of shoes that I noticed and loved were these lovely patent leather heels that she wore during her first successful court appearance. I liked them enough that I specifically looked up what they were! Thanks to eiffelinseoul.blogspot.com, I found this and all the other pics.

Of all her shoes, these MKs are probably among the affordable. I love how she paired them with a black ribbon bow atop the fierce zippered patent leather. It's very tough-girly glam. As much as I liked them, I didn't *need* another pair of black heels so I put them out of my mind. Imagine my great surprise when I found them while window shopping today...on sale at 35% off! Not only did they have it in black patent, it was also available in white & grey snake print and pale pink snake print! I almost got the pale pink...part of me is still lusting for it...but I am not sure what use I can get out of it. Admittedly, the pink is a good "neutral" color for my skin tone but I think the black will be more useful. As of now, I plan on wearing these MKs on my very own graduation day! Fly high indeed!

Anyway...so happy and excited! I <3>

Stuff I don't need

*Edit* I called and confirmed with customer service that the ottoman is in fact, NOT a storage ottoman. Well, that makes my life much easier! Covetousness... gone!*End Edit*

On today's edition of "Stuff I Don't Need", I'll take you to exactly what I would want, but don't need:

1. Tufting? check.

2. Nailhead trim? Check

3. Curvaceous design? quadruple check

4. Shades of cream, beige, or otherwise other warm neutral? Yep

5. Unnecesssarily frou frou? You got it.

Best of all, it goes well with our current decor but it is not a "matched set" despite sharing similar qualities with the rest of our furniture. I believe that it is also a storage ottoman, which makes this a slam dunk "LOVE!" for me. Stylish and functional? Oh be still my heart!!! I'm thinking in the years ahead...the kid's toys and play things would tuck neatly away into this behemoth! Also in the scheme of kids...it is soft, round, and plushy--all very "kid safe" elements of furniture. I don't really mind if it gets dirty--I can always get it reupholstered if I can't get any stains out.

Now, I understand that this is most certainly *not* most people's cup of tea and perhaps this look will be dated in a few years. I am not sure and I don't really care. I like this style and if it is indeed a storage ottoman as well, it would nearly be perfect. The only two issues I have with this piece is that it is exorbitantly expensive and it measures 45 inches in diameter. I am concerned that it might overwhelm the space. Perhaps it is a good thing that it is so expensive hehe. Ah well :)

And thus concludes this episode of "Stuff I Don't Need".

November Already?!

The closer I get to the end of the year, the busier I am. Still, I try to make time for exercising and eating right. Tonight, I didn't feel up to going to the gym so hubby decided to organize our walk-in closet. Ok...correction...I need to organize my part of the closet haha. Husband is very organized and every item of his is neatly folded and where it belongs. A few weeks ago, we purchased 7 sets of wooden hangers from IKEA for the closet overhaul. I know it's a bit unnecessary but I've always wanted uniform wooden hangers. It just looks more pleasant than an assortment of random plastic, wire, and wooden hangers. We used up all the hangers already and we need to purchase more eventually. For now, most of the items that should be hung are hung. It is very pleasant looking at how neat and tidy everything is. For the most part, our house is always nice and tidy with the closet as the exception. I blame it on my sleepiness and blindness in the mornings. Anyway...closet cleaned! Onward to nutrition!

I've been baking our bread for about a year now but after buying organic deli meat from the local market, I decided to try my hand at roasting my own. Locally raised, organically fed, free-range turkey Turkey breast is still pretty expensive at $5.99/lb but it sure beats the store purchased deli meat at $11lb.The turkey was neatly packaged in an oval netting, which helped it maintain it's shape. I brined it overnight in a solution with fresh rosemary from our garden, garlic, cracked black pepper, half an apple, and salt. I was afraid that an overnight brine would result in mushy turkey but it turned out quite well! The rosemary scent wasn't very pronounced so next time, I will add more.

I sliced the meat as thinly as I could and put them into small ziplock bags to freeze until ready for use. The end pieces that were too unwieldy to slice safely, I diced and turned it into a curried turkey salad with cranberries and onions. I might try a honey-roasted turkey next but we have plenty of meat to last us for the rest of the month.

Anyway...this is what we had for dinner tonight: a sandwich of turkey on whole-wheat bread with a side of roast beet salad. So simple but very good for a hectic Monday.

A bit of Retail Therapy

Husband has been working very very hard for the past...5-6 years. Husband works full-time, comes home and works on his 'droid apps and then goes out shooting on weekends. Husband basically works around the clock. Why, Husband even pulls his share of chores around the house, including yucky stuff that I don't like to do, such as taking out the garbage!

Hubsters works this hard to provide for our little family and to make sure that I never go without. Hubby also never ever complains but just continues doggedly and solemnly onward with his steady march. I am so lucky to have Husband.

Today, we were both kind of restless and bored. There is always stuff to do around the house--more laundry, more dishes...and there is always work to be done...more sitting in front of the computer...more straining necks over books. Finally, around 5pm...we could not take it anymore. I suggested a trip to my favorite haunt, the local home decorator store and Hubby, ever easygoing, complied. Halfway down the street....I changed my mind: we didn't need any more decorations and we really should save the money. Then, Husband spoke, "Let us go to the mall."

Eh? Husband never wants to go shopping! I said, "nah..." but then Husband spoke again: "I just want to walk around....I really need to get out...just look...don't need to buy. Maybe look at ridiculously expensive clothing and than laugh."

Then I understood...although I think Husband looks good in anything, he barely purchased any clothing in the entire time I've known him. I know he appreciates style but he doesn't go out and buy new items for himself. I know it is because he is trying to save save save so I can have have have.

My poor wonderful husband.

Anyway...today, I insisted (with very little resistance on Husband's part) that we would shop just for him! And shop we did. We realized that Ben Sherman fits his physique well and we ended up with 3 new sweaters, 1 button-up top, and 1 short sleeved button-up top. Husband couldn't be happier and neither can I :)

Day 23

I know I've skipped some days and we have since purchased items here and there. I'd say over the past 3 days, we've spent about $30 on groceries. Trying to do the DASH plan requires a lot more effort. October is almost over and it was a strange month...I think we'll continue to do the best we can and start anew in November.

This is one of the meals that I cooked for husband as part of the DASH plan. This is a pretty hearty meal. Let's see how the sodium breaks down:

1. Baked potato mashed with lowfat plain yogurt (85 mg) & chives, 1/4 c. shredded parmesan (320 mg), topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms. = 405mg of sodium

2. Steamed broccoli (with a bit from the 1.4 c. parmesan) = 0 mg of sodium

3. Chicken with just a tablespoon of homemade spicy teriyaki sauce = 700 estmated

Total: 1104 mg of sodium for dinner

The plan is to have no more than 15oo mg of sodium per day. I believe his lunch had around 500mg of sodium so all, in all, not bad!

Day 19

Last night I went out and bought 2 large potatoes, broccoli, onions, green onions, and garlic for a grand total of $5.75. I thought the onion-family produce would be necessary for flavoring since I am cutting most of our sodium intake in the attempt to reduce hubster's blood pressure. We've been on the DASH plan for a few days now and I am happy to report that hubby went in for a full physical today and is in apparent good health. His BP is on the higher side of normal but at least it is good! We'll still try to do DASH as much as possible to reduce it some more if possible but yay for good news! The labwork and everything else will come in later. Now I have to find time for a physical myself...this growing up and being an adult thing requires so much responsibility!

Total Spent: $.5.75

Days 14,15,16,17, 18

Oh this week is bad...so bad with the spending.

Day 14

$0

Day 15

$1.50 (I bought coffee so I could get free parking at Starbucks rather than spend that on nothing to plug the meter).

Day 16

$23 (We went out to eat to celebrate Father-in-Law's birthday--this was our share).

$23 (yummy chocolate cake from Whole Foods for FIL's birthday)

Total: $46

Day 17

$5 (stuff to make cream cheese frosting atop red velvet cupcakes I made for friend's baby shower)

Day 18

Oh boy. We spent $97 today in groceries. Arrrgh! We purchased a lot of things that we don't usually get such as orange juice but we did so because it was necessary. Hubsters did one of those supermarket blood pressure cuffs and found out that he's on the high side. So...in the effort to lower his blood pressure and prevent him from developing hypertension, we have drastically reduced the amount of sodium in our diets, increased potassium, and are making sure he'll get at least 8 hours of good sleep and 30 minutes of exercise each day. We are also following the DASH eating plan so I am working to make sure hubster's eats the correct amount each day. If all goes as plan and we are spartan with the routine, his blood pressure should go back to normal within a few weeks. I have a feeling that much of his recent blood pressure rise comes from the SoCal food binge + lack of sleep but in any case, Operation Healthy Hubby is in full swing!

This is what $97 worth of groceries gets you:

1. Nature's Shredded Wheats ($2.50/10mg sodium per serving)

2. Ocean Spray Cranberries (on sale...I think for $4.50/10mg sodium per serving)

3. Organic Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour-2 qty ($4.49ea/0mg sodium)

4. Almond Milk ($3.50/150mg sodium per cup)

5. Florida's Orange Juice-2 qty ($2.50ea/0mg sodium)

6. 10lbs sweet potatoes- $6.69/negligble sodium)

7. White mushrooms- (forgot price-but high in potassium and hubby likes them)

8. 3lbs shredded parmesan cheese ($11/bag. It's a lot/it's salty, it's expensive but a little goes a long way. Since hubster's loves salty snacks, I am making home-made crackers with a controlled amount of salt/cheese with this. 320mg sodium per 1/4 cup)

9. 6 pack of organic pasta ($7.00. 0mg sodium)

10. 5lb bag baby carrots (forgot price.)

11. 3lbs bananas ($1.30)

12. Plain Yogurt- 2 qty ($1.69 ea/150-180mg sodium per serving. I accidentally grabbed 2 plain..I meant to grab one vanilla haha. Instead I grabbed one non-fat and one low-fat plain, hence the difference in sodium levels.)

13. 4-pack laughing cow cheese ($8.00/80mg sodium)

14. Green Tea ($1.50)

15. Black organic grapes ($1.50/lb.)

16. Fresh mozzarella cheese ($6.50/80mg sodium per ounce)

Total Spent on Groceries: $97 (Costco and Health food store groceries)

As you can see, we got a lot of dairy haha. As part of the DASH plan, hubby needs 3-4 servings of dairy a day and about 10 servings of fruit & vegetables combined per day. The other stuff such as grains & protein are easier to meet. I have to make sure that hubby doesn't eat less than 2000 calories a day but it is so easy to fill up with fruits and vegetables! To make sure he meets his quota, I got a bunch of stuff to make him more nutrient-dense meals hehe. I also don't want him to feel deprived or feel sad & stressed over this (stress raises BP) so I'm doing my best not to disrupt our usual eating habits. Anyway...I guess October's Experiment should also include "Reduce Blood Pressure".

Day 13

What a beautiful world! I kept watch as the news updated with more Chilean miners being rescued as the day went on. As of this time, every one is safely out, including the rescue workers! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip horray!

In honor of this wonderful miraculous day, we are making chili for tomorrow's lunch. (Get it...chili? har. har.)

Today we spent $5 on food for me because I was stuck at school the entire day. I didn't get home until 10:30pm and I didn't pack dinner because I originally planned to come home midday. With last minute requests/deadlines tonight, I had to stay the entire time so I grabbed lunch at school. Hubby fended for himself once again with random salad, chickpeas, and oatmeal.

Day 12

Still reeling from the past week's eating indulgences. We still have a bunch of pastries left as well but I am considering freezing them for later. Too rich and fatty to eat so much of it!

Breakfast & lunch for the hubsters: 2 pastries & oatmeal & an apple.

Breakfast & lunch for m: 2 apples, 12 almonds, and 2 pastries.

Dinner: husband fended for himself---some sort of soup noodle with seafood. (ack! More cholesterol!) while I stir fried some Chinese celery & chicken. More pastries. Another apple. So unhealthy.

On a side note--hubster's co-worker sent out an email with home pastured chicken eggs for sale. $4 for 18 eggs. I had hubsters buy 2 cartons for a total of $8. Yay for truly free ranged eggs! I wonder what their shelf life is and whether they are fertilized. Hopefully a baby chick won't pop out onto my frying pan someday...

Total Cost of Food: $8 for 36 eggies.

Whirlwind 7,8,9,10,11

We just got back after a long weekend wedding trip after a delayed flight and all that jazz. I don't have much time/energy to post up pictures so I will just itemize our daily food expenses:

Thursday:

Dinner/Total: $43 (4 ppl)

Friday:

Breakfast: $9

Lunch $7

Dinner: $75 (5 ppl, we treated)

Stupidity: $55 (parking ticket for being 15 minutes late to plug the meter. GRAH! Who checks the meter at 9:45pm at night?)

Total: $146

Saturday:

Breakfast/snack: $20 (for 5 ppl, we treated)

Shaved Ice/snacks: $25

$1.50: bottled water

Dinner: $25

Total: $70.50

Sunday:

Dimsum: $23

Parking: $7

Bouchon macarons: $10.88 (gift to thank friend for letting us stay with them)

Total: $41

Monday:

Baked Goods x 3 boxes: $34

Starbucks: $4.30

Tip: $1 (airport gave us vouchers for lunch but we needed to tip with cash)

Groceries upon coming home: $17.74 (apples, kefir, onion)

Total: $58.04

Total Food: $425.34

Misc: $34(hair cut for 2 of us) $40 (gas-friend lent us her car) $37 (1 day rental car + gas)= $111.00

Grand Total: $535.34

Well there you have it. In the last 5 days, we spent more than we did in the entire month of October for food/going out. (Serious fist shake at the parking meter demons!)For the rest of the month (nay, the rest of the year), we must save save save save save!

Day 6

Breakfast & lunch & dinner were odds and ends and leftovers. We are trying to eat all the perishables before we go on vacation. This is what we ate to round out the edges: crispy devil eggs over greens with green goddess dressing on the side.

Total cost spent: $0

Day 5

No pictures today, sorry. Breakfast was oatmeal, once again. Hubsters had leftover shi zi tou, broccoli, and brown rice for lunch while I had two apples and string cheese. Luckily I ate lightly during the day because we had a heavy Chinese dinner. Hubsters has lost weight lately--his wedding band is loose now. I don't know what I am doing wrong...he gets his three square meals a day but he's losing weight. It's not that he doesn't like to eat...in fact...he's a little piggy but his eyes are bigger than his stomach.

Anyway...today was a crazy busy day. I am glad to be home now. I'm feeling a wee under the weather too so I need to rest up before my crazy week ramps up again. Hubsters went to the store to pick up some juice for me and some flour (because I am out and need to revive my sourdough starter).

Total Cost of food: $11.88

Day 4

Breakfast: I forgot to soak the oatmeal last night so we didn't have oatmeal for breakfast today. Instead, I had an apple and some black coffee. Hubsters fended for himself--luckily, his work has a ready-stocked pantry and fridge.

Lunch: Hubsters had a hearty lunch of lasagna, green beans, and an apple. I am trying to eat lightly before our LA trip so I had steamed broccoli, peanut butter, and another apple.

Dinner: So tired tonight and too hungry to wait for dinner to cook...I had shirataki noodles with an egg while hubsters had ramyun with an egg. We also ate some leftover stir-fried chives and seafood. After dinner, I made some Lion Head Meatballs for lunch/dinner tomorrow. This was made from ground beef we already had in the fridge, home-made chicken stock, and that giant head of napa cabbage that mother-in-law gave us yesterday.

When I brought this to show the hubsters, he said, "oh! cute! Is that a kitty cat?"

Me: ...

Hubsters: OH! hahahahaha! It's a si zhi tou! I get it now."

Me:...

Me: *sigh

Total Cost: $0

Estimated Cost: too tired? Can I beg off on this estimated cost thing from now on?

Day 3

For breakfast, I made homemade cinnamon rolls. They were way too good for my own good because I ate two without even realizing it. I quickly gave the rest away so I would not be tempted haha. I did walk/run 2 miles up a steep hill today though so I guess I broke even.

Lunch was leftover lasagna and dinner was Sunday dinner with the in-laws.

Sunday dinners are great--I totally make off like a bandit each time. This week, my sister-in-law gave me about 2lbs of heirloom tomatos. (score!) Mother-in-law is going on a trip tomorrow and she needed to clear out her fridge so she gave me a giant napa cabbage, a head of organic broccoli, and some Chinese celery. (sweet!) I steamed the broccoli for my lunch tomorrow--it took a while to pick off the aphids (yuck!) but I guess I'd rather eat an occasional bug than to eat toxic chemicals.

After dinner, hubsters and I went grocery shopping to replenish our fridge/pantry. I've used up most of our flour but perhaps I should ease off on the wheat for a while. Too much of anything isn't healthy. We've spent more over the past 3 days than we did during the entire first week of September so we're not off to a very good start. However, it really isn't fair to assess what our monthly expense will be so early in the game. Who knows...maybe we shall make up for it in the ensuing weeks to come. Anyway...this is what $11.43 will get you in terms of groceries:

1 giant organic avocado: $2 (hubsters really wanted more green goddess salad)

1/2 cup organic flaxseed: $.38

2 dozen cage-free, vegetarian fed eggs: $1.99/ea

Heirloom apples: $4.98 for about 3.5lbs of apples.

Total Cost of Food: $11.34 (for groceries)

October Day 2

Hubsters had an early client meeting today and I had work to catch up on so we didn't go out today except for a short 2mile run/hike. For breakfast, I had oatmeal while hubsters fended for himself and emerged with a vitamin. Hrm.

Lunch was better: Husband made stir-fried green beans, leftover galbi, and some leftover rice and soy sauce chicken for lunch. I ate random stuff here and there including beef jerky (from Mother-in-law), coffee, and peanut butter. Oh so bad.

During our run today, we smelled the wonderful aroma of stew emanating from a house as we passed by...husband picked up the rich scent of tomatoes, spices, meat, and garlic. By the time we got home, husband was craving something Italian. Although he wanted pizza, I didn't have any leftover dough. Luckily, our pantry revealed one last jar of spaghetti sauce--our back up emergency pasta sauce--and I was able to make lasagna for dinner.

We used our leftover fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh zucchini from our garden. I sliced the zucchini into long thin strips and salted them to remove excess water. Add to that a simple green salad and we had dinner! So simple but so good! The best part is that there is plenty for leftovers tomorrow. We. are. set.

It is such a shame that this year's growing season is so poor. Despite dropping $300 in supplies for our garden, we didn't even come close to recouping our expenditure. I have 5 tomato plants and I don't even have enough to make one batch of fresh marinara sauce. Last year, my mom's single plant was prolific enough to yield 5 quarts of tomato sauce! I shall try again next summer and hope for the best.

Total Cost of Food: $0
Estimated Cost of Food: $2 (spaghetti sauce) + 3.25 (cheese) + $1 (lasagna) = $6.25

Tonight, I have a batch of pizza dough rising on the counter, ready to be frozen for another meal on another day. I'm also considering making a batch of cinnamon rolls hehe. It's so needlessly decadent but oh so good. Hubster's has a shoot tomorrow so it would be nice to prep some breakfast for him. Alright...rolls it is!

Conclusion of the 30 Day Social Experiment

I cannot believe it has been 30 days since we embarked upon this experiment. I really wanted to spend $0 but we quickly learned that there really are certain staples that must be around in order for us to be healthy. Fruits, vegetables, and yogurt are things that we must have on a regular basis. On the other hand, I was really happy to see that buying healthy meat doesn't really impact our budget as much as I thought it would. We have made the switch to free range, hormone/antibiotic-free meat when eating at home and we feel like we are better stewards of the earth and our bodies because of it. Yes, there were times when one of us was like, "Darn, I really want a Vietnamese sandwich!" or "doesn't Japanese ramen sound really good right now?" but we sucked it up and ate at home instead.

Anyway...I tracked our daily expenses on a handy dandy spreadsheet. The first column ("Total Cost") tracked how much we actually spent this month where as the second column ("Est. Cost/2pp") tracked how much our meals cost per day.



As you can see, we spent $353.49 in total last month. That figure includes the $130.00 we spent to take hubby's family out to dinner to celebrate hubby's promotion. The $66.76 also includes the 3 locally raised organic free-range, corn-free, hormone & anti-biotic free chickens that we purchased from the farmer's market. We haven't touched the chickens yet because I still have other previously processed chicken in the freezer. Eventually, I will process these whole chickens into smaller pieces too. That should keep us happy in the meat department for next month!

As for the actual cost of the food we consumed...that figure is much lower. We consumed an estimated $238.63 last month. That figure includes the $130.00 family dinner so a more accurate number is $108.63, give or take some.

Either way...I feel like this experiment really opened our eyes to what healthy and affordable meals really are. Often, I hear people say that eating organically or healthily is too cost-prohibitive but now I know that this isn't really true. This month (October) will be a financially difficult month for us due to more car woes and traveling. I'm glad we are used to living more frugally now because it'll make getting through October much easier. We are going to keep going with this "social experiment" because now, it is more like a lifestyle change.

So...new month...new day.

Day 1 of October

Lunch: Husband spent $15.00 on lunch (BBQ Bacon cheeseburger + tip) with his co-worker and former boss. This former boss has been hubster's career mentor so of course he had to go. I spent $0 on food because I had leftovers but I spent $4 on parking because I could not find free parking near work today.

Dinner: We went out for the first time in a month because my sister was in town. We were lucky to have made it in time for late-night happy hour. Hubby and I spent $20 after tip for 1 cranberry juice, 1 beer, a chicken pot-pie, and a beef shepherd's pie. Not bad...in the past, that would have been our "frugal" option. Now, however, I can't help but think..Dayam! $20! I could buy a whole week's worth of groceries with that!

Total Spent Today: $15+$4+20= $39.

Day 29 & 30

Day 29

Came home exhausted. Made pizza using the pizza sauce I made from earlier this week, slightly under ripe tomatoes from our garden, and leftover meat from Sunday's Korean BBQ for dinner:



Total Cost of Food: $0

Day 30
Went over to the parent's house for dinner. I don't think we have a picture but we indulged in green beans, veggies, fresh clams, fresh lobster, and two types of chicken along with soup. We were mighty full. Afterward, the brother-in-law treated me to two martinis when we all went out that night. That was a lovely treat.

Total Cost of Food:
$0

Day 28

Breakfast: oatmeal w. blueberries
Lunch: I had 3 Vietnamese style spring rolls (filled with lettuce and leftover soy sauce chicken) and an apple while the hubsters had brown rice, chicken, and stir-fried zucchini along with an apple.

Dinner was kick@ss. Our friends invited us to dinner at their place and they spoiled us with Korean bbq, salad, and stir-fried veggies. Dinner + good company + Glee = happy.



The only negative to yesterday is that our car started making grinding/grumbling sensations as we drove to their house and we noticed a strong gas odor. We stopped the car for a few minutes and restarted--it seemed fine--but a minute or two later, the sensation started again. We were almost to their house by then so we continued on our way. After dinner, Big J took our car for a quick spin and diagnosed a possible problem with the alternator. We then drove home only to have the car shake more and the smell of gas became so strong that we (meaning I) was afraid of a potential explosion so we parked in a supermarket and got Big J to drive us home.

So...today, we're going to take the car in to the body shop. We already spent $600 fixing the car last month...and now we will have to spend God knows how much to fix this problem. The car is only worth $1500ish right now. At some point, we really should just sell it instead of throwing more money at it. If we can fix it for <$300, we'll go ahead and do it. The car is on it's last leg anyway...if it can survive for another 2 years on $300, we'll keep it. In two years, we will be better equipped to figure out what kind of car we need next.

Anyway....we saved a lot this month but we'll probably need to spend a lot too. And that's the way the world goes around.

Day 27

For breakfast and lunch today, I had oatmeal with blueberries. Husband had oatmeal for breakfast and some leftover soy sauce chicken, rice, and green veggies.

We are low on fresh veggies so we stopped by Costco on the way home from work tonight. Again, it is not a good idea to shop when hungry but we didn't do too poorly. We got a a 6-pack of lettuce and some fresh mozzarella cheese. Hubster's wanted pizza for dinner but I balked at paying $10 for a mergherita pizza when we had all the requisite ingredients to make it ourselves at home. I got home, defrosted some pre-made pizza dough, opened a can of tomato sauce and made the pizza sauce. It took maybe an hour from start to finish. Maybe it wasn't one of my most efficient (or come to think of it, cost saving) experiments but I'm pretty happy with the results. We spent about $9.50 today at Costco...although the cheese cost $6.99, we still have 1.5 logs left...plenty for caprese salad, pizza, and other random goodies over the next few days. Hopefully it'll stay fresh in the fridge to last that long!




Although pizza is great for leftovers, husband finished 2/3s of it all by himself so there isn't any left haha.

Total Cost of food: $9.50
Estimated Cost of food: $3 (cheese) + $.50 (canned tomatoes for pizza sauce) = $3.50

Day 24, 25, 26

The weekend went by like a blur as usual.

Friday:
We had leftovers for lunch as usual but we came home and made chili together for dinner. We used homemade chicken stock, fresh tomatoes from my parents, and some grass-fed beef that I bought at the beginning of the month in anticipation for the experiment. It was enough for 5 large servings so husband ate that on Saturday as well.



Total Cost of Food: $11 (for the chicken)
*******

Saturday
My mom helped me buy a free range chicken from a Chinese market (the kind wit the head and feet still on) so on Saturday, I poached it, removed it from the broth, cut it up and soaked it in a soy sauce marinade. I put the bones back into the broth and let it simmer for a few more hours before cooling it and setting it aside. For lunch that Saturday, I ate an apple, chicken broth, and 2 pieces of chicken while hiubsters ate the leftover chili. Dinner was a potluck at my sister-in-law's house. I made chocolate chip brownies from previously purchased ingredients in my pantry. No pictures...but we ate very heartily.

Total Cost of food: $0
********

Sunday

My sister & her husband treated the family out to lunch on Sunday. No pictures. For some reason, neither of us had much of an appetite during lunch. For dinner, we treated my in-laws in celebration of hubster's promotion at work. They have a family tradition of treating the entire family out for dinner whenever someone gets a raise/promotion. We were really sick of Chinese food so we decided to treat them out to Korean BBQ. Yes, that dramatically raised our monthly food expenditure but it is a tradition so it must be done.




The food was fine but not nearly as good as it is in SoCal. The banchans here were a total disappointment and obviously geared for the American palate. The meat was good in flavor but some of the cuts were too thick. Thinner slices are better for grilling. For 7 people (6 adults +1 child), the meal came to $130 after 18% gratuity. We were all quite stuffed when we were done and there was still about 2lbs of cooked meat leftover. So really...we can still make another 4 meals per person out of that since there are 32 ounces in 2lbs and the recommended portion size of meat is 4 oz. It came to about $18.50/pp including tax but since we can get 8 more servings out of the leftovers, it comes out more to $9.00/per serving. Not bad but I have a feeling we shall be very sick of meat for a while.

Total Cost of Food: $130.00

Day 23

We're running low on various household supplies but I'd been waiting for Costco coupons before I go replenishing the store of goods. Thankfully, the flyer came last week just as we were down to 2 rolls of toilet paper in the entire house. I did not intend to spend much but it is nearly impossible to leave Costco with what you just went in to get. Today, I left $75 poorer. How on Earth??! It's too bad that I put everything away before I thought to take a picture of it but the following is what I purchased:

1. Kirkland brand toilet paper. Hubster's prefers Charmin' but it's just TP folks. Got it $14.99 after coupon.
2. Grapeseed Oil. Not a necessity but it is much healthier to cook with than olive or canola oil. Plus, it has a very high smoking point making it great for hot woks and frying. Apparently heating olive oil at too high of a temperature causes the compounds to react in a way that produces carcinogens. No good. $6.89
3. Cascade dishwasher liquid- the "tablets" were on sale for $12 after coupon but I realized the tablets only did 90 washings while the giant non-sale bottle of regular liquid probably does 2x that at a mere $8.99. Sometimes, coupons don't equal good value.
4. Always 2pk $9.50 on sale.
5. 50 pack of black velvet hangers. We need to organize our walk-in and I like the uniform look of the same hangers. I originally wanted wooden IKEA ones but I think this is a better deal.
6. Ginger Gold Apples $4.99
7. Covergirl Lashblast mascara 3-pk $11.00

Grand total: $76.88

Total on Food: $4.99 + 6.89 = $11.88

Day 22

Dinner with the parents! Last night was Autumn Moon Festival so we went home for dinner. Even though I told my mom the night before that we were coming over, she didn't know for sure if we really would make it because I didn't answer my phone. (My batter died). In any case, she whipped up this deliciousness in one shake of a lamb's tail for us. I love parents.






Mother also hooked us up with fresh green beans and tomatoes from her garden. A few weeks ago, I asked my mom if the chickens from Asian markets were free range/antibotic free etc...although we suspect that they are due to their lean size, we aren't positive. A search online for the farm and packaging plant mysteriously yielded no results. I even looked up the USDA regs to decipher what various letters and numbers meant but to no avail. The chicken is a "product of USA" but I do not know if it was raised in the US or simply "processed" here. I do know, based on my understanding of the law, that even imported chickens must adhere to "the same" inspection guidelines as domestically raised chickens but I still don't know where that chicken came from. And I'm not sure that I want to eat "mystery" meat. I like knowing where my food comes from and that the animals are treated well.

So...after this chicken, I am going to go in with my sister-in-law to buy locally raised chickens from the farm. They are more expensive...about $16.50/ea, but it is well worth the peace of mind.

Anyway...total cost of food today: $0
Est. cost: $0

Day 21

We're going strong! We had random leftovers for lunch. Hubster's had leftovers from dinner while I came home early and made a sandwich of freshly baked bread with rou song. I also ate the last of our apples so I must venture forth to buy more fruit. Late last week, I bought an organic chicken and finally got around to cutting it up yesterday. I processed it into 8 pieces and took as much meat off the bones that I could before using the rest to make chicken stock. I always add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar into my broth because the acid is supposed to help leach out more minerals from the bones. I let the entire thing simmer for about 8 hours until it was reduced by half. After that, I skimmed off all the fat using a mini sieve specifically designed for that purpose.

Since I felt bad that the hubster's only got leftovers for lunch, I wanted to make sure his dinner was extra nutritious. For dinner, I made him shui jia mian using homemade dumplings (courtesy of Mama-in-law), pure chicken stock, and some leafy greens. I love making chicken stock. I prefer making chicken stock to any other kind of stock. I love it how it turns unappetizing bones and vegetable cast-offs into a golden amber liquid. Oh all that lovely quivering collagen makes me so happy! Anyway...le dinner.



Afterward, we went to sister-in-law's house for a Glee party. She made us fresh apple cake, hot out of the oven. It was so good!

Total spent on food: $0
Est. Cost of Food: $0

Day 20

Last night I made some whole wheat blueberry muffins so we'd have a fast breakfast ready for us this morning. Lunch was leftovers. Hubsters got the last of last week's leftovers and some duck from Saturday's wedding banquet. I also had leftovers but it was much more varied and random. I had a pear, some peanut butter, 2 little muffins, and some yogurt haha. I eat healthy stuff but I don't really eat normal stuff. If I ate as hubster's did, I think I'd be in better shape.

Anyway...for dinner, I made some Cantonese style egg & tomato (the ultimate comfort food), some stir-fried clams, and the last of the leftover duck. Actually, correction, we didn't touch the duck during dinner but it was there and available. I guess I shall pack it in a bento for tomorrow's lunch.







Total Spent today: $0
Estimated cost of food: $.33 (1 certified humane egg) + $3.51 (about 1lb of clams) = $3.84. The tomatoes came from our garden. Cost of rice at this point is too difficult to ascertain.

Deal of the Day

The joys of home ownership has its ebbs and flows...it is fun decorating and playing house but it is not so fun managing it on a budget. Currently, I am in love with crimsons, rubies, and scarlets. I very much want to make/buy/source some new pillows to warm up our space for the winter. There is also plenty of room for decorations on the walls and I'd like to find or create some artwork for the walls. There are two expanses of wall that could use some attention. The main one is our upstairs book. It is wide enough to accommodate my childhood upright piano, one large table, bookshelves, or a "time out area" some day if our kiddies are naughty. Since I only intend to birth perfectly well-behaved children, the latter obviously will not necessary. (That and because I foresee the naughty monkeys climbing out and creating mayhem and injuries.)

So anyway...we have this lovely deep-set nook that is currently uninhabited. It looks odd left vacant but I don't want to just fill it up with randomness. The converted one of our bedrooms into the office so we don't really need another desk in the hallway. The piano is a perfect fit but hauling it up and down stairs is a big hassle. Plus, I don't know if it is normal to have a piano upstairs. I think it'd be a better fit downstairs in our dining room.

That leaves a bookcase. It'll be more decorative than functional. Will it even be a good use of space? We'd probably get the set of 2 in the first picture because it is a wee more economical and the size fits more symmetrically in the nook.


$192 (free shipping + 3% cashback)


$259 (free shipping + 3% cashback)

It is rather useless though. Other than displaying a few of my more favorite books and random pictures/plants, there isn't much use for the thing. I would love to get a sewing machine and turn it into a crafting corner. Would that be a good use of space? I could move my current desk out there and do a few simple and inexpensive additions to make it more craft & study friendly. The upside to this is that the hubster's will have more room in the office. The extra space in the office can be used to accommodate additional guests if we ever need the 4th bedroom.





Obviously, I won't make it quite as kitschy and cutesy. It'll definitely double as a respectably stylish and useful space. What do you think? Leaning bookshelves or decorated craft/study space?

2/3 Recap

As of today, we are 2/3 done with our experiment. How have we fared thus far? Though we did not intend to do grocery shopping or "impulse buy", we succumbed to both this week.

As of 09/19/10, we have spent a total of $133.85. However, that includes groceries that we purchased and have not yet used so the more accurate figure is $81.91. This total came from estimating the actual cost of the food we used. $81.91 for 20 days = about $2.04 per person per day. $2.04 for all three meals. Our average is actually getting smaller with each passing day despite our new batch of groceries. Not bad!

Days 17, 18th, & 19th

This weekend was certainly a sign of the times for us. Over the past three days, we've been to a birthday, a wedding, and a baby shower. I didn't get many pictures so I will just summarize each day briefly:

Friday:
Breakfast & lunch were leftovers. I spent $2.95 on a small coffee during work because I was so tired. For dinner, one of my HS friends invited us to dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant for her birthday. The food was very similar to what my family used to serve when we had a restaurant so it was kind of a strange but rather nice jolt of nostalgia for me.
Total spent on food: $22.95 (for coffee and dinner buffet for 2)
Estimated Cost: same

Saturday:
We had guests come over and stay with us on Friday night. They were also attending the wedding. We did not get much sleep because they had to wake up early to be in the bridal party. For breakfast, they had oatmeal. We went back to sleep after they left and did not wake up until noon. By then, it was too late for lunch so the hubby ate some veggie snacks and we were on our way. At the wedding, I ate a coconut macaroon while the husband ate a big peanut butter cookie. The dinner banquet wouldn't start for three more hours so we went to a local sports bar nearby to catch the big game while we waited. None of us were actually football fans so we sat around drinking beer in an awkward setting for an hour until we all decided it wasn't really our thang. We then left to go to a cheese bar, much more fitting for epicureans such as ourselves. While there, we shared a cheese plate while I had a cup of black coffee.



Dinner was a full blown 10 course Chinese banquet. The bride & groom hired one of the most extravagant wedding planners in the city and completely glammed up the place. It was very nice and most definitely worth it. It changed your typical run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurant into a romantic and cozy space filled with lush red roses and candelabras dripping with crystals. Our pictures are not uploaded yet. Just to give you an idea of what it looked like, here are a few pictures from the wedding.





Total spent on food: $3.00 (share of cheese plate) + $1.50 (coffee) + $4.50 (beer) = $9.00.
Estimated cost: same (wedding gift obviously not included)

Sunday:
We didn't get home until 11pm and didn't go to bed until after 2am. Our friends stayed up chatting with us---it was nice and fun. Because we were all so tired, we didn't get up until really late today. For lunch, they treated us out at a Vietnamese restaurant to thank us for hosting them this weekend. That was very nice and totally unexpected. Shortly thereafter, I left to go to a baby shower. Husband's parents invited us out to dinner but I was feeling very tired so I stayed home instead. We've been eating out so much that my system didn't really feel up to another meal at a Chinese restaurant. Instead, I had an apple, oatmeal, and peanut butter. Hubby was super sweet---while I was at the baby shower, he took his friends to the Japanese market to stock up on some supplies. Apparently the hubster missed me so he bought me a little pack of rose flavored milk tea to warm me up during the cold mornings. He also bought a pound of clams for dinner.

Total spent on food: $0
Estimated Cost: $1 (apple) + $.10 (oatmeal) + $.63 (1 ounce peanut butter) + $3.99 (clams) +$4.19 (milk tea) = $9.91

Day 16

We started our vegetable garden in late May and after 4 long months, we FINALLY reaped the rewards of our toil today! Behold! Our happy little garden!



There is something uniquely satisfying from eating the fruits of one's labor. The vegetable just tastes sweeter and more tender. I don't know what to do with our two precious tomatoes yet but perhaps I shall make some simple bruschetta tomorrow. Tonight's dinner was a chicken chow men with zuchini, carrots, and garlic. So simple and quick to make yet so satisfying.



Total Spent on food today: $43 (from groceries that weren't used today)
Estimated cost of food: leftovers for lunch and breakfast. Dinner: $1 chicken, $.10 for corn, and $.10 for carrots. Everything else came from our garden or papa-in-law's noodle factory. $1.20

Food Wish List

Day 15 is now behind me and I cannot help my habit of looking at new grocery ads each week to see what is on sale. This week, my favorite market happens to have plenty of items that I like on sale. If I were going to go grocery shopping as normal, I would buy the following:

Vegetables
1. Japanese white yams @ $1.29/lb. This is a slightly more expensive and luxurious treat but I'd probably get 4 yams. I like to throw them in the rice cooker to steam. It is so yummy and nutritious that I don't mind spending money on it.
2. Organic apples @ $.99lb. Probably 5lbs. We go through apples quickly and organic apples are rarely <$1lb.
Estimated Cost: $5+$5 = $10

Meat
1. Fresh manila clams @ $3.99/lb. One pound has about 20 clams so we could easily make a meal of $3.99.
2. Locally raised, drug-free, vegetarian-fed chicken wings @ $1.29/lb. Generally, it comes in a 2lb pack. I like to stock up on this because my guests tend to like chicken wings. Probably 3 pack around $3.50/ea.
Estimated Cost: $3.99+$10= $14.00

Treats
1. Duck @ $1.99lb. One duck probably weighs 4lbs so this baby would cost at least $8. It's a pain to roast duck yet I can't help but loving it! It reminds me of happy childhood days watching my Dad go through the laborious process of making roast duck.
2. Jiajiang sauce for the hubby. $2.99/jar
Estimated Cost: $9+2.99= $12.00

This little shopping excursion would cost us about $36.00. I don't need any of it except for the apples. The yams would be a very nice to have. The meat, especially the duck, I can do without. The chicken wings are always on sale every other week for $1.29lb so if I miss it this week, I will have other opportunities. The clams are very enticing though...I haven't had clams in months and making them at home is so much healthier and cheaper than ordering it at a restaurant. Clams are also very nutritious and packed with iron and protein. I think I will go ahead and splurge for a pound.

So there you have it...my normal weekly shopping excursion would probably cost me about $36.00 but by being more conscientious, I think I will probably be good with $9. Possibly $13 if I get some yams.

*edit* I went to the grocery store today and bout $43 worth of groceries:

1. 1 "good" chicken. Instead of calling it free range/ant0biotic-free/vegetarian blah blah, I'm just going to refer to it as "good" from now on. If it is "good", it is all of the above. In the case of the above, it is also corn-free and wild foraging. $2.49lb @ 4lbs = $9.96.

2. Organic Honeycrisp apples. These are double the price of the other ones but they supposedly taste better. I got 5 apples just to try. $1.99/lb = $5.50.

3. Organic Bartlett pears. $.99/lb. I got 4 pears at about $4.

4. Organic peanut butter--normal price is $6/jar on sale for $3.99. 4 jars = $16.

5. Organic yogurt-huge tub = $2.99

6. Coconut Water Kefir. Normally, we get milk kefir but this was on sale and I've always been curious about the coconut variety. $3.99.

Total spent on food: $43

Yes, it is considerably more than what I anticipated haha. The peanut butter really threw us over the top but I love peanut butter and good peanut butter is rarely on sale. Hopefully it will last us a while. What is the take home lesson from this Kids?

Don't go shopping when you're hungry.

Day 15

I was able to come home between classes today and was a lot more productive because of it. For dinner, I braised lettuce that was a little too limp for salad and stir-fried some chicken with mushrooms.




Dessert was a red bean jongzi, which we shared. The other will go into hubster's lunch tomorrow, along with tonight's leftovers.


Total Cost of food: $0
Est. Cost of food: $1 (chicken) + $.50 (lettuce) + $.50 (mushrooms) + $1 (rice)= $3 max. I have to estimate the cost of mushrooms and rice because it came in bulk and I only used a teeny portion of it. It might actually be less than my estimation but I'll just guess conservatively. The best part is that I have enough to make 1.5 lunches from the leftovers. Le score!

Day 14

We had a few tricks up our sleeves before we started this experiment in the form of gift cards! We have 2 or 3 gift cards that we never got around to using. Most of the time, we don't go to these restaurants but we just happened to past by one of those restaurants today and we decided to burn it up. We kind of regretted it after we ate it because the food itself was kind of gross and we had to add $5 on top of the card to pay for tip. I ordered a chicken marsala thinking it would be healthy but I can tell that everything (veggies and all) was just dropped into the deep fryer and topped with an oily and salty sauce. I also started to feel uneasy about where they get their meat. I'm pretty sure it isn't locally raised and vegetarian-fed. It is no wonder that 99% of the patrons there were overweight. Now I remember why we don't go to these restaurants!

In hindsight, $5 would have been much better spent if I had just spent the money to purchase groceries. On the other hand, we did get 3 meals out of it so that saves me time and energy. We had a very early dinner so we even had time to clean house and go for a brisk 2 mile walk up a steep hill near our house to burn off some of the calories.






Total spent on food today: $5
Estimated cost of food: $30 (including tip)

Day 13

*updated 09/16/10*

Well what do you know! After berating myself over it for 3 days and suffering various ulcers and anxiety over it...I got a call back from the club manager today telling me that they were able to reactivate me! Yes! I am so happy! He gave me a month-long pass to use until he was able to clear this up with his manager but based on what he told me, there was a slim to non chance. This is such a welcome surprise!

*end update*

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

There is no use crying over spilt milk.

All sorts of clichés that are designed to make one feel better when one screws up doesn't usually actually make one feel one whit better about the screw-up. I guess what separates happy/contented people and unhappy/depressed people is how a person actual deals with said screw up.

I screwed up big and I *felt* like it was the end of the world but really, it's not that bad. It'll just cost me. Several years ago, my employer gave me a pre-paid 3 year membership to the gym with an annual renewal of $24. Great deal! I was set for the rest of my life! Fast forward to last year--I moved and forgot to change my address. I was sick of all the gym's spammy emails so I unsubscribed from the emails without realizing that they wouldn't send me account information either. In the past, when my renewal date was due, they would let me know. Somehow, this location was different. I went at least two times after my renewal was supposedly expired and they let me in. Basically, I was never informed that my renewal was due and I didn't find out that I was passed due until Saturday.

So what is the lesson here? Obviously, my error was in not updating my address--an error the club people liked to repeat "it is YOUR job to update blah blah" and they did not like it when I replied, "and it is YOUR job to not let people with overdue accounts in and it is YOUR job to collect payment due. Had YOU denied me entry the first 2 times after my membership expired, I would had been put on notice that it was due and I would have made your "reactivation period". Long story (somewhat shortened), despite my best efforts, my ability to re-activate hangs on a very thin-to-nonexistent thread and my life-membership has ended due to my screw up.

At first--I had a mini panic attack because I don't want to re-buy the membership. Then I had a small anxiety attack because they don't even do the 3 year membership + lifetime renewals anymore even if I could scrape together the hundreds to pay for it up front. All I can say is...this totally sucks but I have done all that I can do short of contacting the Regional VP (which I plan on doing if the club manager denies my activation). What is the point in letting this add additional stress into my already stressed out life? What good can come from the pit of acid stirring in my stomach from utter injustice of this? How can I benefit from berating myself since I am already suffering?

No...I must think positively and think of the best. I made a big mistake according to my life and situation but in the grand scheme of things, it is such a minute little insignificant thing. No, this is not something that I can someday look back and laugh at but if it does not get resolved the way I wish it would, there is no use dwelling on it. I will cease to think of it and if I must think of it, I will just consider myself lucky for having even gotten a supremely great free gym membership for the past 6 years.

Total Spent on Food today: $.85
Est. Cost of food: leftovers, so $0

Day 12

I just spent probably the last vestiges of summer indoors pounding out a memo and policy revision for work. Now I have to get started on school work. Since the last week in May, I have not had a single day off from either work or school or both. This is the craziest and busiest year but thankfully, it is my last year.

Anyway...we woke up too late for breakfast but we got free coffee drinks at church today. That was nice and unexpected but church tends to be pretty nice and unexpected anyway :) I very much wanted a Vietnamese baguette for lunch today but I balked at blowing $6 on one meal so we went home instead. I went deep into the hidden depths of the freezer and pulled out two varietals of frozen homemade dumplings. We went to town on that I and I cleared precious freezer space in the process...just in time for dinner.

Ahhh...dinner. Have I mentioned how much I love Sunday dinners? We get fed so well!



Mama-in-law made chive pockets and loaded us up with a gallon zip-lock bag of leftovers.



We might never clear up enough freezer space to buy 1/16th of a locally raised grass finished cow but I'm totally fine with that if we continue getting yummy homemade food from our parents! Yay for having parents close by!

Total spent on food today: $0
Est. Cost of Food: $0

Day 11

Just as a recap...we are now 1/3 of the way through with our social experiment. How do I feel so far? Pretty good! Our fridge is at a manageable capacity right now. We are eating our produce before it goes bad. It is also making me more creative in using up leftovers and it has helped us reduce the amount of meat and eggs we eat. What we should have done was get blood tests to check our beginning weight/blood sugar/cholesterol and all that stuff so we can compare 30 days later. Anyway...day 10 and our pantry and freezer is still going strong. The vegetable and fruit situation is not something we're going to sacrifice or skimp on--remember--the goal is healthy--so we will buy more as we run out. No biggie.

The " total spent on food" is how much we actually spent this month to buy food or groceries.

The "estimated cost of food" is a more accurate measure of how much we spend each month because we were basically just eating through our previously purchased supplies. Once we run out, we'd have to replenish it. I divided the "estimated cost of food" into servings and multiplied it by the two of us when we had guests over for dinner. We often invite people over but that number is variable. I wanted to specifically measure how much the two of us spend.

The total "estimated cost of food" is the total cost of food including ourselves and our guests.

Here is a brief recap of our 10 day expenses:

Total Spent on Food/Groceries: $15.06 or $.75/day per person. This number is a little off because I bought $32.58 worth of groceries on August 31st, so really, the total I spent so far is: $47.64 or 2.38/pp. I didn't add the August 31st grocery cost to the "Estimated Costs" because I accounted for each item individually so I only included what I actually used. That is different from this total because here, I included the cost of all the groceries, including items that I have not yet used.

Estimated Cost of Food (based on 2 people): $47.68 or $2.39/day per person.
Estimated Cost of Food (including our guests): $70.12 or $2.34/day per person.

Today, we just ate leftovers for lunch and went to a friend's house for a BBQ dinner. It was a potluck and I brought a seafood quinoa dish. I had this frozen mussel broth leftover from when my friend's visited me last month and it was a rich, yummy, wine-y concentrated broth that was perfect for cooking the rather tasteless grains of quinoa. Add in some fresh sliced corn (thanks 10 for $1!) and a small handful of frozen seafood mix, I was all ready to go. It looked and tasted luxurious but it probably cost $3 to $5 total in ingredients. I'll just say $5 to be on the conservative side. I wish I had taken a picture but we were in a hurry. It was gobbled up pretty quickly but I'll just ask you to take my word for it that it was a good potluck dish.

Total spent on food today: $0
Est. Cost of Food: $5

Day 10 & Recap

Today was a bust-I haven't been feeling well lately so I called in sick today. I ended up sleeping until 2:30PM!! Wow. I pretty much let my body sleep until it was time to wake-up and I guess I needed all that sleep. Maybe I overindulged a little too much because I now have the "too much sleep" headache. Needless to say, I did not have breakfast nor did I have lunch. I ate 2 or 3 mini buns throughout the day and a string cheese. I do not really feel like eating since I haven't actually been active today. Tonight I tried to burn up excess energy by going on a massive cleaning spree. We are usually pretty good about keeping the house tidy but there are still bits here and there to clean up. I ended up thoroughly cleaning the downstairs bathroom, vacuumed, deep cleaned the kitchen (includes scrubbing down stove, mopping floor etc), and emptied our recycle bin. I feel a little better with some physical assertion and the house is gleaming again!

Hubby fared much better today. It was his annual review and his supervisor treated him out to lunch. Along with a fatty burger, hubby got a side of awesome! Normally, we'd go out to celebrate but tonight, he has to pick up some friends from the airport. We are going to celebrate by doing something nice for our parents. Probably a nice dinner with his family and the equivalent of a nice dinner with mine since Papa prefers cooking over going out. That will blow our experiment right out of the water but one must celebrate good news with loved ones!

Total spent on food today: $0
Est. cost of food: $.50 (homemade buns) = .50

Dream Haven

Hubby and I became homeowners last year just as the housing market sank in a free-for-all. Due to the current housing situation, we probably cannot move out for a couple of years unless we do a lateral move. I love our house, our neighbors, and the things/amenities in our area so I'm happy with where we are. The only downside is that we live about 30 minutes away from the city center. It is a trade-off though--the closer in to the city we live, the less we can afford in terms of a house and neighborhood. Our future will change drastically in another year--so we'll reassess our 5 year plan at that point.

Once in a while, I check our house value online even though it is completely pointless. Sometimes, just as a dream, I look up houses in our ideal neighborhood. May I just say that the property taxes in the city are REDONKULOUS? Yet another good reason to live in the 'burbs. We can actually afford to retire there!

Still...one can dream. Although not pictured, there is also a separate office/building too!





Might I just add how much I adore this side patio! Imagine the parties we could have out there! So elegant. So dreamy. Le sigh.

The house is actually not expensive for what it is but the property taxes are killer. Property taxes are nearly $15,000 a year and it is an expense that will likely increase in the future. Still, I adore older homes. This one was built in 1928. It looks like it must have had a lot of fun during its times. If walls could talk, I wonder what stories it has to tell.