Love The One You're With

     In an effort to shed my honorary title as Queen of Clutter, I've been systematically going through our house and sorting through stuff. I've pulled open drawers, closets, boxes, fridges, and freezers. In the process of discarding, giving away, and reorganizing, I've discovered all kinds of things I'd forgotten about and have received some pretty good insights into my habits and personality.
     In addition to discovering we'd been hanging onto quite a bit of useless stuff (or useless to us but useful to someone else), I've also found there are useable things that we've forgotten about and in a lot of cases, purchased duplicates of. For example, food in the pantry and freezers, a whole range of skincare products in the master bathroom, and a whack of travel-size amenities pilfered from hotels were among the trove of found treasures. The odd duplicates collection includes multiple half-used bags of chocolate chips, several bags of rock-solid brown sugar, and more nail polish than at the local Vietanamese nail palace.
     For the sake of not being wasteful, as well as for saving money and actually using/enjoying what we've got, I'm making an effort not to buy more stuff til I've pretty much depleted our current "inventories". In the Purchasing & Logistics world, that's called "FIFO" (first in, first out) versus our recent "LIFO" (last in, first out) approach.
     In terms of food items, my rifling through the freezers has yielded some interesting meals. Hot Italian sausages  were broiled and tossed with some pasta. That was interesting in a good way. Frozen chopped ham was thrown into a batch of French Canadian pea soup. Unfortunately, this was "interesting" being used as a polite term instead of what Cam and Austin really thought. Sadly, I found numerous packages of expensive but freezer-burnt boneless, skinless chicken breasts. What a waste.
     The chest freezer in the basement is nearly empty, the freezer in the kitchen fridge is less packed, and the freezer in the garage "beer fridge" is still in the early days of exploration. Key learnings from my freezer diving (upscale dumptser diving?) have been:

1. Have a good look in the fridge, freezer, and pantry before going grocery shopping.
2. A suggestion from my friend Mimi in Montreal: Keep an inventory list of what's in the freezer, to save yourself from having to rifle in the cold.
3. Use stuff up. It's a complete waste of money and freezer space to buy food and then let it get freezer burnt.

     As for personal care products, at a recent spa visit, when asked "And how are you for skin care products?", rather than be tempted (or strong-armed as some spas do) to purchase something new, be it a tube or an entire product line, I laughed and politely declined, saying I had pretty much every skin care brand represented in my bathroom cupboard. And so, I am now systematically using, enjoying, and using up the products I've got. Just finished a jar of Yves Rocher night cream and have launched into a collection of travel/trial sized Sothys products given to me by my friend Victoria, who swears by this brand. Next stop will be the collection of Avon skincare products stashed in my drawer.
     I normally stretch my shampoo and conditioner dollar by alternating salon brand (I am keen on the Schwartzkopf brand) with really creamy, oopy-goopy drugstore brands like Pantene and Dove. Having discovered Cam's serious haul of hotel mini bottles of hair products, I am working them into the rotation as well. I draw the line, however, at only using name-brand shampoos and conditioners out of those little bottles, and the shampoos have to be of the creamy variety. Otherwise, you're pretty much washing your hair with dish soap. Steer clear of product that is only labelled with the hotel name, unless it's a high-end hotel. For example, Hyatt has a pretty good ginger shampoo and conditioner, but heaven help you and your bad hair day if you dare to dip into Days, Holiday Inn, or Comfort hotels' "private label" products.
     I've heard it's fun to "shop your own closet" and find new clothing combinations. Haven't tried this yet, and am a bit concerned that it will be the blind leading the blind, considering the wardrobe consultant and the shopper are one in the same person. Will report back on this in future. 

  

Holiday Outfits - a quest

     It's that time of year again, when there are plenty of social occasions (too many, it seems sometimes) and nothing to wear. Every year I have fantasies of a Christmas social season that resembles the lovely gatherings depicted in magazines and store flyers. You know the ones - women in fabulous cocktail dresses, men in tuxedos, and children in their finest. Champagne is flowing, conversation is witty, and the children are behaving. 
     The kids in Childrens' Place ads are so well-dressed and none of them have food down their fronts nor smeared on their faces. The women in the Vogue holiday editorial spreads are a bit surly looking, perhaps in need of a drink, and their dates are very attentive and not even hammered. Not that I'd wear a $3,000 couture gown to a holiday event. Heck, I wouldn't even shell out for fancy children's clothes for my kids, because I know the realities of how little wear the clothes would get and how destroyed they'd be in one wearing.
     At any rate, the reality is that the events I will attend are more GAP/Old Navy holiday parties than even the ones in the Sears catalogue. I'm not saying we'll have a Griswold Christmas, but I don't foresee strapless gowns, champagne flutes, and Cameron in a tux. I'll be amazed if he even has a suit in his closet that's wearable.
    With visions of holiday insanity kicking off next week, I started thinking about what I'll wear to my company's holiday lunch and Cam's company's Christmas dinner/dance. Keeping in mind they're both corporate events, I rifled my closet and ruled out pretty much everything. Too much skin. Too dressy. Wore it already. And, most importantly, I am at that wacky post-partum stage of "I hate my clothes, nothing fits, and I don't want to buy anything new until the baby-weight is all gone."
     The only solution was to head out to retail. Not wanting to spend a fortune, I figured my best bet was to find something lovely, designer, and second-hand at a consignment store. Stopped in to Consignorita, a local consignment store which I'd not visited yet. Surprisingly, there was very little in terms of consignment items (one rack), and everything else was brand new. It struck me as an odd business plan, to market the store as consignment but try to sell new stuff, especially as the new stuff was high-end and fairly casual. Also, it's a bit of a shock to expect consignment prices and be presented with full-priced designer gear. Maybe a margarita before shopping at Consignorita would reduce sticker shock.
     The sales person was super nice, very helpful and did find me a lovely-yet-funky v-neck, wrap, purple and leopard print  Frank Lyman dress, which looked great on, but I wasn't keen on spending close to $200 for a dress that I probably wouldn't wear very much. Call me cheap, but I was looking more for a dressy blouse or top to get some wear out of.
     I knew it was time to hit up my favourite haunt for treasure hunting. Armed with a sense of humour, a bit of determination, and Lauren as my co-shopper, we headed out.

Ajax Value Village

     Value Village isn't just for kids' clothes, although we warmed up our shopping muscles by looking for dress-pants for Austin,. Scored some for him for $4.99. I decided to rifle through the dresses but only found strapless, summer, outdated, or downright hilarious frocks. I moved on to the blouses and yes! I found a gorgeous sheer black, ruffled, FMX Design Studio blouse which I'll wear with a fabulous micro-fibre camisole I found for $4.99. I can wear these with black pants or a skirt, and a nice pair of heels. And the blouse was only $7.99. Awesome. 

Blouse with cami layered underneath.

     So let's do the math. I could have spent around $200 for the Frank Lyman, but spent only $13.00 plus tax on myself instead. I'm thinking with the savings, I could go nuts and get my hair done, mani/pedi, etc. Or, of course, get some nice bottles of wine and some steaks. I think, however, this time, I'll mentally file the savings for when I get my post-Xmas Visa bill, and be glad I didn't spend the money this time. Of course there are always the January sales to look forward to...

Thanksgiving Sentiments

     It can be quite surprising where we find our moments of calm in this crazy, mixed-up world. Today, after a whirlwind of household tasks, phonecalls, banking, and bill paying, followed by heading out for a drive-clean test for my car and a trip to the DMV, I arrived home. (Or rather, we did, as Lauren was along for the ride.) After shutting off the car, rather than run into the house, I did something I never do - I sat in the car, enjoyed the calm, and just breathed in that paused moment.
     For a half a second, I had a "if anyone sees me they'll wonder what I'm doing" thought, but since it was raining and I was in no hurry, I flushed that thought and just sat. Sitting parked in the driveway felt like being at the drive-in for a reality t.v. show, although there were no signs of activity in our neighbourhood. There was just the rain on my sunroof, surprisingly soft for November rainfall. Lauren was sleeping, silent but for a "sniff, sniff, sniff, haaaaah" breath taking her deeper into whatever it is that babies dream of. My next-door-neighbour Allison's snapdragons were taking a last shot of gaiety, completely disregarding the dead leaves and naked shrubs around them. "Good for them", I thought, "Do not go quietly and all that."
     Our patio, made for us by Kim and Chris' landscaping company. The mulch - brown not the orange Cam and I had argued over. The Christmas ornaments on the porch. The urn that had summered full of flowers given to us by a grateful acquaintance, for rescuing her lost cat. The Christmas wreaths on the doors, that I'd made last year when I was newly pregnant. Our house, when a roof over our heads is a dream-come-true for others during these tough times. Our neighbours, our friends, the community, family...my people.
     A sense of gratitude washed over me as I just stopped and observed and breathed. Who'd have thought that sitting in the car in the driveway would lead to, as Kim would call it, a "moment of being?" So much to be thankful for.
     So, on the eve of Thanksgiving in the U.S., may I offer my sentiments that truly, the best things in life are free and we should be thankful for our people who surround us and for the blessings we've been given. To all my American friends, family, and colleagues, have a Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble!   

Wild turkey wandering in our 'hood last summer.

  

Grocery Budget Challenge - helpful tips

     Last week at MOPS mom's group we had our final discussion on grocery budgeting. It was interesting to share tips and to find out what others were doing.
     We divided into discussion groups based on how much we spend weekly on groceries. There was a small table of $75 and under, another small table of $150+, and the bulk of us were at the $100-150 per week tables. I chose my category based on spending nothing one week, and several hundred another. I figured my inconsistencies averaged out to around $100-125 per week.
     Our group discussed tips and challenges and I got some good ones. I would have been interested to hear what the under $75 group is doing. The $150+ group was mainly ladies with large families or who do a lot of entertaining.
     Some of the tips I learned:

• Buy meat the day before grocery store sales go into effect, to get discounted items (usually stickered "50% off" or whatever percentage discount it is.) It is important to check the "best before" date and you will most likely need to freeze the items for later use. Meat is typically marked down on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Plan your weekly menu around what's on sale that week, and when reviewing the flyers, the best sale items are on the first and last page.
• Chicken thighs are way cheaper to use in stews, soups, stir-fries etc. than chicken breast
• You can make lasagna and not spend a mint by making "poor man's lasagna". I will have to Google and investigate this one.
• Entertaining doesn't have to be expensive. You can serve pasta, lasagna, etc.  (Let me add my 2 cents here: you can build a freezer stash of good cuts of meat bought on sale for company; while I agree you don't have to go all-out when entertaining, I do like to treat my guests well.)
• Use your crockpot regularly. Cheaper cuts of meat become super tender and tasty when slow cooked.
• When making spaghetti sauce, buy the huge containers of crushed tomatoes rather than multiple cans of them. Again, I will have to investigate, having never noticed such huge cans. ("My what huge cans you have!" "Why, thank you!")
• Make your own applesauce (especially when you have a ton of apples hanging around) using cinnamon and brown sugar. Make it chunky ('eat with a fork') and the kids will love it.

My tips:

• Buy store-brand products whenever possible, so long as the quality is there. We save a fortune on diapers for Lauren. A big box of President's Choice diapers for her is $17.00, while a similar package by Pampers is $34.99. The savings is a nice bottle of wine, half the cost of a pedicure, lunch out at a restaurant...you get the idea.
• If you bought fresh vegetables or fruit and you won't use them before they go bad, wash and cut them up and freeze them for later use. Items like green beans can go straight into a freezer bag. Items like strawberries have to be frozen on baking sheets first, then throw the frozen berries into a freezer bag.
• When cooking dinner, make a little extra so you have leftovers for lunch or as a component for another dinner.
• Make at least one meatless meal a week, since meat is usually the most expensive ingredient. (unless you're cooking with saffron, pine-nuts, etc...)
• Don't deprive yourself. I still say a good meal at home is cheaper than a meal out at a restaurant. Life's short so sometimes you have to belly up to the bar or buffet and just dig in.

Champagne Taste...on a vacation

     This week Cam, Lauren, and I are on vacation. Austin is at home with grandparents at our house, since we didn't think it wise to pull him out of school. We are at the lovely Massanutten Resort near historic Harrisonburg, Virginia.
     About 10 years ago, Cam and I purchased a timeshare at Horseshoe Valley, with the specific intentions of trading weeks to stay at different resorts. We bought 1 week every other year, and we've really enjoyed having relatively inexpensive holidays in nice condos at deluxe resorts. So far we've been to Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, Orlando (Disney World), this resort twice, and we've given a couple weeks to my parents and Cam's parents. I can't recall where Cam's parents went, but mine had a nice trip to Palm Beach.
     Although it seems counterintuitive to go away on vacation when I am on maternity leave, we had a timeshare week that was due to expire this year and it would be a complete waste of money not to use it. We decided to travel to a resort that was drive-able, so as not to spend additional money on airfare. The drive had to be reasonable with Lauren, so anything in the warm zone like Hilton Head was out of the question to drive with the baby. Our drive to this resort was 10 hours, which included 2 comfort/feed-the-baby stops. Totally do-able.
     We took a 2-bedroom condo at this resort, which is perfect for us. We love having a condo versus a hotel room when we go on vacation, because we can make a lot of our own meals. We both like to cook and we like checking out different grocery stores in different places, and cooking different things than at home. And, the grocery budget on vacation can be a little more relaxed, as it is cheaper than eating out in restaurants all the time when on holiday.
     What's funny about our particular condo unit is that someone (the interior designer) applied Champagne Taste principles in a wackadoo way with the appliances and amenities. We have what's called a "partial" kitchen, which means we have full-sized appliances and everything you could possibly want, except for a stove. No stove. Seriously. However, to compensate, there is an electric griddle (sometimes referred to as a "breakfast nook", which makes no sense to me, but whatever), an electric fry pan (remember those from the 70's?), and a 2-burner range (I call it a hot plate.) This works for us and has made no difference to us in our meal preparations, whatsoever.
     What's totally bizarre, however, is that in one of the bathrooms, they've put the world's biggest jacuzzi bath-tub. This thing is about the same size as a hot-tub. I suppose the thinking was along the Champagne Taste style of "let's scrimp on a stove and give people a big-ass tub instead", because it makes a nice treat while on vacation. However, for us, it's all about food and drink, so we would have spent the money on a stove instead. But no matter, it's not impacting us at all. If there'd been no coffee-maker or no cork-screw, we'd be snookered.
     Ah this is the life. Cam's out playing another $5 round of golf at one of the resort's multiple courses, Lauren's asleep in her bedroom, and I'm chillaxin' while the people in the unit next door ("full" unit with a stove) try to contain their rambunctious kids, who sound like they'll come through the wall any minute. All I can say is they better be enjoying their stove.

Balancing the Budget

     At my moms' group last week, we saw a presentation on budgeting. The two moms who shared their methods and ideas were both stay-at-homes, on tight but successfully-managed budgets. Both of them gave some ideas about little things we can do to save money in our household expenses.
     One suggestion was to share a magazine subscription with a close friend or neighbour. It was also mentioned that for Rogers subscribers, you can get any of their network of magazines (such as Chatelaine, my favourite), for $1.00 per month and it is just billed on your monthly Rogers bill. Not bad!
     Another suggestion was to check out the "free" sections on Craigslist, as well as to peruse Freecycle. I'm going to add Kijiji to the list, because I had a really positive experience a few months back, when I needed an infant car seat. Having discovered the seat we intended to use (Austin's old one) was "expired" (per road safety standards), I started looking on Kijiji for a new or gently used one at a cheaper-than-retail price. I totally lucked out in finding a used one for free. Yes, for free!
     The infant car seat was free because it will expire in April 2010, and Lauren will be long out of it by then. Christy, the mom who was giving it away knew she wouldn't be able to sell it to anyone, but since it still had a little use in it, why not bless someone with it? It was a double win-win because the seat was a 2004, still old enough to be compatible with Austin's stroller. The newer seats no longer click into place on the older strollers, so in addition to saving money on an infant car seat, I didn't have to buy a new stroller. However, with my savings (a couple hundred bucks at least), I know I have the money to replace the stroller if I need to, or if I want to upgrade to a sports/jogger model when Lauren is older.
     I didn't feel comfortable just taking the infant seat so I took a bouquet of flowers to Christy. I am a believer that in any deal, both parties need to get something out of it. The flowers brought a smile to Christy's face and brightened her home. Win-win for everyone!
     The other idea I picked up on from the moms' group budget presenters was to rip baby wipes in half. Initially I thought "gee, I'm not going to scrimp and only use half a wipe on Lauren." Over the past few days, though, I noticed I was going through a lot of wipes because I tend to ball them up and only use a little bit of the surface, due to the ick factor. So, yesterday I ripped one in half, used it to mop Lauren, and then used the other half to finish the clean-up. It actually worked way more efficiently and I didn't use as many wipes as I normally would. Hmmmm....we're onto something here!
     The 2 moms also showed us Excel templates of their household budgets. They were very detailed, down to every possible spending scenario. Excellent for the highly detailed and for those with the time, energy, patience, etc. to manage. Me, not so much. The level of detail, for my family, would cost more in divorce lawyers' fees.
     I can see how it could be critical to track ever possible expense, both anticipated and actual.  However, tracking Cam's business travel expenses for him, to ensure no reimbursement is overlooked, would be a challenge. First off, he would be reluctant to hand over receipts, most likely for fear I'd lose them. Secondly, he manages his expenses just fine already and we don't view them as part of our household budget, but rather, part of his employer's budget. And last but not least, taking on responsibilities as Cam's EA is not in the cards for me at all. Right now I do that for my kids and for our household, and that's more than enough.     
     It's really about striking a balance in managing a budget and what works for each unique family situation.

Meat Muffins

     I'm back after a few days' hiatus, due to a cold that showed up at our house and sapped all our time and energy. We all got something but Cam and Auz were hit worst. Austin had an ear infection and Cam's cold was so bad he got desperate enough to try a neti-pot.
     Last night I cooked Speedy Mini Meat Loaves, which we christened "meat muffins". I had found the recipe in a People magazine from September, and the recipe was printed there as an excerpt from Paula, Jamie, and Bobby Deen's cookbook, The Deen Bros. Take It Easy.
     Captioned as "Dinner For Four Under $10" and touted as fast and easy to prepare, I was game to give it a try, although I typically don't get my recipes from tabloids. Apparently tabloids aren't just for gossip, because the Mini Meat Loaves were actually darn good and everyone enjoyed them, including Mr. Picky Eater (Austin.)
     Here's how to make them:
1.5 lbs ground beef (I would use lean or extra lean)
1 cup plain unseasoned bread crumbs (I would be game to use seasoned ones if that's what was in the pantry)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp. milk
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (I put 2 in)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (I chopped mine chunky, so Austin could pick the onion out)
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme (no thyme in my pantry so I used herbs de provence instead)
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard (we only had the grainy kind, so I used 1 tbsp. grainy and 1 tbsp. prepared mustard)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I shook in more)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, garlic, onion, salt, thyme, and pepper.
3. Divide the meat mixture among the 12 muffin cups, pressing firmly into the pan.
4. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet (in case of grease/meat overflow) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the meat is almost cooked through. The loaves will be firm when pressed lightly but not set.
5. While meat is baking, whisk together the ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire. After baking, remove the pan from the oven and brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze (omit glazing meat that your picky child will be eating), and return the pan to the oven. Bake 10 minutes more or until glaze has thickened and the meat is completely cooked through.
6. Run a spatula or knife around the edges of the muffin cups and pop out the meat loaves. Serve hot.

I served these with mashed potatoes and carrots & peas. I actually think the meal came in well under $10. Enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today too, so that was definately a thrifty meal and it was great comfort food for people suffering from colds.