Too Many Recipes!

August 25, 2010

I’ve been collected recipes since my mom first let me start experimenting in the kitchen – many years ago. My first recipe file was a bright orange plastic one – think 1970′s.

At one of my bridal showers a friend gave me a cute wicker recipe file that replaced the orange one in my first kitchen.

That wicker file lasted through 5 babies, a move and more meals than I want to count. In time my recipes outgrew it and I started a second plastic one. One file held main dishes and sides. The other file had cakes, cookies, pies and other desserts.  (Yes – I had an entire file for sweets!)

It was time for a new system.

My inspiration came after a visit to my sister-in-law’s. She had purchased a large card catalog at their local library and was using it o store all of her craft and sewing notions. I loved it! But it had about 36 drawers – roughly 35 more than I needed!

I searched eBay for weeks until I found it -

File- a single card catalog drawer in my price range with enough patina in the wood that it fits right in my decor!

It is the perfect width for 5 x 3 inch recipe cards – and the perfect length for my kitchen counter.

Open File

I was able to empty both recipe files into it – with room to spare.

And if I eventually fill it up – I can just look for another single card catalog file to sit on top or beside it.

Just think of the dessert recipes I could collect then! :)

I’ve linked this post up at Works for me Wednesday at We are That Family.

By Country Gal | Posted in Home Making, Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

What’s With the Dead Plants?

July 28, 2010

Mostly Dead Plants Just look at what I got at the grocery store!

What? You’re not impressed?

My husband wasn’t either – until I told him they were free! :)

You still might question what possessed me to bring home some mostly dead plants – even if they are free.

I’m so glad you asked!

First of all – they’re perennials. That means that they will come back year after year from the roots.

These have already blossomed for the year and have died back – leaving behind seed pods full of seeds – which is the second reason I grabbed them.

So not only can I plant the roots, I can harvest those seed pods and plant them as well.

And plant them I will – all of them!

My plan is to plant some of them in my flower garden, and the rest of them – and all the seeds I can gather – will be planted and sprinkled into the deep ditch in the front of the house.

This ditch is too deep to be mowed safely, so I’ve been trying to get wildflowers started in it. Ideally – the plants will naturalize and I will have my own beautiful wildflower garden.

But for now – I am thrilled with my free plants!

Sometimes a little knowledge can  turn what others see as trash into a real treasure!

I’ve linked this post up with Works For Wednesday over at We Are That Family.

By Country Gal | Posted in Gardening, Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , | Comments (9)

Fruit Fly Trap

July 22, 2010

I have fruit flies.  Again.

These nasty little buggers are hard to catch. You can’t swat them – they move too fast. Since I couldn’t get them with brawn – it was gonna take some brain.

So I googled fruit fly trap.

Oh my the things I learned! Did you know that fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at one time?! Yikes!

One site even told me hold to make my own fruit fly farm so I could watch the entire life cycle through a 2 liter pop bottle! Oh joys! I think I’ll pass on that one.

I did find several do-it-yourself type traps designed to catch the little varmints and decided to try a couple different designs.

Fruit Fly TrapDesign one – an old canning jar with apple cider vinegar and some ripe bananas as bait and a cone made from paper inserted in the jar. The theory is the flies can get in, attracted to the smell, but can’t get back out.

(Please notice the beautiful scalloped edge on the top of the cone! Would you believe I planned it that way? I didn’t think so. Actually – the only scissors I could find were Angel Girl’s pretty edging ones.  Nothing’s too good for my fruit fly trap! Maybe I should add a decorative ribbon – say – a bright yellow?!)

Fruit Fly TrapThe second model is also a canning jar with apple cider vinegar and bananas, but this one has a piece of plastic wrap stretched over it and secured by a rubber band. It also has small pin holes pricked in the plastic.

So far – they are both working.  When I get a few fruit flies, I throw the whole thing in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It kills those critters dead. <insert evil laughter>

Then I sit it back out on the counter and attract some more.

Take that you pesky varmints!

By Country Gal | Posted in Critters, Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

And Prince Charming Got His Girl

June 17, 2010

The wedding is over.

For a few hours on Friday evening we were all held captive by the love story of my radiant niece and her prince charming.

Through-out the ceremony and the reception I heard many comments on how beautiful everything was – and how delicious the food was.

I just smiled.

I knew that my very frugal sister had worked very hard to create all that beauty and deliciousness – all on a budget.

My amazing mom (you all know her as Nana), with the help of my sister and niece, made all seven of the bridesmaid dresses, and the wedding gown.

Instead of renting tuxes for all seven of the groomsmen, my mom made matching blue vests and silver ties for them to wear with their own black pants, black shoes and white dress shirts.

The attendants, wearing all that beautiful blue and silver, were all the decorations needed to bring color to the front of the church.

The couple had friends provide the music – which was wonderful! They also spent a lot of time planning the ceremony itself – making it meaningful and personal.

For the reception, my sister turned a barn-like room into a romantic and almost intimate space using borrowed tablecloths, candles and twinkle lights. Never underestimate the power of twinkle lights and candles!

For table skirting, she bought twin size white sheets at Wal-Mart for $4 a sheet, cut them in half and pleated them right on the tables using masking tape to hold them. She used a borrowed tablecloth to cover the top of the table – including the masking table.

Then there was the food! My niece and my sister put in lots of hours to make everything from scratch. My sister made hundreds of homemade rolls, and gallons of pulled pork that was served with barbecue sauce on the side.

They hosted a “potato party” and several of their friends came to help them peel, cook and mash hundreds of potatoes to make make-ahead mashed potatoes. They doctored them up a little with cheddar cheese and toasted garlic before being placed in aluminum foil pans and frozen – ready to be baked for the reception.

They did buy prepackaged salads to save time – but added a fancy dressing and croutons to dress it up.

The kitchen help was made up of friends from church who volunteered to help make their day special.

I can’t forget the cake! My niece worked for several years at a high-end bakery that is famous for it’s decadent desserts. The owners made the cake for her – free of charge.

It was luscious! As one of the cake cutters, I stood there for an hour and cut pieces of the three different flavors – decadent chocolate, raspberry vanilla and caramel.

All those layers of ganache!

I so wanted to lick my fingers! :)

It really was a beautiful wedding.  The sanctuary was filled with love – the food and the wedding garments were made with love – and the couple was celebrated with love.

Isn’t that what it’s all about?

By Country Gal | Posted in Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , | Comments off

The Hunt for the Perfect Dress

June 4, 2010

I had to find the perfect dress.

You might remember that my niece is getting married – and since we haven’t had a wedding in the family since my little sister’s (which was about 17 years ago) – this is big stuff!

Normally – I’m a cotton skirt and blouse kind of gal – but I like to have a nice dress for those few occasions – like weddings – that call for them.

The only problem is – the last time I needed to dress up I was several sizes bigger than I am right now.

So it was time for a new dress. :)

Easier said than done.

I started my hunt at my favorite thrift stores because I am basically cheap and can’t imagine spending full price for a dress that I will wear just a few times. I could feed my family of seven for a week on what some of those dresses cost!

But I found there wasn’t much selection in my size – or any size.

One looked like something my Grandma would wear.

My niece said another looked like an Easter basket.

One was such a slinky material that my behind jiggled when I walked. I know this for a fact because my sister said so! I love you B! :)

I tried 2 dresses on at the Nifty Thrifty. Silly me. I’m not really sure what I was thinking – they were sheath-like dresses that really tall and skinny people wear. (I am neither – I have lots of curves – especially where I sit!). I got one over my head and it got stuck. Really stuck.

I’m claustrophobic and went into a near panic because I couldn’t get it to move. I debated on whether to call out to my husband to rescue me – which would have caused quite a scene! Or just get the scissors out of my purse and cut myself out – then I would buy the dress and try to explain to my husband on the way home.

I did neither. I took a deep breath and with a little more wiggling I got the dress off. No. more. sheaths. No. more.

I figured my best bet was The 17th Street Consignment Store. But after looking through the dress racks t least 5 times, I had come up short. I tried 3 dresses on. Although I didn’t get stuck, they still didn’t work.

One showed too much cleavage.

The print of another was just way too loud.

And the third one was to tight in all the wrong places. It screamed “Hello – this woman loves mashed potatoes with butter!”

I was on my way out the door empty-handed when I saw it.

It was on display in the front of the store in plain sight. How had I missed it before?!

I fingered the material and checked the size.

My husband – who was trying to hurry me out the door – saw me and said, “Go ahead and try it on – I’ll wait.”

Seriously. He said that.

So I tried it on.

It fit.

I turned around in front of the mirrors – not bad. The color was nice – not to muted and not to bold. It was fitted, but not too tight.

I stepped out of the dressing room to see what Jan thought. He smiled. The lady behind the counter smiled and said it looked good. She also added that it was a very expensive dress – from Coldwater Creek no less!

And the price was just $10.

Sold.

But wait – there’s more!

Since this was a consignment store and the last time we visited I had left several boxes of things to consign – we had $15 of credit waiting for us.

I not only got the dress for free – they actually paid me $5 to buy it!:)

It was a happy day people, a happy day!

By Country Gal | Posted in Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)