I Got a Treat!

Yesterday a surprise came in the mail. My sweet husband pre-ordered this wonderful cookbook for my birthday. Only, when the book came, he couldn't wait for my birthday (December). So, I got a surprise!

I read through the entire book last night. It is a beautiful book. If you are not familiar with Ree Drummond, you have to immediately go to The Pioneer Woman. Don't read any further--go immediately to her blog!

Ree is a witty writer and lives what looks like an idyllic life. I would love to visit her at the ranch and just hang out. And her recipes! I can't wait to start cooking--this is not going to be good for my diet!

Check out the book here or get it at your local bookstore. It would be an awesome Christmas gift.

Sew and Tell 10/30

I took a break the past couple of weeks from my Lightning Strikes Quilt. My mother wants to give a quilt to two of her sisters this Christmas. We had lots of scraps and decided to make this quilt from a pattern from Atkinson Designs. It is called Lucky Stars.

This pattern is easy and fun to make. It is also very forgiving! My quilt guild make about 30 of these quilts for a local charity. It looks great scrappy and it is a great way to use up lots of scraps!

I quilted this quilt in just a couple of hours on my regular domestic machine. The binding is also scrappy. I have never made a scrappy binding, but I really like it. We have the other quilt top ready to go and I hope to get it quilted this week. This quilt really could be make in a weekend.

What are you creating this week?

To see what other folks are working on, be sure to visit amylouwho and check out Sew and Tell!

Funny!

I Got All This for $19.33!

Can you believe I got all this for $19.33!

Be sure to print your Nature Valley Coupons from my sidebar!

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom wrote about the great Nature Valley Deals going on at Kroger this week. I still had 8 of the great Nature Valley printable coupons for $1.60/1 on Granola Nut Clusters. I also had a bunch of $1 coupons. Kroger is running the nut clusters for 4/$10 and when you buy 4 you get an additional $4 off. That makes each bag of clusters $1.50 so I actually got 8 for free plus overage! I also had several e-coupons loaded on my Kroger card. I got a total of 16 bags! You can read all the details on how to get this deal HERE.

I also got the tuna and mashed potatoes for free with coupons. The Mtn. Dew was on sale for $1.25 and I had coupons that made them $0.75 each. The Tabasco was also free by combining printable coupon with an e-coupon. The Tyson chicken was on sale for $1.99/lb and that is a great price for chicken tenderloins.

I really didn't need to shop, but taking advantage of these kinds of sales is what keeps my overall food budget low.

To see how other folks did this week be sure to visit these great blogs:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Tara Quilt Show

Friday I went to the Tara Quilt Guild Quilt Show. Below I have a gallery of my favorite quilts. It was a nice show and help to inspire me to continue trying to finish up some of my projects.

This first quilt is by my friend Loreli. She won these block a couple of years ago at a guild meeting. I love the border she put on the quilt. It features pieced hearts and an applique of vine and flowers. I voted for this quilt for the Viewer's Choice Award.




I really like the monochromatic theme in this quilt.

I just helped my mother make two of these quilts for her sisters for Christmas. I have one completed and one I am about to quilt. This quilt is a pattern called Lucky Stars by Atkinson Designs. It is a great pattern that goes together quickly and is very forgiving.




This quilt is by Jeanne Lowery, the owner of Quilts and Fixins in Jonesboro, Ga. This quilt was a row-by-row monthly club quilt last fall.




This quilt is a pattern called Lightning Strikes. I am currently working on my own Lightning Strikes quilt. You can see mine HERE.

I really like the jewel tones in this quilt. Love the look of puzzle pieces.


One day I want to make a house quilt. There is a great pattern I discovered over at Anyone Can Quilt (one of my favorite blogs) when Sara participated in a block exchange. See the pattern HERE at Frieda's Hive.


This quilt is a Halloween quilt by Margaret Shlumper. Margaret teaches a monthly mystery quilt class at Quilts and Fixins.

The back of Margaret's Halloween quilt has a spooky (or sexy) surprise!



Hope these pictures inspire you to create something wonderful!

Publix 10/18/09

I haven't post any of my shopping trips lately. I have been shopping and I have been using coupons for the most part, but I just haven't been motivated to make a post. I have temporarily raised my grocery budget to a whopping $400/month! I haven't been spending all of that, but it has given me the freedom to buy all the deals I want.

Today I went to Publix and my savings were so great that I had to post a picture. I spent a total OOP of $46 and saved $109! My best deals included peanut butter for $0.23, syrup for $0.75 and toothpaste for free!

To see how other folks did this week, head over and visit these great blogs:

Publix Super Savers at Fiddledeedee

Friday Finals at Southern Savers

Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom

Have a great week!

Menu Plan Monday 10/19/09

It has been a while since I have participated in MPM, but I need to be more organized and use up some of my freezer and pantry stockpile. I actually have planned my menu for the next two weeks.

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
oatmeal
grits
granola bars
fruit

Lunches
Leftovers
sandwiches
yogurt
fruit
pretzels
Cheez-Its
popcorn

Dinners
Pork Fried Rice
Meatloaf/mashed potatoes/steamed broccoli
Fettuccini Alfredo/salad
Swiss Steak/noodles/steamed veggie
Vegetable Beef Soup
Slow-cooker Beef Stew/rice/steamed veggie
Pancakes/bacon/fruit
Oven-baked chicken/potatoes/steamed veggie
Homemade Pizza
Leftovers about 3 nights
Daughter's Birthday
Emeril's Sausage Pot (such a great fall recipe)
Chips
Baked Beans
Grilled corn-on-the cob
Velveeta cheese dip
Mandarin Orange Cake
Chocolate Cake
Ice cream

To see other great menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday at I'm and Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week!

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth...

My apologies to my vast readership for my lack of blogging. Life is good, but it has been very busy. I hope to get back to more regular posting very soon. In the meantime, let me recommend a few really great blogs:

Anna Maria Horner

Heather Bailey

Valori Wells

Hooked on Houses

Hooked on Houses post about Anna Maria Horner's kitchen

Enjoy!

By the way, for the anonymous reader (Nancy) who left a comment on my Lightning Strikes Quilt--the pattern came from Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine and the pattern is by Chris Timmons. It was an issue from several years ago, but I believe you can purchase the pattern.