Free Chick-fil-A Sandwich

FREE Chick-fil-A® Original Chicken Sandwich
Labor Day, September 7, 2009 only
Wear your sports team logo to Chick-fil-A from 10:30 a.m. to close, and get a FREE Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich.

Monday is definitely going to be a family night out at our favorite Chick-fil-A.
GO PACKERS!!!
We just love Chick-fil-A, don't you? :)

Cultivate Creativity - turn the TV off

The average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day, according to the A.C. Nielsen Co. In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.

So what happens when this "mean mom" says, "No" to TV during the day?
Relationships are solidified, creativity blossoms, and imaginative play dusts off it's silent, lonely webs.

Yes, it's a mess.
Yes, it creates more work.
Yes, their "territories" have been established (that's what they told me was being done).

Yes to real life being lived regardless of the dust bunnies, carpet crud and dog hair. ;)

Now to just get them to clean up as soon as they are done. I'm still working on that one.

How often do you turn off the TV and let real life reign?

How to save money on meat

This past weekend, Lysa Terkeurst gave me the privilege of speaking at her 'Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl' conference.
You all know how I love to find deals, so it was only appropriate that I shared from my "Becoming a Grocery Guru" workshop. I ran out of time and only briefly mentioned ways to save money on meats.

We all know that some of the most obvious ways to save money on meats are to eat less of them, add more grains and beans to your diet etc. etc. But what if your family mantra declares "Meat is King" and serving a delicious Asian Citrus Salad on couscous is just not an option?

The #1 way that my family saves money on meats is by looking for the wonderful yellow tags that indicate it's being marked down due to a "quick sale."
This means that the sell/freeze by date is within a day or two and they want to move it on out.
I have enjoyed my shopping experience so much more by getting to know the management.
Ask your butcher/meat manager when they mark the meats down.
Quite often, they have a regular routine.
The store I shop at initiates their first mark down by 8am, the second mark down by 3:00pm, and if anything is left by the time they go home at 7:00 - whew, you get a steal and I recommend you snatch it all up. That's what I did last night.

On Sundays, whole rotisserie chickens are on sale for $4.99 (reg. $6.99).
At 7:00pm, if there are any left, an additional $3 is taken off and I splurge for a whopping $1.99 of moist, already cooked, seasoned chicken.
If I snag more than one, I pick off the chicken, bag it up in quart size servings, and I'm ready for instant casseroles or freezer meals .
These pre-marinated pork tenderloins are regularly $8.99 (18 oz). I got there in time for the third mark down and was thrilled to purchase these for only $2.99, as well as free range ground chicken for $1.99.
Don't just assume your store does not do this - ask! They may not, but they also may make an exception. You wouldn't believe all the deals I get on all types of foods just by asking politely.

Some of you have what I call a "flinch factor." Purchasing marked down meats might not be an option for you since you only like the freshest of the fresh, and I completely respect that.
Coupled with buying marked down meats, our family also buys the freshest of meats by purchasing an entire cow (with other three other families).
It doesn't get more fresh than that - from the range to the freezer in less than a week.
Twice a year, we order 1/4 of a cow, and it is always delicious.
It's free range, no hormones and averages about $2/lb for every cut of meat imaginable from Fillet Mignon to soup stock. Since it's location specific, ask a local farmer or butcher if they can recommend a place for you. It's really worth it. In the Piedmont Triad area, we order from Mitchell Meats and they do everything right at their meat packing plant.

Some of the other ways I save are by taking advantage of holiday deals.
Purchasing ground turkey after Thanksgiving always leads to a great deal. Our local Fresh Market grinds their left over turkeys after the holidays and sells their free range, high quality ground turkey at only $0.99/lb.
I stock up on ham before and/or right after Easter and Christmas holidays.

I'm also not afraid of buying the cheaper cuts of meat and letting the crock pot tenderize it til it's melt in the mouth good.

Stretch your ground beef by mixing it with ground turkey. It's not only healthier, but more cost effective. Other ways I stretch my meat are by adding bread crumbs, potato flakes, oatmeal and....
TVP.

What in the world is TVP?
Below I am mixing it with my meatloaf mixture. Yes, I know it might look like dog food, but it's a healthy low cost alternative that is wonderfully versatile. It stands for Textured Vegetable Protein, and it's a meat alternative made from soy flour. It comes in chunks and flakes (I only use the flakes) and I slide it into my ground beef quite often.
It is sold in a dehydrated form but easily reconstitues when mixed with beef.
You can find it sold in any health food store or food chains that carry a "bulk food" aisle.

Here I am stealing all the fun on Tasty Tuesday....there are many more ways that I save on meat.
Why don't you throw out some of your tried and true tips in the comments and see if we can conquer this price war together.
(Posted at Happy Housewife and Works for me Wednesday)

Thanks for sharing at Tasty Tuesday. As always link back to your direct recipe URL, and as a courtesy, please link back to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Looking beyond the junk...

Do you remember the childhood classics, The Velveteen Rabbit or Corduroy?
I often compare the moral of those stories with how I feel about yard sales.
Taking someone else's once loved items, now deemed trash, and pouring new life into them until they are treasures, brings out a creative side that I just love.
So when I passed this huge bunch of bad fake flowers at a yard sale, I immediately thought, "Wow, those are ugly, huge and way too long." (The stems were about 2-3 feet.) You see, I have spent the last six months purging my home of those kind of fakes. This yard sale had junk...all of it was junk, and since my goal is to hit at least ten sales in an hour, when I see junk, I don't waste my time.
But as I said, "thank you" to the woman and walked to my car empty handed, Corduroy reminded me that maybe even these ugly things needed a home. Maybe a small portion of my heart could extend hospitality and see beyond the junk.
Would it be possible? At $0.50 for the whole bunch, I decided the four blue blooms had potential. So I went home, had my son cut off the 2 foot green wire stems, and began to brainstorm the possibilities.
Perhaps, it could find a home under my large cloche?

Or on my beautiful tiered tray?
How about on the stand that I just bought at GoodWill?
Could its destiny be to top the milk glass tower that I bought at a yard sale or...


perhaps to accent this vase that I picked at the Nester's swap (the one that she bought at a yard sale, and passed on in the process.)
Please note, sometimes the "work with what you have" mentality is very literal. I needed to add height to the blue blooms, so I just stuffed my son's socks underneath in the blue vase...it worked. :)

I still haven't found the perfect place to use these blooms, but I will. Since my kitchen/great room are accented in yellow, green and blues, I will accessorize with them some how.
And to think, I almost passed up the junk for just $0.50.

Shop your house. "Corduroy" may be whispering that he too just needs a little extra loving, and someone to look outside the box to see the trash to treasure potential.
It may be a matter of sewing that button back on, and it will be just perfect. :)

Frugal Fashionista - wedding style

Are you new to the Frugal Fashionista series? Begin here.

Considering I have beloved family members who appreciate Frugal Fashionista finds as much I as do, it would not come as a shock to you that our recent wedding gathering sported total yard sale finds, GoodWill, Consignment and hand me down attire from my four nieces, mom and sis in love.

Remembering and detailing my own frugal wedding will be a post in its own.

My GoodWill dress was another brand new find at our local "rich people's" Goodwill. And yes, I am covering up the size, not the price. :) It was $79.99, but marked down $49.99.
My price...$5 (then take off my 10% Preferred Shopper Discount...$4.50).

My mom's dress wasn't second hand, but she has spent a lot of time in China as a short term missionary and while she was there, she had this vintage suit made for her at a definite yard sale price. It's still classy after many years which is an important reason to invest time finding a few quality core wardrobe pieces that will last for years.

My sister-in-love dresses to that point. These black pants are six years old, and she bought them at our "Rich People's" Consignment Store in town. Paying a bit more for items at Consignment Boutiques is a given, but are always guaranteed (like-new) high quality designer brands that are no more than 1-2 years old.

These pants are versatile, classy and can be dressed up or down. The rest of her outfit is also all second hand, but accessorized with some perfect jewelry, this outfit is complete.

Considering I didn't take these pictures with a post in mind (what was I thinking), I would have brought the young men forward, tucked in their shirts and featured them a bit better. My three sons with the pink, black and burgundy shirts are all dressed for success in outfits totaling $6. Since my teens are growing so quickly, the thought of buying their pants anywhere but second hand never crosses my mind.
Scoring like new Banana Republic grey pants for $3.75 at GW, $1 Lands End Khakis at a yard sale, and the burgundy Banana Republic shirt all just made my day.


My daughters, learning the art of being Frugal Fashionistas, at their finest,