The Cheap Life

Well, I guess we could have less money, but we are by no means rich.

We still know how to have some fun though :) 

So here are some things we did this week on our budget!

Cookies -  I called these "Pantry Cookies."  I started out with making peanut butter cookies, and then...

                  I looked at my pantry shelf and decided to throw a bunch of stuff together to make these :)

Like I said, I started out with a basic peanut butter cookie.  

So I started with the sugar.

Then I thought, maybe it would be even better with some

butterscotch chips!  Mmmmmm

So then I went to add the peanut butter to it.  But I didn't have enough creamy :(

Then a stroke of brilliance, CRUNCHY!!! 

But why stop at cream and crunch peanut butter, when there is Nutella on the shelf!

Who doesn't like nutella? 

^^^ These were the results.

This cookie is not for those on a diet (clearly) and are very sweet.  

The peanut butter and butterscotch also make them very savory.

Definitely need milk with this cookie, and it is a crumbly cookie (best warm IMO)

It has a slight crisp on the outer shell, with a nice soft crumble middle.

Joshua, Evelyn, Joshua's brother, and myself are the official taste testers, and we all approve!

Pantry Cookies:

1 C Granulated sugar

1 C Confectioners sugar

1 C Light brown sugar

0.5 C Creamy peanut butter

1.5 C Chunky peanut butter

0.5 C Nutella

1 Large Egg

2 TBSP water

1/4 C. Vegetable Oil (If I were to remake this, I think I would use coconut oil instead)

2 Tsp Hazelnut extract

Half of a bag of butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray non-stick spray on pan (I use a mix of 2 parts water, 1 part vegetable oil, in a spray bottle).  I mixed the dough with my hands because it was easier with all the chunky stuff in it :) then I rounded the cookies into balls a little over an inch tall.  I put them in the oven for about 7-8 minutes, then immediately pressed them down with the spatula, and put them on a cooling rack.  They were delicious :) 

Halloween Decorations - Halloween is my favorite holiday, and Autumn is my favorite time of the

                                          year.  Unfortunately, I never have the money to buy all the stuff I see in the

                                          store to decorate :( sad panda.   But luckily I found an inexpensive way to

                                          bring in some holiday cheer :) 

I have a one year old in my house, who eats a ton!  I know I can not be the only one.  After throwing so many baby food jars away, I started feeling horrible :( So instead I started washing and saving them.  I had no idea what to do with them, until recently when I figured it out :) 

I already had the jars, and each bottle of paint can be found for less than a dollar at craft stores.

I used a sharpie for the black lines.  The tall ghost on the far left was made from a Gerber treat tub.

Also, you may notice the sticky decorations on the windows (the clingy ones).  I got those after Halloween last year.  It was on sale and I got two packs of them for 20 cents each.  Seriously how awesome is that?  I always get them, and other holiday decorations, after the said holiday. 

I also used some chicken noodle soup cans :) 

50 cents at Michaels the week after Halloween! :)  

^^^ also 50 cents :) This is on our front door.

Now this is my favorite thing that I have done... I painted a cheap flat canvas, and then put it in an old frame that I didn't have any other use for.  I decorated the frame with google eyes, and just used dabs of paint for the glue.  Then I put it on our front door, so our neighbors could see :)

I also got a black skull table cloth, an orange candy bowl, and a Halloween sign for the kitchen.

I got them all at Dollar Tree.  So for all my decorations, I didn't even break 10 dollars.

It is amazing how much stuff is around that I no longer have a use for, that I can turn into a craft.

Romantic Dinner - I wanted to do something special for Joshua and myself, so I made dinner last night.

Unfortunately, sometimes you cant be too, too cheap lol.  Over the weekend I bought a bottle of Mascato from World Market.  They are awesome and have lots of wine discounts :) So I got a bottle for 8 bucks (and it is delicious)!!!!  This is not the too cheap part, this cheapness was awesome!  

The cheap part was the steak I bought :/  I got a pair of steaks that were in the clearance spot because they were only a couple days away from expiration.  Since we would be having them very soon, I didn't think too much of it.  I marinated them all day with my own marinade (apple cider vinegar, lea and perrins, soy sauce, a little brown sugar) and then cooked it in a seasoned pan (onion powder, my own non-stick spray, a little garlic, and basil).   Joshua likes his rare, and I like mine medium.  However they were so thin, they both cooked up really fast.  My fault for going the cheap route.  The flavor of the steaks was delicious!  But they were chewy :( and I actually choked on a little of it.  It made for some really nice laughs though :) and now we have a fun memory of the horrible steak lol with the delicious flavor.  Next time I think I will have to splurge and pay more than 4 dollars for a pair of steaks haha.  

We also had scrambled eggs :) with a little garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  They were yummy :) 

So "steak" and eggs, with a glass of wine :) I finished my wine first and he poured me some from his own glass so we could toast.  Another great memory... 

Josh pours some wine in my glass from his, I go to take a drink, he said NO!  We have to cheersy.  Cheersy? I asked.  He thought for a moment, laughed and said toast!  We have to toast!  I teased him a little, and we "cheersyed" and drank the rest of our wine.  Not a perfect evening, but at the same time, perfect <3  Less than 15 dollars for two orders of steak and eggs and wine.  With lots of leftover eggs, and wine.  Though really I think I have to pay more for steak next time :/  

Cheers!

Excuse the mess.  I keep cleaning, but she keeps playing.  Silly baby :) just kidding!

But I thought it was okay to take an evening off and just enjoy it!

Bubble Bath Fun - Evelyn was kinda cranky this week.  She has had a cold so I understand :( 

                               poor baby girl!  So I thought she would like a bath :) I had wanted to use shaving

                               cream for some sensory play.  However we didn't have any (you can however get

                               some at the Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, one dollar).  We did have some no 

                               tears dollar shampoo.  I put some in and made her a bubble bath.  Then I gave her

                               some blue and green food coloring, and let her go nuts!  She had sooooo much fun.

                               Total cost was less than two dollars!

She loved it!  :) 

Purple hair!

So I decided to put purple tint and streaks in my hair.  This isn't the best picture, sorry about that.  

One of my friends really wanted to see it, so I had Joshua take pictures of me.  He made me do all these poses, and such, and then he said "smile"  so I "smiled" the fakest smartassiest smile I could muster, and it actually turned out to be the best picture.  Guess I am not so good at the smartass thing :/  at least in pictures.  

You can sorta see it lol... right?  You can definitely see it in the sun.  I wanted a medium lavender color, and it came out more like royal blue :/  but I have gotten some compliments on it, so yay!

I used punky color!  I did this a week ago and it still looks just as vivid as the first day.  I have had bad luck with manic panic color dyes in the past, so this is awesome!  Everytime I shower, the water is clear, but when I shampoo, the suds are purple.  I am not sure what to think of this :/  Water doesn't make it leak or anything, and like I said, it runs clear.  But soap definitely turns a color.  

I was a bad girl and didn't use gloves (I have a hard time feeling if I have enough dye on my hair when I wear gloves!  But if you can, I would highly recommend that you do wear gloves... as would my stained hands.  

They didn't look quite as bad after the first couple showers :) 

Baked Apples

Well Evelyn was sick on Monday and Tuesday.  Now I am sick :/  I love tea with honey though, so at least it is an extra reason to drink it :)

Anyways, I promised a new recipe, and here it is!!!

Baked Apples

I don't know who to give specific credit to since I have seen so many similar recipes.  However this specific recipe, is mine, but the way they are baked I got from many places (kinda like how you know you put a cake in an oven, and it is best in a pan lol).

So here is my recipe for baked apples!

3 Apples (I used red because it is what we had on hand, if I did it again I would use Granny Smiths)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
Raisins
Honey
Lemonade (I used minute maids already made)
Mini Marshmallows
Butter

Preheat oven to 400
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, raisins, and cinnamon.  I don't do measurements, just look at your apples, and make enough to fill the inside of them.  Everyone has a different preference, so add the seasoning according to yours.  (I like a lot of cinnamon)

Take your apples and set them in a baking dish.  If they can not stand on their own, cut off some of the bottom so that they stand flat.

Now take a knife and cut around the core at the top.  (sorry, I should have taken more pictures of this)
This next step is a lot easier if you have a melon baller, if not, use a spoon or a fork and you will be fine :) (I had to use a fork, I couldn't find my melon baller)
Scoop out the insides (not too much, you do want some apple haha) so that the core and seeds aren't there.  Make sure you don't go through the bottom though.

Take your brown sugar mixture, and fill up the apples.  You can over flow it, because it will deflate as it goes.

Put a dollop of butter on top of each apple, over the brown sugar mixture.

Pour lemonade into the baking dish around the apples.

Drizzle the apples with honey, and cover them with foil.  Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until desired softness.  Take out, and put the mini marshmallows in the hole (there will be room now) and recover with foil but do not put back in the oven.

After a few minutes, or when mallows are melted, remove foil.  Put on plate, drizzle with more honey, and a dash of cinnamon.  Enjoy!

I cut mine in half before I served them, and I served Joshua his with a couple spoonfuls of his yogurt on top.  You could also do Ice Cream and granola, or raspberries, or lots of other things (I think an oatmeal crumble would be really good and some caramel)

Sorry I am not the best picture taker, but here are ours.   I take my photos with my mp3 player, so I apologize for the quality.  I enjoyed them, but I think I would like mine softer.  Joshua said he liked his though.

^^^ Joshua with yogurt on top

^^^ Mine :) I know I am boring hehehe

And back again

I have been gone for about two weeks now, and I am home again.

My family had some issues happening, and my dad was having surgery, so I had to go back to my hometown to help take care of my younger siblings and the house.

My dad however is the worst patient, and did not follow the doctors orders at all, so really I did not even need to go lol :) 

We are finally home though!  Yay!  

I missed being here so much!

Here are a couple pictures from the trip.  I will have some new posts this week, so get ready!

I got back Saturday night, and yesterday was a family day, and today Evee is sick :(

Only posting now because it is nap time and I had a free moment.  

:) <3

This week I plan to have a new recipe, and a new craft to post.  Yay!

Oh yeah, photos!

This is my younger brother Cole, Evelyn, and myself at the court house.

Joshua was a marine, and we were missing him terribly so we took this photo for him.

I look so thin in this picture!!! Makes me happy since I have been trying to lose weight.

Now this photo (taken with a phone) I look huge!  Way bigger than normal lol.

But still showing this pic because even though we all look huge, it's cute!

My baby sister Cory and my brother Cole, loving being taller than me.

She has heels on though, so it doesn't count!

My little girl waiting in the lobby with me of the orthodontist.

Aunt Cory had an appt. 

My mighty little warrior!

Celebrating Uncle Coles 20th birthday!

This was the first time Evee ever let me put her hair in pigtails!!! Yay! 

Magazine Cover

So this is probably one of my favorite pictures of Evelyn.

So I decided to enter it in a contest for the cover of a magazine.

If you would please vote for her, I would really appreciate it!  

This would be a great addition to her college fund if she won!

I just entered my happy baby in the American Baby Cover Contest. Each week the photo with the most votes wins a prize!

Vote for Evee!

Happy Birthday

So yesterday was my little baby girls first birthday.

Unfortunately, we were all sick :(
but we still made the best we could out of it.

We had her party last Saturday, back in my home town.  This kid made out like a bandit!  My sister who works for the NIKE corporate office, got her, her first pair of baby Nike shoes!

How cute are these??!?!?!  Plus the box is so teeny!

She also got a bunch of musical and fun gifts :) Including her first two baby dolls ever.  

I can't forget that she got a big pile of books too, especially since we read 5 of them just yesterday hehehe :) my girl loves to read stories.  

She also got a ton of clothes, a froggy potty, some diapers, and a ton of cake :) 

She definitely smashed!

I decided we should have a birthday tradition for our little family, so here it is.  I set up two different cups, one with Joshua on it, the other Ashley.  Everyone was told ahead of time to bring their spare change with them, because whichever cup had more money in it at the time of the smash cake, would get cake smashed in their face.  All of the proceeds would go towards a savings fund for Evelyn to go to college.  Entertainment for a good cause :)

Since most of the people there (since it was in my home town) knew me more than Joshua, I expected to be the one with cake in the face... It didn't go that way however.  Instead :) Josh got the cake allllllll over his face... I may have been a little over excited.

The thing I love most about this picture, is that Evelyn is still just looking at the cake,
like "Hey that is mine, I want more." Silly little baby :)
This also amuses me because my petname for Josh, since we got together,
is facecake :) I call him my facecake, and here he is... with cake on his face.

Day 1 of school

Today Joshua starts at his new school.  We moved here from our old home, just for this.  Through a bunch of little problems and such we weren't sure if it would all work out, but now it looks like it will :) So proud of him!