Hello again, savvy savers! I just wanted to post a notice reminding everyone to check out The LadyPrefers2Save Giveaway tab on the blog! Weekly we typically have 2-3 giveaways, contests, and promotional offers going, and I would like to encourage all of my readership to enter for their chance to win a myriad of fun prizes, products, and gift-cards! To check out these giveaways, click here!
Hello again, spooktacular savers! This is day two of my three month fall savings series here on The Lady Prefers2Save! I am truly excited to be starting a new blog series, and hope that you all will follow along! Each day I will feature money-saving suggestions, tips, recipes, projects, or yard decorating ideas with budget-savvy families in mind! Today’s post centers a combination post, for both my Fall Savings Series and my Thrifty Thursday’s Savings series, which is a very affordable way to create a Halloween look for your bedroom on a budget!
To create this look, I simply combined a black bed skirt, black and white monochromatic damask quilt, an orange layered blanket underneath, with a fall, black cat blanket topping the bed. For pillows, I layered two black euro shams, burnt orange pillow cases, damask shams, black cat pillows, and a homemade pillow, which pays homage to our favorite pet, Mr. Shadow Cat!
I believe that by simply changing the look of my bedding seasonally, I can inexpensively change the overall look of my bedroom. Besides, who doesn’t like a little whimsy, on a dime!
Here’s to Fall,
Good morning, savvy savers! For this weeks organizational post, I wanted to share with you one of the ways I organize my home! In my kitchen, on the wall on my pantry door, I have affixed two, and soon to be more, half-circle wire plant holders to the exterior pantry side board, and these baskets allow me to store produce, snack cakes, miscellaneous kitchen items, or whatever I have on hand, that has been purchased in bulk, that would need to be stores. As of right now, they are holding a myriad of snack cakes, which are being donated as prizes for my husbands school, as well as potatoes and apples, which are sprouting and tomorrow will be planted (upcoming tutorial will follow on my DIY potato towers); the potatoes would have been planted today, but we are currently under a severe weather watch in my area through tomorrow morning!
In any event, I found my baskets online, through Amazon.com for around $7.00 each, and I just love how little space they take up, but how utilitarian they are in design! The baskets also let me see which produce should be taken out to my compost bin, which can be prepped, cooked, and frozen as well. These bins keep clutter off of my counter tops, and out of my home.
Here’s to organizing!
Good morning, savvy savers! As I have shared last week, I will be incorporating my Merry Monday Cookie and Share-Fest posts, into my month-long Halloween Fall Post Series!
Please note, stating with next week’s Merry Monday Linky Party, there will be an iLinz link-up so you will be able to share you best holiday fare as well! This week I am sharing one of my families favorites, my recipe for Cupboard Clearing Cake! Why call it Cupboard Clearing Cake? Well, the toppings and icing can be tailored to whatever you have on hand, and in my case, cherry pie filling, oreos, and nutella! Though this cake does not fit into my low-amylose diet, it does satisfy ever sweet tooth craving myself and my husband has, and on occasion, is just an awesome pick-me-up!
This cake is sure to cheer up even the grumpiest Gus! Here’s how to make it:
Cupboard Clearing Cake Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions For Cake:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
3) In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer.
4) Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
5) Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick.
6) Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients for Icing and Assembling Cake:
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nutella
1 can cherry pie filling
Oreo cookies, or other cookies on hand.
Directions For Assembling:
1) In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
2) Next, in a large glass bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk.
3) Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy; adjust consistency with more milk or sugar if needed.
4) Fold in nutella, and let icing rest in bowl, at room temperature for five minutes.
5) Place 1 cake round on cake stand, adding half the contents of one can of cherry pie filling on top, then top with second cake round.
6) Ice cake, then place remaining cherry pie filling centered on top of cake, when finished crumble oreos around top, and reserve several to rim bottom of cake.
Enjoy!
Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes! All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60 lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!
Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 199 lbs; I am down two pounds since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today finds my continued yoga, meditation, walking my dogs, using a pedometer, portioning my meals, and now I also measure myself monthly!
For this post, I wanted to discuss a new lifestyle strategy I have implemented, monthly measurement logs. Using a seamstress tape, I measure my neck, arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs, and calves, then log my progress each month, good or bad, to see a visible result of my diet strategy. I have found this method daunting at first, but now, in my weight lose, find that seeing my actual results, is amazing and euphoric!
More reasons to measure yourself monthly, as part of a healthy lifestyle plan are:
You will be surprised at how an inch lose in any of these areas will alter the way your clothes will fit, your attitude will change, and you health will better!
I highly recommend pushing your boundaries to the side, and see how you measure up to your own personal, obtainable healthy lifestyle goals!
Here’s to the Journey!
Hello again, spooktacular savers! This is day two of my three month fall savings series here on The Lady Prefers2Save! I am truly excited to be starting a new blog series, and hope that you all will follow along! Each day I will feature money-saving suggestions, tips, recipes, projects, or yard decorating ideas with budget-savvy families in mind! Today’s post centers on a very fun project, screen savers!
As you may know I am a fur-parent to several adorable, precocious pups and kittens (they are all fully grown cats and dogs, but will always be kittens and puppies to me) and so I try to not leave them out of my fun each holiday season! Each year, I chose one of my fur-babies to try and either dress them up in a Halloween costume or the like, and use the photo as a Halloween screen saver. This year, my husband’s cat, Shadow Lee, gave us his best face, and for that matter, best eyes. His random shot, sitting on the edge of kitchen counters proved to be a spooktacular photo of his beautiful glowing green eyes, which in addition to my annual screen saver, will also grace our family Halloween greeting card for friends and family alike.
Taking photos of pets, like Mr. Shadow Lee, is a great way to add a little whimsy, on a dime, to your Halloween celebrations! You’re just a right click away from a free, customized pet screen savers of your own. See what interesting photos your own pets can conjure up this Halloween season!
Here’s to Fall,