Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

The week in which I went shopping on a Saturday

SEO titles be damned today. Let me tell you the tale of going to the store on a Saturday.

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food BudgetNothing interesting happened.

Nope, nothing at all.  I kept thinking that, because I haven’t been to the grocery store on a weekend in 6 months, it was this big hell-mouth of a nightmare.  Screaming kids, messes everywhere, wall-to-wall shopping carts.  Boy was I wrong.  It was quiet and well-stocked.  I could find everything I needed and I got out in about the same amount of time as when I go on Tuesday.

It helps that I was there around 9:45am, but still.

This week, I did go over on my Project:Food Budget budget.  I wanted to only spend $50 and I ended up with a $57.11 bill.

Not bad considering that I haven’t been to the store in weeks and I was scraping the bottom of the fridge barrel.  It was getting to the point of bringing hummus, crackers, and a can of soup for lunch because I a) just had no desire to cook and have leftovers and b) I really didn’t have anything to make for lunch anyway.

I have to say, I’m pretty proud of a) not going toooo over budget and b) how I shopped.

I could have gone about $10 more, but because I used many of the Giant Eagle coupons offered for $1 off fresh berries, Silk soy milk, yogurt, etc, I got my bill down a lot more significantly than I would have otherwise.  I love that they do that.  I really try not to buy things in boxes and you rarely run across coupons for things that aren’t in a box.

I also didn’t really pay attention to what I was purchasing.  I didn’t even have a list.  I just allowed myself to pick up whatever I came across.  I did look for sales and things I knew were on Ibotta.  But for the most part, I just let myself enjoy the experience of looking around and stocking up again.

My menu is totally driven by the items I picked up.  I have some left over pork from Sunday dinner, so I’ll make a stir-fry with that one night.  Another night will be salmon burgers (and I’ll freeze the others to use as I need) and I’ll be making some kind of chicken and pasta dish.  I may not use all the chicken I purchased and add them to a chicken taco night.  I still have to meal plan, but I have an adorable meal planning sheet from Emily!

Want to see how the other Badass Budget Mamas are doing? (That should totally be a band name.) Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Rainaldi.org / Red Pen Mama / Erra Creations / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Shea Lennon / Warm as Pie / Two Eggs Over Easy

How are you doing with your budget?

Back on Budget

Holy crap, it’s July.  Well into July.  When did that happen?  I had all of these lofty goals for 2015, like write one post per month for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Network (hey at least I got June’s post in under the wire) and get my investment portfolio together.  At least no goal is exempt from me being like, “Yeah that’s not happening right now.”

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food Budget

Something I am sticking to is a budget, though.  I really have Emily Levenson and Project:Food Budget to thank for that.

After not buying anything three weeks ago, I had to stock up a little bit two weeks ago.  And then I didn’t go to the store again last week.  I thought the first time not shopping was an anomaly, but I guess not.

I knew that because of the holiday weekend, I wouldn’t need to purchase anything the week leading up to the 4th of July and just rely on the generosity of the BBQers to provide a big meal in the middle of the day for me.

Is that wrong?   Or smart?  I’m not quite sure.  But I can assure you, if you invite me over to dinner, I won’t sit there and use you for the majority of my nutrition for the day.

Unless I just haven’t gotten my lazy ass to the store that week again.

So again, we have a no-budget recap week.  (I didn’t get last week’s post out when I did go shopping the week before.  The total bill was $55.51, a total savings of $24.68 thanks to a lot of weekly specials and Giant Eagle-issued coupons.  When I subtract non-food purchases, I came up with $46.22.  $3.78 under my $50 total.)

I’m finding there are two things that I’m learning here.

1. I love saving money.

2. I really hate shopping when I have to stick to a budget.

I love watching the total go down and down and down the more coupons I scan.  I do that for online shopping, too.  I put everything I want into my cart and then take things out based on their price after the sale (who can turn down a $3 t-shirt??) and the total that’s worth it for me. $50 for 4 dresses, a pair of shoes, and 3 shirts?  Done.

But I haaate having to shop with a budget.  I know it’s the best way to do it because there are no surprises.  And it’s easier to manage money when you have a predictable budget for bills/utilities every month.

I just really feel like I can’t add fun little things to my cart because it’s wasteful and eating up space for something useful in my budget.

Emily did warn about this when I was prepping myself for the project; she advised to add a treat within the budget so you aren’t feeling deprived.  I’ve tried doing that, but I’m losing the sense that it’s a “treat” because I’m still thinking about the total at the register.

So I’ll purchase a bag of chips for myself or some hummus (both items I never get) but I use a coupon so even though it’s a splurge, I’m not being totally cavalier.  Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong.

Also a treat isn’t so guilty-pleasure when you still have to cook it.

How do you handle feeling deprived when you’re budgeting?

Don’t forge to check out these budgeting babes and see what’s working for them: Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Rainaldi.org / Red Pen Mama / Erra Creations / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller / Shea Lennon / Warm as Pie

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Blogs you need to read, Pittsburgh edition

Last month, I shared a handful of my favorite bloggers.  It only included half of my favorite bloggers.  A good portion of what I read are my favorite ‘Burgh bloggers.  So part two of the blogs I love conversation rounds out the list with some great bloggers right from my hometown.

I love that the list also includes a few dudes.  Blogging isn’t just for mommies and scrapbookers, especially in this town.  Just the amount of people writing about beer would fill up a few thousand words.

Pittsburgh bloggers who are killing it.

I know there are bloggers I’m missing (I’m really really sorry!).  I want to give love to the whole city; I’ll probably end up writing another post.  But for today, in no particular order:

Mel (30 Something Therapy)

Mel is hilarious online and the handful of times I’ve met her in person.  Her posts are short and sweet and her personality totally shines through the writing.  I especially love her race recaps.  You’ll be ready to lace up your shoes and go outside.  For real.  The girl is a total badass.

Alex (Everybody Loves You)

Another person who is hilarious online and off.  Even his emails that remind you not to reply all are pithy and just right.  Just like I enjoy Campfire Kam for her Instagrams, I love Alex’s tweets and pictures.  He’s brilliant, slightly self-effacing, and is great for fostering community and collaborations.  Want more proof: he’s the brains behind the Pittsburgh Great Blog Exchange.

And Finn is just too much.  How can you not follow along?

(PS: we’ll be doing a Twitter collab post soon and he is on the ball and on point as always.  So stay tuned.)

Britt (In Pursuit of Happiness)

I should just stop saying “OMG they’re so great in person” because everyone on this list totally is and Britt is another one.  And it’s no surprise that I’m including Britt because I’ve fangirl-ed out enough on here about her.

I love her inspiring posts and that she gets real and raw with her readers.  Life isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, but she always has a positive message, even at the end of a crappy story.  I love the way she presents these things.  It really makes you feel like, “Listen, life can be shit sometimes, and that’s okay.”

Emily (Emily Levenson)

Emily, a co-pilot of Propelle, has a great blog (in case you missed it, she’s the driving force behind Project:Food Budget) focusing on food.  I wouldn’t call her a “food blogger,” rather a “food inspire-er.”  I mean, I buy bananas and purposely let them get old just so I can make her banana bread.

And her baby is so cute.

Kate (Yinzpiration)

Kate rounds out the Propelle duo with Emily and is seriously inspiring herself.  Yinzpiration is like a big “here’s why Pittsburgh is awesome” proclamation.  And if you need to follow some entertaining tweeters, check out her 57 Reasons to Live in Pittsburgh page.

You’ll probably want to move here after reading it if you don’t already live in Pittsburgh.  And if you do, hit me up so we can grab some beers.  Which leads me to…

Jason (Breaking Brews / PCBN)

Okay, this is slightly cheating because I write for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Network (and it’s awesome regardless, so go read about the awesome craft beers in the ‘Burgh).  I love the podcasts that he and Jason Collins get together and put on.  They’re entertaining, especially when they’re actually drinking beers on air.

And Breaking Brews isn’t just Pittsburgh-specific, so you can totally get something out of this even if you’re not from around here.

Beth (The Fashionable Eye)

The girl’s ‘gram game is strong.  And her shoe game is even more on point.  Beth is another person who I love for her Instagram.  She always looks so fashionable and her outfits are something I’d never thing to do – like leather shorts, booties, and flannel for summer.  Genius!

I was introduced to Beth through Alex and the PghGBE this year.  If you need further proof that he’s great at making connections.

Bonus: her pup is adorable.

What blogs are on you must-read list?

The day in which I didn’t write anything

Guys, I’mma just break it down and get real with you today.  I didn’t write anything.  I didn’t prepare anything.  I knew I should have, but I didn’t.  Instead of writing something after work yesterday, I hopped on a Google Hangout with Devan of Devan Danielle and we chatted about business, needing focus (me), travel as it relates to design (her), and where we want to go with our businesses (us).

She told me about an upcoming post that she’s doing, Why you need more than a logo. You need a brand.  It should be out soon this week, so keep an eye on her blog for that.  Because it sounds like an amazing post and just what you need if you’re craving a little direction.

This is a short, sweet post and totally replaces what I had planned to write today.  But, you can’t say I didn’t post every day in June because I totally just did.  Search rankings be damned.

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

The week in which I didn’t go shopping

This week for Project:Food Budget is kind of an anomaly: I didn’t go grocery shopping.  I did set foot in Giant Eagle, but just to buy a Father’s Day card and I thought about picking up a Rogue X Voodoo Donuts collab beer, but I talked myself out of that.

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food Budget

I’m sure you want to know how in the wide world I didn’t spend any money at the store all week.

Well I still had things from last week and I didn’t want them to go bad if I purchased new items.  So I was trying to finish off that.  Also, my father moved back into his house (all independent – I’m so proud) and I stayed with him for a few days to make sure everything was okay.

So this is a rather underwhelming post.

I guess we should include that I did go to lunch at Chipotle when I really didn’t need to, so let’s add that bill to the total.  $9.08 for a burrito bowl and chips that I ate for lunch and dinner on Friday.

That’s about all she wrote, so I’m not going to drag it out.  I’m proud that instead of wasting items, I used up what I could when I could and I’ll be stocking fresh today or tomorrow.

Go ahead and do yourself a favor and read what these budgeting badasses who actually went out and bought stuff. Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Red Pen Mama / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller / Shea Lennon

What’s on your menu? I could use some meal inspiration!

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

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