project: food budget Archives - Page 2 of 2

June 23, 2015

The week in which I didn’t go shopping

June 23, 2015

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.

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!

June 16, 2015

Budget battle

June 16, 2015

It’s easy to forget your wins, small or big. Time to celebrate something for me. Tomorrow marks one year since I purchased the domain gardeninginhighheels.com. I didn’t do anything with it until….6 months later….but the idea is that I bought it. I had the idea. I went for something different. And I loooove it.

And it took me a while, but I finally made the leap and opened a blog-specific Instagram account. Can you tell that I need to mull things over for a while before I do them?

Ironically, for big things like buying a car, I decide I want a car, then I go buy it. I can’t/don’t want to take time thinking it over. I wonder what that says about me..

So for this week’s Project:Food Budget, I was pretty good. I spent $39.34 total at Giant Eagle. I purchased a few cleaning products (on sale with coupons) so when I deduct $5.99 for Lysol (totally not edible so I’m totally not counting it!) and tax, I came in at $32.93.

I should have another dollar off of that because the sign on the hamburger buns said they were free at Giant Eagle. Whatevs.

I also bought 4 lemons in the Strip for $2, so grand total for all food is: $34.93, $15.07 under budget. Can I roll that over to next week? I think it’s going to be stock up week.

I still haven’t made it out to Trader Joe’s or Aldi, but the Trader Joe’s circular did advertise chia seeds 12 oz for $4.99. I normally pay about $10 for 16 oz and I go through chia seeds in my water, Emily’s banana bread, and these summer staple lemon ricotta chia muffins from Table for Two.

In case you’re wondering, I buy bananas just so they’ll get old and I can make banana bread. I love banana bread.

Other things I made this week include this amazing chicken meatball recipe. I cheated and used pasta instead of zucchini. Also, instead of ranch dressing mix, I used fresh herbs from the garden. I can’t wait until my zucchini is finally ready for harvest! I split the pound of ground chicken and made patties for “burgers” and enjoyed on my not-free buns.

I also made Laura’s sweet and tangy macaroni salad. It is amazing and a staple of my lunch this week, I’m sure. I used flavored oil and vinegar from The Imperial Olive and it’s incredible.

I’ve also been making a batch of brown rice and using it for a side dish one night and any leftovers get turned into Emily’s rice and pear porridge for quick breakfasts that I take to work.

I put it in a mason jar and someone literally asked me if I eat anything not served in a mason jar. The answer is no. It was during my jar-salad kick. I think I may have a slight hipster problem.

I still have to figure out a menu for this week, but I know at least on Wednesday, I will again be mooching a meal off of my family. For the past few weeks, I’ve been driving to my aunts’ house where my father has been staying and spending some time with them. I always leave with leftover and they always ask me why I need to go grocery shopping afterwards.

Well this week, he’s moving back into his house for a while. Mostly independent, with the exception of the first night getting used to the environment again. So that meal is covered. I think. Either way, yay for independence and progress in health.

If you need some budgeting illumination, check out what these other budgeting beauties are up to! 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

Have you joined the budget battle? How did you do this week?

June 9, 2015

Blogger. Maker. Mover. Shaker.

June 9, 2015

There are sooo many things I want to say today and sooo little time. I don’t want you guys scrolling forever, but I am so in love with this shirt I’m wearing today and I couldn’t narrow down the photos. And I have a Project:Food Budget update/recap of what I spent last week.

Out of all of the jobs I’ve had, blogger is one of my favorites. It’s probably tied for my Yelp internship in terms of fun-ness. I mean, I get to talk about whatever I want, take cool pictures, have a community of great people. And I get to meet some awesome people.

One of these awesome people makes this awesome shirt.

Can I just gush about it for a hot minute? When Katy texted me a picture of it, I seriously had to have it.

One, I am totally a blogger, a maker, a mover, and a shaker. At least, I try to shake it. My TSwizzle moves need a little help (see picture below). And I could use a little reminder to shake things up.

Two, it is so freakin’ cute!

Blogger, Maker, Mover, Shaker Tank: Handmade Escapade (gifted)
Trucker Hat: Handmade Escapade
Polka Dot Skirt: Forever 21
Black Shorts: American Eagle
Cuffs: Studebaker Metals
Choker Necklace: old and not from Rocksbox
Diamond Gold Necklace and Blue Earrings: Rocksbox

So then I got my hands on it and was even more in love with it. It’s insanely comfortable, the font and spacing is just right, and the color is a gorgeous, summer-sky blue.

There are other colors, too, of course. I had to restrain myself from getting it in gray. Everything I own is gray. Then I looked in my closet and was like, “Damn I have a lot of blue, too,” so this tank fits right in.

I love the tank version of this because the shoulders are nice and wide and the body is long and doesn’t ride up. I know Katy makes sure of that in her designs.

And how awesome is this hat with the shirt? Katy also makes these rad hats. I’m not a hat person, but I just had to have this.

My rocksbox was in and also perfectly coordinated with the blue.

Y’all know I love wearing accessories to fancy things up, so this is something I’d definitely wear out to a fun event in Pittsburgh (or a blogging conference, if you know of any coming up…) I knew it would be perfect to wear in all different ways, casual or a little fancier.

What’s the most worn color in your closet?

Linking up with Life Could Be A Dream and The Modern Tulip for The Creative Closet.

Many thanks to Katy, who gifted me this shirt in exchange for some air time on my blog. Girl, I was already gonna talk about it before you asked me to! It’s awesome and y’all need this shirt!

Last week, I spent a total of $40.81 at Giant Eagle. I always look for the in-store specials, use in-store and manufacturer coupons when I can, and I buy things on sale and freeze them. I have such a bad problem with that, though, because I always worry that my freezer will run low and then I’ll have to buy regular-price chicken breasts. Oh the horror!

I ended up with a lot of produce and dairy – enough to fill 75% of my shopping bags. The other bag had some canned tuna, coconut oil, and Goldfish crackers – I love them for lunch snacks.

I did allow myself a splurge item at Target and it is S’more Oreos. I couldn’t help it and got two packages..

I know, if I’m going to be eating s’mores, I probably should actually make them myself and not have chemically processed s’more flavor in Oreo form, but dang-nabit they are amazing and I couldn’t help myself.

So my grand total for last week’s food spending is $46.79 – that is $3.21 under budget.

I have quite a bit of produce left over. I didn’t touch my vidalia onion yet and I have most of my tomatoes, bananas, and onions left.

I have to do a better job at looking up recipes, making a thorough list of what I need, and prepping what I can ahead of time. I’m really in a rut when it comes to dinner. I come home and just make something simple like pasta with veggies and chicken or chicken sausage on autopilot. Even tacos are a little too involved at times.

Oh and can we talk about how I couldn’t get cheese last week? I grocery shop on Tuesday mornings because I don’t start work until later and hell if I’m spending time on Sunday morning in lines if I don’t have to. Tuesdays are also when they choose to rip out and reorganize the cheese section.

I was about to start shopping from the carts piled with cheese they took out of the cases. There goes taco night. Tacos are worthless without cheese/something creamy to cut the spice.

I really want to venture to Trader Joe’s some time soon to compare prices on staple items. I’m also very anxious for my garden to start producing so I can eat tomatoes and peppers that taste like tomatoes and peppers again.

And the zucchini bread I’ll make…and grilled zucchini with feta…and oh the delicious fresh food right from my back yard will be so amazing.

Check out these other budgeting babes and see how they did this week: Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Rainaldi.org / Red Pen Mama / Erra Creations / Eryn Says… / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller

June 2, 2015

I Could Write a Book on Nail Polish

June 2, 2015

Today is the first day of Emily Levenson’s Project:Food Budget. I’ll get to that below, but first…

Ever since I was younger, I wanted to be a writer. I know I’ve said that before, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise. I haven’t written a book before, but I think I could probably write a book about nail polish, lipstick, and generally other makeup. I’ve totally let the #LipStockChallenge slide, but I could write about it for days.

There are so many things I’ve learned about nail polish from working at a spa and generally being obsessed with my nails. I feel much more confident, pulled together, and powerful when I have my nails painted. There was a time that I could correctly name the polish someone selected for their manicure.

I’m sorry to say that since I’ve been working so much, I haven’t had time to paint my nails. My poor collection misses me! Gardening is also so rough on your hands. It dries them out, makes your nails flake, and stripes the shine from your nails.

While my nails are more bare than normal, I still have much wisdom to impart about nail polish.

— I’m not totally sold that matte top coat applied between coats of light or streaky polish will even it out and give you an even application. But it does seem to help. I need to work a little on this technique.

— I also know that you should wrap the tip. I know, I know. It sounds dirty. But it isn’t! It’s bringing the color of your nail polish or the top/base coat over the tip of the nail. This seals everything in.

— OPI Nail Envy didn’t make my nails envious at all. I think it actually made the more prone to breakage when I didn’t use it.

— Essie Three Way Glaze is fantastic. If I don’t set it, though, it does crease when I’m asleep and my hand is resting against the sheets, which is annoying. But the shine and staying power is worth being careful the first night after a fresh polish.

— You can set your polish with a little Pam. Run under cold water to wash off the oil and go.

— I’ve heard that you can put Vaseline or moisturizer around your cuticles as a barrier for the color so it’s neat and clean. I’m worried that it will mix with the polish and spoil its efficacy.

— I’ve been hunting for an acceptable dupe for Essie Mint Candy Apple since I broke my original bottle. It was after the new formulation of the color so I couldn’t just buy a new one. And it took me forever to locate my first bottle when I was at Penn State. The formula available at Ulta now looks blue. That is NOT minty or appley!

I think I found the best double in Formula X in Unmistakable. It’s a light, minty, blue-green. I thought Zoya in Tiana would be good, but it’s definitely more yellow-green than blue-green. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet is an exact match for Zoya Tiana, though.

OPI in That’s Hula-rious and Gargantuan Green Grape are too green to be Mint Candy Apple.

I’ve also found a combo pack at Target with an Essie Gel-like top coat and Mint Candy Apple polish that looks sneakingly similar to my beloved original bottle.

Now that I’ve gone on about nail polish, I’m going to go on about budgeting. Today is the first post for Emily Levenson’s Project:Food Budget. I do my grocery shopping on Tuesday morning (after this is published) so I can’t really say how I’ve done so far. I have made a meal plan (and will try to stick to it..unlike some of my past weeks!) I am setting myself up with a $50 per week budget at the grocery story and other places where I buy food to cook.

I’m going to try to be intentional with the bill and track food as well as things I purchase at the store that contribute to eating in (storage bags and aluminum foil for example). I will not include toiletries, greeting cards, etc that I can also buy where I shop.

For that reason, I’ve also decided not to include eating out in the budget because a) I rarely do it and b) if I do, it’s usually with Jonathan, so that’s more of a “date/entertainment” expense than a food expense. Are you joining in to track what you’re spending?

Follow along with these other budgeting babes!

Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Rainaldi.org / Red Pen Mama / Erra Creations / Eryn Says… / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller

The week in which I didn’t go shopping

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

Budget battle

Have you joined the budget battle? How did you do this week?

Blogger. Maker. Mover. Shaker.

What’s the most worn color in your closet?

I Could Write a Book on Nail Polish

What could you write a book about?

Dig Up Something Good

Let’s Play

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together

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

Spread the love:

Have you joined the budget battle? How did you do this week?

Spread the love:

What’s the most worn color in your closet?

Spread the love:

What could you write a book about?

Spread the love:

Dig Up Something Good

Let’s Play

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together