{ A warm fire, some beef stew and a super cold day }

That snow we were supposed to have?  Well, this is what we got.  A few patches of white here and there, nothing to write home about.

But the cold?  Goodness, was it cold today.

Early morning, a fire was started and it's been stoked all day long, keeping the house warm.

Jasmine was off work today and Curt has been feeling a bit congested, so we stayed in, locked the doors and kept warm. 

We've always been a family that enjoys going out and having fun, but also love just staying in and doing our own thing.  We are quite happy being homebodies, and some people don't understand that, wonder how we can spend a whole weekend inside, what do we do, don't we get bored?

Honestly?  No we don't, we either do things together like watch movies or play card or board games, or we are also quite content each doing their own thing.  It's quite a freeing feeling when you realize that you are quite alright being on your own.

It's days like these that I rely on my slow cooker to make our dinner, it frees me up to do whatever I wish and still put on the table, a delicious home cooked meal.

Beef stew is one of our favorites, and served with some warm home made bread is even better.

And so that was our Saturday, a quiet, indoor, out of the cold, sit by the fire and enjoy a big bowl of steaming beef stew, kind of day.

I treasure these simple days!

{ Waiting for snow? }

There is never a dull moment in this State.  Rain, sunshine, 20 degrees, 70 degrees a couple hours later and now snow?

Well they say that we are expecting some snow overnight, I will wait until it actually happens, to believe it.  I do love snow, but maybe it's because I've never lived in States that are completely snowed in, or hit by huge snowstorms that bring the whole town to a stop.

Today was my usual payday craziness.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I do love my grocery shopping days, I enjoy looking through the store, shopping in peace and quiet, being able to take my time and not feel rushed.

So, started by driving Jasmine to work early morning, then headed straight to the commissary.

I've mentioned many times how blessed I am to be able to still shop at the base commissary.  There always seem to be mixed feelings where some people say it's great, like me, others think it's not, but I think it all comes down to personal taste and I for one am very thankful for it.

I think I was in there for about an hour and a half, got all my groceries, picked up some Burger King for Nicholas for lunch (he loves burger king and it's a treat on payday), then quickly headed back home as the weather started turning.

My groceries came out to $280, which is not bad, I'm still $10 under budget.  You know it absolutely kills me when I think of how much money we all spend on food monthly, isn't it insane?  And I'm still quite frugal with my budget and think I don't spend as much as it's common.

$280 for two weeks, including toiletries and pet products, is not bad at all.

I would so love to reach a stage in my life, where we could be self sufficient and not have to rely too much on store bought food.  Maybe one day.

I sat down this afternoon and got all the bills paid, folded some laundry and watched Catherine the Great while doing it all.  I swear if I didn't multi task, I would never get anything done.

Before long it was time to get dinner prepared, which was quite a simple meal but boy was it good and stick to your ribs yummy.  The recipe came from one of my Amish cookbooks, which of course you know is going to be delicious, I have yet to find a recipe of theirs that I didn't like.

Chicken Etti was dinner.  I will try to have the recipe up tomorrow.  I know, I know, Sandra is saying she will post a recipe on the blog, and the masses are laughing their behinds off because Sandra has been quite neglectful of her food blog.  *sigh*

I do want to change that, I really truly do and I think it will only happen, when I just do it and quite procrastinating.  I want to see if I can grow my online stash of recipes, this year.  Let's see if I can do it.

The rain fell on and off all day, moments of downpour followed by clouds dissipating and the sun shining, only to get dark again within an hour and another downpour.  I tell you, this State is crazy when it comes to weather.

As I am typing this, the wind is howling outside and drops are starting to splatter on the window panes again.  I am pretty sure the temperatures will be plummeting down within the next few hours.

I'm slowly making progress on my new crochet blanket.  It is a stash buster of sorts.  I recently received a ton and I mean a ton of yarn from Curt's cousin and aunt, and I think I need to start using them up.

I'll show you a better picture of it tomorrow when it's not as dark.

I also received a new book for review and oh my word.  Any of you love Jennifer Chiaverini as much as I do?  She is brilliant, and to be able to review her book is wonderful.

This one is titled Resistance Women and it is right up my alley.  Just look at that gorgeous cover won't you?

Chiaverini is a phenomenal historical writer.  One of my favorites of hers has to be Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker.  So good!!!

I think you can kind of tell that I'm excited about this one.

Anyway, that my friends, was my day.  Just a normal grocery shopping, bill paying, homemaking day.

I need to get on out of here and go frost the lemon cupcakes I made.  They have been cooling down for quite a while now and I want to get them frosted and in the cake pan before I forget. 

Have a blessed Friday night, and tomorrow I'll let you know if we got that snow that we're all expecting.

{ Today...... }

♥♥♥♥  Made a fresh batch of my all purpose cleaner.  I stopped buying store bought cleaners a long time ago, they were not only expensive but filled with chemicals that I would rather not have in my home.

I shared on a previous post, last year some time, how I make it, but also shared it on Instagram this morning.

I have a few of the 24 oz. plastic bottles from Walmart, they're only like 99c or something along those lines.

For one of those bottles, I use:

1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of rubbing alcohol
4 tablespoons of dish detergent

And then fill the rest of the bottle with tap water.  Give it a good shake and you're good to go.  I always give it a nice shake prior to us.

Use it for all your cleaning purposes, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom etc.  I make a similar mixture but use laundry softener instead of dish detergent, as a room and fabric freshener.  I even use it when I iron to spray on the clothes.

{ Time to meal plan for the next two weeks }

It is that time again, to grab the menu planning book, some inspiration, and get writing.

I wish I could convey just how much I love meal planning and grocery shopping.  Putting it all away when I return from the shops?  Not so much, but the actual act of planning our meals and then going to the store, is something I truly enjoy.

Now that I have my cookbooks displayed on the kitchen island, and within my reach, I think meal planning will be even more pleasurable.  It's not just the act of jotting down the recipes that sound good to me, but browsing through my beloved cookbooks brings me so much joy.

{ Homemaking Routine that I love }

I am eternally grateful to God, for blessing me with the opportunity to be a homemaker.

This week I have been able to get back to the homemaking routine that I so love, and nothing makes me happier.  Even the mere act of folding clean kitchen towels, brings a smile to my lips.