Green is the new Black!

Ok so in light of several circumstances I'm seriously transitioning my groceries to Organic!

It seems like food just isn't the same anymore.
In the grocery stores, the meat portions are just getting bigger and BIGGER. Is it just me or does anyone else think some of these chicken legs are starting to look like Turkey legs?

Trail is convinced that all grocery stores are pushing CLONE meat now. LOL!
How else is the meat getting bigger but the prices are the same, if not lower?
While I think the Clone Theory is a little far-fetched (though he might be on to something), I DO worry about all the steroids they are pumping into our meats and the pesticides used on our produce in these massive production line plants. Not to mention sugars, preservatives and other products used in our non-perishable groceries so they can keep them in the stores longer!

It's scary b/c we are putting this stuff INTO our bodies! And then we wonder why so many people have all these illnesses: diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure- the list goes on and on!

Now I just feel guilty when I give the kids food that I feel like has no nutritional value. I don't want to feed garbage to them their whole childhood and then they have poor health choices as an adult b/c it's what I taught them!

And we Southerner's have it the WORST with our deep fried, gravied, casseroled meals followed by sweet syrupy sugary desserts. Hell, even our DRINKS are filled with sugar! Sweet Tea=Liquid Diabetes! lol

SO health-wise- I'm SOLD on organic groceries and more conscious meal choices. The question is, can I AFFORD it?

As soon as I mentioned going organic, lots of ppl responded that it would be expensive. But there are lots of average joes living healthy lifestyles- I just need to find out their secrets....

Fortunately for me I have a Whole Foods Market AND a Trader Joes within a few miles of my job, so I can grocery shop there on my lunch hour. I'm not quite sure what my solution will be for items that must be refrigerated but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

The only way I can make this a LIFESTYLE change and not a spur of the moment fad is to take things slowly but surely.

In my research I found some really good advice on Whole Foods blog from other consumers who have been "converted" to organic food. I copied and pasted a few below for anyone else that is considering this lifestyle but doesn't know if it will fit in their budget.

You can check out the entire blog at:
http://www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/wholedeal/
I have included the tips that stood out most to me. :)

Also if anyone has any great tips or suggestions I would LOVE feedback!!

Thanks,
Angel

MY TIPS:
-If possible, avoid purchasing organic products in large chain grocery stores. They tend to jack up the prices of these items b/c they want you to buy their brands. Instead find a Health Conscious Grocery Store (Like Whole Foods Market or Trader Joes. Organic food prices at these stores are much more reasonable.

-Whole Foods has a monthly coupon publication called The Whole Deal. The PDF can be printed from their website.

-Trader Joes does not have coupons or sale flyers b/c they already offer their items at the lowest price. The prices are comparable (if not better for some items), but they do not have a large product selection. Start your grocery shopping at Trader Joes FIRST, and then if something isn't available there, go to Whole Foods or another Organic store for the rest.

-Though I can't yet afford organic meat, I purchase my meat products from farmer markets rather than large chain grocery stores. Most farmer's markets use local businesses to supply their stock. Though it is not a perfect solution, Local Farmers are less likely as many steriods and other harmful additives used by large factories because they are not producing the same volume numbers.
If you do not have a local farmer's market, also try Asian Grocery stores (Like Super H Mart)- you can easily notice the difference in the meat portion size and the fresher taste!

-Try to plan more than one meal out of an item on your grocery list so you save money by purchasing less ingredients.

-I'm debating buying a kit to start an herb garden for fresh herbs

-I learned if you bring your own grocery bags to Whole Foods, they will take a dollar off your purchase! That's almost the average savings of a Kroger Plus card! =P
Plus I've been shopping around and found some UBER-CUTE Reusable Grocery Bags!!
Imagine being stylish, healthy and environmentally friendly at the SAME TIME!!!
(I'm on to something here!!)
These cute bags by Green Concepts are on Amazon- A set of 4 for $18.99!!



CONSUMER TIPS:
-Buy sale items and plan your meals around the items you purchase on sale.

-Stop or reduce your use of disposables – styrofoam or plastic cups, paper plates, paper napkins, sponges, etc.

-Stop buying bottled water. Use a Brita (filtered) water jug to fill reuseable (and recyclable) SIGG water bottles.

-Learn the Organic product name brands and go to their websites for coupons.

-Replace junk food with fresh fruit and veggies
The junk foods are so full of useless ingredients that you end up eating way more than you need. Weight loss at no extra charge)

-My money-saving tip is to buy only what you need for the week’s menu. I plan my menu for the week based on fresh produce available and money-saving deals at Whole Foods.

-NEVER go shopping hungry. This helps to stay within budget.

-Every time you open a new bottle of salad dressing, jar of pasta sauce, or carton of milk, write the date on the lid with a permanent marker. It will help keep track of what’s on hand and you save money and reduce waste by not having to throw out spoiled, uneaten food. It works especially well for dairy products like big tubs of yogurt and cartons of milk.

-Buy mostly ingredients. It does take a little more effort to cook from scratch, but this truly saves the most money.

-Plan your shopping trip “before” I go into the store. Leave a little money for a deal or two, but in general know what your total cost will be.

-Whole Foods offers a “Shopping On A Budget” class. You may learn quite a few money-saving tips!

-Find an item on sale and then use a coupon at the checkout which you can find in the Whole Deal coupon booklet . For instance: Lifeway Organic Kefir on sale for $3.39Add a $1.00 off coupon which only comes up to $2.39.

Birthday #1 and 2: Day at the Zoo

The first 2 birthdays of Birthday Season fell into a 2-for-1 deal.
Happy Birthday Tayler (7) and Tre'stin (8)!!

We celebrated by taking the whole Rachal Clan to Noah's Ark- An animal shelter/zoo and Nature Preserve in our neck of the woods.





The timing could not have been better! Scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect.


Coincedentally, Evidence (The Zebra at Noah's Ark) was ALSO celebrating his 2nd birthday- which caused for a special event at the zoo and gave me a party theme. :)

Theme: Day at the Zoo
Dress-code: Black and White (For Evidence the Zebra)
Party Favors:
Cupcake decorations (using Zebra print and Green patterned Scrapbook paper, and lollipop sticks)
Zebra Scrapbook Stickers
Black and white ribbon
Black and White Balloons

Cupcake: Double chocolate fudge with fluffy white frosting

The Lovely Birthday Girls



The next birthday on deck! Guess who?

Attention Moms w/ Young Kids!!

I've been getting emails lately from Oshkosh B'Gosh and Carter children's stores.
I frequent these stores at the outlets now and again b/c they have great deals, but the locations aren't convenient for everyone.

It looks like now they have gotten with the rest of retail clothing stores by allowing you to Shop Online!

Great deals on basics, they send frequent coupons, and right now they have free shipping!

I get a lot of Mimi's school clothes from here b/c they have cute & cheap Mix & Match sets:

Check it out!
Carters has baby clothes and kids clothes up to 6/7
This cute top is from Carter's website

www.carters.com

Oshkosh has everything from baby up to size 12
This adorable tank is from Oshkosh

www.oshkoshbgosh.com

Birthday Season Opener

Yes! "Birthday Season" is upon us!

birth·day sea·son  /ˈbɜrθˌdeɪ ˈsizən/ [burth-dey] [see-zuhn]
–noun
The timeframe between April and July when all five of our kids have birthdays consecutively every two weeks.


I have to admit, last year being my first year of the FULL season, I was a little intimidated.
It can be difficult enough to plan a birthday for ONE child, much less five!

Plus I have always tried to throw some original flair into the parties instead of deferring to Chucky Cheese, which can add additional stress.

I've learned that Birthday Season presents me with two major obstacles:
1. Being Creative x 5
2. Being able to afford it all

To fix obstacle #2, we made the decision not to throw big gatherings for birthdays anymore.
Even though we love sharing these moments with all our family and friends, it can put a $$ strain on both sides.

I love supporting my friends by attending their kids birthday events... But I can imagine being in their shoes getting 5 birthday party invites to the same house within eight weeks! Gas to the country alone would kill them! lol

Then from our side, it can be expensive to make sure the kids get (majority) of the gifts they want, decorations, and fun birthday activities. Plus providing food and beverages for 20 to 40 additional people five times can be tough. Then you throw in party favors for children guests, birthday cakes and the dollar signs keep adding up!

We have decided instead that we will do an activity with the kids and then have presents, cake and ice cream with the family afterwards. That way we make sure each child feels like their birthday was properly celebrated and we still have grocery money by the end of the summer! ...Just in time to buy back to school supplies =P

For obstacle #1, I've really got to get my imagination in high gear! I have a few ideas nailed down but not the details to every party like I normally would have.

Time is sneaking up on me! Seems like it was just Christmas. =/

Birthdays 1 and 2 are this weekend. Happy Birthday to Tayler (7) and Tre'stin (8)!! Can't wait to celebrate with you!!

I'll update pics soon. :0)

-A

Bathroom Inspiration

I know, I know, sounds like a weird blog title. But it’s slow at work and I’m distracted so bare with me. =)

And your bathroom, I think, is a strange place to be “inspired” by…
Nonetheless, it started two days ago.

I bought some new ceramic statues for my living room bookcase thinking I would add some color for spring and summer. Though the items looked good when I purchased them in the store, when I brought them home and put them in my bookcase, I was sadly disappointed.

I wrapped them up and brought them back to TJ Maxx on Wednesday with the SOLE attention of returning and getting my money back. But that Wednesday was an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS day in Atlanta! I wasn’t quite ready to go back to work and decided to browse around.

Randomly my mind started whirling about all the different things we needed around the house: new silverware set, bathroom towels, wooden cutting board, heavy hangers, etc. etc.

I wondered into the bathroom section to look at towels and spotted a nickel finish towel bar. Instantly I thought of our large master bathroom, which we practically LIVE in, but haven’t touched up as much as we have the rest of the house.



We talked about adding shelves and possibly painting, but had never acted on the inspirations.
I also thought of the fact that we tend to throw towels over the glass shower door because we are missing something…. Yes! You guessed it! A TOWEL BAR! I quickly glanced at the price. With my ceramic pottery exchanges, this towel bar would cost me $4 plus tax! I snatched it up.
This one from Overstock.com is the same finish color, but different style:



So yesterday, my hubby being the Home Improvement superhero that he is (wink!), had our new towel bar up in the bathroom by the time I got home from work. I couldn’t believe how such a simple, inexpensive change made such a DRASTIC improvement!
We had also just started replacing all the cabinet hardware in our house, a few knobs at a time so it wouldn’t damage our wallets. We chose nickel finish squared knobs and have already started on our kitchen cabinets. Inadvertently, the trim on the towel bar would match EXACTLY with the hardware knobs, which is also the same finish as our door knobs. It was all coming together!

Now we realized that our toilet paper holder is NOT nickel. It’s silver. … BOO.
I remembered I had seen a nickel plated toilet paper holder at TJ Maxx too, and it was some ridiculous price- $7 I think! (One below also from overstock.com)



Since our hardware game was getting on point, I started thinking of what other things we could do to spruce the room up. My goal is to create a spa inspired haven that will allow us to maximize our sunken garden tub and play up the stone tiles.
We are not planning to rush out and do all this in one day, but it’s nice to have an established goal to work towards. Plus you get to enjoy little satisfactions constantly as you watch everything piece together!

My Current Checklist:
-New coordinated towels and washcloths- All white
-Wooden shelves over sunken tub



-Bath salts and Apothecary Jars (The beauties below are from Pottery Barn)


-Spa Inspired Artwork [And Nickel Finish Picture Frames for the Wall]

I'm really feeling this photography set by Sondra Wampler! =)




-Replace plastic blinds with heavy wood blinds like the rest of the house
-Scented candles [Taking advantage of the Bath and Body Works Outlet Store 2 miles from my house!]
-New bath rugs that tie into the theme
-A Bad Ass Magazine Rack for our "Throne" Reading Collection (lol)

Spring 2010: How to Look Like a Lady

Hey there Bloggettes, I'm back!!

Just a mini-post to get my feet wet again...

So I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or if my sense of style is simply inspired, but I'm in LOVE with super feminine clothing and accessories right now!

Digging through my closet the other night I discovered a pale pink/almost beige satin trench coat I had purchased a year ago and never put into use! Now I'm hoping to build on that piece and have fun with this new look!

My Spring Hot List
-Soft/Feminine Trench Coat
-Pink Sunglasses!
-Statement Jewelry
-Pearls and buttons
-Hearts
-Ruffled Blouses
-Pastel Tops
-Bags with Silver and Gold Chains
-Mini Clutch Purses
-Casual Skirts
-Fitted Chinos
-Girly Cargo Jackets

I will do a separate post on beauty looks to go with this style.
For now, ponder your own inspiration. :)
Three cheers for SPRING!!!











Store Inspiration:

Savvy Spending

A couple of people have asked me how I "do it"...
And no, get your mind out of the gutter!! lol-
The discussion was about how to get what you want without sacrificing what you need.

I was a single mother of two, and now part of a blended family of 7 (5 kids & 2 Adults) with a mid-range salary, so needless to say I've had to find 20 different ways to stretch a dollar!!

I'm a brand name shopper who believes in Quality over Quantity, but I don't shop without a good deal (or sacrifice- depending on the purchase! lol)

Just thought I would share some of my tips & tricks, it's not 100% foolproof but maybe you will pick up an idea to expand your budget, or maybe you have some awesome tips and would like to share with me as well!! =)

Today's topic is groceries. Here goes...


Groceries:
I can never keep track of coupons (for food) if that's where you thought I was going. LOL
I actually have a more complex approach for groceries.

Keep in mind, I'm a "GRITS" (girl raised in the south) so this is based off of American/Southern food basics. It would be easy to make a similar list based off your own most frequently used items.

1. Keep staples in your house at all times-
I PROMISE you will use at least ONE of these a day. Even if you don't have any other groceries, you can make a meal out of these alone!!
This list totals to around $25

-bread [$1.50]
-butter [$2]
-sugar [$1.50]
-all purpose flour [$1.50-$2]
-milk [$2-$4]
-eggs [$1-$2]
-potatoes [$2-$4]
-onion [$2-$3]
-ketchup/tomato sauce [$1.50]
-mayo [$1.50]
-cream of chicken soup [$1]
-cream of mushroom soup [$1]
-crackers (saltine or ritz) [$2-$3]
-for my southerners - Lipton Tea Bags for brewing Ice Tea [$2]

2. Try to plan your week's menu around the same key ingredients so you don't have to buy a whole bunch of different things.
Example: canned tomatoes can be used in spaghetti, enchiladas, beef/vegetable soup and gumbo (among other things). One large family can is $1.80, which can suffice for two meals.

3. Cook enough to have leftovers to take to work the next day.
Eating out at work is the NUMBER ONE "wallet-killer"!!
The money you would spend on ONE meal eating out is the equivalent of two packs of dinner meat (or a romantic steak for 2 dinner at home!)

Also make sure you are making meals that carry well to work. Save items that don't "rollover" for Friday nights.
Example: Tacos/Nachos, Fish & soups aren't easy to take as leftovers. Save these types of meals for Friday nights and weekends.

4. Gadgets make life easy!!
You may be thinking, how will I ever find time to cook dinner when I get off of work?! Sorry, you get NO sympathy from me! I work 8-5pm, have a 2hr commute, children with bathtimes & homework, and my own shows I like to watch too. If I can make dinner every night, so can you!
These are kitchen gadgets that I would NOT be able to do it without though!!
Any time I give a housewarming gift, I pick one of these items b/c I know how nifty they can be!


Griddle- I make ALL breakfasts with this gadget, I also use it to sear meat before cooking in the oven so it doesn't dry out, and it's great for sauteed veggies as well. You can get the basic size from Walmart or any other all purpose store for about $29. Larger sizes are $40-50, which is what I need to upgrade to considering the number of ppl I'm usually cooking for!


Slowcooker/Crockpot- My mom gave me one when I turned 18 and moved out. I have always had one since! The one I have now only has 3 legs (LOL), so it's time for an upgrade on this too- but it just proves how useful it is.
The great thing about this is, you never actually have to COOK anything. Just throw all the ingredients in and it cooks all day on a low heat setting (which is impossible to burn!)
You can use it to make a main course, appetizer, or one pot meal.
Great for any type of meat (will have meat so tender it falls off the bone!), Spaghetti/Chili are delicious when slow cooked.
You can get a million different meal ideas at www.slowandsimple.com.
Crockpots can also be found at places like Walmart, ranges from $25 to $50 depending on the settings. 5 to 6 quart is the size you would need for a complete meal. You can get the basic with three heat settings (keep warm, low & high), or you can also get more high tech digital slowcookers that allow you to set a timer. If you have a long commute like me, the extra $$ for the digital slowcooker is worth the investment b/c most of your meals will be overcooked by the time you get home.


Rice Cooker
My Asian Friends, I KNOW you have this item ON LOCK (LOL!!), so you can skip over this one! My American Friends, get a rice cooker! I know most American meals don't call for rice (unless you are making cajun or low country), but rice is a great side filler for meals or soups, it's inexpensive and it feeds many!!
This rice cooker is $24.88 at Walmart, but you can get larger sizes and more features with more expensive versions.

5. Where to shop for what
Some places have great prices for meats, but screw you on other items. Because of my commute, I pass almost every store on the way home, and some items I purchase on my lunch hour (depending on whether it needs to be refridgerated)
I also designate days to purchase different items if I can't get it done on the weekend. For example, Tuesdays I go to the asian market for fresh meat and veggies, Wednesday I go to Kroger for their 10 for $10 deals, Thursday I stop at Sam's Club for bulk TP, Paper Towels & laundry detergent.
Here's what I've found to be the best shopping combinations:

Asian/Farmer's Markets: have the best deals on meats and fresh vegetables. There are a ton of local farmer's markets in every major city so this isn't an unattainable place for most ppl. You DO get price-robbed for toiletries and staples at these places though (so pick up windex and ketchup somewhere else!)

KROGER: Occasionally they will have a meat special, but most of the time I only go to Kroger for their $10 for $10 deals. This special has certain items for $1 each! Example: canned veggies, flour, sugar, liquid hand soap and other basics. Also the more points you build on your Kroger plus card, you can save $0.10 a gallon on gas if you use Kroger gas stations.

PUBLIX Rarely ever have good prices on meat OR veggies, but they have a lot of buy one get one free sales on other items. Example: cereal, bread, pasta sauce, salad dressing, etc. This is also the best place for Kids Lunch items!!
Today I bought Ritz Cheese Sandwiches and Teddy Grahams for Sarina's lunch- buy one get one free!!

WALMART I know there is a lot of hype around their groceries being cheap, but don't be fooled! You will get better deals on meat and veggies at the farmer's market. Walmart IS great for non-perishables and toiletries.
Use this place for non/p items like Mac & Cheese packs, dry beans, pasta, cereal and also toiletries- mouthwash, toothpaste, deodorant, household cleaners, etc.

Warehouse Membership Shopping: Costco, BJs, Sam's Club, etc.
YES, you can AlWAYS get great deals on places like these, but do you really need everything in bulk?
Normally when I go to Sam's or Costco, I'm only buying a couple of items.
These are my favorites for Warehouse Shopping:
Bottled water, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and CLOROX Bleach for Trail's obession for cleaning countertops 5 times a day! (haha)