FREE CD Download: A Place of Quiet Rest

For all those in need of a little R & R, A Place of Quiet Rest is the CD for you. The piano arrangements are beautiful! You can go here to download the entire CD for free.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Three Cheers for Target!

I love Target! If there was a Target closer to my house, I'd probably go there daily! Since it's 25 minutes away, I only make it there every other week or so! I visited Target today to pick up a few things and I learned something new. You can print coupons at Target...in the store...at the kiosk. I knew that you could stack a Target coupon and a manufacturers coupon, but I didn't know you could print the Target coupons while you're at the store. The Trainer I talked to at Target said "Why waste your paper and ink? You can use ours!" That's the kinds of stuff I want to hear! Here is my favorite Target deal this week...there are other great deals out there, but we really like Pop Tarts!

Pop Tarts ($1.92 for 8 count)
Combine $.75/1 Target coupon and $1.00/2 manufacturer coupon from the 8/2 Kelloggs insert

Each box is only $.67 after coupons!

To make this deal even sweeter (and if your Target allows more than one Target coupon in a transaction), you can use this rebate form here to turn this into a money maker! You would need to purchase 10 of these items in one transaction. Here is one way to use this rebate form.

Purchase 10 boxes of Pop Tarts at $1.92 each ($19.20)
*Use 5 $1/2 manufacturers coupons from 8/2 Kelloggs insert (These coupons can be purchased online if you don't have 5 of them.) (-$5.00)
*Use $.75/1 Target coupons (-7.50)

Total Spent $6.70 Get back $10 rebate by mail! This is a great money maker!!!

Menu Plan Monday - Back To School Week

I can't believe it's already time for the kids to head back to school. Since it's always an adjustment to get back into the swing of things and since I'm starting back to work this week, I'm going to keep this week's menu simple.

Monday - Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs

Tuesday- Daddy/Daughter and Mommy/Daughter Date night. We'll each take one of the girls to dinner. The girls love these nights.

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Italian Chicken, Brown Rice, and Salad

Friday- Spaghetti, Salad, and Homemade Bread

Saturday - Eggs and Pancakes (Breakfast for Dinner)

Sunday- Leftovers

For more menu plan ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday over at orgjunkie.com.

Change is coming...

When the summer began, I anticipated long restful days at our cottage in New Hampshire. I envisioned myself catching up on books I've longed to read, blogging (alot), and exercising consistently. My summer turned out quite differently. The long restful days were replaced by lots of work around the cottage. I refinished countless pieces of furniture, painted walls and windows, and had my sister help me put the look together. I'll dedicate a post to the cottage transformation on another day. Throughout the summer, I continually thought about my blog and where I want it to go. I know that I have become quite passionate about saving money and blessing my family, but I'm also learning that life is about so much more. I'd like a website that is dedicated to help people save not only money, but also time, their health, and their sanity! Stay tuned! The new site is hopefully coming soon!

Save The Date: Thursday, September 10th at 6:30 pm

I'm excited to let you all know that I will be doing a class on saving money at Eckhart Public Library on Thursday, September 10th at 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to learn some simple ways to save money on groceries, travel, and everyday purchases. I'll be posting more about this as it gets closer!

I'm so thankful for our library. Not only do they have a wide selection of wonderful books, audio books, and movies, but they also offer great programs for the community! Also, if you have teenagers, make sure to check out The Third Place: A Teen Library! If you haven't been there, you need to go!

TMTT- Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

I love eating out...especially when it involves loaves of warm yummy bread. Our current budget doesn't allow for much eating out, so my husband suggested I figure out how to make the bread myself. My favorite bread is Honey Wheat bread (like they serve at Outback or Cheesecake Factory). This recipe can also be made in a breadmaker.

1 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter - softened or melted
2 cups bread flour (if you don't have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour instead, but the results won't be quite as good)
2 cups wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)

Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl starting with liquid ingredients and ending with the yeast. Knead until ingredients are thoroughly combined and you have a wet sticky dough. If dough is too wet, add more flour. Leave dough in bowl, cover, and let rise for 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes, remove from bowl, punch down and divide into 8 sections. Form each section into a small loaf, 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. Place loaves on 2 cookie sheets. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. This bread is best if served warm.

If you are making this bread in your bread machine, just place your ingredients in the bread machine and let it do it's work. I just use the basic setting on the machine when I make this loaf and I get one big yummy loaf.

For more yummy recipes or for great kitchen tips, visit Lisa at Blessed With Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Menu Plan Monday - Using What You Have

I can't believe my time in New Hampshire is coming to an end. My hubby and kids will be leaving on Sunday morning to fly home and I'll be leaving shortly after that. With that in mind, I need to use up what we have left so that we're not wasting food. Also, I'm trying not to spend any money on food this week since we're in a new budget month and I know I'm going to have to do some serious grocery shopping when we get home after being gone for 2 months. So, without further ado...here is this week's menu.

Breakfasts: Cereal, PopTarts, Toast and/or Fruit

Lunch: Fluffernutters or Grilled Cheese and Fruit

Monday- Eggs and Pancakes

Tuesday- BBQ Chicken Legs, Pasta with Sauce, Veggies, and Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

Wednesday- Taco Pie

Thursday- Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese

Friday- Baked pasta and Homemade Honey Wheat Bread *We'll also probably have a birthday cake since my daughter turns 14 on Saturday!!!

Saturday- Cookout

Although this week is an unusual week, you can get lots of great menu planning ideas at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. This week, Menu Plan Monday is being hosted by Toni over at The Happy Housewife! Make sure to check it out!