Birthday Perks

Many vendors offer special deals on your birthday. From restaurants to spas... Check with your local businesses, but here are some places in NYC where you can enjoy something special on your birthday:

La Paella

Free meal for your birthday, party of 3 minimum.

Turn your blog into a book?

Blog2print will turn your blog into a book? What a great idea!

Fried Cabbage with Hot Dogs

1/2 head shredded cabbage (or 1 bag of coleslaw salad)

1 onion, chopped

Olive oil

Ketchup (or tomato paste)

4-5 hot dogs (or frankfurters)

Fry the onion in some olive oil (I've also used bacon fat if I had any on hand). Add shredded cabbage and fry on high heat until cooked through. Add some ketchup just to add color color the cabbage, but not too much.

Cook some hot dogs either in the broiler or frying pan. Cut them into small pieces and add to the cabbage.

Enjoy!

Carrot Tops Pesto

The other night I came home with a bunch of carrots from the farmer's market. Not surprisingly, they came with a whole bunch of carrot tops. It would've been such a waste to throw away those beautiful deep-green tops, so I googled for recipes. What caught my eye is that you can actually make pesto from your carrot tops, who knew? So tonight I made it and LOVED IT! I would definitely make it again. In fact, why stop there?

Why not to try to make pesto from kale or even other leafy greens. I always look for recipes to use the greens, so I am happy to add this recipe to my collection.

Here is how I made it:

First, I sorted through the greens, throwing away wilted leaves. Then, I cut the leaves off the stems and washed them, changing the water several times. I then boiled the leaves for 1 minutes and drained them (make sure you drain them well, otherwise you'll get a lot of water in your pesto). Pulsed in a food processor with some raw garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. I didn't have any cheese or nuts, so I didn't add those, but it still came out pretty delicious! Use it as a topping for your vegetables, spread it on the bread or eat it with pasta....

What to do with all those left-over Wine Corks?

• Make beautiful cork place holders for your next dinner party.
• Make a trivet/hot plate. You can even use an old picture frame for your project.
• Make a cork bulletin board.
• Cork castle anyone? Or cork trolls? Great idea if you have kids!
• How about cork ornaments with halved paper clips shoved into one end of the cork and attached to ornament hangers? Again, if you have kids, they can even decorate them! See this link for some ideas on decorating.
• Or Christmas Decorations - using a needle and fishing line, string your corks together, use dried cranberries or other colorful additions to separate corks.
• Use them as Floor Savers - slice the cork into small disks and attach to the bottom of furniture to protect the floors.
• Use corks as Pin Holders - placed near your bulletin board for pins and tacks.
• Did you know that you can compost natural wine corks (not the synthetic ones!).

Check this link for some great ideas and suggestions.

Any other uses you can think of?

Back to-School Sales

This is the time of the year when the stores start to advertise their Back-to-School sales. Check my post from last year for more information. Last year, Walgreens came out with the first Back-to-School sale around July 4, this year their sale starts the week of July 10. Watch for lowest prices and stock up for the year!

I am listing the lowest prices below so you know when to stock up:

NOTEBOOKS, PAPER, ETC:
Penway/Wexford 1-subject notebook, 60-70 sheets $.29

Penway 3-subject composition book or notebook, 120 sheets $.99

Penway/Wexford Mini Composition or Memo Book, 50 or 80 sheets $.99

Penway/Wexford Composition Book, 80 sheets $.49

Penway/Wexford Filler Paper, 130 sheets $.50

Penway/Wexford Composition Book, 80 pages $.59

Corner Office Legal Pad, 50 sheets $.39

Penway/Wexford Mini Memo/Composition Book, 50-80 sheets, $.19

Crayola White Posterboard, 22x28 in. $.29

BINDERS, FOLDERS, ETC.

Penway/Wexford 2-pocket folder $.09

Penway/Wexford 2-pocket folder with prongs $.11

Penway/Wexford Poly Binder, 1 inch, $.39

Penway/Corner Office Sheet Protectors, 10 pack $.39

Penway/Corner Office Tab Dividers, 5 pack $.39

PENS, PENCILS, ETC.:

Splash Mini Highlighter $.09
Penway Highlighter $.09

Designer Pencils $.09

Paper Mate Highlighters, 6 pack $.39

Penway No. 2 pencils, 10-pack $.19

Penway Colored Pencils, 12 pack $.59

Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils, 5-pack $.19

Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils, 5-pack $.39

Paper Mate Grip Pens, 8 count $ FREE AFTER ECB (Extra Care Bucks)

Paper Mate 1.2 Stick Pens, 10 pack, $.29

Crayons, 24-pack $.39 or FREE AFTER RR (Register Rewards)

Dixon Variety Pack, 25-pack $.99
Ticonderoga Yellow pencils, 10 pack $.99

Sharpie Marker, $.39

Sharpie Markers, 2 pack $.69

OTHER SUPPLIES:

School Box $.59

Penway/Wexford Carry-All, 7x10 in $.59

Penway/Wexford Index Card Holder or Slider Pencil Case, $.39

Penway Wooden Ruler 12 in. Paper Mate Highlighters, 6 pack $.19

It's Academic Scissors, $.29

Penway/RoseArt School Glue, 4 oz $.49

Elmer's School Glue, 4 oz $.29

Elmer's Glue Sticks, $.29

Penway/RoseArt Single Jumbo Glue Sticks $.49

Penway/RoseArt 3-pack glue sticks $.49

Corner Office index cards, 70 pack $.39

Wexford index cards, 100 pack $.39
Work Essentials Mini Stapler $.69

Penway/Wexford Dome or Twin Hole Pencil Sharpener, $.39

Penway/Wexford 15 pack Cap or 2 pack Pink Erasers, $.39

Make Your Own...

• Hair Styling Spray: put a few squirts of conditioner in a spray bottle, fill it with water, shake, then spritz. It adds shine and makes unruly hair behave for pennies.
• Furniture Polish: Mix juice from 2 lemons, 2 tsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of water. Rub a think layer of mixture onto wood furniture, and buff it off for added shine.

Buying Seafood

Did you know that you can purchase Alaskan wild salmon directly from sustainable and family-owned businesses in Alaska. Check out these sites for more info --

AleutiaSeafood.org

Sells salmon fillets for $13.20 per pound in 25 pound boxes.

Redsalmon.com
12-lb share is sold for $198 to be picked up.

MORE INFORMATION:

• AVOID FARMED FISH. Generally, when farmed, the fish often becomes infected with bacteria and parasitic sea lice. The fish is not raised in environmentally sound tanks and farms use antibiotics and other chemicals. Further, farmed salmon contains more PCBs, dioxins and industrial pollutants than the wild salmon. Finally, farmed salmon gets its color from chemical additives whereas wild salmon get their red color from krill.
• AVOID IMPORTED SHRIMP AND IMPORTED TILAPIA. Imported shrimp and imported tilapia are farmed. Instead, go with US-farmed shrimp and US-farmed tilapia - which are a little better.
• Buy Pacific Cod that is caught in Alaskan waters using gear certified by the Marine Stewardship Council
• Do not buy fish sticks or imitation crab - those are made using dead fish such as pollack
• There is a difference between Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon. Atlantic salmon is endangered in the wild - therefore, if you are eating it, it came from a farm in Canada or Norway. Therefore, try to buy Pacific salmon caught in Alaska.
• Smaller fishes (such as sardines, anchovies, mussels) have lower contaminant levels than larger fish (such as tuna, swordfish, salmon, eel)
• DO NOT EAT fish with highest concentration of mercury:
• White albacore tuna, canned
• Swordfish
• Tilefish
• King Mackerel
• Tuna steaks
• Shark
• Orange Roughy
• Spanish Mackerel
• Marlin
• Grouper
• You can eat 2 entries per week (6 ounce each) of low-mercury fish such as:
• Light tuna, canned
• Shrimp
• Salmon
• Catfish

Shopping for Grass-Fed Meats

When shopping for meat, here are some suggestions where you can buy hormone-free, antibiotic-free and grass-fed meats:

1. Try your local supermarket for some natural and organic options.

2. FreshDirect (if they deliver in your area) occasionally offers good sales on chicken and other meats.

3. 8 O'clock Ranch sells meats and chicken as well.

4. Organic Prairie

Inexpensive Furniture Finds

I am always amazed at how others are able to find some good and inexpensive or even free furniture pieces by looking for deals at sites such as Craigslist or Freecycle, or even visiting a local thrift store or Goodwill. Not only you're saving money by doing so, but you're also recycling old furniture - i.e. being "green" which is a huge plus in my book - these are the pieces that someone may have just thrown away but instead they find a new home. With a little sanding, painting, replacement of hardware, etc., these pieces become beautiful gems and look like new. If you don't believe me, check out these finds:

• a nightstand that Kristen (from The Frugal Girl) found on Freecycle for free
• a dresser that Sherry and John (from Young House Love) found on Graigslist for only $20
• an old chair re-upholstered by Brittany at Pretty Handy Girl
• or another chair Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl found on the curb for free
• how about this totally fab mirror (a Craigslist buy for $25) and the bench (another Craigslist purchase for $20) at Refinish-It-All
• and even more furniture finds at DIY by Design: Trash to Treasure

I can't wait until we get a new place so that I can do some shopping of my own!

How to save money while shopping online

 1. Shop through Corporate Perks if your employer offers the membership. For example, you can get a 15% discount card for Brooks Brothers if you sign up through Corporate Perks.

2. Shop through Fatwallet and Ebates to earn cash back and search for coupon codes.

3. Always google the promo codes or find one at Coupon Cabin before finalizing your order. Even if you get a free shipping code, it's still better than nothing.

4. Find a good deal through Brad's Deals where you can find some excellent shopping offers.

5. Use gift cards purchased at a discount from websites such as GiftCardGranny.com, ABCgiftcards.com, or PlasticJungle.com.

Create your own Floor Plans

Now that we are married, we have been looking at some "for sale" properties. Ideally, we would like to get something along the lines of a "fixer-upper" and make it into something we both would love. I have been following Young House Love Blog for a while now and love what Sherry and John did with their 1st house (and how they are now re-modeling their 2nd house). If you are thinking about re-modeling, check out John's post on how to create your very own easy floor plans. Who knew?