January confessions

In January I decided to challenge myself to buy nothing new.  Well, a month has gone by and I am pretty proud of myself.  For the most part I avoided going to stores in the first place, lest I stir the temptation.  When I did go to Target for work purposes, I will confess walking through the clothes section - just to see - and I did pause a couple times. There was a dress that really caught my eye... But practicing self-control I moved along.

Then it was time for Dad's birthday and I knew he wanted a pair of jeans.  So I went to Gap.  And like always, they had an extra x% off all sale items... there was a sales rack.  There were a pair of jeans. For me. I tried them on. They were perfect.  They were $10.  Without giving myself time to change my mind, I bought them.

And it felt great.

I talked with my friend Emily, who is also participating in this challenge...and she suggested we re-evaluate the rules.  Perhaps things that cost same as used should qualify.

Maybe. But I am going to continue to try to stick with the original rules. I need to practice self-control. Its an area I struggle with, and just because I may have found a reason to bend the rules in January doesn't mean I need to bend the rules all around.

Maybe February will be a month that I can truly say I succeeded.

Deciphering the Goodwill Tags

I finally cracked the Goodwill tag code.  For those who don't shop at Goodwill, all items are tagged with a color. Each day a different color is marked at 50% off.  The mystery for me was always which tag was going to be on sale next.  My grandpa seemed to have cracked that code, and I figured it was time for me to discover this as well.  So I did.

Who knew, it was as easy as googling "Goodwill calendar"?

My summary of the Goodwill Calendar for January:

1/15-16 - Blue Tag items 50% off
1/17 - Blue Tag items $1.49
1/19-21 - All winter items 50% off
1/22-23 - Green Tag items 50% off
1/24 - Green Tag items $1.49
1/29-30 - Yellow Tag items 50% off
1/31 - Yellow Tag items $1.49

The next mystery is discovering why certain items have certain tags...What do the colors mean? Hmm...

P.S. Goodwill uses funds raised from sales to help people develop job readiness skills and career advancement through GED support, ESL classes, coaching, etc. Check it out here. How many retail stores do you know that support a cause with their profits?

2012 Challenge: No New Stuff

I am a lover of bargains, and this year I want to take this passion to a new level:

For 2012, I am challenging myself to obtain all home goods, clothing, accessories, etc. from thrift stores, garage sales, or from swaps.  I will track my progress, success and failures here. Hopefully there will not be much failure.

Things that will be exceptions to this rule include - purchasing gifts - I will try my best to go the homemade route, but it will be okay to buy new things for people I love or accept new gifts from people who love me.  I will also allow myself to buy a new swimming suit. Obviously things like food, shampoo, and other consumables will come new. Otherwise, anything I can buy at Goodwill, Value Village, Craigslist, etc. will come from there.  Or at least I will try.   My husband is in on this too, so we will keep each other accountable.  For him, things he needs from Home Depot for our home renovation will be the exception.

I'm sure there are many wonderful and thoughtful motivations that could explain why I am doing this, but in all honesty, the main reason for doing this is my insane obsession with bargains and the desire to see how long I can sustain this hobby.  I want to test the theory that it is possible to only shop secondhand.

I hope this experiment will allow me to slow down and evaluate what is important.  I know each day will be its own sort of treasure hunt.  There are a lot of things we need to outfit our home and going the thrifty way will take the pressure off of getting it all done right away and each find will be all the more appreciated.

I haven't looked this up, but I am pretty sure there is some sort of endorphin/dopamine benefit to saving money. I know when we found a free couch and patio table for $2 I was on some sort of high from the steal. Every time I look at those two items I am filled with giddy excitement and relive the memories of the treasure hunt that led to them.

I invite anyone who wants to join in this journey with me. I would love to share in the joys, temptations, and adventure of buying nothing new. Let's do this together!

Lemon Yogurt

For Christmas, my parents surprised me with a case of lemon yogurt.  Now, what am I going to do with 24 cups of lemon yogurt? I can't imagine eating it plain, although I think David might.

Here are some recipes I found that will make use of this tangy-ness:

Lemon Yogurt Muffins 

Lemon Mint Chicken Salad

Lemon Yogurt Waffles

What would you make with lemon yogurt? 

3D Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies go 3D! Saving this idea for next year.  Thanks Not Martha!

Cookies galore!

The cookie swap I participated in this year has posted all the wonderful cookie recipes involved in the massive 22,000 cookie trade.  Can you believe that? 22,000 cookies were mailed around the US and the world earlier this month! Makes my eyes go way wide!

Check out all the delicious cookies (and beautiful cookie shots) here and here.

Bonus points if you can spot the special gingerbread cookies Kat, Marina & I made.

Cheers!

Secret Gingerbread Cookie Recipe Revealed!

Thanks to the great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, today I will reveal the recipe of the most delicious gingerbread cookies I've ever had.  My wonderful friend and baking extraordinaire, Kat, from Walk Slowly and Carry a Camera   agreed to share the coveted recipe for this cookie swap.

But before we go into the recipe, I just wanted to reflect: this was the first cookie swap I've ever participated in and it was awesome! There is a special kind of joy about getting cookies of an unknown variety in the mail and I even found myself giddy while waiting in line at the post office to mail mine off.  Thank you Love and Olive Oil for connecting me to this cookie swap! I look forward to participating again next year!

Thank you Bake Eat Repeat for mailing me absolutely amazing soft and chewy ginger spice cookies cookies! They were delicious!

And now....drumroll please....the recipe!!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp group cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses or think honey
1 egg

Directions:

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt into a large bowl.

Beat butter and brown sugar in a separate bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add molasses and egg; beat well.

Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.

(It should have this consistency)

Press dough into a thick flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on lightly floured work surface (don't be shy on the flour!)

(Don't be shy with the flour, it will keep your gingerbread people will shaped)

Cut into the gingerbread with cookie cutters of your choice. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until ledges of cookies are set and just begin to brown.

 Cool on baking sheet 1-2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

(This is just the beginning of the 6 dozen cookies we baked)

Decorate cooled cookies as desired.

 Enjoy!

(Can you call it foul play when it is so irresistible? :P )