I'm back!.... and I brought pumpkin seeds!

Hello.
First off, let me start by apologizing for my absence. Many things have happened.
For one, I am all moved in to my amazing apartment in the city. It is close to work and large and has a washer/dryer in the apartment and I love it.
Second, I am sorry for not blogging. I promise I have legit excuses. Like how I did not have internet for a while. Then I put off getting a router because I kept forgetting because I would just use my phone for internet. Also, I did not have a good camera because I left my camera at my parents and my iPhone camera was scratched.
Excuses aside, I'm back! I have internet in my apartment and I have a brand new iPhone 5 to take pictures with.
Please accept my apology in the form of delicious pumpkin seeds.

I love fall. I love the weather, the smells, and that I can wear ugg boots and scarves.
Every year the sibs and I carve pumpkins. It's a tradition that has been going for about 20 years. For some reason we have never made pumpkin seeds. People make them and give them to us, or we buy them, but we never make them. This year my brother suggested we make some.
I agreed to make him pumpkin seeds if he would gut my pumpkin. I cannot do it. It makes me gag. I think it is a texture thing... and I digress.

We had a lot of seeds, so when I asked what kind of flavors my fam wanted, at the same time one yelled sweet and one yelled salty. So, I made both.

I do not think that making pumpkin seeds could be any easier. Before you start, here are some helpful tips:

1. When carving the pumpkins put all the "guts" in to a large bowl. We (my brother) added some water and separated out the seeds when we were finished carving

2. Let the seeds dry overnight. We put ours in a single layer on a cookie sheet overnight

3. You could really add any flavor you wanted. The sky is the limit here. I did not measure my add ons, I just kind of guesstimated by how many seeds I had.

4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

For the salty seeds I added:

-Worcestershire sauce

-Seasoned Salt

-Garlic Salt

-Pepper

For the sweet seeds I added:

-Sugar

-Cinnamon

-a tiny pinch of ginger, nutmeg, and cloves

I separated the dried seeds in to two piles. I put them in Ice cream buckets and added my ingredients with a little EVOO. I put the top on the bucket and shook to coat.

I then drizzled some EVOO on two cookie sheets and laid the seeds in a single layer. I baked them for 45 minutes total, but every 15 minutes I took them out of the oven to stir them.

And that is it. Total time was less than one hour.

So easy. Also, Pumpkin seeds are full of antioxidants, protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Always a bonus.

Happy Fall!

Now this is happening...

I'm Moving!
Tomorrow!

Today, I am packing. Kind of... I WILL be packing. As soon as I stop watching Parks and Recreation on Netflix.

Also, I will not have internet until Monday. [[Thank goodness for the iPhone]]. So my posts will be a little light until then. By "a little light" I do mean none at all. Just to clarify.

See you next week!
Enjoy the last little bit of summer.

D.I.Y chair re-do?

I do not know if this is considered a re-do or a re-vamp? Is that a word? I do not know... I do know this was a very easy and inexpensive d.i.y project.

I got this chair for free... which made me instantly love it. The arms of the chair were detached and had some weird pockets hanging off of them that I did not love.
I washed the base of the chair, and I covered the arms with fabric.
Then I made a pillow using cute grey chevron fabric that I got for $1.99 a yard at JoAnn's. $1.99 a yard, people! [[Long story short, I bought a lot of grey chevron fabric]].

These were the weird pockets that were on the chair.. I cut them off.

I cut my fabric [yellow with little brown and white flowers, also a steal at JoAnns] Then I stapled it to the bottom.

Then my brother attached the arms for me, and it was finished!!

Free chair, Easy re-vamp.

My favorite kind of D.I.Y :)

Quick Post: Coupon Deals

This is just a quick post to share with everyone the awesome deals that I got this week at Rite Aid!

I got every thing in the picture for only $12.60
Retail value of the items is $48.01
By combining store sales, store coupons, and store deals I was able to save around 80% on items that I use every day.
My favorite deal... probably the toothpaste. It is regular $6.49. It is on sale for $4.99. And there was an in-ad coupon for $4 off 1. Making it only 99 cents!

I hope you got some great deals coupons this week! It was the beginning of the month, which means the P&G Brand Saver was the coupon insert. [[It is the best for all cleaning//hygiene supplies]]

Veggie Packets

This post would have gone well with garden week, because it is all garden veggies [[except some of them I did buy from the store, but they were on sale, and don't tell my dad]].
On Sunday nights at my parents we have dinner. In the summer that means that dad grills something [[charcoal grill, in case you were wondering, he is just really proud of his charcoal grill]] and I usually make the side dish, usually garden veggies because we have a ton of them. Seriously, an abundance of vegetables, this is my dad's garden. When he first started gardening it was just a small garden, but continues to grow each year.

[[See what I mean]]

This recipe makes a great side dish, and it is really easy too:
1. cut the veggies
2. put them in packets
that is as complex as it gets here, people.

Veggie Packets

Ingredients:

[[This recipe makes 8 packets, but it can easily be cut in half, or vegetables exchanged for any veggies you have at home/or that are on sale]]

• 12 small yellow potatoes
• 2 small onions
• 2 small summer squash
• 1 1/2 cartons of mushrooms. [[Store bought]]

• 1/2 bag of baby carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• salt 
• pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the veggies up so they are small, and approximately all the same size [[I cut my veggies a little smaller so that they would cook faster//all the way through]]

3. Mix all the veggies together   

 

4. Mince the cloves of garlic
5. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and minced garlic. Add salt and pepper, whisk.
6. Add dressing and mix veggies
7. Cut 8 squares out of aluminium foil
8. Place approximately 2 scoops of the veggie mixture on to the middle of the foil, and fold in to a pocket

   
9. Bake in the oven for 1 hour
10. Enjoy!

[[Maynard Monday]]

"Blue steel-ing" it in his yellow bow tie

Coupon Sunday: Coupons 101

You guys, I love coupons.
I hate spending money on food, because it is expensive and I am just going to eat it.
I hate paying full price for anything, and love getting something for a good deal. My budget is low.
Enter: Coupons
I am not extreme with coupons by any means, but I have been able to save money on everyday supplies and food that I need.
Here are some tips that I have learned during my [short] time as a couponer:

1. Don't cut all your coupons out. I used to, and would have a hard time finding them. Now I just cut them out when I need them. A lot of the coupon sites name the date and what coupon booklet the coupon is found in. Enter: my coupon folder. That I love.
   It is organized by month and then by date. This way I can easily pick out the coupon insert that I need, and clip my coupon. It is also easier to view coupons in booklet form.
2. Check the internet. I get a lot of coupons from here. The coupons are changed every month. I will print the ones that I know I could use. Most coupons only allow a limited number of prints, so when I see them, I print them. 
3. Try the company website. A lot of times companies will directly post coupons for their products. Many will give promotions if you 'like' them on facebook you can print a coupon. 
4. Does the store have a rewards program? Many times you can clip coupons directly from the store website to use. Some stores even allow you to add these with your clipped coupons, check your favorite stores coupon policies. 
5. Couponing takes time. It really does. I try not to let myself get caught up in it. If you do not want to search for the deals yourself there are websites that you can sign up for that will find the deals for you. Some are free, some you pay for memberships. 
6. Saving money is awesome. 'Nuf said. 

Coupon deal of the week:

At Meijer, Vlasic pickle relish is at a price freeze for $1.02. On the Vlasic website there is a coupon for $1 off 1, making the relish on $.02! 

Click here to for a direct link to the coupon

Changes coming soon...

Starting next week I will be making some *minor* changes to the blog. By that, I mean I am introducing "Coupon Sunday" and "D.I.Y Friday".

On Sundays I will be posting tips that I have learned during my time in the coupon world, and a coupon deal of the week to help you save some money. Because, you guys, saving money is awesome.

Another change will be D.I.Y Friday, which means on Fridays there will be a post about a D.I.Y craft or project. [Most likely me making something for my apartment]

And do not forget to check back during the week for the usual random posts on my life, baking, cooking, etc...

Hope you enjoyed Garden Week!
See you on Sunday :)