Then & Now for Groceries

When I was a new bride grocery shopping was challenging. Not in the way that it is now, with two children running and reaching, but in an amateurish way. I never knew what to buy, my cooking repetoir was limited; I just didn’t have it down yet. Shopping for a man was a whole new ballgame compared to shopping as a single college female. I could not impress my new husband with Cinnamon Toast Crunch for dinner. So to aid me in my grocery shopping advancement I saved my receipts. I would pull them out each time I made a new list to help me remember what I bought last time. Was it good, did it work, was it eaten and enjoyed?

Flash forward five years. On Friday night I came home from the grocery store completely disheartened. I was sure that on this trip to WinCo I was going to spend less money than usual because I was anticipating Richard’s being out of town, and planning on eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch for dinner again. Richard traveling should amount to fewer groceries, especially in the meat department. But alas, at checkout the cashier shattered my hopes when he announced the total. It was exactly the same total (well within a dollar or two) as my last trip to WinCo and the trip before that. In fact, on my way home I even entertained the idea of a conspiracy… “charge the regulars the same amount each time, they buy the same stuff, they’ll never catch on.”

Where am I going with this? In my hopeless state I dug out an old receipt from our newlywed days. The date on the receipt I will refer to was November 3, 2003. For fun I chose a few items that I shopped for then and still shop for now. The necessities that have been on our grocery list since the beginning of lists. Here is the comparison with Friday night’s receipt.

Then/Now

Milk $1.98/ 2.72
Applesauce 1.28/ 1.37
Cream of Chicken Soup 0.66/1.25
Tortillas 1.75/2.67
Cheese 3.98/5.98
String Cheese 1.50/2.98
Dozen eggs 1.09/1.36
Tortilla Chips 2.42/2.98
5lb Potatoes 1.38/ 1.98

Total 16.04/23.29

Granted, some of the brands have changed and there are other factors. But it was a fun little game for me to ease the guilt of the costs of eating. So I let a little self-pity wash over me and whined about the tough economy and the price of gas.

But lest I sound ungrateful I don't really have anything to complain about. I'm lucky to eat what I do and to have the money to do so.

Card Swap

This month for our card club we decided to try something different for Halloween. There were a lot of really cute projects but I think I better get permission before I post them on here. This one was mine, it was a pretty simple, one sheet of paper folded into a bag. You can see where I copied it from right here.

Perfect for a few Reese's peanut butter cups! I didn't put any candy in yet since Halloween is still a month or so away.

The Grocery List

In my list of 101 things about myself on my other blog I mentioned my categorized grocery list. I had a few requests for it so I put it on google docs. It is loosely based on the layout of WinCo in Meridian, but they occasionally change locations of products and I haven't been very good about adapting my list because I practically have it memorized by now anyway. But here it is if you're interested. Much thanks to Laura who gave me something to start from. (Can you tell how I'm totally into the hyperlink thing?)

And I hope this works because I have never used google docs before. Give me some feedback so I know if it's connecting for ya.

Craft Time

Some friends came over for an afternoon craft. It was quite the effort, but maybe we'll be faster next time! Step one: cut 2x4 into blocks. Step 2: Paint the blocks

Steps 3-?: Cut out paper, mod-podge to blocks, cut out letters (Thanks to Kim's cricut!), modpodge letters, tie ribbon... Ta-da! (Cameron's new favorite phrase.) I am not good at tutorials am I? Photographs courtesy of Krista.

Grommets!

My sister Adri is quite the home decorator. She made some curtains for her kitchen and she told me it was very simple so when she was in town I had her and my Mom help me, and it was very simple. I just measured and cut the fabric to the size I wanted. Which turned out to be too small but the fabric was on clearance and I only had enough to make decorative curtains. Meaning they don't cover the spanse of window when pulled closed. But they are sheer anyway, so no matter.

I just sewed a hem around three sides and the doubled the fabric over a few times on top, for strength. It just has to be wide enough for the grommets. If I had done this project after I had this blog I would have taken step-by-step pictures.

The grommets are really easy to attach. You just measure and mark where you want them, cut a hole and they just snap together. Ta-da!
They aren't great. Second rate at best.

Never throw anything away!

Okay well maybe that is a little unrealistic. But those of you who have seen my boys in swimsuits know they could stand to put on a few pounds so my pediatrician told me to put this in their milk each morning for some extra calories. We collect these cans at quite a pace and so today I was determined to make use of them.
This is the first one I made. I don't really love it, but it was a first try. I figured I could put cookies/treats in it for a birthday gift.

This one turned out a little cuter. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. The lids to the cans are blue and not the right blue for this paper so this can will have to serve a lid-less purpose.

the Transitional magazine holder

I love lists. One of my lists is a list of things I want to buy when there is money available. On that list are these cute magazine holders. (IKEA) But before I started cutting magazine pages out and putting them in my Idea Book I saved all the magazines. I used empty cereal boxes and covered them with contact paper. As you can see the contact paper is a little dated now. I made all these when we were poor college students.