Giveaway Winner Is...., Super Simple Pot Roast, One Month Pantry Challenge

Giveaway Winner Is....
Lisa!!!! Lisa pleas email me your shipping address. Find the "contact me" tab on the right down near the bottom. Thanks to the small group who participated!

Anya chose the winner in her paws :)

Sorry for the blur

Super Simple Pot Roast-
Last weekend I wanted a nice, big roast beef. I saw this Katiebrownhomeworkshop.com and thought, hmm, huckleberry roast beef. Why not? Well, I got a pot roast instead thru a miscommunication :) So, change of plans. I wanted something really simple, with no veggies. I found this Beef Pot Roast (with onions) and it came out fab! Juicy, moist tender, lots of Au jus. I only added 1 TBL of Worcestershire to the recipe. I saved the onions for the next night, and made French Dips. First night I served it with buttery/pepper whole grain linguine, and salad. Night 2 dips. For the Au jus I added about 3 TBL of flour, thickened slightly, whisked a lot, then 3 cups of beef broth. Perfect, not a gravy, but slightly thicker broth. Next time I'll try Katie's recipe. They're all good! Love her show on PBS :)

One Month Pantry Challenge-
I knew I needed to work more on my freezer and pantry items. I used some home-grown, frozen nectarines, and leftover fresh cranberries and made crumb-topped dessert. Wonderful and tart! Then I read A Months Meal Plan For The Pantry Challenge  and had a "oh yes!" moment. I will have to do this a bit differently since there's only 2 of us, but it's a good starter plan. This weekend I'll go thru everything and make a list. I can save a lot of money, experiment, and save a lot of $$$. Great idea! I'll post more of my challenge!!! Feel free to join in :)

500th Post Giveaway, Top 10 Posts of 2014, 100 Life Hacks To Make Life Easier

500th Post Giveaway-
Well, it's taken a while buy I got here! There's always up and downs with blogging, as you all know. Whether you write one or read one. One I loved stopped suddenly when the writer passed away. Another I loved just stopped, I emailed her, but no response. Sad. I assume there were some kind of personal problems, and I hope she's OK. Anyway.... to celebrate my little blog I have a few fun things to giveaway! It's a tea basket! But not any tea basket- some wonderful Earl Grey tea and English Oat tea cookies! And for summer, the screen netted basket!

Nice, classic Earl Grey tea

From England! Crunchy, you can taste the oats, pretty healthy & not too sweet

Fun basket with retractable netting to keep the summer bugs away!

Just leave a comment about why you like my blog and you're in! I'll have Anya randomly choose a winner by Wed. this week. I'll post it here, so you'll need to check back and email me your address. I'll re-draw if I don't hear back from the winner by Sat.... Good luck!

Top 10 Posts of 2014-
After seeing others posting theirs, I was curious what mine were. So here, for the first time on my blog ever, they are.... drum roll please-

1- Thrifting, More Projects Done, Lagenlook Clothing? Who Knew!

2- How We Accidentally Saved Lots of Money & Supported Our Local Community Services, DIY-Indoor Hanging Herb Garden

3- How to Make Water Kefir, Choc Chip Oat Pecan Cookies, Freezing Rain, Ice/Snow's Coming...

4- Free "101 Things To Do ’til The Revolution" eBook/PDF, Goodnight Moon Parody

5- Bathroom Remodel Reveal- Finally! Fun DIY Home Makeovers For Less Than $50

6- Free Chicken Pergola, Recipes- Graham Crackers & Marshmallows, Rhubarb Sauce, Independence Days Challenge, Garden, Staycation Ideas

7- Hey You Idahoans! Handsome Young Man Needs New Home

8- Food Pantry Re-Do & Some Prepping Info, Food Fatigue

9- Simple Amish Kitchens

10- Harness Driving Goats And Dogs

I thought it was interesting, the range from fashion to fermenting! Thanks to Dave for figuring out how the heck to get this data from Blogger. There's gotta be an easier way~~~

100 Life Hacks To Make Life Easier-
Wow, some really great ideas here!!! 100 Life Hacks That Make Life Easier  My personal fave-

Thrifting/Sales Finds, Anya's New Spot, More New Year Deep Cleaning, 500th Post Giveaway!

Thrifting/Sales Finds-
I have been looking for a new summer quilt for two years. My search ended this week! It needed to be king size, even though our bed is a queen. It has a deep pockets mattress, I gave up on dust ruffles, so I just needed a longer one. I wanted something nice, soft cotton, durably made. I went thrifting lots of times, but could never find one. I went to Ross this last week and stumbled on to this-

New Quilt!

Nice, fine quilting, soft and reversible, with opposite stripes. I washed it and put it on over the comforter. I LOVE it! $35.00 well spent. I gifted my daughter with our old one :)

I went to Lowe's and found these babies, 75% off, just like the Scandinavian ones I had seen online but much cheaper. I wish I could knit and I could have made the red balls! Too cute to pass up, so I bought some for next year. I will get rid of some more things to make room for these. My kids love my leftovers!

Tomtens! (or gnomes) 

Little trees

For some generic winter decor I bought these nice, neutral burlap-wrapped snowflakes. Perfect on my old, chippy window! Good size, about 5" across. All of these packs were a buck or two each...

Anya's New Spot-

After I made a small pile of donations on the floor Anya decided it was her new "spot'-

More New Year Deep Cleaning-

I gave away a car full of donations this last week, deep cleaned both my linen hall closest, Dave wiped down all the kitchen cabinets, oven, baseboards and fridge. Now it's mopping and vacuuming! It's nice to have the extra time over break to deep clean. Nothing better than starting the New Year clean, tidy and more organized!!!

500th Post Giveaway!

Wow, it's hard to think I've done 500 posts since 2011! To celebrate I'm putting together a little giveaway. I'll put something together and put it up here. Anyone in the continental U.S. can join, and it comes with free shipping! Check back soon!

                                           500 POSTS, WOW!!!