Home decor on the cheap!

This one cost me a buck. :) I had most of the supplies on hand. Just had to go to the local dollar tree and pick up a Styrofoam wreath. This project came from Living with Lindsay. Check out her site and Dollar Store Crafts for some great ideas! My wreath is just as lovely as Lindsay's....I just have a normal, everyday digital camera and poor photography skills. This would make a GREAT Christmas gift for friends.

Right now it looks a little out of place because I just stuck it in an empty spot on the wall. I have wonderful plans for it when we move. I'm thinking near the entrance, over a little black table with some vintage or fabric covered books. Of course the table and books I will have to find once were there. Just no bringing in new furniture before we get moved. Those are my orders from the man of the house. Ha!

Speaking of moving....not much longer! I'm going to be calling around to some extended stay hotels later today to check out weekly rates and maybe some apartments or townhomes to find one that does a month to month agreement. They say there is a 2-4 month wait for housing. My husband's sponsor however, let him know that they told him 6 months and he had a home in 17 days. So I don't want to sign a lease somewhere and then have to break it. I WANT...make that NEED to live in base housing. Right now a break from having to worry about who I'm going to pay rent to, paying the electric bill, paying the water bill, and fixing things that break sounds like a nice idea to me. I will only have to make the car/insurance payments, the mortgage, and the phone. I can handle that. This mommy's brain is fried to the point that I totally forget to pay bills.....a lot lately.

With all of that said, it's time to start the day here. I think my baby boy is ready for a nap already. I guess he can't handle getting up at 5am like he thought he could. Scratch that. He just has no patience for his juice cup running out. That thing is evil you know? Running out of juice at the most inopportune times.

Poor man's dinner...with dessert!

No, we aren't exactly "poor". Were just "lower middle class" as the government would say. Right now were "there's money in the bank, but had to cancel the debit card because some idiot stole the number." So with no way to go and buy groceries (which really messes with my couponing today!) and not a ton left in the house, because it's grocery day, I was faced with the ol' "What's for dinner?".

I thank God for WIC in moments like these. There are cans of tuna, bags of beans, and brown rice filling my cabinets. And we had some leftover hamburger buns from last week...the yummy kind with sesame seeds all over them. :) This is what I did.

Tuna melts

1 (6 oz) can of tuna ($1.00 was free with WIC)
1/4 c of miracle whip (or mayo)(free with coupon)
1/4 c of finely chopped onion (.60)
handful of shredded cheese (1.25)

Mix all together in a bowl. Put on hamburger buns. Wrap in tin foil and bake on 375 for 20-25 minutes. Voila!

Homemade Brownies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.


And there was our yummy dinner and dessert! I'm guessing dinner would have been around $1.85 for 3 servings. I didn't calculate dessert because it was all staples that I keep on hand.