Thrifty Goodness

One of my fave grocery store is the kookiest or one of the kookiest in Montreal.

My Dad calls it the dirty grocery, I've called it many names....but in fact it has no real official name outside. The sign says 'épicerie' or grocery store.

I know its real name but cannot say it....It is one of Montreal's best kept secret!

If you can get past the smell (Dried salted cod), the chaos and the noise....you will be rewarded with thrifty goodness.

The produce can be fabulous, or past its prime and sometimes they don't have red bell peppers....

I go there with a list, but rarely buy all that is written on it. Because you never know what deals you will find!

Here is some of the goodies i got today.

The Cracker Barrel cheese was $1.99 for 250g (about 8 ounces)

That is a DYNAMITE deal!

The cheese expires in 16 days....

The butternut squash was a dollar a pound, so it came to $1.06 

And the Oka cheese , was $1.49 for 100g (3.5 ounces)

The company introduced the sliced version of this iconic Quebec

cheese maybe a year ago. I saw it first at my local Maxi & Cie

(Canada's Superstore) and it was $6.99 for a big package, don't know the weight

but this cut of cheese has been MIA ever since.

It smells of feet and is amazing on toast!

  I also bought an eggplant ($1.11), 3 zucchinis ($1.07) and a

red pepper for .57cents

With the veggies I made a pig pot of ratatouille.

Eggplant,zucchinis,onion,garlic,red pepper and tomatoes....LOVE!

I also add basil, S&P and some Johnny's seasoned salt

It will be sooo good with Italian sausages

Seen Around

Last week after our return from New Hampshire, I was in NEED of a huge supermarket and big box store visit.

While living in suburbia I would stop at the Maxi & Cie store (Canada Superstore)3 or 4 times a week. I loved that you could get a bag of milk, fill out the prescriptions and buy a sweater all at the same time!

Here in the city (Montreal) the HUGE super markets and big box stores are in the periphery and since I live more in the center i don't have access to these wonders....

So before our shopping trip I packed some snacks, because you never know!

  We originally bought this lunch box at a garage sale a few years back.

It was filled with View Master reels...

A few month ago I had to save it from the trash because Dan

said we never used it!

 Apples, Cliff's bars, seaweed snacks...

We are set!

 I am betting this will be the 2015 Must Have in

exterior lighting. It is a projector that projects flurries on

your house!

 Lanterns and systems to keep your decorations well

organized, as if!

 I do like those decorative boxes to give cookies...

 Lights yum!

 The lighted pine cones were my faves!

 I also saw a limited edition Pyrex display at Walmart.

 I loved the turquoise measuring cup....

I had to promise not to buy any....

Dan gets nervous just at the sight of the word Pyrex!

Oh Well!

LOL!

Just no luck

While vacationning in New England , we took Newhampshire's route 4 AKA Antique Alley.

The way I had read about it was...that there was an avanlanche, no an ORGY of flea markets and antique malls......

And I couldn't wait to visit.....

We only stopped at 1 mall, mall is stretching the truth, even gilding the lily....The mall was okay, but it was regular sized, and kinda of boring.

Let's face it I prefer utilitarian objects from the turn of the century up until the 70's, the place didn't have a lot...

Mostly tchatskies....and ornate victorian knickknacks.....

We passed on half a dozen of Antique and Gift shops.....which are even less my thing....and they are the same shops I LOOOOVED when I was a child.

But not this time. So that was it for UN Antique Alley!

I also visited 3 other thrifts....

                                          I wanted to bring this red Dansk baking dish home with me

but it had a big ding on the other side

 This thrift shop is in York, Maine

it is spotless and full of treasures...

 I don't really get the mushrooms motif but it is fitting if you live

near the forrest!

 not appetizing....

 One of my classic's

 I did spot this Pyrex bottle

 But somehow my heart was not in it....

I also visited the Portsmouth, NH Goodwill.

I did not bother to take pictures....

I was pretty bummed out!

But my frown was turned into a big ol'smile with

this big bowl of Goldenrod's clam chowder!

So delicious!

ROADTRIP!

Oh man oh man, did we deserve this break or what?

We have been in our new place for a month now and the routines are setting in. I know where most of my kitchen things are so I can cook efficiently.

Some things are still MIA, so that makes for funny moments....I looked for my scarves for 2 days and they were right there, in front of me....lol

 Yes we drove all the way to the sea side....This is the view from the balcony

 The sea is pretty wild because of the hurricane that just finished

 The sunrise was spectacular

 The sky is clear and bright

 The wind is very strong and cold. Even if I brought my bathing suit...I don't think I will be taking
a swim  anytime soon.....

Later today we will go shopping,thrifting and sigh seeing .....

and eating and napping of course!

That's what a vacation is all about!

Oh the excess and 5 frugal things

Hello there!

This hasn't been the most frugal week but I did try. Payday is next Wednesday and I had to resort to taking some change out of one of my banks to have some kind of money in my purse. I hate being without money in my purse, just in case of emergency!

Today we went to Costco, for the first time in 20 years to have my picture taken for my card (and Dad's).

OMG! I couldn't believe that Christmas stuff was already out, especially cookies and chocolate! Now tell me you will be able to resist for 3 whole months!!!

I couldn't get over the size of the food containers, so huge! Do we need a gallon of mayo, NO!

I didn't feel a lot of need to buy stuff. But we bought:

We bring coffee to work a lot and those travel mugs are

fantastic! No spill, no mess and it beats buying a coffee from Starbuck's or

Second Cup!

2016 Cat calendar

I can't live without one of these for the office, it brings me soooo

much joy!

so usually I pay $13.99 with Amazon.ca.

We also bought Halloween candy because we decided that we will give out candy this

year after 19 years!

I am already planning an old school Halloween decor

Now for the 5 frugal things:

1) I made chicken stock from scratch from the chicken bones from last week's chicken.

2) I roasted fresh red peppers for freezing so much cheaper than the jarred ones

3) I salvaged some forgotten zucchinis from certain garbage death by making a zucchini cream soup

4) I went to a garage sale this morning at 9:00am but they hadn't put any stuff out so I came home

without spending a cent!!!

5) We share diner and laughs with my Dad 5 times this week! 

So have a wonderful week my friends I will try to blog in the next few days

sleep well :)

5 frugal things

So we are still getting our groove on, unpacking, recycling, giving to thrifts.....

I have been reading blogs too. One of my new favorite is The non consumer advocate. Every week she posts 5 frugal things...

1-Today we brought 10 bags full of packing materials to the curb for recycling and 6 bundles of flattened cardboard boxes.
2-I baked healthful gluten free apple muffins from scratch to use the free apples I got from my work last week.
3-I air dried my laundry
4-I packed our lunches from stuff in the fridge (leftovers)
5-I used public transport and I walked!

6- I also made a tomato sauce form scratch for the freezer.

I have yet to visit a thrift store....but it is just a matter of days.....

Stay cool and rested!

The Pantry

We are still settling in and things are going relatively smooth....

We still have boxes to try to fit in the kitchen. I'm still looking for ingredients, like Worcestershire sauce and oyster sauce....but I have most of my dry spices.

I was in my old kitchen for 20 years and preparing food was like a well oiled machine. I am so inefficient in my new kitchen it is ridiculous. I know I will make it work but these things take time.

And as any old house the cabinets are so high I need a step ladder ALL THE TIME!!!

On the frugal front: we decided to make a new budget and to take a really close look at grocery shopping.

I always shop for food and staples on sale but I am out of a lot of essentials and finding them can be a challenge since I was used to supermarket shopping ( I had 3 chains near my house) to one supermarket I don't like as much and several specialty independent grocers or small chains.

But I am proud to say that I started filling the freezer with bargain meat and seasonal veggies! I love having some sliced frozen leeks on hand to add to soups...yummy!

We also need to deal with assorted food issues...Dad doesn't eat wheat or cow and goat milk products but can eat sheep milk....Dan doesn't want to eat wheat or corn or regular chicken and an assortment of legumes. I really don't like the Eat right for your type book....It is an eating plan for your specific blood type...It might be valid, but practically I think this SUCKS!

If you follow this, and in most households you can find different blood types,,,well that is different meals for each blood types....

For my part, I have digestive issues if I eat too much wheat or too much bread (could be gluten free, it doesn't matter)....and I get weird if i eat too much sodium bicarbonate (i.e biscuits and such) I get all bloated

So just to be safe it is protein and veggies, low carbs....

Sleep tight!