Saturday's New Tradition

Saturday arrived once again, and once again we took our stroll to the Statham Farmer's Market.  This is our fourth week shopping at the market, and for the last two weeks Ma Luffin' Mayun's brother and his wife, Phillip and Becca (and the resident bun-in-the-oven we get to meet in late August) have come along for the venture.

Little Big Man decided to wrestle up
some cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat
and mosey on down to the market.

Last week, everyone was encouraged to bring their pooches for the "Dog Days of Summer".  Though we opted to leave our two wiley coyotes at home, there were some cutie dogs.  If I remember correctly this one is named "Maggie".

This week there was a wonderful local saxophone quartet playing patriotic music.  Ma Luffin' Mayun is a UGA Redcoat alumnus, so he was all too thrilled to sit and listen.

Becca the patriot in front of the band stand.

Listening to the music

We've tried all kinds of new things throughout the weeks, including honey with the honeycomb.  Truly delicious.  It melts in your mouth like butter and after you've chewed it for a while, you just spit out the wax.

Trying the honeycomb

And here is our haul from last week and this week...

From top center going clockwise: bunch of sage,
two bags of lambsquarters (absolutely one of our new favorites), zucchini,
kale, pesto, crookneck squash, turnips, roma tomatoes, bowl of honeycomb,
bag of lettuce, and our cups of sweet tea
(from the market on 6/25/11)

Fourteen ears of corn
(from the market on 7/2/11)

From the top center going clockwise: kale, heirloom varieties of squash
including Peter Pan squash (shaped like flying saucers), sweet banana peppers,
all-natural lotion bar, handmade castille soap, all-natural skin cream,
honey, tomatoes
(from the market on 7/2/11)

Along with all the veggies we are picking up each week, sticking to our goal of only eating local produce from June through September, I love coming across products like these: handmade soaps, lotions, and creams made with ingredients that are natural and that I can use for myself and the kids (especially Little Big Man with his eczema).  This particular soap made by the Bartons of Sweet Tea is purely olive oil without any added perfumes which is perfect for his skin.  They also made the lotion bar that is absolute divinity.  The skin cream in the jar is made from olive oil, bees wax, water, tea tree oil, and vitamin E by the folks at Blue Sky Honey.  I have used it as facial moisturizer the last two days and love it.

I can't say enough about the market and our growing affection for our community as a result.  It is a blessing each week to see familiar faces, to learn the names that go along with them, and to happen upon old friends.

Here are some more shots from our last two weeks at the market...

My first batch of fresh pickles made from our
farmers market harvest

Ma Luffin' Mayun's BLT made with farmers market goodies

Here is a list, certainly not complete, of some of our favorite vendors.  We are proud to be their regular customers...
Lazy B Farm
Blue Sky Honey
Back In Time Farm
Sweet Tea
Bear Creek Farm
JessAnne Heirloom
Double Bridges Farm

Finding Community In Kombucha

For the first time ever our little town has set up a farmers market every Saturday morning from June to September right on main street.  Um, I love it.  From where we live we can make the round trip walk in just under two miles.  For the past two Saturdays we have gotten the kids up early, had a quick breakfast, and made the short jaunt.  It's already so doggone hot in Georgia that 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning is just about the only time that isn't too scorching to walk, so it becomes a perfect time for some exercise, too.

My friends the PostmodernPescatarian and BigMama have both piqued my interest in the 100-Mile diet challenge for some time.  There is so much good stuff that can come out of eating local foods grown on local farms and harvested by local hands.  Even though it may have a trendy edge to it right now, I love this kind of thing because it feels like a throwback to another era; back before anything I ever dreamed of or wanted could come wrapped in cellophane.  Everything old is new again.

When I found out about the farmers market in our town I decided right then that for the time that the market runs - June through September - our family will buy all of our produce from there and not the grocery store.  If it's in season, we buy it.  If it's not, we won't.  Again, we are only two weeks in, but I already love it.  Here is last week's haul:

Going clockwise starting at "noon": zucchini squash in the background,
kombucha in the foreground, kale greens, fresh ground beef, cucumbers,
crookneck squash, lambsquarters greens, devil's food cupcakes,
boiled peanuts, and local raw honey.

 

The lambsquarters is what's in the bag.  It is very comparable to spinach.
I sauteed it with olive oil and mushrooms this week.  Heavenly.

These cupcakes were so unnecessary . . . and so divine!

 

This kombucha was definitely the most "granola" purchase we made,
but we have enjoyed drinking it this week.  It is a "living" food and full
of probiotics.  You can find out more general information about it here.

Today's market was even better than last week's because of the crops that have come in since last Saturday.  Here is what we found today:

Going clockwise starting at "noon": carrots, swiss chard, kombucha,
kale greens, sauerkraut, red and yellow onions, lambsquarters,
lavender bunches, and zucchini & crookneck squash

 

Little Big Man loved picking out his carrots.

Ruth at BackInTime Farm makes a different flavor kombucha each week.
Last week was blueberry ginger, this week it's grape.

All total between last week and this, we have invested into the farmers market about $70.00.  I knew I would love buying these beautiful, flavorful local products.  What I have been most pleasantly surprised by really is the further discovery of our community.  The faces become more familiar each week.  We live and work and raise our kids side by side with each other, but can move so fast that we never notice.  But when you're all meandering around the same local market, making selections, asking questions, learning about produce or products that may be completely new to you or old favorites, it's slow enough to notice.  I know more names today than I did a week ago.  And more people know mine. 

That is the greatest thing we've found at the farmers market.  And that crop is likely to produce all season long.

A few more pictures to close:

starting out on our walk

Brilliant Beauty samples a boiled peanut.  A Georgia gal, indeed.

She'll have one of everything, please.

And Little Big Man's visit last week even made the front page of the
Sunday Athens Banner-Herald.  Have your people call his people and
maybe you can do lunch.

Frugal Friday

I'm not a motor cross fan, but this shirt sums up my super-awesome fun I'm having with couponing. The man half of our BFF couple, upon being regaled with yet another of my couponing success stories, said, "Wait. Is this an addiction?" KakiBlack and I just laughed. Like all good addicts might say, "NO! I can stop anytime I want". But with savings like these, why would I?

Seriously, I do have to check myself often because there are deals and freebies and coupons and special offers all over the place and every time I turn around on the world-wide-tangled-web. They're all great, but they aren't all necessary for the life of our FabFive. If the couponing is helpful at winnowing our spending, GREAT. If the couponing is creating mental clutter and sucking time better spent somewhere else, NOT SO GREAT. Once again, it's an area in which I will have to continually refocus and reset my aim so I don't just go cuckoo with it...or become an addict.

Having said all of that, I am so pleased with the results of this week's shopping excursions. To help frame up the success, here are my goals in the area of shopping:
-Spending no more than $100.00 per week on food, toiletries, paper goods, and cleaning supplies combined

-Not compromising healthy snacks and meals for convenience or expense

-Stockpiling items, BUT only when they are at their lowest cost (like FREE)

-Keeping an organized system for coupon and sales flyer storage

-Maintaining an organized system of coupon sorting for the week's shopping list

-Compiling an orderly and concise shopping list, covering three+ stores, that can be shopped in two hours or less

I'm working through all of these goals, tweaking here and there. I'm still finding my way through the process, my style, my coupon comfort zone.

***Wait. I just realized I'm writing a post about coupon shopping. For my family. Of five. Huh. I'm really not twenty years old anymore. The weirdest things drive that reality home. Anyway...***

So here are this week's totals:
Kroger
18 items purchased
$ 64.36 total retail value
$ 32.56 total spent
$ 31.80 total saved
That's a savings of 49% off of the retail value.

Target
45 items purchased
$156.50 total retail value
$ 70.35 total spent
$101.15 total saved (I got back $10.00 in gift cards and will receive $20.00 in rebates - that was added to the $70.15 that I saved at checkout)
That's a savings of 64% off of the retail value.

Publix
44 items purchased
$105.24 total retail value
$ 32.01 total spent
$ 73.23 total saved (Shut UP. What, then?!)
That's a savings of 70% off of the retail value.

My combined totals are:
107 items
$326.10 total retail value
$134.92 total spent
$206.18 total saved (including $10.00 gift card and $20.00 in rebates)
That's a savings of 63% off of the retail value.

Hip, hip, hooray, I've got to say. Here's just a sample of some of the loot:
14 jars of organic baby food
formula
fresh produce
fresh frozen vegetables
shampoo and conditioner
deodorant
2 Frog Princess DVDs
band-aids
cereal

And here are items that I have stockpiled enough to last AT LEAST through summer:
shampoo and conditioner
deodorant
toothpaste
dental floss
toothbrushes
soap
dish soap
laundry detergent
cereal

I have other smaller stockpiles of other goodies (laundry detergent, granola bars, paper products, cake mixes...). I LOVE it. Three times this week the us-es and our fabulous neighbor kiddos were out playing and I had snacks aplenty for them. Ah, the joy.

Thus concludes this week's installment of Frugal Friday. Oh, happy day!

P.S. I am not a candidate for stockpiling ready-to-bake cookie dough or canisters of cake frosting. My selected mode of storage is my belly. I had my suspicions to this fact. I removed all doubt last week by plowing through the stash. Ouch. Talk about driving it like you stole it...

Who Takes Pictures Of Their Groceries?

Um, that would be me.

Not always. Just this time.

In another move of utter self-exposure, I am telling (or showing) you exactly what I got at the grocery store(s) yesterday. There is actually a point to this.

One of the entities I perpetually try to winnow is our budget. Well, let's be honest. Perpetually is definitely a wrong word choice. It evokes in my mind images of constancy; toiling without letting up until something's accomplished or achieved. I whimsically buy enough overpriced 20-ounce beverages when I'm out and about, lah-dee-dah, to rule out using "perpetually" to describe my budget-winnowing efforts. So to be a realist about it let's replace perpetually with "frequently".

Okay, whatever. I frequently try to winnow our budget, looking for where we can cut cost or spend less, or even shift spending from one area to another. And I love when the trying actually materializes into doing and we find new ways to loosen up some funds we may be wasting or overlooking or putting towards the wrong things. My SisterFriend isn't much different (of course, we do share DNA). Along these same goal lines, she started the epic adventure of extreme couponing around two months ago. She is pysching all of us out with her ridiculous savings and huge hauls of depletable resources for her zoocrew of six to use. Her kids have recently commented on her couponing adventures saying the deals are so good it's like she flat-out stole the stuff.

Alas, as is often sometimes the case with siblings, I took the ol' big sister's cues and started my own journey into the vast dimension of couponing. Believe me, it is another dimension and I hear Twilight Zone music every time, but it's starting to pay off.

I have no desire, and even less the energy needed to explain all of the ins and outs of couponing methods (Ma Luffin' Mayun is out of town for this from Tuesday through Sunday, thus leaving me with...well, everything...thus the lack of energy, verily I say unto thee). I certainly can do that at a later time if any of you show interest. But I do want to just whet your appetites to see what an awesomely great couponing experience can look like and result in.

If you enjoy the recap, thank you, thank you very much. If you don't, blame it on SisterFriend. She started it.

Let me show you everything I got. Then I'll tell you what I spent.

FRUITS & VEGETABLES
19 bags of fresh-frozen veggies

2 bunches of fresh asparagus
3 cartons of prewashed sliced mushrooms
3 heads of broccolli
2 bunches of bananas
5 cameo apples (and since they're cameo apples they came with a free bright red thingy that I'm not sure what to do with...here's how this dude decided to use his...and a cassette tape of "Word Up!")

DAIRY PRODUCTS
1 dozen eggs
2 gallons of milk
2 blocks of natural cheddar cheese
26 containers of yogurt

BREAD
6 loaves of wheat bread
4 bags of pita bread

MEATS
2 icky, disgusting lunchables Brilliant Beauty couldn't be more thrilled about
3 packages of sirloin steak
4 packages of all-natural boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 packages all-natural sandwich meat

PANTRY MISCELLANY
1 bottle extra virgin olive oil (I can't call it "evoo". Actually, I refuse. I also can't pay $137 for a bottle of it just because Rachael Ray's face is plastered on it. Uh, oh. Did I just alienate some readers? Do I have readers? Did he just call himself "the talent"?)
1 bottle vegetable oil
5 cans soup (I actually think I lost a can somewhere between Here and There)
2 boxes instant oatmeal
2 pouches single-use dried potatoes

FROZEN NONSENSE (a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men)
5 bags frozen biscuits
2 bags cinnamon rolls
2 bags mini cinnamon rolls

JUNK (read: What My Butt Won't Thank Me For Later But My Us-es Will)
2 boxes of brownie mix
2 bags of cookie mix
3 cake mixes
3 cake frostings
2 2-pack single serve desserts
4 packages of ready-to-bake cookies
2 bags of flavored snack mix
2 boxes of crunchy granola bars
2 boxes of popcorn
5 boxes of chewy granola bars
1 bag of tortilla chips

TOILETRIES
3 bars of kid soap
4 containers of floss
4 deodorants

HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES
4 bottles of dish soap
1 box of trash bags

Pretty good looking pile o' stuff. I shopped at Kroger and Publix. Here's my spending breakdown per store:
Publix
$125.99 total retail value
$ 58.28 total spent
$ 67.71 total saved
That's a savings of 54% off of the retail value.

Kroger
$207.91 total retail value
$108.33 total spent
$ 99.88 total saved
That's a savings of 49% off of the retail value.

My combined totals are:
106 items
$333.90 total retail value
$166.61 total spent
$167.59 total saved
That's a savings of 50% off of the retail value.

Wowzers. I saved more than I spent, and stuck within the amount I wanted to spend on groceries. And actually, $166.61 is LESS than what we have been spending the last several months on groceries without couponing, buying virtually nothing name brand, and absolutely not stockpiling any items. Nice.

So I've winnowed some grocery cost. I aim to get even better at it. I know I can reduce the spending even more as I figure out what I'm doing a little more in this surreality of couponing.

How about you? Are you saving money in some way? Saving time? Winnowing your own "too much" of something, making room and space for something better? Let me hear from you.

P.S. Laundry's backed up. Dishes are dirty. I'm stepping over toys and clothing the us-es seem to teleport out of. BUT my pantry's full.

Don't despise the process...