Money Tip: Eating Out At Chili's

Wild Bill and I like to eat out, so we try to save money whenever we can. We've developed a knack for finding the best deals at places we like to eat.

We use to spend over $40 when we ate at Chili's. Now we can eat at Chili's for around $20, not including tax or tip.

I left tax and tip out of the comparison because taxes vary and people tip differently. We tend to leave a little extra for the tip when we drink water because the server does just as much work bringing water as ice tea.

Here's what we consider the best deal at Chili's:

A section on Chili's menu is "Two For $20" that includes a choice of an appetizer to share and two meals. Under the Two For $20 menu section, there are a variety of meals and appetizers listed.

Wild Bill and I both love Chili's Spareribs with the Shiner Bock beer sauce. For the side, their Coleslaw is wonderful.

I'm embarrassed to show you our appetizer as we finished the guacamole before I thought about taking pictures to post on this money saving meal!

You'll have to trust me when I say the guacamole was wonderful with corn and fire roasted tomatoes.

Here's a close up of the Coleslaw. It appears they add tomatoes to it too. Whatever was in it, it was good!

For the most part, we've switched to drinking water in restaurants. I'm trying to cut my sugar intake and increase my water drinking as much as possible. The side benefit is it reduces the cost too as, you know, water is always free unless it's bottled.

I'm not getting paid for this post. Chili's has no idea who I am. All words come from me -- and I think I just talked myself into lunch at Chili's today!  

Happy Sunday wherever you are.

Sometimes You Get The Bear, Sometimes The Bear Gets You

I voted. Not well. But I voted at the crack of dawn. Or 7:03 a.m. However you choose to describe it.


I was all prepared as usual. I had my voter card and driver's license in my hand and proudly let them scan my driver's license to automate the process. It went quick...

Not Wild Bill though. He showed his driver's license, but insisted they not scan it. Something about not wanting them to put him on mailing lists...huh? 

For the 1 minute they gained with me, they lost 5 with him.

I'm wondering... if they key it in the old fashion way, how does that protect you from conspiracies?

But, oh well, I'm prepared. It's a good day.

So I walk on to some friendly women who wanted to lead me to a booth. But, ah...um... I sat down for Wild Bill to go first. One look at me and he knows instantly what's up and plunges right past me as I sit down and tell the nice ladies I'll wait for my husband to finish before I go.

I feel like the bear got me today.

One perplexed voting official lady asks "...do you need assistance with voting? Do you need your husband to help you vote?"

I hate to answer because, I'm all prepared ya know. Finally I confess:

"No, I need my husband's reading glasses. My three pair and ten spare are all left at home."

And she lends me her reading glasses. I don't have to wait for Wild Bill to finish first. It's a good day. Hope you got through the process as easy as we did.

November 6, 2012. It's a good day to vote!

Just don't forget your glasses.

Recipes Get A Rating

Note: Before I posted this, I called my middle daughter and asked if she would be offended by the rating scale I'm proposing. She laughed and said she had actually been wondering "...just how easy..." the last recipe really was. So she approved my new rating system -- and this post.


With that said, I've decided I need to give the recipes I try a rating. Since my cooking skills are lacking, I like easy recipes.

My rating system will note the ease of the recipe by using pictures:

This is Jaysa:

The only one I know with cooking skills worse than mine is my middle daughter Jaysa.

As I've written before, Jaysa actually burned "Cup of Noodles" in the microwave (yes, she was about 9, but still) because she skipped the only step of adding water to the cup before microwaving!

According to her husband she hasn't improved much since then, so he does all the cooking.

A "One Jaysa" will indicate Jaysa could successfully cook it.

A "Two Jaysa" will indicate she might be able to successfully cook it.

A "Three Jaysa" will indicate there's a high probably she could not cook it.

A "Four Jaysa" will indicate there's no possible way she could pull this recipe off!

The recipe for Easy Banana Bread in the previous post is a One Jaysa.

So... if you have a 9-year-old and three ripe bananas... let him or her have at that stove tonight!

P.S.
Everyone excels in their own area of expertise. Besides being a great mother to Little Ben, Jaysa is highly technically skilled.

I'm sure she is shocked that I was able to use PicMonkey to do a collage.

I guarantee no computers were injured making this post!

Tea And Banana Bread

We had a tiring day today and decided to relax with a cup of tea. I remembered a recipe for banana bread that I had jotted down (from a website I'm sure) and decided to try it.

The scribbled recipe I had was dated October 13th, so I tried to find it on several blogs by using that date. I thought for sure it would be from StoneGable's blog as that's my go-to for recipes, but I couldn't find it there.

If you see this post and it's your recipe, let me know and I'll give you the credit you deserve! The recipe was simple. All you need is a mixer and a few measuring utensils.

It really lived up to its name: Easy Banana Bread

I made the tea with the English style electric kettle I love to use. Its simple to use too. Just fill it up, put it on the black pad, and push the button. It turns itself off when the water is hot.

A tip from an English couple a long time ago was to hold the pot high up and aerate the water, it makes the tea taste better. Really!

Here's the recipe. It's super easy. I wish I could give proper credit to the original source! When I copy a recipe now, I also note the website so I will be able to link it.

Set oven for 350 degrees, grease and flour loaf pan, bake about 45 mins.

1. Mash 3 bananas in mixer
2. Add 2 eggs and mix
3. Mix in 3/4 cup of sugar
4. Mix together and slowly add to mixer:

     2 cups flour
     1 tsp salt
     1 tsp baking soda

5. Don't over mix


Easy seems to be my theme tonight. Here's the link to StoneGable's blog, in case you want to view some excellent recipes.

http://www.stonegableblog.com

Money Saving and Traveling

I like to find new blogs by bloghopping, therefore, I have no idea how I found these two interesting and informative blogs.

The first has great ideas on how to make and save money. The other is written by a young (almost) mother who gave up most of her personal belongings to travel full time with her husband. They plan to see the U.S. and Canada and have a pretty good start on that.

Hope you'll take a minute to check them out...

http://moneysavingmom.com

http://travelingphoblogwripher.blogspot.com

Island Fever

This isn't a post about a much needed vacation on a luxury island. Turn away now unless you're obsessed with getting rid of kitchen clutter.

My original idea was to put the usual "counter stuff" on an island so the kitchen wouldn't be so messy. Well, the island got too messy.

What to do?

I couldn't put pots and pans on the pot rack portion because it just added to the visual clutter, so I use it for holding cups.

Then the question was, where to put the pots and pans?

They ended up on the shelf below, which was way too much clutter!

So I cleared it off...

And then the journey to find some sturdy, large (perferably cute) baskets began.

Pottery barn, too expensive...
World Market, too expensive...
   
                  Finally - Target - perfect!



I'm proud to say for once, before I went shopping,  I measured the space and determined the number and size baskets I needed: 

• one for small pots and pans
•  one for the blender and food processor 
•  one for bowls and strainers

Perfect...I couldn't be happier about the baskets. Don't they fit perfect? Aren't the little chalkboards darling? ...but... now... I'm thinking the top of the island  is too messy and the kitchen counter-tops are too bare.

I'm sharing at the following blog parties this week:

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com
http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com



Fluffing The Nest

Wild Bill and I went shopping today and I ran across a vintage scale. I've been wanting one for quite some time.

Yeah, it's pretty grody. Looks like someone will be cleaning it up tonight.

I also bought some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint when I saw some furniture painted with one of the newer colors "Cocoa".

I have to admit, I was smitten at first glance. I cracked that can open as soon as we got home! You see, I've had the china cabinet sitting in the middle of the breakfast room while I'm trying to decide which way to go. I painted the top section of the cabinet with a homemade version of chalk paint. I made it using non-sanded grout and a gray paint color by Martha Stewart. I think it was Bedford Gray.

Previously, I had painted the bottom of the china cabinet with my homemade version of "Old White" chalk paint. And then the top and the bottom both sat there since neither of them was what I wanted.  And they sat and sat ... in the middle of the mess ... while I couldn't decide.



Am I the only one who has so much trouble with picking colors? Do you have any suggestions for me? How do you decide?

Hmmmm...I think I got sidetracked! 

Back to Cocoa. I'm already doing the shelves. My plan is to do the top and bottom in Cocoa and then use a dark wax to age it. And maybe trim it a little in old white. I'm on this. Really. I might get something completed soon.



I'm sharing this week at the following blog parties:

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
http://www.primpjunktion.com
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Pottery Barn Duvet

Pottery Barn has a new duvet with red and green on a cream background. Perfect for the Christmas season, so I bought one this week.

We were gone on a long trip when the season changed and I just don't seem to be able to catch the Fall and Halloween decorating spirit this year.

That's why, when I got the duvet home, it seemed like a good idea to just skip Halloween decorations and jump right into Christmas.

We just don't do things as quickly as we used to any more, so I think it's a good plan to get started on Christmas now in the rooms that don't show.

I plopped the red geraniums on the side table to match the red in the duvet. I have almost 2 months to change them out with poinsettias ... I think I'll make it, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Glued To Duck Dynasty

    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                  

Season two is about to start. How have we missed this show for so long???

Wild Bill and I DVR'd a few episodes of Duck Dynasty and watched them all in one night. We never laughed so much over a TV show.

The first episode we watched, the "Duck Men"  went out to their old duck blind to make sure it was still usable. They encountered a multitude of snakes that were living in the blind, so they decided to tear it down. The father, Phil, was upset to lose his favorite blind until someone suggested blowing it up.

To quote the men, "...a redneck would let you blow up his house and be happy about it if the fire was big enough!"

Check it out on A&E, Duck Dynasty.  Believe me, no one paid me to say good things about them, I guess I'm just a natural redneck.

No Escape

Marriage experts will tell you to spend your first year of marriage together without making major decisions or changes...you know, no major stresses like moving, changing jobs, etc.

This morning at breakfast, we fell into a discussion of how long we'd been together and how fast it has flown.

At the time we married, we were both close to 50. We married on a Friday and moved into a new house we bought the following week. Then, 2 months later, we both went back to school by taking an accelerated college program - doing 2 years in 1 year - by attending class 8 hours a day both Saturday and Sunday, every other weekend.

On top of that, Wild Bill did a major job changed that required him to travel every month for training. Somehow we got through that first year, and all the years since, but we both agreed we wouldn't do that first year again like that.

Then this afternoon we saw on Yahoo headlines that, after 40-plus years together, Danny Devito and Rhea Pearlman separated. Wow. They appeared to be the perfect couple.

A little later Wild Bill quietly said, "I hope you don't leave me after 40 years."

"Don't worry"  I said,  "If you haven't escaped by now Bill, you'll never be free."

The Polohouse Blog

I've been traveling, visiting the grand kids and doing good deeds for family members. 

We took the Texas Cadillac (our pickup) so we could pick up a queen bed from one daughter and take it to another daughter in a different state. While traveling down Arizona on a small 2-lane road from Flagstaff to Sedona to Prescott, we got lots of "looks" hauling that bed in the back.  

I haven't been blogging, but still enjoyed reading and keeping up with some of my favorite blogs. One favorite, The Polohouse Blog, has a feature each month called favorites on the first. If you want to post your favorite things, you have from the first to third of each month to link up. Or, if you've been distracted like me, you can just go over and see what everyone is up to.



Photo Source: The Polohouse Blog

This picture is what The Polohouse featured as her favorite this month. The house is lovely and her decorating is always up with the current season (I doubt she waited until St. Patrick's Day to take down her Christmas decorations last year.) Take a peek and I'm sure you'll love her blog too!

http://thepolohouse.blogspot.com

Lazy Girl's Upholstery

I'm the first to admit I take the cheap and easy way out when I can. 

I was going to paint the wood and then try to cover the fabric on this old chair from the 80's. Like everyone else, I would cover it with an old grain sack, but I don't have any! 

So I decided to try to paint it on. Here's my version of the poor girl's grain sack: 

Stage One.

This is the best "before" I have. The old 80's fabric doesn't look that bad in the picture below, but believe me it was country blue with mauve diamonds... and not attractive!

I bought it for $30 about 3 years back. It's been in storage all this time and almost got donated many times.

While painting the wood, I decided to try a little homemade chalk paint on the fabric.

The plan (and I do have one)  is to give it another coat of paint to make it a little more brown, like burlap. After that, I'll "French it up"  with a graphic, then paint a couple of lines running from top to bottom.



I hope you'll come back to see the next stage. Meanwhile, I'm sharing at the following parties:

http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

http://www.primpjunktion.com
http://youaretalkingtoomuch.com

Remembering 9/11

On this day, it's hard not to think of 9/11/2001.

Everyone seems to remember where they were when they learned of the attacks. I was living near Seattle, so it was early morning for us and we were getting ready for work. We watched in horror as the second plane hit. Stunned, we were still compelled to go to work. Yet, as I drove through the gates at work early that morning, the thought would not leave my mind that our lives had changed forever. Two hours later, I went home and stayed in bed for 3 days. I still feel overwhelming grief on this day. I truly hope that we will never forget.

We changed our lives soon after that day. Within 6 months, we had moved half way across the country and changed jobs to ones we liked better. I hope you are where you want to be too. Life is too short to be unhappy.

POWDER ROOM

Here's our little powder room, which was one of the rooms that recently got travertine tile on the floor.

It's not done, it's still a work in progress, but it's the only room I'm not too embarrassed to show you! 

The walls are highly textured and then covered with a stain. We bought a builder's spec home, so we didn't get to pick the colors or fixtures. But I like the stain they put over the wall color, so for now it stays.

This is the corner of the room, which is aged down with stain more in the corner than on the walls. It gives it a vintage look.

The original ugly brass faucet that came with this sink stopped working within the first 2 months that we had the house, even though we only came up to the house every other weekend.

We replaced it with this Kohler faucet, which was well worth the extra expense. The handles turn like butter. Sometimes I turn them just to feel how smooth the turn (no not really...well...maybe a little).

The cabinet and mirror are reproductions, which suit me fine.

I am fond of the sconce, but the original shade was black and a different shape. The walls are a yellowish base, so the black shade with the yellow reminded me of Halloween. I already had this shade so it was an easy cheap fix. If you see my garage, you might think I'm a candidate for the hoarder show, but sometimes keeping things pays off!

Here's a decoration at the top of the wall that the builder did. I'm not a fan of the beads and paint decor, and I have spent a year trying to figure out how to tone it down or remove it completely.

The top is painted on and the chain is an actual piece of chain glued to the wall and the bottom tip is a glued on bead. I'm afraid that removing them will damage the wall texture. Any suggestions on how to remove the decoration or tone it down??? I would appreciate ANY suggestions. HELP please!

Here's the travertine tile. It was hard to get a decent picture of it showing the actual color. It tends to show up as a pinkish brown in pictures, but it's really a cream base with grey and taupe streaks running through it.

This picture hangs outside the door in the hallway, but I'm going to hang it in the powder room. It has the same colors that are in the powder room and I'm going to darken the brassy metal towel hook and T.P. holder to match the dark brown color of the picture frame. Cross your fingers for me!

I'm sharing at the following blog parties this week. I hope you'll come join us:

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com