Day 1: The 'B' Word

This is a very hush hush subject in my home. We do not mention the dreaded 'B' word as it spreads panic throughout the streets. I'll whisper it softly... "budget" *runs and hides in the corner*

After the droves of villagers have run through with their pitchforks and torches we will discuss the *ahem* 'b' word.

Budgeting is like dieting. You can't just give up everything all at once. If you're like me a week into it you'll be hiding under the bed eating a bowl full of cake mix and crying over your failures. SO, my step one is to stop the massive amounts of emails I get from Groupon, Eversave, Zulily, Living Social, Sale Mail, Daily Deal, Gilt, Haute Look, Rue la la, Crate and Barrel, Macy's, LL Bean, Modcloth, Shabby Apple... just to name a few. Why tempt myself with all the pretty, shiny things... excuse me... i need a minute...

*breathe*

So now that the 'carats' will no longer being dangled in front of me on the computer, I just have to curb the wants and the 'needs' in other areas of my life. The hubby and I are thinking about only keeping one cellphone and possibly cancelling netflix. Although we don't have cable so netflix is our only entertainment. We rarely ever watch it. Baby boy does enjoy Yo Gabba Gabba though. I think I'll take a cue from my grandparents are start clipping grocery store coupons! Kind of excited about this one. I do love a great bargain.

It's going to be a slow transformation. I'm sure we will falter at one time or another. We just have to constantly have that goal in front of us. Say it with me "single family home", single family home. someday.

Now I'm craving candy.

i want a house!

I want a house, I have a home, a wonderful home with my husband and son. I could live in a cardboard box down by the mystic river and it would be a home if they were there with me. BUT i want a house. a little house to call our own. nothing fancy, something we can grow into. this dream, and it is that, a dream is floating away further and further every day. this state, this town we live in the housing market is ridiculous. who can afford to buy, i thought we were in a recession?

Is the first step to save? how can you save when you live paycheck to paycheck? sigh.

who knows. maybe I should take a class on first time home ownership or of finance. I need to stop perusing the internet for homes on the market that I'll never be able to afford. I really do know how to drive myself crazy!

Maybe I'll turn this blog into my quest for a home. we all have to start somewhere. guess i'll start here.

May 1st.

With a new month comes a new beginning. Forget about New Years, the first of May has always been the time in my life that I reflect on my life, want to "spring clean", start fresh and renew. Things have been quite hectic and challenging lately and I think it's about time to start over.

Today will be filled with lots of cleaning, LOTS of throwing stuff away and LOTS AND LOTS of donating to Goodwill.

As my dish washing soap says on the bottle, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness..."

Strawberry Jam day!

Decided to make jam today. We ran out of the local, but store bought strawberry jam and I figured I could make my own.

From fresh strawberries to jam!

hopefully it tastes good. we're still waiting for it to cool and thicken. toast and jam, here we come!

Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

I've been CRAVING rice crispy treats lately but since they are not vegan normally, I wanted to find a recipe that Dan could enjoy too. And I did! I made a few little tweaks and may have cheated a little bit. I bought vegan fluff and used that too make it more marshmellowy but you don't actually have to do that to make it work.

First off, rice crispies cereal is not vegan. Are you as shocked as I was??? I couldn't imagine what in the world was in rice crispies to make it not vegan, I mean really, it's just puffed rice, right? NO. According to Kellogg's the vitamin D they use is derived from animal. And don't get me started on the high fructose corn syrup, which is fine as vegan is concerned but we choose not to have any HFCS in our diet. Anyway, I found a brown rice cereal that is vegan and found that it tasted exactly like rice crispies so i was back on track.

I used this recipe but I added 1 cup of vegan fluff at the end of the directions and used a little less sugar and less corn syrup.

Vegan Classic Rice Crispy Treats

my fingers are now sticking to my keyboard :) delicious!!!

Is car free the way to be?

My husband and I sold both our cars two years ago. We did it for environmental factors as well as financial factors. It was a decision we thought long and hard about. I rarely regret this decision.

We are very lucky to live in a city where it is possible to survive without a car. We are within walking distance to grocery stores (one of which is open 24 hours), a pharmacy, tons of restaurants, a movie theater and the subway. Being only 2 blocks from the subway allows us access to pretty much everything in Boston and to many places outside of Boston.

As some of you know, I am almost 8 months pregnant. And this whole notion of living car free is being challenged daily. Not only are we being challenged by our family, some friends, my doctor and society but also by ourselves. Can we raise a baby without owning a car? What if there were an emergency? Wouldn't it just be easier to own a car?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I do know that I don't want a car. Just the thought of paying insurance, or a loan, maintenance, gas, taxes, having to deal with parking permits, the undeniable parking tickets, street cleaning schedules and just the overall stress of driving in the city makes me want pull my hair out.

I know there are parents in this world who live and live successfully without an automobile. I know we can do it. I know it'll be difficult and we will have to adjust our lives. We've lived two years without owning a car and we have done pretty okay for ourselves. So I don't know if it's possible to raise a child without a car, but i'd like to give it a really good try.

vegan quiche!

SO, the conversation went like this:

Husband, "Honey, what's for dinner?"
Wife, "Let me see what we have in the fridge. Okay we have one pre-made crust, LOTS of frozen veggies and one box of tofu".

The answer was vegan quiche! Very easy to make and really really yummy. I liked it MORE than regular egg based quiche. It was totally flavorful and delicious.


Apologies for the poor cell phone picture.
Does not do it justice!

Ingredients for Tofu Mixture

1 Package firm tofu
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
1/4 cup soy milk

Ingredients for vegan "cheez"

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon oil
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Veggie ingredients

Any veggies will do. I used what i had, which was:

1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 cup chopped spinach (i used frozen but fresh is fine)
1 cup broccolli

Other ingredients

1 pre-made pie crust


1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Sautée onion in olive oil. Add veggies. Cook for a few minutes, but don't let them get soggy or mushy. Remember, the veggies will warm with the rest of the quiche in the oven! Set aside.
3. Combine ingredients for "cheez" in small saucepan. Whisk it! Then, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Stir constantly for 2-4 minutes, or until thickened.
4. Use a food processor to chop up the tofu mixture. Add "cheez" sauce and purée for a few more seconds in the food processor. Then, take the blade off your food processor and stir in the veggies with a wooden spoon.
5. Spoon the entire mixture into the pre-made pie crust.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until you can stick a knife in the middle and have it come out clean.
7. Let it cool for a few minutes. It will thicken upon standing.


Enjoy!