this is the plan

I'm sitting at home on a Friday night while Joel has yet another school obligation. I turned down an offer to hang out with friends because I want to be quiet tonight and because I want to be around when Joel comes back. I would not have imagined 10 years ago (or even 3 years ago!) that this would be me, my life, at age 28.

Not sure what I imagined.... a hot husband (which I have, praise the Lord!), full-time teaching job where I was kicking butt, perfectly decorated house, lots of cash in the savings account, a kid or two, all my friends and family right down the road, maybe...

But this is my life. This is the plan. This is, apparently, where God wants me to be.  For some unknown and incredibly frustrating reason(s).

 Friends! Please read this blog post by my friend Beka. She does an excellent job summarizing what's going on in both our hearts lately. Last month I wrote about my own pain/confusion/frustration-filled journey here and here, but Beka's words are great:

"I also kept job searching, held onto all of my own timelines and plans, and had an internal attitude of "THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED..." even though my external attitude was more like, "Rejoice in the Lord always!"... 

"This was not my plan. But it is the plan. And let's pause to acknowledge that it's a GOOD PLAN. If I have food and water and clothing and shelter and parents and friends and a job and freedom and faith...and the only thing wrong is that my independence has suffered and my pride is injured...then it was high time for a reality check to begin with. Because that's not who I want to be."

"I have every single solitary reason to be joyful, and none to be discontent. I have more than enough."

Minted.com

I've been a Shutterfly girl for a while now. I also ordered a photo book from Blurb this past winter. Lately, though, I've been seeing a ton of advertisements for Minted.com. Apparently when you create an account, you automatically get $25 free credit. THEN if you use the code: HOL25SHIP, you can get another free $25.

What could be better, you ask?! If you visit this referral link, I get free credit for connecting you to Minted!!

I hope you'll browse around and pick out some festive cards or gifts! I was considering making Christmas or New Years cards, but have decided to make Joel's mom a calendar instead.

my love/hate relationship with jeans. and how I found a great new pair

I love jeans. But I hate 'em, too, because, to me, they're so finicky.

Most common brands don't make jeans that fit me well. I've tried GAP, J.Crew, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Target. None are made of the right quality or a shape that flatters me. In the last few years I've bought my jeans at TJMaxx. I got the jeans below there about 2 years ago. They're Tommy Hilfiger Spirit Skinny and I love them. Perfect length, perfect amount of "skinny," perfect color (even after a million washes!) I went back a few weeks after I bought them because I realized they were amazing but, as is often true of TJs, there weren't any more.

When I looked for similar jeans recently, I realized Tommy Hilfiger jeans at regular price are wayyyyy more expensive than what I paid at TJs. Like 50 bucks more expensive. No, thanks. So I wandered through TJs & Marshalls & all the other stores I've tried & failed at in previous years. No luck.

I have read lots of reviews online about Levi's and decided to give 'em a go. I wandered into Macy's a couple weeks ago and somehow found myself in the juniors' section, ruffling through pair after pair of Levi's jeans. I tried them all on and they were terrible! Too long. Too tight. Too awkward in the waist. Too long. Too tight. Too awkward everywhere.

Then I realized that Macy's also has a Levi's section for women. Tried on one single pair and loved them. Basically a perfect fit. My only complaint is the waist is a tiny bit high for my preference, but at this point I can't be that picky. Not after my traumatizing experience with the juniors' jeans. So I bought them, using a gift card we got as a wedding gift two years ago, paid 9.99 extra to complete the purchase.

The final verdict is still out, but I think they're pretty good. Especially for $9.99 out of pocket. [And especially now that I'm 28 years old and really shouldn't even be walking through the juniors' department...]

meal planning, take two: start with the farmers' market

Wow! Yesterday this blog received 206 page views! That's about 20 times the typical number. Huge thanks to 'Words of Williams' for hosting me as a guest blogger. So fun.

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on W.O.W. [and because the local farmers' market season is almost over!], I'm writing today about how I shop using local produce as my base. 

So, here's my deal:
On Saturday morning I grab some cash and my favorite blue eco-bag and head down the street to the market. There are two big farm stands; I always go to both. Sometimes there's a meat truck but I don't look too long there because I can't afford to buy their stuff, even though it's probably good quality/organic/amazing/delicious/healthy.

Today I got the following:

 1 pint of heirloom tomatoes: $2.50

 Two McIntosh apples: $3.75 (Whoa! Expensive apples!! But they're huge so I can make four lunch snacks out of them this week.)

 3 heads of broccoli, 2 onions, 1 yellow pepper: $4

5 sweet potatoes: $2.50
Total spent: $12.75
 
The other day I got these clementines & bananas from the regular grocery store because I haven't found them at the market. If anyone knows a local farmer in NJ or PA who grows bananas in November (or any time of the year!), please be sure to let me know. 

After I bring my goodies home, I go through the grocery store flier and plan a week's worth of dinners. I make a shopping list for the store, starting at one end and finishing up on the other end. My grocery bill varies, depending how much beef/chicken/extra snacks I buy, but lately it's been about 60 bucks. That makes me glad because earlier this summer I was spending at least $100 each trip. Not good, not good at all. My current budget goal is to spend $300 a month on groceries. I'll be tracking it this month so we'll see.

being a good guest

Hurricane Sandy gave us lots of chances to be guests of our friends Joel & Melissa, since they had power the entire time! It was nice to be welcomed warmly as their guest.

Also, today I'm a guest blogger over on Words of Williams, one of my favorite daily reads! This is such an honor and I hope you'll hop over to check out my 4 meal planning tips.

If you've stumbled upon this blog via Words of Williams, welcome! I hope you'll hang around.

the ups & downs of hurricane sandy

Downs (like, seriously, major downs):
losing power for almost four days straight
slipping on our neighbor's porch
the bruise that resulted from my fall on the porch. it's the most amazing bruise. i'd take pictures if it weren't on a very awkward crack
watching footage of the damage on the jersey short & in NYC
being freezing cold at night
three perhaps unnecessary days off (three? for real, guys?)
the pile of laundry that just.kept.growing.
getting super grouchy and taking it out on Joel. he's such a patient man.
making cold breakfast in the dark this morning
spoiled milk
spoiled sour cream, ice cream, chicken, and yogurt
being cold & in the dark & without internet

Ups (serious ups!):
having mini adventures with Joel. we had cheap movie passes and a Qdoba coupon so yesterday was a date day!
sleeping in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
generous friends who let us steal showers & eat hot meals with them
borrowed internet connections
hot chocolate at a warm cafe this morning before work
my amazing patient husband
being safe & dry & without damage to our home or lives
a very kind and patient PECO man who fixed our gas leak today
flicking light switches on to find that they work!
the sweet sweet sound of heat moving through our vents!

a new first: product review!

A couple months ago, I received an email from a clothing company in India called eShakti. They had found my blog and asked me to do a free product review. After scoping them out and making sure everything was legit (it was!), I responded and thanked them for the honor. (I was psyched to get a FREE dress!)

The entire ordering process was super easy. Their representative, Jane, sent me a link to fill out a sample sale request. I was able to select the item I wanted, choose my dress size, pick a length, and customize measurements if I wanted.

I ordered my dress on Monday and got it in the mail one week later. I was surprised at the speedy delivery, and thrilled because I wanted to wear the dress to a wedding this past weekend.

Without further ado, here's the dress and all its lovely details:

Some of my favorite parts: the color (navy is probably the best for my skin/hair), scalloped edges, length of the sleeves, the perfect above-the-knee hemline, the gathered waist, and the way the skirt tapers at the bottom.

Awkward photo, I know, but I wanted to show the gorgeous details of the neck line & the gathered waist. So cute!

One awesome thing about eShakti is they will take custom measurements and build a dress accordingly. I am a pretty typical size so I just ordered what I usually wear. I probably should have asked for a custom bust measurement, though, because it was slightly roomy in that area and it bunched a tiny bit at the top part of my back.

I highly recommend eShakti! In fact, if I had spare money in my clothing budget I'd probably order one of these cute dresses.