A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #171

 Hello everyone! 

 I'm just going to quickly dash off this post, because I have company coming tonight. I still have some cooking ahead of me!

 My biggest thrifty thing was saving four tshirts and two dresses that were ready for the rag bag. Why? They had mystery stains across the fronts. Every once in awhile, I'll put something in the wash, and it will come out with a mystery stain. I read somewhere about using Dawn Powerwash dish spray on stains. I tried it on these clothes. I sprayed it on, scrubbed it in with an old toothbrush, and let it set a bit. After washing, the stains came out! Clothing saved! That is a big deal to me, because two of the dresses had only been worn a couple of times. So, six items saved! Big savings! I highly recommend trying it. They items I used it on had already been dried with the stains.

I made cappucino at home with my Keurig rather than going out to the gas station for it. I saved about $1.50 per cup.

 I ate salads at home this week. I'm doing a 21 day salad a day challenge. Join me? You can watch on my Instagram account where I go by Laura of Harvest Lane. Please follow me, then leave your account in the comments so that I can follow you!

 

 I also sat down at my sewing machine and mended a hand towel, a bath towel, and a wash cloth that were showing wear.

 Check out my Fall Bucket List to see what I have done and what I still want to do this Fall.

 Blessings,

 Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

★★★★ Bedtime With Mommy by Nancy L. Sanders and Felia Hanakata with Giveaway 11/6

 This post incluedes affiliate links.

★★★★ 

Y'all know that I love children's books. Snuggling a little one on your lap or by your side while reading aloud is one of life's great pleasures. Read to your kids and grandkids just as long as you can!

This is a foam padded board book perfect for little ones up to four or older if you wish. ~smile~

My Thoughts:

This is one of the cutest books yet. It feels great in your hands with its soft cover, and it's sturdy enough to let littles handle on their own. The colors are soothing and the illustrations just as pleasant as the one on the cover throughout the book. I think it fosters feelings of closeness and calm. It's definitely a book that can be enjoyed while enjoying the bonding of cuddling your little one on your lap.

From the Publisher: 

All around the world, it’s bedtime, and Mommies are tucking little ones into bed. From the elephants on the grasslands to the camels in the desert to the polar bears in the Arctic, it’s time for snuggles, prayers, and bedtime kisses. This adorable board book features a Mommy and baby animal in eight different habitats getting ready for bed. The final spread features Mommy tucking a child into bed.

Foam Cover Board Book

Retail price US $8.99 | CAN $11.49

ISBN: 978-1-63797-000-3

Age – Baby – 4

Purchase the book for just $8.99 

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Amazon affiliate

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I use the Goodreads star system.
★               Did not like it
★★            It was okay
★★★         Liked it
★★★★      Really liked it
★★★★★   It was amazing

Holiday Prep ~ Are You Making a List?

Hello everyone!

The holidays are coming quickly. For us, they begin the third weekend of October with the Maple Leaf Festival. Next up is my husband's birthday the third week of November. We still celebrate the night started going together November 23, 1981. We were high school sweethearts. 

Thanksgiving is next, then the whirlwind of December with Advent, church activities, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

Have you started making a list yet?
Maybe I should say lists.

Are you hosting a Thanksgiving celebration this year?

Have you made your menu?
Have you gathered your recipes?
Have you started your grocery lists?
Have you planned a cooking timeline?

Are you hosting a Christmas celebration?
The same quesitons apply, and many more.

Pour yourself a cup of eggnog, tea, coffee, or grab a Pepsi from the fridge. Sit down and start making your lists. All the planning you do now will help reduce the stress later and help you enjoy instead of endure.

God bless you!
Happy Thanks Living!

Laura
Happy at Home

~~~~~

May I suggest?

Apple Butter City Style

~~~~~

HARVEST LANE COTTAGE FALL BUCKET LIST 2021

THE LONG AWAITED
FALL BUCKET LIST 2021

 Happy Fall Dear Reader! 

  It's beginning to look and feel like fall around here. Finally! We've had a few very chilly nights. A few of the maples are showing their first blush of red at the tops.

  If you've been around for a bit, you know that I'm running quite  late with sharing my Fall Bucket List. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago. I'm healing now and ready to make my plans!

 I've actually already done a few of these things. I still added them to the list, because y'all might want to do some of them. I'll put items I've completed in bold print. Then I'll come back and update regularly so that you can see my progress. 

 I'd love to hear what is on your bucket list for fall. Please share a list or a link to your list in the comments below. Is there anything I've forgotten that you consider a must do? Let's talk and be friends. 

Here's my bucket list for 2021.

• Make my fall bucket list
• Make my fall reading list
• Decorate for fall I decided to decorate minimally, but I really like it for this fall.
• Get updated addresses for my Christmas card list
• Enjoy candy pumpkins
• Knit wool socks for undisclosed recipients.
• Go to a bonfire
• Roast marshmallows around the fire 
• Enjoy the fire pit my adult sons built for us
• Curl up with a terrific book 
• Read a wonderful Christmas book 
• Take a drive to look at fall foliage 
• Try a new pumpkin recipe ~ low carb, sugar free pumpkin muffins. Too crumbly
• Try a new pumpkin drink recipe ~ Oh! I made one up that I like! I'll share it soon.
• Sip apple cider
• Enjoy a fall candle McCalls' Grandmother's Kitchen
• Quilt Emily's quilt by hand
• Drink eggnog
• Worship God under the stars
• Eat homemade chili
• Maple Leaf Festival
• Try a new soup  
• Invite neighbors for a pie 
• Invite a friend for tea
• Invite friends for a soup supper
• Collect pinecones, leaves and seed pods to decorate
• Take a walk and enjoy the maple leaves
• Make homemade cocoa
• Bake pumpkin bread
• Bake cookies
• Make a pecan pie
• Make Christmas gifts
• Watch Christmas movies
• Read Christmas books 
• Listen to Christmas music
• Burn cinnamony, pumpkiny, spicy fall candles
• Read by candlelight and lamplight
• Celebrate Thanksgiving with family at home

• Decorate our Christmas tree on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving

Alright, now you know some of the things I hope to do over the next month and a half of fall. 

What's on your list? I'd really like to know.

Be blessed!

Laura

Focusing on the Lord through it all

I am an Amazon affiliate and will earn a small commission if you choose to purchase after clicking one of these links.

Thinking Ahead to The Holidays

 

Good day or evening to you dear reader!

 I just put in my Walmart grocery order for the week. Just before hitting checkout, I added the items needed to make my family's favorite green bean casserole recipe for Thanksgiving. Early? Yes. But. 

 There are two reasons that I ordered the items now. First, I don't have money saved up for Thanksgiving dinner at this point. This year, I plan to order a few items I need each week in order to spread out the cost of a very expensive meal. Second, with all the uncertainty in the availability of items this season, I want to do my best to prepare early not only for Thanksgiving, but after that, the Christmas season as well.

 Last week, I visited a small thrift shop in my town and found a set of cooling racks new in the package for just $3. I snatched them up. They will make a nice Christmas gift. Over the years, I have done much of my shopping second hand. I've found some nice sweaters, shirts, and a brand new wool coat ($2) among other things.  My family knows it, and they still enjoy the items I purchase for them.Thrifty is not just an idea for me. It is a way of life. Over the last year or so, with four surgeries and covid, I've become a bit lax; but, I sense a season coming when my thrifty ways will not just be helpful but necessary.

 I don't have a well stocked pantry. I am beginning now by buying just a few extra items at a time. I know from experience that God always provides, but I need to do my part. 

 I am also busy making birthday and Christmas gifts. I am knitting items using yarn that was given to me supplemented by a few skeins that I've purchased. I also have some sewing to do. It's time to start making my lists and getting busy with my kringling! I suggest you do the same. 

 Well, enough for now. I'm making a thrown together quiche for supper tonight with the items I have on hand.

 What are your thoughts about the coming season? Are you feeling a need to prepare what you can early?

Blessings,

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Doing what I can with what I've got on a shoestring budget

May I suggest?

Christmas Gifts for Children... Precedents, Disappointment, and Gratefulness

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies