Book Review: Dollar Tree Cookbooks

Ok, so it's confession time... I may have gone to the Dollar Tree today and I may have bought three ridiculously thin cookbooks... but in my defense, they have pictures. 

Gorgeous pictures. 

On every page. 

Honestly, I did look at the recipes themselves before purchasing the books, but to be equally honest, the pictures were a deciding factor. I'm a very visual person, and to be able to see a picture of what a recipe makes really does help.

Well played, Dollar Tree... well played.

Anyway, these three little cookbooks really did have a number of delicious- sounding recipes I am excited to try. The books on salads and smoothies are probably going to be the most helpful; Any way I can motivate myself to actually eat leafy greens is a good thing, and if I can disguise them in a smoothie, then so much the better!

The smoothie book has a good variety of smoothie recipes, ranging from dessert smoothies to breakfast smoothies, to protein smoothies and green smoothies. There are only 11 recipes, but they are diverse enough to make quite a useful little collection.

The appetizer book is probably the least useful to me, but I bought it because, like the other two, it has a good variety of recipes... and it had recipes for Baked Crab Dip and Spinach Artichoke Dip, both of which I greatly enjoy eating, but haven't tried making yet. Later in the summer if we have a good pea harvest, I want to try the Green Pea Hummus recipe. It sounds quite interesting.

Each book also has one of these helpful measurement equivalents pages

As I have mentioned, the third book I purchased contains salad recipes. Like the others, it also has only 11 recipes, but very diverse ones. For example, the book starts out with a Chili Lime Southwest Chicken Salad (reminiscent of the one I love to get at Panera), but also contains a recipe for Fruit Salad, several pasta salad recipes, and a yummy-looking Lentil Salad recipe.

Lots of bang for your buck... and maybe not such a bad impulse purchase after all!

To find these books, you can go to the Dollar Tree website here to find location near you, or you could order online... they only let you buy a case of 36, though...

Oh, and I was reminded as I looked these up on the website --there's also one about grilling.

Bargain Hunting 101

During my reading time this week, I came across a list of bargain hunting tips I thought were quite good. The following are from Aged to Perfection: adding rustic charm to your modern home inside and out.

• Visit destinations frequently --I have found this to be quite a major factor. As I have been making regular trips to the thrift stores near me, I have not only found that I am less likely to buy something before it goes on sale (saving me some money!), but also that I have a better sense of what a good deal actually is at the thrift stores. Also, many thrift stores put out new items daily, so if there is something specific you are looking for, frequency can improve your chances of success. 

• Build relationships with stores and dealers: So far, I haven't really tried this one out. The idea is that as you go to thrift stores or antique dealers frequently, you can get to know them and build a relationship where they would be excited to call you up and let you know when they get just the right item in. At the thrift stores I go to, I can't quite see panning out, but who knows? --Right now, I'm pretty sure it's more like they see me walk in and think, "here's that crazy glassware lady that always uses up our newspaper supply". 

• Travel further afield: There is much to be said for the grand adventure of buying trips. This is true with antique shops as well as thrift stores. People who live in different areas tend to have different things to donate or sell, so a trip to a shop in a different area can yield some surprising and refreshing results. For example: I recently went to an antique shop with my sister in Olympia, WA where I found some beautiful Spode pieces that I had never run across at the stores near where I live. 

Just a few tips for my fellow bargain-hunters. I hope they are helpful! 

Now, please post your bargain-hunting tips in the comments for the rest of us to learn from! 

Christmas at the Store

It was my fourth attempt at finding a store with Christmas decorations for my classroom. As I wandered the aisles I thought, surely they must have their Christmas decorations all in one place somewhere. But my eye spotted a lone nativity scene and I knew that wasn't the problem.

Every store I have gone to (including two specialty teaching stores) has had an extremely slim stock of Christmas supplies. --And I do mean Christmas, not Santa or happy holidays or "winter break". At this particular store I was expecting that there would be a fewer amount of Christmas supplies, but I was hard put to find more than two Christmas things in the whole store!

I mentioned the nativity scene already (which, strangely enough, had a header that read: "A Savior is Born For" and no room under it to put any other words.) The second "Christmas item I found actually made me laugh. The cardboard top of the packaging said "Christmas Bulletin Board", but when I looked at the board itself, it said "Happy Holidays".

Now really, since when is "Happy Holidays" a specifically Christmas phrase?

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Embellishment for Holes

I found a nice shirt on sale at a thrift store the other day, but as I inspected it more closely, I realized why it was on sale. There was a small, perfectly round hole near the hem. I was disappointed at first, because I really liked the shirt, but then I decided since it didn’t cost much, I could just mend the hole and make it as good as new.

Now, my mends typically aren’t that pretty, and I wasn’t able to find exactly the right color of thread, but the perfect roundness of the hole gave me an idea.
I embroidered a flower over the mend, and now it’s even better than new! –And only you privileged few readers know that there was ever a hole!

It occurred to me as I was working, that this is what God so often does in our lives. He takes the ugly, unraveling holes and not only mends them, but uses them to make our lives more beautiful. He gives us “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” that He might be glorified in our lives. (Is.61:3)

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to his purpose.” –Romans 8:28

I’m Welting!

No, the title is not a typo. : ) Mommy and I made up the word “welting” while we were out running errands last Friday. It is a combination of “wilting” and “melting”, and as it was a very warm day, and I had forgotten to bring some water with me, and we were driving the car that did not have air conditioning, it was not long into our afternoon of shopping before we were both “welting”.

The day after that terribly tiring trip, we had to do our annual day-before-the-recital-frantic-thrift-store-hopping-trying-to-find-a-dress-for-Gwennie shopping excursion. This time, I was resolved to have at least a somewhat more enjoyable trip and not die of exhaustion afterwards. : ) There are some helpful tips I have gleaned from several ladies over the years that make running errands during the summer much more pleasant, and I thought I would share them with you all.

If one is going to visit more than two stores, food and water are a necessity!
I once read somewhere that hungry shoppers purchase more unnecessary stuff than if they were not hungry. (I tested this out on my family members, and it seems to be quite true.) I also read that the sensation of hunger often accompanies thirst, and that if one is thirsty, he will often also feel hungry. So water is important, not only to keep you hydrated in the summer heat, but also to keep away the “munchy” feeling that can make you buy those extra things that you really don’t need –those things that, upon arriving home and unpacking your purchases, you look at and wonder, “why did I ever buy that?” : )

Bringing a cooler can make one’s trip much more pleasant.
If you’re going to be out for a while on a hot day, having something cold to drink is much better than having something that’s as hot as the car it’s been sitting in. : )

Know exactly what you need and stay focused!
Now, there are two kinds of stores to which this does not easily apply (at least for my family) –thrift stores and antique stores, since they are designed for browsing. : ) Other than that, it is much more efficient to keep on task, rather than spending all one’s time and energy on the first store or two, and being “shopped out” by the middle of one’s trip.

Two drivers are better than one.
Mommy and I usually do our errands together, because it is more efficient that way. This has the added benefit, however, of providing an extra driver, in case one of us gets tired and doesn’t want to drive.

Of course, the most obvious option for making summer shopping easier would be to start out in the morning, before it gets too warm.

Any other suggestions?