Martha Stewart's LIVING

Just passing this on not sure about how long it will last or what you have to do....it is a free year subscription to Martha Stewart's magazine LIVING. I already have a subscription so that is why I haven't checked it out but I love that magazine so that is why I had to pass this offer on when I saw it.

Resources

Since I was out of town this past weekend and didn't have time to do Friday Favorites. I thought I would share a couple links with you today.

Univerisity of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources Free Publications - They have so many great PDF's. I found myself reading and reading one afternoon.

Home Economics Archive - books and journals in Home Economics and related discipline titles that were published between 1850 and 1950 and selected for their great historical importance. This link was shared over on FetLife Domestic Servitude by our newest Domestic Servitude contributor Daphne.

Daphne had a couple guest posts. She is very passionate about her carbon footprint and all things green. And I know she is going to give a unique perspective on many domestic subjects.

Friday Favorites

Less Trash to Take Out by Vocal Point - A short little article on reducing paper waste. But also if you just go to Vocal Point, through your free sign up they offer samples. I have gotten a lot of samples, plus then I get $1 to $2 off the product and then coupons to share too.

10 Tips on Finding Decorating Style - I think these are all good tips for finding your own or someone else's decorating style.

You Grow Girl - is a good resource for gardening in a modern world

Real Simple's Top 20 Reference Books - Many I haven't heard of and want to check out but there might be some good books to have in a personal library

Reusable Swiffer Duster - A Tipnut.com find that I think could be interesting to try out. I got one of those Swiffer Dusters free in the mail a few years ago. I just have it sitting in a basket never used it before

Homemade Pancake Mix - to have on hand for whenever

Book Review: Once-a-Month Cooking Family Favorites

Once-a-Month Cooking Family Favorites by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson

I read the Once-a-Month Cooking from the same authors and although I liked the concept and their instructions but I was less then thrilled with the recipes. The main reason was many of the recipes weren't things I would cook as they used lots of processed and pre-packaged foods. But this time around with Family Favorites they use a lot more fresh ingredients and just have a better selection of recipes. There is still some pre-packaged foods but much less then the last book - at least it seems that way to me. I was very pleased. And I can't wait to try out many of the recipes as well as try to do a 2 week plan for do-ahead dinners. They have 4 week and 2 week plans. Two week plans for those of us with smaller freezers. Although this book is called Family Favorites and serves 4 to 6, I wouldn't pass by it if you are cooking just for two as it has many recipes that could work for two or be adapted for just two. We like leftovers here so that it would work as is for us.

Again this book really pleased me with its recipes. But besides the recipes they have a really great introduction to the concept of Once-a-Month Cooking with tips and tricks. It includes 2 one month plans, 2 two-week plans and 3 two-week specialty menu plans: summer, gourmet and gluten-free plans. Each plan includes menu charts, pantry list, shopping lists and lists on what to prep and in which order.

Just a few recipes out of many that I look forward to making...
Red Mesa Tacos
Apricot Chicken
5 Cheese Spinach Quiche
Grilled Southwest Chicken with Cilantro Sauce
Pozole Soup
South of the Border Ground Beef and Corn Pie
Barleyburger Stew
Penne with Chickpeas
Pork Roast with Apples and Mushrooms

I will come back and do another update on this book once I do a 2 week plan. But overall I feel this book is going to be one I enjoy using.

On Monday I will be announcing a giveaway - a copy of this book. So please stay tuned!

Free Samples

I am doing fall cleaning right now and I started with the master bathroom. I cleaned out all the cupboards, drawers, medicine cabinet and shelves. In cleaning out a drawer I found a TON of little samples - some were from magazines, some that I ordered from a website for a free sample, some given away at stores and so on. But often when it is a health and beauty product I get them and throw them in this drawer. Well right now with the economy as it is and we are trying to save money and cut corners, I decided it is about time to start using those samples since it might give me a few extra uses of shampoo or make up before buying new. Because they were in a draw though meant they were out of sight - out of mind. So I found a little basket that was not being used and placed it up on the counter so I will see them and hopefully now use them. And actually I already have used a couple since sitting them out on the counter.

Just a few places to get free samples:
My suggestion also is to have one email that you don't care getting bombed with spam. Whenever you sign up for things like this, you will get more emails from them and unfortunately some do give your email away so you will emails from others on top of it. So I created one email address specifically for signing up for junk online.

Often these sites have the same samples but a few times you will find something you don't see on the others.

mysavings.com
Shop4freebies
Free Sample Forager
ThunderFap
Free Stuff Headquarters
Free Sample Blog

A Livejournal community that started me in on getting samples.

Vocal Point - It is geared towards women - especially those that are Moms. It sends you samples or coupons for free products. And then coupons for often above $1 off on products (right now I have 5 - $1.50 off coupons for Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal - anyone want one drop me an email.) I have gotten free razors, cereals, yogurt, crackers, tampons and then after getting the sample it asks you to visit their site and sound off on it.

I am sure there are others out there too - please feel free to share if you have one you use!

Friday Favorites

Chicken Piccata - not quite how I make it but it still looks like a good variation and also looks easy.

Etiquette, Ceremony & Tea - lots of information and links on all things Tea.

8 Free Amy Butler Patterns - "FREE" patterns that I would actually use. Napkin rings and napkins, ties for packages, snow mum pillow, Christmas stocking, tree skirt and several others.

Martha Stewart's Cleaning Checklists - I think these are a great for someone who doesn't know where to begin or just needing reminders or even just a fondness for lists.

Natural Beauties - This year for holiday gifts I have decided I am going to make scrubs, frizzes and other homemade bath and beauty products. I have been checking out lots of books to get different ideas. But this list of labels, how-to and information on MarthaStewart.com is really good start.

Friday Favorites

For the Love of Cooking blog - wonderful recipes and beautiful pictures

Oxiclean secret - I really have always wanted to try Oxiclean but couldn't justify the cost when I can use other things and elbow grease to get things clean. Maybe not as clean as oxiclean but it just was out of my budget. But Margaret discovered a cost effective substitute. yay! Thank you!

16 Prestigious Schools that Offer Free Online Classes - I haven't had a chance to see what kind of classes but free learning of any kind is cool to me!

Post Office Bag tutorial - when we go to the post office I am always juggling packages and trying not to drop anything. This is a really good solution to me.

Storage Table and Wall Art - I so like the idea of this table. I don't think it is very attractive but I think it could be. And I so love the wall art - I have a thing for typography so having bunches of letters and numbers on a wall would be great.

Organization & Freebies

We had a two week vacation in Florida and I seem to be having trouble catching up around here since we got home. I've been really busy lately preparing to paint our living room and keeping up with other household chores, and lets not forget entertaining on the 4th - it always seems as if everything falls apart while we're on vacation. The routine that was established prior to leaving rumbles and sputters in protest once we return.

Daddy is always understanding of the "recovery" process, but the last few days I can see his patience wearing thin...to help me (and hopefully you!) get back into the organized swing of things here are a few websites I've stumbled across lately - While I haven't tried all of them, they seem really practical in theory. Feel free to add to the list, or keep me posted if any of these are useful!

Hopefully you'll find at least one or two new websites to bookmark - the best part? They're all free - Enjoy!

PS. I have a delicious post brewing - it's bacon related, and it will change your life. Check back for that in the next few days :)


Cozi.com

The OCD in me really enjoys the color coding aspect of this site...I also enjoy some of the other links they provide, like the summer reading list, among others.

Wish you had some help organizing your family life? Cozi is a FREE web service that helps you manage your family calendar, track your shopping and to do lists, organize your chores, and share favorite memories with your friends and relatives. Access Cozi from anywhere—home, work, or on the go—with any computer or mobile phone. All you need to get started is a Cozi account—it's quick and easy, with no downloads required!

The Ultimate Grocery List

A free one-page shopping checklist organized by aisle - put an end to the shopping cart shuffle!

There are a lot of downloadable grocery lists out there, but none are as good as The Ultimatest. Why is this one better? Comprehensiveness. Categorization. Cleverness. Helpful clues and cues. Creativity. And... it's portable, unlike a lot of shopping list software that requires you to be in front of a computer.

Planner

I'm always struck by how expensive Daily Planner books are - this website proves organization doesn't have to cost a penny...Customize your own planner, choose from over 100 templates.

DIYPlanner.com is a community site whose focus is on paper-based productivity, planning, journalling and creative techniques. Here you will find the official D*I*Y Planner kits, as well as daily articles, scores of useful templates, handbooks and how-to's, forums for discussing productivity in its many forms, images to clad your planners or inspire you, and so much more.

The rules are simple: be nice, try to help each other, and don't be afraid of sharing your advice, no matter how wacky or unorthodox it may be. After all, inspiration may lurk in the least obvious places, even for something as seemingly mundane as time management.

Book! Project Gutenberg

Great resource for free books - when you just don't have time to go to the library.

Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.

E-cards!

I recently checked Hallmark.com and saw they've created a $9.99 a year plan for Ecards, or .99 cents per card. I didn't stick around long enough to see if I could dig around for a free option...instead I searched and found an awesome Ecard site - Hipstercards.com. Convenient. Funny. Free. Happy Everything!

From highball hilarity to lowbrow mundanity, Hipstercards.com is your one stop shop for online missives. An intriguing invite? A clever birthday wish? Hey, it's your experience. We're just writing the cards.

2 Offers

Kraft has a free* magazine Food & Family that I really enjoy. It just has easy recipes that taste good. And some things give me ideas to spin-off from. Well now they have a pretty slick-version online too. (*sidenote: Food & Family magazine used to be free and now it isn't. I was really surprised to see that. Truthfully I am not sure it is worth $11.98 for 4 issues. I mean it is really full of good recipes. Their holiday issue is my favorite and looks like it too after the holidays full of earmarks and spatters from chocolate and such. If you know someone who has it, ask them to see it first before you order to see if it will be a good fit for you.)


BettyCrocker.com is now starting a club called The Mixer. It is going to have webcast classes, tips and techniques and ask an expert. And best yet it is FREE!