New Series... Unclutter It Thursday

I'm excited about the new series I'm starting here at Uncluttered Lifestyle... its called Unclutter It Thursday. In the series I'll be sharing with you some of the organizing projects I'm working on the around the house. Who knows maybe one day I'll turn it into a linky party. But for now it's just me and you kid.

First up is grocery shopping. Let me tall ya, I haaaaate grocery shopping with a passion. I'm talking open the refrigerator and hear an echo... haaaaate grocery shopping. My hatred to grocery shopping is probably due to a few factors... 1. Cost of freaking food but then again I do live in California. 2. Living in a town with no major grocery store, which means I have to drive a minimum of 10 miles to the next town or to save some green I'm in the car for no less than 30 minutes. 3. Cost of freaking food... did I mention that already. :)

You may be wondering why in the world would I drive 30 minutes when I have a grocery store 10 miles away. Well, driving 30 minutes gets me Target, Walmart, Petco, Dollar Tree, Save Mart and much more. So the 30 minutes are worth it if I plan for it. Yet, another reason to organize grocery shopping. Don't want to get all the way home just to realize I forgot dog food.

So anywho, I got down to business and organized my grocery shopping experience. Like so many other project, it all started with a binder. Its just a plain white binder with scrapbook paper as a cover.

The first page is the weekly menu plan.

Then there's a Mead folder and as I get store ads I put them in the folder until its time to make the menu.

Then I have the grocery list. Its separated by categories (helps reduce time spent in the store). And forgive the coloring. Looks like I'm running out of ink... better add that to the list.

And finally I alphabetized all the club cards in plastic business card holder pages. Can you believe I used to carry these all in my wallet!?! Now I just pull them out as I need them. This is by far one of my favorite features.

Now its time to start planning. During the week I compile a list of needs on a clipboard I keep in the pantry. So lets grab that.

Next I go through the three store ads I get and first look for the items on the list. Next I look for the meats on sale and based on the meats I create a menu. Each store is separated by an empty line.  

The now created menu

This list is then transferred to the categorized shopping list with items from the notoriously cheaper store listed first, since its quite possible that all the items may be cheaper there... at least a girl can hope.

The list and ads go in the folder. The nice thing about this folder is pocket for my coupons and club cards.

Now all I have to do is grab my "green" shopping bags (save 5 cents a bag), add the folder to bunch and we're ready to go.

How do you prepare to grocery shop?

Thanks for visiting, till next time.

I'm linking this to:
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday - Delightful Order
Newbie Party - Debbiedoo's Blogging & Blabbing

Tiny Bathroom To Do... Done!

Yes, I know that I have been MIA for awhile... but I've been busy getting ready for our visitors this weekend. Remember my bathroom to do list...

Bathroom
1. Strip and repaint built-in cabinet
2. Organize drawers in built-in
3. Recaulk toilet and tub
4. Sew new shower curtain
5. Replace wall cabinet w/shelving
6. Accessorize with new towels and rug

This is what it looks like now...
Bathroom
1. Strip and repaint built-in cabinet - Done!
2. Organize drawers in built-in - Done!
3. Recaulk toilet and tub - Done!
4. Sew new shower curtain - Done!
5. Replace wall cabinet w/shelving - Done!
6. Accessorize with new towels and rug - Done!

I'm so excited to have this room done! Whooo hooo!
Here is the before...

And let's not forget the cabinet the spurred the entire process with it's 13 layers of paint. 

Now we have this.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:

POP - Domestically Speaking

WUW - Savvy Southern Style

White Wednesday - Faded Charm Cottage

Home Decor & Organizing Party - Organize and Decorate Everything

DIY Ruffled Shower Curtain

A few posts ago I detailed a to-do list for our tiny bathroom.

Bathrooom
1. Strip and repaint built-in cabinet
2. Organize drawers in built-in
3. Recaulk toilet and tub
4. Sew new shower curtain - Done!
5. Replace wall cabinet w/shelving
6. Accessorize with new towels and rug

This weekend I tackled the new shower curtain. It was sooooo time consuming, but completely worth it. There was nothing wrong with the previous curtain. It's just, I've been coveting ruffled shower curtains. What I haven't been coveting is their price tag. The lowest price I found was $27 plus $9 shipping and it was all white.

My DIY shower curtain was $14. It started with a Queen Flat Sheet from Wal-Mart in white and fabric scraps.

I chose a queen size because I wanted the curtain to be longer than the standard 72" and to frame the shower when not in use.

Not going to do a step-by-step for the ruffles, there are tons of those all over blogland. Mine are slightly more pleated which I love. And I will tell you I tried both ruffling as I sew and pinning before I sew. After using the seam ripper on an entire row of ruffles because the spacing was off, I stuck to pinning before sewing!

The Before:

The After:

I used 3 inch strips of fabric on the bottom rows.

I used 2 inch strips of fabric on the top rows.

I love that it opens in the middle to frame the shower during the day and let in light - even if the window is only 10 inches wide.

More pictures to come as I mark more items off the list.
Thanks for visiting,  till next time.

I'm linking this to:

Tutorials & Tips Party - Home Stories A 2 Z

One Project At A Time - A Bowl Full of Lemons
Wow Us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style
Sizzle Into Summer - DIY by Design
Transformation Thursday - Shabby Creek Cottage

Tour de... South

With the visit of our friends fast approaching I've been spending all my free moments pondering what to feed our special guests. I've gone back and forth with all kind of ideas... formal or casual... salmon or chicken... wine or cocktail? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I guess I had to stop and think about our friends. What type of people are they? Formal or casual? Definitely casual. Once we spent the weekend cooped up in a hotel room playing games and watching movies. So, after determining we should keep it casual, things just kind of snowballed after that. I was thinking southern comfort food would be perfect. When you think of a southern themed menu you immediately picture family and friends sitting around a large table. At the same time you picture an elegant setting. It's the perfect way to celebrate an anniversary while keeping things casual.

Being African American I grew up on "Soul Food," which originated in the South. But in researching for the menu I discovered there is vast array of southern food other than Soul Food. There's Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Lowcountry, and Appalachian to name a few. Something else I discovered, the dishes I grew up eating are spread out across these categories. Enter Tour de South. For the weekend we will be dining on dishes from the various categories listed above.

Still not final, but this is the way I'm leaning.

Friday - Louisiana Creole

- Bell Peppers Stuffed with Dirty Rice

- Jambalaya

- Gumbo

- Peach Cobbler

- Sweet Tea/Lemonade

Saturday - Traditional Southern

- French Toast
- BBQ Ribs

- Potato Salad

- Collard Greens

- Black Eyes Peas

- Candied Yams

Sunday - Appalachian (Breakfast Only)

- Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
- Eggs
- Sausage/Bacon
- Country Potatoes

Sounds yummy doesn't it!

Thanks for visiting - till next time.

Shrimp Southern Style

Do you love Emeril Lagasse? I love Emeril and this past week I made one of his recipes that I just have to share with you. I've made it before but that was before blogging.

I made Shrimp Creole. Oh my word, it is delicious and spicy. Yum-o-licious!!! I did link the recipe on Food Network, but it's slightly different than the original one that I used. This is the one that I made.

Shrimp Creole
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cps seafood/shrimp stock
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, in thick puree
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash hot sauce
2 bay leaves
kosher salt/black pepper (to taste)
2 lbs large shrimp
4 Tbsp green onions

1. Season shrimp with Essence (see recipe below) and set aside.

2. Heat heavy dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Cook garlic, onions, celery and green peppers. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne and let caramelize.

3. Add stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 35 minutes.

4. Add shrimp and cook about 4 minutes more, until they are bright pink and cooked through. Garnish with green onions and remove bay leaves. (Before I add the shrimp I cut up the tomatoes with kitchen shears.)

Emeril's Essence ***

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

***You can make a batch and set aside. I just seasoned the shrimp with seasoning individually.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.


I'm linking this to:
Tutorials and Tips Party - Home Stories A2Z

Weekend Thrifty Finds

I don't know if I can express in words the magnitude of excitement that I have over my weekend finds. I have been on the lookout for a vintage fan that reasonable. I did see one last week in a consignment shop for $200. I looked online and I saw they ranged from $45 - $350 plus shipping. All of those were sooooo out of my price range.

This fan is on eBay for $119.99.

But then on Friday I paid a visit to one of my favorite antique stores and there sitting in the corner on the floor was a gorgeous vintage electric fan. I approached cautiously, expecting to be disappointed by the price tag, to investigate further. I saw the heavens open up and heard angels rejoicing as I turned over the tag and saw $29!!!! What?! SOLD!!! But then because I'm cheap I talked myself out of it and Mr. Uncluttered had to talk me back into it. (I do love that man!) But wait there is more... as I was checking out the owner said that I could have it for $25 if I paid cash. You better believe I went to the bank and got cash!

Does it look familiar? It's the exact same fan as the one listed on eBay, but I saved $94.99.  

One more find for the weekend that was a good find for $4. Its Ridgway Staffordshire Windsor gravy boat.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.