Christmas Decorations

Anybody heard of pinterest...I might have posted about it before on here...hehe. I'm not completely obsessed with pinterest or anything, but it has inspired some new projects around the Poland household.

I was looking for some fun, inexpensive stuff to do around our house for Christmas decorations. In our dining room we have this light that hangs over our table.


All I did was use some Christmas ornaments that I already had and bought two rolls of ribbon (I think was under $2 each) and tied them on the chandelier. A very easy way to change a normal looking light to a festive decoration in your house. (Click here to see original picture)



To hang our Christmas cards this year, I was inspired by this picture. I changed it up a little and got some lights in the shape of snowflakes (only because they didn't have the normal looking lights) and hung them on the wall (I think it was around $2 for the strand of lights). I used clothes pins we already have to attach the cards to our string of lights. We LOVE getting Christmas cards of our friends and family..hint hint ;)

Seriously it is one of our favorite times of year and it's a great way to see how our friends lives are growing and changing. We get to watch our kids grow up and get an update on how things are going. So we love displaying all those special people in our lives to remind us of how blessed we are.

E-Mealz

Don't know if this meal looks appetizing...but it sure was yummy when Justin and I had it last week. On top of that, it was VERY easy to make. All I had to do was cut up potatoes, onion, sausage and open a can of green beans, then cook in the crock pot all day. Easy...right?

Well this is an example of a meal that is provided by one of my new favorite websites...E-Mealz. It costs $15 every 3 months. You choose the store where you shop and the size of your family. The website does the work and creates meals and a shopping list for you based on sale items for that week.


Every week, the website publishes a menu with 5 meals paired with a shopping list that is arranged in the layout of the store you pick. I write all over my list b/c it only has what you need for the meals and I shop for other things at Publix. As I said before, the website uses the sales for your store to create the menu and shopping list which is also cost efficient. It's definitely worth a try, at least for 3 months ($15). Now...you do have to actually use it to get the bang for your buck. It does help you eat at home as a family more and brings variety to your diet.


I might only use two or three meals out of the list b/c even though we have picked the plan for 2, we can usually get 2 nights out of whatever I cook. Which I like b/c that means I don't have to cook every single night. Sometimes to save a little more, I might substitute a few ingredients with something I already have stocked up from sales.