Some random projects...

I recently made this little cloth book for Joanna, and she loves it!
The pages are made from random scraps of black and white fabrics, and they have all different textures, which is fun. I appliqued the red shapes on the pages, and my favorite part is that the pages crinkle! I had read an idea online a while ago about using plastic cereal bags for this purpose and it works great!

As a side note - I purchased this Bumbo and tray because I thought it would be a handy and compact thing to take camping with us. I found a great deal on Craigslist, which I am thankful for, since she's not too fond of it. Since I like not having lots of "stuff", and I got along fine without it with Benjamin, I haven't decided if it's something I'll want to keep for future children. I'll have to wait and see how useful it is once she starts eating food!

I recently picked up a bargain box of veggies from a produce stand - just $2.00 for a box full of cucumbers, tomatoes, and a few zucchini squash that had a bad spot or two on them. The cucumbers we ate at meals (enough to last us several days!), the zucchini squash I peeled and grated for use in future muffins, and the tomatoes I used for homemade salsa and my first attempt at homemade spaghetti sauce!


I used a recipe in The Tightwad Gazette as a starting point, then adapted with what I had on hand. It called for a number of green peppers, which I didn't have, as well as a bunch of onions, of which I only had one. In my veggie box I had found a lone jalapeno pepper, so I thought I'd add that to make up for the flavor I would be lacking from the omission of the green peppers and onions. I had no idea one little jalapeno would go so far! The sauce turned out great except that it was way too spicy! When I served it, I mixed half homemade, half store bought and it was still really spicy! I plan on trying this again if I get a great deal on tomatoes, but this time I'll leave out the jalapeno! =)
However, I was extremely pleased with the mileage I got out of my $2.00! Such great deals definitely help stretch the food budget!