[JessFinds] Recessionista Footwear

I had to give up heels a while ago (remember that post about being a clogs mom?) but that does not mean that I don't drool over darling shoes like any red-blooded woman should. I am hard on shoes - I find a pair that I love and I wear them to death. I tend to purchase the same high-end brand comfort shoes (Ecco, Propet, Dasnko) and spend my money there. Fashion shoes elude me as I can't imagine spending $600 on a seasonal whim.

These are amazing, a-maze-ing, shoes that ooze personal style and look far more expensive then they actually are.

CC Flat bootie - $39 - Swirl by Daily Candy

You need to sign up to join member site Swirl (no cost) but they are sending out $20 credits to all new sign-ups right now. That means these boots are - gasp - $19.

Charlotte Russe - $30

These have a bo-ho aesthetic I don't normally go for but I keep going back to them. Look at that little rainbow arch around the toe and the careful ruching. It just looks like someone cared more than $30 to make.

Forever 21 -$24.80

These look like they danced out of an Anthropology catalog shoot. I am not above pillaging a Forever 21 store for shoes!

Charlotte Russe - $22.50

I love, love, love these. When all the magazines said "leopard" I thought "snakeskin." These are also a very similar tribute to a certain pair of Jessica Simpson brand $75 shoes.

What have you found out there? Let me know and I will link out to it!

(MarieFinds) Of Upheaval and Big Change

As most of my friends can attest, I'm not much for change. I find jobs and stay in them. I have a routine. My kids have routines. I like my life that way, thankyouverymuch.

I've been pink slipped. Fired. Laid off. Let go. Terminated. "thankyouverymuchforyourtimeandeffoert." "Itsnotyouitsus." Gah. Like most industries, in mine, client loss = job loss. The math makes sense. It really isn't personal. Except the consequences are personal. They are actually being great about it. 30 days notice. 2 weeks severance. They owe me 8 days of vacation pay. All in all, I get over 7 weeks of pay while I job hunt and wrap up clients. And then there is unemployment.

Before that, hopefully there is a job. Because blogging and momming doesn't pay the bills. Especially not the frequency with which I post.

I fret. And then I say we will be OK. And then I fret. And then the Lawyer says we will be OK. And then I kiss my kids. And wonder how many days a week I can keep Squirrel in her Mandarin pre-school. And then I say we will be OK.

(MarieFinds) Ham

This post is partly inspired by Jess' menu planning saga.

I meal plan best when we're broke, and boy, have we been broke. We've all been there. Weeks where due to whatever factors, you start the week with less than a $100 in the bank, and you know it will be that way until payday. And you haven't bought groceries yet. Hopefully, payday is soon. This time payday was 10+ days away.

Solution? A big-ass ham. I cooked an 11 pound ham on Sunday. For the four of us. A good ham, though no Smithfield Country ham. We eat city ham. One of these days I'll mail order a good country ham. (Cook's brand ham's are the best city hams, as decreed by the Cook's Illustrated people. And they can be bought cheaply at WinCo. My 11 pound ham was $18. bought a couple of weeks ago before Easter. Ham is super cheap then. And it keeps in the fridge forever.)

Back to my point. On Sunday, I made a crazy big ham for 2 adults and 2 young kids. Made a half-sized order of scalloped potatoes and green beans. Ham was glazed with a maple syrup / orange marmalade glaze.

Monday was leftovers of above.

Tuesday was a ham and cheddar cheese quiche, with some broccoli and mushrooms thrown in. broccoli served on the side as well. (Squirrel proceeded to eat the ham out of the quiche, some of the "egg" and the broccoli on the side. No egg covered broccoli for her. She only likes it straight. with salt and maybe lemon.)

Wednesday was ham and cheese sandwiches.

Thursday was pizza slices. Yay, payday!

Friday was a ham pot pie. which was surprisingly good. really good, actually. I just added a handful of cheese to the recipe at the link. other than that, followed it exactly.

Saturday breakfast was home made biscuits, with fried ham, sausage and eggs.

Saturday lunch was grilled cheese. And mine had ham in it.

Saturday dinner will be ham and split pea soup. and maybe I'll make more biscuits. I have the world's easiest biscuit recipe.

And then, I think we are done with the ham. For a while. We'll make enough split pea to freeze, because frozen soup is the answer to many nights when we get home at 7pm and still need to feed the kids.

(MarieFinds) Cleaning / Stocking the Freezer

I have a dirty secret. It's my fullsize freezer in the garage. It is old and inneficient, and as such is a hoary mess. It needs to be defrosted. I have been trying to gradually clear it out. Instead, over the weekend, I did bonus cooking and stocked it fuller.

The Lawyer and I both have full time 8-6 jobs. (Since when is that the new 9-5, anyway?) We get home at 6:30 on a good night. Kids start bed time routinte around 8:15. That doesn't give us a lot of time to round dinner up and get it on the table. Leftovers and pre-made frozen dinners can be the salvation on many a night, especially when the budget starts to run thin. No money to go to dinner, need something fast? Pull it from the freezer and throw it in the oven.

So, Sunday I made lots of individual sized chicken pot pies. Monday a big old double batch of hamburger-macaroni casserole, which my kids both adore. (Go figure. I wouldn't touch it as a kid.)

Set the oven to 400 and you've got dinner.

[JessFinds] Babystyle

I discovered BabyStyle.com has filed for Chapter 11 and is going out of business. So sad. I loved their carefully edited selection of items and they were a go-to for birthday gifts for the under 3 set. They are no longer accepting internet orders.

They have physical locations in CA, NY & Washington State.