Got wood?

Ha!  Now that I've got your attention, let's talk some wood slices.  I was going to start off by saying that I love to use wood slices to decorate for the holidays but then I realized that I've been using them year round.  There is just something I love about mixing the natural elements of the wood with the rest of the shiny bling.  Let's call it woodsy chic ;)

Here are some pictures of how I use my wood slices around the house.

I've also used them for Jake's camouflage themed birthday party last year.

I've started to see them pop up all over the place lately at baby showers and weddings.  

You can find them at Walmart, Wayfair, and Etsy!

Here are just a couple of pictures of wood slices being used as center pieces at weddings!  Love the look.  

 Source

Source

So, I'm sure you're thinking why all this talk about wood?  Because I'm going to start selling them! So if you or somebody you know is interested shoot me an email at ourdreamhousediy@gmail.com.  I will start posting pictures as I get some samples but wanted to put the bug in your ear with the holidays coming up!  

I Hate Grocery Shopping!!

Uggghhhhh I don't know about you but grocery shopping is one of my least favorite weekly tasks!  Mostly because I hate crowds, I'm always in a hurry and it seems that most people in the grocery store are taking their sweet old time.  I'm sure people think I'm some angry shopper and, well, they'd be right.  Let's be honest though, the number ONE reason I hate grocery shopping is the amount of money I spend each week.
Come on, look at how much I bought for one weekend worth of camping :O

However in the end, this is really the only monthly expense that I can completely control.  Well other than the lock that I have on the A/C and furnace ;)  #noheatuntilNovember

So, I'm on a mission to keep my grocery bill down.  We try to eat clean most of the time and the man doesn't make it cheap on families to do so.  Most nights we have some form of protein and a salad which as you know ain't always cheap.  My new goal is to come up with at least two cheap "cleanish" meals each week for the two weeknights that we eat whole grain carbs.   Here is what we had last night.

Skillet chicken spaghetti is one of our favorites and it is cheap and easy for a weeknight meal!!

Here is the recipe that you MUST try.

Yeah, yeah I know Velveeta doesn't fall in the clean category (thus the "cleanish" above) but we were dying to have this!!

Not only is it delish but most importantly it was cheap AND I doubled the recipe.  Here is the cost breakdown:

Rotisserie Chicken:  5.99
2 Cans Rotel:  1.00 (I had a coupon)
2 Cans FF Cream of Mushroom Soup:  2.00
1 Box Whole Wheat Spaghetti:  1.00
2 Pouches 4 Oz. Velveeta Cheese:  2.40
Total Cost:  $12.39 ($3.10 per person)

I'm telling you this makes a ton!!!  We had leftovers for lunch today and probably enough for another two servings of leftovers.  Get on it and let me know when YOU try it.  Soooooo good!

So, this week I spent just under $130.00 for groceries.  This includes all of our breakfast, lunches and pop and water that we take to work/school for the week.

How much do YOU spend a week at the grocery store?

How is it October already?

I can't believe it is OCTOBER already, can you?  I have all of my halloween decorations up and can't wait to share some pictures.  However, until I get the time to take some new pictures I thought I'd share what I picked up at Kroger the other day.

I know, I know it's only October but I couldn't refuse!!!  Seriously so many cute ideas in this magazine!

I am TOTES finding an old sled and making a wreath for like this for our front door.

In the meantime,  I've decided to paint our front door black before it gets cold!  I wanted to paint it red but my main squeeze and my son pretty much vetoed that idea.  So I decided to go with black.....love the shiny black look!

How was that for some random thoughts????  #sorrynotsorry

Come back for my Halloween tour :-)