Beautiful Everyday Living: cozy October evenings by the fireside

In an effort to put aside a bit more money for our winter heat bill, we're not turning on the furnace just yet, even though the daytime high temps are hovering around the 55 degree F mark, and overnights are in the upper 40s to 50 F. Yes, it is a bit chilly in the far corners of the house. But we're keeping the core of the house (the kitchen, the family room and the dining room) warm enough with a fire in the heatilator fireplace. (We're using the fan in the corner of the photo, to blow the hot air off the bricks and into some of the other living areas of the house, in case you're wondering.)

My husband starts a fire when he gets up (around 5 AM). I keep it going all day, gathering wood in the afternoons and bringing it into the garage, for easy access throughout the evening.

In the late afternoon, as the sun is waning and the chill begins to set in outside, I stoke up the fire, turn on the ambient lighting in the room, and make the family room the coziest place in the house for the returning family.

Most evenings, we eat dinner, in the glow of the firelight. More wood is added to the fire, for a cozy October evening with the family. This fireside living has turned a home-finance need into a desirable family gathering. I got lemons -- but I made lemonade!

Have I shown you this?

My garden club made these a couple of years ago. This is one of my favorite autumn decor pieces. I pull it out of the closet every October and place it in a new spot for the season. This year, it has become part of the ambient lighting in the family room.

It's simply an empty wine bottle, with a string of mini white Christmas lights stuffed inside. I, then, decorated the outside of the bottle with some faux grapes, grapevine and a bit of raffia. A gilded ribbon is tied onto the neck of the bottle as a crowning touch.

I have my lighted bottle on the side table (AKA a small filing cabinet covered in an autumn throw) next to the sofa. Two of our electrical outlets, in this room, are connected to a wall switch. I have the bottle plugged into one of these outlets, using an extension cord, so that I can easily switch this light on and off each evening.

A simple touch that adds so much to our cozy evening enjoyment.

Do you have any favorite autumn decorations for your home?

September grocery money journal

It's the end of September, already! We did okay with grocery spending this month. Our pantry had some large gaps, at the end of August. So, it was time for a restock of some basics. But with a smaller grocery budget, I would have to be smart about this.

I did two things differently from my usual monthly shopping. One, I limited myself to basic ingredients. I wanted some bananas, popcorn and chocolate chips. But we have plenty of fruit right now (there will be a time for bananas this winter). Popcorn prices (at the cash and carry) are still reflecting the poor corn harvest from 2012 (79 cents/pound is too high for my budget for a grain). And chocolate chips are too snackable. I went with cocoa powder instead. At least with cocoa powder, you have to actually "do" something with it, to turn it into a snack. (I later found popcorn on sale at a price within my range for grains :-) )

As I posted earlier in the month, the other change I made was to think of grocery shopping as if I were stocking an institutional kitchen. For example, a case of canned tomato paste gave me a savings of 50 cents on each #10 can, over buying one or two of the large cans. So I bought the case.

I barely went over my $170 budget this month, spending a total of $176.30. I think that is pretty good. So, here's what I bought.

Sept. 1. Made a trip to the cash and carry, bought a case (6 #10 cans) of tomato paste, a case (4 gallons) of white vinegar, 50 lbs of whole wheat flour, 50 lbs of white sugar, 50 lbs of brown rice, 25 lb bag of lentils, 1 gallon of lemon juice, 35 lb container of vegetable oil, and 50 lb sack of onions. I spent $152.95

Sept. 1 Trader Joe's is just down the street from the cash and carry. I stopped in for a 9 oz container of cocoa powder. Spent $2.49

Sept. 1 Buying a turkey roasting pan at Wal-Mart, checked their price on salt, 48 cents a canister. I bought 2. Spent 96 cents.

Sept 4. Dollar Tree for kosher salt (good for pickling). Spent $1

Sept 4. Fred Meyer for bulk spices (ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, cream of tartar). Also found popcorn on sale for $1.09/2 lb bag (that's 55 cents/pound). I bought 4 bags of popcorn (8 lbs) Spent $8.44.

Sept. 5. Albertson's for milk, whole milk at $1.79/gallon (limit 2 w/ coupon). Spent $3.58

Sept. 24. Albertson's for whole milk, 2 gallons at $1.99/gal, and salt for 25 cents a canister (really great price for salt, here). I bought 12 canisters of salt. Salt keeps indefinitely. This supply will last 1&1/2 to 2 years.

Total spent for the month, $176.30, $6.30 over budget, which will be deducted from October's budget.

At month's end, I am completely out of all-purpose flour, and will need canned tomatoes, too, this month. I'll be making a trip to the cash and carry this week. The new store special flyer is posted on Monday for each week. So, I'll be checking online to see what my store has on offer right now. (BTW, I believe that there are 52 Cash and Carry's on the west coast, most of which are in Washington state and Oregon, but a handful in California, Idaho and Nevada.) I'll also go by the produce stand to pick up jalepenos and garlic for making salsa. Even with buying most of the ingredients for salsa, it's still far more economical for me to make my own, than to buy salsa pre-made.

That's about it for now. I hope you've been finding deals at the grocery store this month, too!