Monday Message

"A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life." (Bishop Keith B. McMullin)

Still warm here but fall is in the air! I made my pumpkin muffins - they are so yummy.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

I mix and set aside the topping: 

1/3 cup flour 

3 Tbsp brown sugar 

2 Tbsp cold butter 

In bowl, mix well: 

1/4 cup soft butter 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cup pumpkin 

1/2 cup milk (I add tsp of vinegar to it) 

2 eggs 

1 Tbsp molasses 

Then, don’t stir again until all dry ingredients are measured in. 

2 cups flour 

1 tsp dried orange peel 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/4 tsp salt 

Then, stir well and fill 12 regular muffin cups. I use liners, but it's not necessary. 

By spoon, divide topping over all evenly. Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Delicious!

I think they are like bakery muffins.

I went to Salvation Army as we happened to be in town for something else. It just happened it was on a Wednesday which is senior discount day. And I found this dress. The price said $3.99 but after the discount it was $3.

I thought I would show you on the blog what to do to save money by remaking clothing. I thought it would be the perfect project to show you how you can remake clothes into something useful.

The dress was way too long, like drag on floor too long, and the bodice had huge flower buttons and the button holes were stretched out. So you see hemming this would ruin the flower border at the bottom.

First thing, I washed the dress. Then I separated the bodice from the skirt. Then I took off the buttons  and because I didn't need to undo buttons as it could go over my head, I chose to sew the button band closed on both sides of the buttons. Next, I needed to stitch closed those stretched out button holes.  Then I found buttons in my button drawer that would be better than the flower ones it had. I saved those flower buttons in my button drawer.

Next, I needed to cut off the extra length at the top of the skirt to make it the right length for me. Then I sewed big stitches at the top to make the skirt gather to fit the bodice and sewed it in place. Pressed it and top stitched the skirt in place.

And the total cost of this dress was $3 plus some time and buttons I already had.

So you see, you can be thrifty and find things to remake clothing for your family.

On that same trip, I got a pizzelle maker. I already had one but thought two would make it faster to make. It was just over two dollars after discount. It even was the same design even though different brands.

After cleaning it up, I tested it and it was so much faster making four at a time rather than two at a time, so this was way worth it to me.

So don't rule out those thrift stores. Yes, prices have gone up but still cheaper than buying new. We are still watching our pennies but I wanted to share how to make that dress over. It was well worth it. Just take your time and look for the best price.

Gardening is winding down. I just unloaded the dehydrator of the last of the tomatoes. I still have about seven very green ones. We will just eat fresh if they turn red.

This season seems like it is ending early. I did pick three more bags of rhubarb and put them in the freezer. That will be it for this year for them. I also picked two bunches of mint and washed and hung to dry. While the temps are still warm, the outdoors looks like October.

Still not gotten groceries for September so see how helpful having storage is? I did see on the news that prices on groceries are to even go way higher so I hope you have been able to stick some things into storage.

Missy says stay the course, don't be lured into complacency! Every little bit you can get and every skill you learn will be a huge help to your family.

Tippy Longstockings says work hard putting frugal ways into place at your home too.