One Word Resolution : Focus

This is clearly 15 days late for a blog post. But given that I had forgone resolutions for the new year in favor of concrete goals, I think that it's alright.

I have set three goals for myself for this coming year with the idea that they set in me good stead for the following year :
1. To pay off $15,000 worth of debt.
2. To focus on nutrition and health.
3. To be disciplined about spending 10 hours a week on creative endeavors.

I realized that in order to meet these goals, I would need to be incredibly focused. And so FOCUS is my theme for the year. Each time I start to get distracted, I'll need to repeat my mantra.

As a tool to get ready to complete #1, I've been playing around with this debt reduction calculator. Highly recommended if you're trying to figure out how to pay down in order to actually eliminate debt.

Back to the Kitchen for Frugal Meals - Great Tips!

As a result of overindulging both edibly and financially over the holidays, we're back to cooking some frugal meals at home. I always create grocery lists and use coupons, but I've had spotty luck in the past doing menu planning. As part of my daily blog roll, I just came across this tutorial for a custom grocery list / menu planner on design sponge. What I particularly love is the printable grocery list - cute and practical! And I think that having it set up on a clipboard in the kitchen is an idea that I'll likely try out.

Another idea I came across yesterday that I think is practical and adorable - using vintage trays as magnetic recipe boards on Aesthetic Outburst. I'm always getting my recipes smudged and messy while I cook and I like that this would get them up out of the way but where I can still read them. The one problem is that in our tiny kitchen countertop space is at a premium and it might be hard to find space for it.

Finally, it's cold out and we're broke - break out the Crockpot! Smitten Kitchen had an delicious recipe for brisket that I'll be trying out this weekend.

Holla! Guest Post.

Just wanted to throw you all a link to a guest post that I did for my pal Ashleigh's store Fabrika in Savannah. Just a short book review, but it was a worthwhile book and an even more worthwhile store that you ought to know about.