Unfortunately one (of our two) local bookstores is in the process of hopefully moving to a bigger town about 25-30 minutes away. (We live on the outskirts of a tiny little town…) Despite being sad to see them go, I was thrilled to be able to check a few more things off my Christmas list since everything in the store was at least 50% off last Saturday during their final day.
I didn’t buy very many books, but I did buy one of just about every little Folkmanis Fingerpuppet they had in stock and now have 3 for each of my children’s stockings and only paid between $2-3 dollars for each of them. I had been noticing these little guys on a couple of my favorite blogs and never even realized our little store carried them!
I also purchased a Gray Squirrel Puppet that is so cute with his little acorn for only $9.99, but my favorite steal of a deal was the Giant Sequoia Tree Wildlife Playset which will be one of Snuggles three gifts. I LOVE IT!!! (Even more so when it ended up being less than $20.00.) I am starting to think that I might just be able to have all my Christmas shopping finished by September, like I had hoped!
I baked 4 loaves of delicious zucchini bread. The first two loaves I baked using this recipe. For the second batch, I substituted 1/2 cup of the oil for 1/2 cup of applesauce and reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup. It was just as good and didn’t give me heartburn like the first batch did. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again in the future.
I finally washed my girls’ chapel veils! They were looking pretty dirty and now look brand new once again. Oh, and speaking of laundry, even after a week (make that two!) of swimming lessons and lots of extra towels (and all the clothes from Life-Saving Day), it is ALL caught up, at least until tomorrow!
I loved 'shopping with you' fantastic! So what is the population of your town? Interested in what is considered small. We are 20 000 here which officially is a city but has more a town feel.
I am confused. Did you sub the oil by replacing it with applesauce? Or vice versa. I take it as replacing the oil, is that correct? I always use applesauce instead of oils in cakes, far healthier and easier on the digestive system too. Your cakes look fantastic and make me hungry! Yummy!
Dear Jessica,
how i wish we could get thos puppets and tree houses here.
Green with envy!
How exciting to get the Christmas shopping going so well for you
God Bless
Erin ~ I don't think our town has more than 2,000 people in the city limits, though we live a few miles outside. Our biggest city, where I do most of my shopping, close enough to drive to regularly (30 min) has a population of around 70,000.
Anonymous ~ The recipe called for 1 cup of oil. Instead I used 1/2 cup applesauce AND 1/2 cup oil. Sorry for the confusion! =)
Gae ~ Oh, me too! I think you would love them, especially the tree!
Hi Jessica,
You are an inspiration to me. You are blessed to be able to homeschool your kids and have so much talents. I only have two kids with me and sometimes I do not know what to do. I get so overwhelmed but when I read your posts and those of other Mom's, I have nothing to complain about. If you can do it, I can too. I just started blogging a few weeks ago. You were the person that inspired me to create my blog. I want to help other Moms out there that need to read our stories. So far, I have no followers. How long did it take for you to get your first follower? I am blogging for fun and to share my life with others and make friends. Please let me know what you think of my blog. Thanks,
Rosario