Best Thrift Shop Buy - Jeans

The best thrift shop buys for me are jeans. I love to buy jeans from thrift and consignment  shops because they are durable and hold up well, and still have a lot of life left. If you choose jeans that are still in great condition - you can still get tons of wear out of them!
In fact, this is a great way to keep the kids in good pants - it's thrifty and still fashionable.

Always check zippers, buttons, and snaps for functionality, and check the seams, knees, and seat for excessive wear or signs of stress. It may be designer and a great price but if the seat splits on you after a few times wearing it you won't get your money's worth!

Happy Thrifting!

For more Thrifting tips, Designer on a Dime Showcases, and upcoming events - Follow me on Facebook - www.Facebook.com/TheAtomiccitymomConcierge

Designer on a Dime

Hey Everyone - Here's a sample of what I do - and my new Designer on a Dime post for the New Year!

Designer on a Dime - Feeling Wonderful in Winter White!!

It's a New Year - and for my new followers the Designer on a Dime series is something that I do to showcase my shopping skills and to show you all that looking lovely is definitely in your budget!

How can designer be so affordable? This is because ALL of my signature pieces are shopped entirely from local thrift shops, consignment, and online yardsales.

Featured in this series All about ANN TAYLOR! Signature pieces include my Ann Taylor top and snow white Ann Taylor corduroy slacks - both of these FABULOUS finds are from Cutie Patootie's Repeat Boutique in Jackson Square. Owner Wendy Holloway only procures the choicest finds - and makes designer affordable... Even for this mother of five! Currently she's running a 50% off sale on Winter stock - which is where I snagged these gorgeous pants at a steal!! Visit her today and check out her wonderful selections.

Oooh - and I just can't go without mentioning my bombshell red leather bag. I love unique finds like this - the little cha cha circles give a little shake and are real leather! I love that the bag adds a pop of color to the outfit.

Need some new designer pieces to spice up your wardrobe for the New Year? Contact me for a closet consultation - atomiccitymom@gmail.com

Follow me on Facebook for more Designer on a Dime Looks - www.Facebook.com/TheAtomiccitymomConcierge

Poppin' Tags for My Midcentury Fix

This is what my latest thrifting escapade has lead to... My lovely green couch acquired at a bargain basement price of $28!!! You might be saying to yourself- what's so great about that? It's just an old couch... No, my friends - it's a little bit of lovely in my basement! This gorgeous, classy lady is straight out of the 70s, and someone took great care to maintain her beauty despite her age. This baby probably spent its early years covered in plastic, and was barely sat on, or so it seems because the seat cushions are pristine. Finds like this just make my day. This is how I say Happy!

Here are some tips for buying furniture from the thrift shops: 

• Note the overall condition of the piece -

Does it have a good bone structure? Is it a piece you love enough that you might consider possibly spending extra time & money to give it new life - if it requires reupholstering - that can get expensive so this should factor in your buying price. Can you get it for a good price?

• Make sure it's in good CLEAN condition! A few spots here and there are to be expected, however, you definitely don't want to bring home little beasties that might be more expensive to get rid of than the price of the furniture piece. Look under cushions or open the dresser drawers and check for any evidence of critter activity. Check to see if any spots or stains can possibly be removed with a good cleaning. 

• Pay attention to the sales.... Yes, thrift stores have sales! Incredible, I know, because you're already getting a deal - but usually thrift shops will have a color coding or some similar system where certain colors will go on sale and the price will be reduced by a percentage. You might get an additional 50% off on pink tag items, or 25% off on blue. This makes the item you are buying an even better deal!

Lastly- make sure you have help getting your new item home! Especially if you are hunting a big furniture piece... Like a big green couch! Happy Thrifting!

Just Right for Fall - Pears & Pork Chops

    This is a dish I'm including in this week's meal plan - it's very simple and has sweet & subtle flavors that go well with your sides. 

    I bought my chops from our local butcher - J & M Butcher Shop over on Jefferson. He always has a great selection of meats. 

    First, I seasoned the chops with salt, pepper, & apple pie spice. Then I browned both sides on the stovetop in order to give them a little color. Next, I transferred the chops to a baking dish. You can use fresh pears, but this time I used 2 cans of pears. I poured both cans with juice over the chops, set the oven to 350, and baked the chops for about an hour. After the hour, I check on them every 15 minutes until I feel they're done.

    This is a versatile main course, I served it with green beans and rice, but you could serve it with carrots, mashed potatoes, and many other side choices.

Atomic City Mom's Easy Cooking

I have a very busy household with 5 children, so it's good for me to have a couple of easy dinner options for those days that I'm just dragging. Here's a really easy meal to whip up when you're having one of those crazy days - Easy Chicken Fajitas!

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts

4 medium green bell peppers

1 large red bell pepper

1 large onion

1 clove garlic

salt

pepper

3 packs of fajita seasoning 

Tortillas

You can vary your ingredients to your taste and quantity. The chicken breasts were huge so this recipe fed 8 with leftovers at my house.

First, I cooked the chicken over a medium heat, with a little olive oil in the bottom of the skillet. While cooking season the meat with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is almost done, then remove the chicken and cut it into slices. Then dice your garlic into tiny pieces and sautée in skillet. Return chicken to your skillet and continue cooking on low. Next slice the bell peppers and onions into long strips and add to your skillet. Finally, add your fajita seasonings, and if it seems dry I like to add a little chicken broth to the mix. Cook until the bell peppers and onion soften. 

I like to serve this over warmed tortillas with a little shredded cheese & sour cream on top. Enjoy!

Variations: 

You can use steak instead of chicken, add salsa, or even put a little cooked Spanish rice inside.

Meal Planning - Save Time & Spend Less

Meal planning is a concept that isn't just for large families like mine. It can also actually benefit seniors, home bound individuals, and folks with extremely busy weekly schedules who either may have very limited time to do regular shopping trips or may not have the physical ability to get out on a regular basis to grocery shop. Once you get the general idea, meal planning can actually be fun!

For most people, I recommend planning your meals out on a weekly basis. This requires taking a little time out on one designated day of the week so you can plan your meals for the entire week. This way you can see exactly what you need to pick up from the grocery store in order to be able to prepare your meals for that week. By doing this, you can actually minimize your shopping trips to once a week. I like to do my planning for the upcoming week on Sunday mornings. This is so that I can look over the Sunday paper to see what products are on sale for that week. Then I can coordinate my coupons with grocery store deals to maximize my savings. With a little practice, meal planning is not only a time saver, but also a money saver.

For me, my biggest headache is doing dinners everyday for a family of seven. I started out only planning my dinner menus. Your meals can be as simple or as creative as you like. There are a lot of great websites out there where you can find sample menus or quick and easy recipes. I personally recommend www.allrecipes.com and http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com - these are great resources for recipe ideas and meal planning advice. 

Here's a sample weekly dinner menu I've used:

Monday:

Personal Meatloaves made in muffin cups

Baked Potatoes

Green Beans

Tuesday

Garlic Whole Baked Chicken stuffed with carrots, celery, and onion

Brown Rice

Veggie Medley - Cauliflower & Carrots

Wednesday 

Apple Cider Pork Chops & Baked Apples

Macaroni & Cheese

Mixed Veggies of Choice

Thursday 

Taco Bar with all the fixings

Friday

Chicken Quesadillas

Fried Bananas

Southwestern style Sweet Corn

Saturday 

Pizza Night - either delivery or frozen

Side Salad

Sunday

Chicken and Dumplings

Glazed carrots 

This is just one example of many. You can get more gourmet or go as simple as you like... We might have breakfast for dinner one night, or pigs in a blanket, or a leftovers night to make room in the fridge. 

Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. If live in the Oak Ridge, TN area, and you are a senior, home bound, or too busy to fool with it- check out my personal lifestyle maintenance services -www.Facebook.com/TheAtomiccitymomConcierge

Couponese Tip of the Day - Get Rid of Expired Coupons

I know it seems like sacrilege... The idea of not using every coupon we've taken the time to clip- the sad reality is that most of us don't use ALL of our coupons before they expire. Sometimes they're not items we use regularly, or they don't coincide with a good sale price... Or maybe we just didn't have time to get to the store that week. Oh well, that's life.

Since there were no coupons in this past weekend paper, I'm taking some time today to clear out my expired coupons to make room for this week's new ones.

Your expired coupons can still go to good use- military families stationed overseas can sometimes benefit from expired coupons. I believe they can use expired coupons for up to 6 months from the date of expiration. For more information about sending your expired coupons to military families check out Military Money Matters for tips on how to help. As a former Marine Corps wife, I wish I had known more about Couponing back then, it would have helped us tremendously with our ridiculously tight budget. Even so, I remember those years very fondly.