A Productive Day (Day 8)

Since yesterday was not quite what I had hoped in the productivity department, I had my work cut out for me today. Liam was feeling better, and together we tackled the list of chores. While Liam took his morning nap, I dug in and looked over some of the monthly bills (the whole reason for this austerity month), and the austerity is working! We are in better shape than we have been since before Christmas, and although budgeting and bills don't usually put a smile on my face, it did today! :)

He woke up a pretty happy guy, and was ready to help Mama with the cleaning. He was a great help with the dusting and vacuuming, and even bigger help with the laundry!





After all this productivity in one day, I decided it was time for my weekly "sweet treat," and got some inspiration from my friend Leah's blog. I've been thinking about her Carmelita recipe for a couple weeks now, and today seemed like the perfect day to give it a try. I'm really glad I did...they look delicious (ok, I confess...they ARE delicious...I had to try them before dinner to make sure...):




There was only one snafu in the day (yes, I really wrote snafu--I love that word!) and that was....we ran out of dish soap! Yes, the emergency fund was breached in the name of clean dishes. Fortunately, my Mom was over in Keene, so she brought reinforcements from Target for only $2.50. We'll have to get through the next 20 days with the remaining $7.50.

With the kitchen once again clean thanks to the emergency delivery, Liam and I could focus on dinner. Tonight I broke out the kale from the weekend. I LOVE kale. It's so versatile, and delicious with just about anything. Tonight, it featured in a recipe from Epicurious.com, Creamy Polenta with Kale and Mushrooms. Yum..and so easy. Of course, I had to make a couple of concessions due to our extreme budget, but it still came out delicious. Next time, though, I am splurging on some pancetta, because that will take it from delicious to FABULOUS. Also, unfortunately, I only had canned mushrooms. It says a lot for the recipe that it was still yummy.

I will now sign off to go enjoy some delicious Carmelitas with my husband. Have a great Tuesday evening!