5 thing Friday - winter decor, tree trimming, cheap eats, beans, me

I'm not ready to decorate for Spring, especially considering that its 30 degrees outside and everything is covered in ice as I type.

So, to lighten up the wreath on my front door, I added in some white silk poinsettias I forgot I had.  Meanwhile, I am slowly deconstructing things inside the house to look more neutral for winter.  And since I was iced in yesterday, I refreshed quite a few spaces around my house.

My knee hasn't hurt since right before Christmas, praise!, so I took a chance on a pretty day and stood on a step stool to trim this silly garage tree away from the motion light.  And while I was at it, I trimmed the one on the other side of the garage as well.

I took a good chunk of it off, but it still managed to get tangled in oak branches that are bent waaay down from ice accumulation overnight.

So far down that they are lightly laying on top of the truck and frozen there.  In hindsight, yes, I should have parked in the center of the driveway.  If it warms up a little later, I will move the truck.  {My Forester, aka work car, is in the shop getting a huge repair done.}

A fried egg over cheese grits and orange bell pepper strips.

See?  I can eat well for $50 a week.  It just takes a little creativity.

I took advantage of an empty crockpot to cook a bag of pinto beans, lightly seasoned with bacon fat and salt.  When cooled, I was able to make 5 ziploc bags full for my freezer.  That comes out to 23 cents per ziploc vs. $1.68 a can. Pintos are good in so many things - as are black beans which are also as cheap when you cook them yourself.

I follow people on blogs who can post about their cute daily outfits with such ease, then I see a pic of me and think:

*what is she wearing

*why can she not take a selfie

*she needs new clothes

*oh well, she looks comfortable and she's smiling

And I guess what matters is how I feel, but now that I have so much closet space I need to spend some time figuring out my own style and being confident in it.  A work in progress.

Gina