A Little Couscous Goes a Long Way

My new favorite thing is Couscous. Its yum, its relatively healthy, and best of all-- its CHEAP! Yesterday at lunch I was in that place where you just kind of have to throw random shiz from your pantry together to make something and this came out quite nicely! Plus it made enough to feed pharoah's army, I'll end up eating it for at LEAST 3 lunches. I've priced it out so you can see the cost per recipe and cost per serving, in true Diva on a Dollar Style. 

Couscous Fagioli

1 box Garlic and Olive Oil Couscous ($1.49 at Aldi)

1 can of Italian diced tomatoes, drained (75 cents, Kroger)

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (99 cents, Wal-Mart)

grated powdered parm cheese, to taste (approx $2 for the whole can at Aldi)

2 tbsp Zesty Italian dressing ($1.89 for the whole bottle at Aldi)

Make Couscous as directed, stir in all other ingredients and enjoy hot, or refrigerate (I fridge'd mine). 

Total Recipe Cost (with TONS of cheese and dressing leftover to use for other economical recipes) = $7.12

Total Cost per Serving (4 servings)= $1.78

Southwest Couscous

1 box of couscous, whatever flavor you want-- I'd prb use the garlic and olive oil again....

1 can of diced tomatos opt

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn or mexicorn

Southwest Ranch Dressing to taste

Directions: Same as above

Total Recipe Cost (w/o tomatoes) = $5.16

Total Cost Per serving= $1.29

My Life, Re-purposed...

One of the things I crave in this life is having a purpose. A reason I'm here. To be indisposable to someone. To add purpose and joy, perhaps, to someone else's life. In my 25 years of living, I'd say that my greatest purposes have been as a family member and friend. I define myself as a daughter, a niece, a cousin, a sister, a best friend, but when examining closely, I realize that I define myself only in relation to others.

Re-purposing, for those of you who don't watch HGTV, is a common (and somewhat of a buzz word right now) term for taking one thing and making it into another (hopefully at little to no cost)....  Re-purping, as it is fondly called by my best friend Anne-Miller and me, is one of my favorite past times. It brings life to old, outdated things, and excitement to the people who get to transform or use the things for a new purpose. Anne-Miller and I  have re-purposed a number of things over the course of our friendship... making old jewelry into new jewelry, bringing my mother's kitchen back to life, re-defining friendships and relationships to bring in new purper's to our club (Braden this means you), re-arranging furniture, painting my room raspberry pink (when we were in high school.).... and it's become a bonding thing for us. We thrive off of each other's creativity and ideas, but the best thing is that our projects always turn out exactly the way we want them to (or better!). At the end of any given project that we've done, always follow the words "I would have bought this in a store!!" or "I would have paid someone to do this!"....

There's nothing like the feeling of that perfectly finished re-purp, except maybe the journey that you took to get there. Anne-Miller and I are going to be starting a website, that will take you through the ever-creative journey of our re-purposed lives, adventures, jewelry, furniture, home makeovers, and everything else along the way..... (stay tuned for more details and web address)

The best thing about re-purposing is that, like life, it is a never-ending cycle. You can choose to leave some of the old characteristics with the new piece or make it something totally different and unrecognizable. You can leave a hint of what it was, while still making it what it is, and leave possibilities open for what it can become. I am going to re-purpose my life, and define it in relation to me, Callie the Creative, the crafty, the (still) best friend and faithful family member. I will be part of what I was, I will be excited about who I am, and I will be open to what I can become.

Deal of the Week!- NYC City Curls Mascara

I’m so picky about Mascara. I nearly fainted when Maybelline discontinued Sky High Curves. Luckily, to keep me from hanging myself, Rimmel came out with Sexy Curves, and all was well again. The week that I moved into my apartment, I had spent, well, a little too much from doing the obligatory, first –week- in- new- place grocery run and in perfect, I’m so broke timing, I ran out of mascara. I had 7 dollars left for the pay period. I had no wine. I had no mascara. What’s a girl to DOOOOOOO? Making me choose between Wine and Mascara is like making me choose between Heath Ledger (Rest In Peace) and Ryan Gosling. Either way you go, you’re going to wish you had chosen the other one.
I went to Walmart figuring maybe I could find some way to snag both, and thankfully for my sanity, I ran across my new best friend. NYC City Curls Mascara. For the Bargain Price of only $2.64!!!!!!!! I was so excited that I had found any mascara at all for that price, I think I may have done a Hurkee in the middle of the makeup aisle. But, I wondered, does it WORK like it costs 2.64? I checked out and got immediately in the car to apply, and save anyone else from having to see me with blonde eyelashes. Lo and Behold, It works, just as well as my beloved Rimmel. I was so excited I had to share. For the price and performance, NYC City Curls Mascara is SOOOOOO the Diva on the Dollar Deal of the Week.