Custom, Inexpensive Wall Art

By Iowa Girl Eats (Visit website)

Holy.Cow. What a night!! Ben and I went to bed around 11 (party animals, I’m telling you) and woke up to sirens at 3:00am. I think it took a good 60 seconds to realize, oh wait, those are SIRENS, sirens. As in, stuff’s ’bout to go down!

Not even 15 seconds after the siren stopped, the rain came. Then the winds – 84 mph gusts – and the lightening! It was as if it was 3PM outside because the constant lightening made the sky bright as day! In all my years of living in Iowa, I think this was the craziest storm I’ve ever witnessed.

We got up and stared at the raging winds and rain for awhile, then tried to get back to sleep. But with 2 more siren wails and the constant boom of thunder, we knew that wasn’t going to be much of a reality. I think I may have slept from 5-7 before finally throwing in the towel and getting up.

To go grocery shopping! Ok, I went way over budget – almost $30 over – but my fridge and cabinets are stocked.up. I got a lot of staple stuff too, so I’m not that upset. Here’s my loot:

Produce:

Pre-cut broccoli
Spinach
Dinner salad kit
Mixed lettuce
Granny Smith Apples
Bananas
Tomatoes on the vine
Ginger
Garlic
Lime
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Mangoes
Pink Lady apples

Refrigerated Stuff:

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray
Chobani Greek Yogurt
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
Skim Milk
Turkey
Twice Baked Potatoes
Slab of ribs (for Ben’s smoker)
Country style ribs (for Ben’s smoker)
99% fat-free ground turkey
Mozzarella cheese
Cheese slices

Pantry Items:

Wheat Thins
Thomas 100% Whole Wheat English Muffins
Sliced almonds
EarthGrains Thin Buns
Diet Coke
Diet Mt. Dew
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cheerios
Life
Powerade

Necessities:

Blue Bunny Bunny Tracks
Blue Bunny Caramel Praline Crunch Fro-yo

Normally I come in either right at, or under, $50 – but like I said, some specialty items like those ribs, and pantry staple items like olive oil, almonds and cereal pushed me over a wee bit. What was your grocery bill this week?

In other news, I picked up this adorable post card at the Blue Bunny gift shop in Le Mars, and framed it in a simple black frame. I’m going to hang it somewhere in my kitchen!

I love buying inexpensive postcards and framing them, for custom, extremely inexpensive wall art. I did the same thing with a postcard I picked up from a plantation outside of New Orleans, and it’s one of my favorite pieces in the house!

Ben and I are headed over to my parents house for my belated birthday lunch with my whole fam (hence no breakfast, as I’m hearing the menu is a show-stopper!) then I’m going to deep clean the house and finish this pup:

I think everyone can relate in some way or another with the character in this book, and it’s been a fantastic read. It’s way overdue at the library though, so I’ve got to be extremely studious and get it finished TODAY!