Apples take over

We are blessed with an abundance of fruit growing freely in our backyard. Three apple trees, a plum tree, a peach tree, and grapes that travel over our fence line from our next door neighbor's yard. There is also a grapefruit tree growing in the abandoned yard directly behind our house, where I like to take the kids and liberate the tart little orbs.

This year our apple trees are producing like I've never seen, so I needed to find something to do with the plethora of green fruits. 

Thus, my first attempt at applesauce.

picked fresh today!

I poked around on Pinterest for a recipe, and found (of course) dozens of crock pot applesauce pins. I decided to Frankenstein a couple recipes together to come up with my own.

Step one:

Peel, core & dice 6-8 apples (depending on size.)

after this, I just gave them a really rough chop. not too small.

Step two: Stir together 1/2 Cup water, 1/4 Cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Step three: Add cut apples to crock pot, then pour liquid mixture evenly over apples. 

omg yum.

Step four: Set crock pot to "Low." They cook for about 4 hours total, but halfway through, I gave them a stir. (Ok, maybe I just wanted to get a really good whiff up close, cuz man oh man, did this smell amazing!)

Step five: turn crock pot off and mash apples with potato masher. Let cool & refrigerate. Or serve warm! Whatever you want! 

I'm thinking about making some pie dough & making dumplings with the mixture. Or topping my waffles with it. Or my ice cream, or stirring some into my oatmeal.....

The possibilities are endless :)

Working Class Wednesday: College on a budget

This is what my weekends look like now

I recently went back to Community College, after taking about 3 years off. My husband is also a college student. With 1 income, 4 kids, and 2 college students in our household, we were sure things would be tight for us this semester.
Turns out, we could not have been more wrong.
It's true, with the rising cost of tuition (currently capping out at a hefty $46 per unit here), books, and transportation, things might look a little bleak. But thanks to government Pell grants and a little something called the Board of Governor's Fee Waiver here in California, we managed to have all of our tuition & administrative fees paid in full.

Unfortunately, financial aid does tend to come a few weeks after your classes start. So what happens when you show up to class with no books because the text is $150? You're S.O.L. right?

Wrong.

There is an awesome website called Chegg, where you can RENT textbooks for a fraction of what the school bookstores are charging you to buy them.
For example, my Criminal Law book was listed as $134 in the bookstore and we paid just $46 for it.
That. Is. Awesome.

If you have any desire to go back to school, make sure you fill out a FAFSA to find out if you're eligible for federal grants. Grants are most often money that you do not have to pay back. Did you read that? You don't have to pay it back! There are contingencies, like- you can't bomb your classes or drop out, or you might be asked to pay back a portion of the grant. So, get an A. Or a B. Or a C at the very worst. There are also tons of scholarships available to help get your butt back in school, you just need to know where to look. A good place to start is the school counselor & financial aid office.

Also, it's much MUCH cheaper to attend a Community College and transfer to a University when you're a Junior. You could quite possibly get through 2 years of college without having to go broke or take out a student loan. It's totally worth it.


If you've been putting off school because you think you can't afford it, do yourself a favor and look into it again, you might be surprised at what you find.

Low income, high life

Awhile back I ranted a little about what seems to be a complete misconception of what the reality of being poor looks like. Since then, I've read a few other blogs and spoken to some awesome twitter friends about this issue and I've come to the conclusion that I need to write about what it really looks like to be a working-class low income family in America.

They may not perceive themselves as well to-do, but when other seemingly well meaning bloggers post pictures of their grand homes and espouse their weekly Whole Foods budget to me, I admittedly cringe a little. 

I mean, I once read a post written by a very well known blogger/advice columnist where she said that she bought her kids "throw-away" clothes at Old Navy and I thought to myself:

You are not like me, you will never get me.

And that's ok, I don't begrudge anyone a good life, but I have to wonder how people like me are supposed to relate to people who are not walking in my Thrift store shoes?
It's like we don't even live on the same planet, let alone within the same income bracket.

And that's what brings me to this post.

I'm ready to shed the shame of being broke in order to (hopefully) help & connect with other people that are in the same boat. I'm hoping that other families who are having to juggle finances will look at the coming posts and feel like it's possible to live a full life even when you don't think you can't afford to.

But let's get a couple things straight here:

First, this is NOT a pity-party. Second, this isn't an advice column.

This is just about how we manage living well, while living within our means.

And with that, tomorrow begins the first in the series of "Working Class Wednesday" posts.

Crocker Art Museum: Culture you can afford

Portrait of my Father by Stephen Kaltenbach

Here is a little known fact:
Every 3rd Sunday, the Crocker Art Museum is completely and totally FREE.
Thanks to sponsorship from B of A's Museums on Us program, you and everyone you know can take in all of the art that your little heart desires without paying a penny.
Of course, donations are highly encouraged so give what you can.

Unlike Sacramento's Museum Day, in which every person in the known Universe converges upon the Crocker like a pack of salivating wolves, this is much less crowded and easier to take your time to really appreciate the amazing pieces of art displayed throughout the old & new wings of this Sacramento treasure.

The Madonna & Child w/young St John the Baptist by Carlo Maratti

Bronze Seated Buddha Shakyamuni 18th Century (artist unknown) 

The Crocker Art Museum has a permanent collection, some of which you see above, filled with California, American, Asian & European art, as well as International ceramics and photography. 

There are new exhibits happening all the time, usually staying through a season and lending even more interesting diversity to the Collection. 

Current & future exhibits are listed & kept up to date on the museum's website.

The Crocker is a great date destination for new & seasoned couples, as well as giving parents the opportunity to expose their children to a variety of art & artists in a way that books just cannot compare to.

There is something about actually being in the physical presence of a beautiful work of art, that can move you beyond measure. 

Art can reach places which textbooks cannot, it can open minds to innumerable possibilities, and while not everyone is an artistic genius, we can all appreciate beauty and learn to find it in that which is not traditionally beautiful. 

And that is a lesson worth teaching.

________________________________________________________________________

The Crocker Art Museum is located at:

216 O Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Hours of Operation:

Tues & Wed 10am-7pm

Thurs 10am-9pm

Fri-Sun 10am-5pm

Admission: 

Adults $10

Sr. & college Students w/ID $8

Kids 7-17 $5

Kids 6&under: FREE

"Pay What You Wish" day is every 3rd Sunday

*no flash photography allowed*

Have Your Cake (and stay on budget, too!)

German Chocolate Tart- Rick's Dessert Diner, Sacramento CA

It's Summertime and the livin', unfortunately, is not easy for most people right now. Am I right?
Money is really tight for a lot of us and Summertime is all about getting out & having fun.  But what kind of fun is there to have when you're on a budget?
Well, one of the things we like to do is go out for dessert instead of dinner.
We have a simple meal at home, then head out to Rick's Dessert Diner for a yummy treat.
Dessert generally runs about 1/4 to 1/10 the cost of a dinner (depending on how fancy your dinners out are!) and you feel like you're getting something really special. Because it's DESSERT. And I don't know about you, but my husband would probably rather have cheesecake for dinner anyway:

Jude & his Spring cheesecake

Rick's Dessert Diner is located in Midtown and is a teeny little place with a kitschy 50's diner look- all pastels & checkerboard.  The pies & cakes are amazing! My favorite by far is the German Chocolate Tart, while my husband Jude prefers the cheesecake. Any cheesecake. The folks behind the counter are really friendly & don't seem overwhelmed even when the line is going out the door and the A/C is pretty much non-existent. 

Two pieces of cake + an iced tea & a coffee runs us about $16. I always feel satisfied when we eat there, and I never feel like our money has been wasted, the way I do after plunking down $50 for a mediocre dinner at some boring chain restaurant. 

And if you're like me and don't drink, it's also a good alternative to the usual Girl's Night Out.

Desserts are sinful in a good way, and the guilt you get from eating cake most certainly beats that Sunday morning walk of shame, ladies & gentlemen. You know who you are!

So anyway, if you're thinking you need some alone time with your significant other but you don't want to break the bank, look up your local dessert cafe. And if you're in the Greater Sacramento area, be sure to stop in at 2322 K Street and order a piece of Rick's towering red velvet cake. I dare you.