Frugal Summer Entertaining

It is always fun to get together with friends and family in the summer. It doesn't have to cost a lot to host a BBQ at your home. Our main menu is pretty simple and usually consists of potato salad (inexpensive if made at home, homemade baked or slow cooked beans, and hot dogs and or hamburgers. I usually make the salad and beans the day before if I can. I let guests bring a dish if they offer, such as fruit or chips. Lemonade is an inexpensive beverage. An even healthier option is just to add lemon or limes to ice water. It looks really pretty in a glass carafe. For dessert my favorite is strawberry shortcake. If you pick your own strawberries and make your own shortcake it isn't too expensive. Popsicles are a fun alternative. Have the kids make their own from juice. For cute and reusable summer dinner ware check JoAnne Fabrics if you have one in your area. They often mark things way down around the 4th of July.
If you don't want to host at home, why not invite other families to a nearby park? Maybe for a dessert potluck instead of a full meal.
There are many ways to show hospitality with out wearing ourselves out or costing a lot. I have been shown the best hospitality by people who don't have a lot of material things but do have a lot of love. The important part is hospitality and fellowship.
Check out more Frugal Friday ideas here.

Some Pictures of Our Garden

My wonderful sister-in-law let me use her camera to get some beginning of summer pictures of our garden. Hopefully I will take some end of summer pictures with my own digital camera. Anyways... here are some photos

Our vegetable garden (Square Foot method)

Our flower garden in the front of the house. We removed the all the grass in front last year to cut back on mowing. It's strange, but both my husband and I would rather weed by hand than mow the a lawn.

Another Good Reason to Keep Your Home Chemically Free

I was getting ready yesterday and came very close to actually spraying my hair with Oust! I usually don't keep such strong deodorizers in the home, but when I had "all day sickness" the certain smell of certain things (namely certain shoes and slippers) made me take some radical action. I Ousted it! So then a couple of weeks ago I was in a certain skit that required Aqua Net. I don't think I have used aerosol hairspray since the '80's (for good reason...if you saw the picture I linked to). Well now both cans of household chemicals reside in my bathroom (appropriate place). When I needed a little coif control yesterday I grabbed what I thought was the Aqua Net and thankfully my eyesight hasn't deteriorated anymore than it already has, realized right before applying pressure to said canister that it was the Oust! I guess it wasn't that severe of a problem, my hair would have smelled about the same as with the Aqua Net. I guess really I just thought it would be fun to blog about and give me an excuse to link to my beautiful Vanna-esque picture. Thanks for indulging me here.