The Broke Girl Blog
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happiness

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In Lifestyle

How To: Use my COVID-19 Distancing Strategies and Stay Happy!

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Hey guys! I know this past year has felt awful for so many of us. For anyone who is suffering the loss of a loved one, I am so sorry for your loss. For anyone who is struggling with the loss of your normal life, I am with you and I feel your struggle. A few things have helped me this past year that I would recommend to anyone struggling with our new reality. Yes, I said new reality. Unfortunately, this isn’t going away anytime soon and our social construct may be permanently changed. It’s definitely worth our time to learn how to thrive in a world with more masks and less personal interaction, it’s like preparing for the worst and celebrating if the best comes upon us. Isolate as much as possible and have a cohort that does the same, so that you can visit with less risk when…

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In cheap eats

What’s In Season for Produce

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One of the easiest ways to keep your food bill affordable is to shop what’s in season. While it’s pretty easy to crave a fresh, green salad in January, when you’re trying to keep your food costs under control, you have to think about when and how to indulge those cravings if you want to make serious cuts to your food bill. Here in Canada, we are so lucky to live in such an agricultural country. At this time of year you can find all sorts of things that haven’t had to be shipped from another area of the world and don’t have that added cost. I love visiting different farmers markets because what is available is by default what is in season. I can’t always afford to buy anything at the farmer’s market (it was $5.50 for a pound of peas this weekend!), but it is a great fact finding…

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In Lifestyle

Affordable Decor – Entertaining Dishes

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Now that I no longer have a roommate, I feel a bit more comfortable investing in pieces I love for the kitchen and entertaining. When people come into my house, I think there’s always quite a bit of surprise when they realize this girl that loves bows and sweet dresses has a home styled in an industrial-rustic way, with loads of black pieces and natural wood anchoring a bright, open space. I love this aesthetic because it allows me drop in mirrored pieces, touches of pink and pattern without my house screaming “single female”. Everything is functional, comfortable and durable for when I want to have a few friends over. When I bought my home I didn’t have much in the way of decor, and expensive projects like custom blinds sucked up all of my “fun” money I had laying around. When I realized things like dishes and glasses were being…

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In Food

Paella-ish

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It really shouldn’t be such a surprise that I’m so into paella that it’s my new favorite thing… it’s like Spanish risotto (only easier, hallelujah, because you just deglaze the pan and then add all of the liquid) and you just can’t go wrong with risotto. I’m calling this paella-ish because I’m sure I didn’t make this traditionally and that some true experts will find flaws in my execution, but at the end of the day this was as good as the paella I had out at a restaurant recently. I love the smokey, rich flavor that is present without the use of heavy oils, butters or cheeses. This paella base is one I kind of made up myself based on what I had in the fridge- carrots, red pepper, onion and garlic, then finished with a load of frozen spinach. I deglazed the pan with dry white wine, but…

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In cheap eats

35 Day No-Buy Recap!

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Hello! So my 35 day no-buy for groceries was officially over on Friday, but I didn’t go grab groceries until Sunday so here I am now, giving a bit of a recap on how 35 days of not buying groceries went. It went surprisingly well. In retrospect, I don’t know that I could have chosen an easier month to have a no-buy on, because there was both of my parent’s birthdays, Father’s Day, a family dinner in Red Deer, and a family dinner with friends that took care of five dinners, plus loads of opportunities to visit my parents, and my mum is the best and always feeds me. So there’s a bit of cheating there but it doesn’t entirely wipe out the significance of not buying any groceries from May 25th to July 3rd. So did I buy any groceries? Yes and no. I bought shrimp on sale…

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In DIY

How To: Plant Your Own Flower Pots

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Hey! Today I wanted to talk about something I do pretty much every year with my mum- custom flower pots. While my mum probably could afford to purchase pre-made planters and pots of flowers, she makes her own each year and says that the best way to save money on having a nice yard is to take the time to learn how to do it yourself. The type-A’s amoungst us will also appreciate that these are 100% customizable to your own color and varietal preference. So lets get started! When you’re within a day or two of having time to plant, get to the local greenhouse or big box store and start looking at plants. As you are looking, keep in mind where you’re wanting to put these plants- if they’re going in a shady area, find some that are shade lovers by reading the tags inserted in the…

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In cheap eats

Parmesan Risotto with Sausage and Fennel

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Risotto is, by my mind, a total comfort food. It’s delicious, carb-y (admit it, carbs make us all happy) and can be made with pretty much any ingredients you have laying around. I’m sure someone reading this is thinking REALLY?! Three risotto recipes in three months?! I know. I’m predictable! This recipe is actually inspired by a pizza you can get at a local restaurant near to where my parents live called Buco Pizzeria. This pizza is so good it lives in my dreams sometimes! I was craving it one morning while going grocery shopping and fennel and sausage miraculously ended up in my cart. Parmesan Risotto with Sausage and Fennel Serves 4 for $10.98, or $2.75 per serving Ingredients: 1/2 an onion- $0.12 ~1 cup of arborio rice- $0.80 1/2 cup of parmesan (grated)- $3.38 1.5 boxes of vegetable stock- $2.21 2 Links of italian sausage – $2.00 1 fennel…

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In Lifestyle

How to Cheer Yourself Up… On a Budget!

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I find sometimes that when you get down and you’re broke… you just kind of stay down. All of the things that I usually associate with cheering up (going out for dinner with a friend, getting a pedicure, making myself a nice meal, going to a movie, taking an exercise class…) tend to cost a decent amount of money. Especially if you’re like me, where you haven’t taken a “holiday” (Europe 2009!) in years and tend to work a lot of your days off from work… having some ways to cheer yourself up on the cheap is really nice. Go for a run- I have to confess, I actually don’t like running. At. All. I do love that all I need is my running shoes and some tunes and I can rage run out whatever I’m feeling. There’s science behind this, as Elle Woods famously told us… exercising creates an…

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