Things are getting pretty exciting around here. For starters the cobblestones for the new driveway were delivered.

The plan is to have a cobblestone border and crushed seashells for the driveway. I don’t think you can get more of a coastal vibe than that. Several people around us have the same type of driveway and I just love the way it looks.

It’s just so nice to look outside and have all that asphalt gone. All those parking spaces… GONE. 

I have no idea how long it will take them to complete the driveway {the weather has been a bit tricky this week} but I am sure looking forward to the new view.

While the landscape guys have been outside, the HH has been inside building the Vego raised garden beds. 

I bought 8 Vego garden boxes online from Costco earlier this winter and well, I think 8 might be too many! {Did I just say that!?}

When I ordered them I wasn’t 100% sure of the configuration I’d want {there are 10 sizes to choose from} but now I know for sure. 

We ended up deciding that if we assembled them at the 4’ x 8’ size I’d be able to fit 10 tomato plants {4 on each side, 1 on each end} plus a nice row of something else {carrots, beets, turnips} down the center of each raised bed.

So now the question becomes, do I really need all 8 raised garden beds? 

Should we only install 4 and return the other 4? 

If we just did the four garden beds that would mean 40 tomato plants, plus plenty of room for other vegetables in just the raised beds alone. 

So, while definitely not a religious family sized garden plot, with all the other {vegetable} garden areas I’ll be planting, we would still have around 200 – 300 square feet of space to grow vegetables.

Usually I work on the theory of go big or go home but all I really want to do is grow enough for us and maybe a little extra to stick out on the garden cart this summer for the neighbors. 

I’m not looking for another full time job. HA!

Although I do love to garden…. It’s a tough one.

Did I mention how much I like the quality of these beds? And the color! It’s lovely. 

The back garden area {at the studio} has been prepped {behind the white line}. If I do 4 garden boxes I’ll still have a nice bit of grass which means room for an outdoor table and chairs {and maybe a firepit too?}.

If I do 8 garden boxes {2 rows of 4 beds} I won’t really have much of a yard back there once you leave room for walking between the rows. 

In fact it would be just one giant garden space. Which isn’t a bad thing either. It’s a tough one. 

Half garden boxes, half grass, or all garden boxes? What would you do? 

~Mavis

P.S. I hope you have a great weekend!!

OTHER

The post I Think Eight Garden Boxes Might Be Too Many appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month.

One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Linda shared this recipe for Crock Pot Hawaiian pulled pork and it sounded so easy, we just had to give it a try. 

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Crock Pot meals and I LOVE easy recipes. 

With just a few simple ingredients; 3 lbs pork roast, one large can of pineapple tidbits, and fresh ginger to taste, this recipe was a breeze to make.

If I were headed to a pot luck and needed to bring a main dish, this would be a great one to feed a crowd. 

Simply put all the ingredients into the Crock Pot, cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours and once the meat thermometer hits 195° to 205° you’re good to go. 

Once the pork butt is done, let it rest for a few minutes. Then pull the pork, stir it back into the sauce and it’s ready to serve. 

*You want the temperature of the meat to be that high so the pork will pull apart easily. 

Easy peasy!!

Great  in tacos or served on a Hawaiian roll, this recipe is Crock Pot Hawaiian pulled pork is a winner.

~Mavis

Crock Pot Hawaiian Pulled Pork Recipe

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• Author: Mavis Butterfield

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Ingredients

3 lbs pork roast, one large can of pineapple tidbits, and fresh ginger to taste.

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Instructions

Simply put all the ingredients into the Crock Pot, cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours and once the meat thermometer hits 195° to 205° you’re good to go. 

Once the pork butt is done, let it rest for a few minutes. Then pull the pork, stir it back into the sauce and it’s ready to serve. 

*You want the temperature of the meat to be that high so the pork will pull apart easily.

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OTHER

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The landscapers are here digging up the driveway and yard and been finding some really cool stuff lately. Buried treasures as I like to call them. The first thing they found was an old cobalt blue bottle. Isn’t it beautiful!? 

The HH did some research and discovered it was an old milk of magnesia bottle {with some cloudy liquid still inside!!!}. How cool is that?

I dared him to open it and have a swig but he declined.

The guys also found coal. I don’t know why I was so excited about this but I was. Maybe the previous owners had a coal stove at some point? 

Who knows.

Another cool find was a mercury dime from 1936. I have no idea how they even spotted that.

It made me wonder though if there was some sort of cache underground or if someone just happened to drop a dime. I told the HH he should dust off his metal detector and see if he can find some more coins.

According to the Google the dime is worth anywhere from $2-10.

So far we’re up to 2 blue bottles, 2 small lotion {??} jars {the HH thinks the dark blue one might be a Vick’s vapor rub jar}, an old dime, a piece of coal, an old perfume {?} bottle and some sort of red thingamajig. 

I wonder what we’ll find next!?

Have you ever found anything cool while digging in your yard? Anything you’d consider buried treasure? Curious minds want to know. 

Peace Out. 

~ Mavis

OTHER

The post Buried Treasure appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Maine’s first Aldi store opened last week and yesterday, The HH and I stopped by to check it out. First impression: It was huge! I was surprised the store didn’t open until 9am though.

Do you have an Aldi? Does it open that late in your area too? 

It was nice to see you still have to have a quarter handy if you want a cart.  

I haven’t been in an ALDI in the US for years, so it was fun to roam the aisles and check out the prices on everything. 

We got there right when the doors opened {9am!} and we had hardly made it past the produce section before it started filling up. by the time we checked out, the place was packed.

The best deal of the day? Avocados for $0.65 each. I can’t even remember seeing prices that low. Ever. Also, the digital price tags. I’ve only seen them at one other store. 

I was hoping to find crumpets, but the bread aisle was pretty picked over.  At 9:02 am!! I guess the corporate office underestimated how much Mainers love bread. HA HA HA.

I didn’t think the bread prices were exceptional, so I have no idea why there was a run on bread.

8 ounces of cheese for $1.69. That was a pretty good deal. 

Is Philadelphia cream cheese really $3 a block now? Holy cow!

Boneless skinless chicken breasts were $2.29 a pound.

And milk was $4.50 a gallon. {Maine has a minimum milk price that is adjusted about every 4-5 weeks.}

And eggs were $1.66 a dozen. About the going rate at Market Basket these days.

Ahh… The chili beans! These are my all time favorite chili beans. Perfectly seasoned and great over rice. 

And at $0.85 a decent bargain if you ask me. I think when I first started buying these about 6 years ago they were $0.69 cents. So they’re still a pretty cheap source of protein.

And my all time favorite store bought beets. I bought 6 jars! I love these. As soon as we got home I cracked open a jar. 

If you like sweet, pickled beets, you should try these. They’re perfect!

Aldi Shopping Trip $54.01

Another great find was the steel cut oats for $2.79 a canister. 

And the dark chocolate chips. I haven’t tried them yet but someone mentioned them a few weeks ago so I decided to grab a bag and give them a try in my next batch of cookie dough. 

I’m glad we got the chance to check out the new Maine Aldi store. It was fun to pick up a few of my favorite products. 

Are you an Aldi shopper? What are a few of your favorite products? I’m always up for trying something new. 

Have a great day everyone, 

~Mavis

OTHER

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Get Back To The Basics + Learning to Unplug

The only time I was really plugged in was for maybe about 45 minutes in the mornings {for writing the blog, checking emails} and in the evenings when I listened to an audiobook while I worked on a hooked rug. 

I’m listening to All The Light We Cannot See right now… Have you read it? 

Other than that, I wasn’t online. It was pretty awesome.

In The Kitchen

I am currently on “I will eat anything that is put in front of me” mode. I did manage to bake some of my favorite cookies and a batch of granola though.

Kitchen Goals For This Year

• Master the pear frangipane tart from Standard Baking Company. 
• Put my Weck jars to use.
• Use two bins of beans.

Rug Hooking

I finished drawing all the patterns and putting together all the kits! HOLY MOLEY that was a lot of work and I am SO GLAD to be done!!!

All I have left to do is to put together the 12 stacks of wool and I’ll be FINISHED. My goal was to have all the wool stuff done by April 1st and it looks like I am going to make it!!

I can’t tell you what a relief it will be to check this goal off my list. 

Also, I hooked, finished and listed 4 new pillows in my Etsy shop. It was a busy week!

Rug Hooking Goals For This Year

• Finish drawing out all my patterns, making kits, dyeing wool by March 31st. {98% done!!!}
• Release 10 new rug hooking patterns/kits.  {3 down 7 to go}
• Hook 27 of the patterns from the “someday I’ll hook these” bin. {4 down 23 to go}

Go New Places – See New Things

Where would you rather spend 4 hours? The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Statue of Liberty? Jen and I are working on our schedule and trying to decide.

Travel Goals For This Year

• Travel someplace {internationally} that I’ve never been before.
• Travel somewhere in Maine {overnight} that I haven’t been before.

Places I’ve Been So Far This Year

• Boston {Birthday getaway}

Walk And Stretch More

We got a couple of good walks in but nothing like the ones The Kiln Guy and The Chef are getting in Portugal!! 

They rented an Airbnb for the entire month of March and I can’t wait to hear all about their trip when they get back. I bet they’ll have a nice tan!

Walking/Stretching Goals For This Year

• Get into some sort of stretching routine
• Fast walk a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon {signed up for a half marathon}

Garden

I am counting down the days until the Amazing Grace tulips are in bloom. I hope they survived the winter because there is no sign of them popping through the soil yet. 

Those and the yellow ones were my favorites last year. We planted some new varieties last fall and I’m looking forward to those too. 

Are your tulips coming up yet? How about daffodils? Mine are about an inch above the soil right now. 

Garden Goals For This Year

• Rework the driveway and garden areas 
• Go crazy and plant a ridiculous amount of flowers 
• Step out of my comfort zone and plant some flowers I’ve never planted before

Paint

About zero painting got done. It was wool 24/7 around here.

Hey! It’s Monday. I hope you have a good one. 

~Mavis

Painting Goals For This Year

• The Van Gogh wall
• The gallery wall down stairs
• The captains wall in the hall
• Trim and walls 

OTHER

The post My Goals For 2026 – Week 13 of 52 appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month.

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