My Frugal Fancy

 We just got back from a week away to visit family and to attend a family reunion. My husband, T., found a great Air BnB cottage for about $130/night a few months ago and let me tell you, it was a life changer from being in a hotel room. There was lots of room for our son to play and it was a short walk to the lake - you can save so much money by doing free activities. They even had a chicken coop with fresh eggs and a veggie garden that we could use, helping us to save on grocery costs. Staying in a cottage with a full kitchen is an amazing way to make sure that you are eating fresh and healthy homemade food, and saves a ton of cash that you would be spending on three restaurant meals a day. We spent $98 on groceries for the entire week, and focused on quick meals and things that could be grilled quickly so that we could get back to doing the fun stuff. We found a few free activities to do in town as well, including a lit train bridge walking tour, and lots of family visits. I Goo...

This was an amazing Canada Day for our family because we. didn't. go. anywhere. No loud fireworks in a mosquito-laden field... No family get-togethers with third cousin so-and-so... Just a beautiful day spent in the pool eating shrimp cocktail, Juicy Jumbos and corn on the cob. Our little dude is slowly learning to swim (peep that $6.00 floatation vest from Canadian Tire) and loving every second of it. This Canada Day hit a little differently. It's not lost on me that we are very, very lucky to live in this beautiful country and that there are some threats from the leader South of us that we have never dealt with before. I am infinitely grateful that we are able to live in this country and can celebrate as we see fit. Now back to that shrimp cocktail... I picked up a 1.5lb bag of shrimp at Walmart for about $8.00 and wanted to throw something together for a light lunch. I am not really one for measuring, but here are my "recipes" for the shrimp and cocktail sauce (at ...