Food and Kitchen

Rose Napkin Folding @ Martha Stewart – A cool way to fold napkins if you’re having a dinner party.

Crafts and Sewing

Lacroix Leggings @ Fashionista – It’s getting to be tights season again, here’s how to do an awesome dye technique to give them a little oomph.

Sock Monkey @ Urban Threads – I keep meaning to make one for my niece.

Fashion

Hosting a Clothing Swap @ Capessa – A great way to reuse and recycle clothing.

Not Couture – A site to gawk at fashion finds from other users.

Financial

How to Become A Millionaire Selling Plasma @ Dear Money Guy – Not really a lesson in selling blood, it’s a lesson on the snowball effect of investing small amounts of money over time.

37 Killer eBooks @ Fortune Watch – Some great eBooks to download for free.

Misc.

20 Signs You Don’t Really Need That Thing @ My Things – How much crap are you holding onto that you don’t need?

Anti-Theft Lunch Bag @ skforlee – I admit this made me gag a little, but it probably works.

Popularity: unranked [?]

This is a bit massive because I missed a week or two. Enjoy!

Food

Vegetarian Frugal Housewife – I think the title sums up the blog quite nicely.

Cheddar Ale Spread at Brown Eyed Baker – This sounds delicious and would be a fun addition to an end-of-summer BBQ or an evening of watching sports on tv.

Lunch Box Suggestions at Hillbilly Housewife – While this list is designed for school lunches, it’s also great inspiration for those of us who brown bag our lunches.

Joe’s Baked Egg Muffins at Simple Daily Recipes – This is an easy way to cook up some of your favorite breakfast foods. These would be great at a brunch.

How To Make Chocolate Cobbler at Southern Plate – Cheap, Easy and Delicious. What more do you want?

Mocha Pots de Creme at The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Ree says this is easy, delicious and elegant…and the Pioneer Woman doesn’t lie.

Deli Dip at Noble Pig – A Reuben Sandwich in dip form. Sounds like a great addition to a cocktail party, although I’d leave out the ketchup.

Whoopie Pie Cake at Road Food – If you have fond memories of eating whoopie pies as a kid, you’ll love this.

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee at Smitten Kitchen. – I knew you could cold brew tea, but it didn’t occur to me to try it with coffee.

Kitchen Measurement Equivalents at Tip Nut – Great if you’re working with a British or Australian recipe and don’t have a scale handy or don’t know how much fruit you’ll need.

Student Recipes – Cheap, Easy and Fun recipes submitted by users.

Craft/Sewing

Baby Burb Cloth Tutorial at Make and Takes – Need something quick and easy to take to a baby shower?

Sewing Techniques at I Sew – A couple of good tutorials for sewing techniques.

String Quilt Block Tutorial at Craft Blog – I always wondered how to do this.

Easy Tote Bag at Craft and Fabric Links – I still have to try this one.

Fashion/Beauty

Pin-Up Clothing – An online store for pin-up, 50′s/60′s and rockabilly style clothes. I want pretty much everything.

Top 10 Fashion Mistakes at Mom Grind – Warning, the accompanying pictures may scar you for life.

Misc.

Keeping Pet Costs Down at Money Central.

Do Green Cleaning Products Really Work? at Miss Britt – A hilarious photo essay on experimenting with green dish soap. (Spoiler – They do work)

Non-Toxic Cleaning Recipes at Creek Cottage – A pretty all-inclusive list of non-toxic cleaners you can make at home.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Recipes and Kitchen

Vegetable Lo Mei @ All Recipes – I would leave out the curry powder (seriously wtf?) but it’s a pretty good recipe for Americanized Take-Out food.

Crab Rangoon Recipe @ Blog Chef – Speaking of Americanized Chinese food, here’s another favorite recipe.

Watermelon Mint Ice Pops @ Eating Out Loud – I want one of these so bad right now.

Watermelon and Mint Ice Cubes @ Gastronomer’s Guide – These would be fantastic in lemonade or iced tea.

Freeze Happy – A blog about cooking and freezing in bulk. Great if you are feeding more than just yourself.

Onigiri Revisited @ Just Hungry – A quick way of forming Japanese stuffed rice balls (onigiri).

Open Source Food – A site full of creative commons licensed recipes.

101 Picnic Recipes @ The Guardian – If you’re sick of potato salad and hot dogs, here are some quick and easy recipes for more unusual picnic treats.

Crafts and Sewing

Credit Card Wallet Craftster Forums – A tutorial for a cute little wallet for all the plastic in your purse.

The Perfect Tea Towel @ Sew Take a Hike – A tea towel can make a great accent piece for a kitchen, and of course they’re useful on their own.

Tie Dye Tissue Paper @ Parent Hacks – A fun project for creating unique gift wrap.

My Secret Pocket – A wonderful sewing blog with lots of great advice on practical sewing projects.

Misc.

Etiquette in the Age of Social Media by Chris Brogan – Most of you will already follow these etiquette rules, but reading it wouldn’t hurt.
Sex Diaries of a Mom – Hilarious and truthful blog about sex and motherhood.

Goldfish in a Bag Soap @ Spoon Sisters – Awesome novelty soap that looks like a goldfish in a bag, like you’d take home from the pet store. I want one.

Poor Man’s Stained Glass @ Ready Made Magazine – An ingenious use of bubblewrap. I couldn’t do it because I’d pop it every time I went past.

Old Photos Of Japan – Exactly what the title says. The site does a great job of giving a bit of history and context with each photo.

20 Parts of Your Body You Don’t Need @ Amazing Posts – An interesting read. I didn’t know I had most of these in the first place.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Now that my big convention of the year is over, I can finally relax and do my own weekend reading.

Food and Recipes
Kung Pao Chicken – by Appetite for China – Mmmmmm….

Zuchini Ricotta Cheesecake – by 101 Cookbooks – My mind immediately goes to NYC dessert-style upon hearing cheesecake, but you can make savory ones as well.

Make Your Own Oreos – by Chocolate Bytes – Not really a frugal recipe, but it’s definitely an interesting read. You might reconsider eating Oreos after seeing what’s in them.

Tech and Internet
Open Source Irony – by Jemmatzan – Idiot writes letter back to company and proves he’s too incompetent for the job.

14 Easy Ways to Use the Internet to Get the Best Shopping Deals – by Buxr – Deals are good!

Crafts and Sewing
5 Minute Skirt – by Angry Chicken – This takes a little longer if you don’t have a serger, but the whole thing would probably take less than an hour if you knew what you were doing.

Candy Cane Bathsalts – by Lightening Online – Homemade Christmas present, anyone?

Pattern School – A great site if you’re trying to make a leotard, bathing suit or other project involving stretchy fabric.

Misc.

Run, Goomba, Run! – by Cacti – Children of the 80′s will get this short little flash animation.

Man Almost Loses Penis Humping Steel Bench – by Weird Asia News – I really don’t have anything to add that’s not already said.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Food and Kitchen

The Perfect Omelet by Pineapple Girl – How to not end up with a burned mess in the pan.

Vegetarian Recipes by The Australian School of Meditation and Yoga – A collection of easy, tasty vegetarian recipes.

Asparagus and Garlic Pasta by The Good Mood Food Blog – Another quick and tasty meal.

Chocolate Mint Brownies by Scrumptious Photography – These look so good.

Buttermilk Biscuits at Southern Plate – If you ever want me to do something for you, feed me a big plate of these with some nice sliced ham before you ask.

Other

Plastic Bag Origami by Cafe Munchkin – How to fold plastic bags so you can store them without taking over half of your pantry.

Subway Says Get Off Your Phone at The Consumerist – A Subway franchise tells its customers to get off their cellphone or they will be served after everyone else.

Frugal Things To Do in DC at Milk Your Money – If you’re heading down my way, here are some great things to do in the US capitol.

Shampoo Free at BabySlime – A very informative article on going shampoo free.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Not too much this week, since I didn’t get back from New York until Tuesday.

Kitchen and Recipes

How Cheap Can I Eat by Pimp That Snack – Not only is the regular site hilarious, this fellow is challenging himself to eat as cheaply as possible for the month of July.

Kung Pao Chicken by Blog Chef – A recipe for the Americanized Chinese food classic.

Home Life

Sewing Machine Troubleshooting by What the Craft – Sewing machines can be persnickety. Here’s a guide to the basics of troubleshooting a recalcitrant machine.

DIY Vinyl Wall Clings by Instructables – If you’re in an apartment and can’t paint the beige walls, vinyl clings are an option. Instead of buying the expensive ones, you can make your own fairly inexpensively with contact paper.

Clearing DVD Clutter by Apartment Therapy – How to get that mess of DVDs, CDs, etc. organized.

Tech and Internet

Why I’m not Panicking by the Simple Dollar – Don’t listen to the media telling you to freak out about the economy. Caution and moderation are good, freaking out is not.

Bug Me Not – A program to bypass the log-in on sites if you don’t feel like signing up for a ‘free account’ just to read a news article.

Other

First Female 4-Star General Nominee – Lieutenant General Ann E. Dunwoody is on her way. Congratulations!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Short and sweet this week, because I’m driving up to New York.

Food

Barbecued Chicken Panini by Panini Happy – Everything from Panini Happy looks incredible. I love sandwiches of any sort.

Jack Daniel’s Tipsy Cake by Recipezaar – Mmmmmm… just make sure not to feed this to the kiddies as not all the alcohol evaporates when you cook. Aside from which, they probably won’t appreciate the flavors as much.

Tech

Thsrs by Ironic Sans – A thesaurus designed to help Twitter addicts find shorter synonyms.

Beauty + Fashion

1940′s Style Hair Rolls In Under 5 Minutes – I have such a love affair with pin-up style hair and makeup. While it will take a newbie more than 5 minutes to do this kind of style, it looks pretty quick to do if you’ve got practice.

Amy Winehouse Style Bouffant – Another quickie. Don’t worry, you won’t end up looking like a coked-up blues singer, this is a much more subdued version.

Popularity: unranked [?]

I’m a little late this week because we were off visiting Mr.’s family.

Food and Kitchen

Asian Inspiration by Thinking About Food – Very delicious looking inspiration for an asian style soup.

8 Ways To Flavor Water by Smart Spending – I need to drink more water and these are some interesting ideas to add a little pizazz to plain water.

DIY Gummi Bears by Frugal Mania – I have an addiction to gummi bears. I shouldn’t make them at home or I’m going to have to buy a new wardrobe to fit my fat butt into.

The Cupcake Project – Need I say more?

German Potato Salad by How to Cook Like Your Grandmother – I have to admit, I still like the mayonnaise drenched kind better, but I’d never refuse a plate of German potato salad.

Homemade Popsicles by Budget 101 – I’m not sure these are really all that much cheaper than the store bought kind, but they still look good.

Mojito Pops by Erin Cooks – Popsicles for the adults.

Sewing and Crafts

Bottle Beauty by Martha Stewards – I’ll be honest. Secretly, I want to BE Martha. This is a tutorial for applying enamel to bottles to create unique vases.

Hoodie Tutorial by ThreadBanger – I don’t care if it’s not stylish, I will wear my favorite hoodie anywhere. It’s getting kinda ratty though, so I’ll have to make a new one soon.

Finance/Money

Financial Planning for Twenty Somethings by USNews.

Price of Food 2007 vs 2008 by CattleNetwork – A very interesting comparison. I was quite surprised by some of the things that shot up in price.

7 Money Saving Sites Every Bargain Hunter Should Know About by Womopo.

Popularity: unranked [?]

It occurs to me that weekend reading should be on Saturdays so you’ll get a chance to actually read it during the weekend. It also occurs to me that I must have been hungry this week since most of these are food related.

Food/Kitchen

Guide to Wrapping and Pan Frying Dumplings by Appetite for China – These look so good I can almost taste them. These would be fabulous at a cocktail party as they’re pretty hearty yet small and easily eaten.

Chocolate Dipped Tuxedo/Wedding Dress Strawberries by My Sweet and Saucy – So cute and great for a bridal shower or wedding favors.

Super Mario Mushroom Cookies by Snack or Die – As a geek, I feel obligated to make these at least once.

Sleepin’ In Omelette by Pioneer Woman Cooks – Everything that the Pioneer Woman cooks looks amazing, but I’m a sucker for breakfast casseroles. This would be great for a brunch.

Strawberry Freezer Jam by Make and Takes – I love homemade jam, but I’m afraid of all the equipment necessary to make it. Freezer jam is pretty easy and tasty. Look around farmer’s markets for good deals on strawberries.

Green Vegetarian Diet and Lifestyle. – While I may not necessarily agree with all their ideas, this is a great site for healthy vegetarian recipes for people looking to cut down the amount of meat in their diet (and budget.)

No Bake Strawberry Cream Pie by Domino – Easy, quick and elegant. This makes me want to host a tea party.

15 Tips for Leftovers by TipNut – Some fairly uncommon tips for dealing with leftovers. The frozen grapes are especially nice on a hot day and healthier than a big bowl of ice cream.

Crafting/Sewing

Recess Zipper, How To by My Spare Time – I LOVE making tote bags and purses (and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying them.) Here’s a great tutorial on how to put in a recessed zipper.

College Care Package From Extra Samples by Handprints on the Wall – I usually skip these posts because I don’t like the whole working over CVS/Walgreens thing, but this is a really good idea. You could also throw in make-up samples you would never use, a paperback you’re done reading or some tips on how you survived college.

50 Freeware Money Management Tools by Smart Credit Shopper – I’m not a fan of the rest of the site, but this is a very useful list if you don’t want to spend money on budgeting tools.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we? [/Cranberries]

So while I relax and recharge, here’s what I’ve StumbledUpon in the past week.

Tech
How to Dry Your Cellphone from Popular Mechanics. Very handy if you are clumsy like me.

Food
How I Halved My Food Bill. A few good recipes for cheap and filling meals.

Egg Drop Soup from BlogChef. I love Egg Drop Soup, so I was practically drooling while I read this. I would use fresh ginger and a little garlic, but to each their own.

How To Make A Cosmopolitan from How To:Tips and Tricks. I’ve never even watched an episode of Sex and the City, so I had no idea there was a new fad for Cosmos. I just knew they are damn tast.

Spiced Pineapple Drinnk from Laylita. If you’ve cut up a pineapple for Fruit Salad or otherwise, this is a great way to use the core and trimmings. Frugal AND tasty.

House and Home

The Ultimate Guide to Buying Cheap Wine. How to buy grocery store wine that’s affordable but still drinkable. Yes, it’s possible to have both.

Glass Flip Flops from the Crochet Dude. No, not glass flip flops for your feet. Flip Flop style coasters for your wineglasses. The thong holds them on so they travel with the glass.

Nighty Night Pattern from the Sewing Garden. A commercial pattern for a cute babydoll style nighty or shorts and camisole set. Really cute and on my splurge list.

Other

Excuses To Be A Jerk. An incredible and thoughtful blog post by an autistic woman (Amanda) on the outward behavior of autistic persons. She covers the attitudes of people coming into contact with autistic persons (“You are not autistic/AS, you are just using that as an excuse for poor social skills or an excuse to be a jerk.”) as well as cues for realizing you may be dealing with an autistic writer. This is a great eye opener, especially if you do or plan to interact with people in comment threads, message boards, and other social aspects of the internet.

Popularity: unranked [?]