Five Frugal Things in Albuquerque
1. My husband and I spent $12 apiece to go to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, (their prices are lower for state residents, seniors, students and teachers.) deliberately choosing Saturday to catch their weekly dance performance. The North South Tewa Dancers performed two long numbers, accompanied by their father and grandfather on drums.
Beautiful skilled dancers, it was an honor to watch them perform.
I also splurged on a 51¢ flattened penny after touring the museum.
2. Our hotel room offers $5 bottles of water, but I'll ignore their existence as there's handy free ice water dispensers in the lobby. Perfect opportunity to show off my "Women Support Women" sticker from Women's Personal Finance.
Remember when I thrifted this water bottle at the Goodwill bins?
3. My husband and I took advantge of the perfect 64 degree weather and ventured across town to hike the Petroglyph National Monument area, which was gloriously free. (Although I would've happily paid for the experience.) These ancient carved figures and symbols date from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1700.
It was Super Bowl Sunday and few other people out. It pays to not care about sport ball.
4. It was still early enough in the day, so my husband and I enjoyed a picnic lunch next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque's Bosque park. The hotel offers free apples in the lobby, so you know they're featured prominently in our daily meals. I do take them up to the room to give them a thorough wash.
5. We also ventured over to the town of Corrales, right outside Albuquerque, as my husband and briefly lived there while students at the University of New Mexico. To say that it's changed since 1994 would be an understatement, as what used to be empty roads along the route are now crowded with large chain stores.
We did pass by an independent thrift shop and pulled the car over, which was perfect timing as they were "closing in six minutes!"
It was kismet, as a couple of my white cotton pillow cases are fraying most annoyingly. Yes, I've been mending them, but had put a note in my brain to keep an eye out for extras. This pair of pillowcases set me back two entire dollars and were 100% cotton and seemed to be high quality.
I'll start to refer to these as my "New Mexico souvenirs."
5. You can't visit Albuquerque as a UNM alum without stopping into the Frontier restaurant. We split one of their classic Frontier burritos and it was more than enough food for the two of us. Sadly, we didn't have room for one of their famous cinnamon rolls.
They used to be open 24 hours per day, but noticed that they now close a midnight. This used to be the perfect spot to hit after the bars closed! Not exactly the lifestyle I currently enjoy.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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Love reading about your travel adventures!!!!!!! Got to leave for work so I will catch up with you later.
A few corrections are in order. Corrales is not a "town". It's a Village of just a very few thousand people. More animals than people. "Corrales" is Spanish for corrals or pens or enclosures. The Village has hundreds of horses, llamas, donkeys, cows, goats, and the occasional water buffalo. You must have missed the signs saying "Drive slow, see our Village. Drive fast, see our Judge." Don't drive 18 mph in the 15 mph zones. And there are no "chain stores" or "chain restaurants" (unless you're referring to the (very) occasional gas station. There are only two (2) of those. Secondhand Treasures is one of dozens of locally owner galleries, stores, restaurants, bistros and bars. The Village Mercantile is not a chain store. It's not even a people store. It's a livestock and animal feed and supply store. The San Isidro Church was erected in 1868 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Village lies along the Rio Grande and has wonderful walking and hiking trails. Just watch out for the horse manure.
Sounds like a lovely trip! Did you plan to go this weekend to beat the crowds or was it just a happy coincidence?
1. I finished an audio book on Libby that I really enjoyed and gave put in holds for 2 additional books.
2. I did some math and figured that if I keep up on my Microsoft Bing points I can cash out a $25 Kroger gift card about every 5-6 weeks and that'll make up the bulk of our toiletries and household budget while my husband is looking for work.
3. My husband used my recipe to make a few loaves of French bread yesterday! He's had a run of problems when trying to make bread previously so it was a huge win. He also found a way to adapt my hand-kneaded recipe to the mixer with a dough hook!
4. We neither attended nor cared about the sports ball game so no added expense for an already bloated industry.
5. While getting a few items at the store, my oldest was pointing out things like "CHEESE!! We already have cheese at home, so we don't need that." and "oh chocolate! We have those, we don't need that." We did have a little disappointment that we weren't taking home any princess or mermaid dolls, we apparently *don't* have enough of those at home, but since they weren't on our list she seemed satisfied to take a picture and move along.
Hello from a fellow former Albuquerque resident! I lived there from 1993-98 so we overlapped. The thing I miss the most of NM is the great local NM food.
Oh, that looks like a really lovely trip and the pillowcases are an awesome souvenir.
I had intended to stay out of the grocery store for another week, but coffee went on sale so I pounced on the deal and saved $5 off the non-sale price. Also snagged a pork roast marked down.
Turned a can of tuna into three very nice tuna burgers with the addition of an egg, a slice of bread pinched into bread crumbs, dried onion, a little grated cheese and a pinch of garlic and ginger. Made a big pot of hamburger-veggie soup that used up the last of a long-frozen bag of chopped celery. Had an onion that was looking unhappy, so it was cleaned up and chopped for the freezer.
Gave both my dogs a bath today, as the weather is warmer. Been trying every trick in the stain removal book to salvage one of my son's t-shirts.
Love the pillowcases as travel souvenirs!
Getting our money's worth from inexpensive or free streaming services:
1. Activated free two-year Peacock subscription from our Internet provider so that husband could watch the Super Bowl and I could cheer on Bad Bunny's half-time show.
2. Watched "Miracle: The Boys of '80" on Netflix. Extra special for my husband since he played hockey with or against some of those team members.
3. Watched documentary on Apollo 11 on Netflix.
4. Watched "Inside the Mind of a Dog" on Netflix.
5. Watched "Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan" on Netflix which showcased his legacy of booking Black performers. I still remember when my favorite female group The Supremes were on.
1. I spent 30 dollars at the GW outlet my last trip. It wasn’t a great trip, but should still be able to make some cash. I also got a brand new pack of diapers , an expensive tee shirt for my husband and two monster truck toys that my toddler is enamored with. I also got a cute gap outfit and Hanna Andersson pajamas for a friends daughter. They are going through a hard time and this was an inexpensive way to spread some cheer/gift something they needed.
2. Reheated the leftover piece of a Dutch baby for my toddler for breakfast. I was pretty shocked when he ate it! I usually find eggs on clearance so these are a frequent weekend breakfast for us.
3. Very stressed about surgery next week for a myriad of reasons, so I’m taking it out on pinching pennies and guzzling water all day everyday.
4. Cut up another fleece receiving blanket to make some tissues for my toddler. Better for his nose, our budget, and the environment.
5. Put some library books on hold that hopefully will become available while I’m recovering.