More Seattle Frugality -- "Twin Peaks" Style!
My husband and I had our last full day in Seattle, which was the perfect opportunity to get out of town. Specifically to nerd out on Twin Peaks!
And yes, I curated my own Twin Peaks mood music while watching the water cascade over Snoqualmie Falls. Very David Lynchian.
We even went into the lodge, but you know . . . to use the bathroom.
Poor Laura Palmer!
We then drove back into town and chose a restaurant we'd been wanting to try. Market House Meats has been in business since 1948 and with good reason, as their reuben proved to be the "best damn" sandwich. (Twins Peaks reference!) This is in a world where I almost always order the reuben if it's on the menu!
The $23.99 sandwich comes with potato salad, pickle, horseradish and a cookie, although we had them split the order. As you can see, there was more than enough for the two of us. We will be returning on future trips!
Perfection!
In case you were concerned about my food choices, this was my dinner. A Polish dog with onions, sauerkraut, mustard and pickles. I loaded up the sauerkraut as I know that fermented vegetables are peak healthy. It was only six bucks outside the baseball stadium.
Last year we had a pricey, yet mediocre meal before watching the Mariner's vs. Yankees game and I vowed to do better this time. After all, my New Year's Resolution for 2026 is to hold myself to a slightly higher standard, which includes not repeating mistakes. They wouldn't let me take my refillable water bottle into the stadium in 2025, so 2026 Katy bit the bullet and bought a $1 bottle of water from an outside vendor.
Which I'm bringing back to Oregon for the 10¢ bottle deposit!
What am I, a Rockefeller?!
My husband bought our baseball tickets through a website that gives a 35% for first responders, which brought the price down to a slightly reasonable amount. I'm not a sports fan, so the only photo I got of the game were these two characters from the One-Piece anime show. Because last night was apparently One-Piece night!
You'll be happy/disinterested to know that my hotel breakfast was better than yesterday's lunch and dinner choices. I really like that they have a topping buffet for their oatmeal. I'm inspired to pick up some nuts and dried fruit from the Winco bulk bins to create similar options for my upcoming houseguests.
Which is just another example of how I'm "holding myself to a higher standard" in 2026.
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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Your hotel breakfast looks great! We have been topping overnight oats with crumbs from bags of nuts and sad ish berries. It’s a great add!
1. Picked up stickers and temp tattoos in our BN group to fill Easter eggs with for an egg hunt this weekend. Easter eggs are reused from previous years
2. Picked up a window AC unit from our BN group as well. Our toddlers room gets southern Colorado sun all day , and is very difficult to cool down. Really hopeful this helps!
3. Found our dogs favorite cookie treats on clearance at Marshall’s, so bought a few bags. Much cheaper than I can find anywhere else. I also found pimple patches on clearance that were much cheaper than the name brand ones. I don’t wear makeup often these days so I like to make blemishes disappear asap.
4. I am not a big Walmart fan, but I have struggled to find shorts for my toddler second hand. I found a pack of 3 organic cotton shorts at Walmart for less than 6 dollars. I bought in 2 sizes and some for my nephews. Other than some closed toed sandals, we are pretty set for summer gear!
5. Used our 80 cents off a gallon before it expired yesterday. Still had to pay over 3 dollars a gallon. Am stressed about what other rising prices could come.
What a fun trip. We came into money today a $7 refund from my husband's insurance company where we overpaid on a prescription.
“Damn fine cup of coffee!”
I lived in Seattle long, long ago to go to U of W. Enjoying your photos and people's suggestions of what to do.
1. My biggest frugal move has been slogging through doing our taxes myself - a slog because the software seems clunky this year. It is much cheaper than hiring someone to do it though.
2. Paying additional tax owed and estimated tax online - only saves 2 stamps but it's something.
3. We finally used a Christmas gift certificate to a wine/beer store to buy some beer my Hubby knows he likes. Our cost was only the $1.06 over the gift amount.
4. Hubby forgot to cancel a subscription that saved money on a purchase last year. When the automatic renewal charge showed up he called and got a refund.
5. I'm not proposing further cutting Federal health care support to pay for weapons to destroy a country.
I would have brought nuts etc back to the room.for snacking and to.mix in yogurt
You're singing my song! I LOVE Twin Peaks AND Reubens!
I went to the walk-in ortho clinic this morning to find -- surprise! -- I had inadvertently made a real appointment. I guess that was good as there was no wait, but I hope it doesn't affect my insurance coverage. I saw the shoulder doc, and I learned that I just need pain meds and PT and time. No surgery.
I made another real appointment for next week with the hip doc, who replaced my right hip about 8 years ago. I hope he doesn't want to do it again.
Afterwards I went immediately to get my prescription filled, but I was too fast; it wasn't there yet. And I had to pay for parking, too!
The frugal news in all this is that I resisted getting lunch out, just drove home and made avocado toast. And I didn't pay anything out of pocket. Not yet.
Tomorrow I will fill the prescription, get a few groceries, and mail a package, because ta-da! I made another eBay sale! I made three more listings this afternoon, and now I will have to actively look for stuff to sell if I want to continue.
And under the category of tiny things, I rescued a paper bag, ran the dishwasher after 9 pm, and found two more receipts.