Five Frugal Things -- Sushi Bowls & Cheap Wine
1) The above ad for Powell's Books came across my feed, so I tapped the link for fresh reading ideas. I probably put five of their books recommendations on hold at the library, which'll start to trickle in over the next few months. As long as I regularly put random books on hold, I always have something to read.
By the way, Emma Straub's This Time Tomorrow is one of my favorite books, so her new book was the first to put on hold!
2) I dropped a check at the credit union and helped myself to a couple of hard candies from a bowl.
3) I started reading a library copy of Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore, which took a few chapters to take hold, but is now under my skin.
4) I assembled a yummy sushi bowl-ish lunch, which used up a bag of "crab" and leftover rice. The green at the back of the bowl is wasabi, which gave this meal a a zesty kick.
Perfect hearty lunch that'll keep me sated until dinner.
5) My sister bought some random five buck wine to bring to a neighbor's game night, but it turned out to be a big hit. She later learned that her neighbors went to her liquor store with the specific purpose of buying up the rest of their stock.
Everyone involved thinks this is hilarious and now I want to meet her neighbors.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
1. I made another pot of lentil soup. It used up part of a can of crushed tomatoes, the dregs of a jar of marinara sauce, and some quinoa. It is being stored in glass jars that originally held sunflower butter.
2. It's hot and we've been waking up early so have walked before sunrise. Yesterday was trash day and we brought home a couple of weighted hula hoops . We were not sure what they were but they didn't look like they should go in the landfill (thank you Google images). They are in very good shape though the premise, that they help you get fit and lose weight, I find questionable. If we won't use them I will give them away.
3. I had my annual physical, with blood work, on Tuesday. Everything is fine. I had my annual mammogram yesterday and everything is fine. Keeping on top of health can be frugal.
4. I have been listening to digital audio books borrowed from the library. I am currently listening to Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg. So far I am enjoying it. I am reading Yin, Yang, Yogini which I borrowed from a Little Free Library.
5. I bought a Zift Zillions gift card at the grocery store. The promotion provided 8 reward points for every dollar spent. The card can be redeemed for some useful gift cards. I also found $.35 in the Coin Star, a very rare occurrance these days.
I find that no matter how I space out the holds, they all come in at once!
There is a book on hold for me right now, but I did not leave my condo today, except for a brief walk to pick up a package, and then I went around to the basement to retrieve my pedestal fan from my storage closet. It's been hot the last few days, but now that I'm armed and ready with my fan, a cold front is moving in. We are under a tornado watch until 11 pm. The trees are starting to sway right now, but I'm not hearing any sirens. I'm definitely keeping watch.
I had chicken broth to freeze today, but didn't want to freeze a large chunk, so I froze cubes. I have since bagged them, and now I'm ready to make homemade soup one bowl at a time.
I received the furniture risers I bought from an eBay seller, and they look just right. I won't know for sure until my son comes to help, however. I can't tip a refrigerator by myself. (The plan is to level the fridge by using two risers in front).
No real frugalities today, except that by staying home, I'm spending nothing. I'm enjoying my library book, The Astral Library, by Kate Quinn.
1. Redeemed points for a free medium pizza at Domino's.
2. Using up the bag of Dr Elsey's cat litter left behind after DD2 and her husband visited with their two kitties. They didn't want to schlep the remaining litter back home and my kitty isn't fussy about her litter box "dirt".
3. Redeemed Fetch points for a $50 gift card. DH wants a specialty HBA item and this will more than cover the cost.
4. Checking the Coin Star at the grocery store netted $2.01 So yes, I came into money!
5. Cleaning out the freezer and using up various cuts of meat (most purchased at from the discount bin at 50% off).
I actually have 5 things to share today!
1. Scheduled a small grocery delivery for early this morning. Technically frugal because delivery is free over $30 & within 5 miles of the store AND it prevents me from picking up a ton of random impulse buys. (It also meant tht I *had* to get up & dressed, which keeps me from sleeping all day)
2. Chose 5 new recipes from my collection to try this weekend/next week. I had most of the ingredients for them already, so the missing items were part of my grocery order. (Did this at 2 a.m. which kinda makes it today) Happily, several of them had a missing ingredient in common and that meant I'll use it up with no waste.
3. Had to run a string of errands and plotted my route to make a loop instead of darting around.
4. Resisted the urge to stop and grab a quick bite while I was out. Came home & made a tuna sandwich and ate it with some grapes. Have enough tuna left for lunch tomorrow.
5. The odd layout of my apartment complex means that I have natural light most of the day but am not in full sunlight. I'm on the bottom floor and only need to run the ceiling fan to keep cool. It hit 90 here today & my goal is to NOT run the a/c for as long as I can!
Your last comment about the "cheap" wine your sister brought to a party brought to mind a Facebook post on our neighborhood page. The neighbor said that he and his wife had purchased a case of wine that they thought was very good when they did a tasting at a local winery. They had finally decided to just give the rest of the case, eight bottles, away since they thought the wine was terrible. He even said that he wondered if the winery might have switched bottles because he couldn't believe that it was the same wine they had enjoyed at the tasting. One neighbor offered to take all eight bottles, another said that she would take two and I offered to take two. The wine owner split it up between the three of us, 4,2, and 2. Personally I was really curious so opened mine up that night and had my daughter and her husband, both red wine drinkers, taste it with me. We all agreed that it was a delightful, full bodies red with a hint of smoke. There are a lot of possibilities as to why it tasted different to the neighbor offering to gift them to others, but it's also true that wine tasting can be a very individual experience.
This morning I went to the expensive grocery store and bought a $1.99 box of Rit laundry whitener to revive my non-cotton underclothes and socks, which pick up a dingy gray color over time. It smells like old timey perm solution but works great.
The hardware store gave me a $15 coupon and a couple of other small discounts on stuff for the garden. When I planted the tomatoes, peppers, basil and thyme today, I used my dad's trick of shading the baby plants with leafy twigs clipped from privet and other trash shrubs so that they aren't damaged by the sun.
Went to silent book club today, which is a fun, free activity for introverts and includes tea and snacks provided by the library. Bought a complete outfit at the homeless initiative thrift store for $8 earlier this week.
1. I went for my morning walk. Today I found an unused zip tie, 2 hair scrunchies, a dime and a Jansport backpack. It was garbage day and the backpack was layed on top for people to see. Nothing is wrong with it. The scrunchies and backpack are in my washing machine waiting for the next load.
2. I got a pair of Adidas marked down to $18. They were originally $80.
3. Hubby is keeping some of the wood from our old deck for future projects.
4. We are going on a cruise soon. We have been trying on our summer clothes to make sure we are good. Most of mine are from thrift stores or my sisters. Dresses for dinner are not a problem. My sister gives me so many dresses. I have my good flats from my daughters wedding last year. The one thing I did buy is a UV swim shirt. I have a lot of family members that have had skin cancer. The $30 is worth it to me. Everyone should get a full body check from a dermatologist.
5. We had leftovers for lunch and dinner. Hubby was still hungry so he made a hot dog.