Five More Frugal Things
by Katy on November 15, 2024 · 51 comments
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I’ve scheduled a free haircut through the Supercuts training center for next week, which is good as my hair has reached the length where it snakes around my throat while I sleep. I love this frugal hack as I get to do something semi-indulgent for myself without the guilt of overspending. (The average price for a woman’s haircut is between $45- $75, if not more for hip urban salons!) The stylists aren’t students, but are instead fully licensed professionals, so there’s no worry about being on the receiving end of a wonky haircut. I’ve been enjoying their services for at least six years and have been 100% happy with each and every experience.
You can check if free Supercuts salon services are available in your area by just calling around, which is how I got on the Portland area’s email list.
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I checked out a fresh stack of library books when I took my mother to sign up for a library card. My library is closed for construction, so I haven’t been able to browse the stacks for at least a month. I won’t necessarily read every book, but it’s nice to have choices to match whatever mood I happen to be in.
I accidentally checked out a “Lucky Day” book that I already had at home, which I guess shows that my taste in reading is consistent.
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I perused the clearance rack on my recent trip to Winco Foods and scored a big $1.28 jar of Plochman’s Stone Ground Mustard, which was a great deal as it would’ve cost $8.39 had I ordered it from Amazon. I’m unlikely to score 10¢ bags of chocolate chips ever again, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be checking that shelf with each and every trip!
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• I used up the last of a bag of mediocre store brand shredded cheese in some grits. It was about to go bad and I’ll make a mental note not to buy it in the future, even if it is on sale.
• I binge watched the TV show Somebody Somewhere through my parents’ HBO account. (So good!) It’s fun to have a new streaming service to flick through.
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I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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After a month in which there was unexpected travel to help family, a week of sickness for both me and my husband (with some overlap) two groups of visitors, pet medical problems, two leaks at our water meter, two engine lights that came on, a craft show, and medical appointments for both of us, I feel like I can finally try to think of something frugal.
1. I found two dimes and a penny in separate incidents.
2. I wanted to use up a lot of milk that was about to go bad. I made butterscotch pudding. It was too sweet but that recipe has a lot of potential. I will adjust and make it again.
3. I paid the plumber for repairing the water leak on our side of the meter. Then I received an invoice for more than the amount I had paid. I didn’t know if I still owed the difference, or if the new bill was an additional amount . I questioned it and received a very nice email saying that the second invoice was a mistake and that my account was paid in full.
4. I had a very successful craft show- the only one I am doing this year. I hardly had anything left.
5. I picked up two books from a free pile and added them to a little free library for others to enjoy.
5.
1. I made chocolate chip cookies and froze half of the dough for later.
2. My youngest daughter and I spent several enjoyable hours putting together a large puzzle she had gotten for Christmas a couple years ago.
3. I just finished one library book on my kindle and downloaded another. I’m going to read Horse which I know a few of you have read already.
4. I purchased several Bath & Body Works purse size hand sanitizers at an estate sale. I’ll put some in each of my daughter’s stockings this Christmas. I also bought myself a small tube of hand cream for my purse. All of it was unused.
5. My daughter used the last of the leftover rice in the fridge to make herself omurice for lunch. We ate leftover soup and grilled cheese for dinner.
Jill A,
I read Horse via my Libby app – actually, I couldn’t finish it in time, so finished it via audiobook – it’s SO GOOD. You’re in for a treat.
I loved Horse but especially the end. Yes, it was about a horse but really about racism.
I loved Horse, which I borrowed from the library. I loved it so much that I recently bought a barely used copy for $1 at a church sale. I will reread it and pass it along.
1. My hair doesn’t snake around my neck trying to strangle me as I sleep. Mine gets to a certain length and some of the strands start standing straight up. They should be too long to do that, but they manage. So, the husband cut my hair this week.
2. Since we had the equipment out, I cut the husband’s hair.
3. Husband went to a potluck and brought home Reece’s brownies. I have made them before so I knew they were made by the devil. Even putting them on the back porch didn’t help; it was 21 below zero and still went out there to fetch more of them. I am not a cookie or pie fan, but pound cake and brownies cause me to lose all sense of proportion. At least they were free, so the calories were frugal.
4. My best grocery store parking lot finds are in the winter. I think people get so cold they just want to get in their cars, and they don’t look around. This past week I found a 1-pound sleeve of Jimmy Dean’s sage pork sausage rolling around on the ground near the cart return. Frozen but not a mark on the packaging. I brought it home and inspected it one more time. Perfect, so it will be part of our Thanksgiving sausage stuffing.
5. Several years ago, I found a gift card for a vehicle detailing business. We are finally going to use it to detail the car we are selling; it needs work but is still low enough mileage that even with that it is an attractive deal at the price we are asking. Because we have dogs, it is $225 for the job. Our garage is not large enough for us to do the job ourselves and we certainly can’t do it outside at below freezing temps. And I don’t think we would do as good a job. I have patted myself on the back several time for being so organized that I could immediately locate the card even though it has been several years. The card had $205 on it, so I paid the remaining $20 and the tip out of pocket.
6. Sold another book and mailed it using a USPS mystery shop so the selling price, minus the eBay commission, was all profit.
Lindsey, I can’t believe it’s below zero already for you. Also I love your free finds and all your mystery shops.
1. I reached out to Ibotta help desk because I didn’t get 2 bonuses totaling $4. I now have the money in my account. Trying to get to a $50 gift card before Christmas for Hubby. I’m at $43 right now.
2. Down loaded Stop & Shop digital coupons. There was a free coupon for a can of tomato paste that I will pick up next week.
3. Ordered more gifts through my library’s teck department.
4. Took leftovers with me for lunch to my client’s house. She gave me a piece of an amazing crumb cake that I happily enjoyed. She will eat if I eat so I make sure to eat with her everyday.
5. Hubby had leftovers for lunch too. He had coffee and a bagel at work for breakfast. He had a can of soda from work in the afternoon with a granola bar. All of it is free at his job. RSVPed to his work Christmas party. It’s at a nice restuarant. I’m excited. We rarely eat out.
1. Paypal has some new promotion. I got $5.00 for using it 3 times. I transferred the money to my bank account.
2. I returned a pair of jeans I bought from Nordstrom’s. I do try to at least give a nod to staying relevant. baggy, wide leg jeans are in. neither the pair I ordered nor the four I tried on at the store are going to work for my body. I have two at home that are close enough. The style is so new it won’t show up in consignments for awhile. That is ok. I saved a total of $75 after i treated myself to a sandwich and see’s candy ( with one free sample.)
3. It has been a LONG time since I have been to a mall. I went into Pottery Barn and took pictures of the ornaments I think I can make myself.
4. While at Pottery Barn I noticed how far Faux Flowers have come. Wow!! I will now keep an eye out for the store’s brand of flowers. The renovation River House is at least a year away. I have time to find bargains.
5. I made brownies from condensed milk that was going bad, bargain Kerry Gold Butter, and the last of my flour. I expect some bargains on flour will come during this season.
Speaking of “PayPal”, got a scam text the other day. An oddball number that was close but not quite $500 used to buy BitCoin. Uh, yeah not and I forwarded it to paypal’s phishing email address.
1. Found meter parking instead of having to spend over $25 for a parking garage.
2. I was offered and accepted a 3rd class for the spring semester.
3. Friends are coming over for dinner tomorrow night. I have most ingredients on hand.
4. Brought dinner in the car instead of going through the drive thru.
5. The usual-coffee and water from home, shopping loss leaders and hanging laundry.
10 cent chips would be amazing!
1. Created a spice organizer in a kitchen drawer by repurposing a utensil organizer.
2. Refilled four spice jars from the bulk bins at a natural foods co-op for just $3.50.
3. Took an old laptop and phone to our county’s free electronics recycling organization.
4. Cut little florets from a head of cauliflower and stored them in leftover pickle brine.
5. Looking into the newish no-salt water softeners. We need to replace ours anyway, and it would be nice to not have to buy salt pellets, especially in our later years. Anyone have any experience with this type of water softener?
1. I too checked out a library book – but I didn’t check out 2 of the same one lol
2. I got a spatula out and scraped the remains of 2 peanut butter containers and added it all to my oatmeal this morning.
3. Opting out of paying to wear jeans to work next week. Sometimes I will pay if it is for a cause I really care about – like a student’s family had a house fire or something – but this is not. I would rather keep my money thank you!
4. I planted my garlic for the year. $5 spent for what will hopefully be 20 or so heads of garlic.
5. It was the chili cook off at work so I got a free lunch out of it.
OMG! I am assuming you are a teacher? They make you pay to wear jeans? what state is that because in California, teachers often dress disgracefully – jogging shorts and ripped t shirts. Still there needs to be a middle ground somewhere. ( Just retired from 35 years of teaching.)
@Mary Ann, would you be shocked to read that I often teach in my pajamas? Don’t worry, I only teach online classes! 😉
I am not a teacher, but I work with special-needs kids in the school. And yes, there is a dress code for teachers at least a loose one. You’re typically not supposed to wear jeans except on designated days. They use these pay to wear jeans all week things as fundraisers.
If you save some of your garlic year after year to plant, it starts to be in sync with your soil and grow better. Plus, you don’t have to but seed garlic.
Buy not but. Love autocorrect.
1. My buddy dropped in on her way to visit the firewood gifters, so I pleaded with her and she asked if I could come get another load. YES! So I followed her there and filled the bed of my pickup, again, with free dry split firewood. They kindly indicated that i could come back and my buddy reiterated that today when she texted me. WOW.
2. Thinking of the firewood debt, I put my instant pot to work. First, I cooked some bone-in chicken breasts bought on half-off, that had been languishing in the freezer. SO easy, I just sprinkled them, still frozen, with a mexican style mix that I have made up in quantity, placed them on a trivet, poured in about a cup of water, and set the time for about 37 min – they were BIG breasts and frozen in two chunks of two, so I knew it would require a longer cook. Came out perfect.
3. Once the Chicken came out, I put a lid on that IP sleeve, and used my second sleeve that I had already packed with two big halves of a lovely blue squash. Again, having cooked these before, it was 3/4 cup of water, and about 37 min to cook – this squash is on the dense side.
4. Meanwhile, once the chicken had cooled enough, I pulled the flesh off the bones, the skin off the flesh, returned skin and bones to the IP pot, added the package of veggie ends that had been in the freezer, (including a lot of leek ends from the potato leek soup made earlier this week) plus a chopped carrot and some sad celery and the dregs of the broth in the fridge. Once the squash was cooked, it came out with the lid put on, the broth-fixin’s went in, and the IP set for about 1 1/2 hours.
5. The cooled squash was scooped out of the skin, and blended with my stick blender – because I need to make some Pumpkin loaves per the firewood debt! The puree is in the fridge.
6. Then I finally finished getting my quince processed. I had tried something new and, after a good scrub to remove the fuzz, I put them in a covered roasting pan and roasted them for ages in the oven. Quince are really hard and need to cook a long time to soften. They also change colour as they cook, from a bruised looking yellow to the most delicious deep rose red. However, cooking them whole left me with a challenge when it came to getting the cores out. My hand mill wasn’t cutting it, so I ended up fondling all of them and pulling out the cores by hand, then running through the mill. Tedious, but I had 16 cups of puree when done. So then added just under 16 cups of sugar, heated it up slowly and carefully on the stovetop to get the sugar and a bit of lemon + zest incorporated, then into pans and in to the oven to bake at 170 degrees for about 8 hours. I sure hope the recipients of the ‘membrillo’ know how much work and time it takes to make!
1) My son found out there was a new book out that he was interested in. I asked him if it was worth trading 2 hours of his life working at his job for it or if he’d like to get it from the library instead. He’s on the wait list for the book. If he likes it enough to read it repeatedly he can buy it later, but I think realistically he’ll only read it once or twice. Bonus in that if he doesn’t buy it we don’t have to store it.
2) We replaced a refrigerator a while ago that was unable to keep food at a safe temperature and finally got the old one out of the garage (should have done it a long time ago, colder weather and snow removal coming soon made us stop procrastinating). My husband is able to do many repairs, but not this one, and a pro repair would have cost as much as a new fridge and this was the second time this model fridge failed the same way (the previous one came with the house and we didn’t know the age), so we wouldn’t have trusted it. Because it still ran and cooled (even though it cooled insufficiently), we were able to get it picked up for free for recycling by our electricity provider and received a $50 rebate on it from them, too. If you’re in the US, many electricity and gas providers offer rebates that promote energy efficiency, on both appliances and home improvements like insulation and insulated windows.
3) A fast-food restaurant has a new seasonal peppermint shake which appeals to me and my son. The portion size has shrank and the price has grown in the last few years. My son and I agreed to try to make it at home instead. Will be picking up a gallon of on-sale ice cream tomorrow for the price of 2 small shakes.
4) I cut up some bell peppers that were mildly past their prime into strips and froze to use cooked. I’ve already used most of them.
5) My son and I enjoy going to a store with rummage bins that appear to mostly be returns and food past the best by date. Our big prize on the most recent trip was Toblerone chocolate only a few weeks past the best by date for over 90% off retail.
1. I listed a BUNCH of things on FB marketplace while I had to be home for the plumber to replace the water heater (not frugal, but it was broken and we have money saved). It was a great use of time.
2. I returned spray paint that did not spray well and got a refund on all 4 cans. It never hurts to ask! So my bookcase re-do ended up free.
3. Returned books and the library and picked up my holds. I am thankful our library doesn’t charge overdue fees. I also dropped off a pile of books to donate. Love 2 errands in one!
4. Received baby spider plants from Buy Nothing a month or so ago. Put them in clumps all in one pot to see what survived. They all did. I re-potted the clumps into separate pots, one for me, one for my husbands classroom, and 2 are potted ready to gift over the holidays.
5. Picked all of my basil and dried it in the microwave. It filled a half pint jar. That’s the 3rd batch. I am self sufficient for rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil and chives. These are all very easy too grow (basil probably the hardest, though still easy) and it does save me money. I dry the chives and use the vitamix to make chive powder which I add to many recipes.
1. I finished listening to Life’s Too Short and started The Cliffs.
2. I am doing my PT exercises twice a day instead of once a day in hopes of being done with it sooner. It is a $25 copay every time I go. I love the PT and she treats her patients herself (no techs).
3. I am wearing multiple layers around the house to keep the heat down (but not off). I put flannel sheets on the bed the other day. Next time I change the bed I’ll put the electric mattress pad on.
4. I’m snacking on oatmeal with dried fruit and popcorn that I pop in the microwave in a glass casserole with a lid. Healthy and cheap.
5. We are living a small life because we care about the planet.
Please let us know how the book was, Katy! I am always looking for suggestions for books to request through the library and this blog plus the comments are a great source 🙂
Some frugal things:
* Finally sold the PC that I got from my workplace when they upgraded to new PCs. It took a long time and I accepted a lower bid because I just wanted it gone, it was taking up too much space.
* Paying it forward: I donated some household items to a local charity shop.
* One of my teens needed a Christmas jumper and the other a blazer in a very specific colour (for a play). We were able to find a blazer in our local charity shop (5 Euro) by sheer luck. Teen was delighted, as they had a great selection of books and we ended up also buying 6 books for a Euro each. I never buy books myself but she likes to have a full bookshelf to look at :-). – Found a Christmas jumper on Facebook marketplace (3 Euro plus 6 Euro postage). It had a loose thread which I was able to repair.
* Teen brought home freebies from work again – after dinner mints, honey and coconut kefir, all very welcome and almost immediately devoured by the teens! He was also able to get us some staples with his staff discount.
* We are still able to harvest some rocket, chives, parsley and nettles from the garden. Not a huge amount but it’s great to be able to use fresh herbs, I always have a real craving for fresh greens in the winter months.
1. My weakness/addiction is book buying and I am staying AWAY from the local library’s huge book sale this weekend. AAARRRGGGHHH! But I already have way too many books, and need to get rid of a bunch as it is.
2. Signed up for more work shifts at the store during the school holiday Thanksgiving week. Having two jobs allows me to juggle them and still have income when school is out.
3. Frugal fail: the shrubs I transplanted died. All the leaves wilted. Left them up for Halloween, as it was a good spooky look. But I cut them off at the stems. If the roots regenerate (not much of a chance, but still…), they will come up where transplanted. For now, the wilted stalks are gone.
4. Our store set out its display of winter ski caps with built-in (but removable and rechargeable) LED lights. We usually sell out of these pronto. Last year, we re-ordered 3x and sold out each time. Our price this year is $12, which is $2 cheaper than the mail-order catalog, and usually $10 cheaper than Mardel’s. I needed one, so I bought it. (Sadly, it’s gone up in price: two years ago it was $8, and last year, $10, but that seems to be par for the course.)
5. Did not take a break at work and therefore didn’t buy anything to eat. I subbed at the high school, got off at 4 but it takes 20+ minutes to drive to my side of town. I had to go on duty at 5 so I packed a supper and ate in the car prior to my shift starting. At work, all I bought was a 19-cent bottle of water. Yes, you read that right: we sell bottled water as a loss leader. Oh, and the price for a case of this water — always under $3 for 24 bottles — just DROPPED by 60 cents. Our city water is tasting terrible due to extreme chlorination so I’m bringing home a case today. Glad I waited.
OMG! I am assuming you are a teacher? They make you pay to wear jeans? what state is that because in California, teachers often dress disgracefully – jogging shorts and ripped t shirts. Still there needs to be a middle ground somewhere. ( Just retired from 35 years of teaching.)
Sorry this was a response for someone else. I meant to say book buying is never bad. It supports struggling authors and contributes to literacy in a world that is desperate for it.
1) I was out of quick cooking oats but had plenty of rolled oats. So some took a spin in the food processor and voila – instant oats for breakfast this am. Are they uniform shape? Nope. Do they still taste good? Yup.
2) I made the knock off fancy Australian style yogurt in the instant pot this week with marked down milk and store brand plain gelatin powder. I flavored some with Lemon Curd from Trader Joes and some with homemade raspberry jam from friends. The cost making 10 cups of yogurt equals 2 cups of yogurt purchased at the store.
3) I have serious concerns about the potential tariff situation and have started examining favorite and everyday products for their country of origin. Much of our name brand toothpaste, for example, is made in Mexico. I will be unwilling to pay $9/box (at 100% tariff) for toothpaste, so I am buying a little extra these days.
4) After major necessary construction, I am reconfiguring our home office. I have resolved not to bring anything back into the space that will not fit and I will not use. This is slow going, but very helpful for taking inventory of office and professional stuff. I am not allowed to buy another notebook (even at .25 on sale) for a LONG while. Our awesome thrift store got a pile of overstocked paper and binders.
5) I have bought several Christmas gifts on sale or with discount codes. My favorite is a digital picture frame for my parents. Our whole family can load pictures on it remotely so it will be ready to go out of the box!
@Susie’s Daughter (I cannot resist, super heavy sarcasm) but the manufacturing company will be paying the tariff, doncha know?
@Selena…Haha….so they want all to think, and sadly most do believe that, as they do not know how the economy works! Sadly, some of my family that voted that way think that the country of origin will be the ones paying the tariffs.
I work in the international freight industry, in the Import department (goods coming into the USA from outside countries)…..I can assure everyone that the American Consumer will be paying ANY and ALL tariffs.
1. My mom shared her Audible pw with me, so I can listen to all the books she purchases for free. She just told me that she has a few credits that are going to expire, so I can pick out some new books.
2.Picked up my library holds. Books for free and I don’t have to store them.
3. Got a free meal at work. I usually work from home, but since they made us come in, we got free BBQ.
4. Since I was at the office, I visited the nearby TJ’s. I bought some frozen meals that kept me from getting takeout twice this week.
5. I received a $10 when I started my job 3 years ago. I was meant to order food with it, but I couldn’t get it to work. It has been in my wallet ever since. I thought to try it the other day when I was in the grocery store. It worked! I felt like I had found a ten dollar bill.
FMFT, Decompressing Edition:
(1) My dinner with my two widowed friends Friday night (described in the most recent Five Tiny Frugal Things) was most enjoyable. We agreed that our motto for the current wave of awfulness would be “Non illegitimi carborundum” (extremely dubious Latin for “Don’t let the @#%&!! grind you down”). And we enjoyed the meatloaf and wine I brought, the baked squash and mashed potatoes prepared by our hostess, and the wonderful brownies and apple bars prepared by our copyeditor friend (who is second to none on desserts).
(2) As today has been sunny and unusually warm for Central NY, I decided to spend a lot of it decompressing. First, I went for a long bottlepicking walk and picked up $3.15 in deposit containers plus a penny. (The local Dollar General and the adjacent gas station/convenience store are reliable sources.)
(3) I then spent the rest of the morning proofreading more papers for the upcoming edition of JASNA’s electronic journal. This isn’t work, it’s fun!
(4) After that, I went out and did some raking. The contours of my property are such that leaves tend to blow right through, but leaves do accumulate in some corners–so I went out and raked the corners to add to the new compost heap I’m creating.
(5) And then I went out and swiped several paper bags of leaves from neighbors who I know don’t use lawn chemicals of any kind. As I’ve often said before, there is no such thing as too much compost.
I agree. Never too much compost! I asked for and received 4 big yard waste bags of leaves from a neighbor. I dumped them in the chicken run. The chickens love scratching through them in search of bugs. And in the process they mulch them and I’ll have a lovely amount of compost come spring.
1. Went to my local library Sip n Swap which is held every two months at a local bar/restaurant. We bring books and take books, chat with friends, and the library buys us pizza. I look forward to this! My BFF usually goes and my DH and DD came along. A fun free evening.
2. Spent the weekend cleaning the rabbit cages (we raise and show rabbits) and had a buyer for the manure (which is the best fertilizer)) before I had even finished the cleaning.
3. Did 5 secret Shopes this week. Free car wash, free dry cleaning, free milk, several free meals plus some $ for the savings account. Not bad. I am taking a break from secret shopping next week unless something good comes up. I have some projects to do at home.
4. Wore several new to me sweaters this week that were in a bag given to me by a friend.
5. Returned some food items that didn’t taste right. Store refunded my money.
6. Used my Purina app to get a coupon for a free big can of dog food. Redeemed it this weekend. Digs will get a treat!
Horse is the December book club selection at the big city library branch closest to my house, so I hunted up an inexpensive copy on eBay.
Had a “cook what you got” morning yesterday and made six freezer containers each of berry baked oatmeal and vegetarian casserole. Also cooked a pot of chili for my husband using one of the cans of chipolte Rotel from Ollie’s Outlet. He loves it. Also made a gallon of iced tea.
Went this morning to a free session with a Medicare plan advisor. It was very helpful.
Our newly finished sunroom does not have heat installed — to do so would make the space subject to property tax. All the plants in it are cactus or succulents, so I put the portable dehumidifier in the room. It heats it up nicely and the plants don’t mind the somewhat arid climate.
Been taking some turmeric capsules for my arthritis on the advice of my doctor and snagged two large bottles on clearance at the drug store for a total of $2.63.
Turning 65 in march! Were did you find a Medicare plan advisor? I’ve not had much luck on the Medicare website
I’m not sure about how to find a Medicare advisor. I looked online & there were ratings according to the MA plans available. My husband & I are on different plans. He wears Rx glasses & I do not. Thus I chose a plan that offers eyeglass benefits. He also has a 1000$ per year dental benefit. I put him on the AARP Medicare Advantage (MA) he has been happy w/ it. I recommended this plan to my sister & she likes it too. I am on a MA PPO offered thru my work as a retiree. There are a lot of plans & info to cull thru. Good luck w/ this.
Try a SHINE volunteer. It’s free.
Look for your state SHIP, (State Health Insurance Assistance Program).
Our library occasionally has advisors come to do programs, and calling your branch might give you a name.
Husband and I do not have Medicare Advantage programs. We do not want to be bound to their specific geographic areas/doctors/in-network only services. Aside from the bonus items (eyes, dental, OTC allowance) that Medicare Advantage provides, that seems to be the biggest difference between Medicare Advantage and general/regular Medicare programs.
So consider your life circumstances as well as your budget!
The MA plan in our area has extensive coverage – across state line as well as into the 3rd largest city in the US. There is out of network coverage albeit at higher co-pays. However husband has an indemnity plan that covers the co-pays (in or out of network) – cost less than $35 per month.
Some states have squat for state help for insurance. Medicare Advantage in some states is pretty crappy – partly due to so many not having insurance prior to turning age 65 meaning they are typically sicker than those in states that have expanded Medicaid/embrace the ACA.
Actually, I got a couple of postcards in the mail from the broker we ultimately talked to. I was having trouble figuring things out on my own and it was very helpful.
Good to see your “Jonathan Adler”* lamp and Marimekko shade are still with us.
*I’ve interviewed him. He is utterly delightful.
Also, I’ve written an article for a national mag about decorating for Christmas using entirely vintage materials. I managed a beautiful picture of my mom’s old putz houses in an old green painted bookshelf. Mom died six months ago and it’s hard to face the holidays and her November birthday without her.
I would be very interested in reading the article on using vintage materials for Christmas decorating, if you don’t mind sharing the URL.
I am sorry you are heading into the holidays with your loss of your mom so fresh. I hope you can balance your sorrow with fun memories of her.
Thanks, Lindsey. You’re right. Mom always had a good sense of humor. A little while ago, I told her that we’d gone to see the Dune movie and she immediately started complaining. “Oh! That was so terrible! Remember, we all went on Christmas and we were so disappointed!” I said, “Mom, that was 1984. There’s a new version out now!” We all laughed a lot. I loved my mother a lot and I miss her.
“Adler-esque” 😉
Somebody Somewhere is my absolute favorite current show! You’re right- SO GOOD!
1. I joined a book review club and received 4 free books yesterday. All I have to do is a quick review on a major shopping site which will take me less than 10 minutes for $65+ in savings.
2. My teen and I had a frugal day perusing some specialty antique and vintage stores yesterday. We didn’t buy anything and we had fun.
3. I sorted through my teens Lego stash and loaded a bin for my niece for her bday. I created a label on my computer, printed and laminated it and then hot glued it on. It was her favorite gift and then one she played with the whole evening after opening her others.
4. I unsubscribed to all of the solicitation emails and deactivated my social media accounts. A lot less advertisements headed my ways.
5. I emailed Zevia about a half-empty, perfectly in-tact can and they are sending a free product coupon as a thanks for the info.
Quindlen, Kingsolver, Penny, Hannah, Achterberg (a few of my favorite authors)………………….I got AFTER ANNIE with a gift card for my home library.
My library has been slow on recent best sellers. I am on the wait list for Louise Penny’s latest twice, the regular and the large print. When one comes in, (I suspect the large print will be ready first), I will cancel the hold on the other.
Just put Somebody Somewhere on my watchlist, thanks for the rec. The trailer looked like it might be something I’d like.
And I also ended up coming home last week with a new release book that was already sitting in the stack on my nightstand.
I’ve been with my hair lady longer than I’ve been with my husband, and I get a discounted haircut because I don’t have her style it, just wash and cut, and I’m out the door. I started doing it that way when I had a baby and my free time was at a premium, and then just kept it up. She is fantastic, and this makes her price comparable to a quickie chain place, but with a much better cut.
Ooh . . . I hope you like it!
I stopped going to the salon years ago. I used to put my hair up in a high ponytail and saw off a couple inches. When I met my husband, he told me that he could cut my hair for when I mentioned that I needed to trim my hair and he did a fantastic job. My sister and her husband visited yesterday and she commented on how long my hair has grown. She said she had gone to a salon a couple weeks ago and paid $65 for a haircut and it was not any better than having her husband trim it. She said he cut it kinda chunky it the back last time, so she tried the salon. I told her that he needs to section her hair before he cuts it. So I had my husband get out the alligator hair clips and wide tooth sectioning comb he uses when he trims my hair and he demonstrated how to section my hair and pin it up, then let it down in increments to trim each layer. I told her if wants, the next time she has her husband trim her hair, we could over and my husband could explain the sectioning while he does the hands on with her hair rather than just watch my husband demonstrate on my hair.
I was chuckling because it seemed so funny being a hair model to teach my brother in law how to properly section hair to give my sister her haircuts. My husband does a great job every time cutting my hair and a couple friends of mine. So I never have to pay for a haircut. I know I get great results because I get compliments on my hair, especially when I have my husband give me different braids. I take a seat and I find out if I got a Dutch, French or fishtail braid looking in the mirror after he finishes. And if I had chosen to wear it dow n for the day, I still have him braid my hair before bed so I don’t get my elbow length hair choking me or getting tangled.