Four Frugal Things -- a Lunar Eclipse & Hippo Hardware
1) My sister and I walked over to a nearby elementary school to get a clear view of last night's lunar eclipse. As you can see, we weren't the only neighbors to choose this spot.
I brought our Trail Blazers Leupold binoculars, which my husband was given as a thank you for saving someone's life back in 2013. (He works as a first responder, but this was while playing soccer.) I was able to share the binoculars, so everyone was able to get a better view of the moon's shadowy magic.
2) We hit up Hippo Hardware in the afternoon, as my sister is looking to replace her kitchen cupboards knobs. They didn't have what she wanted in stock, (hexagonal black ceramic knobs) but we still explored the store, which is an almost endless maze of old house goodness. The lighting section alone is worth the visit!
I enjoyed that they had my bedroom's light shade in multiple colors. I thrifted it a long time ago, likely for $2.99.
I also brought in a vintage bathroom shade from my parents' basement and got $5 in store credit, which my sister used to buy some cute vintage wall hooks.
3) I cooked up the leftover bacon from the the previous night's dinner to make open face bagel BLTs. The tomatoes are from my sister's NYC garden and the lettuce was from the Pumpkin Patch farm store.
Sadly we're now out of bacon.
4) We stopped into the Mill End Fabric Store before visiting with our mother and I was freshly appreciative of the huge bag of embroidery floss I once thrifted for five bucks or so.
It'll be a very long time before I have to start paying $1.30 per skein!
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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I'm so glad you got to see (and then share!) the eclipse! I couldn't keep my eyes open last night for long enough to stay up and go try and see it for myself. I'm still under the weather, unfortunately.
1. I've finished "Ward D" by Freida McFadden and I enjoyed some of the twists and the suspense but I didn't feel like the interactions between patients and staff felt realistic. I'm also not sure that a psych ward would feel quite so open and loosey goosey about patients just wandering around at all times, but I don't have anything to back that up.
2. I didn't dwell long though as I then downloaded "Forget Me Not" by Stacy Willingham and finished it just before putting my daughter down for a nap. Also twisty and enjoyable!
3. My husband casually mentioned that the cafeteria would be having some kind of steak or shrimp for lunch today. Thank goodness it's free! I had leftover mac and cheese lol the kids wanted sandwiches.
4. For my birthday I was sent a prepaid visa card and decided to splurge and treat myself! MeUndies was having a 50% off promo so I am soon to be the owner of new bras, underwear, a shirt, and a pair of joggers. I qualified for free standard shipping. I wasn't about to *pay* for shipping! The washer/dryer in Belgium did a number on my bras and underwear and some are barely hanging together.
5. I dusted the blinds today. I figure since I'm already stuffed up from my cold then stirred up dust might help me sneeze it out! Maybe the same logic will apply with a good vacuuming? Better test it out before I get too tired.
We couldn't see the eclipse or the blood red moon due to cloud cover. Clouds but no rain!
1. Opened what I thought was junk mail and found a $16 refund check from the oral surgeon's office. (Or maybe it was from the tooth fairy, LOL!) Ran to the bank and deposited it right away.
2. Finally made it to the suburban library and renewed my card so I can get Hoopla -- e-books and movies for free. Also made it to their coffee corner for a free cup, and plenty of condiments.
3. Frugal fail: En route home, stopped by a pizza place that had a banner advertising a $5.99 lunch special. But was given a $16 bill. Next time, I'll go to Cici's.
4. Used a dishpan to wash a few non-dishwasher safe items. Once the water cooled, I poured it out on some plants on the patio.
5. Did not think that signing an executive order would rename a body of water.