Today is my 45th birthday, and it’s also a day for updates. And since I now have a hand me down iPod touch from my son, the photos will all be Instagram. Kind of cool and kind of annoying all at once. (Bonus!)
On the top of today’s to-do list is to take my jar of money from the Found Change Challenge to the credit union. My goal had been to find $65 in 2012, (the cost of staying one night at my friend’s beach cabin) but I know I’m going to fall woefully short.
However, it’s all free money, and I look forward to filling the jar back up again for 2013!
The second photo is of the necklace from last week’s Make Do, Repair or Replace gameshow. I went to the nearby beading shop and bought a small bag of jump beads for $1.50. All it took was a pair of needle nose pliers and maybe ten minutes to lengthen the necklace to a non-choke-y length that sits well on the chest without dangling the bottom piece too far into the cleavage.
Because you know, my mother is long past her stripper days. 😉
The third photo is of my thrifted midcentury bookshelf that sits in a corner of my living room. This is where I stash my books that are in current rotation. Stuff I’m reading and checked out library materials are close at hand and ready for a quick read.
This is for all the readers who were scandalized by the lack of actual books on my newly styled living room shelves. Worry not, dear Non-Consumer Advocate readers. I do still read.
The last photo is of a soap dish tile to install in our bathroom. This is to replace the one that fell, shattering into a million pieces and cutting into my son’s leg. I took the freshly replaced kitchen light to the vintage hardware/lighting/plumbing store, and was rewarded with $10 in store credit. I bargained another $5 from the $25 price tag and ended up only paying $10 out of pocket.
My husband is home from work today and will install the new tile. (He must do my bidding on my birthday!)
I am way excited to strike this chore from my to-do list.
And to answer the rest of the Make Do, Repair or Replace gameshow questions, I will be continuing to make do with the Le Creuset dutch oven, as well as the salad tongs. I was going to snip off the elephant top to even out the pair, but my husband had a surprisingly strong reaction to keep the tongs as-is. So I will let him have his way.
They’re salad tongs, people. Not dying on that mountain!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m so happy you’re keeping the tongs as is!
Happy Birthday!!
Thank you! 😀
Katy
Sounds like a lovely non-consumer day. Happy Birthday! I had leftover home-made pizza for breakfast (it was yummy). Had a look at this weeks grocery flyers, cut out a few coupons, am going to dust (breaking out the housework in bits makes it easier) and then get ready for a wine and cheese reception we have been invited to this afternoon. Another zero spend day!
Welcome to Club 45, Katy! I joined in November. The folks here are friendly, the wine is plentiful, and the view is spectacular! HAPPY, HAPPY Anniversary of Your Birth!
Sounds great, thanks for inviting me! 😉
Katy
Haha, yes, salad tongs are definitely a “pick your battles” loser. It’s so funny the kinds of things husbands will have surprsisingly strong reactions to. Well, sometimes it’s funny, anyway ;-).
Oh yes. I once got into trouble for throwing out a broken pizza cutter (we had four in the house, all cheap plastic-handle things). He claimed to have “sentimental attachment” to that particular pizza cutter “because it’s mine.” I said you have three others that are yours, too! Nope, I wasn’t allowed to throw out the broken one.
Wow.
Katy
Happy Birthday!
(Just pulled an old purse out of the closet to use until I replace the zipper – for the second time – on a favorite. Does the 73 cents from the bottom of the old bag count as “found” money?)
Yes.
Happy Birthday! Would love to be 45 again. But, hey, in 10 years I’ll be saying I’d love to be 64 again!
Happy Birthday!! Does the money family members leave in their clothes that I wash count as lost money or am I obligated to return it? I always threaten to keep it, but never have the heart to do so.
I always considered that money to be my tip for doing laundry. All my family members were told that any found laundry money went to the person doing the laundry, so finder keepers!!
Happy Birthday, Katy! It’s my birthday too! I celebrated year 42 by:
1) Picking up a pair of PJs for my daughter and a pair of jeans for my son at Goodwill. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the other items on my list (metal spoons to replace the ones my kids keep losing in their lunches and laundry drying supplies), but I’ll look again on my next trip.
2) Setting up a baking area in the kitchen complete with scavenged bulk containers from around the house. My sole New Year’s Resolution is to keep the house awash in homemade snacks, so we don’t resort to store-bought, sugary, and expensive ones.
3) Eating lunch out at a local diner with the best burgers around, a rare treat these days.
4) Pondering how to refurbish a 40-year-old adult tricycle with a big basket on the back (birthday gift from my husband) so I can use it to get groceries.
4) Learning the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Have great evening! 🙂
You may be woefully short of your goal, but I’m certain you surpassed my $2.95 of found money. I picked up 2 pennies today at the dog park so I’m off & running for 2013.
Happy Birthday! Your day sounds like it was lovely- I especially love how Mr. N-CA had to do your bidding. Win!
Happy Birthday! Nice work.
Happy birthday, Katy! You bring such joy to my day. Thanks for your fabulous blog!
Happy Birthday Katy! Your visit to NH was a highlight of 2012 for me! It was so fun to see you. I hope you have a wonderful day and a fantastic year. xoxo
I am curious, though, Katy – how do you feel if the proprietor DOES say “no”?
And, Happy Birthday 🙂
I have that same exact bookshelf in my kitchen holding my cookbooks! I got it off someone’s discard pile about 14 years ago when I’d just gotten divorced and had almost no furniture! I probably need to fix it up a bit, but really, you can’t see it very well because it is so jammed with cookbooks!
Happy Birthday!
Today was spent de-cluttering and will hopefully net me a few bucks, although I just spent a small fortune in swimming lessons for each kid. I am willing to pay for experiences however. 🙂
Happy Birthday! I’m also a Capricorn, but a few years ahead on the age ladder!!