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.
You can buy rolls of hydrocolloid bandage now and cut pimple patches. I use these overnight/at home and use the premade ones in public.
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!”
We thought about going to the Twin Peaks diner, but it has so-so reviews and I didn't want that experience.
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.
We have been using AARP tax-aide, for 10 years? Supposedly for elderly. We just turned 65 this year. Free, but we send a $100 or more donation every year.
An amazing service. Retired tax people who volunteer their time.
Our donations supply their newest tax programs to their AARP laptops.
I would have brought nuts etc back to the room.for snacking and to.mix in yogurt
The hotel breakfast looks exquisite. I am always in shock at the price of foods like a $23.99 sandwich, but at least it had accompaniments.
1. My neighbor put a few items in her yard sale for me which netted me $17.
2. I too am reusing plastic eggs from the past for this year.
3. I managed to open a pop top can with no ring to pop the top the other day.
4. I took an entire carload of stuff to Goodwill. Several neighbors gave me items after the yard sale. I was very picky about what I kept to protect my sanity and not become a hoarder.
5. My son said he wanted to make some extra money. I made a post for him to do yard work for neighbors. He earned $20 last night helping someone. He has a few more jobs lined up. Proud of him for earning money not just asking me for it.
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.
Loving following along on your Seattle trip! I'll be there in a month for a conference.
1. Needed some work done on my car. Took it to the dealership as it is still under warranty (I typically go to my neighborhood mechanic for oil changes and the like, as the dealership is relatively far away). The warranty covered almost $1000 worth of work. I paid $15 out of pocket. Total win.
2. When my partner and I dropped my car off on Monday, we passed a Trader Joe's. There aren't any near us, so we decided to stop and explore. We bought bananas! I'm so excited we got to take advantage of the killer banana deal. We also bought a few frozen goodies (their mac and cheese and their orange chicken) to substitute for the take out that he'd wanted to order. Not cheap, but much cheaper than take out. Ate it with a salad for dinner.
3. Tuesday night I made a delicious dinner out of stuff we had on hand - cabbage steaks stuffed with a mixture of anchovies, parmesan, rosemary, and garlic, sprinkled with walnuts, and a side of roasted potatoes.
4. I used pre-tax money (my FSA) to pay for a chiropractor appointment to fix my neck, which I somehow hurt in my sleep Saturday night.
5. Used my health insurance "fun money" (we get $250/year to pay for things like gym memberships, yoga classes, etc) to pay for my dance class tuition.
We had the kiddos over for dinner last night, and almost everything was already purchased. My hubby did worry that we wouldn't have enough BBQ thighs, so he bought another pack. We did and had leftovers, but my son and I had those for lunch, so that was okay.
I sold the last set of bookmarks I had up on Etsy. I had one single bookmark that had been relisted multiple times, so I took that as a sign to take it down and mail it to a friend who I think will really appreciate it. One of the listings we had put up of my MIL's items sold, so that's something.
ebay, not etsy. Good grief, I'm tired. LOL
If you ever find yourself in Everett, WA, you can drive by the Laura Palmer house at 708 33rd St.
https://visitpalmerhouse.com/
My favorite part of the Twin Peaks quote is the next phrase Agent Cooper says…”And HOT!” Lol!
It sounds like a fun trip! And yummy food.
1. We had welcome rain, so that saves us money on watering using city water (though we did still have water in our rain barrels so I suppose all it really saved me was time). Still a savings though.
2. Gave away 2 chairs on Buy Nothing. Received earbuds. Happy to have the space at home and the chairs gone. I've been setting out extra tomato plant starts at the end of my driveway and so far they've all been snapped up. Free food all summer for whoever took them!
3. I picked the last of last year's swiss chard, it had finally succumbed to aphids. We've been eating a lot of swiss chard this week. We also have kale and collard greens ready in the garden, as well as chives, parsley and rosemary. I've expanded our food garden space (for free) and decreased our use of city water. Very satisfying.
4. Finished a blouse made from a $4 thrifted blouse. I was given 2 Rejuvenation brand Belgian linen curtain panels, brand new, and am wondering if there is something I should make with the fabric. Until then, they are listed on ebay. Not a bargain (I priced them at $120), but waaaaaaay cheaper than buying them new-currently over $500 for 2 panels.
5. Dh rode electric bike to work yesterday and got a ride today. Saves a lot of money in gas!
I used airmiles to upgrade my seat to put me closer to front of plane as I only had 45 minute layover in Phoenix on my way to Eugene, Oregon. I also used airmiles to get a glass of wine on my flight.
I packed snacks so not to buy food at the airport. I picked up a free bottle of water and another snack at the hotel when I checked out.
Oh and I did carry on so no luggage fee
I'm adding Seattle to my travel list after reading all these great suggestions!
Thanks to everyone here who comments about selling on eBay--it finally got my butt in gear to get a bunch of stuff listed. It's been so long I didn't know about the AI feature that helps you create a post. All I need to do is get the pictures taken. I got rid of several things I had lying around. Last night I branched out into buying specifically for resale. I thrifted two $8 pairs of men's pants with original tags priced at $194, selling on eBay for $50-$75. Thought I'd try it out as the worst case scenario is turning them into shorts for my DP (they're way too short for him to wear as pants).
I've made almost $200 in the last two months, so I've come into some money! I've been using up gifted stamps and reusing packing materials being tossed at work. The only downside to the free postage is having to go to the post office to check the package in and get the tracking number. If there's a workaround on that, let me know, frugal internet friends!
Maybe ask the postal clerk if there is another way to use your stamps from home?
"My log saw something that night..." ~ drink deep from Margaret's well of prophecies.
Got huge ham out of the freezer from Christmas. Bought 50# of #1 russet potatoes for $10. Will soak the navy beans tomorrow for the smoked baked beans. I will make the potato salad and rolls on Saturday.
I made a yummy soup out of a chicken mushroom one pot meal that my mom did not care for, ended up in the freezer to be reimagined. The sour dough focaccia is rising beside the wood stove for the community meal tonite.
Sold a set of Shakespeare graphic novels! Finally sold the baby uggs, not in time for March's totals for the teen food pantry $55 + 67 in purchased food.
1) Dug some soup out of the freezer, and paired that with an apple & cheese for lunch.
2) Advised DS20 about a rogue charge on his credit card, so he can get it resolved.
3) Listed something on eBay
4) Went through our supplies in the bathroom & a) pulled out a new loofah b) replenished the body wash and c) posted a specific lotion we won't use on Buy Nothing.
5) Made a list of a few things to sell on FB Marketplace
Made a 5 min call to request a one time courtesy fee reversal for a credit card payment that was 1 day late. I thought it was on autopay. When I realized it wasn’t, I paid the balance and waited for the bill. Not only did they credit the fee, they credited the interest. Best use of 5 min. I can think of! After the call, I explained to my teen son how the process works, but cautioned him, it was only a courtesy they extended because I have never been late in the past. Financial literacy is taught. Whenever a situation rises that is ripe for teaching about spending/priorities and fiscal responsibility, I’m on it. It’s an investment in his non consumer future.
Reuben sandwiches (or any sandwich) would be so much better if an anything but rye bread was offered. Rye - love it or hate it.
IMHO wise to eat outside the stadium. I'll do that next time I venture to a baseball game (pro or minor league). I'll eat McDonald's before I for out digital money (anti-American not taking cash) for a burger that doesn't qualify as beef and fries that are made from fake potatoes and are greasy.
1. Dinner last night was dumplings and edamame out of the freezer. The dumplings are from a local shop in Queens that we love and are less expensive than freezer dumplings from the grocery store. Delicious!
2. Put the last of the blueberry compote in my yogurt this morning. I was so satisfied t not waste any berries.
3. Only left the house to run to the pharmacy yesterday and pick up two prescriptions - no treats or other shopping.
4. Regrew scallions in water successfully, so I transplanted them into soil. We'll see how this experiment goes but I'll be very pleased if this works. I had potting soil and a little pot already, so a no-cost project.
5. Twin Peaks is the moment! I am currently working my way through season 2. God, this show is weird and I love it. Love your pictures!