The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I went for a brief stroll around my sister’s NYC neighborhood and came across a yard debris container filled with pruned scraps from someone’s Limelight Hydrangea shrub. I helped myself to a few and brought them home for a delightful bouquet of flowers.

   

2. I also found a quarter and a penny while out and about, so I stuck my hand through a slightly nasty chain link fence to compose a pretty photo for the blog. If you look really carefully you can see the Manhattan skyline in the background. And not to brag, but I found another penny later that evening!

   

3. I garbage picked a pair of outdoor side tables for my sister’s back deck. Not as nice as the patio chair I curb picked in Brooklyn last year, but they’ll work as place holders until her neighbors set out something nicer.

   If nothing else, the price was right. Plus, they follow the current “under consumption core” trend.

   

4. I learned that The Multnomah County Library offers Book Club Kits, which allow patrons to check out tote bags filled with ten copies of a specific book. There are 141 options at the moment, including The Heart of Horses, by Molly Gloss and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin, both Portland authors.

   As they explain it:

   “Let us support your book club by providing 10 copies of a highly-discussable book on a six-week loan. We have titles in fiction, nonfiction, memoirs and large print available so you and your fellow readers can explore a variety of stories. “

   I absolutely love this Pageturners To Go  program, as it can be cost prohibitive to participate in a book club, especially as new releases have insanely long library wait lists. I looked it up and it appears that many other library systems offer the same or similar programs for their patrons, so hopefully this’ll help readers outside the Portland area.

   

5. No Lear Jet. No Amazon Prime Day “deals.”

Katy Wolk-Stanley

1.  We made “nacho bean dip” for dinner last night, which was a big hit with everyone. This involved cooking up black beans in her Instant Pot and then layering it with Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, sautéed onions and peppers, Tillamook cheddar cheese (my hostess gift) and then baking it all together. We then topped it with tomato, avocado and sour cream. Needless to say, there were tortilla chips for scooping.

   My sister’s family used to make this meal on the regular when her kids were growing up, so it was very much a sentimental hit. This was super duper yummy, plus healthy and frugal! I suppose it could also serve it with warmed corn tortillas, but the crunch of the tortilla chips really make the meal.

   Fun fact: My sister didn’t realize that her microwave was also a convection oven. Now she does.

2. My sister just got a free convection oven!

3. My sister needed more washcloths, so she’s crocheting them from yarn she already owns.

4. We haven’t gone anywhere or done anything outside the house since our single day in Manhattan. I have walked her dog around the neighborhood which resulted in me finding a single penny. Frugal?

5. No delayed Lear Jet flights.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

I’m still in New York helping out my sister, which explains why my “frugal things” are all NYC based.

1) My adult nephew and I had an entire day to kill in the city, but needed to stay within a specific neighborhood. We’d already had coffee and free pastries at Paris Baguette, but we still needed a third space where we could park ourselves. Our first thought the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, but my nephew had an online class, which would be too noisy for a library environment. Instead we chose to hang out in the Lincoln Center lobby.

They provided a climate controlled space, immaculate bathrooms, comfortable seating options and an infinite loop of digital interpretive dancers.

I kid you not.

My nephew also told me about NYC Privately Owned Public Spaces, which are:

“Privately owned public spaces, also known by the acronym POPS, are spaces dedicated to public use and enjoyment and which are owned and maintained by private property owners, in exchange for bonus floor area or waivers. More than 590 POPS provide a myriad of opportunities to sit, relax, people watch, eat, meet others – in other words, to partake and enjoy in urban life in one of the world’s greatest cities.”

You can find a “POPS” location by clicking HERE.

To clarify, I don’t think that the Lincoln Center lobby was an official “POPS” spot, but we were far from the only people using this beautiful space to hang out or meet up with friends.

2) I walked to the grocery store to pick up a couple nights of dinner ingredients. It’s always interesting shop at regional food stores when away from home, even when that travel is within your own country. My sister’s standard grocery store has frozen Arthur Avenue (“Little Italy in the Bronx”) frozen ravioli, fresh pickles and a permanent display of everything needed to make tiramisu. They also had fresh bagels, (duh!) and multiple non-corporate brands of ricotta.

My favorite souvenir to bring home from traveling is regionally specific food, as it makes a great gift and doesn’t contribute to clutter.

3) I might meet up with a couple of my NYC based friends while I’m here, but they’ll need come to me which’ll simplify my trip.

4)   • I bought a bagel and cream cheese at the grocery store, but added my own tomato and cucumber            at the house.
• My nephew and I picked up $9 halal cart lunches and brought them back to the Lincoln Center lobby.
• It rained with might and fury last night and I consequently didn’t need to water my sister’s extensive garden today.

5) I didn’t waste money on gauze for a non-existent injury.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

1. I recently rediscovered the British TV show Money For Nothing on Amazon Prime, which might’ve been produced specifically for me as their sole audience. The show’s format is to take items being dumped into the “tip” and transform them into “bespoke and valuable pieces” for resale. The host then returns any profit to the original owners.

   So . . . a woman who takes stuff about to be thrown away and upcycles it back into functionality? Yes, please!

2. Edit: For clarification I took this photo at 6:55 P.M., which I do not consider to be “night.”

   I took public transportation from Newark airport to my sister’s house in The Bronx over the weekend. Normally this is a fairly straightforward (if lengthy) process, but there was confusing signage about a subway line change, which resulted in an extra hour-and-a-half to get to my sister’s doorstep.

   Both these signs were on the same subway platform. This one made me think that the “E” train would only be diverted during “overnight” hours:

   

   This sign, (again on the same platform) clarified that it was “overnight and all weekend!”

   

   Please validate my experience and tell me that you would’ve also been confused!

3. Of course I travel with frugality in mind. Here’s how I’m enjoying my trip so far without breaking the bank.

   

   • I bought my plane ticket using credit card points, although I did have to pay $200 or so to consolidate “miles” from one account into another.
   • I brought my own food and water on the airplane and made sure to book a direct flight to avoid layover shenanigans.
   • My nephew and I both downloaded the Paris Baguette app to earn free pastry rewards with purchase. I chose the ham and cheese croissant with a medium drip coffee, and it was both fresh and perfectly flaky!
   • I used my sister’s NYC library card to check out a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was displayed as part of their “Read Banned Books” display. I’m having fun with my Powell’s Summer Reading Challenge bingo card and “read a banned book” is the upper lefthand square. 

4. I sold a curb picked Ikea lighted mirror for $15 through Facebook Marketplace. So yeah . . . I recently came into some money!

5. No legal fees to escape prosecution for treason.

Katy Wolk-Stanley