Three Frugal Things -- I Succumb to Viral Consumerism
- I succumbed to the latest viral consumerism trend and picked up one of the Trader Joe's $2.99 micro tote bags, but only because it's perfectly scaled for my childhood Sasha doll. I mean . . . come on!
I promise that I'll be back to only buying used tomorrow.
At least I didn't go full viral and buy a Labubu Stanley cup or the Starbucks bearista cup!
2. I pulled a container of my sautéed mirpoix, (carrots, onion and celery) from the freezer and plopped it into a pan with diced potato and bits off a Costco rotisserie chicken. I then added water and boiled everything together, lastly adding a package of S&B Golden Curry Mix cubes. Served over rice, a perfect meal.
These curry cubes came onto my radar in 2006 when my family hosted a Japanese exchange teacher for the school year. She prepared this dish for us and explained that every Japanese woman keeps a box in her cupboard for inevitable busy nights that require a quick meal solution. I loved this and have kept a box in my pantry ever since, especially since it costs around $3.50 for enough for an entire pot.
3. I spied this $99 antique dresser at Goodwill and it made this think about how although that's a high price for a piece of thrift store furniture, it's still cheaper than its' low quality counterpart. Like this Ikea Hemnes dresser, priced at a mere $399.99.
One of these pieces will last another hundred years, while the other one will inevitably become wobbly within a decade or so.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
I would absolutely love that dresser! Totally work $100, IMO.
It was in excellent condition!
I bought the TJ mini totes too for this year's Christmas giving tree at our farm. Each kid (25 of them) get a prepaid card of their choosing a small personal item and this year a roll of 2025 pennies.
Your doll is stylin'.
Your comment on ikea furniture made me chuckle as I keep picking up pieces for free at the move out piles at the local universities. They work great in my shop and tack room.
People treat Ikea furniture like it's a temporary possesion, which I think is why you see it abandoned and people have no issue with it being such low quality.
Of course, some of their products are amazing. My husband and I bought a piece of their butcher block at least ten years ago and it's been amazing!
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/my-island-dreams-dont-involve-balmy-breezes/
Sadly, all of IKEA’s butcher block worktops are now veneer over particleboard.
That's terrible! The whole point of butcher block is that you can sand it down when you need to refresh the surface!
Yes, we were so sad when we discovered this during our kitchen facelift. They have a cheesy excuse about how veneer is better. (Eyeroll.) Luckily, maple butcher block is affordable to source elsewhere.
Shudder. Just ewww.
Yesterday I walked to the closest grocery store to buy a $.50 lime to use in making Chicken Tortilla soup. I found $.11 in the liquor store parking lot. The soup was made from the broth and chicken on the bones from a $4.98 rotisserie chicken, canned black beans that were $.05 of grocery store rewards, various peppers people gave me this summer, canned tomatoes bought for cheap at Grocery Outlet, and brown rice bought on clearance. There were a few other ingredients. The soup is served with tortilla chip shards.It made enough for leftovers for a couple of days.
This morning I walked to the drug store to pick up an Rx for DH. It was covered 100% by our insurance. I then walked across the street to the grocery to pick up on sale sweet potatoes and avocados and also the items that were "free" for redeeming rewards points: 2 #s brown sugar for $1 worth of points, a red grapefruit for $.05 worth of points, a can of sliced beets for $.05 worth of points, and a can of soup for $.25 worth of points. I found $.21 in the parking lot.
I stopped to see a friend that is undergoing chemo treatments and not going out to gatherings. We had a nice visit. I encouraged her to join a couple other friends and me next week, if she's feeling up for it, as we would be happy to wear masks.
Okay, I just realized that I have all the ingredients for your soup and it's been years since I've made this style of soup. Thank you for the reminder!
You sound like a good friend.
I too have much of what is necessary for that soup, too! so on that note, I am going to start some broth from bones from the freezer tonight.
I loved loved LOVED the flavour profile of lime and ginger in a soup I made last week (next time I will zest the limes BEFORE I juice them, Doh. it is considerably easier that way).
That tiny TJ's tote is too good. I have no need for one, but I can appreciate your doll's stylishness. 🙂
Let's see, frugal things this week?
1. Made a "lazy lasagna" dinner last night with mostly pantry and fridge items, though I did buy a $3.99 1-lb package of Italian sausage and some cheese. It was well received by our 3 teens and my husband, plus we have leftovers, which is always a win.
2. I organized a food drive through a local food pantry nearly 2 weeks ago by requesting a couple of food donation barrels for our porch. I tacked a flyer (made via Canva's free trial) on our little library, and our neighbors have really showed up! We have filled up 1.5 barrels thus far and I'm just so pleased we can do something to help our broader community. No one should go hungry in a land of such abundance.
3. I made my Nana's "big soft ginger cookie" recipe yesterday. All the cookies are gone today (reference our 3 teenagers above). I call that a success!
4. I've had a rash of eBay and Poshmark sales lately. Nothing earth shattering, but nice to keep things moving along. I used the profits to buy some special shoes I've had my eye on for the last year. They're actually made in Oregon to order! Not cheap though. 🙂
5. My husband and I are gearing up for a kitchen remodel (not frugal), and have struggled with how to update our layout that lacks flow and space. I asked my friend Natasha if she'd take a look and give us any tips, as she was a practicing architect for many years before founding another business, and we lack a clear vision. After showing her our space and talking through our goals (as non-invasive remodel as possible), she drew up plans and recommended a builder to help us out. In trade, I'm helping her with marketing her business and filled in for her at a local open house this week.
I love that you're reigning in your kitchen remodel and how you're swapping expertise with a friend.
1. Cut husband's hair, which had finally recovered from the inadvertent bald spot I gave him in the back of his head. He was totally unperturbed: "I don't see it, so I don't care."
2. Husband fixed my leg brace again, since insurance won't pay for a new one even though I have used it for 15 years now. Duct tape and Velcro to the rescue, saving me over $1000 that a new brace would cost.
3. We harvested many pounds of carrots this year and one of the varieties is not keeping well. So, I finely chopped about 10 pounds worth and have been adding them to the dog kibble. I also made my version of mirpoix, which is onions and carrots minus celery (whose merits have always escaped me), and froze it in ice cube trays until they could be popped out and all placed in a large freezer bag so they take up less room. The rest of the carrots are not wilting so I think we avoided a lot of waste by checking the stored root vegetables weekly.
4. a friend who is a butcher dropped off beef bones for the dogs. Unfortunately, our Dane would crush those bones and swallow the shards. Instead I added a small amount of balsamic vinegar to the water and boiled the bejebbers out of the bones for 24 hours and made excellent bone broth, probably to put on the kibble of both dogs and humans.
5. Baked two loaves of no-knead artisan bread to be turned into stuffing. They have already been chopped up and spiced and dried and are sitting in the fridge waiting for the turkey to be stuffed.
6. Sent off Christmas gifts to siblings for free, by doing four USPS mystery shops
Lindsey,
Curses on that insurance company that is not willing to replace your 15-year-old brace! After 15 years and many, many miles, even the sturdiest of medical equipment would be all worn out. Who runs that company, Ebeneezer Scrooge?
Please tell us the name of the stingy insurance company, so we can all avoid signing up with them during Open Enrollment. They deserve every bit of embarrassing publicity you can give them.
And, IMHO, you deserve a brand new, top-of-the-line, fully functioning brace at their expense! They, not you, should pay 100% of the cost after 15 years!Have you tried reaching out to your state insurance commission? To the local TV stations that put on consumer help features? To your congressional representative? This is absolutely outrageous!
Hear, hear!
So smart to figure out a way to make best use of those butcher bones!
What Fru-gal Lisa said about the brace. However, if even you (with your documented expertise at dealing with insurance companies) can't get a new brace out of those hearts of stone, it probably isn't do-able. All the more reason to give the husband a round of applause for his ingenuity.
And I also applaud the bone broth--but I'm eagerly looking forward to the recipe for human kibble. 😛
A. Marie - the penny wise, pound foolish insurance company needs to be exposed to the media - local, TV, internet. Trust me, companies pay people to watch IG, FB, et al for negative PR.
You might look out for prostheses clinics in your area. I volunteer for a couple of drs. That put on free clinics to repair and give braces, appendages, etc.
This breaks my heart. If I lived by you I would introduce you to some occupational therapists who are the MacGyvers of the hospital IMHO. Hugs.
Is it just me or do those LaBubus look like something from a nightmare?
We bought an unfinished writing desk this week to replace an antique desk that was just too small for what we needed, after a year of trying to make it work. I stained and finished the new desk and we took the old one to a thrift store run by an organization that gets women and children out of homelessness.
Made a meat loaf entirely of discounted meats. Helped out future me by whizzing all the frozen bread bits into a baggie of bread crumbs. Washed my car out on the driveway, as the weather has improved, and saved $19, which is what the cheap car wash is charging for a basic wash. Made a gluten-free blackberry cobbler by picking the blackberries out of a bag of frozen mixed fruits. The seeds won't whiz up in a smoothie, so this was a better use for the berries.
Such a smart and delicious way to use up the blackberries!
@Ruby - yowza on that car wash price. Tis sad that so many who live in my area don't realize out COL is relatively inexpensive compared to a lot of areas.
Love the dresser. From back when things were made out of real wood, not pressed partical board. A real steal at $99!!
1. Even though I am on vacation I walked to a local farmers market and then stopped at the grocery on the way back. Six plus miles round trip, but the temperature was mild and the skies were blue. I saw so much more walking than just driving by too.
2. Enjoying lounging on the beach with free books I brought from home.
3. Purchased snacks to take on flight home, so I am not forced to pay airport prices for lousy food.
4. While browsing an outlet store I found 4 Riedel red wine glasses that cost me less than $8 after tax!! Not sure how I will get them home since I travel with just a backpack and my purse .
5. Shopped a local collective for souvenirs. While not cheap, I like supporting local artisans.
Vacations always seem to involve a lot of walking, which is never a slog because you're getting to explore and see something new.
1. After finding a lot of expired canned goods, I decided to use them anyway, as they can keep for years beyond the "use by" or "sell by" date. Today's lunch was canned jalapeno black eyed peas (circa 2022) and fresh corn bread. It was delicious, and I have enough left over for a 2nd meal.
2. The hired man cut a lot of brush from around my air conditioner condenser. It was looking like a jungle back there! To avoid paying to haul it to the dump, I stuffed a 96- gallon city yard waste can full of limbs and leaves. I have 2 other equally large cans to fill up, which I'm doing bit by bit. It'll be done by trash collection day. They'll also let me fill up 20 large paper yard waste bags each time for them to pick up free. It will take several weeks to get rid of it all. But it won't cost me anything extra (other than what I pay for regular trash pickup) -- I'll save at least $60. In the meantime, the brush pile is in the back yard and it's not hurting anything.
3. Yesterday, I used my Ollie's Outlet tabletop-sized oven (a real oven, not a microwave) and was able to bake a salmon dinner. A culinary success -- and a frugal win! Even if my regular oven wasn't broken, using this oven will save me $$ because it is big enough to cook a meal for one or two people, but small enough not to use oodles of electricity or heat up the kitchen during hot weather.
4. Shopped our store's clearance aisle and got some items for half price. But I compared the prices -- and therefore did NOT get the "organic" artificial sweetener. Even half off, 30 packets of that were about the same price as 50 packets of (full-priced) Splenda.
5. Discovered my almost-empty bottle of Himalayan Pink Salt, which has a grinder top, can be refilled. (Hadn't realized the top screws off, despite its grinding mechanism.) Will buy the Himalayan Pink Salt that's packaged in a bag (much cheaper) and refill the bottle.
I know that Dollar Tree sells (or at least used to sell) Himalayan sea salt bags for $1.25.
Thanks, Katy!
I think our Vitamins Plus health food section sells it, as well, and I will check our price. If it's more than a buck and a quarter, I'll run down to Dollar Tree. I was just in DT the other day to buy a mop head, but the salt wasn't on my shopping list.
1. Friend gave us a pint of homemade maple syrup. Liquid gold!
2. Received a lot of magazines from Buy Nothing. Will save them for our winter stay in Arizona.
3. My sister treated us to hot hoagie takeout sandwiches. Used $5 off coupon.
4. Tried giving away various lightbulbs on Buy Nothing. No takers, so I will bring them to the county Environmental Center where they will go in the Reuse Room.
5. Steamed broccoli and added the water to the pot for boiling pasta.
That's such a good idea to bring magazines on vacation, which you can then leave for other vacationers.
Yikes! I was afraid I was going to find out that you’ve purchased a Labubu!
1. I went out for a walk and found 22 cents in change. One of the coins was in a crosswalk and is barely recognizable as a dime.
2. I went to Fred Meyer and bought a dozen eggs for $1.49, half price ground beef, and clearance produce bags containing mangos.
3. I sometimes find empty “MXD” cans that people don’t pick up because they’re presented as cocktails, and Oregon doesn’t accept “spirits” in its can deposit program. I did some research and discovered that MXD drinks are actually malt liquor with cocktail flavoring. (Yuck.) Since they don’t contain spirits, I can return the cans for 10 cents. Good to know!
4. For dinner, I’m making a pizza out of fridge and freezer odds and ends.
5. I’m reading Virginia Guiffre’s book on the Libby app, and I’d like to say that Epstein and his friends (and Virginia’s family) are disgusting, and I hope there’s a irrefutable smoking gun in the Epstein files. What a sad book!
Even if that can isn't a 10¢ deposit can, it's still good to have picked it up and gotten it into the recycling stream.
I always picked them up, but wondered whether I was getting credit. I think the professional canners leave them. More for me!
The other type of can that doesn’t get picked up is “Mike’s Hard Lemonade”, which people might assume contains spirits. Nope! I just researched it, and it’s another flavored malt beverage.
Li, whatever is in that lemonade is POTENT! I had a can about 20 years ago and it put me on my keister.
Beautiful dresser. I want it! Our Goodwill doesn't even accept or sell furniture anymore.
I was at Goodwill this morning. I walked there while Midas was changing my oil and doing a close inspection of my car. I found four items worth buying: a brand new hoodie in an aqua shade that I love, a Christmas tin, a Santa figurine, and a Steve Madden backpack. It's a small one. My recent plane trip made me realize I needed a backpack that would fit under the seat. Total spending was $30, so there were no great bargains, but I'm still pleased with what I got. The backpack alone was worth twice that.
Midas told me my car was in good shape and that I could ignore my Toyota dealer's pleas to come in for scheduled maintenance. I did spring for new wipers. I could have gone to AutoZone and put them on myself, but I am not very handy in that way.
Yesterday I thawed some blueberry pancake batter, cooked up a serving, and then made the rest into waffles, which I froze for another day.
I found a bag of mini candy bars on a bench, apparently abandoned. I looked them over thoroughly. They were all sealed, so I took them home.
I sent cash electronically to two of my grandkids for their birthdays. I didn't buy cards, as I usually do. They are old enough not to be thrilled by snail mail, and cards are beginning to seem like a waste of money. Even the cheap ones.
I always take my big diesel farm truck to O'Reilly's as they put them on for me and I don't have to get out a step ladder.
I've been having problems with my $7%65"-'-+!?!% lawnmower, I trailered it to the store and they had fun with all of their fancy meters and tools. They are sweet people. I made them a plate of cookies after all their fun. I have to order a part from the lawn store.
I bought one of the tiny TJ's totes to keep on hand for a gift, and one each for my grandchildren who will love playing with them and will use them as a little wallet for an upcoming trip. A frugal and useful stocking stuffer.
1. I sewed a present for my mother-in-law using scraps, so that was pretty much free. But I paid $19 to mail it to England. She's in her 80's and loves getting a gift that isn't just something we can order from Amazon uk. Since the gift itself was free-ish ( know that technically the scraps cost something but not much) then the postage isn't a bad price for a gift.
2. Eating free persimmons.
3. Getting my list together to deliver all of the Christmas gifts when we're in that area (4 hours drive for us) next week.
4. I picked up a whole bag of utensils from takeout food from Buy Nothing. We never get takeout (too many food allergies to eat out) and I love having some disposable utensils for trips.
5. We picked up 20 bags of free compost from our city compost hub. We filled an enormous raised bed. We also used all of our free bricks and free mulch for this job. It's weird to not have the stockpiles all over the yard, but I'm thrilled to be putting them all the use!
1. For 2 of my regularly scheduled mystery shops, I have to buy 1/2 gallon of milk each. Neither my partner nor I drink milk, but we do regularly/daily eat yogurt. So, after 2 YEARS (!), I finally tried making homemade yogurt in the slow cooker, which seemed to work. This should will save us about $7 per month. Perhaps for my next step, I'll strain it & try to make whey butter?
2. I was able to double-stack coupons at BJ's, and I got 12 pounds of flour for $3.74 and 1 pound of grass-fed beef chuck for $3.99. I also shopped for loss leaders when I was at other grocery stores in the area and grabbed any receipt that I saw. Scanned for a few extra points on Fetch, and I even found $1.61 back on Ibotta.
3. I'm making a big batch of carnitas with pork butt that I got for $.99 per pound. My partner and I will be working a side gig, helping at a friend's shop during the month of December, so I'm working to have 16 meals ready in the freezer for those days. Otherwise, I imagine we will fold and order take out.... I'm also making stock with kitchen scraps and saved chicken bones.
4. I have some gift certificate credit on Amazon (sorry, Katy) and found a few deals, like $0.97 for Betty Crocker cake mix, and Fetch has a promotion if you buy two, so I think they will be less than $0.50.
5. The heat is down to 63, but I'm sitting in the kitchen, wearing a sweater, and warmed by the oven that has been on for the carnitas.
Excess canning jars just left my house about 30 minutes ago. Clutter out, money in.
Discovered something frugal I was doing that I didn't even know I was already doing. Read an article having to do with both minimalism and frugality. One thing that was mentioned was not buying/storing decorations for your home for every holiday/season. I don't decorate already (yay me!) If it requires dusting, I am NOT INTERESTED.
We have a small ceramic Christmas tree that comes out on my December birthday and goes back into the box on New Year's Eve. The little nativity I have that is made out of 3 pieces of wood similar to balsa wood in the shape of a triangle with red felt covering the back and a teeny tiny Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus inside, stays out all year long. I remember my dad having it in his hospital room after he was hospitalized for a heart attack (I was VERY young at the time.....maybe 4 or 5.)
I have 6 wooden Christmas ornaments that my brother-in-law made which are too pretty to have out just once a year. There is an open shelf between the living room and the kitchen. They hang down from the top shelf.
I periodically go to a painting class (once or twice a year) to learn to paint. I have completed 6 paintings, 5 of which are hanging in my house. The 6th one I sent to my daughter as a gift. At home, I have a beach scene right inside the front door, a snowman on one living room wall and a sunset with puffball dandelions in the foreground. Back the hall, I have a stone bridge over a creek in winter, and the one tree in the background is decorated like a Christmas tree. The other tree in the background reminds you of the aluminum trees in "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown"...and it's pink and silver. The last one is a quirky ostrich (head and neck only). My daughter's is a giant sunflower. They are displayed year round regardless of season. Also, a friend gave me a Christmas wreath she made last year. It's a simple red ribbon wrapped around a wreath frame with a few branches and pinecones at the bottom and a red bell at the top. It's hung on my door since last year and will continue to hang there.
I am going to a painting class Thanksgiving week. The painting we are learning is a giant poinsettia, which I will give as a Christmas gift.
No need to store holiday decoration because I really don't have anything that isn't out year round already (except the ceramic tree).
I love the dresser, just look at that wood grain.
1. I listed a set of flatware on Ebay that I'd purchased at an estate sale. It happened to come in a nice expandable utensil organizer. I gave it to my daughter who was thrilled that it fit perfectly and freed up another drawer in their small kitchen.
2. I walked three days in a row with a friend. Free exercise.
3.My brother-in-law came over to visit. We drank coffee and I served a raspberry danish from Aldi. Frugal socializing.
4. My mother gave me some 9V batteries that she had no use for. I like to keep a couple on hand for when one of my smoke alarms starts chirping. I had just used my last one.
5. I finished another library book and am starting another one.
Your daughter sounds like me -- my love language is free organizing supplies!
1. My stove broke and I elected to fix it rather than replace it. The fix was about $300 total, but I'm ok with it. One less thing in a landfill, and the replacement wasn't so hard. I could probably do it again in the future after watching the repair man. But here's to another ten plus years on the new relay system.
2. I leaned into not having an oven by making chili and crock pot ribs this past weekend. It pushed my creative skills and used several things we already had in the house. The one or two times we needed an oven in the last few weeks my neighbors let me utilize theirs.
3. I cleaned the porch by giving orchid mulch and an orchid to a neighbor with more of a green thumb than I. I also gave a slightly damaged wreath to a neighbor who does crafts and can probably use parts of it. Again keeping things out of landfills and clearing my own house. I dropped the items off personally and am glad for it.
4. After returning my EZ pass transponders one state refunded me about $30, I used the refund balance to order pizza which made it a very inexpensive school and work night meal.
5. I stopped into CVS to use my Extracard reward and found several snack items on clearance and snatched them up. Candy has gotten very expensive, so we will enjoy a snack for half off plus a little extra discount. It's good to treat myself and my family but without paying full retail.
Plus you supported a local repairman!
There are certainly a lot of countertop alternatives to cook your food these days.
Oh, one more thing I do/don't do: Christmas cards. When I worked at a grocery store, all the little old ladies REQUIRED Christmas Stamps. Christmas cards MUST have Christmas Stamps.
Baloney.
I used to send out Christmas cards. Bought them cheap at the dollar store. Not anymore. Our church has a pile of FREE postcards...all different designs. Christmasy? No. I write a note and send to the few people I still send to and mail it. Postcard postage is cheaper than 1st class postage. If the recipient is upset because it isn't a "Christmas Card" with a "Christmas Stamp"...too bad.
I miss receiving cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards!
I still send cards to the older friends and family, because a stamp is a small price to pay.
Agree! I have a few out of state very elderly aunts & uncles who I send photo cards to (& my kids are 30 & 28!) I love a secular Xmas stamp & will use them year round until they’re used up. I have boxes of Xmas decor & go all out. I rarely buy new. Everything has a traditional place & our family finds joy in the traditions. Different strokes- certainly not “baloney”
1. Picked the last of my pumpkins, and gave two of them to my cousin. She wants to make soup. Also gave her a few of the apples out of the 30 lbs I picked from her brother's orchard. Made a large pot of apple sauce and a delicious apple crumble.
2. My cousin came with me to visit my 90 year old Dad. She brought lovely cinnamon rolls to share, and I took homemade soup. The ferry was free for her as she is a senior, and we travelled mid week.
3. Same cousin took us to the pub for dinner, as a thank you for having her stay.
4. Used an extremely expired block of cream cheese to make a cranberry loaf. It was delicious and no one died.
5. Had to get an "emergency" supply of a Rx I get as I am almost out, and don't see my doctor for a few days. 14 pills cost me $1.02. They are usually totally covered by my extended health benefits, but they don't pay fully when its this kind of purchase.
6. Sold another pair of boots on Marketplace, making around $50.
$1.02 is not too shabby!
My 100% pine IKEA Hemnes bedroom set purchased in 2007 is still in perfect condition : ). My family has had really good experiences with IKEA's all-wood collections and we have lots of furniture that is over 30 years old and still functional. I don't appreciate their newer collections that are not 100 % wood. That dresser is beautiful - I love the knobs!
That is good to hear, thank you very much for sharing about your furniture.
I have some family furniture (with the original purchase invoice) from 1905 that has similar figured wood to that dresser. A tall secretary, a stacking barrister's bookcase, a hall bench and really beautiful hall mirror (With hat hooks) and a single straight backed chair. They bring me much joy, particularly as I loved my dad's cousins who gifted them to me (they are from one of my Dad's great Aunts, I think?)
1. I moved inside an enormous pot with a plant that I know isn't winter proof. However, I am going to ask #2 son to carry it upstairs to the back bedroom where there is a south facing window and space in front. My old farmhouse is lacking in accessible windows, so growing plants indoors takes creativity.
Currently it is taking up too much room in the kitchen but I am LOVING the tropical vibe. So stepping around it is a small price to pay for the smile I get every time I pass by.
2. My thrift store buddy has a friend who's husband has been kind enough to offer me free dry firewood a couple of years in a row (they live on a large acreage and there have been many trees blown over, so he gets out to cut and chop which gives him joy, however they don't have an indoor fireplace!) #2 son and I picked up two loads (his girlfriend joined us for the second one) and my son was struck by how very NICE this man is. #2 and his girlfriend did most of the loading the second time and all of the unloading - a good thing as he is the one who uses most of the wood right now, and I have a shoulder impingment!
I took the Nice Man a dozen eggs, however I was delighted to hear, on the drive home, that #2 son wanted to take them a Christmas gift. I think he will get a poinsettia in December and deliver it with thanks. I suggested he also write and mail a thank you card, and I suspect that will happen this week. Yay for kids who know how to show appreciation
3. I visited the dented vegetable store and hit pay-dirt at the discount shelves – 6 pound bags of firm/overripe bananas for $1.99, 6 large broccoli stalks for $1.99, bags of 7 coloured bell peppers for $1.99, plain yogurt (best by date still a few days away) and milk both at 50% off, and a bag of radishes (probably 3 bunches) for $0.99.
I had gone for a squash to roast for soup, which I did purchase, however the other items were such a good price dinner plans changed on the fly.
4. The broccoli required immediate knife-work attention (there was a reason it was discounted) so I stood at the sink and worked my way through the pile. Of course I had a head of broccoli in the fridge so it too was processed. All of it was steamed, as it was prepared. The less good looking stems were chopped finer and added to a huge bowl full of macaroni that I cooked up. I had some stale-dated tuna in the cupboard so I added that, grated cheese from my basement fridge, with the discount milk (and the tail end of other milk in the fridge) to thin a lot of cans of good old Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.
I ended up with 4 casseroles of tuna broccoli macaroni and cheese – one into the freezer, two cooked for my crew here, and one to #1 son when I picked up my grandson for my afternoon 'duties'.
I made a broccoli and cheese (and cream of mushroom soup) casserole for my daughter Outlaw, as she is avoiding noodles right now and doesn't eat tuna. That, too, is went over during my trip to get their boy.
I am not at all familiar with that doll but her outfit is so cute! Even cuter with a bag, really styling.
Where did you purchase the curry cubes?
Love the tiger oak dresser! Our goodwill over prices items. I’ve brought it up but as long as people continue to purchase they will not change.
Stick some little candy bananas from a package of Runts in the TJs bag!