Two Frugal Things — Wedding Anniversary & an eBay Sale
by Katy on August 9, 2025 · 9 comments
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My husband and I decided to stay in town for our 32nd anniversary, as neither of us felt like putting the effort into organizing an out of town trip. Instead we spent the day enjoying our own amazing city.
• First up was dim sum at Excellent Cuisine, which only gets better with each visit.
• We then came home to work on projects for a bit. I added my fake plants into our built-in window box and my husband answered emails.
• I then took an hour or so to pick blackberries across town, which I promptly washed and added to the freezer.
• We ate delicious leftover eggplant/pepper pasta for dinner, which was fine as we’d enjoyed an indulgent lunch.
• We then drove over to Powell Butte park for an after-dinner constitutional, which was a perfect end to the day. Nice long walk with beautiful views of Mt St. Helens and Mt Hood. Free parking and only twenty minutes or so from the house.
• Lastly we stopped at New Seasons Market and picked up a half-price pint of ice cream for only (ha!) $3.99.
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I sold a piece off a free curbside chair on eBay for $35! This made me really happy, as this chair would normally be considered garbage. Might as well scavenge it for parts!
Tee hee hee!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Happy Anniversary!!
1. A friend’s husband stopped by to pick some fresh mint. I have a large patch that I’m happy to share.
2. I stayed home all day yesterday. I spent the whole day cleaning. No money spent.
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood…
Happy anniversary! You’re a year ahead of us. We’ll celebrate 31 years in October.
1) Headed out to the food pantry this morning. Really helps since my husband is on disability and I can only work part-time.What we can’t use, we share with others.
2) Ah, the joys of renting! There’s a water leak somewhere in the bathroom and a couple years ago, our landlord (supposedly) fixed a hole in the wall under the bathroom sink where mice were getting in. He was delinquet about fixing that until we came home to an 8 foot black snake in our bathtub! Fortunately, it was facing the outside wall. DH (my hero!) got it behind the head with his telescoping pruning shears, hauled it outside (while I screamed) and sliced and diced and put it in the garbage can. Yeah, I know, black snakes eat rodents, are good for the environment, etc. They don’t belong in my house! IMHO, the only good snake is a DEAD snake. At any rate, the mice have chewed through again. All necessary repairs (repairing the hole under the sink and fixing the water leak) are at the landlord’s expense, not ours – and that’s a great price – free for us!
3) Laundry ready to wash and hand outside when we get home.
4) A garbage bag full of donations for Salvation Army in the car…will drop them off on the way home. Less stuff in our house that will help someone else.
5) DH’s brother gave us an assortment of flower bulbs (about half a grocery bag). We don’t do well with plants. Giving them to DH’s sister who just moved into assisted living. She loves gardening and she is going to help take care of the little flower garden at the facility. Will bring joy to the residents when they bloom.
Happy anniversary! A nice meal out is always enjoyed more when it’s a special occasion.
Yesterday I hemmed the cut ends of several Ace bandages that were shortened because I’m small and don’t need a knee wrap that’s eight feet long. Also tidied up the big freezer and planned some meals. As part of that, I turned the whole crop of frozen homegrown cherry tomatoes into tomato sauce. Tidied up the pantry and found a few things to donate to a new charity thrift shop.
I join everyone else in wishing you a happy anniversary!
1. Beach walk this morning. I picked up a lot of empty beer cans and put them in the recycling bin. I also picked up stainless steel spoon which I will wash and donate. I walked 39 minutes, another notch in my belt to earn $10 in groceries from UHC.
2. Encountered a free pile yesterday and took home an avocado slicer, a potato masher, and a set of measuring spoons.
3. Was offered a pair of sandals yesterday and I accepted, based on the picture. I’ll pick them up next week.
4. Picked up the book How Not to Look Old from LFL. Might be good for a laugh!
5. Made sweet and sour cucumbers yesterday from a free package of mini’s. They’re chilling in recycled pickle jar. I’m excited to try them today!
Congratulations on your Ebay sale of the Cesca Breuer chair back. It would never have occurred to me to rescue that chair from a free pile. You definitely have an eye and understand the value of saving a part of the whole in order to restore a quality piece of furniture.
I was in a clean out the refrigerator mode yesterday which resulted in my cooking two different dinner entrees. First, I made a one pan meal that used up leftover chopped tomatoes, shredded cabbage, taco meat, half a bell pepper, a half cup of chopped onions, and a few cloves of already peeled garlic. I had to add a shredded carrot and a can of chopped tomatoes. I saw something similar in a video and thought I’d give it a try since I had all of the leftover ingredients ready to go. It was delicious.
The second recipe was designed to use a couple of chicken thighs that had been defrosted for a couple of days. I grabbed them from the freezer thinking that it was a large chicken breast. When I checked the package later I saw that it was two chicken thighs and then I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with them so they sat in the refrigerator for a few more days. I finally decided to bone and skin them and make a stir fry. I had a nice assortment of vegetables that needed to be used up as well as two cups of defrosted chicken stock from another recipe. Once I made up my mind it came together quickly and along with a pan of steamed rice made enough for several meals.
Nice work rescuing part of that chair!
Got home last yesterday & we debated take out. Instead, sat by the pool & had a glass of wine while chatting, & then reheated leftovers. Our third night eating the chicken curry, but it was so delicious & easy. I’m a huge fan of this recipe.
Happy anniversary. We have a few years of marriage on you. It’s nice that you enjoyed a staycation. I understand completely about not wanting to put the effort into a trip when there are nice things to do/see near home.
It was brilliant to save and sell the chair back. Kudos! Hopefully the metal will be scrapped.
1. Thursday was trash day and on our early morning walk we rescued two “like new” plastic pools and a chair that was a mate to a previously rescued chair. I listed everything on Freecycle last night and this morning awoke to a lot of interest in the pools. They have already been picked up. I think the chair will be claimed soon. I know ti is just a drop in the bucket of waste but keeping items out of the landfill feels good.
2. We walked the local wooded trail between our suburb and the next one. No need to go farther than that for a nice walk. In the parking lot we ran into people we know and did a bit of catching up.
Happy anniversary!
1) I’m picking blackberries this morning from the hedge that lines our driveway/lane. I’ll can jam and whole blackberries tomorrow.
2) Today is county fair day! We will park in a free lot and walk in, instead of paying $8 to park closer. I also bought the tickets in advance, which saved us $4 a ticket.
3) We have been planning a local “staycation” day out on the San Juan islands. We were going to take the “cruise” option for $79/pp, but I managed to convince everyone that the $16.50/pp walk-on ferry was the better option, so I made the reservations this morning. With the cruise, we only get a couple of hours in one island port. With the walk-on ferry, we can get onto the free inter-island ferry and visit four ports on the San Juans, if we so please. We can also do things at our own pace, instead of being tied to a day cruise schedule.
4) There are no baseboards in my kitchen, only bare plywood and I hate it. Last night we made the decision to just paint it with some white gloss wall paint we have on hand, and to then stencil on a little floral motif with cobalt blue paint. (My kitchen is yellow and white with cobalt blue backsplash tile and accents). Free fix, perhaps temporary, perhaps permanent.
5) Instead of going out for Friday night, we stayed home and enjoyed a cold beer in the orchard and making plans for winter maintenance. Two mama deer and three fauns wandered through while we were out there. We then walked back to the house and enjoyed a homemade pizza while watching Star Trek, Strange New Worlds. Much better than spending a fortune going out!
Congratulations to you two lovebirds. Guess you can call yourselves “oldlyweds” by now, LOL!
Wish I could take a stroll outdoors but our temps are in the upper 90s and feel like 100 degrees. Starting in mid-morning.
1. After ol’ Snuggy dog got into my laundry basket and chewed up 2 bras(!!), I needed some replacements. This is our (Texas) state’s back-to-school tax-free 3-day weekend (Friday, Sat. and Sunday), so I gritted my teeth and went to Walmart and Target, the last places I’d seen my brand of bras for sale. Didn’t want to break the boycott, but I needed the bras. (Being frugal means your underwear comes packaged in multi-packs of plastic bags, LOL.) Neither store had them. Most had padded bras, and if there’s one thing I don’t need, it’s padding in my bras….unless I’m going to a costume party dressed as Dolly Parton. I also didn’t want to go on Amazon. So I tried ebay. Success! My style, which may have been discontinued, was on there. So I bought several packages. I saved the Texas sales tax, at least, and it was free shipping. (Note to self: put laundry basket on top of dryer from now on. And close laundry room door.)
2. Frugal win: used my AARP card at Cici’s Pizza and got their 15% senior discount on their buffet, and promptly pigged out.
3. Frugal fail: didn’t know that it was Whataburger’s 75th anniversary and they were selling hamburgers for only 75 cents. One day only. Missed out on that deal because I didn’t hear about it until the 10 o’clock news.
4. This has been going on since tariffs were announced but I don’t think I remembered to list it: Stocked up on cans of coffee, since the tariff is going to up the prices. Can use the coffee in refillable/reusable k-pods or in a regular coffeemaker. Already the store I work in has priced new cans $13, up from $8.99. We don’t scan bar codes so the ones with the $8.99 price stickers will still be sold for that price. But people are snatching them up real fast, so they might already be sold out.
5. Haven’t paid for entertainment all summer: free over-the-air TV and radio, Wordle, online crossword and jigsaw puzzles. (And reading free books and NCA and Frugal Girl blogs…..or should that be classified educational?)