Five Frugal Things | 20's haircut, a fabric shaver, applesauce, and more
1. I gave Sonia a haircut.
After watching Downton Abbey and seeing Edith's 1920s haircut, she was itching for a change.
So, we cut off a few inches and she is loving her new, shorter 'do!
(I used the same basic method I wrote about in How to do a Simple Bob Haircut, adding some long layers all around.)
Since Sonia's hair is wavy, giving her a haircut a super low stress proposition. Any tiny mistakes are totally covered by the waves.
2. I renewed my Cook's Country subscription.
My latest issue came with a 3 year offer for $42.95. That's like getting more than one year free as compared to the price on Amazon.
The form was mail-in, but I opted to log in online and redeem the offer. Less work, no stamp necessary!
3. I made applesauce.
The produce stand's last day is Halloween, so I popped by that day and bought all the bruised apples they had ($11), plus a full half bushel box of Honeycrisp for $32.
We've been eating some of the apples, but I also turned a whole lot of them into applesauce, which I froze for winter eating.
Here's how I make applesauce.
4. I shaved some pills off my leggings.
Aldi had a fabric shaver in their Special Buy section, and I bought one for these leggings, which have pilled terribly despite the fact that I've line dried them every single time.
I am super impressed with how well this little gadget works. And I have to tell you that it is pretty darn fun to use.
I kind of wish I had more pilled items lying around!
5. I...
- was out unexpectedly late last night with no dinner and made myself a sandwich at home instead of getting fast food
- made my own coffee at home
- ordered dry shampoo online (cheaper there!)
- scanned my receipts with Fetch
Share your Five Frugal Things in the comments!
P.S. Fetch is a free app that gives your rewards based on what groceries you buy. You can get $3 just for downloading the app and scanning your first receipt. Use code QG8V2.
Can I bring all my pilled clothes by? 😀
YES. de-pilling party at my house!
I suppose Sonia will be happy that in 55 days we'll officially be in the '20s again! If she wants to see any 1920s movies, there's a bunch on Prime Video and on YouTube.
1.) A drawer in my kitchen broke on me and unfortunately it's one of those weird custom jobs. Unfortunately I couldn't replace the drawer itself but I was able to get it back into a usable state.
2.) Since I was in for a penny and in for a pound and already at Homeless Despot I bought some hobby wood and built myself a semi custom drawer organizers for a few of my drawers. Total cost to me was around $8 or so. Unfortunately whomever made these drawers in the first place already made some rather awkward ones for the cutlery drawer.
I really want a new kitchen but this will have to last for now.
3.) So this one irks me. My wife sent me to the store to buy some cold medicine and suggested I get the Mucinex or the store brand. Well a bottle of that is around $9! I look at the active ingredients and start comparing it to other brands and it turns out I can get the same stuff under another brand name (and then the generic of that one) for only $2.50
4.) Stocked up on some essentials for the season (flour, soup etc.) using a fistfull of coupons and paired them with sales.
5.) Took advantage of Barnes and Noble's Criterion sale to get 50% off of a title I've been wanting to buy and used a B&N Gift Card that was given to me on my birthday.
I'm envious that you have holiday sales and coupons. There hasn't been much of that around my area for 3-4 years.
That surprises me, to be honest. They are already going hog wild on the turkeys for the year.
Hahahaha! "Homeless Despot!"
I learned that from an old television repairman. Where he learned it, I have no idea.
Sonia is such a vintage beauty!
1. Last night's dinner was pasta with the last really red tomatoes from the garden, beans from the garden that I froze and a kale salad from the kale that's starting to thrive.
2. We spent almost 2 1/2 weeks on two separate vacations in October. By taking food and utilizing Dollar Tree, we kept our food costs really reasonable. I also made a nice dent on my freezer food the week we went to the beach.
3. I sold really old fall decor and used the proceeds to buy a few new items that fit better in this home. I didn't buy the really, really pretty tablecloth that would have matched everything perfectly. It would only be used once or twice a year and I already have one fall tablecloth. I may, however, check to see if it's half price after Thanksgiving. Which isn't likely, thankfully.
4. As I'm putting away summer clothes and decor and getting out winter, I'm sorting things into the garage sale pile. It's so much easier than going through everything before the garage sale.
5. I hate reselling but I found a pair of like new Frye boots at Goodwill for 4.99. I think I can get at least 30.00 for them. They're a size 6 so a little tougher to find small feet to fit.
And I have several items to be de-pilled. Want to work on them, Kristen???
Yes! Send them my way.
Or get yourself a fabric shaver...it's so much fun.
I hope the boots sell fast!
I wear size 6!
Her hair naturally does a marcel wave but if she wants to play with a curling iron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelling
Lovely haircut for Sonia! She is so stylish!
My five frugal things:
1. I started using Fetch. Thanks for the referral code! I have earned about $3.00 for scanning my grocery receipts.
2. Cooked a big pot of soup on Sunday which has been my lunch for the week. Meatless split pea soup is a very frugal. (But I really eat it because it is so yummy and comforting.)
3. Bought a fantastic pair of skinny jeans from Costco for $19.99. I know that is not a huge steal compared to thrift store finds. But combined with the convenience of already being at Costco for my monthly shopping, it was a good score for me.
4. We decided to stop storing cooked food in plastic containers. Rather than buy new or thrifted storage containers, I poked around in my basement. I found multiple ceramic and glass bowls I can use. I have been using plates as covers when storing food in bowls in the fridge.
5. I stopped drinking coffee. While I only stopped at Starbucks occasionally, I saved about $10 bucks in October.
I have not had tons of luck buying jeans for me at thrift stores, so I think $19.99 is a great price!
H&M has great jeans as well for about the same price. I can attest to their being long wearing in that several of my H&M skinny jeans are approaching the 7 year mark.
I just got Zoe a pair from there because Old Navy no longer sells the 00 size. H&M definitely has a lot available in tiny sizes, which are a little hard to find!
Battra92, I love your name for Home Depot.
I love the haircut as well! It turned out perfectly, looks great on Sonia and reminds me so much of the fingerwaves my straight-haired grandmother used to get permed in her hair. She got set on that style in when it first came in style and never changed it. People always loved her hair.
1. This is funny, because I just shaved a sweater this weekend and thought, I wonder if Kristen knows about sweater shavers, because they are great. A friend put me onto them a few years ago.
2. I bought more Christmas gifts yesterday. I used Swagbucks on Amazon to get gifts for four people; my cost was around $6 a person after the SB. I then used a 40% off code plus free shipping on top of some sales to get five gifts at Lands' End, with some monogramming. Costs averaged about $18 a person, and that included a jacket, throw and pullover.
3. I located a gift I bought back in the spring on clearance for $5. I had forgotten it, but luckily found it before the holiday.
4. I picked the rest of the meat off a chicken I had roasted on Sunday and made a chicken and (cassava) biscuit casserole. Good stuff. Thanks for that inspiration, Kristen!
5. My outfit today is a logo blouse my work bought me, thrift store slacks and shoes, and a handed-down cardigan. I wear them with pride.
I have never heard of the Fetch app! Can I use it if I do Walmart grocery pickup? The receipt is emailed to me.
yes, you should be able to use it on Fetch.
Thank you!
I actually can't scan e-receipts on Android. Apparently you can on an iPhone though.
Lauren - you need a scanner app, & then you can also scan on an Android phone.
Oh! Good to know! I just had CVS print my receipt today instead of getting the email like usual. But I hate wasting the paper!
I love, love, love emailed receipts. You never lose them, and there's no paper!
How much freezer space do you have? That much applesauce must take up a lot of space. I have a small chest freezer so I prefer to can my apple sauce.
Love, love, love the haircut! 5 Frugal things...
1. Asked my daughter for my favorite gourmet coffee for my birthday! Got it!
2. Asked my hubby for an electric milk frothy pot for my birthday. Got it!
3. Asked my son for my favorite candle for my birthday. Got it!
4. We had lunch at the house after church on Sunday for my birthday instead of a restaurant.
5. My grandson won a cake for my birthday at a church fall festival and bought it over as a
Birthday cake!
It is great that you have the skill to cut your daughter’s hair and get such good results. My husband cuts my hair and gives my boys their monthly haircuts. It saves me hundreds a year and is so convenient. Definitely a great thing when you have someone in the family who has the skill to give haircuts and get excellent results every time.
I love my sweater shaver as well! I've shaved tons of stuff, including several purses that have fabric on them. The only thing I've really regretted shaving was some very thin fabriced tee shirts, where the armpits had pills - the fabric was so thin that the shaver sucked it up and chewed tiny holes all over it. So just a tiny warning to anyone shaving anything thin and light!
Another parent at the playground was just raving about that fabric shaver yesterday! I might have to see if my Aldi still has any next time I go.
1. Yesterday was one of those rare times that procrastination paid off! People had recommended that I buy a locker shelf for my kindergartener's snow boots, but I wasn't excited about buying one so I put it off. Last week I decided I really did need to get one and yesterday Meijer had some nice ones for 90% off! I got a quality one for $1.29. Yay!
2. My husband coaches volleyball and we're into playoffs, which means that the whole family goes to the games even if they're 45 minutes away with a 7:30 start time. There are 3 games this week that fit that criteria! So I got some fun and exciting snacks from the store (Aldi's white cheddar popcorn and Fruit Loops that were on sale) to keep them away from the concession stand. Meijer also had the giant Crayola coloring pages books on sale for $1 (regularly $5) so I got one to help keep them occupied, plus we're borrowing a small tablet from the library that has some stories on it they can watch. My kids are 1, 3, and 5 so it'll take some work to keep them from being hot messes in the gym that late at night!
3. I made a second pot of coffee this morning instead of giving in to the temptation to swing through Starbucks after school drop off.
4. Used Ibotta on a couple of recent purchases to earn a few bucks back on stuff I was already going to buy.
5. A few years ago I bought a kids winter coat on clearance for $3. My son used it a little but not a ton and it was still in great shape. I listed it online for $3 (being happy to have broken even) and it sold quickly but because I dropped it off at the buyer's workplace she gave me $5 for it. It was only a mile out of my way, so not a big deal. The coat is being used, it's not taking up space in my house, and I made money. Win.
I have so much knitted stuff that constantly pills, and I have yet to find a fabric shaver that I like. Maybe I'll try the Aldi one.
1. I remembered to sign up for a BJ's membership (we have a new one opening up nearby) before the deadline for an offer to get a $35 gift card, which brings the membership fee down to $20 for the year.
2. I went back to You Need a Budget after a few months of not tracking well and made a budget for November (and have been tracking since then).
3. I really did not want to make dinner yesterday--I came back from our homeschool co-op with a headache--but I had picked up some extra hot dogs and crescent rolls a couple of weeks ago when they were on sale, so I just rolled up some croissant dogs, went to lie down, and then my husband put them in the oven when he got home. Add a bag of baby carrots and there was dinner.
4. I cancelled unlimited data on my phone when I realized that in the last two years I have never even come close to hitting the data limit on the regular plan.
5. I decided to show up for a kid's birthday party where the invitation had said "Your presence is the best present" without a present and not worry about it. My daughter drew her friend a picture and gave that as the gift. It helped that the mom is a friend who I know actually doesn't like a lot of stuff coming into their house.
I have never tried another shaver, so I don't know how this one compared. But it did work great on my leggings!
I do Hospitality for a large group of women that meets six times a year to enjoy artistic programs. I have a budget, and I love never spending it all, even though it's not "my money". Well, we all pay modest dues, so technically, a tiny bit is my money, lol. For some reason, they give me more every year, so I challenge myself to keep the value high.
In preparation for tomorrow's first meeting of the 2019-2020 season, I:
1. Thrifted another coffee pot over the summer, so we now have plenty of the 32-cup size. The bigger ones take too long to brew.
2. Found cute Fall paper goods at the dollar store.
3. None of my usual cheapo sources had paper cups. Reluctantly went to Party City. Put five packs of the only fall-themed 9-oz. coffee cups they had in my cart. Oof, they were $3.49/18. Argh! I scoured the aisles looking for a better deal. I found their Big Party Bags on sale, buy one, get one half off. I chose two solid colors (which will complement the leftover cups from last year) and put the original ones back. The solid colors were $4.99 for 40 cups. Instead of spending $18.98 on 90 cups, I spent $8.13 for 80. Close enough and over ten bucks saved!
4. The Fall colored tablecloth is actually a swath of fabric I found at the thrift store. 16 feet of 54" fabric for $10? Oh, yes, please. Bonus is that it has an oilcloth type backing and is easy to clean. I've used it on my own dining room table all Fall so far. I'll wipe it off and it will look brand new.
5. I bought Whole Milk and Half & Half at Grocery Outlet on Senior Day for an extra 10% off. The rest of the coffee condiments are leftover from other community events.
6. Will pick up this season's supply of coffee at Costco today. Will grind it coarsely so I can make Cold Brew Coffee, which speeds up the process and tastes better.
7. Finally, for various reasons, we have fewer members bringing dishes than normal. At GO and the 99 Cents Only store, I scored ingredients for two huge frittatas, five boxes of Pioneer Woman Zucchini Bites ($1.00/box), and a dozen persimmons. I recently learned that if you slice them horizontally instead of in wedges, they have a star pattern inside. I'll sprinkle them with lime and pink sea salt and arrange them on a pretty (thrifted) platter, for a festive Fall touch. I spent $14.00 on ingredients and will use a few spices from my pantry. No one will go hungry and the budget starts the season in great shape.
You are a first rate frugal hostess!
Here are my frugal five...or so....
1. Hubby & I both needed haircuts & I had two coupons to use. They let us use both coupons on our haircuts saving us $5.
2. Hubby had his apple airpods on while cleaning up leaves in our yard. He lost one while dumping the leaves in the woods. Our daughter showed him the app where you can track them with your iphone. DH was just going to have me buy another pair & i said heck no, I'm looking for it. After a little digging in the mulched leaves with the help of the app, I found it. Lots of $ saved!!
3. I received a class action lawsuit check in the mail. Usually they're only for a few dollars each, but this one was for $126.63! What a nice surprise. Pays to fill out the claim forms which only take a few minutes.
4. Called my cable company yesterday and negotiated a better rate as I've been with them over 15 years. I even spoke to a manager who gave me better than the rep wanted to give me.
5. Made a huge pot of soup using up bits of this & that & cleaned up the fridge a bit. It was very tasty.
What a relief to find the airpod!
You’re not kidding....
1. Our big frugal thing was we signed up for our Medicare supplement this week. Ended up choosing a plan way different from what we expected. It's a PPO so we don't need referrals, etc., but we have no monthly premium. We just pay co-pays as we go along. Saves us a lot initially and if we stay healthy and don't need to visit many doctors or get prescriptions, we'll save a lot of out-of-pocket costs.
2. I am not a thrift store shopper usually, but I was in one with my sister-in-law and a beautiful blue sweater kept calling my name. The cost was $4, but the store was half a half-off sale, so I bought an Ann Taylor sweater for $2. I'm taking it with me to Chicago for a business trip this next week.
3. Resisted the urge to eat out even though the cupboard was bare of certain staples. We made do; didn't starve; and ate fairly healthfully.
4. Found a couple of 20% off coupons for stores we frequent, but that don't usually have coupons. They don't expire, so will use them next time we shop there.
Frugal fail: I went overboard at the produce market this week. I will freeze what I can before my trip and give away anything that doesn't freeze well. It was such beautiful produce, I just couldn't resist, but I should have known we couldn't eat it all.
Produce is so hard to manage before a trip! You don't want to buy so little that you run out, but it's hard to get it perfectly right.
Slightly off subject, but the thing that puts me off of things like Fetch, Ibotta, even the new rendition of Box Tops is the data mining. I am just *this much* reluctant to tell any third party what I buy from every single store. Not that I'm doing anything untoward, by any means — just that the idea gives me the creeps.
I'm 100% with you, Karen.
Sure; it's kind of like store loyalty cards or even something like the Starbucks or Chick-Fil-A app. You give them data in exchange for giving you discounts. Everyone's gotta find their own personal comfort level with that, and if Fetch is too much for you, you can easily find other ways to save. 🙂
It's interesting where the line is drawn in my psyche. I have a local coffee shop card and the Walgreens card, use Dollar General digital coupons, occasionally use Rakuten and Honey — but none of the apps that collect more comprehensive shopping data. (I've thought about this way too much; the Box Tops income funds reading awards at our school, but I haven't talked myself into using the app.)
DH and I finally completed our 23 & Me kits we received for Christmas, 2018. Ahem. Anyway, they require you set up an account to get your results. Then they ask eleventy bazillion very personal questions. As I was doing it, a little voice in my head was wailing nooooooooooo! Still not sure it was worth the risk.
That's a good point...those companies have a LOT of very personal data.
That has been the main reason I haven't taken part in those things. They offer you (mostly) a pittance in order to track you and that bothers me.
Love the haircut. It almost looks like you did finger waves to achieve the uniform look of her waves. Maybe you could get a few pincurls in too.
1, 2 and 3) So we are 9ish months away from dropping our sweet little one off at college. We will be downsizing to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo for a year or two (until the military moves us again and that will be a house). I started looking at condos to get an idea of where we will be moving to. I am currently listing on Facebook marketplace 3 items a day. We make a little cash and we minimize the size storage bin we will need.
4) Eating out of our freezer. We have a stocked deep freezer that will be going before we move. I'd like a newer, more energy efficient model when we move back out to a house.
5) Negotiated my gym membership. It's my lifeline (especially since my little one is spreading her wings). I love it, but at a reasonable price.
1. My elderly neighbor drove to Aldis and took me. I do not drive or have a car. I always have list ready. We are going to buy all our salad fixings and divide them and split the cost we say in the future. Also divide bags of potatoes and apples. 2. Joined a choir and got a tape from one of the ladies thru email of all the songs to practice. How cool. Just a few of us have it. Wondered why some are so improved in just a week!!!!! 3. Bought tiles at thrift store...asst. ones to make backsplash in kitchen 4. Giving family each $ for sale clothing at christmas and little cute things I picked up at antique stores and thrifties wrapped in very pretty manner. This travels easier and gets the job done. 5. Put a book in someone's free library. Plan to put some pencils there too.
Re: Cook's Country, my kids and I made the chocolate brownie cookies from the issue that just came out this afternoon, and they were a hit. I messed up the instructions and ended up combining things in the wrong order, and they were still really good. If you like a dark chocolatey flavor, I'd give them a try.
Mr. FG and Sonia were eyeing those just the other day! Good to know that we should definitely give them a try.
1. Realized that one of the pump rooms, at my new office, has a hospital-grade breast pump in it. Asked around and one of my friends had all the parts that went with that pump. Saved $40 and saves me time pumping at work.
2. Ordered cat litter from Target.com. They ship the cat litter for free if you spend over a certain amount, which is so convenient. Theie prices on cat litter are great and they offered 10% off for being a family member of a veteran.
3. Spent $64 on groceries this week
4. Spoke with Amazon representative about a missing part to a cell phone we recently purchased. I really like the phone and already activated it, so I did not want to return it. Amazon representative gave me $22 back.
5. Made deodorant this weekend, which costs maybe $1 to make, lasts at least 3 months, and has no chemicals in it
Wow, how lovely Sonia looks -- and what an amazing job :)!
Here goes:
1. Forced self at end of short rope to go grocery shopping and cook dinner late after work when husband was suggesting Subway I knew we would have some days out this week so it was a good call.
2. Trying to use up foods and not waste - old already maked down potatoes, frozen items, and pantry stuff, etc.
3. Trying to get through school without buying too much stuff -- using up lots of bits and bobs for crafts, etc., since the room is jam-packed at this point.
4. Returned to Library with solemn promise to self to return them ON TIME.
5. Using my dental coverage while I still have it -- had crowns and root canal and cleanings, using up my coverage for the calendar year. My nice dentist offered to finish the crown in the new year to be under 2020 coverage, saving me money.
My eye doctor did that for me once! Glasses in December, contacts in January. So nice when it can work out that way.
I was very happy :)!
1) Continue to use the library for movie rentals- Life of Pets 2 Movie Night is now part of our weekend plans.
2) Daughter has assigned books to read for her English (or ELA as they call it now) class. For some reason the middle school does not provide the books like they do in elementary school. I took the free route and checked the book out of the library vs buying.
3) There were free apples at church on Sunday. I took enough to make a small apple crisp. A nice "free" dessert since I had the oatmeal etc already on hand.
4) The kids got a LOT of candy for Halloween. I asked them if I could have some of the snickers-- We have a potluck later in November and I am making an apple-snickers "salad". I am too cheap buy full snickers to normally makit it so free snickers is a win!
5) Took the kids to the CVS inside Target for flu shots. They give you a $5 gift card for each shot!
I set aside some of my apples to make a crisp...now I just need to actually do it!
Wow, she really suits that hairstyle!
1) Made egg cups to have for breakfasts so I wouldn't be tempted to buy from the cafe on the way to work.
2) Decided against getting a taxi and walked to my work meeting.
3) Bought a whole chicken, roasted it, and stripped it of the meat rather than buying chicken breasts. It was at at LEAST half the price!
4) Talked myself down from a clothes shopping spree. I can wait until the next sale.
5) Used a voucher for buy one get one free meals when I was out for dinner with friends.
Great job with the egg cups!
1. need new work pants & got some 40% off
2. watch catch-up tv & you tube instead of paying subscriptions
3. Centre food shopping around what's on special
4. Nearly a year now of not using a hairdryer - added bonus I don't have a problem with frizz anymore
5. Grouped errands in one trip
Hello all!
1. We did not go to the grocery at all last week. We just picked up milk one time from a gas station that has cheap milk. We try not to go to the grocery AT ALL once week out of every 7-8 weeks.
2. Aired up tires now that it is cooler to help on gas mileage.
3. Went to the free to me ART MUSEUM for the first time. It was amazing. Now that I know the ins and outs, I will go many times for free. I only saw a tiny portion in the two hours that I had available.
4. Will stock up on flour, brown sugar and walnuts at ALDI this week for the holidays....they are having a good sale. I do not use ALDI flour for bread baking, but it is just fine for cookies!
5. Been incorporating more meatless meals....empty nesters....no picky HUNGRY TEEN BOYS in the house......this is working out nicely.
Hooray for the #3 Art Museum! Going for hours on end is more exhausting than inspiring. Being able to go in for short bursts sounds wonderful. You can even pick out "your" art works or artifacts to visit periodically.
hah -- that is exactly how it feels, sometimes -- MY artworks 🙂 Enjoy!
I always have trouble coming up with 5 things.
1. We repaired instead of replacing our dryer. It's an old machine so fixing and replacing some of the components should let us keep using it for many more years.
2. Costco had clearanced out their Biggby gift cards to 40% off, so I bought gift cards to use when I go there on Wednesdays for their $3 lattes.
3. I'm keeping a log of all the Christmas gifts I have so far so that I don't overbuy for anyone and also so I don't misplace any gifts before then.
4. I'm keeping a spending log for the next 2 months as well, because our monthly spending is higher than it should be.
5. Meal planning and following the plan. I've been pretty good about eating at home.
Not frugal thing: I bought the Aldi beer, wine and cheese Advent calendars, which were not cheap, but were less expensive than buying similar products elsewhere.
Hubby got a free Target gift card with his flu shot
Finally organized all the kids clothes using our Imperfect Produce delivery boxes. Nice neat closet and not a penny spent.
Rented lots of Halloween movies and books from the library for free fun fall entertainment.
Mended holes in some of the kids’ clothes
Went to Costco and picked up bags of salad mix and a rotisserie chicken before working nights so we wouldn’t be tempted to eat takeout
Love the haircut! So glad your sweater de-piler works. I tried a razor once and put a hole in my sweater...
Here's my list of savings this week:
1) Thawed a turkey and have had dinners several days now. Tonight will be pasta with turkey thrown in.
2)Earned $16 so far in Swagbucks.
3)Selling things on ebay. Whatever doesn't sell will be donated and that will declutter my home.
4)Buying youngest a ice cream cake for his birthday using gift cards, so it will be free.
5)Found a ceramic covered bowl that a tenant left behind filled with change. Enough for a soda.
Oh dear! I can see how that would happen especially if the sweater was delicate.
The shaver has a guard on it, which makes things a little less nervewracking.
So if I get the fetch app, what can you spend your reward money on and where? Also, I see one comment that says it doesn't work with Android. Any other Android users having trouble? If so I won't bother with it. Thanks for any answers!
I have to say I am giddy right now because just found out that Sam's has a huge vat of coconut oil for less than $10. I'm sure people were looking at me as if I had lost my mind when I squealed for joy as I picked it up off the shelf. But hey, this stuff is expensive in smaller quantities and we go through it like nobody's business. Frugal win for the week!
Nothing frugal to add today, but I just want to say how beautiful Sonia is and your photography is beautiful as well.
Our frugal five for the week:
1. My middle daughter has a new home and asked me to make a tree skirt for her Christmas tree. I made it for her birthday from fabric I already had. It's a black and red buffalo check that I appliqued mamma and baby black bears on. Can't wait to give it to her next weekend.
2. My youngest was home last weekend from college and decided she wanted to crochet her older sisters blankets from chunky yarn. We shopped a sale and had coupons, too. She spent about $22 on materials for each blanket. Between the two of us, we were able to get both started before she left to go back to school.
3. Noticed the mending basket had a few items in it so I repaired a split seam in my oldest daughter's t-shirt, the seat of my youngest's favorite pj pants (she really needs to give them up) and fixed a tear in one of my husband's racing jerseys. He races motocross and caught it on a branch.
4. After repairing the pj pants, I decided the the girls were getting two pairs of flannel jammy pants for Christmas instead of one. Joann's had flannel on sale for $2.99 a yard and there was also a 25% off your entire purchase (also used for the yarn mentioned above). Doing the math, they will cost me about $5.25 each to make! Now to find the time...
5. Bought a dozen day old keiser rolls at the grocery store for a dollar. Using them for pulled pork sandwiches and sloppy joes. Any extras will be chopped and added to the bread ends in the freezer for future stuffing.
I absolutely love Sonia's hair. She has such a lovely classic style, and the hair is a perfect match.
We're in the thick of some crazy times at our house, and have guests arriving today (my parents, who are fabulous & helpful, but additional work & planning).
1) Found ground beef discounted to $.25/lb this weekend, and bought four pounds.
2) Drove our electric car all week & charged for free at work
3) Used miles accumulated for work travel to get 4 tickets to Whistler for ski break. We are very excited.
4) Bought gift cards for our "in a pinch" inexpensive/reasonably healthy salad bar restaurant. My husband & the boys go occasionally while I travel. They had a holiday offer, so we earned 5 meal passes by pre-purchasing. We add them to our dining out budget, and it helps offset a bit of the spending.
5) Sold an item on eBay for my sister.
That is a fantastic hair cut, and the model is lovely.