A Few of My Favorite Things

or What I Got for a Dollar (or Two)

I love getting a good deal as much as the next person and sometimes I'm in the right place at the time for a deal to just fall into my lap. That's a great feeling. Some how I feel like I've outsmarted the system when I know that all I have actually done is to help the store clear out unwanted merchandise. Still it makes me happy even years later.

What kind of deals have you gotten that you remember long after you made them? Here a few of mine. 

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  My Sun Hat

I got this hat on clearance at the end of the summer season for two dollars and I like to wear it anytime I'm out in the sun. It can be stuffed into a backpack without damage and I've gotten it wet without any problems. The hat shows no signs of wear even though I've had it for several years now.

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Baking Sheet and Spatula 

This baking sheet and spatula also came with a cookie mix, and all of them together only cost me a dollar. It was such a good deal that I got two sets. This was also a clearance item after Christmas. I have used these for maybe ten years now and they still work well. I finally got some heavier baking sheets, but these are still my go to items for every day cooking and baking. 

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Apple Plate

I got this plate at the dollar store for a dollar. It is heavy weight and I like its simple design as I like apples both to eat and as decoration. The best thing is that is handles hot things well and goes through the dishwasher without a problem.

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Fall Decorations

These door decorations were also end of the season clearance items and I think each one of them was under two dollars. These hangings are made of wood and work perfectly between my front door and front storm door. They fit the small space and can withstand the heat because it can get hotter than an oven there (Oh no, I just had a thought of another egg experiment.) I've had these for years and I only wish I had more of them like Miss Landers. She has one for every season.

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Maybe in the future, I will tell you about some "bargins" that didn't turn out so well. Unfortunately, I have some of those too.

Thankful Sunday--September 23, 2012

I am thankful that we have curbside recycling.

Weekly, our county picks up mixed paper, glass, cans, and several kinds of plastic. They will also pick up yard waste that they process into free mulch. We had a lot to put out this week because we forgot to do it last week.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Sept. 21, 2012

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money.

Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

 
 A couple more tomatoes went bad on the counter. This time I can't say that I was surprised by them. I meant to get to them because I knew that they were starting to go bad, but something else always seemed more important.  I eventually did get there and saved several, but not these two.

This Week's True Food Confessions

 We were lucky this week that we got to go to both a cook out and a pig roast. We took cookies and chips to them, so it was an easy weekend. During the week, we had to make some adjustments to our plans, so we had scrambled eggs one night instead of the chicken that we had planned. We had the chicken the next night. But the important part of this story is that we ate at home when the plans changed when it would have been easier to eat out. Score one for us.

But I had the most fun this week making lasagne by working with what was in the house. No ricotta cheese, so I used no-fat cottage cheese and sour cream. Not enough lasagne noodles, so I substituted spaghetti. Also I mixed kale, that we were trying to use up, with spinach and added some ground meat. And I can't remember how many different cheeses I put in using up the end of several packages. The result? It was quite good, if I do say so myself.

We'll see how we do next week, but if we can continue to cook on most days, I will be happy. 

Ponderings of Theodore--The Early Years

or The Young Economist


  Theodore is majoring in economics in college. Looking back, he had an interest in it all along. Here are some thoughts from his younger years.






"I like my jalapenos like the way you pay for the house--in small installments."

"If money becomes less valuable, will Daddy get a larger paycheck?"

"If the government is so much in debt, who do they owe money to?


However, those questions were often interspersed with typical boy ones like, "If you could fill a frog with water, what do you think would be the first part to burst?"

A Second Look--September 19, 2012

It's getting harder to show you things I haven't featured recently because the same few flowers are hanging on during this time between summer and fall.  Nevertheless, you can see the things I found interesting this week during a Second Look.

Blanket Flower

There are still a few butterflies and moths around.

Moonbeam Coreopsis

I saw a lot of webs of various kinds this week. There was a spider associated with this one.

Rozanne geranium

Berries--Poke, Dogwood, and Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Begonia

Tree Bark Variations: peeling silver maple, beginnings of woodpecker holes, oak tree fungus, and cherry tree growing around tree house board.