Some Frugal Doings March 2015

   This has been a busy month for us but I have tried to stay true to my frugal and money saving ways.  Last month we went a little crazy eating out and had to rein that in this month.  Even so, we still did manage to have a nice lunch at Olive Garden the other day thanks to a gift card our Chris and Heather gave us for our anniversary.  Thank you! :)  Here are a few more ways we have been trying to save some money this month.

 ~I wanted to spruce up my kitchen a bit and found some D and G initialed plates and a coffee mug at the thrift store.  The plates still had their original $9.99 price tags on but I got them for $1.99 each and the mug for .99.  I will hang the plates up on the wall.
~Other thrift store finds this month were new with tags sweaters and shirts, some great books, dvds for the grandkids and us, some smaller Tupperware containers (perfect size for individual servings for picnics or work lunches), a black onyx and silver ring and some other fun goodies.
 

~I used up some over-ripe bananas to make 3 loaves of banana bread.
~I've been playing with one of my older bread recipes and adapting it for the breadmaker.  I found it also makes incredible soft whole wheat rolls.
~My hubby cleaned out and organized our pantry and put all the items that need to be used up first front and center.

~A few days ago I blanched and froze 10 bundles of asparagus.
~Today I roasted some asparagus spears in the oven after I had pulled the banana bread out of there. 
~I needed comfort food the other day after a very stressful situation at work so I looked through my pantry and refrigerator and made a nice fruit salad with mini marshmallows.
~I saved all the thick rubber bands from the bundles of asparagus.  We will not have to buy any rubber bands for awhile. ;)

~Looking through my potatoes, I realized that we had some that were starting to sprout so I baked up a pan full of seasoned potato wedges.
~We do some monthly volunteer work and as part of that are given some free groceries.
~Laundry has been hung out to dry on the laundry line on sunny days.
~Continuing to do my points programs and cashing in for gift cards.

~I have been watching gardening videos on YouTube and came across this winter garden seedlings starter greenhouses made with recycled milk jugs.  I started some cantaloupe, sage and basil in mine.
~We were at Lowes the other day and found Asparagus plants, 6 for $2.98 and a self pollinating Kiwi plant that is hardy to -30 F.  I love Kiwi and so do my kids and grandkids so we are going to try to grow it here.  All but .59 was paid for via gift card.
~Bi-Mart had roses on sale so we bought 2.

~I made several trips out to our town's garden waste and composting site to bring home buckets of free compost to use.
~Our driveway is a muddy mess after having to dig it up this winter.  Jeff shopped around and found the best price to have a huge load of gravel delivered to our home tomorrow.  They even gave him a discount since he is such a good customer.  No more slipping in the mud!
~Our dog Caesar, along with us, has been benefiting from more frequent walks now that the weather is better.

~Our Spring flowers are blooming so I cut some happy daffodils to bring in and put on my side table in the living room.
~I have found even more volunteer onions coming up in the garden.
~We are using our pellet stove less now since it has been warmer.
~The library continues to be my "go to" place for books and movies.  I have learned a few new gardening tricks from the book pictured above and Jeff and I have been enjoying curling up and watching some great movies that have recently been released on dvd.

~My computer is also a time and money saver.  From looking up ads online and adding deals to my customer loyalty cards, comparing prices and watching shows that we do not get on our TV package (which I would love to drop but we are locked into a contract), it is great!
~SKYPE is a wonderful thing!  It allows us to visit with our Josh and we use it often.  This momma has got to be able to see her baby boy roll his eyes. ;)
~I do evaluations for different companies on products.  Sometimes they send me free products to try.  I have some facial masks that Influenster just sent me and will be doing a review on them soon.