Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/22/16

 

   This week was a mixed bag of trying our best to save money while still having a great time.  We were doing really well until we had an unexpected family emergency which threw a monkey wrench into things, but that is life right?  Onto the frugal doings:


~We took snacks with us to the hotel over the weekend and ate those after the James Taylor concert
~We had our big meal out on Saturday at lunch time.  We went to Outback Steakhouse and ordered the Loaded Blooming Onion appetizer and shared an entree.  It was the perfect amount of food for both of us.
~The hotel that we stayed at was just a quick 5 minute walk from our hotel so we saved on paying for parking there at the concert.
~When we arrived to check in at the hotel, they were having computer issues so our wait time was a bit long.  They handed out bottles of water to whomever wanted some.  They also upgraded our room to a Deluxe King room.

~Jeff and I took advantage of being up in Spokane to run some errands and do some shopping.  Jeff was able to get a new wheel for his car since he had bent the rim on one of his when he went into the ditch years ago.  The bolt pattern on the replacement wheel he got after the accident did not match his hubcaps on the other wheels.  We finally found the right one and another hubcap that matches his old ones at a auto salvage yard.
~Of course we hit the thrift stores while we were up there too.  I was able to find 3 new bras (yes, they were brand new) and some more shirts that fit me.  Many of them were the discounted color of the day so we got them for half off.  There were also some great Tupperware containers that I was able to snap up at $1.99 each and some books (also half price) for the grandboys and I.  Oh, and one of my favorite buys of the day...a beautiful hand appliqued and quilted Hawaiian pillow.  Jeff  found a brand new kitchen faucet for his parent's house for 1/3rd of the price he would have paid retail for it.  It is the exact style that they wanted! He can now get that installed for them.  He also found some tent stakes, which we needed since we are going camping in a couple of weeks and some of our old ones had broken and he found a CD that he wanted. :)

~Sunday we drove over to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho from Spokane, WA and had lunch at the new Cracker Barrel restaurant they just opened there.  I had a $25 gift card I earned online.  The only out of pocket cost to us was the tip!
~We hit the Dollar Tree and the Grocery Outlet on our way out of CDA and found some great deals there as well.  The Grocery Outlet had 12 packs of Cranberry/Lime Propel drinks for 2 for $1...yes...50 cents per 12 pack!  I checked the expiration date and we will use them before then.  I also picked up a huge package of pastrami for $6.99 (which I will divide up and freeze), crackers, cookies, 2 boxes of 36 individual Fruit Rollups for .99 each (the grandboys are going to love these), Kim Chee, some wine and a few other things.

~Monday I had to run into Pullman to meet someone to pick up a DVD set I was buying off a local buy and sell site.  She never showed up...that ticked me off royally since I had driven into town and waited half an hour for her.  Just that trip took 1 1/2 hours out of my day without any additional stops and used all that gas.  I consoled myself by going to the thrift store right above where we were meeting.  They were having a Christmas in July sale and I stocked up on new boxes of Christmas cards that they had marked at .79 and .59 each plus they were half off that.  I found another dvd (surprise  LOL! ) and some books for the grandboys.  Oh yes, there was also a scarf for .99 and a bottle of Rihanna Nude body mist for .49 .
~Monday, Wednesday and Friday I made Jeff more bread for his lunches this week.
~I harvested peas, tomatoes, lettuce, raspberries and a few blueberries along with some apples from our garden.

~Monday's mail brought a box from Pinch Me with free samples.  This round I received more ZzzQuil, some Pond's Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream and some Vagisil Daily Intimate Wash.  These are all products that I already use and really like.  The sample sizes are perfect for me to take with us when we travel. :)  The mail also brought me another free Parent's magazine which I will pass on to Heather.
~Monday's dinner was rice (free), salmon (gift from Heather's parents), Kim Chee (for me), and ice cream bars for dessert.  I know I should have included a salad or fruit with this but I was tired and it was late.

~Tuesday I was able to get in on the free samples offered at Pinch Me.  I mainly got pet food samples but that is fine with me. :)
~My hubby and I surprised our grandsons with a trip to their favorite indoor play center.  It was an early birthday present for Isaiah who will turn 3 on Monday. :)  We got there at "Happy Hour" so we only paid $10 for both the boys to get in.  We took them out to dinner after that and tried to keep costs down as much as we could.  However, the youngest grandson is having a growth spurt so we ordered more french fries and he promptly ate most of them.  When we took the boys back home, this same kid spotted the homemade pizza his mommy made and wanted some of that too.  ;)

~Heather and Chris gave us a bag of huckleberries that they had picked.  YUM!
~I watched some shows online.
~I've been working my points programs but not as much as I would like to.
~Wednesday I stopped in at the library to return some things and found that someone had donated a huge sack full of DVDs that were going to be put in the book sale.  Sarah (our wonderful librarian) let me go through them before she even got them put out.  I bought 8 of them.  Two of them came with bonus CDs so I told her I would pay her another dollar each for those.  So for $10 I got 8 new to us DVDs and 2 CDs. :)

~Wednesday's mail brought me a coupon for a free bag of chips and 2 Pure Protein bars along with a coupon for more of them.
~Lots of leftovers were eaten for lunches so that things would not go bad.
~I used the crockpot to make dinner on a day when I had very little energy.  There were some potatoes that needed used up so that was my starting point for making smoked sausage, potatoes, onions and peppers for dinner. :)
~Wednesday afternoon we got a call about a family member having to be taken to the hospital.  My bread was not finished in the breadmaker so I quickly took it out of the pan and finished baking it in the oven while my hubby got up (he sleeps during the day since he works the graveyard shift) and got ready for us to head in.

~We were stuck in town for quite awhile so we got dinner at Panda Express since it is a half an hour drive home and hubby had not eaten all day.  We ended up bringing some of our food home because we could not finish it all there.  It became my lunch the next day.
~Thursday was a really hot day so I hung the laundry out to dry on the line.
~Friday I stayed home so no gas used in the car.
~I pulled some more homemade mixed fruit muffins out of the freezer for breakfast.

~My hubby needed a treat after a very rough few days.  I found some reduced priced chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer and baked some up for him.
~I curled up with a big stack of magazines (most of them free subscriptions) and got caught up on my reading and found inspiration for some future projects.
~I saved a gift bag and some sparkly tissue paper and some bright blue crinkled paper filling for future gift giving.
~I made a bare bones grocery list for this coming weekend...the plan is to eat mostly out of the pantry and garden.
~No need to water on Friday since we got some rain.  Yay!

   Not a bad week all in all but I know I can do better.  I am praying that this next week I can just stay home for the most part and catch up on things around here.  I have a ton of stuff that I will need to get priced for our yard sale on Saturday and that should keep me pretty busy.  Be blessed!