Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/13/2026

 

   Thank you all for the warm welcome back to the blog-a-sphere (is that even a real word).  I know it had been a bit since I had last posted.  It just seemed like time got away from me with everything going on.  Along with the things I shared in my last post, the garden took up a lot of my time as we got it ready, weeded, amended and planted all out.  Now we were just trying to keep things alive as the heat and smoke have taken a heavy toll in it.  Anyway, there will be no pictures in this post because I still have yet to figure out how to import photos from my phone onto my computer.  If anyone can help me in that area, I am all ears.  I have an android phone.  Anyway, onto the money saving things that have been going on at our house.

~Jeff and I recently went up to the Habitat for Humanity Resale store in Hayden, Idaho.  There we found a large and long Basset brand dresser to use as a credenza in our dining room.  Cost $100 If you research Basset furniture you will see that we got a screaming deal on it.  Jeff also found 2 hollow core interior doors that match the ones in our home that needed to be replaced.  He got them each for $40.  That is a huge savings over ordering them new.

~I moved most of our china, including multiple sets of Christmas themed sets, Fall sets, our wedding set, etc., cloth napkins, trivets, and other odds and ends into it.  This cleared up space in my built in china cabinet, which is now filled with all my crystal bar glasses, wine glasses, martini glasses, glass wine decanter, and 2 gorgeous glass pitchers.  It also now houses my small bar along with the smaller barware that goes along with said bar.  It looks so pretty and I can now access everything!  The biggest job was actually hand washing all of the glassware so that it was sparkling clean and ready to go.

~We were not using our dining room table and chairs, nor the hanging swag stained glass lighting fixture, along with a dresser, so I put them up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.  I have sold the lamp and dresser already after just 2 days and have someone who wants the chairs.

~I harvested tomatoes, a cucumber, blueberries, some squash and my first blackberries from the garden this week.  Jeff and I need to start working on the summer apples later today.

~Our neighbors smoked some pork belly and gave us some of it. I sliced it up like bacon and fried it up.  Yum!

~Even though the weather is hot and smoky, I pulled some homemade Zuppa Toscana out of the freezer for dinner one night.

~We went to Marshall's and they had their big clearance sale.  Jeff found some jeans for $6 (it is really hard to find jeans that fit and are not tight around his muscular thighs), and some flavored coffees that he wanted to try.  I found a set of long thin brushes for washing out bottles and vases, along with a new set of long handled strainers (the ones I have are old and starting to fall apart). I also found some cute cat themed kitchen towels that were not on sale, but were too cute to leave behind.

~Jeff bought a universal remote control at Ross since he somehow misplaced the one for our blu-ray player.  It was on sale, so score!

~Jeff worked on some furniture repairs and installed some seat belt guides into his little car that is going to Bradley.

~We gave each other haircuts.

~Our passports came in so I gave all the information to my sister who is booking the flights that I found at the best prices and with longer layovers so we can get through customs and still have time to spare in case we have a flight delay.  It also leaves us time to grab something to eat in Seattle and/or Los Angelas.  We are so excited to finally be going to Tahiti later this year.

~I started Tai Chi walking in my home and doing some 5 pound weights to firm up my arms.  I found the Tai Chi walking on YouTube so my exercise program is all free.

~Fall is in the air (at least in my home because I am done with Summer 😉) so I have pulled out my Fall decor and am having fun decorating the house with the abundance of choices that I have at my hands here.