Frugal Friday Wrap Up 3/11-3/17 2017

   

   It's been a busy week here with me trying to push through despite the Fibro flare and my Chronic Fatigue deciding to join the party too.   UGH!  Despite all that, we did have a good week filled with fun and family and that balanced out the bad stuff. 😉  I am thankful that my work was cancelled for this week though because I was not moving well at all on Monday and Tuesday.  Now onto the savings!

~Jeff used a Home Depot gift card we got for Christmas to buy a Air Hammer wrench and some router bits that he wanted.  Both will be used quite a bit to work on our vehicles and on household projects.  He still has a remaining balance on the card to use later.
~We went out to Olive Garden for lunch and used another gift card that we got for Christmas.  They are having their Buy One Take One deal so we had a nice meal there and were able to bring home 2 additional entrees for free.  We chose Cheese Ravioli in Marinara Sauce and a Five Cheese Ziti as out take home meals.  We used these for dinner, served with a nice salad, for dinner another night.

~Jeff picked up some other tools he needed from Harbor Freight where they were on sale.
~While we were in Coeur d'Alene, ID, we also went to the Grocery Outlet and spent $32 for groceries that would have cost us $82 anywhere else.  I found 3 bunches of asparagus marked down to .79 each and some marked down hot Italian Sausage and marked down mushrooms.
~Sunday I used the marked down hot Italian Sausage, some potatoes and onions that needed to be used up and half a large bag of kale that I picked up (for 1/3 the price of regular grocery stores) to cook up a huge batch of Zuppa Toscana soup. We had some for lunch on Sunday, had some Monday and I froze some for future meals also.

~The thrift stores in Coeur d'Alene yield some amazing deals for us.  I was specifically looking for some black pants, dark blue dress shorts, snow bibs for the grandboys for next year and a few other things.  I found all of them!  Both the black pants (Chico's brand), shorts (Coldwater Creek) and a new flannel pajama gown were all brand new.  I also found some gorgeous Cookie Lee earrings (also brand new) and some large Rubbermaid containers for storing cereals, books, a CD for Jeff and a few other things.
~Sunday afternoon Chris called and asked us if we would be interested in having a big family dinner at a place that we all had gift cards to (another Christmas gift) if he would arrange it.  Jeff and I thought that was a wonderful idea!  Chris was able to arrange it and asked if we would like to go bowling beforehand.  The bowling alley has specials on Sundays for families and we had money on a gift card there also. :)  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon and evening and for this Grammie, the ultimate moment was when both my grandsons, who were sitting on either side of me at dinner, decided to make me a "Grammie Sandwich" by hugging me and the same time.  I love those little guys so much and oh they make my heart sing! It was so great to have 2 weekends that we got to spend time with Jaysn, Rachel, Jeremy, Chris, Heather and the grandboys. :)
~I baked 2 loaves of bread and made another batch of croutons.
~I had saved some perfume sample inserts from some older magazines.  Monday I tried out one of the Versace fragrances and I am in love.  I would never spend how much they want for it, but it was sure fun to enjoy it for one day. :)
~Jeff is continuing to strip good parts off his old car to use on his newer one as needed.

~The outside fresh pine wreath came down this weekend.  I stripped the pretty velvet bow and some of the pinecones off it to use on future wreaths before I threw the other drying out part away.
~The thick rubber bands that held the asparagus in bundles was saved.  These come in so handy.  I have no idea when the last time was that I actually bought rubber bands.
~Our hot tub was used multiple times this week because I both overdid it several times and had fibro flare on top of that.  When ever fiber of your body is aching, the hot tub really is the only thing that helps sometimes.
~I worked my points programs as time allowed.
~Stress has caused another yeast infection.  I used a homeopathic treatment here at home to treat and get rid of it.
~I had to refill two prescriptions and did that at Walmart where they only charge $4 for a 30 day supply.

~Jeff and I stopped at the thrift store that helps the disabled.  I had a loyalty card that I had filled up so we got the first $20 of merchandise free on this trip.  We ended up paying $8.36 out of pocket.  I was able to find more shirts for the little boys and some cute baby things for Steven along with an adorable little girl's sunsuit on the .10 clearance rack.   Other great finds were a pair of Dansko leather clogs, a shirt for Jeff, a sweatshirt for me, some outdoor solar lights, a CD, a beautiful coffee mug (found it selling on ebay for about $16 and some change) for .49 and 2 really nice large pasta/soup bowls with the wife rims that were made for Macy's that retail at $18.00 and I got for .79 each.  We also found some cool books on making birdhouses and another recipe book for sandwich wraps, 2 brand new leather men's wallets at .99 each, another Rubbermaid storage canister, some dessert plates for baby Steven's baby shower and something else that Jeff picked up that I have not idea what it is used for, but he does. ;)

~I borrowed a book and a movie from the library.
~The sun was out Thursday so I took advantage of that and no rain to hang out some laundry to dry on the laundry line.
~I conditioned and used brown shoe polish to bring the Dansko shoes I bought for $4.99 at the thrift store on Wednesday back to looking almost brand new.

~I was craving a salad for dinner on Thursday so I used some of the greens I had on hand, some of the rotisserie chicken and some apple to make a yummy dinner for me.
~Priceline.com is one of my go to spots to book hotel rooms.  I was able to score a $225 a night room for $66 a night.  Woohoo!  We have stayed at the hotel we "won" before and are looking forward to a belated anniversary getaway. There is also an indoor pool at our hotel that I am sure we will be using

~Friday I got a bag of goodies ready to take on our weekend away.   There is a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker in the room.  I'm taking Pumpkin Bread, chips, crackers, cheese, sausage meat stick, tea, coffee, hot cocoa mix, seltzer water, bananas, creamer (travel size), juice, milk (those little aseptic packs) along with some insulated mugs (so we can take our hot cocoa or tea with us when we leave the hotel to go shopping), some paper plates and plastic silverware.  We can pick up things at the Grocery Outlet or Safeway since they are right down the road and zap them in the hotel room so we don't have to eat out as much.  The hotel also offers free cappuccinos each morning to their guests.  We will be taking advantage of that.
~I stocked up an area of our kitchen with goodies for our house and pet sitter.  I hired one of our neighbors to come and stay here since Caesar knows him and Doofy will love having him here too.

~We had been wanting the movie "Moana" so I bought the dvd/blu ray combo pack.  I am giving the dvd to our grandsons who are thrilled about it and keeping the blu ray here for us.
~Friday turned into another cold, gloomy and wet day so I made some Cheese and Beer Soup.  I had half a can of beer that was unfinished last night so I put it in the fridge with this soup in mind. ;)
~We are taking a baby gift to our good friend's daughter who had a baby in December.  I babysat that same daughter when she was just a baby. :)  Luckily I had bought some adorable NWT baby girl clothes and put them away in my gift closet.

   I know it sounds like we are spending money like crazy, especially with us going away this weekend and staying at a hotel.  There are times though when you just need to escape for awhile and both Jeff and I have been feeling like we needed some time away, just the two of us.  I am trying to keep it as frugal as possible.  I'll share in another post more on how we are doing just that.  Be blessed and I hope you all have a great weekend!