Frugal Friday Wrap Up 12/01/23

 

  Yes, I am still here.  All I can say is that life happened.  I got overwhelmed and needed to draw into myself for a bit and recover once more.  I've been keeping myself very busy when not resting.  Right now it is snowing outside, there is Celtic Christmas music playing and I have sourdough bread rising on the pellet stove to pop into the oven once it has a good rise on it.

   Decorating for Christmas has been fun this year.  I went with a Harry Potter inspired theme.  We had to buy a smaller tree that would fit on Grandma's hope chest, and luckily we found that at a thrift store.  The owl on top of the tree, along with the other birds, were all from the Dollar Tree.  The poinsettias were from an estate sale, along with the stuffed animal owls.  The cute little knomes were from Ikea, and the Dollar Tree.  The mirror behind the tree on the Wall is one I bought this Summer and used to hang in Uncle Bob and Aunt Norma's home.  On top of my teacup shelf, I created a bottle brush forest with a truck being worked on ornament.  These were picked up at a yard sale this past Summer also.

      I have been hitting Goodwill to both donate a bunch of stuff and also to shop.  One day I told Jeff that I felt like we needed to stop in...then I looked at the clock when we got there and it said 2:22.  That number is very significant to me and I knew it meant that I would be finding something very special.  Indeed I did when I found 2 copies of one of my favorite cookbooks from Hawaii, along with another one put out years later by the same organization.  The artwork on the covers is by one of my favorite artists, Peggy Hopper.  I was surrounded by her artwork as a child and finally found a print by her at another thrift store.  That was a huge find for me.  Peggy is a friend of my father's, so it makes it all the more special.  I will give the 2 copies of the book I already have as gifts to some special people who I know will treasure them.

   I also found some puzzles that I know my youngest grandchildren will love and that we will take down to them when we go to visit in May.  Other great finds at Goodwill were 2 shirts for me (not pictured), a bag full of Christmas things, a new Christmas towel, and some other books (not pictured).  At Walmart, I found some pajamas for Tate for $3 on clearance.

         On a sadder note, my cousin Amy's husband Bobby died yesterday morning.  He was baptized about a week prior, along with my cousin Amy and 2 of Bobby's cousins.  I am so very thankful that they all were.  Bobby and Amy shared 10 wonderful years together before his passing.  He was her soulmate and best friend and showed her the kind of love that everyone dreams of having in a marriage.  My heart aches for my cousin and Bobby's family.  Please keep them all in your prayers.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up

 

   Hello all my beautiful friends!  Steven will be here tomorrow, so I decided to write this post a day early and get it up.  I know I will be too tired tomorrow evening to do so. Having him here with me is wonderful though and I so enjoy our special time together. 😊

   This week has been a very busy one and I forgot to write things down daily that I got accomplished.  Therefore, this post will be a list of the things that I can remember.  Hopefully I have included most things.  I did have a good nap earlier after pushing myself way too hard yesterday in the garden.  Was it worth it???  Yes!!!  I got so much done between seeding things in, transplanting and getting buckets full of compost to where they were needed.  I am super sore today and was encouraged by my husband to take it easy today.  I am more than happy to take his advice. 😁

   So here is my list...

~Remember all those strawberries that I had cut up?  Well they are now divided up between 3 storage containers and are in the freezer.

~Speaking of strawberries, I have been harvested some of our own from the garden.  They are absolutely delicious!

~We bought 1  1/2 cubic yards of compost in bulk from Jeff's place of work for $28.00.  Jaysn picked it up for us since he had our truck and was returning it to us anyway.  That compost has been making its way all over our yard .  

~Those 2 huge bags of spinach were taken care of by doing the following.  I gave some of the fresh spinach to Shannon and we had 2 big spinach salads.  I also blanched and froze 3 packages of it.  Two of the packages were chopped up so they could be used in a spinach artichoke dip and the other will be used when I make Kalua Pig.

~I made a simple applesauce cake.  It is so easy and one of our favorites.  It is a great way to use up canned or fresh applesauce.  This time I used canned applesauce and I will say I like it with our homemade applesauce better.  Both are really good, but there is a bit more appley flavor with my homemade stuff.  Judging by all the apples on our apple tree right now, I will hopefully be able to make a bunch of homemade applesauce again this year.  Last year was NOT a good year for our apples, so I was only able to make one batch.

~I had a family pack of chicken drumsticks.  I divided the chicken into some for making Jeff favorite baked chicken and put the rest into a crockpot with some water to cover them and some chicken bouillon.  The baked off chicken was served the first night with mashed potatoes and some sliced up crisp apples.  We still had some drumsticks left over and those made 2 more meals for Jeff.  The chicken in the crockpot was left to cook overnight.  The next morning, I took the broth and refrigerated it separately from the chicken legs.  Later that day, I took the meat off the bones and froze a portion of it and then put the rest back in with the concentrated broth, some water, carrots (left over from our camping trip), some diced onion (from our onion harvest last year that I had processed and froze) and celery,  I simmered that all together for about 30 minutes and then added in some "misfit noodles" (leftover dry pasta from packages that only had a bit left in them).  That made another 2 meals for us.

~I've been picking flowers out of my garden and making small bouquets and putting those in vases.  I love how my home is filled with the sweet scent of roses.

~Jeff put compost onto the front garden in areas where I wanted to grow even more food.  He mixed it in well with the dirt and dug it about 13 inches down. 

~I planted two types of bush beans , flowers, the rest of the squash plants that I had started in the greenhouse. more tomato starts and transplanted some basil into the garden beds as well as potted some more up in a larger pot.  I want to see where the basil does the best.

~More hair detangler spray was made with a sample sized hair conditioner and warm water all mixed together in a leftover spray bottle that used to hold leave on hair conditioning spray.  I am making my own with just the cost of the water.

~For Father's Day, we used a Safeway gift card to buy 2 frozen pizzas (I also had a digital coupon to make them cheaper), some sushi and a large iced tea.  I had the sushi on the way home (I had not had breakfast or lunch and was really hungry by 2 p.m.) and we cooked up the pizzas once we got home.  We then watched the movie "Avitar, the Way of the Water" while we ate our pizza.

~We bought a nice stepladder for $10 at a yard sale.  I have been asking Jeff for one for about 6 months now and I told him I would find one at a yard sale.  I finally did!  This will live in the pantry so I can reach things on the higher shelves.

~Dollar Tree had some of the Goli brand vitamins so I bought 2 bottles of them.  These are usually pretty spendy!  I also got 2 bottles of foot powder (Jeff goes through a lot of this in the Summer), some cotton rounds that he uses to clean his cpap mask, and some more garden seeds.

~We found a brand new with tags large hummingbird feeder at Goodwill when they brought the new bins out to restock the shelves.  I bought it and put it aside as a gift for someone who loves feeding hummingbirds.

~The laundry was hung out to dry about part of the week when my back could handle it.

~I mixed up more cinnamon sugar.  I needed this to sprinkle on top of the applesauce cake.

~Another years worth of my Tuscan Herb Salt was made with herbs from the garden.  My mother requests this as her Christmas gift every year, so I keep her supplied.

~We bought Jeff's cpap machine outright which will save us all kinds of money in the long run instead of renting it.

~Jeff used some of our stored gas in our gas cans that we keep here to fill up his car.  We wanted to make sure to rotate the gas in the gas cans, so we will be refilling them once more.

~Now that I have rediscovered the joys of napping, I am trying to get a few in a week.  They are a frugal luxury that cannot be beat! 😉

   Well that is all I can remember at the moment.  It has been a great week for me thus far and I have gotten a lot done.  I have pushed myself further physically than I would have thought I could (which led to a 3 hour nap the following day) and Jeff and I sat down and made a list of our financial goals for the year.  Seeing those goals in writing really helps motivate me to stay home more and spend less.  It also forces me to get more creative, and that is a challenge that I gladly take on.  Now I need to get off the computer for awhile and take care of my floors which are filthy between the cats shedding and us tracking stuff in from the gardens. 

Wedding Gift Ideas That Will Be Appreciated and Used

 

Thirty two years ago we had a Hawaiian style wedding (my culture) and got married in the same church my husband's parents were married in.

   Today Jeff and I are celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary so of course I have been reminiscing and taking notice of the items that we got all those years ago as wedding gifts that we still use on a regular basis today.  Jeff and I also received our second invitation last  week to weddings that will be held this Summer.  That got me to thinking about wedding gifts for the newlyweds to be and what would actually be appreciated and used.  I don't want to get them things that will just end up gathering dust, be regifted or donated or sold at their next yard sale. 😉

    Let's be honest here, although the thought was nice, there are many gifts that we were given that we never or rarely use.  Those napkin rings, while pretty to look at, just were not something that my husband and I (or anyone else we know) use.  We are not fancy people at all.  The beautiful Japanese lacquered serving trays have been used once.  I was terrified for something (or someone) to drop hard on them and ruin them.  The fancy cocktail bread molds, well unless you throw a lot of cocktail parties or tea parties, they are not practical at all and besides that, they are a bear to clean.   I know this one is going to be hard for some people to accept, but that beautiful fancy (and delicate) china, although I really wanted it and was blessed to get some of it, I have used two of the plates (I have four complete place settings along with one of the serving platters) exactly one time.  We had three boys and my husband is tends to get a little heavy handed when using a knife so again, I was afraid of my china being broken or scratched.  It does look lovely in the china cabinet though and in the spirit of being totally transparent and honest, I do collect pretty china pieces because I am drawn to them and I will use some of them myself (mainly the pink Haviland patterns) because they bring back warm and wonderful memories for me of eating off the family china on holidays at the Grandma's house.  I did inherit all that china from her plus another set of her china, but it is packed away at the moment.

   So let's get onto the more practical (and appreciated) gifts ideas that will be used.  Remember that some of these items, especially the Winter type linens, are on sale at many stores right now.  Go get some and put them in your gift closet for those upcoming wedding gifts and even graduations.   Here is my list...

~Tupperware food storage containers.  I am still using the set that my Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ed got us when we were married and I have added to it over the years.  This is probably my most used wedding gift because they are in constant rotation in my refrigerator storing leftovers or bringing something to family dinners.
~Blankets, sheets, towels, kitchen towels, and oven mitts.  These are items that get a lot of use.  Invest in good quality towels please while they are on sale.  My husband and I prefer the huge "bath sheet" sized towels and find that most of the people that we have given those kinds of bath towels too love them.  Same goes for sheets, buy the couple a nice high thread count set while on sale.  Nobody likes scratchy sheets.  Don't forget about the beach towels!
~Cloth napkins.  No, not the fancy damask kind, but practical cotton napkins that can be used on a daily basis and just thrown in the wash after use.  With so many people trying to "go green" or be frugal, this is a wonderful and much used item.  They are also easy to sew and you can find fun fabrics that match the decor and interests of your recipients.  We use our's on a daily basis and our kids have grown up using them so now they have them and actually request them as gifts.
~Pyrex glassware for storage or baking.  These are things that we and everyone we know uses on a regular basis.  One of my favorite gifts to give is a Pyrex rectangular baking dish with it's insulated carrier.
~Mixing bowls.  My favorite mixing bowls are rubber with handles and a rubber ring on the bottoms that help it to drip to the counter while I am mixing something up.  They are a nesting set that we were given when we got married and are still going strong and seeing lots of use.
~Good knives.  Everyone needs good sharp kitchen knives that can be sharpened when they get dull.  Steak knives are also on my list of things that are much appreciated and used.
~Cookie sheets, bread pans, cake pans, and cooling racks.  Again, these are items that see a lot of use in my home.
~Rubber spatulas, tongs, wooden spoons, wisks, a good potato masher, ladles, large slotted spoon, measuring spoons and cups, Pyrex glass measuring cup that can also go in the microwave, splatter guards, and a kitchen timer.
~Good pots and pans.  These make cooking so much nicer and easier.  I also think everyone needs a good heavy duty stock pot to make soups in or to cook for a crowd.
~An immersion blender.  I love these for making creamed soups.  They are so easy to just put directly in the crockpot or regular pots and puree up things like lentil or split pea soup.
~A nice mixer.  This can either be a good quality hand held one or if the recipient does a lot of baking, a nice KitchenAid, Bosch, or Oster one.
~An Instapot pressure cooker.  I really want to get one of these for myself because I have heard such good things about them and they make it easy to get a nice meal cooked quickly.  This would save so much time and money for anyone!
~Matching silverware (stainless steel).  I know so many young people that have mismatched silverware and would love a nice set of matching good quality silverware.  I am still using the set we got as a wedding gift.
~Nice water glasses.  Again, this is something that I have seen appreciated over and over again.
~Cleaning supplies.  Fill a heavy duty laundry basket with cleaning supplies for the newlyweds who are setting up their home together.  I include paper towels, all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, dishwashing soap, laundry soap, dishwasher detergent and dryer sheets.
~If the newlyweds will be living in a house as opposed to an apartment, you can get them shovels (both regular and snow), rakes, hand shovels, hoses, and outdoor gardening stuff.  Big trash cans for garden waste are also a good idea.
~A small toolbox filled with a hammer, both Phillips and regular screwdriver, duct tape, assorted screws and nails, picture hanging kits, eye hooks, and a measuring tape are also much appreciated and needed.
~A customized cookbook.  It is so special to gather well loved recipes from family and friends that will bring back wonderful memories for the newlyweds.  Who doesn't want to eat Grandma's special angel food cake, Nana's meatloaf, Uncle Brad's "secret" marinade for steaks to grill, Mom's shoyu chicken and many other special foods.  Gather those together and make a cookbook.  Many of those recipes will be lost as people pass on and this will become a treasured family heirloom as the years go by.
~A calendar filled with all the family birthdays and anniversaries written or printed in.  You could make your own filled with family photos or beautiful scenery shots that have special meaning to the recipients.
~If you are a quilter, a handmade quilt in the newlyweds favorite colors is a much treasured gift.  My mother makes quilts for all the newlyweds in our family.  She also makes baby quilts for all the babies to follow.
~A family heirloom (if you are related to the newlyweds).  Maybe there is something that one of the newlyweds cherished as a child that can be passed down on their wedding day.  My MIL gave some of the family china to one of my nieces.  It is something that my niece cherished and uses.  For me it was a needlepoint picture that my grandmother had been working on for me before she died.  I loved her needlepoint pictures that she made.  When my grandfather remarried, his new wife Hazel, who had been good friends with my grandmother, had it finished by another friend and gave it to me on my wedding day.  She told me about how my Grandma Jean had been trying to get it finished before she died to give it to me as a wedding gift.  My husband and I were not even engaged yet when she started it, but Grandma told me I would marry him shortly after I first met him and he would take good care of me after she was gone and she was right.  That needlepoint hangs up in my livingroom  in a customized frame that my sweet hubby's father hand made for it as a reminder to me of her love and also of my FIL's love for us.
~I gave my DIL Heather my pearl earrings that I wore on my wedding day as a gift and she wore them on her wedding day.  I would have given our Rachel some jewelry too but she is allergic to so many metals and I did not have anything that she could wear that would not cause an allergic reaction.

   I'm sure there are many other things that I am missing here and that are special to the newlyweds in other people's lives.  I like to mix practical with unique and meaningful to the recipients.  This is just a start of what could become a very long list but I hope that it helps remind me and gives others some ideas to help out with all those weddings coming up.