Edward Scissorhands Paid Me a Visit

What else would explain this? I woke up to find the fitted sheet on my side of the bed was all slashed up. Either Edward was in my bedroom last night or I have the sharpest toe nails E.V.E.R. These sheets were maybe about ten years old; I got them at a K-mart Going-Out-of-Business sale back in college. I think they were two bucks. I'd say I got my money out of them.

The plus side: I now have lots of blue fabric to add to my stash! I think I'll save the material and make some lounge pants for Joel when he's a little older. He doesn't do much lounging right now. (Oh wait, that's all he does).

P. S. I just ran across this tutorial for sewing your own sheets. The weird thing is, I wasn't even looking for a tute on sewing my own fitted sheet. I'm planning on just making do because we still do have two queen fitted sheets. I'd like to say that I'm stoked about the possibility of sewing my own sheets, however sadly, I am not. I just have not been in a sewy mood lately. I've done some alterations on some clothes and still have some left to do (shorten straps on a thrifted tank top, sew the seam closed on a Gap Clearance Center tank top, etc) but I'm just not in the groove. Please send some inspiration this way if you have extra to give!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

A friend of mine paid to have her son's third birthday photos taken, and in one of them, the photographer had him hold a little number "3." It was a really cute idea, and I told her that I would have to find a number "1" for Joel to hold when he turns one.

Well guess what! I went thrifting a few hours later, and lo and behold, there was a wooden number one for 19c !!!

I got some other things too, including a LeBron James jersey for Joel for 90c and a floral painting for $1.91 that will fit in nicely in the sunroom. I'm on the lookout for some Robeez shoes however I haven't found any (yet). I did, however, find some size 2M (does that stand for "medium" ??) brown Gerber shoes with little Jeeps on the side. They don't fit him yet but will in the future. They sure are cute! I exceeded my fifty cent limit ($3.60, yikes!) but I figure shoes and coats don't count, right?

At the checkout, I learned that Salvation Army gives teachers a 10% discount. Woot, woot!! Why has none of the cashiers ever told me this before?!?!!

And one more nice thing happened today: T-3 emailed me a recipe for an upside down cake using plums and blueberries. I had just been thinking to myself that I needed to use up the plums in the fridge, and BAM! Along came that email. I will omit the blueberries and go heavy on the plums. Hopefully I will make that tomorrow.

It's like the stars were in alignment today. I hope your day was a good one too!

Hebron, Kentucky or Bust and a stupid criminal

If you are ever in or near Cincinnati, Ohio, do me a favor and check out the Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic Clearance Center. It's not like other outlets. Gap does have outlet centers across the country, however those aren't real outlets. Gap actually makes a specific line of clothes to be sold at those outlets. They do not sell true clearance items in those outlets. In Hebron, Kentucky, however they do.

This is my husband's last week of work, so we wanted to make the trek down to the clearance center while we still get the employee discount (an additional 30% off already low, low prices). We loaded up the car, filled up the tank, and headed out for a shopping dream come true.

I got Old Navy sunglasses for 99c a pair. I bought five pairs. (Of the exact same pair of sunglasses, I might add). I am hard on my sunglasses, so I figure if I keep four pairs in reserves, I might make it to next year before I have to buy another pair.

Ladies' underwear for 49c apiece. Baby/Toddler pajamas separates for 49c apiece. Tank tops for $1.99. Jeans for $4.99 to $9.99. Capris for $4.99. Ok, so some of these prices aren't that great. $9.99 is a little on the high end, but if you were to buy a pair of Gap or Banana Republic jeans new, you're going to fork over a pretty penny.

In other frugal shopping news, some thrifting trips lately have yielded a new roll of Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper for 50c, a plastic thingie to make popsicles for 59c, a vintage red handled rolling pin for 99c (yes, I do need another one, ok?!), and of course some half-off clothes for Joel and I.

While we were at the last thrift store checking out, an employee came up to the register and said that they had just received a mysterious phone call. The caller asked if the store had an armed security guard, to which the employee responded that no they did not, and then the caller hung up.

Um, I think that Salvation Army is about to be robbed. Seriously, how low do you have to go to rob a Salvation Army?!

Save Money on Photography

I cannot believe it has been a week since I last posted. Much of the past week has been spent (A) Figuring out my husband's Canon Rebel XT (B) Looking at professional photography portfolios to get ideas (C) Considering building one of these PVP pipe backdrop stands (D) Learning how to convert a photo to black-and-white except for one item which remains in color (E) All of the above.

Did you guess "E" ? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

My mother-in-law really wants us to get "professional" photographs of Joel done. The problem is two-fold. One, I don't want to spend the money. Two, what she considers professional is not really professional. She wants me to take him to Sears, Target, etc. I consider someone who went to college to become a photographer a professional. Those people don't work at Sears. Those people also charge a lot of money (rightly so). So she's stuck with our home photography. People have commented on photographs we've taken and have said things about them being professionally done.... they're shocked when I tell them that we actually took them!
You can even add borders and/or text before printing them off at Walgreens, Meijer, etc. to make the photos look even cooler.

I'm still playing around with the Rebel XT. I'm experimenting with the AV setting. Smaller f numbers mean that the background gets blurred. It's a cool effect that I have not yet mastered. Hopefully I can get Joel out and get some good photos tomorrow using this new-fangled technique. Until then, here's a few photos that look (somewhat) professional.

RIP White Pages

Finally! Columbus is doing away with the white pages (unless you ask for a copy). I am so happy. I haven't wanted phone books in eons. If you have the internet, you don't need to waste all the paper that it takes to create a phone book.
AT&T claims that they're trying to be more eco-friendly, and that coupled with the fact that many people just don't want the white pages, is why they've been allowed to discontinue the practice. On the flip side, the yellow pages which brings in buku bucks, is going ahead full steam. Hmmm. Sounds to me like AT&T just wants to quit printing the white pages because they have to pay for it and don't see any money in return. If AT&T was truly sincere, then they would quit publishing the yellow pages too for those of us who do not want it, and go 100% online.

Varmint Masters

I was online looking for cheap magazine subscriptions because I think magazines make good birthday gifts. I ran across Varmint Masters. For the low, low price of $4.69, six issues of Varmint Masters can be all yours! Just visit Bestdealmagazines.com for your subscription. Who wouldn't love this as a gift?

Is money tight? Varmint Masters can help. Learn how to hunt down and kill nontraditional game species such as coyotes and foxes. Cook 'em up for supper for a nearly free meal. Tasty! This magazine will be perfect for my parents. Even though they live in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood, they have coyotes running amuck. With the tips and pointers in this magazine, my dad will be able to stop these varmints in their tracks.

I am reminded of something Ted Nugent once said. Ted lives on a large ranch, and he has many coyotes. He was quoted as saying, "I don't have a coyote problem. The coyotes have a Ted problem." (He's on the NRA Board of Directors, just in case you're wondering).

The Price is Right

No, this isn't a post about how sexy Drew Carey is. Or how Drew has breathed new life into a once tired game show. Or how I used to hate the Price is Right but now find myself yearning to fly to California just so I can make myself a shirt to wear there. Or how Drew is a fellow Ohioan and is my homeboy.

Don't get me wrong: Bob Barker is a legend. He can sway you spay and neuter your pets like no other. But Drew Carey really is so freakin' awesome and funny, don't you think?

No, folks. This post is about price books. Talk to me. Do you use them? Have you tried them? Have you ever even heard of them?

What you do is take a notebook with you while you shop for groceries. You take note of prices and jot them down into your book. You begin to notice patterns of prices so you can see what is a good deal and what isn't. It helps you determine whether a price is too high, okay, or stock-up, smokin' hot

I've never used one. I do have some price limits stored up in the ole noggin though. I thought I'd share some prices with you (in US dollars, sorry chicas in Australia and the UK!). What do you think about these prices? Do you have any more to add?

Light Bread (35 calories a slice): I buy bread and buns for 89c because I live near the Schwebels outlet.

Spaghetti Sauce: I never buy it if it's more than a dollar a jar. The other day with coupons, I got three jars for $2.10.

Cereal: I can get it for about a dollar a box when there's a good stock-up sale, however I will go as high as two bucks a box.

Bananas: I hate paying 49cents/lb. Aldi carries them cheaper though their bananas tend to go bad more quickly.

Apples, Peaches, Pears: No more than 99c/ lb.

Packs of Bratwurst: only buy when they're $2.50 or less. The other day I had coupons, and they were BOGO. Woot, woot!

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: $1.88/lb

One Lb. Ground Turkey: I used to be able to get it for 99c however now they're everyday price went up to $1.19.

2 cups of Shredded Cheese: no more than two dollars

Milk: Aldi carries a gallon for less than $1.70

Eggs: Once again, Aldi is my BFF. Their eggs are usually between 65-75c for a dozen.

Jars of Baby Food: found at Big Lots for a quarter apiece. As I'm making my own baby food, I only bought about ten jars for times when we're out and about. Hopefully they last me for several months.

Large container of Formula: I buy the generic brand that compares to Similac Advance. I've gotten two containers for four dollars apiece on clearance, and two containers on sale for $9.99 each. I've decided to never go higher than ten bucks. As I'm pumping breast milk, a can lasts me almost a month.

Diapers 13c apiece seems to be a pretty good deal. Have you found them cheaper than that?