January 2015 frugals

[Azure]

Question - I have a yankee candle jar that my SIL gave me. Starfruit and orange. I LOVE the smell of it. But the wick burned down in the center so it won't burn any more. But there is so much wax left in the jar. What do I have to do to be able to keep burning it? TY!

[rosarugosa]

Azure: I would try digging a little well around the wick, then lighting the candle and tilting it while it burns for a bit so the melting wax flows away from the wick and doesn't immediately drown the flame. At that point it should be OK.

[cdttmm]

Cold and snowy here in Western MA today. So we're enjoying a quiet day at home. No drive, and no spend, unless you count the checks I wrote out and will mail on Monday. Yesterday, got a free banana at work (it was Friday afternoon and they were trying to get rid of the extras) and then I got a free snack-sized bag of Goldfish crackers when I stopped at the vet to get the new prescription dog food. Those are some tiny little frugals, but there still frugals so I figured I would share! Another one from yesterday, I had a student who came by looking to buy a jar of honey for her mom. Told her I would bring it in next week. I filled the jar today and checked the bucket to see how much I have left. Looks like only 2 or 3 more pounds. Can't believe it's almost gone and it's only January!

We had let the thermostat creep up earlier this month from 58 degrees to 60 degrees. I think I've gotten us back down to 58 degrees. Of course, more cold temps are on the way so it might go back up again. But even 60 degrees is pretty darn good so I can't complain too much!

My mom called yesterday for help with locating a cheap ticket to fly to Montana to see her brother and SIL next month. I managed to find one almost $100 cheaper than what she had found so she asked if I would just buy it and she would send me a check. I was happy to help out and I was able to put it on my Delta Skymiles American Express card so will get double miles for it since it was a Delta airlines ticket.

Discovered that I have some tea in my stash that when blended together is significantly better than either of the teas on their own. Need to try to remember that so that I can use up some more of my stash. My friend and I met up at a local tea house last week to plan some events for our Tae Kwon Do school and the tea there was so outstanding that I have been thinking about it ever since. But it is quite expensive and I need to hold it in reserve as a treat and not let it become a regular experience!

[frugal-one]

Went to 2 free classes this week that were AWESOME. Thursday it was to learn more about my I-pad and this morning it was Pakistani cooking. I am inspired. I loved the food! Anyone have any good cookbook or recipe recommendations?

[Float On]

Pakistani cooking.

Oh yum! One of my favorite dining experiences was a little house with 4 tables that was a Pakistani restaurant. Our party of 12 took up the whole restaurant. We asked the chef/server/owner to bring us his favorites and it was wonderful.

[awakenedsoul]

I took the bus to Sprouts on Thurs. and bought what I needed. The bill was only $15.00, which felt good. They had red peppers on sale at 3 for a dollar. Granny smith apples and Braeburn apples were only a dollar a pound, so I stocked up on those. I'll make an apple crisp this morning. I've got the butter on the counter softening, and all of the other ingredients I need are in my stockpile. I baked snickerdoodles last week and still have dough in the fridge. They're delicious with coffee or yogi tea.

This afternoon my boyfriend and I will eat up the cold fried chicken that I prepared last week. He wants it in his salad. I've still got plenty of salad greens growing in the garden. I'm going to make another couple loaves of bread, too.

Yesterday I juiced my homegrown meyer lemons for about an hour. I have two more crates left to go. I'll freeze the juice and use it throughout the year for lemonade. That way I don't have to buy juice at the store. It's also handy for cleaning. Bf went on another nine mile hike yesterday in the mountains. I opted out this time, needing to rest my body from all of those auditions and bus travel. We met up later instead and had a relaxing evening.

Today we'll work in the backyard, cutting up a dead tree and trimming some of the others. I need to finish knitting the toe of my sock and then I'll have a new pair. I darned all of the holes in my other hand knit socks, so they're ready to wear all winter. The darning comes out really nicely with the matching sock yarn. It's softer and more pliable than darning thread.

How's everyone else doing?

[Tiam]

I took the bus to Sprouts on Thurs. and bought what I needed. The bill was only $15.00, which felt good. They had red peppers on sale at 3 for a dollar. Granny smith apples and Braeburn apples were only a dollar a pound, so I stocked up on those. I'll make an apple crisp this morning. I've got the butter on the counter softening, and all of the other ingredients I need are in my stockpile. I baked snickerdoodles last week and still have dough in the fridge. They're delicious with coffee or yogi tea.

This afternoon my boyfriend and I will eat up the cold fried chicken that I prepared last week. He wants it in his salad. I've still got plenty of salad greens growing in the garden. I'm going to make another couple loaves of bread, too.

Yesterday I juiced my homegrown meyer lemons for about an hour. I have two more crates left to go. I'll freeze the juice and use it throughout the year for lemonade. That way I don't have to buy juice at the store. It's also handy for cleaning. Bf went on another nine mile hike yesterday in the mountains. I opted out this time, needing to rest my body from all of those auditions and bus travel. We met up later instead and had a relaxing evening.

Today we'll work in the backyard, cutting up a dead tree and trimming some of the others. I need to finish knitting the toe of my sock and then I'll have a new pair. I darned all of the holes in my other hand knit socks, so they're ready to wear all winter. The darning comes out really nicely with the matching sock yarn. It's softer and more pliable than darning thread.

How's everyone else doing?

You must be somewhere warm.

[awakenedsoul]

You must be somewhere warm.

Yes, Southern California. Our summers are blistering, but the rest of the year the temperature is ideal. It's nice to be able to spend time outside.

How's the weather in Oregon? I'm guessing it's raining...

[rosarugosa]

The frugal that almost wasn't: LL Bean gives $10. promotional certificates for every purchase over $50 during the holidays. I have one of these, and another $10. certificate from my LL Bean visa, and they were doing 10% off for MLK weekend. The promo certificate expires in early February, so I was searching diligently for something to buy last weekend, figuring it was a good window of opportunity with the 10% off deal. I had a nice fleece shirt in my online shopping cart that was only going to end up costing me $11. out of pocket. I went through the trouble of logging in and entering certificate numbers, promo codes, etc. But I couldn't quite click "submit," some feeling was holding me back, so I went upstairs and looked in my closet at my fleece shirts. I have the IDENTICAL shirt in cranberry, blackberry, blue and sea foam, and I have similar shirts in various other colors. I actually have 11 fleece shirts (not counting fleece jacket-type-things, and I had nearly persuaded myself that it would be a good idea to buy another one! So yes, I am a crazy person, but I'm pleased that I managed to step back from the brink.
In other news, we were well-behaved as far as groceries go this weekend. We took a walk in the snowy woods for fun, and we ate wonderful healthy food all weekend, all prepared and consumed at home

[seedycharacter]

Congrats, Rosarugosa . . . so hard to resist a bargain even when there's no need there. That's why I have to be very careful going to my favorite thrift store. I only go on their half-off days, but that makes it even harder to say 'no'! If you're like me you will also wear those 11 fleece shirts til they are threadbare, i.e. for the next dozen years.

I made a huge pot of curried lentil soup today, salvaging some marginal veggies. I put 12 jars in the fridge which will be lunch for 2+ weeks. I was also frugal at TJ's--no splurges (e.g. desserts). Just the basics.