Making The Clothes You Have Into The Clothes You Want

Years ago, when I was first getting into teaching, I bought this lace cardigan to make some of my dresses work appropriate.  Unfortunately, it was the dumbest cardigan ever, in that the button was placed in a totally ridiculous position, & essentially covered up nothing.  It hung in the back of my closet for years & only for me to occasionally pull it out, try it on, &  become disgusted, again, with the ridiculous placement of button, & hideously large, accompanying button hole.

Finally, it occurred to me, that if the button & huge button hole were what bothered me, why not fix the problem?  I sewed the button hole shut, used a seam ripped to rip off the button, & had a somewhat close version of the cardigan I'd always hoped to have.  The neck is still a little odd for my liking, but for now, it's a vast improvement from the random button.  Sometimes, a little creative thinking, & a fresh perspective, is all it takes to make something new again. 

A Simple Way To Say Thank You

Last week we were hit hard by a stomach flu, and by hit hard, I mean essentially annihilated.  During that time, two dear friends dropped off some get well supplies for us, so I wanted to find a way to say thank you. 

Fortunately, two of our rose bushes are in bloom, so I put the clippings in jars I saved from candles, & the bouquets came together beautifully.  The notes are Hallmark & I got the box for $0.35 at our scratch & dent store!  They're so cheery & I love the lined coordinating envelopes.

I was pleased that I was able to use things from our home to make such pretty little thank yous, especially for such deserving people. 

DIY Foaming Body Wash

After pulling out a new bottle of body wash, inspiration hit, & I decided to have a go at making foaming body wash.  Much like foaming hand soap or dish soap, this helps your soap last longer & save some cash. 

Simply take your chosen your body wash & an empty foaming soap bottle, 

Pour between 1/4 and 1/3 full of body wash, fill the remainder with water.
 

Combine, & voila, you have foaming body wash, which works just as well as the regular stuff.  This is quite possibly one of the easiest ways to go green & save some green, I highly recommend it.

Today's Shopping Trip

Several weeks ago, we traveled to Iowa, & I got some Earth's Best diapers for Harper girl.  Though I love Earth's Best, the diapers just did not agree with her.  Harper's bottom was absolutely covered in blisters & they didn't improve for a week, even after returning to cloth diapers.  It was horrible.  Because the reaction was so severe I called the company, & they were kind enough to send 6 free food product coupons, & 2 $0.55 coupons. 

Today, the girls & I went to Toys R Us to return the second, unopened package of diapers, & to use my coupons to stock up on baby food for our upcoming month of travel.  

Here's my haul:  3 EB organic puffs, 1 box of  EB organic cereal, 2 boxes of EB organic teething biscuits, 6 Earth's Best organic pouches, & 6 Babies R Us baby food pouches, $29.84 full retail. 

After coupons the total was $11.18, but I had the credit from the returned diapers, so I only paid $1.35! Not too shabby! 

Frugal Accomplishments Of The Past Two Weeks

Things have been a little chaotic around here as we've celebrated 3 birthdays, Mother's Day, & are preparing for our upcoming anniversary.  As a result, we've been out of our regular schedule, so this is a list of my frugal accomplishments over the last two weeks. 

Our haul

•  Our major accomplishment was strawberry picking.  We went to a local farm & hand picked 21 lbs.  It was a wonderful time as a family, Harper was very content in her stroller, & Emerson was quite the little picker.  After the work we were able to see the animals on the farm, which the girls just loved.  

• From the strawberries I froze a gallon whole, sliced, packed, & froze 16 cups of strawberries, & made 10 jars of freezer jam. & a lemon scented strawberry mascarpone trifle.  The only down side was my plastic huller broke, so I had to replace it.  Fortunately $1.99 bought a super cute metal huller with a strawberry on the handle. 

• I saved the mushy parts of the strawberries & their collective juices for smoothies

Emerson & JC

• We ate out for  JC's birthday, but ate at lunch time & used coupon, which feed our family of four for $12.

•  I took the girls to library for Toddler Time

• We took the girls to a free carnival thrown by Parents as Teachers, a program in which we participate.

• We ate dinner at church on Wednesday

• I sorted through hand-me-downs for the girls & added the next sizes to their closets.  Each time I do this I am blown away by the generosity of our families, and feel so blessed to be able to pull out clothes to fit our girls needs. 

Little donkey at the farm

• I hung many loads of wash on the line, as well as one load inside 

• I made a batch of laundry soap

• I cleaned out & organized the freezer

• We ate bagels & bread we got for a dollar at the bakery outlet

• I rescued batteries from random items in the house to be reused in a few of the girls' things.

• I made foaming body wash

• I gave our teething Harper girl Tylenol we got as a free sample from the pediatrician

• JC cleaned out our garage & we pulled out stuff for our upcoming garage sale

• I made rags from a holey pair of pants 

• I mended a sweater & reattached the handle of Emerson's favorite purse

• I got a free pair of undies from Victoria Secret for my birthday

• I used a $10 any $10 purchase to get two t-shirts for $4 

• I sent away for some free samples & received some in the mail

• We lost our Roku remote, which was not good, but we found a FREE app, so our phones now double as remotes

•  I walked to church for choir practice instead of driving

• I received my first All You magazine from a subscription I earned with Coke Rewards.  

Hope you all have been well & have been finding ways to help your pocket books & the Earth.  Have a good week!

Make It Do: Creating a Shaded Child's Wagon

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors, & it has been absolutely wonderful being able to enjoy some sunshine & watch the girls play together.  The only unfortunate thing is our backyard doesn't get much shade, so while I'm hanging laundry & Harper is sitting in our little utility wagon, she's basically roasting in the sun. 

 

Rather than go in search of a more child friendly wagon, I decided to rig up an umbrella on the wagon in a rather ghetto fabulous way.  One rubber band, a large twist tie, & a safety pin later, the umbrella was secure, & the girls had some serious shade in their wagon.

Of course, by the time I got the wagon all arranged, Harper decided she wanted to get out and walk. Oh well, at least it will be ready when the next load needs to be hung!