Changes, Changes....

I like to change things around every so often. And I recently had a bee in my bonnet to change around lots of things.

We have 3 mostly unoccupied bedrooms and none of them were being used to their potential. So, with lots of help from Jeff with the big stuff, we have pretty much flopped around 5 rooms.

The back bedroom now holds my craft stuff and the computer - it is pretty much organized but not decorated so check back later when I finish and post some pictures.

This is one of the front bedrooms and was mostly a craft room.

Now, this end of the front corner bedroom is clean and empty - just waiting for a bed for guests, a valance for the window and some decorations on the walls.

Gavin's things are on the end of this same corner bedroom.

The 3rd bedroom is now set up as a guest room and.

Jimmy and his stuff are in that room until he goes back to college -

I'm sure you can imagine why I am not posting pictures of that room either.

We swapped out the furniture in the front dining room. It did have a big glass table with 6 heavy metal chairs.
Now, it has Jeff's grandparent's long dining table.

The black chairs were in the breakfast area and the white chairs were in the craft room. The black chair seats were pink and black stripes, but I recovered them all with fabric in my stash. Now, 2 are polka dot, one is checked and one is toile.

This long table and smaller chairs make this room seem much bigger.

I found a long enough piece of black fabric on hand to sew up a table cloth.

While I was sewing and measuring, I got out this $1 sheet from a recent garage sale and also sewed up a white tablecloth for when I want to switch out the black one.

I don't know why these pictures are so dark - I thought the flash was on....

In the breakfast room, we are now using an oak table and chairs that were in the attic.

While I was sewing up these bibs, my sewing machine quit.

I've tried everything I know to fix it but I think it is serious.

While I decide whether to get my machine repaired, if it can be repaired, or do some research on buying a new machine, Nina is letting me borrow her machine.

You all may of noticed that Nina and John do their sewing at my house anyway

She has my mother's old Singer, the machine I learned to sew on.

I made the tablecloths with it today and it sews like a dream too.

So thank you a bunch Nina!

Week 30

Purchases

Dollar Tree
5 loaves Bread

Walmart
10 pounds chicken legs and eye of round roast
butter, 18 eggs, 1/2 gallon milk, 4 pounds sharp cheddar and 1/2 pound mozzarella
ice cream and sherbert
frozen peas, carrots and corn
6 heads Romaine lettuce, roma tomatos and yellow onions
sodas, tortilla chips and Fritos
corn and flour tortillas
cumin and black pepper
apple butter, plum jam and apple sauce
2 boxes Hefty food bags, 4 laundry detergents and 1 liquid fabric softener

Meals
22nd
fried rice and egg rolls
23rd
spaghetti and a big salad
24th
roast beef and gravy, green peas, salad and bread
25th
whole wheat pancakes for breakfast
salad and leftovers for lunch
nachos for supper
26th
ham, eggs and toast for breakfast
take out from Palimino's for lunch
27th
Jeff's birthday supper - beef enchiladas with red and green sauce, King Ranch casserole, rice, refried beans, chips and salsa and cookies for dessert
28th
salad and chicken strips, cookies for dessert

for more shopping and menus, visit Gayle at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Nina's latest quilt

John's brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in September.
Nina made this flannel quilt for their shower next week.
It is baseball - themed because the daddy was a baseball player.
It is really soft and snugly and should be just perfect for a fall baby.

Thrifty finds this week

Lovely pillows, huh? I know you all are jealous.

They were clean and still very fluffy. I bought them to recover them with these striped napkins.

Much better!

These are for son Jimmy's apartment.

I almost always find a few things for grand baby Gavin.

Every little Oklahoma farm boy needs a pair of size 1 Wranglers - they still have the tags on them, I got them for $1!

Round House Overalls - also brand new

a few everyday play clothes - 25 cents each


Theo is not thrifty, but he is really sweet and he wants to tell you all hello.

Rhoda has a new blog address. She's still hosting her weekly thrifty party and you can see lots more thrifty purchases if you attend. Her new address is Southern Hospitality Blog

Frugal Friday - use a free tutorial pattern from a great blog

I spent about an hour this afternoon sewing up this handbag. The floral fabric was a remnant I had from an unknown source, the lining is leftover muslin from a quilt back and the pattern was a free tutorial from Artsy Crafty Babe
Inside the bag

this is the pattern I printed off about 2 years ago - sometimes I get to projects really fast and other times, it takes a while.

Artsy Craftsy Babe calls it a pleated tote, go here if you want to print your own pattern.

I think it is a great pattern, the instructions are clear and the pieces all fit together just right and would be easy enough for a beginner.

To read about lots more great ideas from other frugal moms, go to Life as Mom.

Theme Thursday - shoes

Theme Thursday this week is "shoe"

I am not a typical American woman with 50 or more pairs of shoes in my closet. I don't think I've ever had as many pairs as the average person. My feet have always been flat and they decided to be even crankier a few years ago with heel spurs, bunions and hammer toes.

Now, I pick out shoes very carefully. I always try them on before I buy them and I really dislike shopping.

So, I kind of took today's topic as a sign that I should go shoe-shopping. My town is having their annual Krazy Daze sales where most all the stores take their clearance items outside under tents and prices are supposed to be cheap.

I went to 3 stores and everything I bought was inside - so I don't guess I had to shop during Krazy Daze after all, but everything was on sale.

I got 2 pairs of shoes at Famous Footwear.

And I figured as long as I was out shopping, I might as well look at clothes too.

I don't really like shopping for clothes either.

I bought 6 tops - only 5 are in the picture because I am wearing one - and black capris and a brown culotte type skirt.

So, I should be fixed for shoes and clothes for quite some time.

My Creative Space....

I've got a plan to swap around our 3 extra bedrooms. Right now one is a guest room and son Jimmy is staying there this summer. One is a craft room and the other has the computer and junk in it.

My plan is to make the biggest bedroom hold my craft stuff and the computer. Then, the other 2 can both be guest rooms with one also having baby Gavin's things.
So far, I have been cleaning out closets, cabinets and drawers trying to get rid of all the junk.

Then when Jimmy goes back to law school, I will switch everything.

My craft projects right now are

postage stamp quilt - so far I've sewn together 100 squares, that leaves about 2500 to go!

Sewing together and making yo-yos.


This is a re-do project for daughter Nina.
She got this old cross stitch pillow from her mother in law.
I cut it apart, cleaned and pressed it.


Then, I put it in a little thrift store frame that I painted black and covered the mat with blue paper.
I don't have a before picture, but it was a gold frame with flowers for the print, really awful.
The eggs are for Nina too, they are plastic Easter eggs decoupaged with leftover RSVP envelopes from her wedding.
She says she has several apothecary jars that need to be filled.

This is linked to Kootoyoo. Go there to visit other bloggers creative spaces.

Also linked to Kimba's DIY day at Soft Place to Land.

update on freezer muffins

I baked the first of the freezer muffins this morning and I'd call them a success.

I know they don't look very big and that was on purpose. I don't like it when muffins or cupcakes are too big for their holder and raise up and stick all over the top of the pan.

They taste great and baked just fine in the little toaster oven that does not heat up the kitchen like the big oven.

Just baked

going into the toaster oven

frozen muffin batter in a freezer bag

From my research, I think just about any muffin batter will freeze and bake later.

I baked mine in little pottery cupcake bowls - I got them a few years ago in a baking set at Linens and Things before they went bankrupt.

The online instructions say to use the foil lined cupcake liners. If you just put a paper liner unsupported in the oven to bake, I'm pretty sure it would collapse and make a big mess.

Week 29

What we bought

Aldi

11 pounds chicken pieces

slab of pork spare ribs

3 ground white turkey

2 lunchmeat and 1 ham for slicing

1 center cut bacon

2 American slices and 1 string cheese

1 gallon skim milk

iceberg lettuce, 2 cantaloupes, blueberries, strawberries, 4 lemons, 2 boxes grape tomatoes, red grapes

ketchup, olives, 8 cans of fruit

2 bags of freezer pops, 3 boxes fiber bars, chips and party mix

Walgreens

2 hair color and 1 case of bottled water

Bread Store

2 loaves of bread

Walmart

sodas

18 eggs

3 salad dressing

2 dog treats

tortilla chips

window, floor and bathroom cleaner

15th

supper at Olive Garden because we were in Oklahoma City

16th

baked chicken with a big salad and strawberry shortcake

17th

salmon croquettes with salad, strawberries and cake

18th

biscuits, eggs and ham for breakfast

nachos for lunch

pizza and homemade chocolate ice cream for supper

19th

breakfast at church

sandwiches for lunch

taco rice salad for supper

20th

ham, eggs and toast for breakfast

Mexican for lunch - we were in OKC again

chicken strips and salad for supper

21st

pork chops with salad

for more shopping and menus, visit Gayle at the Grocery Cart Round-up

Yard sale finds from July 18th

We went to 8 yard sales Saturday morning.

The good news is I only spent $2.25 but we only bought 3 things.

cute John Deere tractor and trailer with the farmer and 4 animals - $1

it must of belonged to a little city boy or a boy with too many toys because it seems brand new and never played with.

Sweet grandbaby Gavin is just 5 1/2 months old right now but I think by next summer, he will love this little John Deere tractor.

heavy Pottery Barn platter for $1

Some of the original tags are still on the back but not the price tag. It does have the care instructions still listed so that is helpful

and a nice paintbrush for 25 cents.

Don't forget to stop by the party at

Rhoda's Southern Hospitality

for lots more second hand bargains.

works in progress

This has been one of those weeks of getting things organized and projects started. I feel like I've worked really hard but don't have much to show for it, so I'll show you all the things in progress.

I got fresh blueberries at Aldis for just 99 cents a pint. I like blueberry muffins but Jeff does not and I really like fresh muffins. So I am trying making muffins and freezing them before baking. I found lots of ideas on line for freezing muffin batter, and am hopeful they will turn out.

I loosely used a Martha Stewart recipe but used less sugar and swapped out part of the white flour for whole wheat flour. My plan is to just bake a muffin or 2 in the toaster oven when I want something sweet for breakfast. I'll let you know how they turn out.

I have lots of fabric and it just seems to keep increasing. At the beginning of this week, all 5 of these shelves were full to the top of fabric.

My plan was to just cut out some more squares for potholders. But then I saw a postage stamp quilt on Brenda's Cozy Little House
so I just kept cutting 2 inch squares. I think I cut out enough for at least 2 quilts and all the potholders I want to make.

I like making string quilts so I just kept sorting and cutting fabric. I just about filled up 2 big gift bags with strips.

I'm guessing there are enough strips in these bags to make at least 3 or 4 quilts, maybe more.

I also cut out lots of base squares to sew them on.

I sewed 2 string squares so far. I usually sew the strips on the diagonal but these 2 are sewn straight up and down and I think I like this way too.



While I was cutting, I cut out a new handbag for me and a polka dot skirt that Nina requested.


Then I remembered the yo-yos.
I have a sack full of mostly red and green yo-yos in Christmas-y prints. My mom gave them to me, I think she said an older lady at their church made them but never set them together.

So, I 've been playing around with them. I cut out some more Christmas fabrics that are mostly white and will make white yo-yos to set all these yo-yos together with.

So, I think I've started enough sewing projects to keep me busy for quite some time now!

Now I'm going to hand sew some white yo-yos while I watch TV with Jeff.

about my 10 cent glasses

Remember these pretty glasses I got Saturday for just 10 cents each?

They are a very heavy glass, light green in color with octagon shaped bottoms.

They are similar in color to depression glass but are much heavier.

I looked all over Ebay and could not find anything, then I went to Replacements.com and looked all over there.

I finally found out that they are Fostoria - Moonstone Green, made between 1974-1982.

Mine seem to be the ice tea goblets and they sell on Replacements.com for $25.99 each!

really!

Week 28

for more shopping and menus, visit GayleThis was not a normal week for us. Here in Oklahoma, it has been over 100 degrees for days which makes cooking traditional meals not very pleasant and we were busy over the weekend with Baby Gavin. What we ateJuly 8smoked chicken with yellow squashJuly 9 sandwiches and salad from Red RockJuly 10smoked pork loin with squash, new potatoes and watermelonJuly 11breakfast from Red Rocklunch from Little Ceaserssupper at Clint and Amanda'sJuly 12granola bars for breakfastsandwiches for lunchPizza and a big salad for supperJuly 13Mexican chicken with fajita vegetables and a big saladJuly 14burgers, hash browns and carrotsWhat we boughtDollar Tree2 loaves of bread and 12 bottles of waterWalmartsodasFebreeze

Saturday's yard sale finds

For more bargain treasures, go to Rhoda's Party at Southern Hospitality.

Jeff and I went to about 5 yard sales Saturday morning. My favorite find was this set of 8 green goblets, they were 10 cents each.

Anyone know if they are something valuable?

see update above

other small finds

brand new hair ties - free

2 snowmen towels - 25 cents each

Restoration Hardware green urn - 50 cents

the urn still had it's original $16 price tag on the bottom


Tupperware - 25 cents each






a dozen nice wooden hangars $1




and Jeff is very happy with his find - a drill press for $20