Cheap Archives - Trinkets of Thought

The Smartest, Dumbest Idea

February 1, 2010 by Maren 6 Comments

About a month and a half ago, I embarked on an adventure. One I thought just may be the most brilliant thing anyone has ever done. I wanted to prove all the naysayers in my life wrong. Bottom line: It was ME who was wrong.

I hate to clothes shop. Partially because I’m never satisfied how I look. I could collect buckets (GALLON BUCKETS) of the tears I’ve cried in dressing rooms over the years. Really. I HATE TRYING ON CLOTHES. It’s depressing. My life story of trying to find clothes goes like this:

#1 I go into the dressing room thinking I’m going to look like an ad in VOGUE.
#2 I come out feeling more like a hippo trying to cram all its fat rolls into a size zero.

So, right before Christmas, I had saved up a month+ of clothing budget money, and decided I was going to do something brilliant–something non-traditional in the clothes buying realm. I bought a huge (40 piece) CUSTOM lot of ‘trendy’ clothes on Ebay. I sent the seller all my sizes and she went to town getting my custom lot together. I was so excited. Again, the false sense of VOGUE illusionment crept into my mind.

The package arrived in the mail; HOUSTON, was there ever a problem. Many of the clothes were so tight that if I posted them, I’d get reported to human decency gurus. Really. I tried to get the courage to post one…but settled on this one (this was one outfit that the seller put together): One modest enough to post, but one that I could hardly envision someone seriously wearing out in public!!!

Now, to the seller’s credit, it wasn’t a total wash. Of the 40 items I bought, 10 were doable & wearable. I really like about 5 pieces of clothes and 2 of the necklaces. As I type this, I have on an Ann Taylor Loft sweater from the lot. I also wear a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans often. There are a few items I really do enjoy.

Mom, you were right. I won’t be doing that again. That was the Smartest, Dumbest idea I’ve had in a while. But at the same time, I don’t regret it. I had the money in my budget to spend, and if I hadn’t gone on my little shopping spree adventure, I’d have always wondered if ebay was the solution to all my dressing room woes. I’ll cross that off my ‘great idea’ list and settle, once again, for the more traditional approach. Anyone have any gallon buckets I could borrow?

Cheap-o Baby Food!

January 30, 2010 by Maren 3 Comments

Nine months into this new stage of life called mothering and it’s been the ride of a lifetime. And one that I’d be happy get back in line and ride again. I truly love being a mom and am thankful for the little blessing that God has entrusted to our family.

Once I knew that a little one was on the horizon, questions started immediately running through my head. How am I going to do this thing called mothering? Would I make my own baby food? Or buy stock in Gerber? Attachment parenting? Schedule? Breastfeed? Bottle? Cloth diapering? Disposables? Way too many choices. And with so many looming options, I started to wonder where the manual was–especially since these days even the simplest child’s toy includes a manual.

And each person seems to know (or think they do) the protocol to mother ‘THE RIGHT WAY’. And it was my experience that everyone also wanted to share it–even down to the cashier at Kroger. Even when random strangers don’t care to share how you should parent, there are equally as many people willing to be the naysayers to all your good intentions: “Oh, we’ll see how long THAT will last…” (especially in regards to my cloth diapering choice & desire to breastfeed.)

As everyone does, we have done what works for our family. I’m not naïve to think our way is the BEST way. But OBVIOUSLY, we do what works best for us, or we would do otherwise. And each set of parents will chart their own parenting blueprint, and I’m truly fine with that.

I started feeding Pierson solid’s at 6 months. I purposed to make his baby food because I figured it would not only be cheaper, but I also figured that Gerber couldn’t do any better than my fruits, veggies, and blender could. And it has worked for us! Amazingly, my budget stayed the same, and no one as gone hungry.

Lately, making baby food has become increasingly easy. Here’s why.

On Wednesday, I made an easy, yummy teriyaki noodle dish. (THANKS, ALDI!!! Why I love Aldi: This yummy 2 lb veggie/noodle/teriyaki sauce was $3.00; the chicken was $2.00. Total meal =$5, plus a couple dashes of extra sauces to kick it up a notch.)

How the baby food happens: I rinse off any extra spiciness.

I go to town with Pampered Chef’s food chopper until the food looks unappetizing and baby food like.

And here’s the verdict:

I did a full month and a half of pureed fruits and veggies, then started introducing this type of baby food. He loves it! The past couple of weeks, little guy has eaten teriyaki chicken noodles, Stir fry, beans and rice, curried chicken salad, zucchini chicken casserole, chicken pot pie…you get the picture! Easy schmeezy baby food that takes no extra work (other than ensuring your meals are healthy & balanced!)

YEAH FOR SAVING $$$!

Living the Life…On Pennies!

August 1, 2007 by Maren 11 Comments

I probably did something today that most people in America wouldn’t consider.

Kroger keeps the most delicious Lemon Pepper Asparagus Salad on its rotation at the deli, and when I’m in the store during my 30 minute lunch, it’s impossible to pass up. Included in the deliciousness is asparagus, roasted red peppers, olives, feta cheese, lemon pepper vinaigrette, artichoke hearts and pine nuts. Its 100% of pure tastiness. The total for this scrum-did-le-ump-tious-ness totaled to $2.00.

I quickly scanned the UScan area. Assessing the current level of busyness, it was there that I did what most Americans wouldn’t dare to do. Reaching slyly, but laughingly into my purse, I pulled out my Ziploc back of pennies and filled the Uscan with 190 pennies and 1 dime.

About 5 minutes later, and with only one assist from the Uscan clerk, (who had to bang the machine to release my stuck pennies) I left with a smile on my face, the sneer of disgust from a random customer waiting on who knows what (not me! I made sure I wasn’t holding up the line…), and the best lunch in the world.

My asparagus salad is now eaten, and I can truthfully say, “I paid pennies for it.”