Clearance Madness!

Today, I'm thankful for clearance!! 

I have always been a frugal shopper. I have to really love something in order to buy it if it's not on sale or I don't have a coupon. About a month ago I heard that the Joann Fabrics store in our area was going out of business. I made a mental note to check it out. A couple weeks ago my husband and I went in and about half the store was gone but the sale prices still could be better. It turned out they were actually just moving in to the local mall but they were trying to sell all of their stock so they wouldn't have to bring it over to the new store. Most everything was 25-40% off. Which, ok, is nice. But, I knew it would get better. Patterns were selling at $2 a piece (regularly $10-$17 each) and so my husband wanted to get some medieval costume patterns but I told him we should wait because they would probably get cheaper. I asked a sales associate when the last day was and again, made a mental note. 

So today was the last day of the old store. I went in between the times I was scheduled to work today and saw 90% signs as well as patterns 5 for $1! Now those are deals! I spent about an hour and a half (I know, crazy, right?) looking for cool costume patterns for their movies as well as some pretty dress patterns. I also found ones to make scrubs (scrubs are so expensive! I'd love to learn to make mine from now on!), dog sweaters, and purses. I figured, hey, at a price like that, I will learn to be an expert sewer! 

Later on my husband and I went back and found a few more things. I got fabric scraps, fabric bolts, ribbon, embroidery floss (about 30 of them for $6!!), and pins (for pinning broaches and such). Check out all this stuff! Wanna know how much we paid, total? $47!!! The receipts are quite jumbled so it'd take forever to give you an accurate number, but I estimate the original price of all this stuff at $500+! We bought about 57 patterns for less than $12. Each pattern's original cost is anywhere from $10-$17! Let's just assume an average price of $12 per pattern, multiplied by 57 patterns...that comes to $684!!! Just for the patterns! Not to mention that's a low average!

Here are my lovely spoils. I am thrilled with all the stuff we scored for so cheap! Those three bolts of fabric are each at least 7 yards, I believe one of them is 10 yards. Each was at about $5-$10 a yard originally!

Patterns of all kinds! Scrubs, cute dresses, colonial costumes, Elizabethan costumes and much more! 

And I had to get a colorful picture of my embroidery floss! Going to be getting back into cross stitching I hope! I also use this type of thread for making earrings. I was tempted to get more but I stopped myself!

Definitely a successful trip! It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up...not when I see that 90% off sticker!

What's your best clearance shopping haul? Do you like to raid stores that are closing/moving? 

Till next time,

Catherine

Cook: Healthy Homemade Ranch Dressing

Today, I'm thankful for technology. Ok yeah sounds like a weird one, but just think where we'd be without it! I'm thankful to have a computer than is reliable and internet that is fast enough for our needs. My husband is a musician and so technology is important to his work. Having these things makes finishing my degree possible for me and making beautiful music possible for him. Technological advances in the past 50 years is absolutely astounding. We've come a long way! Sometimes it's nice to "black out" from some technology for a bit. It's also important we can function without in for those times where the power goes out or we just need to get away!

Recently I gave you all a quick and easy recipe to make your own ketchup. Delicious, right? Today I'm going to move on to another common condiment, ranch dressing! The original recipe is from Caffeinated Chronicles of a Supermom. She includes a quick recipe that takes no time to whip up! The original recipe can be found here. I, of course, had to tweek the recipe a little. My husband is a big fan of ranch so if he approves it, it must be good!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 packet of ranch dressing (not the dip packet, that's different)
• 1/2 cup of milk (I used organic 2%, she used 1%...you choose which you prefer!)

Directions: 

Are you ready for this? Whisk the ingredients together. Done. Ok well you're going to want to pour it into a jar or reuse a clean ranch bottle, but really, that's it!

As far as the consistency goes, start adding milk slowly so when you've reached the consistency you want, you can just stop there. Some people like a thicker ranch, others like thinner. I used maybe a little less than 1/2 a cup and I think that the consistency was a little bit thinner than that of store bought. Then again, that's totally preference! Adding a little more or using a little less milk shouldn't effect the taste at all. 

All the ingredients together.

Whisk.

Whisk until it looks more like this! (Hey now, rhymin'!)

Pour it into your jar or cleaned out empty ranch bottle. If you have a picky family, use the empty ranch bottle so they don't say "Ew, what's this? It's different!"

Making this recipe once filled my jar a little over the 12oz mark. If you like your ranch thicker, just add less milk. Doing so could make fitting double the recipe into a 24oz jar like this. 

I filled the jar when I doubled the recipe. There was actually a little leftover so I put it in a small container for my husband's lunch tomorrow!

 Simple, right? Now go out and do it! It's healthier and cheaper than buying bottle after bottle of store ranch!

Are you a ranch or a ketchup person? Or how about BBQ or honey mustard? Which should I try next?

*Update 11/9/12: So...my husband didn't like it all that much. Oops. I was really hoping he would! I'm not a huge fan of ranch so I never tried it. But just because my husband wasn't a fan doesn't mean it's not good! Has anyone else tried it and gotten a good result? I'm thinking if I made it a little thicker than it might be better. We'll see! I definitely would like to try again, maybe a slightly different recipe. Any suggestions?

Till next time,
Catherine

I've linked up to Make Your Own Mondays (8/26/13) with Nourishing Treasures!

Election Day 2012!

Today I'm thankful that despite who wins this presidential election today, I serve a God who is on the true throne. I know that might seem cheesy but it's true. No matter how bad our country and our world gets, my Jesus reigns. 

I voted today! Did you? I hope you all went out and completed your civic duty and voted for the man or woman who will serve as our President for the next four years. I don't care if you voted Republican, Democrat, Constitutional, Libertarian, or even Green party...as long as you voted! Ok, maybe I care a little...the fate of our nation depends on it!

I won't get into politics...I know we've all had plenty of it these past few months!

I'll keep this post short and sweet and I'll see you all tomorrow when the next President of the United States of America is chosen!

Did you vote? Are you going to be glad it's all over, despite the outcome?

Till next time,
Catherine

More Saturday Adventures

Today I am thankful for my family. I have a crazy family. Everyone does but mine is of course, crazy in their own way. But despite the craziness, we love each other and will always be there for one another. We have been through some tough times and I know that there are tougher things in our future but we stick by one another and help each other through these times. That's what makes us family. I'm talking about my immediate family, my in-laws, my extended family, and extended in-laws. I love them all so much. I couldn't ask for anything better. 

I failed to mention the other interesting stop we made on Saturday after Bargain Mart! We stopped at this place in downtown Lynchburg called Fred's $12 and More Store. The outside of the building just has "Fred's" painted on the window. It seemed ultra sketchy to me, bu who was I to fear with my husband on my arm? He had briefly told me about it before, saying a coworker described it as "Pinterest heaven" despite being crazy sketchy. First thing we see sitting outside the doors is a big, old deep fryer on wheels! Well, now who doesn't need a deep fryer larger than your kitchen stove? And think of the transportability with those wheels! We could have french fries and funnel cake on the back porch if we want!

We knew it was going to be good!

We head inside and there is stuff EVERYWHERE. Furniture galore. I mean, literally, there was a pathway and that's it. A narrow pathway through the first floor. There was so much stuff you could never see it all! Then we met Fred. Fred is a middle aged African American man who is a Christian and is just as nice as can be. He's a little odd but he's the kind of person who becomes friends with every person he meets! We talked with him for a bit and got some information about the store. There are 5 floors and a basement! Five entire floors PLUS a basement! All kinds of furniture and random other stuff. Fred has got everything from California king sized mattresses, to wingback chairs, to school desks, to old sewing machines, to pallets, to bicycles and even a couple of these bad boys...

Ohhh yes. I could go on and on...Fred's got everything! I kept seeing so many Pinterest pins in my head ads we searched floor after floor. As I said in my last post, my goal was to find a highboy and a long dresser. I figured as long we like the basic shape, it's in decent condition, and it doesn't smell, we can always paint and replace hardware. Unfortunately, dressers were the one thing Fred didn't have a lot of. But that's alright...we'll find them one day! 

In the meantime I keep thinking about this pallet garden idea: 

I had been wondering where I could get just one pallet and now I know! Fred's! I want to do a little pallet garden like this next year because it would be able to fit on our little patio. I think with some  landscape fabric stapled to the bottom it would work really well! My husband and I also want to build a modified trellis/arbor type of thing where we can have vine-like plants grow up but also hang some ferns or pretty flowers in hanging pots from the sides. That's a total different project, though! Getting ahead of myself here! But those are projects we'd like to get done in the early spring. 

As far as Fred's...it was quite an adventure. It's such an old building and it was dimly lit everywhere and you could never reach walls on any side of the rooms because there was just so much stuff! I personally wouldn't go alone but I'm sure we'll head back there sometime when we get an itch for a big project! 

What's your favorite hole-in-the-wall place to go? Is the sketchiness worth it? 

Till next time,

Catherine

Bargain Mart 2012

Today, I'm thankful for a roof over our heads, clean clothes on our backs, and food in our kitchen. There are so many people who do not have these luxuries. I really live in a place where I have "1st world problems." I need to stop complaining about these "problems" and be truly grateful for what I do have. I've seen first hand the incredible poverty that 3rd world countries endure on a daily basis. Their daily goal is survival while we fret over what to wear to work. I need to remind myself often how blessed I am and do what I can to bless others.

Bargain Mart 2012 wasn't what we were hoping for, but it wasn't a total bust either. It was basically a large indoor yard sale in a small warehouse. It had been open for 3 hours when we arrived so maybe we missed the best stuff! We did find a few things that we're nice little finds, and we paid about $8 for everything!

My husband found a couple old snake lights and other random pieces that he plans to use for more movie props and he got started almost as soon as we got home! He was excited about all the potential in the items he snagged.

I found some crafty materials like thin yarn, zippers and embroidery floss. I also grabbed two men's ties and a paperback book.

All this for less than $5!

I love the penguins!! I think they're adorable. No, I won't make my husband wear these ties. I want to make some sort of wallet/wristlet out of them or something. I've seen ideas on Pinterest and I'm hoping to try it out on these. I especially want to try turning fat ties into skinny ties for my husband. I see so many nice looking ties in thrift stores and Goodwill Stores but they're all really thick and that style is long gone! I really like this wristlet that I've seen a lot of. It's doesn't look TOO difficult to make...but then again...it could be. 

These are pretty cute too. I think they'd make adorable little gifts for girl friends. I could make them and stuff 'em with cute little mini bottles of perfume, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc.

And I really like this idea! Now if only I had a camera to make it for...

This last one is the kind of thing I don't really like. It's creative, but I personally wouldn't wear it. 

What do you think? How should I repurpose these old ties? 

P.S. Don't forget to set your clocks back by one hour tonight! Fall back! :) Enjoy that extra hour, folks. I know I will!

Till next time,

Catherine

Potential Weekend Adventures

Today, I'm thankful to be saved by God's grace. I grew up in a Christian home and we went to church but I didn't really get it. One day, in a different church, the pieces fell into place. That was about 8 years ago and my life has never been the same. It's been a difficult but wonderful journey. 

By the way, these "I'm thankful for" posts are not going to be in any order of importance. I'm just writing them as I think of them.

I am so looking forward to this weekend! I don't have to work and neither does my husband! It's finally a weekend where we can do whatever we want to do! He tends to go out of town a lot for work so it's nice when he has a whole weekend home! That's not to say something can't come up last minute, but for now we're just going to enjoy it. Tomorrow in downtown Lynchburg there is an event called Bargain Mart 2012. That sounds right up my alley! It says that it's Lynchburg's largest indoor yard sale. I can hardly wait! I'm telling myself we're just going to go and "window shop" but I've got a little bit of cash in my wallet just in case we find something good! I'm going to keep my "crafty glasses" on while looking in hopes of finding a good project just waiting for us. Hopefully I'll have something awesome to share with you all tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward to finding a cheap dresser set (a highboy and a long dresser) that we can paint white and add new hardware to for our bedroom. Yessss...we've been married for over 6 months and I still don't have my own dresser! It's ok...I've got the big closet and a bunch of plastic drawers (classy!), so it's bearable.

Wish me luck in some bargain hunting at Bargain Mart 2012!

Do you enjoy yard sale-ing? Do you go with something in mind or do you just look around until you find that perfect deal?

Till next time,
Catherine

{No} Bake: Easy Peanut Butter Truffles!

Each day this month I will write a quick note about what I'm thankful for, along with regular posts! I encourage you to say what you're thankful for every day this month as well. Put it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or in your personal journal. Just try it and see how it lifts you up this month!

Today I'm thankful for my husband. He is an amazing provider for us and is always looking out for our best interest. He spoils me, loves me, and cares for me in every way. I couldn't possibly ask for anything more in a husband! I truly look forward to the next 50+ years together. I know we will have hard times and we may fight, but our love is stronger than all that nonsense. With God at the center of our marriage, we'll make it through anything. 

On to the recipe!

This is another quick and easy NO BAKE recipe that was found on Pinterest of course! I love finding recipes and projects and then adding a little of my own twist on them! In this case, I used the recipe as is. Sometimes you just don't mess with a good thing! These are no bake peanut butter truffles! I found the recipe from Six Sisters Stuff. They've got some awesome stuff for sure! The original recipe is here but I'll give you the recipe as I did it with some more pictures!  I halved the recipe because the original made so much! My recipe made about two dozen which was plenty.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened (I used unsalted)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup-3/4 cup of peanut butter (add more if you love peanut butter!)
• 1/2 sleeve of graham crackers, about 4 full sheets
• Melted dipping chocolate in whichever flavor you prefer

Directions: 

First, crush the graham crackers. I tossed them in my blender and it was done in no time! You could also use a food processor or put them in a bag and crush them by hand. 

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Mix everything thoroughly. If you have a stand mixer it would be a cinch but I only have a wooden spoon and some elbow grease! 

Roll the dough into 1" balls or really, however big you want them. 

Pop 'em in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so, till they're more solid. 

When they're almost done in the freezer, get your chocolate out. I didn't have melting chocolate, just morsels so I used what I had. Dark chocolate and white chocolate. Yum! The white chocolate doesn't melt very well so I added in some milk to thin it out a little. 

Then just roll them in the chocolate and set them back onto the pan. Back in the freezer till the chocolate hardens and enjoy!

Is your mouth watering yet?

Go make them! 

An easy treat to enjoy anytime! They're so delicious and easy to make! 

What's your favorite no-bake treat? Do you bake like crazy during the holidays? 

Till next time,

Catherine

I've linked up to Fluster's Creative Muster #41 with Fluster Buster and Just Dip It In Chocolate! 

I've linked up to Plucky's Link Up #14 with Plucky's Second Thought!

I've linked up to Make Your Own Mondays 10/7/13 with Nourishing Treasures!