Super Savings

It's Sunday, so a savings post. As some of you know, I shop Costco for wardrobe basics: t-shirts, yoga wear, smallclothes etc. The quality is good and there is usually a selection of colours and patterns.

We need thick flannel pjs up here and Costco usually has quite a good selection every winter from the Jasmine Rose brand. This winter they had a 3pc set which normally costs about $26, and I was pleasantly surprised to get it for $6.97 !

Here is a pic:

It is a dark grey with a little scottie dogs print.  I might swap out the tank with a t-shirt for sleep though.  I usually need at least a t-shirt under the PJ top in winter and would like the tank for use under a sheer or low-neck blouse. But what a great deal !

The other savings item is a jacket.  Both kids have been pestering us for a "Leonard" jacket, you know, those jackets with pockets that Leonard from the Big Bang Theory wears.  All the school kids want one.  We found one on sale for $4.94 at a local store:

So quite the good deals!

Oscar Savings

This year once again, we did not watch the Academy Awards show. We are saving about $60 a month (plus tax) by not subscribing to cable.  We don't really miss it because we do have Netflix and watch most of our shows on the computer.  Any current shows we like are usually available on the webpage of the station which broadcasts it.   But, although we don't watch the actual awards ceremony, I am still a big fan of the red carpet fashions.

Here are my faves from this year:

The first set of gowns I liked for their romantic or old-world feel.  Penelope Cruz looks effortlessly elegant in her off-shoulder gown.  I think this one is my favourite.  The next one in pale pink with beading I also like, it's very pretty and feminine.
Then we have the ruffles and bows.  Both these looks are very simple but have a bit of flourish.  I just noticed that these two gowns are completely different in fit, but funny how they both appeal to me.

These next two, I like for their blingy-ness.  Shiny, sparkly, celebratory.

And here are two which I like for their off-worldly look. I'm sure this is not the look that Gwyneth and Shailene were going for, but I can imagine rulers from a far away world wearing stuff like this. 

These two appeal to the younger me.  They are fun - one has multiple ruffles and the other has polka dots, and they're red!

And finally, if I ever had a gown-required event to attend, it would probably be in something sensible like this:
They say there are lots of after-parties with food and drink so you likely need something with a jacket, or breathing room.

There were lots of other beautiful gowns too, but these ones were my favourites.  What do you think?

A Thrifty Monday

Today's post was going to be a Refashion post, but what with making and eating dinner etc it is now a bit late to do any sewing ... I did get some more stuff from my favourite notions store and hope to have something to post soon.

So instead, onto my thrifty outfit.  We were at Costco again on Sunday.  They have good basic clothes (think jeans, t-shirts, jackets) at relatively low prices: jeans start at $19, t-shirts at $9 and jackets around $29.  They are usually not made from cheapy materials.

There was a long-sleeved Ellen Tracy t-shirt for $9.99 in a nice neutral taupe  colour and when I got to the cash desk it was only $2.50 !!!

It being Monday and thus cold in the office, I layered the t-shirt over a polo, and wore my Apologies Mr Miyake vest under a Ports Int'l sweater.

I matched it with a Sears skirt that was another deal from last summer.  It was $40, marked down lots of times to finally $7.99 and then I got 50% off, so $4.  The skirt is one of those tube waist things which I love.  It's become my "skirt to wear instead of jeans" and I have it in lots of basic colours.

Here's the outfit:

The visible-ness of course are the Docs.  These are the super-high ones from the other day and they always attract a lot of attention for some reason. 

The sweater I like because it has an interesting pocket detail:

2 Pockets !

Many Tanks

A refashion bonanza: Our local Jysk is renovating and had a few items on sale.  I got a fabulous thrifty deal on men's tank tops:

Only $1 for a package of 2 tanks, 100% cotton.  I bought quite a few black ones for refashioning and just plain wearing. 

I usually wear tanks under everything for extra warmth and especially like men's tanks because they are not quite so skimpy on fabric as ladies' tanks.  They are also longer in the body, so stay tucked in - there's nothing worse than that blast of cold air you get when clothing doesn't stay in place.

I already have a bit of fabric ready and hopefully will have some time tomorrow to do a quickie refashion.  Stay tuned!

Jurassic Park Revisited

This weekend's thrifty savings post is about an enjoyable movie outing with my younger son. One of his favourite movies is Jurassic Park. It came out before Big J and I were even married, so he's never ever seen it on the big screen. But we've all seen it hundreds of times on vhs and dvd.

It just so happened that the cineplex odeon chain was holding a digital screening of old movie classics. They have old movies that have been put onto computer and cleaned up so there are no scratches or anything.

They had a one-time showing of Jurassic Park and it was only 5.99 to get in. We had to go into town, and were planning on taking transit, but traffic was so bad that Big J drove us all the way into the city. A good thing too, we got there with about 1/2 an hour to spare, instead of 10 minutes ahead.

And, just after I bought our tickets, our cashier announced that the movie was SOLD OUT !!! Talk about cutting it close!



The weird thing was that the popcorn and drink (my son & I shared a big one) cost more than the tickets! I guess that's how they make their money. It was a great time though, lots of dinosaur fans - some people brought along their Jurassic Park stuffed animals! and they had a trivia question for a gift card.

My son loved it, we had good seats, and I thought the movie was much scarier due to the heart-pounding noise which you don't get at home. It was a great time and not overly expensive.

Super Savings

Today was a very successful savings day.  The store had huge sales for some reason, so we saved $33.  We also had quite a few coupons for things we actually buy and ended up saving another $19.  So a total savings of $52!  Plus we got a free $16 box of chicken!

This might not sound like much compared to the savings you see on the Extreme Coupon show, but for up here in Lotusland, it's huge.  They actually had to call the supervisor because .... wait for it .... we had too many coupons!  Hardly anyone uses coupons here, maybe that's the reason they don't have 2 for 1s or double the face value like they do elsewhere.

No picture for this post, but I should try to learn to carry my camera.  Big J said everyone was looking at our buggy because it was so full.  Our cupboards are stuffed now, but it's just as well because this week is Exam week and one kid is off, so everything will probably be eaten by next weekend.

Make Your Own Fire Log

It's been freezing out these past few days and we've been using the wood stove. Today's Thrifty Thursday post is about making a faux fire log when you are low on wood.

When you run out of wood you can roll up some newspapers instead, but unless the paper is rolled up tightly, and stays rolled up, the fire won't be very good.

Last year I read about making your own fire logs by rolling up wet newspapers and then laying out the newspaper logs to dry in the sun. Problem was it was work intensive, overly messy and since it rains here a lot, you can't count on the sun.

Then one day, Big J got this:

 and rolled up the newspaper inside it like this:

Et Voila! Instant Faux Fire Log!

The only thing is it is very messy and you have to wear gloves:

Wreath Deal

Weekend, so a savings post.

On the savings front, we were able to keep our regular grocery bill to under $100 today by buying mostly sale items and using a few coupons.  But then we went to Costco ... BIG. Mistake. Why is it that you can never go to Costco without spending tons of money?  Perhaps because everything is so cheap, and usually of good quality it encourages you to spend?

Anyway, at the supermarket, I was on the lookout for another wreath, and got a twiggy one for 84 cents, marked down from $9.  I have this idea to make a Chinese New Year wreath out of it for January 23rd.  It has a cute penquin on it though which is about as un-Chinese New Year as you can get.

Cute Lil Penguin, you've gotta go!

Big J thinks it will look weird because no-one puts up wreaths for Chinese New Year.  It's true, we've always had a traditional scroll-poster thing in previous years, but change is good.

It'll be quite the challenge looking for suitable adornments in red and gold colours.  Might have to make 'em!

Wreath Refab

It's Thrifty Thursday again.  One of the thrifty money saving things I do every year is shop at the Boxing Day sales.  I used to get a new ornament for the tree every year, but now I wait until Boxing Day to get several ornaments.  Since the tree is still up, I hang them up and we enjoy them for a few days until next year.

A few years ago, I wanted to put a wreath on our front door.  All the ones I looked at pre-Christmas were super-expensive and I considered making my own, I checked out the "ingredients" at Lewiscraft and Michaels, but it seemed quite pricey.  Then, on Boxing Day, I found a rather bedraggled looking one for about $7.  Still not cheap, but to get the supplies and make one myself would've cost way more.

The first year, it was a sorry sight.  Many of the ornaments had fallen or been ripped off - you could see the headless stems.  I added a few gift ornaments to it and left it at that.  Now, I'm always on the lookout for things that can spruce it up, and add to it every year.

Here is this year's pre-Boxing Day wreath:

Still a sorry sight

Originally, only the 2 beige-y things, and the three (you can barely see them) thin gold ornaments with tartan ribbon (2 trumpets and a violin) came with the wreath.  The red apples and pine cones were from tops of Christmas gifts which I snagged over the years for the wreath.  The 2 little ball-like things on the bow are actually hair ornaments!

This year, I got 2 candle holders, some tinsel and some bells. I wanted to add some sparkle and thought the bells might jingle.  The candle holders were cheap (50 cents) and red, so I got them too.

I attached the candle-holders using the tinsel and used some green twist ties to attach the bells.

I started with just one bell per twist tie, but you could barely see the bell in all that green-ness so I ended up attaching two or even all three for greater impact.  The bells don't actually jingle at all but do add a bit of colour.  And I like the sparkly tinsel, so might add more next year.

Here it is post-Boxing Day, ready for next year:

See a difference?

It's actually starting to look like a Christmas wreath!

Update:  Here is the wreath with the new bow from the Panettone:

Lovely Bow from Panettone!

I think it balances out those 2 other beige-y things don't you?  Hmm, I'm noticing the wreath looks lopsided.  It looks fuller on the left.  Will have to do something about that next year.

What do you think of this refab?  I've just added a "Rate This" checkbox to all the posts, so you can use that without having to comment.

Early Birds and Worms

When it's grocery day, Big J and I have taken to waking up très early.  It all started about a month ago when we went to bed too early and automatically woke up at about 5:30 am!  We decided to get our grocery shopping done and arrived at the supermarket at about 8am.

What a difference a few hours make!  Instead of the crush of weekend shoppers and messy aisles with all the sale items already snatched up, the shelves are still being stocked.  The sale and discounted items are in good supply so we end up saving some money by being early birds.

Not as many good deals as last time, we saved about $20 over our regular bill by couponing and arriving at the store early.  Also, no free items this time, everything scanned correctly.

I've been continuing to work on the coupon binder and have found that business card holder pages from the $ store work well for those small coupons that get sent to the home.

The photo album pages are also working out well; they have a small slot (for negatives?) which I use to sub-categorize:

I may need a bigger binder soon though.  I have an old CD binder which has a carry handle, but I think it is a little too big - the rings are about 4 to 5 inches.

Savings

Remember the coupon binder from my first post?  Here it is now in all its glory:

It's still not finished, I am thinking up the categories for the dividers as we shop.  We took advantage of many coupons and had savings on top of savings due to some items being on sale.

Just some of our deals:

• Dog food, the giant sized one was regular ~$17, on sale for ~$14 and we had a coupon for $3 off 
• Pizza, on sale for $3.99 and we had $1.50 off
• Toilet paper was on sale for $6.99 and we had $2.00 off.
• Paper towels too
• In addition, there was one item which scanned at an incorrect price and according to the Scanner Code of Practice since it was under $10, I got it for free!

So, still not the cartloads for free, but I estimate we saved about $30.

Here are the doggies:

Not so Extreme Couponing

Having seen the huge savings that people can get from clipping coupons, I decided to try it too.  Of course, up here in Canada, we don't have those double your savings deals that are available in some states. 

I've been saving a few dollars here and there, but nothing even close to getting the whole shopping cart for free that they show on tv.  No big deal, a few dollars off is better than nothing.  

The main problem though is having a place to organize the coupons.  I was using this:

I think it's a small cancelled cheque holder - got it at the $ store ages ago.  But even though it's got quite a few slots, it's hard to find the coupons because they are all smooshed together:

and you have to take them out of the pocket to browse through them.  After a few frustrating weeks of this, I finally searched online and found this: Make a Coupon Binder. 

I tweaked it a bit so as not to spend any actual money:

• To prevent the coupons falling out, I re-used an old zippered time management calendar binder instead of an elastic band
• For the pages, I found some photo insert pages (remember those?  they have a slot for a 3.5 photo - who even uses them these days?).  They used to be quite expensive, but I had a pile of unused ones.  I think the size is better than the baseball card inserts.

Now I just have to decide how to organize it, by expiry date? by item?  Can't wait to try out the binder next weekend.