Thrifty Thursdays: Mall Shopping

Yes, I know that shopping at the mall won't generally get you the best deals.

But, lemme tell ya, that's when you are shopping alone. 

First off, get familiar with the sales and scout out stores you might not normally go into if they are having special sells. 

Examples: Wet Seal's buy one get one for a penny sale, Claire's 10 for $5 sale

yadda yadda yadda

But here is the secret...well hopefully it's not so much a secret but you can always get better deals at buy one get one sales (Payless) if you bring a friend along and split the cost of similar priced items.

For instance, I got a pair of shoes for $5 because they sale was buy one, get one for $.01. 

The shoes were on sale for $10 but, my sister-in-law also wanted a pair, so instead of buying two pairs of shoes (there was nothing else in my size) she got a pair and so we each paid $5. Score!

I recently chopped off all my hair (even further, yea, IIII know) and so I picked up some spunky sunglasses to help me still feel girly:

AND I got a striped shirt all for a grand total of

babaBAHHH

$14.00

Thrifty Thursdays: Hunger Games For Free!!

Okay, so I've been dreaming about the Hunger Games.

lame, right?

Anyway, movie tickets are far too expensive for cheap-o-maniacs like us, so when we stumbled across this offer from Fandango, it was  deal we couldn't resist!

When you sign up for Netflix (just do the month free trial and cancel it before your free month ends) you get not one, but TWO free movie tickets through
Fandango worth up to $12 a piece. 

That's free Hunger Games!!!!!!

(You have to be brand spankin new to Netflix to qualify though)

Thrifty Thursdays: Guest Post Style!

Emmy, over at Love Woke Me Up This Morning, was kind enough to share her two cents about some of her more thrifty findings!

When Cambra told me about a lot of the things she blogs about, I'll admit that I was pretty stumped when it came to writing a guest post.

I'm a horrible cook. This one time I almost burned the kitchen down boiling water. True story.

I don't do crafts. In college I had to make a pair of shorts for our welcome staff "uniform" and it took me all summer with a lthot of tears because I learned the sewing machine and I don't get along well. 

However, there is something that I'm learning to be good at - and that's grocery shopping for a post-college 20 something who doesn't know how to cook.

So ladies, if you are like me and would make a horrible house wife, this is for you!

First , buy what you actually use and not what you think you need. I used to make this mistake all the time! I would go grocery shopping and pick up a bunch of the basics that I thought I needed because they were staples on my mom's grocery list. A perfect example for me would be buying a loaf of bread. For one person, a whole loaf of bread is way too much unless you make sandwiches and toast every single day. Therefore, I started buying tortillas because I found that I really enjoyed wraps, tacos, and used them for snacks on a regular basis. Besides- tortillas have less carbs than bread. 

Frozen food is your friend. I'm not talking about gross TV dinners. Found full meals in frozen bags. They take fresh meat and veggies and put them in a freezer bag. You usually put them on the stove for 10-20 minutes and voila! You have a full meal ready to go. The best part if you are a single, is that you can keep half of it for tomorrow's dinner. My favorite is this chicken and spinach Florentine dish. It's completely delish and I feel like a fancy Italian chef when I cook it.

Salads in mason jars are God's gift to busy people who still want to eat. This was an idea I found on Pinterest. Grab a mason jar (you can find them at most craft stores for pretty cheep!), put a tasty salad dressing on the bottom, and then layer by layer add your favorite salad items in with the lettuce on top. Make a few of these for the week and keep them in your fridge. These are perfect for long days when you don't have a chance to go out to lunch and eat at work, or you get home late and don't have the time or energy to cook. These salads can stay fresh for a long time! 

Don't be afraid to be a mooch. I work at a church, and I cannot tell you how many times we have leftover food in the church kitchen from some sort of event. People leave it there and just say "the staff can have that for lunch this week if they want." In our office we almost always take them up on the offer. During December, I rarely have to go grocery shopping because people LOVE to give us food! 

Along with that - Tupperware is amazing.. 

My last few tips are for the coffee snobs out there. Get to know your baristas. If you go to your favorite coffee shop enough, they'll just throw free things at you. Also, keep your own creamer and sugar at your desk at work. I really hate powder coffee cream, but I have found that International Delight makes individual size creams that you don't have to keep refrigerated. I keep a box on my desk for the days that I can't make my usual run to Starbucks.

So, there are my food tips for post-college girls who can't cook.

What have you found that works for you?

Thrifty Thursdays: A month of dates for Nad

One of the most important things to keeping a strong and fun marriage is to keep courting each other.  Keep oogling his nice arms and he'll keep sneaking pinches each chance he gets.

And it will be so much fun!

But, starting out, generally doesn't provide the funds for weekly big dream dates and adventures. Sure, someday we'll fly somewhere awesome on a whim or drive up to Yellowstone for the day, but for now; these will more than suffice.

1. Go on a walk together: the weather is just starting to warm up and those sunshiney rays will do you, your heart, and your love for each other so much good!

2. Go throw rocks: what? No, seriously though. Find a little pond or lake and skip rocks. Frozen over? See who can break through the ice first. Activities that may seem a little juvenile (but not in a way that will land you in jail or with a misdemeanor seeing as you are an adult now) will help break down defenses that you may have up and help you to communicate things that you may at other times feel to silly to bring up.

3. Spice up dinner: You're already going to eat, so why not shake it up a little bit? Eat dinner picnic style or build a fort and eat it inside. Finish up with a dessert you can just nibble on and play a board game together. 

4. Watch the sunrise: yes I know it is cold out right now and yes it is very possible that the whole excursion will be less comfortable than romantic, but sometimes when things going  a little wrong and you feel really silly about them later, it creates the best memories. So, when you are old and grey, or just feeling lack-luster on an off day, you can think about that time you guys woke up at the crack of dawn, bundled up with homemade hot chocolate and traipsed out into the snow to watch a winter sunrise. and froze.

So, have fun with your free dates and let me know what you do for your impromptu, ultimate budget friendly, dates.

Thrifty Thursdays: Buy this - not that.

I was bored the other day, so I was shopping around online and came across this cute tulip skirt from anthropologie

The price tag? Not so cute at over $100

I was then curious to find something similar for less and came across this:

From Old Navy: Less than $20

I do like the wider hem of the anthro skirt, so I would add top stitching to the Old Navy skirt to get that look.

---

After my little price comparison adventure, I realized how easy it is to find affordable alternatives to more expensive items. (I'm  not saying to find knock-offs, but there are so many similar styles out there).

The key to finding what you want at a more affordable price online is by knowing the names of the clothing and some basic termonology. 

For dresses, I found this handy little guide:

My current hunt is for something similar to these anthro skinnies:

They'd be so cute for spring!

Thrifty Thursdays: Date Night Under $10.

Although we've been experiencing a pretty mild winter round about these parts of the Iceburg, it has still been chilly, chilly, chilly and windy!

(Note: Do NOT wear skirts on windy days in Rexburg, you'll give your neighbors an eye full)

What better way to stay out of the cold than to snuggle up with your main squeeze and stay toasty warm.

Here's what you'll need:

6 bags of glowsticks from the dollar store (2 in each) - $6

A redbox - $1.30

Your favorite treat (my movie treat is pull and peels) $2

Fill up your tub with a nice warm bubble bath for two, then snuggle up and watch a movie. A fun twist on an old stay-in classic.

What cheap date night ideas have you come across?

Thrifty Thursdays: Scrapping

Remember that big fabric haul I made mention of?

Well, here is a little sneak preview of how it is ending up.

But!

Before we get to the juicy stuff, let's talk about the thrifty stuff!

Using fabric scraps.

I'm lucky enough to have a sewing lab on campus nearby that has a little scrap bin in it. My favorite is when the new sewing students throw huge swatches of fabric in there because they see no use for them. WRONGO!

There are plenty of things from bows to appliques to textural elements you can add to your garment.

1. selvege edges: you can braid them into belts, crochet with them, etc.

2. bows: bow accessories are everywhere- shoe/hair clips, belts

3. Fabric yoyos and rosettes

4. details on sewn cards

5. or, the ever so popular bunting

(I have no affiliation with these shops, just examples.)

With all that in mind: here's my thrifty addition to a shirt- a leopard print shoulder bow:

and just because...here's a little peek into what is coming in my etsy shop fairly soon. (It is sadly empty right now)

Check back soon for more updates and a give-away or two! :)

Happy Thursday!

Thrifty Thursday: Tablecloth to Dress

Might as well go for two weekly posting goals, right?

We all thrift, we all craft, here are a couple of my finds/alterations!

(Tutorials to come!)

Released dart, circle skirt dress with pintucks!

While shopping around the local thrift store I found this great peachy tablecloth, it was drapey, swingy, oh-so-soft, and already a circle begging to be made into a skirt. It also just so happened to go really well with a tiny heart print fabric I had been given.

I took a basic bodice sloper and converted the waist darts to ease and the bust darts to cute little pintucks going down the front of the top. (okay, so I may be a little obsessed with pintucks)

The table cloth was $2 

and the fabric for the top was given to me

Throw in a couple bucks for elastic and thread and this dress added up to a whopping...

$4!

(Thanks Margeaux for modeling it for me!)