Ways I Saved

My daughter wanted to be a pink dog for Halloween last year.  We had been working at my husband's new job for just two months after getting a Master's degree, I couldn't find any pink faux fur, other colors of faux fur were incredibly expensive, and in the end, she decided she wanted to be a princess after my boy picked out a costume that was 70% off.  Whew!  We really didn't have that kind of money.  It made me sad to not make his costume (it was the first time I hadn't made a costume), but they were a princess and a frog, and I couldn't have made that frog costume the same way.  All this past year, my daughter has remembered that she wanted to be a pink dog!  Last month I was telling my neighbor about her determination to be a pink dog, and my dilemma for finding fabric.  She said, "Oh!  I have some pink faux fur that I was wondering what to do with.  Would you like it?"  I was amazed and felt blessed that she had it and offered it to me.  Pink faux fur is a random thing to have sitting around in my mind!  Anyway, I said yes please, and finished the costume pretty quickly in a day.  I didn't buy a pattern, just designed one myself, and used her clothing to size it.  Turned out great!

I used up lots of leftovers this week.  I turned some into a casserole, some were eaten for lunches, etc.  It was a good week for using up leftovers.

We went to home school group where we made some cute little aprons.  The material had been purchased at a thrift store for about $.25 per child, we used paint (we made stamps out of leaves) that we already had, plus ribbons and thread that we had on hand.  It's refreshing to collaborate with two other women who find fun, creative, things to do without spending a lot of money.

I made French Bread, cookies, Hint of Cinnamon Kettle Corn (Oooee!  I'll be sharing this recipe this week), waffles, ranch dressing for my husband since we had run out, black beans (I threw them in the freezer and added them to my Freezer Inventory Chart), vegetable noodle soup, and Sweet Chili Thai Sauce.

I spent time in the garden sowing seeds.  I also got two pots for my blueberry bushes for 70% off.  I don't want to plant them in the ground here, so I need to transplant them quickly.

Radishes, spinach, and some purple broccoli are all getting their true leaves.  The radishes are beginning to bulb, too!  Our snow peas are producing.  I tried one, and even though it wasn't mature yet, it still tasted pretty good.  It was nice to eat something fresh out of the garden.  We're supposed to get a light frost tonight, so I'm probably going to be spending time mulching out in the garden today.  I am really pleased with my fall/winter garden so far, so I'm hoping I can protect well enough what needs to be protected.

It's getting much colder so I'm trying to be careful with how we run the heat.  I want it warmish in the house, but we need an affordable electric bill too.  I've also been more aware of our electricity usage and I've been turning off lights when we aren't using them.

I'm hoping that once all of the Halloween festivities have all been enjoyed, we can take a little breather.  We've had so many activities and extra things that we've been doing, I haven't had much time to budget this week, clean this week, or save this week!  

These are the ways we've saved this week!  Did you have any special savings this week?