Small Town Savings

• Who can find a virtous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things!) from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

Although I haven't been blogging about it lately, I'm still doing small "mission possible" trips from time to time. We have a pretty decent stockpile of most items, and deals are a bit fewer and father between these days, so I haven't done as much, but it's still possible to buy things for our families at decent prices and even (on occasion) get things for free.

• Our mission, should we choose to accept it, (and you know we will) is to take the resources we have available to us--coupons, rebates, Extra Care Bucks (ECB), Register Rewards (RR) and weekly ad circulars--to get the things our families need and can use, all while keeping our total out-of-pocket (OOP) as low as possible. We fulfill our tasks at drugstores, grocery stores, dollar stores, and wherever we can find those bargains and frugal finds that benefit our families.

Last week I made a quick trip to Walgreens early in the week to get some Dove Men+Care body wash, on $5.99, and it generated a $6 RR (register reward). I had a coupon for $1.50 off, so that I paid $4.49, making this a small money-maker after I got the $6 RR.

Once I got home to Louisiana, I needed a few things for the house, and so took my $6 RR from earlier in the week and headed out. This is what I got:

Transaction 1:

Gilette Fusion razor, $8.99, less $4 MQ (manufacturer's coupon), or $4.99, this generated a $4 RR, making this net of $.99

1 Joy dish detergent, $1.99; $.99 with in-ad coupon, less $.30 MQ, or $.69

1 carton eggs, on sale $.99

Total: I used the $6 RR from earlier in the week, paid $.69 plus tax, or $1.59 OOP, and received a $4 RR to use on my next transaction

Transaction 2:

Dove Men+care body wash, $5.99, less $1.50 MQor $4.49, this generates a $6 RR, making it a small money-maker

6 pk Dove Cool Moisture beauty bars, $7.99, less $1.25 MQ, or $6.74

1 Norther toilet tissue, on sale $3.99

2 Carmex lip balm, 2/$3, less 1 $1 MQ and 1 $.75 MQ, or $.62 each

Total: I used the $4 RR from the first transaction, paid $11.97 plus tax, or $13.76, and received a $6 RR to use toward my next transaction, making this net of $7.76 OOP

Not bad for a quick trip. I haven't really looked at the papers yet to see what's on sale this week. What good deals are you looking for this week?

Until next time...

Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman

• Who can find a virtuous woman? (is she just nowhere to be found?)

Did you think I'd fallen off the face of the earth? My blogging has fallen sadly by the wayside the last couple of weeks, I agree. I guess you could say that "real life" has triumphed over cyber-living, can you believe it? ;0)

And it's all because:

1. The weather has been uncooperative
2. My husband has worked some extra hours
3. I've spent a lot of time cooped up alone inside
4. I've felt peculiarly unmotivated
5. I was trying to decide what clothes to pack for a trip home I had planned
6. I spent one whole day driving 625 miles all alone
7. I've been spending time with my college son who's out of school for a few days for winter break
8. I'm just a bit nervous about an upcoming speaking engagement, so I've been doing the un-virtuous thing and just avoided thinking about it or anything else.
9. I need new glasses
10. It snowed. In the south. And stayed on the ground for almost 4 hours.
11. I had to go the dentist
12. I don't have access to high speed internet when I'm at home unless I make a special trip to town or to my folks' house--and I hate to stay on the computer all of the time I'm there.

So I haven't been blogging, either here or on my food blog.

But I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.

Just in case you wondered.

Valley Rescue Mission Thrift Store Finds

• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things!) from afar
• She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy

(to see this or any of the pictures up close, you can click on the picture, then use the "back" arrow on your browser to come back here)

One of my favorite thrift stores in the Columbus Area is the Valley Rescue Mission Thrift Store. Besides having a wide variety of goodies to see and buy (and their merchandise has a pretty good turnover), I know the money I spend goes to support a good cause.

Living in a furnished corporate apartment while we're in Georgia, I certainly don't need any furniture, but that doesn't stop me from looking when I spot a pretty piece.

I thought I was in love with this dresser when I spotted it. It was in good shape for it's age--some of these old pieces look good until you open the drawers, then you can see the real wear and tear on them. I think it was around $100, and I was really hankering for it, until I saw these two pieces...
I have a dresser very similar to this at home, except that on mine the center area is more "dropped" than this. What I don't have at home though..

...is the matching chiffrobe, and in almost perfect condition.

The tall door swings open for hanging clothes, and it has a smaller "cubby" sized space on the right and three drawers underneath.

The inside was pretty clean, the dovetailing at the edges where the drawer fronts attach seemed to be all intact, and the handles and hardware appear to be original.

Somebody put the drawers back in wrong, one of these is for the left side, one is a right side, but that's easily fixed.

I love, love, love the curved edges on these art deco pieces...

As well as the detailing in the wood veneers. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say these are from the 1920's, pre-depression era.

There's some damage on the bottom inside of the dressing table...

But the price is right at $225 for both pieces.

If I had room for these, I would be taking them with me on my next trip home. A little Murphy's Oil Soap and some Old Enlish scratch cover, these two would be as good as new.

This post is linked to:

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady

Thrifty Thursday at Tales of Bloggeritaville

What vintage and thrifty finds have you spotted lately?

Until next time...

Thrifty Wintertime Wreath

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She worketh willingly with her hands

Every since I reluctantly packed away my Christmas wreath, I've wanted something new to hang on the front door of our apartment. I've been seeing some cute winter decorations on some of the blogs I follow, but most of them have snow or a snowman theme--and winter time in the south is just not snowy--not in my neck of the woods, anyway, unless it's a freak thing that comes along once in a blue moon.

So I wanted something that looked a little bare--for winter in the south--but not barren, if you know what I mean. And of course it had to be something pretty thrifty, as well.

I found this grapevine wreath at JoAnn's for $3.99, along with three little berry sprays for $1.39 each. I had originally planned to take the sprays apart and work each little stem into the wreath separately.

Just for kicks before I started taking the sprays apart, I "fluffed" them a little and worked them into the wreath along one side. I really liked the look of this, but wanted just a touch more.



I remembered the larger berry sprays I had left from Christmas, and decided to add them, as well.


It's not quite as asymmetrical as I meant for it to be, but I can tweak that. It's definitely the "natural" look I was going for, but it still needs a little something. What do you think? A trip back to JoAnn's for more berries?

I'll let you know if I decided to add to this--it may turn into the incredible changing wreath!

This week I'm linking to a new-for-me meme called "Making Your Home Sing" Monday. Doesn't that help lift all those little tasks we do to make our homes clean, cozy, and attractive to a whole different plane?

This post is also linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered
Making the World Cuter
Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative


Until next time...