St. Pat's Apron

Note from mom2fur: I'm so happy to report (thanks for the info, Nanci!) that Shereen is back with "Sew Crafty Friday." You can link there from my sidebar. I hope others will join in the fun, too--you don't have to sew, just be crafty!

One thing that's nice about being snowed in, with no obligation to go places, is you get time to finish something or other. My something or other is this St. Pat's apron. I have an apron I bought several years ago that is flattering on me. It's kind of scooped around the bottom, then it tapers up to the waistline. So I traced around it on this shamrock fabric. I left off a bottom ruffle, which is very pretty but more work than I wanted to do for something I'll only wear one month out of the year.
The binding around the color is bias tape I made myself. I got the idea from "Sewing with Nancy." You just line up strips of scrap fabric, sew them together, then cut them on the bias. If you have an apron you love that lays nice and flat (no gathers, I mean), you could also trace off a pattern from it.

I'm off in a little while to get my hair done--my husband pays for the whole thing every 6 weeks. Isn't he something?

Snow More, please

All right, I know it's still officially winter, but I've had enough of snow! We've got 10 inches on the ground today and it's still coming down.

Oh, well, at least I don't have to go anywhere. I've got banana bread baking in the oven and I'm working on a new apron for St. Patrick's Day. I was really happy when I was putting away Valentine's goodies that I found a box marked "Spring Fabric." Wahoo! Not only were there some pretty ones with flowers (like tulips) and some cheerful pastels, but I bought 3 yards of shamrock fabric on sale last year! I'm making a full apron and some potholders with it, and I'm sure there will be other projects. Don't you love it when you take out a box and find things you bought on sale a year ago, but forgot?

It's almost like a gift!

Hope everyone is warm and safe.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

I had almost forgotten about Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes! I actually have one today:

To keep your cutting board from slipping on the counter, take a cleaning rag or wash cloth, wet it, then wring it out. Put it under the cutting board and it will stay in place no matter how much slicing and dicing you do.

And the best part is that you can use the cloth to wipe your counter when you are done!

Here's a link to Tammy, where you'll find some other great tips:
http://www.tammysrecipes.com/

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all. My husband really surprised me with a new Nintendo DS! And it's RED!!! (My favorite color!)

See, I had a pink one that died on me. I tried a new charger with no luck, and then I ordered a battery on line. Dopey me...I didn't realize it was a DS Lite, so I had the wrong battery. I'll just give it to someone with a regular DS.

So Mike says this morning: "I was going to do the flowers and candy thing, but I decided I wanted to do something more special. And I saw you had this 'hole' in your life these days. I wanted to make you happy..."

Oh, yeah. He cracks me up big time--the 'hole' in my life is not having my DS to fiddle with. Honestly, I missed it but not that much, but he knew how much fun I had with it. So he got me a new one.

I think, maybe, I'll keep this guy.

I hope you all are as happy today as I am.

(PS--my gift to him was a CD I burned of some songs he likes. Not much compared to a DS, but he's a guy who doesn't want much. The family is getting lasagna for dinner, and I'm about to look up my spritz cookie recipe to make heart-shaped cookies!)

More Valentine's Decor

I didn't want my last "IMHO' post to sit on the top for too long, so here's some more of my Valentine's decorations. I don't have a lot, not like Christmas or Halloween, but there's a nice touch of red (my favorite color!) around my house these days!

I change the flowers in this wall sconce with the seasons. Sorry the photo is sideways!

Mike gave me this pair of hugging bears way back when we were first going out...some time in the early 70s! I bought these votive candle holders for $5 to 'fill in' a blank wall area in the dining room because I didnt' want to hang a big picture or mirror there! I love the 3-D look. They are about 20 inches tall with 5 candle holders in each. And it's a great place to hang little things. I'm thinking U--S--A for Memorial Day and 4th of July!

Here's more of the shelf with the candy. I also use it as a 'catchall,' which isn't great decorating (hence the green m&ms which will be for St. Pat's) but at least one shelf is totally Valentine's.

My mother gave me the strawberry cookie jar many years ago. I moved it out of the kitchen because strawberries remind me of hearts! In fact, anything red will do...don't think you have to go out and spend money to decorate! Just think of appropriate colors!

Just some thoughts...

Today I decided to hunt around for some frugal blogs. I was surprised at how snotty and downright mean some of the commenters were! And so judgemental! For instance, there was one lady who spoke about owning an iPod and having the occasional Starbucks. And for that, some of her commenters called her to task for not being 'truly frugal.'

Well, what exactly is frugal? For the record, the blogger above got that iPod with 'points' and some other discounts and ended up getting it very cheaply. Does frugal mean you only get to buy the cheapest of the cheap? Does it mean you have to live on beans and can never have steak?

Well, I just got a Wii for my birthday. I've wanted one for years. It was partly a gift and partly from my own pocket. Yeah, a $200 toy isn't exactly frugal, which is why it's taken me years to get this. I make no apologies, not even for my own out-of-pocket donation. I love it, I need the exercise, and it's cheaper than a gym membership. I'd never go to the gym, anyway, being somewhat shy and unsociable. (I'm nice and friendly, just not 'sociable.' If that makes any sense!)

What's the point on saving money if you don't sometimes spend it, too? You can't take it with you! Clipping coupons, cooking from scratch and eating home as much as possible--I like doing this, but it would end up being a drag if there wasn't some reward involved.

Isn't that what frugal is all about? Whether you are 'Sorta Frugal' like me, or the type that uses cloth for toilet paper and washes out zippy bags, don't you save money in the areas that don't count so much so you can have those things you really, really, really want without breaking the bank!

Frankly, I'll stick with my 'nice' bloggers and stay away from the snobs and commenters who think they know so much.

Frugal Holiday Idea

I love after-holiday clearances. Not only do you get great buys, but sometimes you can make those clearance items do double-duty. For instance, red things from Christmas can sometimes be used for Valentine's Day and even Fourth of July.

CVS had M&Ms and Hershey's Kisses on sale for 90% off a few weeks ago. That worked out to about 20 cents a bag! I sorted them out and here is what I put out for Valentine's month. (I don't really expect the candy to last until the 14th, LOL!) The ice cream sundae dishes cost me about a quarter each at the local Salvation Army Thrift store.

I think I might tie some red ribbons around the stems.

Obviously, I'll be using the green candy for St. Patrick's Day!

Now, it's too late if you didn't get candy after Christmas. But look at the Valentine's candy after the 14th. I would be you'll find plenty of pink goodies--which can either be used for Easter or Mom's Day or even for a little girls' party's goodie bags!