Last Week's Thrifty Moves

I made another banana cream pie.  My youngest didn't have to work very hard to convince me.  It was half gone in nothing flat.

After refilling a couple hand soap dispensers with the charming cheapy dollar store dish soap I like to use I rinsed out the bottle and used it to wash a sink full of dishes.  I also rinsed out the empty bottle of laundry detergent and had enough soap to wash a load of clothes.

My youngest made a batch of Asian Vinaigrette salad dressing.  We used it to make Asian Chicken Salad for our lunch.  I also made a pint of buttermilk dressing.  I could easily make this by the quart as my youngest puts it on nearly everything.  I think she'd drink it if I'd let her. J

I took that 10# of ground beef I bought and turned half of it into hamburger patties and then divided the remainder into smaller amounts and putting them in bags to freeze.  I put the patties on a cookie sheet and froze them before transferring them to a one gallon Ziploc bag for storage.  Loads of meals for the summer ahead.

A couple weeks ago I had cut out another set of pillowcases from the muslin I had bought.  I stitched them up and added the vintage lilac lace my friend had given me.  The lace was made by her grandmother quite some time ago.  It is so pretty and I am really happy to have it.

I used up a nice ripe banana to make four dozen chocolate chocolate chip banana mini muffins for my girls and my oldest's boyfriend.  I can't believe I just said that.  How can she be old enough to have a boyfriend already?

My oldest and I had a date night Friday.  We went to the mall for a little shopping and had a nice dinner at a restaurant there using a gift card I had received at Christmas time.  We lucked upon a fantastic clearance sale at Aeropostle and ended up with four tops, a pair of jeans, a skirt, 2 dresses, 5 pair of underwear and a fleece lined leather coat for $118.  At JC Penney we hit a bra sale and she ended up with two for $26 and one from their clearance rack for $9.  We used a $10 OFF coupon too.  She was thrilled with this little shopping spree and so was I with the prices.  Needless to say she is well set for school next fall and this year isn't even over yet.

I received the Dillard's gift card I had ordered in the mail.  I had every intention of using it to buy a new pair of work pants, however the selection was poor and I'm not sure what "Modern Fit" is all about, but apparently I'm not that modern.  At JC Penney I found slacks that not only fit, but they were on sale.  I ended up purchasing three pair - two black and one gray.  I also used a $10 OFF coupon and the final prices was the same as one pair at Dillards.  I didn't feel too bad about that.  I'll save my gift card for something else, another time.

 Saturday I did a little bit of grocery.  I bought steaks, on sale, for Mother's Day and used a $3 OFF coupon Fred Meyer had sent me in the mail.  I also picked up a few things in the markdown bin, including a package of bagel I put in the freezer.  I spent less than $20.

I found three folding camp chairs for $5.97 each at Walmart.  I got one for each of us.  Not only will these be used for camping, but also for track meets and other activities.  They fit much nicer in the trunk of the car than our lawn chairs.  I also picked up three mini LED flashlights to put in our Go Bags, which we are still working on.

Although it seemed it was a week of spending money I am happy, at least, that I was able to keep it as minimal as possible.  I was able to cross off a lot of items from my list of clothing we needed to replace, especially for my daughter.  All she'll really need when school starts is a new pair of sneakers.  I am super happy about that.

How was your thrifty week?