Saturday

Famous Quotes about Money

Photo: Source Unknown


“By sowing frugality

we reap

liberty,


a golden harvest.”


-Agesilaus.



"Another poetic description of how frugality works."




~~~~~~




Kathryn, over at "Money Saving Blog" has a posted a list of...



Famous Quotes about Money!



Being a collector and lover of wise quotes,



I thought you might enjoy browsing through it too!



Warmly,



Tracey and Family
xox

Thursday

5 Ideas for Easy and Frugal Last Minute Gifts






The holidays are right around the corner.


If your time, budget and energy are already stretched to their maximum fret not!!


Here are some wonderfully easy,


fun and frugal last minute gifts you can put together with minimal time, effort and funds.


Helpful Hint: Before going out to buy any of these goodies, we suggest that you first take a look around your house and into your pantry. You might be surprised to find that you already have everything you need to put together several of these gifts…without spending a cent!


~~~~~~~


o Give Breakfast in a Bag: Line a small gift bag with tissue paper then put in a store bought (or, homemade) pancake mix, a bottle of maple syrup, jam, or honey and perhaps a small box of tea bags or a bag of coffee beans. If your budget and time permit, perhaps include a spatula, mixing bowl and/or apron. Tie the bag handles together with ribbon or raffia and include a handwritten or computer made tag reading “Breakfast in a Bag”.

o Vintage Money Savers: A wonderful last minute gift for a child is to fill a pretty a metal tea or cookie tin/canister with pennies, nickels, dimes and few quarters at the top! The children enjoy counting and recounting the money while the tin offers a place for them to continue saving. (This is much more creative and fun than stuffing money or a gift card into an envelope.)

o A Baker’s Delight: Use vintage and new pie pans and cookie sheets as the basis for these simple gifts. To package, line the pan or sheet with a kitchen towel (new or vintage) then add a recipe for your favorite recipe pie or cookies along with some of the ingredients: Flour, sugar; a jar or can of fruit or pie filling to name a few. Let the
recipient add the "wet" ingredients (eggs, butter, milk,
vanilla). Wrap it all up with cellophane and a simple raffia bow; or nestle it inside a tissue lined gift bag.

o Treasures in a Jar: Another charming last minute gift is to fill a new or vintage jar with candies, cookies, fudge, caramel popcorn and the like. Wrap a round of brown paper or fabric across the lid, tie with ribbon or raffia for a charming presentation. We collect apothecary and mason jars throughout the year to have on hand for putting together just such gifts. Dollar Store candy (or even a bag of peppermint or candy canes found quickly at the grocery store) transform into wonderful, inexpensive inserts for your gift jars.

o Give A Dinner In a Basket: Fill a basket with a small assortment of clear glass jars with a variety of pasta shapes. Add a wooden spoon tied at the top with a festive ribbon, a shaker of mixed Italian spices and another of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Let your budget and time determine if you want to also include a set of potholders; a favorite jar of store-bought marinara in a jar; apron; and a bottle of Merlot or Chianti along with a few simple wine glasses (perhaps culled from past yard sales or thrift shopping).


~~~~~~

The above excerpts and ideas derived from



"Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons," Bantam Books, NY, NY, Copyright 2000.


Sunday

Charming Vintage Tins... Packaging Gifts from the Kitchen


If you've been reading our Frugal Luxuries: Food blog...

you'll know that I've been doing some cookie baking!!

Before we left to meet our very good friend, LeAnna, for brunch on Saturday...

I pulled some of our pre~made cookie dough from the freezer

and baked a small batch to share with her.

(She is famous for being a supreme appreciator of all variety of cookies!!)

At first I was going to package them in a little cardboard box...

until I remember this vintage tin I had found at a thrift shop last summer...

and stored in my Gift Pantry TM !

I lined the bottom with an oblong paper doily and piled in the still~warm cookies!


Thinking that a nice cup of tea would be a lovely accompaniment to the cookies...

I tucked a few tea bags into a cellophane bag...popped them onto a small round paper doily

...and set them atop the cookies inside the tin.


I replaced the snug tin~top

(it will keep these...and future cookies...quite fresh).


Thinking it needed just a bit more embellishment...

I chose a vintage ribbon from our apothecary jar filled with recycled

bows, ribbons, garlands and other goodies...


and draped it around the side of the tin...

culminating in a simple bow at the top!


Next, I dug out a vintage dress clip

from our jumbled collection of vintage jewelry...


...and clipped it atop the bow

for a bit of holiday sparkle.



I popped it into a small gift bag to keep it dry...

as we met our lovely friend, LeAnna, in a light winter rain

and enjoyed a happy morning together!

A Wondrous Friend... Delicious Food... and Recycled Egg Cartons

Yesterday morning...

we met with a very good friend

for breakfast at a tiny little cafe that served the most delicious food...

When we asked for water they left this chilled jug at our table.

(This is a picture of the bottle after we drank all the water.)

I thought it was a such a clever way to re~purpose these lemonade bottles...

(we find ours at Trader Joe's)

that I asked Katie to take a picture of it so I could share the concept here!

Katie said, "Mom, did you see the ceiling?"

I looked up and discovered this...

Recycled...

Egg cartons!!!

A time~honored, environmentally friendly strategy

...to cover a less than perfect ceiling!!

I soon discovered that this little cafe is known primarily for its egg dishes...

and brioche French toast...


all of which are amazingly fresh and so delicious!!


I wanted to get these little inspirations posted before I got sidetracked!!

Hope you found them as fun as I did!

Warmly,
Tracey and Family

~~~~~~~

P.S. Tomorrow I will post some great packaging ideas for cookies.

I made and packaged some

for our good friend

who met us for brunch...

they turned out so cute!!

Wednesday

Blessed Friends...Good Thoughts...Procrastination...Awards and The Secret to Happiness


"Kindred Spirits are not so scarce as I used to think."

~Lucy Maud Montgomery

~~~~~~~

I am sometimes very, very good at procrastinating.

Why? Who knows.

Perhaps it's the fact that I get ideas in my head about how things should look or be done...and then wait until they can be implemented just as I envision them...and then... time gets away from me. Other times I am simply absent minded and forgetful.


That being said, there is no good excuse for taking so long (i.e., two long months)to thank and acknowledge the


Kreative Blogger Award

I received from my ...


hilarious, fellow~cat~lady friend, Angie a.k.a.

the Eclectic Catlady

Thank you Angie...

for your kind friendship... forgiving nature... and keen sense of humor.


~~~~


To top it all off..

I am blessed to receive still another honor...

the...

I Love Your Blog

award

from my

good and kind friend Charmaine at...

Beautiful Things to Share !


Please stop by and pay a visit to these amazing Kindred Spirits!

~~~~~~~

Luckily for me,
both awards ask that I reveal seven things about myself.


1. I am a firm believer in the power of good thoughts and especially prayers. I think good thoughts are akin to prayers and thus I make a habit to send out both... as frequently as possible. What we focus on grows. Why not focus on the good and the lovely?

2. I love animals. All animals. Rosie and Katie call me a cross between "Enchanted" and "Elf". We have squirrels that come and tap on my kitchen window to say "hello" even if there is already food set out for them~~a few even allow me to pet them. If I'm not in the kitchen they chatter at me from the tree outside my bathroom window (upstairs) or peek at me from the glass balcony door of our bedroom (driving Zoey mad with jealousy). Of course, I do have a special soft spot for cats and dogs. We don't currently have a dog because our back "yard" is minuscule and it would not be a good life for a dog. However, we do have two amazing cats that think they're dogs. Our calico, Zoey, fetches those little red and white mints. I joke you not. We throw it and she retrieves it; drops it right at our feet like a stick. Mike calls her his "Calico Retriever". Katie's cat, Obee, patrols against the raccoons that try to take over under cover of night. If he could bark, he would. Instead, he has a Siamese, high~pitched "rurr~ow".


3. I am a lover of books. The right book... appearing in your life at the right time... can become a great counselor/friend and change the trajectory of your future.

4. Because of this great love (or should I say... passion) I own thousands of books~~books of all genres, shapes, sizes and ages~~hardcover, softcover and the like. You will find books in every room of my house. The kitchen has a china cabinet that I use as a bookcase. The linen closets that line the upstairs hall are filled with books instead of linens. My walk~in clothes closet was long ago converted into a tiny office/library (mostly library). If the truth be told, every wall of my dream home would boast floor to ceiling shelves for books. Some would have doors, some would not. I have always thought this would be a frugal/practical way to add insulation as well. I don't have a Kindle, but will probably get one when the prices go down a little more... because of their sheer convenience. That being said, there is nothing more precious to me than the tactile act of holding and reading a paper~leafed book. They aren't dependent upon battery power or electricity and I cannot imagine an electronic device duplicating that paper pleasure...ever.

5. I never read just one book at a time. On any given day I will be in the midst of reading 3 to 9 books. I do this by reading a chapter or two per book, per day. If it's a busy week, I rotate books. It does help that I am a very fast reader.

6. I enjoy beauty and believe it is undervalued in our society. Not the beauty of movie stars and youth~obsession, but true beauty. True beauty can be discovered in the most unlikely of places. There is beauty in words, books and good thoughts just as there is beauty in a well designed room, a delicate fragment of vintage lace or a lovely young girl. There is beauty in the soil of the garden... and the aged face of a kind soul. There is beauty in polished silver and... even more beautiful... tarnished silver. There is beauty in frayed rugs... candle light... and the shadows the trees make as the wind causes them to sway...

7. It is my firm belief that the secret to happiness is unconditional love. It has been my experience that if a person can abandon the habit of relationship score~keeping... and let go of perceived hurts, anger and sorrows... there is an amazing peace and happiness that results. I'm not saying it's easy. It's often a strenuous exercise of character and a strong test of will~power... yet... with such rewards... isn't it worth it to at least try?! I think so.

~~~~~~~

I am supposed to pass these awards along to seven other Bloggers.
However... this is the busy holiday season so I will just offer it to any and/or all of you amazingly kind~kindred souls who read this. Take up the mantle if it calls to you...ignore it if it does not. All I ask is that you have a blessed, prosperous and peaceful holiday season brimming with unconditional love, good thoughts and kind prayers.

Warmly,
Tracey
xxx

The original "FRUGAL LUXURIES" ~ Based on the books by Tracey McBride ~ Established 1993

A warm Thank You to all kind souls and kindred spirits who generously take the time to leave a comment...your encouragement, trust and support are deeply appreciated...please know that we read each and every message and will respond as time allows.

~~~

Frugal Luxuries
is a registered trademark.


~~~


"FRUGAL LUXURIES: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul" was written by Tracey McBride and published by Bantam Books, NY, in 1997. It was the first of its genre to synergize the elements of simplicity, frugality and gracious living.

After more than a decade, FRUGAL LUXURIES has never been out of print and is now more relevant than ever.

"It's our hope that a new generation, faced with a teetering economy, will also find this information helpful and enlightening."



Sending Good Thought to Our Special Band of Kind and Kindred Souls!

Frugal Luxuries Book I

Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons Book II

    follow me on Twitter

    Blog Archive

    Site Counter