Tuesday

Warm Up To Autumn


Fall Into Autumn

"That I am here afore thy sight, For gifts and grace;

A burning and a shining light


To a' this place."

---Robert Burns


Give Your Home a Cozy Feel

Excerpt from Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons by Tracey McBride.

Once the first cold snap sends you to the cedar trunk to embrace the warm woolen blankets, you will know that the time has arrived to seasonally adjust your home.


Here are six simple ways to bring that cozy feeling into your home.

  1. Add warm layers to sofas and chairs by way of paisley or plaid throws, add attractive runners to visually warm tabletops and layer hooked or Oriental-style rugs on the wooden floors.
  2. Slipcover your down comforter in a warming cotton flannel and add colorful panels of fabric to the windows over your sheers.
  3. Remember to rearrange your furniture away from drafts and cold window areas, drawing the sofa or table up to the hearth.
  4. Now is also the season in which to stack the books you've been meaning to read on the coffee or side table. If you like, cluster your easy chairs around the dining room table. Or pull a small side table near the hearth for cozy games of chess or cribbage, or perhaps a small supper in front of a gently warming blaze.
  5. Cluster candles on a plant stand or stack in a fireplace to add visual warmth to a room. Place small votive candles in salvaged martini glasses all around your kitchen (add a bit of water to the bottom so the glass won't crack). This seems to help dissipate unwanted cooking odors.
  6. Borrow from nature and gather bouquets of fall leaves and fill wooden bowls with pine cones, colorful gourds and Indian corn.
Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons by Tracey McBride; published by Bantam Books, NY, NY, 2000

Sunday

It's Never Too Early To Begin Thinking About The Wondrous Circle of Christmas and the Winter Holidays...

Photo: Tracey McBride


"I'm in the habit of looking not so much to the nature of the gift

as to the spirit in which it is offered."

--Robert Louis Stevenson
---


THE BLESSINGS OF POSITIVE LIVING

For the past dozen or so years,

I've been honored to be part of my friend Patricia Raskin's

POSITIVE LIVING holiday programs.


Recently, she's organized an...

online archive
for some of these shows.


If you're interested in hearing

a bevy of ideas about how to prepare for the holidays...

without breaking the bank (or losing your mind :)

please feel free to listen to them by clicking the link Below!

Tracey McBride: Frugal Luxuries By the Season

Wednesday

Create Oil Cloth Lunch Bags (or... Gift Bags): A Simple Tutorial from Skip to My Lou

The very artful blog,

Skip to My Lou

has a simple tutorial for making charmingly unique school lunch bags...

using oil cloth!

I was thinking they might be cute when made from re purposed vinyl table cloths
or...
even... shower curtains???

It looks like a super simple project and...

while we are (sort of) past the lunch bag phase in our family...

I am planning on using this pattern to make...

frugally luxurious gift bags...

to stock my Gift Pantry TM !!

Please click the link below to view the full tutorial:

Faith Budgeting: Back-to-School Shopping


Here is a link to another article I was honored to contribute to

on Ivillage!

It discusses simple strategies for staying faithful to your budget

when back-to-school shopping!!


Please click on the link below if you'd like to take a look!
Back-to-school budget: iVillage

8 Frugally Luxurious Ways to Beat the Summer Heat!

Photo: I Village


Here's an article that I contributed to, from IVillage,
It offers some fun and frugal ideas to experience a bit of relief from summer's heat.
Please click the link below to read!

8 (Cheap!) Ways to Beat the Summer Heat

Enchanting the Ordinary TM: Tin Cans & Clothes Pins

lifeinmystudio.blogspot.com

-------

I was browsing about in Bloglandia this morning only to stumble upon this charming blog...
Life In My Studio

which lead me to some enchanting items on Etsy...

I fell in love with these oh-so-charmingly-frugal organizers made from tin cans...

Created by...

Tinkered Treasures (click below to see her store)...

Oh... I am also enamored with her decorated clothes pins!!

---

You may also want to take a peak at her adorable blog...

Cottage!

Such fun ideas are fodder for my imagination...

thus...

begetting even MORE fun, frugal, and creative ideas...

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

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