Posted by Sarah on July 23rd, 2010
Apparently updating the wishlist on my sidebar was a good idea. I have already purchased something I wanted, but even better because I found it at a better price and I like it better than the one on my wishlist. See those glass canisters on the top of the list?
I thought they would be a great addition to all the kitchen supplies I’ve been collecting for my studio apartment. They only cost $19.99 as well, which means I could actually afford them. However, while at Target earlier this week, I came across this seven piece ceramic canister set at an even more affordable price:
It is made by Room Essentials, who make a lot of affordable products mainly aimed at young poor college students like me. These canisters are perfect – they are white (so they match everything), they create a great airtight seal so nothing inside will spoil and they come with sleek stainless steel scoopers. And seriously, those little ones are so cute I may not even put anything
Continue reading Putting My Wishlist to Good Use
Posted by Sarah on May 12th, 2010
Being a college student has caused me to learn many things besides just the things I have learned in the classroom. Because I go to college a couple hours away from where I grew up, I have had to be self-sufficient in many ways, from financing my day-to-day living to being able to go places and do things on my own. One of the biggest things I have been learning is how expensive it is to start from scratch. When I say this, I mean buying things like cooking, cleaning, decorating, and other supplies that you cannot always take with you when you move out of your parent’s house. I have learned to remedy this by buying everything as cheaply as I can, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily skimp out on the quality.
This weekend, San and I made a day of garage saling at a city wide garage sale in a suburb of St. Paul. We got up bright and early, treated ourselves to really unhealthy but tasty breakfasts at a gas station and set off. It was a little stressful only because it was freezing out which led to some snow, rain, and a tiny bit of hail,
Continue reading Creating a Home Through Garage Saling
Posted by Sarah on April 8th, 2010
As a child, my dad and I would go garage saling in search for the best deals. I would come home with all sorts of things – cds, books, games, toys, jewelry – but there is one thing I wouldn’t go near: clothes. I loved buying everything else secondhand in good condition at outrageously low prices, but no matter how much my dad tried to persuade me to look at the clothes, I wouldn’t budge. Boy, am I kicking myself now! Now that I am buying 100% of my clothes I realize how expensive they are. I wish I could go back because buying secondhand clothing would have saved my parents a good amount of money (sorry Mom and Dad!).
Even after I started hitting up stores like Goodwill and Savers for decor items during the past year or so, I still would steer clear of the clothing. Over time, however, I started to realize that making money isn’t easy and although I like clothes, they are too expensive to buy brand new at full price or even sale prices. I asked myself if the clothes I was buying were really worth full price when I could buy equally nice clothes
Continue reading Think About it Thursdays: Are You a Frugal Fashionista?
Posted by Sarah on March 23rd, 2010
I am a huge fan of switching out ground beef for ground turkey. Ground turkey breast is a very healthy alternative which offers lots of protein but a lot less fat and calories than ground beef. I first heard about pulling this switcheroo on The Biggest Loser, and after trying it I was hooked! You would think it would lack flavor, but it really doesn’t and they are so juicy! I love adding different seasonings and sauces to my burgers anyway, so transitioning was no problemo for me.
I’ve made them a few times, with the help of my trusty pastry chef boyfriend San of course (he is better at making burgers than me), so when we made them a couple weekends ago, I was sure they would turn out perfectly. Boy, was I wrong. Although they tasted good, we did almost everything wrong, so now I am here to tell you just exactly how NOT to make turkey burgers. I’m a firm believer in letting you all see the harsh realities of what goes on in my kitchen as well as all the good stuff. Let’s get started!
Step #1: Buy the wrong kind of ground turkey. This is the
Continue reading How Not To Make Turkey Burgers
Posted by Sarah on March 22nd, 2010
Oh boy, do I love me a challenge! When I saw one of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay @ Living With Lindsay, was hosting a five dollar challenge, I couldn’t hold myself back! I’m poor, but I have five dollars and love to make crafty things. How could I resist?
I had a vision in my head of a springtime wreath, but I didn’t want my vision to be too decided when I went shopping since I was limited to only shopping in dollar stores, and we all know how random the selection can be at those types of stores. I mainly knew I wanted to use my leftover burlap from my corkboard makeover and my leftover green polka dot fabric from my DIY custom flats and that I needed something to wrap them around.
Here is what I found and used:

I used the fabric previously mentioned and purchased a styrofoam wreath, a decorative bird, some twigs, and some fake flowers. The only thing I used to attach everything was hot glue, which was another
Continue reading A Four Dollar Springtime Wreath

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