Saturday, October 20, 2012

Down Home Living ~


Hello ~ I just love my roses.  They are loving this cool weather we are having ~

First of all, I would like to THANK YOU for all of the lovely comments on my new "Look".  I am still loving it.

I have been thinking.....I visited Elaine and she has some concerns about the way the economy is going.    I think we are all concerned. Gas prices are crazy, Food prices are sky rocketing.....you all know, these are hard times.

Let's take a fresh view ~ maybe it's time to ~


Bake our own bread ~


Cook hearty meals on a shoe string budget ~


Can our own foods ~

Most of us bloggers already visit the thrift stores.  I think they make all of us smile with the little treasures we pick up, but they also carry gently used clothing.  I pick up clothing all the time.  I work in an office and women's suits are expensive.  I can find a gently used woman's office suit for $5.00, have it cleaned and voila for $10.00, I have a $100.00 suit.  If I ruin it at work (like I have, getting toner on my clothes or writing with pen on my clothes), I'm not upset because I have a $10.00 investment.


And you know, vintage clothing is in style ~

Do you have any ideas how we can be more frugal?

Please share your ideas with us.  I can't wait to hear.  I KNOW you will have some terrific ideas ~

(((Hugs)))

Marianne

11 comments:

  1. Morning Marianne...oh!!! I can almost smell the rose...heavenly....I always look at the clothing in our thrift stores....found many great new clothing....love the second hand stores....You look so sweet in the mirror....Blessings Francine.

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  2. Good morning Marianne! I agree with all your ideas to live on the cheap today. I am amazed at the price of food today and the smaller packaging. For the two of us it costs more per week than it did when the kids were home for 2 weeks! Your bread looks scrumptious. Enjoy the day! Blessings, Pamela

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  3. All the sudden gas prices have dropped by 50 cents! We have changed over the last year...no eating out, no driving through the car wash, Aldi's is our grocery store now. I have so many clothes,but if I need something it is Kmart, Kohls and not Macy's. I think all the things everyone else is doing. AND for Christmas I am trying to make things, like the aprons, I got for $2 at an estate sale that I will scan designs and iron on etc.

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  4. Good morning. I so agree about little ways we can save. We got chickens a couple of years ago and love getting fresh eggs. We also sell the extras or barter for other things. I like to stretch our groceries as far as I can. I also shop Goodwill for a lot of our clothes. I actually went to two local GW shops yesterday and picked up my beautiful new (cheap) wool pea coat for the winter. I found a few new scarves to brighten up mine and my girls wardrobes, sweaters, and flannel shirts for my son. Three out of five in my family are trying to lose some weight and I sure don't want to waste money on new clothes when hopefully we won't need that size much longer. GW is a great place to shop for us.

    Have a great day.

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  5. I agree it is getting crazy ! Next year Papa and I are making a raised veggie garden so we can save money by growing own and we will be canning, freezing and enjoying the fresh veggies , these days it's expensive to by good veggies ! I would love to get chickens but I feel our property of 3/4 of an archer just doesn't seem big enough as I was raised with chickens and farm animals on a hobby farm with lots of space and acherage ! I shop at thrift stores as well for all kinds of things and antique stores as well . Have a good day !

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  6. I could not agree more Marianne! As I am reading this I have a pot of beef, vegetable and barley soup simmering away on the stove for dinner. We used to go out for dinner on the weekends, but now we eat at home. We have a good friend who is a cattle broker (yes this is ranch country). He told us that it's getting really hard to pay for the feed for cattle and get this ~ people are stealing grass! I know that it's tough on everyone. But, I like to look on the bright side of things. For some time we all had too much and I don't think it made us happy. Look at the amount of advertising for anti-depressants. Perhaps tightening our belts will bring everyone back to basics. It's really all about home, family, friends and community. Let's get out our sewing machines, make our own clothes, bake our own bread, invite friends over to play board games and plant gardens. Let's pull together, work hard, share and say our prayers. By the way, you are styling in your
    cute apron. Love the music on your blog my friend!

    Big Hugs from Idaho,
    Susan and Bentley

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  7. I was raised by very frugal parents, my mom re-used cereal box liners in place of waxed paper. We never wasted water, we turned lights off when we were not in a room, we kept the thermostat at 70, I keep it at 68 or 69 tops. We walked as much as possible and never ate out. That right there would save us quite a bit each month.
    Mom re-used everything. I thrift, don't buy anything new except for boots and shoes. I bake all my own desserts, and breads for meals. We seldom eat out and I don't drive my car unless it's absolutely necessary. We only have one vehicle, which saves us between $500 - $1000 a month and I walk a lot and take the bus if I have to go a fair distance or carry heavy groceries.
    Did I over-do it?

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  8. As it turns out, I MADE bread today. Haven't made it in years and years. I wanted to try the Rosemary Bread from Pinterest. I think the yeast needed to Yeast a little more (tee,hee) as it didn't rise as much as it should have, but it was still SO good. And the house smelled great.
    I think we all need to take a look at being frugal. I can't wait to hopefully have my garden up and growing next year.

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  9. How do you stay so slender, girl? I agree. We've got to learn to be more frugal in this kind of economy. I'm buying generic everything. I'm anxious to hear more ideas.
    Brenda

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  10. Great post!! And isn't it something that we have to be so frugal!! But at the same time it is fun!! Lot's of fun! Making handmade I love!! Our Christmas will be just that. I will be making pumpkin butter and banana bread and many other baked goods and items for the family. My daughtter and I learned how to make our own pumkin by baking the pumpkin pie pumpkins. So easy and you get alot. I make alot of handmades for my Etsy shoppe too and I upcycle alot! Thanks for the chance to plug Hnadmade!! LOL I adore it!! And your new hair is adorable on you!! XOXO Fran.

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  11. You look so cute in your apron! Well...I have always been frugal. I'm going to be more diligent about buying fruits and veggies. I've been freezing strawberries and blueberries when I see I won't be able to eat them all fresh before they get too ripe. Groceries are so expensive. Bread is also good to freeze if you see you can't eat it all quickly. I'm a happy person and I'm content with buying vintage items for less but I do like to have quality food! Sweet Hugs!

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