A dear friend planned a celebration to honor the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall - with a Celtic Communion Service conducted by an Archbishop who was there - I was singing, but I got involved in setting up the event, too.  There were pretty organized, but the outdoor plastic tables & chairs had to be washed OFF.  Luckily my boy scout husband had some soap in the car, which I put in a bucket I found & I used that to clean off everything.

I "fluffed" by taping colored tissue paper to the white plastic tabletops - and for the really dingy tables, I put pieces of the tissue paper under some sheer fabric (old sheer curtains).  It's amazing how elegant that looked! We also had some signs I could put on the tables to decorate them.  I also filled the top of the dry fountain behind where we served with colored tissue to make it "pop" a bit.

Instead of brewing hot tea for the ice tea, as I had been told, I just put the teabags in the urns we had, added water and put them in the sun to make "sun tea."  Worked fine, and as it was a not day, there was no need for any more heat....Ice tea and lemonade are really nice and economical beverages for the summer.  Our lemons came from the tree of one of our circle of friends, too. Fresh real lemonade is so good.  Ditto fresh ice tea.  (I have also made it and put it in punchbowls.) A spring of mint, also from the garden, adds a bit of class.

I wore a linen Donna Karan blouse I had picked up somewhere - which I had had to treat for spots with bleach, and mend the collar slightly - but great for the heat!  And I added a nylon scarf I had gotten at the 99 Cent Store. (Nylon can be great in the heat, as it refuses to WILT.) And I just had to spray my crinkly rayon pants with wrinkle spray - no ironing required and even better for the crinkles as ironing flattens them out too much.  Rayon is a fabric which really suits the D.A. climate.  I put my hair up and added a metallic Dollar Tree headband and wore my thrift shop silver vintage bracelet and my Goodwill black satin ballet flats.  (And again, who knew but me- and now, YOU.) Outfit total = $5 pants/shirt $5??/Scarf $1/headband $1/bracelet $2/shoes $5 = total of @ less than $20.  Not bad.

I also discovered they were having a bookseller at the library where we held the event, and being a book addict, scanned the shelves, and brought home 10 very nice paperbacks for $.50 each!

There also was a raffle associated with the event, and as the odds looked good, I entered and WON a package with a dress,earrings, and a nice bracelet!  - I learned from a woman's magazine years ago that you should always enter "local" contests as the odds are better - and sure, enough, as soon as I put that principle into practice, I, who had never won anything, started to win prizes.  I even won new TV once at the opening of a fancy drugstore!

After the event we broke down, and I saved some flowers from the arrangements that they had had - which otherwise would have ended up in the trash.  I love fresh flowers and greenery and try to get them whenever they are a good deal - and free is always good.  I find that if I take them home and re-cut and re-arrange them, I can make nice arrangements that will often last a week afterwards.

I am known among my friends for not being able to throw anything away - One buddy said, "Watch her, she will take home everything."  Not quite, but I did recycle some tissue paper besides the flowers and some leftovers.  And we pored the excess cold tea into a jug and took that home, too.

I have also helped out over the years with other events my friend has organized - putting final touches on the flower arrangements and so on. That event was quite posh and in the back garden of a Beverly Hills home built on the model of the Petit Transom palace! (and I ended up with skin care samples and pens and a magazine subscription!) Who knew that self-taught flower arranging would turn out to be such a useful skill?

I also sometimes can cut the roses from our little garden plots here at the apartment.  We have a bed of mint, too!

I was really there as part of the choir for the Celtic Service they had.  I have really gotten so much pleasure out of all my music over the years.  I hadn't  sung for a while in a choral group, and it was really nice to get back into - and with such an accomplished bunch, too!  Now that's a frugal pleasure.  Sometimes they even pay YOU.

And home in the evening, I realized from the reaction from my muscles that an added benefit had been a bit of a WORKOUT. (I recently saw an article entitled "Is your housecleaned making you fat?") Let's remember that any activity, housecleaning included,can get you moving...And I was in a lovely shaded garden area, which made it quite nice - and cool...

Lots of freebies and deals and frugalista goings on!

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A minor bug hit me this week, and so I have been taking it easy, doctoring myself with lots of Vit. C and wellness vitamins of all sorts and reading the funny old $.50 books I pick up from that great outdoor bookstore in Ojai, CA - Bart's. They have bargain racks outside - & all the books there, mostly hard backs, are $.50 - it's amazing the assortment of topics you can find there - from diet books to classics.

I wanted to rest up because I have to sing for an event on Sunday.  Whew, it's hot here - so I have also been thinking about what to WEAR, because I just found out that the singers have to wear black & white. (And I had another lovely outfit planned, too!)

I am getting the last of the spots out of a Donna Karan linen shirt I picked up somewhere with bleach on a cotton swab on wet material until the spot bleaches out. (Same idea as a bleach pen - but MUCH less expensive!) I think they say to DRY CLEAN the shirt - but linen can be washed, so I don't know what they are talking about.  I also have to do some minor mending to the collar - Think in my other life I was a ladies maid or something, since I actually enjoy getting out spots and mending things so it doesn't show! Labels like Donna Karan DO make nice things out of fine materials, but I could never afford that first hand!

Also cobbled together (see title) a closing for my blue National Geographic watch - I got that one with a sky theme and another one, which has a greenish map pattern for $1 each as gifts  - but I had to open the packaging and replace the batteries, so I ended up keeping them myself.  The weakness of these watches is the BUCKLE of the matching plastic watchband - which is flimsy and breaks.  I reversed the buckle on the greenish watch - but the blue buckle went missing - so I picked up some buckles at the thrift shop for $.10 each.  Alas, none of them fit -but I did extract the little fork-thing in the buckle & attached it to my watchband with those wire twisties - and found I could make it work. Also added another closure with those little hair elastics - which I colored blue with a magic marker! So now, I can wear it & no one will be the wiser except me (& YOU).  They are pretty fashion watches.  And the sky blue band of the blue one really makes the watch - so it would have been a shame just to get another band in this case...And it came just at the time my regular watch has to go to watch repair because one of those spring things that held it on to the band flew across a restaurant while I was having lunch & is lost forever.

Hmm, what else?  I got a really nifty little pen knife through the mail from one of my freebie offers.  Sharp, too. And more magazines, of course.  Have to recycle those.  And some hair care samples.  Walmart.com ALWAYS has samples - so check it out.  (I usually wait until my freebie sites alert me to them.)

I also signed up for some more preferred customer plans - they send you samples to try, sometimes. I have had good luck with the ones with the fashion magazines in terms of getting free products.  And the fast food sites offer coupons and discounts.  We got a 2 for one Carl's Jr. Chicken sandwich on a coupon last weekend - good sandwich and cheap at the price, too. (That coupon came with the newspaper - I save them for hubby, since he sneaks into fast food places on the run....) I also got a $2 off Subway CARD, which I think hubby used the other night to buy sandwiches for dinner. 

I did get the $25 gift card for barnesandnoble.com to work and ordered a book for hubby's birthday. (Hubby hadn't been able to get it to work for himself, somehow.)  Did I say that I also got some very reasonable books on amazon.com for him?  He likes sailing and adventure books.  But actually, I think the one he likes the best is a $.50 one about Byrd at the South Pole from Bart's!  And the guy I work for keeps on passing on bags to hubby & me - & hubby does love BAGS. The latest one is a black nylon computer bag -  Another birthday present, I say!

Oh, a note - my nails, which have always been soft, have suddenly become hard as rocks?!?  - Can't think what I am doing differently - unless it's the glucosamine samples I have been adding to my vitamins?   Now, I will have to keep on taking THOSE. Also read it helps to keep skin from sagging internally???

I find it amusing to read beauty surveys asking if I am still getting salon manicures and treatments - as I never DID - except the time it was a freebie! But then again, I have become very allergic to regular nail polish - but I will have to look into the new health food store brands that have different ingredients...

Gee, have all those people really been spending all that $$ on all that stuff?  No wonder they are broke! For me, it's always been that I just have never been paid handsomely for being an artiste and persevered anyway...

I am the kind that looks at the prices of the free Cover Girl/Olay makeup (which I got from being a bzz agent) and the mascara I got as a freebie to see how much money I COULD have spent.  To save $20-$30 is a lot to me. And I am glorying in all the nice new bargain undies I scored at the 99 Cent Store!

I DO have to rub hubby's nose in it, as he was squawking about my undie spree - when I saw the equivalent in Macy's at $7-8 each! See! See! Some people spend $8 for undies.  Not me. (And if I hadn't found them there, one can always get them discounted from the online Hanes site!)

Oh, such a frugal and fashionable wife hubby has! My favorite lipstick is a Wet N Wild brand which costs $1!! And I scored more brand new skin care at a thrift shop for $7 for 7 items - which will keep me going for a while in terms of night cream, etc. (Usually $10 a jar, even at Avon online!)

But Sunday, decked out in my DKNY linen shirt and so on - NO ONE will be the wiser.  Go team!

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I am reminded that brief posts are also oK - Now I know what I am - according to a new people's dictionary (mentioned in an L.A. Times article) I am a frugalista - that it, frugal but fashionable!

My tshirt cowl/scarves have turned out very well!  It's so easy.  Just buy a tshirt in the right color (I got $1 ones from the thrift shop) - larger for more fabric - fold tshirt over lengthwise in two - cut strips (mine were about 2" wide) - pull loops & the will curl into themselves - Bind the loops with another piece of tshirt fabric - fold over once or so & put on neck!  (You can glam them with beads, fabric paint, etc. - or make strips very narrow for a necklace effect.) I like mine (one grey and one washout blue) to glam up regular tshirts when I go out.  It's amazing how nicely they  work.

And hubby really liked the robe tie/sash I made him.  It was like a skinny scarf - but I used 2 strands of yarn (dk blue & white) on my big needles.  Why do we all LOSE the ties to our robes?

Got some more glucosamine samples in the mail.  I had been working through generous samples from other makers - I bought some, but will take the samples instead until they are out! They seem to be giving away lots of glucosamine & fish oil products right now.  Again check out www.freestufftimes for the most updated freebies. (Although I also signed up en espanol on the Univision site to get my free deodorant sample! - Yahoo Babel Fish will translate it into ingles for you!)

See ya - also check me out at www.zannel.com/pamelamunro for more L.A.-based tips!

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We stayed home last wkend due to grey & sprinkly weather & explored the neighborhood on our walk. Up at Hollywood Blvd. I noticed a flyer for a yd sale at a local retirement home a block away - so we went over there, even tho it was supposed to be over. Sure enough,there was STUFF all over the place that they were beginning to pack up. 

The common thought is that to get good ydsale stuff is to get there EARLY - but in my experience, to get the really CHEAP deals, arrive just at the END, when they just want to get RID of everything!  I found a Chico's Indian chiffon jacket, a nice craft pendant, some scarves, a tape for hubby, some greeting cards, and a stack of paperbacks that must be review copies and a bag for $10 (hubby negotiated). And then I saw 2 pairs of those large "Jackie O" sunglasses that are so in vogue, and I handed over another $1 for them! Just the jacket OR the scarves OR the books were worth that! And they were so grateful to have a little bit more cash & less to pack up!

We walked over to our neighborhood coffeehouse & treated ourselves to coffee (& cake for hubby).  All those young people sitting around solo with their laptops.  Hubby & I, and a senior citizen couple were the only ones not alone.  Notice a book swap shelf, and got 2 books.  Plan to bring some of my many oldies over this next week.   Me love book swap shelves! 

We walked along further to the Out of the Closet thriftshop - and I landed a few $1 tshirts and even a $1 sweatshirt & a classic novel in paperback. Even thriftshops have sales & markdowns.  Look for them.

Sunday, I decided to go to Macy's up in Topanga near my Sun. gig - becaz I had a coupon for a Clinique eyecream from freestufftimes.com - I met a charming elderly lady having her face done at the Clinique counter, and found myself talking about fruit acids and newer skin care.  I must say, after she had a few moisturizing products applied, her skin was markably improved! (But I can get the same results for a lot less, myself.)  That little mall is very nice for walking -  not so crowded.

When we passed thru the Macy's furniture dept. hubby cried "Who BUYS this stuff?" Well, not us.  OUR recliner chair & wing chair were considerable less than $400+ each! (one from Goodwill & one from another thrift store...& perfectly nice...)  Actually, I think it's therapeutic in its own funny way for hubby & I to walk thru upscale to regular shopping venues - He is entirely TOO used to the frugal habits he has picked up from ME & sometimes even beefs about MY purchases.  I had to gloat a bit when I pointed out the underwear in Macy's at $8-10 a PAIR almost identical to the ones I had picked up recently at the dollar store in quantity.  SEE why I bought all that underwear?  SEE?

Recently read a mystery story in which one of the victims (there always are some in those) was being categorized by his CLOTHES.  It made me wonder what would be said about me...I wear high end labels, such as Bill Blass, and Rampage and Chico's etc., not to mention my Minnetonka moccasins I had on Sun., which w/their fringe are very trendy & "Boho." They would be flumoxxed, to be sure, especially with my new underwear! Who would know where they came from??

We may not have a lot of $, but we have very nice things.  My Calif. impressionist oil painting came from an Animal Rights thrift shop in Ventura - on sale for @ $15 - not hundreds of thousands, as the paintings cited today in an article in the L.A. Times! But mine is quite good enuf for me!

Ooh - also recently rec'd a sample of the new scent Delices de Cartier in a convenient little spray bottle.  And also in the mail were samples of bodycology from Walmart, shampoo, and moisturizer.  I put the Walmart samples in my purse, as one was a hand sanitizer, the other fragrance + a moisturizer.  Handy - those samples are also great for the traveler.  Know someone who is still able to take planes?  Gather up those samples for a gift basket.  The big containers are confiscated by Homeland Security, you know! Lost some spa goodies destimed for me that way, when my buddy forgot to pack them up!

Hubby's birthday is tomorrow, and I have been gathering things on my very ltd. budget.  Earned a $25 gift certificate for barnes & noble.com online - which I handed over to him & ordered a book for him.  Also found some excellent values at alibris.com! Last night finished knitting him a sash for his robe(s) - what can one knit for a guy when you are at the scarf level?? I have seen some tie patterns, but they are still beyond me.  Well, I wanted him to know that SMTHING I had knitted was for HIM.

Also have some vintage books I have picked up.  And cards, etc.  It's a secret, but someone I know has sportsteam associations & a "tshirt vault" of freebies he gets and I sorta begged for a couple of  tshirts for hubby.  Hubby also was handed over a lovely vintage LEATHER  briefcase & I got a bag to hide the  tshirts in which is nice enuf to use as a sporty purse! Do you know someone who gets swag regularly?  It's no big deal to them - so deals can be made to get that stuff as presents for YOU to GIVE.  (For ex., I used to know a lady who was into dolls & had extra ones lying around she didn't care about- which were great for the kids I knew.)

Oh, and hubby got $ back from recycling all of his ink cartridges thru Staples and he put that coupon to use against buying another expensive ink cartridge for ANOTHER printer.  We do use them a lot in our home ofc.!  (He has 2 more coupons in the works.) By the way, the clearance/sales tables at ofc. supply stores can yield nice things for yourself or to use as gifts....I am sure I have told you all about the nice bags hubby has picked up for me on those clearance tables....

NOW - gotta take our daily walk - up to the OUT OF THE CLOSET thrift shop again, because one of the tees I got on Sat. was very large & BRAND NEW & perfect as a gift & there were several more, which I would like to get for the gift box, if they are still there!  See ya!

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Hi guys - I have been busy this week & a bit under the weather - so forgive me for not blogging & neglecting you all. 

Kept on with my freebies - www.freestufftimes.com is the best! What did I get this week? magazines, shampoo samples, and a nice metal water bottle for Earth Day.

Been crazy with scarf knitting.  Everyone is going to get scarves this Xmas, that's for sure! I even put out TWO one night! Nice to experiment with combos of eyelash yarn + color of background yarn.

Seem to have succeeded in healing a flare up of my gingivitis - It was on a front gum, so I was worried.  With gums it's heal & shrink - but dentists cut, too.  That wasn't necessary, as I used hydrogen peroxide and mouthwash with tea tree oil - and then  tea tree oil tooth picks + floss and an herbal gum mixture. And I took a LOT of Vit. C (4,000) and a reiki sp? mushroom mix for immunity (before I found that I used golden seal...)  So the gum has calmed down - & I am watching it - it did shrink - but alas, that's what gums do after inflammation...I have had gums cut, so trust me, this is a better way to go if I can manage it...

Saw instructions on instructables.com on the net for a tshirt "necklace" neck thing which I am dying to try - and also found a new site www.dollarstorecrafts.com - all sorts of thrifty craft ideas - even dying with pieces of colored tissue paper.  I want to try that, too - (Apparently you put the colored tissue paper on a wet t-shirt & dye it, then set the color by rinsing with vinegar and ironing. ) These are referrals from www.threadbangers.com -

Saving the plastic "string" from my newspapers to see if I can get enuf to incorporate in my knitting....

Hope you all have gotten your coupons for your converter boxes, as TV goes bye-bye tonite - Due to hubby we have cable, so our old TVs are OK. (I won one of them way back when!) No room for flat screens anyway.  Wonder how that's going to turn out.  I just know that many poor & elderly are going to be left out in the cold TV-wise...Our TVs are just fine.  I have seem HD & am not impressed.  Big screens make sense for fanatic sports fans to watch games - but otherwise we are OK. Just the way we keep our "old" TV-like computer monitor.  Use it until it's busted, I say.

Found a wine place with free jazz on Fri & Sat. from an internet newzletter.  Always keep in touch!  Sorry we had to miss the FREE Ford Theatre music workshop last Mon., as my brother was in town & we all had dinner.  But I have the workshops for the rest of the year on my calendar & am planning to make the one next week.

Actually, our social calendar is filling up! My manager is having a party at a Hollywood nite club hot spot place - so I have been wondering what to WEAR.  Luckily I have a silk kimono-type jacket with a tropical theme in bright colors I picked up a while back & never have had a chance to wear.  That & some basic bottoms + some of my pearl craft jewelry & there I go.

I wore a pair of red ballet flats to dinner with my brother Mon. w/ a sweater I had gotten a while ago and a top I just got a Good Will for $1.50.  Nice outfit.

Wearing the $1 cotton sweater I got a few weeks ago in an "old ladies thrift shop"  (plus a 99 Cent Store scarf) - perfect for June gloom here in So.Calif., as they call it - cloudy skies & even drizzle here!

It's the weeked, so off I go.  Have a good one everybody!

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Sorry guys, I really took OFF & even neglected my blog over the holiday week/wkend of Memorial Day.  I didn't even pop open the lap top until Monday! Sometimes it's good to just take a BREAK.

Not that the bargain activities have ceased - they are too much of a HABIT.  Been finding bargain undies of good quality at both the Dollar Tree & the 99 Cent Store here - so I have been stocking up - These are the sort that have tags for $7-8 dollars each (some up to $10!) - so I have been amassing $100 worth for $10 - That should keep me for a while.  (But so people really PAY $10 for underwear?  All right, I know they DO & MORE.  Which is what I try to explain to hubby when I go on these periodic buying sprees - becaz you have to get them while they are THERE.) It sounds silly, but I have had great luck over the years getting bras & underwear at the local 99 Cent Store- Hanes & other good brands. (This time I got a Lily of France sports bra, too.)

A sneaky tip on dollar stores- when they are a chain, like Dollar Tree or the 99 Cent Store - you will find parts of different lots at each store.  So sometimes if the items are a really good deal, it will pay to shop around to different branches of that chain to see what ended up in that particular store, as the choice will vary.

Just got 2 nice charms from the Hong Kong tourist bureau,  from a freebie request - They are both on red cord - and might make a nice necklace? or other decorative tassel?

Also signing up for various skin care samples thru the listings at www.freestufftimes.com - They have the best freebie links!

It's getting warmer - soon I will have a chance to wear the lovely swim suit I bought this winter in a thrift shop - never been worn?? - The best values are always off-season.

Oh, I even got a free novel from I think it was a Random house giveaway - Other than that, I have piled up summer reading from a library sale...

Hubby & I visited the Ojai Art in the Park art faire & actually GOT something - which is amazing, considering how much everything COST - they were probably the only BARGAINS in the place! Strangely, one booth had a basket of LARGE stainless steel rings.  I have been looking for one for hubby - but none of the ones we had seen had been LARGE enough for his Norwegian farmer's fingers - & THERE was a whole selection for $5 each!  The other ones we had been looking at had been $80-100 and up...So I was able to convince hubby to get one (he also got a spare) because we got married with an improvised ring of florist's wire & I have wanted him to get a ring.  Can't imagine how those rings ended up there so inexpensively.  Must have been an odd lot of something due to the large size.  I think they were being sold as jewelry components rather than rings per se.  Very nice, tho.

And OK - I got a lovely Chinese turquoise pendant & the next day ran into an abalone necklace - both bargains - There are really good deals on artisan jewelry up here in Ventura at these art fairs. In L.A. they would cost 3 to 4 times as much, at LEAST.  I always say that when I am a REALLY old lady, I will hold a massive jewelry yard sale & sell it all off - who knows?

I am not as frugal as I might be - but I do have occasions when I have to put on the dog & haul out my finery - as tonite when I go to the party for the microblog I write on - www.zannel.com/pamphyila - I am in the L.A. Stories section & they fête us with these charming cocktail parties at bistros around Hollywood.  So out comes a recent jewelry purchase to glam up.

Tired due to my allergies - but these events always perk me up - (& I will convince hubby to stop off at the 99 Cent Store to get more yarn for my wabi sabi shawl I am knitting in a kind of sampler pattern).

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One of the glories of this E. Hollywood neighborhood is that we are 5 min. away from Griffith Pk - one of the largest urban parks in the U.S., I understand.   We went walking in the charming Ferndell and beyond - and it felt as if we were camping.  Hubby was looking for tents, he said!

Trust hubby to find secret hideaways - and one is the golf courses here - There are 2 - and both have putting greens & a driving range & a cafe besides the course itself (which is only $9)...We had a lite dinner on the patio of the Roosevelt Golf course - soup + sandwiches - on REAL plates - & GREAT soup!

And then hubby putted.  We are resolving to get back into walking daily + more SPORT.  We have these golf courses available to us midweek - and tennis court(s) - so we are going to get BACK into IT. Hurrah for municipal sports facilities!

It's really lovely to watch the sun go down over the hills in the park - and then there are city views, but it's hard to believe that we are in a big city like L.A.

The ancient philosophers recommended a bit of green daily - and a trip to our lovely park really raised our spirits.  We have been working hard - but the end is near for hubby, as the school year winds down...

Off to the boat this wkend - it's been 2 weeks & we both have boatitis!

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Worried that if I washed my hair without my usual color treatment from colored shampoo(s) it would be dull - but the color was in there anyway. Can't really change it too much until the filming of that role in the indie feature is over - as everything should MATCH. Using moisturizing treatments for my dry scalp. 

Oh, a shampoo co. sent me a whole body of special conditioner!  And I just got a sample from Murad's pricey skin care line, too. 

Took out the "new" raspberry terry thrift shop beach cover up for after my shower- nice! It's my way of drying off. (I always look for those, as terry robes can cost a lot....)

Rested my arms from my knitting projects.  When they feel funny, I lay off.  What to do next??

Started in on resolution to WALK DAILY - partly due to the fact that the HBO documentary on Alzheimer's and aging scared the bejeezus out of me! Get that aerobic exercise and pump that blood thru your veins & arteries and clear them OUT for another 24 hrs.  

Other than that, it's a slow day - but hubby & I are pledging to get back into golf & tennis - We DO have a municipal golf course & tennis courts at our disposal...He was talking about the water skiing of his youth - but I think walking and tennis, etc. are more our speed at the moment.  If he wants that thrill - I would encourage him to rent one of those noisy personal watercraft! (which I otherwise despise...)

Saving for our summer vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - hubby's home town....Are you in a union in the AFL-CIO? I saw good deals on car rentals on their Working Advantage site...among other travel discounts...

How are you guys doing???

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Spent last week mostly working - first on a video for a Healthy Lifestyle Inst. and then on the weekend for an indie feature called LOOK IN THE MIRROR, in which I have a very nice part, for once!

The great thing about shoots is that there's FOOD - so I always EAT on the set! One day they ordered Subway sandwiches & a ft. long arrived for me - so I munched a bit on it & brought the rest home for DINNER.

Hubby even got involved in the party scene on one day of the movie shoot - and made some $.  Working as an "extra" can be a good way of making extra $ and relatively painless most of the time.  It's summertime and movie shooting season - so keep your eyes peeled for local shoots.  Our bargain store spray on sunblock sure came in handy!

In one case I used a sample of mineral makeup that was too dark for everyday at the shoot - and in another some tinted moisturizer that was also too dark.  They darken my light skin just enough for video so I don't look like a zombie! So if you are going to be before a camera, save your too dark makeup for that! I had to buy some sleepwear for the health inst. shoot, as I was supposed to be in a sleep lab - and hubby & I went to Good Will and got some great stuff for very little. 

I also found a shorts set somehow in the sleepwear section - Jones of NYC mind you, for $3.99!! (Remember that in thrift shops clothes can be miscategorized - so keep your eyes open to miscellaneous sections, too! I have found purses mixed in with minor luggage, for example.)

Now I have hubby looking out for yarn for me - & found some on that shopping trip, too. Now I have to figure out what I can make out of what I now have on hand! Just finished a small stole out of blue/white fuzzy yarn I had gotten in a big roll for $7 - not bad...

And hubby says that the beige artificial mohair stole I knitted on big needles is the best one yet!  It is versatile and cozy. (And the yarn was from an old ladies thrift shop, too!)

My bargain ($15) pinkish Topsiders are breaking in nicely.  They did feel tight at the store, but I knew the other pair a 1/2 size larger had stretched to be almost floppy, so that these would stretch, too. Now I have a variety of casual shoes for summer!

We are off to the boat this wkend - as we have been working for 2 wkends straight and we both have boatitis! (They may be making a movie up there - so I hope to check it out...)

Found out that there are FREE days at L.A. Co. museum this month 5/26 & even registration for a FREE admission to their Pompeii exhibit (otherwise $25!) at lacma.org starting 6/1 - I am signing up.  I even found myself writing a letter to the Calendar section of the L.A. Times after I read about the exhibit and its cost  - saying that to some people (me included) that $25 was lot of $! There was an article today in the same section quoting some visitors all of whom said that it was worth it & that they didn't mind - but I grew up on FREE museums & I don't think they should be money-making enterprises! And why should I have to PAY for the audio tour if I dislike that sort of thing? Didn't there used to be an optional rental? When did they become mandatory? Couldn't I have a paper brochure and lots of labels?

The free days for the exhibit on seem to have popped up after my blistering letter to the paper - so perhaps I in my small way had something to do with the appearance of the gratis entrance times???  The squeaky wheel does sometimes GET GREASED.  Remember that, folks.

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Had an audition for an industrial way down in Manhattan Beach -  and as hubby had a free afternoon more or less, we decided we would drive down and spend the rest of the afternoon there, as we don't often get down there....

Early for the audition, we stopped in at the local 99 Cent Store - There I found MORE YARN - and some flirty undies in my size - and some knee stockings I wear with pants sometimes...Oh -also got two nylon scarves (purple & green) that are sort of curled at the edges - and are long enuf to twist around my neck...(The price tag said $9 each!) - And we stocked up on sauces and such - a good deal there...

It's all so beachy - we had a FABULOUS burrito made with black beans - I don't like them usually - but this was the best I have ever seen!

Then we walked around the Redondo Pier - which needs a power wash -  reminded me of Coney Island somehow...

Mark drove us on to Palos Verdes, where he lived before we met.  Oh, the peninsula is loverely - it looks like Monterey in spots.  People were whale watching at the Interpretive center...& I learned that Palos Verdes was the 8th Channel Island before it was attached to the land by eons of silt from the mountains...A lighthouse, too...

We continued to San Pedro - formerly a fishing town (with its own lighthouse) - and looked around.  One of my discoveries was Old San Pedro - which is an old downtown, complete with vintage mini movie palace!  There are coffee houses, including Sacred Grounds - and antique and thrift shops.  Just my speed.

I bought a pair of shoes at the Sal Army - and what I think is an African implement - and some classical tapes and a pair of earrings - all of which ended up costing me $8! And I bought a beautiful bone necklace at the antique store - more than I usually would pay - but MUCH less than current retail for a big necklace, now back in style....

We had dinner at 23rd St. restaurant overlooking the marina/harbor.   Nice fish place - It looks old, but the waitress assured me that it had only been there since the early 90's....reminded me of the fish restaurants in Brooklyn when I was little...

We came back refreshed and it was like a mini-vacation.  With the wonderful new technology, hubby was able to field phone calls on the go - and even pulled out his lap top when I was auditioning....Why is it so much FUN to play hooky, if only for an afternoon?

I worked some extra hours on Friday - which covered some of my purchases while playing hooky - and I managed to avoid the traffic by timing it just right.

Wearing the purple scarf now with a grey t-shirt w/collar - and I must say I feel very classy.  I know that cotton scarves are IN - but light nylon ones make a certain amount of sense in warmer weather - and they don't WILT. So I am hunting for all my nylon scarves for the summer!  Those coordinated with my various newly-acquired visors in all colors makes me feel very put together....

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Another weekend on the boat - which had a shredded jib sail due to the winds of a week or so ago.  Luckily we had our posse at the clubhouse who alerted us to it before it was fit for the junk pile!

Hubby "jerry-rigged" (the origin of the term, I think) another sail for our jib for the time being & thinks the other one can be saved to be cut down if we can find the right person to sew it...

We got out early Sat. so that hubby could make a 10 AM rigging seminar - & with the sail problems, we needed that info! As usual, automated rigs are harder to maintain than manual ones.  (Now we are having trouble with an automatic window on the car, too, ugh.  I prefer plain old-fashioned crank handles! ) My motto is usually get something lower tech that is easier & cheaper to FIX.

While hubby was at the seminar, I took off for the local Dollar Tree dollar store - & wouldn't you know it, they had that eyelash yarn again - for $1/ball - whereas anywhere else it's $5-7 each! So, of course, I had to stock up and went over budget buying enuf yarn in different colors for several projects.  How could I resist? A lady I once knew called the Dollar Store the $30 store, as she always spent at least that much $ there...

But one can find good deals, and if you can stock up! There were more camisoles in different colors - and hand cream and so on...The ladies & I had great fun talking bargains as we sifted through the offerings there! (I also got MORE reading glasses - I have them scattered ALL over.) And I got some cute novelty ice trays with the shapes of shells & flowers - they stack four in the space of one regular tray, and will surely freeze quickly - an asset in the summer, although there is only enuf ice in a little tray for one drink.  But the shapes are so pretty, my inner child loves it!  Who need a party as an excuse?  I can use them every day if I want. [I read about proms deleting ice sculptures becaz of budget cuts - They used to have rubber MOLDS to make them in the frig.  I had a fish mold which I have lost track of...but there must be some out there & it could be diy.)

The girl at the bank was terribly nice when my ATM pin code didn't work at the ATM & she helped me reset it quickly & easily.  Suburban branches are so nice & quiet!

Then it was just reading away - and noodling on the laptop -

To go back to promo time.  The times of outrageous prom outlays are over.  Imagine spending $1000 on a crummy prom dress you will only wear once? I have had to bring out the formal attire here in Hollyweird and I scored designer duds at thrift shops and resale shops for less than $100!!! (which I wore several times...) Check out my www.associatedcontent.com article about Cheap Prom Dresses for more info.)

You can easily get evening bags at thrift shops - or borrow one from an elder.  (Ditto rhinestones.) - and just get Payless shoes for the one night...Frankly, teenage boys aren't going to know the difference & neither will anyone else for the single night's use.

And you better get used to doing your own hair! (Altho you could splurge in a comb out).  Up dos aren't really hard to do - and there are lots of instructions on the net.  (Ditto makeup.)

Sure, it's nice to feel pampered - but sometimes the profs don't end up giving you what you want anyway - and then you are STUCK with it. My wedding day hair was on the helmet hair side - but it was so HOT that was the only way it wouldn't fall in a wet mess...

Broke down & ordered some frownies from www.frownies.com - they are things you stick to your wrinkles to smooth them out - & they do work.  I used to use them a lot - but then they became hard to get & I switched over to the cheaper version - layers of transparent surgical tape over my brow wrinkle.  But it's gotten BAD again - so it's back to the big guns.  We will see how that goes...{Hubby was actually looking at it and saying botox?} I am glad that even Brooke Shields has admitted in MORE magazine that she doesn't like aging (she's 40 now).

I joke that I can look the way I always have - but it takes twice as much work! (Not to mention outlay - altho I AM a bargain queen - & even tho I continue to get hi-grade samples of moisturizers and such, the better drugstore brands are quite good, and will serve...& I have even scored nice facial products at the 99 Cent Store, where I stocked up...) Remember the price reflects the ad budget - so go GENERIC whenever possible!

That's all folks - how are you guys doin'?

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Still working on my newest shawl project - with the Jo-Anne's brush acrylic multi-color yarn  - I got one big ball for $6 on sale (blue) & the multi for $6. Hope it's enough! (But it's equal to about 4 reg. balls.)

Finished off the little fun fur shawl (dk. turquoise with "Impressionist" stripes of pink/yellow/mauve etc.) & repaired the holes! (with this stuff if you darn it - it doesn't show!) Was going to put some beading mounted on turquoise ribbon on the ends - but when I unrolled the package, it was so pretty by itself, that I decided to tie the ends & wear it as a necklace! (stylish this season).  This was for $2.79 - so if you are inclined - find some beaded fringe left over from the old trend of embellishing your pant hems!  My beading is faux plastic turquoise/silver - but everything else out there in the stores is plastic, too - so why pay thru the nose for it? (I saw plastic bangles for outrageous prices at my trip to Nordstom's!)

Also found my pink (the box reads "lilac") boat shoes which hubby bought me at the Boater's World closeout sale for $15 (down from $45).  These are Sperry Topsiders & will last for YEARS.  (I had a pair of off-white ones which unfortunately had a peeling surface - & hubby hated them - so now he scouts nice boat shoes for me!) Sporting goods stores of all sorts are often good for deals on everyday shoes on SALE. Hubby has also gotten nice, sturdy shoes at Big 5 from time to time.

Spent the week on social networking/marketing - I am on zannel.com/pamphyila and twitter.com/pamphyila and Facebook at facebook.com/pamelaruthmunro (another pamela munro got there first, I have several doppelgangers out there!) check me out for quips, including frugal ones.

I also signed up to be a wowOwow.com Virtual Exec. "intern" - which means that I will volunteer to help them spread the word about this great site for sophisticated women. (Candice Bergen & Whoppi Goldberg on on the site, to name a few.) Check out THEIR wowOwow Facebook page. If you are interested in the ABCs of social networking sites, look at their exposition for their interns - you might be interested, too.  If nothing else, the title wowOwow Virtual "Executive Intern" sounds fabulous! That's the sort of classy folks they are...

Getting more twitter folks becaz I signed up with gary yamazaki - who apparently has more twitter followers than anyone (fyi he's a tech head.) All this is fun, but I wish I had more to crow about than my bargain shopping sprees!  I am "resting" as they used to say about out-of-work theatrical folks - but I DID get a $30 residual check from my Unsolved Mysteries show - which has been "reshuffled" they say.  That show is immortal (becaz I was super, nah...) My brother's Scottish folk singing friends were actually impressed when he told them offhand that I was on that show...

Although I am mostly housebound - the drop in pollen levels from the red zone to yellow according to the Claritin online chart - has made me much more energetic.  No matter what you do, heavy allergy meds just tire you OUT, and the past few weeks have been dreadful. So back to walking & moving around.

Hubby asked me to go out to Pasadena with him.  He was going to the office there & I could browse around in the Sally shop (Sal. Army) there - which is a good one.  Whew, they were loaded with stuff! But it was the 2nd day of a 2-for-one sale for clothes & books - which ironically made it harder to find any good stuff, as it was already picked over.  I had an allotted amount - which I stuck to - and got 2 dresses - one which is more like a negligee and a yellow linen one for summer which will also look good on camera if the occasion arises. (I really don't have that many DRESSES.) And a found a lampshade for the Packer's lamp which hubby wants to give to his brother - and a love blooming artificial bonsai tree for $3.50 - and some paperback mysteries. 

The blooming bonsai was the real bargain.  I imagine it had graced the home of some Pasadena matron - but it was dusty and all askew.  But the leaves and blossoms are all wired, so you can coax it all back into place.  I washed it off in the bathtub (they get dusty) & fiddled with it & it looks lovely now on my windowsill. It's made with glass leaves and blossoms - and when the sun shines through they are really lovely - and I can put them in front of the fan next to my other flowering bonsai.  They sort of mask the window fan & don't really impede the wind flow.

I realize I now have FOUR artificial bonsai - 2 trees - and 2 flowering plants!  It's almost a collection! (all gleaned from thrift shops...) I have one of the pine tree bonsai which looks like a miniature garden with a Japanese musician figurine and gravel in front of the other window fan & when it's very hot, I put water in the shallow dish I put it in & it makes a tiny pond that the air flows over & it's a mini swamp cooler!

(0h, fyi "bonsai" prounounced bon- zi, long 'I") are a Japanese cultural tradition.  They cultivate minature trees and stunt them, growing them in small pots, and trimming their roots, and manipulating the branches with wiring - so they look like real trees a la a Japanese painting - but on a very small scale.  The real ones are VERY expensive!) It helps to have looked at Japanese painting to be able to manipulate the branches of the articifical ones into a pleasing shape. I am good at flower arranging, too - how this ever happened, I really don't KNOW.  Perhaps visiting all those great museums as a child had a side benefit!

Off to the boat tomorrow- I admit it, I have "boatitis'!

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Just wanted to post about this charming recycled project from www.countryliving.com/crafts - They have some really good ideas about making something out of nothing - including what to do with old RAKES.

This project is a sewing kit made out of an egg carton.

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Found myself going to a MALL on Sunday afternoon - as I wanted to mall walk - due to the heat & my allergies.  I thought it would be cooler -but their AC was struggling, it seemed - Had NO intention of shopping but we walked thru Sears & they were have a 75% off sale! So I went to the lowest markdown clothing racks & found some steals I couldn't resist - even in retail!

•  I got 2 pairs of navy knit pants - @ $7.99 apiece (one short,one cropped)
• And a pair of summer jeans for $4.99!
• And a filmy top for $4.99

Rock bottom bargains! And by looking at the tags, if I had paid retail, just the TOP would have cost $44??

So I totalled it up & got $130 worth of clothing for $30!! And my summer wardrobe has a boost.  It's hard to find those basic pants &  you always wear the heck out of them...

THEN after boasting to hubby, who was with me & astounded that I wanted to go to a MALL, as it is so out of character... I waltzed into Nordstroms - & said to him "Let me show you some REAL prices!"  There were $500 leather handbags and expensive jewelry - not unlike my bargains - Nice - but not a good deal in site. (Their crystal necklaces were $99 & mine is recycled & restrung from the 50's).

Then we went into the designer area & I showed him a Stella McCartney wood tank for over $1000 and a silver coat for $1500 or so.  He was shocked.  "Now, do you wonder why I grabbed that gold brocade obi material jacket up in Santa Barbara at a resale store for $80??"  You should have seen the look on his face! (I wore it to an event & they wanted to drag me on their red carpet!)

It was great fun, actually, looking at the luxurious merchandise & finding I had items very similar at HOME. (And bought for a LOT less!) I really have amassed a very nice wardrobe since I have been with hubby- all those Ventura Co. thrift shops!  And I took out my bright turquoisy blue suede mules for the shopping trip and an ethnic jacket I had gotten at a Hollywood yard sale - and cropped denim pants from a thrift shop - a plain blue tee - And mixed some grayish Hawaiian beads with my silver-toned key on a ball chain.  Quite chic. (I love the mixed necklace trend.)

All in all, I felt quite pleased with myself, showing off my thrift and how inexpensive a wife I really AM! And the fragrance department at Nordstroms was featuring the Versace perfume I had gotten at Xmas a year ago - (which hubby had bought at a CVS with a coupon!) - so I applauded his good taste! 

Speaking of thrift shops - hubby is getting quite good at it, too.  He somehow managed to pick up a beautiful tan leather overnight bag (Gladstone bag?) for $14 at the local Goodwill on Saturday. This is a miracle, because Goodwill & the Salvation Army usually pick over donations and sell the best elsewhere...Ergo the best deals have to be mistakes.  This leather is so fine, it would pass for vinyl unless you smell it - which is what hubby did. (I have taught him a trick or two.)

Presenting it to me as a gift, hubby said that it was worth $100 - "No, $300-400," I said! And we looked up the brand on the net - always fun - and found that I was right on the money.  It's so nice that I will have to work up the courage to USE it.  I do love fine leather goods - but not what you have to pay for them - so thrift shop steals are my alternative.

At the mall I also found my Meltonian shoe polish in the right reddish-brown shade to take care of my leather boat loafers.  They are perfectly fine, but need polishing & only Meltonian would have the right color.  Got it at a shoe repair shop - that is the only place you can usually get a range of their colors...

So - just walking in the mall was a bit dangerous - but I did get basics for the summer - so I am not a ragamuffin for hubby at home.  He does like it when I look nice.  And he had a husbandy pride in being able to take me shopping & also with me not breaking the bank. (So, see, I am a good wifey-wife, esp. in this field of endeavor.)

And it is girly & great fun.

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Went out to a Zannel party last nite - at an old country French restaurant I love-  on the border of Silverlake  - Frere Taix (pronouced "Tex") The place was popping - Glad to see they are doing so well! We had a REAL bartender/waiter.  There is a big difference from unemployed actor/children!

Zannel is a microblogging site a la twitter.com based in San Francisco - and I am there at www.zannel.com/pamphyila (also linked to www.twitter.com/pamphyila) where I do post quick tips and ideas.  There is an L.A. Stories section, which I am a part of - and these folks from S.F. believe in holding PARTIES for the bloggers!  Such fun.  The people are so interesting!  I do love parties where the drinks & food are provided! Check it out. 

I like to get out of the house and dressed up wkly or so - and this was my chance - so I wore my olive green polished cotton pants/a green tank I had gotten for $1 last wkend/and my brown silk jacket with the green/yellow embroidered and beaded pineapples on it (also from a thrift shop).  I added my gold fisherman sandals, which keep on coming in & out of fashion - and the great dangling gold-toned earrings I picked up in Ojai over Spring break - plus two of the long necklaces - and I finished restringing a vintage yellow crystal necklace I had been given, becaz the color was right - and piled all the necklaces on.  And Voila! 

Let's see how much that all was - $1 tank + $10 jacket + $5 shoes approx., hv hd those a long time + $7 pants + $2 earrings + gratis crystal nklace + $4 for other necklaces EQUALS Less than $30 for the very nice outfit! (you can add on the $1 gold barrette I wore to make it @ $30.)

And I spritzed on a new combo of 1/2 Jean Nate from my wkend find,with a pear cologne my hubby had given me (which had been a bit weak) and voila! again - made a nice light summery scent.  The Jean Nate is a great base for mixing colognes. (So is 4711 & I would have bought some, if I hadn't stumbled upon the great Jean Nate deal - a HUGE bottle for $4.)

Glamour is so good for the ego! I do like to clean myself up to show hubby that I still can.  And he finds it intriguing, too.  Good for marital bliss all around. 

So - see.  You CAN do it on a budget.  The whole evening only really cost $5 for parking!  Where can you find such a deal?  

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Yes, it does help to be in an area like the L.A. metro area,  where there is a lot of fashion turnover! But I also try to scope out thrift shops and only keep on going back to what I consider to be good ones. You can tell an awful lot about the regular contributors by looking over the stock.  (Ditto usual price range.) In town the Out of the Closet thrift shops are great as a rule - and up in Ventura there are church thrift shops and ones that seem to get things from retirees - so there's vintage in there for a good price if you look carefully.  I just got a silver bangle for $1 from one of those.

I suppose I have always lived in more or less trendy areas - so that would influence my field of selection!

It helps to keep an eye out on the current fashion (very easy now on the internet!) & pick up little things that are trendy - Like the $1 80's turquoise snakeskin cuff I snagged.  Whew - it's new equivalent would be $30-40!!

It is also useful to have a nodding acquaintance with luxury brands, so you recognize the names when you come across them.  If you are totally new at this, try window shopping at some high class establishments to train your eye.  Go to resale shops where you can feel the quality of better goods and come to recognize good workmanship and quality.

I just bought a woven leather/straw summer bag for $3!! It's right in fashion & looks as if it's 60's Italian - and primo workmanship/materials!  For that price, I can afford to have it in the closet & bring it out when needed to glam up!

The more you recognize good things when you see them at a good price - the better deals you can discover.  I got a Nicole Miller dress necklace with faux smoky quartz & diamonds for $6 - which would be $50?? in a store.  Take a look at costume jewelry in the stores sometimes.  Most of it is expensive & can't compare in quality to older pieces! (which also have some resale value....)

You can also put together your own jewelry easily these days with just a visit to a craft store like JoAnne or Michael's.  They have all sorts of beads and pieces to make jewelry out of these days! Or restring that crystal necklace that your mother or grandmother used to wear.  Crystals are in fashion & expensive! 

I have also found that I can get good deals by buying pieces that need minor repairs.  You can refinish a piece quickly with gold or silver nail polish! Or put together broken links, etc.

Scarves can also be easily MADE.  I got a pleated cotton scarf at a thrift store with a price tag of $10 - what, were they nuts? Now, in the thrift shop at $1 it made sense - but otherwise I would hunt down old cotton broomstick skirts and cut up a suitable length for a scarf! (if you had to seam it, seam it at the neck where it wouldn't show.)

If there is a dollar store around, there will be sunglasses - and not even for $10 each! (Altho there is a $10 sale now, I think, on Overstock.com). Look for clearances and bargains on the internet at amazon.com - and even HSN has a clearance site!  I subscribe to all sorts of sites for just this info, which is how I landed a dress for less than $15 online! There are some super bargains out there.

Is there anything like a garment district in your town or nearby city?  Check it out.  It's always best to get fashion before the markup demons hit it!  That also goes for discount chains like Ross and so on. (For me, best on sale...) If a store is within your radar - check it out regularly - and have an internal shopping list so you can get your staples - and never turn down deals on BLACK shoes! They live forever....

OK - are you motivated?  I admit that I sit here in my yellow sweatshirt and ultra baggy comfy jeans - but I am going out tonite - so watch out!

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I know why hubby thinks I am so expensive - because when we are out & about on wkends and holidays - like last week's spring break - I go shopping!  But then, I don't the REST of the time - and when I do shop, I get bargains....

OK - I have been collecting costume jewelry like a magpie lately - but so many good deals! (a few dollars) I have a VAST costume jewelry collection - One cannot wear all of it all of the time - but these things keep their value over time.  That consoles me.

There has been a lot of silver coming my way lately.  I found a $3 drawn silver choker in a thrift shop - plus a $1 !! wide bangle (looks Japanese)?  and a pair of $4 turquoise & silver screw-on earrings (they look Mexican - 50's??)  At those prices it's hard to go too wrong. Over the years I have found that silver has a distinct SMELL when oxidizing.  It has helped me identify blackened pieces of silver and silver plate - which I got for a song (another $1 silver bracelet - which would have cost $30-40 at least in a real store!)  That it is silver is important to me, because of my allergies to nickel and so on.  I can really only wear silver/gold/stainless steel next to my skin. (OK. platinum, but when does one run across platinum?)

I also pick up miscellaneous scarves - another item which is pricey if new - I just got a nice ORANGE net one.  They are so good to glam up t-shirts, and so on....I also look for visors - and got a paisley sort of one (a Liz Claiborne!) for $1 - They are great for when I have my hair up in the summer....& I like to coordinate the colors - but only pick them up when I see them for a dollar or so...

I do try to look nice for hubby...and also have hairbands to put in my hair, and casual jewelry - bracelets, necklaces, etc....He thinks I am terribly girly. 

It's funny what you find in the oddest places.  I scored a whole kit of skin care items - 9 in all - for $9.  That included 2 lip gloss sticks/moisturizer AM & PM/cleanser/shampoo/and more.  Looked it up on the net when I got home (that's a fun thing to do) & found that the jars were worth $10 each - so I probably got almost $100 worth of product for $9.... I also found a LARGE bottle of Jean Nate - which is a nice basic citrus cologne - for $4. (Worth $16 online & $30 reg. price!) Those finds - and the turquoise earrings were in what we call a junky & expensive thrift shop.  So you never can tell.

I also always pick up barrettes whenever I see them, as you never seem have enough.  The same thing seems to be true of reading glasses, sunglasses, eye glass cases and hair pins!  I am a much happier camper when I have those items in multiples around the house - and several pairs of sunglasses.  A screw came out of my favorite "lighter" pair last wkend - and one is always LOSIING them!   So when I see a deal , I am now in the habit of buying SEVERAL  - so I have backups and don't have to resort to regular prices ($20 for reading glasses?)

I watch fashion & realized that the turquoise snakeskin bangle was IN & a STEAL for $1 - even tho it was probably 80's - ditto the big necklaces I found...It's those touches that glam up a wardrobe for very little.  And it's scandalous how much even plastic bangles can be on CLEARANCE on the internet - $5 each?

Thought I had lost a makeup bag and actually managed to REPLACE most of the contents by poking around the 99 cent store I had got the lip stuff in!  (It was a weird color which I like - but doesn't suit everybody.)  And then I FOUND the bag - so now i am supplied! It's hard to turn down Revlon lipsticks and pots of lip color at 99 cents apiece!  Hubby has NO idea how much these things COULD cost. I HATE spending $7 for a lipstick! When I buy new, I get Wet N'Wild  in my favorite colors...(You have to match the numbers, as there are no names to shades...)

So I sound & feel very frivolous - also got more paperback mysteries and other reading material at $.50 a pop - Have to have a pile by my bed.

Hubby treated himself to a 12-string guitar for $80 from a pawn shop - which has been pronounced a good deal.

But then we go back to the daily grind and only seem to go to the pharmacy and the grocery store....

Looked for yarn, but couldn't find any - started a new project with what I have left...too narrow, I think, so tonite I tear it up & start over.

We sang & played for our suppers twice at the Deer Lodge (see pic).  Which was fun & economical, too.  All in all, we went to our usual haunts and got lots of sunshine (even if the allergies were sometimes on the rampage - there are a lot of health food stores up there, too!) Do you know you can actually ADD a benadryl capsule (25 mg.) to Zyrtec  if the Zyrtec isn't enough?  You get dingy, but it alleviates the symptoms...) And you can get generic benadryl at the dollar store, too! It's always the last resort when allergies loom...

So back to TV & movies and so on - not to mention the artistic job search.  Have a movie coming up soon - don't know when they will be shooting....a couple of character woman scenes....

Take care out there, you blog readers...

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The frugal lifestyle goes on - I read that unemployment is supposed to be 8.5% (not counting all those who have fallen off the charts) - we artistes are so used to being unemployed/semi-employed that we hardly notice!

Downloaded more great clipart from www.doverpublishing.com! And there are movie star pics gratis at www.tcm.com - even video clips!  Also downloaded free Threatfire - as a supplementary anti-virus program.  It runs in the background.  Seems that McAfee is finally straightened out...

Check out www.consumermom.com for a blog directed to pennypinching moms....

Oh, did I say I found FREE Irish lessons at www.bbc.com (look for learning - languages)  They have 36 languages there!

Allergies have abated, so no expensive Zyrtec today! (I use inexpensive generic loratadine & OpconA eyedrops when I can, instead of  Zyrtec (pricey) or Alaway eyedrops (very SMALL bottle). By the way, you can get free Zyrtec samples at www.walmart.com (samples). It does WORK.

Off for Spring Break - to the boat & beyond, altho we have also talked about going to "Club Mud" out by Temecula & maybe the casino? (Food is cheap at a casino!)

Sent a FREE real paper greeting card at www.hallmark.com by registering - and choosing papercard - personalizing - and then giving the code TRIAL at the checkout.  They even pay for postage! (ecards there, too)

Do you  know I am at www.twitter.com using pamphyila - and at www.zannel.com (also pamphyila)?? I report quick mental flashes there!

Have a great Spring Break/Easter everyone!

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Went to the drugstore w/hubby to get new prescription - and as everything was on SALE, I also picked out a few items like Vitamin C (2 for one) and a $1 off Calm-Forte - and even found Rite-Aid's own "advanced wrinkle corrector" creme next to a brand name for $11.99 on sale!  I like the cream, too - but  it almost re-surfaced my face!  (My skin is sensitive & I will probably use it only every other night) My husband has NO idea what all this COULD cost!   I had to remind him that there are creams selling for $30-$75 and MORE!! I am so frugal that he hasn't a CLUE. ( and I have nice expensive-looking skin, too...) I was going to buy cream at Avon again - but I missed the free shipping.)

Spent yesterday afternoon getting our McAfee Security Suite up and running on our main hard drive.  I had gotten a deal on it from a vendor - (and a $20 rebate) which had apparently confused McAfee Central about my licenses - but we finally got it all straightened out.  (The license is good for THREE computers!) It cleaned up my PC & found evil TROJANS!  Eek!  Glad they are out of the way. Wanted to be defended against that April Once virus...so far,so good...

Almost finished with my Mexican-colored rug shawl.  It certainly is colorful. I did see the eyelash yarn I had made one shrug with at Rite-Aid for $4!! (I had gotten mine for 99 cents...) Waved that in front of hubby, too - all because he had said that I was "High maintenance."  Maybe, but my thrift compensates for it, too.

Listening to the 3 New Agey CDs I picked up at the Dollar Tree over the weekend - very soothing.

All in all, hubby & I are doing OK - he even got himself taken out to lunch by a vendor - (a modest one, however, so perfectly kosher.)  But we appreciate free meals whenever we come across them!  If we were younger we could enjoy free alcohol, too - as they seem to be throwing around free booze of all kinds at clubs around Hollywood - but - ugh - it's the hard stuff - I have never been able to tolerate martinis, et al...No, I just drink n/a and lite beer (do you know that they are good when mixed together?) And for special occasions - champagne, of course!

Yum, the chocolate we got at the Dollar Tree seems to be fine. One never knows - so one buys on faith...

Substituted the cheaper generic allergy meds for the Zyrtec (much less costly) & it seems to be OK - also picked up some less expensive Op-Con A for my allergy eyes (2 for one!) - and saving the Alaway drops, which are good but come in itty-bitty bottles, for when I need the big guns. Due to our rains, everything is blooming & blossoming here - which is lovely - except for the tree pollen levels, which are very high! (Trees & grasses spew out massive amounts of pollen, as they have no way of attracting pollinators, as flowers do.)  So "rose fever" as they used to call it, is really a misnomer.

Felt very crafty when I fished out an old knitting project that hadn't gone as planned & recycled some of the yarn for my shawl! I am almost running out of my yarn stash - so I am looking around for what I can use for my next project - another shawl, I suppose.  Scarf season is over...Again, hubby has no idea what this all could cost....There I am in my armchair knitting in front of the tube - so domestic.

So life goes on - we are holding on - perhaps due to our modest demands...we have always thought on the cottage level rather than the mansion one...perhaps just as well...

How are you guys doing?

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(NOTE: I swear I had another blog post here that I did last week - am I having senior moments already??)

The thrift goes on - what a thrifty wkend!  Busy, too.  An older friend of ours called to ash for help at the Boaters Swap Meet up at the harbor, and considering his health & so on - we readily agreed.  I decided to bring up my paperbacks, as I was able to recycle them last time & we had some marine gear to unload, too...

Hubby made $ but them turned it around by buying a marine battery for the boat - and some little appliances...and some wine glasses and plastic glasses for the boat.  He even got me a lovely small taxicab-yellow  teapot! How domestic.

I sold some books, and got a candle for $.50.  The big coup was getting 3 dried gourds for .$.25 apiece. After everything was over, I put some miscellaneous things inside the gourds to make shakers, and covered the holes with tape.  Two of them were decorated with Indian designs - so the end result was very pleasing - both to hear & to see!  For a total of $.75!  As a musician I am always looking for ways to cut costs while acquiring gear. And having extra shakers is great for audience participation!.

At the day's end, I had gotten rid of 1/2 of my books (I had had 6 bags of them) and my magazines went bye-bye, too.  I gave them away/sold them for a pittance - and the remainder went to the Marina office for good will to the girls there.  I then weeded out the paperbacks I would use for the book swap at S.M. Emeritus College - and the other 2 bags went to the book swap area in the cub house at the boat! All that OUT of my bedroom and elsewhere!

The day before we stopped in at the Ojai thrift shop on the main drag, and I scored some nice costume jewelry and a t-shirt - and hubby found SOX. There also were some balls of yarn, which I am adding to my newest knitting project.  (Maybe about $1.50 for 3 balls of varying colors??)

The other knitting project is finished, and with its dark blue/green and white striping, I have decided that I have made a serape of sorts.  It is the perfect weight to throw on when I go down to the boat in the evening! (And the generally dark colors won't show dirt, either...)

We subbed for our buddy George at a music gig at a burger joint in front of which they were having a preliminary to a vintage car show.  It was a last-minute deal, so we hauled out the ever-present karaoke machine and sang oldies butt goodies, which the cars must have heard before - and we sang for our very nice burger suppers.

The next night AFTER the swap meet we also jammed and played with George at the Deer Lodge again.  We are becoming a regular item. Best tips we have had. A new guy showed up with a drum and did some harmonies - boy, we were rocking!  And the shakers I had just done up came in handy when a guitar player showed up with 2 ladies and their kids...We had a rhythm band for a while, with everyone jumping! And we are getting some fans who want to know when we are playing next! Nice for my first foray into this pop music stuff. (Oh, if you are in the area - it's George Le Mire [and Friends - when we play]).There will be some gigs coming up - We will be on Spring Break so probably will show up Thurs. the first wk in April in addition to the weekends...)

Also dropped in at the Dollar Tree for the $1 stuff they usually have on hand and stocked up on tea-bags and sleep formula and coated aspirin - and some lotion and 2 prs. of their reading glasses (I have them everywhere).  I also stocked up on lip gloss and indulged myself with some of their headbands. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had fairly large jars of pickled red peppers - which I adore - and I bought several jars of those, too.  the pickled peppers are great to keep on hand as an addition to salads and will even serve as a vegetable in a pinch...

Sunday AM we made our usual visit to the Farmers' Mkt. at the harbor - and listened to music and chatted with friends in addition to buying some fruits and vegetables.  (Yum, the strawberries! They grow them right t.)here in Oxnard  - Mostly as a joke, our old salt pal started to trade packages of patriotic American bumper stickers which we had left from the swap meet for fruit and tamales.  There was an enthusiastic response and I think hubby jumped on the band wagon and did a deal on our strawberries with them.  We gave the last to the balloon man, and he, in turn gave me a very cute little lady bug balloon which I could put on my wrist. (That balloon man is good - it's always so funny to see the little boys fighting with balloon helmets and balloon swords!)

The cherry on the sundae was when I went to get some ice from the Clubhouse frig at our marina before I left.  There were all sorts of leftovers from the party on Saturday night which we hadn't been able to make due to our Ojai gig - and I scrounged some for hubby and me - which provided Sunday's light supper! Hubby laughs when I bring home leftovers - but then he eats them happily - go figure.

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Sorry I haven't posted yet this week - but it has been a funny one.  I had a 7-day FREE trial of Irish on Rosetta Stone & I just crammed as much free Irish into me as I could.  Not too bad - I had finished level 1 and then some in a week.  (That's over a $100 value!) The system is very thorough, but can't be that DEEP if I have already learned 1/3 of what they have to offer.  But I did LEARN it!  Too bad the system is soo expensive! But now am exploring other gratis lessons on the net...There are free intro phrases of quite a few languages on Transparent Language in their byki system...You could learn to say hello & goodbye all over the globe!

I have worked with Celtic folk music - & I have often thought that a knowledge of Irish would help me in deciphering song lyrics....Sang a bit of my repertoire at the memorial service last weekend...But OMG - it's like RUSSIAN, everything is DECLINED & takes a different FORM.  It must torment Irish kids who have to learn it in school - becaz if you don't have that peculiar sort of rote memory, learning the forms would be HARD.

See?  It's been a peculiar week.  But I am sure I have fired some neurons, & maybe even grown a few new connections.  Language learning is stimulating to the brain....And the more neurons we have on hand as we age, the better!

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Hubby & I drove down to Vista, CA (above San Diego & about 2 hrs. from home) over the wkend to attend & help out at a memorial service for a friend's cousin, whom we also knew.  I  had stressed out over reviving some Celtic music for the occasion, as I hadn't done it lately - but I found the material and in the end it all turned out to be OK.  It didn't take too much work to polish up the songs for the service and then I noodled on the autoharp for atmosphere during the gathering that followed....And I also brought my recorder and my buddy & I played some  recorder/keyboard classical tunes from our old tried & true repertoire, which sounded remarkably good, considering we hadn't played together in a long time....

So after stressing out about wardrobe (found sort of black skirt + vest + long-sleeved girly blk t-shirt) and the music, it all was FINE.  I do not know why I stress like that about oldies but goodies...but I was tired this week and just couldn't go over it as much as I would like to do under normal circumstances. (Oh, and I received in the mail just before I left a lovely GRATIS Celtic pendant from my freebie hunting - with black stones - perfect for the ensemble!)

The chopping of the hair even turned out fine after I had washed it!  And now I have pieces framing my face, which makes my long hair less severe and Alice-in-Wonderland like.(& will probably postpone my next haircut for even longer....)

Wore my fake fun fur pieces - a muffler sort of thing & later my green "pelt" which I had just finished & they kept me nice and warm, even though they are acrylic....And the pink of the muffler went with the pink trim on my black skirt - so it all gelled...

My friend has rehabbed this house, helping to sell off a lot of the collection of one of the late residents and the end result is stunning.  A real English country house feel.  With all the art they have sold off, there is still quite enough to cover the walls! And the garden was lush & the air fresh.

He even saved some perfume(s) for me and a small box and a few pieces of jewelry from his late cousin's estate - and was kind enough to give me a pair of real cameo earrings - They are probably form the 50's?? and have screw backs, perfect for me! Now how can I tack them onto my earlobes so I won't lose them??? Usually I just wear cheap clip earrings for just that reason - if I lose them, it's no big deal.

Won't hear about the audition - thank you - until sometime in the next couple of weeks.  He sounded interested in having me on the webisode - but one never knows.

Yes, it's true, there really WASN'T a size "0" in the old days, was there?  It may have been taken up again  to accommodate Asians - who are very small -  I do think that the girls/women I have seen who are that size were just BORN that way!  Of course, they don't pig out - and probably diet (can you believe it?) they way models do...But it was interesting that one girl said she was always cold - and when I mentioned that to a fashion photographer friend of mine at the wake, he said that all the models are cold all the time too - No body fat, I guess! Can't be that good for you. (He always says that after starving for years, the models end up turning a sort of grey color....)

Knitted more Sun. night & watched a 1971 Russian Sci-fi flick SOLARIS on TCM - which was interesting & quite metaphysical in tone....It won awards at the time - I don't know how I had missed it - but I wasn't into sci-fi back them, I suppose...I even could pick up on some of the Russian, with the help of the subtitles from my long-ago collegiate Russian studies.  It hasn't all disappeared!

But I have to confess this current knitting project hasn't turned out exactly as I thought it would - but it's just a big square - so it doesn't much matter.  And I can even sew up and holes from dropped stitches, etc.!  I might add a bit more with another color yarn and sew on the pieces, as it would  be nice to have a a bit LONGER....But it will go with the pink peasant skirt I got last week.  I don't have any pink stoles, really, and stoles & shawls are PERFECT for the changes in California weather - warm in the middle of the day - and cooling off in the evening...I have a whole collection...

Studied more Irish with the gratis trial from Rosetta Stone - Arg!  the spelling & all those extra consonants.  But I would like to be able to decipher some song lyrics, and maybe even sing them??

The Vista house was an inspiration, and I really have to TRY to work un-cluttering our little apt.  Going to try flyladies.com, I think.  They are supposed to be good - I will keep you POSTED.  Wish me LUCK...

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Focussed on the audition I had today at 1PM - dragged out a dress from my wardrobe and so on- trying to create a character - Turned out OK - think they liked it -  Am I better at comedy?

But it's always so annoying to put in all of your change & still worry about the $ in the meter running out!  In L.A. the number scrawled on the back of the meter, however un-official looking is its NUMBER.  I found that out when defending myself from a ticket a few yrs. ago - the number on the broken meter was painted messily with what looked like red nail polish - who would have known it was legit?

Downloaded a pic from the Flicker site - where I park pix - it works nicely - Maybe I will get a free hair cut from craigslist la - I applied for one - and today before the audition, as I wore my hair down for character reasons, I did chop off parts in the front around my face - Not terrific - but luckily the style is for messy hair so  you can get away with it! 

Finished my knitting project - the fun fur turquoise + green stole - It came out like a huge surreal piece of FUR.  But it's ok like that.  I had to sew up the edge with a yarn needle & then proceeded to fill up any holes in it.  I am sure with the fun fur, which isn't very sturdy, I will be filling in holes as long as I have it!  That project would have cost at least $35-40 just for materials, but since I scored the yarn at a thrift shop, and the fun fur at the dollar store a while ago, it only cost me something like $7 + labor! Now I am sorry I didn't buy MORE fun fur when I had a chance....

Being a little crafty helps in one's wardrobe - Somehow my outfits for special occasions always turn out to be minor sewing projects. And when you wear vintage, as I like to do, there are always seams which give up the ghost. I even had a vintage pair of shoes come apart on me while I was wearing them!  All the parts just came unglued.

Going to do more shopping in my own closet - as things come IN here & not as much goes OUT.  I like to have a variety on hand for my "costumes" - which makes matters worse.  And one never does know what one can find on a thrift shop trip - sometimes even basics, if you are lucky.  I scored both 2 black tops & a pair of black mules on the last trip.  And do you know how hard it is to find THOSE?  Usually they are worn to death.  Ditto nice white shirts.

Found myself looking around at the cute young actresses waiting to read - such skinnymalinks! And they did all have long hair, with chopping - and as I wanted to portray a wannabe - it was all right.

Home & back to jeans & a t-shirt.

How are you guys holding out?

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Not all of them live under bridges - Saw this elsewhere & thought I would share....Magnify Troll pic & read me.

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Ugh! My allergies have been bothering me, as the tree pollen count is in the red zone (i.e., BAD) according to Claritin's email pollen chart...If you are interested read the following, otherwise SKIP to the next paragraph!) [I am taking Zyrtec (which I had stocked up on with a $4 coupon before the rains stopped, knowing the pollens would follow...) + my homeopathic A. Vogel Pollinosan + nettle tincture + eyedrops (Alaway + Simulsan allergy drops) - and it all does make it go away.  Also using the air cleaner(s). (Alas, I have run out of my Bioallers TREE tincture - only have grass, alas...I'll have to find some.) That's why I schlepp all that stuff WITH me, becaz if caught without it, I am sub-human.

Ok that's boring - What else?  Finishing my furry eyelash yarn thing - maybe I will make it a capelet....Eyelash yarn + yarn does have a furry effect.  Would be nice in black or white for a prom dress stole...Mine is green + turquoise...I think the knitting in front of TV is keeping me from night eating - but it does tire the fingers...Next project ANOTHER shawl with all my leftover yarn, etc., I think. Luckily I am working thru the yarn stash I got from dollar stores & thrift shops.  Will have to look for MORE.

Other than that - quiet - went to shrinky dink - (therapy) - I go to low-cost Jungean counseling - For my $, the Jungeans are the best, esp. for artistes like me....

Did my hair yesterday with my combos of blonde + red shampoos & conditioners after having applied hydrogen peroxide to the new growth at the part & around my face...Not bad.

They talk about the death of the newspaper - but I can't read an electronic device in the TUB, can I?  Or while eating breakfast when it's subject to smears of jam and so on? And no one wants to steal it most of the time, either....Have they thought about THAT?

I like combos of low & hi tech devices - I love blogging here - but I also have notebooks & a written calendar & address book...They all back up each other.

By the way, the pink pen that Mark found for sale at Ofc. Depot is turning out to be perfect becaz of the unusual color, I can always tell which pen is MINE.

Did you know that sometimes luggagey pieces can serve as sturdy purses?  Years ago I found myself buying a drawstring bag in the luggage dept, because it was well made and affordable.  Recently hubby bought me what in its first life had been a computer case tote - but which for me was a nice long handbag.  I was using it over the wkend & a lady actually stopped me on the stree asking me where I had gotten it! And it had been on sale at an ofc. store and a good deal. (Oh, & I over the wkend I bought some fancy tassels at the thrift shop and put them on my plain khaki nylon satchel to spiff it up...)

That's a thrifty tip - buy things where they are more or less generic and don't have the overhead costs of fashion changes.  So if safari is in - think of checking out Military Surplus stores - or get a waiter's jacket where they sell uniforms, and so on. They will be less expensive and much better made, too.

I myself like folksy pieces of clothing and pick them up whenever I come across one I like - they go in and out of style - but never totally OUT, I find.  Boho dressing is getting to be a staple in fashion. (Just got a hippy skirt at Goodwill for $1.)

For everything else - it's the  daily grind - have to work up some music for a memorial Sat., which I find I am putting off.  Audition for a webisode Thurs.  Listening to the recording of our gig(s) last wkend at the Deer Lodge & we sound pretty darn good! Twittering  and microblogging on zannel.com (both under the monicker of pamphyila.) Still can't upload pics from my camera phone.  Arg.

Reading & commenting on oher frugal blogs. Do people really think we are funny to cut open plastic bottles to get the last bit of lotion/shampoo and so on?  There is always a few more applications IN there - so why throw it away?  I am still coaxing out the ends of a very nice lotion I thought was finished - by standing it on its head and opening it up and then banging on it like a bottle of ketchup! Bet I will have an extra week out of it before I am thru.

Have I mentioned that if you cut open samples of handcreme and so on from the opposite end where it's easy to cut -  you should then seal it up again with a bobby pin or paperclip so it won't all dry out before you finish the last drop. I usually fold the open end over once and then clip.

Oh, and I find I am using another plastic CD spindle on a bathroom shelf to hang my plastic headbands with the elastic closings on....You could even glue it to the wall to hang things that aren't so heavy....and the multiple roll toilet paper holder I concocted out of a paper towel stand is working fine & it saves just that much more room in our crowded apt. by stacking the rolls vertically.

The beat goes on....and how are you all doing?

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We finally got back up to the boat &  drove up thru Sta. Paula, the site of one of my favorite Goodwill's - As per usual we found lots of great stuff - Hubby found 2 more brand new cotton sweaters for work at $3.99 - & I found some hippy/peasant skirts on the dollar rack + a peasant blouse- [wear them when I play music ]- and $1 top -

Then on to Ojai - where I visited the main st. St. Thos. thrift shop - [quality stuff] & got some brand name tops...Somewhere along the line I also got a nice mini-striped knit cotton sweater - but don't know where??

When in Ojai I almost always stop in a the  wonderful local health-food store - Rainbow Bridge - & I picked up some of my homeopathic allergy meds - A. Vogel's Pollinosan - and even scored some hi-potency multi vitamins at 1/2 off for the boat or when I am on the go [I usually take multiple supplements, as that is usually cheaper, but it can be a hassle....] Look for sales even at places like health-food stores.  They generally have a sale area somewhere. You would be surprised what you can pick up.

Also visited the Dollar Tree in Oxnard & got some calcium, as I was running out [that's something you can get inexpensively]  I have been taking calcium supplements ever since I went on a milk-free diet when I was in college & as a result my bones are like ROCKS. There was also some sleep formula, the contents of which looked good & which I am going to try out.  [With such things, always buy 1 or 2 to try out & then go back for more if you like it.]

Also treated myself to some headbands & 2 nylon camisoles. (I had bought a see-thru top at Goodwill for $1 with a sort of Chinese pattern - which I would have to wear with something underneath ...goes with some long skirts I already have....)

I enjoyed wearing my new hand-knit [by me] peachy scarf.  I made it out of some eyelash yarn I got from the dollar store + some yarn I got an an old ladies' thrift shop! [See, you can even save $ here - one skein had a price tag for $7.99 still on it and at a yarn store eyelash yarn costs $7-8 a ball!] And since it's acrylic, it's not too heavy for S. Cal.

The scarf was successful experiment in using combined eyelash + yarn - So I am now embarking on a shawl - It goes quickly with big needles, so maybe it will be ready for NEXT weekend. The shawl will also be with discount/bargain yarn - so it won't cost me anything, really, but my labor. and big needles + eyelash yarn is very forgiving....It has a nice fluffy effect in the end. [I have also gotten needles at thrift shops - and picked up some round needles + some little balls of yarn at the Ojai thrift shop...always take a look around, especially if you think the shop's donors are the knitting type...)

Making up the pattern more or less from a combo of a free pattern I found at the Lion Brand yarn website (they have lots there) & one from the JoEllen's website (patterns there, too) & some info I got from leafing through the knitting books at Barnes & Noble last week....But it's easy, really - I make a lot of progress knitting in front of TV.

We jammed with our buddy George as "George Le Mire & Friends" at the Deer Lodge in Ojai again Fri. & Sat. singing and playing.  Hubby recorded it on our little digital recorder - it's amazing the quality of sound you can get from the little thing...This is becoming a regular thing...

Taking pix with my camera phone, which look nice, except I am still stumped as to how to upload them anywhere....Reading the manual AGAIN....it's really not very clear...

Sat. we actually used our boat as it was intended and took a sail - Lovely. 

Then Sun. we made our regular stop at the Farmer's Mkt up here & bought some organic fruit, as I have a hard time eating regular ones if I can't peel them like bananas to get rid of the pesticide residue.  I am a canary in a coal mine - my sensitivities get me far before a normie...

Sunday while I did my regular gig, hubby visited another of his favorite thrift shops & snagged a beautiful Land's End blue blazer for $7 - a steal!  Perfect for his biz semi-casual work look.  [And a t-shirt 4 me.]

It may sound peculiar - but I think we actually get BETTER quality clothing by shopping for bargains in expensive clothes at thrift shops!  The blazer, for ex. - it would cost at least $100-$150 if not more at a regular store, even on sale.  I can't say we are the model of thrift, because we then turn around and go out to eat - but the bargains enable us to have $ to do so.  I probably have said so before, but I rarely go shopping at regular stores anymore, and when I do, the regular prices astound me.

Oh - also picked up some Bonne Belle lip gloss & 2 Maybelline lipsticks - for $1 each.  I always stock up when I see makeup at such great prices, as eventually I will get thru all of it - and I do have  lip stuff all over the house.  It is so DRY here. It's surprising what brands actually turn up at the dollar stores from time to time - Revlon, Maybelline, L'Oreal and so on.  But grab it while it lasts because it will disappear asap. 

Otherwise I use Wet N Wild lipsticks - really.  I have one or 2 colors I like very much & when they are on sale, I buy several. (You have to match the color #'s to make sure you get a match.) It's an ongoing process - if you keep up with the stocking via bargain finds, you won't find yourself having to run out & pay full price for a lipstick or other makeup - & today, even drug store lipsticks can run $7 each. [Do you know that with the higher prices we are forking out for their ad budgets??? Fewer ads = lower price for you.]

But, alas, I woke up this Mon. AM to my allergies full blown, despite the fact that I had taken a Zyrtec last night. According to Claritin's pollen count chart, which I get via email - it's the TREES.  So I scrambled to take my supplemental nostrums - Allertonic - the A. Vogel Pollisan homeopathic tablets - nettle tincture & so on.  Can't find my TREE tincture, tho.  Darn.  Just when I need it....

Have to get some more.  Ditto Nasalcrom. As with the makeup, I try to keep everything stocked more or less, so I have it asap when allergies strike, and it doesn't  spoil or anything...

Also have the air cleaners blowing cleaned air around - Hubby actually can WASH the filters of those in the bathtub rather than replacing them.  You can do that several times before the cardboard structure goes, and at $30 or so a pop, that adds up. [not me, I can't TOUCH the dirt & dust it catches.) One air cleaner was a gift, the other a thrift shop find.

There you have it - my wkend excursion + shopping trip. We do enjoy all of it.  I know the sailboat outlay constitutes what otherwise would be a travel budget - but on the other hand,we get to go away A LOT - and it's so refreshing, as wkends are supposed to be.  "Re-creation" - [think of the origins of that word].  And get some.  You all deserve it, I am sure.

P.S. A posting at ThirdAge.com saying that getting a hotel/motel for an extended stay (w/senior discounts) might cost LESS than an assisted living home, with lots of the same perks in the price - pool, laundry, maid service, security and so on ( & sometimes coffee and breakfast bars, etc.).  And that the managers could take care of other needs for you, the privileged GUEST, as in calling for taxis...

That's a thought. I read an article about a couple spending most of their soc. security & disability income on RENT.  [And they were eating hot dogs instead of more nutritional choices...] You could probably get a nice suite at a Holiday Inn for less than assisted living. I will remember that for years to come, if the need arises. But I have my rent-controlled apt., so I/we are cool for the time being. 

It might very well turn out that hubby's education profession, altho financially an underdog in the 80's & 90's, with its security will turn out to be a comfortable place for someone with experience during the hard times we face, while other, "sexier" jobs  are getting shaky.  Who would have thought?

As a lifelong thrifty, I haven't much changed my shopping routine - but it was bargain-oriented to begin with.  How are these times treating YOU all?

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Everything that I had ordered though the internet finallycame in  yesterday! The set of 16 drinking glasses I had bought from Macy's with the gift card I had won over Xmas online - The checks I had ordered online because bank checks now cost a fortune - The sox I had gotten on sale from Nonsense becaz I was impressed with the quality of a sample they had sent me - and the DRESS I had ordered from Amazon, which had gotten lost in the mail....(I had had to print out the paperwork from Amazon about deliveries & stick it in the mailbox for the postperson & it worked!)

Everything a bargain - the dress' list price was almost $35 & I paid $15 WITH shipping! I have so few dresses & it's hard to find the simple kinds I like without paying a fortune...$15 is almost a thrift shop price!

And in the mail there also arrived a skin sample from Murad - something from Walmart - and more FREE magazines, which I looked at during the TV commercials last night.

I struggled with the internet yesterday afternoon, trying to figure out features on my phone, like text and how to download pix - seems like I have to PAY for software for pix download?? Ugh. Do I have to schlepp my digital camera around??- I would like pix for my microblog at Zannel  ( see me at http://zannel.com/pamphyila - I am under L.A. Stories...)

More emphasis on show biz there...So I am back to my clip art archive...But my cell phone bill had an extra $12 for me - presumably for the computer stuff - so I have to be careful.  Otherwise I am not using it much.  But sometimes I have to check for emails on the boat over the wkends...Mark uses all our minutes for his job - wish he got more $ back for that...

Tech learning curves are hard - but fruitful.  The only way I have ever been able to learn tech stuff is thru the learn by the "doing & looking up along the way" route...Other than typing classes I took before it was known as keyboarding, I have never really taken any computer classes at all.  Everything I have done is pretty much self-taught, with the help of manuals and support materials...When I was a temp I had a library of manuals for various software programs when I switched off from one to another...Remember Wang?  And Wordperfect?  And even WordStar?? Old dBase? And I say to anyone who has ever learned the rules of a game like Monopoly, you, too can learn a computer - it's just another set of rules...

Today I look for semi-automated programs like Picasa imaging (free from Google) which have shortcuts to the easy features I want - like the programs at www.jumpcut.com which allowed me to save a couple of hundred bucks by doing the editing for my reel myself!

Feeling frustrated about my artistic unemployment - even tho the pirate flick was on the tube a week ago- so for all intents & purposes I AM working cyberly.  How strange. But it's all weird.  My buddy Eldon always gives me credit for hanging in there.  We are all underemployed artistically - and only the fanatics hang on because we HAVE to.  Tell that to any starry-eyed kids dreaming of performing success!

How are you?  My hubby's job seems secure - they need him - but then I read an article in the L.A. Times that said that the 30% of us in the US who think their jobs are OK are actually nuts.  But then, I never claimed that I wasn't.  Besides, I have been preparing all my life thru frugality for something like this!

Do you feel prepared??

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Spent most of the day in Santa Monica at my gratis S.M. Emeritus College scene study class.  The prof is Barbra Gannen - whose classes elsewhere are $50/each - so, $200/mo would pay for this class if I HAD to pay for it.  Over a few months, that's thousands of dollars in savings!

I brought my lunch in a little paper bag which I save for such occasions - and carpooled with hubby who was working on the W. Side that day.  Nice.

But I forgot to bring along the bag of books I was going to contribute to the bookshelf!  I have all these paperbacks I want to get back into circulation...Next week.

We had dinner on the 3rd St. Promenade and waited for the traffic to clear before heading home. Took some pix with my cell phone - but now I have to learn how to upload them!

My outfit was brown with turquoise accents, which I wouldn't have thought of except that I have a shell with those colors which I wore under my nylon animal print shirt  - and then added my Blue/green resin bead necklace - and my watch, is turquoise - and threw on my turquoise jacket.

Fun to window shop on the Promenade and see what the trends are close up.  I always try to see if I can imitate them or make them or whether I have something similar to drag out & wear.  (All the bright jackets I picked up last year for a song at a Pasadena Salvation Army are IN this season.) In one store it seemed nothing was under $28 - except some headbands of the sort I get at the 99 Cent Store for - well, 99 cents! (There they were $10!?!)  There was a yellow leather handbag I liked a lot but it was almost $300! My oh my.

After dinner we looked around the Barnes & Noble there -and I leafed thru some craft books and some knitting books.  I get inspiration from the pictures -not that I am that technically adept!

Seem to be in a jewelry-concocting mode - the key necklace on the ball chain worked out so well!  And now the style is back to BIG necklaces, so I am thinking about all the stuff I have in the jewelry archive.  Think it will get me to re-organize my stuff.  I have read that now's the time to "shop in your own closet" - and I did pull out a craft brown wooden barrette with wire accents from a drawer - but along the way I discovered the spring was missing, and the thing was slipping badly - but I found a brown hair elastic in the bottom of a makeup bag which I twisted around the closing to tighten it up.  It worked!

Then came home to a Murad sample and more of my gratis magazines.  There was a "My Frugal Life" entry in thriftyfun today that tells you to stop all your subscriptions.  I would suggest to look for free ones at sites like mommysavesbig.com, which is what I am doing!  I have never had so many magazines in my life!  All free.

Also got an invitation to a free screening of the new movie Watchmen - but, darn, we will be at a memorial service that day - so we can't go...On the Promenade we looked at the AMC theatre's offerings - as we have discount coupons for tix there - but everything was too late for us -

Came home & had to catch up with my computer work while hubby watched the 30's flick THE HURRICANE on TCM - He thought it was a "manly movie" - as opposed to my chick flicks - and it reminded him of his days in New Zealand teaching the Maoris....I did like Dorothy Lamour's edited Edith Head sarongs....Some things never go out of style...

Frugal Forever!!

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Lots of frugal fixes & gambits this wkend.  Hubby decided to go up to the snow in the Angeles Crest rather than the boat so, I prepared thusly:

• My heavier jeans had a prominent white spot on the front right knee.  As distressed jeans are in style again, I got out some fine sandpaper and evened out the wear around the spot to make it blend in and distressed the rest of that knee, and the other one as well.  What me, buy distressed jeans? Never.  I can just wear my old ones!
• The second strap band on my watch is gone, so I used 2 little clear mini hair bands to secure it. Nice & doesn't really show.
• The strap for the opening of the nylon purse hubby got for me at a bargain was too long.  So to make the top close more securely, I "shortened" the strap by folding it over & securing with two hair elastics in a contrasting beige color to match the rest of the bag.  No one could tell, and the closure is snug.
• Dug out the winter sheepskin boots I had bought for my NYC trips.  They are holding up nicely because I remembered to spray them with the appropriate water/stain repellent before I ever wore them.  Saw some Uggs later in the day.  Almost exactly the same as my Emu boots - but I got mine on sale at Sportsmart - and the ones I saw were 4X as expensive, with only a slightly fine suede.  But for my purposes, sturdy suede is FINE.

Then we drove up to the mountains for a snow experience!  Ah! the air!. Mt. Waterman was open - what an inexpensive ski day! And lots of kids and snowboarders were there.  We were just a bit too late to go up the ski lift for the scenic excursion, tho...It's SO close to home. And it looks like the Alps.

• Upon returning home, discovered a package in the mailbox.  I had actually WON an Aveeno Natural Beauty Contest somehow & they sent me a full-size Aveeno 45 spf spray-on sunblock.  I can surely use THAT this summer.  (So enter those contests. I have won several in the last 6 months.)
• Also several of my free magazines came.

Tried that Ibunex sample for my sore fingers that had come.  (it's a new topical ibuprophen.) Of ALL the things I have been trying out, for my sore finger joint, it's the only thing that has WORKED. I have a deal for free shipping on it, too - so when I finish the samples....

• Have to apologize to the Skin MD people.  Now that it's warmer, I find that their Shielding Lotion + sunscreen is very nice for my ARMS, neck, and so on. You can put it on before going out without fear of staining your clothes. (My face needs more moisture...) But its non-greasiness really works for the body...
• Read in the Zappo's online shoe blog about people complaining that they can't get jeans short enough and how they don't want to take them to be altered.  Heavens!  As a short person, I always have had to hem my pants.  No big deal. Just fold them over to the right length, affix loosely with duct tape before washing and after washing, measure, fold, iron for crease and sew with a simple hem stitch.  (Same for most skirts.) You can do it in front of TV.  I do. (Oh, duct tape is also good for holding up jean hems if they come down when you don't have time to fix them....)

• Actually last night in front of TV I took out some of the fruit/vine patterned contact paper I had from the 99 cent store, and cut a circle to put on the top of the decidedly cheap but adequate plastic compact so it wouldn't look quite so cheap.  The yellowish background of the paper, with its pattern of leaves looks very nice against the black plastic of the compact container and masks its origins nicely.
• Saw a decorating show the other night where they put wood-grained dark contact paper on a plywood base for faux wood - they even meticulously made a pattern to look like inlay - and then covered it with a round of GLASS, so no one would be the wiser.  I have used wood-grained and marble-grained contact paper for furniture and furniture tops, but adding the glass for a dining room  table was the finishing touch.  Would even work well over a faux contact paper marble top for an armoire, dresser, etc.  Or you could use plexiglass, but that has a tendency to bend....Practically the only way you can make over today's composite board furniture is to use that adhesive paper., especially if there is any wear. 
• Found some lavender growing wildly - so I plucked a few to make a sprig.  Once home, I tied with some lavender ribbon I had left over, and put it in a little old glass ink bottle for a tiny floral display.
•  

Once down the mountain, we stopped into the Sports Chalet in La Canada to check out their prices for rental ski equipment. Boy, were their knitted wool hats pricey!  I would make my own - luckily I recently found a wool ski hat & gloves set at a thrift store for a song, which goes in with the ski gear.  Does anyone PAY those prices?  The sun dresses with the shirred tops reminded me of one I made myself years ago and made me think of doing another one.

We then dropped into the nearby Home Goods store and I perused all the clearance areas just for fun.  As hubby said, all the things you DON'T really NEED.  Reminded me that it's a place to get gifts, tho. Found a nice little rug for the house ($3) & a big tin of cocoa left over from the Xmas season, also $3 - I do like it in my coffee. Now I am fixed for the foreseeable future, as I picked up some at the Pier One sale, too. (If you haven't checked, real cocoa can be expensive & in tins it will last....)

The next day we went for a walk around the Headwaters Park near Old Topanga Road near Calabasas.  It's a lovely site, reminding you of Old California before development.  There is even a stream that they have cleaned up & revived.  The frogs were croaking merrily.  And there are picnic tables.  We HAVE to picnic and play some music there.  In contrast to the prevailing temperatures, it is nice and shady and cool under the Oak trees by the stream.  And you know, this is the first Sunday we have EVER seem anyone else there! Look around for hidden gems in your neighborhood!

One day in the snow and the next it's 80 degrees and we seek shade.  So. Calif. has its points.  Today it's rainy again & I am back  to sweatshirts.

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Got invited to a Happy Hour for zannel.com which is a new micro-blogging site - The folks came down from San Francisco & we were entertained at Joseph's in Holywood.  Nice old bar, good Greek retsina (on them) and very nice people to chat with!  Now see my working theatrical/artsy side at pamphyila at zannel.com -  A great gratis evening (except for the parking....ugh.)

My resolution to get out more is working.  We have gone out once a week - very nice events, too...Nice to get dressed up - but I lost one of my 50's earrings....darn.  I can never have expensive earrings, because they always fall off or get lost....Wore the dk green velvet jacket I had gotten at a very high end Hollywood yard sale for a teen theatre....Nice outfit if I do say so myself...It was cold enuf to wear my blk nylon ankle boots with the leather toes/bk....How can ANYONE wear heavy boots here in S. Cal.?  I don't know....

Oh - a tip - if you want to winterize some lighter pants in your wardrobe, just wear a pair of pantyhose under them. I did last nite under my new cotton jersey pants....

Off to the boat tomorrow (Sat.) Boy, do I love those wkends!

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Oooh! Trouble with the internet connection (on their side) so I have been fighting with a balky computer all day. Ugh!

I did spend my $20 Macy's giftcard which I won over Xmas on a set of GLASSES to drink from.  I have  been spoiled by the lovely beer glasses I had been given - so good in the hand - so after looking (sl000wly) thru everything else I decided upon that.

While I was waiting for the computer to work its stuff, I also took out a green permanent marker & touched up my fake bonsai tree, as the color had faded from the sun in the window and it looked as if it were dying (even tho it can't). Worked out OK  - and got extra off my fingers with my pumice stone - which is great for that sort of thing.

Also ran across my little bottle of Balsam Fir Needle essential oil I had used for the Xmas greenery - and afterreading the label - wafted it  under my nose to refresh me.  Nice.  Like walking in a forest.

My scent strip potpourri has been refreshed - and I had put them on the sound equipment, which is warm, and the hotter piece of equipment must have helped to spread the fragrance, like the old perfume on a lightbulb trick - as I had to replace the whole thing, not just renew it.

Going to a happy hour meeting about a new networking site with folks from S.F. tonite & getting a chance to wear my new $3.99 batik jacket.  Just right for winter in So. Cal.

Whew! Just a note about the prices on the Macy's.com website.  Even with a special sale I had heard about from one of my money sites, the prices weren't low at all.  I am astounded to see what my silver jewelry would cost to replace nowadays.  My 2 silver cuffs are worth quite a bit (even tho I inherited one and got the other for $1 at a thrift store, all black with tarnish....) Ditto the little amethyst pendant I got a while ago on sale. I read a gemologist lately who said that he thought that those stones were underrated - and they are bargains!

More probs with the bigger hard drive, so we are back to the surplus one left over from our beach soujourn. we do make demands on our home office, hubby & I. He did well today -so I am encouraging him to ask for more Office Depot gift card  $ to defray some of his outlay on supplies! Hope things speed up soon...

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Here is a link to Giveaway of the Day - which offers free downloads daily - (otherwise they cost $) - http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/youtubeget-497/

Today it's a simple download for YouTube videos, but they have something different every day - but ONLY for the day.  This software, for example, they say would otherwise cost $29 (??)

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The weather has turned nice and typically S. Californian again - still confusing about wardrobe - now we are back to warm temps!

A few projects have turned out nicely - I revived the watchband of a watch my sister had given me.  It is actually a sort of turquoise snakeskin - and the ends were worn and without color.  So I colored in the worn bits with a light green permanent marker I had just gotten at a clearance table. 

Hurrah for permanent markers.  You can do so much with them.  Coloring in the worn edges and ends of the watchband has totally revived it, which please me because it matches the turquoise of the watch itself - and where does one buy turquoise watchbands? Now that I have worn it a few days, the green is settling nicely into the turquoise, and the watchband doesn't look as if it's on is last legs anymore!

Walked around a pleasant Valley neighborhood after therapy - It is old cottages with old gardens and large trees - according the the imprints in the sidewalk put in in the 20's.  Really charming and my dream of a neighborhood.  But I consoled myself with the fact that I had brought some of that feeling to the side bits of garden at the apartment.  Because without my input (and the input of an ex-neighbor) it would still be dry grass and hard dry mud. Now I come home to roses and assorted greenery.

That neighborhood also yielded some chestnut burrs and various pods along the way - which I collected to bring back home to put over my paper potpourri I concoct from the fragrance strips in my gratis magazines.  By the way, I also recycled a bag full of magazines at the therapy office and sent them on their way. I am now getting a flood of magazines and hubby complains about the piles, so I have to recycle them elsewhere.

Oh, and I put the key I had gotten at the antique shop on a ball chain necklace - and then knotted the chain just above the key to balance it out.  Looks great! Not bad for free + $3.50!  I love my casual necklaces. You can even wear them - beach wise - with t-shirts, etc. Everyone at the beach does that - hippie influence I suppose.  But I do like it still.

Take care all and don't let all the financial news get you down - what's the song? "Don't Worry, Be Happy"? I myself am enjoying the fresh air here.

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This past weekend was a good one for shopping!  We were going through Santa Paula on the way to the boat and stopped at their great Goodwill - Whew! the bargains! 

They have $1 racks - and some of our things came from there - and otherwise pieces were mostly $3.99 - My husband got a NEW terracotta cotton sweater which looks great on him for that price and it still had the tag on it.  What was that?  a $30 buy at least.

We also got:

• t shirts (new) at $1 and  two  at $3.99 (new?)
• ruffled shirt and skirt for $1 each
• a trendy green resin necklace, new, with a tag for $15 - gotten for $1.69! (Now I like this necklace - but I would never have paid that MUCH for it. Crazy.)
• black sequined Mizrani mules (new?) $3.99 -
• black knit pants - (They were marked Medium, but actually were larger - glad I tried them on...) new?
• various paperback books
• a rust and black batik jacket -( I love ethnic stuff)
• a beautiful ethnic emerald green, gold embroidered silk skirt - Indian? Hope to make it into something...
• a pair of cropped denim pants with embroidery (Hubby found that for me!)

I am sure I am missing something - but it was all for about $43! - My husband grumbled - but the batik jacket or the sweater alone could easily cost THAT.  (And to think on a bargain fashion blog they were saying that things were inexpensive if in the $30 range!)

That's the trick to me having a wardrobe!  The batik jacket will go beautifully with a pair of brown pants I already have - or black ones.  And the luck to find BLACK shoes and pants!  Those are the basics, like good white shirts, that are rare in thrifting! And which you can hardly have too many of, as they are staples.

The secret of this place seems to be that they get merchandise from Target - after sales, etc., among other sources. Some of the merchandise then is STILL too pricey for what it is - but they also have deals in clothes, sometimes quite NEW - as you can see from my description. So we usually end up spending a bit there - over $20 at least - so we limit our visits to when we happen to be passing through.

That was my thrift shopping for the weekend (I don't seem to spend any $ any other times nowadays - or any other places, either.) But I did treat myself to an antique key charm to wear on a chain for a necklace - and more $.50 old books at Bart's outdoor bookstore in Ojai.  I love their funny ancient books - they take me to reading in places where I would never have thought of going on my own.  For example, one book is on the illnesses of our presidents - which is great for me, whose history has to come from the social history angle...

I then popped into my favorite health food store to check up on sales items - and landed some immune system formula on sale  (mine's been off the last couple of weeks.) and scored some freebies of samples of vitamins and lotions.

Mark asked if I felt guilty - but that's WHY I GO to that store as often as I can - so, no, I didn't. I always spend at least $10 -20  there - so why should I feel any guilt? (Especially when a "freebie" online for which I had to pay shipping (It looked like a good deal.) was just a little packet of lotion and a teensy sample of the sort I get gratis! And not even the right color, because their system fouled up and I was unable to fix the error!

Came home to a pile of freebie magazines!  Oh, we also visited the library bookstore in Carpinteria - where I always pick up some of the paperbacks I devour - and found myself sharing the secret of my free magazine subscriptions with the pleasant ladies who run the joint. We ladies do like our magazines to look at !

Mark is complaining about the magazine pile - but it's time to take a bag full to my therapist's office.  I noticed last time I was there that the ones I had brought were already GONE. And some can go to the laundry room here, where fellow tenants can go through them...

Thinking about a way to recycle some of my better paperbacks.  Bart's does buy and trade - so I am going to start a "Bart's Box" for the tradable books and bring them up next time I have a doctor's appointment up there on a Friday when they buy books. At least, it might help defray my Bart's spending, which is about $10 a month or so. But as I am so bad about library books and resulting fines, as I have said here many times - it's easier and cheaper for me to get cheap used books than agonize about returning library books.

So today it's back to freebie hunting - got 2 coupons for free Quizno's sandwiches to use this week - one for me & one for the hubby...Now I am back at home at the computer - writing and combing the net for work leads.

I saw an old buddy from 99 seat theatre days in a horror flick on ScareNet on cable - Resurrection Mary - a low budget one, but with its own charms - and it was great to see Joe Estevez do such a great job handing the exposition (more or less as I did in my own horror pirate flick!) That means the backstory to whatever horror situation they are tyring to set up, which usually comes in a nice, long monologue.  That and the appearance of JOLLY ROGER on TV last week all goes into my self-esteem file!

So the weekend functioned as away weekends should - I came back refreshed and ready for whatever the week throws at me. Mark had had a hard time prying me out of the house early on Friday to get up there - but I am very glad he did.  And wasn't he sly to know that a bit of shopping would help me cheer up? In the old days ladies bought hats - now  we get everything...

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Last night I dreamt I was in a 99 Cent Store - the one where I had my picture taken for the budget article in the L.A. Times about 6 months ago! That's the first time that has happened. 

My stomach has been bothering me, so I looked up the symptoms on the net and then have been doctoring myself., and avoiding irritants like tea and alcohol and drinking camomille tea and NA beer instread.  It's terrible - I wish I had an MD I could go to whom I trusted to do more for me on a visit than I could do for myself! But the OTC nostrums, etc.,  I have been taking seem to be working, so I am on the right track.  What happened to doctors who came to your HOUSE?  When I am feeling sick, the last thing I want to do is sit around in a cold waiting room on an uncomfortable chair looking horrid...(There has been a stomach flu thing going around and since people around me have had it, I suspect that that has something to do with it...)

I mean, the first thing a doctor will do is go for the obvious, which I can get by checking Web MD - Mark had an accident once on a Sunday when he twisted a nerve in his back - and I applied first aid - and iced it and gave him large doses of ibuprophen which relieved it  - and then took him to the doctor the next day - and the doctor confirmed it was probably a nerve and told us to continue what we had been doing and charged us $50 or something!  Maybe there is something to getting too good at first aid....

On a brighter note, the pirate movie I was in -JOLLY ROGER -was on TV last night on the CHILL cable station.  So I caught my scenes to see what they would look like.  My best work, really!  It doesn't feel so stupid to have pursued acting all this time, if I have at least this to show for it - no matter how silly the flick is - It gave me great appreciation for Vincent Price!

Mark is pushing to get off early to the boat - and I am stalling here - partly because of my malaise - George is singing tonite at a place in Ojai - do I want to push myself to go?  We will see...

Hasta la vista - at least California now finally has a budget -

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Got through V Day frugally - printed out a card from the Internet - and added gold to is with a gold marker - and put it on my "virtual bouquet" - which was a decorative piece (of ribbon and feathers and a cupid, actually) which I cut out of one of my fancy free magazines.  Then I mounted it with spray adhesive to some cardboard I had saved, and cut it all out, making sure to keep "feathery" edges.  I embellished that with gold here & there, too.

Then I mounted it on a wire leaf holder that I have picked up at the Cost Plus sale for $.69 - and voila! a virtual bouquet. (As I said, I added the valentine I had printed out, too.)  I really like the idea and think I will use it some more.  You could even make one in pieces and send it through the mail.  Perfect for offices as no watering is required!  And really, any photo holder will do as a stand.

A large branch of the big old jade plant outside in the strip of garden broke off from its own weight - and since I couldn't bear to see it there lying on the ground, I broke off little branches and planted them.  I brought 2 upstairs and put them in empty pots in my garden sink near kitchen.  And then I put some outside in a few places, too.  I put some in a garden pot full of soil that has been on the edge of the stairs for ages with nothing in it  - and I also planted some in some bare spots in the garden.  Let them think the gardener did it! 

We will see how many of them "catch" and grow.  I have really never tried this transplanting before myself.  But I understand that succulents are VERY easy to take cuttings from and transplant.  And they certainly flourish in our bit of garden.

On another note - I read in a group I am in on Linkedin.com about the problems of leading a frugal acting career - I commented that since I have always been broke I know it is possible - and that I have honed my skills enough to write this blog.

Really, actors are such suckers and everyone out here is after their hard-earned $ - giving them the impression that that will solve their problems. The reality is that actors I have known who were working didn't have expensive pictures or anything.  They had talent, luck, skill and connections.  I for one will be starting my FREE acting class at Santa Monica Emeritus College with Barbara Gannen. - The only catch here is the drive over there and the fight with traffic at rush hour on the way back - That is exhausting.

Gee, I have done so much myself - my own PR - which I initially learned for the theatre I had - I have always typed out my own resumes - and lately my photographer friends have been nice enough to take pictures for me - so much easier now with digital cameras! I even edited my own reel using jumpcut.com! There was a learning curve, but it wasn't impossible to do - and I got as good a reel as if I had spent hundreds of dollars. on it. 

So MUCH can be done on one's home computer nowadays.  You can edit/crop pix using the FREE Picasa from Google - You can do video auditions using your computer's little camera....or your own digital camera - You can make sound files for voice work - And you can send all these electronically!  It's amazing.

There is a moral there somewhere about being as much DIY as you can manage - especially with electronic tools. But I carry over that DIY to as much of my life as I can manage - and it saves a LOT of $ for me.  (And the rest is BARGAINS.)

Oh, I am including the 2 Cents' pic which is from BlueQ.com indirectly from skirt.com today - so I am borrowing heavily - but it just felt so "right". (It really is a coin purse you could buy, too....)

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Note:  go to www.byki.com for lovely foreign language ecards - for free!  They also have how to say "I love you" in 16 languages.  A nice touch, don't you think?  The pic is of the Chinese one.

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A night out on the town - really an afternoon + evening -

Had the free ticket from my theatre class to the play at the Geffen.  They don't seem to five them out in pairs anymore - so I had to buy one for the hubby.  And there's a frugal story about that -

 I looked up the Geffen tix for the play on the internet and it directed me straight to Ticketmaster who would have tacked on $15 to the ticket price!  (not to mention charging for sending it in the mail...)

Luckily there was an article about the play in the Sunday paper, which gave the direct # to the box office - So I called, got the cheapest ticket (the front a few rows down is $20 more!), paid for with a credit card and then picked up at Will Call. The extra ticket was another mezzanine seat  and as the mezzanine wasn't full, my hubby & I could sit together anyway. I don't know what Ticketmaster does for its $15!  So beware!

Buying tickets can be tricky - In NYC I found that musical tix were to be had cheaper at the box office than at the ticket booth. (Not the case for the straight plays I usually go to.)

Hubby was working on the West side that day, so he came & picked me up and then delivered me to a coffee place to hang out until he was finished. There was a nice junky antique shop a few doors down - my favorite kind - and I perused the books, picking up a few of my classic mysteries - and a lovely Italian notebook.  The Europeans really understand nice stationery. 

There also was a nice bright red scarf or shawl - polyester, but a great color - which I also got.  All for $13 total.  That's how I have amassed my scarf collection. Wore one of them - a silk chiffon with an animal print to the theatre - with my grey/black outfit - and the silver earrings I got at an outdoor market last summer and a silver bracelet I inherited from my godmother.  I even dug up my nice Fossil watch. (It's amazing how much THEY are going for now - I DID get a good deal.)

Still haven't spent my $25 Macy's gift card which I won over the holidays - and there is ANOTHER sale this weekend - so I think I will try to get to one - Saw a nice dressy watch in an ad in the paper - maybe one of those??

I enjoyed dressing up and going out - reminded me of going to the theatre in New York.  Something very satisfying about an evening at the theatre for me - as if I am getting a vitamin I have been missing. But then, I do act upon occasion....Support your local theatre!

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Valentine's Day has been hanging around my neck  as it fast approaches.  An old beau once said that I "had a sense of occasion," and it is TRUE.  Had to concoct something!

And - it's DONE!  Yeah team!  Very easily, too - the Pier One (right around the corner from me) was having a SALE and I got $90 worth of stuff for $30!!! They had lotions and scented candles and drink mixes and so on.   Very nice - and very much discounted! So I have a "spa" V-Day all set up. 

I had no idea that Pier One had skin care and so on - It's in unexpected places like that that you can get good deals!

Hubby is also Scandinavian in origin and has sensitive skin like me, so he is always using "lotion," as he calls it.  And usually he buys bath products for ME - so this is his turn!

And I found a nice valentine at http://www.freeprintablevalentines.com!!!

All the elements of an intimate evening - including some champagne for ME. (He gets to choose among the drink mixes as he is a staunch AA'er!)

Now that sort of buy, I do like - it's the only time I actually SHOP in such stores - when they are having BIG SALES. And you know, the 3/4 off is more or less of a rule of thumb for me.  I calculate that I save 3/4 off on many of my purchases.  It helps us live nicely on an educational salary - with some room for niceties!

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Really quiet here - as it's cold and rainy - listening to jazz on the radio.  Hunted around for freebies on the net, as I usually do....

Got some nice little things yesterday - even a ketchup pin from Heinz, which I think I will use for a card on which I say 'it's hard to ketch-up with you" ha!  Also ordered a free LCD heart today...

Read about Bumble & Bumble having hair powder in colors - which intrigued me.  I bought some tumeric a while ago to make my blonde shampoo more golden - and I added it to what I usually use for dry shampoo - scented dusting powder.  It came out blondish - and I think it even revived some of the color after I put it in and then brushed it out - The trouble with just plain dusting powder as dry shampoo is that it seems to darken your hair. Do you believe that the B&B hair powder is $34??

Of course, they have it for brunettes - and I couldn't think of what to put in to make the powder that DARK - but luckily I have dark blonde hair with strawberry highlights - so my concoction seems to work.  The texture of my hair is even nicer than usual - the tumeric?  I am SO allergic to chemicals that I have to get more and more clever about what to use to color my hair as the grey hairs creep in!

There were LOTS of magazines at www.mercurymags -which I ordered.  I have stacks of magazines at home - and am collecting the scent strips to make more potpourri...Need to take an armful of the magazines down to the laundry room here to share - and some to put in the waiting room of my therapist's office.

Joined a swap group yesterday that has book /media swaps monthly  or so - Boy, do I have lots of paperbacks of all sorts to recycle! I get them so cheaply - that it's not worth the postage to send them off to exchange them.  I put some in the swap area at the clubhouse at our marina - and when I finally get to the Sta. Monica Emeritus College site again, I will bring in a bag of paperbacks to swap there, too.   How DO people pay $8-9 for a paperback novel?  I read so quickly that I can get through one a night, practically. (I read them before bed...)

You are going to say "Go to the library, " I know! But the ones here are just inconvenient enough that I always manage to pile on library fines - and I misplace books - and so on.  I have made quite a contribution to the L.A. Public Library's exchequer over the years. It's actually cheaper to get used paperbacks!

(Just discovered that my Google toolbar actually has a spellchecker for online forms! So it will be easier for me to proof the blog and fewer typos, I trust...)

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Just ordered a NEW dress for myself - (see pic) - from an alert here: http://www.thebargainqueen.com/converse-one-star-jersey-dress-874/

This is a rareity - buying anything new, that is...but it was such a steal, I couldn't resist - I mean, with SHIPPING a little less than $15 - with an original price of over $30.  And the style and the color are great for me (very simple and silver)- Hoping it fits right - but it should have a loose fitting ratio! When I buy things, I do have an eye for the camera - as I justify purchases by telling myself I could wear them for an audition or an on-camera job.  And then, classic pieces stay in the wardrobe until I wear them out... 

The Bargain Queens blog does tip you off to especially great deals on occasion - and made me aware of the super deals on clothing at amazon.com when things are on sale.But I restrict myself to when the prices rival those of thrift shops! It is fun to windowshop the site, tho -

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Finally got to experience this whole "day spa" thing - as I was invited to the Body Bar Urban Spa in Silverlake for a presentation of L.A.-based Sircuit Skin cosmeceuticals' all natural treatments. The spa itself is lovely - very calming oriental-inspired decor & it smelled so good! 

I lucked into getting a 30 min. facial using the Mocha Loca lactic acid chocolate peel - and other products.  What a nice experience!  So soothing. And the Sircuit aesthetician was a real pro, gently massaging my face and telling me about the products. The serums, etc., that Sircuit produces are all natural - and you can tell.  But not at the high end of the spectrum - more towards the middle - altho $40-60 is still out of my range usually.  I came out with a glowing face - even though the aesthetician complimented my skin throughout. (So I must be doing something right.)

And afterwards I looked at how much the Body Bar charged for a 30 min. facial & it was $65!!  And the samples I got were worth more than $40 - so it was a profitable evening! Oh, how the other half lives....

I did get a discount coupon - but if I ever do pop for spa services I will probably go to www.lifebooker.com (in L.A. & NYC areas) for discounts.  There is a hair salon in my budget price range not far from me & I am going to try it out.

Put on the glam of my other side by wearing a tweedy jacket with my vintage 50's intaglio cameo-like pin, debuting my thrift shop 50's Trifari necklace and anonymous vintage clip earrings. (Clips are so hard to find, that I grab them, especially the vintage ones at a good price....)

I was looking at an article about a professional vintage jewelry collector on www.countryliving.com (they have collectible and antiques sections...) and I am always appalled at how pricey all this stuff has gotten.  Everyone at the spa night was oohing and ahing at a rhinestone ring I threw on at the last minute to lighten the black ensemble....and the story on that is that I got it at a junky Asian bargain store in Sta. Paula for maybe $3...and I have seen similar ones for 10 times as much.  Imagine.

All the colored rhinestone pins we used to think of as too gaudy are now very much in style! And as I said, fetch a pretty penny.  Check out the jewelry boxes of older female relatives who are fond of you, and you may find some treasures that they wouldn't mind parting with, as they don't really wear them anymore.  The overall quality of the older pieces is so much better - and even the prices I think are outrageous for vintage compare fairly well with contemporary pieces with lesser workmanship. And they have resale value, too!

I have a large collection dating back to high school - I have kept almost ALL of it and have lots to choose from. I have culled through it from time to time and sold off what I didn't love - and I do have a fantasy of being able to take all to market when I am an old lady!

This is my how-to-live-rich-when-you-are-not strategy.  Nice clothes to pull out and otherwise sweatshirts and jeans!

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Just thought I would comment that now I know why I felt uninspired yesterday.  I caught my hubby's cold - and I was right - it WASN'T allergies, altho at the start it's hard to tell one from the other...

So I am gargling and taking my adaptogens and Chinese remedies - I have a spa opening tonite & I really want to go - they are offering me a facial!  I will tell you how it goes. I can shine up my hair with some of the new hair gel....

Tip: If you like to write, think about developing your skills into minor journalism.  A Blog would be a good start.  I have done all sorts of freelance journalism besides this blog and often there are perks! Conventions and travel shows and the like often have lots of wonderful giveaways - to keep or to gift...Get on the lists of those PR people....& who knows?  And if you do book reviews, you get book freebies! I would love to get on the reviewing circuit again....

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The weather here has been really screwy - down to where one is wearing regular winter clothes and now up in the 80's -  Because I had the windows mostly closed during the cold - I am discovering that keeping the windows shut somehow keeps the residual cool in? At any rate, for all the outside temperature, it's cool in here.

Still wondering what to do for Valentine's Day (or V Day, as I call it).

Thought I would craft a homemade Valentine - but not feeling terribly inspired -altho there was a great idea on Martha Stewart's site...Even thought I was going to make a V Day wreath - but again - no inspiration!

We spent the wkend on the boat - and Fri. night we jammed with our buddy George at the Deer Lodge outside of Ojai.  Great fun! Been asked to sing a classical piece for the memorial service of my friend's cousin - have to practice this week to get ready. And back to my clarinet practice!

Hubby picked up a piece of laminated fiberboard from some discarded furniture on the street which he is using for extra desk space poised over the filing cabinets in the computer desk.  Said he learned about picking over street finds from me! I also found some 3/4 plywood pieces today - one I think I will save for the "loom" thing I saw on Threadbanger and try to make myself a belt or something....I wonder if one can weave with plastic??

Otherwise, sending in for freebies - I am looking for "junkets" - free events to go to - & will go to a salon reception nearby tomorrow - What to wear?  I think the "Michelle Obama" dress in a colorful rayon print - which I got in the sale box at Squaresville.  I even have a vintage brooch to wear with it!  So hard to figure out wardrobe for these hot winter days in S. Cal. - But rayon is a great fabric - so versatile!

There - I told you I didn't feel too inspired! Life goes on....

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For some reason the knitting bug has gotten me again - I had gotten deals on needles last summer and even bought a large pair - and had found yarn at the thrift shop and 99 cent store - but I hadn't done anything with it!  I suppose it's because the weather here is chilly enough for scarves - and I had knit a nice "furpiece" on some chubby pencils a while ago which went very nicely with my yellow fleece winter jacket.

The success is a long muffler out of specialty fun yard from the 99 Cent Store - (usually $8 per ball!) It wasn't long enough, so I put on some long fringe - and voila! Very nice.

I then had a failed experiment with some fun fur yarn - it's hard to work with - and I don't even know if I can pull it all out and use it again or whether I am stuck with a large green dust rag! (Or maybe I could put it on a hat for St. Paddy's Day....) Hubby reminded me that it was "just a hobby."  Although he loves it when I do girly things - so feminine, he says.  I did marry a prince

Then I started knitting again last night (I have been working in front of TV after dinner) - on another sort of scarf project with fun fur.  This one is on even larger needles and working out better. 

Also went to www.joann.com today and downloaded some free shawl patterns, so I would have a better idea of what I was doing - Lots of cute things there - so maybe when the new yellow one is finished, I can go back to a green project....

The knuckle on my right index finger has been swollen - so I thought I would consult a colleague who used to do physical therapy and he thought it was just overuse. I do arch my index finger over my mouse - and I went and downloaded some more keyboard shortcuts to cut down on the use of it.

Then I favored my index finger all day by using a middle finger for the mouse - and in a day, it made a difference.  (I have also been putting on arnica cream and sometimes Tiger Balm and other linaments....)  My grandmother had arthritis in her hands - and my mother a bit, too - but my mother avoided the worst of it....So I watch it...

I also have been using a Tempurpedic foam sample on and off to support my wrist, which helps strain, too.  Just moving around the points of wear makes it easier on the joints. Just as rotating my shoes has always helped my feet.  If I am at all on my feet, it really is better to switch shoes daily.

Oh, a find!  Hubby and I were walking around the neighborhood. (we have found that it can be a nice peaceful walk at dusk) and I saw a pile of rugs at the curb.  It was getting dark, but I could see that they were fairly good ones, and I got hubby to go and get the car, so we could balance them on the trunk and get them the block or so back home.  After getting two - there was another one underneath, which looked even better, so I took that one, too.

The rug underneath had gotten wet - so we had to do something with it right away - and hubby took it to the little old rug guy down Western Ave. in the furniture district that my friend Eldon had turned us onto. Turns out the rug is a Bokhara - Pakistani, the man said - and new is worth $1500, as it is so large.  And I think this is an older one - which go for at least $1000 on EBay for that size.

That reassured hubby for the cost of cleaning it - the others can wait, but the Bokhara was beginning to run - apparently they do -  I researched it all on the internet...fascinating.

Now I have to figure out what to do with it!  It seems too big for the dining room, which is where I would like it - but I like my other rug in the living room!  But as I said at the time to hubby, I just couldn't pass it up - it was like money lying on the street!

Hubby is razzing me - but I say I don't want diamonds - just collectibles and insurance!  Seriously, good finds in antiques or quality collectibles just get more valuable sitting there - and you can always use them and then sell them off later.  (If I got near $1000 for this rug, then even with the cleaning there would be a profit. ) And who is going to STEAL a RUG?

I have made a couple of great coups in my collecting - including an etching I bought in the 70's for $40 which I sold off in the 90's for $1500! Not a bad investment.

Besides there is the thrill of collecting.  I could furnish a mansion - but have to keep it down to apartment scale.

Sadly the classical radio station here - KUSC has been all static.  I went to the website and it says it has been struck by lightning (?) causing transmission problems -  So I have cds on today. 

Did end up on KCRW the other day and heard an interesting interview with a Monica Lewinsky's ex pr-guy who has written a book about Having your 15 Minutes of Fame and how to handle it.

Seems that with the internet we are all public figures!  And as I know from my internet marketing, once it is out there, it never dies.  Think of that when you or your kids go to Facebook or the other social media!  As I am an actress, I do my own marketing and have done for some time, as I never could afford anyone better than myself...

Just succeeded in getting myself in Michael Levine's newsletter - as people sighted around town, as I ran into John Landis of Animal House at his wife Deborah's  presentation for her new Hollywood costume book at the Mikimoto Pearls of Wisdom Series.  We chatted about old movies becuase we all love them - and anything about them - Seems that Landis is uncomfortable with the kids lauding him like the Marx Brothers - and he is concerned that his wife's students don't know who Garbo is!   Don't they get Turner Classic Movies, I asked.
 

So it's weirdness as usual - but I am still here - How are you guys?

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The wkend started out on Friday with a lovely gratis presentation about pearls in classic Hollywood costumes in the Mikimoto Pearl store in Beverly Hills.  And after we drank champagne!  (Think I was invited to this from signing up on a Mikimoto site for a contest??) I had decided that I had to get OUT more - and freebie events was a way to start.

Heard that there was another costume exhibit by the same Deborah Nadoolman Landis at the relatively new Pickford Center in Hollywood. As we were in town, we checked it out on Saturday (the only day the public really has access there) . It was about costume in color and in its own way was a revelatiotion.  I was most impressed by a dress from a Star in Born (mid 1950's)-  I had thought that the colors of those films came from the saturated nature of the film - but the COSTUMES were actually in saturated colors!! That dress was an almost blinding saffron!  At the same time I signed up for the events at the Motion Picture Academy (they do the Oscars.)

We scored at the bargain table at the  local Office Depot across the street- and got some stationery goodies - some to use for work and some good deals on pens (orig. $5.99 reduced to $1) I rummaged through all the dollar bins....Got some little things for gifts - good deals....

We then went shopping at the local 99 Cent Store - and got lots of food - they have produce there now - I always get salad dressing and canned goods and so on and those little packages of pocket tissues - They had a bag of kiwis and a box of strawberries for 99 cents! And tins of imported cookies!  And packages of almonds (for snacks).

Then hubby and I walked up and down Vermont Ave. to see if we wanted to go to the movies - but nothing we wanted to see - we try to go to the movies so often and manage to miss the flicks we would really like to see. So we ended up perusingof offerings of the Skylight bookstore and having an early dinner at a little Greek place right next door.

I went into Squaresville, the vintage shop, to see how much they were asking for vintage 70's colored vinyl Samsonite luggage pieces -  I had gotten a little bag up in in Ventura in a thrift shop for $3?? whereas they were $20 there!  But they had a sale box - and I did find some great bargains - a silk georgette sleeveless top in an orange print and a rayon summer dress and a sequined tube top for $2 each.  (I had seen a similar top on the net for $30 down from $150 or so!) The top will look good eventually under a jacket. Seem to be able to judge my sizes more or by eye - as everything fit well when I finally tried them on at home. (These were all out-of-season things - always the best deals!)

When a woman next to me at the Mikimoto event on Friday asked me what my favorite vintage shop was (I had worn a vintage brooch and silk scarf) - I found myself saying the thrift shops of Ventura, as that's really where I have scored my best deals.  I am sure the antique pickers scour the place, too - to take their finds back to L.A. to be marked up, witness the markup of a piece of Samsonite.

Then that evening I found myself taking out some arcylic fun fur I had gotten at the 99 Cent store months ago and whipped up a little blk scarf with red and grey and pink bits in it.  It was too short - but I put on on a long fringe - which I ended up liking A LOT. 

Taking up my knitting again, I think.  Want just to make some shawls - easy stuff - I have a whole collection of shawls, as they seem perfect for California - I threw on a rose pink one I got years ago over my jacket to go out in the rain to the pearl presentation...I like to have them in all sorts of colors....maybe when I finish with the blue one I started I will do a yellow - don't have a good yellow one. I have an assortment of yarn deals I have gathered and needles, too! Even finally found my yarn needles, which I had misplaced.

There was supposed to be rain this wkend - but they were wrong - just chilly - and I want to get out for my walk before my standing Sunday gig - so gotta go, see ya.  What fun things do you do on your weekends?

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Hi - not much to report, except that I am keeping a scented candle alive by using matches as wicks and making sure that they don't drown.  The candle is in a tin - so I want to use up the scented wax.  (also have my aluminum pie plate behind it to keep the heat.)Signed up for a free candle from a freebie site- & saw that their scented candles in bottles cost $16!! Boy, am I going to make those scented candles LAST. 

Other than that I got an invite to a free cocktail party sponsored by Chambord for week after next - a free night out.  And I am going to try to go to the Mikimoto pearl costume talk tomorrow - but it's so damp & rainy here - One likes to stay home if one can to avoid all those who have forgotten how to drive on a wet street! And it's going to be rainy for the wkend - ugh - and when we spent the last sunny wkend in the city because of my alumnae function! Hubby is going to get boatitis...

Oh, Michelle Obama does wear her clothes well - but not my body type! I like her style - but who would have thought of a yellow ensemble in the winter?  Looked great, tho. Ditto the ballgown! Me? I went through the previous sheath period and it doesn't flatter me AT ALL and my arms get COLD. Wonder how Michelle kept herself WARM??

Oh my buddy sent me a RED clarinet which I have inherited from his cousin in Virginia, who sadly died last weekend.  I can actually PLAY it!  I used to be a good clarinet player, but let it go - but with this student instrument, I see the possibility of getting my "lip" or embouchre (sp?) BACK and playing.   Another project.  I got out my old music (& I mean OLD) - There is some sense to keeping things, but then I want to keep EVERYTHING - if only I had the room.  That's why we pay for a storage space!

Do you save everything, too?

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Back to the routine at the computer - looking for acting work and doing minor PR and my thrifty blogging and my freebie hunting and such.  I use the computer during the day, as hubby has it at night to do work.  Luckily it's in the living room, so I watch the tube and we chat on and off.  when I went to bed early last night he said that he missed me and didn't know what to watch on TV (seems I pick the shows mostly) and then he admitted that he used to be a network guy - But there is so little good stuff on the networks - and they seem to be going down. 

All production is off here in L.A. - fewer commercials - fewer sitcoms - fewer residuals.  Some folks I know who have depended on that $ coming in are hurting.  Luckily I am well fixed - and don't have to worry about just paying the rent right now.

As you know, frugality has been my byword for years.  Everyone thought I was nuts to hold onto my little apartment (I have lived here for 30 years!) - but there was never really a good alternative - and I kept it when I lived with hubby up at the beach - Thank heaven.

I am the oldest tenant in the building now - and as this place is rent-controlled, we have a good deal - and even protected by the city if the landlord defaults or something.  There is also some city oversight - I can call the Housing Commision and get action - especially being a 30-yr. tenant - so the landlord can't play games with me to get us out.  I learned the value of rent-controlled apartments in NYC long ago. 

But I have earned my rent. I have put a lot into this building over the years (Sometimes I thought I was the unpaid manager) - getting trash picked up - calling the cops if there were problems - talking the old landlord not to pave over the front garden - planting the sidebeds when they were just hay - all sorts of things - so this place is better than ever.  Although I mourn the blooms on the roses which the clumsy gardeners have inexplicably cut down to the twig - just when they were blooming so beautifully, too.  Go figure.  They will grow back, but it will take a while - poor plants.

But then I don't like the gardeners - because things in the garden plots appear after they have come - A friend told me about someone in the hills who had huge urns disappear!  The best way is to have things somewhat damaged out there that can't be recycled so easily!

But on the other hand, if you want to dispose of something large - leave it on the curb marked FREE. 

But back to the tale of a friend who has retreated to the boonies somehow - It's amazing that the tables are somewhat turned on him and others whom I know - Again, everyone thought I was nuts - but see how it's all turned out.  I have a nice little life - and still in the city, too.  And my husband just got a raise!

And we are used to our used cars and shopping for goodies in thrift shops - and all the thrifty measures I blog about -  Someone else we know works for the State of California and his work week has been cut to 4 days - & he loses that pay - Don't think he is prepared for that -

Sure our lives may be small - but snug and "bug in a rug" as we say to each other - and that's not half bad - no?  How do you make yourselves comfy?

(And I really impressed hubby by getting the fax machine via - no, not FC, I was mistaken - but ReuseIt - a local Yahoo group.)

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My hubby has been saying that I needed a night out - and the reception in Santa Monica for the new Prez of Barnard College was just the ticket. And a freebie! (but of course, there is always a pitch for contributions.)

My outfit worked out more or less as planned - the short silk kimono jacket I got in Ojai a while ago in the b/w checked pattern with bits of pink and green - over my shiny black nylon pants and an aqua sweater top.  The pants were from the Saks 5th Ave. outlet long ago and the sweater was a Nicole Miller from a S.M. thrift shop - and my little silver ballet flats a deal from long ago and a knock-off Chanel-type purse from heaven-knows-where.  I get to take out my little treasures - like a string of vintage black beads , a sparkly barette I got at a coffee house - and an Indian bracelet in black and silver and gold bits of mirror - and a pair of funky vintage 50's clip earrings with rhinestones, gold-toned mounts and a plastic fringe!

Bargains all, of course.  We drank soda water and red wine and ate the lovely canapes in the backyard under picturesque regularly placed palm trees and with heaters and waiters in black with trays milling about. Some others were going off to dinner - but I decided just to eat the canapes - as they were scrumptious!

I reconnected with the Alumnae Association and the Club here, with which I was at one time very much involved - and volunteered to do some more work for the college.  That's always stimulating. (And at one point led to trips to NYC - that was fun.)

You can get a lot out of volunteering - if only occasional cocktail parties! But seriously - I like win/win situations - so if you can find a place where you could get trained and gain experience in something you would like to pursue - like ESL tutoring - then by all means go for it.  I used to try to get as much computer time as I could - and being a college rep surely helped mly public speaking skills.  (Whew, the first time I made a presentation - was I nervous - seems like a million years ago...)

The fact that Michelle Obama is emphasizing volunteerism appeals to me -

What have you volunteered for lately??

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Just been commenting on other blogs here at myfrugallife - it's fun to commune with others who are on the same thrifty wavelength as I am.  For so long it was really taboo and I had to be a closet pennypincher!

Sent off for free theatre tix which come from my Emeritus theatre class  - They are for the Geffen Theater here - really top notch drama and pricey! I do miss going to the theatre and other cultural events - but the tix are so expensive - so I comb the net looking for freebie events and free tix and discounts.  And we do manage to get out.  The Geffen is on the W. Side - which makes it a schlepp for us - but every few months it is worth it! 

I miss my trips to NYC when I would go to the TKTS booth in Duffy Sq. and get discount tix for the dramas I like - which are ALWAYS on sale (unlike the musicals).  If you are in NYC - remember to bring enough CASH for the tix - and if you like musicals on the last trip we found we could get cheaper tix at the box office - because only premium tix were at TKTS.

Getting freebies - today a full size natural deodorant sent via UPS??? And yesterday several of my free mags.

Oh, read about young people burdened by student loans who are moonlighting at second jobs.  But the young woman they profiled had a $300 per month car payment!  If she is strapped, why in tarnation is she forking out $300/mo for a car when she could save some $ and get a good used one?? Doesn't make sense to me.  Wonder if other young people I know will end up working their a**es off because they remain willfully ignorant of thrift???

Signed up for a FREE Mikimato pearl even in Beverly Hills because a Hollywood costume person is going to a presentation about the use of pearls in classic costumes.  Turns out they are giving us champagne and a gift certificate! (Not that I could afford those pearls, even with a certificate - but who knows?)

Just feel like a night out.  Maybe the reception in Santa Monica for the new President of my old college, Barnard, will give me a fix.  It's being held in the house of one of the wealthier alumnae - so we get a glimpse of how the other half - or is it 5%? - live.  I am such a voyeur!

Listened to a very interesting interview online at KCRW's site with Matt Miller about his new book THE TYRANNY OF DEAD IDEAS.  Miller agrees with me that in this time of rapid social change, we just have to give up some of out assumptions that just don't WORK anymore.  (One of his is employee-based healthcare.)  It's probably my study of sociology - but I think that we all have to keep our eyes on the ball and distinguish what's really going out there as opposed to what conventional wisdom is telling us.  (Like the stockmarket isn't risky!)

History helps a lot here - To back to the BBC program on PBS The Ascent of Money - the econometrics geniuses who crashed a few years ago had only used FIVE YEARS of data to base their formulas on - 5 years?  That doesn't even go back to the Vietnam War - not to mention WW II & maybe just barely the invasion of Iraq!  It's building a tower of numbers on SAND! Yet they received a Nobel prize before everything went south, which just goes to show  common sense is always a good thing!

I was urged to invest some of my money with Merrill Lyncha few years back  - boy, am I glad I didn't do THAT!

And so it is for many common kneejerk ideas.  Friends thought I was nuts to hold onto this apartment and pay rent while I was away - but coming from NYC I knew the value of a rent-controlled place - and my reasonable rent relfects that today (plus the benefits of some city oversight!)  And I knew it was cheaper to re-paint and refurbish this place than move - Why should I pay twice as much for a very similar apartment with new paint when I could paint it myself?  I got even got some mney from the old landlord - (the new corporate one wouldn't have done that...)

I also elected to refurbish the vintage stove in the apartment and claim it as MINE ( I had seen others just toss the same stoves out on the street) because I knew that those stoves were built like battleships and the gas technology hasn't changed that much - and celebrities were paying top dollar for similar refurbished stoves!  So we got a MUCH nicer stove than a gimcrack new one for about the same $. (At the same time we got a very nice frig from the same folks - works great...There is such a trade in used frigs, etc. in L.A. that I don't know that ever buying a new one would be totally worth it.) I could go on - but you get the idea - Think for yourself and reason things out for yourself - It pays.

Wish I had someplace to go for the inauguration - The events near me are all bars - and as my hubby had been sober for years, I dunno....Maybe we will watch it at home on TV.

Oh - applied to have a nut houseparty - (go to www.houseparty.com) - they will give us nuts, etc.  Think it's a good excuse to entertain our friends - either in the city or at the beach....There is also a charity houseparty deal on the net (for Nepalese children)- and if I get the nuts, maybe I could combine the two.

That's it - have to get my outfit together for Saturday - How you all doing???

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