I had somehow gotten into my noggin that a pants press would be a nice thing to have - as Hubby's khakis come out of the wash impossible wrinkled, and he has a tendency to give me a bit of a hard time because I am not enthusiastic about dragging out the ironing board to iron them.

The new ones can be $200-300 - but I had seen some for just under $100 on EBay  - but couldn't bring myself to spend that much.  Well - hubby found one in a local Out of the Closet thriftstore (lots of men's stuff there - ) for $20 - so I told him to get it.  We could return it in a week  - but I am experimenting with it - and altho it's not really designed for it, I am learning to more or less iron the khakis with the press. (There is a knack to it.) I can set it up in the living room & press while watching the tube - which is MUCH better than ironing - & any minor wrinkling can be dealt with using my trusty wrinkly spray of 1/2 water & 1/2 fabric softener (Boy, does THAT save a lot of work!)

We have found lots of great appliances at thrift stores - but this presser and the little movable AC unit are both gems (& would have cost mucho anywhere else). Ditto our portable dishwasher for the apartment  - they are more expensive than the regular ones!  But at a thriftshop - affordable!

Images:

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<a href="http://booksneeze.com/reviews/blogger/10566?ref=badge"><img alt="I review for BookSneeze" src="http://booksneeze.com/images/booksneeze_badge.png" border="0" width="200" height="150"></a>

They send me booksfree & I review them - Just starting with this program.

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Have run into giveaways on the net - including giveawaydiva - which you should check out if you like to win stuff.

This giveaway came from www.freestufftimes.com - and is called "Blogging for Bling" and it is for Chunky Bling, a site that has lots of lovely crystal jewelry - The Swarovski rings are a great deal for $8-$10, and they also have cool jeweled watches for as little as $8 ! I entered their name contest for a beaded, crystal watch - and this blog is another entry - but you should check them out anyway - as it's all very reasonable. (And  they do parties, too). Here are some links for you all:

1. ChunkyBling.com
2. interchangeable beaded watches
3. interchangeable charm necklaces
4. chunky jewelry
5. online jewelry party

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Have run into giveaways on the net - including giveawaydiva - which you should check out if you like to win stuff.

This giveaway came from www.freestufftimes.com - and is called "Blogging for Bling" and it is for Chunky Bling, a site that has lots of lovely crystal jewelry - The Swarovski rings are a great deal for $8-$10, and they also have cool jeweled watches for as little as $8 ! I entered their name contest for a beaded, crystal watch - and this blog is another entry - but you should check them out anyway - as it's all very reasonable. (And  they do parties, too). Here are some links for you all:

1. ChunkyBling.com
2. interchangeable beaded watches
3. interchangeable charm necklaces
4. chunky jewelry
5. online jewelry party

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Sorry, folks, I have been busy & neglected you all -

I troll craigslistla - which is particularly good, I understand - in the show biz jobs and the gigs sections in L.A. -  almost daily - and I have gotten a LOT of nice things/experiences/jobs from that free resource.

Yesterday I actually had a chance to work out with Jane Fonda herself in a W. Hollywood studio on her new exercise program for Boomers.  She said she had had a hard time getting people to come - can you imagine?  Guess that's why it was why it was on craigslist.  We were taped (having signed releases, of course) and put through a very good workout - and then shared our feedback.  There was also talk about getting copies of the program (our tapes? I don't know....) - and it could always lead to being in the final video.

It was great working with and seeing such an old pro work.  She even squeezed in interviews with Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine while she was there...The whole atmosphere was that deceptively casual & upbeat professional tone you find on well run sets.  In my experience, the higher up the ladder you go in show biz, the more calm and sane the stars seem to be.

And the day BEFORE, I went to downtown L.A. to meet Darryn Songbird of Songbird ocarinas - because he is looking for someone to represent his Songbird brand of ceramic ocarinas on YouTube,etc. playing the ocarina. I ended up being given his larger necklace ocarinas - with an octave an a half.  This ceramic flute has a nice mellow sound through most of its range - (& a $20.00 value).  So now, I am teaching myself to play the ocarina!  I do like to learn new instruments.....

Trying to get free tix to a medieval opera downtown - they are sold out, but my connections are still working it!

Oh, and I really like the new aerate 08 bodifying creme mousse Redken sent me to try.  Even without blowdrying, my hair came out very soft and without stray hairs all around....Very smooth.

Going in to see the folks at the Med3 trials on Saturday - (Another bennie from craigslist!)  It is worth it to take a look.

Images:

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The lights went out last night during a big rain storm - & we put candles up everywhere - So atmospheric! and we even had enough to give to our neighborhood lady - who otherwise would have been in the dark! I will have to take more candlelit baths - a Valentine's Day idea!

Also noodled in the dark on my concertina.  Hubby always noodles on his guitar - but I almost always play the concertina on the boat?

I seem to have lost a pair of my reading glasses - and am on the secondary ones.  Boy, am I glad I have those.

I have woven 2 little mats on my square little loom which I found with the rest of my old yarn while we were moving into the new storage area. They make nice coasters, I think.   If I can make a bigger loom (apparently you can make ones out of cardboard) I am thinking of making placemats. Whew! In the 30's they actually made HUNDREDS of these little woven wool squares & made suits and dresses and coats - even bathing suits out of them! I don't know how they made them so neat, tho.  But the modular patterns do give you ideas.

Otherwise it's been a quiet week here in Lake Woebegon come Hollywood.. Rainy & chilly.  I took several potted plants out to get some rain water & an airing. Oh - someone took the funky fruniture I put outside in the driveway area into the TRASH! Hubby found it & retrieved it all.  At least it wasn't stolen.  But everyone knows who put it out there - so why didn't they just come to me instead?  I keep on trying to claim some outside space & you really can't put out stuff that is too nice or it will get stolen - or just disappear! Here I am in S. Calif. trying to eke out a space to sit outside! How ironic. 

But all's well that ends well - see ya.

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Just some frugal things I have been doing:

• Found some sunflowers in the trashcan in front of a local florists when we were walking - with some trimming, I made a nice Van-Gogh-esque flower arrangement.  Cost = nada. (Flowers can be recycled from arrangments at churchs and events, etc.  With some pruning, you can make a perfectly nice small arrangement for your home.) Used a leaky beer stein I have and put a plastic bag in it filled with water so it doesn't leak.)
• Eating an almond snack out of the tin the Calif. Almond Board sent me - It holds @ 160 calories worth of almonds. (Or a handful = 23 almonds aprox.)
• Using recycled mousepad w/ wrist support from hubby's office.  There are often useful office materials you can find at your office which you can recycle. - Old office furniture, equipment, paper, and so on.
• Trying to download a free bird mating call from eNature.com  - they are offering free mating call animal ringtones for Valentine's Day.
• My suggestion about a frugal V Day is going to be published at wisebread.com by the frugal duchess! 
• Received a sample of "dried plums" (= prunes) from Mariani - in a nice little package and perfect to take along for lunch or a snack.  Nuts or dried or fresh fruit or a piece of cheese & some crackers make a nice little lunch or snack. Easy to grab and bring along.  I save little brown (& other small) paper bags to bring such lunches in. Reycled plastic bags work, too - I always save the ones the newspaper comes in & bags for flyers, telephone books, etc.

It really is a GAME.  And I enjoy, for example, the sunflowers a bit MORE because they were on their way out & I could rescue them! 

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Even though we see LOTS of movies on cable, hubby really likes to sit in the dark in a theatre.  He has been longing to go to the movies, but at the prices they are charging, I just haven't seen anything worth the $20-30 for the two of us, if I can just wait to see it on cable.

But a buddy got us in to a screening of YOUNG QUEEN VICTORIA with free passes and we talked to a woman on the line who went to free screenings all the time.  So I decided to find more screenings for me & hubby.  I am watching the offers in the L.A. Weekly, our local free entertainment paper (that's how we got into see YOUNG VICTORIA) and being quick as a bunny to respond to online offers from sites such as www.gofobo, as the passes go very fast!

So I snagged 2 passes to see the new Mel Gibson movie, EDGE OF DARKNESS.  The line went across the street and down the block, even though we were an hour early - & hubby almost wanted to go, but I was sort of enjoying being out on Hollywood Blvd at night in a relaxed crowd so we stayed & ended up getting in - with FREE popcorn and cokes, too! We had parked down the street at the Hollywood and Highland complex, and bought coffees to drink on the line to validate our parking, so the whole evening only cost $2 for the parking!! It was a total break from routine, and a real date night for hubby and me!

Everyone is tightening their belts - and I realize that with my freebie skills I am really getting value out of our modest income! We go to free concerts, movies  - and hear music all the time.  And since I shop at thrift stores & dollar stores, I can indulge in pieces for my wardrobe, so I feel well-dressed all the time, too.

Last night it was rainy & I wore my lovely lined bronze vinyl raincoat which I had found at a thriftshop in Solvang, a tourist area, last summer in the heat for ONE DOLLAR.  That's right folks.  And our umbrellas either are from the 99 Cent Store or were freebies from a travel conference.

Speaking of the 99 Cent Store - I went in and bought a couple of long trendy scarves and trouser socks - not to mention a few pairs of stylish underwear.  With that & deals on lotions and even vitamins and car additives, we really save a LOT of money there.  If there is an item which is a great deal, like my Citrucel, I try to buy in quantity - and it will last me several months, saving me at what used to be $10 a box, some $50-60.  Going back for some Benefiber for hubby - we saw it on the way out.

Hubby used to hate those dollar stores - but since he has seen how much money we can save there, he has gotten on the dollar store wagon, too! Great deals on sauces, soy sauce, and salad dressings, too. The pickles and relish we got up at the Dollar Tree in Ventura were outstanding, not to mention the odd catsup brand.

I allow indulge myself with yarn from the 99 Cent stores - with that & my thrift shop yarn purchases, I can pursue my hobby at a price that is reasonable.  And i have gorgeous scarves for every occasion!  Last night I wore my tweedy copper-colored fuzzy scarf which goes perfectly with my bronze raincoat. And the shearling boots I bought a few years ago at a sporting goods store on sale (for my winter trip to NYC). I had sprayed them with waterproofing, so I didn't worry about wearing them in the wet - & they DID keep my feet nice and toasty.

I really don't make much money - I never have - so I feel that my freebies are contributions to our budget in as much as we have saved the $30 we would have spent in a movie theatre instead of a screening, for example - hubby always likes to get drinks & popcorn...And we could go out and enjoy ourselves instead of thinking about money.

I know that members of my family are getting grim over their belt-tightening - but I refuse to succumb to that - There is too much STUFF out there for the picking - IF you know where to LOOK.  So, COURAGE my pennypinchers! 

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Hubby & I went on a mall walk yesterday (Sat.) - I had a coupon from Sephora for some Bare Minerals makeup (from an email from their membership program) - & another for a little pearl bracelet from a jewelry store - which was motivating.  I am trying to walk more - so any motivation is great!

We also were given some tiny hand santiziers as a freebie by one store - it's nice & small to fit in my purse. The bracelet is really NICE - I couldn't believe it!

We walked about & went into the Barnes & Noble bookstore - where we both found $5 books on the bargain table  - Mine is a hardcover Knitting from up down book, which I had heard about - reduced from $25 or so!  I would never have bought this hardback - Those are the kind which I stand & read for inspiration in bookstores.  Finally found a deal on one, and I have already started a new project on my circular needles. We'll see how that goes. (Hubby had our parking validated at the bookstore - so the trip cost nada. We had parked on the fancy paid side...)

Using my M3 skin care regime - nice! Hubby was remarking how much women spend on themselves for beauty projects because he was watching HSN and a Lancome presentation. (I had gotten some little Lancome eye shadow & lipstick at a thrift shop for $1 over Xmas.)  That's why I join all the clubs - like membership at Sephora - and the ones for the fashion magazines, and answer the L'Oreal questionnaires! Not to mention the skin care trial. (I looked it up on the net & whew! each tube was $35 & the whitener $100 = several hundred dollars of skin care in my little bag!)

Got some more pretty underwear, 2 scarves & some trouser socks at the 99 Cent Store.  I am really frugally chic!

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It's finally stopped raining!  Read today about a woman who filled three rainbarrels during the downpour. We need cisterns in L.A. for rainwater - as they did in Biblical times!  But I live in an apt. & can't do any of that.

So what have I been doing?

• Filed my late taxes via efile - did I mention that?  So EZ - Now I no longer dread doing them for 2009.
• Part of a skin care trial & received $$ worth of skin care to use - It's over 2 months - & whew, what a savings that is! Had my before pix taken today - Alas, my growing double chin!  Gotta work on that.
• Saved a knitting project - by making the square into a poncho by cutting a hole for the neck! I then stiched around it to keep it from raveling.  Had to do something as it was much larger than I had planned!
• Got a coupon for free Bare Minerals from Sephora
• In the mail received a coupon for a free pearl bracelet! The jewelry store at the mall must want us just to come in....
• Found some more trendy underwear at the 99 Cent Store...
• Also found Citrucel fiber - which I had seen for $10 - 99 cents - the other jelly equivalent for fiber was $13 for the generic! So I am stocking up!  I have gotten 10 which = $100 worth of product!?!
• Also bought some trouser socks, which are about the same price as in Target, in a pkg of 3.
• Mark rec'd his tix for the free L.A. Philharmonic concert - hope mine are coming soon.
• Hubby had the prescription lenses of my bifocals (which I use only for knitting in front of the TV) put into a $12 pair of reading glass frames he had bought at the drug store.  So for $30, I have an extra pair of glasses! Cool. So smart of hubby. 
• Signed up for free movie passes online.

Just thought I would clue you in on the ongoing saga!

How are you doing?

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It is pouring - strange for S. California - Here rain gear seems silly until there is a deluge - Luckily I have my 99 Cent Store umbrella - & 2 large ones I got at a trade show a few years ago. And I am so proud of my raincoat - it's bronze vinyl - lined - & cost me $1 last summer at a thriftshop in Danish tourist spot, Solvang, CA - (I don't go into the shops, but there are two great thriftshops I always visit!) Then I wear my plastic shoes, so if they get wet, nothing will be damaged. Also have some rubber boots if it's really bad.I I am saying all this because S.Californians don't adapt well to the rain & cold.  They continue to drive too fast & get into accidents - and wear thin clothes & shiver! I am living proof that that is NOT necessary!

After postponing the taxes - even after an extension, hubby got on me while he was home on MLK Day to do them.  I tried efiling for the first time - & was amazed that it was so EASY.  Did the taxes in about an hour - altho we had to pay for it - Still the $60 was MUCH less than the $200 we paid one year because hubby brought the taxes to a tax preparer! (We didn't get any refunds that year, either...whereas when I do my taxes myself, we DO....??) Did get a refund, but it just goes to back taxes...Now I will have no trepidation about doing this year's taxes.  (Just hope I don't get audited or anything...)

There was a break in the rain on MLK Day, too - & hubby & I went out for a walk around the trendy Vermont area - & explored.  I window shopped & picked up a pan pipe at Goodwill for $4 - a bargain! We then had coffee at the French bistro - very nice.  Just getting together with your spouse & sitting down in a pleasant place & having tea & coffee & a bit of cake is such a civilized European habit we should think about adopting! My midwestern mother-in-law has that habit, and we joined her on our last visit - and then continued to mall walk - Mall walking is a great solution for bad weather walking (hot or cold - or wet)- altho I tend to buy something - however small - every time..Hubby says I am easily pleased - it may be so, but I had a lovely afternoon.  It was like a DATE. (& a cheap one, at that).

We are getting CDs of movies up for awards because I am in the Screen Actor's Guild.  And there are some screenings which let in SAG members - altho most only let the folks in the movie Academy in. That's a nice side benefit. Have to hone in on screenings in Hollywood - there are lots of free ones - If you check the L.A. Weekly entertainment paper - or the online screening sites - like campuscircle.com -  It's especially nice when we can go at the ArcLight a short way away - the parking there is free, too.

Also called in for free tix for the L.A. Philharmonic's community concert in E. L.A. in February.  As my buddy says, "Free is our favorite color!"

Speaking of free, I realize that I award myself for my daily hours at the computer with freebies - applied today to try to win some mascara from Borghese thru Luxuryspot.com - and I filled out more surveys for L'Oreal.  I haven't been able to participate in trials of products for them yet - but I get free product for every 5 surveys I fill out!  Last time I got eye cream which in the store is $20!  I did then pick up some anti-wrinkle wands at the drugstore because it was buy one, get the next one 1/2 off - & At $14, I got $7 off!.  Not bad.

I do mix my cheaper & more expensive products - with great success, I may add! When I stay at home, some wrinkle toner & frankly cheap Nivea cream is quite nice.  Have to wear something with SPF when I go out....And I always add a dab of with hazel beneath my eyecream - but you knew that! (& Vaseline on the top eyelid - gee, a pot lasts for months....)

We are feasting on homemade chicken soup - throwing in various veggies - perfect for this weather! (This is due to the stainless steel stock pot, with lid, I made hubby buy for $7 at a thrift shop a month or so ago, saying it was perfect for soup - & it is!) I love vintage American cookware - it lasts forever!

And I am knitting another project - a vest?  Out of my stash - I am going to have to get used to creative knitting to just knit from my stash of odds & ends...But I realize that that's the sort of knitting I like - SIMPLE with varied color & texture.  A machine does a much better job of straight knitting than I can ever do....And now my buddy is bringing me thriftshop yarn HE finds to add to the mix...But 9 balls at the really low price of $2 a ball would still be almost $20 & 1/2 the price of my huge stash!)

Got the electric heater on - & closed off the living room from the rest of the apartment - We have a lovely pocket door to close off the hall, bathroom & bedroom...and dressing warmly day & night! It's even nice to feel a bit chilly - all that sunshine can get too much at times.  And luckily we are NOT in either a mudslide or a flood area!  Staying home warm & dry is very cozy - & I am glad that the week is SLOW....

How are you all in the SNOW?

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Ugh - have a gum infection - which means another round of dental investigation, as I try to figure out the best way to proceed.  Being a performer, this is vital! I am supplementing my antibiotics with LOTS of Vit. C & an herbal gum treatment - getting probiotics to protect the flora & fauna in the bod!

Is this going to be another "teeth & gum period"?  I go through them periodically....Might be the time to get my implants & even consider veneers for my 40-yr-old dental work?  I could then go whiter in color for my smile....

All of my Soc. Sec. $ is going to go for teeth for a while, alas...

We spend a lot of $ on meds & medical issues  - so I try to save everywhere else.  I have 2 pairs of eyeglasses with vintage frames I picked up for practically nothing - which saved a LOT on the the glasses - & was all covered by hubby's insurance.

Found a deal on 10 pairs of sunglasses for $10 + shipping at graveyardmall.com - and I ordered the bunch.  I am always losing sunglasses, and somehow, I am down to one or 2 pairs at the moment & the pickings at the dollar store have been slim lately....But 10 prs should tide me over quite nicely!  We will see.

Xmas was bountiful - but now we are back to pinching our pennies, per usual....How are you all?  Holding on against inflation & all that stuff, I trust...(if you crunch the numbers, we all are a litle bit broker than before due to the change in our currency's value, oh, well....) At least hubby & I are very used to dealing with these issues with frugality - so no painful learning curve for US....

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Back to normal after spending the holidays with family visits & then a long wkend at the boat.  Bless that boat.

• Hubby made a new step for the boat by bolting & glueing a smaller thriftshop blue plastic step stool to what seems like a platform left over from step exercising (also thriftshop & also blue plastic). It's great & cost about $10 as opposed to $60 for one from West Marine! I love the fact that the colors match!
• Picked up surplus plastic table, small bench from someone who was moving to put in our driveway space where we can sit. I like to use used stuff out there so that it all doesn't get stolen! I keep on putting chairs & little tables out there - but if they do disappear, if it was salvage, then it's not so painful.
• Do you know people are uglifying their nice things so they won't be taken?  I do the same with my used stuff.  We have real scratches on the car(s).
• Exchanged paperback books at Bart's in Ojai & received a $50.00 credit!  (Also cleaned out a corner of the apt.) - Hubby was astounded & bought himself a book, and I got some music.  What with our purchases, still have $20.00 credit left for next time!  I get thriftshop paperbacks to begin with - so it keeps reading costs LOW.
• Hubby found generic Zyrtec - which saved us some $ on allergy medicine - as the real kind is $$.
• Starting to knit what I hope will be a squarish sleeveless top.  Wish me luck.
• Hubby also found more yarn for me at the thriftshop where he turned in the books that the used bookstore didn't want! (Got compliments on my tweedy scarves which I gave out.)
• Remember that you can learn to do a LOT yourself.  I myself have put down tile, painted, sewn, and knitted - And my latest self haircut looks very nice indeed!
• We went to a very nice coffee house concert of one of our favorite Ventura musicians - Nathan McKuen - for the price of parking at the Staples Center - as hubby remarked!
• Played mellow pop 70's music at local coffee house and the Deer Lodge in Ojai with our buddy George - and got free drinks!
• Enjoyed the music of Arlene Kohl - another 70's revival singer/guitar player at the Farmer's Market in Channel Islands Harbor. Support your local talent! (We peruse the local "rags" to see who is playing where - a baroque concert at a church next wkend...)

Onward & upward for 2010!!

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Sorry, folks - I have neglected my blog due to the fact that this Xmas season seemed to be particularly busy - Hubby & I appeared as Santa & Mrs. Claus - & then we had to prepare for a last minute Xmas gig - paid! - and on to drive up to Bakersfield to see my brother & his family - and then turning around & driving up to visit my brother-in-law & mother-in-law up in Sacramento for New Years! Whew!

Luckily we had extra $ from the Santa gig + the music gig + the $ from my French commercial! And we rented a car (with an upgrade it turned into a van) to drive up to Sacramento to save our aging cars. Had an Entertainment Today discount - that helped, too.  Not too much gas to get up there & back,either.

Gave everyone my handmade scarves - Still LOTS more - & I am contemplating what to do with them once everyone I know has gotten one...

My Spanish sister-in-law passed on one of her aborted knitting projects - with needles and some nice fuzzy yarn - and I took apart the scarf she had started, as the fuzzy yarn needed more yarn backing for my taste, and expanded it into a lovely tweedy GREEN shawl with all the greens (& touches of blue, etc.) that I had.  Not to long to do - & very cozy.  It's nice, because I didn't really have a green shawl in the repertoire...

Hubby left most of my luggage HOME on top of the bed we discovered in Sacramento - so I had to go shopping in the thrift shops of Sacramento - Various thrift shops do have different character - lots of biz clothes there - but I did score a few tops, some brand new boat shoes (!), and some jeans, + a pair of jeweled plastic J. Crew ballerina flats for New Years Eve.  I pulled together an outfit from my thrift shop finds plus a grey Michael Kors sweater I have and wore the amethyst necklace I had gotten for Xmas - and was quite well-dressed for a home New Years Eve...(Still wish hubby would understand the difference between thrift shop prices & real ones, though....For the price of one $30 GAP tee I acquired a whole outfit of very good quality!)

Curiously,I found that the suburban thrift shops of both Bakersfield & Sacramento are pricier than I am used to - not that the prices are anywhere near retail! BOOKS were more expensive, I found - at $1.00 and $1.49 for paperbacks....but I recycle those, anyway - for exchange...)

We had put up little trees and it was easy to take them all down again! Although I miss the decorations - they will be fresh next year.  That's a bargain tip - get nice bargain decorations that you can recycle year after year!

Now we have to adjust to the post-holiday exercise & diet season! The ads are everywhere.  I didn't really indulge over the holidays - but everyone needs to watch their weight - so I am, too! Thought about joining Curves - but there is a $100+ membership fee - which makes it more than Bally's??

Whew and whew again!  Happy New Year everyone!!

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Have been working as an entertainer for Xmas - so haven't been blogging.  Hubby & I worked as Santa & Mrs. Claus at Channel Islands Harbor - (He got a suit, I had to put together my outfit) - It was drizzly & chilly - but the kids were adorable & hubby is a great Santa.

Last night my group The Pickwicks was revived for a holiday party down near the airport.  Hubby, Eldon Turner & I played and sang and rang bells & jingle bells & a good time was had by all.  In the last minute we had to "fluff" our equipment set up, but luckily there was a 99 Cent Store in the neighborhood which saved the day.  Besides the ribbon and so on - I actually found a pewter VERA scarf (must be 20+ years old) which was real SILK for 99 cents.  One never knows what one will find.

I wore my $12 wonder dress (acquired from Graveyardmall.com a few months ago - there were so cheap - I bought a black AND a red one). I twisted the top to give me a V neck & added a black jacket I had had for years & the tights that I had gotten 2 for 1 at the drug store for being Mrs. Claus (one blue pair and one black) - and the brocade mules I had gotten at a thrift store. Oh - also the earrings from the thrift store in Ojai - and bracelets from the old ladies' thriftshop in Camarillo - & a combination of a ruffly scarf from the 99 Cent Store & a gold sequined one from another thriftshop.  One's wardrobe does come in handy at times like this.

Have started to give out the holiday scarves - and fashion photographer Peter Brown wore his to his photo shoot for designer Cynthia Vincent & got compliments from Cynthia and another fashionista! And another friend I gave a scarf to loved the orange in the knit - which went with his orange emergency jacket - and declared that it was great that the garter stitching knit made the scarf grip at the neck and not slip - an advantage I hadn't noticed before.  And another lady admired the pink one I wore as Mrs. Claus & said it was a nice length & width (i.e. - long and slightly skinny).  It's a flattering shape for me....

Using the gift bags we receive from Maker's Mark (they have been sending us stuff for years....) - but I am putting old greeting cards on them to somewhat disguise the whiskey bottle pattern! We also got Maker's Mark tissue - and I still have some wrapping paper left over from last Xmas.

Found some little ornaments at the old ladies' thrift shop for $.25 each - nice wooden ones - which I added to our little tree which we put up in what Mark calls an "altar" area near the desk.  I also bought 2 bunches of Xmas foliage from the Dollar Tree - which I cut up with wire cutters - and secured the tree into a Santa cocoa tin from last season - with gilded pine cones & such. I glammed up the straw wreath for the door with blonde fake poinsettias from another Dollar Tree bunch - and added a gold bow and a red ribbon to tie it to the door.  Looks great - for a $2 outlay....

But really, I have not bought a lot this year - just recycled decorations from years past - which is a nice thing to do anyway...And the angels - and other figurines and such  - were bargains of years past.

Mark found me a lovely bouquet of roses and lilies at the supermarket on Sunday night for a pittance - and I mixed them up with another bouquet we had picked up at the Farmer's Market - My buddy told me that if I take the pollen tips from the lilies very carefully, they will last longer.  I never knew that.  I am pruning the roses, as the outside petals get dried up - but it's been almost a week now - and I still have my flowers!

Mark has put on the recording of us at the party - It's so nice to enjoy making music and make some $ with it, too!  We can do this forever! Looks like we are reviving our musical partnership with our buddy Eldon - for fun & profit. We hooked up with a very nice lady with an entertainment company who books all sorts of little events and parties - She stopped by & was impressed & more work will be coming from there. And we are so versatile - we have done Xmas music - & 70's pop & standards & children's music & Renaissance music & classical & church music....You ask for it - other than hip hop - we got it..

Now that's an example of how to make $ from your hobby - if you want to call our music making a hobby. It does help to defray the expenses of instruments and so on...And it's such fun!

How are your holidays going?  Hope everything is very festive!

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Hooray! the trim/cut I did myself to my hair yesterday worked out fine!  My hair was so long I just couldn't stand it anymore, and I haven't been able to get to a hairdresser - & I was reading about hair cut "sales in L.A. of cuts being reduced from $265 to something like $165 !!so I took out my new sharp shears and did my old DIY cutting tricks.  (1) make sure your hair is really LONG, so there is margin for error (2) I cut off the back by gathering my dry hair up in a flat barrette, and then holding it up in front of a mirror, and cutting straight across (this may take a few tries) (3) I then straighten out the ends dry and (4) I trim around my face by twisting the hair in wisps and cutting little bits to soften the edges. (This is supposed to work for bangs, too.) (5) Then I check when hair is clean and wet for any last minute cleaning up.

I also renewed my streaking by applying plain household hydrogen peroxide to the new growth area at the top and front of my head several times - until the blonding more or less matched the rest of the old hair which had been streaked.  I just put it on and then let dry.  The front is fine now, but I will have to do more in the back crown later.  Now I will shampoo with colored shampoo - 1/2 blonde & 1/2 red (ditto for 1/2 & 1/2 colored conditioner) letting the shampoo stay on for !5+ minutes....

I have a very simple cut with a side part - so it's not too hard.  Although, of course, a professional would have given me layers - that's for my next real hair cut!

As an actress I try to keep my hairstyle more or less the same -otherwise I would have to get new professional pics taken all the time!  And I like to use mine UP - not throw out the old ones! I don't know why in show biz it is considered to be good practice to throw $ at problems, rather than keep overhead low, as in any other business! And what's more - if you maintain more or less the same flattering hairstyle, as did, for example, old movie actress Claudette Colbert - you will gain an ageless quality all we females need.  It's all about trying to develop your own professional style.

Went to Santa Monica for an audition and stayed and windowshopped on the 3rd St. Promenade - bought myself a bargain cocktail ring for $5 - with a big black "stone" - I then customized it by painting the raised pattern around the stone with a blackish sparkly nail polish - and got an effect of marcasite, which really made a difference to the ring.  I had looked at similar ones for $30 - but the cocktail ring trend will probably be fleeting - so this one will do fine.  (Note:  colored metallic nail polish is great for repairing/resurfacing/enhancing the finish of inexpensive costume jewelry.  You can use auto touchup paint, too.)

Most of my Xmas shopping/making is DONE - so I mostly can avoid the crush during the season - it was nice to walk in the middle of a weekday along the Promenade - for exercise in the brish weather - and avoid the crowds....

 Happy holiday time to you all!

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Hubby & I drove up to the boat after Thanksgiving - no traffic! and went to the new & old Goodwills on our way.  Hubby scored in the new one - & got 2 sets of sheets -&  car seats for the Thunderbird - (we saved $40 there over new & the items were still in their packaging!)  Hubby also bought some pairs of pants for himself & found a pair of cargo pants for me on the dollar rack.  I just found jewelry - a bracelet & what I think is an amber necklace - (it was $.50 or something - so who cares?)

At the next Goodwill, I did find some clothes - a tshirt, some paperbacks, 2 mohair sweaters to take apart for yarn - some yarn and thread for my craft knitting - 

Other thrift shops!  We also stopped into 2 thrift shops on our way to Ojai on Saturday to hear hubby's buddy play at a coffeehouse that has a nice patio - I found a pink fleece hoodie for $2.99 and also a nice tote bag in an interesting golden green patent - 

But we really SCORED at what we call the animal thrift shop!! Someone had brought in a batch of yarn of all sorts & hubby offered $10 for the lot & they were glad not to have to mark it!  Whew! a whole BIG bag!! I also found a fashion ring for $1.99 - (I had bought bargain yarn at the Oriental bargain store, too @ $1 each - but the colors were limited... & I had found some ecru embroidery floss up around the 2nd Goodwill for $.20 a skein - so I will experiment with that, too.)

The only problem now is to find a way to STORE it at home.  I like to have it OUT to check for color combinations, so that complicates matters! But for about $22 or so  - I got a LOT of yarn - which should keep me busy.  

So - here is a tip - CHECK your local thriftshops for YARN if you want to keep your material costs WAY DOWN. 

P.S. Hubby had several slightly used tires put on the Mercury & with that & an oil change/fluid check -  it only came to $85!! I have had good experiences with getting gently used tires from our mechanic's place! They will last as long as the car, hubby predicts!  (& NEW ones would have cost a LOT more!)

We are actually a bit ahead for once.  What a change!  Still waiting for the check for the French commercial I did - and we are going to make $ playing Santa & Mrs. Claus at Channel Islands Harbor 12/12 - Want to pay off the back bills & then bank some $ - for emergencies & travel?  Onward & upward - even in the holiday season! 

P.P.S. Almost forgot to tell you about the nice RING I got at the church thriftshop in Ojai! - It's got a hall mark - & I can't figure out whether it's silver or stainless steel - but it fits nicely over my wedding ring for exra pizazz - at $1 I could hardly go very WRONG!

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 Spending a quiet day at home because I almost lost my voice yesterday & felt crummy - recovering & to the boat on Friday. 

Do you know that you can download FREE Xmas & other music @ amazon.com? - Go to free downloads & click on name of artist to get entire albums rather than single songs.  Listening to an early music album right now. 

Going to wear my $10 Target sale dress (I had a $10 off Target coupon, so $20- $10 = $10) again for Thanksgiving dinner + thrift shop leopard ballet flats & sale leggings.  Total = $25?? Hubby got compliments at work last week on how sharp he looked & everything he had on had come from a thrift shop! We do get better quality that way.  Hubby's wardrobe has never been as nice.

We have a lot to be thankful for! Thanks to all those folks who get such nice things into the thrift shops we frequent! And let's remember the charities which benefit from our thrift shop purchases! 

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Got over  what I think was the flu & then caught what seems to be a cold.  Bummer.  Taking my Chinese Jade screen pills with astralagus - good for the immune system...Plus the ginseng I usually take and LOTS of vitamin C. My body is just eating it up. (You will see it in bright yellow urine if it's not, forgive me for being indelicate...)

Stopped at out favorite Sta. Paula Goodwill  - in addition to ANOTHER new Goodwill in Moorpark & found things on the dollar rack - including a nice salmon colored golf shirt for hubby.  I have some pants hubby urged me to buy - which I haven't tried on yet - but they were on the dollar rack, too.  I also got some lovely Clark slipons in a blood red leather for $3 - and in Sta. Paula I found gold flats and some nice golden leather loafers. (They had damage at the heel - so I glued down the leather rip and then colored the worn areas on the heels with colored eyeshadow of the right golden color.  Worked fine.) Also picked up lots of $.50 paperback mysteries in Sta. Paula.

Hubby is pleased with our $500 Thunderbird - which seems to be running fine.  Maybe we lucked out.  I am sure we could now sell it for more than we paid for it & invested in it to clean it up.  The old truck is being recycled/sold to a friend who needs transport and only drives locally up in Ojai.

Found a great bargain site - www.dollarextreme.com - where they have gadgets for under $2 with free shipping.  Great for gifts.  They even sell some jewelry - so I spent some of my PayPal $ on a ring for under $3 - we will see how it works out.  Had my Pinecone research $ transferred to my PayPal account - They said so many checks were being STOLEN that they couldn't take responsibility for them, so this is the better way, and very FAST.  I got my $3 for the survey within days in my PayPal account - which is linked to a PayPal Mastercard, which makes it very easy to pay for things on the net....I also have my little Associated Content royalties paid into my PayPal account - It's all pin money for me. (The dollarextreme referral came from www.wisebread.com - which is a great source for frugal inspiration.)

Hubby found a whole chicken for $3 which we cooked all day in the big new vintage stainless steel pot I found last weekend.  Added rosemary - yummy.  Lots of soup left to eat. Oh, also picked up a slew of spoons at Sta. Paula - because I am so tired of us running out of them between dishwashings!  They are mismatched stainless steel - but who cares?  I don't think anything but my dress silverware has ever really matched! As long as it sort of coordinates.  Same with my dishes.

Oh - yesterday I also download CC cleaner - a FREE registry cleaner - as I am trying to clean up my relatively old computer to make it run faster.  Also defragmented the hard drive and got rid of old cookies and my web history.  It is a bit faster now.

So that's the update.  I am still under the weather and watching movies etc. on TV.  Not even knitting - altho my buddy Eldon has found a lot more yarn for me, which I am looking forward to! But the rest was probably good for my wrists, which were a bit overworked.  Also made 2 rings out of black rubber Halloween rings I got for practically nothing at a yard sale - and shaved off the top and then inserted a single pierced earring I had - and taped the back shut with black tape.  So now I have 2 black pinkie rings - one with a amethyst stone - the other a red stone. The amethyst one is particularly nice. A nice use for orphan pierced earrings! Especially when fashion rings cost $7 to $10 for plastic ones at the stores.

Oh, I did pick up a nice large brass fashion ring at the Farmer's Mkt. for $5 - and I saw in Ojai that the rayon shawl I had picked up for a dollar or 2 actually cost $16 retail! That's why I have my bargain scarf and shawl collection! Wore several of the checked ones I had gotten at the dollar store last weekend to coordinate my outfits. Also found a $4 grey/blue fleece jacket with a zip down the front in Sta. Paula - which is perfect for the boat.  It was chilly up there last weekend. But we do love to get away...

Signing off - We picked up cranberry jelly and stuffing mix at the Dollar Tree for when we cook our turkey - but we may just go to a restaurant this year....

It is beginning to be the holiday season - no?  But no Black Friday here!  And you?

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Had a sortta business networking cocktail party last night & went out with hubby.  It was fun to go to a place we hadn't been to before - very classy  - & we parked around the corner on a surface street rather than valet park (the car probably ended up in the same place, anyway - as valets usually just park in the neighborhood!)

It has been fun dressing up & dolling up - just to show hubby & myself that I still know how to DO it. Resurrected a batik jacket of mine, added the new jeans I had bought last season for practically nothing - added my silver jewelry, and a light yellow sweater tunic underneath, and wore my "new" thriftshop leather shoes - A nice ensemble if I do say so myself - my uniform = a nice jacket/jeans (or nice slacks) + a top + a scarf + my good jewelry.  Works almost every time.

Used the new mascara that I had somehow gotten in the mail from L'Oreal along with a full size eye cream! My oh my, these new mascaras DO lengthen & don't clump! I have to say, I was impressed with this Telescopic Explosion mascara - it DID noticeably lengthen.  (This is one of the freebie mascaras I have snagged recently - I also have Cover Girl & even a small Chanel...) The cosmetic cos. seem to be giving away LOTS of great samples! I also have a full-size Olay 2X moisturizer, and some Clearasil sensitive face wash....not to mention the little packets that arrive...

I also have a TON of magazines!  I have never had so many in my LIFE & they are all FREEBIES, too!

Back to our evening.  It is nice to get dressed up and go out - and all things considered the evening wasn't TOO expensive. I stuck to light beer - but $7 each? (Hubby remarked that you could buy a 6-pack for that!) But all the other drinks were worse - But I wasn't there to drink....

I spend a lot of my time nowadays in my old comfy jeans & tshirts or sweatshirts here at the 'puter...So It's nice to remind myself & hubby that I still clean up nicely!  And a change from the routine...Mix it all up occasionally, I say!  Even that can be done more or less on a budget! 

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Hubby & I had recovered enuf from the flu to spend a night at the boat on Sat. night. Yeah! Still gargling with hot salt H2o & tking a LOT of Vit. C....Gotta totally lick this thing...

We stopped off at what I call the "old ladies thrift shop" in Camarillo - that supports a senior meal program - & has senior donors.  No yarn - which is what I was looking for - but found a brand new white cotton spa robe in a big size which fit Hubby, I always grab those, & he does need a new one. And I also found a large vintage  Revereware stainless steel stew pot with lid for $4.50! We are making lots of soupy things now that it's cooler - & this pot is perfect.  Using it to make turkey soup right now. (Add cider vinegar + salt to bones/carcass to start off a nice frugal & yummy stock...& cook & cook & cook....) And I snagged a whole bunch of $.50 classic murder mysteries, my secret failing...There was one Chico's ensemble that tempted me, but I was trying to stay with  the budget.  Now I am still thinking about it! But I did get a Liz Claiborne hot pink cotton top & a light yellow sweater tunic, both $1 each + a pr. of vintage earrings with mother of pearl chunks for $2....We also stopped into the Dollar Tree & I got hubby some of his non-Alcohol cough medicine (he's been coughing, me not) - and various sorts of glue to fix everything, and throat drops & 10 relaxation CDs they have as extra Xmas gifties (Very nice music & I had to grab them, as they tend to go fast). Some folks will get CD + scarf....

Proud of myself that I embellished a "jelly" ring (of the same material as all those bracelets) with a little orphan single blue gem stud that I had been given.  I poked a hole through the material, & bent the prong to hold it to the ring & it's fairly sturdy.  Now that I look at the stone closely, I think it could be a tiny opal (I had thought it was a turquoise)...If I could figure out how to get more rings like that, perhaps I could do the same for my other studs which I received at the same time...I like the contrast between the gem stone & the "rubber" of the ring...

Also want to glue the art glass stone back to the ring blank.  I have another one - & perhaps I can manage to glue another art glass piece I have to another ring...It's feeding my ring mania - as I have taken up the style of wearing multiple rings...& you have to have larger sizes or adjustable sizes to wear on fingers other than the ring fingers...Bought one for $3 next door to the thrift shop - wonder if I paid too much!  They had the rings I had gotten at the Oriental bargain store in Sta. Paula for $7 & mine were only $.99....It's ok if they are base metal, because I won't wear them all the time, unlike my other rings - which have to be sterling or stainless steel...

Speaking of vintage - much to our surprise, our "$500" car is turning out very WELL.  Hubby worked on the exterior & detailed the interior & touched up the paint job and so on & I can't believe the results! Runs pretty well, too - rough at the beginning, but I don't think it had been driven in a while & there was gunk in the works, which seems to have burned out...It's an 80's Tbird with some sportscar still in it (do they still make Tbirds?) & it turns out that there is a reverse "cachet" in having an almost vintage Tbird (another 10 years & it will really be a classic!) Hubby loves the car, as it has a big engine & it reminds him of his sportscar bachelor days.  Good.  I like to see him happy.  And me?  I am simply astounded that the thing cleaned up that well (it was grodie when we got it.) And it's a nice looking car.  Whew, they made them sturdy then  - real steel..Makes you realize the changes we have gone through since the 80's - That was the tail end of true American craftsmanship, I think....(which makes me think back to the stainless steel soup pot - probably from the 50's or 60's & made to LAST.)

What we have seen - If I get cooked by solar radiation in 2012, I will have lived a full life (although I would prefer that the calendar just coils back on itself & any changes are on a spiritual plane!)

How are you guys?  It's always nice when you check in.

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Hubby & I are slightly ailing - so we are taking all of our resistance nostrums - that is, Wellness vitamins(using the leftover drops I got once by accident) - lots of Vit. C - and ginseng, astralagus and so on.  I even took some the Chinese Gan Mao Ling  remedy (which is for colds that begin in the throat - it's so inexpensive - but strong, so I save it against the time I need it) and Echinechea and Goldenseal! And I am also gargling with hot salt water for my scratchy throat. And we are resting a lot. Especially in the flu season we need to take care - Although at 50+ I think I have had all the flu bugs going around - We have them every winter!  So at least we have probably developed immunity....

There are so many mechanical ways to deal with flu symptoms, too - you can clear your lungs with a tea made up of Chinese Five Spice seasoning from the grocery store plus thyme - serve hot with honey (honey also has antiseptic qualities).  That will serve to break up the mucous in your lungs and help you to expel it. You can also inhale steam - I have a facial steamer I picked up at a yard sale for that - but you can also just breathe in the steam from a mug of hot tea - or put your head under a towel over a steaming wash basin of water, and inhale the steam.  It's sort of a diy nebulizer.  Allergy sufferers will know what I mean.

Keep on taking your vitamins - the B's and all - and eat regularly and well and sleep enough - all to keep the system up and running in a healthy way.

Knitting away - mixing the cheap dollar store yard with my thriftshop wools and so on.  Thinking about getting a Knifty Knitter for hats - Have any of you used one? And what size?  I don't need the set of 3 - because I rarely knit for babies! But my baby "blanket" is done - I do hpe everyone likes the scarves they  are going to get!

All for now - going for a nap....See  ya...

/+-+

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Turns out I rarely do any shopping except on the weekends with hubby - so it does look as if I am going a bit mad buying stuff - but I suppose when you balance that out with not spending ANY money during the week (not even for Starbucks or fast food drinks!) that it all evens out.

We stopped off in at a NEW Goodwill on the way to the boat - and I landed a nice tweedy cotton sweater - perfect for fall in So. Cal for 99 Cents - and a fab wool vest with fox-like fur trim for $3.99 I think and a basket and some crewel yarn and a few books - for about $10! The Dollar Tree had more of the long scarves in black and white, which I got and spot remover -

In Sta. Paula I remembered that what I call the Oriental Bargain Store has bargain yarn - and I bought $20 worth (at $1 a skein) - Utilitarian - but nice and the price was RIGHT.  My buddy has asked me to make a baby blanket as a gift for a couple we know - so I was glad to get more acrylic yarn in the right colors for that project.  Also picked up some lavender yarn at the 99 Cent Store - along with MORE scarves! And I got more books at the Sta. Paula Goodwill - I just looked at the categories I needed and nowhere else not to be tempted! - so I was very good.

Found a lovely vintage wool sweater at the new Goodwill for $1 - which was too SMALL for me - but I will mend it and put it in the winter things to sell to the vintage store.  Should be able to make $ on it.....

And of course, eventually the books can be recycled at Bart's Books in Ojai....So it's OK if I spent $1 for some....

Bought a thrifty book  at Goodwill to give myself inspiration.  That's how I initially honed my pennypinching skills - having first learned some basics from my mother - I then really made a study of pennypinching literature! My favorite book was HOW TO LIVE ON NOTHING - which seemed to have been written in the 40's in a sort of "back to the country" movement - I like the older books because they offer intriguing tips about older ways to save/conserve/repair and so on....Maybe someday I will finally write my own. 

I do have better tips on wardrobe than the Yankee thrift book I read through -because I suppose Yankees are not much on style and more on utility! But here in L.A. - one has to be a bargain fashionista to keep up - even with my low profile lifestyle!  That's where all the scarves come in...

Oh, I also picked up a burgundy L'Oreal lip gloss at the 99 Cent Store  - great on top of my regular lipstick fro Wet N' Wild.

In the mail received some facial wash from Clearasil - which Glamour has asked me to try as part of a beauty panel trial - I am getting products all the time from my panel memberships.  If you remember, I received Olay's 2X moisturizer last week and some pricey shampoo, too.

Brought some business magazines to my writing client - and asked him for a scalpel - since he works for some surgeons and has them around - Thought it would be good for tearing apart some sewing projects I have to do.

Also my buddy showed up Friday to help me go through my closets - We actually made some PROGRESS and have a box to recycle - and he took away a bag to give to the Out of the Closet thriftshop around the corner....

So,  so far, so good - after registering our bargain Tbird we are broke agin - but my Social Security check is supposed to hit the bank on Wednesday -we will see how prompt they are!

More later - How are you all coping?  Hmmm?

P.S. A note on mending jeans.  Even though we think of jeans as BLUE, there is often a lot of GREY in that blue, especially when they are worn.  When they stretch or have to be mended - the underlying white cotton shows up and highlights the mend - I have found that using GREY washable marker (or even eye shadow) tones down the underlying white to blend in with the rest of the worn denim - and it gradually fades irregularly to blend in even more - masking the mending -  You always want your mending to fade into the background as much as possible!

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Ok, this is a confession - I have been finding great bargains - but a few too many, perhaps, recently!  We are on the edge financially and waiting for some checks to come it, which will help - and here I am SHOPPING.

I have been using mall walking as a lure for my walking as exercise - and yesterday after I rode along with hubby to the W. side so I could hand in some paperwork from my French commercial job (he was at a W. Side school, working) - I then decided to walk up and down Main Street in Santa Monica - which has a nice upscale shopping area. Actually, I thought everything would be SO expensive that I wouldn't be tempted by anything except what's at the lone church thrift shop - but - alas I found lovely BARGAINS - and bought a lovely heather knit shawl/vest, and a ring with a garnet 1/2 off for $9! I suppose I was a little nuts to get the knitting thing - & I was persuaded by the fact that it HAD BEEN $88(?) The ring was a great deal - the only one there in jewelry & is perfect for wearing on my middle finger - as my new look is sporting multiple silver rings.

So, I was looking great in my thriftshop Polo bright pink top worn with jeans and an ethnic scarf - (& my pink Topsiders) - & I got carried away.   Had lots of fun, talked to the shopkeepers and so on - and walked up and down - But, ouch, Pamela.   I joked that I will be the best dressed homeless person - not that it's gotten to THAT.

Let's see - I do have an image to maintain as an actress in L.A. and I do have to dress "up" for certain appearances, like the one at the production office on the W. Side.   And I DO DO it on the very cheap - But there is so much wardrobe to be gone THROUGH. Waiting on a buddy to help and then will take the vintage to be recycled at a vintage store on Vermont Ave. where I have been going for years. (They said they won't take winter things until after Halloween).

Help! What does one do as a female?  You just have to have clothes and so on!  I manage to get lots of beauty freebies (just received a month's worth of Olay's 2X moisturizer (@ $30 worth?- from Vocal point) - and I seem to have WON some fancy shampoo from Allure).  And I get discount lipstick and other makeup (I also got some Covergirl makeup and mascara - gratis.)

I don't have manicures or pedicures - and I manage to have nice hair without spending a fortune on it a(Hint - I use colored shampoo + conditioner and stock up at the dollar stores when available). I am still working though the moisturizer collection I bought up in Ojai for $9 - & that included 2 lip glosses!

My hair is very long and needs to be cut, but I am thinking of trying to SELL it on the internet - there's a site for that - Why not?  I have at least 7" and it's in great shape....Very O'Henry, no?

Used my Associated Content money on Paypal to buy a knitting kit on sale from Lion Brand yarn - Have to write more articles for pin money!

Oh, all this stuff makes me feel good, and since I have a depressive tendency, I veer towards pleasurable enterprises....And I am well dressed and have a yarn stash acquired on the cheap and nice facial products and makeup and...and...Rings on my fingers, if not bells on my toes!

But, I confess that there is a bit of bravado in the face of being strapped, which is counter -intuitive, since I should be avoiding ANY purchases, bargains or not - but don't you find that when your purse is the slimmest that the BEST bargains pop up?  (I found nearly new Talbot's loafers at the thrift shop for $6!  such a nice buttery color - after I got them hubby noticed wear on the toe (?) - but I fixed that up with an application of my yellow coverup stick! - You can use makeup on shoes, too!  And looking them up on line - I found they would have been $99!!)  My weakness -

I did phone hubby to see if any purchases were permitted - (which they were) - And I DID get a nice walk out of the shopping expedition - It seems when I have worked and made some money, I feel I have the right to spend some - I did the same thing last year with a stylish print chiffon dress - another steal....

Hubby said that would mean we couldn't have dinner out - but I replied that I would much rather have clothes than food - so we went and ate at home - and saw some great horror flicks on TCM - including THE TINGLER, with Vincent Price. Tuesday is old movie night on TCM, and I gorge myself on them - I almost stayed up to see another one, but was just too beat.

Finished an orange scarf last night- using big needles and the advice of a shopkeeper who knits that orange + pink work together - of course! I have SO MUCH orange - so I have to think how to put it to good use....Oh, and a knitting store site said I could just cast on 150 stitches to make a long scarf/shawl laterally - size 15 needles, which I have.  I suppose that's my next project!

So bear with me - no saint, I - and you - what's your weakness??

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We had car troubles this month, which has left us terribly broke.  So I found it heartening to be able to waltz into Victoria's Secret with a coupon from their Club Pink and get a pair of deep pink bikini underwear GRATIS. (They were marked $7.50 - imagine.)  They had $45 bras, and the other coupon wanted to lure me, as it was $10 off a bra - but even with $10 off they were still TOO expensive. Fun to look, though. And the coupon got me to the mall for my weekly mall walk.  

I also bought a knitting kit on sale on line from Lion Brand yarns with the bit of money I had in my PayPal account.  I thought I was supposed to get a discount of $25 from the PayPal Buyitnow option - for something else - but ??? Still checking on that.  The Buyitnowoption of PayPal is great for grabbing internet bargains - you can just be billed later (when you know you will have the $.)

Made $ on the Fr. commercial I shot Saturday in downtown L.A. - and I brought home some rolls, fruit, and  cookies which I didn't eat as a little treat for hubby. (They had lovely craft service catering on site, and I enjoyed a nice hot lunch and lots of coffee.) Waiting for THAT check - have to submit all sorts of paperwork for the French government, so they don't take a third for their taxes....It was a curious pleasure to be able to enjoy a fairly picturesque downtown street in L.A. and be totally relaxed  because of the presence of the cops for the shoot, and so on....

Received freebie magazines, vitamin samples and Philosophy samples through the mail this week! Always look forward to the mail nowadays...

Have to rack up some more Paypal $ - Another article about something?  Seem to be getting back Associated Content royalty payments??

In the mall we talked with a Cash for Gold vendor at a cart - They are really looking for old gold to melt down & a chain that they had as decoration, would have been almost $500 in the same weight in real gold.  They are only paying about $.35 per unit for silver, though...I do have some gold rings, etc. I could recycle if I felt I had to...But one's jewelry is a sort of bank account, as one can always pawn it/sell it. Getting divorced?  Pawn those diamonds to get some getaway $.

Hubby is working on our "new to us" 80's Thunderbird he bought from our mechanic for $500.  Do you know you can use regular spray paint on CARS?  Hubby did that to touch up the trim, and so on (from the $.99 Store, by the way, along with engine/oil additives.)  I told him to spray the interior with Febreze to freshen it up - which he did with great effect. The car is almost old enough to be a classic, and so far everything seems to work.  Mark replaced a bad speaker in the sound system with one he had found in a thrift store...I have to admit the car was a bit scuzzy when hubby first got it - but now - it's amazing, it looks FINE! And I really would rather drive that on the L.A. freeways than a crackerbox tin little Japanese car that crumples at the first contact.  We won't be going far - this is for around town - so mileage isn't paramount here. Think hubby is actually enjoying this renovation! 

A colleague of mine seems to think we are a bit mad - I told hubby that and he agreed - we ARE a bit mad.  But to quote Quentin Crisp (Saw the flick An Englishman in N.Y. about his last days on cable last night) -  if madness is you - it's your style! 

And surprisingly the T-bird has a certain retro chic which appeals to me! 

Looking forward to my first Social Security check at the end of the month....

How are you all? 

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I joke with my husband that he brings home the bacon and I bring home the bacon BITS.  Got published on Associated Content & made some pin $ that went into my PayPal Mastercard - THEN I got an  email about a deal for $25 off if you paid with PayPal and used the Bill Me Later Option - So I sprung for a Native American silver ring at Overstock.com - which,with $25 off + free shipping + my Pay Pal $,  should only end up being about $3 directly out of pocket.  I splurged.

Oh, and hubby and I went to Target to get reimbursed for the item that never made it into our bags.  Whew, they had a lot of receipts for similar errors.  A whole file of them!  Gee, all that lost stuff.  At least We got reimbursed with a gift card - so I went right back to the same department and found a similar dress on sale - actually I like it better than the other one I had lost, because this one, while filmy like the other one, has a lining. (Oh, I heard my mother's voice in my head when I found myself telling hubby that.)  It 's an autumnal color - and since I lived in So Cal - I will be able to wear it in the coming months.

• That's a shopping tip - look for transitional clothes on the sales racks.  A lot of clothes are really not determined by the season - especially if you don't live in a very cold climate! For fall/winter here I can wear lighter weights in dark colors and be just fine.  The other day I saw someone walking in the brilliant sunshine in W. Hollywood with some sort of fur around her neck, and October or not - it did look out of place!  But then, I rarely find it cold enough here to wear my boots.

I GOT the commercial - so now I am rummaging around for summer clothes to show the stylist.  That's one reason my bedroom is jammed with clothes of all sorts! Hubby is happy because I will be bringing in some more $ - bacon chunks, this time!  And it justifies my hours at the computer and so on - looking for WORK.

• Received a very generous sample of day cream from Clarins for joining them on Facebook - I sign up for all the panels and so on - as I have gotten some nice products from them - gratis.
• We are doing a lot of car stuff - as our aging cars, well, AGE  - and we have traded off the truck to a friend up in Ojai to use, and have bought a VERY cheap little car from our mechanic - that's for my use, although I haven't driven it yet....The Mercury seems to like the transmission goop we put in, and has very few clunks - If the little car doesn't pan out for our use - we know several people who would be happy to buy it. Wouldn't it have been nice to have been able to do the Cash for Clunkers thing - but it, alas, was only for a new car - and we can't really afford those monthly payments right now.
• Found hundreds of dollars worth of yarn at the thrift shops up in Ventura last weekend! So now my yarn stash is renewed at about $.20 on the dollar,  Nice stuff, too - better quality than I could otherwise afford - or that's how I justify me buying all those bags of it.  Now or never sort of thing.
• Also found hubby some tshirts for $.50 at a sale at one of the old ladies thrift shops.  He needed them, as his are getting ratty - and these were just the right size. In addition, found some nice $.25 paperbacks and a $1.25 fashion ring with a glass "stone".  They were having a sale!
• Hubby found a practically new Bill Blass golf shirt at the thrift shop in Ojai - and I found more yarn - and at another one at pair of very nice navy knit pants, and a silk scarf and a couple of visors.

I don't feel too guilty about it all, because we do almost all of our shopping at dollar stores and thrift shops, with occasional forays into real stores for sales if there is a coupon. I have a new coupon for a pair of pink underwear from Victoria Secret, of all things - to justify my next mall walk. (The weather here has turned rainy. )Ha! When I told a friend that hubby had grunted at spending $40 - he laughed and said that I had turned hubby into as big a cheapskate as I am! (Well - $40 is NOT what it used to be....)

At least we do most of that sort of shopping at these thrift shops on the weekends - and during the week will only buy food or medicine!  One of my new prescriptions has a co-pay of $40, as there is no generic - ugh.

• We also used a coupon for 2 for one iced coffees at McD's - hazelnut - sweet, but nice.
• Another clothes secret - some  maternity clothes fit me just fine!  I didn't notice that the peasant dress from Target was from a maternity line until I brought it home (I did black out the maternity on the tag, though!) And the navy knit pants had that maternity elastic, too - I  find that there are very nice things on the maternity racks sometimes, because there is all this stylish maternity wear - and they have barely been used, too! I am sort of boxy in my physique by nature - never had much of a waist - so things cut for expecting mothers fit me just fine.  But don't TELL anyone...
• Exchanged a small pile of newish books at Bart's (the used bookstore in Ojai) for trade credit and received a $9 credit, most of which I immediately spent on their $.50 books.  The books I exchanged had been expensive new (one marked $25) - but I hadn't spent that much, as they all came from thrift shops and so on & the $25 one had cost me $.50 - so I got the better part of the deal. Nice to exchange books, as it were - all with NO money and a bit of hunting.

That's all for now folks! No pix because I am at hubby's laptop & no pix there, sorry....

P.S. I think the economy is making everyone cranky - what do you think? 

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Had a $10 Target gift card, so hubby and I did a mall walk (it was smoky from some brushfires outside anyway...) and I thought I had gotten a tunic which was about $10 off the sale price with the gift card - which made it about $10 - and hubby found $2.99 pillows (elsewhere they had been $7 on sale), so we got 2 new ones- BUT the filmy tunic never made it into the pillow bag - and we never got it! Called Target - luckily we have the receipt - and they say they will make good.  We will see....

Found some more thrift shop yarn, and a nice pair of pants for $3.  But my odd coup was to make a ring out of a $.25 hoop earring with a dragon fly on it - it was made of silver wire, so I bent it around my finger & broke off the part that goes in your ear.  Very cute.  And it fits on the middle finger where I want to wear it... Gee, the plastic rings like the one I got at one of my Oriental cheapie bargain stores for $1 cost TEN DOLLARS at Target!!??  And the silver-toned long chain necklace I bought for $2 at the thriftshop cost almost $20 at Target, too - and mine is of a better quality. (But another silver wire ring flipped away when I took it off my finger last night before knitting, and I CAN'T FIND it!  I did find my blue plastic watch I had gotten for $1 - similar ones in Target were $12.)

Another find - a woolen/acrylic blend sweater on a dollar rack.  It was pilled - and I had to take off the the furry tufts, but for $1???  It's in fashion with a hood to wear as a sweater jacket, too.  And a great fall color.I think I will be wearing it A LOT.  Funny how that goes....

Hubby steered me into a Ben Franklin for more yarn....I showed him the prices even with some off - so he would realize why I grab at bargain yarn wherever I find it! (I got a ball at a thrift shop for $.25!)  And now I have some accent colors so I can continue to make my scarves.  Heaven knows how many I have by now.  HOW do people pay $80 just for YARN for a sweater?

Oh, the pink/grey sweater from another dollar rack I thought I was going to rip up for yarn turned out to be a cape of sorts - so I am opening the seam in front (it's just thread) and will actually wear it.  Another fashion item.  I am also taking out my grey sweater coat from the closet.  

I have boots to wear - but it's never really COLD enough in So. Cal.  The Hollywood sylphs wear them - I don't know how they manage....

Received the package of 3 "shape/underwear" garments from www.graveyardmall.com yesterday.  A great buy.  I pick up those sort of things when I see them, because otherwise they are dreadfully expensive...but at $3 each, not so bad....

Unexpectedly found a couple of nice new hardback books at the Dollar Tree of all places!  Bought 4. They will make nice Xmas presents, along with the scarves, of course.  And my brother's birthday is in December, too....(By the way, I saw a sign at the checkout that they will have vintage clothing??? I will check it out at their website, now that I think of it....)

Did I mention that I mended my knee length jeans?  one pair was good enough to wear to that audition and I forgot all about the mending....

My weakness is that I can't seem to manage a "one in, one out" policy for my clothes - so I continue to accumulate.  A buddy says he will have time to help me out next month after getting through a move.  I watched a TV program about hoarders the other night, and hubby made some knowing wisecracks - but my accumulations are MUCH better organized than those undifferentiated PILES.  And they have HOUSES, too - not just a one bedroom apartment! But the emotional aspect hit home for me.  There is a strong emotional attachment to things, which some of us have....and the fact that you probably can't do it without HELP - if you haven't been able to tackle it - & you know, that's OK.  The women seemed really so sad somehow. And therapy is almost always in order.   

I have the added justification of my checkerboard life as an actress besides everything else.  I could use a closet the size of my bedroom, like the stars have! I read an article about having only 30 outfits of quality - but that's for a business woman - it would never work for me. I have jeans/tshirts/sweatshirts, etc. for home and writing and computer work.  Then upgrades for going out - and costumes for auditions (I save old ugly clothes I wouldn't wear otherwise!) And clothes to wear up at the boat where it's beachy....

Still haven't started the yoga classes, yet.  Found my mat,though...

Can't believe rich women pay their dermatologists for regular skin care. (I was looking at book about being classy.) I would only go with a bad rash! It's not that hard to tend to your own skin if you pay attention.  My skin used to be oily, but has dried out - so, I change my regimen...And even then there is leeway for climate, etc.  There is so much info out there on the net - there really is no excuse for ignorance.  And so many great drugstore brands, too.  

For some reason my nails are like rocks nowadays, and I can't figure out WHY, as they have always been weak.  The COQ10 I have been taking?  The glucosamine for my joints?  I really don't know, but I have nails for the first time in my LIFE.

Checked up on a letter we got from Blue Cross about my psych's bill - turns out we don't owe anyone anything, so I don't know WHY they even SENT it.  But perhaps the phone # will help me find a practitioner within the system, as I can't afford my outside therapist anymore....

Still nervous about getting my Social Security early.  I am going to get some $ by the end of October - I had no idea it would be so fast, as I had read that it would take 3 months! But, you know, we really need the money - and I am practically retired anyway.  You can't call writing $4 articles for Associated Content WORK, really - it's just pin money.  But it does go on my Paypal Mastercard, so I can use it to order things on the net.....

Had an audition for a FRENCH commercial.  Americans throwing snowballs in the summer -  for France? - Would be nice $, though. But you are warned to file paperwork with the French government or they will take 33.33% off in taxes.  (And the teabag folks complain here!)  But that includes one's healthcare, so it's probably a deal in the long run....As for me, I try to stay as healthy as possible.

So that's the news from not-so-Lake Woebegon! (No lake, though....except Lake Casitis which we drive past every once in a while....) Ha! I saw a 1950's scifi flick on TCM and they were using the beach at Zuma Beach N. of L.A. for Chesapeake Bay?? and they blew up L.A. buildings that were supposed to be Washington, D.C., too. I had forgotten that there was an actor in it I met in the 70's - he had become a writer to support the family, but still missed performing...Me? I chose to starve, I guess - and pennypinch!

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Here's the ongoing saga of my frugality in short:

• Participated in a swap meet up at the boat - and I sold a lot of little things and Mark sold an engine he hated and got some line for the boat (otherwise quite expensive).  I set out my scarves, but none of them went - probably because of the hot weather - but everyone is getting one for Xmas, like it or NOT.
• Sold some old sunglasses I don't use, gave some away to my swap meet buddies who didn't have them  & also had my old reading glasses I can't use now that I am just that much blinder - After the sale I took the bag of them and gave them to one of the old ladies thrift shops.  It's nice to be able to donate a bit.
• We went shopping after the swapmeet and allowed ourselves to go into the 99 Cent Store.  We got lots of bottled sauces - such a good deal there - and really 1/2 of it was food - but how quickly the profit from the swap meet flew away! 
• I also allowed myself a peek in to another thriftshop - and found 4 skeins of different colored baby fine acrylic yarn - for $.25 each - and I did splurge on some lovely leather shoes (VERY pricey in their first life) - and a coat and long vest made of ultrasuede & some books.  How could I resist the ultrasuede at $2 each - and the shoes at $3??
• Plan to do a big book swap up at the used bookstore in Ojai when I next see my doctor there.
• A woman was moving out of the apt. complex next to the boat & I scored 4 large pink acrylic yarns for $2.
• And on the way out of the beach, I stopped at the less-frequented 99 Cent Store and found MORE yarn.  I can proceed with my knitting.  Boy, my stash was getting LOW.  (OK, they also had great scarves, and a bought a few of those, too.) Found a way to hang my scarves by the rings of plastic or cardboard they come with - on an old chain with hooks I had...
• At the Dollar Tree I found some car additives - injection cleaner so on - and we put it in the truck.  It seems to have liked it and didn't buck the way it usually does when I took it out to a last-minute audition yesterday.  Hoorah for additives!  The car's transmission is chugging along, too - so it seems, after the application of transmission goop.  So we are not panicked about the cars for now...
• Mended my denim capri jeans with iron-on patches.  Also worked on another pair which I will have to sew up.  It's not as hot - so these are better now than the shorts I have been wearing in the heat wave.
• Looking online at buying a clothes press for hubby's pants.  It we could press them in a large format that way, it would really be a labor-saving device! (And get hubby off my back about IRONING all of them, which is a DRAG!)
• The computer has been very slow - but when I decided to switch to Google Chrome, all of a sudden it's fast again - any explanations???
• Mixing heavy handcream with a lighter one - and mixing lip balms/glosses, too - Sometimes products seem just to work better when mixed together - and it rescues product you might otherwise not use a lot.
• Saw that Dove has a program for donating ponytails of your cut-off hair for use in wigs for cancer patients.  Isn't that a great idea.  Maybe my hair is long enough....(They need 7 inches of it.)
• Got a sympathy card out of my card stash for a friend whose husband died unexpectedly - in his 50's! It's nice to always have cards on hand - but it's usually for birthdays - not the opposite.

That's it for now - Who knows what other gambits will arise?  How are you all doing? Around me everyone is getting very cranky about being financially pressed - & I fear some employers are taking advantage of the high rate of unemployment to squeeze their staff just that much more - almost to the point of demanding work that in the end is not paid for - (according to the law, not strictly legal, either....)

And you guys?  

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What have I done frugally lately? Well -

• I had the optician put lenses into a nice pair of vintage frames I had found at a thrift shop - so it would cut the cost so my insurance would pay for a 2nd pair of reading glasses. I was warned that it might not work - but I have used old frames before with success & these fit well & were very sturdy.
• Using my mall coupons as an incentive to go mall walking! This time my $10 off coupon from Sears didn't WORK, alas (it was only good online) - but we did get a nice walk with A/C. (& I did get a pair of leggings on sale, anyway.)
• The accessory stores are having sales on the summer merchandise - so I scored 2 scarves for $2 each on one visit & $4 for one on another (Originally $16-18 each?!?)
• I found a NEW tshirt dress at the Goodwill for $7.99 - It's the perfect weight for the Indian Summer Days of autumn here in S. Cal.
• Found another Diane Von Furstenberg tshirt dress for $4 at a different Goodwill - and & hubby got a lovely new-ish camel corduroy jacket for $12 -
• We are having trouble with the transmission of our car - so hubby bought a transmission goop for $14 to put in and hopefully coax a little more mileage out of it - We are driving it gently and listening for every clunk - Hopefully we can nurse it along a bit further....(I believe in additives because years ago I had a little car that periodically wouldn't go into reverse - but when I added transmission stuff, it cleaned out whatever dirt was sticking and it would work for another 6 months or so - the $ THAT saved me!!)
• Did all the math & finally decided to apply for my Social Security (Yes, I am that old -  eek) -  We plan to put some of the $ into hubby's retirement fund, because they MATCH IRA contributions...) (My mother always asked me if I were getting Social Security & making my contributions - and hubby & I have, and the outlook there isn't too bad....But I have friends who, well, I don't know what they will do...) The online application process is FAST & pretty EASY, and the $ goes straight into my account with direct deposit.  (Remember the old days of standing in line at the Social Security office?) Oh - fyi - the process seems to take 2-3 months - so you could apply 3 months BEFORE the time you qualify to get your benefits right on time - I will get my $ by Xmas.
• Going to transfer my private therapy to someone covered by my insurance to save $160/month (it was cheap, but even that is pinching nowadays....)
• Still getting my FREE magazines.  I applied for more through Mercury (I found it on freestufftimes.com, I think)...Was on a set & read through 4 or 5 of them...
• Transferred my purse things over to a satchel hubby found for me at an Out of the Closet thrift shop - It's a jungle theme in black & tan is perfect for fall....
• Knitting away at my scarves with CREWEL yarn that I had been given.  The strands are short, but I can knot them together, and they are fine wool which I am combining with a background yarn for a tweedy effect. - They will be Xmas gifts - and I am thinking of selling a few of them at a swap meet next weekend.
• Gathered up books to recycle - but didn't get within range of the used book store this time...
• Will collect miscellany for the swap meet up at the boat next weekend -
• Received a gratis lip balm, a small tube of acrylic paint and sample of laundry detergent in the mail...(from my freebie sites)...
• Also received a $10 Target gift card from another freebie offer...
• On another mall walk brought in the birthday coupons I got from Aveda and received a purse-sized hand creme - and a scented oil with atomizer (refillable) - and a hand massage to boot...
• Let me strain my grey matter - anything else?  Oh, I found a neighborhood FREE Sr. Citizen yoga class 3x/week - & FREE.  I may be with octogenarians, but, hey....I can WALK to it! They also have a book exchange, and I picked up a book & will bring some in...
• Did I mention that I swabbed myself with cold black tea when I had a reaction from an antibiotic last week?  that & I took LOTS of Benedryl - Called into the nurse hotline of the insurance co. to check on what I should do....but the cold tea compresses were MY idea....A call to a nurse-manned line may very well save you a trip to the M.D. or to the emergency care center....(There's also web research...)
• Got my new Paypal Mastercard debit card.  Do you know that you can get one for FREE with a Paypal account?  You can load it up and then use it to buy things online...(.In the past I have made bits of $ online that would go into my Paypal account,)

OK - that's all for now - we are more frugal than ever - and even though it's fun windowshopping in the malls, and walking about - we don't know WHO pays THOSE PRICES!   Not us, for sure....

Happy bargains, everyone!

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We are frugal as usual - especially since my husband the teacher hasn't been getting full salary over the summer! Went on a mall walk to entice me to get my walking in (and it's air conditioned, too) - Picked up some samples I had coming from Aveda - a sample of hand cream and some scented oil - plus a nice hand massage!  And I found 2 scarves on sale for $2 each - which I treated myself to.

Oooh, the prices! I had made a trip to Goodwill the day before when we finally found a good hassock with storage inside - and I found a brand new salmon knit dress for $7.99 - Dresses are perfect for the transitional weather here in the fall & salmon is my color.  Gee, similar dresses in the department stores were at least $20 - if not more....The T-shirts were $18!?!   As I write I am wearing a new one I got a while ago for attending a spa event.

Still knitting away - Saw a very long knitted scarf in a boutique while mall walking made up of multi-colored squares, with hanging threads at the corners - which I tried to copy sitting watching TV with my yarn remnants.  Turned out very nicely.  My friends are urging me to SELL them, although, I don't know about that....They are intended as gifts, and I gave my first one away today to a friend who takes public transport, so needs a scarf to stay warm as it gets chilly out there.

The other scarves I am trying to make light for the S. California climate...A friend gave me some crewel yarn, which is in short,strands, but I am managing to knit it in my wabi-sabi way, anyway....But I am going through the yarn stash....

Still getting my free magazines, which hubby has taken to putting in the bathroom for HIM to read. I have to grab mine first or they disappear.

Had a bad reaction to generic Bactrim, an antibiotic, and was covered with a madly itchy rash.  I looked it up on the net, stopped the antibiotic, and took Benedryl AND Zyrtec and slathered on cortisone cream.  Some times it was so bad, all I could do was put on cold black tea compresses, which did ease the swelling and itching for a while. That's how my neck area recovered so nicely...But on Benedryl, all one can do is sleep a lot...

Whew, it's over - and NEVER AGAIN!

Still religiously checking freestufftimes.com for samples - and should be getting some skin care samples soon...I put the hand cream sample from Aveda in my purse.  One could spend $1 or more on those little tubes - but I use samples and freebies instead...

Otherwise all is quiet on the Western Front as it were...a buddy is going to be coming in to help me go through the accumulation here - that's going to be something, as he can be a nervous neat freak - but I will try very hard to do it - and put together things to sell off - I find that if I SELL my clutter, it becomes very motivating....And there is a yard sale up at the boat 9/25 - so I should put together some stuff for that, too -

Trouble is I am a collector at heart - and it's a wrench to recycle - Just lost a nice rug to bugs - ugh - but easy come, easy go, as they say...How are you guys?

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Sitting here enjoying the gratis little lipglosses I received from Sephora for my birthday.  Nice generous mini tubes in 3 colors.  Boy, was the variety of makeup and skin care at the Sephora store overwhelming!  I noticed the dry shampoo from Bumble & Bumble - I use scented bath powder myself!

I do save $ on skin care and makeup by supplementing my stash with samples - and by keeping a lookout at the Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent Store for national brands like Revlon and Maybelline. (I got a nice makeup selection at Big Lots, too...) To me, even $8 for a lipstick is a LOT - and at Sephora they have $20 ones.  I pointed that out to my astounded husband. (Check out freestufftimes.com for free samples - there's one of mascara now....)

In fact, all through our mall walk, I pointed out to my husband  the mall prices of items I have - like costume jewelry - which in retail stores cost a bundle.  Who can afford this stuff? (I have a silver cuff I bought at a thrift store for $1 because it was black with tarnish!)

I don't want to pay more than $20 for a dress!  (And just got one on sale at overstock.com - Their shopping is $2.95, very cheap as those things go.)

A lady at one of those freestanding kiosks at the mall tried to sell me $35 handcream - but in the process buffed up one of my nails with one of those modern 4-sided buffers.  And yes, my nails did look shiny - (I can't wear nail polish due to allergies!) I dropped into the drugstore later

that same day and found I could buy a buffer for $4!  So I did learn something....And saved $, as I have all sorts of handcream which works just fine.  Just got a new big tube that's scented lavender from hubby for my birthday...And there is some free cuticle cream I got from a promotion around here somewhere...

We also went to the Hollywood Bowl last week.  They used to have $1 seats way up in the back - but I paid $8 for ours & ended up way up there anyway.  The place is never full for the classical concerts, though - so we just moved down to an empty section.  We brought a picnick dinner & and only extra was PARKING.  Still an inexpensive evening for an orchestral concert!

Otherwise knitting like mad - only scarves for Xmas, tho - I find the simple knitting very relaxing in front of the tube (while I hopefully am watching old classic movies on Turner Classic Movies)....Using up yarn from my thrift shop stash & I have found that I can even use little extra bits for accents.  I like coordinating the yarn colors to produce a tweedy effect, and I can use big needles to make them FAST by combining several yarns together into one strand to knit....I think it's an interesting "wabi-sabi" look - sort of  rough but pleasing.  Machines can knit very regularly - so I think handwork should look, well, made by hand...

SO grateful for our thriftshop portable AC we got a few weeks ago, as it is VERY hot here....With the 2 units going in the windows & some fans, at least the living room area is nice and cool., I also have a bowl of water in front of one of the fans on the desk & I do believe it helps, too... We have a pocket door, so we can isolate the main area from the bathroom/hall/bedroom.  And at night we put on the bedroom AC & I put on the window fans to cool off the rest of the apartment - Luckily in S. California we have cool nights, unlike the East where I grew up.

 UPS just delivered a set of 6 steak knives I ordered on line from Oneida - (the ones we have are cheap ones) - They were about $4 & the shipping was more than the knives - really nice ones,

I see how one could get hooked on ordering online - but I only go for rockbottom bargains.  AS I do elsewhere, too! But it seems a bit silly when the shipping is more than the items??!!

How are you doing?  Any great deals lately??  Remember that there are all sorts of goodies for one's birthday out there....

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I looked at hsn.com at all their cocktail rings - so pretty - but couldn't really spare the money for one.

Today, working on a tip from the thrifyfun site, and inspired by the stretchy bead craft rings I have seen in stores - I REALLY TOTALLY FAKED ACOCKTAIL RING!!

• You need:  metallic elastic cord in a loop @ 3-4 inches wide (I save mine from gifts)
• clip earring
• some surgical tape

You twist the metallic cord around a finger until it is snug - then clip on a clip earring, the clip of which you have already wrapped with clear surgical tape (for a better grip & to protect my skin against irritation from base metal). Trim tape if necessary. 

VOILA! THAT'S IT.  The earring is just the right size for a flashy cocktail ring -

Go ahead - raid the drawers of your mothers, aunts and grandmothers & you will have rings galore.

Enjoy.

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In Europe everyone just takes the month of August OFF and they all go to the beach or the country.  Well, our variation of that was to go to the boat and the ocean for most of the month of JULY.  And I found that I took a TOTAL vacation from media and blogging and TV and everything.  Just read lots of books and wandered around the Oxnard/Sta. Barbara area.  One day we went up to the area known for Michael Jackson's ex-Neverland - Whew - it is MUCH fancier than I had imagined!  Looked at the boutiques which had the sort of things I LOVE - but I don't spend $50 on a jacket even if it's on SALE.  So I just observed.  The fun thing about pricey shops is that you can go in without the fear of buying anything, because everything is SO out of your price range! And then I go and try to duplicate the look(s) on the cheap. (Got my jackets for upscale casual from the Salvation Army Store in Pasadena for something like $7 each!)

We also visited the great church thrift shop from when we used to live in Carpinteria, CA near St. Barbara - and Mark found a great deal on the Hooked on Phonics set which he will use for his work with inner-city schools!  (And his company will reimburse him, too.) Sometimes what you find surprises you. 

Of course, I always look for reading material - and on my last weekday trip to Bart's bookstore in Ojai, I thought I would try to trade in some of my reading material - (I had some nice new hardbacks in the bunch.) Lo and behold - I got a $16 credit for books, and they took EVERYTHING.  And wouldn't ' you know, I turned around to their old bargain books and quickly used up the credit!  But no $ changed hands, so it was a good deal.  I get those books for $.25 and $.50 each - no more than $1 - when I comb the thrift shops and so on. Who in the name of heaven PAYS $6-8 for a paperback?  The the hardbacks had listed prices of $20 and more! But in this day and age, paying that much isn't necessary.

I also downloaded some old books from the Gutenberg project and burned them onto CDs so I could read them on the laptop on the boat.  And then there was a free download of a contemporary novel from Oprah's site - which was interesting, too.  Hubby has revived the old Mac we had found and I am going to use it to read my e-books - I have to at least have them in my lap.  I have to say that I do prefer holding a book in my HANDS - but you can sometimes enlarge the print at will - which is a nice feature of an e-book format....

Trawling the internet on the laptop, I came upon a deal from www.graveyardmall. com.  The site has final, final sellouts - and I bought  "infinite" convertible dresses in lycra - one black and one red.  The whole idea of a convertible dress certainly intrigues me.  These were CHEAP - $9.99 each - so I bough TWO. Subsequent research has told me that what seems to be those very same dresses are sold \elsewhere for $50 to $150!  My my.  It really is a big tube of lycra with a triangular top off the left side that can be wrapped for all sorts of different looks.  Maybe I could make another one on the same model - but I haven't even worn THESE yet.  They are a bit bare - but I plan to wear them under my fancy jackets/kimonos, etc. Ha! I am dressed up with no place to GO.

(By the way, I DID run into a pattern for a very similar dress - but with a circle skirt at rostichery - Look up "rostichery + convertible dress." )  Donna Karan is featuring her own "Infinity" dress this season - but the description from the Nieman Marcus site (I think) says that the convertible wrap parts come out off the outside seams of the sheath dress with small capped sleeves.  And the neckline is much rounder than my version....But the price!  $1900 - can you imagine paying that for a jersey DRESS with absolutely no tailoring - I don't CARE if Donna Karan made it!  But looking up these thing on the net is a pastime of mine).

Oh, for frustrated fashionistas out there - in the fall edition of Marie Claire (one of my free subscriptions) - they have a booklet "The New Way to Shop"  which has a long list of fashion sites on the net.  I know a few, but I will have fun investigating the others, even though their idea of a bargain is and $800 dress that has been marked down to $600.

I also got some sample, mostly of lotions, from Macy's at the Clarin counter - and others at my favorite Oxnard healthfood store - Lassen's - I even got one up at the Rainbow Bridge in Ojai. I take the packets or "sachets" as I saw them described today on the net up to the boat.  They are great for traveling. Would be wonderful if you flew anywhere...Flying used to be fun,but it's more and more of a hassle, and I am glad I flew as much when I did.

Of course, I visited my favorite thrift shops on Main St. Ventura - and added to my collection of long scarves for casual wear.  The fact that these scarves are in fashion is an inspiration to me and I have been using them to jazz up my usual t-shirts and cropped pants.  But I WON'T pay $20 for one - so I stock up in the thrift stores for much less - even though I have to SHOW hubby in a walk-through in a department store what they COULD cost if I hadn't bought them at thrift stores!

Also knitting away.  Acquired some more yarn at a thrift shop and went back to get enough to to make a long vest.  I am  getting a sense of how much is required for a project -  even though I have just been making do what what I have picked up.  EVERYONE is getting scarves this XMAS - I knit away watching TV, and all the practice is making me a better and better knitter.  It's fun to mix and match colors and different sorts of yarns.  Even though that's dictated by what I have on hand, it has turned out very nicely, in ways that I couldn't have foreseen.  Also downloading free knitting patterns from the net.  Just got one from www.favecrafts.com for a shawl knitted on circular needles, which I haven't tried yet...

Well, there were also some free meals at the clubhouse - and because we were there on Thursday, we got to receive some of the free produce and fruit that one of the residents always leaves there to be shared. There were even raspberries - and lots of  fresh bell peppers.

Money is tight, so we mostly ate picnic style on the boat - It's really like camping without the bother of a tent.  I did have to go see my doctor - but he put me on some meds - which did make me dizzy - but I think I have finally gotten used to them.

I suppose it was business as usual at the boat - but it's so nice up there, who cares?  It's like a long sunlit dream - which does make it hard to come back to the city, even if I DO have a tree right outside my window.

The city has its charms, though.  And I got cheap tix for hubby and me to go to the Hollywood Bowl.  We were in the nosebleed section for the Thursday classical concert - they used to be the $1 seats, heaven knows where they are now - but it was very easy to move down where the sightlines were better.  We will see where the $1 tickets are - because I got some for September.  We are back in town, and Mark has been asking about the Hollywood Bowl all summer - It is lovely to see the sun go down over the Hollywood Hills....but bundle up, because it gets very chilly.

So readers out there, all's well.  I am flattered that you missed me!  How are you guys doing?  As Shakespeare said "All's well that ends well."  No?

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Been off blogging becaz we have declared ourselves mostly on vacation! On July 4th we were up at the boat & made music for the celebration at the Paz Mare clubhouse - which the mgmt. provided food for - We even made some pin $, always nice.

Back here catching up on my freebie offers, as it's harder to do on the biz laptop (& no printer, besides).  I have coupons for free Arby's BBQ burgers (you hv to buy a drink - check it out on the Arby's website) but hubby is on a mostly liquid diet due to problems with his innards, oh well - He's having lots of soup & loving it.

Coloring my bare legs with the sample facial moisturizers w/self tanning Lotion - it's light, but my legs don't look deadly white, either.  (And I don't use it on my face anyway...)

Got some moisturizer w/SPF 28 on sale at the drugstore for 25% off - (The spf 15 I will save for the winter.) Still have a lot of sunscreen - including the freebie spray I got and the freebie lip balm w/ spf, too)

Have all my bargain bathing suits - all new ones from thrift shops - did they not fit?  And one oldie but goodie in good shape.  Even fit into the one which was a bit tight last summer.  Yeah team! Using my 3/4 jeans plus tshirts witht my coordinating visors (from thrift shops) - and adding scarves.  Boy, the color coordination and the scarf really add a finished touch to a rather plain tshirt!  And I am wearing my bargain boat shoes in pink and green.  The tan nylon purse was picked up by hubby on a sale table at an ofc. store & I added tassels.  And, of course, my bargain sunglasses. 

Gotta bring the wraparound sunglasses I picked up to the boat, as they really help me with the glare of being out in the water with the sun shining like mad! You can tell, I DON"T tan & avoid sunburns like the plague.  For you younger ones, remember to put sunscreen on the back of your hands when you put it on your face to avoid age spots later on! And get some eye cream or eye makeup with some spf, too!

I use my samples of cream cleanser to better wash my face on the boat - and keep samples of hand cream and lotion w/spf to put on (the spf becaz I sweat off my sunscreen more often than not).  Also, always lipstuff for hubby.  Good to have dollar store sunscreen in the car.  We always leave some on the boat. It may weaken somewhat with age - but still seems to work...

A friend came up & we all played tourists & showed him around Ojai & downtown Ventura.  We even hit the thrift shops, and he managed to come up with a Victorian chair for $7!! And a real cut glass lamp for $5 - I just picked up scarves & little summer Michelle Obama sweaters...& dollar tshirts.  We also found some 2 prs. of great loafers for hubby - surprise! They are top quality & at $7 each!!!! So you can find men's things, too.

The Rite-Aid up there is moving, so they had a big sale - 75% off - & we got a bunch of stuff, from fiber supplements to vitamins to hair clips to underwear! We usually stock up when we run into opportunities like that! Everything was $3 and under...

So, we are budget vacationing and playing tourists in our own home territory - but we live in a great area here in So. Cal. - so it's hardly a sacrifice - & the beach is MUCH cooler than inland!

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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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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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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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