New Yr's Eve

We have finally gotten up to the boat up in Oxnard - and it has been warmer than I thought - (altho today 12/31, it's foggy and chilly) -

We have been thinking about New Yr's Eve, which we spend up here - and finally decided to hang out with the crowd up at the clubhouse here - They plan to grill outside - and there is even going to be a spread - So we picked up some champagne - the Chandon was on sale and then some Barefoot bargain bubbly...

I have never been able to justify spending $100 per person for New Year's Eve!  They are advertising $55 per person as a bargain! We have in years past just found a local joint and danced rock n roll - we are going to stay close to the harbor - but there are options if the clubhouse is too quiet...

I had planned my wardrobe for a restaurant or such - not for the clubhouse - but we went to the thrift shops of Main St. Ventura and I somehow picked up a top with gold embroidery at the neck (from the Limited, it says)  for $.95!!  which I can wear with jeans & glittery sox for $.30 (and a scarf at the Dollar Tree) - with the glittery shoes that I brought along and my gold toned jewelry.  That should do it....And we also picked up two 2000 fairly sturdy champagne flutes for $.10 each....At least we will know which drinks are ours.

We hit the local Dollartree and 99 Cent Store - and I got some more headbands - stretchy wide ones in gray/blue/black - if they weren't so cheap, I couldn't afford the variety - and they do rescue my hair! And I bought more of the lotion my hubby got for Xmas that he really liked - Found sets of short ladies sox at the 99 Cent store - and some of my garlic pills - and we picked up cleaning supplies, etc. They also had some Revlon lipstick - and I picked up one darker shade which seems to blend well, and three of the little combos. 

When I was in the drug store I checked and the regular price for Revlon lipsticks is $7.99!!  But I rarely pay that much - seems that I can make do with my favorite colors from Wet N Wild and what I can glean from the 99 Cent Store and other bargain outlets.  Whenever I see a good deal, I stock up and that seems to take care of my needs for the most part - except for mascara  - and I even got mascara at Big Lots along with my Revlon makeup  kits - (eye/lip/cheeks) for a couple of dollars.  Maybe I compensate quanitty for savings - but I don't think so if a lipstick goes for $7.99 or even 1/2 that on sale!

It is fun to look at the real prices.  I never pay them anymore - I wonder how people do...And we could never afford to go away over Xmas if not to the boat - our cottage by the sea - not when rooms at choice areas are $150/night....I hate spending that much on a room and a BED.  As my mother used to say, all you do is SLEEP in it!

Also found some more pulp fiction at a junky thrift store - included a novel from 1915 - which was quite charming - I like older popular novels sometimes...literary orphans, they are....

We end up going shopping up here - as it is easier to bop around - yesterday we went up to Carpinteria and strolled up the main drag - and I window shopped in the nice antique store - and picked up a necklace for $5 (on sale from $17!) from one of the tony dress shops & some used books from the library bookstore - Then we went for a walk on the beach and watched the sun go down - until it got chilly and we drove to the bluffs and watched the sun go into the sea and Mark took pix with the camera in my phone (I can't work it yet - but it is curiously nice to have with one...)

It was a weekday so we could go to the happy hour at the local joint, the Whale's Tail - and have their "readjustment hour" specials (selected items are 1/2 price & well drinks cheap, too) and some cheese and crackers, and a glass of wine for me - and look out on the lights in the harbor.

Oh, and on the food front, last night I cashed in my free dinner coupon for Boston Market which I received for being a Bzz Agent and in the Boston Mkt campaign- On account of it being a freebie - I got the meat - and Mark used the coupon for $3 off a dinner over $7 - so we got the whole thing for 1/2 off or $10 - such a deal! The steak was great, too and even at full price a good deal....

(And I think hubby used coupons for Subway at lunch - I am training him to use coupons for fast food....)  We have been having breakfast at home at the boat - Mark can go up and get hot coffee from the clubhouse and he bought a great soy milk creamer by Silk that has a vanilla flavor - & good for us, too.

All this makes me think of my mother - On our road trips we would have cereal for breakfast out of the little cardboard boxes they used to have that could even serve as bowls. (I ate mine dry.) and we would have picnick lunches - She even brought a little Sterno stove so she could make hot coffee or tea.  Almost camping, without the tents - just as the boat is sortta camping - but with a heater!

She taught me lots of valuable lessons - and they have served me well.  It amazes me that so many folks seem to have slept through the home lessons on thrift!  They can't do things like sew on buttons!  Amazing!

I certainly know how - and looking at my description of our Xmas vacation time, we are doing very nicely!  Happy Holidays to you, too -

Any stories on how you pinched a penny or 2 to make your holidays a great time?

P.S. Do you know that if greeting cards are a bit too large for a nice envelope - you can haul out the papercutter and trim them just a bit on both sides- so that they fit...? Did this at Xmas - but it works around the year.

Cheers to you again!  Let's hear how you all spent New Yrs.

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