Thursday thrift...

Mother Nature has decided to have a bit of a tanty in our neck of the woods-and with wind speeds of up to 120km/hr being endured it is a good time to be indoors.

 

More than 20 years ago His Lordship & I bought a timber kitchen dresser and that dresser has travelled with us eversince. She is looking a tad older-and a bit worn around the edges ( yes,yes I am too!) and at times I have been close to rehoming her. However, she is still serviceable-and with a little facelift I'm sure that she will be attractive for years to come ( a facelift for her is cheaper than one for me-at least one of us should age gracefully!).

 

As I have meandered around the internet, stalking admiring various blogs and the talented people out there I have constantly read references to "chalk paint". This "chalk paint" had me intrigued-the finishes appearing on the projects I was stalking admiring resonated with me.

However living in a country town in Australia has meant that this "chalk paint" would not be easy to obtain..........so when I started to see upcycled furniture using homemade or DIY chalk paint I started looking at my kitchen dresser with desire.

 

 

I have to go to work in the afternoon, so I decided to remove the 3 glass doors and try the DIY chalk paint on them.

 

 

I had half a tin of white latex all in one primer and paint ( 500ml), so I gathered the rest of the supplies:

 

Painters tape ( scotch blue)

Paintbrushes ( use cheap ones to toss out if you like-this paint is STICKY!)

Old floral sheet  Drop cloth

Special paint stands Plastic cups

Baking soda/bicarb soda

Raw umber acrylic paint

special paint stirrer chopstick

 

 

 I stood the old door on the special paint stands plastic cups

 

and taped around the edge of the glass.

 

then added 1 cup baking soda/bicarb soda to the paint and using my special paint stirrer chopstick, stirred it until it was smooth. I also added a few blobs of Raw Umber paint to take the brightness off the white latex paint.

 

 

I applied one coat over the entire door ( chased the cat away), admiring it's rustic chalkiness and alluring farmhouse charm ( too far?) Have I mentioned that this stuff is STICKY?

 

Later on I added some fabric I had left over and hung my baby here:

 

This is me being impatient- I have yet to sand & wax the old door  new frame!

 

I can see those of you who already knew about the transforming powers of chalk paint sagely nodding your heads as you read this. Please don't judge me for coming late to the fold- I live in Australia...it sometimes takes us a little longer to learn about such things!

 

 

 

 

Thursday Thrift....

Water, H2O, aqua, wasser, agua,maji or dwr-regardless of the language we can't live without water! On our little acre of paradise we rely solely on rainwater-so when we built the house we installed 4 large tanks. All up, we store just under 100,000litres of pure, FREE rainwater!

His Lordship has been spotted on the odd occasion gazing at the tanks with something akin to adoration on his face, he then happily wanders off muttering something about never having another water bill......sometimes it is so easy to keep a Banker with a mix of Scottish and Welsh blood happy!

Ok,Ok...I MAY be exaggerating-but not by much! Did I mention that he is a BANKER? With Scottish and Welsh ancestry? I'm not saying that he is tight-but a fish's sphincter muscle comes to mind..... I should point out at this point that he doesn't read my blog-technophobe bigtime is my darling!

Back to the topic at hand-Water.

 

 

Not only is water an integral part of our very existence ( just ask anyone on the African continent suffering through drought!), but it is also one of the easiest and cheap ways to save a dollar-or two these days!

 

Glass half full or half empty?

 

 

Here in the Casa, we keep 3 bottles of water chilled in the fridge at all times ( yes, one of these bottles is a recycled wine bottle-nice drop it was too!)

 





Pretty blue bottle.

 

We also have a collection of refillable drink bottles ( usually obtained at little or no cost at conferences etc-did I mention His Lordship's ancestry? Or that he is a banker?) which live in a plastic crate at the bottom of the pantry-filled up from the chilled fridge water and taken whenever we leave the house there is no need to spend money on water when out and about.

 

Yesterday I saw a shop selling bottled water for $4-for a 400ml bottle! Geez-that means that our 100,000litres in the backyard is worth a small fortune-yay, we are rich! Woohoo-wait until I tell His Lordship...... * cue theme music from the Beverley Hillbillies here.....

 

 

So, with a little forethought ( and a decent wine drinking session-you NEED those empties for water storage......), you need never buy bottled water again....well, rarely anyhow!

 

Just because I like the photo....





Thursday thrift....

Do you bake? CAN you bake? If not-why not? Baking from scratch is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to save yourself some of your $$$$. I know some people are intimidated about getting in the kitchen ( it comes with the house for a reason people..... ;) ) and creating culinary concocotions-but I truly don't understand it.

Baking is a form of chemistry-and unlike high school chemistry where you had to memorise elemental tables ( elemental? More like just plain old mental if you ask me!) etc, with Kitchen Chemistry all you have to do is precisely follow a recipe ( if you are a beginner- I tend to tweak these days...)and voila! Food!

I had a craving for a deeply decadent chocolate mud cake this week- but didn't have any chocolate in the house ( I didn't have any because if I buy it it gets eaten and then when I need some there is none, so I buy it and it gets eaten and then when I need it.....get the picture? ) so I used the Frugal Chocolate Cake recipe which is a great standby. I noticed that Sandra at http://alifeslowingdown.blogspot.com.au/ also uses this recipe- tasty isn't it Sandra?

 My lovely Kitchen Aid Mixer- AKA as the Porn Star after someone called it Kitchen Porn-isn't she beautiful? Oh, and that is the cocoa/water mix & eggs waiting to go in.

 Creaming butter and sugar

 Mmmm.....delicious and decadent....these days I get to lick the beater because the fledglings have flown and I tend to cook when no-one else is at home-just so that I can lick the beater!

My secret tweak- a couple of spoonfuls of a locally distilled Green Walnut Liquer. I also topped the cake with a White Chocolate ganache-to juxtapose with the deep chocolate colour of the cake itself.

Sorry-no after pics because the cake was soooooo good that there isn't any left! His Lordship scoffed it- I promise....leaving me to but taste the crumbs ( Ok,ok maybe a slice or two!)

Thursday thrift.....

Recently our 4th ( in April) and 5th (in July) grandchildren were born-we are loving being grandparents in our mid 40s...it means that we have enough energy to keep up with the kidlets!

Anyway, being quite the doting grandmother; I wanted to make something for each of the grandies that would be unique-but also affordable!  I ended up deciding to create a framed "artwork" of their names. I chose scrapbooking paper, printed out their names in a font from the computer and then placed that over the top sheet of paper. Cutting around the printed letters with a sharp craft knife created the names in the top sheet-with a contrasting coour underneath the names then "popped".


Note to young players.....lightly tape the computer print out to the top sheet of scrapbooking paper ( on the non-visible side!) to ensure it stays put. Makes it MUCH easier to cut around the curves....don't ask how I know, I just do! ;)
A frame each from one of the bargain shops and voila!- cheap and cheerful gifts!

I can't find the photos of the 3 for the eldest boys, so I'll just show the two youngest's. :)

Any other cheap and cheerful gift ideas out there?

Thursday Thrift...

I find that one of the biggest challenges to living a thrifty/frugal/smart life is the "little" expenses. The unexpected or unnecessary costs...it is easy to spend $10 or $20 a day with little effort-which ads up to $3650 or $7300/year!

I'm talking about the coffee/softdrink/newspaper you grab at the local shop, the $10 spent on a lunch because you aren't at home or didn't premake something-all seemingly minor costs.

If I handed you $7300 in cash right now, what would you do with it?

My suggestions are twofold-spend meaningfully and spend more time at home. If you don't leave your house every day there will be less opportunity to let that hard earned cash slip through your fingers-plus you will probably find time to do activities around your home which will also save more money. Baking, gardening, window washing-all activities which "busy" people tend to pay others to do...

Have you thought about inviting friends to your home for a coffee morning or afternoon tea? It would cost you less than going elsewhere-and if you find tidying your home gets away from you, then having visitors tends to be a great impetus to get it done!

Thursday Thrift....

I've had a tough couple of weeks with illhealth and work committments. Also, our youngest daughter had some complications with her pregnancy, but happily I can announce that on Tuesday July 3rd at 1-15pm our first granddaughter, Isabelle Tamsyn was born. It was a tough labour, requiring a forceps delivery and Isabelle needed a little assistance to commence breathing as the cord was wrapped around her neck a couple of times. However, mum & baby are now doing just fine! :)

Today's Thursday Thrift is based on leftovers. Obviously, leftovers are thrifty-but how do you present them so that they appear to be a totally different meal? Last night we had what I call Mexican Chicken Bake.

On Monday night we had a spicy chicken casserole which had simmered away in the slowcooker all day-served over a bed of rice that night it was a lovely meal for a cold winter's night.

Then last night I used the leftover casserole & rice to fill 8 tortilla wraps-which I rolled and placed side by side in a lightly greased baking dish. A jar of salsa oured over the top, cheese sprinkled over that....and voila! Mexican Chicken Bake!

I cooked it at 160c for 25 or 30 mins-just until the wraps have crisped around the edges and the cheese has browned. Served with a homegrown salad, it was perfect!

There is also enough left for lunch today!

PS: Sorry, no photos because we ate it before I thought of photos!

Thursday thrift.......

I'm sitting at my desk, gazing out across our backyard at all the trees and plants and I realized last night that I have planted each and every one! At the time I wasn't thinking about that fact, instead I was focused on transforming our bare acre from pasture land into an area which would feed and nurture us.

Now that everything is growing I have been able to begin to appreciate the planning and thought put into that transformation. Our garden is but a baby-18 months old; yet it is already a place of fulfillment.

How does that relate to a Thursday Thrift post I hear you ask? Well, yes we have spent money on fruit trees and fencing, on shelter trees and concrete areas-but there are also plants which were free. Plants which are cuttings or divisions from others.

Much of the edging has been created from rocks which were dug up when the house was being built-and His Lordship dug out the seasonal ponds with a shovel!! The pathways winding through the garden beds have been marked and dug by me-also with a shovel!

We have used leftover colorbond from the roof for some fencing sections and leftover pallets to block areas between the watertanks. Instead of planting lawn seed or turf, we are encouraging the grass which is already in situ to spread-if it's tough enough to stand up to cows grazing it in the past, it will be tough enough to stand up to the kids & dogs which will trample all over it!

When you are creating a garden from scratch it need not be an expensive exercise-paying a small fortune for a landscaper is not necessary. Instead, allowing yourself to dream of a space which becomes your sanctuary and then gradually creating that space yourself will become a cherished part of your life-and it may only take a little digging!

Thursday thrift....

Entertaining essentials.

I was thinking back to the early days for His Lordship and I and how little money we had. Our first mortgage, a wedding to pay for, two children with a third soon to follow!

We rarely went out together-we just couldn't afford the cost! With no family nearby we couldn't even afford to pay the teenager down the road to babysit-in fact, we would book my mum a year in advance to stay for a weekend in Decmber so that we could both attend a work Christmas Party!

Sounds like a dull life doesn't it? Nothing could be further from the truth! In those days we had far more dinner parties than we do now!


Friends seemed to love coming to our house for a 3 course meal-all cooked from scratch with very cheap ingredients!

Our street at the time resounded most Saturday nights with lots of laughter as we took turns gathering at one home or another-sometimes it was bring a dish, at others someone or another would host us all

In the years since then our income improved-and at times we became "busy" with the number of social outings to attend. Our children are no longer at home, so babysitting isn't an issue!

Now however, I find playing host at home much more satisfying. Once again I am enjoying cooking those meals for appreciative friends & family-these days the young children playing in the house are our grandchildren and their friends and I couldn't be happier!

It doesn't take much to pull together a meal for people and in this colder weather something cooked in the slowcooker is always a hit!

Pasta, roasts, curries-all relatively cheap to provide and please most! Homemade Pizzas are usually met with enthusiasm by younger generations-especially if they are allowed to assemble them!

What do you do to entertain on a budget?

Thursday Thrift.....

I don't have any money saving tips today. Instead, as I sat down at the laptop and gazed out over our currently lush, verdant backyard and watched the hens scratching under the fruit trees I began to muse...

That's when I decided that this week I would post about something which is absolutely free; yet could make a massive difference to your life and how you live it.

What could be so momentous I hear you ask? What could possibly change or better yet, confirm  the direction your days are going in and cost nothing?

Dreams, meditation, musing. Call it what you will, but take the time to just sit and let your mind wander where it will. Let your heart quietly bring your hopes and dreams to the fore and then, yes then, decide how you will move towards them.

It has taken more than 20 years for us to be where we are now. In that time we were often too "busy" to think about what it was we really wanted-we were caught up in striving for "enough" to provide for our family. The thing is, in reality what is "enough" ?

For us, it is an acre of land close enough to town that we can still work in paid employment-yet far anough away that it is quiet.

It will be another 20 years before His Lordship considers retirement ( I work part-time and will "retire" when we have finished what we need to do to set this place up) and by then the fruit trees will be in full production, our vegie garden will be following the rhythms of the year, our hens will be still scratching around and our needs will be few.

That is our dream.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - -- Henry David Thoreau

Thursday thrift......

My husband had an early start this morning-so last night I organised a packed lunch for him to take: homemade biscuits & chicken splitpea curry. Both items were leftovers frm the day before-so instead of him spending $10 or so for lunch, it has cost very little. It is rare for him to buy lunch these days-and at up to $50/week saved our bottom line is healthier for it!

By baking/cooking bulk meals, costs are kept to a minimum. For example, the chicken splitpea curry used two chicken breasts, a pack of yellow split peas and 3 cups of chopped vegetables with a can of chopped tomatoes. Cooked in the slow cooker whilst I was at work, this effort has provided us with 6 meals ( 3 serves each)

The biscuit recipe is fantastic ( and cheap-we like cheap!) because once you make the dough you can store it in the freezer until required. When you find yourself hankering after a sweet treat ( or those pesky in-laws drop in unannounced!) you can remove a roll of dough and in less than 20mins you have fresh biscuits!



What hapens in your family? Do you buy lunch or do you enjoy taking a packed meal from home?

Thursday thrift....

Don't spend-save. Very much the message that is out there in the current financial climate. Question is-if you are on a low income ( and I know many who are) just HOW do you save? Every cent is counted for, allocated, devoured by day to day expenses. Right?

I say that you can, indeed save-even if you are on the barest of margins with whatever source your income takes.

Get yourself one of those money tins-the type which can only be opened with a can opener-they can be purchased cheaply at any of the $2 type shops ( consider it an investment). It is important that you cannot open the container easily!

Every payday put $5 in there-more if you can. Do this BEFORE grocery shopping-you really won't miss it! If your grocery budget is $150/week-then put the money in the tin and THEN do your shopping. Choose a couple of cheaper products and you will find that it is easy to do without that $5.

Even if you can only allocate that $5/week for 1 year-at the end of the year you will have $260. Enough to treat you and/or your family to some thing special!

Thursday thrift....

I haven't "cooked" a meal since Saturday.

 How does that relate to Thursday thrift? Well...on Saturday night we had 12 people here for dinner. I cooked a lasagne, french onion slowcooker chicken casserole, homemade apple pie, bread & butter pudding and tossed a large salad.

When I cooked the bolognaise sauce for the lasagna I made extra-which has since been sighted at our dining table as Chilli Beef and Fettucini Bolognaise. The chicken casserole was also resurrected-as Chicken Crumble Pie ( sourdough crumbs and cheese sprinkled over the top and baked until crispy) and Chicken Risotto.

Leftover lasagna also went down a treat!

I had spent $8-96 on the beef mince ( 2 kilos ) and $9-20 for the kilo of chicken thigh fillets-so for a grand total of $18-16 in the meat budget I have served 22 meals! Less than $1/serve for the meat component!

The other thrifty part of the whole process is the fact that other than boiling some water for the fettucini ( the risotto used up leftover rice from Saturday night) all the cooking was done in a couple of hours!

Thursday thrift.....

Here's a way to jazz up the much maligned mainstay of broke uni students world wide- 2 minute noodles! This is a great recipe for kidlets to be involved in as well.....


Noodle Cups

2 x 85g packets of 2 minute noodles (lightly crushed or left whole-up to you)
3 cups grated vegetables ( carrot, zucchini, onion, sweet potato-whatever floats your boat!)
2 eggs-lightly beaten
1/2cup light sour cream (milk, evaporated milk or cream will work as well)
1/2 cup chopped ham ( or whatever is lurking in your fridge)
1/2 cup shredded tasty cheese.

Spray a muffin tray.

Preheat oven to 180c

Cook noodles, then drain under cold water.

Add remainning ingredients-EXCEPT cheese, mix well.

Place in muffin tins and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 30 -35mins.