July Budget Roundup

flowers from front of house beds

July's Grocery Budget $400 less YTD overage of $269.40=$130.60


Actual $466.26. Over by $335.66 YTD

Coupons Used $23.86


No haircuts this month so Annual Hair Budget $400
= $142.20 for rest of 2012



This is the month that I try and reduce the YTD grocery overage which occured all from the last three months due in part to restocking the pantry and the move which can throw budgets out of whack. Now that my pantry is mostly full I am only buying when there is a great deal. We are eating at home a lot more than we used to before the move and that is making an impact in the budget, but I fully intend to stay within the $400 budget this month and chip away a bit at the overage.

I made scones for the first time using this recipe from allrecipes.com and added some cinnamin, cloves, raisins and milk as found it too dry without adding more moisture. They were yummy but a little more like a cookie than scones. Rather than cut them I just dropped them biscuit style.

I also made tzatziki from scratch using some Greek yogurt obtained for free with a coupon - it was amazing and I will definitely make it again. No pictures of that as it was long gone before I thought about taking a picture. The recipe can be found here at Kalyn's Kitchen. I highly recommend using proper Greek yogurt and fresh dill.

Miniature rose in container pot on my patio

There are two small tomatoes growing with several blossoms on the two tomato plants we keep in containers on the back patio. As they were not purchased until the last week of June they are later than normal for this time of year. Luckily September here is normally georgous and sunny so they have some time yet to grow. Each plant was $1.14 on sale so if we get a couple of tomatoes out of it they will have paid for themselves.

What I haven't shown you is the bug eaten petunias in pots at the front of the house. I have been battling with earwigs for two weeks and they were winning but this week I started getting the upper hand. Next year I will research annual plants they don't like eating or hang the pots rather than put them on the ground. They don't seem to like tomatoes, roses, or hot peppers.

Hubby made dinner and brought in some flowers the other night for me. I had the same colour hydrangea in my bouquet when we got married and now enjoy them in the front flowerbed. There were orange lilies that bloomed a few weeks ago and now these pink ones are in bloom. The black cat was a souvenir brought back from Egypt fifteen years ago. The vases are actually pillar candle holders that I bought at a garage sale about five years ago, hubbys idea to put the flowers in them.

Have a great day!

Clothing Budget Update - Silk!

I haven't posted much this week as have been out and about wading in the ocean, baking, reading and watching movies.

The only thrifted finds this week were for us; two beer mugs for hubby (no pics as in the freezer) and this fabulous Jones of New York silk blouse. I don't really need any clothes so have decided not to buy anything unless it is so great I couldn't find it again. This blouse met that criteria,$6.75 found at Salvation Army.

It feels wonderful! Very classy, and looks great with capris and a tank underneath too.

The annual clothing budget for me this year was $200. Including this purchase I have only spent $34.47 = $165.53 for rest of 2012. This has only been achieved by buying used in thrift stores. I steer clear of buying clothing at garage sales as always like to try on clothing before I buy it.

My hair and grocery budgets are not doing as well as clothing so in an effort to balance budgets if need be at the end of the year I will transfer unused funds from clothing to those other categories.

Today I am off to try and get my passport renewed as runs out next month. Cheers!

Playing In The Sand

Part of the pleasure of living on Vancouver Island is that if you want to day trip, this is day trip heaven. Drive one hour in any direction and you will find a little town, park, farm market or beach to explore.

This week we drove to Parksville which is just over an hour's drive from our home to check out the Sand Sculptures from their competition over the weekend. These scultures are on display for several weeks if you happen to be in the area.

They were pretty amazing. Some were done by individuals, some were done by groups. We wondered how they would stay together for a whole month on display. The answer is a misting of biodegradeable white glue that is applied several times a day for the first week along with water.

A lot of the beaches on Vancouver Island are made of small pebbles. This area is known for sandy beaches, great for swimming and looking for sand dollars. The perfect setting for a sand sculpting competition.

This mermaid was my personal favorite and was done by an individual.

Are you enjoying your summer?

Linking up with Elaine at Sunny Simple Life's Sunny Simple Sunday.

Thrifty Finds for Our New Home

Most of this week's thrifty finds were purchased for our new home. We downsized from our Alberta home with 3600 sq foot of living area (two storey with finished walkout basement) to 1700 sq foot bungalow with crawlspace. Yes, we were spoiled with space on our previous residence. I used to have two fridges plus a full size industrial freezer. The previous owner of that house was an appliance dealer so we had great appliances. Our new home has good appliances but the tiniest freezer on the fridge. Too small to put a frozen pizza in without removing some of the shelves (goes down the full right hand side of the fridge but only about seven inches wide). I tried to cope with it, but with no hope of ever fitting a frozen turkey or lasagna in it something had to give.

Enter Kijiji.ca! For $120 we purchased a 3.5 cubic ft mini Danby freezer. We have almost no space to put a freezer so this was the maximum size or I would have had to live with the current fridge-freezer. They are new at Costco and Canadian Tire for $230 including tax but I didn't want to spend that much. This one even had the original tags from Costco still on it, works like a charm and was spotless. The couple who sold it to us even delivered it in their car as our car was not quite big enough (we tried). It has so-so reviews on the internet but for $120 I am willing to take a chance. I have already filled it with family packs of meat in an effort to keep my overall grocery bill down (although I have already blown the July grocery budget - crap). It fits very nicely in my laundry room(off the kitchen) and has wheels so can be moved if it gets in the way.

Husband found this sweet little Czeckoslovakian egg cup sitting on a dumpster at the recycling centre so he brought it home for me. It has a couple of chips so I turned them to the back and he now lives on my stove.

I found one item for resale which is also my first Holt Howard piece - this cute little psychedelic piggie trivet. Who knew Holt Howard made trivets? I didn't.

I have a self-imposed rule that I can only purchase books now if 25 cents or less and it is something I can later resell at a flea market (due to large amount of books sitting in my "to read" pile). These three books were 25 cents each this morning at a garage sale.

Finally, one find I am a bit on the fence about. We need some art for a couple of walls and I bought this at a garage sale this morning for $20 but may resell it as not really sure I love it. Initially I was attracted to the seagulls, and Husband likes it and so we have agreed to temporarily put it up and will replace it with something we like better at a later date. For now it actually goes with the colours of our living room. This large painting was done by Vanguard Studios who mass produced affordable art in California in the 1970s. The prices on their large art pieces like this(5 ft x 3 ft) is all over the map as many artists worked under one name at this studio. A similar piece is selling for $600 on EBAY here
but as we all know, true value is only in what someone is really willing to pay, not the asking price. It was filthy so I gave it a good scrubbing (not fine art so won't hurt it) with a solution of water and dish soap. Fortunately, it does not appear to be from a smoking home as does not smell and came fairly clean.

Would you have bought it?

Enjoying The Beach

We have been thoroughly enjoying the sunny weather the past two weeks. Last week I packed up some bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and we had a picnic dinner at the beach.

The Air Cadets were overhead in the glider aircraft. You can even see a bit of the tow rope in this picture.

The skies are still very smoky as with no rain the smoke from the Colorado and Siberian fires are leaving very hazy skies. It seems so strange that smoke would travel from Siberia here but that is what they say on the news.

Are you enjoying your summer?

Vintage Goodness!

I am having a lot of fun finding stock for my future ETSY shop. This week was no exception. In between getting my car insured, getting a new B.C. drivers license and painting our spare bedroom in preparation for a family visit I snuck in some thrifting.

I actually passed up this cute little preserve jar last week as from a distance thought it was modern. This week I had more time at the thrift store and realized it definitely is vintage. The inside shows a little yellowing and some age but it is very cute and would look great in someone's 1950s inspired kitchen.

Another piece of Blue Mountain Pottery, this time a small swan planter.

I am really not sure what this little red glass container is. It looks like an apple, is made of glass and painted red on exterior only similar to Pyrex. It is not marked. The glass is very thick so am pretty sure it is vintage. If anyone recognizes it please let me know.

This vintage wrapping paper is still sealed in the original plastic and is SO CUTE! If I only knew someone having a baby!

My first Vintage Christmas find! This little Eatons bottle brush tree came in the original foiled box and seems complete except I think it is missing it's topper. I found this at a garage sale last weekend. For those who live outside of Canada Eatons was the primary department store for Canada from the early 1900s until the late 1990s when it went out of business.

Finally, my favorite find of the week. In 1964 someone repurposed an old film canister into a cookie tin. They painted it in this great design and fortunately signed it giving me some indication of it's age. There were even a few ancient crumbs in it! This was found in a basket underneath a clothing rack. It pays to dig.

Linking up with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds and Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

A Lovely Day By The Ocean

Pub table view on oceanside patio for dinner

Fishermans Wharf at Sunset

Boat selling the days catch, shrimp, at Fishermans Wharf

Someone's live aboard sailboat container garden - herbs and some lettuce

One of Comox's resident deer, right downtown, a daily sighting

Yesterday was a great day, one filled with all of my favorite things. The morning was spent with hubby garage saling. There were not that many as most people were off enjoying the sunshine and moderate 23 degrees celcius temperature. We picked up a few items for the house, a pepper grinder, blow-dryer and one vintage item for my Etsy shop which I will share with you in a different post.

Next was lunch at home and then on to the beach - the ocean ashort five minute drive away. Two hours spent picking shells, watching seals in the binoculars, reading and tanning.

Finally, we splurged (yes, we do that occassionally) and ate dinner out at an oceanside pub that overlooks fishermans wharf. After dinner, a walk around the wharf looking at all the fishing boats and pleasure vessels.

Today was definitely one of those "living rich on the cheap" days, like a vacation in your own home town. I love our new life.

May and June Budget Results

Due to an extremely busy life no budget results were posted for May so today I will post both May and June.

May's Grocery Budget was $426.57 minus April overage of .45 = $426.12.

This includes all food, over counter medication, cleaning supplies and items like shampoo, razors, and other bathroom products.

Actual results were $595.68 - over by $169.56.
Coupons used $16.88.
Yes, way over budget. The reason for the overage is we switched gears from selling the Alberta house to having my adult step-children occupying it while they attend college so some groceries were purchased to be left behind.

June's Grocery Budget $400 less May overage of $169.56 = $230.44
This budget is now permanently lowered to $400 per month based on our new life.
Results: $499.84. Over by $269.40
Coupons used: $38.87
I had to buy a lot of items from scratch this month. Only a few groceries were transported like spices, oatmeal and some canned items that the boys would not use back in Alberta. Instead of buying smaller sizes to try and stay within budget I bought large quantity at lowest prices. Most of the pantry is completely stocked up except for the freezer.

$2 glass jar being used as a pantry cannister says "British Made" on bottom, purchased at Salvation Army

This month will be spent trying to find a good source of low cost meat, scratch cooking and using coupons to assist with reducing the grocery costs. Realistically there is no way I can make up the overage by the end of July but I will try and reduce it, chipping away at it each month in an effort to be fully accountable. The goal is to make up the overage by end of 2012.

$4.75 Capri Pants purchased at Salvation Army

Annual Clothing Budget $200
May spent $12.98 on Jeans and a t-shirt at Goodwill
June spent $4.75 on capri pants at Salvation Army
= $172.28 for rest of 2012
The secret to maintaining a frugal wardrobe is to shop thrift stores and to be continously looking to add pieces, even if that means buying one or two items per month. The capri pants were a necessity for this new more relaxed lifestyle. I do not feel deprived at all and am very happy with my current wardrobe even though I have only spent a grand total of $27.72 so far this year. If I could lose 10 pounds I would have even more clothes to feel comfortable in as there are a few items in the closet that are a bit tight and therefore I am not wearing. Rather than give in I am challenging myself to lose 10 lbs by October 1. Current weight 146 pounds - just putting that out there for the record.


Annual Hair Budget $400
May spent $50 on a cut = $142.20 for rest of 2012
If necessary I will pull some money from the clothing budget to add to the hair budget as am doing better in that category. I had my regular hair dresser in Alberta cut it extra short on the last visit and am considering letting it grow until October when I am going back for a family visit and can book an appointment with her. If it gets really bad I will try and get a cut with a local hairdresser which is kind of inevitable at some point. I have a really great relationship with my hairdresser and have found it difficult to find someone I like to cut my hair in the past so am very loyal to her. Husband is not willing to have a go nor am I willing to let him near me with a pair of scissors and my mother's eyesight is not good enough for that either.

As I get older(42 now) I find myself avoiding crowds so we spent a quiet Canada day visiting the CFB Comox Airforce musuem which was quite interesting with a drive to the ocean afterwards. Even though it was mostly cloudy it did not rain so was a nice pleasant mild day.

The unpacking of the house is mostly sorted. There have been a few more expenses than initially anticipated as we have had to buy things here like a lawnmower, hoses, and toilet plungers that we would have moved if we had sold the house but were left in Alberta with the house there. In the end, hopefully, this gamble of keeping the Alberta house for two years will pay off until the market gets stronger.

I am off to plant some flowers and do some weeding. Have a great day!

Thrifting This Week

Happy Canada Day!


Early in the week I went on an overnight visit with my mother who lives two hours away from our new home. On the way I stopped at a thrift store close to home, which now rates as the worst thrift store - ever! Everything was way overpriced to the point I walked out and bought nothing and do not intend to go back. Antique mall prices with smelly gross clothes and overpriced everything. Really? $13 for that gigantic stuffed animal out front that reeks of cigarette smoke? I thought my thrifting luck had finally run out.

Ironically, the very next day near my Mother's home I found the best thrift store I have been to in ages. Nothing in the store was priced which always makes me nervous. I picked up two items, asked how much and was quoted an unbelievably low price - yippee! Highly unusual as this was a non-charity thrift store. It appears the owner buys at auctions and just wants a fair price out of the inventory.

There I found this cute made in Japan Vintage Hippopotamus.

And this vintage Made in West Germany Goebel cat - still with original sticker on the bottom.

My time was limited as was on my way home but intend to revisit it in the near future with at least an hour to do a good browse. What made the visit even nicer was the owner and staff were extremely pleasant.

My mother gifted me these great items from her wedding cake in 1961, bride, groom and two flower girls. Aren't they great?

What did you find in your thrifting travels this week? Linking up with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds.