Rayen

Let's see how I did on the latest round of wannabuts, or thrift items that I want but only if I can get them for the minimum bid. This lot of vintage linens had in it a vintage tablecloth I fell in love with, but I was willing to pay only $10.00 for it. Alas, linen lovers swarmed the listing, and the final bid was a whopping $56.00. I haven't tried doing latch hook in years, and this kit would have made a nice big rug, too. Did I get it for $10.00? Nope. The final bid ended up being $23.01. Taste of Home cookbooks are fun to read, but I wanted these three for no more than $13.00 -- and I got them for $12.99! Really delighted about that, and looking forward to discovering some new recipes.

After cleaning out my wardrobe back in December I decided to bid on a lot of eight tops listed as new with tags, and won it for the minimum bid with no challengers. The price tags that came with the garments blew me away; from left to right these three were tagged $112.00 (marked down to 55.99), $49.50, and $42.00. The green cableknit sweater on the left is Ralph Lauren Polo, brand new, but had no tags. It retails used for $152.99. The white and gray striped hoodie is Tommy Hilfiger, new but no tags, and retails used for $39.99. The gray gradient top was tagged $48.00. The sleeveless striped top was tagged $89.50, and the Chicos blue print also had no tags, but it comparable to one that retails for $89.00. Here are all the tags. All together the lot retailed even with the clearance markdown for a whopping total of $566.97. I paid $14.99 for everything. Savings: $551.98.

Yes, it's another round of wannabuts, or thrift items that I want but only if I can get them for the minimum bid. This lot of vintage linens is in wonderful shape, and includes a vintage tablecloth I fell in love with at first sight. Can I win it? There were a bunch of these latch hook kits up for bid in December, a craft I haven't done in years. It makes a big rug, too. Will I get it for the price I want to pay? I really like Taste of Home cookbooks, so this trio caught my eye. Even the vintage variety are fun to read, and they sometimes give me new ideas for our meals. Will I get them for the minimum bid? Stay tuned to the blog to find out. :)

While shopping for Christmas gifts I picked up a copy of Sarah Abbondio's Mini Amigurumi Animals, which hass instructions on how to make 26 different little critters out of small amounts of yarn. I want to learn more crochet toy patterns and use up my scraps, so it seemed like a fun way to do both. The book is written in UK crochet terms, which isn't a problem for me, as I've done patterns from both sides of the pond. My trick is to put a sticky note by the pattern with the conversions. The author tells you how to make three sizes of the critters in the patterns. The pattern for the little rabbit was easy enough, and I put him together in a couple of nights back in December. I thought the proportions for the head and body were a bit off, as were the measurements for the finished bunny. It's possible I use a too-thick yarn, too. If you want to invest in this book, use fingering weight yarn, not worsted. I might try to make all the critters in the...

Back in October and November it was garage sale season in our little town, which allowed me to pick up these seven hardcovers from a neighbor for $15.00. New they'd retail for over $180.00. Finding nice bras my size on sale never happens. Thrifting this Ambrielle bra new with tags for $15.99 was easy. The cherry on top was seeing it retailed for $40.00. :)

One dish I miss from the days when dining out was more affordable is Ruby Tuesday's broccoli and cheese soup. I would order that with the salad bar on an endless combo where you get as many soup and salad refills as you like. I have been known to eat three bowls of that delicious soup. I made my own version of the soup at home, but it never tasted quite the same, so I went looking for a copycat recipe, and found one that is so close I'd have a hard time telling the difference. Some tweaks: I cut down the amounts quite a bit to make two bowls rather than an entire pot. I did not use water, celery, tabasco, lemon juice, white pepper or dry mustard in mine, and I used a sprinkle of celery seed, one slice of processed cheese, 1/3 cup of shredded medium cheddar cheese, my own homemade chicken broth, a couple shakes of worchestershire sauce, and about half a cup of broccoli. I made the adjustments mainly because that's what I had on hand, and what I thought would ta...

Back in December we made a visit to our local no-kill cat shelter to make a holiday donation and visit with the kitties. To see the pics I took of the lovely cats, check out my album here .