Groovy Spoons

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home StuffLeave a comment

I finally got my bender mounted. I didn’t drill a pilot hole first and it’s mounted into solid wood this time.

I did one spoon and then messed around with some wire.

I love the little flowery detail.

Yep, I truly needed some hand lotion. Making the rings was really fun. I spent two hours trying to bend a spoon that I knew was really too thick to bend. I finally gave up because my palm was bruised and my fingers were so sore. Hopefully I’ll make some more spoon rings tomorrow. I have quite a few to make.

My cat Milo has finally healed up after having a puncture injury that required a vet visit. Well, O’malley came home with the same type wound. His was between his shoulder blades. I doctored it up and waited to see if I needed to make a vet appointment.

Luckily his wound healed up with no infection. In fact, I heard a crow going crazy. When I went outside to see what was going on this is what I saw.

That’s O’malley up in the tree. He’s fine.

On a gluten free note, I found some strawberry GF pancake/waffle mix. We decided to have breakfast for dinner Saturday night and everyone loved them.

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The picture is a little steamy because of the waffle maker, but I found it at Walmart.

I made homemade whip cream and strawberry sauce. We also had eggs and sausage. There’s just something so comforting about breakfast for dinner.

Tonight I made crawfish etoufee with the GF all purpose flour. I am so glad I found it so I can actually eat flour based things like the roux in this dish.

It was so good!!!!!

Donny and I have started watching The Pitt. We really like it. If you need a good medical show to watch I highly recommend it. Each episode is in real time and it’s intense. Plus I just love Noah Wyle.

A Little Shopping Time

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

I decided to take most of the day off. I don’t have an actual “job”, well at least I don’t get an actual paycheck, but I take care of everything around our home. Monday I had deep cleaned the house. Yesterday I did mountains of laundry.

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I thought after all of that I needed a little break. I have been looking for a frame for Hannah’s Girl with a Pearl Earring adaptation that was one of her art projects. I had found several, but the frames ran vertically instead of horizontal. I could have changed the hanging mechanisms, but since the ones I liked were all professionally done I really didn’t want to mess with it and have it fall off of the wall. Today I hit the jackpot and found exactly what I have been looking for.

I just had to take the backing off and her picture fit perfectly.

It’s big and I have hardly any wall space left. I took down my jester picture and I think it looks mighty fine in its place.

I couldn’t not find a place for the jester so I moved some things around and now he’s in the dining nook.

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I picked up a few more things from the thrift store while I was there.

I couldn’t pass up this wooden shelf. I needed one for above my nightstand and this one was perfect.

I also found some cute shirts in my Fall colors.

Both of these look grey for some reason but they are actually olive green.

I absolutely love this mustard yellow blouse.

Couldn’t pass up this candle. I have a couple of this brand. It’s made here and the smell is amazing.

Donny needed me to run to Office Max to pick up some desk calendars for his work. I needed a new planner. I’m so picky about my planners. Office Max had no cute ones and they ones they did have were SO expensive. I walked down to TJ Maxx and they had no good planners either. Books a Million is in the same strip mall so I checked there and I did find one I loved but it started in July 2025 and ran through December 2026. I cannot stand to start a planner in the middle so that was a no.

I decided I would go check in Ross and no matter what, I would have to just take what I could find there. Ross is where I got last years planner that I absolutely loved. I found the exact same brand!!!!!

This is 100% my favorite planner.

This is the brand and you can’t beat the price. All-in-all it was a good day to get out and get stuff done. It was also in the mid 70’s. I don’t think we’ll get to wear any of our winter clothes very much this season.

Oh, and my second daughter let me know last night that she thinks she was a ghost baby because there are no pictures of her when she was a baby. I sent her over 20 this morning and have so many more. This is one of my favorites.

It’s hard to believe that these little pumpkins have kids of their own now. Dang how time flies!

Mounting Problems

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn CraftingLeave a comment

I got a metal bender for Christmas. I have been collecting spoons to make rings. I knew I had to find a way to mount the bender and I thought I had the perfect solution. I told Donny I was going to mount it to one of my big thick cutting boards. He looked appalled at that idea so I searched around the house and found a shelf that wasn’t being used and decided that could work.

I drilled the pilot holes, got my drill out and it seemed sturdy. I tried it out on an earring my mom had gotten in New Mexico that I didn’t like as an earring and had always wanted to make it into a ring.

This was super easy to bend because it was sterling silver and thin.

I had another earring that was also sterling that I thought would make an awesome ring.

I then got out my bolt cutters measured and cut a spoon. When I went to bend it the whole apparatus pulled right out. I tried screwing it in tighter but the MDF board just couldn’t support it.

Back to the drawing board. I think I just need a good hardy wooden plank. At least I got two rings out of it for now.

Over The Hump

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

Yesterday was the first day I started feeling better. My joint pain had eased up. My leg muscles still felt like I had tried to run a marathon, but it was manageable. I went shopping at Aldi because we had almost no food in the house due to my being sick. Look what I saw.

Gas is under $2!!!!!

This morning I actually felt like taking a nice long walk. It was a gloomy morning, but it felt so good to get outside.

From New Year’s Eve until just yesterday I have been bed rotting. Donny has been sleeping on the couch in fear of catching this demon virus again. We had heard that it’s very easy to relapse and no one wants that. I didn’t even pull the covers down. Nope just moved some pillows, grabbed a blanket and would pass out.

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It feels so good when a body starts feeling better.

I’m also very thankful that we got the Roku tv for the bedroom. Now I can watch all of the streaming services instead of our old TV only letting us get Netflix. I think one of my favorite features is that you can pick different art to display when you’re not watching.

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I am also getting my appetite back. One of my favorite breakfasts is an apple and peanut butter. I used to always hate mixing up the peanut butter until I realized I could just shake the heck out of it to mix it up. SO much easier and way less messy.

Now that I’m on the healing end I needed to get some things done in the kitchen. We love pomegranates. To buy the seeds ready to go is SO expensive. I did a quick Google search and they cost around $4.97 for 4 oz. That is ridiculous. I bought 3 pomegranates for $1.57 each.

It is so satisfying to pop out the seeds. If you have never done it you should give it a try.

For a little over $5 we got a large jar filled. Plus there are no preservatives to worry about. Just plain ole seeds.

Yum!

Oh 2026

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

Well, our 2026 started off very weirdly. Donny called from work telling me that he had found a snake that had gotten wrapped up in some packing tape. Did I want to try to save it or should he just put it out of its misery? Of course, we wanted to save it. I let Hannah know and she was up to the challenge.

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We used a q-tip and avocado oil. The tape just started sliding right off.

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Before we knew it, he was free.

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Donny released him into the tree line.

On actual New year’s eve, Donny was supposed to get off at 12 which ended being closer to 4. The kids had left to go do a Christmas exchange with friends. I hadn’t eaten all day because I was waiting on Donny to get home. I’d planned to do hamburgers but when he got home a I had texted Jackson to see if they were going to have dinner out and he said yes, we decided to order Don Benito’s. Then Jackson texted back saying they were not eating out and were on the way home. Then Hannah texted me asking if I wanted to watch the Stranger Things finale with them. I asked, well, who is them? Gavin was meeting them here and Olivia wanted to come over also. So we just waiting for them and put in an order.

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Donny went in to pick up the food because my whole body was aching. I thought it was because I might have lifted something weirdly, but it was every single joint in my body. I’d also been fighting a headache all day.

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Everyone ate and we started the finale. Donny has never watched it so he was watching something in the bedroom. Olivia and Jackson don’t watch it either so they went to go see the Spongebob movie.

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It ended up just being Gavin, Hannah and myself. I thought it was good. I didn’t make it to midnight because, as it turns out, I’m sick.

I woke up on New Year’s day feeling so weird. My limbs felt like they were made of lead, my head was killing me and I was so congested. Donny made burgers and I fell asleep around 5. I woke him up at 8:30 and asked if he could please go get me some NyQuil and a coca cola. I never want any soda until I’m sick. He also ran by Sprouts and picked me up my favorite smoothie and some coconut water.

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I am still feeling bad today. I’m thinking it’s that strange virus that is going around. I do have tamiflu, but am resisting taking it just due to the side effects that come with it. Hopefully it will run its course quickly and I’ll be back on my feet. I hope everyone else has had a healthy new Year’s because this stuff is no joke.

Best Thrift Find Ever

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Frugal LifeLeave a comment

We have been looking for a new couch. It’s ironic that my husband works for a high end furniture store, but I still haven’t found “the one”. No greys. I wanted an earthy type that fit our vibe. I loved our old Ikea couch, but it has since been discontinued. I really liked the couch we have, but the cushions had gotten smooshy. We had decided to get the cushions redone. To actually do it correctly it would be over $100 per cushion. Well, today I went to my favorite thrift store. I was looking for a certain size frame. I didn’t find one that would work, but on my way out I spotted THE COUCH.

I can normally spot high end products, so when I saw this piece I knew immediately that it was a good find. I dropped my bags and immediately went and sat on it. Holy cow it was so comfortable and looked like it had just come off a furniture showroom floor. When I say it was immaculate, it was. I started flipping the cushions and was shocked when I saw the brand.

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I called Donny and told him what I had found and when I told him it was a Massoud he said, “get it”. It’s a high end furniture company and their stuff is built to last. Y’all it was only $125!!!!! Not the several thousand dollars it would have been in the store. It was perfect. The right colors, the right size, just everything.

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It’s just so perfect. Donny called the guys who deliver for his store and they met me, picked it up, took it to our house, unloaded it where it needed to go and hauled off our other one. That service did cost more than the actual couch, but oh so worth it.

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For some reason it looks a lot darker in this picture, but it’s a rust, yellow and mix of other colors.

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O’malley loves it too.

I did actually pick up a few things before I found this beauty.

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They extended nickel book month so I dug through the many bins and found these. I even found one of my favorite childhood books.

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This cute bird candle was only $1.

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A heavy weight cherub tea light candle holder for $1.

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This cute bracelet was $2.

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I love this little guy. He is a bit Halloweeny, but I’m still going to put him on my outdoor shelves. He was only $2.

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And last, but not least, I got 4 placemats for 50 cents each.

I’d say, all in all, it was a very good thrifting day.

Oh, and one of Donny’s customers were getting rid of their Massoud couch because they just wanted something new. I bet you anything it’s the one we bought.

Good Christmas

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn ChristmasLeave a comment

We never really have big Christmas plans because we have always had to work the day after Christmas and this year was no exception. That means we have a laid back, easy going holiday. Christmas Eve Donny made steaks. I think the cast iron was a bit too hot and it ended up smoking out the kitchen.

I don’t know if you can see the haze in the picture but it was pretty bad. The steaks were really good though.

After dinner we all went out to the fire pit. The weather has been so warm during the days but it has been cooling off at night.

Jackson and I hung in for as long as we could before giving up and heading for bed, but Donny and Hannah stayed out pretty late.

Before we knew it, it was Christmas morning. The thing about having teenagers is they like to sleep in. They finally roused at about 10:00 so we finally got to open presents. Donny and the kids did so good. Donny actually went to the mall by himself and picked out these super cute pants and overalls. Because Hannah was sick he was sending her pictures to see if she thought I would like them.

He also got me some binoculars. I could lie and say that they are for bird watching. Nope, they are for spying on the feral cat colony and my loud neighbors that live at the end of our street. What can I say, I’m nosy.

My big gift was actually the spoon ring bender that I ordered (yes, Donny knew about it) for myself. That’s actually all I wanted because I cannot wait to start making spoon rings and cuffs. I have a ring I wear every day that is from the 1950’s Jubilee pattern.

We went to Harbor Freight so that I could get my bolt cutters and sanding tool.

We finished off the day with a shrimp boil. It was so good. Gavin came over to watch the new episodes of Stranger Things with Hannah. It was a very good day.

I don’t know about anyone else, but the day after Christmas the tree and decor come down. Once the presents are opened I am ready to pack it all up. So that’s exactly what I did on the 26th. It just feels so good to have our home back in order. I also watched Stranger Things. It’s going to be interesting how the Duffer Brothers tie everything up in the finale on Wednesday.

Tonight I made gumbo. I was very excited because I had found a gluten free all purpose flour. Reddit said that it can be used in a roux. If you have ever made a dark roux you know that it is a labor of love. It’s 40 minutes of stirring, stirring, stirring. Donny had to bring me a stool so I could see into the pot. (I used my big catering pot) I was skeptical because it wasn’t thickening like a normal roux. I finally got it to the chocolate brown color. Y’all, it turned out so good. I did end up adding two cornstarch slurries just so I had the thickness I prefer.

If you read here you know how I thought the TV in our bedroom was just way too big. I wish I could explain why I got Donny a Roku tv for our bedroom IN THE EXACT SAME SIZE. The legs were different so we used the floating shelf from Jackson’s room to set it on.

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I’m so annoyed that it never entered my mind that it’s just too big for the space. Oh well, at least it doesn’t show the light bulbs through it like our old one did. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

Christmas Adam

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn ChristmasLeave a comment

I have never heard Christmas Eve Eve called Christmas Adam before, but I like it. We have had a sick house as of late. Friday Donny and I made a quick trip to Dallas to visit his mom and drop of presents at Nikki’s. Hannah had come down with the virus that is hitting everyone so Jackson stayed home with her.

We were making good time, trying to get home before dark. Unfortunately there was a wreck and we were at standstill for an hour. I passed the time doing interpretive dances to songs on the radio. I’m sure Donny was extremely happy when we were finally able to start moving again after an hour.

Today I decided to put Jackson’s shelves together because I did not want to be doing it Christmas Day.

Ikea’s directions are actually pretty easy. I got both of them put together pretty quickly. They look so good in his room. He hadn’t put it all together when I took the picture.

I loved the shelves he had in him room before. We picked them up at an estate sales years ago.

I decided to put them in our dining nook.

I absolutely love them in here. It’s so much better than what we had before.

To celebrate Christmas Adam we got Rotolo’s. I’m super picky about eating out and don’t trust many places, but Rotolo’s is on the good list.

Best cauliflower crust around.

Also, I got my hair cut. It had gotten WAY too long for my taste.

Before

So much better!

How To Torture Your Cat

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

This weekend I noticed that the wound that Milo, our tuxedo cat, had on his lower spine was not healing as fast as I’d like it to. I had been doctoring it, but on Monday when I went to look at it I noticed it felt spongy. I was moving his hair around and it started oozing. I doctored it some more decided to give it a day to see if it was any better. By Tuesday I decided to call our vet. They asked for me to send in a picture so the vet could look at it and make a decision if we needed to come in or not.

Because his hair is thick and black it was hard to actually see what the wound looked like. The vet called and said it would be best to bring him in, especially with his wound history. (that’s how he became our cat. He wandered up with a horrible neck wound that almost killed him)

I got an appointment for 3:40 that afternoon. At 3 I got out our cat carrier. Because Milo is SO docile I thought, for sure, he would go right in with no problem. Boy, was I wrong. It was like trying to get a angry octopus in a bag. I had the kids try to help me. We took the lid off and put him in. Nope, he almost broke the carrier. Jackson suggested tipping it over and dropping his through the opening. That sure didn’t work. By this time it was 12 minutes until my appointment. I called the vet frantic because I didn’t know what to do. They said just put him in anything that I had. Say less. I remembered a Chik-fil-a catering bag that I had.

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To say he was not happy would be an understatement, but I got him there. He actually did so well at the vet. The vet and I agreed that he caught his back going under the chain link fence. The vet shaved the area, flushed it out and gave him an antibiotic shot.

He just chilled out the rest of the night.

Guess who did like the carrier?

I’m glad because after Christmas she’s going in to get spayed.

For What Ails You

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn RecipeLeave a comment

There is a virus that went around the kids college. Jackson missed a few days of school and many students were absent because of it. Well, it hit Donny yesterday. It’s a really bad sore throat and cough. The kids were out all day with their friends doing a clean up at the college and then while I was grocery shopping Donny texted me to tell me that the kids were going out to get Chinese. Perfect because I wanted to make a big pot of vegetable soup.

Donny doesn’t really like soup where as I could eat it every meal. The one I made is so easy. You just use vegetables that you like, add some broth and let it simmer for about an hour.

I chopped up an onion, celery and garlic and sauteed that in some olive oil. Then I added about 4 carrots, a yellow squash, a calabaza squash and sliced mushrooms. I poured in a a whole box of vegetable broth. To season I added quite a bit of turmeric, some celtic sea salt and a generous amount of pepper. When it had simmered about 20 minutes, I threw in about 3 handfuls of spinach. That’s it.

I added a squeeze of lemon to mine and Donny added hot sauce to his. He loved it. It was so good and flavorful. I think I’ll just always keep soup in the fridge because for these colder days it’s perfect.