Category: Day Trip

New Arrival

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day TripLeave a comment

Life has been lifing lately so it’s been a minute since I’ve made a post. I am happy to announce that we have a new grandson!

Forrest Paine was born on July 9th at 11:55 p.m. weighing in at 7lb 6oz. If he’d only waited 6 more minutes he would have been born on his aunt’s birthday. We were hoping, but the doctor almost didn’t make it in time to deliver him. The nurses had Nikki on her side with her knees together. When the doctor did arrive it was 3 pushes and he was out.

Donny and I didn’t go down right away because dad’s mother was visiting from Georgia and we also wanted to go when Bethany and her two kids were going to be there. So last Thursday all of the stars aligned and we were all able to be there together. We were only missing Nikki’s two oldest because they were visiting their dad.

He is such a little nugget.

Donny makes such a good paw paw.

It was so good to be able to see Cassidy, Rory and Phoebe.

That’s Cassidy on the left. He’s Bethany’s oldest. Phoebe is Nikki’s 3rd baby girl.

Rory is such a cutie. She has the blondest hair and bluest eyes.

My girls with their babies. I hate that there was so much backlight, but I’m happy to have pictures no matter how they turn out.

It was such a good visit. We only stayed about 4 hours because Mom and dad were very tired and needed to get settled into a routine without so many visitors that have been coming over to see the baby. Can we just get a shout out for face time? Even though we all have busy schedules it just makes it seem like everyone isn’t so far away and I’m very thankful for that.

Rinse Repeat

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This morning started off with another bad thunderstorm. The rain was coming down so hard I could barely see across the street. Everything was blowing around the patio and trees were bending in ways they shouldn’t be. Donny came home from work because they lost power. We’re pretty sure they are on the same power grid as our old house was because if the wind blew at all we would always lose power. Luckily we didn’t lose it here. Donny had to run to Tyler to pick up some tags because they had run out at his store, so he asked me if I wanted to take the drive with him. It’s not bad, only about 45 minutes.

Tyler had gotten hit hard by the storm Monday night and also by the one today. There was a tree that had fallen over into the highway.

When we got into Tyler there were trees down everywhere, either completely uprooted or snapped in half. We decided that Tyler should be renamed Little Dallas because the traffic was awful for it just being a Tuesday afternoon. It really makes me appreciate Longview even more.

It was a quick trip, just picking up the tags and heading back. We were going to grab lunch but, of course, it was a struggle to figure out where to eat so we just got rolling food at 7-11 and I got the best thing of the day, a frozen Dr. Pepper slurpee.

I really miss picking Donny up from work because we had the best talks, so this was a fun day. Although because I have what we call Carcolepsy (I basically fall asleep on any trip over 10 miles) I took a nice little nap for about 30 minutes when I got back to the house since I didn’t get my car nap. And it’s suppose to rain again tomorrow. I seem to write about the weather a lot, but there has been some serious storming going on around here lately.

Mini Day Date

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day TripLeave a comment

Since it wasn’t raining today, Donny and I decided to have a mini Day date. After running a couple of errands of things that just needed to get done, like making Jackson’s appointment to get his driving permit, we headed to Gladewater to just walk around downtown. We enjoy walking through all the antique shops that line the main street of their downtown.

The first few that we went to were so expensive. Like crazy expensive. They still had fun stuff to look at, but dang. We finally went into one of the antique malls that had really cool stuff and was priced accordingly. Plus the man running the shop was just so funny and nice.

There was just room after room.

I wish I collected salt and pepper shakers because this place had so many good ones and very reasonably priced. I loved these little snail ones. They were only $2.50.

I’m not quiet sure what to think about this guy.

They had a Crissy doll that still had her box. I remember having one of these as a very little girl. You could pull on her hair and make it longer and then turn a knob on her back to make it short again.

It really was a beautiful day.

On the way out of downtown we saw this amazing house. I would love to have seen the inside of it.

The only thing I bought today was this book by one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to start reading it.

And then we were tired from all the walking, so I took a little rest and watched an episode of Supernatural. I am hooked.

I think I will be wearing my hair up most of the summer. It sure is a lot cooler.

Crump’s

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Donny had always been talking about this grocery store that he wanted to go to. They were always running really good sales on meat. He was off on Friday and it was such a dreary day we decided to take a little road trip to see what it was all about.

Lake O’ the Pines is so pretty. Hard to tell from this moving shot though.

After a little less than an hour, we finally made it.

And we found Crump’s.

For this being such a small town, this place was amazing. The produce section had this man cleaning off the onions before he put them on the display stand.

There was also a sushi chef making fresh sushi that rivaled any sushi restaurant and the prices were really good.

The main reason we came was for their meat. They do everything in house and when they run sales, you can get a lot for your money.

We spent $113 and this is what we got: 4 slabs of baby back ribs, 10 pounds of freshly ground beef, 2 beef roasts, a bag of potatoes, some rutabagas and turnips, barbecue sauce, 2 drinks and sushi.

This sushi rocked! Donny ended up getting chicken dumplings because all of the sushi had avocado and he won’t eat avocados.

This place is definitely worth the drive and we will be back again. If you are ever close the Linden, you should stop in.

I made 2 slabs of ribs last night. They were so tender they fell off the bones. These 2 slabs were about $13 for both. A half slab at Chili’s is $17. So I fed 4 people ribs, sauteed cabbage and mac n cheese for what one meal at Chili’s costs and we had leftovers for Donny’s lunch and for Hannah to eat before she has to go into work today. This is why I have such a hard time justifying going out to dinner.

Lake Day

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day Trip, familyLeave a comment

Our original plan was to go to the lake on mother’s day. Luckily Donny called then on Saturday to see if Caddo Lake State Park was open and it turns out that during the quarantine you have to buy a ticket and they had sold out for the weekend. So we went ahead and got tickets for Monday instead.

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I had wanted to come here since I found the cutest bed and breakfast in a book I had many years ago. It was near this lake and the pictures showed the old cypress trees covered in Spanish moss growing out of the water. Unfortunately, I lived in Austin at the time and it was a pretty long drive, so it was a no to that B&B. Now we are only 45 minutes away.

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The canoe rental was closed, but next trip we definitely plan to rent one.

IMG_20200511_124932 We planned to do a little fishing. There are two really good fishing piers.

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IMG_20200511_132405 Hannah caught the first fish.

IMG_20200511_133039 Jack caught the next one and ended up catching the most. We threw them all back, but everyone had fun.

IMG_20200511_135124 After a few hours of fishing, we decided to do a little geocaching. If you’ve never tried it, you should. All you have to do is download the app.It will tell you how far you are from a cache, give you the coordinates and then you have to find it. The cache can be all different things. Sometimes there are little gifts, but most of the time there is just a log where you sign your name and the date you found it.

The first one we went to look for, we couldn’t find. I don’t know if it was because since the quarantine the “faint trail” we were looking for had grown over, but we got an hour long hike out of trying. Even though we didn’t find it, the hike was fabulous.

IMG_20200512_094041IMG_20200511_160215IMG_20200511_160042 At the top of a hill we came across this structure that was built in the 1930’s.

IMG_20200511_155910 By the time we got back down to the trailhead, we were all pretty worn out. It was getting late so we decided to head home. I had seen that there was another geocache not far from the entrance to the park so we decided to give it another shot and guess what…..

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We found it!!!!!!

IMG_20200511_163116IMG_20200511_163113 The perfect ending to a really good day.

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Mother’s Day

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day Trip, Smell GoodsLeave a comment

IMG_20200510_132051Donny suggested that we spend the day in Jefferson for mother’s day. Well, heck yeah. It’s one of our favorite towns to visit. We had seen an expose on the news about how the downtown area was opening up again, so we thought we’d go see what there was to do.

We had lunch at Auntie Skinner’s. We decided to get appetizers so we could all try different dishes.

 

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Not healthy by a long shot, but really good!

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The kids love looking through the antique shops. We found one we hadn’t seen before that had a combination of new and old. Jack wanted his picture taken with Big Boy.

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There was a cool piano you could sign.

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I think I found my favorite store right around the corner. It’s called Made in the Shade. The name is completely deceiving from what it really is. They have really cute clothes, jewelry and well, just a lot of cool stuff. It’s also where I found my mother’s day gifts. 

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I love vintage spoon rings. This is from the 1950’s Jubilee collection. It was handmade in Jefferson and I just love it.

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I LOVE Zum products! I have always wanted to try the 3125. There are several places that sell the Zum products in Longview, but not this exact one. I had seen it in the Indigo Wild catalog, but didn’t want to order it until I could smell it. No two smell the exact same. It’s a compilation of what the zum factory smells like when they are making the scents. Needless to say, I loved it when I sprayed it on. I can’t explain the scent, but if you ever get a chance to try it, I sure would.

After a browse through the general store, it was getting late so we decided to head home. I’d talked about how gorgeous the yellow wildflowers were that were growing by the side of the road the whole way over. Donny had saved his ginger ale bottle and he pulled over so we could pick a few. I think wildflowers are my favorite.

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We ended the evening watching Angel Has Fallen with Gerard Butler. Good movie! It was a really good day! ❤

Let There Be Light

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day Trip, saving moneyLeave a comment

One of my husband’s least favorite place to go is Dirt Cheap. If you don’t live in the south, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Dirt Cheap is a crazy, extremely unorganized mess of really good deals. The only catch is you really have to dig around to find what you are looking for. I became addicted to shopping there when we lived in Baton Rouge and I lived 3 minutes away. The closest one to me now is 45 minutes away in Tyler. Guess where we went on my husband’s day off?

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The ONLY way to get through this store without losing your mind is to download the Dirt Cheap Deal Finder app. See that chicken on the sign? That’s what you look for when downloading the app. It will change your Dirt Cheap shopping life. Just scan the barcode and voila the price pops up. I have found pillows that were normally $24 for $2.

Anyway, what we came for this day were lamps. Some of the rooms in our home are SO dark. Especially the family room. Soul sucking dark.

So, what wonderful deals did I find after almost 2 hours? (yes, I’m still married)

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The perfect Target brand stand up lamp for $10.00!!! It was boxed up, but I encourage  you to open the boxes to make sure all the pieces are there and nothing is broken. Don’t worry, Dirt Cheap doesn’t care. All Sales are final, so you don’t want to get home with something that doesn’t work, is missing a part or is broken,

Next we found a cool brass domed light, also Target brand. It cost $25, much more than I would normally spend because I’m a cheapskate frugal, but Donny really liked it.

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The last lamp we found, I didn’t know if I’d really need or not, but it reminded me of sea glass and it was $10. It was also a Target brand, but didn’t have a lamp shade. I hunted around a found a linen drum shade with a gold lining that fit it perfectly. Only one problem, no price tag. Because I used to shop here about 3 times a week occasionally, I knew that they’d just ring it up all together. Cashiers HATE having to go find a price because it’s so unorganized they wouldn’t even know where to look. Plus, when they don’t know, they just make up a price anyway. So, for 10 bucks, I got the lamp AND lampshade.  Donny kept trying to tell the cashier they were separate, but the cashier and I assured him they were a set. Bingo!

DSCN0562Isn’t it pretty? It’s a pale turquoise color.The carved wooden plant stand it’s on is also from Dirt Cheap. I probably should take the price tag off, but it was $2 and it can work for plants AND lamps.

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Here is the family room with the new lights. It feels so much more cheerful.

DSCN0559You’ll have to take my word on it, because this picture sure doesn’t do it justice.

 

So, for $45 we got three awesome lamps. If you have a Dirt Cheap near you, you really should at least give it a chance. Just remember:

  • Not for the faint of heart. It takes about 2 visits to feel comfortable
  • Download the Deal Finder app. It will save your sanity
  • There is a lot of junk. You really have to dig around to find the good stuff
  • Check EVERYTHING to make sure it has all the pieces

Where’s your favorite place to find the good deals? I’d love to know.

Your frugal friend,

Stacy

Lake Gladewater – A Hidden Gem

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Day Trip, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It pays to be nosey. I saw a man in the Aldi grocery store with his cart piled high with fruit. Nothing but fruit. Of course I had to comment “you must really like fruit”. Then he said it, “It’s for my monkeys”. Anyone who knows me, knows that monkeys are my ALL TIME favorite animals! Turns out he has 8 Lemurs! He told me he lived on Lake Gladewater and I could come see them. Like any monkey crazed normal person I got his address. Turns out he owns 5H Bait and Country Store. Not only do they have monkeys, but talking parrots, tortoises, chickens, bunnies and ferrets. Score! I was in!

This past Sunday my family and I made the 20 minute drive out to Lake Gladewater. I think my husband was a bit skeptical about my “monkey man I met in the grocery store” story, but honestly, he should be used to it by now.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

DSCN0544DSCN0528DSCN0548DSCN0542DSCN0534DSCN0537DSCN0530It was such a fun day. The family that owns the little store are so nice. The granddaughter brought out one of their ferrets named Slinky. I didn’t get a pic because I was having too much fun holding it.

The lake area and beach are so clean. We didn’t bring swimsuits this time because a storm was coming in and we knew we wouldn’t have the time to swim and see everything else.

The store boasts pictures of fish that were caught in the lake. There are piers that look like you could definitely have some fishing fun. We are planning to take our rods out soon to see if we can have some luck.

If you live in east Texas or are planning a trip out this way, you should definitely stop by Lake Gladewater. If not to swim or fish, for sure you should see the animals and meet the nice people who own the store.

Spreading my love of east Texas,

Stacy