I needed a new pair of brown sandals for summer. I knew I wanted footbed ones and I was pretty much dead set on these.
The only problem was I wanted more of a strappy sandal. Birkenstock has few choices, so I started googling. I found the brand White Mountain. I don’t care what I’m buying, I am always going to read the reviews. It seemed like Birkenstock devotees really liked the White Mountain sandals. I found a pair that I just loved, leather and very strappy. I ordered them and they came in today. They were also on sale and because I had never ordered from them before, I got a code for 20% off.
They are so comfortable. I know you are supposed to break them in, but I wore them to Kilgore College today and out to dinner with the family. Still super comfy.
The reason we went to Kilgore College was because a dear family friend signed his intent to be the mascot for the school. I will from now on be calling him Ranger Keaton. We are so excited for him and it gives us a reason to go to the football games now.
The have all been friends since we moved to Longview. Such a great family.
I also made a new thing (because I don’t really know what to call it) for the wall. Jackson and I had found these kittens that were attached to this copper colored bronze plaque (?).
I unscrewed them and put my retro Be Cool on the plaque part.
If you can’t tell I like unique, kinda weird, things. And yes, I like clowns too. Well, certain clowns.
It has been so rainy here lately. I have been waiting for a sunny, not too humid, day it seems like forever. I checked the weather channel last night and it seemed like today would be the day. I could finally finish the last two chairs. I saved the two most rusty pitiful ones for last. Luckily, since I was painting the bases, all I had to do was sand of the rust and chipped chrome.
It was a messy job, but it came off pretty quickly.
The bases only take one coat with a little touching up where I missed any place. They dried quickly.
The chairs take 2 full coats. They have to dry completely and then they get flipped over for two more coats on the back and underneath.
While I was waiting for them to dry I decided to go ahead and paint our plant stand. I got it at an estate sale 6 years ago. It started out cream, then I painted it vintage teal. Today it became warm caramel.
I got all of the chairs put back together and I think they look really good. Would I rather have not had to sand and paint them? Yes. Would I have wanted to spend about $100 per chair. No way. They were made in 2000 so I think they are holding up really well. Plus they are super comfortable. I purchased them for $2.50 a piece and I figured I used 1/2 a can each of the spray paint. So for a total cost of $9.50 I think I got a heck of a deal with a little bit of elbow grease.
A smaller table would probably fit better, but I absolutely love this drop leaf antique one. I was cleaning out a rental house and the previous renters had just left it. I told the owner how much I liked it and she said, just take it. Free is good and I just love the design of it. So, $38 for a dining set is a pretty good deal, even if we don’t actually have a true dining room. Just make the best of what you have. Always works for me.
Yesterday was full of so many good things. Donny had asked me to run by Jake’s feed store to pick up some tomatillo and jalapeno plants. When I went to pay I heard dogs barking and there was an adoption going on in the back. There were so many cute dogs. Four got adopted while I was standing there loving on the other cute pups. I also think I talked a man into getting an elderly dog whose owner had died. I hope he ended up adopting him because he was such a sweetie.
Donny just needs to harvest the potatoes then these will go in for the salsa garden.
After I got home I decided that I needed some plants to go into some pots that were empty in the front flowerbed. I’d always wanted to go to Longview Garden Center. The only reason I knew about it was because when the kids were at their old school construction was being done on the roads and we had to take this weird back way. The nursery is tucked into the woods on this little street. The people there were so nice and actually knowledgeable about all the plants. I will for sure be going back there again.
Hannah woke up with a bad cold, so Jack and I ran to Walmart to get her some snacks and juice. I realized I needed more potting soil so I picked that up. While I was searching for the soil I found a snake plant. I had a big one in Baton Rouge that died in the flood. Happy Mother’s day to me. Actually my Jasmine plant was my mother’s day gift, this was just a little add on.
I noticed when I got home that most of our neighbors were out mowing so I checked the weather forecast. Sure enough, rain for several days. Peer pressure forced me to get our mower out. Our yard is not the easiest to mow because there is so much to move. I managed to get it all mowed and really wanted to use the weed eater. The only problem was that I can’t hold the darn thing and pull the string to start it. So I did the next best thing and used scissors. I don’t know why people think that is so weird. I’m sure there was a time that weed eaters didn’t exist. Scissors work nicely.
One of the very best things that happened between mowing the front and the back was this:
My oldest daughter, Nikki, graduated with her associates in Biology. She knew we weren’t going to be able to go because we had just been up there, but I got to live stream it. Thank goodness for technology. Now on to her Bachelors.
While I was waiting for her group to be called, I managed to get all the new flowers potted.
By this time I was beat. Like I couldn’t do anymore even if I wanted to. I checked my Fitbit and I had apparently done 2 hours of mountain biking, even though I don’t own a bike, and taken 14,000 steps. I got the best text ever from Donny asking if I wanted to go out to eat.
We ditched the kids and had a date night at Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp. It had recently opened and we were excited to try it. It was SO fun. It was loud, bright, colorful and had live music. The food was incredible! Donny had the seafood enchiladas and I had the Cajun Girl Po’boy. And they had slushy drinks.
The guy playing was really good.
Donny knew every song he played and sang quite loudly to them. Thank goodness it was really loud in there.
I had the drink called The Painkiller which was like a Pina colada on steroids. I rarely drink, which explains how I ended up falling asleep with all my clothes on and cats laying on me. It also could have been the 6 hours of yard work I did. Probably both, but the flowers sure brightened up the place. What a very good day it was!
Last night I washed a load of Donny’s work clothes. This morning when I went to get them out of the dryer the timer knob had never moved and they were wet.
If you read my blog you know that our very old dryer went out over a year ago. I found a storage locker auction where the only thing in it was a dryer. I bid $23 and won. We took a chance and it actually worked. Lately though I’ve been having to keep the door open and push down the door switch and the start button at the same time while shutting the door quickly. Today the door switch finally gave out.
i used a flat head screw driver to pop it out and remove it.
I called Nipper’s, the used appliance place around the corner and they told me they had one.
i didn’t think 30 bucks was a bad price considering used dryers are running over $300. Well, I got it home and the prongs were different.
I went back up there and they didn’t have the one that I needed. The man there asked me that if I wanted he could fix my old switch. Well, yes I did. He opened it up and filed down the corroded parts. They tested it and it worked. He didn’t charge me anything and refunded my money on the other part that didn’t fit.
I took it home, plugged the part in and now it’s like I have a new dryer and have still only cost me $23.
My whole point of this is, don’t jump to get rid of something if there is a way to fix it. I will always try to buy used things, especially appliances. We won’t buy appliances with the computer boards in them because when they go out it costs a fortune. Older appliances were built to last. I have an ancient Galaxy gas stove that keeps perfect temperature. It’s not pretty, but works so well.
i realize that some people may just prefer brand new items and that’s fine, it’s just not me and that’s fine too.
Last night after we had dinner I felt awful. i had spent over two hours ironing. Why does it seem like I never iron winter clothes, but all the summer ones are always wrinkled? I hadn’t eaten much all day and then Donny went and picked up Jucys. It must have hit my stomach wrong because it tore it up. I ended up falling asleep on the couch and didn’t get a good rest at all.
Luckily Donny was off today so while he took the kids to school and ran by the radio station to record some commercials, I slept.
My thyroid is, as my doctor put it, very serious right now, so I’m thinking a lot of my symptoms are stemming from that.
Around noon I took a quick shower and we decided to get out of the house for a little while. We ended up at an estate sale. The house was gorgeous and since it was the second day a lot has already been bought. I did manage to find this pretty, gauzy, tie dyed maxi skirt and sleeveless T-shirt, so it wasn’t a totally wasted trip.
Donny cooked dinner because I’m still feeling puny. I’m going to try and get a full night’s sleep tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel better.
Yesterday when Jackson and I were leaving our favorite thrift store I saw two pillows. They weren’t with the other pillows. They were on a shelf and I stopped to look at them, but Jackson was already headed to the door. I told myself that I absolutely did not need any more pillows.
Well, I kept thinking about them. They were only $2 each, had zippered cases and looked to be pretty high quality. I knew the chance of then still being there was pretty slim, but I drove over anyway just to see.
Sure enough they were still there.
It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the designs are appliqued on.
Then when I was checking the inside tag to see how to wash them I found out they were from Crate & Barrel.
I googled how much their pillows are and they run about $60. Not a bad find for four bucks. I’m surprised they were still there because the rule of thrifting is, if you find something you really like but don’t get it, it won’t be there when you go back. I lucked out.
i also found the perfect picture for the little frame I picked up yesterday.
My mom is on the far left. I have no idea where this was even taken, but I thought it was so cool.
Today Jackson and I decided we needed a mom and son thrifting trip. Donny has asked me if I could make a quiche for dinner since we have so many eggs. Well, of course I can. Only problem was that I needed a deep dish pie pan. So off Jackson and I went to find one.
We normally have our three staples we always go to, but today I remembered about a store named Treasures that I went to about 5 years ago and then it just fell off my radar. I didn’t find the pie plate, but I did find some goodies. I hit the jackpot at the second one we went to and a few more things at the third and fourth.
Let me show you.
i got a cotton tablecloth for the outdoor dining table. I found what I actually went looking for, a deep dish pyrex pie plate and the best baking cookbook ever. I CANNOT WAIT to start delving into all of the recipes.
i hate paying full retail for ceramic pots so I’m always on the lookout for them when I’m thifting.
i picked up this heavy bad boy for 4 bucks. I love jewel tones so I grabbed this little frame for $2.
I don’t really need any more summer clothes, but Born Again thrift store always has such cute clothes and I found this chambray lined skirt and cute tank dress for a steal.
I was planning on being a hermit all day, never leaving the house, but then I remembered I needed an oil change. Got that done. Started working on chair number two. Ran out of paint so I had to go to Walmart. FYI, don’t try to spray paint on a really humid windy day. Anyway, I got chair two finished and decided to do something to make our flowerbed look a little better.
We’ve had the same solar lights for 4 years. They just recently quit working so well.
Not a bad run for 98 cent Walmart lights. I stepped it up this time and got $1.25 ones from Dollar Tree.
Because it was so cloudy in not sure how they look yet, but they are a little fancier.
I still need to weed. I actually want to put down new weed barrier and of course more mulch. Baby steps. It’ll get there.
And I picked up my favorite oranges at Aldi. If you haven’t tried Cara Cara oranges, you should. They are so sweet and juicy. I had two for lunch.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be very rainy. The forecast has been so wrong lately. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
i just went outside and the lights are awesome. They are the flickering kind that I just love. I 100% recommend them.
I love the rare Sundays that Donny is off. Today was that day and we got so much done. I vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed the bathroom and the main thing was that I finished all of the laundry. It’s a chore I’m not very fond of, but I am able to get through it thanks to Supernatural. I had never watched it before and I was scrolling on Netflix and started it to see if I’d like it and now I’m hooked.
We have to keep a blanket on our bed because the cats like to take naps there. But anyway, gotta love those Winchester brothers.
We are always missing charger blocks and cables. Always. I did a round up in someone’s room while they were gone and look at what I found.
I still cannot find the big charging block to my laptop. I don’t know why hair brushes and chargers always disappear in this house.
My very favorite part of the day was Donny making dinner. He made brussels sprouts, homemade steak fries and grilled steak. OMG, everything was so good. I swear food you don’t have to cook yourself just tastes better anyway, but everything he made was delicious.
The only problem was that on his steak he spread black truffle butter. All he did was spread it on the steak before he took it outside. I smelled this awful smell from our bedroom and sure enough it was the butter. The smell literally makes me so nauseous. I googled it to see why that was and apparently there are a certain number of people who just can’t stand the smell. It’s kind of like people who taste soap when they eat cilantro. Super weird, but this saved me. This and staying in the bedroom.
And just because this cat is always on patrol at night saving our lives from stray neighborhood cats.
He was exhausted from all his hard night work. Milo is the sweetest cat ever and comes in the house whenever he wants, but he feels like he must be on duty at night. Ya know, saving us from all the bad stuff out there.
The Funky Frugalista 