Booked

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn VacationLeave a comment

I finally booked our Airbnb for our short vacation to Corpus Christi. It’s going to be later in the summer than I would like, but the place I really wanted to stay has been booked solid. I looked a few days ago and there were 4 days open in July. I put in the request and it was accepted.

The kids absolutely love Corpus. I grew up there and we lived there for a year when the kids were younger. We have been back a few times for my high school reunions. The house we found is only one street over from where we used to live and is a very short walk to the Bay front. We have a little cove that we would always walk down to where we would find sea glass and look for hermit crabs living in the rocks. That’s why I wanted to get this house. It’s the perfect location for all the things we are wanting to do.

The kids like to ride the ferry to North Beach. One of our favorite restaurants is Pier 99 on that beach.

I am in desperate need of some beach time. There is nothing like the smell of salt air and sand between your toes.

And guess what came to visit again tonight?

Another major thunderstorm that was so loud it made me jump several times. I like rain, but there is something about enough is enough.

Rained Out

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn familyLeave a comment

All day our plan had been to go see the minor league baseball team from White Oak play.

Even the kids were looking forward to going. The game started at 6 and right before we left I decided to check the weather.

Well, of course, it was going to rain. So we had to come up with plan B since everyone was ready to go do something. Donny suggested going out to dinner, but if you have ever been around us, it takes us at least an hour to decide where to go. Even though Donny doesn’t really like the place I chose I knew the kids liked it and it’s the only buffet I will eat at.

It was really good. I, of course, ate too much. The sushi was really tasty, but my favorite are these cookies. They are so light and flaky.

Hannah loved the little cheesecake squares with the strawberry puree on top.

Everyone was happy and full.

When you have teenagers it’s such a good thing to have a family night.

When I worked for Waitr (like doordash) I would pick up at China King Buffet and they would let me get a soft serve because they have the best. I think it’s what pushed me over the I can barely walk fullness.

So very worth it though.

It still hadn’t rained a drop, but you could smell it in the air. Right as we got home, this is what we saw.

the thunderstorm blew in so fast with lightning and thunder crashing close by and the rain blowing sideways. I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t go to the baseball game. We will get to one eventually.

Paring Down

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn JournalLeave a comment

For some reason today I was just feeling annoyed. It was raining AGAIN and I needed to get all of the laundry done. When I was putting my clothes away I just decided that there were just too many. I had already gone through my closet when I swapped winter for summer, but there were just so many things I either wasn’t comfortable in or I just didn’t really like anymore. It’s not finished yet because I now want to go through all of my things and do a big purge, but it’s a start.

I miss having my own closet or even sharing a bigger closet, but it is what it is and we try to make it work. This is what is left, which still seems like too much to me. I find myself wearing the same few things so when the weather starts getting cooler I’m sure I’ll get rid of more. Shoes and purses are next.

Donny is off tomorrow and it’s suppose to rain. My poor hens think that this tree blocks the rain. Even when we trim it all down then still flock under it.

I did make a pretty good dinner tonight though.

Ribs, brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes.

Now I need to go clean up my mess in the kitchen.

I need sunshine badly right now! This rainy weather is getting ridiculous.

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.

Rain Rain Go Away

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn JournalLeave a comment

The day started off not too bad. Donny was off and got some errands run while I was still waking up. Later in the afternoon I had checked my weather app and noticed that it was getting ready to rain. I was out of my cayenne supplement and we needed to run to the grocery to pick up some stuff for dinner so I put on my trusty Sloggers and off we went.

I’m sure I looked pretty weird in shorts and rain boots, but as soon as we got into Drug Emporium the sky opened up. It was raining so hard you couldn’t even see the cars in the parking lot. We decided to just walk around and wait out the storm. Donny found the deal of the day and would have bought a lot more if I hadn’t stopped him at 6.

They were only 49 cents, but storage is an issue here.

I also picked up my Zum soap. It’s cheaper than ordering it off their website, plus shipping is really high.

I absolutely love this soap. The scent just puts me in a good mood.

The rain had let up as we finished our shopping, but on the way home it started storming again. And it kept storming. We had a small pond in our yard.

I am really hoping the rain holds off tomorrow because I was wanting to go walk around downtown Gladewater. So far, this has been a very wet month.

Little Thrifting Trip

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

I spend most of the morning cleaning out the bathroom cupboards, so I really needed to just get out of the house for a little while. Hannah had had a late night so Jackson and I decided to hit our 3 favorite thrift stores.

At the first one, I saw the Koi fish picture that I really liked, but had no wall room for. I think if the next time we go back and it’s still there I’m going to get it. I just love the colors and the frame is fantastic.

They also had some cute little tiered trays and mushroom birdhouses. The birdhouses were heavy, even though they looked crocheted. I passed on them because I really just don’t have the room for either of them, but the prices were really good.

I love the next store we went to. They have a good selection of books with a little sitting area if you decide you want to sit and read.

Jackson always likes to try to find vintage toys and he wins the prize for finding the creepiest thing we have seen in a while.

This creepy doll was SO heavy and floppy. It was just so weird.

The last store we headed to is very close to home. It’s huge and you always have to dig a little bit, but I like that. I had been looking for a square picture frame for a picture I found of my mother and her friends having a coffee get together. I lucked out and found a really cool frame.

How fancy do they look?

I really like the craft aisle. This is where you really do have to dig to see if there is anything worth buying. I found the coolest molds. I cannot wait to make some faces for different projects.

When I was going through old photos a few days ago, I realize that I’ve always been a frugalista. Many moons ago when I lived in Bermuda I bought an old, cheap, paint chipped off Moped. The newer ones were a lot more expensive, but I knew I could fix this one up. It started off orange, well at least where the paint was still on, and all of the stickers were rubbed off. I spray painted it Navy blue and went to the scooter shop and bought new stickers. That little moped looked brand new.

And just because, here is Figaro, a monkey who lived outside my apartment.

Scary Start

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn JournalLeave a comment

This morning we woke up to severe weather warnings. It had already it Dallas and there were 625,000 people without power. Donny had to go to work and I had to take down anything hanging outside. The sky started getting really dark.

I kept watching the news to see when it was supposed to hit here.

When the tornado sirens started going off I made sure the kids were up and dressed, just in case. Luckily the worse part went south of us. Our house didn’t lose power, but homes and businesses on the loop and east of us did lose power for a few hours.

My poor 3 legged 12 year old cat is so afraid of storms. The night we had to spend the night on our roof during the flood, he fell off the roof and had to be rescued. Ever since then he needs to be held during a storm.

He is the sweetest kindest cat.

Speaking of sweet cats, Milo is getting more and more comfortable in the house. He’s still like a dog, scratching to come in and out though. Last night he got on the bed where Bailey was. She is not a friendly cat at all, but they seemed to do okay. Progress.

See why we need that little quilt on our bed?

With the day starting off so dark and scary, it sure did turn into a beautiful one.

And my daughter, who lives in Dallas, just texted me that they got their power back on. I pray everyone that still doesn’t have their electricity gets it back on soon.

Fake It

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home StuffLeave a comment

We have hanging planters that for some reason, where they have to hang, every plant that I plant in them burns up. The afternoon sun is like a laser beam no matter what type of plant we use. Today Jackson and I had to run to Dollar Tree to pick up some lint rollers and I found a solution. Fake greenery. I am normally against any type of fake plants, but since this is the only place to hang the planters, I thought I’d give it a shot.

This one is high enough up to where it’s not that noticeable.

This one is a little iffy, so I’ll probably replace those greens, but for right now, it’s okay.

I also found some Maybelline lipstick in a brick shade for $1.25. I rarely wear lipstick, I’m more of a gloss person, but I really like the shade so maybe I’ll use it every once in a while.

Every day the chickens await their snack. Their very favorite is corn tortillas. They get into a tortilla frenzy when they see me walk out with them.

You would think they never get any food at all. They are some funny girls.

And how pretty was the sky tonight? Well, minus all of the power lines.

My Monet Yard

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

I know we live in the South. I know we’ve been getting a lot of rain. I just can’t believe how fast our grass is growing. Today I thought it would a really good idea to go out and mow. I figured that I could get it done and not have to worry about it for (hopefully) another week. The only thing I didn’t take into consideration is that we would be under a heat advisory.

Between the humidity and the feels like temperature, it was rough. We have been working on the dead spots in our front yard and they are getting better, albeit slowly. By the time I finished mowing I was dripping in sweat and I was beat. If you were driving by our house you might think, Oh, their yard looks nice. Truthfully though, it’s like a Monet painting, It looks really good from afar, but when you get closer you can see it’s just a bunch of dots that doesn’t make much sense. I so need to move things out of the way and really get in with the weed whacker. I need to straighten up the flowerbed timbers. But here is a before of the backyard.

And the after.

The front yard still has a way to go with the dead patches and all, but it’s getting better.

My flowers are still doing pretty good.

It’s just all the little details like the grass growing up against the chicken coop, the fence and the shed, that drive me crazy. I have to tell myself that I can’t get it all done in one day because then I’ll be wiped out for the next 2. Sweet tea and a whole Brita pitcher of water served me well today.

If you have a yard crew that does your lawn you need to go hug their necks the next time you see them, because this is some hard work they are doing. How hot do we think this summer is going to get? I’m scared.

Recharge

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

It seems as though we have just been going, going, going lately. All of the end of school activities, house stuff, yard stuff had been a lot. Add to that the emotional aspect, when Friday rolled around, I was done. My batteries were running on their last legs. Since it was officially the first day of Summer break, I decided to give myself a much needed day to just recharge.

Our bedroom is my relaxing, cozy spot. It’s quite small for being the primary bedroom (I actually think Jackson’s bedroom is bigger) but I just absolutely love it. Yesterday I REALLY loved it because there was a lot of doing nothing.

We keep a blanket on our bed because sometimes one of our cats likes to take a little nap. Also, if you have a queen size bed, but don’t like how short the queen duvets and comforters are, get a king size. It fits so much better.

There was quite a bit of reading. I finished the John Saul book. It was pretty good. I hadn’t read one of his book in a long time. I kind of got off Patricia Cornwell after reading one of her VERY long books where I felt like the ending was just rushed, almost like her editor called her up and told her she’d missed her deadline and to just end it. This one, so far, is good. I watched the Netflix documentary on Joan Didion and just had to get this book when I found it in the thrift store. She led such an interesting life. I’m about halfway through and it’s also very good. I don’t take the time to read very often, so it felt good to just take the time to indulge.

A recharge day wouldn’t be complete without a few episodes of Supernatural.

Our TV is really too big for our room. We have looked into getting a smaller one, but since it works just fine, I think we’ll just wait until it doesn’t.

I wasn’t a complete slug. I did make dinner, clean up the kitchen and do a little housework. Not too much though. You would think that by relaxing all day I wouldn’t be able to sleep last night, but I made my goal hours.

Today because I finished all the laundry, including putting it all away, I did not feel like cooking. Luckily my online order coincided with Donny getting off work so he was able to swing by Little Caesars and pick up the pizzas. We tried the pretzel pizza, one with cheese sauce and one with pizza sauce. They were delicious. Even Donny, who isn’t terribly fond of LC, said it was good.

I think the cheese sauce one was my favorite.