Old Hwy 80 Sale + Easy Dinner

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Easy meals, Frugal Life, thriftingLeave a comment

For more than 25 years there has been a 392 mile garage sale than runs down old Hwy 80 from Texas to Georgia. People bring their trailers and just set up shop in parking lots and on the side of the road.

It happens twice a year, once in the spring and again in the Fall. I needed to run to Aldi today so I thought I’d take the back way down Hwy 80 aka Marshall Ave. The first one I saw were two very sweet ladies who told me that a lot of the vendors had packed up and left the day before because of the heavy storms. I’m glad I stopped because they had some cool stuff for sale. I ended up with a Buddha head and a cute little plant all for $2.00.

A little ways down the road I saw a whole parking lot filled with different vendors. There I found a lampshade, curling iron and a pretty summery blouse by Indigo Soul. I spent a whopping $9.00 there.

The lampshade worked pretty good on the lamp I was wanting it for. I like the fact that when you turn it on it looks like glowing little moon.

The Buddha head works well next to the stereo with my other brass objects.

I specifically got the plant for a flower pot that I had picked up several months ago.

When Donny got home from work we needed to run to the grocery. He’s been itching to find a plant for the rooster he got me for my birthday. It has been sitting in our living room and has now found its place outside. Please excuse the dead circles, we have moved a lot of pots to the backyard. It’s some kind of palm. I just know it works well in shade or sun.

After a busy day, I didn’t really feel like making a big messy meal. A shrimp boil is one of the easiest meals to make with very little to clean up. Right now shrimp is on sale here.

Growing up on the coast in Corpus Christi, we would go down to the T-heads when the shrimp boats came in a buy shrimp fresh off the boats. This is definitely not the same, but it will do in a pinch.

I like to use the bagged shrimp boil, but when did it start coming in the plastic pouches and not the net ones? So strange.

I also like to throw in a healthy dose of Old Bay seasoning.

I make a pretty simple boil. Fill a big pot with water. Add seasoning and red potatoes. Boil until they are tender. Add sausage and corn on the cob. Boil for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and boil for 3 minutes. You’re done.

I use a big commercial kitchen pot. I worked at a catering company and the owner gave me this pot so I’d always have one big enough to do this, gumbo, etc. Using it reminded me of the fun, hectic, sometimes stressful time I worked there. He has since passed away so it’s pretty sentimental.

And that’s it. My son doesn’t like shrimp so I made him some boudin and cut up some pineapple. Easy peasy meal.

B.O.B. + Discarded Art

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Easy meals, saving money, thriftingLeave a comment

We woke up to a terrible thunderstorm with rain so heavy you could hardly see across the street. That’s unfortunate because it is the weekend of the Old Hwy 80 garage sale that stretches for 392 miles. Hopefully there are places that are getting to still have it.

Anyway, yesterday I was making one of our favorite breakfasts, the BOB aka Breakfast on a Bun. We used to get them all the time at Whataburger. When my husband and I were both working, we never really thought about spending money on fast food or eating out. Now that we are living with one income, I watch the finances much more closely.

If you purchase a BOB and hashbrown sticks at Whataburger it will set you back $6.05. That seemed like a lot to me so I did a breakdown of how much it actually costs to make it yourself at home. My go to grocery is Aldi, so this is where I have gotten the prices for what I use.

Hamburger buns – $1.45 (8 count) .18 per serving

Sausage patties – $9.45 (20 Patties) .47 per serving

Cheese – $1.89 (11 slices) .17 per serving

Eggs – $2.29 (1 dozen) .19 per serving

Hashbrowns – $6.05 (20 count) .30 per serving

That totals $1.31. Plus you get actual cheese and not the American rubber cheese. That is such a huge savings. I know a lot of people just like the convenience of a drive thru and I get that, but you are saving $4.74. If you are getting this for a family of 4, it’s a savings of $18.96. That’s a nice chunk of change for just a little bit of effort.

And because I like to save money anywhere I can, we needed more than the 20 hot rollers I had for Hannah’s hair. Some of you may cringe, but I ran to the thrift store down the street and found a nice set for $3.50. Even though they looked like they had been barely used, I still sanitized them with my spray.

I always have to look through the artwork to see if there is something handmade. Discarded handmade art just makes me sad, so I was very happy when I found this sweet cross stitch for only $1.

I also found this cute little owl that was only $3.00. I had needed something to fill in on the window shelves in the kitchen since I moved one of the plants outside.

Such a cutie!

Hopefully, the rain will stop by tomorrow and the kids and I can hit the Hwy 80 sale. I’ll let ya know.

Prom 2024

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Date NightLeave a comment

Hannah’s last high school prom was tonight. It’s hard to believe that she is a senior and will be graduating next month. The theme of the prom was exotic enchantment. She voted for Old Hollywood Glamour and was a bit disappointed when it wasn’t chosen. The tickets were very interesting and for some reason I kept referring to it as erotic enchantment. I mean, c’mon, just look at those tickets.

The students were released at 11:50 so everyone would have time to get ready. Hannah wanted big hair. This took a lot of hot rollers.

Because it was so muggy outside, I pulled out the big gun.

We were headed to the school to take pictures because their campus is beautiful. It has a pond and gorgeous landscaping. Unfortunately it started sprinkling, so we headed downtown to see if we could find a dry place to take some pictures.

First stop was outside of the Children’s Theatre.

Outside of the coffee shop downtown. Gavin is 6’6″ so it worked out well with her standing on the step.

The best pictures were taken outside of Cheddar’s where we had dinner.

Yes, we sat in the booth across from them. No, they didn’t mind one bit. Shout out to Cheddar’s because the food was so good and the server was amazing. It seemed to be a popular prom dining spot because they ran into other couples from the school.

I sure hope they are having fun. I guess we’ll find out in a few hours.

Plant Away

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Frugal LifeLeave a comment

After our greenhouse collapsed, we couldn’t get to it for a couple of days due to the rain. Luckily Donny was able to save most of it. We just moved everything to the side yard where the other garden is.

It’s not pretty, but it works, hopefully.

The potatoes and tomatoes are growing big and strong.

The mint comes back every year no matter how cold it gets.

I’ll be planting the top of this pineapple this weekend. They make great plants and grow really big. My last two died when it froze. It’s a cheap was to add plants to your flowerbeds. Plus, you get to eat the pineapple.

The Hostas are doing well in their new planters.

Please ignore all the solar lights. I am trying to see which ones are still working. I also need to power wash the front stoop. All in good time.

My oldest daughter sent me a recreated picture.

Nikki at age 3/4 with her favorite two stuffies.

Same exact stuffies a few decades later.

Hannah’s prom is tomorrow so we are going to practice her hairstyle tonight. Wish me luck!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home StuffLeave a comment

We had a big change today. A much needed one.

He finally got his hair cut. We’ve been trying to get it cut for a while, but the timing never worked out. I was able to get him an appointment today.

I promise he is a happy kid, he just hates having his picture taken.

We have another big change coming up.

Hannah picked up her cap and gown. I cannot believe she will be graduating in a little over a month. She has decided to go to Kilgore College and major in journalism. She thinks she wants to finish up at Stephen F. Austin University, although she did tell me today that the best journalism school is in Missouri. Yeah, that’s too far away, sorry. She wants to try to find an internship at one of the television stations around here.

Another good change is that Milo, our stray not stray now, cat is healing up and gaining weight. He’s become a part of the family, getting along with our other male cat, but not the 2 females, but they don’t like any other cats.

And just because I journal about things I like, I was mowing today and smelled the best fragrance. It was these blooms on the trees in our backyard.

Donny and I went to an estate sale down the street. We were surprised to see the home for sale. It has one of the most beautiful yards. Her husband had passed away 11 years ago and she felt the house was too big for her so she moved to assisted living. We picked up a few things.

The waffle maker I wrote about in a previous blog.

I love vintage mugs. The one on the right was made in 1977.

Donny found this trunk made in 1906. It still has the paper giving the details on the inside lid.

I am beat. Mowing in this humidity had my sweat sweating. I cannot wait for a goodnight sleep.

Gone With the Wind

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

The day of the eclipse we were supposed to be getting rain. A lot of rain. Luckily the clouds cleared for the eclipse. We were in the 99% totality area. It got dark enough to where the street light came on and the solar lights lit up.

Everything was going well until that evening when the storm hit us. It was bad. The wind was just awful. When we woke up the next morning we had lost power and it was still storming. The patio was taking on water which meant our laundry room was too. When there was a break I went out to see how bad everything was.

Our little gnome drowned. The wind and water had flipped all of our landscape timbers.

We had a stream running from the backyard into the front ditch that was already overflowing. But the very worst thing that happened was this

Our poor greenhouse was demolished. I thought we might be able to save it, but when everything cleared up yesterday and we went out to survey the damage, several poles had snapped. Donny had so many plants that he had painstakingly been taking care of. We moved most of them to the side garden, but it was just so heartbreaking. Hopefully he’ll be able to save most of them. We just don’t know yet.

The power was still out Tuesday, but luckily the storm had brought cooler weather. I’m thankful for our gas stove because I was still able to make breakfast.

And coffee, thank goodness

Since it was so dark outside because of the rain, I decided that I would just lay in bed and read. Bailey had other ideas though.

Yesterday and today have been absolutely gorgeous. We were finally able to get back to Kilgore to see if they still had the dress that Hannah had decided HAD to be her prom dress. She gets very overwhelmed when shopping so we lucked out and got the dress, shoes and jewelry at Everything that Blings, her favorite boutique.

Since I can’t post the dress yet, I can post a picture of her shoes since they won’t really show in the actual prom pictures. It’s so hard to find closed toe heels that she likes. (she does not like sandals) I happened to walk back to a corner of the store and found the perfect ones. They were the only pair and just happened to be in her size.

Prom is in one week and lately weeks have been flying by. Tomorrow we are going to practice hairstyles. Wish me luck!

A Very Good Day

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

When I look back on days that I find to be almost perfect, they are never the ones where I have made plans or gone anywhere special. They are the days that we just go with the flow, doing exactly what feels right.

Today was one of those days. Donny was off. He took the kids to school while I finished watching a movie that I fell asleep watching the night before. We puttered around the yard and started discussing what plants we needed to buy for our bigger pots that still had dead plants in them from the winter. We decided to go to Home Depot and just see what they had. The weather was perfect. The gusting 30 mph winds of the last two days were gone. It was a sunny 74, which to me, is just perfect.

We ended up with 3 Geraniums, 2 Hostas and, my very favorite, the Jasmine vine. I love Jasmine. Not only does it smell wonderful, but it attracts bees that will pollinate the gardens.

Because the Jasmine and Geraniums need full sun we decided to put them by they front garden.

Donny had a really stressful week so he went in to just chill for a while. He told Hannah that I can’t sit still because I’m afraid that if I do I’ll never get up again. That is true to a certain extent, but I really don’t like sitting still, especially on such a beautiful day.

I ended up moving all the flower pots to the side of the shed until I can get the shed cleaned out and organized. I mowed where I moved everything. I chopped some wood from a downed tree. I moved the fire pit and strung the lights that we’ve had stored since we took them down when we got the rooster. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am to be back in the backyard again.

Our yard is rustic. It is perfectly imperfect. There is so much more we need to get done back there, but we are finally able to use it and we’re in no rush. It’s the one big thing I’ve missed about our house in Baton Rouge. We used to hang out in our backyard all the time. Tonight with the fire pit going, lights strung, table set up for food it felt exactly like it used to.


Cannot forget s’mores

Nothing beats simple food and good conversation. As close to perfect as you can get.

A HipCamping We Will Go

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Weekend GetawayLeave a comment

I had never heard of the app HipCamp before. Hannah wanted to go camping for her birthday and although we have Caddo State Park very close to us, it’s booked months in advance. I googled “camping near Longview Texas” and low and behold HipCamp popped up.

We found a campsite in Hawkins, TX. It’s about a 25 minute drive. The only problem was that the campsite was down a long dirt road that is very rutted and gets very muddy when it rains. They really want you to have a 4 wheel drive. I contacted the host and told him what car we would be in, but that it does have front wheel drive. They gave the okay, so Saturday after Donny got off work we headed out.

They were not kidding when they said rutted dirt road. It got a little hairy, but we made it. After taking the tour where the owner showed us where the composting toilet and the dock, kayaks and canoe was, it was already dark and we still needed to set up our tents. This campsite was right by a lake and extremely isolated, which we loved. But, when I say it was dark, it was pitch black. Luckily, I remembered to pack my headlamp. We also had about 5 different light sources, but the headlamp was definitely the winner.

Just a quick selfie

I had ordered a bundle of wood so we wouldn’t have to bring any with us. It was a little damp so we decided to have cake while Gavin and Donny were getting the fire started.

The campsite came with a fire ring and a picnic table.

We had fun hanging out around the campfire and later playing a game of Apples to Apples. I think I finally crawled into the tent around midnight. There is nothing better than sleeping outside. Our tent is mainly netting that we can cover if we need too. I loved being able to look up and see the sky and the trees. The only problem was that I tend to have to use the restroom at night and there was no way I was going to walk down a long, curvy very dark path to the toilet. So I just had to use the bucket that was given the us to scoop lake water so we could douse the fire. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

It was a little chilly when we woke up, but it turned out to be such a nice day. Overcast, not windy and no rain. It has rained on every single camping trip Donny and I have taken. We would even check the weather forecast, but it still rained. We really lucked out this time.

There were some cool lily pads on our part of the lake.

We walked down the trail to the floating dock because Gavin wanted to go kayaking.

There was a super cool dome house that you could also rent. It had a deck with a grill. I snapped a quick picture because people were staying in it.

Donny started the fire again and we just relaxed, enjoying the water and all the sounds of nature.

I finally made it to the toilet. Can you imagine walking this trail in the dark? I swear there were animal burrows all around it.

Although our trip was very short we had a lot of fun. I cannot wait to use Hipcamp again. It was so easy and this campsite was gorgeous. And we made a little friend.

Chicken Prison

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

Our chickens have always had free range of our backyard. They would occasionally jump the fence into the front yard, but always stayed close. When we got the newest four chickens we realized they were rebels. They would take off down the street, across the street, all over our street. I spent a lot of the day chasing chickens. Well, today that all stopped.

Donny spent most of the morning putting chicken wire up to keep them in. A little chicken prison.

It worked. They can’t get out. Now we just have to make sure that our cats don’t go back there when we go into the backyard because they can’t get out either.

Donny’s plants are doing well in the greenhouse. Hopefully we’ll get some veggies.

Tomorrow we leave to go camping for Hannah’s 18th birthday. She loves to camp. This will be the third camping birthday. We’re using HipCamp. I had no idea this existed. It’s like Airbnb for camping. It’s going to be a short camping trip because of Donny’s schedule, but I’m sure it will still be fun.

Since his car is bigger than my little one we are taking his. The dead mouse smell is still lingering, but I gave that interior a scrubbing and it’s much better. This is about the only time I miss all the room we had in the Flex, but we’ll make it work. We always do.

’round Here

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

It has been a hot minute since I’ve been able to sit down and journal anything. Spring Break was last week and we didn’t really get to go anywhere because Hannah was working. Then this past week we lost the charging block to my laptop. But there have been a few things happening.

Hannah quit her job. It wasn’t because she didn’t like it, but more so because it’s her Senior year and for the past few months they have had her working 7 days straight with a double on the weekends and then 2 days off. It was just way too much for her and we were needing to get some things done and had no time to do it. She did give 2 weeks notice and the managers told her that anytime she wants to come back she would be hired. She had been there right at a year.

She is going to miss her coworkers though. (Hannah is third from the right)

Her favorite dessert is cheesecake so they gave her a free slice as a going away gift.

With her now having free time after school we can focus on prom and graduation. We went to her favorite boutique to find a dress. I didn’t take a picture of her in any of them, but we found one she liked, just in the wrong color. She said she felt like Arial from the LIttle Mermaid in it. It fit her like a glove though.

After not finding the exact one she wanted, we ventured to the mall. Slim pickings at Dillards, but we did find one she liked at another store. We were so tired by this time that I just snapped a photo so we wouldn’t forget which one it was.

And for the THIRD time, we got this done.

She better not let them close up again.

We have Milo, the stray cat. After almost 2 years he finally started letting me hold him and pet him. Well, I thought he was sick because he breath was awful. It was so putrid and when I went to look at his mouth I found a dime sized hole in his neck by his jaw. I made a vet appointment and they had to put him under to clean it out and we decided to go ahead and get him neutered. He’s quite an expensive stray. I guess he’s technically ours now.

After the vet visit the hole was the size of a quarter and we kept him inside for a few days. He is just so sweet. He comes in and out now.

So we gained one pet and lost another, which does not make me sad. The one that is now gone is the rooster. After 2 years I can now walk in my backyard without carrying a weapon. He had never tried to get out of the backyard before and then realized he could get on to gate and jump off.

That 100 percent was a lawsuit waiting to happen because he would go to the neighbors homes. We tried to keep him in.

In the end, animal control came and got him. They had someone in the office that had a farm, so at least that’s good. I don’t miss him one little bit.

The weather was good for a few days and then rain hit hard along with much cooler weather. We are trying to get our patio and backyard ready for spring and summer. We had Jack’s old dresser against the wall. Donny broke it up for me and it’s finally gone. I did keep the last two drawers because they were maple and make really good shelves.

They give me just that little extra storage needed. I always try to recycle anything that I can.

And last but not least, it was that time of year again. Mammograms aren’t fun, but at least mine came back clean.