Thrifty Thursday: Clothing Edition

I've been wanting to do a clothing entry for a while, but I don't really buy clothes very much anymore. However, I was so very lucky to get some gift cards and money for my birthday and so I took my frugality to stretch those gifts as much as I could. Here is what I came up with:

I shopped at Old Navy, Forever 21 and Loft. I bought twelve shirts, two pairs of shorts, seven pairs of underwear, one pair of capris, one skirt, and nine pairs of earrings. The total amount of money I saved versus the original price of these items was... $153.93.

It really helps to go shopping when they have huge clearances going on, such as an additional 50% off already marked sale items. There's really not too much reason to pay full price for clothes, as they always go on sale at some point (unless it's a really fast selling item).


Where do you all shop for clothes to get the most bang for your buck?

Friday Four - July 6

What I Watched: Well, thanks to 'Retro'Mtv, I have watched the entire series of Laguna Beach and am working on The Hills. And I realized I actually didn't watch much of this the first time it was on, so at least I'm not re-watching, right?
I finally saw A Few Good Men this week in its entirety. I had only seen clips before. What a great movie!!

What I Read: still working on A Time to Kill by John Grisham

What I Listened to: Pentatonix's EP came out this week. It is AWESOME! If you have never listened to a cappella before, this just might be the best introduction you'll ever get. I'm also super proud of them for debuting in the top 15 albums of the Billboard 200! I'm not sure that any a cappella group has ever done that. Here is their first "official" music video for Starships:

 

Where I Ate: Miyo's! I sure do love that place :-)

Junebug

June ended up being a bit of a busy month for us. One thing that takes up a lot of our month, due to the fact that we are Gamecocks, is baseball! We are so proud of our team. How many other teams can say they made it the the College World Series finals three years in a row? Not to mention win two years in a row :-)
Anyway, just wanted to make sure my love was noted!

 

 How about that catch?!

 

We discovered that hydrangeas grow in our backyard! Jamie has apparently never noticed, and the reason it is especially weird is because that was our wedding flower and we had trouble finding some. He cut some for us to enjoy for a while:

I got to see my classroom a couple of weeks ago and discovered that I have a LOT of work to do (volunteers anyone?). But I also was left a gift from the parents I subbed for last year, along with this sweet card. I hope they really mean it, since I will likely have some of their kids this year, haha :-)

We enjoyed our holidays this month. On Father's Day we ate lunch with Jamie's parents and spent time with my grandpa, mom and her side of the family. We celebrated Independence Day a bit early, by hanging out with some friends on Lake Murray and watching the fireworks on June 30th.

Vicki Wilson Photography

We got a good bit of 'friend time' in this month too! I went to visit my old boss from grad school and had lunch at Takosushi with my friend Tara. We went to Reid's house for one of the baseball regional games and also had a dinner and game night with The Privetts and The Hofts. 

We also spent a lot of time house hunting this month, and bought a house on July 1st. In a few months we'll be moving to Irmo!

Thrifty Thursday - July 5

We didn't buy a whole lot this week, so I will get straight to the totals! This was a big Coca Cola week :-)


PUBLIX
Total Spent: $24.85
Total Saved: $11.65

WALMART
Total Spent: $8.22
Total Saved: $3.00

TOTAL SPENDING: $33.07   
TOTAL SAVINGS: $14.65

The Co-Op: Month 2

Here are some new (to us) recipes that we used for our produce this month. In case you forgot, here was what we received:

Recipe Inspiration: Easy Asian Stir-Fry

Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients we used: 3 carrots, 1 green bell pepper, 1/2 a yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 cups of broccoli, 1/4 a head of cabbage, canola oil, Kikkoman stirfry sauce, salt & pepper

Other than changing up the ingredients, we followed the recipe as listed. It was very good, but I think I'd add more garlic next time. 



Recipe Inspiration: Baked Zucchini Chips

Squash Chips
Ingredients we used: 1 squash, Pam original cooking spray, McCormick garlic & sea salt grinder

I figured since I had done it with zucchini, I could do it with squash. I followed the directions almost exactly, but I baked them for a total of 2 hours this time, which made them much crispier than with the zucchini. These were good, and I will continue to make these as they are quite easy!



Recipe Inspiration: Crispy Smashed Potatoes 

 Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients we used: small red potatoes, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper grinder, dried rosemary

I've made these twice, the first time with not so wonderful results. So the second time I made some adjustments. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Instead of boiling the potatoes, bake them in the microwave, 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the size. Smash them down (I used tongs), drizzle/brush with olive oil and sprinkle the salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake them for five minutes. That's it! These are SO DELICIOUS. The flavor is amazing, and it's my new favorite way to eat a potato!



Recipe Inspiration: Ranch Roasted Potatoes
** No picture for this one

Zesty Italian Potatoes
Ingredients we used: 2 pounds red potatoes, 1 packet Good Seasons Zesty Italian dry dressing mix, olive oil, salt

I followed the directions exactly, but make sure the potatoes are completely covered with oil or cooking spray and make sure the pieces are small enough to be cooked thoroughly.



Recipe Inspiration: Capellini Pomodoro 

Spaghetti Pomodoro
There are no changes to this recipe except the substitution of thin spaghetti for angel hair, and dried basil for fresh basil. It was still good! You might want to add some additional spices to give it a little more kick.      

Friday Four - June 29

What I Watched: I have a whole post about what I've been watching this summer, which you can find HERE if you missed it!

What I Read:  A Time to Kill by John Grisham

What I Listened to: Here are ten songs I'm digging right now (sorry if I've mentioned any of them before!):
                                 "Outta my Head" Daughtry
                                 "This Little Girl" Cady Groves
                                 "Two Way Street" Kimbra
                                 "Cry" Monica
                                 "Free" Haley Reinhart
                                 "Laserlight" Jessie J/David Guetta
                                 "5 O Clock" T-Pain & Lily Allen (warning: little risque!)
                                 "Burn It Down" Linkin Park
                                 "Breath of Life" Florence and the Machine
                                 "Big Hoops" Nelly Furtado

Where I Ate: We had Groucho's after church and then went over to our friends house that night and enjoyed a delicious dinner of veggie paninis, strawberry walnut salad and peaches. Yum!

Summer TV

Summer used to be the wasteland of television... but now so many shows premiere in the summer! Here's a peek into what we (mostly me!) are watching in this hot season:

All the Right Moves

Yes, I watch lots of silly, dramatic television... and I love it! :-)