The Thrifty Groove

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thrifty Things Friday #110

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s TTF party!

Do you take advantage of the store coupons that come in the mail even if it is to stores that you normally don’t shop? Well, when I got a Kohls $10.00 off any $10.00 or more purchase in the mail, I had to go shopping!
My goal was to have my “out of pocket” expense $1.00 or under!
Since I am a jewelry freak LOL I decided to check out the jewelry first. I found the clearance rack and that is where I spent my $10.00!

I love my bling! It’s one of my favorite things about being a girl! The world of girlie accessories is a favorite area of thrifting for me!

Three pairs of fun summer earrings!

And a fun charm bracelet!

As you can see, I paid out of pocket .85 cents! Woohoo! I probably would have bought the set of three pairs of earrings and paid the $3.60 but, the bracelet would have been out of my price range even at the clearance price of $7.20. But, paying .85 cents for both, perfect!
Are you ready to share your thriftiness?

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Features from TTF #109

Hi everyone!
Before I get any further, I want to say to all those that have been affected or are in the path of the tornados and storms, know you are in our prayers and thoughts!
Linda and I decided it would be fun for each of us to pick a couple of posts from last weeks party and feature them.

I even made a little button for you so, please feel free to copy it for your blog!
Since Linda is visiting all of you each week, she will be picking her two features from visits. Me, I am going to just pull two link ups randomly to feature. The best of both worlds!
Meet Brooke from Creative Country Mom’s Garden! Brooke shared her lovely garden. I chose the below picture because I LOVE the trellis made of branches!

Now meet Tammy at Taylor-Made Ranch! She showed us how to make Honeysuckle jelly! I have never tried this and wish I had honeysuckle in my garden so I could make some!

Thank you ladies!

And thank you everyone for linking up last week! We hope to see you again tomorrow for TTF #110!
Now pop over to Linda’s and check out her features for this week!

Monday, May 20, 2013

To Be or Not To Be

Hi Friends!

That is the question of the day…..

To BE Polished……

Not To Be Polished……

Obviously, the things I use for food, need to be polished.

But, what about silver you decorate with?

I have to confess, I like both ways. Some items I am okay with leaving the pretty aged tarnish on. But, then I have those “I want it to shine and sparkle” days as well!

How about you? Sparkle or Tarnish?

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Dinner For One Please!

Hi everyone!

Troy was at seminar tonight and will be having dinner there so, it was just me for dinner tonight.

Dinner for One Please

Since tonight it is just me, I planned on fixing a grilled cheese sandwich, simple salad and a bowl of soup. And I was going to grab a tv tray and head into the living room to eat.

I decided to set a pretty place for one.

I am still fixing just sandwich, salad and soup but, I am eating here at the table and instead of watching tv, I am going to pop a book on tape in and listen to it. It’s kind of like listening to the radio back in the day.

A small simple teapot to enjoy some hot tea while listening to the story. for those interested, I’m listening to Janet Evanovich’s Sizzling Sixteen. I love this series. Troy has read all of them to date and I am catching up.

I am using my matching mug for tea.

I bought this set piece by piece at TJ Maxx as I found them on clearance. They are used daily and one of my all time favorite set of dishes! I remember watching one of the “Real Housewives….of wherever” a year ago and seeing these dishes displayed in one of their kitchen.

Thank you for joining me for dinner! You can stick around and listen to the rest of the book if you want. I’ll set another place! Smile

I’m joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Let’s Dish!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Thrifty Things Friday #109

Hi everyone!

Linda and I were so happy to see the turn out of linked posts last week. Please remember to either grab the button above or just add a link on your thrifty post to this party. Also, we really want to keep this party all about thrifty things. And that can be in any area so long as it is thrifty. Show us your thrifty finds, recipes, tips, household ideas, family activities, home decorating, gardening, parties, celebrations or any other money saving ideas. We all love to be able to save money here and there and enjoy getting new ideas from all of you!

Awhile back, I completely scrubbed down the upstairs hallway, did a major decluttering of things I never thought I would part with and even took everything on the walls down and spackled all the holes.

I got it into my head that I was going to paint this area with a color that was our of my comfort zone. And what color would that be? Brown…a milk chocolate brown! Not a color I normally would think of for this space since it is a small interior space with no windows. But, the need for drastic change consumed me!

Okay, so I didn’t set out to buy brown paint, I just kept making the rounds at Home Depot and Lowes to check on their “Oops” paints and figured when I spotted something that clicked, I would get it and that would be the color of the hallway.

See, this is just one more reason why I am not one of the cool, awesome big bloggers out there! I love to visit all the amazing home decorating blogs. And they do beautiful makeovers after pouring hours into looking over different paint samples and decided on the perfect shade of off white. And of course, it always turns out perfectly wonderful.

Nope, not me! I let the marked down mistake paint guide me! LOL What's worse, is I blog about it and tell you all! I should be saying something like…”after consulting numerous paint samples and buying a few quarts of couple of different colors and painting areas on the wall and making sure I test it to show what it would look like when the sun hits it or in the evening glow of lamps…….” etc.

The walls were a light blue with a tan trim color.

Now they are brown and white. I really like the way the color turned out. There are four different doors in this hallway space so, there is a lot of white trim to break up the brown.

Linda and I can’t wait to see what you have to share with us this week!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Do You Decorate With Things You Use?

Hi friends!

As you know, I try to decorate with things I already have. And I really try to decorate with things that I use. I just don’t have space to store a lot of things so, using them in a double duty capacity is kind of necessary.

The shelf in the dining room on the brick wall has been kept pretty simple and the same for most of the winter.

Just a couple of teapots and a little picture.

Now that warmer months are here, I like to bring out white accents to keep spaces inside a little cooler.

Since I use this vintage hobnail milk glass set throughout the summer for iced tea, I thought I would use it also for decorating this shelf. That way it is always handy.

I was so excited when I found this complete set at an estate sale last summer. I had been on the look out for a set for years that I could afford.

I thought I might like that way. But, nope.

I am going to let this stay for a couple of days and see if I like it. I wish I could do something with the brick wall but, unfortunately I don’t own it and I don’t think the people who do would let me tear it down! LOL

Do you try looks out? Live with a decorated shelf or table top for a few days and then find yourself completely changing it?

I’m joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Whats it Wednesday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Be Inspired

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Blooming Trees

Hi everyone!

Don’t you just love all the ornamental trees that are blooming right now. Everywhere I go I see these trees in full beauty. And the fragrance is amazing!

Just a simple post to enjoy a simple pleasure!

I am sharing at

Sunny Simple Sunday

Outdoor Wednesday

Fertilizer Friday

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Thrifty Things Friday #108

Hi everyone!

Well, I have some fun news. TTF has a Co-Host now! Woohoo!

My friend Linda over at A La Carte will be co-hosting TTF with me! I am so excited to share this party with Linda. Especially since this party was passed to me a couple of years ago from Linda!

So, why the change? As you know, I am going into a very busy time of the year. I was talking to Linda and told her I was thinking about either stopping this party or putting it on hiatus for the summer.

I just don’t have the time to visit all you amazing people who link up each week. And since I strongly believe in visiting my party guests, I thought it would be rude to continue on and not give each of you the time you deserve.

In comes Linda to the rescue!

Linda will be the one mostly visiting each of you. She is such a gracious host! We will still have the linky party here. So, that won’t change. And I will try to visit as often as possible. I miss my weekly fix of all of your wonderful thriftiness!!

So, I hope you all will welcome Linda! You can visit her at her blog A La Carte!

Okay, on to a little thriftiness of my own!

Last month I posted on Facebook the coupon for a free 8 oz. sample of the new Spring Valspar paint.

I took my coupon over to Lowe’s and picked out a color I wanted.

This is a really nice size sample especially if you got it to do a few little projects. I picked out Leather Satchel.

I have had this cheapo clock for years. I bought for .50 cents at a yard sale. I liked it because it is simple and easy to read. I decided to paint it.

First I carefully roughed it up a bit with sandpaper so the paint would stick.

I put the first coat on it and let it dry before applying the second coat of paint to it.

While I waited for that to dry, I ate a free little snack I picked up on the way home from Lowe’s

Oh how I love FREE!

Once it completely dries, I will take a q-tip and clean around the edges of the glass. If the paint is stubborn, I will dip the q-tip in fingernail polish remover to help get rid of excess paint.