Archive for August, 2007

August 31st, 2007 - How to be a Budget Fashionista by Kathryn Finney

How to be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less by Kathryn Finney is a good book for frugle clothes shoppers, even for non-fashionistas like myself. I harbor a secret desire to dress fashionably, but I never have and I’ve realized I never will. I simply don’t care enough about clothes to do so. But, I do still need to buy clothes! She also has a blog, The Budget Fashionista which is constantly updated with clothing deals, trends, coupons, and more.

The book starts with some guidelines for budgeting–she does it in a neat way specifically aimed at people who love to buy clothes. Her advice is actually good for anyone starting to budget who likes to spend tons of money on anything. Create your budget based on what you spend (minus on X), look at the money you have leftover, and split it 50/50 savings and X (clothes, technology, books, etc.).

The next section is about finding your style. It includes some great tips for undergarments, and I’m putting one into practice already. (She recommends Lane Bryant for large busted women. And, while the rest of me doesn’t fit that store, it sounds like I may easily find the right bras there.) I also enjoyed the style quiz, even though I fit half and half into two categories (so I’m a Conservative Urban Trekker). She also covers body shape, accessories, and going through your closet.

The last section is about how to find bargain fashions. If I lived in a big city (Chicago, New York, etc.) I’d have some great fun tracking down some of the things she talks about. And she gave insight into T. J. Maxx, which now intrigues me. I didn’t realize they were like an outlet mall; I thought they sold their own stuff. (They don’t, they resell other store’s clothes.) While I’m still content with my chinos from Lands’ End and the thrift stores and the green and off whilte shirts from the same, I still found the information interesting and gleaned a few little tips here and there. (Like Boy Girl Party which has some really cool t shirt designs. Meaning, I bought one.)

One thing I didn’t care for was the extensive listings of websites. While in the above case, it was great and the site was still there, out of the other half dozen I tried, two were gone. That’s not good odds, and the downfall of books with website listings. (I once was given a book that was over 50% links. That book wouldn’t be valuable for long!)

And hey! Wisconsin was even mentioned! Somehow, she found a fashion trend here before it became trendy elsewhere. I have no idea what in the world that could have been, as blaze orange clothing and cheesehead hats really aren’t all that popular.

I reviewed this book because another blog pointed out her offer to send it free to anyone willing to review it on their blog. I couldn’t pass up a free book (on a topic I was interested in, at least). I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to others. And now, I have at least two friends who I believe are budget fashionistas (or at least should be!)…I just have to decide who will get this book! I think they would both love it. (Maybe I’ll buy it for the other person.)

Posted in Book reviews | 3 Comments »

August 27th, 2007 - Garden cleanup

This weekend, we finally took care of some needed garden tasks.

* Eric staked up two tomato cages that had fallen over. I first noticed them while my parents were visiting 3 weeks ago. Planned to take care of it over the weekend. That’s when we got sick with strep. By the time we felt better, it was raining all the time.
* I trimmed the tomatoes, too. Now it doesn’t look like such a jungle. Dad said I should take out suckers (the 3rd “branch” that appears in some intersections). There was so much foliage, that I hardly found any suckers, I just chopped off the stuff that was exceedingly long. I figured it would help keep any more cages from falling over AND provide sunlight to hidden tomatoes.
* We staked the sunflowers. At Fleet Farm, I checked out the garden clearance and found wooden 6′ stakes for 90 cents. I picked up 6. Eric pounded two into the sunflower row and I tied up 4 or 5 of the large flowers that were falling over. The heads are so heavy, they just can’t stand up. The ones near the fence I just leaned over the fence–it’s the perfect height! There are two more with small heads that may need to be staked. I used garden twine; I’m afraid it might cut through the stem. If so, at least I’ll learn for next year. I’m sure the 6 by the fence will be plenty of seed. And some seeds have matured on the staked ones already. Maggie liked them–she ate three!
* I cut off more gourd and pumpkin vine. Still need to get out to the front to cut those off. I just can’t get over how much they grow! I am NOT planting either one next year. (Unless I buy bush pumpkin. I would try that. Or we might just get a share in Catleanna’s CSA. They include a couple pumpkins!)

There are plenty of tomatoes ripening. I made salsa but burned it. I made tomota basil sauce but we didn’t like it. Got a recipe from Mom for another pasta sauce that I will try tonight. Also need to make another batch of salsa–I’m holding out for the jalepenos to ripen further first.

The drying beans haven’t dried out from the rain. I hoped they would today–three days of no rain. But it’s pouring right now! Argh. I might have to just bring them indoors to dry now. With I’d done so yesterday. The Cherokee Trail of Tears are starting to dry as well.

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August 20th, 2007 - Some local pick your places to check out next summer

For a larger listing

Out on a Limb
Open mid-July to Thanksgiving. U-pick apples, cherries, plums, pears and raspberries. Bakery, country store, hayrides and petting zoo. Call 920-295-6730. 4 Miles East of Princeton, County J, Princeton, Green Lake County.

Truettners’ Berry Farm
Call 920-726-4766. Exit 144 on I-43. 3904 County Hwy C and LS, Manitowoc, Manitowoc County.

(Plus note to self: Michael and Ann Marie saw a raspberry sign on Knapp Road. Need to check on that next July.)

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August 20th, 2007 - Local paper products?

A while back, I wondered whether I should buy locally produced paper products or 7th Generation ones. So I wrote to 7th Gen to see if any of their’s were made local to me (since I live in the paper products capital of the US, I think–this area produces so much of the nation’s paper products that we’re on a top list of places to be hit by a nuclear attack. Or at least we used to be. Do they still keep such lists?).

I thought you might be interested in their response (which I did get promptly, I just didn’t do anything with it and then today I thought of sharing it! Plus having it here means I can easily find the info back if I want to):

Thank you for writing! Our paper products are made in 3 places - for the Eastern Part of the States, most of the paper is made in Quebec, Canada. For the west, it is made mostly in Arizona.

The exception is the brown single roll paper towels, the brown napkins, and the facial tissue. All of the facial tissue is made in WI, as are the brown paper napkins. The Parent roll for the single roll paper towels is made in WI, but then sent to AZ or NY to sister factories to be cut into paper towels for the East or the West. I cannot divulge the names of our manufacturers for proprietary reasons - only locations…

Our QA person tells me that buying locally in a sense may not even be possible the way you are thinking, because most likely our products are shipped out of the state to distributors and then shipped back in to retailers who order from the distributors. The distributors are regionally located - they are not in every state.

Hope that is helpful to you - let me know if you have other questions…. best wishes to you on your venture - it is a good one, and sometimes complicated to figure it all out, eh?

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August 17th, 2007 - Toy recalls

I was feeling rather smug lately that we needn’t worry about the toy recall. (Since, you may recall, Maggie has almost no character toys. The only exception is a few classic Pooh books and jack in the box.)

Until I mentioned this to Eric.

He pointed out that we just exposed her to the lead paint through our windows and woodwork. We didn’t have to buy toys like all those other parents.

Um, well, yeah, he has a point there! I stopped feeling smug.

(And by the way, if other readers haven’t thought of this, just because the other toys aren’t brand name characters or from well-known toy companies and such, they could still have lead or other issues. The vast majority of toys are made in China and other countries, not the US. And yes, I’m starting to question the colored blocks she has. Should I just take out everything that isn’t plain wood? I don’t know. At least I don’t have to worry about her cooking pots and utensils. Until they start recalling kitchenware.)

Posted in Kids | 1 Comment »

August 16th, 2007 - The effect of sickness

A) About two weeks ago, we were told that to help Jedi’s allergies calm down, we should keep him indoors in the AC. Unfortunately for us, that meant changing things, as we’ve rarely had the AC on! We’ve had it on almost 100% of the time since. I am not looking forward to the next electric bill. :( We’re also tired of it as we really like fresh air and open windows!

B) At the end of last week, Eric and I came down with strep throat (and possibly other bugs as we have had problems other than just a sore throat). Today, I think I can say I’m all better (well, 98% as sometimes my throat is sore, especially at night and I sleep funny). He’s still not feeling well. I found it has been much easier to turn lights on, AC up, TV on, etc., when not feeling well. The effort to live without these things is much more difficult to find when one’s body isn’t up to par. Not to mention things like veggies sitting in the garden waiting to be picked (or in the fridge waiting to be processed).

::sigh::

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August 13th, 2007 - Vindication!

I always hated these things. And now research backs me up!!!!! ‘Baby Einstein’: a bright idea? - Los Angeles Times

(On the other hand, I should read more about the research, espcially what the 90 words are. Maggie, for instance, wouldn’t know the word “choo-choo” because she knows the real word, train. Of course, before she was 2, she didn’t know 100 words anyway….)

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August 2nd, 2007 - HEL money, update 7 July

For a variety of reasons including family visit and teaching, no extra money came in this month and a lot of extra money went out. But that’s why we were spending less other months. Since we’ve saved a lot of the extra money, we had plenty to cover overages this month!

July’s totals:

Total: $0
Running total: $1331

Concurrently with bringing a bit extra in, we are also focusing on keeping our household and grocery spending in check.

Groceries: -$100 or so
Household: $

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August 2nd, 2007 - Peaches update

Last Saturday, on the way back from The Red Radish, we stopped at a farm stand in Neenah for the advertised raspberries. Sadly, the season had ended, but the sign hadn’t been taken down. They did, however, have peaches from Michigan (which could be as little as 100 miles away, and close enough to local for us!). From the looks of them, I’d bet organic or nearly organic. And only $2/pound. Which I didn’t process quite right, so I only bought 10 pounds. At that price, I should have bought them all. Which I almost did, but then thought it was too expensive. But we’re only getting them at $1.89-1.99 at the store anyway.

Eric’s going back this Saturday to see if they have more.

I cut up about 30% for the freezer. I’ll probably dry some this weekend (Mom can help!) and maybe freeze some, too. That’s a lot of peaches for us to eat fresh.

Posted in Food, Eat Locally | No Comments »

August 2nd, 2007 - Food processing

Yesterday, I finally did some food processing. In the morning, I grated almost 3 Yugoslavian finger fruits (aka zucchini, but they look so much cooler) into the dehydrator. They were done by the time I got home from work. At which time, I started chopping dragon beans (white with purple stripes, but the purples disappears when they are cooked). Most of them went into the freezer after steaming and the rest went into the dehydrator. They weren’t quite done by bedtime, so I put them into a jar and will finish them off tonight. I plan to chop up the cabbaage I never used in salad for there as well.

It’s been tough to get myself going, even though I know I’ll appreciate it come winter time!