Frugal -ity

Let’s Play Dress Up! – Mad Men Style!

2011-11-29T08:58:00.001-08:00

I feel that men miss out on being a woman. We as woman have so many more choices & opportunities to continue to play dress up. I'm having a Mad Men holiday party this week which is the perfect opportunity to play dress up! I love what Lady Peach laid out on her blog for ideas on how to dress up, accessorize & hair do’s!

French Twist!

Check her blog out http://ladypeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/simple-sunday-mad-men-edition.html - it's
too cute!

the beginning of - The Best Kept Secrets on Creating Your Perfect Event

2011-11-18T15:36:00.001-08:00

I’m having in a Holiday Mad Men party in the next couple of weeks & I’m super excited!

But I’m more excited to give readers an insight on some of the best kept secrets to create a fabulous party. I’m finding the best hidden stores & vendors who are all have been a joy to work with! I can’t wait to share with all of you on each individual the store & vendor that I discovered. to help build my Mad Men party.

Spending Time ~ Showing a Little Love with Brunch (crispy french toast style)

2011-11-15T21:09:00.001-08:00

Have you ever heard of the 5 Love Languages? It’s a theory to help you understand how you receive love & also how you express love. The 5 love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time (spending time), receiving gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. Each of these languages is enjoyed to some degree by all people, and I believe we need all of them but you usually have 1 or 2 that stand out more for you than the rest. One of my top 2 is Spending Time. I feel the most loved when I’m spending quality time with friends & family. It’s such a special thing to me when someone takes time out of their busy schedule to have dinner, lunch, breakfast, or ice cream with me - basically anything revolving around food & drinks! And I also show love in this way so it’s no surprise that I love to invite people over to my place to eat. My other strong love language to express love to others is Acts of Services. So even though I HATE to cook; I LOVE to cook for the people that I adore (and don’t even mind it)! A few years ago I did a brunch for a friend & have been doing it ever since. I think its a nice way to start the weekend off. I love having people over and feeling the spirits of my friends enjoying a good meal (I hope) and getting the chance to catch up with others. Living in Los Angeles, things can be so hectic & crazy, and sometimes I find that just taking an hour to get together with a group of good loving people can put your feet back on the ground. I think we all need that time to time.

Check the photos of the recent brunch my roommate & I hosted at our place.

I had extra scraps of this pretty paper & thought of this idea so they wouldn’t go to waste.

I made these paper napkins rings that say “Grub” on the front (I find that word cute so I had to add it!), and on the back of the napkins ring is a “fortune/inspiration quotes” – like a fortune cookie. It was such a frugal & cute touch to a simple brunch. Most of our guests enjoyed get an inspirational or encouragement fortune – none of them were males though. The boys didn’t seemed phase by it at all! Haha! But the girls really enjoyed it.

Strawberry Angel Bday Donut (Extra Large)

2011-09-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

I made this Angel white powdered donut cake for a good friend of mine's birthday. He doesn't like celebrating his birthdays so it makes it difficult to know what to do for him. But I wanted him to know that I was thinking of him because he's such an awesome friend. So I figured that I could drop some donuts off at his job. I found this 'Big Donut Top Maker' at Marshall's for $5.99! The 'Big Donut Top Maker' are cake molds to bake a cake in the shape of a doughnut & it was so easy to do!

Junk = Picture Frame wih a Different View

2011-09-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

I love buying a piece of "junk" and making it to something of my own.

Before.....

and with a little help ....

I've also have seen a chalkboard attached to the frame. I think I will try that as my next project!

A Little Music to a Birthday

2011-09-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

For my friend's birthday gift, I wanted to make something personal for her. I knew she was planning to re-do her room so I wanted to give her something that she could use as décor.
I found a slightly damaged magnetic board that was in the clearance rack for $2. I re-did it with a music sheet paper that was $0.59 cents at Michael’s, brown ribbon that was $0.50 cents, and found blue & yellow plastics flowers for $2 (those are the colors she is changing her room to). My friend also loves God, flowers & her friendships so I incorporated those things to make some magnates for her board.

Piano Birthday Cake

2011-09-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Most people are always surprise to find out that I dislike to cook. I know how to cook & bake but not to fond of it. I prefer to just go out to eat or have a bowl of cereal. However, I love to cook & bake for the that people I love. In a sense, it's my love language; it's my way to tell them that I love them.
A couple a weeks ago it was a very good friend of mine's birthday. She has been so great to me this year, and I wanted to show her how much I love & appreciate her by adding a little touch to her birthday celebration. My friend's talent and passion is music; and thought that should be my platform. I wanted to make some kind cake theme to music, but I also need it to keep it simple enough to achieve this-because I'm no Cake Boss

2 - 9/13 white cakes. I baked the cake from scratch but you can use cake mix.

white cake frosting, kit kat bars (for chord keys), dental floss (to make key lines). I used a cardboard box that I got from my job for the cake base. I used black wrapping paper from Party City that cost 99 cents, to wrap the cardboard base. The last touch to it (which I really think helped pull it off) was the print out of the Yamaha logo & volume systems, and pasting them on the board. It's no Cake Boss creation but my friend enjoyed it & had fun with it.

Cheaper Ways for Auto Repair, Roadside Assistance, & Insurance

2011-09-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

I hate cars. I mean I hate cars in the fact of worrying about the maintenance & responsibility of owning one. I could walk or take public transportation but let's not kid ourselves, that's never going happen! I just got a newer car and thought I would share a few frugal things that I learned from previously owning an older car (99 Dodge Neon).

When my neon started having problems, I knew I should get some kind of roadside assistance. I also started thinking about all the Lifetime movies I've seen, most of those movies start out from someone being stranded from a broken down car and then a creepy stranger appears!…yeah I've watched a little much Lifetime!-but it’s always good to be safe than sorry! I’m not a fan of Triple A (too pricey) but did you know that you get roadside assistance through most cell phone carriers? AT&T only charges $2.99 a month! I also have gotten roadside assistance through my auto insurance and was only charged $7 extra on top of my 6 month auto policy premium. If you lock keys in your car, car battery died, flat tire, car overheated, or need a tow – all things covered by roadside assistance.