Frugal Friday: "Etsy On Sale"

I will admit that I am still something of an Etsy newbie when it comes to really navigating the site well. For A's Valentine's day gifts I spent far too much time entering a search then looking through hundreds of pages of results, literally, to find what I was looking for.

Today is exciting though because I found that there is a specific section that filters all of the Etsy

items that have recently been reduced or gone on sale! It's called, simply, "Etsy on Sale" and there are hundreds of pages to search through for just what you're looking for. Thankfully there are categories and price limits to help narrow down your search. Happy shopping!

Frugal Friday, for the Craigslist Scouter!

I've, of course, preached on the amazing finds one can get for themselves on craigslist, but sometimes scouting for those items can be a challenge. Let's say for instance that you're looking for a bedside table, but you're looking for a vintage one, maybe from the 40's or 50's because you love the look of the smaller size and the original pulls on the drawers. You may think that you can just type in "vintage night stand" or something to that effect and find, well, what you searched for. Think again! Sometimes your search criteria will yield exactly what you've searched for, sometimes you'll find something like this: an actual search find. This my friends, is not vintage.

There was recently a post on Apartment Therapy that made me laugh, and finally feel validated in this irritation I've found with craigslister's definitions, that was about just this!

"Do You Suffer from Craigslist Elitist Syndrome?

I, Sarah Rae Trover am a Craigslist elitist. I can't help it. After buying everything from pets to houses and selling more home goods than I could pretend to recall, it just seems to come with the territory. It's not something I'm proud of, but I feel the green monster trying to hulk out inside of me when someone labels or tags something incorrectly just because they want it to sell and they read a home decor blog once (and obviously didn't learn anything). Now you might be thinking, wow, she's such a jerk, but more so, I'd like to consider myself honest. I can't lie, if I read the phrase "rot (or rod) iron" one more time I might scream or do more than grumble under my breath. Although spelling errors mean you have to comb

through the entire furniture section instead of searching for what you want, more annoying are home design buzz words. Now, I can no longer set my Google Reader to follow key phrases (hopefully allowing me to get the jump on those who work in an office during the day). It would seem that anything made before 1990 is considered "vintage" or "retro" and don't get me started on the word "modern." All you'll find there are horribly over-stuffed furniture that would swallow even the largest human whole.

Now one might ask why I would highlight this horrible trait, after all it's not exactly something one strives to be. To be quite honest, I still haven't decided if I'm seeking company in my annoyance or looking for a 12 step program of some sort. I'm tired of keeping a list of designers next to me because no longer can I hope to stumble upon a find where someone doesn't really know what they have, instead I'm left looking for pieces from those sellers who know exactly how much their Eames Lounger is worth.

Is it just me? Does it seem to be getting more difficult to find what you want on Craigslist without spending more and more time sifting through items that are listed incorrectly? As Walter Cronkite would say, "That's the way the cookie crumbles," and although that holds true in this situation, I still haven't learned how to deal. Have you?"

I, obviously suffer from Craigslist Elitist Syndrome as well, as least I have a diagnosis now!

Frugal Friday!

Do you want to make someone's face look like this when they open their Christmas gift this year? Strapped for cash for the latest gadgets? Well, A & B are here to save the day! Okay, I'll stop writing like a used car salesman now. The truth is that we are getting closer and closer to the gift giving season and this is a very important time to exhibit frugality! For saving on gadgets I really love refurbished items. I have been finding myself drooling over a dyson vacuum on Overstock.com and reveling at how cheap Kitchenaid mixers are on the Kitchenaid website (in the outlet, refurbished section) and in previous years A & I have gotten both an ipod and a laptop off of the refurbished section on mac.com. I also got A a refurbished electric razor off of Amazon.com a few x-mases ago. They really are an amazing resource and you get things you really want, that would normally be too expensive, for so much less!

Frugal Friday!

Are you like us, and haven't been able to think up anything good to be for Halloween, or have decided that going as Lady Gaga for the third year in a row is a little much? Well, you're in luck! Stagecraft Studios is having their last studio blowout and you just might be able to find that perfect look you've been going for! It's both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and should prove to have some goodies!

Frugal Friday!

It's obvious that Le Creuset is a classic, elegant staple to anyones kitchen, but I'll admit that I thought that was only in the kitchens of "fancy people" and those lowly folks that cannot spend hundreds of dollars on a few pieces and aren't professional chefs would just have to do without...but wait, there is another option!

First let me say that I have been edging towards the switch to cast iron for awhile because of the impuritues and otherwise scary things in non-stick pots and pans. This summer when A & I were home in Oregon I picked up an adorable burnt orange cast iron frying pan to begin the collection. While I was in France my host cooked

everything in cast iron pans and it just added to the luxurious timeless feel of France, but that's another story. A few weeks ago a friend of mine from Oregon wrote on her blog that, bizarely

enough, she too was making the switch, AND she found out an

amazing thing...there are Le Creuset outlets!! You can find their locations here: http://www.lcstores.com/locations.asp and my BFF told me that they also sell them at TJ Maxx! Well, A & I are going up to Oregon for oh, about 30 hours, for one of our best friends weddings (Go J & A!) this weekend and on the way to the wedding I will be stopping at the Le Creuset outlet to see what I can see. So excited! Now, you too can be a "fancy person"! I think that I'll get a few key pieces and add vintage ones as I find them. I really want this color (it would match my kitchenaid perfectly) but I'm worried about staining and browning over time...I also like the idea of doing a mix of colors like a little rainbow collection, who says they have to match?!

Frugal Three-Day Weekend!

This holiday weekend is rife with opportunities to bargain hunt and score some great deals! The Alameda antique fair was yesterday, it was fabulous as usual, and we even got a cute little bar cart on casters for our new place, mini bar here we come! Goodwill is having a Labor Day sale today and all of their clothes are half off! The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse was having a Vintage, Antiques and Collectables sale Saturday and Sunday that sadly we missed. They're closed on Labor Day, so we're hoping tomorrow they might still have some goodies left over! Craigslist and yard sales are in full swing too, so go out and find yourselves a treasure!

Frugal Friday: Oregon Edition!

Thrift stores, Goodwill's and Salvage, oh my! Sorry we missed last week's Frugal Friday, but our Oregon trip was all consuming! We shopped, we swam, camped in a yurt, saw friends and family, crafted and hauled back a bunch of stuff!

One of the many great things about traveling to Oregon, other than the beautiful scenery and friendly people, are the deals you can find all over. Antiques, plates, glassware, and other vintage items can generally be found at better prices than in more urban areas.

Goodwill's are one of the best, and easiest to find, stores. But for real finds, you have to get a off the beaten path. Almost every little town in Oregon has at least one antique shop or thrift store. Some of them are filled with hideous old drapes and deer heads, but some have tons of cool old stuff. We got two amazing office chairs that actually came from my old middle school that got torn down over ten years ago! We also got three really cool mid-century barstools that we plan on updating for our new place!

So if you are ever heading through the beaver state and have some time to spare, troll the main street of anytown, OR and see what treasures await.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part of all -- no sales tax!