Monday, June 24, 2013

Thrifting Finds #14!

Thrifting find, actually.  It was kind of a slow weekend.  Still, I really like what I got:


1. Rollers!  Just couldn't say no to a package of mint, shrink-wrapped bouffant rollers!  With the original price tag, yet--and you know how I love my original price tags! Savers, $.99 
Oh, and by the way, I'm pronouncing "rollers" the way the gal in this commercial does:


Now, you may be wondering just why the heck I bought a pack of rollers in the first place.  Well, it's because they'd go so well with my awesome collection of defunct hair-care products.

I've never mentioned that collection?  How remiss of me!  Here's a preview in case anyone cares:


If anyone's interested, I'll post more pictures.  I've got a lot of this crap.

In other news, The Girl Child blew in last night amid a tornado of luggage, Apple products, and girly-scented things.  We're more of a way station than an actual destination, but at least we get her for a day!
And because she's here, I did a little cooking.  I made Peanut Butter Candy Bar cookies and Caramel Apple squares. 
These are the Peanut butter bars:

There's a peanut-butter cookie base, covered by a layer of peanut cream, covered by a layer of caramel with salted peanuts, all covered with a layer of milk chocolate.  Needless to say, these were a lot of work.

Can't find the pic of the Caramel Apple squares, so picture an oatmeal cookie base with chopped apples, caramel, and more oatmeal cookie on top.

I also made deviled eggs for the first time.  The whole hard-cooked egg thing is kind of icky to me, but TGC likes them and I got to use my awesome Tupperware Deviled Egg Server!

I actually did make enough eggs to fill the container but one of them was so hard to peel that I had to toss it.  We're having these tonight with Buffalo Chicken Barbecue, potato salad, and some crudites.  Sort of a little indoor picnic!

So that's about it.  Only one purchase this weekend, but I'm sure you'll forgive me as I was a little busy.  Hopefully, next week will net many, many cool purchases!

Linking up with all the deliciousness at Sir Thrift A LotThe Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant




Monday, June 17, 2013

Thrifting finds: Fail Version!

Yeah, I got nothin'.

Hubs and I went to all our usual weekend stops.  Hubs got a few things, but I got zip.  Zero.  Nada.  Not even the humblest piece of Tupperware.  And actually, that's okay, given my hoarder tendencies.  I guess I need an occasional week of not bringing anything home.  And look at all the money I saved!

Still, I don't want to disappoint, so I at least took a few pictures of things I didn't get. To wit:



1.  Creepy Granny!  Yeah, Granny here is about 2 feet tall and even creepier when you see her in person.  One wonders where the original owner kept her.  Even her hands were old and wrinkly.  Ew.


2.  Creepy Egg Dude!  This may not look like much in a photograph, but he was absolutely horrifying in person.  And what made it worse was that there was a hanger on his head, meaning he was a Christmas tree ornament.  WTF?  Who would want this on their Christmas tree?


3.  Weird candle holder!  This is another item I texted to The Girl Child.  I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure it's supposed to represent Mayim Bialik during the "Blossom" years.


4.  Singin' Bing Crosby!  Creepy?  Or awesome?  Yeah, it's definitely a little creepy, but that is totally trumped by the huge amount of awesomeness.  I'm kind of regretting not buying him now, though I'm not sure if he worked.


Linking up with the fun at Sir Thrift A LotThe Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant



Monday, June 10, 2013

Thrifting Finds #12!

Well, we were only slightly thwarted this weekend.  We managed to hit all of our stops with the exception of one Goodwill:  As we approached, someone (another customer, I guess), told us that the store wasn't open because the manager hadn't shown up with the key yet.  We didn't wait around to see if the manager ever made it.

We didn't get too awful much, but I really like both of the things I got.  So here goes:




1.  Shiny Brites!  I was pleasantly surprised to find these among the Dollar Store Christmas Crap on the shelves at Goodwill.  They also had a box of red balls and one of blue balls, but they were just plain ones.  I really like these indents and other fancies.  But wait a second.  Let's dolly in for a closer look at that price tag...


One dollar.  I know!  This was definitely my Buy O' the Month.


2.  Tupperware!  It just wouldn't be a worthwhile trip if I didn't come home with at least one piece of Tupperware.  I had planned on getting a deviled egg plate (because the Girl Child will be visiting and she likes them), but when I saw this official Tupperware Deviled Egg Keeper, I had to get it.  Now I can make them and they won't stink up my fridge (side note:  I don't think I've ever made deviled eggs before.  Wish me luck!)  Goodwill, $1.50

And that's it, really.  As a Public Service, I'd like to also show a couple of things that I didn't get.  To wit:


A:  Pyrex!  This set was in darn fine condition, and I don't think the price was too bad ($4, $6, and $8, top to bottom), but I don't collect this pattern and I really have no need for these casseroles.  But this set (and a promotional casserole I saw a while ago) brings up a question:  Even if I don't collect a particular Pyrex pattern, should I be buying these things if they're reasonably priced and in good condition?  I hate to leave them behind if there's someone out there in Blogland who wants them, but I just don't know.  Thoughts?

Click to embiggen.  No, really. Do it.  

B: Pissed-off skater girl!  This is one of those things I had to take a picture of and send to the Girl Child.  Her response?  "She's actually kind of fabulous with that blush and those highlights!"

Aaannnddd that's pretty much it for this week.  Linking up with the goodness at Sir Thrift A LotThe Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant




Thursday, June 6, 2013

Recipe Roundup: Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

We're having this tonight, as a matter of fact, and both hubs and I enjoy this so much that I thought I'd share the recipe.

I totally stole this found this on some other blog, but I can't remember which one.  I'd gladly give credit if I could only remember.  If this is your recipe, let me know!

Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4C Buffalo wing sauce
1 packet Ranch dressing mix.

Dump the chicken in your Crock Pot.  Mix the Ranch dressing mix and the wing sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Check it after 5 hours, because it's easy to cook this to a pulp.  You know your own Crock Pot. so let experience be your guide.  When done, remove the chicken and shred it.  Return it to the pot for a minute to soak up the juice.  Serve on sub rolls with a squirt of Ranch dressing on top.
Double (or more!) this recipe because it's easy, it's delicious, and it freezes well.

But wait, there's more!  How about some photographic documentation?

I forgot to take a picture of the chicken, so use your imagination.
That Louisiana Supreme wing sauce?  Best.  Stuff.  Ever.  I've been putting it on everything.  I get it at the Dollar Store, so you might want to look there and see if yours has it.  If not, I'm sure whatever wing sauce you usually use will be fine.  Likewise the Ranch Dressing mix.  I bought the kind that happened to be on sale.


Finished product!  I know it doesn't look like much, but it's hard to photograph food well, and I'm not a good photographer in the first place.  You can trust me, though--this stuff is delicious.  Make a lot and freeze some.


Monday, June 3, 2013

Thrifting Finds #11: Thwarted!

Well, almost thwarted.

Hubs had a work thing he had to do on Saturday and I went along with him.  This meant that we couldn't hit two of our usual Saturday stops (and the third yielded nothing at all.)  We planned errands, etc. for the rest of Saturday so that we could make our usual rounds on Sunday.

Well.  We pulled into the parking lot of Sunday Goodwill #1 and noted that it was not nearly as crowded as usual.  Turns out they were closed for their annual employee picnic.

Dang.  Once we were reminded of this fact, we remembered seeing the sign in the store last week.  Both hubs and I thought this was the only store we saw the sign in, so we headed to Sunday Goodwill #2.  Nope, they were closed, too.  Thwarted!

Luckily, the new Savers was close by so we popped in there and I made a single purchase.  We decided against trying Sunday Goodwill #3, as we were pretty sure they were going to be closed as well.

We did head out to The Goodwill Where We Don't Usually Get Anything because we had stuff to do out that way anyway, and hubs and I each picked up a couple of items.  I don't know why they weren't closed.  Maybe the employee picnic was regional?  Dunno.

Anyway, here's what I got:


1. Fire King!  I'm not much of a Fire King person, but I do like the Candleglow pattern and had been planning on picking up a couple of pieces (round cake pans and custard cups, maybe.)  I was so disappointed that we weren't going to make our usual rounds that I kind of grabbed this casserole in desperation.  It's filthy (even after a trip through the dishwasher) and the pattern is a little faded, but I still like it.  This was from the Savers we went to.  $2.99


2.  Tupperware!  Yeah, I didn't think I was going to find any at all this week.  I needed something to keep rice in (other than the pickle jar I had been using) so these two canisters looked like they would fill the bill.  I got both because I wasn't sure which would fit in my cabinet better.  The top one has a label on it.  Does anyone know if these canisters came with pre-printed labels?  Or was this something added after the fact?  Goodwill $1.28 (huh??) each.

Oh, and note to the couple in front of me in line:  When you are buying two full carts of stuff at the Goodwill and part of that stuff is half-used bottles of nail polish, you are buying too much shit.  Take it down a notch.

Hopefully, next week will be better; we seem to be in the middle of a slow period here.  A couple of the Goodwills we go to look like they just cleared out all their stuff and restocked with about 1/3 of what they usually have.

Linking up with Sir Thrift A LotThe Nifty Thrifty, Apron Thrift Girl and The Remnant