Frugal Babe

We spent today painting our house.  It’s starting to really come together and look nice.  We’re doing the same colors that were already there, but the new paint looks all shiny and fresh.  The sides that are finished look fantastic - the trim really makes it look great.  We should be able to finish it [...]

For the last four years, my husband and I have had memberships at our local rec center.  I get mine for free as a perk of working for the city, and we pay $350/year for my husband.  We love our gym, and the price can’t be beat (we checked out some other gyms before I [...]

We had friends staying with us last night, which was a nice break from all the home improvement we’ve been doing most nights lately.  We did manage to have the guest room all put back together in time for their visit, which was a plus.  The weather was really nice, so my husband grilled burgers [...]

My parents live near a Habitat for Humanity home store (a thrift store that only carries remodeling and building supplies - quite the score if you happen to be working on a house).  This morning they went to the store to see if they could find any cabinets that would work for our new kitchen.  [...]

Our kitchen remodel is off to a great start.  We spent all day yesterday gathering supplies, in true Frugal Babe fashion.  We bought a stove on Friday night that we found on Craig’s List for $175.  It was in a town about midway between my parents and us, so they met us at the lady’s [...]

Our house has a very small fenced back/side yard.  We have a white picket fence, less than four feet tall, so the view of the open space behind our house is not blocked at all and makes the whole area feel bigger.  But the fence is about nine feet from our house.  It goes along the south side [...]

Last Sunday, I had to work a 4 hour shift at the library, but I was off by 5pm.  I rode my bike the one mile to our house, and was loving what a beautiful afternoon it was.  We ate dinner on our front porch, and then decided to go for a bike ride together.
Normally, [...]

We have a tiny bathroom attached to our bedroom.  Outside of the shower, sink, and toilet, it’s got about 12 sq feet of floor space.  Pretty tight quarters, but we’re glad we have it (some models in our neighborhood have a walk-in closet in that space, and we’d much rather have the second bathroom).  When we [...]

Since we’re already going to be paying a big chunk of money for my husband’s outfit at his cousin’s wedding, I wanted to keep my clothing costs to a minimum while still looking good enough to walk around with my tuxedoed man.  We went to a couple of my favorite thrift stores over the weekend, and I [...]

My in-laws are visiting us this week - they arrived today, and they’ll be here through next Tuesday.  I get on really well with them, and I’m excited that they’re here.  This morning I got up early and went to the grocery store for lasagna ingredients.  I already had noodles in the cupboard, so I [...]