Category Archives: Thrifty Nifty

Cheese Please!

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 March, 2014 None comments

I absolutely love cheese. While I was pregnant I was so sick I couldn’t really eat much nor did anything sound good when I went to eat. The only things I could stomach were the little tangerine “cuties.” I went through boxes of these, literally 15 or more boxes during my first trimester. I would pop 5 at a time. I loved them so much and was so happy they made my tummy feel better. Morning sickness is truly the worst; nothing can actually describe these feelings. The only thing that brought light to my life during these 13 weeks of misery was my cuties and of course knowing I had a little baby I was growing. If you are pregnant or have been pregnant you are the only women who truly know how this morning sickness actually works. It’s a weird concept that eating actually helps the sickness, yet the thought of eating may cause you to throw up, while throwing up makes you not want to eat again. This vicious cycle can’t be tamed.

As my tummy started to settle and my cravings picked up, I began turning my appetite towards cheese as well as my cuties. I have always had a deep love for cheese even prior to pregnancy. I would buy blocks of medium or sharp cheddar cheese and cut chunks and melt them in the microwave. I have pictures of eating my cuties and cheese while my husband downs a bowl of ice cream. I would literally eat this melted cheese with either a fork or my fingers, it was so delicious. You hear the rumors that the husbands gain along with the wife; well I have proof that my weight was not ice cream induced but his most likely was. :) The thought of melted cheese right now actually turns my nose up, but I must say at the time it was fantasy land.

Now that I am post pregnancy I still love my cheese; cold cheese that is. I’ve found that Fred Meyers is one of the best places to buy block cheese for less. They have a refrigerator section at the end of the isles full of cheese. They have a big sign above that says “CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE.” They have sharp, medium, Pepper jack, Monterrey, and swiss. These are decent size blocks that are roughly $2.30-2.50 each. They almost always have these cheese piles and you can get a variety for a great deal.

Trader Joes also has cheese for an impeccable price. They have authentic cheese and delicious soft cheese for a good deal. We loaded up on cheese from there for our wedding and had many different platters full of many different tastes.

Here’s a few pics:

Display case for Hors’ devours

Cake Pops for the guests!

Fred Meyers and Trader Joes, I’ve found have the best bang for your buck for block cheese. Costco on the other hand has the best deal for shredded cheese. I buy the double bag for $12-15 depending on the kind. I have a container I use for the fridge, and constantly fill that with the remaining cheese I keep in the freezer. It’s a way better deal to purchase this in bulk rather than buy a couple smaller 8 oz or 16 oz bags from your local supermarket. This will last you a long time even if you are a household such as mine that enjoys their cheesy meals.

Weekly Chains

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 March, 2014 None comments

Weekly chains kind of caught all ya’lls attention now didn’t it? Well I may have another surprise later on in regards to the bondage of chains while today was only about Jamberry! :)

Weekly Look:

who would have thought that chains would look amazing on nails?

I did, these are the types of designs that catch my attention!

I’m thankful for Jamberry! They make my life exciting and make me feel confident with the beauty that remains on my nails.

Design: Off The Chain

Hair Products

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 March, 2014 None comments

Ever wonder if you are paying too much for your hair products? I do!! When I step foot in the salon and pay for my haircut, color, and products I am stunned by the time my credit card is swiped for the three beautiful things that currently took place. I love beautifying myself and the insane feeling you have when you walk out of the salon feeling as though you have transformed into a new woman.

My pocket-book on the other hand has a different feeling! :) The five-minute trim that barely took place and finished before I could blink my eyes cost $68 and then there’s the hair product that will last roughly four weeks costing another $50 and the color….well lets not discuss that as you all know how much hair color goes for these days. Anyway, you get the picture, although I am estimating the actual costs I am sure almost every one of you have experienced this a few times. You swear to yourself you wont fall into the trap next time and purchase the incredible products they use on your hair but it seems almost every time you see the magic take place you have no option but to succumb.

I have a deep love for dry shampoo. My hair is beyond fine and extremely thick. Washing it once a day would be ideal as the fineness becomes oily almost instantaneously. Using this incredible product allows my hair to proceed to day number three quite easily. And if I must be honest, sometimes I go four days and have an “up do” to make it another day without washing it. Oh the dreadful day of hair washing.

I’ve used many different brands of dry shampoo and hairspray and of course all the salon products are pretty amazing. BUT….are salon products comparable to department store? First let me say…you get what you pay for. My husband and I have had this conversation one too many times as he married a cheap wife. I am beyond frugal but I will admit sometimes I am extremely cheap and almost embarrassingly cheap. I’ve had to reevaluate my frugality verses cheapness.

My cheap side comes out when I run out of my expensive product. I seem to rotate my successful product worth a lot of money with my embarrassingly cheap products leaving my hair a bit embarrassing. In the midst of my cheapness I have found a couple of product that I absolutely love.

You know how hairspray can leave a build up, making your hair stand up like cardboard keeping absolutely no bend in the strands, keeping the hair impossible to brush through as the cement you sprayed did beyond it’s job? I HATE this! So, I have found the salon product called Bedhead is absolutely amazing and exactly what I enjoy. But on my cheap days, I was beyond thrilled to find a brand from the department store that was honestly incredible. I am kind of embarrassed to say which brand I found as it is not normally considered to be worth your money. But- because I feel I have developed a deep love for this product I must share it with all of you.

Suave Salon Professionals verses Bed Head-

It smells absolutely amazing and there is no chemical smell left behind in the scent. No white residue or crusty hair that is impossible to brush through. I was beyond SHOCKED how much I enjoyed this product. The greatest news of all was this product only cost $2.88. Yup that’s right, less than your coffee for the day. I must say Suave is a NEVER buy product for me but I was desperate one afternoon for something life changing and that is what I found.

This is a must try product!

Bed Head is amazing, but it is only worth the money on occasion. Again- I believe some products are worth the money and others aren’t. I honestly feel Suave Professionals Touchable Finish is a great comparison. (I haven’t tried any other Suave hairspray and most likely wont)

Now for dry shampoo-

I did try Suave Salon Professionals and was NOT impressed what-so-ever. Steer clear! I have also used Tresseme brand and felt so-so with that; definitely not convinced. I have found certain products aren’t comparable and this is one of them. KMS brand from the salon IS worth the money; every penny spent it well spent! Definitely smells good, no white residue, doesn’t leave a film in your hair and smells fabulous.

In the same breath, if you want something that is comparable than Oscar Blandi is very good. I found this product for half price and was thoroughly impressed; bought it for $8. you can purchase this item on Amazon for $14.50. The comparison was very poor between Oscar Blandi and Suave. Oscar beat out with miles in between.

Along with Oscar Blandi, KMS Hair Play is my dry shampoo go to. Costing around $25 from the salon or for a great deal $15+ shipping on Amazon. If you can purchase Oscar Blandi for $8 than go for it. I wouldn’t pay full price for Oscar Blandi as KMS is a couple dollar difference and definitely a real winner to go with high quality.

So… with my great frugality and cheapness I was left to find products worth the money and products definitely to stay away from. :)

Overall results: KMS or Oscar Blandi for Dry Shampoo and Suave Professionals Touchable Finish for a wonderful hairspray.

Hope this helps all of you hairspray and dry shampoo lovers. :)

For more finds check out my Department-Store-Makeup

Jamberry Delights

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 14 March, 2014 None comments

What’s so exciting about Jamberry Nails today? Well this fabulous Spring look has definitely caught my eye!

Thanks to Lisa for the Photo

Floral seems to overtake the nail world lately. I used to not prefer floral but actually seeing it on has been more attractive to me as of recent. This photo gives floral a whole new meaning.

Be sure to get in on the B3G1 free event taking place now.

www.delightfullydoable.jamberrynails.net

OR for more information visit my store at: http://bit.ly/1ePczqt

Department Store Makeup

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 12 March, 2014 None comments

Sometimes you get what you pay for, other times you don’t. I have found through my deep obsession with Sephora that not everything is worth the price or that good of quality. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sephora, I love makeup and I love face lotion and masks.

I have found certain products aren’t worth the high price tag. Face Primer to be one of those products that I feel is just as good of quality if not better than the high priced primer I bought at Sephora.

Recently I was running out of my Benefit face primer (it only lasted three weeks) and was on the hunt for a primer that would last longer as it was $31. I was in the department store the other day with Cooper and I were looking at all the primers and found Revlon Photo Finish Face Primer for $10.97. Cooper enjoyed this product as he can pop the lid on and off. :)

Benefit was .9oz for $31

Revlon was .75oz for $10.97

The price was triple and had less product.

I used the photo finish face primer and really loved how it went on. This is a product I will continue to buy and continue to save.

New Look, New Designs

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 11 March, 2014 None comments

Jamberry designs, mix and match.
Here’s another fabulous look!

First application of a dear friend; she did AWESOME!

Mint Green Chevron and Grey Polka Dot

For more information go to my store: http://bit.ly/1ePczqt or to order go to: www.delightfullydoable.jamberrynails.net

Weekly Look

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 9 March, 2014 None comments

Here we are and my weekly look this week was not what I had expected. I had asked many of you whether I should do Metallic Crackle or Silver Floral on Magenta.

I did neither of these as I decided this week I would let the hubby pick. Sometimes I try and get him interested in things I know he could careless about but for me I simply want his opinion. :) He choose Flock Together.

This is a design I typically wouldn’t gravitate towards but I have learned that with Jamberry Nails, the designs you least expect to look good on your hands are the ones that look phenomenal. Though I love my stripes I opted to take my hubbys choice tonight and was well pleased!

To learn more go to www.delightfullydoable.jamberrynails.net or visit my Store

Buttermilk

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 6 March, 2014 None comments

Making your own buttermilk is entirely too easy to not share. I honestly don’t see a point in purchasing buttermilk when you can easily make your own.

Here’s how:

Buttermilk is something I never have on hand. An easy trick to make your own buttermilk is to place the milk in the proper measuring cup leaving a tiny bit of room at the top. Add 1 tbsp. of white vinegar and let sit for 2-3 minutes. (If making more than 2 cups add 1 tbsp. per cup of vinegar) A layer will separate on the top of the milk beginning the process of turning the milk into buttermilk.

So easy!

Coffee Creamer

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 2 March, 2014 None comments

I love coffee! I am a HUGE coffee fanatic. Many of you probably already know this about me, but I LOVE coffee!

I do like a lot of the fancy flavor coffee creamers but when I try and read the ingredients it simply isn’t in my vocabulary. When you have a number next to an ingredient than I get kind of scared. Red 50. Yellow 102. Blue 24. You get the picture? It’s not good.

I’ve made my own creamer for quite some time but I must humbly admit when Fall and Christmas approached I get very excited for the holiday creamers; pumpkin spice, eggnog, peppermint mocha, and York peppermint paddy. I had succumb to the yellow color 60 for three months and my body is probably filling itself with cancer as we speak. HA okay probably not but my homemade creamer is by far better than these coffee creamers.

I have made peppermint mocha, brown sugar cream, and French vanilla. These are just a couple of the ones I enjoy. But the basis of the creamer is pretty standard and can be used with any flavor you like.

Ingredients:

Brown Sugar Sweet Cream

1 can sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
4 cups milk

In a saucepan over medium heat, add condensed milk and brown sugar. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring constantly.

Add vanilla and milk and heat until it begins to steam, do not boil.

Store in a glass container in the fridge!

You can simply use sweetened condensed milk and regular milk as a staple base for any other flavor you desire. Here are a couple more options:

Peppermint Mocha

1 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp peppermint extract

Peppermint Patty

2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp peppermint extract

Raspberry Almond

2 tsp raspberry
2 tsp almond

Carrot Ink

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 February, 2014 None comments

I ran out of printer ink this morning and was very disappointed as I have a few things that need printing. First, my printer is expensive to refill the cartridge and most places can’t refill them for me. I have to buy the cartridges brand new. Due to this, I hate buying ink because it seems to be a waste of money and something I’m constantly doing. Its the stupid task of remembering the ink ran out and I need to refill it. Its one of those lame errands you choose to avoid as long as humanly possible.

So, after much time hunting for the best deal, I found a website that I want to share with you all as they are 30-70% less than any other place. I found my cartridge on sale through their site for $8. This my friends is a steal. My printer holds 4 cartridges yes 4! That adds up within itself. I got free shipping and got my cartridge for $8. Can’t beat it!

Their shipping is fast and efficient.

The other benefit is they are a green service using remanufactured ink cartridges. Their motto “Print Green…With Carrot Ink”

Use the link below and see for yourself.

Carrot-Ink