Fun, Frugal, and Retro Recipes!

Now, when I say retro, I don't exactly mean what everyone else does...I go way back. Think 1924 ala Fannie Farmer! For those of you who don't know, she was the legendary founder of the Boston Cooking school and author of several versions of her own cookbook. I found a totally free, online version at: http://bartleby.com/87/

See? You're saving money already--I saved you from buying a cookbook! My favorite recipes in here are the simplest. Pancakes, biscuts, and potato recipes are great for beginners. She just states everything so clearly. Well, except baking instructions...since she was working on a woodstove/oven you're going to have to guess.

Being frugal starts with being simple to me. That doesn't necessarily mean protein, potatoes, and veg every night! Being creative is important too. I just try not to get to bogged down in details.

My new motto: simple fun, simple finances, simple food.

Cheers,
Ali

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Frugal Quickie: Make your own Playdough!

The Hillbilly Housewife just had a great article about how to make your own playdough!  When I was a kid we never made our own playdough, but we did make our own Goo-ey Flarp-like thing.  We just mixed corn starch, water, and food coloring until it was a consistency we wanted to play with.

Homemade playdough is a great project to do with kids, and its great for the environment!  You eliminate all the chemicals and carbon costs of making and packaging playdough, and you don't have to worry (too much) about the kids eating it.

I might just make some myself...
Katharine
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Frugal Fun in Toronto!

Exciting news! On Thursday I will be leaving for Toronto!! As you can tell from my use of exclamation marks, I am so very excited about this. However, I am also a little nervous. I'll be staying with a friend who is, let's say, a little more financially secure than I am and also a LOT less frugal. Needless to say, if anyone is from the Toronto area/familiar with it, I would love love love any suggestions of free, frugal, and fun activities!

So far we've planned to visit the University of Toronto (I'll hopefully be meeting with someone from the Museum Studies Program), the Parliament building, and an art museum that my friend told me is free at a certain time. I love museums, parks, and historic things in general, so suggestions of that nature would amazing. Also, any food freebies/cheap eats--I would much rather spend my money on fun than food.

My plan for travel is, I think, quite excellent and frugal. I will be taking a Greyhound bus from New Haven to Toronto. Roundtrip I am paying a total of $88! I feel that this is a pretty good deal, especially since it would have been $97, but because I registered for greyhound Road Rewards I'm getting an extra 10% off. At this point, I unfortunately have to discourage any excitement about the new Greyhound Neon busline from Penn Station in NYC to Toronto. They advertise low-fares, even 1 seat per bus that is sold for $1, but my advice is to not get on the Neon bandwagon. Sure, it sounds great, but you will never find the $1 seat and the customer service people will definitely not help you (even if you offer them a special review on your blog)...Take the regular Greyhound line, its cheaper in almost every senario and without the disappointment of not getting the dream fare.

Also, since the busride is 14+ hours, I will be trying to entertain myself. Sleep sounds most promising, new downloads from Publicliterature.org will take up a lot of room on my MP3 player, and I will be carrying a bag full of meals and snacks (any advice on meals that travel well without a lunch box/cooler?).

Happy Travels!

Cheers,
Ali
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