Today the Lifestyles Channel is holding a potluck / picnic of sorts. Each of the channel blogs will be somehow discussing potlucks and picnics today – a favorite recipe, or maybe some planning tips. Here at Simply Thrifty, we’ll look at how to dress up your event on the cheap.
Potlucks are known as a thrifty alternative to other dinner parties, but rarely do the terms elegant (or cool), and potluck go together. Here are some inexpensive ways to liven up the typical potluck event.
Have a theme. Same old potluck = dull. Create a theme; like an around the world potluck, …read more

There are very few things that I enjoy doing as much as eating and cooking Sunday dinner. I am blessed to have many family members who can make every meal taste gourmet, even though it probably came from a simple recipe. We are all gifted with the talent of cooking, but the greatest of these was my great grandmother, Irene Schleicher. My great grandmother was the owner of a restaurant and a catering business and boy could she cook! Her greatest gift to the grand kids (besides setting a shining example of what a true Christian walk is,) was teaching us her cooking secrets. Luckily, I got some of those secrets …read more

 
The fourth of July is my husband’s favorite holiday. His family has always gotten together for a huge potluck (I say ‘huge’ because it is at least 40 people strong,) and a night time fireworks display. However, times have changed and most of his family goes camping at the beach, now. Since gas prices and rental of a motor home are too outrageous to even consider, we are left behind. Does that mean that we cannot have fun? Heck no! We are going to stay local and make our own simple celebration. Here are some ideas that I’ve come up …read more

Today after running some errands, I treated my son to ice cream. While standing at the counter my son noticed a sign that said there was 10% discount if you sing. He asked the teenager behind the counter if he could sing a song and the teen told him to go for it. So my obviously not shy six year old sang “Supercalifragelisticexpealidocius.” The manager came out to listen and my son got a nice applause. There was no one else in the shop, but it was cute anyway. Plus we got a discount on our ice cream.
I don’t …read more

Today is my son’s birthday. We had a party with friends and family over the weekend, and tonight is just for the immediate family. He asked for barbecued burgers for dinner and said the leftover cake from Sunday is perfect and I shouldn’t get another, is this my kid or what?
We bought some gifts we know he’d like such as a bird house making kit and a children’s book of gardening tips. I was thinking of some of the other gifts we’ve given throughout the years – the ones that don’t come wrapped in pretty paper or cost money. …read more

How timely. Yesterday I talked about how Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family spent their evenings back in the day when there was no television or Internet. Soon after I posted, major severe storms rolled into our area. My husband and I shut down computers and televisions and unplugged appliances. Last year my sister in law’s house was struck by lightning and their modem fried as did many of the appliances. We weren’t taking chances.
I read and he puttered around putting some things together handling little odd jobs. We also spent some time chit chatting and watching the lightning …read more

I went to a book auction at one of the local libraries the other day and came back with a real treat. A lot of books and booklets about the Ingalls family – that’s the Laura Ingalls Wilder family, for those who didn’t spend a jillion years watching “Little House on the Prairie. Included were biographies, diary excerpts, letters, and even some books filling the gaps between and after the “Little House” books. Oh and I paid $5 for this glorious lot of books and pamphlets.
This was a real find for me. My sisters and I loved the “Little …read more

Right now it’s raining – not too light but not so heavy I have to close the windows. I love summer rain storms. One of my favorite sounds is that of a gentle rain hitting the leaves. It reminds me of my summers camping with my family. I didn’t really hear that sound in the city, but where I live now there are plenty of leaves. You may think I’m silly opening my windows to hear a rainstorm, but for me it’s one of those pleasures money can’t buy.
 
Image: AllPosters.com

Growing up without air conditioning proved to toughen me up as an adult. In fact, I didn’t have air conditioning in any of my homes or apartments until my husband and I bought this house six years ago. And my husband never had it in his house either. So you can see why we’re not one of those families who have to have the a/c on as soon as the outside temps hit 70’s.
Now don’t get me wrong, we do get hot and we do like to cool off. Sometimes though, air conditioning seems so cold. Here …read more

Last year I planted a dozen strawberry plants. We had a few strawberries but I didn’t expect much with the first season. The strawberries spread and grew though and took over about 3/4 of my vegetable garden. In May we noticed lots of pretty strawberry flowers and this weekend we started bringing some nice big, sweet ripe berries inside. It’s going to be a good crop this year too. We can probably freeze enough to last through the winter – if we don’t eat them all that is.
Don’t you love it when your veggies and berries are ready? Nothing …read more