Apron Thrift Girl

Organic Food at the Grocery Outlet

I feel completely blessed living only a few miles from the Grocery Outlet. It means that I can regularly visit their store to see what new items have arrived on their shelves. I've loved Grocery Outlet for years and when they recently asked me if I would team up with them to share my Grocery Outlet frugal finds with all of you, I had to say yes. Grocery Outlet has given me $50 to spend in their store and share what I found here on Apron Thrift Girl. Please read my disclosure policy to learn more about how this works.

After a very busy Sunday with the family I looked forward to going shopping on my own last night. I arrived around 6pm and the store was still quite busy.

I find it really surprising to see how many natural and organic brands are on offer. Tom's of Maine products seem to always be in our store. $2.69 for their toothpaste? I don't think that price is comparable anywhere. I also found some Arnicare Cream which we use faithfully on every bump and bruise that happens around here.  I paid $3.99 while the original price was $10.99.

It's fun to spot the natural/organic products while I'm shopping. Organic Beans were 99¢ each, Tomato Sauce were 39¢ a can and the Coconut Milk 99¢ a can. We are using the black beans today in a delicious mango bean sauce to go on our BBQ Hamburgers.

Don't forget to look in the refrigerated area. There is often organic cheese, Smart Balance Margarine and Aidelles natural products. I picked up the pork sausage for breakfast because it has no preservatives or MSG. It was $2.59. The Cheddar Cheese with Alaska Smoked Salmon was $2.49.

I was never a sauerkraut fan as a child. I couldn't stand the stuff but something in my taste buds changed in the last few years and now I can't get enough of it. Eden Organics is one of my top favorite Organic brands and yet I haven't ever tried their sauerkraut. The Sauerkraut was $2.99 a jar and the pickled Asparagus was 99¢.

The Bare Naked cereal is for Dave and was $1.99. The raisins are going in our picnic basket and were $1.69 for 6 boxes.

 

I saved the best for last. My friend Shara told me that these fabulous cookies were in the store. Pamela Cookies were only 99¢ a box. These are usually sold for at least $3.50 a box. Not only are they gluten free but they don't have any processed sugar in them. They are sweetened with grape juice and brown rice syrup. I'm planning to make some ganache to add on top when I next crave a treat. Even by themselves they are mouthwatering. I love being able to buy gluten free products for less. It really helps with my frugality goals.

The Grocery Outlet even offer special savings. Their next ad starts tomorrow and goes through to June 8th. I got to take a peak and was excited to see Alexia Seasoned Onion Snacks on sale for 99¢ a bag. Dave and the children love them.

Don't forget to Like Grocery Outlet at Facebook. They are just about to launch their first ever contest there that you won't want to miss. You take a photo of your G.O. receipt and you could win what you saved in the store. If I take a look at my receipt it says that I saved $43.90. 

Now for the most exciting part of this post; a giveaway! The Grocery Outlet has generously offered a $50 gift card to one of my readers. You probably know the drill by now but let me share with you the rules just in case.

• Leave me a comment on this post.
• If you want an extra entry, become a Friend of Grocery Outlet at Facebook and leave a separate comment for that.
• If you want a third entry, follow G.O. on Twitter and again leave a new comment for me.
• I'll announce the winner next Sunday on June 6th. 

Good luck everyone.

Thrift Share Monday - Memorial Day

It was not a predictable thrifting weekend. Saturday is usually my best day but not this week. I planned the route and my thrift intuition was just plain off. I chose poorly and in the end Shara and I found next to nothing. It's difficult to know which sale will be the best. I tried to go to an estate sale first that mentioned key words like Craft Item and Vintage Items. Shara found one item, I found nothing. We moved to the next sale and again nothing. Finally we found a rummage sale by the Boy Scouts and I found a few things.

Sunday was a different story. I first popped by the Sebastopol Flea Market and then to a few sales.

I found this cotton & jute rug for $5.00.

I found this on Saturday at the Boy Scout sale. $1.00 for the pair. Keiran will use these next winter.

I've never seen a ceramic funnel before. I thought it was too sweet. 50¢

A little collection of buttons 25¢

This is my ReSelling find of the weekend. Saturday afternoon I tried one more sale with Dave and the children. It was rather far away, much further than I expected. It was a beautiful setting in the hills above Santa Rosa. I found this Cartier Sterling dish for $1.00. (notice the reflection) I adore finding sterling and gold more than anything when I thrift. It's truly a treasure to uncover something so valuable. One similar dish closed on eBay for $110. I found this at 1pm hours after it began. There is rarely a piece of silver that I won't turn over to see if the word sterling is on the piece. If it says EPNS it means it is electroplated or silverplate and is generally not worth very much. I see many pieces of it every day while I thrift. The thrift weekend luckily recovered and I so look forward to a relaxing BBQ today and some Sangria.

What did you find this weekend? Share your link here and don't forget to head over to Southern Hospitality's party and add your link there. Have a wonderful Memorial Day.

UltraMetabolism - Book Review

Food complexes me.

I adore food, I love food, I am drawn to the idea of food and I require food for the mere sanity of my life.

And yet it truly mystifies me. 

As my regular readers know, I've struggled with food, weight, health and diet over the last few years. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 5 years ago. My only symptom: anemia. I didn't have any stomach issues or the other unpleasant symptoms that sometimes go along with being Celiac.

I've had ups and downs since moving to California which in a childlike way are completely unfair. I'm here in the state that I've missed for 15 years, my children are in my dream school that I've been longing for since Cerys was age one, I'm finally in the sunshine again and yet my body often feels like crap.

I've written about this off and on since January. I went off of coffee and switched to white/green tea which made me feel anxious even though I lost some weight. I went back to coffee and started gaining weight darn that half & half. I tried exercising but my body was resisting. It hurt too much, something to do with my legs. I was ready to go on a very strict diet to clear my body of everything but I just couldn't face doing that. Many of you advised me not to and I appreciated that.

A couple weeks ago I was so sick. I was lethargic, dizzy and full of anxiety. I felt so frustrated that everything I ate seemed to make me sick. And as I said at the beginning of the post I simply adore food. I wake up planning my meals for the day with excitement. When I go out I can barely eat anything since gluten seems to be in everything under the moon. I went to a dinner last night as a thank you gift for volunteering at a school event and I couldn't eat the bread, salad (with blue cheese which has gluten) or the pasta. Luckily I brought my own food but something inside hurt that I couldn't join everyone else and enjoy the meal. I suppose it's just that I have to think about every meal I eat. I can't relax and merely take pleasure in food. It's not really about the food though it's about being in the moment without stress.

The biggest perk of being a bookseller is running across thousands of books every year. Some of these books make it into my own collection and have really changed my life. One of the first books that I read after Cerys was born was called The Incarnating Child. I don't know where I had picked it up, I only remember reading it while I was nursing her when she was a newborn. That book together with the influence of a website called Mango Mama shaped my life for what it is today.

Last weekend I came across the book UltraMetabolism by Mark Hyman.

 

I have another of his books which I think I mentioned a month ago. This one was published in 2006 but I still wanted to review it here at ATG. Often the books I need in my life will appear. Does that happen to you?

I realize that I don't move enough except running to a yard sale but I really eat very little. I used to weigh 110 after Cerys was born. When I went off of gluten, plate after plate of Pamela's brownies comforted me during this massive diet change. I started gaining weight which was probably a mix of the brownies and the fact that my body started to take in nutrients and anything else it could get it's hands on. My weight has pushed up to 140 at times but on a 5'1" frame, that's a lot of extra baggage. Both physically and mentally.

UltraMetabolism starts out with cleverly mentioning different diets and the myths that surround them. He dissects:

• The Starvation Myth of eat less + Exercise More = weight loss
• The Calorie Myth of All Calories are Created Equal
• The Fat Myth of Eating Fat Makes You Fat
• The Carb Myth of Eating Low Carb or No Carb Will Make You Thin
• The Sumo Wrestler Myth of Skipping Meals Helps You Lose Weight
• The French Paradox Myth of the French are Thin Because They Drink Wine & Eat Butter
• The Protector Myth of Government Policies & Food Industry Regulations Protect our Health

Each of these sections are backed by studies and how over time these diets are either based on myths. It was interesting to read about the French diet. The biggest difference he said is that the French people eat slower, they eat real food (not heavily processed) and they eat less than us. They also walk everywhere. Our culture is based around the car and easily accessible junk food.

Mark states that the government food pyramid advises us to eat 6-11 servings of rice, bread and cereal a day. He thinks that this has significantly contributed to the epidemic of obesity.

His idea of a food pyramid is to flip it upside down where we are eating healthy fats (omega-3 fats from fish and flax seeds and mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil) at the bottom and eat mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, eggs and lean poultry and only a little meat, sugar, refined carbohydrates and dairy products.

If we concentrate on a diet based on whole, real, unprocessed food, it will be the best way to avoid health risks associated with eating fake foods that damage your health.

A whole foods diet can be very fitting with frugality. Keiran and I went grocery shopping yesterday and as we combed the aisles for sale items I would see something and ask myself: Can I make it at home for less? Can I make it at home for better nutrition? The answer was yes on most items. Our shopping bill came to far less than normal.

Luckily Mark's diet suggestions aren't too far off of my current diet. He even mentions that gluten is one of the most common undiagnosed causes of inflammation that promote weight gain. He also mentions eating at least 8 eggs a week for breakfast. My body is at the point where if I don't eat enough protein at breakfast, I'll feel weak the entire day no matter how much protein I eat later. This morning since we were all woken early by a thunderstorm I made one of my favorite egg recipes.

• 5 eggs
• 1 lg clove of garlic
• chili powder
• 10 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
• brown rice
• green onion

Lightly saute the garlic for two minutes. Mix eggs in a bowl with a teaspoon of chili powder. Add egg mixture to pan. When the eggs are nearly done add the sliced cherry tomatoes. Serve with brown rice. Add green onions to rice and lightly sprinkle salt over everything.

 

My main goal with reading this book and following Mark's suggestion is to build up my metabolism while still enjoying foods that I love such as olives & avocados. Any diet that suggests eating avocados is one that I embrace. There are many suggestions in this book on how to get more nutritionally dense food into your everyday diet that will help your metabolism. He includes a recipe for Olive Tapenade & Raw Veggies. How delicious does that sounds?

If anyone struggles with weight or doesn't feel healthy, I highly recommend this book. Just read through a couple chapters and see if you connect to what Mark is saying. I know that diet and food is very personal. Thankfully for me, I think this is the one that will help me for now.

crafting ideas?

I recently wrote to an email group that I take part in that I've been chasing my tail with all the hats I wear. I'm sure that I'm not alone. We all seem to do many things and fit more into our schedule than we can accomplish. Lately I've shifted gears to selling. I'll admit I'm not always the greatest at multi-tasking even though I attempt to do this every day. As my focus has switched to earning money through ReSelling things like cooking, housework and crafting has fallen by the wayside.

It's not as if I don't have time to craft. I try not to work in the evenings so this is an ideal time to sit down and work on a project. The problem I've discovered is that it is hard for my head to shift gears. I guess my creative side is a lower priority at the moment and so my head sort of stops giving me ideas on what to craft.

I really wanted to work on something a few evenings ago. I found myself staring at my craft supplies and was disappointed when I couldn't think of anything to make. I have endless jars of thread, baskets of felt and yarn not to mention bottles of glitter of varying colors. My creative flame appears to be dampened by work and I need your help.

 

The crafts that I love to work on most have to do with the idea of a Re-Do. I like to find something that I thrifted and alter it. Sometimes it's a piece of art that I've created, or a flower mobile or even some altered clothing.

I'd love to hear your ideas on what you would like to see made here. I love to create tutorials but need some of your creative thought behind it. What do you want to learn? What have you wanted to see me make here?

 

Send me your ideas and we'll see if I can get my creative juices flowing once again. 

xoxo

Selena

Sturgeon's Mill

A friend of ours mentioned that they were going to a steam run sawmill this last weekend. I didn't think much about it but then a local radio station mentioned it as well and when I heard the word "free" associated to it my ears perked up. We are currently on the frugal hunt for inexpensive adventures on the weekends this summer.

Sturgeon's Mill is considered one of the last great mills of its kind and has survived since 1914. It was like stepping back in time.

 

A few times a year the mill is open for visitors. You can find more details about these demonstration days here.

The saw mill can be seen in the background. This gentleman is pushing the wood through what I think is a planer. Love the man's hat. Not sure if they were going for a vintage style or if this is your typical sawmill attire.

 

They had on display what the original office was like. It was filled with vintage calculators and old office equipment, the kind I often find at estate sales.

 

The men would roll the logs down onto this cart and then slide the log through this incredibly large rotating blade that was nearly as tall as me.

 

I'm not sure where they find their redwoods but there were signs up everywhere stating "looking for redwoods." This is a non profit organization so perhaps many of the logs are donated.

 

The saw blade cut through this large redwood beam like it was butter.

 

The steam escaping from beneath the mill.

They even had a blacksmith demonstrating. He was proudly stating that he has never been hurt by his work even though he doesn't ever wear safety goggles. Shortly after this photo a tiny piece of very hot metal hit Keiran's arm. Luckily just a tiny sting. We're thinking he should review his safety protocol.

 

They had quite a bit of wood for sale. These slabs were some of the most expensive that I saw. Wouldn't these make an incredible dining room table? The had some very inexpensive smaller ones starting at $25. The wishful woodworker in me had the urge to buy one to make a small table. Maybe another time.

They had a very lovely BBQ on offer with cold drinks. When the whistle blew for lunch we headed to the van for a picnic of salami, cheese & olives. The children loved the sawmill and Keiran asked a million questions.

If you live in Sonoma County take a look at Sonoma on the Cheap. You can also follow SOTC on Facebook. Her blog is filled with inexpensive ideas for outings as well as coupons and discounts in our area.

What frugal adventure did you go on this last weekend?

Thrift Share Monday - May 24

What a whirl wind thrifting weekend. It included yard sales, garage sales, a Waldorf school rummage sale, a huge neighborhood sale in Petaluma and two hours at an estate sale in Santa Rosa. Here are some of my finds.

 

Art Deco style scale which amazingly weighs up to 24 lbs. $3.00. She's going in the kitchen.

 

My favorite rummage sales are at Waldorf Schools. They are usually filled to the brim with amazing children's books, felted items (also picked up a felted purse), yarn, knitting needles, mushrooms, fabulous clothing and lots of wooden and natural toys. This one had at least 3 wooden dollhouses.  I picked up a Wool Barrett .50 cents, mushroom .10 cents and Swedish horse $1.00.

 

In preparation for our next party I picked up this very modern style Romanian punch bowl that included a glass ladle. I found this at the Sebastopol Flea Market. It was a strange stall at the side that basically had 25 packed boxes strewn across an area. You had to dig to find items as most things were wrapped in newspaper. People were diving in in a haphazard fashion. I'm most surprised that this wasn't broken in all the chaos. I bought quite a few things for one price but I imagine that this may have cost me around $5.

These all came from the neighborhood sale in Petaluma. The seller had so many beautiful vintage children's books. I was the first to look through them too which was a bonus.

 

This also came from the crazy mess at the Flea Market. I think it is a grater but I'm going to use it as a spoon rest. .50 cents.

It was a very busy weekend and now I have four days to turn around all my purchased inventory before it starts again. Three days of thrifting and four days of listing work.

I also wanted to mention the winner for the Hanes Hope t-shirt Giveaway.

Here are your random numbers: 18

Timestamp: 2010-05-24 13:10:38 UTC

Congratulations Uta from Carpe Diem Acreage . I'll email you for your details. Thanks everyone for entering and don't forget to check out Hanes Pink Collection.

Did you thrift this weekend? If you posted about it, please add your link below. Also don't forget to check out the party at Southern Hospitality where you can also add your link.

How to Prepare for a Day of Thrifting

When Dave travels for business he has work prep that he must do. He irons his shirts (I don't do ironing unless I'm crafting), packs his bag, stows his laptop in his computer bag and makes sure all his documents to travel are in order. Every Thursday evening I prepare for Thrifting. It's my job and I want to be ready.

Here are things that I need to do on Thursday evening:

• Make sure my wallet has between $100-$200 in cash. Small bills are preferable especially for negotiating.
• Charge my iphone
• Download my the latest version of my bookseller's tool to be able to get up-to-date info on books.
• Charge my PDA book scanner
• Plan my route which includes using the newspaper & Craigslist to find all the sales for the weekend.
• Clean van and make sure the below items are ready:

Rolling cart to use at Flea Markets, Rummage Sales and Neighborhood Sales.

Three empty boxes to store purchased items in so that they don't roll around an possibly break.

 

Tissue paper & bubble wrap so that I can protect breakables.

 

A bag of bags. These were purchased for groceries but I use them for thrifting most of the time. They are especially useful at Estate Sales.

 

The most important thing for me to remember to bring is food.  It doesn't take long for me to get very hungry. I rarely want to take the time to stop and eat so I bring food and drinks with me. Here is my basket of healthy-ish junk food. It keeps me going. I usually include fruit but our fruit bowl was bare last night.

I have three days of thrifting in front of me. Friday - estate sales, Saturday - garage sales, rummage sales & estate sales and Sunday - the Sebastopol Flea Market and any Sunday only garage sales.

How do you prepare for Thrifting?

Maker Faire 2010

Are you heading to the Maker Faire in San Mateo this weekend? It was on my calendar a couple months ago but due to my new frugal goals, I'll be giving it a miss and instead try to get into this intriguing Geocashing that so many of you shared with me yesterday. If you are in the area though and want a relatively affordable weekend adventure, I'd highly recommend hitting the Maker Faire.

One of the most exciting things at the Maker Faire for thrifters is the Swap-O-Rama Rama. Each swap begins with a giant heap of second hand clothing. You can dive into this fabulous heap of clothes and take whatever you desire. Next you head on over to a Sewing Station with your goods and you get a lesson on altering clothing to create something new. As a fan of altered clothing this idea just makes me light headed with excitement. Local artist will be there to guide you and help you as you work on your item.

Photo courtesy of Shawn Connally, Make Magazine

At some of the Swap-O-Rama Rama's you'll be able to pick up some free "Recycled" or "Modified by Me" labels to sew over the old brand labels. How sweet is that?

Photo courtesy of Shawn Connally, Make Magazine

You can find other Swap-O-Rama Rama's going on in the country here. Or you can find details here about bringing a Swap-O-Rama Rama to your community here. 

Photo courtesy of Shawn Connally, Make Magazine

While I have to give it a miss this year, I'll definitely be planning to go next year with bag of clothing in hand. Has anyone gone to a Swap-O-Rama Rama before? What did you create?

Other exciting things to do at the Maker Faire include How To Events. You can find a detailed list here. I would so want to be at these:

• Easy Root & Veggie Fermentation
• How to Screenprint
• Learn to Make Your Own Soap
• How to Become a Beekeeper

Actually I think I just want to live at the Maker Faire. This is only a tiny glimpse of what is on offer for the How To Events. Don't forget to catch Cathe Holden who is going to be there on Saturday showing you how to make a Vintage Book Cover Notebook.

It's going to be an incredible weekend of creativity, inspiration and learning. I. so. want. to. be. there.

Weekends on the Cheap

Our first week of serious frugality went well. We didn't spend much money, my auctions and book sales are starting to come in and we felt much more in control than the week before. The weekend arrived though and I could hear Dave muttering those dreadful scarcity laden words "we can't afford to do anything."

To some degree he's correct. We couldn't necessarily do what we usually do which consisted of eating breakfast at the Farmer's Market. As well as the days he took the children to miniature golf and later to lunch at In-n-Out Burger. I tried to explain that there are lots of free or cheap things to do in our amazing county and that we just had to get creative.

Thankfully on Saturday there was the Luther Burbank Rose Parade in downtown Santa Rosa that Dave took the children to. Sunday while Cerys was at a birthday party Dave found a local Camp open house to go to. It was not at all like he had imagined but we got out of the house enjoyed a tour of the grounds and free face painting for Keiran.

We are thriving on the challenge of how to spend less while still enjoying our weekends. I started to think about other creative ways to to do this. Here's what I came up with:

• Hike & Picnic
• BBQ at the Park
• Bicycle Ride from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol
• 1970's Potluck Party
• Farm Day Tours like the one at Redwood Hill Farm
• Jam & Jelly tasting at Kozlowski Farm
• Weekend House Exchange (once we have a house again)
• Scavenger Hunt (at park, neighborhood, thrift store)
• Day at the Beach with Picnic or BBQ
• Visit Sunday Open Houses to get ideas for your own home
• Enjoy Live Music at a Farmer's Market
• Free Movies in the Park (usually in summer)
• Herb Foraging (take a book to spot edible herbs & to avoid poisonous ones)
• Dumpster Diving (my kids used to love this when they were young)
• Volunteer at a local soup kitchen
• Blackberry Picking (avoid main roads because of the pollution on the berries)
• Antique Store Browsing
• Day at the Library (give the kids a challenge of items to research & find)
• Costco Taste Testing (limit yourself to spending $10 during your visit to the store)
• Camp overnight at an inexpensive Camp Ground
• Barter the use of a canoe or kayak for the day and find yourself some water to explore

Do you have any suggestions to add to this list?

Hanes Hope Pink T-Shirt Giveaway

Hanes sent me this fabulous pink shirt designed by Actress Melina Kanakaredes, the star of the television show “CSI: NY”. Not only did they send me one but they also have offered one as a Giveaway for an ATG reader.

Hanes is making a total of $500,000 cash and in-kind donation in support of Passionately Pink for the Cure and the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure Series in 2010. Make sure to check out their site and their Mission Pink on Facebook.

My life luckily hasn't been touched very much by Breast Cancer.  But my mother has colon cancer so my interest in prevention and finding a cure for any cancer speaks very strongly to my heart. These beautiful shirts help remind people that we are all connected. We all want a cure.

Leave a comment and I'll add your name to the giveaway. I'll pick a name on Sunday May 23rd.