Frugal Fancy-Pants or Bust: Early December

If you've noticed a deterioration in quality of Frugal Fancy-pants snapshots over the years, you're not alone. I've noticed it, too.  

I simply don't care enough, but this post proves that I've reached an all-time low. 

EXHIBIT A:

Wear this outfit to fold the laundry in your immaculate living room. (What?! YOU don't have rolls of toilet paper** that appear all over your house? Weirdo.)


**Something funny: I just realized it's actually a can of beans. I assume, sometimes wrongly, that any cylindrical object is a roll of toilet paper because we DO have rolls of toilet paper that appear all over our house. Also, apparently, cans of beans.

Jeans: dime at a rummage sale

Black shirt: nickel at a rummage sale

Sweatshirt: dime at a rummage sale

Slippers: borrowed from Millie because I haven't found myself a cheap enough pair yet.

Optional accessories: 

-Children. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

They complete the look like nothing else.

-Detritus. All over the floor.

Total cost of outfit: about a quarter

EXHIBIT B: 

Wear this outfit to church. Admire the skirt. Ask Millie to take a quick picture in spite of the terrible lighting. (Forget to lock the children up first.)

Blouse: dime at a rummage sale

Skirt: either a hand-me-down or dime at a rummage sale (I can't recall)

Gray heels: Those ones from Target clearance for under $3.

Blue bead earrings: nickel at a rummage sale

Optional accessories: Children + balloons.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Really, I can't overstate that one.

Total cost of outfit: about $3.00.

Side-by-side comparison: 

 

St. Nicholas

On St. Nicholas Day, the three oldest girls were in Long Island helping pack up boxes, and I woke up sick. Here are three pictures I took from the couch, mostly because Skylark was pretty keen on getting her own ring pop.

Note the clean laundry mountain in the background. I probably didn't feel like tackling it for a couple of days.

Christmas Tree Hunting: Picture Dump

We went with my sister Becky and her children, and since I was cutting down a tree, I didn't have the camera for most of the time. We don't see Becky and the cousins as often as anyone would like (living next door to them again is the solution, I think), and it's always a delight to visit with them all. I can't give credit where credit is due, but Annika, Susannah, Candida, and Hannah are the brilliant photographic minds behind this post.

We drove to a new farm this time because the one I've gone to since childhood had its bridge washed out in the fall floods. This farm was insane. Look at those perfectly manicured trees! I am in deep soul-searching now regarding next year's Christmas tree.  My sentimental loyalties are still here, but, man, look at these perfectly manicured trees!!!  They might just be worth the jump from $12 trees to $20.

The one Giant Mistake I made was replying to John's suggestion that I leave sleepy, hungry Cadence home with him and the baby with "No, I'd like to take her! She'll have fun!"

She did not have fun.

19/20 of the time there, this was her face.

Lovely girls. It's crazy how much they've grown.

Aidan was in love with the hand saw and kept trying to cut down all the grass in the world.

The girls found a natural photobooth somewhere and got some beautiful shots of beautiful girls.

Look at those cheekbones! She's like a supermodel-lumberjack.

This mama, on the other hand, looks like a happy doofus.

Nick pulled the tree, James pulled Nick, and the tree came down.

19/20 of the time.

1/20 of the time.

James desperately wanted to carry the tree on his own.
Don't worry. A minute later I let him.

Candida is a great storyteller and had us all intently listening.

We stopped by Debbie's lovely house on the way home.

To see Debbie, yes (but MOSTLY for this little guy).

Three sisters in one room! This doesn't happen often enough, either. And, whaddya know, look who's in the corner hogging the woodstove all to herself....