Frugal In Florida

Hi! Been a little while and even though I'm a little more focused on the  other site , I still want to keep  Frugal in Florida  and keep it more focused on money, saving and being intentionally frugal. Hence ... Money Monday! My little frugal tip for the week?? Extend your mascara!

My hands have NOT been bothering me as much lately and I would like to think that perhaps it has something to do with the Whole30 way I've been eating. Then again, I may have just jinxed myself, right? Don't get me wrong, they still hurt. But it would seem that some of the swelling has gone down, and I've not taken ANY Aleve in 3 weeks (its a miracle, I tell you!) but have popped one of Hubby's anti-inflammatory pills a few times. Which, by the way, is perfectly fine for me to take NOW that I'm not consuming alcohol.  So I a few days ago, I went back and did something that I've not done in quite a while. Yes, I DID do it consistently for oh, about, 2 months. Then life stepped in and got busy and I got distracted and just set aside that nightly routine. Hand Scrubbing. Which really, should be Hand Soothing. Or, how about, just plain ole Pampering the Hands? All you need is:  Baking soda and Coconut Oil. Uh huh. Again. My two favorite things. I d...

My hands have really been bothering me the past week or so. Not sure if it's from all the housecleaning and cooking or if I'm coming into another flare. God please help me if it's another flare ... been awhile since I've had a bad one and this is starting to feel like it. Ironically, typing doesn't make anything hurt more, but makes it more difficult (fingers swollen, don't respond the way the should, etc.) So I'm looking for something to make them feel better. Well, that, and I'm really missing the manicures (the hand massage was the BEST thing of whole process!) ... and came across numerous hand scrubs using sugar or salt, and oil or whatever. So I look in my pantry and see: Baking Soda (score!) Coconut Oil (double score!) I get the coconut oil through Amazon Subscribe and Save program. So I currently have TWO ... one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. Because I've never cooked with it yet, the kitchen one is still sealed. So I had t...

Remember here, this picture, I was so bummed that I even mentioned the purple nailpolish not holding up as well as I'd hoped? Well, since then, I've done a bright coral, and this week, it's back to the purple. I keep having to add another coat like every other night, (heck, the cheaper stuff constantly wears off the ends from typing, and being used as tools). The polish is thin and then it just doesn't set right and I end up getting dings and smudges ... which I HATE. So. I sprayed them with Pam. 89 cent polish at Walgreens a few weeks back ... Yes, I did. I sprayed Pam all over my nails. It works, not a smudge and super shiny!! Excuse the ugly swollen hands, arthritis and lupus are NOT kind to hands (I used to have long lovely fingers back in the day ::sign::) Here's how I did it: Apply polish (in this case it was just another coat, otherwise, do the base, color and then top coat). Shake can of Pam. Remove lid. Walk over to sink. Place han...

*This post may contain pictures that are disturbing if you refuse to admit that women have facial hair that needs tending ... Following along with Year of Zero ? You aren't? Why? You can watch me fall flat on my face, sit up, dust myself off and continue onwards.  Or better yet, you can read along on my daily adventures and nod your head in understanding at why sometimes I don't always succeed. I'd much prefer the latter but heck, if you really need entertainment value, go along with the first. Anyways.  Rule #10 , the very last one I made, because it was HARD for me to commit to was the NO MORE manicures, pedicures, lip/eyebrow waxing (What???), professional hair coloring ($200 plus a pop) and so on. Yeah. What was I thinking when I committed to THAT?? Hubby is most likely going to be calling a divorce attorney, or maybe just a mediator if the grey hair gets any further along ... So I've been on a mission for DIY stuff. Which I've actually been doing ...

Yes. That is my new motto. At least, I keep telling myself that! So. What am I making do with and doing myself, you ask? Facial cloths ... makeup remover pads, just plain ole face wash. I don't wear a lot of makeup. Mascara, eye liner, eye shadow once every few weeks. You know, basic stuff. No foundation, blush, primer, all that other stuff. That would just consume too much of my morning routine and heck, I dont' know how to use that stuff anyways. But I do wash my face. Every morning. And every night. And sometimes at lunch. Not that I have oily or dirty skin, just like the feeling of a nice clean face. Makes me feel refreshed. Anyways. I do NOT buy those make up remover pads, or the face wash cloths. I DO buy baby wipes and will use them on my face and neck immediately AFTER working out (just because, I can't stand sweat and hair on my face ::shudder::).  But when I saw this and this , I thought, hey, this would be a good experiment to try for the morning w...

Being Frugal can sometimes cramp my style ... you know, the Beauty Queen within =D But, I do have a few things that I feel are extremely important, and though they may cost a little upfront, in the end, I can do without all the other things that most beauty queens call a necessity in life ... Baking Soda ... Yeah, the most awesome cleaner for EVERYTHING that I've taken to using 3 times a week on my face with the leftovers being used on my feet ... Eyelash curler... At the ripe age of 46, my hairdresser introduced me to this little gadget. A little intimidating the first few times but man oh man, what an EYE OPENER! Seriously! (tip: warm the rubber between your palms a few seconds before using AND do it after eyeliner is applied but before mascara is). This is the one I use, it was $19 but has a lifetime refill on the grippy things. BIG Velcro Pink Rollers .... Got these from Target for $8 a while ago. After washing my hair in the morning, while it's still ...

Heh. Yeah. I went for it. Regardless of the WTF factor, I'm gonna do this . Listerine. Shaving Cream Warm water and towels. 30 minutes of my valuable, precious time. Yeah. I did it. Can't be any worse than the last manicure/pedicure I had. The outcome? Not so bad. Shaving cream was the Schick Hydro stuff and I probably was not generous enough with it. I measured 1 cup of listerine and 1 cup of warm water and mixed in a medium size bowl. Then used two washcloths. Sat and read magazines for 30 minutes. Gave gentle scrub then rinsed well in tub. Dried and then applied coconut oil. Put on socks and still pretty hours later. I will do it again next Sunday as I still have lots of listerine/water mix going on. But here's what I'll do different: Use lots and lots of shaving cream. Toss the washcloths in the microwave to warm them up after I wring them out. My feet got pretty chilly sitting there. Did it 'cure' the cracked heels? No. It ...

What do you do? Recently, I 'ahem' caved in and did a walk in for a pedicure and manicure. Heck, it was $30 and my feet have been killing me with the cracks and callouses from wearing sandals (its south Florida, we wear them 11 1/2 months a year). I've not been to this particular place in YEARS (which now, maybe I remember why!) but it wasn't busy for a Saturday morning so I waited the 15 minutes. Ummm...the fact that it wasn't BUSY on a Saturday morning should have alerted me. 3 employees working. Me in the pedicure chair. Water is HOT and I jerk my feet out. He (pedicure man) says it's ok, and goes to work on clipping the nails (ummm, what, no soak? Bummer). Then SHE (manicure lady) comes over and starts clipping my fingernails. Again (ummmm, what, no soak?). Now they are both clipping the cuticles. Ow! Ow! OW!! I'm bleeding here folks. Seriously. Pat pat pat. There there, all better. I try to settle in to the massaging chair. Difficult t...

It’s Wednesday, and you know that means!? Works For Me Wednesday !! I love some of the stuff I can glean from those that link up! If you haven’t been over there, you really should check it out … Of course, that’s not what MY WFMW is … I can only wish that I could find something that will relax and soothe my brain and blood pressure. Been an extremely rough week so far at work. Way busier the past two days than the whole month of September. Ugg. But never fear, I will pull through and still manage to laugh and have a mini party! What I wouldn't do for a full day at the spa to get me some pampering done … but alas, real life interferes, not to mention financials! So, on with What’s Working For ME! A frugal, super easy microdermabrasion facial cleaner. Got it through Pinterest of course! Tried it Saturday night while showering and will do it again this evening. 3 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon water Mix the two well in small dish to make a paste. I actua...

Well. I wouldn't say it was a FAIL ... but didn't quite work out the way I thought it would. 1. Hard to sleep with my hair up like that. 2. Woke up several times during the night to touchy feel the bun, wanting to make sure it was all intact. 3. 2am Nature was calling. The bun was also calling. NONE of the hair was wrapped around the "sock" any longer, just all up in that TIGHT pony tail. Took the pony tail out ... OWWWW my scalp was bruised from being up so tight. The hair was wavy. And full. I went back to bed after fluffing it up and had a hard time sleeping because of the bruising (raise your hand please if you know the feeling!) In the moring, 4 hours later, it was still fluffy and a little wavy (but my hair is pretty fluffy anyways) ... It's not a total fail. I will try it again. BUT this time, I may have to sacrafice a sock. And I won't put my hair up as TIGHT ... owww.

There's this manicure out there that you can get in which your nails are painted with a gel nail polish. 3 coats with each coat being "cured" using UV lights. A few weeks back (before the Vegas trip) I went ahead and had it done. I'm confused if there is a fake nail you can do too ... but I only did the polish. My nails were short, broken, and polish just never lasts very long. So I said yes. $25. Not as expensive as other things. OMG. They were dry as soon as she patted my hand to signal we were done. Seriously. Reach in purse and take out keys, money, etc. NO SMUDGE! I almost never ever make it home without doing at least one nail :) 2 weeks and a day later, I can see the growth and that point of the nail is really rough ... and irritating me to no end...so I start to pick at the polish. Contrary to what I was told, I peeled all the polish off ... and I don't believe I have any damage to my nails ... SWEET! I guess in order to remove the polish, you ...

Lord only knows HOW I stumble across some of these sights. Is it the name? The pictures? What??? And for those of you who follow along on the blog (all 8 at last count, thank you for your support!), you probably picked up that I'm not quite the beauty consultant with all the newest and latest products...my  best friend had me laughing so hard the other day with regards to "blotters" ... I'm like, huh? She throws her hands up in the air and said, "oh YOU wouldn't know about that stuff." Apparently blotters are for removal of oil from the skin? Huh? AND here's a tip (sheeshhhhhh): Them little toilet seat liners in public bathrooms ::gag::, they are the same material that blotters are made of. Ok, bet you didn't know that ... AND if you are real frugal/thrifty/cheap, you can use them and save a ton of cash in the process ... I'm just not so sure I could do it, we are talking PUBLIC RESTROOMS. ::shudder:: Ok...anyways. Crunch Betty.   Love ...

So I’ve broken down and went ahead and ordered something from Amazon. It’s not costing me a penny since I’m using my swagbucks redeemed points along with my fedex reward points … I prefer to use the points to get the amazon gift cards. Simple. The number one IRK I DO have is that there is shipping cost. I know there’s a way around that but I don’t have the patience to dig into it and find out how. All I know is that the merchandize doesn’t come from Amazon, therefore, didn’t qualify for the free shipping. So, what did I buy? Something to hopefully make me feel prettier. Ole Henriksen Ultra Eye Lift gel (night time). Yeah, I was flipping through the People magazine recently. Why do you ask? $38.00. Regardless of WHERE you buy it. I could have went to the Sephora store in the mall and paid that much for it WITHOUT shipping, but I would have had to pay sales tax, which, actually, would have cost $2.28, less than the $4.99 I paid but then I also would have had to dig into my O...