Hidden Magnolias

  Happiness is about wanting  what you have,  not having what you want

  I love reading frugal blogs. Lately, most of the blogs seem to have articles about how to save money on things that really aren’t that important – wreaths for doors, outdoor decorations for holidays, buying containers and boxes and things for organizing, fancy containers for meal prep, patio ideas, and on it goes. I found myself scratching my head.    While I am reading, I am thinking, if this is a frugal blog, then why are they promoting spending money? Even if it is in the dollar store? They should be talking about how to decorate things spending $0 money. And once you have made a door wreath – why not reuse it the next season and the season after that, and so on? Who cares? No one will remember or even looks that closely and if they do, why care? Storage and organization ideas. Why buy when you can reuse for free? My family has many, many iPhone boxes and we have not thrown away any of them at all.  Phone boxes are great for small items – makeup, Q-Tips, h...

While searching for information about saving money, I ran into this fun to read site outlining some of the creative things people did during WWII.  https://learnincolor.com/frugality-how-to-from-the-greatest-generation.html Samantha outlines 10 areas on"how to use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Save Paper With my parents and grandparents being part of the Greatest Generation , this peaked my interest. I remember fondly some of the things my grandparents di that at the time in the 60's, I thought very old fashioned.  For one thing, on my grandfather's roll top desk, he kept a stack of envelopes he used as note paper. He would carefully open all mail with a sharp letter opener, turn the written side over and stack it with the back side and viola -- a scratch pad.  I do this now because of the huge amount of waste paper in my life. I noticed one day that most of my trash was paper -- used computer paper, envelopes and the like. Yeah, it could go into the...

 Monster houses.  They are everywhere. No city of any size is immune.  Some of them are ugly and the insides are appalling. Closets the size of some people's living rooms, kitchens with professional appliances that are hardly used. Play rooms, wine cellars, exercise rooms, bonus rooms, wet bar, bathrooms with showers the whole 4th grade could use at the same time, all fun and exciting things to have, but....are they really that important?  Topic for another post.  It is the outsides that get to me.  Houses used to have a style -- colonial, traditional, craftsman, ranch, victorian, tutor, well, you get it.  Today builders are adding the oddest features to the outside of houses. Take this one for example. I am still scratching my head over this. What the hell is it? Zillow.com This house was listed as "stunning" "spacious" "luxurious" etc etc etc. The mix of styles is ugly and unappealing. A touch of farmhouse (shutters & garage doors)? A touch of, w...

 Sometimes I get a wild hair and just research something I know little to nothing about. Today, it was Romania. Why? It just popped in my head and I realized I know very, very little about this country.  I did know it was close to Ukraine. I thought and confirmed it was on the Black Sea.  So, in typical Pat Fashion. I googled and googled and read and read.  Fair warning -- all photos have come from various other websites. I did find something that  peaked my interest. A small monastery on an little island on a lake or possibly a river --  north of Bucharest and north of the town of Snagov.  https://covinnus.com/snagov-monastery/ The inside of this tiny building is just lovely.  But first .... a bit of history. "The first historical evidence dates back to 1408, but apparently there was a small chapel here, since the reign of Vladislav I (1364-1379). In 1456, Vlad Tepes decided, that in this isolated place surrounded by water and forests, to build a...

  https://uncomplicatedspaces.com/how-im-working-towards-a-slower-wardrobe-this-year/ I was reading this blog and Instagram account and this just popped out at me.  This is the key.  In trying to live a more sustainable life, focusing on my wardrobe first, this really hit home. Just recently a friend sent me pics of purses she purchased second hand. There were 5 of them. My envy kicked in immediately -- they were all great scores and gorgeous. But 5? Who really needs 5 new purses?  It felt excessive. Especially knowing her current purse wardrobe.  Yeah, I know -- some are into shoes, some are into coats, some are into purses.  But how many do we really need? I think I need to ask myself that about everything.  But...how do I change a mindset of "I want, I want, I want" to "I don't want"?  Tricky. Particularly hard for those of us that like stuff.  I like stuff -- pretty stuff.      So, it hard to think "I have en...

  In doing my research (surfing web) on sustainability, I ran into the blog of a teacher who wore the same dress for 100 days to drive home the point that we really do not need the amount of clothes most of us own.  https://www.treehugger.com/teacher-wore-same-dress-days-4857511 Katherine Martinko I was fascinated and happy she was driving the point home to children who are so susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to clothes. Doing some more digging (clicking links) I found a Instagram hashtag #oneoutfit100day s. Seems like others are doing the same thing. They are very creative in adding various accessories to spice things up and to accommodate weather changes.  Katherine also proposes that we stand up to excessive waste and damage caused by fast fashion with the concept of being an "Outfit Repeater." https://www.treehugger.com/why-you-should-be-proud-outfit-repeater-4852164 Then my guilty mind drifted back to the 1980's while I was working in one of my favorite job...

  Wow! Can you believe it is 2021?  Time just flies.  And for me, because I have been able to work from home, it seems that the past year went by even faster. Almost all of us have been affected by sort of lock down, social distancing, craving for favorite restaurant meals, a party, a visit to a bar or even to the mall. Our lives have been changed and we have adjusted.  Since I like to look at lessons learned, here are some: I need to call and reach out to my old friends more often. And when this is all over, I must make plans to visit them. I really enjoy playing ball with my dog. When the church bells go off, I am presented with a ball reminding me, it is lunchtime and time to play. The fresh air and sunshine helps my mood and makes me more productive in the afternoon. I don't need to shop for clothes. The causal work at home wardrobe is very liberating and when I do go back to the office, I am going to be a whole lot less concerned about "the right outfit." I have...

  It is getting close to Halloween time and time to re-watch the Good Witch.  The Good Witch is Hallmark's most popular and long lasting movies/series.  Why is it so popular? I like it and ask myself that all the time. Perhaps it is the subtle hint of supernatural powers but not the overt "wicked witch" kind. Perhaps the great building that is Gray House. (Which is really a B&B in Dundas, Ontario called Foxbar House.)  You can read about it here.  Or perhaps, the positive endings of each show.  Why do I love Hallmark Movies?  Well, they give us an out, albeit temporary, from our fast-paced, often ugly, in your face, realistic worlds. They feature small towns, people who have known each other for years; small family owned businesses that thrive because they aren’t strangled out of existence by big box stores on the edge of town; people who take pride in their homes, appearance, schools and town.  These towns rarely exist, if at all except in th...

We are staying at home. We are social distancing. We are masked. We have a pandemic. So many people have lost jobs, small businesses, and income. As a result, I have seen a resurgence online of younger people discovering some of “grandma’s” or “great grand ma’s” frugal tips, ways to cost costs and save money. So, I just had to join in. Some of web sites focus more on saving the environment. Some on sustainable living. Some on reducing waste. Here are my favorites. https://www.gracefullittlehoneybee.com/30-old-fashioned-frugal-tips-from-grandma/ https://retrohousewifegoesgreen.com/vintage-frugal-tips/ https://www.shoestringcottage.com/favourite-frugal-recipes/ https://www.shoestringcottage.com/favourite-frugal-recipes/ https://nanaisfrugal.wordpress.com/ https://www.frugalwoods.com/2020/05/27/reader-suggestions-what-to-cook-during-a-pandemic/ Hope you learn as much I have and enjoy these interes...

Amazon Prime had an offer for Season 1 of Seaside Hotel so I thought, why not? It is a delightful series and one I am really happy I found. In the series, the woman go to Skagen for a girl's afternoon out. Never heard of it. But in usual Pat fashion -- I knew nothing about that part of Denmark. I marveled while looking a the pictures of sea oats and sand dunes that look just like the Georgia Coast. Naw, this is Denmark -- where did they film it? Denmark is cold. It couldn't possibly have sand dunes and sea oats ---  I investigated. With my old friend Google Maps, I first had to locate Jutland. Silly me, I checked the south side of Denmark first. Finally I just asked and there it was -- way up on the tip top part. In reality, the show was filmed in Jammerbugten. The hotel is a set. But Skagen is real. Anyway, here are a few things I discovered. There really are some adorable beach cottages. House in Skagen, Denmark   © Gunvor Eline Eng Jakobsen / Alamy Stoc...