Married to the Empire

Monday, April 28, 2008

A few things from the weekend

Friday I decided to head to a local thrift store. My cookbook collection has outgrown my tiny set of shelves in the kitchen, so I was hoping that I could find something inexpensive that I could rehab for this purpose. I had great luck in the past finding an ugly piece of furniture there for very little money, then making it over into something fabulous. I was hoping for more of the same.

No such luck in the shelving department, but I did have success in the LP record section. I'm always on the lookout for albums since Steven gave me a new record player for my birthday. Someone had obviously donated their entire collection of Christian LPs because there were tons in great shape. I have fond memories of Petra, an 80s Christian rock band that was all the rage when I was in junior high. I picked up the 2 albums they had for only $1.09 each. I also found A John Denver Christmas, which didn't impress my husband at all (he says I like old people music), but I really like his folksy sound. I also threw in a copy of the album from the musical Oklahoma.



I also found 2 books, Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy and Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. Admittedly, I'd always thought the second book sounded dumb, but after reading through a little of it in the store, I was intrigued.

On Saturday we went to Lowe's, as Steven needed a few things for the house. I found a section with bulbs for sale at 75% off. They're past their ideal planting date for our zone, which is why they were so cheap. I figured that at $1.24 a package, they were worth a try. If they grow, fabulous! If not, I'm only out $7.



I also spent a good part of Saturday in the kitchen. Our youth group had a casserole sale on Sunday to raise money for transportation costs to youth camp this summer. I made a huge pan of macaroni and cheese (made with real cheese only!), and another pan with my Jamaican Jerk Pork (along with a container of lime mayo, red peppers, and wheat rolls for making jerk pork sandwiches). I'd already pre-sold the pork to friends, so I didn't worry about its not being a traditional casserole. I forgot to take any pictures, but we made $580 in the sale! Everything was purchased, including the "Four-Cheese Mac and Elk" made by one of our middle schoolers. His mother and I were laughing hysterically at the name of his dish.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad Girls of the Bible is amazing! Just a warning...you'll be hooked and you'll end up with the whole series. It's very well done!!

*carrie* said...

Anne Marie,

I laughed when you mentioned Petra. I haven't thought of them for years! I used to have 2 of their cassette tapes. =)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Very nice work on that furniture! That's the same thing they do on those HGTV shows, give old furniture a new makeover. It's awesome! I'm so impressed with how careful you are with money. Your husband must be so thankful he doesn't have a wife who is careless.

Lizzy said...

Hi Anne Marie!

I am an old fan of Petra as well, but on cassette tape! I also think I have some Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart around here!

Take care, Lizzy