Category Archives: Cheap Thrills
I’m Not Much of a Shopper But…
…set me loose in a thrift store, and I have been known to walk out with a few things :) This morning, I went by my favorite thrift store here in Vienna, Carla, a Catholic charity shop. I was dropping off a couple of bags of clothes and stayed to browse. It was my lucky […]
How Does My Garden Grow?
Pretty well, so far. Coming up now: chard, spinach, lettuce, green beans, parsley, sage, and basil. Four pots of basil–I have a fancy new food processor and plans for making and freezing pesto! Planted today: zucchini, and garlic cloves (just to see what happens). I already thinned out the lettuce and spinach, and together with some […]
I Would Never Call This a Hardship Post But…
I’m a big fan of the Foreign Service blog, Hardship Homemaking. I mean, what would I have given to be able to read a blog like this when we were posted to Zambia many years ago? Probably my left arm. What an absolutely brilliant idea. It’s looking like my hardship post days are over, but […]
For All You Pyromaniacs Out There
Please to enjoy this city-wide fireworks show, shot from the terrace of our apartment building last night. Stay tuned for the grand finale at the end. The Viennese know how to party!
More Thrifty Austrian Treasures!
Second hand shopping is quite respectable here, and the thrift stores are very nice. Which is good, because retail prices are insane. I buy almost nothing except food here at retail prices, and even some of that I order online! But I enjoy browsing the thrift stores and flea markets for treasures. Austrian household goods […]
The Gnomes Have Landed
My brother is visiting, and kindly offered to help bring home bags of garden soil and other necessities from the hardware store. So, yesterday I set about getting the terrace in order. It faces southwest, and gets full sun for several hours a day, so yay! I can plant some veggies! I’ve picked up a […]
Something That Makes Me Very Happy Indeed
A couple of my fellow bloggers (blogesses?) in Cairo and Chengdu have written this week about whether or not they are happy at their posts. I think this is an excellent question that everyone in the FS should consider now and then. After all, you have know what makes you happy (or unhappy) about a […]
I Has a Rumtopf
I can tell because it says so, in big letters on the front. I saw it at the thrift store today (7 Euros! I love this store!) and had to have it. Rumtopf means “rum pot” and refers either to this sort of pot, or the traditional dessert that is made in it. The recipe […]
Yet MORE Thrifty Fun
My daughter goes back to college this weekend and we had one trip to Caritas on the list before she leaves. I didn’t need a lot of convincing. Thrift stores in Vienna are the only real bargain in this expensive town. I have bought many items and found out later that they are selling for […]
More Vienna Thrifting
Every time my relatives come to visit, they want to go to the local thrift store. My mom and grandmother are visiting now, so of course, I had to take my grandmother to Caritas! We went to another branch on my side of town, which, as it turns out, is just about a ten-minute drive […]
Good Eats and a Little More Thrifting
Today, I was invited to a Turkish breakfast in the Naschmarkt. I had never heard of a Turkish breakfast before coming here. It involves fresh bread, excellent honey, feta cheese, olives, and other goodies, plus coffee. I am now a fan! Afterwards, since I was a only few blocks from Caritas, I dropped by there […]
Thrift Shopping in Vienna
Well, seeing as I had a whole day where there was practically nothing I had to do, I decided to check out a couple of Viennese thrift stores. Last weekend, I talked to someone who recommended the Caritas stores. Since she also loves Unique in Falls Church, I knew we spoke the same language! So, […]
Time for Top Tens!
Three weeks and counting! Made a couple of mental lists while driving around the ‘burbs today. Top Ten Things I Won’t Miss about NoVA 1.) Women in minivans yakking on cell phones. Going ten miles under the speed limit and/or making very slow, wide left turns with one hand. You know who you are. 2.) […]
Timing is Everything
Taking a little break from blogging about special ed issues to write about something that is actually going right in my life. The prologue to this is that we still don’t know where we’ll be in July. And won’t know for at least a few more days. But, I have a project! That little ugly […]
Some More Pretty
My son wanted to go to the thrift store today, and who am I to argue? Besides, it was 25 percent off day! So, he scored a really nice leather jacket for about ten bucks, and I acquired some more pretty. My new thing is buying clothes that I just like because of the fabric. […]
Show Me the Pretty
As I mentioned before, I just loves me a good thrift shop. And the DC area is loaded with them. It has that unbeatable combination of lots of people with too much money and too little space to store things indefinitely. They donate like CRAZY. And I do mean crazy. I find all kinds of […]
