Ben likes thrift shopping. I used to hate it. It took him about eleven years to get me to walk into a thrift store without pulling out my ten gallon bottle of hand sanitizer, slathering it all over my body and following him around morosely while trying to not touch anything.
It helped when we moved to Utah and I had the option of going to DI. For some reason, it feels a little cleaner than your average Salvation Army or Savers. Maybe because it is.
I will go into a Savers, don't get me wrong. However, my time limit in Savers is about thirty minutes and then I have to bolt and scrub off four layers of skin. I can easily spend an hour in DI, more if I make it back to the book section.
Ben really, really likes shopping for clothes at thrift stores. I remember giving him horrified looks when he would grab a pair of corduroy pants off the rack and say, "Wow! These are COOL!"
That, of course, is nothing when compared to his love for "name shirts". You know, the work shirts that have a name patch sewed onto them. You'll usually see them on guys that work at a car repair place, oil and lube shop or a tow truck company... I know that people that DON'T work with cars wear them too. I just can't think of any right now.
Maybe a plummer.
Anyhoo. When people leave those jobs, they seem to like giving their work shirts to thrift stores. That's where Ben comes in. Comes in, scans the racks and leaves with a new name or two.
He gets a kick out of people asking him about the places he works when he wears the shirt.
"Oh, so you work for the Ford Emergency Response Team?" someone might ask with interest.
"Nope," my husband answers with a smirk.
"Oh... uh... is your name Pat?"
"Nope," his grin gets wider.
"....."
"I just like the shirt," GRIN!!
"Oh......"
He also has a New Mexico State Police Leather Motorcycle Jacket. He REALLY liked wearing that when we were out and about in Albuquerque. The people asking for change on the corners would always get really nervous when we drove by. I seem to recall one guy actually turning around and walking the other way when he saw the jacket.
I tell you all this because I usually just roll my eyes when Ben brings his latest "treasure" to me. It's hard for me to take him seriously when he presents me with a shirt that bears the name "Keg".
When we recently went to DI, he came up to me excitedly, holding something behind his back. He professed the awesomeness of his find, and pulled out a pair of dress shoes.
I cringe inwardly at the prospect of wearing something that a stranger had on their feet. How do you know they didn't have athlete's foot? Eww... This is what I was thinking while Ben tried to explain his excitement.
"They're $5!"
Well, that's okay, I thought.
"You've always wanted me to have these square-toed shoes!"
Yeah. I think they make men's feet look sexy... an impressive accomplishment.
"They were made in Italy!"
"Cool," I can always appreciate fine Italian workmanship.
"They're KENNETH COLE," I could hear, ever so slightly, the sound of Angels' singing in Ben's head.
"Who?"
I think Ben's eyes popped a little bit. I suppose to him, that would be like me saying, "Who's Vivienne Westwood?"
"They're really good shoes!"
"Oh."
"They need shoelaces though."
"Okay," I shrugged.
Several hours after we got home, Ben was still feeling really good about the shoes and put them on so that I could see what they looked like on his feet. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that he was wearing white ankle socks and khaki shorts. Ben said that I should look up Kenneth Cole sometime so that I could get an idea of what kind of shoes they were.
So, I did.
With Ben looking over my shoulder, I loudly proclaimed, "Holy Poop on a Stick!"
Similar shoes, brand new from Kenneth Cole were anywhere from just under a hundred dollars to over three hundred.
Granted, these aren't Berluti shoes which fetch a mere $1,830 a pair. But to find a pair of nice dress shoes for five bucks at DI is a rare thing.
A little research and the closest I can figure is that Ben's new shoes are Oxford style Town Hall Moc Toe lace up shoes.
Fancy Dancey!
Now, if I could just find myself a pair of Jimmy Choo's at DI.....
Showing posts with label Stretch that dollar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stretch that dollar. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Furry Eyefull
I love going to DI. It's a new habit of mine. Probably a bad one too. I always save the kids books for last and look through as many of them as I can. I've found some really great books there and not spent the fabulous amounts of money as if I had bought them new. Granted, they are sometimes a little worn around the edges and need some tender loving care, but I also know that when my kids get their hands on them, no one would know the difference anyway.
I have also found that I can occasionally find the treasure of a Serendipity book. If you never read a Serendipity book as a little girl, either A) You were not a little girl, or B) You were a sadly deprived little girl. The stories are cute (though sometimes agenda-charged) but the illustrations fall into the category of diabetic-coma-inducing sugary cuteness.
The first one I found was Bangalee, which I had never heard of. The story was about keeping your house clean so that the garbage-eating monster doesn't come and eat your house.
I just went again the other day and found three *SCREAM!* Serendipity books. I had to pass one over because the previous owner decided to add to the illustrations in green pen. The other two were soft-cover, but I got them anyway. I'll just have to make sure that those books are no-touch books for my kids until they learn respect for books (grumble, grumble).
One is called Maui-Maui and is about a whale who teaches a lesson to a bunch of little critters called Amomonies who over-fished their ocean until there were no fish left. (After they learned their lesson, the author just HAD to add in a little note about how the Amomonies had been bad, but who they had to really watch out for was MAN..... see previous reference to agenda-charging.)
The other one is called Kartusch and is about some cute little critters called Furry Eyefulls. They learned a lesson from a blind snake about enjoying the world around them with more than just their eyes. (They wanted to look at everything so much that they refused to sleep and got super cranky and mean.)
While casually glancing over Kartusch, I noticed that the little Furry Eyefulls were vaguely familiar to me. It took me a few moments to realize (and I did with a chortle) that I LIVED with a Furry Eyefull all growing up. Of course, she was a blonde Furry Eyefull.
I have also found that I can occasionally find the treasure of a Serendipity book. If you never read a Serendipity book as a little girl, either A) You were not a little girl, or B) You were a sadly deprived little girl. The stories are cute (though sometimes agenda-charged) but the illustrations fall into the category of diabetic-coma-inducing sugary cuteness.
The first one I found was Bangalee, which I had never heard of. The story was about keeping your house clean so that the garbage-eating monster doesn't come and eat your house.
I just went again the other day and found three *SCREAM!* Serendipity books. I had to pass one over because the previous owner decided to add to the illustrations in green pen. The other two were soft-cover, but I got them anyway. I'll just have to make sure that those books are no-touch books for my kids until they learn respect for books (grumble, grumble).
One is called Maui-Maui and is about a whale who teaches a lesson to a bunch of little critters called Amomonies who over-fished their ocean until there were no fish left. (After they learned their lesson, the author just HAD to add in a little note about how the Amomonies had been bad, but who they had to really watch out for was MAN..... see previous reference to agenda-charging.)
The other one is called Kartusch and is about some cute little critters called Furry Eyefulls. They learned a lesson from a blind snake about enjoying the world around them with more than just their eyes. (They wanted to look at everything so much that they refused to sleep and got super cranky and mean.)
While casually glancing over Kartusch, I noticed that the little Furry Eyefulls were vaguely familiar to me. It took me a few moments to realize (and I did with a chortle) that I LIVED with a Furry Eyefull all growing up. Of course, she was a blonde Furry Eyefull.
Am I right??
Sorry, Dara.... :)
I love you!
Really, I just thought it was a super cute book with even super-er-er... cute pictures. I couldn't resist sharing with you all!
I shall continue my hunt for Serendipity books. I'm still looking for Leo the Lop, Morgan Mine, Flutterby and *be still my heart!* DRAGOLIN!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
No Wonder it's a Secret!
Several weeks ago, I received a voucher for a free item from Victoria's Secret. I think I might have blushed a little when I looked at the envelope, but I really can't pass up free. It's in my blood. It mouldered on my desk for a week or two... then it mouldered in my purse for about another week.
Upon discovering that my daughter's one and only wish for her birthday was to have a Pillow Pet, I knew that the mall was the one place I was sure I could get what she wanted. (As it turns out, they were out of the one she's been talking about for the last nine months.)
I figured that it would be good to kill two birds and go to VS as well. I blushed a little as I wheeled my little family into the brightly lit place to look through items that, generally speaking, never see the light of day once you get them home.
Of course, since it had been several weeks since I got the voucher in the first place, I was wondering if they might be out of stock and I was going to be out of luck. I (translation: Ben) ended up having to ask one of the workers where I might find the promised item. *Blush!* To her credit, she was very sweet and talked to my daughter while we walked over to the correct bin.
Once there, it was up to me to feel slightly perverted while I looked through for something that might pass for cute. The lady next to me had an enviable air of cool, collected nonchalance as she looked through the bins too. As I pondered what my choice might actually say about me personally, my daughter sweetly walked up to me and said, "Mom, can I help you?"
I gasped out a nervous laugh and said, "No, Audrey. I think this is something I need to do by myself." The lady next to me burst out laughing and I laughed too. I'm not sure if I blushed since Ben was too busy texting a status message for Facebook. I do know my eyeballs felt like they were on fire, so that doesn't bode well for me.
Hardly a moment later, Ben informed me that my son was pointing up at a picture of a model in her negligee and saying, "Bottom! Bottom! Bottom! Bottom!"
I also have a $10 off coupon for a bra. I don't know if I'm ever going back. I think I've had enough embarrassment to last me the rest of the month.
Upon discovering that my daughter's one and only wish for her birthday was to have a Pillow Pet, I knew that the mall was the one place I was sure I could get what she wanted. (As it turns out, they were out of the one she's been talking about for the last nine months.)
I figured that it would be good to kill two birds and go to VS as well. I blushed a little as I wheeled my little family into the brightly lit place to look through items that, generally speaking, never see the light of day once you get them home.
Of course, since it had been several weeks since I got the voucher in the first place, I was wondering if they might be out of stock and I was going to be out of luck. I (translation: Ben) ended up having to ask one of the workers where I might find the promised item. *Blush!* To her credit, she was very sweet and talked to my daughter while we walked over to the correct bin.
Once there, it was up to me to feel slightly perverted while I looked through for something that might pass for cute. The lady next to me had an enviable air of cool, collected nonchalance as she looked through the bins too. As I pondered what my choice might actually say about me personally, my daughter sweetly walked up to me and said, "Mom, can I help you?"
I gasped out a nervous laugh and said, "No, Audrey. I think this is something I need to do by myself." The lady next to me burst out laughing and I laughed too. I'm not sure if I blushed since Ben was too busy texting a status message for Facebook. I do know my eyeballs felt like they were on fire, so that doesn't bode well for me.
Hardly a moment later, Ben informed me that my son was pointing up at a picture of a model in her negligee and saying, "Bottom! Bottom! Bottom! Bottom!"
I also have a $10 off coupon for a bra. I don't know if I'm ever going back. I think I've had enough embarrassment to last me the rest of the month.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Haul
I wandered around the mall today with a mission. I was going to have fun and I was going to spend some money. I went IN the stores with an eye for purchasing. However, I wasn't looking to spend purely for spending's sake. Well, maybe a little. I was more interested in finding a good deal that I could go home and feel good about. I am not interested in Buyer's Remorse at this stage of my life.
I almost never go into Claire's or Icing because I know I'll buy something that looks fantastically cute in the lighting of the store, but that looks strange once I get home. HOWEVER, upon walking into the store, I found that they were having a big clearance sale and quite a lot of their clearance was upwards of 75% off. I squealed a little, in my head.
Here is my haul, which I am super proud of, so don't say anything mean about it... Or you can, but just know that you will be making me feel sad for about .0000000238 nano seconds. Then I will go back to gloating over my new stuff.
I almost never go into Claire's or Icing because I know I'll buy something that looks fantastically cute in the lighting of the store, but that looks strange once I get home. HOWEVER, upon walking into the store, I found that they were having a big clearance sale and quite a lot of their clearance was upwards of 75% off. I squealed a little, in my head.
Here is my haul, which I am super proud of, so don't say anything mean about it... Or you can, but just know that you will be making me feel sad for about .0000000238 nano seconds. Then I will go back to gloating over my new stuff.
Plaid Hobo (you can't see in this shot, but there are little shiny threads running through the plaid)
Original price: $26
Marked Down price: $13
Final price paid: $3.19
Butterfly Handbag
Original price: $20
Marked Down price: $10
Final price paid: $2.49
Teal Scarf with Skull print
Original price: $14
Marked Down price: $7
Final price paid: $1.69
Love the skulls!!
Various Wallets
The top two plaid ones were originally $12 and $14 respectively, marked down to $6 and $7. I got each one for $1!
The Pink Butterfly makeup bag/purse was originally $7, marked down to $3.50 and I paid $1!!
The Hardcase with eyelets was originally $16, marked to $8 and I paid $1.99.
Ring
Original price: $12.50
Marked Down price: $6.25
Final price paid: $1.49
Brown Plaid Headband
Original price: $5.50
Marked Down price: $2.75
Final price paid: $1
Cute details! (I used the skull head as my little model because I knew I'd never get the headband back from Aud if I used her.)
Charm Necklace (with crosses! *gasp!*)
Original price: $12.50
Marked Down price: $6.25
Final price paid: $1.19
Hello Kitty Necklace (for Audrey, though I may wear it now and then)
Original price: $12.50
Marked Down price: $6.25
Final price paid: $1.49
Dangley Chain Necklace
Original price: $10.50
Marked Down price: $5.25
Final price paid: $1.19
Fabric Necklace with Beads
Original price: $16.50
Marked Down price: $8.25
Final price paid: $1.99
Cute Plush Fennec Fox that whistles when you squeeze it's tummy
Original price: $7.50
Marked Down price: $3.75
Final price paid: $1
He has a crooked face but he's cute anyway... unless SHE'S cute... either way.
The whole purchase including tax was $24.27!
While I am not a hardcore bargain shopper and some would feel that I spent too much, I feel good about my level of shopping savvy!
Yay me!
BTW: If any of you are planning on going to the Orem mall anytime soon, stop by Claire's if this is your kind of thing! :)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
200th Post - Some things I've loved this week
The last few days of preschool have been fun, though nothing at all like I envisioned them.
On Thursday, we focused on shapes and sizes. I printed out a variety of shapes both large and small on paper and cut them out. I had Aud find a big shape and glue it on a piece of paper. Then she was to find the same shape but smaller and glue that on top of the big shape. I was worried that it would be too simple and boring for her but she was so pleased to be doing something that she understood completely that she giggled the whole time and was so proud of her paper with shapes glued to it. She wanted to show it to everyone!
Friday was Castle Day. I showed her pictures of real castles online and pointed out to her how different they can be. I showed her a book called I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats. She was interested until we got about half-way through. Then she told me she was bored. I gave her a coloring page with a castle on it. She didn't want to color it and traced bear stencils on the back instead! When we told her yesterday that she could color the castle any color she wanted, she finally colored the tops of the towers.
On Saturday I read her three Dr. Seuss books, all of which I hadn't read in many, many years myself. I discovered that Fox in Socks is near to impossible to read fast or even at a normal pace. I had a craft planned but ran out of time. I'll have to save it for another time. :)
On all three days, she also did phonics on Starfall. I always have to encourage her to try new letters. She wants to go back to the letter A every day.
I think Henry is teething again. Two year molars. Yay.... So, needless to say, he's been somewhat grumpy and has a runny nose.
Ben has been gone since Thursday morning. As much as I have loved spreading out in bed, I am ready for him to come home.
At a recent trip to the thrift store, Ben brought over a couple of pillowcases while I was looking through the children's books. He knows I love toile and, at my enraptured expression, he put them in the cart. At $1 each, I couldn't resist! I sent them through the wash and found some pillows that fit just right.
On Thursday, we focused on shapes and sizes. I printed out a variety of shapes both large and small on paper and cut them out. I had Aud find a big shape and glue it on a piece of paper. Then she was to find the same shape but smaller and glue that on top of the big shape. I was worried that it would be too simple and boring for her but she was so pleased to be doing something that she understood completely that she giggled the whole time and was so proud of her paper with shapes glued to it. She wanted to show it to everyone!
Friday was Castle Day. I showed her pictures of real castles online and pointed out to her how different they can be. I showed her a book called I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats. She was interested until we got about half-way through. Then she told me she was bored. I gave her a coloring page with a castle on it. She didn't want to color it and traced bear stencils on the back instead! When we told her yesterday that she could color the castle any color she wanted, she finally colored the tops of the towers.
On Saturday I read her three Dr. Seuss books, all of which I hadn't read in many, many years myself. I discovered that Fox in Socks is near to impossible to read fast or even at a normal pace. I had a craft planned but ran out of time. I'll have to save it for another time. :)
On all three days, she also did phonics on Starfall. I always have to encourage her to try new letters. She wants to go back to the letter A every day.
I think Henry is teething again. Two year molars. Yay.... So, needless to say, he's been somewhat grumpy and has a runny nose.
Ben has been gone since Thursday morning. As much as I have loved spreading out in bed, I am ready for him to come home.
At a recent trip to the thrift store, Ben brought over a couple of pillowcases while I was looking through the children's books. He knows I love toile and, at my enraptured expression, he put them in the cart. At $1 each, I couldn't resist! I sent them through the wash and found some pillows that fit just right.
The details are lovely!
I especially loved these three people. The only bummer is that they're on the back of the pillowcase and not the front.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Alligator Day
Though not nearly as exciting or tasty as Strawberry Day, Alligator Day proved to be fun for Audrey and myself. I was nervous to begin with because Audrey started the day at breakfast with a weighty question.
"Mom, what am I going to learn about today?"
I guess yesterday had an impact on her after all.
She has also been asking to use a new website I've been testing out with her. It's called Starfall and is somewhat like Hooked on Phonics. There are graduated categories from learning letters and their sounds all the way up to independent reading. Not only is Audrey (hopefully) beginning the process of learning how to read, but she is also learning how to use a computer mouse; something that I will probably regret at some point in the future.
One thing is for sure: I'd rather she spend an hour or so learning with me than spending Henry's entire nap camped out in front of the TV.
Today ran slightly differently. I have a feeling that the food really helped yesterday's cause. However, I also have a feeling that having any alligator food today would have had the opposite effect.
After lunch, I showed Audrey some pictures and videos of alligators online. After that we read a book called Fun Facts About Alligators!
I had a few coloring pages for her. One of which was going to be an alligator that she would color, cut out, glue onto a blue background and stick a googly eye to it. She wasn't interested.
The other coloring page I provided was a letter "A" tracing page with a cartoon-style alligator on it. After a few minutes of insisted that she didn't want to, she finally colored it. I asked her before she started what color alligators are. She told me green. However, when she asked what colors she should use, I told her she could use whatever she wanted since it was HER alligator after all. The resulting alligator is green, brown, yellow, orange, pink and purple.
After completing that, she wanted to look at some phonics letters. She chose A and L. She's getting pretty good at using the mouse, just needing help once in a while. She amazes me with how quickly she learns all the time!
Ben got home early today (which is an entirely different story that I will let him tell), so we spent the after-nap-noon taking care of errands. We dropped by the AmFork DI and I found some lovely treasures there in the form of children's books.
On a previous trip to the Provo DI, I had acquired some Christmas books, Dr. Seuss books, The Velveteen Rabbit, Goodnight Gorilla and a replacement copy of Love You Forever.
This time, I picked up (at significantly lower prices) Mother, Mother, I Want Another, Bangalee (A Serendipity Book), Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, The Runaway Bunny (I heart this one), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (the inspiration for the movie), If You Give a Pig a Pancake and Chickens Aren't The Only Ones. I also found a few more Christmas books including a BEAUTIFULLY illustrated version of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
I'm afraid that I will never be happy to pay full price for a book ever again. The good thing about not having a whole lot of children's books is that it's much easier to find ones that I don't have!
In case you're craving a Henry Moment: We went to Chili's while we were out running around. While we were trying to give the waiter our order, Henry was reaching for a fork on the table. He pleadingly cried out with his own special diction, "FORK!" I looked up at the waiter, who had a look of complete shock on his face. I smiled and told Henry that he couldn't have the fork until we had our food. The waiter laughed, looking amused and slightly relieved. Ben enjoyed explaining Henry's little foul-sounding words to him.
I guess yesterday had an impact on her after all.
She has also been asking to use a new website I've been testing out with her. It's called Starfall and is somewhat like Hooked on Phonics. There are graduated categories from learning letters and their sounds all the way up to independent reading. Not only is Audrey (hopefully) beginning the process of learning how to read, but she is also learning how to use a computer mouse; something that I will probably regret at some point in the future.
One thing is for sure: I'd rather she spend an hour or so learning with me than spending Henry's entire nap camped out in front of the TV.
Today ran slightly differently. I have a feeling that the food really helped yesterday's cause. However, I also have a feeling that having any alligator food today would have had the opposite effect.After lunch, I showed Audrey some pictures and videos of alligators online. After that we read a book called Fun Facts About Alligators!
I had a few coloring pages for her. One of which was going to be an alligator that she would color, cut out, glue onto a blue background and stick a googly eye to it. She wasn't interested.
After completing that, she wanted to look at some phonics letters. She chose A and L. She's getting pretty good at using the mouse, just needing help once in a while. She amazes me with how quickly she learns all the time!
Ben got home early today (which is an entirely different story that I will let him tell), so we spent the after-nap-noon taking care of errands. We dropped by the AmFork DI and I found some lovely treasures there in the form of children's books.
On a previous trip to the Provo DI, I had acquired some Christmas books, Dr. Seuss books, The Velveteen Rabbit, Goodnight Gorilla and a replacement copy of Love You Forever.
This time, I picked up (at significantly lower prices) Mother, Mother, I Want Another, Bangalee (A Serendipity Book), Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, The Runaway Bunny (I heart this one), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (the inspiration for the movie), If You Give a Pig a Pancake and Chickens Aren't The Only Ones. I also found a few more Christmas books including a BEAUTIFULLY illustrated version of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
I'm afraid that I will never be happy to pay full price for a book ever again. The good thing about not having a whole lot of children's books is that it's much easier to find ones that I don't have!
In case you're craving a Henry Moment: We went to Chili's while we were out running around. While we were trying to give the waiter our order, Henry was reaching for a fork on the table. He pleadingly cried out with his own special diction, "FORK!" I looked up at the waiter, who had a look of complete shock on his face. I smiled and told Henry that he couldn't have the fork until we had our food. The waiter laughed, looking amused and slightly relieved. Ben enjoyed explaining Henry's little foul-sounding words to him.
Today hardly turned out the way I had anticipated, but I feel good about it in spite of it all.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Great Blog!!
Hey everyone! I love saving money and getting stuff for free... do you???
I found a new blog that has links to TONS of free or cheap stuff!! Check it out!
(I already have free chocolate on the way.. WOOOHOOO!!)
http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/
Have fun! :)
I found a new blog that has links to TONS of free or cheap stuff!! Check it out!
(I already have free chocolate on the way.. WOOOHOOO!!)
http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/
Have fun! :)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Cake Mania
A few weeks ago, Albertson's had a sale on cake mixes and frostings. (Other things too, but they have little or no significance to this particular blog.) So, I was standing happily in the baking isle looking at the various cakes and frostings. For many years, I have prided myself in baking entirely from scratch, 
but time has slowly gotten the better of me and speed is now of the essence. Otherwise, my poor family would never experience cake. I normally try to look for cake mixes that I know I would have great difficulty in scratching out on my own: Carrot Cake, Party Rainbow Chip, Lemon, Strawberry... but, I also end up getting the occasional Yellow, White and Chocolate for the possible cake emergency.
So, I was standing happily in the baking isle looking at the various cakes and frostings.. (deja vu anyone?) I was trying to remember how many cake mixes I had at home that were potentially frosting-less so that I could get enough for all my little cakey friends. I can't remember now what I concluded and ended up walking out of the store with, but it will potentially keep me in cake for the foreseeable future... or in other-words.. about 3 months.
I finally got up the energy to make cake this afternoon when Audrey went down for her nap. I took inventory of my cakes and frostings and found that I had miscalculated the amount of frosting I needed and ended up with much more than the mixes I have. Oh well! (More cake for meeee.. heeheehee!)
AAAAANYway. I was pondering my cake cravings and recalled something I read in an email about how you can make your store-bought frosting go further by whipping it in a mixer. (This only works with the non-whipped kind.) So, I thought,
"Hey! What a great idea! Then I'll have the equivalent of twice the amount of frosting! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
In order to use all the frosting, I theorized, I'd have to make two cakes. Two rectangular cakes in matching glass pans sounded a bit boring to me, so I ended up making 12 yellow cupcakes, a rather thin 8" round yellow cake (left-over batter from the cupcakes), and a nice, big 13x9 rectangular spice cake.
After the cakes cooled a bit, I rather hesitantly dumped my vanilla frosting into my Kitchen Aide mixer and turned it on the highest setting. Ben hovered nearby in interest. It didn't seem to do much to begin with and I was starting to worry that there was some key ingredient that I had forgotten and was necessary to fluff out the frosting. So, I went to the computer to search online. There is nothing on store-bought frosting except for the from-scratch-snobs who turned their nose up at the idea of anything like that. (This coming from an ex-snob.) While I was searching away, I hear a "Wow!" from Ben as my mixer suddenly seems to remember it's job and kicks into high gear. I went back over to find my batch of frosting had suddenly turned a whiter white and was now rather whippy looking! Hooray! It must have taken all of 3 to 5 minutes.
I had just enough frosting to top 10 cupcakes (two had muffin-top breakage and had to be forfeited down our gullets), the little 8" round and the entire spice cake. Not bad for a tub of frosting for $1.50! The other really awesome thing was that the frosting wasn't so heavy that it tore the cake up (a problem I have had in the past). All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I will now be eating cake for the next 3 or 4 days!
but time has slowly gotten the better of me and speed is now of the essence. Otherwise, my poor family would never experience cake. I normally try to look for cake mixes that I know I would have great difficulty in scratching out on my own: Carrot Cake, Party Rainbow Chip, Lemon, Strawberry... but, I also end up getting the occasional Yellow, White and Chocolate for the possible cake emergency.
So, I was standing happily in the baking isle looking at the various cakes and frostings.. (deja vu anyone?) I was trying to remember how many cake mixes I had at home that were potentially frosting-less so that I could get enough for all my little cakey friends. I can't remember now what I concluded and ended up walking out of the store with, but it will potentially keep me in cake for the foreseeable future... or in other-words.. about 3 months.
I finally got up the energy to make cake this afternoon when Audrey went down for her nap. I took inventory of my cakes and frostings and found that I had miscalculated the amount of frosting I needed and ended up with much more than the mixes I have. Oh well! (More cake for meeee.. heeheehee!)
AAAAANYway. I was pondering my cake cravings and recalled something I read in an email about how you can make your store-bought frosting go further by whipping it in a mixer. (This only works with the non-whipped kind.) So, I thought,
"Hey! What a great idea! Then I'll have the equivalent of twice the amount of frosting! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
In order to use all the frosting, I theorized, I'd have to make two cakes. Two rectangular cakes in matching glass pans sounded a bit boring to me, so I ended up making 12 yellow cupcakes, a rather thin 8" round yellow cake (left-over batter from the cupcakes), and a nice, big 13x9 rectangular spice cake.After the cakes cooled a bit, I rather hesitantly dumped my vanilla frosting into my Kitchen Aide mixer and turned it on the highest setting. Ben hovered nearby in interest. It didn't seem to do much to begin with and I was starting to worry that there was some key ingredient that I had forgotten and was necessary to fluff out the frosting. So, I went to the computer to search online. There is nothing on store-bought frosting except for the from-scratch-snobs who turned their nose up at the idea of anything like that. (This coming from an ex-snob.) While I was searching away, I hear a "Wow!" from Ben as my mixer suddenly seems to remember it's job and kicks into high gear. I went back over to find my batch of frosting had suddenly turned a whiter white and was now rather whippy looking! Hooray! It must have taken all of 3 to 5 minutes.
I had just enough frosting to top 10 cupcakes (two had muffin-top breakage and had to be forfeited down our gullets), the little 8" round and the entire spice cake. Not bad for a tub of frosting for $1.50! The other really awesome thing was that the frosting wasn't so heavy that it tore the cake up (a problem I have had in the past). All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I will now be eating cake for the next 3 or 4 days!
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