Frugal Things I Did Last Week: Birthday Edition

The birthday cupcakes my baby sister (she's 13) made for me.

Last week was my birthday!  I am now the same age that my grandmother has claimed to be ever since I can remember.  :)  My husband bought me a lovely necklace from an unnamed jewelry store.  Although some would say this isn't frugal it really meant a lot to me.  He paid cash for it out of his fun money and negotiated a nice discount.  The necklace means even more knowing that he negotiated for it and used his fun (blow) money.  The happy hubby also bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers which I happily arranged myself.  (It's crazy to pay $50 on a bouquet of flowers just because they are already cut at different heights.)  We went out to lunch where I received a free meal.  My mom then made dinner for me and I saw everyone of my five siblings & my soon to be sister-in-law.  What a treat!

We were gifted tickets to a hockey game.  This was my first time I have ever attended a hockey game and it was so much fun.  Even Evangeline had a blast!  

Eli had lots of fun playing on the playground this past week. 

I had an accident last week and dropped a large can of pineapple juice on my foot.  Unfortunately I had a nice cut on my foot and thought there was a good chance that it was broken.  Instead of going to the ER or an Urgent Care I called an orthopedic doctor who had an x-ray machine at his office.  This saved lots of money and I did not risk myself or Evangeline catching anything else at the hospital.  They were able to see me the same day and fortunately it was not broken!  I have to wear a bootie for two weeks but then I should be fine.

I stopped at Michael's to pick up some supplies to make decorations for an upcoming bridal shower that I am throwing.  I found a couple of things on clearance and used a coupon for everything else.  I am saving the receipts and plan on returning anything that we do not use.

My sister and I made a cute banner using cardstock and my cricut for the upcoming bridal shower.  I also borrowed two purple tablecloths from someone for the shower.  

We were given a coffee table and 3 rugs.  Our home has only hardwood and tile so I LOVE rugs!  Two of the rugs will be used in the basement.  One is at the foot of the guest bed and the other is a runner for the hall downstairs.  We have wanted to purchase a large rug for our living room for the past two years but it has always been at the bottom of our priority list.  Thankfully one of the rugs we received was a nice large green braided Ethan Allen rug.  The rug is in the shape of a circle and completely different from what I would have picked out but I really like it.  I think it is here to stay so I may try to find some fabric to match and finally sew curtains.

The broccoli salad that I made last week.

I babysat my cousin one day and my uncle insisted on paying me for it.  We will be putting the money towards my hospital bills from having Evangeline.  I don't know if I mentioned it before but I was able to negotiate a really nice discount with the hospital.  Now I can't wait to get them paid off!

I made kefir.

I also cooked the best vegetarian Red Pepper Soup with Quinoa.  I'll have to share it sometime.  I try to make at least one batch of soup per week even during the summer.

After a church dinner I wiped the remaining cake off of a cardboard cake board (what do you call those things) in order to reuse it for the shower that I am throwing next weekend.  I usually just cut a piece of cardboard and cover it with foil but this cake board was really pretty and would look nice at a bridal shower.  I also washed a large pan that was going to be thrown away.  I am planning on using it to start sweet potato plants.

What frugal things did you do last week?