Blogathon Link love #3

We are nearing the end of yet another blogathon, and I have to say, this one has almost been easy.  Yes, there are moment when you panic and think I have nothing left to say!! But then you regroup, and write a rambling post about trashy tv, so it's all good.  Now, here's some link love.

--Bea Johnson, of Zero Waste Home fame is quickly becoming a hero of mine.  Not only did I read her book and come away with all sorts of new ideas for reducing my trash output, but now I'm taking a much harsher approach to managing my closet, which is the area I struggle with the most.  Presently, she is undertaking a book tour in France, and doing it with one black skirt.  She is going to be showing up 30 Ways to Wear a Long Skirt, and I'm already inspired to go back to my own closet and get back onto the outfit revamp bandwagon.

--I have never taken out a payday loan, or a short term loan, because I know that they're just a terrible way to extract far too much money from the desperate or the stupid.  Also, it was once pointed out to me that there is ALWAYS a liquor store right next to a payday loan place.  Check it out, you'll see that's true, and as much as I love a beer, I do not want to pay 700% interest on money borrowed to buy that beer.  So, I've always known these places are bad, but Sean at One Smart Dollar has a post saying specifically why they're bad.  It's always nice to have more information, and to know that I was already right even without having specifics.

--Since being in my new apartment and trying to keep things not only organized and uncluttered, but also streamlined, I have to say, that the fewer things you have, the easier it is to have a clean and organized house.  That's a no-brainer, but something I had never really put into practice before.  Sure, I do dishes every day, but I don't have enough dishes that they can pile up and overwhelm me; I don't have a bathroom lined with bottles and potions that I have to buy a separate piece of furniture to store; and I can see into my pantry and see everything in there.  So naturally, I also love the post How Minimalism Lets you Do What you Love from The Everyday Minimalist.

--This is something I have not yet tried, but am really, really curious about: Homemade Alcoholic Cider.  I've always been fascinated by home brewing because I love beer and the science of it all intrigues me, but I've also always balked at amount of equipment you need and the expense.  Apparently, making homemade cider is incredibly easy and dirt cheap.  I will be trying this soon.

Blogathon Link Love x2

--Since I'm back on the Food Waste Friday bandwagon--not that I was ever off the food waste avoiding bandwagon, but you know what I mean... I love this post from Minting Nickels: 8 Ways to Minimize Your Food Waste and Save Hundreds.

--I don't know what's come over me, but I suddenly strongly feel the urge to try Leah Ingram's home-made laundry detergent. I had planned to do this forever ago, and then it slipped my mind, now I can't shake the idea out of my head.  Only problem is that I just bought a new bottle of detergent, but in a year or so when that's gone...  I think maybe this is why I didn't end up doing it last time I had this notion.

--What's in a name? I've got a weird last name that sounds German but isn't, and apparently Brooke from Brooke vs. The World has a German last name that people think is Dutch.  It's always a funny feeling when people assume your family's country of origin and get it wrong.  Kind of like that time a friend of mine started dating the guy she eventually married and he flat out asked her: "What are you?" he thought she might be Mexican, she isn't (she's kind of tan).  I'm still not sure why it mattered.

--Michelle at Making Sense of Cents has a great guest post about something that all us frugal folk struggle with--staying motivated.

--My brother insisted that I listen to the song Royal by Lorde the other day, and I seriously cannot stop listening to it.  This chick is only 16!

That's all for this week!

Blogathon Link Love

Even though a lot of the people I'm link loving are not actually participating in the blogathon, I still like the posts they wrote.

--Mad props to Newlyweds on a Budget for kicking their house down payment savings goal's ass!  In two months, they have saved $7000 AND still done fun things.  Inspiring.

--Sarah Houghton aka The Librarian in Black, was just diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 36.  Thankfully, they caught it early, doctors are optimistic she will make a full recovery.  In the interest of people knowing more about this--just sharing information like we librarians do, she will be live tweeting her surgery on Thursday afternoon (Pacific Time).  I've long admired Sarah for her passion for her profession, her tech-savvy and her willingness to just put herself out there.  May she live forever!

--There's a new Sarah Dessen book!!  I've been waiting for this for months!  Perfect reading for this weekend of crappy weather.  Forever YA, the best review site for teen books, was spot on when they said the cover looks like a tampon ad, but I'm still super pumped.

Yup, sure does

 --I love the Non-Consumer Advocate's post The Catharsis of Decluttering.  Even though I de-cluttered aggressively before moving, I'm still finding myself looking at some of this stuff that I own and thinking why did I buy that?  Why did I keep that? However, I hope with some attractive organization, I'll be able to find a place for everything.

--June 5th was National Running Day, and, sadly, a day that I did not go for a run, but I celebrated from my chair.  Another way to celebrate this day, besides going for a run, is to say why you run (if you run).  I run because:  It's fun (usually), it makes me feel badass, it's cheap (minus getting addicted to running gear), you can do it anywhere (mostly), it's a great way to clear your head and organize your thoughts, I could go on...

--Strangely, there has been a lot of debate lately in the field of librarianship about professional dress.  Librarians often do not dress well--sensible shoes and cardigans are a staple, but I will defend cardigans to my very end!  About half the libraries I've worked in, including my present position, do not have a dress code, which can be awesome, but also a disaster.  Anyway, this is a big topic, and I think Elizabeth at Life, Love and Librarianship handled it quite well.

--One Smart Dollar sings the praises of biking to work!  We all know that driving less saves you money, but biking more regularly has far more benefit than just that.


What blogs are you loving this week?  Add the link in the comments!

Sails Link Love

I've always wanted to go to Australia, and now I do even more!  They recently projected... I don't even know what you call it on the sails of the Sydney Opera House, and it's just about the awesomest thing ever.  I can't embed the video, so watch the whole thing here, but here's a screencap to whet your appetite.

The newest (on DVD) season of True Blood is whizzing through the USPS toward my house via netflix, and I am SO PUMPED!  Gone are the days when I could use a friend's online HBO account (frugal!), so now I have to one-disc-at-a-time it like the common people.  Either way, even though I'm technically behind, I still LOVE Serendipity's Guide to Saving's Financial Life Lessons-- True Blood Edition.  It's amazing how much financial wisdom you can extrapolate from a show about fairies, vampires and other odd creatures.

Those abs + financial advice = best thing EVER!

As someone who is given to hermit-like behavior on occasion, I love this post at So Over Debt: Five Reasons to Consider Becoming a Hermit.  I mean, think about it, aside from the cost of your hermitage, the overhead is incredibly low.

Long Weekend Link Love

Hopefully, no one out there is actually reading this.  I hope you're either at the beach, having a picnic or doing any number of other Memorial Day-type activities.  My plans?  Books, writing and spring cleaning.  I live right on the edge, people!

It's also graduation weekend here in my hood, which means that the city is full of out-of-towners who can't navigate Providence's ridiculous streets and who were apparently never told that it's impossible to find parking. I almost got squished my a minivan from Maryland when I was biking home last night!  In honor of these proud parents, here is a commencement address that Neil Gaiman made recently.  It's a bit long (of course) but well, well worth listening to--twice.

Annabelle, over at Shopping Detox, has been systematically going through her lipstick collection and wearing a difference color for each day of May.  While I think it's a bit insane that she has that much lipstick (not in a judgey way),  I think this is a really good way to do a bit of inventory and figure out what you own that you don't really need.   Now she knows what colors look good in the tube, but not on her, and now I have the idea that I should do this is my closet...

This frightens me a bit, but I only own one lipstick--from 2001

Since no one is reading this anyway, but if you are you clearly need a cocktail--here's a massive collection of drinks recipes from Food Network.

What is it about drinking out of a jar that looks so refreshing?

Happy memorial weekend!!

The More You Know Link Love

Andrea, at So Over Debt has some solid advice that I think everyone can benefit from: Don’t buy DVDs instead of letting your child have apples.
Ugh, just, ugh.

A lot of people these days are talking about the cost of higher education (myself included), and often whether or not it's worth taking on such significant debt for a four-year education.  While I honestly think Americans hype the four-year liberal arts degree too much and don't encourage enough people to explore technical and vocational education, the numbers show that according to the most recent census, people with a college degree earned an average of $19,550 more per year than someone with a high school education.  It will be interesting to see that number change by the next census.  I think this stuff is fascinating--at least in the abstract because my own loan balance makes me a bit ill, and you can read the full study from the Pew Institute here.

As someone who biked daily as a youngster and then put that habit away for 20 years (god that makes me sound old), I was fascinated by my friend Hilary's (who is super brainy and also is an actual rock star who teaches other women how to rock) article for The Women's Fund of Rhode Island: A woman needs a bike.

I did some learning the other day about Kirkbride Buildings, mostly because there's one near where I grew up that people are arguing about tearing down.  "Once state-of-the-art mental healthcare facilities, Kirkbride buildings have long been relics of an obsolete therapeutic method known as Moral Treatment. In the latter half of the 19th century, these massive structures were conceived as ideal sanctuaries for the mentally ill and as an active participent in their recovery. Careful attention was given to every detail of their design to promote a healthy environment and convey a sense of respectable decorum. Placed in secluded areas within expansive grounds, many of these insane asylums seemed almost palace-like from the outside. But growing populations and insufficient funding led to unfortunate conditions, spoiling their idealistic promise."

Danvers State Hospital, Danvers, Massachusetts

There are a few of these amazing buildings left scattered throughout the country, but many are being torn down simply because they're too large and no one know what to do with them.  I say luxury condos, but that boom has kind of passed.

Clarinda State Hospital, Clarinda, Iowa

I wish we could just have beautiful buildings for the sake of them being beautiful, but I guess that's not very practical.

This is the one they want to tear down in Fergus Falls, MN.

But, as you can see, that's a whole lot of unused structure.

Gut Check Link Love

My dream is that I'll be digging in the ground someday,
and find a box or pile of money.
It can happen, right?

My pal Fargo Jones has finally gotten a full time job AND unloaded his albatross of a house.  Things are definitely looking up, but it's funny that once you get the thing you want most, it seems to bring with it a new batch of problems and concerns.  Digging your way out of debt is an arduous, lengthy and kind of scary process, but I have nothing but respect for those who are doing it.  You can do it, Fargo!!


And Then She Saved has a tutorial on how to use scarves to pump up your style on the cheap--including an embed of a kick-ass video.  I've always been really bad at accessorizing, but then I realized that my wardrobe of 'classics' was becoming a bit dull to look at.  Now, I'm all about belts, scarves and the occasional necklace, and I love it when someone gives me new ideas.

More inspiration!

I haven't made this Teriyaki Chickpea Stirfry from Peas and Thank You yet, but I've certainly been thinking about it every day since it was posted.  I'm drooling a bit right now, I won't lie.

One of my favorite personal finance gurus--The Money Girl list out the reasons why being fit will help you earn more money and save more in the long run.  Yup, I totally agree, and I'm not just saying that because I had that AWESOME doctor visit a couple weeks ago.

Sporty Link Love

Since racing season is just starting, and I may be running my first half marathon of the year while you're reading this, let's also take a moment to congratulate my friend from Elementary School (and facebook) who just completed her first Triathalon!  I often think that I'd like to do a triathalon, but I neither bike (2 miles to work doesn't really count) nor swim, so I'm at a bit of an impasse.  Not Erin!


Another Superwoman who consistently amazes me is SkinnyRunner, who just ran about a billion races, all over the country in a single week.  The final count was 160 miles in nine days--I barely run 160 miles in two months, and in the month of April, I ran 27.  This girl is a delightful combination of crazy, dedicated and determined and while I don't necessarily want to emulate her, I do like reading about it.


Doing anything that might be daunting in a group almost always makes it easier.  I rarely run with other people because I like to set my own pace, but the times that I have, I often find that the time flies by, and I'm more willing to push myself because I don't want to seem like a wuss.  It's similar with personal finance, you may feel like you're alone and the only person who doesn't know what you're doing, but that's never the case.  Active.com, which is one of my go-to sites for health and training info, made a nice list of 9 Reasons a Marathon Training Group is Good For You, and I think a lot of it applies to personal finance too!

One of my other favorite personal fitness blogs is Lotus and Pie (though I don't really think she eats a lot of pie...).  Not only is Jenn super ripped and awesome, but she posts tons of training videos that you can do at home. Yes, I've been too lazy to do most (any) of them, but it's nice to know where to find them and to read about her progress.

Spring Link Love

It's spring! It hit 80 degrees in Rhode Island this week!  That's unreal and I was in a panic about what to wear as I keep being fearful of being trapped somewhere cold.  But since spring is almost here, springlike weather is definitely here (my co-worker's turtle came out of hibernation this week), let's do some celebrating.

--Big props to Color Me Katie for reminding me that even though I don't have a plot of land to work with, I could still create a lovely green space for people to enjoy--and I will.

--Thank you, Heidi, for being such an awesome listmaker!  Now that it's getting warmer and warmer, we need to think about what kind of delicious cooling beverages would be most fun to drink.  Heidi put together a fantastic list.  including this one:

Classy and delicious?  Yes please!

--Even though I'm not planting a garden this year (I know, I know, I feel guilty every year, but maybe I'll plant something...), you might be!  Leah Ingram at Suddenly Frugal composed a quick and easy tutorial on what you should be doing to get ready for planting time.  And she also included a slogan, from Wal-Mart of all places, that I really like: “Spend $1 and get $20 worth of food.”

--Also, let us not get so blinded by the sunshiney days that we forget we also need to spend time in a dark movie theatre watching THE HUNGER GAMES!  Umm, I'm probably there right now, as you're reading this.  And I can guarantee, I'm pretty pumped.  Annabelle over at Shopping Detox composed a list of Frugal Fashion Lessons from The Hunger Games. Fashion + Frugality + Awesome = duh.

--And now for something completely different.  I suck at negotiating.  I've mentioned this before, and I chalk it up to my Midwestern "nice"ness, the fact that I don't know when negotiating is ok, and that I honestly just never think of it.  It seems to me that the reward gained by negotiating is not worth the feeling of discomfort it gives me.  But this is just me guessing, because I never actually negotiate.  Thankfully, Jezebel.com laid out a lovely step-by-step guide to negotiation--and it's awesome.

This person, Christine Borne Nickras, hit on another reason why I'm trying to drive as little as possible, because being in your car isolates you.  It isolates you from the world, the weather and other people.  Part of the reason people find New york so invigorating is because people are out and about all the time.  I'm not a big house-leaver, my hobbies are reading and internetting, both of which are most comfortable from my home office, but I realized once I started going running outside just how much of a charge you get from people-watching.  And I don't even like people that much.  I think this line sums up the way that I try to look at my own amenities every time I get a little bit down about being poor, "understand that your car is a luxury. Understand that when you get in your car to run a ten-minute errand, the same errand might take someone without a car two hours on the bus. When you turn your key in the ignition, please feel the same sense of wonder and good fortune that I feel every time I take my dirty clothes down to the basement instead of hauling them to the laundromat: what a lucky person I am to not only live in a world where someone was smart enough to invent this thing that makes my life easier, but that I, by some additional happenstance of good fortune, can have one."

--Finally--for your awesome springlike polka dotted nails, we turn to The Beauty Department.

OMG

Link Love: The Rules edition

Didn't care for the show, but I do like Jaime Bamber
He's the cheekbones on the left

I like rules.  I like Law and Order (not the tv show, I find it boring and tedious), I especially like it when you can access an expert who will tell you something that you want to know in a thoughtful and helpful manner.  Therefore, I present to you, my list of the best blogs for helping with certain aspects of life that we all need help with--even if we didn't know we did.

• For tips on how to blog, I turn to Jessica Quirk at What I Wore.  She is also one of my go-tos for outfit and fashion ideas. This woman is stylish and smart, and I totally want to have lunch with her, maybe just follow her around for a while, but not in a creepy way (promise).  She also does her blog as a business, has interns, and gets invited to fashion week events--clearly she knows what she's doing.  Her book, What I Wore, is how I first discovered her--thank you new books cart at the library, and it's a very thoughtful and well-done instruction manual on matching, dressing for your body type, outfit remixes and looking like you have style, even if you may not.

• Manners, life is much better, for everyone, when you deal with people who have manners.  I'm not talking about going completely overboard like the British do sometimes, but rather just knowing how to act in certain social situations.  Oftentimes, special occasions come up rather infrequently, and you're not quite sure what to do (at least this happens to me pretty often).  Then I get stressy and nervous and don't have a good time.  Reading up on the rules of decorum beforehand can alleviate that stress, and allow you to actually have a good time!  Living the dream!  Lauren Conrad tackles some frequent and infrequent social situations for which we may all need a manners brush up in: The Ladylike Laws.

So many social rules!

• If you want to take your manners to the next level, check our Forever Young Adult's How to be a Ladynerd Downton Abbey series.  Even of you don't want to be a full-on LadyNerd, it might really come in handy to know how to make a home-made fascinator or serve a high tea.

• Wasting food sucks and it's just like throwing money away, but I often find that I can't or don't know how to store produce properly to make it last.  Enter: This handy list from My Thirty Spot: How to Store Fruits and Vegetables so They Don't Rot.  I printed this off, and I keep it in my kitchen with my cookbooks--genius!

If anyone else has found awesome online tutorials etc., please give them a shout out in the comments.  We can always learn more.

Free Art! Link Love

Oh Canada!  What will they think of next?  Canada is phasing out paper money in favor of a polymer that is harder to counterfeit, more durable, recyclable and has a groovy maple leaf window on it.  The instructional video shows it off in all its glory, and the guy doing the narration seems to have run out of things to say because by the end he's just saying "Look at it."

It's clear!

Something pretty amazing happened to me this week, which resulted in me getting free, one-of-a-kind art used in a major Hollywood film.  Intrigued?  I would be.  I blogged about it on my other blog, since, aside from free art, it has nothing to do with frugality.


People can be really, really stupid about their money.  Obviously, I'm a budgeting nerd and know exactly where every penny goes, but there are a lot of people who are the complete opposite of that. Andrea at So Over Debt, takes on a couple of them,


Do you tip a lot for the holidays?  I never really have because I don't have people that I get regular services from i.e. trainer, cleaning person, but I admit I don't really know the rules.  Michelle at Making Sense of Cents tackled the subject and got some good comments too.

Holy November Link Love

It's November. I don't really have strong feelings about November except that it's a gateway to the HOLIDAY SEASON, which actually began this year in late August, I believe.  No matter, November is a month of pumpkin flavored offerings, and I will not complain about that.  I love me a gourd.

This November, my friend Nicolette is trying out a No-Buy-Vember, which is very clever wordplay--and I wish her luck.  When I saw how clever that name is, I was tempted to try it myself, but let's be honest, I'm still reeling from No New Clothes in October, so I would fail at No-Buy-Vember just as I always have at other No-Buy Months.  I am a weak, weak girl.  Good luck, Nicolette!!


This is awesome: pre-made salad in a jar.  All you have to do is assemble, throw it in the fridge, and then shake before eating.  Brilliant!!  Eat your veggies, people!

Top 10 Style Essentials according to Tim Gunn, and broken down by my friend Melissa.  I love Tim Gunn.  I feel like he would look at my wardrobe, offer helpful critique and then I would just feel good about myself even if he said "replace everything--what were you thinking?!"

How to resuscitate stale crackers--brilliant!  I quit buying saltines because I could  never finish a packet without them going bad--maybe I'll try this next time.

Sunday Link Love

How to store fruits and vegetables so they don't rot!  Brilliant!  I think I may print this off and hang it on the fridge.  I am determined, after the massive amounts of food waste of the past month, to avoid food waste by any means necessary!  This list will help.

Look what still exists!  It's a slap bracelet that tells you the time!  I bought a super low-rent version of this at a small-town gas station in Vermont, but this website's version of the slap bracelet watch actually seems sort of non-crappy.  Don't know if I'll buy one, but it warms the cockles of my heart to know that these are out there.

This is depressing: Since When is it a Crime to Be Poor?

This sure looks good: Grilled Zucchini Dip with Flatbread and Crackers, and it fits in with my goal to consume a lot of zucchini.  I think I'll make it for dinner tonight.

I bought this beer while in New Brunswick only because it had a LOL Cat on the label.  Turns out--it's delicious!  We left Canada before the liquor stores opened, so I couldn't bring any back with me, but if anyone goes to NB any time soon, please pick me up some??  Please??

The Internet is Magic

• All hail The Frugal Girl!  This list of five ways to avoid frugal burnout is fab, practical and a good reminder for even the most frugal person out there.
• This is bunk " Single men have a 32% higher risk of death across their lifetime, and single women have a 23% higher risk. That means that "under the worst-case scenario" single men could die 17 years earlier than married men, and single women could die 15 years earlier."  When I was single, I had more time to exercise and I ate far, far less candy.  I'm so sick of people making it seem like you're incomplete or going to die alone/ early if you're not married.
• Couponing Etiquette!  Yes!  Don't be a jerk and take ALL of the sale toothpaste.  It's sad that you have to remind people of this.
• I love zucchini and it's hella cheap this time of year.  I haven't made this recipe yet, but I'm pretty stoked about it.

  

  Marinated Zucchini Salad
  
  

  

  Fancy wedding treats a friend of mine is having.  OMG

  

The Internet is Magic

• I like this post from The Everyday minimalist very much: You don't need to own everything to enjoy it.  As a librarian, clearly this speaks to me, but as someone who is constantly trying to reduce clutter, it's nice to remember that you can borrow more than books!  Just look at this list of tools and other items available to borrow in my town!  Granted, this is not my neighborhood, but I could join for $5 and borrow a rake, lawnmower or gazebo!  $5+ lending fee = much cheaper than buying my own gazebo.  The libraries in my state also lend fishing poles, cake and candy molds, museum passes and a telescope.  Borrowing rules!
• This seems really strange:  "A new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that seeing someone else in an outfit has a strong influence over customers who have a negative body image."  Apparently people have such low self-esteem that they won't buy clothes after seeing them on an attractive person.  Does that make me vain because I see someone wearing something and think I want to wear that!?
• Librarians both write and read a lot of book reviews--this list speaks to me on several levels.

Reverse Grafitti!

The Internet is Magic

On Sundays I post a few links for fun stuff I discovered in the past week.  It may not have much to do with frugality, but it also may--you never know what you're going to get!

• So I found this video, and watched it.  All I have to say is: why? How long does it take to do this, and why would you?
• Have you discovered Swackett?  It's a weather website, but unlike most that just have pictures of happy suns and stormy clouds--Swackett tells you what to wear!  You can also put it on your smart phone (I don't have a smart phone), which seems a bit silly to me because if you're out and about, you can't really change clothes--unless you go buy something (not frugal).  But seriously, it's awesome.

• The eight worst types of blogs via Confessions of a Science Librarian via Cracked.com.  We've all encountered these at one time or another, I'm sure, and I personally fell victim to: "The Parrot Blog. This is a blog which seems to exist solely to reprint, quote or link to other people's content. You can find these blogs everywhere, but by their very nature, they prefer cropping up in the more heavily populated parts of the blogoverse."  I wrote a great and highly controversial blog post for my library blog (yes, I have like a million blogs), another blogger mentioned it, and one of my commentors gave her credit for it!  Not right! And yes, I realize the irony here in that I'm parroting one blog that's parroting another :)
• If you ever find yourself in Minnesota or North Dakota (my homeland) and wonder "what to do that helps me savor the unique flavor of the region?" peruse this list of all the random and usually food-based festivals around the region.
• It was too hot and humid to go running on Saturday, so I decided to do some yoga instead--here's how that turned out.

Watson looks pretty regal, but he wasn't doing the proper
breathing technique--not even trying.

Fun Stuff I Read this Week

A lot of bloggers tend to do a weekly wrap-up of good things they found via other blogs, etc.  I think I might start doing this, if for no other reason than it helps me keep track of it for myself!  Hee hee, seemingly altruistic, but actually self-serving.  We'll all benefit though, and I'll try to keep it up.

Stir Fried Tofu with Scallions, Garlic, Ginger and Soy Sauce

• Elizabeth posted this one first and as I remain intimidated by tofu, I snapped it up.  I don't know if she's made it yet either, but one of us is bound to at some point!

• I found a new book at work, which then led me to a tumblr: What I Wore, which I now love. Why did I never read daily outfit blogs before?  I love seeing what Helen is wearing on Afeitar, but it didn't occur to me that there's a whole world of these out there!  Cue the reduction in productivity.

• Kristen goes canopy walking and zip lining at the Whitefish Mountain Resort and I'm insanely jealous--but I'm always jealous of her adventures.

• Forever YA is re-telling one of my all-time favorite books, Little Women, but this time from the perspective of the characters.  This section is from the point of view of the Hummel family--you know, the poor people that the Marches are always bringing food to--yeah, I kind of forgot about them too.   It's Hard Out There For a Hummel