The Art of the Cheap

 

 

Isn't it nice to take a selfie in front of a Mark Rothko painting? I picked it because it went well with Tommy's shirt. This painting is like an old friend, since I have seen it many times as I've walked through the Albright Knox Gundlach Art Gallery. The courtyard is a newer addition to the building and is free for anyone to enter and walk through. It is referred to as "The Town Square."

It's always so heartening to see a parent exposing their child to the arts. Especially when they take the time to discuss and talk about what is in front of them. We walked behind this man and his boy for most of the exhibit and it was so wonderful to see them experience the beautiful paintings together. Part of the exhibit highlighted the work of a group of Canadian artists, referred to as "The Group of Seven." Having the component of a tangible neighbor/relationship to what was on display would, I think make for even more interesting discussion. It certainly was for us!

The Exhibit is "Northern Lights," and all of the artists and subjects were from Northern countries where the phenomenon of the celestial formation of the same name is a huge geographic factor in how light interacts with art and the environment. I labelled Munch's paintings, because most people just associate him with his famous painting "The Scream." There is so much more to appreciate in his body of work.

These were some of my favorite pieces. And while the exhibit is not big, it was very crowded because it was opening night. We attended for the reception and free beer! Our plan is to go back on a weekday to get a better view of each piece. Our museum membership means these receptions and general admission are always free.

Rather than going out to eat afterwards, I pulled together a pasta and pesto dinner using herbs from the yard, sunflower seeds, grated cheese, with lots of olive oil. It was a great way to use up our last pepper and also cut some lemon basil from our garden. 

The art museum was a Thursday night event. On Friday I went out to do some artful cheaping. First, I saw that my big fear of price increases as a result of tariffing was not misplaced. The Dollar Tree is raising prices -- as I had predicted they would. We needed square boxes of tissues -- now up to $1.50 from $1.25. I did not buy them there. The first thing I did, was open my Walmart app, where a four pack was significantly less, so that was an order which was shipped to the house. Last week, I purchased eight rolls of aluminum foil on Flashfood; 50 feet for $1.50. DT is selling rolls half that size for $1.75!

We were down to only one container of body wash in our HBA supply closet. My favorite source is Burlington, and I was able to buy one for $5.99. I plan to keep my eye open for deals as this is a product that usually comes from overseas, so I expect increases. I used to keep Neutrogena Rainbath in our shower, but it's not only too pricey these days, it's hard to get in the more value-conscious large size. One item I have been purchasing at DT, is coconut oil. I don't cook with it; I use it for a moisturizer! It's a budget replacement for Neutrogena Sesame body oil. The size at DT is perfect for my gym bag. As for the preserves, they are raspberry and HFC-free. $1.25 is a good price for a jar of jam. The moisturizer is for my gym bag -- and DT is cheaper than Wallie's.

Often, I place multiple Flashfood orders in the same day because I can hit more than one outlet in a single car trip. The Dashmart had Lemonade, jalapeno peppers, and ground beef. Tops had guacamole. When I went to Tops, I checked out a clearance endcap and found Goya green olives stuffed with anchovies marked down.

Earlier in the week, I ordered three bottles of lemon juice from Flashfood for 75 cents a bottle. When I saw the lemonade on Friday, I decided to buy it even though it is sweetened.  What I did, was make a mixture of half of the strawberry lemonade, and the half unsweetened lemonade made from the concentrate. That cut down on the sugar. One of my favorite things, is the sparkling pink lemonade Aldi sells for $3.99 a bottle. My cheat was to carbonate my mixture in the Soda Stream. This mix is a delicious base for a backyard cocktail -- I added chambord and limoncello to a glass, with a few lemon mint leaves.

Today, I picked up two bottles of the fancy lemonade at Aldi, because it's now on seasonal clearance for $1.99 a bottle. I wanted it for the bottles. They're worth the $1.99 alone. 

The beef and guac were the foundation of my taco dinner last night. We had the tacos for supper, and I made a taco omelet for breakfast -- which was delicious! I then mixed the remains together to create a dip. We have plenty of chips because I found a great deal for corn chips on Ff.  I had made that order because the Tops which had them was only a short drive from the gallery and on our way home on Thursday. The sell by date is the end of the month but they will be consumed long before then! The chips are organic and marked down to $1.69 per bag. The taco shells were from Dollar Tree quite a while ago -- but still crunchy.

Here are some of the items I am stocking up on which I got through Walmart. The toothpaste is $1.00 per tube -- which is cheaper than Dollar Tree. It can only be purchased in store, and Tommy was going past one and popped in to buy this pile. I expect the tinned fish to go up in price, so I just wanted more on hand. I already explained about the tissue. 

I do a lot of my shopping based on what I can cheaply pull together for dinner. My Flashfood order had a great price for sushi, so I picked up three trays. My plan was to serve it with a salad, which I purchased on sale from Price Rite. I did also order more cheese from PR. Three of the rolls are charcuterie types -- wrapped in pepperoni. This will be a pizza making convenience. The turkey will be used for dog food.

Price Rite carries my favorite pasta, imported from Italy -- so I always pick up at least one package since I expect tariff increases. I did have Tommy pick up more EVOO from Aldi once I heard of the 15% the EU settled on. Price Rite also had good deals on fruit.

Tommy wanted soft dog treats, and I wanted to pick up more sweetened syrup for ice cream making.  My first thought was to go to Marshall's. They are a great place to pick up specialty food items and pet accessories. I brought home three bags of treats that were on clearance for $4.50. I also picked up Madagascar Vanilla and Swiss Chocolate syrups. Before I buy, I do price comparisons on Google. The treats were $4.50 per bag -- which was a good deal (so I grabbed all three from the pegs). The syrups are $7.99 each -- about half the price I could buy them for from Walmart. That's why I always head to Marshall's or TJ Maxx when I need both of these items.

This is why I don't just go to one store and shop from a list. I find I can save a lot by crafting deals as I find them. I am a master cheapist!