Entries from October 2009

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Freebie Friday (October 30-November 5, 2009)

More Halloween freebies, plus free food from Boston Market, Taco Bell and Uno Chicago Grill. Yum! Halloween Freebies Order an assortment of 12 or more Halloween cookies (below) from online organic bakery Beautiful Sweets, and you’ll get eight free Halloween cookies with your order. (This offer is good through October 31st.) Theatre Artists Workshop members [...]

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Last-Minute Freebie for 10/28/09

I just heard about this freebie being offered today, Wednesday, October 28th, in New York City. If you’re a Yankees or Phillies fan–or even just a fan of cheesesteak–you’ll want to know about this offer. Here are the details: The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is hosting a Phillies fan party in New York [...]

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Sustainable Food Awards

Know someone who contributes to the sustainable food world? Then nominate him/her for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Growing Green Awards 2010. There are four categories for people to enter: Food Producer Business Leader Thought Leader Water Steward Winners receive $10,000. Not too shabby! The panelists selecting winners this year include Michael Pollan, author [...]

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

3 Ways to Green Halloween

It’s no surprise that when you try to green your Halloween, you’ll likely save some money, too. Here are 3 quick ways you can make this Halloween a bit more eco-friendly; these tips are courtesy of my friend Jodi Helmer, author of the awesome book The Green Year (Alpha Books, 2008), which provides 365 simple [...]

Monday, October 26th, 2009

3 DIY Halloween Costumes on the Cheap

Whenever possible I try to spend as little as possible on my kids’ Halloween costumes. That’s why I really appreciate these three DIY Halloween costumes-on-the-cheap ideas from the folks at iVillage. While they’re designed for kids, I think any grown up could pull one of these off, too. 1. Bunch of Grapes Start with: Purple [...]

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Mea Culpa on the DIY CSA

So maybe I overreacted at the state of my current CSA farm and didn’t give the farmers enough credit for how hard it was to produce, well, produce during this difficult growing climate this year. To all the people who posted comments and sent me private emails–you’re right: I have no idea how difficult it [...]

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Freebie Friday (October 23-29, 2009)

Halloween freebies, get yer Halloween freebies in this week’s Freebie Friday post–along with info on non-Halloween freebies available in the next seven days, too! Halloween Freebies On October 24, 2009, Gaylord Opryland Resort, in Nashville, Tenn., will hold a Peanuts Look-A-Like Contest. Charlie Brown and Snoopy will be there in person to host the contest [...]

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Landscaping on the Cheap

When I was writing my Suddenly Frugal book, I found a spending figure that gave me pause: Americans spend billions (with a “b”) each year by hiring professional landscapers to spruce up their yards. Well, I wasn’t about to become just another spending statistic. After keeping the costs of our renovation project in check by [...]

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Grandma's Greener Than You Are

Your grandmother–or my mother–is/was likely greener and more frugal than you/I could ever be. And that was the topic of Laura Vanderkam’s op-ed in yesterday’s USA Today, which happens to quote me and mentions the frugality with which I was brought up. Hey, ma, how you like them apples?

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

4 Ways the Recession Will Affect Holiday Shopping

Holiday spending is expected to be down this year, like it was last year, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s no surprise to me from my own unscientific survey of holiday shopping healthiness. Usually by this time of the year, I have been booked for a holiday shopping media tour. In years past I’ve [...]