King Richard's Faire

Last Sunday, I visited King Richard's Faire with a couple of friends, Marie and Lavette, pictured above.  If you're not familiar with King Richard's Faire, it  is an annual New England renaissance festival held on an 80-acre parcel of land in Carver, MA. 

This was my first visit to King Richard's Faire.  My longtime friend, Fran, pictured with me above, was one of the performers at this year's festival. 

Lavette enjoyed the festival.

Marie & Fran

Marie, posing with some of the entertainers 

We enjoyed listening to the bagpipes.

Fran, talking with the other performers

fire eater

jousting match

knife throwing event

Marie and Lavette enjoyed the knife throwing event.  While the knives were flying, I made sure to keep my distance when snapping their photos.

Several characters were on stilts.

We had a great time at King Richard's Faire.  Although the cost of admission was a bit on pricey side at $25.00 per person, I was able to find discount coupons online with AAA.  

Thanks for stopping by

Staying Warm with Electric Fireplaces

There's definitely a fall chill in the air here in New England!  When I woke up this morning, it was a brisk 35°F outside.  My husband set the thermostat to 65°F before we went to bed, and I turned on the electric fireplace in our bedroom.  


 If you're considering buying an electric fireplace, I highly recommend them.  They add the warmth and ambiance of a real fireplace without the soot or mess.   I am so crazy about them that we have four of them in our home.   If you're a regular visitor here, you'll recognize the Dimplex electric stove, pictured above, in our breakfast nook.  It has a fabulous heater and its warm glow makes the room feel so cozy on a cool day!

A few years ago, my husband had bought me one of those gel fuel fireplaces for the living room  for Christmas.  However, we quickly found out the gel fuel is very expensive.  Instead of throwing money away on fuel,  I invested in a Dimplex electric fireplace insert to use in the mantel.  After measuring the opening, I ordered one online, and it fit perfectly.  

I've always wanted a fireplace in our bedroom, so I found this old mantel on eBay.  It was a local auction, and I picked it up for only $50.00.  Once it was home, I painted it and added a tile surround.  I then measured the opening and ordered this Dimplex 30-inch electric fireplace insert along with a trim kit. It is definitely a frugal alternative to the expensive electric fireplaces I have seen in local furniture stores.

When my sister-in-law  moved to Texas with her family a couple of years ago, she gave us this electric fireplace.  I was thrilled because I had just started decorating my mom cave/office at the time, and it was a perfect fit below where the television is mounted on the wall.  Before moving it into the room, I removed the firebox and painted the mantel surround black.   It looks great in the room.  When I turn on the heater and close the door, my office is toasty warm within minutes.

The best thing about having electric fireplaces throughout the house is we  definitely save on our heating bills.  We keep the thermostat down low in the winter, then turn on one of the fireplaces in whatever room we are using.


We are planning on remodeling our finished basement in the spring. Our daughter will be using the area much of the time, and she prefers more of a contemporary style than what we have in the rest of the house.  It can get a bit drafty in the basement, so an electric fireplace would keep it toasty warm down there on chilly days.  I  found this Dimplex wall-mounted electric fireplace I will likely order; its contemporary style will work well in the room.


Thanks for stopping by, and stay warm!

Fall Fashion Deals

It's that time of year again; time to swap out the summer clothing and accessories for the fall and winter threads.  I was on the hunt for some fall wardrobe updates.  Being a frugal gal, naturally I didn't want to spend a fortune.  After scoping out the bargains online, I headed out to our local Payless Shoe Store, armed with a 20% off coupon.  There was a cute pair of cozy, fur-lined Airwalk Myra  boots on their website I liked.  They were regularly $44.95, but this week, they were on sale for $34.99.  With the 20% off coupon, they were $27.99!  These boots are super comfy; they feel just like slippers on and will keep my feet toasty warm on those chilly New England days!  I think they'll look great with a pair of tucked-in straight leg jeans.

Next, I found these Airwalk Blizzard Cozy Slip-On shoes in gray plaid.  They're fur-lined, so they're super comfy!  There's also a tab on the back, so I can add a piece of black ribbon to each as ankle ties to give them a different look.  They were originally $24.99, but were on sale for $16.99.  With the 20% off discount coupon, I paid $13.59 for them. 

While I was at Payless, I went over to look at their earrings.  Since I have a nickel allergy, I can only wear nickel-free earrings.  Many of the earrings were on sale, and I found a three-pack of nickel-free earrings, two pairs of hoops and a pair of medallion earrings for $5.99.  With my 20% off discount coupon, I paid $4.79 for the three pairs!  


If you want the Payless 20% off coupon, which is good until October 31, click here.

After leaving Payless Shoe Store, I headed over to my local Dress Barn armed with a 25% off coupon.  As soon as I walked in the store, I fell in love with this tweed pointelle cascade long cardigan that was on display!  I just HAD to have it.   However, when I went over to the rack, they only had size extra-large left, and I usually wear medium. I asked the salesperson if she would check the one on display, to see if it was a medium. Sadly, it was a small.  However, she encouraged me to try it on anyway, which I did. To my surprise, it was quite roomy for a small and fit perfectly!  From now on, I will look further than my usual size, if I find something I just can't live without.   However, then I looked at the price tag, and it was $59.99--ouch!  I would never pay that for a sweater, as much as I liked it, although this one was more like a coat than a sweater.  However, with my 25% off coupon, I paid $44.99 for it!  You can find the 25% coupon on Dress Barn's Facebook page.





I am thrilled with my bargains. I definitely think today's shopping trip was a huge success!

Apple Crisp

If you've been apple picking recently and are wondering what to do with all those apples, this is a quick and easy dessert the whole family will love!

Ingredients:

• 4-6 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking  oats
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ice cream or frozen yogurt, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease the bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.
2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except ice cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt. 

Enjoy!

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Harvest Hoedown at Smith Farm

It's been such a busy week, between homeschooling and work; I've barely had time to catch my breath, let alone blog. Anyway, I started this post on Tuesday, but my camera battery died before I could finish downloading all the photos from our visit to the Harvest Hoedown at Smith Farm  on Columbus Day. I did manage to recharge the battery on Tuesday.  However, this is the first chance I've had to finish the post.

We had a blast at the hoedown! The weather was warm and beautiful; it felt more like the middle of the summer than fall.

There was so much to see and do.  We started with a tour of the farm animal area.

There were goats...

and sheep...

and chickens...

and horses...

 and ponies.

There were beautiful fall displays throughout the farm.

That's my husband and our daughter in the photo above.

There were many fun, family activities.

We're  just a couple of friendly ghosts.  

I warned him not to feed the creatures.

The gift shop, located next to the farm stand, had wonderful fall displays.

There was live music...

and lots of pumpkins...

and, of course, hayrides.

My husband was enjoying the hayride...

as was our daughter and her friend, Lauren.

We stopped at the pumpkin patch looking for white pumpkins, but they were all gone.

When the hayride was over, we headed over to the farm stand to buy some cider and a few autumn goodies before heading home.

I snapped a photo of this barn on the way out of the farm.  

We had a great time at the Harvest Hoedown at Smith Farm.  I was inspired by the fall displays.  When we came home, I put together my own fall display to welcome visitors near our front door.  Once it stops raining here, I'll take a few pictures.

Thanks for stopping by!