flowers

Edible Flowers Make Cheap Food Beautiful Again

Those of you with gardens are probably entering a new season of produce. Squash plants are getting icky, but they are still producing more zucchini and summer varieties than you can handle. If you are looking for a bit of variety in your day, why not give the flowers a try!

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DIY - Silk Flower Brooch

There's a company in my area that makes silk flower brooches that are sold at Nordstrom for $60 a pop. I occasionally see these silk flower brooches at Nordstrom and feel like, well, screaming.

Why? Because I know that each brooch costs less than $5 to make.

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The best things in life are (more or less) free

Now, at the risk of sounding like a great big softy, I have to share a moment that I experienced recently that reminded me of the real value of money and the place I want it to have in my life.

Over the weekend, I was driving around Queen Anne hill in Seattle, trying to find a place that I plan on volunteering at in the near future. Seattle is a nice city, but it is mostly made up of dead-end one-way streets and a couple major highways, patrolled largely by small women with small cell phones in large SUVs who seem unaware that anyone else could possibly occupy part of the road as well.

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Snail Free Gardening

Green gardening should be cheap. Organic gardening was the way of the world before chemical companies found ways to create compounds that could destroy pests quickly and effectively. The thing that makes organic gardening less-favored than, say, using pesticides, is that it's not as efficient. You have to put more effort into organic gardening.

But it's worth it. It's cheap, it's fun, and you can protect your water supply. Remember, whatever we spray on our lawns and gardens ends up in our drinking water.

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Couplehood: Avoiding the Valentine Clichés

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, and you know what that means: lots of people are going to buy lots of dumb crap. But you are above and beyond that, because you read Wise Bread. I’m not saying that Wise Bread readers are smarter than everyone else, but I’m definitely implying it.

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Flower Power - A Guide to Frugal Valentine's Flowers

Everyone knows that Valentine's Day can be pricey. Flowers, dinner, gifts (if you're that type) easily put a dent in anyone's wallet.

Well, preparation is the best prevention... or something like that. Want to save a little this Valentine's Day? Get ready now.

Order your flowers ahead of time. That means now.

Buy a vase before you buy your flowers. Sometimes, florists will offer really nice vases for cheap. A simple clean vase is great; if you know where you are going to order your flowers, call ahead and ask how much they charge for a vase. It should never cost more than $4. At least, that's my cut-off point.

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