Thursday, February 28, 2008

Al fresco

I looked long and hard at this round tablecloth. Linens were 1/2 price, but I made myself walk away.

Two weeks later, linens 1/2 price again. 8 matching napkins hung next to the cloth! Now I have a $3 set for my outdoor table.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Linens are my biggest weakness. I buy more than I need...but I love to use them. I change them often. I always buy at thrift stores or garage sales..EXCEPT once a year we go to the outlet store in San Antonio Texas. I go a little NUTTY there. The store actually has a 'husband's waiting room' for the men to wait while their wife shops. My husband is kind enough to let me shop till I drop. I buy towels by the pound there. Yes, they are not perfect, but I never have a problem with them. I buy the fancy hotel style towels, the big thick towels....I plan this trip for 1 time a year and budget for it.
Enjoy your al fresco table linens. We are lucky that in Texas we can eat out on our patio almost year round. We often have coffee and read the paper there on Saturday mornings. We just love to eat out side. Any meal, even hot dogs and beans taste good out side.
Thanks for the blog. Meredith your such an inspiration. Bless you. Roxie

Anonymous said...

Honestly, $3 for tablecloths when you already have some would be better spent toward buying healthier food for your menu, don't you think?

Which is more important, your family's health or bringing home more junk?

You're always talking about proportion. $3 is like 6% of your food budget.

Anonymous said...

I can not even believe that someone would post such a rude and snarky comment. I could only think of how nice it will be for you and your family to enjoy a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting. You take such care in creating and sharing the beauty you make for your family with all of us. My thoughts will be for understanding and hope that the person that has so little joy in their life that they posted something so rude will find some of the love and joy that you share on a daily basis with your family and with all of us. Huge hugs and blessings to you!

Anonymous said...

You have a family of four. You can't even buy 4 placemats at the dollar store for what you paid for the tablecloth and napkins. I think you did very well.

Ruth

Anonymous said...

Personally, I would have snatched it up at 6 bucks and never looked back.

Anonymous said...

To the anonymouse ;-) poster at 10:13 am, why don't you share with us Your menu since it is so healthy. I think Meredith did very well, it looks like she has at least 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. She has seafood, vegetarian meals and they are baked not fried.

Thanks for sharing with us Meredith. You inspire many of us.

Hugs
Kathy

Anonymous said...

Some people! Meredith, your menu AND your linens are, as always, - near perfection.

I'd like to know how that woman would improve upon your menu especially since you must make sure it is healthy for a diabetic adult.

I've always seen your mission and message as milking you budget to live elegantly on fumes.

Keep it up girl. We love you and think you are brilliant!!!!

Heather

Anonymous said...

You know Meredith, I am sorry that someone who does not have guts to leave his/her name takes a nasty swipe at you for your efforts. I know that you do not take it personal. Someone with more time than brains is just making him/herself feel better by poking at you. So please do not stop posting your family recipes, menus, and ideas. You have a lot of fans who love you for what you share and share the same values.

When I was a child I learned if I can not say something nice to someone OR about someone do not say it at all. Just because you can be anonymous does not give you the right to be ugly to someone. If you do not like it, keep it to yourself.

Thanks Meredith. I know the time and efforts that must go into your blog. I admire the talents you share. You are a great blessing to most of us here who come several times a day to see what you and your sweet wonderful family are doing. Thank you from a big fan. Roxie Meiske (that is my real name)

Beth said...

Anonymous-with-the-smart-mouth, I make different choices than Meredith does. I imagine none of us reading this spend exactly the same amount or eats the same meals, etc.

My feeling is that Meredith is living according the spending plan she and her husband have worked out. If he doesn't have a problem eating $50 groceries off a thrift store tablecloth, then who cares??

What is this magical $3 health food that is missing from their menu plan, BTW?

It's a blog, for goodness' sake, she's writing down what she does with her life and sharing pictures. She's not laying down the Law from Mount Sinai telling us what to feed our families and what to put on the tables.

It's fun to read about how other people live, and it's fun sometimes to feel superior in how we live. But if you're going to go public with your superiority then sign your name to it.

TJ said...

This is beautiful! I have almost no table linens, but the only table I own is outside with the dog, so we don't have a current use for them.

Glad you got such a deal! And don't feel one bit bad about spending the money. All of us make the decision of where to put our money, our family of 4 food budget is very similar to yours. Sometimes I go over budget on food, so I don't pick up fun house things. My choice, my life, I hope all will respect that.

Anonymous said...

Your home sounds like a very secure and lovely environment. I have a weakness for linens too. :) But oh, my, those poor, undernourished, hungry, fainting, weak, tired little paupers at your house who have only bread crumbs and weak gruel to eat . . . Oh, poor, poor, poor babies!
Vicky

Melissa said...

You cant beat a price like that!

Amy said...

Wow on that second commenter who is too lily-livered to leave a name.

Just for you there "anonymous" - I'd have paid $50 bucks for that stuff! Maybe more. I don't have a lick of sense (and I read Meredith for inspiration).

The linens are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Meredith, I have a weakness for linens too - I love a pretty table! Those are pretty and a good price. BTW I think your menu down below is wonderful so I don't get what that person has a problem with. Some people just have a perpetual bad attitude!

Manuela

Leigha said...

I love that your blog is so inspirational. It really does inspire me to try to make our home look more lovely on a limited budget. Thanks for sharing your creativity, Meredith! If someone doesn't like what you post about, then they don't have to read your blog, in my opinion.

Rachel said...

Goodness gracious!

I love linens. I have weeded thru mine alot over the years...and yet there always seems to be an overabundance of them...lol.

We don't eat outside very often (our home is not well laid out), but I suspect that we may do that more often after our upcoming move...I wish I could come across such nice deals at my local thrift store, but I do my best (I did find a Sterling Silver dish for just under $4 once...snatched that puppy up, of course...lol)...

Bless you for sharing, Meredith...

Rachel

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Now that's my kind of bargain too! Those are great finds.

I'll be chomping at the bit too waiting for yardsales to start. Love them!! It's always fun to stop by here.

Rhoda

Anonymous said...

Very nice and a good deal. But I must confess my first thought was "Meridith got more tablecloths?" Lol.

Anonymous said...

Oh I love it! It would go perfectly with my outdoor table and chairs too! I will most definitely be on the lookout for a nice thrifty set too!

Sherry

Anonymous said...

Great post. Being a good homemaker is about more that just stretching your food dollars and planning nutritious meals. It is about creating an atmosphere of grace, beauty and hospitality that your family can grow and thrive in. Thank you for the continued inspiration! Julie Schaal

~Red Tin Heart~ said...

Beautiful... xoxox nita

Anonymous said...

Yo, Meredith,

I was thinking that you need MORE napkins.

Seriously.

We go through a tablecloth every few days (when I use them), but we use between 12 and 20 napkins EVERY day.

And, yes, we do have napkin rings. But we also have teenagers. And teenagers' friends. And I pack a cloth napkin in DH's lunch. We use napkins at snack time. And when the Girl Scouts are over, I can almost generate a laundry-load of napkins from one troop meeting!

Someday your kids will be teens too. And your house will also be overrun with hungry piranha fish.

So, I'd be keeping an eye out for coordinating napkins.

Jora