The Magnificent Bloody Maria

If you’re anything like us, you probably have some extra tequila laying around from your Cinco de Mayo celebration.  And if you’re anything like us, you probably only ever drink tequila in Magaritas (or, of course, solo as a shot)!  But that’s all about to change.  Just in time for Memorial Day, we want to remind you of one of our favorite Fab & Fru uses for tequila: The Bloody MARIA! 

New Take On A Classic Fave

You all know by now that being Fab & Fru requires a lot of creativity – but not a lot of cash.  By substituting your leftover Tequila – instead of Vodka – in your Bloody Mary, you’ll not only use something you have on hand, but you’ll also treat your guests to an unexpected delight!  And recycling and reusing is all the rage, right?

Make it Extra “Especial”

For an extra Fab & Fru presentation, just creatively label the drinks – all you need to do is stick a sign on a sombrero, it takes only two seconds, but makes it seem more special.  Another nice touch is to frost your cocktail glasses in the freezer for an hour before serving – it costs you nothing but definitely makes the bevvies look and taste even MORE Fab!

There are of course tons of recipes out there, but here is a basic one from our very Fab & Fru friend, Andrea Moya:

Andrea’s Bloody Maria

Makes 2 drinks

Ingredients:

3 oz. of Tequila
1 1/2 cups low sodium chilled tomato juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Garnish with your choice of cucumber wedge, celery stalk, or a piece of jicama

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients. Stir well. Pour into 2 tall frosted glasses with ice cubes. Garnish to taste.

Gracias to Andrea Moya for the Fab idea! Anyone else have unexpected uses for Tequila?  We want to hear from you – let us know! 

Hot Gifts Under $100

‘Tis the season to help graduates start their new lives…in style!  We’ve picked a few of our Fab & Fru favorites – under $100 – perfect for both the high school and college grad…

Fab & Fru Tools

When you think Jonathan Adler you think FABULOUS – and not at all frugal, right?  Well, check out his tool box gift set – for under $25!  It’s perfect for the grad who will finally be living alone.  Even if you don’t know the first thing about home repairs, at least you can look chic doing it!

Hoop-La!

Jewelry designer Adina Reyter is one of our favorites – our latest obsession is her “Hoop Bar” – a totally fabulous array of different sizes and shapes (hello, Hexagon!) of hoop earrings – in both gold plated and silver.  Choose more funky for the grad going off to college, and more understated for that college grad going on real world interviews.  Either way, she offers a huge selection of chic – all for under a hundred bucks!

Make It Monogrammed

We like treating grads to gifts they aren’t likely to splurge on for themselves – like monogrammed cell phone and laptop cases!  These gifts are practical and pretty – a totally stylish way to protect your tech investments.  Check out The Pink Monogram for a great selection – we particularly like the Boatman Geller iPhone cases – personalized and posh for only $68.

Congrats to all the grads out there – Fab & Fru salutes you!  And whatever you do, resist the temptation to rack up credit card debt on this next phase of your journey.  That little reminder is our gift to you! 

Wedding Bells Without Huge Bills

Nothing makes a wedding more special than adding your personal touch.  Though wedding magazines may make you feel every detail has to be professionally executed, it’s the homespun additions that are most memorable – not to mention the most cost effective.  By adding even a few Do-It-Yourself details, you can save a ton of dough!

Centerpieces

I used to work for a high-end floral designer.  I know how amazing flowers can be – and how outrageously expensive!  For my own wedding, my sister and I put together green fruit baskets as centerpieces to complement my verdant outdoor setting, our sage green invitations and party favors.  At the end of the night, we donated the centerpieces in honor of our guests to a local food pantry.  The centerpieces cost under ten dollars per table – versus what could easily have been hundreds per table.  They were simple, beautiful and went to an excellent cause!

Do Yourself a Favor

Instead of wasting hundreds of dollars on party favors your guests may not even notice, let them take home a little something to remember YOU by.

Maybe you’re a known for your baking skills, or your hubby-to-be makes a mean Manhattan.  Give your guests that secret recipe for your pineapple upside-down cake, signature cocktail, or your family’s famous marinara recipe. Fabulous LA-based event planner Mikki Kane remembers one of her favorite brides gave out tins of her famous praline cookies along with the recipe as a gift to her guests – sweet!

Table Your Spending

Before you spend a zillion dollars on high end linens and crystal, we have an idea to jazz up your tabletop that is absolutely FREE! When I got married, it was important to me to tell each guest how much it meant to me that they were there, but I worried I wouldn’t get a chance to speak to everyone individually.  The solution turned out to be both meaningful AND money-saving…

On each place card I wrote one sentence personalized to that guest to make them feel special and appreciated – it was a welcome surprise for the guests as they sat down to find their messages written just for them!  No one cared about the basic white linens or lack of fancy silverware – the thoughtful, personalized words were the talk of the table instead!

We’d love to hear some of your D.I.Y. wedding success stories – and of course, failures too – if you’re brave enough to share them.  Here’s to a summer of love …and savings! 

This time of year staying hydrated is KEY!  So Fab & Fru has got some awesome deals on drinks for you.  Whether you’re looking for a lactose free alternative to put on your favorite breakfast cereal, or some crystal clear H2O to go with your evening run – Whole Foods is your one stop beverage shop!

$1.00 off any two cartons of Shelf Stable Blue Almond Breeze

75 cents off any one Earth Balance Soy Milk

$1.00 off any one IZZE 4-pack 12-oz Glass

$3.00 off any one Glaceau Smart Water 1 liter case of 12 bottles

50 cents off any one bottle Glaceau Vitamin Water or Vitamin Water Zero

I’ll drink to that!

by Brandi Savitt – May 3rd, 2012

Gross the Most at Your Next Garage Sale

If you’ve ever strolled through Brooklyn between April and October, you know that you can’t walk down the streets on the weekends without stumbling upon multiple stoop sales (our urban version of a garage sale).  And this Sunday, my co-op is hosting a stoop sale in the front yard of our brownstone.  Our goal?  To sell as much unwanted clutter from our apartments as possible, and put our collective earnings towards a bunch of small repairs we need to make in the building.  At the end of the day, what ever we don’t sell we’ll donate to Goodwill. Not a bad idea, right?

In fact, I’m excited to mingle with the passerbys, bargain with hardcore rummagers, and rake in some cash.  Our expectations are high, so I talked to the one expert who rocks it every time – our favorite garage sale guru, Sofia Black.  Check out her tips on how to turn your front yard into an inviting and lucrative boutique for the day.  –Remember- one woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure!

Set Up Your Shop Strategically

When you’re setting up shop, think like a boutique owner and lure the foot traffic in with inviting and prominent signage.  Another trick to get people to stop and shop is to display an eye catching item at the front of sale that people can see from the street.  But the real strategic key to your set up is to keep any furniture and BIG ticket items closer to the house.  You want your customers to have a reason to walk through your entire display and see everything while they make their way back to those super steals!

Create Streamlined Displays

When your setting up your displays, keep in mind how YOU like to shop.  Categorize items into sections so it’s easier for people to peruse – women’s clothing, men’s shoes, housewares, etc.  If you’re selling a lot of clothes, try grouping all the like colors together a la Goodwill – it helps to create a more calming shopping experience.  Use brightly different colored stickers for price tags.  And set up a freebie box of things you know won’t sell.  People love to get something for free, and it encourages them to want to buy something else!

Get Your Cash in Check

The worst thing is to lose a sale because you can’t make change!  Make sure you go to the bank and get at least $30-40 worth of singles, some fives and some tens (these amounts will depend on what your selling and at what prices – do the math).  When you start to make some sales, take your initial investment out of the till before you forget – especially if your hosting the sale with other people!

Fab & Fru-nique Mother’s Day Presents

Don’t have a lot of money to spend on mom?  So what!  That’s no excuse for giving a boring Mother’s Day Gift.  If you think having “only” $20 bucks to spend means a another Target gift card tucked in with your Hallmark Card – THINK AGAIN.  In honor of May being Small Business Month, here are our favorite Fab & Fru gift ideas – all under $50 and all from small – but FAB – businesses!

For The Gourmet Mom:  Modern Bite

You’ve never seen cookies like these before!  For $30 you can give mom the most fabulous, modern designed “tile” cookies (see main photo) – and they taste as good as they look!  These tres chic sweets not only come individually wrapped – they are also packaged in a gorgeous gift box. Everyone we know who has tried Modern Bite is hooked …including us!

For The Artsy Mom:  Xenia Taler Picture Frames and Tiles

Speaking of tiles…We’ve written about our love for Xenia Taler handmade tiles before – and just in time for Mother’s Day they announced they are having a 20% off sale on their handmade tile photo frames – which means their $62 frames are now down to just under $50!

For The Letter-Writing Lady: Monkey Business Stationary

We love the letterpress stationary offerings from Monkey Business Press.  For $40, AHAlife is currently offering an exclusive “Here’s To You Mom!” boxed set of their 60s chic “bottles and glasses” blank notes with a huge added bonus – this hilarious “fill in the blank” card for you to give mom – which is a gift in itself…  If mom still insists on hand writing thank you notes (as we all should, by the way) this is the gift for her!

For The One-Of-A-Kind Mom:  Hooray For LaLa on Etsy

Leslie Robinson’s ETSY store, “Hooray For LaLa” is truly a treasure trove of, well….treasures!  She has compiled a fantasy land of one-of-a kind vintage finds to fit any budget.  Our favorite for mom?  This delightful mosaic brooch – at only $16 mom will think you spent way more!

Fab & Fru salutes all the small businesses out there for providing us with BIG gift ideas! 

This week’s article on LunckSkins reusable sandwich bags naturally got me thinking about my kids’ lunches.  Luckily, there are some great coupons out this week for organic and natural lunch items to pack for your wee ones (and yourself)!

From Mambo Sprouts:

$1.00 off any Rudi’s Organic Flatz Bread (Rudi’s is what our family eats – delish)

$1.00 off box off Clif Crunch granola bars

75 cents off Santa Cruz Organics apple sauce product (the apple/apricot is my kids’ favorite)

And from Whole Foods….

$1 off any two Cascadian Farms granola bars or cereals

$1 off any two Kashi granola bars

$1.50 off any two EnviroKidz crispy rice bars

$1.50 0ff any two Nature’s Path granola bars

Happy snacking!

Fab & Fru Holiday Yum

With Easter coming up on Sunday, it’s time to get creative and make some delicious snacks that will make your table festive, and WOW your guests’ taste buds!  Here are our favorite picks for making this holiday fun & yum – on a frugal budget…

Lollipop Chick & Bunny Planters

You know we are obsessed with Yummy Earth Organic Candy – we keep their treats on hand all year round.  Their products are full of great taste – and NOT full of icky stuff like chemicals and corn syrup.  And our friends at Yummy Earth came up with this very Fab & Fru Centerpiece for your Easter gathering – we love it because not only is it a decoration – it is also part of dessert!  Check out this week’s Organic Coupon Corner for deals on Yummy Earth Organic Candy, and then decorate away!  Besides the lollies, all you really need is some construction paper, and an old cup or planter. This is also a great idea to keep kids busy if you have a little craft table set up.  Or -if you don’t want the chaos, just do it yourself in advance!

Dark Chocolate Bird Nests

Last year, Carol Ramos from the blog The Pastry Chef’s Baking, published this adorable sweet and salty recipe from “A Year in Chocolate” by Alice Medrich – and it instantly became a Fab & Fru favorite.  Making these 3 ingredient Easter delights does takes a little time, but believe us – they’re totally worth it!

• 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (quality dark chocolate is totally worth the splurge here!)
• 3 cups or more thin pretzel sticks, salted or unsalted (break them up so they are different lengths)
• 1 bag of candy coated Cadbury Chocolate Eggs (you can also use Jordan Almonds too)
  
• Size bowl or box of your choosing, lined with plastic wrap for a large nest.  Use sheets of wax paper for smaller nests.
  

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cool to lukewarm. In a medium bowl, pour most of the chocolate over the pretzels. Use a rubber spatula to turn the pretzels gently in the chocolate until they are lightly coated, adding as much as the rest of the chocolate as necessary. It’s okay if some of the pretzel shows through the chocolate.

For a large basket or nest, scrape the pretzels into the lined bowl or box. Arrange the sticky pretzels against the sides of the container to resemble a nest. Shape small nests or wreaths on sheets of wax paper.

Refrigerate to set the chocolate. To unmold the large basket, lift the plastic liner from the container and peel it away from the pretzels. Fill each nest with candy coated Cadbury Chocolate eggs .  Display, eat and enjoy!

The OMG Omelet Muffin!

There’s nothing better than sharing a delicious Sunday brunch with family or friends.  So, when Brandi’s sister-in-law Megan forwarded us a recipe for “Omelet Muffins” – from the fabulous blog Quirky Cookery – it quickly dawned on us this has to be one of the most Fab & Fru recipes we’ve seen to date!

Here’s the deal: make personal mini omelets in an old muffin tin – you can eat them on the spot, make them in advance, or freeze ‘em for next time…

Not only are Omelet Muffins a very elegant dish to serve, they are also totally frugal.  Like a traditional omelet, you can throw in whatever leftover ingredients you have on hand – a great way to make sure you’re not wasting valuable produce and meats.  The recipe makes 12 muffins, so there’s room to customize each one to please everyone in the family.  And because they freeze perfectly, these bad boys are also an easy hot and homemade breakfast to serve your kids any day of the week!

Omelet Muffin Recipe by Jessi from  Quirky Cookery

• A dozen eggs
• 2 – 4 Tbs. milk, half and half, etc (whatever you have is fine…it just stretches the eggs a bit further)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups “fillings” (sausage, ham, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, kale….again, use what you have on hand)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups cheese of choice
• Season to taste

Preheat your oven to 375F.  Grease a regular 12 cup muffin tin muffin pan with butter, spray with nonstick spray, or use liners.

Chop all your fillings and place a bit of each, including the cheese, into the bottom of the cups. Fill them about 2/3-3/4 of the way full. Beat eggs with the milk (you can skip the milk if you prefer not to mix down your eggs), and season to your liking. Pour egg mixture into each cup, level with the pan edge.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Muffins will puff up a little bit and brown around the edges. Cool before removing from muffin tin.

*Jessi’s Ingredient Tip: If you don’t have fresh veggies on hand, use canned diced tomatoes that have spicy onions and peppers already in them. Drain the liquid completely so it doesn’t make your muffins soggy. Adding these gives the muffins a salsa-y kick.

Breakfast Bargains!

Mom was right – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But let’s be honest – mornings are also the most rushed and chaotic times of the day.  With great deals on organic and natural breakfast foods, you’ll have one less thing to bicker about during the morning rush…

From Mambo Sprouts: 

$1.00 off any 2 Van’s Natural Foods Products – we LOVE their frozen waffles!

$1.00 off Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt

$1.50 off any 2 Nature’s Path Boxed Cereal or Granola Bars

$1.00 off any 2 Lifeway Lowfat Kefirs (32 oz. bottles)

$1.00 off any McCann’s Irish Oatmeal Product

$1.00 off any Country Choice Organic Product (Oats, anyone?)

$1.00 off any 1 Dorset Cereals Product (great cereals AND great boxes, don’t you think?)

And From Whole Foods: 

$1.50 off any 2 Nature’s Path Organic Eco-Pack Cereal or Waffles (mix or match)

$1.00 off any 2 boxes Kashi Go Lean Cereals (mix or match)

Now have a delicious day!