A Thrifty Way to Spend the Afternoon

With the recession looming over our heads, my husband and I have been doing our best to have fun without breaking our budget. Now is the perfect time to go out and enjoy Spring; but how do we do that without spending money? Following Nordea's post from last week, we decided to follow suit and dug out our own rusty rollerblades. With a 50lb dog in tow, we bladed while our dog Samantha "Sam", ran alongside us on a trail not too far away from our home. It's been a year or more since I've worn my rollerblades but luckily within a few minutes, I got the swing of things and we were off.

Sadly, we don't take Sam out too often. She was tired and beat in no time.

A tired dog is a happy dog!
I'm so glad the warm weather afforded us such a wonderful memory! Not only did we all get much needed exercise, we were able to enjoy an afternoon out without spending any money. What fun activities have you been doing that don't break the budget? Please share!


-Wai Sze

Coming up this week.....

--On Saturday from 2-6:00 Rational Animal is leading a project that aims to make 500 comforters to line the kennel cages of animals awaiting adoption in NYC shelters. The project is called 'Mother's Comfort' and 45 quilts have already been made with the help of volunteers from Rational Animal and Etsy. Contact Rational Animal if you're interested in helping on Saturday or with future Mother's Comfort events. (photo thanks to Milo, my rescue dog)

--Shecky's annual Girl's Night Out is coming up next week in Manhattan. Shop commercial and handmade items, drink and eat a bit, go home with a goody bag! Tickets are still available for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

--'Harnessing Brooklyn's Creative Capital: The Impact of Self-Employed Creative Professionals on the Borough's Economy' is a forum March 5th from 8:30-10:30 AM at the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. This forum will address the challenges faced by self-employed creative freelancers such as writers, photographers, and designers, and will explore strategies to support this part of Brooklyn's economy. Admission is free but reservations are recommended. Sponsored by Center for an Urban Future and Brooklyn Economic Development Coorporation.

I recently found out about the following organizations that aim at distributing unwanted materials to people who can use them for art and craft activities and education. Definitely worth checking out if you're an artist, crafter, educator, or work for a nonprofit organization:

--The Materials Resource Center in Ronkonkoma, NY is a resource of recycled materials waiting to be reused in art or educational projects. It looks like they may have materials available such as small clear ziploc bags (perfect for storing small craft items), beads, buttons, cardboard, etc... They also lead workshops for children and teachers and have a mobile recycling center.

--Materials for the Arts is another local organization aimed at getting unwanted materials to art and nonprofit organizations that can put the materials to good use. If you are involved in a school or nonprofit organization, you may be eligible to receive donated materials from Materials for the Arts.

--Joanne------