Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y Outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, or a consignment shop.

Today's model is Danielle, who says she buys pretty much all of her clothing sustainable, local, or secondhand, which means she buys secondhand most of the time. Danielle got this cute dress for just $8 at a thrift store in Hollywood. She says it's served her well for a wedding, a funeral, and a night out of storytelling, where she was headed when this action shot was taken.

Danielle is a writer who blogs at Less Is More Balanced, which I've mentioned before. It's one of my favorite green and simple living sources, for products, DIY projects, people, and services. Danielle will tell you about how to detox your bedroom, review a new book on sustainable living, tell you where to go to recycle your gadgets or swap tools with your neighbor, and share all kinds of tips on how to live a more balanced life. She hasn't been able to post regularly for the past couple of weeks due to illness, but she hopes to be back to her regular posting schedule next week. Danielle also writes short stories and children's books, which you can check out on her website Danielle Davis Reads and Writes.

Thanks Danielle for sending that cute photo and keeping the series going. Okay readers, it's your turn. Put on your favorite secondhand outfit, snap a photo, and send it to me at barton.angela@gmail.com. We all want to see your fabulous finds, so don't be shy. We like to see all types of people and all types of clothing on Thrifty Threads. I can't wait to hear from you!

Do you shop secondhand? I was very excited to make my first purchase of clothing for myself at our local Goodwill yesterday. Previously I'd found two Hawaiian shirts for my husband, but nothing for myself. This jean jacket was barely worn and super soft. So I might have to feature moi someday soon on Thrifty Threads. Please leave your tips and advice about secondhand clothes shopping, and compliments for Danielle in the Comments section. And click here if you want to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Carrot Cake recipe

I do have a Thrifty Threads post ready, but the blog that it links to is having server problems, and we don't know when they'll be fixed, so I'm disappointed but it will have to be put off. If I can post it tomorrow, I will. Otherwise, it will have to wait until next Thursday. So since I can't give you Thrifty Threads, I'll give you a recipe instead.

A few weeks ago I had some carrots that were getting a bit limp, so I acted like a housewife and cooked them, mashed them up, and baked some carrot cake. See what I mean by acted like a housewife? I acted resourcefully, I think. The carrots were about to go bad, so I thought of another use for them.

One of my readers asked me to post the recipe, so here goes. I used one of my favorite cookbooks, The Silver Palate, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, but mine is a plainer version of theirs. It's like a super simple quickbread.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 1/2 cups corn oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T vanilla
1 1/3 cups pureed cooked carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans (loaf pan, mini-loaves, or layer cake)
2. Sift dry ingredients and add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Fold in carrots.
3. Pour into pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Cool on a rack for 3 hours and frost with cream cheese frosting.

To make cream cheese frosting, cream together 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature and 1/2 cup butter. Slowly sift in 3 cups confectioner's sugar and keep beating until free of lumps. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla, and juice of 1/2 lemon(optional).

The recipe in the book calls for 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, 3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple, and 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut to be mixed into the batter. That sounded like a little too much for our taste, so I left those ingredients out. I might try the coconut next time though.

My husband scarfed this down, after first telling me he didn't really like carrot cake. Hmmm.

Doing the Right Thing

Sometimes, the news is good. Like this story about how Target and CVS are going to pay customers to use their own reusable shopping bags. If you turn down their plastic bag, Target will take 5 cents off your purchase. And CVS drugstore plans to give a $1 cash bonus for every 4 times a customer doesn't request a plastic bag.

That's good news that will add up to a lot less plastic. And maybe get people more into the habit of using cloth bags.

A spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense Council says the two retailers could keep billions of plastic bags out of the environment, as well as encourage other retailers to take similar steps.

Smaller chains like Whole Foods have been giving their customers incentives to use cloth bags for a long time, but this marks the first time a big retailer is following suit.

It's a giant step in the right direction, with no downside I can see. Even if the motive is to cash in on people's desire to go green, in this case market forces are working. A marketing professor in the article says these days, retailers who want to connect with the consumer have to show they're sensitive to environmental concerns.

Have you heard any good news on the environmental, green, or nonconsumer front lately? Tell us about it in the Comments section.

November baby steps challenge: paper towels

It's a new month, and time for another baby steps challenge!

Back in April, I wrote this post about how I wanted to make some simple changes to incorporate more "green" behaviors into our lifestyle. So far we've tackled: stopping junk mail and catalogs, air-drying laundry, composting, switching to natural cleansers, and using less water. Hooray.

Now, I don't mean to imply that all these behaviors are taken care of, they're still a work in progress. I air dry the laundry most days, but not always because of our schedules. I'm often doing laundry in the evening and don't want it to sit overnight. We're about 50% switched over to natural cleansers, but it's going to take some coaxing to get my husband to let go of his practically lifetime supply of Clorox (he buys in bulk). And I compost basically everything that can be composted, but I'm not sure what's going on in those bins because I still don't see any worms. I may have to go on a worm search soon.

So I'm far from perfect, but I feel pretty good about the changes we've made so far. This month we're going to tackle the last of the challenges I set back in April: deal with our paper towel usage. I struggled to even come up with a title for this post, because I hesitate to say "give up paper towels." I just don't think we can do it. But I'm going to make an effort to use a lot less. Here are the steps I've taken to help us out:

1) Cloth napkins: We're using some we already had, plus some hand-me-downs from a friend. I had no trouble making this switch, but my husband seems to have a hard time with it. He still prefers using a paper towel, and I'm not sure why.

2) I tore up more rags for cleaning. We're lazy about grabbing paper towels for cleaning, when it's just as easy to use a rag if it's available.

3) I bought a couple of "dish rags" to use in the kitchen instead of paper towels for all kinds of minor things. This is what we used during my childhood, so I don't think it should be too difficult to get back into that habit.

A few steps we've already taken are that my husband is buying the paper towels that separate into a much smaller section, and he also bought a plastic contraption to use in the microwave that you place over plates instead of a paper towel.

I know for some people they could just give up paper towels entirely, cold turkey. But I'll be happy if we use a lot less and go from there.

Please share your tips and suggestions in the Comments section. And let us know if you want to join in the challenge!

CSA Delivery Day

I apologize for the glare on the photo, it's very bright outside!

This delivery has a lot of new items, the season change is evident. I'm looking forward to making a mushroom risotto with that exotic-looking mushroom medley. And though not everyone is a fan of persimmons, I love them! And they're so beautiful.

This week we got (roughly clockwise from the back): two packages of fresh baby greens (one spinach, one arugula), red leaf lettuce, delicata squash, garlic, red onions, fresh thyme, butter potatoes, pomegranates, cherry tomatoes, fresh lima beans, homemade granola, fuji and black arkansas apples and a lovely little mini pear, persimmons, red grapes, assortment of crimini, oyster, shitake and wood ear mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, and spaghetti squash.

I'll post a recipe for Delicata Squash Bisque below this post, which I'll be trying later this week.

We love receiving this delivery, it's so much fresher and tastier than going to the supermarket. But I should tell you that it's not for everyone. Two of my friends have already started and stopped this delivery, and it made me realize that it really is a bit of a commitment that won't work for every person or family. First of all, I plan our meals around the delivery, and I don't mind that because we have a flexible schedule and I'm learning to cook new things. Also, my husband and I tend to like almost any produce, although we do have some favorites.

A CSA delivery wouldn't work for you if you wanted to make a particular dish that week, and the items weren't included in the delivery. It wouldn't work for you if there are a lot of fruits and vegetables you don't care for. And it probably wouldn't work if you have a full-time job away from home and you're the person who does most of the cooking.

One of my friends said it didn't work for him because he's too picky and so a lot of the food went to waste. The other friends are what I would consider gourmet cooks, and I think they didn't like having the delivery sort of dictate your menu plans.

So there are some very valid reasons this service wouldn't work for everyone. But it's been great for us. One of my favorite things is that my husband always has a healthy stash of food to make sandwiches or snacks with. And I've enjoyed trying new recipes incorporating new ingredients. If you think it would work for you, click here to find a CSA in your area. If you live in Los Angeles and want to try our delivery service, click here for the link to Auntie Em's delivery service. And click here if you want to check out our previous deliveries of delicious produce.

Do you belong to a CSA? Do you like going to the Farmer's Market? Please share your thoughts and questions in the Comments section. I'm so happy that it's getting easier for more people to eat fresh, local, organic produce.

Delicata Squash Bisque

I think this recipe for Delicata Squash Bisque looks quite delicious. It's vegetarian, and uses cashew cream in place of dairy. I'm going to make it later this week. If you try it, let me know what you think in a Comment.

A funny Halloween story

We've lived in this house for seven years, and we never get trick-or-treaters. The first year we put out lights and a jack-o-lantern and bought candy and were so excited, and then only three kids came to the door. No one else on our street even had their lights on, and we found out all the kids go to another part of the neighborhood. After that, I'd still buy candy but then no one would come and we'd be stuck with a bag of candy I really didn't want to eat. We never had anyone knock on the door after that first year, and I stopped buying candy altogether.

Last night I was talking to my friend on the phone and she was saying they had way too much candy because they hadn't gotten any trick-or-treaters and it was almost 7pm. When I told her no one comes to our house on Halloween, she asked if I'd bought candy "just in case." Then she said someone was knocking on their door, and AT THE EXACT SAME TIME I heard a knock on our door.

I answered the door to find two little girls dressed as corpse brides, calling out "Trick or Treat!" I felt awful. I knew there was no candy in the house. I told them to wait a minute and I scrounged through the pantry and found some fruit leathers and in the refrigerator I found two juice paks that had been left in there by friends. I came back and said, "I'm so sorry to be the lame lady who's giving you juice and fruit leather" and they actually squealed. "I LOVE fruit leather!" and "I LOVE apple juice!" Hysterical. Then while I was talking to their father about where to go from there since our whole area was dark, they had already broken into the juice paks.

Sometimes I regret not having children. They can be so cute. I love their enthusiasm, and the way they can make the best of things. And the way it really doesn't take that much to make them happy. We can all learn a lot from kids.

Did you go trick-or-treating with your kids last night or hand out candy? What were some of the most creative or funny costumes you saw?

Just for fun

Happy Halloween! Last minute costume ideas for you or your kids, some favorites from my memory bank: Charlie Chaplin, a picnic table, the Captain & Tennille, grapes (green or purple tights and leotard and balloons), a robot, a tourist (Hawaiian shirt, shades, camera- funny for a toddler), Hugh Hefner, luxury spa guest (white plush terrycloth robe and shades), Tippi Hedren in The Birds (conservative suit pinned with birds)... that's all I can remember right now...

Hmmm... I wonder what a "Non-Consumer" costume would look like... I mean dressing up as a "Non-Consumer." A non-consumer costume could be anything you put together with items you already own... I'd love to hear what you come up with.

Are you dressing up this year? Do you have kids you take trick-or-treating? I love to dress up for Halloween, but we didn't know anyone who was having a party this year. Maybe we'll have to throw one ourselves next year.

Have fun!

Food Waste Friday continues...

No picture, but sadly, that doesn't mean we had a no-waste week. In fact, it was a pretty bad week. On 3 separate occasions, I threw a lot of food away. And because each case involved an "incident," I neglected to snap a photo. I'll go through them one at a time:

Incident #1: Last Saturday, after having such success with making dried black beans the week before, I tried to make dried fava beans for a dish I'd never cooked and was making for a friend's birthday. Without going into the details, dried fava beans were much more complicated than dried black beans, and I ended up with a "fava fiasco." I tossed the entire heap of mushy, dried out beans on the compost heap.

Incident #2 was also bean-related. On Monday, I made a vegetarian curry in the crockpot with potatoes, leeks, and what I thought were green beans from our CSA delivery. From the look on my husband's face at his first bite, I knew there was a problem. I went back and looked at the list of produce and found out we were eating flagolet beans, which were supposed to be peeled, and just the beans inside eaten, kind of like black-eyed peas. They were so stringy and dry and tough we had to pick them out, it was basically the husk we were eating. Another pile for the compost bin.

Incident #3 occurred when I opened a jar of pistachios (which had been transferred out of the Trader Joe's plastic) and found evidence of pantry moths. This was very disappointing because I've really been on top of the moth problem, making sure I put out the moth traps and also putting dried goods in jars. I've just started taking the step of freezing rice, flour, and other dried goods overnight and I hope that will help. I really hate to waste pistachios- they're not cheap!

Oh, and one other minor incident- I burned a piece of toast and threw it in the trash. A bad week for food waste, but we'll just keep plugging on. It wasn't really a matter of neglect so much as mistakes, and life. And trying new things. Because if I hadn't tried the dried beans, or the CSA, I wouldn't have wasted those items. But then I wouldn't be continuing to learn more about cooking and eating healthfully. So I think it's worth the sacrifice.

You can find out all you need to know about food waste, like why we should care, where it's all going, and how we can put a stop to it, by visiting Wasted Food. And if you want to join the Waste No Food challenge, head on over to The Frugal Girl.

How did you do this week? Tell us about in in the Comments section.

Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y Outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, or a consignment shop.

I'm so happy to have Kristen from The Frugal Girl as today's model, in a repeat performance. This black dress was the inspiration for the Thrifty Threads series. Kristen had posted a photo of this dress on her blog, along with a bunch of other items she'd bought at Goodwill. Her head was cut off, and she said she usually wore the dress with black boots, and I thought to myself, "I wish I could see it like that." And the idea started percolating in my head, how fun it would be to see people's secondhand scores and how great they look in them.

Kristen bought this cute Charlotte Russe dress at Goodwill for $5, and the New York & Company camisole for $3. She says she decided the neckline was cut a little too low, but that the camisole neckline isn't usually crooked. I'm just glad her son likes to take photos, so she could send this one to me. Doesn't this make you want to go thrift store shopping right now? Kristen wanted to let everyone know that she bought the boots on clearance at Target for $14 before she started shopping at Goodwill.

Kristen probably doesn't need any introduction for most of you, but for those of you who haven't read her fabulous blog, she's "The Frugal Girl," and she totally rocks. I know that word is overused, but in this case it's true. Her blog is jam-packed with awesome recipes, fantastic tips, and she's the inspiration for taking photos of rotten food so we can all try to waste less. If you ever wished you had a best friend or older sister who just knew how to do everything, and had a great attitude about sharing it with you, that's Kristen. If you've never read her blog, you're in for a treat. And you might start baking your own bread!

Thanks Kristen for sending that photo of the dress that started the series. Readers, it's your turn. Put on your favorite thrift store scores and send me a photo at barton.angela@gmail.com. I always need more photos, so keep them coming! It is so much fun to do this Thrifty Threads series, and I'll do it as long as I continue to get your emails. Remember, I would love to get photos of children or toddlers, and guys- I would LOVE to hear from you. Only one brave man has participated so far.

Do you shop secondhand? I wonder if it's getting easier or harder because of the recession. I think there are a lot more people shopping thrift stores these days. Tell us about it in a Comment. And click here to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Is Grandma Greener Than You?

I read an interesting article in USA Today last week called "Grandma's greener than you." The gist of it was that even when you think you're being environmentally friendly and living a "green" lifestyle, your grandparents have you beat hands down. The Great Depression taught them all about using up, making do, and going without long before there was any concern about the effects of overconsumption on the environment, or before recycling was something you did by choice.

Click here to read the entire article. I agree with the point that often the "greener" option is to go without, i.e. riding a bike or walking versus buying a Prius, air-drying laundry vs. purchasing energy-efficient appliances, wearing your old pajamas vs. buying new organic cotton brands. And I agree that too often we think that "going green" means buying something.

But I take issue with the wrapup, which states that "the economy as we know it would tank if consumers lived as 'green' as our grandparents did." There must be other ways of contributing to the economy than simply buying more crap. My husband and I eat at our local restaurants, pay for a delivery of organic produce, put gas in our cars, and buy groceries. I still have my hair cut and get an occasional facial or pedicure. I refuse to believe that I am somehow part of the problem just because I've given up buying new stuff.

Maybe the key part of that sentence is "the economy as we know it." Maybe THAT economy SHOULD tank. Maybe we need a different economy. I'm disappointed that the article didn't go into this, but maybe I'm expecting too much from a mainstream news source.

Have you heard or read any interesting news about how a new or different economy could work, one that was based more on needs and values, and that didn't rely on getting people to buy more stuff they don't need? Please tell us about it in the Comments section. And chime in with any thoughts or questions as well.

Our mini kitchen remodel

It's a mini remodel, not a mini kitchen. This photo shows off the brilliant "Lichtenstein style" painting my husband did of me.

These are all "after" photos. I know, I realize the main attraction of these transformation stories are the "before" and "after," but neither my husband nor I had the forethought to take any "before" photos.

You'll just have to use your imagination. This 60's era kitchen had a dropped flourescent ceiling, hideous brown particleboard cabinets, and a white lineoleum floor that showed everything.

Here's the view into the dining room/living room. We ended up having to use two different colors of paint on the cabinets because we liked the lighter color, but thought the kitchen would be too bright if we painted all the cabinets that color.

This one was taken at night, so the lighting is a little different. I spot evidence of my baking habit!

I really wish you could have seen this kitchen. For seven years we've put up with the most inefficient and ugly kitchen I've ever lived in (and I've lived in a lot of different apartments and houses!)

First of all, I'm not trying to claim that this was a non-consumer remodel. My husband isn't doing The Compact, and he had saved some money from a big job to put toward this kitchen. He's a great partner in my commitment, but he hasn't taken it for himself. So he did purchase some new items, but did all of the work himself (with a bit of help from a friend), bought some of the items used, and was able to sell or give away virtually everything we replaced.

The cost? Under $2500 total. Here's the breakdown:

First, we had a color scheme we'd seen in a magazine and both liked: the bright yellow walls, red floor, and turquoise cabinets. We agreed that our best resource without funds was to use color to our advantage. The bright colors make it fun.

Next, my husband wanted a stainless steel side-by-side refrigerator. He was prepared to buy one new, but I suggested he check Craigslist. He did, and spent about five or six weeks searching, to no avail. He actually even looked at 3 different refrigerators, but there was some problem with each of them. He was glad he'd tried to buy used, but ended up purchasing a new model at a greatly discounted price. Cost $1100, including tax.

The stainless steel tabletop he was able to find on Craigslist because he'd already been checking for several months. The table cost $85.

The stools were a complete luxury, he purchased them new for $125 each, for a total of $375.

The sink, which replaced the most hideous avocado-colored monstrosity I'd ever seen, was about $200.

The lineoleum flooring, which he put down himself with the help of a friend, cost about $400.

I have to confess that I was responsible for buying the simple cabinet handles new. I had been looking on Craigslist and was planning on visiting a salvage store, when I drove by a hardware store that was going out of business. The sign said "75% off" so I went in and found these. I didn't want to spend weeks searching for something I might never find when I could get it all right now, and for only $23 for all 41 handles! An incredible deal. One of my main considerations was that I wanted to find the same size so that my husband wouldn't have to do more work filling and drilling new holes.

Total cost: I think that comes to $2283, plus a couple of hundred for paint, plus A LOT of labor. We spent 10 days prepping and painting those cabinets. And my husband had spent countless hours prior to that putting in the flooring, moving in the refrigerator, etc. But it was worth it! We love our new kitchen. Our favorite thing is drinking martinis at that cool table.

My husband was able to sell or give away everything, including the absolutely hideous, grime-encrusted handles that adorned the horrible cabinets. Someone paid $26 for them on ebay, which was more than we paid for the new ones! He sold the old refrigerator and kitchen table and chairs, and gave away the sink. Someone was actually going to use it! Yay! Nothing went to the landfill. I'm SO pleased about that. Craigslist and Freecycle are a brilliant way to recycle and to find things secondhand.

I should also say that we had already done the lighting and replaced the windows many years ago, so the true cost of our remodel from the kitchen we moved into seven years ago would probably be closer to $6000.

Sorry for such a long post, but I really wanted to share this with you!

Have you done any remodeling projects lately? Tell us about it in the Comments section.

More Meatless Monday recipes

The Meatless Monday movement is spreading! The Baltimore school system has gotten some great press this week for their efforts to help their students make healthier choices. You can read about it here.

Choosing a meatless diet, even one day a week, is better for your health and better for the planet. Click here to visit the Meatless Mondays website and find out why. You can also check out their fabulous recipes and the latest news in the world of food. If you pledge to go meatless on Mondays, you'll receive a weekly email packed with recipes and suggestions that will make it easy (and delicious!)

I've got some great reader suggestions to share with you this week:

1. MaddyG from Mad on a Gray Sea reminded me of one of my old favorites, The Moosewood Cookbook. Her family loves their recipe for "Zuccanoes." Slice a few zucchinis in half and scoop out the insides. Then mix the innards with cooked rice, an egg, sauteed onion, garlic, and worcestershire sauce, sprinkle a little cheese on top and bake until tender. MaddyG says it's like a little zucchini souffle, and it's totally easy and fun.

2. Leigh from Compact by Design offers up this primer for making crepes by NY Times food writer Mark Bittman. I can't wait to try those!

3. Ellen at Within My Means shares one of her favorites from childhood, a tapioca cheese souffle. It looks easy and delicious and we will definitely be trying this one soon. We are a cheese-loving household. Click here for the easy recipe: only six ingredients!

4. Wildermiss blogs about her outdoor adventures at A Mountain Top High. She suggests a general vegetarian eating tip: if a recipe calls for white meat substitute white beans, and if it calls for red meat substitute dark beans (kidney beans, black beans, etc.)

Tonight we'll be enjoying a vegetarian curry using up some of last week's CSA vegetables. I usually make it with cauliflower, onions, potatoes, carrots, and green beans, but today's version is potatoes, leeks, and green beans. I'll add some frozen peas at the end. The vegetables are coated with one can of light coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of Patak hot curry paste, and a couple of teaspoons of curry powder. We'll eat it with basmati rice. I can't wait- I love curry!

Happy meatless eating everyone. Please share your favorite meatless meal ideas so I can post them next time. And click here to check out previous posts filled with delicious meatless recipes.

How much $ do you need to live your dream?

That's the question they're asking at Married With Luggage this week, as they launch a series called "How we saved enough money to change our lives and how you can, too." It's all about the planning, saving, and lifestyle changes that'll make it happen. Click here to read the post that kicks off the series.

For Betsy and Warren, their dream is to travel the world for a year, and they're counting down the days. Your dream may be the same, or it may be something completely different, but whatever it is, it takes work to make it happen. But if you've ever talked to anyone who has lived their dream - whether it's to travel the world, get out of their corporate job to join the Peace Corps, live in another country, write a book, or simply do the work they love - it takes a plan, discipline, and hard work to pull it off.

Married With Luggage shows you how to put it all together, in a way that's user-friendly, inspirational, and fun. So check it out, if you haven't already. It's one of my favorite blogs, so I have mentioned it before.

What's your dream? Are you pursuing it now, or is it more of a fuzzy fantasy that takes place in the distant future? Or maybe you feel like you're just keeping your head above water as it is. Or maybe... you're living your dream right now. Whatever the case may be, let us know in a Comment.

Another Food Waste Friday

This was our food waste this week. The thing that looks like moldy, puffed-up naan bread is actually squash. I found it last weekend when it wasn't that moldy, but saved it in case anything else turned up. Yuck. The tahini had no "best by" date, was so separated that it couldn't be shaken back into a uniform consistency, and I don't even remember when I bought it. So it's NG. I'm planning on scooping that out and saving the jar. Does anyone know if it's okay to throw tahini in the compost bin? And the lime was in a bag in the refrigerator with others that are fine, so I don't know what went wrong with it.

We had one of those weeks of constantly changing plans and actually ended up going out and/or having to meet people several times, so I didn't do much cooking. And I'm going to have to work really hard to use up all of our CSA produce so that it doesn't go bad next week.

I'm short on time, so here's the scoop: waste less food and you'll not only save money, you'll help save the planet. Find out more at Wasted Food and The Frugal Girl.

How did you do this week? Please share your thoughts and questions in the Comments section.

Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y Outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is used or recycled, from Goodwill, a thrift store, or a consignment shop.

Today's model is Stephanie. You may remember her from this Thrifty Threads post back in June. Stephanie and I worked together in feature film editing before she left to pursue her music career full time. She now lives in Dallas, where she writes and records music between touring. You can listen to her lovely voice and guitar playing on her MySpace page.

Stephanie bought this entire outfit secondhand, including the shoes and belt. And we'll forgive her for chopping off the top of her head since she took the photo herself. It's still a great picture! She bought this dress for about $20 at Buffalo Exchange years ago. Stephanie says it's a fantastic dress that never shows wear or cat hair (very important!), is machine washable and dries without wrinkling in about 2 minutes, is slightly stretchy, comfortable, and always flattering. It sounds like the perfect dress! It's so cute. The belt was $5 at a thrift store in Bellingham, WA, and the super cool gold shoes were $26. Not bad for BCBG, which are very pricey new.

Thanks Stephanie for sending in that great photo! Readers, you know the score. I'm always in need of more photos, so put on your favorite thrift store duds, snap a photo, and send it to me at: barton.angela@gmail.com. Remember, you can be young or old, short or tall, male or female, it doesn't matter. And I would love to get pictures of your kids, too. Infants, toddlers, children, or teenagers. We want to see all your fabulous finds, so keep them coming! And click here if you want to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Do you shop secondhand? What's your favorite thrift store score? Tell us about it in the Comments section.

Tomato/Mushroom/Leek Quiche

Sorry about the pink edges on the photo, my camera is dying a slow death!

The photo doesn't really do justice to the yumminess of this quiche. It has a couple of ingredients that make it particularly tangy and satisfying. I used a recipe I got from Ellen at Within My Means, with a few alterations.

Preheat oven to 425F.

1 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups milk
5 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
about 10 sliced mushrooms
1 leek
about 20 small cherry tomatoes, slightly frozen

Saute mushrooms with leeks in butter and set aside. Combine milk, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add cheese, mushrooms and leeks, and tomatoes. Ellen gave me the tip to put the cherry tomatoes in the freezer for an hour or two before baking, and I think that helped them keep their shape and give a burst of flavor when eaten.

Pour mixture into pie shell (I use Pillsbury roll outs, Ellen uses Marie Callendar's) and bake 15 minutes at 425. Lower oven to 350 degrees, cover pie edges with tinfoil so they don't burn, and bake another 30-35 minutes.

Super easy, super delicious. Everyone loved it. The cheddar and the nutmeg give it an extra zing.

Have you ever made quiche? What are your favorite additions? Let us know in a Comment.

No Impact Week

Inspired by Colin Beavan, A.K.A. No Impact Man, the Huffington Post has declared this "No Impact Week." I was just checking out the website, and it's all about the stuff we're talking about on this blog and other non-consumer blogs: how to reduce your carbon footprint by not buying stuff, eating less meat, wasting less, etc.

What I like about their approach is that it's focused on making your life better and happier while helping the environment. It's not about guilt trips or facts and figures, it's about getting involved in a positive way. On the website, they state that No Impact Week is "not about making strict rules but about thinking about your environmental impact in a new way and picking the goals that are right for you." Just at a glance, I saw phrases like "Find out if wasting less improves your life" and "live a fuller and happier life by buying less stuff." All right!

I think I'm doing a "No Impact Year" that is going to turn into a permanent lifestyle change. Not buying new stuff and eating less meat are probably having the biggest impact, but I'm also wasting less, composting, and inspiring others to take these steps by writing this blog. I'm going to check out the Huffington Post guide for more ideas.

If YOU want to participate, click here. A No Impact Week sounds like a manageable task, and a great way to get involved. I'll bet you'll learn a lot and be inspired.

Are you participating in No Impact Week? Do you think it will help to get people involved in the solution? Tell us your thoughts in the Comments section.