Reusing Vinyl Records

Sometimes, wait no.

Everyday, I troll Craigslist.com Free Stuff looking for shit to pick up on my way home and toy with. Thanks to this time-wasting, "money-saving" habit, I recently became the new owner of about 100 vinyl records, many of which were unfortunately quite damaged beyond playable (though many of which are absolute gems.) But you don't need me to tell you that your local Craigslist Free Stuff listings are something of the gods.

You might need a little help, however, in the area of what to do with all of your records that are scratched beyond recognition. Well my friends, I looked up some blogs and I decided to post the best ideas.

http://weburbanist.com/2009/08/03/from-vinyl-to-divinyl-12-groovy-ways-to-upcycle-vinyl-records/
http://lifehackery.com/2008/09/29/entertainment-2/
http://underdesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/20-ways-to-recycle-vinyl-records/

First of all, holy shit moly, there are an awful lot of ideas, ranging from the simple idea of making them in to coasters (put drinks on them) to the sophistication of modern speakers. Seems like some are more DIY-friendly than others.

I think my favorite, and the easiest, is this one which requires flipping a mixing bowl upside down, heating the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and putting the record on top of the bowl & in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
Let's freakin do it. Can't wait to eat off this.

Putting hot sauce on everything.

Maybe because it's fall and football season is finally here, but I want hot sauce on every single food I eat. Ok that's excessive, I also want it with milk or something to calm my taste buds afterwards, but mostly, I just want hot sauce. Hot sauce on my eggs, hot sauce on my ham sandwich, hot sauce on my blueberries, hot sauce on my nectarines. Any kind of hot sauce will do. I recently went to a very expensive corporate conference and got the opportunity to stealthily take home a few teeny bottles of Tabasco sauce from their lunch (poor people for the win) which are now helping me create the most delicious lunches ever.

And until a few minutes ago, I though this was really great because it stimulates your metabolism. But a brief scan of the Internets led me to a smattering of forums and then this NY Times article, which affirms that the amount to which hot sauce stimulates your metabolism is sadly negligible. Screw 'em, I will eat it under the belief that it kick starts my tummy like I never performed said search and rely on idiotic SHAPE.com articles for all of my self-loathing nutrition habits.
Whatever. Smother it in that shit. But if you have a cat's tongue like me don't forget the soy milk. Water doesn't help the burn. (At least not quickly enough.)

Birthday Free Stuff

First of all, it is my birthday!! So happy birthday to me, I am the lackluster but nevertheless exciting 22. Twenty-two was my favorite number to say as a part of Somers Volleyball while doing crunches and repeatedly counting with the team to 25, so... it's going to be a good year! I've been thinking about resolutions for myself, or even Autumn Resolutions, since it is turning into that lovely time of year, but I haven't gotten much farther than identifying a few goals including 1.) pay off all student debt 2.) clean out my closet and 3.) get a good job review in December.


This blog offers a solid Birthday Freebies post with a fairly comprehensive list of all the offers that apply to someone having their special day. I didn't come close to anything like this, but I have partaken in a few perks of the 9/19 date. So here are the ones that yours truly, Laura, have actually gotten and supremely appreciated.
The My Cold Stone Club at Cold Stone entitles you to a free ice cream on your bday
Being a Chunk Spelunker at Ben and Jerry's also gets you a free ice cream, which I didn't know until today. I went in and the gentleman behind the counter informed me that it requires a coupon from e-mail, which I neglected to care about when I'd read about it online. But here I was, so he gave me ice cream anyway. Ben and Jerry's people are great.
Being a Sephora Beauty Insider got me wonderful bubble bath solution the other day (from Philosophy, so it claims it can act as Shampoo.. no thanks. But it is scented as Vanilla Cupcake, smells nice!)
Becoming a member of Starbucks Rewards entitles you to a free beverage coupon in around the time of your birthday, though I'm still waiting for mine in the mail. There is no maximum number of espresso shots or ounces of beverage, so Do It Up.
Swagbucks.com e-mailed me a coupon for 50 Swagbucks today. Considering the redemption value there is 450 points for a $5 giftcard, 50 points is about $.56, but that's actually pretty decent for a website that churns out gift cards for me fairly often.
DSW Shoe Warehouse Rewards also gave me a $5 gift certificate for the month, as well as a $10 one for joining. With this and my mom's starter gift certificate, I got a $27 clutch for $2. Word. They let me combine coupons with no hassle.
CVS ExtraCare Rewards sent me a $2 coupon for anything in the store to be used before 9/16, which is a little early, but hey that's cool with me. I used it in combination with a $2 off Sally Hansen nail polish coupon, also from CVS, and picked up this little number: which at the Hoboken CVS was more like $6.50 than it was $4.59. Gotta remind myself to stop going to that one.
Then there's always the obvious, Applebees and a bunch of other restaurants give you free dessert. But in my day we never let the bday celebratee pay for his or her own dish, so this is, though exciting, rather irrelevant in the eyes of a birthday celebrator.
Tickets to TV shows that are taped in your area.
I admit it, you really have to live in a metropolitan area at the very least in order to do this. Annnd it might not have to be your birthday. But, quick story, I got Martha Stewart tickets for my mother and myself for the taping of 9/27, and was soon told I could only attend if I had a birthday in September. Ding ding ding ding!!!! I do!!!!! And really, when has having a September birthday ever paid off for ANYONE? Is getting a beautiful tape dispenser really what you wanted as a fourth grader? No. School supplies are great and all, but it's not a great time of year for a birthday. (But not as bad as Christmas.)
So every once in a while, maybe only once in a lifetime, it will pay to have your birthday on that particular date.

Happy Birthday to all the other September babies out there. And to everybody, happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Hopefully Pirate Parties are going down all over.

Just because I feel like it, today I will treat to a tale of myself as a youngster in a new segment that may become a weekly favorite, Bad Ideas. This particular Bad Idea happened when I was at the ripe age of 13, in 8th grade. In the midst of my awkward years I thought it would be a great idea to drag attention to my undeveloped form if I costumed for Halloween as a prostitute. If you think about it, this is a pretty brilliant costume if you want everyone to know you have low self-esteem. It's to the point; it's no bullshit Cute Bumblebee costume or Sexy Strawberry Shortcake, it's just a woman who cavorts with those who can afford her a better lifestyle, at the cost of her soul. No big deal. Though I did purchase a few odds and ends to get across the "I Sell Sex" aesthetic, I did not wind up trick-or-treating in said costume, thankgod.
Children, especially females, if for some reason you ever get the faintest idea that it will make you proud of yourself for your cunning, your creativity, or, whatever, by going to Halloween dressed as a prostitute, You. Are. Mistaken. Just don't do it, hopefully you'll figure out why it's dumb later in life.

But hey 9-19 isn't just my birthday or talk like a pirate day. It's time to buy Halloween costumes!!!!! Look for me to discuss making them on the CHEAP in a future post.

Amazon Subscribe & Save

This. Is glorious.

For starters, there are several blog posts out there about Amazon Subscribe & Save that go into more detail than I am about to, because, well, they are better at Excel Spreadsheets. So here is one of those: Blogger Explains Excel Spreadsheets for S&S.
Thus far I have used this service for one product and one product only, and that is Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash, cause let's face it, I run out of this stuff about once every month or two. The gist of S&S is eliminating the need to run out to the store for groceries (dry goods), cosmetics, toilet paper, and so on.
Pros: Free shipping, expedited if you are on Amazon Student or Amazon Mom or Dad. 15% off the price if you subscribe, meaning claim that you'll buy it again in 6 months, and absolutely no commitment to purchasing said item again in 6 months. Many of the items are sold in bulk, which for stuff like face wash is perfect seeing as how it is loaded with preservatives anyway.
Cons: So far the selection is really just beginning, so not everything is available, but lots of stuff is. For example I haven't found any Tazo tea yet, but there are easily like 30 other brands of tea that I could get used to in the mean time.

I did read, however, that not all of the items are cheaper if purchased on Amazon, so it is a good idea to comparison shop - write down a few costs of items before you go grocery shopping next time and see if it is worth it. It is definitely worth the savings in gas (though let's face it you're obviously still going shopping), and it is absolutely worth not having to think about these items more than once every 3-6 months.

Quick price comparison of what I bought:
Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash
CVS.com, 6.0 oz: $5.03 on sale. (Pretty sure I paid $6.35 for this at the store, but ok.)
$0.83/ounce of acne wash

Amazon.com, 9.0 oz: $18.19 for 3 containers
$0.67/ounce of acne wash.
For products you purchase all the time, the savings and lack of effort really add up! This is like a conversation I had with Toby back in March or so about this travel french press: Bodum Travel French Press, and the concept of the benefits of eliminating even one step from the process of getting every day things done. (That, by the way, is on my wish list for my birthday and might get its own post should I ever get my grubby hands on it.)

I've found that they also have bulk packs of Odwalla bars (my personal snack time favorite) for $.90 apiece, instead of Hannaford Grocery's $.99 apiece, which previously was the cheapest I'd ever seen them. These and Kashi Blueberry Clusters cereal might be my first ventures into the land of buying food online, maybe once my loans get paid off. (Vomit.)

Another good idea: paying off student loans!