Last week I admitted to finally updating my house with CFLs. This week, my partner in Weekend Winterizing challenges, Susanna Donato, talks about a different type of energy-efficient light bulb: the tiny, colorful ones we like to hang for the holidays.

While my boyfriend and I share a rental and don’t have the freedom to decorate the outside of our house with lights, we do have an annual holiday tradition of picking out a plucky Charlie Brown tree and rigging it with lights. (We also make our ornaments out of old beer caps.)

Two years ago, Donato’s family bought LED lights for their Christmas tree. Although they weren’t the cheapest purchase, the Sierra Club estimates LED lights use just 10 percent of the energy of regular lights, an approximate $50 savings on electricity bills over the holiday season.

Donato notes that Consumer Reports has also done a comparison of LEDs versus traditional holiday lights, finding the electricity costs to be similar, though LEDs use less energy. She also points out that this week the Costco in Aurora (1471 S. Havana) has strings of 100 white LED holiday lights for close to $15—meaning more people should be able to afford making their trees both sparkly and energy efficient this year.

Beer enthusiasts extol the Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe, the two-year-old Colfax pub that serves up nearly all of its more than 40 Belgian beers in glasses meant to accentuate their flavors.

Besides providing the famous Belgian fruit ales (peche, kriek, and framboise), the bar lays claim to a $44 (750-milliliter) bottle of “sparkling divine drink,” also known as Deus-Brut de Flandres.

The distinct flavors of Belgian beers are a result of their origins (fruit, mixed cultures of yeast during fermentation, use of coriander instead of hops in certain beers, etc.) And while the Belgian monks knew how to make the beer (something they’d been doing since the Middle Ages), the Cheeky Monk knows how to serve it.

Tables, booths, and velvety red couches fill up fast. Beat the dinner rush by arriving by 5:30. p.m. Happy hour, which lasts from 3-7 p.m. and 10 p.m.-2 a.m., features $1 off draughts (drafts), bottles, wells, wine, and tower samples. They also offer half-off frites and other select appetizers.

By 6 p.m. on a recent evening, the place was packed with professionals and Capitol Hill rovers alike, all looking for a relaxing and sophisticated evening after work. The ambiance is cozy, with handsome brick walls glinting with candlelight and Northern Renaissance paintings.

534 E. Colfax Ave., 303-861-0347

Groupon.com has taken an interesting approach to delivering discounts to consumers, and, refreshingly, it seems mutually beneficial. They call it “collective buying power,” and I’ve checked it out for the past week to see how it works.

Groupon first contacts local businesses to secure great bargains. Since signing up for the daily e-newsletter, I’ve received offers for 80 percent off an OccasionalCar membership, half-off smoothies at Rush, 73 percent off memberships at Qi Athletic Clubs & Spin-Yoga Studios, and 43 percent off tickets to a dinner and murder-mystery show.

They obtain such discounts by promising to deliver a certain amount of customers. With each Groupon deal, you’ll notice a chart tracking how many people need to commit to the offer before it’s unlocked.

Typically, meeting the goal isn’t very difficult. Just 15 people were needed to pledge money for the OccasionalCar membership, and just 20 needed to sign up for the murder-mystery dinner (820 people ended up buying tickets to the show).

Bonus: Each deal has a “discussion” option for questions. Not only are Groupon employees on hand, but during a recent thread on the murder-mystery dinner, the executive producer popped up in the comments section, helping users make their reservations.

Creative people often get the same answer when they ask friends and family what they would like for holiday gifts: “Just make me something.”

Sometimes this translates poorly. I’ve yet to figure out how to write blog posts that would compare to a bow-wrapped present under the tree.

But for those of you who are visually gifted, there is good news. Canvas and Cocktails, best known for offering social, step-by-step painting classes, now offers an Open Painting time Tuesdays through Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For $25, you get open studio time, a canvas, paint, brushes, and a palette to create your masterpiece.

Want guidance with your visual artistry? Canvas and Cocktails offers plenty of classes focused on tutorials. Many of this week’s  have sold out, but swing by next week to paint the Denver skyline or some bold, funky trees.

The recession has more of us based at home, whether it’s due to a layoff or a decrease in office hours. But being productive at home can offer challenges: You’ll find yourself finally tending to the dishes and laundry or tempted by your Xbox. Personally, I’m a little embarrassed by my innate ability to quote The View at a moment’s notice.

As someone who has never thrived in offices—I struggle with water coolers and get antsy in cubicles —I’ve been happily working at home for years. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:

1. Take a shower and get dressed. I have a rule: I never let 9 a.m. pass without looking like I have a job—albeit, a casual one. Remember, as a kid, how you idolized jobs that had distinct costumes, like astronauts and firefighters? Keep dressing the part of someone who is eminently employable. You don’t need to pinch your toes into high heels, but clean clothes, washed hair, and brushed teeth can get you into a more productive mindset. (more…)

When I brainstormed with Susanna Donato of Cheap Like Me to start this Winterizing Challenge, she reminded me that a fast way to get ready for winter is to update my light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). She may have heard my guilty silence.

Since the recent daylight savings change, I’ve had to accept that my once-sunny home office is now dark later in the morning and earlier at night. It didn’t take long before I reached to turn on a lamp, only to discover the light bulb was burned out. And I was embarrassed to notice the bulb was an old, non-energy-efficient model.

While I have heard the benefit of CFLs time and time again, sometimes I choose the less expensive, incandescent bulbs because I’m worried about my budget. And I wonder how many other folks are doing the same.

The combination of the short life of my cheap bulbs and my new green mentor inspired me to do my homework. Talking with Donato, I learned she switched out 23 bulbs two years ago and estimated her savings at $41 for the year. (more…)

The Mellow Mushroom, located in the Streets at SouthGlenn, is anything but mellow, with more than 10 flat-screens broadcasting sporting events and an open kitchen full of bustling cooks tossing pizza dough into the air.

Happy hour at Mellow Mushroom is an all-day affair, with flavors of Smirnoff, Three Olives, Bacardi, and Crown Royal drinks under $5; $2.99 pints of Deschutes, Dos Equis, and Full Sail; $2.99 house wine; $2.50 tallboys of PBR; $2.80 Coors and Miller Lite; and $2.50 pints/$8 pitchers of Shiner Black and Bock.

The action in this pizza joint may conflict with its laid-back name, but the milieu maintains a psychedelic flow, complete with trippy blue and red murals on the walls. And outside, patrons stay warm on a snug patio thanks to a fireplace and heat lamps—and another TV ensures that nobody misses the big game.

The late-night happy hour runs Monday-Thursday and Sunday from 10 p.m.-close with $2 Miller Lite bottles and $3 well drinks. (more…)

As the unemployment rate hits an all-time high, more Denver establishments are hosting recession-inspired events. But The Walnut Room’s “Cheap Ass Wednesdays” have been ahead of the curve, going on now for two years.

The deal touts no cover, live DJ’d music, $1 domestic drafts, and $3 well drinks. The party starts each Wednesday at 9 p.m.

The DJs change each week, and spinning tonight is Rise Above, described by assistant general manager Samantha Lemons as an “indie, scenester-type DJ.” Lemons notes that karaoke is featured on certain Wednesdays, and the next singing session is scheduled for November 25.

Bonus: The Walnut Room will soon be opening up a new location—The Walnut Room Pizzeria—in the Baker neighborhood at 2 Broadway. The location will offer the full menu of the original Walnut Room, although it will not host live concerts.

3131 Walnut St., 303-292-0529

This week, I meant to write about Upslope Brewing Company’s Dunkelweizen. I was loving the Boulder brewery’s pale ale and IPA and wanted to try its fall seasonal. But after hitting various stores and not finding my prized six-pack, I ended up at Argonaut, scouring the beer fridges for a good replacement.

Though my taste buds were set on the quirky Dunkelweizen, my affections strayed when I saw that Tommyknocker Brewery has a “winter warmer” beer called Cocoa Porter, brewed with cocoa powder and honey.

“Dessert,” I said out loud, and grabbed the six-pack.

I recommend pouring this beer into a pint glass. It’s a rich, dark brown, and the malt flavor has a light taste of toasted cocoa—reinforcing the dessert notion. But as rich as the flavor is on the front of your tongue, it doesn’t invade your nose, and the crisp flash of sweetness doesn’t linger.

Dating in a recession is not easy. Even after being in a relationship for three years, I still get antsy if my boyfriend and I get stuck at home in front of the TV. Which is why I’m grateful for Denver 2 for 1 TIX, a joint program between the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs and VISIT DENVER that provides two-for-one tickets to local arts events.

Tickets change weekly. Through November 11, two-for-one deals vary: The Starz FilmCenter offers movie tickets for $3-$4.75, the Arvada Center offers tickets to Honk! for $5, and $5 also gets you tickets to Playback Theatre West.

Last week we learned how to stay warmer at night by creating old-fashioned bed warmers. This week, my blogging partner, Susanna Donato from Cheap Like Me, shares an even cozier way to stay warm.

She started by turning down her furnace at night and heating the bedrooms using space heaters. Despite her efforts, she noticed her electricity use increased from 450 kilowatt hours (the unit of energy as measured by your electric company) in the summer to 789 kilowatt hours in the winter.

So the space heaters were sacked. And in came electric blankets, which she quickly found use just 25 percent of the electricity her space heaters did. (And, she admits, that’s if she leaves them on all night.)

The effect on her energy bill? Even better. In October 2007, her energy use was down to 272 kilowatt hours (she also installed CFL bulbs to help save energy) and through the rest of the winter, it was closer to 450 kilowatt hours. (more…)

If you’re looking for a place to hunker down and hooch up during Monday night football, consider Roo Bar in the Railyard Marketplace near I-25.

Roo Bar calls itself a Colorado bar with Midwestern values. It’s also a neighborhood bar without the neighborhood. In August 2008, Roo Bar moved into its current industrialized restaurant space from its former residence in Cherry Creek, making room for multiple pool tables, an impressively quick shuffleboard table, arcade games, darts, and, most importantly, a big bar.

There are 17 beers on tap, including the original Roo Bar Stout, as well as 20 varieties of whiskey, 15 types of scotch, and a fresh martini list.

During Monday night NFL games, Roo Bar boasts a $5 buy-in per person, which provides access to 25-cent wings, $2.50 domestic pitchers, and 25-cent tappers (dainty, eight-ounce glasses) throughout the game (or until beer and wings run out). The deal lasts all season. (more…)

Last week, the New York Times launched Bucks, a daily personal-finance blog aimed at helping consumers make smart financial decisions. I couldn’t agree more with writer Ron Lieber here:

“If you were freed from your workaday duties, you could easily fill 40 hours a week double-checking the various fees on your monthly bills, researching the move to a new cable provider, repricing insurance policies and keeping up with the newest online financial tools.”

So far, Bucks has written about the best savings account interest rates, twentysomethings staying reliant on their parents’ health insurance, and a daily aggregate of consumer news from the Times.

If you’re more into face-to-face discussions about finance (you brave soul!), check out Financially Fit Females, a group I found through Meetup.com, which gathers monthly to talk about personal-finance topics.

Typically, the group meets on the third Thursday of each month, but this month’s meeting was rescheduled (due to snow) for tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Illegal Grounds Coffeehouse, 925 E. 17th Ave.

If you had 30 seconds to describe yourself and the job that ideally fits your skill set, could you do it?

Kathleen Winsor-Games, principal of the Winsor Group, has coached people for about 18 years and says many of us have a hard time distilling our message. That’s one of the many reasons why she started the 8 O’clock Club, which meets every Wednesday from 8-10 a.m.

Each week starts with facilitated networking, meaning Winsor-Games helps coach participants on the best way to introduce themselves. Then the group moves on to a changing “hot topic” of the week. Tomorrow’s topic: “Your best networking message.”

“We’ll give people feedback on their networking presentation and give them time to polish, refine, and practice,” Winsor-Games says. “We want people to come out of it able to paint a clear picture of what a good job would be for them.”

Winsor-Games has a good track record: In October, seven of her clients got jobs, and she remains optimistic that people can find work in the fourth quarter. (more…)

As soon as the snow started to fall in Denver, I officially (and reluctantly) dug out my sweaters. Though I don’t love cold weather, I do enjoy getting out my winter clothing after a long summer. It’s like I suddenly have a brand-new wardrobe.

Except this year. There was a mouse in my last house, and I’m pretty sure he found my box of sweaters because many of them are now sporting tiny holes. As dismayed as I felt, it also presented me with another opportunity to hit up more thrift shops around Denver.

Some friends recommended Buffalo Exchange, so I used it as an excuse to explore the hip area around 13th Avenue.

As soon as I parked, I noticed the adorable guerrilla knitting on the bike racks. And the vibe was even hipper inside, where the trendy store clerks were sporting modified top hats and huge ’80s-style eyeglasses, with adorably mussed hair.

It should be noted here that I am notoriously un-hip and tend to become threatened by people who can, say, layer three shirts in interesting ways and streak cool colors in their hair. But the sales staff is so openly friendly and helpful that I felt at home in my solid-colored T-shirt and old jeans. (more…)

This week’s weather reminds me exactly why we started our Weekend Winterizing Challenge so early: You never know when Colorado will flip the switch to “winter” and leave us shivering in our homes.

It’s always been tough for me to stay warm at night. I layer on sweatshirts, slide underneath a large down comforter, and still wake up shivering.

That all changed last winter when my friend Amy Skinner made me a birthday present. “They’re warmers,” she exclaimed, as I tore off the wrapping paper and held up two very soft flannel beanbags.

The bags are actually filled with birdseed, and each night before I go to bed, I microwave them for a few minutes. After they’re heated, I pull back my bed covers and toss them on top of the chilly sheets. By the time I slide into bed, it’s warmed up, and I can drift off to sleep without shivering.

To make warmers for this edition of our winterizing challenge, I looked up variations online and came across some funny names for them, from the bare-bones description “rice sock” to the comical “magic bags.”

Following are two ways to make your own warmers: how to make ones like mine, as well as a fast and simple way for those of you who may not be as sewing savvy. (more…)

After more than seven months of publishing Cheap Thrills, we’ve come to learn from many of our loyal readers that you enjoy our coverage of local happy-hour specials—and want more of it.

So writer Emily Dougherty has been tapped for the job. An online intern for 5280, she also reports for the Carbon Valley Farmer & Miner. She’ll begin sharing her discoveries with us next week, and her posts will generally appear on Thursdays, depending on the deals.

But before I pass this beat on to Emily, I want to share with you my favorite happy hour of all time.

While many bars and pubs change their happy-hour specials regularly, the Boulder Cafe has remained reliable with its bargains. Every day from 3-7 p.m. at the bar (3-6 p.m. in the restaurant), all alcohol, the raw bar, and appetizers are half price. Not only that, but the atmosphere is a welcome oasis on the bustling Pearl Street Mall. Sidle up to the large, u-shaped wooden bar, and strike up a conversation with the friendly regulars.

1247 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-444-4884

Even though our nice, mellow fall is being blanketed with feet of snow, there’s a glimmer of hope for those of us who love autumn: Craft brewers are still churning out fresh-hopped beer.

Left Hand Brewing has shipped its Warrior IPA bombers, and they should be on shelves for the next month, according to Chris Lennert, vice president of operations.

This year, however, Left Hand is switching things up. While many breweries ship their fresh hops from the Pacific Northwest, Left Hand uses hops from Rising Sun Farms in Paonia. The brewers have friends with a small airplane, so the hops are hustled fresh from the plant into boxes and flown straight to the brewery’s home in Longmont.

So, what makes the local hops different from the ever-popular Northwest variety? Note the nose on the beer, Lennert recommends. He finds the local hops’ aroma a lot stronger, but the flavor profile softer.

Sounds like a nice blend of hops to help us through a wintry middle of the week.

Wednesday at noon, switch up your lunch hour by heading to the Denver Art Museum for a free half-hour Nooner Tour.

This week’s tour takes a look at Colorado-based visual artist Daniel Sprick. View a gallery of his work on his Web site.

If you can’t make this week’s tour, Nooner Tours are held most Wednesdays and Fridays. Check the DAM’s Web site for different tour subjects. Tours are free after general admission is paid ($10 for adults who are Colorado residents) and depart from the Frederic C. Hamilton Building lobby.

Eight days after I first got hit with the H1N1 virus, I finally found enough energy to walk around the house. Driving was still a little scary, and quite a bit of fluid had built up in my inner ear, so playing a rehearsal under stage lights was surreal.

The prior seven days, I was less useful than an amoeba. I could lie still. I could roll over just slightly. I could moan and groan. That was about it.

In the event that you contract H1N1, there’s a good chance your doctor will tell you to head home and take over-the-counter medications until you feel better. At the point that you’re diagnosed, however, you’re probably going to feel like the aforementioned amoeba.

Obviously, different remedies work for different people, but the following four medications contain ingredients that help fight most of the symptoms associated with H1N1. (Be sure to consult with your doctor before mixing any medications.) Here’s a primer on the OTC meds that worked for me: (more…)