Gettin' It On The Cheap

So, as my way of being helpful to all those other unemployed people in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area, I've decided to complie a list of some cheap finds. On this list you will see some cheap eats and some good happy hours and some neighborhood beauty services. They're necessities for any city girl really.

Massage: Qi Gong Tui-Na on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. This is a no-frills massage place (men and women welcome) where you don't get the pretty music or the lavender scented room, but you do get a great massage. These ladies will pound the crap out of you for a very not-Manhattan price. An hour, at last check, was $45 (tip them well!).

Waxing: Ok. Every girl needs a bikini wax on a regular basis, Brazilian or otherwise. I found this place pretty soon after I was laid off, on the southside of Williamsburg. And, though I have given up a bi-monthly manicure (I can do it myself), I really want to keep a little normalcy in my beauty routine. So I've kept my monthly(ish) bikini wax. I always go to Audrey on Bedford Avenue. It's $15 for a regular bikini wax (using regular wax), and you're in and out (on a weekday, without an appointment) in ten minutes.

Hair: My friend Jenn is a stylist at Mousey Brown on Lorimer Street. They have really reasonable prices, great service and talented stylists (of course, I only go to Jenn, and you should, too!). And boys looking for a barber shop, checkout Tomcat on India Street and Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. My roommate, the ex, and a couple other boys I know go here and it's $20 - $30 for a cut.

Nails: I can't recall the name of the place, but on Manhattan Avenue, next to a store called White Dream is a cute little manicure place where a manicure is $6. The women (and man) who work there are nice and they have a great selection of Essie colors.

Brunch: Ok, no links here, you guys can figure it out yourself. But the go-to, on-the-cheap brunch places are, in no particular order of favoritism: Mugs on Bedford Ave. (I never spend more than $10 and you get coffee and a cocktail with brunch); Acapulco on Manhattan Ave. (the ex and I used to brunch there every weekend and for the two of us, about $14); my friend G's new favorite brunch place in Greenpoint is La Brique on the corner of Manhattan and Bedford (you get a coffee and a Mimosa with the brunch menu, and they have a back porch).

Happy Hour: Happy Hour is an unemployed gal's best friend. In the neighborhood, there are some good ones - Black Rabbit, Habitat (ladies night all night on Wednesday), Matchless are some of my favorites. I read recently, though I've not checked it out, the Sound Fix has an open well bar on Wednesday from 7 to 8 pm. Ooh! And sitting in the park this fine spring day, I was handed a flier for "$1 Mini-Pitchers of Sweet-Ups" from noon to 5 every day at Royal Oak - now that is exactly what the unemployed are lookin' for!

Did I miss anything? Would love to hear other opinions on cheap finds (preferably in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area) for the penny-conscious amongst us.