tifi

This is my neighbor’s cat. Like most of the people who came to my yard sale today, she walked around, looked at a few things, but didn’t buy. I spent a tremendous amount of time labeling, categorizing, and advertising the yard sale I was having today. I should’ve gone my usual route and just donated everything to a shelter and/or thrift store (I’m now doing this anyway). I spent $7 on supplies for said yard sale and made about $11 when it was all said and done.  I could’ve spent an hour this morning, trolling garage sales myself and then took Robin, Wren, and Finch* to a local classic car show. Instead, I woke up at 6, spent 2 hours prepping and putting things out, and then another 5 hours outside sitting and waiting for people to show up. Now, I am too exhausted to go look at some old cars, lol. My online ads (through craigslist and garagesalefinder.com) paid off. A woman came looking for a book series I listed and bought them all. At least I took something I learned from my own yard sale experiences and put it to work for me. (Be specific, no one wants to shop for “a variety of items” like one ad I saw online!) I’m probably never going to have a yard sale again. It’s not about the money, it’s about the precious time I expended for no reason. :-/

*Kids new internets names. Heh.

One of the reasons I love going to estate sales is because I like seeing other people’s houses. Doesn’t everyone? In my neck of the woods, estate sales are often at huge mid century waterfront ranch homes filled to the brim with stuff like fur coats, beautiful antique furniture and loads of gorgeous costume jewelry. The one I went to yesterday was more modest and apparently, the new owner, who was about my age bought the place “as is” complete with the contents. So she was selling everything in order to gut the place. I picked up the softest hand-knit blanket (still trying to figure out what it’s made of) and the cutest little vintage baby sweater. It took all my strength not to bring home more (since I’m having a yard sale of my own next week). The blanket was $2 and she let me have the little sweater for free. It’s perfect considering one of baby’s middle names is old fashioned and granny*, but modern at the same time, just like this little piece.

*She’s actually being named for L’s granny.

Before

Waiting for the final coat
I found this bed at the thrift store on Saturday and hemmed and hawed over it for a while. I walked around the store a bit admiring some chairs and a bench I would’ve loved for the front hall (maybe I’ll go back for it). I called my mom who told me I was being ridiculous b/c I didn’t want to pay $40 for the bed and rails. I talked the staff down to $35, and took my new toy Girlie’s new bed home.

I had the kids sand it down, then DH and I primed and painted it. I wanted to get it done before Monday b/c we were expecting lots of rain. It dried and we took it upstairs. We started to put her box spring in…and it fell through! LOL. The bed is about an inch too wide for her box spring & mattress. *sigh* So, it was off to Lowe’s (again) for some plywood to make slats. And lesson learned: measure the piece before you bring it home! Eyeballing it won’t always work…obviously.

Yay! It’s raining too. I love the rain. I’ve got a ton planned for this weekend including

• making lots and lots of smoothies in my new blender.
• Parents Night Out! Yaaaay!
• starting a blanket for baby in yummy ice cream colors.
• detangling and trimming Girlie’s hair. This is a job and a half but it has to be done!
• doing a mint julep masque and having fun scaring the kids with my green face. I used to do these every weekend when I was a teen, and I’m starting up again.
• converting a pair of jeans to maternity on my brand new to me sewing machine ($12 at an estate sale last weekend).
• garage saling, of course. And preparing for the garage sale I plan on having next month.
• looking for my missing knitting pattern page with my rows listed on the back, ugh!

What about you?

On Thursdays, I start cruising Garage Sale Finder in preparation for my weekend. Friday usually finds me looking over some local papers to see if anything new pops up. Saturday mornings, you’ll find me up at the crack of dawn, tweeting while I plan my route. This is all to prepare for my absolute favorite early Saturday morning activity: yard saling! My new neighborhood is full of great, cheap finds. One or two of the kids will usually be up by the time I’m ready to leave and come with me. People are always surprised to hear that the kids come along. We have rules: They have to use their own money and they know that I’m not letting them bring 100 new toys into the house. So, it works out well.

Girlie is the best book finder while ZB is great at finding some obscure toy he may be looking to add to a collection. Girlie has even become interested in helping me make over the things we find. Take this chair:

I actually found it at a thrift store that was closing one location for $2. With a little cleaning and sanding from Girlie, and a $4 can of spray paint from Ace Hardware:

Tada! A cute new chair that Girlie took up to her room as soon as it was dry.

Holidays are no exception it seems as I have still managed to find quite a few garage sales this weekend. Happy Fourth, and Happy Saleing!

• The version of Auld Lang Syne I’ve been wanting to download (from the SATC movie). I love this haunting folk version. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. Like Saph always says, I love “guitar music”.
• A scarflet pattern that’s quick, easy, adorable, and doesn’t require any knitting skills I don’t have. Hey, I need it in a hurry, we had snow (flurries) Friday. Adrienne and I are having a “pick your own pattern” knit-a-long.
• A turkey to feed the dozen or so adults we may have over on Thanksgiving. At least I don’t have to cook it, MIL volunteered FIL to do it, hehe.
• A salon that does natural hair!
• A former classmate. A knitter at that! This is the second crafting clasmate I have found this year.
• A flat panel computer monitor at the thrift store, uber cheap. Yay me!

Did you find anything interesting?

Because Bebe’s smock and chair cost less than a “Texas sized” Strawberry limeade from Dairy Queen.

Also, my Redbud finally started blooming!

Have a fabulous weekend!

I was supposed to go to an auction on Saturday (just to look, of course), but I was too scared to drive the country road in potentially bad weather, so I didn’t go. Instead, I somehow ended up at Goodwill on my way to the supermarket. So what that it’s in the opposite direction? This was my purchase:

I was bummed about missing the auction, and needed a consolation prize, I guess. Oh, a bit of advice: At a thrift store, it never hurts to ask for a discount if you think something is too expensive. For the most part, I find Goodwill overpriced for what it is and what they sell (except for the cool garage I got the kids for Christmas brand new for $5) and asking got me a 10% discount. Hey, it was like getting everything tax free!

This year, I’m really going all out for the holiday season. DH grew up with MIL decorating for every season and holiday and has always wanted to recreate that in adulthood. I always think that if I add more decoration, it’ll just be too much but now that I’m doing it, I don’t find that at all. So, here’s some of the “more”.

I made this last minute advent calendar on Friday based on an idea I saw at Kiddley. Maybe next year I’ll start early and make one like Blair’s.

This is the box they’re in. (And that’s our tabletop kitchen, every family ornament chucked on it tree) So far everyone has gotten new ornaments (something we do every year), and written letters to Nana. Oh, and Girlie learned how to ride without training wheels! I forgot about that.

Oranges make me think of Christmas. Doesn’t everybody get or know someone who gets a huge box of citrus for the holidays? I had forgotten about these Tord Boontje plates I bought at Target on clearance last year until ZB said we should have Christmas plates.

And I saw these pyrex mugs and thought they were cute. A quarter each, why not?

My new slightly creepy apron.

I think my holiday village needs one or two of these.

Bring on the Solstice/Christmas season, I’m ready! All four of our trees are up. The “fancy” tree, the small family ornament tree, and the two older kids’ mini trees. I’ve got the stockings hung, the wreath on the door, the windows decorated, etc, etc, etc. I started making a Christmas village. I’ve been baking, and I’m even doing holiday knitting. BUT, I really need to get my house in order. Having the kids home for about a week threw off my housework and so the laundry pile is probably Bebe’s height. Yea, I should get on that. But before I go, pictures!

That’s my favorite ornament. It’s a pop-up paper snowflake ornament by Robert Sabuda for MoMA and was given to me by my stepbrother a few years ago. It was the second snowflake ornament I was ever gifted, and so I decided to start collecting unique ones.

Girlie and I have been working on our little holiday village, this was the first house. What’s more fun than paint and glitter? Not much.

A little hat I’m working on. I couldn’t resist this adorable yarn from Hobby Lobby when it finally went on sale.

The cover of Girlie’s book. Inspired by the ones over at soulemama.

I picked up two of these Japanese mugs at Sally Ann’s for a quarter each. I first saw similar ones on flickr and I have a non Christmas one, too.