Weekend Finds!

Are you ready for this?  Brace yourself!  I left the house with $25 and this is what I came home with...

Books!  Awesome, awesome books.  I'm a huge sucker when it comes to books.  I actually got 4 other ones also that are not in this picture.  The ones in the pictures are so great for beginner readers and readers transitioning into chapter books.  Love them! 

Books in picture cost...$.00.  Other 4 books cost $1 for the 4.

 

Little Miss J got hooked up with this adorable little chair.  The kids both did reading this past Summer but we never made it to the Library to turn in their charts and get ptizes so this is what she got for her reading prices.  Guess how much it cost me? $0 :)

3 pairs of Old Navy shorts for Mister C to add to his pile of school clothes.  He loves that they have the stretchy waist.  Happy kid=Happy Mom.  These were also FREE.

Big stack of plan white legal size paper.  For what you ask? Art projects...lots and lots of art projects. :) My kiddos are constantly coming and getting paper from our printer.  Now they have their own little pile to use.

Paper-$1 for the whole pile

 

I picked up a pack of 6 baby bibs (not the baby)!  Thay are brand spanking new, and where muchly needed.  My old ones had been through 2 kids...you can imagine.
Bibs-$2 for 6

Mister C learned to ride his bike without training wheels this summer and has been living on his bike ever since.  Saddly he was still cruising around on this bike (pictured above) that he got when he was 2 1/2.  He is now six and tall for his age.  It was time for a new bike. :)  I'd been looking for the past month on KSL but hadn't found anything in our price range that was close enough to drive and pick-up.  So I made it a goal to find one Yard Selling last Saturday.  But was striking out left and right. :(  Then my sweet friend called and said that they were just going to take a load to DI and if I wanted anything to come back and take it...FOR FREEEEEEEEE.  Oh, and guess what they had......a BIKE! :)

This bike!  Isn't so cute.  I love that it's a little beach cruiser.  So cute! This was his prize for the reading he did for the summer.  Mister C was beyond happy!  It doesn'e end there though.  I sent the HH to a Yard Sale to check-out a set of Kid golf clubs and the bag to go with it.  He bought the golf Clubs and this bike.....

So now Mister C has really thought that he has died and gone to heaven. :)  This one is bigger though and still a little hard for him to ride.  He can grow into that one, and now we'll have back up for when he has friends over.   The cruiser bike is perfect for him right now though. 

Cruiser Bike- FREE

Huffy Bike-$10

Kid Golf Club Set w/ Bag-$10

Snow clothes-FREE

Tricycle for Mister E-FREE

Cute little Princess Pens.  These are going to be GREAT for gifts.

Pens-$2 for 5

Brown Leather Chest-FREE

As you can see I pretty much got HOOKED-UP by my friend with the trailer full of stuff she was taking to DI. I am not against hand-me-downs. :)  Everything that was FREE came from her.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Back to School

My big boy Mister C started the 1st grade today!  Are you kidding me!  He was so excited to say the least.  he has been bouncing off my walls for 2 days now.  I've had an ache in my chest for a week straight thinking about him going to ALL day school.  Saddness!!  he told me last night that I have to stop "Boo-hooing" over him going to First Grade. LOL.  So I put on my happy face this morning and sent him off to hid first ALL day of school!

Like his outfit?  Paid $10 for the whole thing including the shoes!

Old Navy shirt: $2.49

White undershirt: .25 cents

Children's Place shorts: $3 

Old Navy Flip-flops: $5  

*I actually got the shoes at the beginning of the summer, before my project.  Still a great price though.

Shirt and shorts from local thrift shop.

He's in HEAVEN sitting by two of his best buds!I go yard Selling with one of these little boys Mom and I know she got some AWE-SOME deals on his school clothes too.

  Mister C didn't need a whole lot when it comes to clothes.  He did need pants though and I struck gold! The most I spent on a pair for him was $7 for a  pair of gap pants in excellent shape and so cute!

 2 pair of socks for .75 for the pair. :)  Not second-hand...put can't get much cheaper then that.

 A few xhirts I picked up at Yard Sales.  I didn't pay more then .50 on anyone of them.

 The gap pants that I scored on.  below are some Old Navy pants that look brand-new paid $5. LOVE!

Cute little Old Navy athletic outfit that I paid $1 for! :)

DC shoes that I got for .25 cents.  I almost felt guilty!  Mister C loves them.

I hardly spent anything on school clothes this year it was so great!  Mister C is loving all this stuff and is still young enough to think it's cool for his Mom to buy his clothes second-hand.  he actually kinda brags about it.  He'll say, "My Mom got this at a Yard Sale for a quarter" like it's the coolest thing ever. LOL.  Actually it is the coolest thing ever! :)  

Miss J starts pre-school on September 8th.  Wait until you see the school clothes I got for her...A-DOR-A-BLE!!!!! 

Compliments...I heart them!

I recieved this comment on my Facebook page yesterday.

"hey heather, i have to tell you that i really admire your talents :) i went to DI yesterday, and was so overwhelmed, all i kept thinking was "what would heather find?..." it's not as easy as it looks ;)"

I loved getting that and to know that my little blog is actually helping people and that they think I'm talented. ;)  I get this question a lot, "How do you find anything in those places?"  I just love the hunt of the treasure I suppose, and a trained eye I guess.  The more you go the easier it is to spot those great finds.  It's hardly ever a quick trip though, but I LOVE IT. 

Also I'm guest posting over at Diligent Joy which is a HUGE compliment that she asked me to.  her blog is so great and she gives little tidbits from her life and how she finds joy.  You'll want to check it out for sure!

P.S.  Sorry I've been so laaaaaame on the posts lately, I have so many posts on my 'to-do' list but they'll have to wait.  School starts on Monday and I need to take advantage of my kiddos being home. Oh yeah, and read  "The Help" I just got my hot little hands on it last night and can't wait to devour it.

 

Park City Adventure...

I went with my in-laws for a girls weekend up in Park City and of course we had to hit us up some Yard Sales.  It was A LOT of fun.  We took a 12 passenger van so we could all ride together and fit our awesome finds in it. 

On the way up to Park City we hit up a couple of Yard Sales and I got some great stuff.  My favorite find is a brand new toaster oven for $10! Score!  Ours recently broke so this was an AWESOME find for me.  I also got a couple gifts, a crossword puzzle book (for the HH's grandpa who loves crosswords) and a coin counter bank, each for .25  cents and each are brand new!  25 cents for a present, YES please!   My sister-in-laws got some books, a 5 disc CD player, a fishing pole, a SUPER CUTE old chalk board that I am kinda coveting ;), a soccer ball, to just list a few. 

Saturday morning we ended up not getting out until about 9:30am to the Park City Yard Sales and if you Yard Sale then you know that that is about 2 1/2 hours too late.  But we stayed up really late talking the night before so we opted for a late start.  We still got some fun things though.  Most of us left with a pair of shoes either for ourselves or a family member.  I got some really cute sweater boots for $5!!! I also got some cute clothes for my Miss J and a cute bear hat for Mister E.  It was really fun!  I love that no matter where you go you can find a Yard Sale.  AWESOME! 

We hit the outlets after that and guess what?  I stayed strong and didn't buy anything but 6 pairs of socks (which are on my list of things I can buy new) for Mister C and Miss J for school.  But I got all 6 pair for a total of  $1.50.  Now that 's THRIFTY! :)  It was a blast!  Thanks ladies for the good time, great shopping, and even better conversation.  I loved it SO MUCH!!!

I know that these pictures don't do all of our stuff justice.  It kinda just looks like a bunch of junk in the back of a van.  But there are some TREASURES in there!

The girls!  Love them!!!

We LOVED our 12 passenger van!

A before and After Show and Tell

I love it when people show me the good deals they get.  It makes me so giddy.  her a two Before and afters I was sent from a couple of my good friends.

Shannon's Train Table:

The table cost $5 and the train set cost $7.  The paint she used was from the Restore store, and cost $5 (for a gallon). She used about $1 worth of paint.  Total cost was less than $15 dollars!  I would say that is a SCORE!  Great job Shannon!!!!!


Ashley's Dresser:

Ashley got this dresser for free!  Doesn't get much better then that, right?  She re-did it for her new baby coming any day now. :) So excited to love on him/her (it's a surprise, how fun!).  Love it Ash!

I went out this weekend and am pumped about my finds.  When I get my hands on a camera I'll post about them.  Oh, and I got the Park City pictures so I'll post on that in the next day or two. :) Happy, happy joy, joy!

Tempted!

Here I am...I'm blogging.  Why.  Because I can. :)  Because I have a full day without plans.  Because my 1 year old is napping.  Because my 6 & 3 year old are outside, still in their pajamas, playing.  Because I'm slightly crampy, and a little bit bloated (too much information? Maybe.), and I feel very much like NOT getting dressed today. Because I've decided NOT to workout today or clean or do much of anything else. Because...I CAN!!!!

Now on to the goods.  Do you know that sometimes I don't like my project very much?  It's true, sometimes I DO NOT like it.  Those times usually hit when there are GIFTS involved.  Coming up with a second-hand present is HARD!!!!  Mister C my 6 year old was invited to a good friends birthday party and in two days I had to figure out a gift.  This is in the midst of being up at Girls Camp.  So in reality I had one day to create something awesome that a boy turning 7 would love.  I turned to the trusted Super Hero Cape.  (Remember it HERE.)  But this time I didn't have my Mom's help (who is an AMAZING seamstress), and it literally took me ALL DAY AND NIGHT to make!  My thread kept breaking and to stitch around the super hero emblems is beaslty to say the least!    YAAAAAAH!  There was a lot of stress and unpicking going on.  I was cursing my project and was TEMPTED immensely to just run on over to the Mart and pick him up something.  But I didn't I was strong.  'Cause ya know what?  I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!  :)  I plugged through and at mid-night I finished!  I wrapped it up and prayed  he would like it.

Fast forward a week which was couple days before my nieces bridal shower. I had been picking my brain on what to give her for a good month.  But nothing was coming.  Late at night, 2 days before her shower, it hits me.  I remember that I had the cutest recipe cards that I'd been saving for 5 years.  Because I couldn't just use them for something ordinary they were WAY too cute for that.  See how my mind works? LOL.  Then I also remembered I had an extra wooden recipe box that my Grandpa had made.  Don't worry people I already had one that he had made for ME.  I would never give away my one and only handmade box from my Gramps.  Any who...I was so thrilled to do this for her.  I know when I first got married.   I was NOT a cook!  So to help her on her path of becoming a good cook made me feel happy.  I wrote down some of my favorite recipes and moved on to the painting of the box.  My first plan was to spray paint it a buttery yellow color.  But guess what? Couldn't find a butter yellow in a spray, but I did have one in a Acrylic paint.  BAD IDEA.  It takes 3x's as long to hand paint then it does to spray and it doesn't dry near as smooth, especially when you try and rush it, because you need to have it all done by 5 o'clock the next day along with 10 other things you need to do that day. BLAH!!!!  So once again I was tempted.  TEMPTED SO BAD!!!  Just let me go to the Mart, or better yet Target.  Ah target...:)  But NO!  On to plan B, I WILL make this work!  I sanded the box again.  Grabbed the Ocean Breeze spray paint that I had on hand and went to work.  It took me a total of 2 hours to respray and completely let dry ( I heart spray paint!!).  I added a cute twiggy tree rub-on to the side, an adorable little bird and the the word "recipe",  and woola!  It turned out so GREAT! I almost wanted to keep it for myself.  But the thought of having to come up with something else for a gift made me break out in cold sweats.  So into the gift bag it went.

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Yeah, I really hated (strong word, yes.  It's how I felt.) my project but then I loved it once again when I got a text from the Mom of the Birthday Boy saying that he LOVED his cape so much and couldn't wait to show it to his dad, and When my Sister-in-law said "You might hate your project, but we all love it because we get awesome gifts".  Just knowing that the work I put into the gifts is appreciated really means the world to me!  Plus to know I'm using  things that have just been hanging around my house for years FEELS GREAT. :) I think I just need to plan a head so there is not so much pressure with a time schedule.

Anybody have any GREAT gift ideas?  Please say you do and that you'll share them with me!!!!  I NEED HELP PEOPLE!!!  In more ways then one but we won't get into that right now. ;)

REWIND

Wow, time really does fly when you are having fun.  Life has been full of crazy F.U.N. this last month.  It has been filled with 2 Family Reunions, Girls Camp, a Bridal Shower, and  a Park City girls weekend. Woot, Woot!  It really has been so great!  :) I am ready for life to slow down a bit though and just take time to relax...and deep clean my house.  With all the running around we were doing something had to give and house work was it, along with this blog. ;) So I have so much to blog about!!!  I am ready to get you updated on the ups and downs I've been having with this little project and show you what I've been up too.  But remember how my camera broke, and now I have no way of taking pictures, and how I've been so busy that I haven't had a second to try and find a new/second-hand camera?  Well I remember and it is torturing me!  So I've depended on the people I've been with to take pictures of all these special moments and fun finds for me.  As soon as I get the pictures of what I got this weekend Yard Selling in Park City I'll do a post on that.  GOOD TIMES!  But for now you'll have to settle with this little post, I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and still going strong on my project!  It has now been a whopping 93 days and I've not bought anything new, but I have been tempted! More on that to come later.....