Bargain Shopping and Thrift Store Finds!

Yesterday Scott and I spent most of the day scouring for bargains! We went to 4 thrift stores and Ollie's (a closeout store). We got some AMAZING deals and had such a wonderful day together.

Paid $1 each

We went to the first Thrift store looking for an electric percolator that Scott saw on Craigslist but it was gone by the time we got out there. I did find these three lovely jars that I am planning to use in  my Hobby room to store things so that I can see them easily on a shelf. They will be easy to clean too.


Our next stop was at the Vietnam Veterans Thrift Store and BOY DID WE FIND TREASURE!!!! We were so excited! There were 5 of these mirrors standing up against a piece of furniture. We have been looking for large mirrors to go on either side of our fireplace. Scott says he believes they are Mahogany; they are about 3'x4'. AWESOME deal at $10 each!

Paid $10 each

Next we stopped at a Goodwill that we'd never been to before and found some more jars for my project, some quilt binding in navy blue and some curtain clips that I will utilize for other storage in my room as well. We also found a large bag of misc. bits of electronics stuff for Scott for just $1.50 and a heavy power cord for $1. Scott said it didn't matter that the cord had a European plug on it as he wanted it for the wire not the plug.

3 skirts and 2 shirts each $1

And at the final Thrift stop (another Goodwill) we both found some clothes as with our diet changes we are loosing weight and needing smaller clothes. They even had some clothes that were brand new from Target with labels still attached. First I'll show the photo of the items I found for myself on the $1 rack; 3 skirts and 2 shirts.

Paid $3.50 each - these were brand new items

2 pair of dress slacks and a long sleeved shirt for Scott.

Then as I was looking through the rack of the items from Target I found more tops. Three tank tops and one combed cotton top. Just in time for the really hot weather to arrive!

Scott also found some clothes and is ready to shop more at the Thrift stores.

We bought mostly food items at Ollie's so I didn't photograph what we bought there except for some new Diabetic cookbooks. They ranged in price - $2.99, $4.99 and 2 at $6.99. But we really lucked up yesterday as they were having Customer Appreciation and EVERYTHING in the store was an additional 15% off. CHA-CHING!!!! MONEY saved in our pockets!

We had a fabulous day together that rounded out with a trip to the Grocery store LATE last night. So we are all set with food for the next 2 weeks. A wonderful day to be sure. Today will be spent catching up on laundry and yard work and perhaps some house cleaning as well. Then back to work tomorrow!

I did stop at the Goodwill that is on my way home the other day and I made a video of the items I found there.

Blast From the past

This morning Scott dug out the old percolator that we found at a thrift store to make some coffee.  It is missing a piece so he ended up with some grounds in his coffee but it was fun to watch it bubble once more.

I will have to keep my eyes open for the missing piece when I go to the Goodwill Clearance Center.  Last time I went I found some wonderful treasures and some lovely pieces of clothing for myself.  I seem obsessed with shawls for some reason these days and sound two really beautiful ones in the bins.  I find it so hard to find things I like in the stores these days and am very thankful for the Goodwill stores as they have things I actually like and for a LOT less money. Here are some pictures of some of the clothing I've found in the bins.

Black knit shawl that looks like a poncho

Glam Shawl for an evening out - perhaps with a black tank dress

Crocheted sweater for a Victorian feel.

Super comfy top good with black slacks or skirt and GREAT with jeans.

Koret top with beading

Lined linen loafers with embroidered edging

Crocheted tank - not sure I will be keeping this one.

Perhaps I will stop in there this afternoon since I am off today and only have plans to catch up with a friend this morning. HMMMMM... what treasures will I find?

Crafty Gathering and Blackberries from my yard

Saturday afternoon I attended my first ever Card and Crafting group at the library with some wonderful and talented ladies. We had such a wonderful time together and with all our chatter and crafting the time just slipped away. Here are the cards that I received in the little swap that we did...

Such beautiful cards! The ladies enjoyed  the paper bag cards that I made as well.

Cards I made

The organizer of the group showed us how to make these wonderful envelope mini's. I still have more work to do on mine but here it is so far...

Mini-photo album made out of greeting card envelopes

Once I get it completed I will share a few more photos as there are tags that slide in and out of the envelopes  (thats the brown sticking out on the right) and I still need to decorate them and cut a finger slot in the ends of the envelopes so you can pull them out more easily.

Then last night I picked the first blackberries from our little patch in our front yard and Scott and I shared them as a lovely snack. It won't be long until we go on our roadside adventure to pick blackberries. YUM!

Today was day one of Inventory and I was SO glad to get in the car and come home. Ate lunch and took a lovely nap. There was quite the storm going on when I woke up.

Glorious walks

We are doing our best to walk daily as it helps tremendously with our sugar levels. We are both loosing a bit of weight as a bonus. Night before last we saw some lovely fungus and had a bit of a goof-off time with a few shots of ourselves being silly.

Can you see the moon?

Then last night we had another wonderful walk but chose to go in the opposite direction on the walkway and got to see some more wonderful bits of Nature.

Wow!~ Thursday all ready!

It's amazing how fast time seems to be passing these days. June is over half way gone all ready! A little over 6 months before another year has gone. It's a beautiful day here and I am catching up on laundry since I will only have Saturday off this weekend as I will be working Sunday to do final prep work for Inventory. I will be so glad when that yearly event is over!

The other day I picked some yellow squash from our garden...

I cooked it for dinner that night with a bit of onion that I precooked in a bit of butter before adding the sliced squash and a little water. OH MY! It was so delicious and we were so thankful we got it planted. The flavor really is so much better than store bought vegetables. Hopefully the tomatoes will start putting on some fruit soon as we are so looking forward to having some fresh from the garden. OH A TOMATO sandwich would be so delicious.

Do you remember the avocado? Well here it is MONTHS later...

I have another pit set up in another glass and it is starting to show cracks where it will first push out a root and then a shoot out the top. Scott said he had given up on them but not me. I knew it would take them some time. I need to research a bit more on these as I'm not sure they will live outdoors here year round.

Well I better cut this short and get some more housework done.

3:41 AM...

I'm up and enjoying my first cup of coffee but so wish I was still asleep. I had a bit of a stomach issue last night and am feeling exhausted this morning. I am seeing a nap in my future.

The other night we took a drive out the 12th Street Extension and I noticed this huge sign...

With this going up it won't be long until even more things are added out that way and  the traffic noise will increase even more. AH PROGRESS! I am  missing my childhood on that back country road in Upstate NY thats for sure. A bright side of it all is perhaps some retail establishment will go in so I could get a job closer to the house instead of driving 20 to 30 minutes each direction everyday.

Well I better get ready for work. Not sure what will be on my task list for today since I've done everything the system keeps adding to my task sheet as we are ahead of it because of Inventory. Perhaps I will be part of the Inventory Prep team today. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Welcome to the Jungle.....

Yesterday morning I went out and took some "JUNGLE" photos of our back yard and I am saving  half for another post and only sharing the before and afters of the areas we got to yesterday. With all the rain that we have been getting lately the grass and trees and weeds have really taken off and were getting so out of control.

BEFORE.....

This is as you would enter our gate to the backyard.

Under the chestnut tree - you can see where she has lost her "Dread Lockes".

Another shot of under the chestnut tree with the pile of old straw in front of it.

Next to the garden shed that we built.

Back side of the chestnut tree... there are two clematis vines that I was hoping to find.

Next to our screened porch - repairing the screen is on our to do list - or enclosing it to make a year long porch instead,

AFTER....

Scott did the mowing AFTER he had to repair the mower.

The "Rose" bed with some sickly roses that I may just pull out as they tear the screen up anyway.

I moved the bench to under the chestnut tree... nice and shady.

Under the chestnut tree with some of the old straw spread around.

I did find my clematis vines and am using two spare tomato cages to give them something to climb as they do not seem to care for climbing up the chestnut tree.

Beside the garden shed - more of the old straw was used to mulch this bed as well.

And I do believe that these bees are giving their seal of approval...

LOOK at all the clippings from just the back yard...

It was a day of hard work and we were both exhausted. I'm taking today off from the clean-up but will do more after work each day this week since my h ours have been cut back again. I need a play day and it is Father's Day so I want to make Scott a nice dinner tonight. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the Dads out there!

Better!

Today has gone oh so much better. At work I was left to my one devises and accomplished quite a bit. Tomorrow I will tackle my department on my own as the gal that helps me toward the end of the processing time is not going to be there tomorrow. I will be needing a nap. There is also to be a cookout tomorrow with burgers and dogs cooked by the Boss. I'm to put together a veggie tray and I am planning to clean and pull apart some lettuce leaves, slice some tomatoes and chop some onions for the burgers and dogs. I'm sure most will poo poo the onion as they are afraid of dragon breathe but if I'm going to eat either they should have onions on them and I'm not going ot be kissing any of them and Scott doesn't mind; he likes onions too. I'm also planning to cut up some carrots, broccoli and celery. I will make a sour cream dip to go with them. Lots to do tonight before I go to sleep.

I'm working on a small mini-album thats made out of paper bags and chipboard. It's turning out quite nice and I will share photos when it is complete.

Scott has been writing some nice posts over on his blog.... Softly Scrambled.

Here we are during our walk last night...

We were HOT and sweaty! AND HAPPY!