Goodwill Outlet

 

On a recent trip to the Goodwill Outlet, we snagged several items including: 

• Clue Jr. Game (missing one piece, but we can still make the game work just fine)
• plastic Easter eggs (which I will wash and donate to our church egg hunt)
• stainless steel bowl
• 8 cupcake themed party invitations and matching thank you cards, with envelopes
• NIB party garland
• NIB "Backwords" game
• pink chiffon type wired ribbon
• 2 small kid themed reusable bags (I like to tuck these into our Operation Christmas Child boxes)
• brand new black leggings for Miss M
• turquoise scarf 
• orange Aeropostale shirt for me
• penguin mug that Mr C just had to have!
• pair of pants for Mr. C
• pink tutu onesie for the little girl of a friend who teaches dance
• Grouchy Ladybug board book in perfect condition (also for the dance teacher friend)
• Christmas tree cake pan
• pink American Girl type purse for Miss M
• NWT snowflake dish
• mosaic game from Discovery Toys
• 8 thank you cards with envelopes
• medium sized ball for Mr C (not pictured)
• vintage round table cloth in excellent shape (not pictured)
• in box, with all pieces and directions - Pampered Chef Ice Shaver (not pictured)

But the best find was this Cardinal wind jacket. It was pretty dirty and I wasn't sure it would come clean. After a soak in Tide Stain Release and a run through the wash, every spot came out and it looks brand new. Sadly, it's the wrong size for anyone in our house, but it made a perfect surprise for a special friend.

So our grand total? A whopping $12.00 for everything!!  With the exception of books and glassware, everything else is $0.39 per pound. The other two categories are priced per pound as well, but I don't remember how much.

Goodwill Outlet shopping is not for the fainthearted or those new to thrifting. It's dirty and noisy and crowded even on a weekday and you can find some really odd things, but the kids and I had a great time with my mom and SIL. Plus I think you will agree that we found some great items for not much money.

Vintage Christmas

While the celebration of the birth of a Savoir is THE reason for Christmas, there are still other elements that add to the special time of year. I just posted a comment on a friend's blog about my favorite things of Christmas. While there is much I enjoy about the season, one that tops my list would be using things handed down to me from my grandparents.  These are just a few...

Hanging the ornaments given to me by my grandparents each year until I turned 18. That little blonde girl praying...dated 1982...I was with her at a craft show when it was purchased. The icicle on the right...I inherited what was left of the set after Grandaddy died and Grandmommie moved from the ranch into town.

The Swedish candle carousel that rings when the candles are lit. My children are just as delighted as I once was. I still have the original box it came in too.

 

Santa and Mrs. Claus decorate red tapers at my house just like they did when I was child.

I also enjoy using old and/or thrifted but new-to me items. My mom picked up this cross-stitch piece - it just needed a coat of black and matching easel to showcase it. I am pleased with how the thrifted milk glass and  sprigs of red and green perk up the corner of my mantel.

 

My most favorite thing to use this Christmas season though? The hands down winner would be the 12 sets of Indian glass in a snowflake pattern. Each box bears Grandmommie's name, in her handwriting. My mom remembers these from her childhood and rescued them from my Grandmommie's garage sale probably almost 10 years ago. I am using them tomorrow when some special friends come to my home for coffee, snacks, and fellowship. Speaking of those friends...they will be here in 24 hours....better get to work! Thankfully, Miss M is healthy and back in school today.

Cupcake Tea Table

My mom has been gently reminding me to update the blog....sickness, travel, chores, sickness....it all adds up to less time on the computer! Anyway, I thought I would start with a post about the annual ladies tea at my church. Hostesses decorate a table for 8 using their choice of themes. In years past, my themes have been patriotic, birds (in honor of my Grandmommie's hobby), fall, valentine, and twice a vintage table. This year was my most favorite table I have ever done. Cupcakes!!

I used things from around my house  - like my Grandmommie's mixing bowl, one of Miss M's Christmas ornaments, thrifted mini muffin/tart pans, and cupcake cookbooks. All total, I think I spent about $20 for the entire table.

I blogged about the painted cupcake plates here. I was planning to leave the big ones unpainted, but when I set my table up Friday night, I knew they needed coordinating dots. A glue stick made the perfect sized circle and it only took about 10 minutes to do the entire set. And yes, they were dry by the tea on Saturday.

Brightly colored scraps of ribbon served as napkin rings. The punch glasses were thrifted for the vintage table last year - at 15 cents each they were a steal!

My favors were stuffed felt ornaments, complete with "sprinkles" and hand sewn by me! (cause hand work is the only sewing I can do!)

Another little favor was inside each cup - a small canister of sprinkles with the a label attached: "Taste and see the Lord is good. Psalms 34:8. The measuring spoons are heart shaped - $1 from the MOPS garage sale back in the summer.

As always, the food was both beautiful and delicious. The speaker was excellent. But by far the best part of my day was spending it with these two special friends. You know the kind...the ones who are almost like family?

 mushroom/woodland theme

 Snowmen are always a popular theme.

 It's a little dark, but this jungle theme has some fun stuff going on.

 LOVE red and white for Christmas!

Finally, Miss M models a birthday gift for a classmate. $2.99 for an apron from Hobby Lobby, plus fabric left over from a Valentine shirt for Miss M = a very inexpensive but special birthday gift, especially since it was a cooking themed party. We paired it with a cute little necklace from the mall.

Trunk or Treat, Minnie Mouse, & Go Fish

Our church hosted a trunk or treat for the first time this year. Even though we have known about it for several weeks, our family didn't decide on our theme until last night! We put it all together in just about an hour after church today and everything we used came from our house - no additional purchases!

The giant suckers are part of my porch decorations for Christmas. The candy and jars were collected from around the house and in the pantry.

Minnie and Jason from Go Fish, with our porch ghost and Scooby jack-o-lantern. (Minnie costume purchased at a thrift store after Halloween last year. Go Fish track suit was a hand-me-down from friends. Total spent for both costumes: $15.)

 a blurry tiger...it was pretty windy and I was shivering! They even had it rigged up to ROAR!

 The rockin' Wright family

The winning car, as voted on by the children. Judging from the comments and kids who said they were going to vote for us, Miss M thinks we must have been a close second.

Finally at home again...posing for one last costume shot with the addition of Hudson "Super Dog".  Now excuse me while I go raid some trick-or-treat bags!

Candlestick Redo

Thanks to Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick, I have been introduced to Rust-oleum Metallic Spray paint in oil rubbed bronze. I have been trying it on several projects around the house, but here's my favorite one so far.

My mom picked up these 3 ceramic candleholders at a thrift store for $1 each - notice one has an original price of $9.99. They were in great condition without a single chip.

I tend to favor warmer tones in my home and these were just a little too white. So they sat and sat in the basement all summer long. Finally, inspiration hit! With two coats of rubbed oil bronze and a few apple pie candles from Walmart, they are a perfect fit in my living room. I just hope my mom doesn't want them back when she comes to visit next month! 

Simple Lunch Turned Special

We live in a large city with tons of things to do every day of the summer, but some days it is nice to just stay home. We recently had such an "at home day". It started out fine, but by lunch time the wee ones were in need of a distraction of some kind. First off, they dined on hot dogs and Cheetos, with a side of fruit and milk to drink. Hot dogs are a rare treat at our house...they usually mean that I am sick and/or really tired and that's all I could come up with!

Hot dogs are excitement enough but served in these cute retro baskets....and with little personal flags too? It was just what we all needed on a hot summer day! You don't have to use the baskets - just try a simple flag in your family's waffles, sandwich, fresh fruit...and see if they don't enjoy the special little touch.

(Thanks to my bloggy buddy Nikki for this idea!)

Big Boy Room

Well, the bed is finally finished and Mr C was so very anxious to get it inside and try it out. We had a family outing Saturday morning to search for a mattress and a few other items for the new room. We lucked out and found a great closeout deal on the mattress set and linens for a steal at a Sears going out of business sale. (Side note: I really like Sears best of all the department stores in my area. Always great prices, good value for the $$, and classic styles that are not too trendy.)

Mr C wanted a sport theme but I wanted vintage inspired colors rather then the typical colors in a sport themed room. (Meaning not fire engine red, white, bright blue...) I was really excited to find just the thing at Sears. It's a Disney line and the package reads "Inspired by the 1940's Goofy's How to be a Sports Fan Cartoons" . I didn't know exactly what I was looking for until I saw it, but this was it! All total, we spent about $60 for all the linens, pillows included.

 Miss M approves of the new bed too! The stickers are actually removable vinyl we scored for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. The bed you will remember, was a thrift store find that started out like this.

I was so excited to find a navy bedspread rather than a comforter. I think bedskirts are a hassle! He is extra pleased about the pennant shaped pillow.

This valance matches the pillows and was only $10; you can hardly buy the fabric at that price! The walls look a little yellow in this shot, but they are more of a light khaki.

This dresser was used by my dad, myself, my brother, Miss M. and now Mr C. More vinyl decals from Hob Lob. The ball drawer pulls are from there as well, but at $3.99 each I could only get three. I check the ad each week for a sale though so I can get more!

We still have to hang some artwork and get going on a bookcase for the room but the hard work is mostly done! I really like working together as a family on this project. It's just another thing we can look back and say "remember when". At then end of the day, that's one of the greatest things about a family.

New Furniture for Mr C

Mr C turned 3 in January and is still in the crib. He is a lightweight and doesn't ever try to climb out, so we really have not been in a rush to move him out yet. Miss M didn't make the switch until the very day she turned 3 and we had no problems with her sleeping. Even though, I have been keeping my out at local garage sales and thrift stores for a twin bed with good bones but in need of a little TLC.

I found this gem last week and it fit the bill perfectly. Clean lines, solid wood, sturdy construction....and only $40. Once we got it home and started working on it, I discovered a garage sale sticker- it was marked $5 folks! I still got a good deal but sure wish I had found it at the garage sale! I forgot to take pictures before we started stripping the paint, so here's one of the work in progress.

It had two coats of white and then a reddish stain underneath. The husband thought I was crazy when he first saw it.

This was before we worked on the real stubborn areas. It has now been sanded and one side has stain on it. The husband was pretty sure we were wasting our time trying to get it down to the wood but I have watched my mom refinish enough pieces that I knew it could be done. He said tonight he thought it looked really nice and that we had done a great job.

Of course, I will post pics once the project is complete. We also have a an old bookcase from my parents that has been sanded and will probably be stained to match the bed, along with another bit of updating as well. Mr C. is suddenly in a big hurry for his big boy bed. So much in fact, he tried to get in the car over the weekend to "go buy the soft part" (the mattress set)!

Updated Cupcake Chalkboard

I found this little thing back in December at a thrift store for a mere $1.50. I painted two coats of chalkboard paint and gave the frame a coat of black. Then it sat in the garage for weeks months. I knew I wanted it in the kitchen, but wasn't sure how to finish up.

Enter some cute iron on cupcakes I found at Wal-Mart and the project quickly took shape. A little hot glue, a clothespin painted black, and a scrap of ribbon = total cute!  Mr C told me "Put a picture on facebook Mama!" as soon as I hung it up. I think he meant the blog, but I like the way he thinks! I'm still thinking on how to do an eraser...thinking maybe wrapping some batting in a little square of fabric and attaching it with ribbon.

My latest project is one that I hope won't take as long - because it's a new bed for Mr C's room! I picked up a headboard/footboard today at a thrift store for $40. It is wood, currently painted white. While in good condition, Miss M and I have been toying with some ways to update it and make it perfect for the boy. Check back later for before pics because we couldn't bring it home today - it wouldn't fit in our car!

Fun Fall Frolics

Things are beginning to settle down in our home, now that October is over. It always seems like November is a time to recharge after the craziness of October and before the really hectic month of December begins. I will give you a little clue as to how to retain your sanity in December though - do what is important to your family THIS year. Don't worry about what you have always done in the past. I love traditions, but sometimes we keep them going past their prime. Besides, if you don't let go of past traditions there isn't room for new ones. With that being said, here are a few things that have been keeping us busy lately...
The weather and illness kept us from making our yearly visit to a local apple orchard, but we were still able to to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin patch...
Mr C enjoying a ride on the horse swing
They both LOVED the tightrope this year
Miss M was brave enough to try the zip line again, and again and again! Mr C said "that's enough" after just one turn.I got to explore the tunnels with both wee ones this year. We made it up and through the biggest one...and I think my back is permanently stooped now from bending over. Mr C could clear all the braces and took off several times WITH the flashlight!

Big sliding fun
Through the fields on our tractor ride
Our final selection
Cupcake Daddy got in on the jack-o-lantern action this year...his Frankenstein interpretation.
I tried a new recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds this year - sugar and spice. I really like them better than the traditional salted variety. The recipe says "additional sugar, to taste". I added a lot of sugar for my taste! I also made a few caramel apples as well. A little apple smile (peanut butter with marshmallow teeth) makes a fun and healthy snack.
And finally, Halloween costumes! We made Miss M's mermaid outfit from Family Fun Magazine. Click here to see how we did it. Mr C wanted to be Kobe Bryant - his own idea! Never mind he had a great Lightening McQueen costume in his closet. Thankfully, he didn't notice that he looks nothing like Kobe and that his "costume" was entirely the wrong colors.You can't see his bag, but they both have matching stamped treat bags we made a few years ago.