Thrift Score: V edition

Oh, summertime! So lush and green and hot and full of bugs. I finally signed V up for swimming lessons: they start in June. So the girl needs a swimsuit. Since she continues to grow at remarkable speeds (she looks like a 3rd grader, and the people at the Snap Dragon, where kids 6 and under eat free on Sundays, think I'm a terrible liar of a mother), last year's swimsuits will only carry her so far. Target has adorable swimsuits, I know, but they are at least $10 each. There's so little fabric, and for just one summer's wearing, I can't stomach it! (I did buy her a cute orange and turquoise one last year, so the girl knows that new Target smell of clothes. I swear I'm not depriving her). I buy almost all my own clothes at thrift stores, so I figured it was worth a try. At the same time, swimsuits, esp. for kids, often get worn hard, so that when I have found them, at Saver's, for example, the seats are usually too pilled or threadbare to be really worth buying. Knowing all this, I went to our local Boy's Ranch, hoping against the odds for something good.

And I was not disappointed! A brand new cotton dress, two new swimsuits, an Amelia Bedelia book, a music game for the DSi, and sneakers a half size bigger than her current shoes, all for under $20. I win!

A brief note about thrift store clothes: I know some people find it kind of icky to buy previously worn clothes, especially those that go right next to the skin, like under things or swimsuits. I respect and understand that reaction, but I don't share it. Well, I do for panties: panties should be a one-owner product. But brand new clothes are often covered in all kinds of germs and pesticides, and if you buy them in stores they were likely tried on before you got to them. Swimsuits, bras, and socks all strike me as worth saving money on if they're in good shape, and after a good washing don't bother me at all. Bake a pie, eat a pie, as it were. 

All thrift stores sometimes get new items donated, though, and if the hang tags are still on an article of clothing, I have no qualms about paying thrift store prices for a brand new item. The pink swimsuit in the photo, bottom right, still had the store tags on it, and it was a $24 suit, marked down to $3.99. The yellow one piece, above, still has the protective panty liner in it, and was donated by Target (which I can tell by the Target brand tag, marked through with a permanent marker), and was $2.99. The girl gets 2 brand new suits for less than the price of one! 

The shoes and dress were likewise Target donations, as was the video game. I don't normally buy V shoes when she's not with me to try on, because she wears braces in her shoes that can be tricky to fit. But she tried on some size 2 Converses just the other day, and though she didn't like the look of those (a boring pink pair), the braces fit just fine, and I'm pretty sure the addition of sequins and hearts will win her over to these. And if not, my little niece, a fashionista at only three, will love them in a few years. 

Whew. It was a big triumphant thrift store day for me, so I thought I'd share it with you. The book is already in the library, the video game in the gift closet (sh!), and the clothes are in the washer. Good luck in your shopping today, gentle readers! And happy, happy summertime.

Those photos I promised you

Almost new Ruff Hewn X-strap mary janes: $3. Aren't they cute? Yes, I have other red mary janes, but these are clearly completely different. Don't judge me. 

Then I made  myself a new summer-y purse. I've been working a lot with vinyl, lately, and I really like it, but lordy, vinyl does not breathe. By definition, it's too hot for summertime, so I found some very pretty cotton and made myself a mock-Vera Bradley bag. (I actually own 2 Vera Bradley bags: one kinda of like this, in Paprika, which was a gift from my sister-in-law and which I love so much I only carry it on special occasional, and one like this, which I got for $2.50 at the thrift store, which I also love but I'm sort of bored with the colors, which are muted blue and cream and brown.) So, ta-da!

Fantastic rainbow fabric from Mill End, with lots of interior pockets and a lining made from orange and red fabric that we used at our wedding ten years ago. There's a big zipper pocket inside, with pen and cell phone pockets opposite, and a smaller zipper pocket on the outside. I quilted the fabrics together with a lightweight cotton batting, though next time I think I'll just use a nice interfacing: the quilting just takes up too much space in a small bag. I even got fancy and added a loop onto which I could clip my keys. You know how that is, when you toss you keys in your purse, and then you have dig all the way to the bottom? I hate that. So I added a little loop on the strap. 

 Only I didn't think that particular addition through, so it points to my boob. Like you wouldn't notice my them anyway, I now have a prominent detail on my lovely handmade bag clearly drawing attention to my right breast. Awesome.

But I can fix that, and otherwise it's pretty cute.

Now the 6 year old is telling me she's hungry, so I'd better go rustle up grub. How's your summer going?

Summertime!

Grades went in on Monday, so today is my second official day of summer. I thought you'd like to share in the joy that is my to-do list.

Walk the girl to school: done.
Morning nap: done.
Clean the kitchen: contemplated.
Selfish thrift-store shopping: done. Sweet $3 red mary janes scored. Photos to follow.
Mow the backyard: done. I had to restart that poor mower four times, but I got it done.
Pick the girl up from school, walking the dog to and fro: done.
Clean the dining room: considered.
Make a tasty supper that somehow includes broccoli: done. Unanimously voted as tasty.
Sew myself a cute summer purse: done. Photos to follow.

It was a pretty great way to start my summer. Hope your day was full of things you like, too.

I Told You Once, You Son of a Bitch...

As a little girl, my music influences were...eclectic. We had church music, of course. And then the record player at home...my dad was 43 when I was born, and his musical tastes were a whole generation behind my friends' parents. Which was awesome, really. We listened to a lot of Burl Ives, some Hank Williams, Sr.; The Louvin Brothers; Patsy Cline and other old coutry groups. Once a month or so, in music class, we got to bring a record from home and we'd all listen to each others' favorite songs. I don't even remember the music other kids brought, but I loved listening to Country Death Ballads with all my classmates. (Now that I've typed that sentence, I'm not sure why child services never showed up at our house).

The other music I listened to was "new" country, on the radio at our babysitter's. She had a transistor on top of her fridge, and the only thing better than a country death ballad was a little "Rhinestone Cowboy," Eddie Rabbit, or any Crystal Gayle. The edgiest song on country radio in the late 70s/early 80s was, at least in my experience, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Oh, I loved that song.  Though Johnny was a little overconfident when he dismissed the devil, I wanted to own the record more than anything in the world.

I didn't even realize, then, that one could purchase new record albums. I thought you either listened to your dad's records, or lucked out a garage sale. (We were simple people).  The day I saw the album, in a milk crate jn a driveway in North Moorhead, I almost wet my pants. It was probably 1981 or 82, and there was hardly any wear on cover. It was, as I recall, marked 50 cents.

My dad didn't even argue or tease me, make me think I wasn't going to get this. He knew how much I loved this song. We brought it home, and I bounced in the backseat all 28 miles. I stared at the cover, I read the titles of every other song...I slid the record out just to look at how long my song would play. It was my first record just for me, that I had picked out. Oh, music class, I was going to impress everyone next month!

We had to unload the car, and take out the dog, and finally, after Mom had started supper, Dad put the record on the player. The familiar fiddle music, the talk-song lyrics....I was dancing in the living room. I was so happy I even let my sister dance, too. And then came the best line of the song..."I told you once, you son of gun..." only he didn't say "gun." This was not the radio version Charlie Daniels, the G-rated, FCC approved Charlie Daniels. As my dad reached for the power switch, I started making my case. "I know what that word means, dad, and I will never, ever, ever say it. I'll sing 'gun' really loud every time it's on. I swear." But it was too late. He slid the record back into the barely worn sleeve, and took it down to the basement, where there were the best hiding places. For months I begged for that record, and though Dad was sympathetic, he would not be moved. When I'd given up begging, I tried to find it myself when my parents weren't home. I spent hours in that damn basement.

In 1986, after Dad's stroke, I knew I was running out of time. Aphasia or no aphasia, I was going to have that record. After he moved home from the rehab hospital, I asked him where he'd hidden it. He grinned at me.

"Is it in the basement?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders. "Is it in the garage?" Still grinning, still shrugging. "Did you forget where you hid it?"

"Ah, nope." He couldn't say much, but he could say that.

"You're still not gonna tell me, are you?"

"Ah, no. No, no, no." And he grinned.

I've learned many more curse words since then, but I still haven't found that record. Wherever he put it kept it safe from my tender ears.  I reckon he's still proud of himself for that. 

Bag sale

In the shower this morning, I suddenly realized it was time for the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch $4 bag sale! And I was late! You can imagine my horror.

I arrived 45 minutes after opening, which means about 70% of the clothes were already gone. But I still managed to fill two bags and find a 79 cent doll for V.

This round's haul included:

• 2 pairs of pants for me (one for work, one for leisure)
• a basic red tank top for me
• 1 pair of khakis for Shaun (in case he gets a job)
• 1 tie for Shaun (some jobs require ties. Can you imagine?)
• 11 or 12 tops for V and/or Will and/or Emmy. Mostly these are plain sweatshirts, that I have big plans for embellishing.
• 1 brand new shirt for my father-in-law (his birthday is in a couple of weeks)
• 1 full-length camel-hair coat. I'm not sure, but I think the camel hair will act much like felt, so I'm going to try to use it as such.
• 1 Talbot's black corduroy dress, size 12. This won't fit anyone in the family, but it's long, so there's lots and lots of corduroy to harvest for other projects. I would feel bad about cutting up a perfectly good dress, and if you're desperate to own a long, well-made dress that is not very stylish but is certainly nice enough, let me know and I'll give it to you.

So there you go. No great finds like the vintage dresses here and here, but that's what I get for sleeping in. All in all, it was well worth the $8.79. Now let the laundering commence!

What we do after Halloween

Because I'm a sucker for a good sale, I really believe everyone in my family ought to celebrate holidays 3-5 days late. (For proof of this long-standing belief of mine, see this post).  Halloween, for instance, can be had for a pittance on November 3 or 4th. And if you wait until November 8th, you can get cool stuff at 90% off.

 So on Shaun's actually birthday, this past Wednesday, he and I and V put together this cool graveyard, which we got at Target for 99 cents the day before. Above, Shaun's putting a gingerbread tree together. Below, I made a semblance of a skeleton out of frosting (it's harder than it looks on the box, people).

 Creative play+candy+both her parents=Happy V.

 See how scared he is? He's never worked this much with frosting before.

 It took three frosting packets, three gummy spiders, two sugar skulls, four sugar pumpkins, and a bunch of other sugar-based stuff to make this magic happen.

 Ah! Spider and bats in our tree!

Our finished cemetery. The stone on the right says "RIP" or some semblance therein. What we've learned, I think, is my life's work will not be in tombstone engraving. At least not in frosting.

It was the best 99 cents we've spent in years. Now if I can just get everyone excited about  November 9th all hallow's eve....

Yum. (a Shaun-free post)

1/2 cup pineapple juice: $.17

1/2 of a frozen pineapple from a fresh one I bought two weeks ago: $1.42

4 Tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt: $.32

3 frozen strawberries: $ .12

big shot of coconut cream: $.35

4 ice cubes: $.01?

 Two tall, spooky tumblers, Target Halloween clearance: $1.78

Crazy good spooky smoothies with V: Total: $4.09! (plus we can use the glasses again and again and again.) I would say "priceless," but that's overdone. Then again, stuffing my kid with fruit while making her think it's a huge treat is pretty priceless, I guess. Okay, you talked me into it.

Our smoothie obsession started here, in case you were wondering. My obsession for Target Halloween clearance started a long time before the internet was invented. So there you go.

First day of kindergarten

I know it's not new. I know every mama who sends her first born to kindergarten exclaims how quickly time goes, how soon she'll be all grown up...I've said it myself repeatedly. But still, she only gets one first day of public school.  Compare her here to the first day of preschool. She's a giant! Enormous!

V chose the dress herself. When I showed it to my mom, weeks ago (after I nabbed it a thrift store bag sale), Myra shook her head in dismay and said "Kids don't wear long dresses like that anymore, Jenny. Don't make her wear that." So it was with tremendous satisfaction that I helped V button up the back of this dress this morning, at her own insistence.  She feels like a fancy princess, fashion trends be damned.

Public school is so different from Montessori, and V's got so many quirks, I can't help but worry. But she was so excited this morning, it was easy to just be excited too. I don't know if we'll ever catch up with her, but we'll have fun trying.

I love a good purse...

...and a good bargain, so when I found this lovely canvas/suede embroidered bag at Saver's for $7.99, I could not walk away.

It's even prettier in person, I tell you. But it's rather large, and as such my things have a way of floating around into a massive jumble of unfindable geegaws. This chaos is even more than I, the Prime Minister of Chaos, can bear. Hence, a purse organizer was in order.

Purse organizers aboud, ladies and gentlemen, but even for one that's award winning, I'm not willing to spend $16. I know, I'm cheap. And forget award winning: Oprah even supports one (called the purseket, which makes me think of a parakeet, which makes me think of what an unholy mess a small pet bird could make in any purse...anyhoo), which is totally good enough for me, but at over $20, well, I can make my own.

 Photographed in our bathroom during V's bathtime (hence the scenic towel backdrop), I present my version. It's made of yellow cotton, nearly denim weight, quadrupled upon itself to make the back and two pockets. I used quilt binding at the ends to keep all the ravel-y parts together, and I measured my wallet (that lovely green thing with the peacock, below), our cell phone, my camera, and a little notebook. Then I sewed corresponding pockets and winged the rest, and wa-la!

 My own sunshine-colored purse organizer, made entirely with stash materials, so essentially free. Even if I'd had to buy fabric, it would've been less than $6. That's how I roll, people. Plus it works very well, is sturdy enough to stand on it's own (in the purse) and totally machine wash & dryable. I'll have to take out all my stuff first, of course (said she of having washed a cell phone once so I'm gonna try not to do THAT again fame).

Oprah can call me if she wants to know more. I'll be here, or at a thrift store, or in front of the sewing machine. And my bag will stay cleverly organized, too. Ta-da!

Crafty Goodness

Because it’s less than 50 degrees outside, V and I celebrated our indoor craftiness mojo yesterday. I bought this “silk-screening” kit sometime in July last year, during the 75%off toys Target sale (“silk screening” is in quotes because it’s really a fancy stenciling set-up. And I'd provide you with the name of the thing but I'm too lazy to get up to check). I bought all the additions, too, and spent less than $30 total (with an original retail price of $120…).  They came with unholy amounts of pink fabric paint,  but enough others to make it worth our while.  Because I'm essentially, as I mentioned earlier, lazy, we didn’t get around to using it until now.

 As a busty woman with an excess of gravity around me, I often have tops with annoying little stains on them. I thought stencils might be a good way to camouflage an otherwise perfectly good shirt. V occasionally gets persistent stains, too, but more often than not, I find her several thrift store t-shirts in boring solid colors. To encourage her artistic side, I let her pick her stencils, and the colors. She picked a turtle in green, a butterfly (“let’s make it a monarch!”), and most enthusiastically,  a boom box. Or, as she called it, a boom-boom-boom box.

 We had to mix the orange from the available red and yellow (hello, learning!) but it turned out orange-r than it looks here, I promise. Note to self: more yellow, less red next time.

I tried to get her to make a pink turtle, to use up some of that pink, but she would have none of it.

 Sadly, the monarch is already a touch small. New nightgown for cousin Emmy!

But the turtle and the boom box are pretty fantastic. The paint has a decent hand to it, not too stiff, and though sometimes it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped(those projects are not pictured, to protect everyone involved), I think this was a good first run.

Shedid, after all, wear the boom box to school today.

Springiness

This winter, I bought a bag of silver forks at Savers. They'd been drilled through the handles, and two of the seven were attached to this heavy silver ring. Today, V and I attached the rest, fashioned a wire hanger, and put it up in the backyard, hanging off the clothesline. It sounds really lovely, though the wind has to blow pretty hard to move them. And I like being the kind of family that has seven forks hanging in our backyard.

In the front yard, despite our profound negligence, the tulips are still coming. I am deeply grateful for such persistence.

The slugs and other crawly things were enjoying the fruits of our lack of labor.

And V enjoyed the slugs and crawly things.

I think these are daffodils. This time of year, I'm so pleased with my past self for taking the time to plant flowers. Because I need inspiration something fierce this time of year.

I hope spring is coming to your neighborhood, too! 

Girl in a Cute Dress, part 2

 V needed a new spring jacket (she just grows and grows and grows!), so just like with her winter stuff, we went off to the thrift stores to see what we could find. Savers came through for us again.

First, this sweet vintage dress. It's a JCPenney's size 8, no iron, lightweight summer dress. It was hanging next to the knit dresses from Target and the Children's Place, which pill after 5-6 washes. This one looks brand new. Well, brand new 35 years ago. The ratty knit dresses were all $3.99 and up. This one was $1.99.

I am crazy about it! Those bows on the neckline just kill me. And V loves any dress in which she can pretend to be Alice in Wonderland.  It reminds me, in the colors only, really, of this dress from two years ago.

 Hopefully she'll be able to wear it for a few summers. Because I seriously love it.

 But wait, we weren't shopping for dresses, were we? Never fear. V was more than willing to try on jackets, which makes everything easier. This navy and pink number is her favorite. I like it because it has a hood, and it's a size 9-10, so by rolling the sleeves  just a little now, it should carry her through 2 springs. Maybe. It is from Target, several years ago, though it's not been worn much at all. It was $2.99.

Next, because we like camping, and I want her to be able to layer something over or under that windbreaker, and I'm a sucker for jean jackets, we got this one, too. It's American Girl brand, and we paid $3.99.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Our most recent Savers trip was definitely a success: sweet vintage summer dress and two spring jackets for less than $10. I just love when I walk into a thrift store thinking, "hm, maybe we can find..."and then we do.

A path to madness

First, impulsively purchase a watch at the thrift store for $1, knowing it doesn't work. Convince yourself that $1 isn't that much, and you can probably figure something out, and if not, it's still pretty.

Be pleasantly surprised that the new battery ($3.15) makes it work perfectly, after a 38 minute struggle to get the back of the watch back on.

Try not to cry when the leather watchband disintegrates as you put on the newly working watch for the first time. Spend two hours looking all over the internet to find a watchband that might work (those pins don't come off). Curse the fact that there are apparently two million watch band designs in the world and none appear to be what you need. Consider how difficult it might be to sew a new leather watchband on your sewing maching. Remember some painful incidents and the frightening size of a leather needle.

Go to the Basement of Crafty Treasures and find the bag of embroidery thread/cotton yarn you bought at the thrift store last year for $2.99. Consider color options, weight of yarn, patience of self. Choose blue to match the pretty blue watch face.

Make two lark's head knots on either side of each pin. Flashback to junior high school friendship bracelets, and begin the magic of modern macrame.

Reuse the hardware from the disintegrated watchband. Realize you are unprepared to end this is a pretty way, and tie a knot and call it good.

Stop knotting before it gets too ridiculous. Tie another knot. Trim threads. Try it on, tuck and criss-cross the ends. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close.

Pat self on back with hand that has pretty new watch attached. Prepare self-aggrandizing blogpost.

The end!

Nice house.

After the success of the crayons, I went all out and decided that since we were still technically on Christmas (holiday) break on Sunday, we could in good conscience decorate ourselves a gingerbread house. So we did.

 We cheated a little and bought a pre-made house that came with 6 packets of candy and pre-made frosting. Okay, now that I write that, it feels like we cheated a lot. Don't judge me. And please try not to compare our house with the house on the box there. We did the best we could.

Though I would've chosen more chocolate-based candies, and homemade frosting is more delicious, we still really had fun with this, and because it was all premade, there was minimal frustration and maximum satisfaction. PLUS, since we did this on January 9, I was able to purchase the kit at Target for 75% off, so it only cost us $2.48. (this is all part of my plan to convince my whole family to celebrate every holiday 3-5 days late, so as to maximize Target clearance opportunities). It was totally worth every dang penny, and afterwards, V said "Wow; we've been really crafty this weekend!"

Sweet.

You crafty thing, you.

For our last weekend of winter vacation, V and I got all ambitious and worked on Valentine's Day presents. Last year, I forgot about Valentine's Day until I dropped her off at school, and then ran to Target to buy crappy pixie stix for 24 unsuspecting classmates. This year, I'm gonna be prepared. Dammit.

I read this post on Frugal Family Fun blog (which is a spectacular blog that you really should be reading instead of this one). Hm, I said. Interesting. But I don't have a heart muffin tin, and I'm not about to pay $5.99 for a new one that I'll only use to melt down crayons.

So we went to the newest Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, and lo and behold, there was a heart-shaped baking tin of some sort. It says "Wilton 1992" on it, so I don't know where you can get your own. Try your local thrift store. Ours was 99 cents.

Now that we had our tin, we peeled all the worn-down, deadbeat crayons we could find. Then we broke them into little-ish pieces. Then we sorted them by color. Then Barbie farted on them.

 V liked putting them into the tins. She liked picking color combos, and found this exercise totally engrossing. I preheated the oven to 275 degrees, and ten minutes later, wala!

 Hot wax! Aren't they pretty? If you look at the link to Martha's on Frugal Family's blog, she suggests setting the oven to 150 for 20 minutes or so, but I'm not patient enough, so I went with the hotter shorter time. Just be careful taking these things out of the oven. A spill would be...waxy, I'm afraid.

 After they cooled for about 10 minutes on the counter, we popped them in the fridge and then V took a bath. When she was done, these babies easily popped out of the baking sheet (with a few well-placed whacks). The crayon marks above are from us trying to figure out what color the little broken bits were (those dark blues and purples all look alike...) before baking.

Here, for scale, are V's blurry, excited hands, lining up some of the 48 new chunky heart crayons we've made. I figure 2 for each kid, with some sort of card that indicates these are not for eating, but for coloring.

What do you think? Is this better than last minute pixie stix? I sure hope so. Now I just need to remember to get them ready in the next month, and not wait until the morning of the 14th, as is my lazy, lazy way.