Odds & Ends

Jacob had all his pre-stem cell transplant testing on Wednesday and as soon as his counts rise he will be good to go. Knowing that I'll be gone for a month or more (with just a few days home here and there when hubby takes my place) has had me scrambling to get the house in order and spend lots of quality time with all three kiddos (and hubby!). It's going to be an ordeal but at this point I'm ready to just get it started so that it will be over with.

One thing the kids have been loving this summer is the library. They check out stacks of books and we are often exchanging them for a whole new stack within a few days. They have already finished their library summer reading program requirements and eagerly run up to bed when I call in order to hear their bedtime stories. Our trips to the library merited an extra bonus yesterday when I decided to take the long way home and spied a garage sale sign pointing to a subdivision.

The children are just as excited about garage sales as I am. It's become a family hobby. While we are paring down our possessions we are all becoming good with getting rid of something old when bringing in something new. Often times getting a new stuffed animal means that they are willing to get rid of two or three of their old ones. Getting some fun books means that we can donate a stack of old books from our shelves. It's a win win situation.

As we pulled up to the garage sale I remembered that it was the same fun one we went to a few years back. We tumbled out of the van and immediately I spotted a table of purses. I love purses. Just last weekend when Jacob was at the hospital for a blood transfusion with daddy and Becca, I went on a "date" with Joe and we stopped at the mall and admired all the purses at Younkers; specifically the Fossil purses. The yellow dot sale meant an extra 60% off clearance and I fondly caressed one leather Fossil purse which was $165...even 60% off that was still way too much. I may love purses but I'm still cheap. I've never paid more then $10 for a purse.

Imagine my surprise when I saw not one, but two, leather Fossil purses. One for $2.50 and one for $4. Another cute striped purse beckoned me to pick it up as well, after all, it was only $1. Three adorable purses for $7.50? Can't beat that!
Joe ran to the bin full of Matchbox cars and picked up several for 10 cents each. Becca picked up a fun necklace for a dime and a few books for free. She bought Jacob a cute little turtle stuffed animal as well. I was able to look through the clothing and found some cute shirts for myself and picked up an awesome pair or jeans, which I so wished had fit me, but ended up fitting my mom perfectly (once they are hemmed, that it!).

I spotted an old ladder, which I just had to get. Have you seen the adorable projects on Pinterest that turn old ladders into shelves or magazine racks? I've been wanting to do that for years but never ran across a ladder...this one is perfect and was only $1!

I spied a vintage dresser in the corner of the garage, buried under boxes. For $20 I hesitated and then realized I had the perfect spot for it. It now stands where an ugly wooden shelf had held our school books.
Keeping the workbooks, readers, and school supplied inside of drawers instead of out in the open makes everything so much more tidy. It's also a much cuter storage solution. It's a heavy wood piece, instead of the cheap plywood pieces that furniture is now made out of. The white paint doesn't exactly fit with our darker wood furniture, so I think a cute paint job will be in the future but I'm already in love with it. The adorable drawer pulls are a favorite of mine.

Leaving the garage sale I spotted a fire pit, which was free. Unfortunately, we had just bought one. This has left me realizing that maybe we should never buy anything new - it seems that I am always finding exactly what we need at garage sales for a fraction of the price. Besides socks and underwear, I can't think of a single thing that we would have to buy new that I haven't come across at a garage sale.

Which leads me to wonder, what is your take on buying second hand? I have run across people who won't buy anything used as they feel it is dirty or for poor people. Others will buy select items but draw the line at clothing or stepping into a Goodwill. My take now is I won't buy anything new unless I have to.