Found Treasure

I've fallen out of the habit of stopping at thrift stores...until recently. Don't get me wrong, I've been dropping things off for donation for years but shopping at them was a rare habit of mine. Basically because of all the knick knacks around I found it impossible to shop with three bumbling children...and I'm always with my children.

Now that they are a bit older I've found that a quick run through the store is fairly feasible and so have found the love of thrift shopping again! Some recent finds at Goodwill and St. Vincent De Paul:

One of my favorite parts of second-hand shopping is giving something old a new home. I love to wash or clean the items and find the perfect place for them.

As long as I drop a bag or two off at Goodwill for donation I think I will give myself permission to go inside to see if I find a treasure or two!

It's That Time Again...

...Baking time! I'm not doing huge amounts of sweets this year but we have our yearly favorites that we will be working on.

I realized yesterday that there is just a little over two weeks until Christmas; here I haven't made one Christmas goodie yet! Time to get cracking this week, so in preparation of that I worked at organizing my baking cupboard.

It may still seem like a mess but I now know exactly where everything is and what I need to pick up at the store yet. I've got more flour and sugar in the pantry, chocolate in the freezer, and ideas aplenty.

I better get busy...

What is your all-time favorite holiday goodie?

$10 Free!

For those of you who have not done the VitaCost.com deal that I posted a few weeks ago...the deal is still on! If you are a new customer, sign up through this link and $10 will be added to your account. Disclaimer: By going through my referral link I will also get $10 when you sign up. I thank all those who previously went through my link as I was able to place a $60.14 order today and only pay 14 cents out of pocket...that was a tremendous help and I thank you for that!

I realized while searching the site today that their prices are spectacular even without having a coupon code; many of the items I regularly buy at the health food store are much cheaper here. If you want to just use the $10 code look for a few cheaper items (Bob's Red Mill items are all on sale!) to total $10 and just pay $4.99 shipping. When I did that I purchased several bags of the Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats and paid just shipping (when each bag used to cost me $3.25 each at the store!)

If you buy lots of health food items or supplements to begin with you may want to search the site to stock up - shipping is free after $50 and you can then get $10 worth of items free with this sign up bonus.

Some items which I purchased at a great deal are:
22 oz. Raw Organic Honey for $7.03
54 oz. Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats for $6.24
16 oz. Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Molasses for $5.29
TwinLab Women's Ultra Daily Vitamins for $8.99
Not to mention chia seed, maple syrup, and wheat germ.

If you are doing a large order, don't forget to go through your Shop At Home account for 5% cash back. Or, if you are new to Shop at Home, go through this link to receive $5 in your account for signing up (disclaimer, I also get $5 in my account when you sign up...thank you to the two people who have used my referral!). Shop At Home earns you cash back through companies that you already shop at online. Before buying from any store online, search Shop At Home to see if that company is offering cash back and buy through that link. It's a safe and secure site. I've earned over $40 in the past couple months by using Shop at Home for items I was going to buy anyway!

If you do this Vitacost.com $10 offer; once you are signed up get your own referral link and post to your Facebook or own blog in order to $10 whenever one of your own friends signs up. It's helping them get nutritional items for cheap and yourself as well!

Have you done this offer? What goodies did you find?

Curbside Shopping

I have been searching for the perfect end tables for the living room for the longest time. I had two end tables that we purchased years ago (6 or 7 years ago?) but didn't like the feel of them any longer. All summer I scoured garage sales. I went so far as to look for some brand new but still couldn't find what I was looking for. I didn't exactly know what I was looking for but knew that I'd know when I saw it.

Then one day I loaded all three kids up in the van for their dentist appointment. As I drove down the street I saw an old sewing desk at the curb a block away. I was going to be late for the appointment though so excitedly called my mom and asked her to run down the street and grab it for me. It took her and my dad to lug it home...who knew wrought iron was so heavy?! :) I knew exactly what I was going to do with it!

I cleaned it up, put a tray over the hole where the sewing machine used to go, and replaced one of my previous side tables with it.

I love the character that it adds to the room...it's something original instead of a mass produced end table. The little drawers are neat for hiding treasure and I can swap out decorations as the seasons change. Please excuse my sad houseplant...she was shocked by having to come back inside after spending her days on the porch in the warm summer and fall sunshine.

This is a Singer sewing desk and the date on the iron is stamped 1887. Right around the time our house was built...so it's a perfect fit!

Counting Down

We have three red and green chains hanging in our house.

Each child made one and claims it as their own.

And every day they tear one link off. Christmas morning their last link will come down.

It's been a tradition that I've carried over from my childhood and every December 1st the kids excitedly ask when we are going to make the chain.

What are some traditions that you have carried over into your own family?

:)

I want to shout it from the rooftops - JACOB'S SCAN IS CLEAN!!!!

Thank you so much for the prayers; the comfort that comes from them is undeniable!

Today

Today we had fun flipping the calender page over to December. Happy December 1st!

Today I enjoyed my usual breakfast of tea and steel cut oatmeal (with bananas, walnuts, chia seeds, and honey this time around). Although today it was more of a brunch since we had a terribly hectic morning.

Today the boys will have their usual twice weekly speech therapy appointment. Afterwards, grocery shopping and a trip to the library will be in order.

Today I try not to dwell on the scanxiety that I feel for tomorrow. Jacob has his 3 month CT scan tomorrow and I pray, pray, pray that it shows all clear. Will you please keep him in your prayers as well?