candle sticks and popcorn popper

     Nora and I hit up our favorite local thrift store a long, long time ago and got some fun items. I have no clue what to do with these cast iron candlesticks, but it was love at first sight. There were three of them and they were $1.00 each.

     I seem to have an unnatural affinity for black leather purses, so when I saw this one I was in hog heaven. It is hayden-harnett for Target and originally retailed for $49.99. I paid 50 cents. Score!

     I really like the lining. So colorful!

     For Nora I found a Land's End long purple down jacket. It is a 4T and won't fit her till next year, but we already have her coat for this winter, so I'll just put it in storage. It was $2.50.

     I also found her a 4T skirt from The Children's Place for 50 cents.

     I quit buying microwave popcorn since it isn't a healthy snack. We make popcorn on the stove top quite a bit but it's kind of a pain. I've tried making microwave popcorn in a paper bag with just oil and popcorn kernels, but it always burns. I'd never seen a glass microwave popcorn popper, so for $1.00 we'll give it a try!

Shoes and Juicer

    When we were in Grand Forks for a Cross Country meet last week we stopped in to a Dakota Boys Ranch thrift shop. We did pretty well. I was mainly looking for a juicer for my Mom since hers broke. We actually found one in great shape for $4.99! I gave it to Mom before I got a picture.


     A few weeks ago I found a pair of shoes at a local consignment and I love them. Cute and comfortable. they were a brand I wasn't familiar with called "Mad Love." I looked them up online and they are sold at Target for about $19.99. Target sometimes donates things that don't sell to Dakota Boys Ranch, and during this visit I found another pair of these shoes in my size for $5.99. Happy dance!

  Pey has an unhealthy obsession with Captain America and found a pair of socks from target with the tags on for .49c. I got a pair of knit gloves for .99 and the fingers are actually long enough!

 I am old school and still put pictures in photo albums. This one was $1.99. 

   Pey has a VCR/TV combo in her room so she's always on the lookout for VHS tapes to watch. This was .25

 Total spent, $14.70

Oils

     I love essential oils. I use them every day whether it's in my diffuser, in my homemade chapstick, or topically.  I am not overly brand loyal  though. I want quality oils at a fair price, and I don't want to have to join a company to buy oils. The top brands I use are Spark Naturals and Plant Therapy. I've joined a few oil groups on Facebook and I've really learned alot over the last few years. Plant Therapy has recently started consulting with a guy named Robert Tisserand who is pretty much the expert on essential oils. He wrote some 700 page book with studies and safety info. 
     On one of the oil safety group pages someone mentioned that they had found some of Tisserand's oils at a Marshall's store, and another person chimed in that they had found the same at TJ Maxx.  Since we were near one I had to look....and found these!!

  I got a De-Stress roller ball for $5.99 and a 9ml bottle of organic eucalyptus for $4.99. These oils are primarily sold in Europe so it was fun to find them affordably in the states and not have to pay shipping. The De-stress smells strongly of geranium which I'm not overly fond of, but that fades quickly once it's applied and the other oils become more noticeable. It is made up of geranium, cabreuva, orange, nutmeg, clary sage, patchouli, coriander, rose, and jasmine in a jojaba base. I really like the eucalyptus, and it's nice that it's organic too.  It smells a lot like Vicks. I'm planning to check for more the next time I get to a TJ Maxx. That particular store had some oils by a company called PlantLife, but since I wasn't familiar with that company I didn't buy any.

Tea Set and Nets

     Hello All!  On my way to work last week I stopped at a yard sale. It was at a house that I've admired since I moved up here ages ago. It is so cute so I figured this might be a sale worth going to. I was right!

     I bought what I thought was a sheer curtain panel, but when I got it home it is more of a drape since it doesn't have anywhere to attach to a curtain rod. Not a big deal, it will be easy enough to sew one if that's how I decide to use it. For now it's being used as decoration over Lauren's window and it works fine because there is an air conditioner in the bottom half.  $1.00

     Next I got a salt and pepper grinder set for $.50

     A cake plate for $1.00. I don't need another one, and I don't think it's all that old, but I know someone who's been looking for one so I'll give it away. 

      This was such a cute mini tea set. It's porcelain and was in really good shape. I'm going to let Nora play with it though, so I don't expect it to last long. $1.00
 

      This is a bag of decorative tooth picks, they have shells on the top. I'm not sure why I bought them, I just knew the kids would like them and they were $.25.
 

      Also $.25 was this aluminum pan with a wire bale. I thought it would be good for camping but I got vetoed. 
 

      For Nora I got 3 butterfly nets for $.25 each. She got a set of 3 for her birthday, but they all broke. 
 

 
      And finally, for myself, I got a Grecian style planter for $1.00. As it so happens my aunt called a few days later and offered me some flowers, so it won't sit empty for long. Total spent $5.75

Pyrex

     Hey all! Corey went to a yard sale down the road from our house last weekend and found a few yard tools. 

    One was an unusual rake for $2.oo,  one was a little rake for Nora for $1.oo. Very cute. Corey thought I needed a little snow shovel to carry in the trunk of my car so he bought one for $5.oo.  We all went back later and I found a yellow Pyrex storage container for .25. It didn't come with a lid, but I have several I've picked up over the years.

          What do you know?  I had one that fit perfectly!

 Awesome. I prefer to use glass over plastic for storage. I have no idea how much I paid for the lid, or where I even got it. It probably came in a box of assorted kitchen ware from an auction sale. Total spent: $8.25.

USA

     Hey all! Happy July! Over the weekend a little town next to us had their annual 4th of July flea market. I don't usually find much there, and this weekend was no exception. All we bought at the actual flea market was a pair of laying hen chicks! More chicks. I know. That's another blog post entirely! 
     At a yard sale down the road from the flea market I did find three ceramic bowls with USA marked on the bottom. I have quite a few of these bowls already, they work great for cereal and they are pretty easy to find. I got all three for $1.00

Planter

     Hey all! Thursday we took some donation items to the local thrift store. We had gone through the coffee mugs and water bottles that seem to multiply like bunnies in our cupboards until we can't open the doors without some falling out. We got rid of about half, which means the cupboards are still full.
     While we were at the thrift store Pey found some metal feather earrings she liked, and I got a chunky green tone bracelet. We also found a white ceramic planter that will look cute with a little house plant in it. I love this thrift store. It is run by volunteers and most items are fifty cents. Total spent, $1.50

Wisconsin Trip June 2014

     Hey all! New name, new blog, new topic!  I'm keeping "A hen and chicks", but I'm starting a new blog to focus more on thrifting and maybe some nursing stuff. 

     A couple of weeks ago we went to Bayfield Wisconsin for an inline marathon, and shopped our way there and back. Here are a few of our finds!

     At a Salvation Army store in Grand Rapids we made a haul.  I got two cookbooks, Le Creuset's French Country Kitchen for $1.99 and Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook for $2.99. 

     We got Nora a cute dress for $2.49 and a Little Tykes toy box for $2.49. The toy box was a little dirty,  and the lid doesn't close all the way, but it washed up fine and we don't mind the lid being open.

     Peyton got a pair of flip flops. I don't remember the price on them, but I think it was around $3.00.

     Lauren got a really cute dress for $2.99

     Corey found a battery operated boot dryer for $1.99. It had batteries in it so we were sure it worked.

     After the race we stopped at a little roadside thrift store and I found a stoneware crock for $7.50. It has a couple of chips, but I fell in love. It was marked down from $25.00. 

      It was a fun trip for the most part, besides the kids getting sick. There was one store we wanted to hit in Bayfield, but it was closed by the time we got there. We got some great stuff there last year. 

     We look at thrift store shopping and yard sales like treasure hunts. A big part of the fun is getting a bargain as well as finding unique things. I get that it's not for everyone, and that's fine by me!  Less people to shop around!  Good luck out there!  There are usually a few sales in our area the weekend of the 4th of July.