Mushroom Certification Trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul Part Two

     While we were in Elk River we went to a goodwill and got Nora a pair of Converse for $3.99, 

a Pair of joggers for $2.99, 

and a pair of Jeans from Justice for $3.99.

 They are all one size bigger than she wears now, so I'll put them away until she grows into them. It's nice to have a wardrobe waiting and not have to run out and buy things at full retail price. 
     At another Goodwill along the way, Corey found himself a nice pair of Merrill boots for $19.99. That's more than we usually pay for shoes at thrift stores, but these are in really nice shape and it's still a bargain. 

     In a glass display case at the same store Corey spotted these amazing beaded gloves. Lauren decided to buy them for $19.99. She took an Indian Education class in high school and did some beading and leather work, and has a real appreciation for the art. These are leather and rabbit fur. The brand is Astis, and when we looked them up we found the same ones on the Astis website. They are called "The Sacagawea" and are hand stitched beadwork. They retail for $195. 

 This is the photo from the Astis website.

    When we got to The Cities we went to a goodwill on Nicollet Ave. that was a couple miles from our hotel. Peyton got a couple shirts there. It was the only two story goodwill I've ever been to. It was kind of high priced on clothes. 

Peyton bought herself this hooded sweater for $12.99. I teased her about it, but when we looked up the company they sell just a few styles, and there wasn't a sweater priced for less than $94.00. It actually looks really cute on her.

Mushroom Certification Trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul Part One

     Last weekend our whole family left for The Cities on Friday morning. Corey and Lauren took a Mushroom Certification class from the Minnesota Mycological Society. This particular class covered four types of mushrooms. Morels, Chanterells, Black Trumpets and Sulfer Shelfs. They both passed, meaning they can sell these mushrooms to chefs and stores, as well as guide foraging trips.
     Anytime we get out of town we try to hit some thrift stores, and this weekend was no exception. I lost track of how many junk shops we went to. I am going to have to break it up into several parts to cover everything! We went to the Goodwill bins in St. Paul for the first time, and the toys alone that Nora got will take two parts.
     Our first stop was the Bigfoot capital of Minnestoa, Remer.  Nora is seriously obsessed with Bigfoot. This time of year there's really nothing to see or do, but we found a small second hand shop and Pey got a cute, lightweight jacket for $4.00.

     At a Family Pathways I found a cute bunny print for Nora's room. It needs to be cleaned up some. It is a Home Interiors Print and was $2.00. Corey found a pair of leather gloves for $2.00.

     In Elk River we went to Samaritan Way. I found a green depression glass measuring cup made by Anchor Hocking for 0.99. 

Corey got 3 sets of ski poles, two adult and one child set. The adult sets were $2.99 and the child set was 0.99. The adult poles are wooden and made in Norway. 

He also got 2 packs of Lock Laces for tennis shoes. He's bought these at TJ Maxx before, and is usually happy to pay about $4.99. He got these packs for 0.49 each.

 At the same shop Lauren got a pair of pink little girl's Ugg boots. They are a little worn but not in terrible shape.  All the Boots were half off so she ended up paying $2.00. Her best friend has a little girl who will love these.

She also got herself a pair of black sheepskin boots. The brand is not one I'm familiar with, Cozie Steps, but they are nice and the lining is sheepskin too. She says they are very comfortable. They were part of the half off winter sale too, so she paid $4.00.

     Peyton really loves strawberries, and now that she has a job she doesn't hold back at thrift stores. She got herself a plush strawberry from Ikea and a small handmade ceramic strawberry. 

She got Nora a hotel with a bag of little toys.

 I'm not sure that any of them actually go with the hotel, but Nora loves them. She has quite a few Shopkins already, and was thrilled to find more. I like the little ruler. 

In the bag were also some My Mini Mixie Q's. I had never heard of these, but they are pretty cute and Nora has enjoyed playing with them.

     Peyton also bought her a Peter Rabbit diaper bag. This was an Enfamil promotion from many years ago, I came home from the hospital with the same thing 20 years ago when Lauren was born. I think she overpaid, it was $2.99.

At this store they have a bin of kids books at the checkout. With our purchase she got a "Captain Underpants" book for free, and with Pey's purchase she got an old "Cats" book that is really cute. 

The Cats book is from 1958. The illustrations are adorable.

Silverware

     I have been picking up pieces of sterling silver plated silverware whenever I come across them. Recently I hit the mother lode. I got the whole lot below for about $4.00 at a thrift store. I have grand aspirations of making spoon rings out of them, but I also love them the way they are. 

 

    At the same thrift store I found three pair of shoes for Nora for fifty cents each.   Total spent: $5.50

 

Hummingbird

     We dropped in to our favorite thrift store last week and found this beauty.

     It's glass and quite heavy. I didn't feed the hummingbirds for a few years after I read an article that said people are killing hummingbirds by not cleaning their feeders weekly. Something about mold. Last year I bought a tiny feeder that only held a few ounces and hung it on the garage right by the front door so I'd be reminded frequently. I'm going to hang this in the same place so hopefully I'll be good about keeping fresh food in it.

     Total spent $1.00

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