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

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.