I *heart* the Goodwill

I took a deep breath, pushed my twitchiness to the back of my mind and I went in. It stinks, you have to really dig through stuff and you will feel like you need a shower when you walk out.
But all this for just under $25? I can deal.
Score:
(1) Leather handbag, brand new, it even still had the tissue inside it.
(3) Sweaters, one black, one cream, one white. All popular name brands
(1) Pretty and simple white blouse I can wear with anything.
(1) Very nice sweater for The Mr.

Too bad I don't have girls because you wouldn't believe the nice, nice clothes there. Not so much for boys. This time anyway.

And lastly, can I just say? I cannot believe the stuff people take to the Goodwill with price tags still on. Nice stuff. Namebrand stuff. Why? I guess at least they're passing it along rather than throwing it away. I just can't believe the wastefulness, and that's why I've started shopping consignment, garage sales and thrift stores. I feel like it's one more environmentally friendly thing I can do to help out. Not to mention the money saved. Amazing!

Score!

So I found some serious cute shit today, y'all! Just so you know, I used to be all about the cute shit and decorating, blah, blah, blah. We used to live in a log home and believe you me, I was all about decorating it. Then we had one kid, then we moved, then we had another kid.....and well, at least for me, the last thing I wanted with babies and toddlers around was cute shit. Now I start reading all these cute blogs, and slowly get back into visiting antique stores, consignments shops, flea markets, and well, ya know....
So, back to my finds. I loaded up my two little guys and we went to a garage sale yesterday. Now let me just say, I don't love garage sales. I'm not really a competitve person, and I loathe crowds, so a garage sale just doesn't go with that mix. But they had a nice big ad in the paper and it was nearby in a fancy-schmancy neighborhood....and the kicker? Lots of home decor. So off we went. It was to start at 9:00 and we got there at 8:55. The garage doors were closed, but people were already lining up, and she had some cute shit sitting in the driveway. Looked promising. Finally....finally! she opened up the garage doors at around 9:05 and the vultures descended. I ordered my boys to wait outside and look at toys and I was going in.
So, here's what I came away with for $8 even. And that doesn't include the Discovery Binoculars/Viewmaster I bought the boys. Sorry about the blurriness! And here's where it ended up. I had to put that placemat down otherwise the accessories just kind of blurred into it. The tray: (The plate is laying next to it. I just need to pick up a plate stand so it will set upright)
And another look at the tray. You can't really tell, but it's huge!
And here's one of the birdhouses. It made it's way onto the deck where I have my other ones. The cute little white one with the green roof shown in the first picture? I don't know what to do with that yet, so I put it away for now. Along with my cute little witch who will hang on my front door in October.
So, yeah, I guess it was worth the sweating and twitching to get all that loot for $8. However, that was the ONLY garage sale we hit yesterday. One was enough! :)
FF

My vice

I have a confession to make. I have a little vice that unfortunately doesn't get as much time devoted to it as I'd like; Consignment Stores. And I'm picky too, it must be a nice consignment store, as in clean, neat and orderly. Because frankly, I don't want to sift through someone else's dirty junk. I know some people like that thrill of the hunt where they have to really work for their bargains, but I just don't. It makes me get all weird and twitchy. And then I feel the need to go home and take a shower.

Anyway, back on the subject of consignment stores: I have three that I frequent; one is devoted entirely to clothes and accessories, the second has a mixture of clothes, accessories, and home decor, and the third is all about the home; furniture, home decor and the like.
My love of consignment stores started years and years ago as a way to find bargains. Now it's more about the fact that I feel good buying something and reusing it rather than it getting tossed out. And in the case of buying used clothing; I like that the chances of me running into someone wearing the same thing are pretty slim compared to if I went over to Target and bought a shirt, ya know?

And you won't find me giving out the names of said stores either. In fact, I'm afraid I've already given out too much info as it is. I like to keep them a secret, though I will take my mom with me sometimes, but she wears a different size than I do. And besides, she doesn't tell anyone about these stores either. I have a friend who wears the exact same size as me and she is always saying, "that's a cute top. Where'd you get it." I have to be very careful how I answer this, because I'm not a good liar, but I don't want to give up my information, so I will say something like, "Oh, it's Banana Republic", because technically, that's not a lie. It is Banana Republic, I just didn't buy it there. ;)

Another reason I'm anxious for school to start; I can start shopping again. Shopping with two boys does not work. First of all, you cannot take them into a store with breakables because I don't want to end up buying a ton of broken crap. And secondly, in the clothing store, before I know it, there's a pile of clothes laying on the floor off their hangers and I'm getting dirty looks from the saleslady. Not fun!
17 more days, 17 more days, 17 more days....*sigh*

FF