Doin’ It Up in Flo-Rida!

Usually the debt snowball does NOT leave room for a vacation.  It definitely doesn’t leave room for a vacation to Florida when you live in Central Illinois.  We are lucky enough that my grandma and aunt REALLY wanted to see Turner.  They offered to pay for our flight, and put us up in Grandma’s guest room.  We cannot explain how grateful we are for their generosity!​

Even though the big expenditures were taken care of, we didn’t want to completely blow our budget.  We used the money we made from the garage sale and the money from me doing two clients’ hair as our spending money.  While this money could have gone toward debt, my grandma can no longer come to visit and her seeing the baby seems more important.​

The benefit to staying in a house is not having to eat out for every single meal.  While I have zero problems with doing that, it’s not exactly wallet friendly.  Grandma was so worried about what we were going to eat, she actually went to the store before we got there and bought vegetarian-friendly stuff. What we would’ve done is used our usual weekly grocery budget and gone on a grocery run.  She was also pretty adamant about paying for our meals when we did eat out.  We did pay for her a couple times as a thank you.  I think feeding people is her love language.

So, obviously having all of our food paid for cut the spending down significantly.  But you don’t just sit in the house and eat when you’re on vaca!  We were 15 minutes away from one of the most beautiful beaches in the world: Siesta Key Beach (look it up!).  Hello, free beach!  We even got an amazing parking spot (Zach and I always seem to get amazing parking.  I can’t explain it.).  We probably could have gone to the beach every day and been happy, but we’ll save that for another trip.  (Side note: it seems we have a daughter that tans!  This pale girl’s dream has come true!)  We took sandwiches and a cooler with water for lunch, so we didn’t have to spend more.  Tu got lunch right before we left, so she was good to go with just a bottle while we were lying in the sand.  It was a great day, except Zach’s foot was SUPER burnt when we got home.  We still can’t figure out how only his left foot burned.

The day after beach day was Turner’s first Fourth of July!  My Aunt Crystal has a gorgeous screened in porch (called a lanai in Florida) complete with a pool and grill.  We got to hang out in the pool all afternoon and eat some delicious (veggie) burgers.  We ventured downtown to Sarasota Bay to watch the fireworks after.  Did I mention all of this was free to us?!  We got great parking again, but it was rigged.  My uncle’s friend has a gallery downtown and let us use his parking spot.   He has connections.

Saturday was the day that broke the bank.  A trip to Florida always includes at least one shopping day.  First we went to lunch (I paid for Grandma and myself), then we got down to business.  We do not have the pleasure of a Nordstrom Rack back home, and I may have gotten a little carried away.  Zach and I agreed on a budget before Turner and I left (this was a girls only trip so he drove around in my aunt's new BMW).  In my defense, I did come in about $50 under budget.  In hindsight, the budget was too high to begin with.  I haven’t really purchased new clothes in a long time.  Most of my summer clothes are either maternity or were purchased when I was in college (we’re talking 7-9 years ago).   However, no matter how badly I wanted the clothes, they were not a need.  I have some buyer’s remorse, but not enough to return anything. #sorrynotsorry 

Sunday was a low cost day thanks to Aunt Crystal paying for our activity.  We visited the Ringling Museum, Circus Museum, and Ca’ta Zan (“House of John” in Venetian dialect).  I cannot tell you how amazing this place is.  It’s a little pricey to get in (tickets are $25/person, and we had a guided tour through the house, an extra $5), but it is totally worth it. I happen to have an unexpired student ID (thank you ICC!), so there was a small discount.  Florida residents can go to the art museum for free on Mondays.  The grounds are right on Sarasota Bay.  It is incredible that it was one man and wife’s estate, and only for the winter!  The first stop is the Circus Museum.  Pretty recently, they opened the mini circus model.  It is incredible.  Every single detail is there, down to the china pattern on the plates in the food tent.  I think it’s my favorite part of the entire experience.  It takes a good 20 minutes to walk completely around the model.  It depicts a circus coming to town when they still put up the tent and traveled by train (think Dumbo).  The rest of the Circus Museum is a timeline (very interesting) and various, interactive displays.  I successfully walked the “tight rope” (a rail mounted to the ground the same width, anyway).  The Old Circus Museum houses the actual train car that John and Mabel Ringling traveled on with the circus.  It is lux.  It’s all gold-leafed ceilings and exotic wood furniture.  You can walk right up and look in the windows.

The next stop was John Ringlings house.  It is Moorish themed, and unlike any house I’ve ever seen.  The original budget in the 1920s was $250,000.  They spent $1.5 million.  After hearing that, I didn’t feel so bad about my shopping spree the day before.  Zach and I are both history buffs, so the guided tour was right up our alley.  We definitely endorse it.  I won’t say anymore in case you decide to visit.

The Ringling Museum holds John Ringling’s enormous art collection.  We didn’t spend a ton of time there because it was close to closing time.  I guess we’ll have to go back!  Tu enjoyed the Rubens.

On Monday, Zach, Turner, Grandma, Aunt Crystal, and I went to an amazing seaside restaurant on St. Armand’s Key.  We were literally sitting over the water.  While it was blazing hot everywhere else, the breeze off the water kept us cool and comfortable.  This was a fries in a basket kind of place, so pretty affordable.  The food was great, but the atmosphere was even better.

After, we took a stroll to some shops at St. Armand’s Circle.  There are some chain stores, but a good number of the stores there are locally owned.  Aunt Crystal and Grandma made friends with the people at The Giving Tree (a jewelry and art gallery).  I got a gorgeous bracelet (courtesy of the ladies) and necklace (from my hubby).  We also got souvenirs for our families at a shop on the circle.  

It was a great trip.  I’ll write another post about traveling with a baby.  That’s a post unto itself.

Things we wish we would’ve done differently:

1. Set a smaller budget for shopping.

2. Put on sunscreen more thoroughly.  (Zach and I were the only victims of this.)

3. I think that’s it! 

Any vacationing on a tight budget tips?

GARAGE SALE!!! DEBT SNOWBALL UPDATE!!!!

​Last week was it!  We finally had a garage sale!  I think Zach and I moved boxes labeled “garage sale” to three different houses.  Well, that stuff is out, and it is out for good!  Our biggest category by far was baby stuff.  Tu grows like a weed, so we had clothes up to 12 months and all her little baby stuff (*tear).  Out with the old, in with the…well, I guess the new us!  We’re using all the proceeds to get out of debt, not buy stuff to replace the stuff we sold.  We already sold some larger items (see our post from May 8th), but I had no desire to take picture after picture of all of the outfits Turner has outgrown.  While we know things don’t always go to plan, Zach and I aren’t planning on having any more babies for quite a while.  By then, even if we had another girl, all the stuff would be super outdated.  Some concerns over us selling as much as possible have been brought to my attention.  Right now, the best thing we can do, not only for Turner but our future children as well, is get out of debt.

Prep:  My family used to have a HUGE garage sale at my Mamaw’s (that’s Southern for “Grandma”) house every year.  I don’t think any of us are particularly sentimental about our stuff, so we had no shortage of things to sell.  My mom let me keep the money from my sales which I would promptly spend at either our saleor others in the neighborhood.  I remember them fondly.  

  Fast-forward 15 years later, and now I actually have to go through the stuff and decide what to get rid of.  I usually purge clothes about once a year (if I didn’t wear it in a year, I probably don’t need it), and I went on a mad spree after Tu was born.  I never wanted to see maternity clothes again! Poof, gone. Tu’sstuff is easier, because it doesn’t fit her, so she has zero use for it.  I saved a couple special pieces (the outfit she came home in, some shoes) and the rest is out of our lives!  Zach did a great job of going through alllllll his books (trust me, all those “l”s are necessary). Together, we had one part of a multi-family sale!

  Advertising is key in having a good turnout.  Our local, free newspaper has a garage sale section that’s updated every week.  We’ve gone to that section to find sale before, and we’re sure we’re not the only ones.  Mama bought an ad to run the week before and the week of the sale.  She also put up colorful signs not only on her street (where it intersects the main street and a guiding sign a little further down) but also at Kroger and Walmart.  Zach and I posted on Facebook about it the morning of the beginning of the sale.  In hindsight, we should have been posting every day that week.  

  The turnout was good on Thursday, okay on Friday, and virtually non-existent on Saturday.  We couldn’t believe it.  Then we drove up the street.  Someone had taken down our signs at the intersection and halfway down the road.  We were bummed.  Of course, we didn’t discover this until the sale was over.

We made $112 dollars.  We were hoping for closer to $200, butit’s $112 we didn’t have before!  We took all the baby stuff that didn’t sell to the Crisis Nursery.  It is a fantastic charity that offers free daycare and services to mothers that are out of options.  They offer everything donated for free to these women. I volunteered there in junior high, and it was an amazing experience.  They were super grateful and even showed us around the facility!  I couldn’t be happier with our choice to donate to them. Don’t live in the Peoria area?  They have locations nationwide!  Google it!

  We had a furniture piece that didn’t sell, and my cousin took it for their Alzheimer’s Benefit auction that they throw every year.  She actually donated all of her sales to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.  We can’t wait to do that someday when we’re out of debt.

So, it did not go as well as we hoped.  Things we learned:

•

Post on Facebook till people block you because you’re so annoying.

•

Location, location, location isn’t just for selling real estate. Have garage sales in a visible place.  Exception: a neighborhood sale.

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Make sure you have a lot/most of the stuff sitting out in the driveway/on the sidewalk.  There’s something a little creepy about going in someone’s dark garage.

  Mama and my Aunt Diana did a great job of keeping the sale organized, and Mama is great with haggling.  We had our best people on the job, and we just didn’t get the traffic we expected.  But, I guess now we know!

  Zach is listing books and DVDs we didn’t sell.  Look for a post on that soon!

 

DEBT SNOWBALL UPDATE!!!

Turner is officially paid off!!!  In other words, my hospital bill from Tu being born is paid in full!  We have moved on to my smallest student loan.  We started attacking it about a week and a half ago, and it has gone from over $900 down under $500!  Woo!  It’s happening!

Woodworking… Say What?

Lately, I’ve been on a project kick.  If someone needs a gift, they get something homemade out of a piece of wood.  People that have been gifted with a Tara original include my mama (her birthday AND Mother’s Day), Emily (wedding gift), Liz (another wedding gift), and Missy (yet another wedding gift, terribly belated).  They didn’t all get the same thing. I’m not a factory.  Some gifts were similar, but with distinct differences (Mama and Liz).  Admittedly, I stole these ideas from other blogs.  Instead of posting step-by-step instructions, I’ll give you links to the other blogs, and tell you about any changes I made to my projects.

1) Mama’s Birthday Present (stolen from thehandmadehome.net)

​So, the chick at thehandmadehome.net did her last name and number of people in her family.  Well, the Williams 2 didn’t have the same ring to it.  Since Mama and Brian have three girls, I did “Our Fab 3”.  Mama made a supplement to this which I’ll share another day (super cool picture display). Thehandmadehome woman used a projector to trace her letters.  I just printed mine in extra huge fonts.  I went to Menards and dug through the remnant bin.  Enter: mistake.  I was only checking the boards for similar lengths (as you can see in the picture, I didn’t succeed, but I thought it was quirky).  When I got home, I noticed one of the boards was smiling.  Also, most big box stores (Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, etc) are supposed to cut boards for you.  Not my Menards (which made we wonder why they had a remnant board section… they’re cutting boards for someone!).  I don’t have a saw or a truck to haul full length lumber.  If you do, great!  Note: do not listen to the guy selling nails when you know a 1” nail won’t do much when you’re working with a 1” thick board.  Good thing I used wood glue.

2) Liz’s Wedding Present (I guess it’s Kevin’s wedding present too.)

​Next project was pretty much the same as Mama’s, but different fonts, dimensions, and paint color.  This time I went to Lowes (I learned) and had them cut a perfectly straight board for me.  I also got 1-1/4” nails (you could also use screws, but I’m impatient and can’t spend the time drilling a pilot hole).  I couldn’t wait until the wedding, so I showed this to the couple before the wedding.  Patience is clearly not a virtue I possess.  

3) Emily’s Wedding Present

​This one is an oldie, but a goodie.  I made this last year, super pregnant, on the floor in our dining room (we had just moved in maybe a week or two before).  I saw state nail art onEtsy and Pinterest, and decided I didn’t need to pay that much to make it.  I got a scrap piece of wood from Mama and Brian’s house (I think it was a 2x10, about 15” long, but I’m not sure), some nails, and some string.  Emily and her hubby, Josh, got married in Alabama, but they (inconveniently for me) had the wedding in Gulf Shores, at the very bottom of the state.  This made the super cute heart that is usually negative space a little tricky.  I just used her other wedding color and filled in the heart.  To get the outline of Alabama, I printed a map on legal paper, taped it to the wood, and started putting nails around the outline (hammered about halfway in).  I didn’t count, but it came out to exactly 100 nails for the outline and 20 for the heart.  Afterward, I just ripped the paper off (I was a little scared that it would pull some nails out, but it didn’t).  Then I ran string from each nail to the outside of the heart.  In hindsight, I would have 1) not strung an outline of the state, 2) left the wood plain, I would’ve stained it, and 3) been more meticulous about my string to nail ratio.  I think it turned out pretty well, regardless.

4) Mother’s Day Present for Mama (from shanty-2-chic.com)

While I was at Lowes getting lumber for Liz’s wedding present, I also had a 2x12 cut down into 15” pieces.  This one I pretty much followed exactly, except I just used more nail heads to fasten the pictures I chose.  Mama ended up using some double-sided tape to hold down the corners that weren’t nailed.  Project redo: I would’ve used chalkboard paint instead of the free print out so Mama could change what it said.  

5

5) Missy’s SUPER Late Wedding Present

​I guess the best way to describe this one is as a hybrid of the Mother’s Day project and the Mama’s birthday/Liz’s wedding projects.  Missy and Liz were both super excited about their married last names, so I knew I wanted to integrate them in their presents.  I saw some tutorials online about how to transfer a photo to a piece of wood, so I decided to try it out for Missy.  I had a bunch of the blocks of wood from the Mother’s Day project, so I used that.  I Googled “country sunrise” (because Missy is my fave country girl!) to use for the photo transfer.  You have to print the picture on regular, copy paper from a laser printer.  I read that laser printers deposit more ink than inkjet printers, so the transfer is more complete.  It also seems like the ink is sort of floating on top of the paper rather than soaked into it.  I printed my photo on legal size paper (it was a panoramic shot, so it wasn’t distorted).  I had to buy some Modge Podge (MP) for this one, but it was so worth it.  I got to use my new orbital sander for the first time, and sanded the crap out of that wood (she’s got little ones, so I rounded the edges quite a bit)!  Then I wiped it off with a damp towel to get all the sand dust.  I poured a little MP and spread it where I thought the picture would go in a thin layer across the wood.  I laid the picture ink side down on the MP while it was still wet.  I tried my best to center it.  After it dried overnight, I covered the whole piece of paper with a more-than-damp-but-not-soaking-wet-towel for a few minutes.  I used that same towel to kind of scrub the paper off (this whole process is reminiscent of the temporary tattoos of my childhood).  I did mine in two rounds, peeling/scrubbing two layers.  My towel started to rub some of the picture off, so I switched to my fingers.  Certain parts of the picture are more, um, rustic than I had hoped, but I’m rolling with it.Next time I’ll probably use a thicker layer of MP.  I think I might have been a little stingy.  Also, my picture didn’t go all the way to the edges.  This was an issue after I did the letters…

​I’m a bit of a font junkie, so finding the perfect one waskey.  I wanted the piece to feel a little western, so I Googled “western font”, and found a free website that made her last name a picture.  Then I copied and pasted the text “picture” into word and resized it super big.  That’s as technical as I get with this one.  It was tricky, and I’m sure there was an easier way to do it in Photoshop, but I was done messing with it (this was about 45 min into font searching).  The letters were about a page tall each.  Turned out, they were too wide, so I manually cut and pasted them (literally with scissors and tape).  After editing the letters, I traced them and painted around my lines.  I was super impressed with myself until I realized the “R” at the end of “BAKER” looked super bad since the picture didn’t go to the edge.  I got out my little paint brush and some stain, and fixed it right up!  (Note: I thought about staining the entire thing before I transferred the picture, but I’m really glad I didn’t.  The picture turned out darker than I expected on the wood even though the wood was pretty light.)  

​She got it, and she loved it!  I think it’s my favorite so far!

I’m sure my instructions are by no means complete, so please ask if you have questions on how I did something!

Do you have any favorite homemade gifts given or received?  

​    

Craigslist-ing

How are you?  Feeling neglected?  Well, I hope this feels like a virtual hug!  In an effort to pay off our debt, Zach and I have begun selling stuff.  Top of the list was our couch (don’t worry, we are getting Zach’s grandma’s couch).  Mama is having a garage sale next month, but we hear if you have big stuff you should use Craigslist.  Mostly, we didn’t want to move big stuff to Mama’s house.  We also listed Turner’s baby swing.  She hasn’t met the weight limit, but she’s a little too close to wiggling out of it for comfort.  (Note: We were always close to her when she was in it.  No need to worry that she goes unsupervised!)  She is also just a hair away from meeting the weight limit.  (Have you ever seen a swing set’s legs pull up when the person on it swings too high?  It was a little like that.)

Both pieces are in great shape.  We bought our couch just before we got married 2 ½ years ago, and we were OCD about keeping it clean.  We asked about half what we paid for it (it is used after all).  We made sure it was looking good, and snapped its portrait.  I cannot stress how important it is to post a picture of whatever you’re selling.  I don’t even look at listings without pictures.  For some reason, I instantly think something must be wrong with the item.  So, load up your listing!  Our couch was still advertised on the manufacturer’s website, so Zach just paraphrased their description.  We used our own photo, though. I hate when people post a picture from the store’s website.  I want to see what the actual thing I’m buying looks like!

The swing looks almost brand new and has a lot of features, so I posted a few pictures.  Even though it is still for sale in retail stores, I didn’t use the product description.  I just said a few points that I really liked.  Keep those short and sweet.  No one wants to read a book about your old stuff.  As for pricing, I found a similar model for sale, and based mine off that one.  The other one didn’t have all its parts and was a little more worn, so I went higher.  After all, it was purchased less than a year ago.  We just have a super-fast grower!  

Well, we got very few hits on either listing.  I chalk it up to two things: 1. we posted on Sunday (read: MISTAKE!)  I find people usually hit up Craigslist during the week, probably at work.  We should’ve posted Monday morning, I think.  2. We priced too high.  People are looking for cheap stuff on Craigslist.  I can tell you that we would have bought our couch in a heartbeat if we were on the other side and furnishing our place.  We tried to find a couch second hand before we were married, but no dice.  Next time we will try attaching a “willing to negotiate” disclaimer.

I promise this story has a happy ending.  At the time of this post, both are sold! How, you ask?  Enter Facebook and word-of-mouth.  Zach and I shared the couch post on Facebook, and we had a response about a minute later.  Boom! Sold! (We actually got a response to the Craigslist post on Wednesday night, but too bad, sucka!)  As for the swing, I told a coworker that has a new granddaughter, and sold!  The moral of the story:  reach as many people as possible when trying to sell.  You never know who needs what!

Up Next: Preparing for a garage sale…

Goldieblog

I was trying to come up with something to blog about, and a friend requested vegetarian recipes!  So, I figured I’d do one for Zach, one for me, and one for Tu (hence “Goldieblog”).  Fair warning: I don’t like measuring, and usually judge amounts on consistency.

Papa Z-Vegetarian “Chickn” Noodle Soup

This recipe is a veggie version of the chicken noodle soup my mama makes.  We’re not one for thin, brothy soups, so this one is very hearty.  

• Fake chicken strips (without breading; we buy the Kroger brand grill strips)
• Egg Noodles (sub a non-egg version, and ta-da: recipe is vegan!)
• Vegetable Stock (Even if you eat meat, you should be using this.  So good!)
• Carrots (and any other veggies you like) sliced into disks
• Milk (I use almond milk because I like the consistency, but coconut milk (in the carton not the can) would work too.  Oh, and regular milk if you’re into that.)
• Olive Oil
• Spices (I’m old school and just use salt and pepper.)
• A big ‘ole pot.  

Sauté the “chickn” over medium heat in enough olive oil to just coat the bottom on your pot.  You don’t have to totally cook it, just get a little color on the outside.  Dump in the carrots, veggie stock, and milk.  I let that work with no lid for a while.  If you feel like too much liquid is evaporating, put the lid on (this isn’t rocket science).  When your carrots are almost tender, dump in the noodles.  Cook for the time on the package.  Don’t add any more liquid.  I like my soup thick, so I add noodles until there’s just enough liquid to cover them.  If you like a thinner soup, add fewer noodles.  Add salt and pepper at the end, and serve!

Mama T’s “Egg” Salad

I definitely stole this one from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s chef.  He has a great book called Vegan Cooking for Carnivores.  So good.  Soooooooo good.  I love egg salad, so this is a welcome substitute when Z and I are eating more vegan.

• Extra Firm Tofu
• Vegan Mayo
• Mustard (I use Dijon)
• Dill pickles (+ the juice)

Drain and slice the tofu into about ¼” slices.  On a plate, lay out several layers of paper towels, a layer of tofu, a layer of paper towels, tofu, and a final layer of paper towels.  I just press the heck out of it with my hands, but you can put a pot with something heavy in it (can of soup, etc.) and leave it in the fridge for a while (1 hour or so). I’m not generally one to work in advance, so pressing it myself works just fine.  Just get the majority of the liquid out, or the good stuff won’t stick.  Chop the tofu into small cubes.  Add a couple tablespoons of mayo, a squirt of mustard, and a splash of pickle juice.  Stir it up, and see if you like the consistency.  Add more of any ingredient you want.  Chop up some pickle, and throw it in the mix.  You could cut out the middle man and use relish, but I usually only keep a jar of dill pickles at my house.  I like to put mine in a pita pocket with some lettuce, but it’s also great between a couple slices of bread!

Baby Tu’s Sweet Potato Mash

Turner hasn’t done much culinary exploring, but she’s liked pretty much everything she’s had so far.  One of her favorites is sweet potatoes.  I had to Google how to bake a sweet potato (don’t judge), and I’m guessing other people don’t know how to do it either.

• Baking sheet
• Foil
• Fork
• Sweet Potato

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Poke a bunch of holes in the sweet potato with a fork.  Wrap the sweet potato in foil.  Put it on a baking sheet, and bake for about an hour, or until tender (it usually takes an hour in our oven).  Unwrap it, let it cool, and scoop out the insides.  Mash.  That’s it!

I hope you get a chance to make one (or all) of these for yourselves! They’re really just jumping off points.  Add some spice to the soup or some curry power to the salad, and you’ve got a completely different dish!  You can even make them, gulp, non-vegetarian.  It’s up to you!  

Baby Food Update

One of my money saving tips is making baby food at home.  We spend maybe $10 on our weekly grocery trip for extra fruits and veggies.  Something about baby food being in a jar, on a shelf for who-knows-how-long just rubs me the wrong way.  Now I know Turner is getting preservative-free, organic food.  The only problem was storage.

The first containers we used were the ones that came with the Baby Bullet.  Those were great.  We could twist the top to the correct date, so we didn’t end up feeding Tu old food.  Well, she quickly out-ate those little jars.  My mama bought some little plastic containers, and Tu blew through the amount they held as well.  She really likes to eat.  I also wanted to start freezing large batches, but I didn’t want to mess with proportions and switching containers (I’m a diva).  Enter the baby shower gift from my friend, Brittany.  

If you have a baby, you’ve definitely seen the pouches of baby food in the store (probably even if you don’t have a baby, you’ve seen them).  Well, I got this fancy doodad!  I can make my own baby food pouches!  I can freeze them, write on them, refrigerate them, and so much more!  I really should be on infomercials.  I steam fruits (if needed) or veggies like normal, then squish them into the pouches (it’s a little more complicated than that, but the Amazon link explains it much better than I can).  The only downer is they can’t be microwaved.  This is for the best, though.  I really shouldn’t be using the microwave forTu’s food anyway. This stops me.  They heat up in no time in a cup of hot water.  I think I had it in there for all of about 3 minutes.  Since summer is coming, I probably won’t be heating up fruits for her anymore.  I might even make her some all fruitpopcicles!  Guess I need to find another doodad…

Thrifting or Bust!

As promised, I went thrifting on Saturday with my mama and Turner.  The main goal was to get 9 month clothes for Tu, and maybe some other goodies for the house if I found any (we needed an outdoor rug desperately…if you can need an outdoor rug desperately).

We started out at a thrift shop in a small town.  We confused consignment shop with thrift shop.  This particular thrift shop would take ANYTHING.  I saw half empty bottles of shampoo for sale.  I did get a potato masher for $1, so I call it a win.  The place was more fun for the people-watching.  Zach and I have been watching Big Love (HBO show about polygamy), and I felt like I was in the show!  Potato masher and an experience?  I’ll take it.

Second stop was Castaways Consignment in Washington.  I was much underwhelmed.  I was half looking for a pair of jeans, but they didn’t have any long lengths in my size.  Also missing were any 9 month clothes for Tu.  I found exactly 2 items that were 6-12 months.  After I left, I realize I paid $7 for each item.  A little (A LOT!) ridiculous for second hand.  I am not proud of that.  I was just so excited to find something!

Third on the list was a new consignment shop in Washington, called New 4 You.  The store carries new accessories.  It’s smaller than Castaways, but I really liked the décor.  They only have women’s clothes and accessories, and this mama found a super cute scarf for $5 and it was new!   I tried on a pair of jeans, but tiny back pockets on a big butt look like regular sized pockets on a huge butt.  NO THANK YOU.

After New 4 You, we went to Peoria.  I’ve heard good things about Wee Wares from several people, and it was a success!  Tu got three pairs of shoes, a dress, and two pairs of shorts.  All this was only $27 including one pair of shoes were StrideRite, which are not cheap new.  Again, we had a lot of trouble finding 9 month clothes, but what we did find was good.

Even though Wee Wares was better than the other consignment/thrift shops, I still didn’t have enough to outfit Tu for the spring.  Target just so happens to be just down the road from Wee Wares.  Jackpot!  Well, “jackpot” might be a little overkill.  Does everyone have a baby in 9 month clothes right now, or do they just not stock as much?  Either way, I decided the way to go was comfy.  I got a bunch of onesies and cotton pants.  She even got a bicycle onesie for PawPaw Brian (he’s a big time bike rider)!  I also got an outdoor rug at the Target.  They had almost all of their Threshold outdoor rugs on “clearance”.  Sidebar;  .99 off $12.99 is not a clearance.  $6 off $12.99 is a clearance.  Naturally, I chose the only one not on clearance, but the extra .99 didn’t hurt too badly.  Last on the list was formula (we are so lucky that we had the most luck with the Up&Up brand of soy formula since it’s half the price!).  Out the door, I was $138 poorer.  

So, I failed at the second hand shopping game; bust.  Do you have any tips?  I’m excited for garage sale season.  .50 is more my style than $7 for second hand.