Thrifty Finds #2

I've spent my fair share of time in thrift stores in the last few months with little success.  Sure, I'd find a few things that were adequate but nothing fabulous.  I was getting disappointed.  Then last Saturday after I worked 5 hours of overtime at work I decided to hit a couple that I can only visit on weekends because they close by 5pm during the week.

I first stopped into the Salvation Army Thrift Store.  It was surprisingly busy in there.  One of my usual stops in any thrift store are the books... but sadly I couldn't find anything.  I also looked for some vintage dessert plates for Holly's wedding but they didn't have any that were attractive.  But I did end up with a couple gems!  Then I went to the Volunteers of America Thrift Store and found tons of stuff!  It was packed to the gills with goodies.

Little Tikes van = $1.49

2 yards of Sesame Street fleece = $1.49

Glass Pyrex pie plate = $1.49

Scrabble = $2.49

Glass footed bowl = $1.00

6 assorted dessert plates = 50¢ each

This idea came this blog I found recently.  She has a cute glass dish that she stores her earrings in and her name is Kara, too.  My favorite earrings hang on the outside for easy access and others (like hoops) are inside.  It's genius.  Plus it's pretty.

Set of 3 stacking cooling racks = $3.00

Tupperware sandwich keeper = 50¢

Neat mug = 50¢

I went to a Pampered Chef party a few months ago and contemplated buying these, but at $15 a pop I decided not to.  Boy am I glad I didn't buy those suckers.  Same goes for the Tupperware sandwich keeper.  Did you know they're $15 for a set of 2?  That's crazy.  I found that baby for 50¢!  

The mug is so cute.  And it must be old because the bottom has the brand "Waechtersbach" and "W Germany" on the bottom.  I plan on taking it to work for a little something pretty on my desk.

Total spent:  $15.00

Have you found any gems lately?

-Kara

Favorite Things Friday: Target

Anyone who knows me knows I love Target.  It's my favorite store on the whole earth.  Sioux Falls has 2 now (which is so exciting!) one on each side of town.  The new one opened in October 2010 (sad that I remember that) and is so convenient and wonderful.

There are so many reasons why I love Target... and here are my top 5.

The DIAPERS!  As the mother of a 2.75 year old who has ZERO interest in potty training, I love cheap diapers.  These are leaps and bounds better than any other "store brand" diaper I've found.  

When Ez was just a little 8 pound infant we used the Huggies with the pee strip thing on them that told us when he was wet.  That is the most brilliant thing ever.  We went through SO many diapers.  They sure pulled us into their money trap.  The second those strips turned blue we were changing the dang things.  Then we decided that we'd rather send our kids to college than spend this kind of money on "name brand" diapers.  

We started trying cheaper brands: Luvs, Parents Choice (Walmart), and Target's up & up brand.  The Luvs smelled funny.  Powdery or something.  And they felt like they were going to burst at any moment.  The Walmart ones were really rough and didn't have a gathered back so blow outs squished right out the back of them.  Gross.  The Target ones were wonderful.  Not just because the other ones were terrible.  They were great.  It's no surprise to anyone that I also love polka dots and these diapers have blue and green polka dots all over them!  We've bought so many packages of these diapers.  I've even made storage boxes out of them by cutting the tops off and covering them with contact paper.  (I'll post that sometime.)  Anyway, they're wonderful and I love them.  Yay, Target!

Paper towels.  Toilet Paper.  Napkins.  We buy Target up & up brand for all of these items.  They're just as good as the name brand and way cheaper.  The paper towels we like are the ones that are about 6" wide and you get to pick how many you use depending on your spill size.  All the brands have their own name for this type of paper towel.  Bounty is Select a Size.  Target is Make a Size.  Somewhere else has Sized for Spills.  Frank couldn't remember what they were called and called them Select a Spill, which I thought was hilarious.  

Zip top bags in all sizes.  We go through tons of these bags.  It's not very green of us.  But we've been trying to save money as much as possible so we've been taking lunches to work and snacks in the car.  These are the best "non-Ziploc" brand we've found.  And they're considerably cheaper, too.

These carts!  They are so smooth and easy to push.  They don't give us shocks like the metal ones from Walmart.  They even make a fun clunking sound when they're pushed together for storage.  (I have a weird thing for sounds.)  You can fit SO much stuff in them too!  Wait, maybe that isn't such a good thing.

The Starbucks inside the Target.  Coffee + Shopping = Win.  That is all.

Do you have a favorite Target product?  Or a favorite store I should know about?

-Kara

This post was not sponsored by Target.  I'm simply expressing my love for it.

Favorite Things Friday: A Few Good Books (and an ode to my Kindle)

It's no surprise that I'm a reader.  With my goal to read 50 books this year SMASHED in December (which was only 8 months into my challenge) it's obvious to anyone that I love to read.  Speaking of that, I should probably update my Read list.  Oops.  Sorta forgot about that.

Anyway, so at first I thought I'd do a rating system on my Read page, but it was so hard because most of them were good.  But a few were terrible.  Terrible enough that I contemplated not even finishing them.  One of them I didn't finish.  It was awfully written and had typos all over the place.  Bad ones.  Your vs. you're even.  But then I realized it was probably a self-published piece of drivel since it was a Kindle only publication that was only 99¢.  Not sure what I was expecting.

Because I'm on a budget I've been flocking toward the cheap Kindle books (99¢, $1.99, $2.99) and a great deal of them are Young Adult.  This is another reason why I LOVE my Kindle like a child.  No one can see what I'm reading.  So if someone asks, I can be like "Oh, I'm enjoying Anna Karenina!"  When I'm actually reading something like "Flat Out Love" (which was WONDERFUL by the way).

These are the stand-outs.  The ones that even months later I remember them being great.

buy it here

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

Okay, so don't judge a book by its description.  It's not a creepy pedophile story.  (Got you wondering, huh?)  It's a great story about surviving on an uninhabited island and the interactions between the only two people living there: Anna (a high school tutor) and TJ (a high school student).

buy it here

Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer

Four friends.  One dies and leaves a secret that the other three friends set out to solve.  It sounds cliche but it was actually really great.  

buy it here

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White

This book I found at the Goodwill in Santa Barbara for 99¢.  I didn't even intend to buy it at first.  I had found two books and two movies (a Wiggles one for Ezra and Ratatouille for Lenon) but I discovered on the walk back to my parent's house that Ratatouille was missing.  Duh me for not checking to see if the movie was in it.  So we walked back and talked to the girl who rang us up and she said to just trade it for something else that was $3.99.  So I looked through their books and found this one and 3 others and we were on our way.  It is a great book.  It's so easy to connect with the characters.  It was one of those books that I couldn't wait to read.  I would think about it at work and was tempted to smuggle it into the bathroom with me to read it.  But I refrained.

buy it here

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

I love anything by Kristin Hannah.  Wait, I take that back.  There was one book that was just okay but I can't remember the name of it because I've read almost all of her books.  That's one thing I do.  When I find an author I like I read their EVERYTHING.  Then I get disappointed because I'm out of books and I have to wait for the next book.  Anyway, this particular book is really good.  I don't remember tons about it because I read it so long ago.  But believe me, it was good.

buy it here

One Pink Line by Dina Silver

I didn't expect much from this book, what with its pink cover and cliche title.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm sure you could guess from the title --- a girl ends up pregnant but that's not where it ends.  You'll be surprised, and emotional, and enjoy it.  I promise.

So those are a few of the good ones.  Have you read any good books lately?

-Kara

The Fabric Barrel

One of the other things we did while I was visiting the West Coast was go to Solvang to the Fabric Barrel.  I read about it first on Homemade by Jill and knew it was a "must stop" place this time.

It's unlike any store I've ever been in.  It's a couple different rooms with an outside walkway between them.  There are rolls upon rolls of fabric.  I kid you not.  I should have taken pictures but I was so overwhelmed I didn't even think about it.  There were knits and sheers and cotton blends.  It was amazing.  They have cutting tables set up with measuring tapes and scissors.  You cut your own fabric and then bring it up the sidewalk and into the cafe they own and pay for it there.  Oh and did I mention that all the fabric is 99¢ a yard?  Yes.  It's true.  ALL of it.

They also have thousands of zippers.  You know those giant Rubbermaid totes?  Yep, there were 9 of them full to the top with zippers of all colors.  And all the zippers were 5¢ a piece.  Five cents.  That is not a type-o.

photo from Homemade by Jill

Inwardly the .99¢ sign bothers me.  It means less than a penny per yard.  Clearly that's not how much it really is.  It's something that has bothered me since my 8th grade algebra class with Mr. Rizzuti.  He brought it up as a pet peeve and ever since I've noticed whenever anyone does it.   Even some of the grocery stores in town do it.  I've always wanted to call them out on it but never have.  My luck I'd have to explain the whole thing and they still wouldn't get it.

Anyway, back to the fabric.

I knew I had a limited amount of room in my suitcase so I was a little particular with my choices.  I did end up with 18 yards of fabric... and 63 zippers.  Roughly.  I've counted them twice and keep coming up with a different number, first I got 60 and then 62.  Whatever.  They charged me for 63 at 5¢ a piece but it's not like 15¢ will break me.

Aren't they pretty?

I think most of them are like 9" long, which will be perfect if I decide I want to make some little zippered bags for makeup and other whatnot.  And I'm sure I can find some sort of project to use all these delightful zippers on.  I should have gotten more.  They were such a good deal!

I got 2 checked and 2 plaids.  

And 3 assorted dotty patterns.

And 2 funky florals.

I can hardly wait to get started on a project.  I just need to decide what to make.

-Kara

Favorite Things Friday: Vacation Edition

For a week I was in Santa Barbara visiting my family and helping my sister with her impending nuptials.  I spent a week away from my baby two-year-old when I had previously spent exactly ZERO days away from him ever.  Like, ever.  Never an overnight stay at Frank's parents house.  Never a weekend away doing something "couple-like" with Frank.  Never, ever, anything.

I had some mama guilt.  For sure.  But it was really fun and the boys survived.  Frank texted photos and quotes and I talked to them a few times in my week away.  I didn't want to call everyday and have Ez freak out and miss me so I didn't.

So here are some of my favorites from my vacation, in no particular order.

Surfboards on the ceiling at Esau's Cafe.  Holly and my mom and I went one morning for breakfast and it was fantastic.  I got pancakes (which are arguably one of my favorite foods) and they had the best maple syrup.  It was thick and maple-y and so yummy.

Exploring Meridian Studios with my mom.  We were scouting places for Holly and Ryan to have their engagement pictures done.  Walking by, you'd hardly notice it.  A large stone wall with an ornate iron gate partially blocks the view in.  And the gates were closed.  But it wasn't locked, so we decided to go in anyway.  

The buildings are beautiful and all the studios have their own entrance with sea green doors.  It was quiet and peaceful with a bubbling fountain in the middle.  It would be a great place to have an office and I'm jealous of anyone who has one there.

Meeting Erica's boyfriend Austin.  His personality was exactly the way I envisioned it.  (I had already seen pictures on facebook)  He was polite and friendly and smitten with my little sister.  And she seems pretty crazy about him, too.  

3-2-1 Wheat germ pancakes from East Beach Grill.  It's one of my favorite places to eat in SB.  I love breakfast food and clearly I'm a fan of pancakes (see above).  One of the best parts is the view --- which I also should have taken a picture of but I'm still pretty new to this blogging stuff and I forgot.  We sat outside and watched the pigeons swarm around and pick food off people's plates after they left.  Dumb birds.

Enjoying an Ice Blended from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf before my flight home.  The new Santa Barbara Airport is open and I was surprised by how beautiful it was.  I was used to the little one story hacienda, walking down the stairs and directly onto the tarmac, and collecting my luggage from a car port.  The Airport now has 2 stories and actual jetways.  The baggage claim is still sort of like it was --- a real indoor building with an open air area where the little tram brings the luggage over and they slide it down a sheet metal slide to you.  I like it.  Plus there's a Coffee Bean in there.  Win.

I had a really fun trip and we made headway on lots of wedding stuff, including finding Holly's dress and the bridesmaids dresses, finding a fabric for the table runners, working on flowers and invites and music and food...  It was a busy week but so much fun.

-Kara

Toddler Snack Mix Valentines

Ezra is excited about Valentine's Day this year.  He doesn't really get it, but has developed a love for hearts.  I found a post on Baby Steps 365 that had a toddler snack mix and I thought it was a really cute idea.  It isn't candy - which is nice - and it was really easy.

The cast of characters

The ratio I used was 2 cups of Frosted Cheerios, 1 cup of Teddy Grahams, 1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt Raisins, and 1/2 cup Strawberry Yogurt Melts.  

It looks pretty tasty

I got these cello bags at the Target dollar spot.  Ez loves "robot friends" so he was delighted when I gave him these to hold when he was riding in the cart a couple weeks ago.

I filled each bag with a 1/2 cup of snack mix and twisted them closed with the silver twist-ties that came with the bags.  Then I wrote on some of the bigger foam heart stickers and stuck them on each bag.  Hopefully they don't fall off, but if they do, we'll come up with a new plan.  

And I hope the parents in Ezra's room at daycare won't be afraid of it because it isn't packaged.  In my opinion, two year olds don't need a bunch of sugar pulsing through their little bodies from the candy usually attached to Valentines.  

Cute, huh?

-Kara 

Rockin' Valentines

Lenon is in 5th grade this year; it's the end of his elementary career and probably the end of exchanging Valentines with the whole class.  We decided to do something more fun this year.  I found the idea for Pop Rocks Valentines on someone's blog somewhere.  No idea where, so I can't even give credit where credit is due.

I

buy the Pop Rocks here 

I got the Pop Rocks on Amazon... big surprise.  They were a little expensive.  But since this is the last year he'll be doing them, I thought it would be okay to have really cool ones.  I made a little couple different labels using Power Point and printed them off.  And the foam stickers came from Target's dollar spot.  

I made the messages pretty generic.  No "lovey-dovey" stuff for Lenon.

Lenon nixed my idea of coloring in the guitars.  He thought it was dorky.  I colored in my samples... and I thought they looked cool.  But whatever.  It's his deal.  So we stuck the labels to the Pop Rocks using the little foam stickers and viola.  Done!  We decided not to write everyone's name on them, simply for ease of handing them out.  

He's pretty pumped about them.  And they do look cool. 

What do you think?

-Kara