thrifty sunday: monday

Everyone knows that the Sunday preceding Labor Day is actually a bonus Saturday, and Labor Day is the official Sunday. Right? Then, we all just collectively agree to skip Monday which nobody likes anyway and move right on to Tuesday: homely but pleasant-enough. GREAT. In that case, I am not late in posting these recent thrift store scores. 

LEGWARMERS! $1.99 and so, so long and toasty. Am I a fool for purchasing leg warmers when it's in the 70s and the weather is finally nice enough to wear tanktops? No, because the Bellingham summer is cruel and will turn on us before we know it, leaving our shins chilly and our spirits (and everything else) dampened. Or, I should say, YOUR shins will be left chilly, because I bought these legwarmers. 

A matching hat! $1.99. All wool and oh, that pom! It's almost as big as my head. Long winter hair begs for a tight little cap with a giant pom pom, and about the time this hat becomes useful I'll need something to compete with my belly for roundness. I'm into anything aprés ski, though in fairness, in the context of my life, it would be...avant ski? Because I don't ski. 

A yard of totally awesome knit fabric! $4.99. I'm not sure why this was so expensive, but they must've known some sucker would come along with visions of torturing her children à la the Von Trapp family or these people (who are lovely, I'm sure, and certainly have adorable kids). Nevermind the cat hair.

A teensy little get-up, $1.99. The embroidered train, the ingenious zipper crotch, the miraculously soft acrylic knit, the matching bonnet-y hat from way back when people didn't think bonnets were too girly and babies still looked like babies and weren't squeezed into size 0-3 month jeans: I love it all. A girl will wear this if we have one, because if she follows the precedent set by her brother, everyone will think she's a boy anyway for the first year of her life. (People: "What's her name?" Me: "George." People: "Girl George?" Me: "Really? That's the most plausible conclusion?")

Also, this weekend, we bought a television. For the living room. I swore I'd never do it, but here we are, living the American dream. It was decidedly un-thrifty, so I'll spare you the price, but now we can have Oscars parties (first: start watching the Oscars. Or any major motion pictures.) and my kid can turn into one of those I previously scoffed at when, at places like the aquarium, they can only liken what they see to Finding Nemo. Happy Labor Day! 

thrifty sunday: the return

Oh, hi again. 

You may (not) have noticed that, actually, along with my whole blog, thrifty Sunday has been on hiatus. We haven't really had any fun money, so I hadn't been shopping, and I was simultaneously losing the battle for free time. I am still losing that battle in a major way; my white flag has been raised for days, but life doesn't seem to care. Soon(ish), I'll write an epic post about Ladyfest, which promises to be a very rewarding timesuck whose benefits will not be reaped until the sun goes down on next weekend. 

Anyhow, I've picked up some things over the past few weeks, namely when Value Village was having a half-off sale. Without further ado, here are my scores:

1. A weirdly large homemade bunting, $1.99

This thing will probably fit a 12 month old, which makes it arguably impractical, both because it will not fit the child I currently have, and because I don't know that a one-year-old would submit to wearing it. Nevermind all that; it's homemade and didn't deserve to languish in the thrift store for a minute longer. 

2. Awesome farm animal puzzle, $1.50

There's a small scuff on the front of it, but it's in otherwise perfect shape and any puzzle with all its pieces is still mint as far as our household is concerned. It's also Washington-made, and numbered on the back!

3. A Mariners jersey. Was $4.99, but half-price, so $2.50!

Okay, so, this is not the type of thing that anyone in my family usually wears. I am a firm believer, however, in dressing for the occasion, and our Fathers' Day tradition is seeing the Mariners. Nathan loves baseball and George loves "catch," so I'm letting go of a little clothes snobbery, here. It's in great condition and fits perfectly, incidentally, at a size 3T (for my almost 18 month old). 

4. The main event. The eventual big-winter-holiday-present (Hanukkah? Birthday? Christmas?): Unfinished homemade kit dollhouse, $4.99

There's more than a little projection going on, here, as I begged my parents for a dollhouse for years and never got one. But this number is right up our alley: a fixer-upper with limitless potential.

It's sturdy and big, with a floor plan open enough for still-fumbly little hands to maneuver around. I can't wait to paste up wallpaper, crochet a rag rug and cut up a million sandpaper shingles for the roof. 

I hope it sees many generations of happy Plan and Playmobil families. I'll keep you updated on its progress if you promise not to show George.

What have you been shopping for lately?

thrifty sunday: plastic fantastic

These pieces were not all purchased on the same day (and, to be fair, I bought some things that don't really warrant picturing [another striped shirt, footy jammies for my little sorta-walker]), but all from the same relatively fruitful Goodwill and all within the month. 

1. Having a kid is such a good excuse to buy ridiculous, gaudy stuff from the 70s. Pink flower mirror? Um, obvious must-have for George. He need only look into the mirror, and magically become a living, breathing Anne Geddes photo. $2.99

 

The bunting is recycled from a Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh (major love for this lady) calendar -- 2008, maybe? 

2. Two pair of Hanna Andersson pajama bottoms, size 3T perhaps? $1.99 apiece

You know how Hanna rolls with that weird sizing, so 3T is just a guess. They'll fit eventually, in all their organic cotton-y, worn-in glory.

3. Awesome lamp for George's boudoir (what, exactly, does one call a bedroom nobody sleeps in? He gets dressed in there, and he certainly uses it for sulking). $5.99 

The light comes out of the 'yield' part, which casts a pleasant sort of calm, yellow hue on everything. We had been using a fancy porcelain lamp with gold flowers and a bell shade, but this is more fun and much sturdier as it won't shatter when it inevitably crashes to the floor.

I can't wait until George will sit through longer parts (not even whole chapters!) of books. That Lewis Carroll tome is going to get some serious action. Until then, it's The Carrot Seed board book over and over and over... and over. I think he appreciates that the kid really sticks it to his doubting family in the end.

thrifty sunday: you are my sunshine

Friday was great: playdate replete with teeny tiny cupcakes and on the way home, a surprise meet-me-for-lunch message from one of our best gals who was breezing through town on her way south. After some rice and beans and a margarita, I stopped into Goodwill to look around, blatantly milking my baby-free afternoon for all it was worth. 

Three treasures came home with me, totaling $9 and some change. Considering I would've paid a lot more for just one of them, I feel like I scored. 

1. Little wooly vest for George, for when he's feeling like a cultural anthropologist: 

The middle section of the vest is not symmetrical; this detail eluded me until just now. Anyway, I feel like he needs a graying pony tail and some hornrims to really complete the sensitive adjunct professor look.

2. Amazing homemade wallhanging that immediately went up in our bedroom:

It's pretty big, like maybe 18 inches by 18 inches, and fits beautifully on the wall that I often wake up facing. I've tried several other pieces of art there, and nothing ever worked. Clearly, the wall was biding its time until I found the perfect piece.

3. The sweetest ever, can-you-believe-someone-got-rid-of-this crewel work wallhanging:

I have my suspicions that the same person is responsible for both this and the above piece, and if that is indeed the case, I would like to call this woman (assumption, sue me) up and thank her from the bottom of my homemade-loving heart. This one is a little smaller -- maybe 9 inches by 14 inches -- and the lines are sort of wonky, but that only adds to its charm. As with a lot of things that I find at thrift stores, I wonder how someone saw fit to give this away. I imagine it being lovingly worked on after bedtimes by a long-haired lady in high waisted jeans, then hanging in a nursery circa 1978. I figured that it would be expensive, considering its awesomeness/similarity to something one might find at Urban Outfitters, but I turned it over to see the price, which said $3.99! Easily one of my all-time favorite thrift purchases.

Happy shopping and happy week, you guys!

thrifty sunday

I like recurring things. Routines. Being a "regular" somewhere. In that vein, I'd like to introduce you to (trumpets, please!) Thrifty Sunday!

When I worked at the fabric store that I mentioned in my last post, the Sunday shift was my favorite. Next door was a Thrifty Drug that eventually became something else (I think), but as any good Southern Californian knows, Thrifty's appeal lay in its ice cream counter. We would mosey in at eleven o'clock, get the cash register going, I'd collect a dollar from everyone and go on an ice cream run: cones all around. We each had our regular order. This became known as Thrifty Sunday. We would sit, gossip, talk about our works in progress, pass around whatever we'd just finished and savor our treats. Some loyal customers knew about our ritual, and would visit just to see what any given Sunday's show and tell offered. I miss those ladies like crazy, especially when a stubborn seam is puckering or I can't remember how to make a crochet bauble look just right. So, this regular feature goes out to you: Gertie, Shirley, Dorothy and Leona. 

Of course, while documenting my ice cream consumption would make for truly riveting reading, I'll spare you. Instead, Thrifty Sundays will consist of me showing off my awesome thrift shop scores, in order for me to justify their purchase. Without further ado:

1. A BAGGU penguin, $2.99

George saw this little guy from afar and seemed to fall instantly in love. I let them cuddle for a few minutes before asking George to say goodbye to Mr. Penguin and leave him on the shelf for someone else to take home. Poor George waved so sadly, so persistently at his lost friend that I caved. On further inspection, he had his original price tag ($19.99) still attached and he was first bought at the San Diego Zoo! One of my favorite places on Earth. Their love was obviously meant to be. 

As an aside: BAGGU bags rule, and I had no idea they had branched out into the toy market. 

2. Two sewing patterns, $1.99

I've been dreaming of making George a Huckle Cat outfit, because he kind of looks like Huckle Cat. Um, perf! That little lederhosen number on the far left is a Huckle costume waiting to happen:

Also, a Cabbage Patch-esque doll pattern, with some basic outfits. I love making dolls, but I always mess them up somehow. Perhaps a pattern will help this?

3. Odd linen minidress, $5.99

I'd just like for you to know that I am currently wearing this dress with tights and socks that have kokopelli on them, no lie. My descent into weirdo hippie chicken lady territory continues unabated.

There you have it. Something magical also happened on this shopping trip: I reunited some stolen comics with their rightful owner, after their thief (who also happens to be a car thief) evidently donated them to Value Village. The mysteries of the Universe! Happy thrifting!