thrifty sunday: boring

I'm still alive. Sometimes barely, as this baby keeps me awake all night with punching, kicking, somersaulting and various other acrobatic moves we can only guess about. George was never so active. I mean, he kicked and wiggled and everything, but as memory serves, it was pretty tame in comparison. Added to the sleepiness is the fact that it gets dark before 5pm, and every day seems a little shorter...because it is. By the time the solstice rolls around, it'll be dusk at 3:30 and I'll never change out of pajamas. 

During the Halloween season, George was really into "spoosy" -- or spooky -- stuff. When it was rainy but we felt cabin-feverish, an easy outing was strolling the local, newly-moved-into-a-huge-building Value Village. They had aisles of masks, wigs, hats, sparkly wings, and clothes being sold as costumes that I would usually buy to wear as normal parts of my wardrobe. I am somewhat shameless in my appreciation of thrift stores' ramp-up to Halloween policy of gathering everything I like into one section -- 70s prairie dresses, fur vests, 60s minis and sequined formalwear -- and I try to ignore the stigma. This year our budget didn't allow for much and I don't fit into anything without at least 10% spandex, so George and I roamed the store with mostly empty pockets as he begged to see more "spoosy stuff." Here are the things I decided we couldn't live without:

A sweater-romper-thing with oranges on it! $2.99 - The thought of leaving this on the rack was unbearable. The cinched waist is a little hilarious given six to nine month-old babies' chubbiness. 

A teeny little velveteen and eyelet dress, $1.99 - For a baby born circa Valentine's Day.

A fancy-ish wintertime dress for a little lady who's moving to a colder clime. San Diego doesn't have much use for long sleeves or high necks or things that go nicely with wooly tights, but no Pacific Northwestern six year-old should be without a few calico statement pieces. A belated birthday present still waiting to be sent. 

Awesome coloring book, untouched by crayons, $.069! Another present, as George is still too little to appreciate creative prompts like the ones found here. No outlines of cartoon characters or funny-looking animals, just open-ended ideas bound in a book. I think its intended recipient will love it, as she has a newly-found interest in art. One holiday gift down.

A new shirt for George, $1.99 - Poor George is kind of low on clothes. He has t-shirts and leggings but not many long sleeved tops or regular pants, and with his opinions on daily outfits growing stronger I want to give him realistic options that don't leave him looking like a clown when put together. Not that there's anything wrong with a toddler dressing like a clown. 

You've undoubtedly noticed the weird, shady quality of these photos. There's no daylight indoors and I hope you'll excuse me for not standing outside in the wind and hail(!) to snap some pictures of my meager thrift store finds. Have you gotten anything good lately?

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: not thrifty at all

My maternity wardrobe will be decidedly different this time around. No business attire means no scrounging for the most acceptable black pants to wear with whatever hand-me-down tunic I resorted to once my dresses got too short to wear, even with tights. I recently discovered what I had neglected to figure out before: that instead of looking futilely for an affordable, decent pair of maternity skinny jeans, I should just take in a pair myself. I had some dreadful bootcut ones I'd kept because, well, you can't just wear sweatpants, and I turned them into perfect everyday jeans. Good thing, as none of my pants have fit for weeks. 

After a lengthy Polyvore break (it's worse than Facebook), I threw together a Fall maternity set. Fall, being my favorite season to dress in, during my last pregnancy was the one I least looked forward to. I felt like I couldn't be myself when I had to dress a pregnant body for office work on basically no budget. But now, there's nobody telling me that my skirt's too short (unless it is, then tell me) or making me wear shitty polyester pants instead of jeans or leggings. I can follow the lead of this lovely lady whose maternity (and non-maternity style) is an inspiration to me, and should be to us all. 

fall by lejeunesse 

A lot of this stuff is similar or identical to things I already own. The trench, the boots, the leggings and jeans and skirt and tights are all in heavy wardrobe rotation already -- or, have been in Falls past. Some of this group, of course, are dreamy never-gonna-happens, like the long, beautiful Lanvin dress and the sequin mini, but in thrifting I can usually get the same feeling for a lot less money. 

As I said in a previous post, last pregnancy, there was a dearth of photos of me. Partly because I'm usually the one holding the camera, and partly because I felt fat and weird-looking. I'm looking forward to dressing like myself as this baby gets bigger, and maybe someday s/he will look at old photos and think, hey, not too shabby, mom! 

WTB

We bought so much junk we didn't end up using when I was pregnant with George.  (Incidentally, I promise not every post from now 'til February is going to begin with "...when I was pregnant with George" though my recent track record may lead you to believe otherwise.) I've previously said that I feel prepared for this new kid, and, mostly, I do. That doesn't stop me from buying a few pieces of clothing at consignment shops -- retail-related fun has to be had somewhere -- or sewing some diaper covers, but really and truly, I consider us covered. That is, with a handful of exceptions, all of which are owed to experience. 

Cute newborn George who needed about 25% of what we bought him

We have some stuff I plan to use in a different capacity, such as:

• The Kanoe baby hammock. Really cool, nice looking, but George hated it. I'd love to put it up in the living room as a hang-out spot with no expectation that anyone will sleep in it. Then, if napping happens there, it'll be a pleasant surprise. 
• The changing table. It was an amazing re-store score: a metal cabinet that we repainted the perfect yellow, re-topped and have used and loved, but it takes up a lot of room. Room that we don't have to spare. It may find a new life as a station for Nathan's Etsy stuff, or...something.

But there are also some things I'd like to get to make our lives just a little easier, such as:

• An amber teething necklace. I kept meaning to buy one for George, who began teething at three months, popped his first two teeth at four months and didn't stop until he had a full mouth at 11 months old. We had good luck with breastmilk popsicles and Hyland's teething tablets, but there was still some discomfort that I'd like to try relieving naturally with another kid. Plus, those necklaces are just so cute.
• An honest-to-goodness contoured changing pad to stick on the ubiquitous EXPEDIT bookshelf that now houses toys and books. There's currently lots of...ephemera on the top. My plan is to get a hanging closet organizer to attach to the rack we installed, buy some baskets and keep diapers in that. Tucked in the corner, close at hand, and freeing up about eight square feet of floor space.
• A double stroller. Babywearing worked wonders for us, and it goes without saying that I intend to wear this baby, too. I never thought I'd find a stroller indispensible, but in a town where walking is so doable, ours has made a big difference. Snobbery about strollers is a ridiculous and regrettable quality in a person; nevertheless, I am a terrible stroller snob. Extra hilarious when one is simultaneously poor and idiotic about strollers.
• Sophie. All the other kids had one, and George chewed every Sophie he could get his grubby little mits on. We should probably spring for our own this time.
• The No-Cry Sleep Solution. I've heard this recommended by so many parents, and I'd love to try for a sleeping situation -- even if only for naps -- that allows for sleep-time separation. For George's first year, he was only able to fall asleep while nursing and stay asleep at my side. I watched a lot of TV. Pretty sure my time could've been better spent. 

Not too shabby, huh? Just five things, made even more bearable by the myriad I'll undoubtedly get rid of when pulling George's baby stuff out of storage. Does this mean I won't break down and buy one of those natural rubber pacifiers that look so mid-century Scandinavian-perfect? Or a fancy snotsucker to replace the dreaded teal bulb? No. I'm still an easy target. But looking at such a small list of what I generously consider to be "needs" is certainly a load off my mind, and the family's bank account. 

What, if anything, did you buy when you added to your family?

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?