Housekeeping

I’m going to have houseguests for the next week, so won’t be quite as active around here. Of course, I will pick the winner of the shower curtain Thursday morning. There’s still time to enter! BTW, the one I had listed on ebay sold for the Buy It Now price! Was it one of you?

I’ll have a few posts lined up, including Thrift Store Thursday, but may not be as active in commenting, replying etc. Wish me luck…three additional males are descending upon my household!

Book Recommendation

One of the blogs I visit occasionally often gives books reviews and recommendations. Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles is a homeschooling mother with three adorable boys who are voracious readers. She also takes fantastic photos; her blog is well worth the visit.

Some time ago I saw her review of The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. I got it from the library, intending to read it aloud over the kids’ spring break, but didn’t get around to it. I sort of forgot about it, until I stumbled on the audiobook version. This past week, we listened to it while driving, and we all enjoyed it immensely. I would never dissuade anyone from reading a book, but Arte Johnson is such an excellent reader and story-teller that I would urge you to do both. It’s tagged for ages 9-12, but it’s just as entertaining for adults.

This book is a parody of “old fashioned” stories, the kind that I liked best as a child! Stories such as Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, the Bobbsey Twins. There’s a baby left on the doorstep, orphaned children, a rich old benefactor, a nanny…all the “old fashioned” elements put into one story.

But this is meant to be humorous. It is irreverent. If you wouldn’t be able to see the silliness, the ridiculousness, of children who want to be orphans, and parents who have a light-bulb moment after reading Hansel and Gretel, then this may not be the book for you.

The rest of us will get several good snickers out of it!

Look What Showed Up at Goodwill! (Giveaway)

We all know that Goodwill gets clearance or returned items from Target. I’ve heard that Target donates it; I’ve also heard that Goodwill buys it by the lot. I’m not sure which is true, and I guess it doesn’t really matter. What it means is a good deal on new merchandise for us thrifty shoppers.

And today, this is what I found. No, your eyes do not deceive you. It is THE shower curtain. The one I used to make a window treatment. The one that Melissa used. The one Wendy made drapes out of (love these, may need to copy). There’s been a lot of chatter about it around blogland.

There were two, and I got them both, for more than I paid a few months ago when I got them on clearance at Target, but still at a pretty good price. I checked, and one recently sold on ebay for $59—ridiculous! So, I currently have one of mine listed, not for $59, but for more than I paid. That’s kind of a test case; if it doesn’t sell, I have seven days to return the ones I got at GW if I want to.

And you, dear readers, have a chance to win one! I’m having a giveaway! We’ll just say it’s in honor of my 200th post, which is coming up within the next week or so. I'll draw a winner on Thursday, June 11 at 9:00 a.m.

Just leave a comment for one entry. Blog about it for a second entry and leave another comment to let me know you did. Good luck!

Contest open to residents of US and Canada only.

Thrift Store Thursday

Okay, check it. After our garage sale a couple of weeks ago, we took the leftovers to Goodwill. A few days later I was in Goodwill, and what should I see but my glider. I bought this glider at GW in Kentucky seven years ago. I believe I paid $30 for it. I spray-painted it white and covered the cushions with pillowcases. It has a little catch when you glide all the way back. The paint was chipped (trust me, it looks quite a bit better in the photo than it did in reality). My price on it at our sale was $15, with the idea that someone might barter down to $10. What price did GW have on it? Sixty dollars! $60? Whatever! Our GW has such ridiculous prices. However, it was gone a few days later, so I guess someone thought it was a good deal.

Anyway. My finds were slim this week. Nothing from Goodwill, even though I was there twice. Today at United Volunteers I found a few books and a cute little basket. My total was under $2.

Since that was so meager, I decided to feature something I got at a garage sale a few weeks ago and forgot to show.

I paid $5 for this little antique dressing table. It needs a little work, but I thought it would make a cute desk for Pinkerbelle. She accessorized it herself.

And here is a gratuitous close-up of Pinkerbelle at 11 months, just because. What a punkin’! Sigh. My baby.

Alrighty. We’re going to give Mr. Linky another chance. Show us whatcha got!

WFMW—Popsicle Recipes

This week’s Works for Me is the “Mom, I’m Bored” Summer Edition. Considering that this was the first day of summer vacation for us, and I’ve already heard that a couple times, I hope to find some great ideas from other moms!

I imagine that most of us have some of those popsicle molds. I know it’s easier, and pretty inexpensive, just to buy some frozen pops. But it’s also pretty easy, and perhaps a little more healthful, to make your own. If you get the kids to help, it’ll keep them occupied for a few minutes, anyway.

I have an old piece of notebook paper in my recipe file, on which I copied several popsicle recipes from a magazine when I was about twelve. I thought I’d share a few to get you going. (I’m sure I don’t really need to point this out, but after combining the ingredients, pour into popsicle molds and freeze.)

flickr

Purple Cow (one of my favorites) Whisk 1 cup milk with 3/4 cup grape juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Quick Berry Puree in blender 3 1/4 cups fresh or unsweetened thawed frozen strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water.

Pop Banana Puree in blender 1 1/4 cups orange juice and 1 cut-up large banana.

Cafe au Lait Boil 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp instant coffee for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. (I actually have never made these, although I'm wondering why not. I'll definitely try them this summer. In case the half-and-half scares you, my notes say these are only 65 calories each, but I don't see why you couldn't just use milk to make it lighter.)

Creamy Peanut Boil 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter, then 1 cup milk.

Pineapple Yogurt Whisk smooth 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 1 cup pineapple juice, and 1 tsp sugar.

Enjoy, and keep cool!

It’s….

Summertime…

summertime…

sum, sum, summertime!

It’s official. Yesterday was the last day of school. The kids are home and almost three months of possibilities stretch before them. We typically have pretty laid-back summers: the boys will go to camp, there will be afternoons at the pool, a few t-ball games, maybe a trip to the beach.

I won’t have as much freedom to go galavanting around to thrift stores and garage sales, although there will definitely be some of that (reluctant kids in tow). My plan is to take this time to get some projects done around the house.

Now, let’s go flag down the ice-cream truck!

Goodwill Party

Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick is hosting a party for us to show off our thrift store finds. Right up my alley! But since I do that every week, I thought I would just highlight some of the things I’ve done with my thrifty purchases. I will freely admit that many of my purchases are still sitting in bags or closets, waiting for me to transform them and put them to use.

I will get around to it, eventually. In the meantime, let’s look at some of the things I have done.

My super awesome garage sale shutters, $1 for the pair!

Became “art” over my bathtub (along with thrift store frames and scraps from a clearance shower curtain-turned window treatment).

These thrift store frames

became a gallery of my children’s artwork.

A cheese dome, a plate, and a candlestick, all from Goodwill. became this.

An ironstone plate from Goodwill became a menu board.

This thrift store hamper

got a makeover.

If you’d like to see more of my thrift store goodies, check out the frugal finds or Thrift Store Thursday categories, and you’re always welcome to join in on Thursdays!