Saturday, August 30, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Beautiful


Here comes the BEAUTIFUL Bride!

Read about the wedding here!

For more photos and this week's PhotoHunt check out tnchick.com

Saturday, August 23, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Wrinkled


Two pair of very "Wrinkled" feet after many hours of swimming!

For more photos and this week's Photohunt check out tnchick.com

Monday, August 18, 2008

Garage Sale Finds: Chenille Skunks

I am so envious of Jenny, Karl and Meghan over at Yard Sale Bloodbath and Tom at Yard Sale Addict. They take the most interesting photos at the garage sales they visit. Maybe they can do this because they are in large cities - Seattle, WA and Atlanta, GA. I just don't think I could get away with snapping pictures locally. I can just envision a seller saying to me "What the heck do you think your doing?" I would have to answer "Taking pictures to document your sale so I can write about it on my blog that no one reads". I just don't think that would fly. And when I think about it, no one wants to see pictures of baby clothes and toddler toys anyway. Our local sales are pretty boring and it's a real challenge to actually find a treasure amidst the diaper genies and receiving blankets.

But last week we hit the most incredible estate sale I have ever been to. It was so big it was like a mini flea market came to town. It made me wonder if the owners of all this junk stuff actually sold at flea markets. Or maybe he/they were just crazy pack-rats collectors. It was obvious that quite a bit of the merchandise had been in storage - much was mildewed and musty smelling.

We investigated the garage first. It was overflowing with tools, books, records, and 8 track tapes. A big section of yard held kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, etc. All along the sidewalk were pictures, odd wall decor and lawn ornaments.

Inside the house there was table after table of assorted junky kitchy knick-knacks. At this point we were without supervision so I whipped out my camera and was able to take two pictures before the help returned to keep an eye on us. After all two senior citizens with grandchildren might abscond with some priceless artifact (yeah right).


There were a lot of "nude" items throughout the sale - this one bottle was typical.


I thought these skull mugs next to the crucifiction plate were unusual - no I didn't buy them.


So, what marvellous treasures did we dig up? Very little becasue I just didn't have the time to really look at everything - grandchildren are very distracting.
I did buy three Wilton cake pans- $3.00. These seem to sell well on Ebay so they were worth taking a chance.



Also for Ebay these Chenille skunks - $1.00. Many older crafters will remember Lee Wards - a catalog outfit in the 60's and 70's that sold everything for sewing, needlework, cake decorating and assorted other crafts.


I couldn't pass up this vintage Bambi mug marked Sango China, Japan - 25 cents.


One room of the house was devoted to toys. There were a lot of dolls and games that were in very bad condition. Beth did find the cute little angel doll for 50 cents.

We got a few other small toys I didn't photograph - Tootsietoy helicopter, new box of watercolor paints, and squirt gun still in package - another 75 cents.

Frugal Grandpa and I looked like true typical grandparents. Everything we bought would be construed as indulgences for the kids. I love NOT looking like an antique/collectible dealer - people are a lot friendlier to you when they don't think you intend to make a profit on your purchases. Thanks to Beth and Wullie for helping us go incognito!


There were three other garage sales in town last weekend. Beth got that purple TY Bear - $2.00. And for baby's Christmas this new pair of Chicago Bears sneakers - $1.00.

We spent very little and had the most interesting outing of the season.

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Colorful


"Colorful" Birthday Party Balloons!

For more photos and this week's PhotoHunt check out tnchick.com

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Use It or Loose It: JCPenney & Kohl's



A new JCPenney recently opened about 10 miles down the highway from us. As an incentive to visit we received a $10.00 off $10.00 purchase coupon in the mail - only good during the three day Grand Opening. We also had a $5.00 off $5.00 purchase at Kohl's that needed to be used up. Since the two stores were in the same area we headed on over to cash in on such good deals.

When we got to JCPenney I wasn't surprised to see customer after customer exiting the store with bag in hand - nothing like getting $10.00 free to spend. When we entered the store I was surprised to see how posh it was - so very upscale. Glistening marble floors, lavish jewelry displays and colorful cosmetic counters were there to greet all who entered. And then there were all the store execs milling around shaking hands and eager to answer questions. You knew right off they were corporate and not just sale staff - they were older, wore expensive suits, and looked miserably tired.

Since we don't really need anything ourselves we decided we were going to use our coupon to find a Christmas present for one of the grandchildren. The young girl's department was the first area encountered. We passed up rack after rack after rack of Hannah Montana merchandise. Then there were all the new fall fashions. Tops for $30 and pants to match for $28 - yikes! Very pretty and well made but how can parents afford to buy school clothes at those prices?

Then we found a little alcove full of classic cut clothing. There were beautiful high quality pleated skirts and nice knit tops to match. They had plain but very functional cardigans and v-neck pull-over sweaters. And would you believe co-ordinating knee socks to match - lovely, just lovely. Hmmm.....strange that these clothes are limited to three colors - white, tan and navy blue. Wait a minute.... (this is where you envision that the light bulb in my brain suddenly gets switched on)...D'oh! these are school uniforms! No wonder I was so impressed. If only all schools required uniforms. Parents would save a gazillion dollars and it would help alleviate some of the peer pressure students deal with. But then, who would buy all those Hannah Montana tops?



We gave up in the girl's department - finding something for about $10.00 was impossible. So, on to the boy's department and surprise, surprise - we found shirts on sale for $2.99 and $1.99. We quickly picked out five shirts and went right to check out. After the coupon was deducted we only owed $1.99 - what a bargain!



We had high hopes of doing as well at Kohl's with our $5.00 coupon but it just didn't happen. We must have spent a good hour looking in both the boys and girls departments. It was a case of use it or loose the coupon because it was about to expire. We finally found a boy's tank top on sale for $6.00. After the deduction the price was $0.97. So, we ended up with six shirts for $2.96 or about 50 cents each. Wullie will get three for Christmas and three for his birthday.



Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Garage Sale Finds: In Your Face Entrepreneurship

There were quite a few garage sales over the weekend. People were finally able to take advantage of decent weather - no rain and low humidity. Of course we were with grandchildren but they were more than happy to go look at all the junk treasures.

One of the first sales we hit had something that the kids have not seen before - a lemonade stand. No sooner had the kids jumped out of the car when the 8 year old proprietor of the stand was literally in their face saying "Do you want some lemonade?". Our kids, so not garage sale savvy, of course said "Yes". As far as they knew he was just a nice friendly young man offering them liquid refreshment. How were they to know said treat required cold hard cash. Of course the brash sales tactic worked. Frugal Grandpa quickly produced two quarters and paid for the drinks. In the end it wasn't money wasted - the kids really did enjoy the lemonade.



We must have hit a dozen sales without finding any toys - very unusual. And the only thing I purchased were four coasters from the 1982 World's Fair - 50 cents. The kids were very good but after awhile were getting tired and discouraged - after all, we had promised they could each get a toy. It was tough to get the idea across that we had no control over what was being offered - but it was a good garage sale lesson - sometimes you come home empty handed. Finally we hit a sale that had a few toys. We found a Nerf pop ball gun that Wullie fell in love with but nothing for Beth.

On to the last sale of our outing. This was the most interesting sale of the season packed with tons of vintage collectibles. They were priced right for a collector but not low enough that I could turn a profit on Ebay. I had a fun time pouring over all the goodies but poor Beth - every time she said she'd like to have a $20 doll I had to keep telling her it was too expensive. Disappointing for her but another garage sale lesson - Grandma is only going to fork over the greenbacks if the price is low enough.

While I was salivating over all the vintage items Frugal Grandpa was eying a tractor lawn mower. The seller originally priced it at $275 but said he had just lower the price to $235. He said he had it tuned up & blades sharpened for the season at a cost higher than what he was selling it for. But now that his mother had given him her much nicer mower he needed to sell this one. He had Grandpa turn it on and give it a try - it was love at first ride. We were able to give $100 cash and the rest by check (since we are local).

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The seller was so thrilled to have made the sale that he insisted on throwing in something for each of the kids. He gave Beth a vintage Vogue doll (Beth took the doll home so I photoed a bit of the box) and to Wullie this Tonka hot rod. In my mind I could see the dollar signs floating away from me - what kind of price could these toys have fetched on Ebay - what sort of profit would they have produced? That evening I did check Ebay and surprise, surprise - there were quite a few of these dolls and cars listed - no bids, no sales (that's the way Ebay has been going lately - the market is too saturated). That made me very happy - no one in cyberspace wants these toys so I am happy that Beth and Wullie are having fun with them.

As for the tractor mower - we bought it for Sonny - the price was so low it was a real steal. It would be nice to keep it ourselves but our lawn is small enough that a push mower is sufficient and gets into all the odd corners. But, Sonny has a large lot and this will make his mowing a breeze. Not that old money bucks couldn't buy himself a tractor mower - he's just too tight to part with any of his savings. We told him that this is his Christmas present & not to expect anything under the tree - he was quite pleased with that.

Now, we just have to transport the thing to Rockford. Years ago Charles invested in a trailer. We store it behind our garage. It hasn't been used in a long time so the license plates are expired. In order to pick up the mower they took a chance and hitched up the trailer and drove it over to the sale and back - whew, made it without encountering the law. The mower won't be moved now until the trailer plates are renewed. In the meantime Grandpa is having great fun toodeling around our yard on the new wheels.



Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Dark



Our beacon in the "Dark"!

For more photos and this week's Photohunt check out tnchick.com.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Playing The Drug Store Game



When Walgreens came to our town three years ago I discovered their SuperSaver catalog. Each month several items would be free after mail-in rebate. Since I am not brand loyal I have enjoyed free shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant ever since.

Recently Walgreens has added "Register Rewards". You receive a coupon for you next store visit which needs to be used within a short period of time. It eliminates the hassle of mailing in your receipt and waiting four to six weeks for a refund.

This week Walgreens offered really fantastic Kellogg's/Keebler register rewards. In order to take full advantage I had to purchase 10 items that had to be on the same cash register receipt. Here is what was required.

If I bought 4 boxes of Kellogg's Cereal I got a $5 register reward.

If I bought 2 Club Crackers & 2 Nutri-Grain Bars I got a $5 register reward.

If I bought an extra two items I could also do a mail-in rebate.

So, my purchases added up to $25.44.

I used $3.00 manufactures coupons bringing the bill to $22.44.

I received two $5.00 reward certificates so my cost was now 12.44.

After receiving the additional $10.00 Kellogg's/Keebler mail-in refund my cost will end up being $2.44.

I paid for my purchases with last month's free after mail-in gift card so my up front expense was $0.00. Love, love, love this game!

J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly had a really great post about the Drug Store Game which explains the concept much better than I can. It's well worth a visit.

There is nothing like getting FREE food - Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Garage Sale Finds: I Love Lucy

There was only one garage sale in town last weekend. Perhaps the fact that it was miserably hot and humid deterred a lot of folks from having a sale. At any rate we were glad we were without grandchildren this time.



I spied this Cabbage Patch Newborn Baby right off. It was marked $10. All right, it is a new doll and that was fair enough but parting with 10 bucks really hurts. So first we looked around and I found some other items worth purchasing. Finally, I decided I'd ask for a better price. As I have said in the past, I am not a haggler, but this time it was worth the chance to inquire. Very nicely I asked the seller if he would be willing to give me a better price. He could see that we were going to buy several things so he said yes, he'd go down to $7.00. That was better than I had hoped for - Happy Dance, Happy Dance! One more Christmas present for Beth!



Also for Christmas we found this I Love Lucy ornament for $1.00. I'll share a picture of our tree this coming holiday. It's truly whimsical with lots of story, cartoon and TV characters - geared for the inner kid in all of us.



Finally we picked up a top for Beth, Tinkerbell sweat shirt for me, and I couldn't pass up Piglet. No, Piglet isn't for Beth - he is for me! I know, I know, just what I need - one more toy. But there was a space on my computer desk shelf that needed to be filled.



Beth had a lot of fun giving Piglet, Patrick and Mr. Krabs a tea party. See, I am not a stingy Grandma - I share my toys!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Clouds



I don't think there is anything beautiful about power lines. But, I thought the contrast against the "CLOUDS" was striking.

For more photos and this week's PhotoHunt check out tnchick.com