Vintage Shopping

1950S Diner

I love to find retro bargains! My favorite vintage items are aprons.  I especially love the ones that are a little faded and threadbare because I know that they have a history. I feel like I go back in time a little when I put one on. Suddenly I'm wearing a smart pair of capri pants, a polka dot blouse, and a chiffon scarf while listening to Buddy Holly (or maybe even The Guiding Light) on my radio, getting a casserole ready for the oven and a congealed salad in the fridge.

I love all sorts of vintage things that have been passed down a generation or two.  It's especially nice to have something that your own mother or grandmother used, but finding retro goodies at garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores is great too.  You may have to sift through lots of junk, but the thrill of finding something fantastic at a bargain price makes it all worthwhile.

From vintage books, to vintage glassware, I love it all!  Maybe I'm impossibly romantic, but  I like to imagine the story behind it.  I wonder who rolled out biscuits for her family with the rolling pin I bought at a garage sale.  How did it get the little burn mark on it?  Did she roll out pie crusts too?  What about the original owner of the pretty dishes I found at the thrift store?  Did she save them for special occasions or use them every day?

I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite "gently used" finds.

Milk glass that is currently on my summer all-white mantel. Some belonged to my grandmother and some I bought.

A pewter candlestick.  It doesn't have any markings on it so I have no idea how old it is, but I love the classic Americana look of it.  I've had it for years, but I think I only paid a dollar or two for it.

A darling toile pillow I found for $2!  Totally worth it!

An inherited ruby glass bowl on a hand embroidered garage sale find tablecloth.



Do you like to shop at garage sales and thrift stores?  What are some of your favorite finds?

Easy Wall Art

I've been wanting to change my wall art on one of the walls in my living room. I found a metal star and a wooden sign that says "home" on sale for 50% off at Hobby Lobby, but I wanted to add something to it.

I found some mismatched old frames I had put up in a closet and I used my handy dandy can of black spray paint to make them all match. then I printed some pictures of the kids in a sepia tone and backed them with scrapbook paper. I think they turned out really cute.

When I am trying to decide how to arrange pictures on the wall, I arrange them on the floor first. That way I can see how they'll look and I won't put extra nail holes in the wall. Here is everything laid out on the floor, and in the final arrangement on the wall.

Kitchen Bargains

The kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house. I spend a lot of time there and I love to have everyone gathered at the table or around the breakfast bar. When it came time to spend my birthday money, I of course, spent some of it on things for the kitchen.

I bought this cute little rooster. I think he really spruces up my kitchen table and he was only $7.99 at TJ Maxx. I've been wanting a rooster for awhile, but they are usually so expensive.



I also bought a bamboo cutting board. I have two plastic cutting boards; one very small and one huge. I've been wanting a bamboo cutting board because they are so pretty, but also because they are harder than wood and resistant to bacteria. This one is a perfect medium size that will be useful for almost all of my chopping. It was also a TJ Maxx bargain at $9.99. Even the one at WalMart was more expensive than that!

I got a couple of books too (surprised? ha ha), but I'll have to tell you about those later. I'm off to watch Bobby play in a band contest (he has a solo). Both books are really cute and one was written by a very sweet lady who is a blogger and comments here occasionally. Can you believe a published author has commented here? I can't!

See you soon!

Love,

Black Friday Adventures

Christmas is NOT about the latest toys or getting a good bargain. My children won't be getting all the latest gadgets and we don't spend a lot of money. They always have a nice, but not "over the top" Christmas. They know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ, spending time together, and sharing with others (trying to keep the TV off as much as possible helps with this).

Surprisingly though, my mom and I have a tradition of shopping on Black Friday. Not so much because we're super eager shoppers trying to get bargains, but because it's so much fun to spend that time together. Usually by lunch time we are giggling together like a couple of school girls.

This year we met at Target a little after 6:00am (no 3:00am shopping for us). We got right in, but the store was PACKED! It was shoulder to shoulder, especially in the electronics section. We decided that nothing was worth that, so we looked around at the other areas of the store. Mom needed a few things for her dogs, so she picked those up and we headed to check out. The check out line snaked all along one whole side of the store! She decided she didn't need those things after all and we left Target (after going around the back of the store to try and get around the people waiting to check out).

We were so worn out after Target that we decided we needed Starbucks. :) I rarely go there (I can't justify spending that kind of money for coffee very often) so it was a special treat and I enjoyed every last drop of my skinny vanilla latte.

We then headed to Wal-Mart. By this time it was around 7:30 so I guess we missed all the crowd. We saw lots of smiling faces and didn't have any trouble finding what we wanted (I wasn't buying a TV or video game system so maybe that's why). Every check out lane was open and we were out of there in record time. I take back all those mean things I've said about shopping at Wal-Mart. :) Unfortunately I can't tell you about the good deals I got there because my kids might read it, but let's just say I'm almost done shopping for them.

Of course, I couldn't shop on Black Friday without hitting CVS. I got Aussie shampoo and conditioner, 2 bottles of Gatorade, Garnier Nutritioniste facial cleansing wipes, Colgate Total toothpaste, Maybelline Mineral Power foundation, Cover Girl powder, Sally Hansen nail polish, Loreal lip gloss, and a Hershey's chocolate bar all for about $9 and I earned over $28 in ECBs for next time.


Did you venture out for Black Friday?
You can find other Black Friday posts at Money Saving Mom.

Thrift Shopping

Greg and I went thrift shopping today. He and Peter are stationed near each other and are planning to move off base together into an apartment. They have NOTHING. Greg has been going through my kitchen taking coffee mugs, glasses, silverware, dish towels... We thought we might be able to find him something at the thrift store. We only had time to go to the one nearest our house and there weren't many bargains this time.

I did find a denim dress, two ties for Mike and a sweater (new with tags). Greg was rushing me, so I didn't get a chance to try on the dress. After I got it home he said I should take it back because in his words it looks "too Little House on the Prairie". Mike hasn't seen it yet, so I don't know what his opinion will be. What do you think? Should I take it back?

Walgreen's and CVS

I'm really excited about all the free makeup this week! Walgreen's has Jane cosmetics buy one get one free. I had a $2 coupon and found another $2 coupon at Money Saving Mom. I got eyeliner and lip gloss, both priced at$3.99 so with the buy one get one and the coupons, they were both free. I also had Walgreen's register reward coupons for the mascara so they were free too. I think I'm good on mascara for the next year and a half! :) The Benefiber was on sale for $4.99 and I had a $3 Walgreen's coupon from their Easy Saver catalogue and a $2 manufacturer coupon so it was free too. The Excedrin was on clearance for $2.87 and I had a $3 manufacturer's coupon...another freebie. The Walgreen's tissues together with the tissues and hand sanitizer I bought last week will earn a $10 mail in rebate. I'll get it on my Walgreen's gift card to get an extra 10%. The pencils were 6 for $1 and I got them so that I wouldn't have more items than coupons. I spent a total of $2.87 (I think , I know it was less than $3).

I usually shop at the Walgreen's closest to my house, but I decided to stop by the one close to church Wednesday night. A manager checked me out and I was hoping he wouldn't give me a hard time about my coupons. He was VERY nice and said he couldn't believe what good deals I was getting. Maybe it's worth it to schedule my Walgreen's visit on church days.

I've had a few people ask me about how much I keep in my medicine cabinet and wonder if I use everything. Most of the things I buy we DO use. When I have extras I pass them on to my mom or mother-in-law. For example, we don't really use indigestion remedies, but if I can get them for free I'll go ahead and just pass them on. Both my parents and in-laws use Mylanta and Tums. I also was told by our pediatrician that pain relievers and other pill type over the counter medicines are good for at least a year past their expiration date. I've never put this to the test, but it makes me worry less about everything expiring before we can use it. Most of what I've bought this year since I started CVS and Walgreen's shopping doesn't expire until 2009. Plus, when I started this in October I had one bandaid and some Calamine lotion in my medicine cabinet and that's about it. :) I feel so much better knowing that when we need it, it's there.


I did my CVS shopping in 2 transactions. I had $3 in ECBs, so the first thing I bought was the Sambucol. It was $12.99 and I had a $2 off $10 coupon, so after my my ECBs I spent $7.99 and got $10 in ECBs. I then bought the razor and deodorants using a $2 manufacturer's coupon on the razor, a $3 off $15 coupon and my $10 in ECBs. I spent $2.97 and have $14 in ECBs for next time. I'm really glad I got the Sambucol and I've already given it to the kids. Strep throat and the flu are running rampant around town and I'm hoping this will help keep them from getting sick.

See more Super Savings Saturday ideas here.

New Apron

Look at my cute new apron! I was out with my best friend (retrohousewife) doing some last minute Christmas shopping and we found these in the dollar spot at Target. We each bought one. They were $2.50. I thought that was quite a bargain. I wore mine while I was getting our Christmas Eve dinner ready. The hearts are little pockets. I especially love the ball fringe.

Frugal Cleaning

Lemon

I'll admit it...it's fun to try out new cleaners and cleaning wipes. They aren't always too easy on the budget though and they don't always work as well as I think they will. Both of my bathtubs have texture in the bottom. It's nice to keep us from slipping, but VERY hard to clean. I tried everything, and scrubbed like crazy, but there was always some grime in the texture that I couldn't get rid of. I finally found the best way to clean my bathtubs and it's so cheap!

I use lemon juice and baking soda. Sprinkle the baking soda around the bathtub then pour some lemon juice over it. It will fizz up and smell nice too. Just scrub like you normally would. It is the only way I have found to make my bathtubs look as white and clean as new.

This Week at CVS

Here's what I got this week at CVS. The Ameal BP is free after ECBs all month, but this is the first time that my store has had any. I would have bought more, but there was only one. I bought that first and with the ECBs I already had and the $2 off $10 coupon I spent $10.51 and got $29.99 in ECBs. I then bought 2 Garnier Nutritioniste detoxifying gel cleansers, Head & Shoulders Shampoo (that Hubby has been asking for), an 8 pack of toothbrushes, 2 bags of Christmas chocolate (that I put up in my "Christmas closet"), a Gillette Fusion razor that came with an extra cartridge and a free shaving cream, and Mennen Speed Stick 24/7. I had a $5 off any $25 beauty purchase coupon, a $2 off Head & Shoulders, and $2 off the Fusion razor. I used my $29.99 in ECBs and spent 36 cents out of pocket. I have $22 in ECBs for next week.

I recently bought a Gillette Fusion razor for my husband so I don't know if I will go ahead and give it to him, or send it in a carepack to my son. Any extra hygiene items that I get I like to set aside to send to either my son or my adopted Soldiers' Angels soldier.