Tis the Winter...

Yard sale season has been somewhat diminished lately; hey, it's Winter. I can expect little and be happy with sleeping in a little more on Saturdays. However, I did use the word diminished, not nonexistent. Big difference. Last weekend I found a couple of sales early before I headed off to Emerald Isle, NC to join my sister Cee for a cooking melee. Our niece, Kelley, was due Friday with her second child, and Cee and I wanted to put some dinners in Kelley's freezer to help once Julia arrived.

Cee had requested more books for her selection (our nephew Hugh comes over regularly) and I thought these were good choices. The illustrations for Possum Magic were wonderful, anything Margaret Wise Brown is enjoyed and the others were just attracting to me. The Fairy Tales book is beautifully illustrated and though I can't remember the copyright, it seemed rather old, as in the tales were more traditional, less "Disneyesque"! Cee snatched them up quickly so I know they will be enjoyed.

I picked up the pillows at one yard sale as well as a bucket of Mardi Gras beads which I donated to a Mardi Gras party held that night. Quite a few of my friends were headed to that shindig and I wanted to contribute to the festivities. Most of the beads were the usual variety but a few were more colorful and decorative. No, I didn't get a picture of the beads. I did save the bucket and I know that will come in handy. $5 for bucket o'beads, bucket included.

The young ladies who were having the sale were delightful and their items were priced to move. I love good pillows, and thought I would try this one. The seller assured me she tried it out once and couldn't tolerated it. Apparently health/pain issues are the problem for her and after checking out the pillow, plastic bag, all info included, it did indeed look brand new. So I bought it for $5.

I also bought this contour, memory foam leg pillow from the ladies. I have had one of these before and loved it, so much that it wore out. So this one was "just bought, but I didn't feel comfortable". And it really did look and feel spanking new. So home it went with me for $4. I washed the cover, and used it that night. Nice!

The young ladies had multiple health issues, and among them was extreme sensitivity to cosmetics, fragrances, etc. So in the "Free" box I found these brand new treasures. All sealed and new.

The bar soaps and emery board I keep; the rest goes to the Homeless Shelter.

I did mention fewer yard sales, right? Well, that was it for Saturday. In Greenville. On my way to Emerald Isle I passed a yard sale near New Bern, and turned in. There were lots of tables, it was late in the morning, and it was COLD! I quickly went through the remains and came away with a couple of books (see above, from the first picture) and an angel. Now, I must pause here and explain why I purchased a plastic angel. She is not the most appealing in my opinion however, she possesses the coveted bulb attachment. I picked up a plastic vintage Santa made in 1963 a couple of months ago but it had no bulb holder/attachment. So I plan to remove Angel's and put it on Santa. Voila! Working Santa for total cost of $1.50. Plans for Angel after surgical removal of her bulb? Goodwill. Where maybe someone will think she's beautiful. Or whatever.

Front of lighted angel, paid 50 cents for her

Bulb assembly I want to remove

So, that was last weekend. This Saturday was....my birthday!!! And as a special gift, Johanna picked me up for the one and only yard sale we deemed worthy of our time. And she took me out for breakfast! Best gift ever! I was so happy to jump in her car and it wasn't even 0'dark thirty. No headlamps needed.

Ok, yes, more children's books. Cee has a sufficient amount now so I was looking for Brenna and my niece, Lindsey's classrooms. All paperbacks were 25 cents and hardbacks 50 cents. So I went through and picked ones I thought they could use. Brenna has requested Magic Schoolbus series and Lindsey likes Junie B Jones as well as Easy Readers. So those were easy choices.

I loved the title of the bird and lizard book (don't you?!) and A Chair For My Mother is an old favorite of mine. I remember reading it to my children years ago and luckily there were two. So one I gave to Brenna and the other goes into "Grandma's Stash". When I came home, I sat down to enjoy that book. What a lovely story.

For Nate who is growing like a weed, I found the above outfits and the pants below. 50 cents each and in excellent condition. Brenna was especially happy with Ralph Lauren pants with belt and embroidered ducks. I am looking forward to seeing Nate sporting those!

I also picked up a standing, oscellating lamp that is up in the attic and I didn't snap a shot of. So here is a stock photo of one that looks just like mine. $5 for relief from hot flashes. Priceless! Summer, I am ready for you.

Now for Johanna's finds of the morning.

She bought all these shoes for $1 a pair. A friend of ours is collecting clothing to send to Haiti and these will be donated to the effort.

She also picked up a picture, a candle and glass pebbles for her mom. The wooden letters are for her crafting group. Good deals, yes!

And so ended our yard sale experience. Brenna's house was right around the corner so we stopped by to say good morning to Nate and drop off the books and clothes. Another birthday gift...holding my grandson and feeding him breakfast! Birthday morning kept getting better! Johanna and I left for IHOP breakfast and catching up with each other's week and lives enjoying every minute of our time together. We parted ways after and I was crossing my fingers snow would be coming on my birthday. And it did! Greenville recieved about an inch of snow and it actually stuck around on Sunday. Perfect day for my 53rd birthday. I might add my husband is recovering from a week long bout of the flu. So celebrating my birthday is being postponed until a later date.

Brenna ended up going to that same yard sale on Sunday and bought all these containers and a few books for $20. These will replace her cheaper Dollar Tree containers. Apparently Brenna had been looking at this brand online where they retail 4 for $17. What she likes about them is they have built in handles and they're large enough to hold books length ways and upright too as demonstrated in the photo. All were in excellent condition and they will go straight to her classroom after a cleaning.

That is all the deals for the past two weeks. Hoping next weekend will be fruitful. Happy bargain hunting to you all.

Thrifty Christy

Posted with Blogsy