Translate

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Still Catching Up

I was dismayed, shocked, and befuddled when I checked in on the blog and realized one of my posts had disappeared! Clicked the link I had made and only a message saying the post did not exist. AGH!!!!!!!!! Not cool! So here I am, no longer resting on my laurels after creating 3 posts in 3 days, writing yet another. At least my photos are all saved and not all is lost. And I even found a couple more photos I didn't include the last time. So, here we go again!

Soooo. Below is a water/sand table I found for my great nephew, Beau for $10 on the local FB yard sale group. The legs detach, the green side can flip over, covering the other one which is a great feature.

Sand/water table: $10

And his mom, Lindsey, expressed her appreciation by sending me the photo below of Beau enjoying his "new" activity center! How cute is that!


Also on Beau's list of items for me to hopefully find are trucks. So when I saw the one pictured below right out in front of a yard sale, I jumped out of the car (after parking) and scooped it up. Next weekend I visited my brother Sonny, and presented Beau the truck when he came to spend the afternoon at his granddad's, Sonny. Tate, the yellow lab was more interested in the water Beau filled the back end with!

Dump truck: $1.50 Dog and child: priceless!
The water beach ball below was new in the box and I decided to sell it rather than keeping for Nate. He doesn't have a large back yard, the reviews were a little iffy so selling it seemed to be the best course for this one. Sold for $10. Lacing cards went to Brenna's kindergarten classroom. This is the second time I have found a set like these and those too went to her.
Beach water ball: $2. Lacing card set: $2

The books. What can I say? I just cannot resist books! The two hardbacks at the top went to Brenna's classroom and the others go to Grandma's stash. The Little Island is such a sweet book; as a coastal young'in, it tugs at my roots, and the Moon Shines Down is a relatively new one by another favorite children's author, Margaret Wise Brown. I really liked it. And the Little Boy, well, of course I had to have that one to read to Nate! I ended up bringing some from my growing collection to the Merriewold house in NY to update the collection there. I love books. The moving wooden puzzle was really neat. I could only find one like it online, made in England. Sold for $8.

Books: 50c each. wood puzzle:$1
My dear friend Babs had requested I keep a lookout for a Scentsy burner for her. So after having no luck for a few weeks, I found 2 in the same morning. The white one plugs right in the wall and the giraffe print larger one is tabletop. Retail on the plugin is around $20 and the larger burner sells for at least $35 used and what is interesting about this one is if it wasn't damaged (chip on the side of the tray which fortunately is high enough up the scented wax doesn't drip out) it would probably sell for much higher. I found one on Ebay selling for $100 because it is retired. Of course that one had the box and was just used by as a show piece but still, give me a break! $100 for a wax burner! Babs looked at both and decided the white one was more to her liking. Since I am allergic to wax other than soy, Brenna took the giraffe burner home with her.
Both Scentsy burners: $1 each, game: 50c Ladies Crocs: $1

I sold the Spooky Night game for $5 and the ladies crocs sandals for $15. They were both in "like new" condition. I wish the crocs had been my size. Darn my large feet!

For those of you who have seen a previous post: ThriftyChristy: We need a bigger vehicle, you will remember I have already bought one of these Hallmark animated Christmas decoration. Sigh, yet another compulsion fondness I have for these delightful, battery operated jingly joyful items. The one on the left is new with tags and I will try selling them on Ebay closer to Christmas, probably in mid November. Wood peg puzzles sell really well and the Fish one by Melissa and Doug went for $5. Sandals are for Nate and....they fit! Yay! The group on the bottom. Let me explain. The pouch is for dog training. It snaps open and shut tightly and holds treats. Comes with an adjustable belt which can be removed and the pouch has a clip to use instead of the belt. Honey Bea is still in need of training. Candle is new as are the cool gift bags that fold into a cake shape. I have a close up that later.
puzzle: 50c. X-mas items: $1 each! Sandals: $2. grouping on bottom: $2 total

Giant floor puzzle by Melissa and Doug sold for $5. Close up pic of gift bags shape, girls' keen sandals sold for $10 and magnetic story board sold for $10

Puzzle: $1, keen sandals: $1, Story board: $1
Below is my grandson Nate enjoying his birthday gift (he's 1!!!) I found new in box back in March. The large tote behind him is really what I wanted to show you. Found it at a yardsale because I needed something that would hold my small items when I go yard sale-ing. I just put it in the back seat and when I am finished for the day, I can easily carry them inside the house. We used it on our vacation to hold his toys and store them away when not in use. IMAGINE is embroidered on the side. I love it!!




Sorry for the stock photo of the apron but really, it is hard for me to take decent pics of clothing to do them justice. This one was new without tags and I certainly didn't see myself in it but knew it was a nice one. Sold it very easily for $15.
Apron: $1



The Sperry Topsider sandals below went to Hugh. They were in excellent used condition and I hoped they would fit him. I love these kinds of sandals, they can get wet yet protects those little toes.

Sperry  sandals: $3
I didn't buy this quad stroller but I had to take a picture of it. I have seen a triple but never a quad!



Nope, didn't buy this one either but since Pigpen has always had a special place in my heart, I felt the need to capture him by photo.



This is my latest home purchase I found on the FB yard sale group for $40. I needed to replace a rocker glider that just wasn't working for me and this one is just right. Except for the color. I do like the color, however it doesn't go AT ALL with my living room walls. So...time to paint!

Arm chair: $40

This child's bike seat was a great find. I had visions of Brenna taking Nate for bike rides and then realized she doesn't have a bike, has no place to keep a bike and my shed is too low to accomidate this on mine. So, I sold it for $25. I might look back and regret selling it but that's the way it goes.

Child's bike seat: $3

And last but not least, a crate for Honey Bea. I picked this one up as a second crate for traveling. I had originally thought to keep it and sell her first one but gosh, it is so much easier having one to just toss in the trunk and go! Maybe later I will part with it but for now, the connivence factor is high.

And that, my dear readers, is all there is to this post. Yes, there were other treasures I found, but these are the highlights and you have a clear picture of my finds up to this point. Hope you have enjoyed reading and hunting with my vicariously and perhaps are inspired to get out there early and find your own deals. 

Have a great weekend and happy bargain hunting!

Thrifty Christy


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Hunting in the Catskills

We have been vacationing in the Catskills for the past couple of weeks. I look forward to this summer retreat every year. The house is located in Merriewold Park, Forestburg, NY; nice and secluded, in the middle of the woods complete with dirt roads, no lawn and a lovely little lake. Peaceful, woodsy, a hiatus from our busy and active lives. Honey Bea, our newest addition, is in heaven. Chipmunks abound here and she doesn't get much rest on the porch listening and watching them sashay outside. Well, sometimes she takes off "sentry duty" and naps.

The downside of a secluded getaway is how difficult it can be to find yard-sales that aren't miles away....and over mountains! My sister-in-law Polly and I found 2 last Friday that were not conveniently located but not an hour's drive! The first one was technically a yard sale since the items were set up on the lawn but really this was a dealer getting rid of stock. So prices weren't rock bottom but they weren't ridiculous either.

We were encouraged to "make a pile" to get the most bang for our buck. So we started piling. Below I found the needlework kits and the cast iron bird clothes rack. Polly picked up the turquoise blue Hall stoneware bowls and the child size flatware. Total amount was $10. Not a fabulous price but we were happy to find something! I am going to list the Bucilla embroidery kits (there are two identical) on Ebay. Bucilla sells well and there are none of this particular scene. The books and construction paper came from both of our searches.




The cast iron bird clothes rack gave me pause. It took me a few minutes to realize that yes, it looks pretty bad...obviously a child had painted the birds but all it takes to get rid of the amateur art work is spray paint! The family house here can always use a little decoration and useful decoration is great! I did look this up online and found them for sale. Not an old piece by any means! But retails for around $25. Runs in two colors: rusty black and shabby chic white. I went with shabby chic creamy white. I did like the pop of the black/rusty on the creamy yellow walls here but went with white since there was a can of it already in the shed! Connivence wins out with decisions like these! I will leave it to my other female relatives as to the placement. My work is done: finding and painting. Interior design is not my forte. You are going to have to wait for transformation photo because the spray paint was water based and I am not having good results covering the old paint. It doesn't help the weather here has turned humid and wet again. Sigh. If I had just started immediately on Monday with sunny weather I would not be having this problem #proscrastination.

close up of cast iron bird clothes rack
So here is what I mean. I found this stock photo which is much better than my description! Cute, yes?!!


On the way home, Polly spotted another yard sale close to the first and after a screeching u-turn (just kidding), we pulled up to view their offerings (this was a two family sale). "Everything's negotiable" was called out as soon as we scrambled out of the van. We walked around not seeing anything we could use. Then Polly spotted this chair and seeing the $12 price asked if they'd go lower. Apparently it belonged to the other seller and she said NO, not that one, it was already marked as low as she wanted. In a few minutes she asked it was $5. No, it was marked $12 Polly replied but said quickly, I'll buy it for $5! Well, the seller said, how about $6. Sold. Polly plans to sand and prime and paint it for the house and keep it on the porch. Perfect for putting on shoes. We tend to remove our shoes here on the porch before entering the house because of the red clay dirt and lots of debris our shoes bring in. It is really sturdy, solid wood and I love it!


The blue Hall bowls are really cute and Polly's daughter Mary likes blue turquoise retro pottery. These we believe Mary will be quite happy with. The child size silverware sets are way too cute. You don't find these very often anymore.


There was another yard sale set up at very close to the house but the tables were covered with tarps and CLOSED was on the semi-permanent sign by the side of the road. I am not normally a fan of semi permanent yard-sales, the pickings aren't usually very good in my experience. But, with the dearth of any sales nearby I decided to check it out the next time we saw the tarps off. Sunday afternoon provided that opportunity.
Well, the pickings were pretty crappy but there were a couple of items that gave me pause. And the older gentleman was pricing to sell. I hemmed and hawed over this divided plate. It was dirty but I could tell it was a quality piece of glass and I am a sucker for amethyst. It is heavy and no scratches or chips that I could see. But, I have absolutely no place for this. So I put it down. And then picked it up again. Then the seller said the magic words...$3. Ok, I was in. So into my pile it went. This picture really doesn't do it justice but it's the best I can do. I looked it up later online and found one exactly like it on Ebay describing it as Bohemia Czech glass.


Another lamp!! It is taller than it appears in this photo. See, even here, away from home I am not safe from my lamp addiction fondness. This was $1 and even my husband Steve said he liked it. For the Forestburg house. Alas, no shade and my hoard collection is at home in Greenville. Next summer I will bring up one for this. I know which bedroom it will be perfect for and maybe I can even convince my sister-in-law Liz to stop in on her drive from Florida to Forestburg to pick it. Liz, I will meet you in Wilson off I-95! Open your back window and I will toss it in! Nah, think I will wait til next year and bring it my ownself.


Pfalzgraf coffee/cocoa mug for 50cents. It is just the right size and I think the pattern goes with the house. It will stay here in Merriewold. I have been enjoying drinking my coffee every morning on the screened in porch. Great way to start your day. Especially now that the humidity is lower!


Now the items below were a waste of money but I only paid 3 for a $1. These are by Hallmark, Merry Minitures and I was thinking collectable and possibly selling them. The Madame Alexander miniture I would show my sister-in-law Polly who used to collect Madame Alexander dolls. But after looking them up, they are not much value and unless Polly wants the one, they'll go to Salvation Army.


And that folks is the end of my yard sale-ing adventures and finds in the Catskills this year. We'll be traveling back to NC on Saturday and I doubt Steve will break for yard sales. But....you never know! Happy bargain hunting ya'll!

Thrifty Christy

Monday, July 8, 2013

2 Months Later...

After a long absence from the blogosphere, I am back. No, nothing happened, nothing traumatic, no bad news. Just became caught up in life and as I have realized, blogging is a discipline for me. And once I get out of the routine of getting my pictures loaded and setting aside time to write, well, two months go by. However, just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean I have quit the yard sale scene. Oh no!!! It has been a busy and productive time lately with some great days indeed. I have sold a lot and found quite a few treasures for family and friends and myself as well. Too many to do one post so I shall endeavor to get at least a couple of posts in the next few days. Did I mention I am on vacation? No?! Well, we are in the Catskills again on our annual trip to Merriewold Park. This time we are staying a couple of weeks and now I have time to get back to the Thrifty Christy blog. So grab a cold beverage, sit back and enjoy.

One Saturday I was thrilled to have along with me, Johanna, Carolyn, and Johanna's daughter, Bri who is a sophomore in college. The yard sale list was long and we were hoping to find treasures. And we did! The car was PACKED when we finished for the day. One sale had so much to offer and the prices were fabulous. I ended up buying a lot of things to sell and made good profits because the items were priced so low and the quality was so good. I really wished I had a truck that day especially since there were larger items that just couldn't make it into Carolyn's trunk.
I have had great luck selling children's items so I keep an eye out for those when "shopping".
Truck puzzle: $1, Felt story board, $1, 3D wood puzzle: $1, Frog magnetic stand: $2
The truck puzzle and frog magnetic stand sold easily, the 3D puzzle went to grandson Nate and the felt-story board with farm items are in my daughter Brenna's kindergarten classroom.
Child's rocking chair: $2, Pottery Barn duck step stool: $3, Folding bookcase: $5, 12 section shoe storage, $2
I sold the rocking chair for $20, the step stool for $15, the bookcase for $20 and the storage unit for $15. Nice profit on all.
Convertible car seat: $15
This was an awesome deal! I had been considering buying a car seat to keep at my house for Nate, yes, another item for "Grandma's stash". Brenna recommended getting one that could be used up to the point he no longer needed one. So when I saw this one sitting in a driveway, I knew what to ask: Expiration date, is it rear and forward facing, and weight limit. This one met all of the criteria, I thought. I asked what price and the seller hemmed and hawed. She really didn't know what to ask for it. She also wasn't exactly sure if it was rear facing and said how about $20. I said would you take $15 since I wasn't sure weight limit and it needed some cleaning. Yes was the answer. And when I returned home, I learned it did meet Brenna's requirements for Nate and I had made an excellent purchase. In fact it was the same make and model she had found on Craigslist and one on the Facebook Online Yard Sale group. For $60 and $50. Now both mom and dad, Grandma and babysitter have their own carseats. We are set.

Wood peg puzzle: 50cents, Toy Story wood puzzle: 50cents, mailbox cover: $2, and xylophone/piano combo: 50 cents
The street puzzle went to Nate, the Toy Story puzzle sold for $5, I kept the mailbox cover for myself and the tiger xylophone/piano sold for $8.

Johanna's heads
Johanna picked these head forms for her Craft group to display hats they make and sell. I believe she bought the three for $5.
Wood peg puzzle: 50cents, Toy Story wood puzzle: 50cents, mailbox cover: $2, and xylophone/piano combo: 50 cents
One of my favorite purchases has been these Teva shoes I found for $5. New. Yay!! I have been on the lookout for anything similiar and grabbed these as soon as I layed eyes on them. I did help up the older lady I pushed over reaching for them. Nah, just kidding. No one was harmed in the acquisition of these shoes. They fit great and and very comfortable. The photo was taken the other day after I have been wearing the shoes here in the Catskills on my daily walks. So they aren't as new as they were a couple of months ago. The weather last week was rain, rain, and more rain so these were especially appreciated on the mudddy dirt roads. There's nothing like a great deal you really make use of. Love it!
Dansko shoes: $1
Another pair of shoes I found recently were these Dansko clogs. Not my size, not Brenna or Ellie's size so naturally I sold them! And they went FAST! Should have charged more, $30 was a great deal for anyone especially since they were in excellent condition, hardly any wear on the heels and not scuffing around the toe area. I always keep my eye out for this brand and a few others that are desired and I can profit from.
Bedside steps:$5
These steps with storage were a great deal and Brenna and Robbie are now the proud owners. I thought when Nate gets older, he could use them to climb up on their high bed. And I was right. It went home with them as soon as I showed it.
Pregnacy books: all for $4
And last but not least, more pregnancy books to donate to the Pregnancy Center. These were especially good since they are newer editions.They love seeing me come in with these for their free box.
And I am going to end here to keep this post from getting to long. I have more finds to share and will keep working on catching up. Take care and happy bargain hunting!

Thrifty Christy