Apron Thrift Girl

Back to Sewing?

Here's a confession that is hard here to say in blog land, especially when surrounded by amazingly crafty,  bloggers: I haven't touched my sewing machine in months. Yes, you read it correctly, Months! Remember my lovely Bernina I introduced here a year and a half ago. Well she has been sorely neglected in the great office/craftroom switch of 07. Today everything changed when I received this in the mail:

A friend of mine dresses her sons in Mini Boden striped tees and they look so sweet and so European in them. And even with their 10% off sale, 4 shirts still equals $100.00. That could buy a lot of thrift booty. Even taking us back to my $99 thrift store challenge. The good old thrift days.

I love the stripes and I love the appliqué. A wonderful combination. And I know the material would be fantastic and durable but I just can't stomach the price. Especially when my two spirited ones will have them covered in dirt before long. I asked my daughter why her clothing are always so soiled. She replied "mama, I just love to play hard." What can you say to that? I tend to be somewhat jealous of those children that don't have a speck of dirt on them. How does that work? I can't imagine a perfectly clean child. I do feel a bit envious of their spanking clean child but I know that the endless hours of dirt and play will be a memory that my children will cherish when they are adults. They won't remembering the soiled face, hands, clothing and smelly socks. They'll remember the joy and freedom of childhood play.

What also got me headed back into the craft room was a visit to Anthropologie last Sunday. The summer clothing look especially delectable and yet very pricey. I will sometimes break down and buy something from their sale racks but even those were priced too high for my thrifter's budget this time. I just can't seem to pay $78.00 for a blouse. So I hit Goodwill today in search of material to reuse and to alter clothing. My total tab was $50.00 and included a Odille (from Anthro) top and my first Goodwill Olily top find. The Olily top I may reuse for one of the children's tops I am planning to make. Here is my stripe set material. Total cost $7.00.

The bottom striped material will be a sweet pair of shorts for Keiran. The other two will be made into new shirts for the children with appliqué in some solids that I also purchased.

The patterned clothes set. A lot of these I am hoping to alter in order to create an Anthropologie type look. Lately so many of their tops are just pieced together in such a fun way. I mean it makes it look easy for the amateur sewer like myself because seams don't have to match and can be on the outside. Even if I do a lousy job, it still has the potential to look good.  This top is kind of pieced together with the bottom material not matching the top. This is my goal to recreate that look. I found these two shirts which I am going to meld together.

With the cost of everything going up, up and up, we just have to get creative to dress to the Anthropologie level of fashion. My favorite reason for this style is the wonderful flare of these blouses which hide my "too much cream in my coffee and slices of cheese" belly which isn't going away as quickly as I would wish it to go.

Has your shopping or thrifting changed with the financial problems of the world? What tricks are you using when thrifting to save money?

Mothering

Nine years ago I went on a UK television show called "Kilroy". It was a talk show where the audience is a major part of the show. The presenter Kilroy would host a subject and walk around and talk to the audience.  At the end of each show they would tell the viewers that if they experienced "so and so and would like to be part of the show" then they could call in and share their story. My time in the UK was a lonely one and when a show with the topic of loneliness came up, I reached for the phone before I even realized it. I was whisked away to London a couple weeks later to the set of Kilroy. Despite being there for my pathetic situation of being lonely, I was giddy with excitement. Although I never pursued acting, it was always a dream of mine to be on TV. What caught Kilroy's attention with my story was the fact that I was married and yet lived a very lonely life. Dave returned home each evening at around 7:30 and left before I woke. I had few friends and had yet to become "anything" job wise. I was a wandering soul.

Oddly enough it was being on the show Kilroy that changed my entire life. When I came home I had two plans that I figured out on the train ride home to Wales. Plan 1: I would sign up for University and get into acting as well as a media degree. I loved the buzz of television and I wanted to immerse myself in it. (I think this was March time) I would probably start in the Fall of that year. After receiving my degree I would work and then start a family. At this point I was in no rush to start having children.  Plan 2: Start a family immediately, have the baby in 9 months and then enroll into university the following Fall and place the baby in childcare. Dh jumped at Plan 2 (literally) and a month later I was pregnant with Cerys.  Isn't it ironic how things work out? All I wanted was to be on TV to share with the audience that I am lonely and 10 months later, I had a baby girl and basically never felt lonely again.

(Six year old Keiran took this photo-It's my favorite of the day)

I never did put Cerys in daycare. I was too in love with her and with being a mother to ever think about separating from her. My dream of working in television was shelved for motherhood and I have no regrets. I love being a mother despite the fact that dh wanted children much more than I did. I still recall him telling me to speak to Cerys when she was a week old. I had never spent much time around children and had no idea what to say to her. Eventually the instincts kicked in and our first year together in the UK was purely magical. (except for the projectile vomiting moments)

And here is Keiran and Dave-photo taken by Cerys. Don't children take the best photos?

Dave flew to England today for work so we spent the day in Seattle before taking him to the airport. We had a lovely tasting breakfast (including gluten free buckwheat pancakes) at a restaurant called Portage Bay Cafe. They serve 80% organic food.  Although if you like having a peaceful and somewhat quiet meal, I wouldn't go on the weekend. The noise was pretty annoying and we could barely hold a conversation. But the pancakes were brilliant. We hopped over to the Ballard Goodwill before heading to SeaTac. I loved spending the day with the family. A warm mother's day to all.

36 Years of Thrifting

I turned 36 today. How do I feel? Lighter than ever and excited about today, this moment and the year in front of me. Some of my earliest memories were actually in a thrift store. I couldn't have been more than two years old when I remember being carried into our local thrift store by my mom which was run by the local Mormon Church. Funny enough I just remember it being extremely cluttered. It wasn't there very long and our thrifting locally ended when the store left town. We later thrifted in a college town called Chico where we frequented the Goodwill and Salvation Army. Again I recall it being cluttered and very dirty. But it fascinated me and I loved going there and digging for treasures.

The cake is gluten free with 7 minute icing, made by our local Bakery. The candle is silly but I came across it in a box of pre-marriage junk just last week. I checked to see if it was valuable but you can basically pick up one of these for .99 cents plus shipping on eBay. What to do with it I pondered. Then I realized I didn't care that it had a number four, it was going to decorate my cake. So I used a candle that must be nearly 25 years old. It worked perfectly and I loved it.

Strawberry Shortcake represents to me, the beauty and innocence of my childhood. A lovely thing to cherish years on.

My mother in law is visiting from England and she and I went to Macy's to buying some items from the Martha Stewart line. Being as thrifty as I am (even armed with lots of gift cards from family) I couldn't find anything to spend my money on except this colander. It matches my kitchen perfectly with its (nearly painted) blue walls and red accents. My dear MIL graciously hit the Cath Kidston outlet near Oxford before coming over here and delighted me with two mugs and 4 cloth napkins. And my darling Dave bought me Juno and gave me a nice Macy's allowance of which I am saving for their sale later this month. Once a thrifty always thrifty.  Not pictured is a sweet brown skirt and a Macy's gift certificate from my parents. Wow, I sound like an advertisement for Macy's. I just have fallen in love with the American Rag clothing line that they sell and the Martha Stewart Line. A lovely combination.

Keiran and I finished the day off by heading to a certain rectangle receptacle where we saved a handful of books, pottery dishes and some glasses from heading toward the landfill. It was a perfect day.

Me with my new haircut.

The Obnoxious Side of Thrifting

Today, I can honestly say that I didn't really enjoy thrifting. I headed out very early for a sale at 7am which looked extremely good from their listing. The kind that makes a thrifter's mouth water. The person hosting the sale was selling teaching supplies which is generally very good for a thrifter who is also a mom. The day was beautiful as I left around 6am to go to the bank and then on to the sale. I felt like maybe the yard sale season had really started. The late winter weather has done nothing positive to the beginning of the 08 thrift season up here in the Puget Sound of Washington.

The sale was a dud. Apparently it was the second week that they ran the sale. I found a couple books but certainly not worth making the longish journey before the sun was even up. I next drove to a Rummage sale at a local church. I was second in line and awaiting anxiously to get in for the 8am start. I chatted with another person who drove 45 minutes to come to this sale. When they opened the doors I rushed to the books. I try to do locate and pick out my books first to get the business side of thrifting over with so I can leisurely peruse the tables of dishes or linens without any pressure. I found the books and began looking through titles and scanning anything that looked interesting. All the sudden I had this guy who I know to also be a bookseller. We'll call him Bully just for the sake of this story. I was looking through titles in a small box of DVD's. He reaches over me and grabs half of them. In the blur of emotions I can't remember the first thing I said but he answered that he was at the Seattle Library Sale yesterday and that was the excuse for his rudeness. He went on to say that he at least left me half the box. I mentioned politely that there is etiquette in what we do and he wasn't doing it. He claimed I was hiding the whole box. At that point I was being smothered by four or five people at the book section so he is probably right. I should mention that it is only a table about six feet wide by three feet. It was packed with books and DVD's though. At that point I put down the DVD's I was looking at and walked away.

Needless to say I was very upset and then I was upset about being upset. The last month I have been reading "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and it has opened my eyes up to so many things, including my own behavior and the behavior of others around me. I have been a better parent, a better spouse and even a better stranger to people I don't even know. This is why I was especially disappointed in myself when Bully pushed in on my space. I don't care if he is a book dealer or not, it doesn't justify treating people like this. Nearly 12 hours on, I'm glad I walked away. I've always told myself that there are enough books for everyone (although not always in one place I suppose). I also don't think I want to take my job so seriously as to hurt people's feelings or act rude. In the end I walked out with nothing. I love being a bookseller but I dislike the competition immensely. I would say it is the hardest part of the job. I don't mind the on-line competition, but having to get at book sales an hour before it opens or trying to get to a yard sale just to get the right books is sometimes trying.

On a positive note, two months ago I found a wonderful Craig's List post where a woman was selling her entire library. I asked her for some photos which she sent right away. The titles were enticing and I agreed to purchase the lot of books.  I paid $500.00 for over 1000 books, DVD's, CD and even a few new puzzles. Everything was in nearly new condition and the most interesting book titles I have ever come across. I felt like I had been given a gift that day. I must admit that I much prefer that type of book buying then arguing with bullies. Here's some photos of the van.

This is only the first load. The second load was just as full. Here is the van nearly to the ground.

What have I learned today? Sigh....I guess to just keep on doing what I do in the manner that I do it. I know that I will find the books I am meant to find. And I will treat people with respect that I meet along the way. Let's hope for a better thrifting day next Saturday.

Sustainable Living

With the environment, you are sometimes left to make hard choices. I choose to sometimes drive 45 minutes away following a trail of yard sales in order to avoid going to Walmart & Target to buy items that were shipped thousands of miles and packaged in plastic. I choose paper bags over plastic so I can reuse the bags to send items back to goodwill and then when they eventually make it to the landfill, they will decompose naturally. I try to take my own bags but usually I forget. I personally feel that helping the environment is about doing your best and everyone's best is going to differ. This month we took down two, eighty year old Douglas fir trees. It wasn't an easy decision and it took us a lot of time to decide and a lot of money to take them down. $1800.00 worth to bring down two trees that took eighty years to grow. (I know the fence needs painting :-)

We took them down for a number of reasons:

1) Light-much of our yard was in shade most of the day, especially in the afternoon. In the summer it can still be chilly in the shade. Once the trees were down I was surprised at how much lighter the house became. I am a huge believer in passive sun, especially in the Pacific Northwest. It continues to amaze me when new houses are built with a south facing garage and tiny craftsman style windows.

2) Wood-we are still a bit old school and are using a wood stove (although purchased recently and it is one of the best for environmental standards). I grew up in the 70's and my parents were faithful followers of Mother Earth News. I learned from them the idea of self sufficiency. They were also Mormon at the time which was an interesting mix.  We had a years supply of food and a solar hot water heater. Even our wood stove heated our water during the winter when the sun wasn't so bright. I learned so much from my parents on our small farm in Corning, California. Our current house also has central heat that uses oil which generally cost $700 to fill the tank. I'm sure many of you are experiencing that cost this long winter. I find that the heat in the home from our furnace is so different than the wood stove heat. A couple weeks ago I broke the glass in our stove door. Oops! It took us a few days to get it replaced and I missed the invested heat of the wood stove terribly. When the two trees came down, we rolled the cut rounds to another part of our yard where they will wait to be split and used in our stove.

3) Enlarging the garden-where the trees were, it blocked the sun in a large section of our yard. Now that they are gone we are planning to plant 5 dwarf apple trees near the fence and in the grassy lawn part we are going to rototill and create a huge vegetable garden to double the size of our existing garden. In my mind, if I plant anything in our yard, I want it to be edible and sustainable.

4) Mulch-this one wasn't planned but became an added treat when we had the stumps ground down. I have a few years supply of a mulch which I will use on my paths around my raised garden beds.

In our area, these trees grow like weeds and are everywhere. I do understand that they take years to grow unlike a wee that shoots up quickly. That was the hardest part of our decision. Ironically if they were in the back of our yard, they would still be standing. When we make decisions with the earth in mind there are so many different levels to make them on. When we took the trees down we were judged by some of our neighbors. People walked past our yard asking us why we cut them down. Dave was usually the one explaining. People shrugged at his reasons and continued on their walk. I mentioned to a friend yesterday that if the US food supply is in danger, then they might be the ones knocking on my door for a meal. In my perfect world, nearly every tree planted in our community would be a fruit tree, and every new housing development would have a large shared garden instead of a pretty green with a few shrubs, and all houses would be south facing with plenty of windows to take in the warmth of the sun. In our house, in the heart of winter, if we have a sunny day we can actually turn our fire all the way down and the house is heated by the sun. I generally curl up on the bay window on days like this and soak up the sunshine.

I don't know if any answer is perfect, but we do what feels good to our family. That is the wonderful thing about taking steps to help the world and the environment. Many of us take different steps and follow a different path. It's the thinking consciously that we all share in common. So many of you love thrifting and I can't think of a better way shop than buying something second hand. Even if it is the only thing you do that is considered environmentally friendly, it is still a wonderful choice you make.

I'm off to the garden now to plant some onions and shallots.

Dumped

This Sunday BBC America is starting a new reality show called "Dumped" and features 11 people spending 3 weeks in a British dump.

I must admit, the show seems fascinating. I wonder what the 11 people will be like? Will they consists of shopaholics? Business men and women? The show is a four part series and will begin this Sunday evening. So the big question is: would you spend three weeks in a dump? If so, what would be your biggest reason for wanting to do this?

A week or so ago I caught an Oprah Winfrey show about people who dumpster dive every day. They call themselves "Freegans" and they eat, dress and furnish their homes out of what they find in dumpsters. It kind of puts my twice weekly dumpster search to shame. I have so much respect for Freegans who are brave enough to search through dumpsters on a nightly routine. I must admit my biggest problem is being nervous about someone seeing me. I shouldn't care what others think but I still haven't quite won that battle yet. Even after I watched Oprah I had the urge to head to my super market and see what food I could find. But alas I stayed home and instead nibbled on too expensive, organic blood oranges and almonds.

I would love to experience the three weeks in a dump just to see what I would find and how I could survive. It's kind of like being on a smelly desert island with lots of stuff around to live on. It is certainly something to contemplate.

Thrifting Free Style

I would consider myself a pretty laid back woman overall. I try to go with the flow and take things as they come. When things go poorly I chalk it up to a valuable lesson or an experience that I can grow from. But there is one thing that makes me pretty annoyed is when people are throwing away decent items in the garbage. When I was in my 20's I would go to the dump and I would literally be in tears at the consumption of our country which there led to a huge waste. Perfectly good chairs, books, toys and more were being thrown in the pile of garbage with little care. Even in the UK when we lived in Wales I remember discovering around 30 antique books someone threw away. I couldn't think of a more severe crime than throwing books away at the time. There was a strict rule about not taking anything out of the garbage there so David and I had to sneak these books out in supposedly empty boxes. I felt like such a criminal and angel at the same time. In the collection of books was a beautiful "Jane Eyer" book set that consisted of 2 books so that women could carry one small book at a time in their handbags. I still have this book and look lovingly at them on the bookshelf from time to time, still wondering how someone could compare it to dirty diapers and just throw them away.

Tonight a certain woman and her two young children were spotted going through a dumpster by a certain local thrift store. They were armed with a young boys extended claw to allow them to grab things that they couldn't reach at the top. It certainly wasn't very ladylike to be rummaging in a huge dumpster but the rewards were worth it this evening. Here are two of the many items they "saved" from being in the landfill for years.

A solid wood lazy susan, complete with 4 nestling trays (trays not pictured). The candle holder and candle were a gift from Cerys's teacher when we had her over for dinner a couple weeks ago. It fits perfectly in the center. I was just wishing for a lazy susan on Sunday. I love when things just appear in my life like magic. Especially when they are free.

Keiran spotted this sweet treasure and spent most of the evening riding this lovingly handmade horse, complete with a long yellow handle. Sure, it isn't the classiest of items (for this unmentioned thrift store) but maybe stick it in a free box so a child could play with it. I'm sure this is one toy that Keiran will play with for hours.

Here is a small list of the items a certain mother and her two children found:
-5 new highlighter markers in a box
-2 blank notebooks
-Radio with working cassette and radio (CD is broken but will be perfect for the basement to play old 80's hand recorded tapes with Bruce Springfield on them)
-Hand crafted Pottery Bowl
-60's pottery bowl
-vintage book
-modern travel book on trails
-Wooden Lazy Susan
-Horse                                                                                                    
-Newspaper (to use in woodstove-how can people not recycle these days when it is easy around here)
-pen
-2 small standing dolls that someone picked up overseas
- Salt shaker with cut glass and possibly a sterling lid
-Lacrosse racket (or whatever they call them-not up to date on my lacrosse terminology)
-Fisher Price Village (modern)
-2 Brass Candle sticks/1 Brass pitcher

That's all "they" can remember for now. Most of the items were left in the car as they made a mad dash to put the chickens away before the raccoons came to eat them. The plan is to go through the items and give away what they don't need to friends, thrift stores or to a recycling center. 

What do you do when you have something that just has to be thrown away? I try to take items apart and save any hardware that can be reused like screws or bolts. If any of the metal can be recycled I store it in my metal recycling bin until we go to the dump. Any paper I try to recycle it, same with plastic. Can this thrift store do anything differently? Should they? I must say that I'm hesitate to donate to this certain store knowing that they throw perfectly good items away. Do all the stores do this? Who gets to decide what is worth selling and what is worth throwing away. What I appreciate about Goodwill is the fact that even unattractive items get a second life when they go to the Outlet store. I often buy partly felted sweaters or moth chewed sweaters because I will felt them at home and reuse them. I'll buy women's dress shirts and make aprons out of them. From what I have researched, after some items like cotton clothing leave the outlet, they head to a cotton recycling plant and make the clothing into something brand new.

I love the cycle of items when they are dealt with in a conscious manner. For now, the children and I feel good about doing our part, even if it is saving a few items from the landfill. If anything we get a buzz from our thrifting trip free style.

Valentine

Sometimes it is hard to muster up enthusiasm for a holiday that has such a touch of Hallmark to it. It kind of feels sort of forced upon us. I do recall a few memories of receiving Valentine cards from my mother. Maybe my father signed them too but that memory is too distant to grasp hold of. I don't remember a special feeling around the holiday. It's an odd one to begin with but as a romantic it is one I have always held a soft little spot in my heart for. I've been a hopeless romantic since I was young when I first discovered what romance was all about. And it isn't the romance that kids today are learning about like on Gossip Girl. I mean romance from the classics. The boy down the street wasn't interesting enough for me when my ideal boy was a prince in disguise. A boy who would come charging through the playground on horse back to save me from the endless teasing I received for being so small. I dreamed about him constantly and either broke up with boyfriend after boyfriend or hesitated to start a romance with boys/men that didn't fit my ideal prince. It probably saved me a few times. I just had this vision in my head and I wasn't stopping until I found him. Luckily on April 1, 1996 he was waiting for me in an elevator in the Sears Tower. I still love romance and can often be found watching the sappiest of movies where boy meets girl, boy and girl have fight and eventually boy marries girl and all live happily ever after. It warms my heart movie after movie.

Speaking of love....I've fallen in love with the Martha Stewart line at Michaels. I discovered them last summer while on vacation in Santa Rosa, CA. It was head over heels in craft heaven. What I even like more is is when I can find her items on sale. I've yet to come across any thrifted Martha Stewart crafts but the sales prices at Michaels are pretty darn near thrifted ones. I found this set a month ago:

Included in the set were 6 cupcake boxes and blank stickers. These were the perfect Valentine gift for the children's teachers. The cost for the kit was a mere $4.00. I made the cupcakes from a gluten free mix called Nameste and covered them in homemade butter cream icing (Joy of Cooking) and dye free decorative sugar. I'm healing from a cold so I had to make these without a single lick of frosting or sprinkle of sugar in my hand. But it's better than getting more sick. The children handed these to the teachers who were delighted with their gifts.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who left comments for me regarding my long winter post. I appreciated hearing from each of you. It's amazing to see us living all over the world and still experiencing a similar feeling. I took some of the advice you kindly offered. The most important thing is that I got out of the house. This last week I have taken a walk every day. It feels amazing and I can't believe that it took me so long to get out and walk. I live in such a beautiful place and to be out in the fresh air did wonders to my spirit. I also started eating better. I've added healthy smoothies and fresh juice to my daily routine (granny smith apple, kale & lime) and I can feel my body taking in all of this nutrition.

Today I even prepared my garden for spring. I know spring is a little far away, at least up here in Seattle, but it was lovely to put my hands in the earth and think about the coming spring. Thanks again.

A Long Winter

I am greatly missing the sunshine right now. It feels like the winter has slowly moved forward at the pace of a sleepy snail slithering along a forest path. I moved the first time to Washington in 1994. I moved from an apartment in Chico, California that had a swimming pool and hot tub. My parents dangled a carrot in front of me offering to give me a down payment on a house in a small town in Washington State. I was a wandering soul at that time without much direction in my life. I had just broken up with a man who enjoyed his drink just a wee bit too much and I decided a fresh start would be welcoming. I spent the next two years living in Aberdeen, Washington and worked at a cemetery. I must say, looking back that had to be the darkest part of my life. I was terribly lonely, worked in the weirdest job I've ever had and was miserable in the dark, wet weather. On April 1st, 1996 I met David in the Sears Tower in Chicago and fell in love. A year later I left Aberdeen to begin a new life in England with Dave. I left the dreary, cold and wet weather of Aberdeen and exchanged it for the gray skies of England. Still as a newlywed I overlooked that part of it. I was delighted to have found David and to have lived in a country so rich of history.

I lived in the UK for four years and missed home (what I would consider California) every day. I loved
many things about the UK and in fact I miss many things still. But I missed the warm weather most of all. We moved to Herndon, Virginia and for the first time in 8 years, I was able to enjoy the most incredible spring. Every day I would wake up, look out the blinds and just be in shock that it was yet another sunny day. And the sky was the bluest of blue in the mornings. I can still remember all those mornings I spent outside in our screened deck enjoying a breakfast with Cerys while watching the cardinals fly around our yard. I think it those memories of Virginia are my fondest. The summers were a little tough with the humidity that I wasn't used to. Poor Dave melted under the heat and barely made it through the summers. The West coast was still calling me, mixed in with the fact that in Virginia we were 3,000 miles away from my family and 3,000 miles away from his. Luckily his work called him out to Seattle and that helped make our decision. We moved to our little island outside of Seattle in July 2003. And if I do the math, out of the last 14 years, I spent 12 of those in a colder, grayish type climate.

I did fine the first three winters here. Well not fine but I managed. But this winter it has been so wet, so gray, and quite honestly, pretty miserable. It began to get cold in August with quite a few rainy days. This was a shock after our three weeks in California. I think August is one of my toughest months because of the change in temperature from vacation to western Washington temperature. And it only gets colder and darker.

The positive side of living here is the beauty of it all. It is stunning with the mountains, water and forest. I love taking the ferry into Seattle. And I love taking it home again to the quiet and peace of the island. I love just thinking I live on an island. But I miss the sun and blue sky so much. Sometimes I wake up to the gray sky and I feel a little pain in my soul for another dark day ahead. Does anyone else feel dissatisfied with their weather? It probably doesn't help that my body is cold a lot of the time. Dave and I constantly have a discussion about whether it is too hot or too cold in the house. I need it warmer, he wants it cooler.

Needless to say, that is partly my excuse for not writing very much this winter. I feel that I have been hibernating, coming out for food when needed, and then scurrying back to my cave of warm, down comforters. I am so incredibly restless at the moment. When I get restless I want to be anywhere but here. I want change, I want a spark in my life and I want to feel alive. When I travel to California in the summer and I feel the heat on my body, I feel so alive and vibrant. It is quite the opposite of what I feel here.

To help my restlessness I usually search the net through real estate ads of warmer places, look for house swaps with swimming pools, spend time visualizing a life somewhere sunnier and then when I get burned out of those choices, I go and move the furniture around. My late winter/spring cleaning is in full force. I am sending items to Goodwill by the truck load. I don't know if it is my restlessness but things just don't mean as much to me as they used to. I still love to thrift, love to shop but I don't buy as much for me. I'm even taking the plunge and getting ready to sell my Desert Rose dishes that many of you watched me collect here on my blog the last couple of years. Don't worry, we won't be without dishes. I still have 5 other sets to use. As a thrifter it is so easy to horde items, especially when people sell them for pennies. But also as a thrifter, it is easy to give away things knowing that you have only paid $1.00 for something. I think all of this is a natural cycle. We shop, we buy, we get rid of and we cleanse.

For now the house cleansing helps me get through this dark winter, one day at a time. My soul longs for warmth and at times I'll sit in front of our wood stove and attempt to take in as much heat as my body can manage. I wish it would warm me to my core so that I would feel settled again.
Thriftly yours,
Selena

William Good Clothing Line from Goodwill

Look what's new at Goodwill in San Francisco. A recycled clothing line created under Nick Graham's artistic direction.

They have named it William Good which is a play on words for Goodwill. The label looks so professional and I think the items they have recycled are very trendy looking. I'd love to take a look at their store in San Francisco. Hmmmmm road trip? If anyone gets a chance, please drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

I must admit that I have always wanted to try to make something out of thrifted clothing. The closest I have done is making a Christmas stocking out of a sweater that I felted. I loved reusing the sweater to make something new.

My posts have been few and far between as I am moving my office to a much larger space. Apron Thrift Girl and Willow Book Shop has grown out of my tiny 12 x 12 office. I'm not even sure the size of my new space but it is probably three times the size of my old office. I'm waiting to go wireless before I make the total switch to the new space. The new space used to be our guest room/craft room but I never seem to get out of my office to work on any crafts. With the switch of rooms, I hope to be more efficient in my office time which gives me more free time to work on crafts. I tend to drool over other blogger's studios and felt a little inferior with my messy craft room. But I am very excited about having such a large space for my businesses. I'm looking forward to the growth of both businesses in 2008. When I am moved and settled, I'll do a post on how to kit out an office entirely with thrifted finds.

Bits & Bobs

Some days it is hard to think of a post that isn't just a mess of random thoughts and experiences I have had since my last post. Hence I used a term my British mother in law uses a lot called "Bits & Bobs" which means a little bit of everything.

I'll start with a photo, which is actually the main reason I write so little these days. I'm not sure if it is a lack of things to take pictures of or is it the energy involved to take the camera to the thing to capture it's image in the darkened skies over the Pacific northwest (which makes taking pictures challenging)? Either way, when I don't have a photo to share with you, somehow I feel that I am betraying anyone who reads my blog. Especially a thrifting blog when I should be sharing my thrifted finds. A lot has changed in the last year and I'm at the point where I am buying less and less for myself and more to resell. This is a positive thing for my bank account though. For the first time since the wedding we get to sit back and think about what to do with the money I am bringing in.

Sometimes I'll be sitting at the computer with a book in hand, intending to list the book on my little bookstore but then I'll turn it over and something tells me I need to read this book. This is how I stumbled upon a book called The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. With my Anthropologie clothing style on my Target budget I have been making affirmations and searching for goals to seek more money. Sometimes it's as simple as wishing for a check in the mail and receiving one the next day. Other times my mind is whirling on how to create more income. With our family money on the rise because of my business, I am now looking for something to do with it. I know I could easily spend every penny of it and please remind me not to let loose in Anthropologie again with three hours to browse at my leisure. This was my main damage and I love every inch of it. I told myself that it was too expensive, far too luxurious for someone who lives on a rural island and dodges rain puddles going out to my driveway. But when the salesclerk offered 15% off because a button fell off when I was taking it off, how could my thrifty side resist? And actually the button fell of in the beginning of the three hours and I only learned about the 15% off when I asked to try it on one more time before I left the store coatless. It was love at first coat for me and I haven't regretted it since. But I learned a lot during my time in this store that my thrifty side doesn't reason with me as well as it does at a rummage sale or even at the sometimes overpriced Goodwill. I contemplated that it's not like I want to buy everything in Gap because it will make me look trendy. It's like Anthropologie has always been the style I have been craving to wear since I was a teenager or maybe younger. I used to love wearing gunny sack dresses when they weren't so cool. When knickers were in fashion during my 4th grade year, I was in heaven. My only question is why does this style have to cost so much?

And with the subject back on money, I learned in this book that money can be just a way of thinking. There isn't a single reason why I shouldn't have heaps of it. There isn't a reason why anyone shouldn't have money. The book talks about our money blueprint which is basically things we learned about money when we were growing up. My parents still tell me that they can't afford to do this and that. They don't have a retirement, but they do have rental houses. Their income is limited but their resources are abundant. A  year ago I would use these words, "I can't afford" many times in a single conversation. But it wasn't that I couldn't afford to pay a babysitter $12.00 an hour. I'm sure I could find the money. The key was, I didn't want to pay that much. I was talking in scarcity and not abundance. Even with time, when we say I don't have time to do that, do we really not have time? Or do we choose to use our time in another way. I was finding it hard to find time to list books to my website in the morning. I started to say, "I don't have time to list anymore." The reality was, I came downstairs, did some stretches and read my email for half an hour. That's why I didn't have time. Now I get on the computer and I choose to work first and emails later.

This is Cerys's set of jars. The Millionaire Mind suggest using jars to put your money in and later transferring it to a bank account although always leaving something in the jar because like attracts like. I started a basket in my office that I put some money in. I couldn't believe how quickly I accumulated money that went into the basket. After I made my jars, I grabbed the basket and distributed the cash into each jar. The jars for adults are:

-FFA Financial Freedom Jar. 10% of your income after taxes. This is what he Harv calls the Golden Egg. This is money to only invest and never use even when you retire. You can buy stocks or bonds or leave it in a high interest savings account.

-LTSS - Long Term Savings for Spending. 10% of your income after taxes. I love the idea of this one because you can come up with a big ticket item you want to buy. We need to replace our windows desperately so this would be the perfect thing to save for. Not as exciting as a vacation or a hot tub but in the long run, new windows would save us a lot of money on our heating bill. You can feel the breeze in each room during the winter.

-EDU Education jar. Another 10%, but I'm not sure I would do 10%. He offers a lot of very expensive seminars of which you would need to save 10% of your income. I just attended a free seminar but it was far too much upselling for me. Other things you could buy would be DVD's, CD's & books to educate yourself more in anything that interest you.

-NEC - Neccessites. Food, rent, mortgage, bills etc.. He says 55% of your income after taxes should fall into this.

-Play -this one is where you make sure you spend it each month. He says rent a yacht for a half hour, get a massage and nurture yourself. The problem with budgets is you feel restrained and then you abandon all saving efforts. This way, you get to enjoy spending as well as saving. This one is also a 10% jar.

-Give -this one is for charity or church and he suggest 5%. I'm sure many people would want to give more. Maybe 10% to the give jar and 5% to the EDU jar.

The children's jars are Wealth 10% (savings that grow into their golden goose), Plan (like the LTSS), Learn (their education jar), Play and Angel. I think the most fun was watching the children decorate their jars and divide their money up. They were so excited. Every time they find a penny or a nickel my daughter would drop it in her Give jar and my son would add his to the play jar. I love their priorities.

I am looking at money in a different light and I must say it has taken a lot of stress out of my life. We have so many choices whether it it so buy an expensive coat at Anthropologie or a $5.00 one at Goodwill.  Nearly all of my clothing are second hand so it felt absolutely wonderful to splurge on that coat, even now that the buttons are coming off daily. We also have choices to save money or spend every penny of it each month as if we won't have more money coming in. If you get a chance, read the book as it is very eye opening and it may change your life.

A wet on wet water color painting by Cerys.

Giving Thriftful Thanks

The Flying Apron gluten free crust with Martha's Brown Sugar Pumpkin Pie recipe topped with homemade whipped cream sweetened with agave syrup (my find of the summer) and vanilla extract. A perfect way to end our Thanksgiving Meal. While I mentioned a lot of deep hearted things that I was thankful for in my Grateful post, I thought I would post some lighthearted thanks toward Thrifting.

Top 8 Thriftful (a word I have not used before tonight) Things I am Thankful For:

1) A surprise Half Off sale at your small local thrift store. When they announce surprise sales, generally the public doesn't know about it and you might have the store to your self.

2) Finding money in a pocket of a thrifted coat. While dirty Kleenex would make my top 8 things I don't like about thrifting, coming across a crumpled dollar bill in a coat or a some coins in a wallet can make my morning.

3)  Driving up to a yard sale and before you hit the pavement you can sense that the people selling their goods have the exact same taste as you.

4)  Finding something extremely valuable at the bottom of a dusty, cluttered box. Some of my best finds were hidden under mouse dropping and shredded paper. It is also a sign that the people hosting the sale just want their stuff gone since they didn't even take the time to search through boxes. This also means that there might be some very good deals to be found.

5) Good Signage. There is nothing worse than some chicken scratch scribbles on a piece of cardboard. I greatly appreciate a well written sign. I prefer it not to have the time so I don't have that stab of guilt if I show up early. Though on the statistical side of finding good stuff, the messier the sign, usually the better luck you might have to find vintage items.

6) Free Coffee. One of the most memorable neighborhood sales that I have been to not only had free coffee, but it was Starbucks coffee, complete with real cream and raw sugar. I grabbed myself a cup, shopped and was fueled for the rest of the sale in their hood. I used to like the .25 cent donuts but now that I can't eat them I tend to blur them from my vision and concentrate purely on the Jo.

7) When I am running behind schedule I really appreciate a sale that starts exactly on time. I'm even okay with the rope across their driveway. I can't tell you how many sales I have been to where I have arrived 10 minutes early and found people pouring out of the garage, arms laden with things that just tease the heck out of me. Of course I appreciate it when they open early if I am at that sale but overall I really am grateful when they start on time.

8) I'm especially grateful to all of you amazing people who read my blog. Dh became a little overwhelmed with thrifting story after thrifting story that I used to tell him on Saturday afternoon. His eyes would start to glaze over in a polite sort of way. Here in my fun little blogland I can chat about thrifting to my hearts content. I love reading and sharing about thrifting and I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you and Happy Slapsgiving, Thanksgiving.

Thank You & 11 Goblets

Thank you so much to those who looked at my youtube video, all 722 of you. My head is buzzing with all of the warm and generous compliments you gave me. It has certainly made my head spin in a good way. I took each suggestion to heart and will work on fitting the ideas into my next video. Ironically, after I typed in my title of my last blog post, I discovered that our school auction had been given a donation by a director for a walk on role for an upcoming major motion picture. The auction was on Friday night and I'm afraid my paddle went up before I could get control of my brain and I won the bid. I'm not sure what the title of the movie is as I still have to contact the director but I can tell you how exciting this is for me. When I was in my early 20's I discovered I had my first cavity. I was going to a small community college in Eureka, California called College of the Redwoods. I had the cavity filled by a dentist surrounded by students observing his work. It was really a good price on a college student's budget so I chose to pay the extra cost to have a composite filling which is white rather than a silver mercury filling.  I had decided that when I was going to be in the movies and if I had to scream, I didn't want a mouth full of mercury screaming back at the camera. So here I am 15 years later and it looks like I'll have my chance although this is for a silent role so no screaming involved. Of course I might fit a scream on one of my ATG Youtube videos but that might be just plain odd. I'll let you know more details about the movie as I learn them. Now onto a thrifting find. Do you remember that I mentioned buying 11 glasses in the video? Here they are:

They are not an amber color that I remember drinking from at pizza parlors in the early 80's but a lovely bright yellow that is much more cheerful. They speak vintage and have a classic look to them. I was surprised to see the set for sale at our local expensive thrift store for only $6.00. This store is known for selling one single glass for $8.00 on consignment. I grabbed them quickly and carried them to the front counter to place on hold. The store is too small to have shopping cars so we are lucky that they are quite positive to hold items. When I checked out, I told the woman ringing me up that they were going to go perfectly with my Franciscan dishes.

I bought a set (8 place setting) of these Franciscan October Pattern dishes on Craig's list for $150.00 last year. My idea was to resell them separately on eBay. Fall of 2006 rolled around and I couldn't part with them. The is one of the difficult challenges of being a reseller. Sometimes it hurts to let things go and sometimes it hurts to keep items you know you could sell for a high value.

After telling the woman that they would go well with my dishes, I came home only to research them and discover that they are named Franciscan as well and were made by the same company that made my dishes.

Finding out the history of something that I have picked up at a sale or thrift store is really what keeps the fire burning for this thrift passion that I have. It's not just buying or selling something cookie cutter and dull. There is history to each item. I don't always have a lot of interest in some items, like a fly fishing pattern book and supplies I recently sold. I'm not into fly fishing but I find the whole world of buying and selling fly fishing supplies fascinating. I used to get so bored at previous jobs. I would stare at the clock all day wishing for the hours to race forward so that I could go home. When I worked at the cemetery I would be riding on a lawn mower and make up stories as I passed over graves just to keep myself awake.  My mind doesn't let me just sit comfortably and daze away. I need to be reading or creating ideas and stories. It's just part of my personality that I have come to terms with. But this hobby and business keeps me on my toes. Even when I bring something worthless home (like 15 packets of guitar strings last Saturday) I look at the education I receive as worthwhile when I am researching. Sure I learned not to buy guitar strings in the future, but I also learned to buy the banjo for $75.00 that I left behind. Even with my goblets I learned that sometimes they sell but even more importantly, I learned how to spot a Franciscan goblet. Glass is one of the hardest items to research become glass items generally aren't marked. In fact, I was actually surprised I even found the name of my goblets. If I can offer any advice about thrifting and reselling, it is to always spend a couple minutes and research an item before you send it to the thrift store. You never know what treasure you might be giving away.

Going on the big screen...well I suppose the tiny screen of YouTube

Some of my wackiest ideas have been on a whim. I tend to do them before I really sit back and ponder whether it is a good decision or not. A few ideas popped into my head this week.

Idea 1. take a children's book I am writing and turn it into a poetry children's book story.

Idea 2. I found an angle to write my thrift book that I hope is different than every thrift book on the shelves at your local bookstore. Idea

3. Do a Apron Thrift Girl video and launch it on YouTube.

I started the children's book taking an already existing story I started and changing it to work in rhymes. I came up with a title for my thrift book along with a lot of ideas for it. Which left the hardest for last. I'm sure I have mentioned this before but I am super shy and very self conscious of my appearance. 12 years of teasing from public school didn't help at all for my little self-esteem. I also am not brilliant with technology such as uploading anything. My computer usually starts to smoke and make weird sounds when I try to upload or download anything. But somehow tthe wo of my fears mashed together and I created this. The official debut of Apron Thrift Girl in her first video, 7 Thrifting Myths Debunked. I'd love to hear your thoughts and especially your criticism. I do know that my voice is too quiet, my office too messy and my poor complexion pasty and white from recording in front of a window. I'd love to hear about whether the information was helpful or if it was too long or two short and whether you would like to see more.

Seeing What Has Always Been There

While thrifting solo is very familiar for me and comforting, thrifting with a like minded friend has literally opened my eyes to things I hadn't seen before. It's interesting that you can thrift and thrift and be blind to certain things that are right in front of you.  Then once you are open to finding a certain item, it generally starts finding you. My friend has a knack for finding sterling silver. And not just a little old tarnished necklace, but a full silverware set which she pays $40.00 for and then goes on to sell it for $900.00. She has a lot of Antique Roadshow moments that sometimes makes my eyes green with envy. I have my own share of finds and sales and overall she and I motivate and teach each other what we know. I told myself, literally aloud, that I wanted to find some sterling. I don't recall ever stumbling upon any and felt that it was time. A week later after my proclamation, I was in a terribly dirty and dark basement digging through boxes of junk. Some of it could delicately be referred to as garbage. There were signs of mildew, mice and cigarette smoke. While some thrifting is pretty and fluffy sounding, there is this other side of thrifting that is just kind of gross. But it can pay off. I found my first sterling find: 10 pieces of silverware. I purchased an entire box of vintage items, including the sterling for $30.00.

A week ago Saturday I went in search of an estate sale. The address was incorrect and wouldn't show up on the GPS (which has to be one of the most incredible and useful tools for a thrifter on this planet). I made a guess and knew I was in the right place when I saw my friend's van. I arrived right after it was said to open and yet everyone was just standing around looking confused. The address was plain wrong and no one was there to host the sale. I waited until 10:30am. By then most everyone had left and it was just five of us patiently (or not so patently)waiting. Eventually a big truck pulled into the driveway and a woman was apologizing before she even stepped out of the vehicle explaining that they were delayed on the ferry. She quickly let us inside to the home.

It was an estate sale and every room had boxes full of stuff. We began digging and building our piles. It is rare that you hit a sale where you sort of have room to browse. I would be in a room and basically be by myself stuffing things into boxes without the pressure of other people looking over my shoulder. There was so much stuff in that house that it was like the people who lived there kept everything they ever purchased, including original boxes. I found a box with at least 12 new in the original box of nylons from the 1960's. Each pair wrapped in tissue paper. At this sale I also found a Sterling pitcher, a pair of small sterling candlesticks, a vintage wool baseball uniform, a large box of costume jewelry, a vintage doll crib from the 70's, vintage aluminum hair clips and so much more. I bought 7 full boxes of finds as well as half of all the clothing (my friend and I bought all the clothes for $10.00 and we are going to split them up), some framed artwork and some garage bits and bobs all for $70.00.

It's always a conundrum to thrift at Estate Sales. My heart always feels a little sad poking through someone's life. Tucked away in a corner I found a stamp collection. I can't help but think of the people who are going to be buying my strawberry shortcake collection, my Mikasa dishes when I die and they will probably have the same excitement that I had digging through those boxes of stamps. I try to show respect and keep my thrifting tidy and neat. I listen to the stories the person who is selling the estate shares with me and keep an open mind about it all. I don't want to just ignore the fact that I'm buying things from someone who died. I want to honor them at least by thinking of their life and wondering what type of person they were. It's the least I can do.

It was probably one of the best estate sales I have been to. I enjoy rummaging through boxes hoping to unearth something special. I did this many times that day. We were let in the door a little after 10:30 and left around 2pm. I was starving, a little weak but had that amazing thrift high to get me home in one piece with a van full of booty. I found it interesting that so many people left before the sale had started. I felt our patience or maybe thrift obsession stopped us from leaving to search for more sales. It certainly paid off in this situation. It was like a gift from the Thrift Gods.

The weather has been lousy for taking pictures. Here's my photo of the sterling pitcher which sold tonight for $310.00. It was truly a blessing to find this sale. If the sun comes out I'll try to take some more photos.

Still here, swamped and all that

I'm alive and still here. In the retail world this is generally the busiest time of the year. Between school, volunteering for the school, selling books and now ebay auctions, I'm pretty swamped. But still here and still thinking of all my fellow bloggers.

I have quite a fun story to tell about a dream estate sale I went to on Saturday. Pictures and story to come soon.
Thriftly Yours,
Apron Thrift Girl

Grateful

An otter at the Port Townsend ferry dock

When the telephone rang this morning, I quickly glanced over to the handset and read the number on the caller ID. I didn't recognize it so I ignored the phone call and continued listing books on the computer. Dave flew to England for the week so I was trying to finish as much work as possible while the children are in school. I heard the message machine click on and heard the voice of a friend of mine asking me to call her back. I made a mental note of it, the same mental note area that acts more like a garbage disposal then a notepad. I forgot about the call, forgot about calling her back and carried on with my day. At the school pick-up that afternoon, I saw my friend and guilt washed over me. I have a lot of guilt about the telephone because I tend not to like the phone. Email is my favorite medium for communication, followed by in person, followed by a telegram, followed by passenger pigeon and last on the list would be talking on the phone. Once I brave the phone and actually answer it, I do enjoy the conversation, especially with friends I haven't spoken to in a long time. I chat away like there is no tomorrow, thinking of new things to share with whoever is on the other end of the phone. Calling strangers though or even speaking to strangers when they call gives my tummy a small ache. Sometimes I have to talk myself into calling someone on the phone, especially to do with work. I had a customer ask that I call him to run his credit card through. Sigh...it took me five minutes before I could work up enough nerve to call him. Yet when I did speak to him, my words were coherent and I think I actually came across as professional. He had no ideas I was still in my jammies, sipping on my coffee with Elffie at my feet as I spoke to him on the phone.

When my friend walked up to me in the parking lot she didn't even question the fact that I didn't return her call, but jumped straight into telling me how grateful she was for the help I have offered her. I had given her some advice on her business when we met and later introduced her to Waldorf education. Her daughter is in the school now. She gave me me a hug which warmed me over. It's not every day that someone actually tells you how grateful they are. It felt so good to hear those words from her and to know that just something I said had affected her life. We don't always think about how our words can change someone's life.

Every night at dinner we sing a blessing and then go around the table and share with each other one thing we are grateful for.  Some of our answer are silly like "hot dogs and Tatar tots". Others are very serious such as being grateful that my mother's cancer is now in remission. Keiran who is five years old sometimes comes out with some very deep answers like "I'm grateful for my spirit" or "I'm grateful for my heart". Sometimes David looks at me and tells me he's "grateful for the soul I bring to our family" which of course leaves me a bit tearful. He's always been such the romantic.

I haven't done this lately but I started a habit last spring of waking up and saying all the things I was grateful for. Daily I would add that I'm grateful for my family and for the love we all have each other. Usually toilet paper made the list too. I mean who isn't grateful for that?

Sometimes it is hard to be content where we are in life. Many of us in blogland have huge dreams and we can find ourselves being restless while chasing those dreams. As I have shared in the past, I often dream very big and can find myself frustrated that I am not reaching those dreams quick enough. I am working on living in the moment rather than wishing for Friday night to come quicker (although Fridays mean a lot more to me now that Moonlight is on...that man is so hot...let's just say my grateful list will include Alex O'Loughlin tomorrow morning) or wishing for next summer when we are on vacation. I want to enjoy each minute and then be grateful for what I experience in that minute.

I am not sure how memes are started but I'm going to try and start one. I would like you to list five things you are grateful for in your life. They can be silly or serious or just simple and heart felt. Imagine what the world would be like if we all could be a little more grateful for the small things.  I am going to tag Sandy, Rebekka, Elizabeth, Eren and Blair.

Autumn Treat

You are probably quite familiar with the fact that I'm pretty much obsessed with Everyday Food magazine. Each Sunday after a breakfast of gluten free pancakes with warm maple syrup, I sit down at my 50's Formica table with a calendar, The Everyday Food Cookbook and the latest copy of Everyday Food Magazine. I create a menu for the dinners of the week with plans to shop on Wednesday afternoon. This is the one afternoon Keiran gets out of school at 1pm. For a five year old, he is wonderful company for a grocery shopping trip. He chats nonstop about anything and everything and keeps me entertained as I'm pushing the cart around the store, sipping on my latte.

I try to choose meals that include vegetables from the garden, especially as we are heading towards the first frost of the year. I used to have a system such as Rice for Monday, Soup for Tuesday, Beef for Wednesday but I left that model when I discovered EDF (Everyday Food). The menu just seems to fall into a balanced week of meals without much thought.

The cover is a bit of a tease for me since I don't think any product gluten free can replicate filo pastry. But maybe a biscuit style topping could work.

I was inspired by her meat loaf recipe for Monday (see cover), especially since we just purchased a half a cow for the freezer. I must admit that eating a healthy organic diet is very hard for a thrifty person. I still have memories of reading Amy Dacyczyn's book "The Tightwad Gazette" with suggestions to buy unmarked cans for 5 cents at a canned food store.

I followed Amy's frugal ideas even to the point where I froze my little toes in the winter trying to save money on my electric bill. I did have a wood stove which helped warm my cozy living room but I recall going to sleep many nights chilled to the bone in my icy bedroom. But it was worth it to my old frugal self to boast about an $18.50 electric bill in the heart of winter.

Food wise I have to be more creative when it comes to eating and being frugal. I still shop at the Grocery Outlet which is conveniently next to a Valley Village of course. They consistently have very low priced organic and natural food. You have to put your detective hat on and search them out but you will find some. We also buy lots of food in bulk. Our beef came from Mountain Beef and was delivered this last Sunday to the island. Our freezer is currently overflowing with beef, berries from the summer and lots of Ben & Jerry's. I'm feeling more and more prepared for winter as we get further into October. Sometimes I feel like I am nesting each fall, preparing the pantry to get us through the wet and cold winter ahead. One of my goals in the next few years is to build a Root Cellar in a small corner of our basement for even better food storage.

My favorite part of creating the weekly menu is to see what food we actually have in our pantry. It takes some initial investment to buy in bulk, but I figure that any trip I don't have to take to the supermarket, saves me a lot of money. I'm a terribly shopper when it comes to seeing food on the shelves that look tasty. I used to go in to just buy milk and all the sudden I'm buying lemon raspberry sauce for ice-cream, the current issue of some enticing magazine and as always an avocado.

I love food, crave flavors and miss so many foods that I can not ever eat again. When I saw the Caramel popcorn recipe, my mother watered with longing and I had to make it. What's not to love about butter, popcorn, brown sugar and salt?

The flavors were delectable and I think I discovered a new family tradition. All from a little tiny magazine full of recipes. Heavenly sigh....

Fall

Why does fall arrive and time speeds up to an almost hectic and chaotic pace? I feel like I have been chasing my tail for the last few weeks and I'm starting to get plum worn out and it's only the beginning of October. My latest task has been preparing for my first Thrift Girl workshop. If you are in the Seattle area and want to take a ferry across the water, it would be lovely to meet some local bloggers. I'm also considering trying a teleconference in January. What do you think?

I'm looking for more Ask Thrift Girl questions to use on my website. Does anyone have a burning thrifty question? I'd love to get some new questions and answers to spice things up a bit.

Elfin the puppy is doing great. Thanks for all your lovely and sweet comments about him. I think after having him for three weeks we are down to a good routine. It's wonderful to kind of have a new baby in the house but one you can put out the front door (in a fenced yard of course) when you are annoyed at him for chewing on your child's favorite Croc shoe.

A belated thrift find to share with you. My furniture buying tactic is to find pieces that I like and that are a price I find fitting. About 6 months ago, we found a desk for my daughter's room for $5.00 at a rummage sale. It was very small and built like an old fashion school desk. The surface was angled and the top lifted up for storage. But because it was angled, it was hard for her to use. When I'm out thrifting I don't always have a goal in mind for what I want to buy. I don't remember having been searching for a desk and yet when I came across this one, I knew it was the desk to replace her old (all of 6 months) one. I saw a woman looking at it but she made the mistake of moving on to another desk. There was a strange row of 4 desks lined up together. I pounced although slyly so she wouldn't notice too much and started looking in drawers as to silently stake my claim. After noticing the price of $45.00 I called the seller over and asked him in my latest negotiating tactic, "What's your lowest price?" This leaves it open for the seller to make their final price. I have never been comfortable with saying "Will you take $30.00 for it. I tend to feel it might be insulting as if I don't think the $45.00 is worth it. My new trick though has worked perfect for me in the last 2 months. If the seller's new price isn't much better I usually can handle walking away. I would have paid $45.00 for this desk but I ideally wanted to pay less. The seller told me "$35.00" and I said I would take it. It was apparently made in the Midwest. I thought it looked very European, maybe Swedish antique pine. What I do know is that the piece is absolutely solid. Even the back is decorated like the side. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It has it's flaws such as missing handles and the top has been marked on. But my 7 year old will probably make it her own quickly with her own beeswax crayons. After reading Kit, the American Girl books she somehow talked me into lending her my antique typewriter for her desk. She's really enjoyed typing away and I must say it feels good to the soul to hear her upstairs plunking away at the keys.

The thrift yard sale season is dying up here in the Pacific Northwest. The cooler mornings and higher probability of rain has pretty much closed the outdoor season for thrifters. I think I welcome the change although it's only Monday. By Wednesday, I'll starting to get itchy feet and will look anxiously to the weekend to hit some sales.

In the Garden

I love how the British refer to their yard as their garden. It sounds quaint, whimsical and just kind of romantic. Spending time in the garden doesn't necessarily mean getting your hands in the dirt but just enjoying time outside relaxing on a vintage glider in the sun. Today was a lovely Autumn day with a tease of coolness in the morning brought in on a damp fog which burned away to a warm day by late afternoon. A day ideal to dress in layers. With both children in school I worked much of the morning at the computer. It is strange that I'm not alone any more in the house. Of course there is Dave in his basement office but on the main floor of the house it usually is just me. Sometimes Sydney our tortie will grace my presence by popping in to give me a warm meow and a flick of her tail before chasing a dust ball or seeking a warm windowsill in the sunshine elsewhere. I'm not used to her company and she'd rather do cat things than book things. Elffin on the other hand has enjoyed my company very much. He fell asleep under my computer chair and I couldn't move the chair with worry of rolling over him. He finally moved and found another spot to nap. He keeps running off with my slippers or gnawing on boxes lying about my office full of books. I feel like a newbie with a puppy not quite sure how to discipline him. We refer to the term gentle discipline with our children but how does one do that with a puppy? How do you teach a puppy not to eat your beloved Born boots by gently saying "no"? I've luckily had friends either give or loan me puppy books and I guess I need to hurry up and read them to answer some of my questions. He's grown far too quickly in the two weeks since he came to live with us. I feel like he has grown twice his size. Is that possible? He has settled down very well with us and now I can't imagine not having a dog in our home.

While I was taking a picture of a vintage quilt I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet for $2.00, he was keeping me company.

It is rather an odd quilt consisting of four very large squares all of different fabric. It's tied together with large yellow yarn.