After Easter Finds

I've always been a big believer in shopping 'out of season.'  As in, shopping for winter clothes in summer, summer clothes in winter, and buying holiday decorations after the holiday.  You can find some awesome deals that others pass up simply because they aren't in the mindset to buy because the holiday has passed.  Case in point: these 2 super cute Easter pictures!  I found these at TJ Maxx this weekend, sitting all lonely on the bottom shelf, just begging to be purchased.  They had originally been $19.99 (TJ Maxx price- I'm sure much more anywhere else), but I snagged them for $7.50 each!  I love them and I just know they will be super cute to decorate with....next year.  I don't have any problem buying them now, storing them, and then enjoying them later.  Plus, it will be a little surprise when I unpack them next spring!

 So cute!!!!

So, moral of the story: Don't be afraid to buy things out of season!  You will seriously not regret it the following year, plus you'll get to brag about how cheap your finds were! :)

Craftin' with Target Finds: Spring Wreath

I absolutely LOVE the $1 spot at Target!  I know there are millions of other women out there that love it too.  I can always find something, and I don't feel guilty buying it because it's only $1 or $3.  Yesterday I went to Target and they had just put out some new merchandise in this spot and I had a hey-day!  I must have made 3 or 4 circles around it to make sure I saw everything.  They had gotten in some really cute Easter items that I scooped up, and some awesome items to make a spring wreath with.  We've had some ugly winter weather and I'm dreaming of spring time, so what better way to lighten up the day then with a spring wreath?  What makes it even better is that it only cost me $8! 

Here is what I bought to make my wreath!

The grapevine wreath was $3, and everything else (burlap letter D, burlap ribbon, crocheted lace, burlap flowers- 2 pack with cute pearls in the middle- and 2 pack of pink burlap flowers) were only $1 each.

I played around with the layout a little bit before deciding on what I liked.

 I attempted to cover up the silver circle on the D from where the string had been hanging.  I decided just to leave the string because this looks silly.  :)

 

I used the burlap and crocheted lace to make a 'background' (for the lack of a better word).  Just a dab of hot glue secured the lace to the burlap. 

 

 It looks crooked but it's just because it isn't glued down yet.

  Then another dab of glue to secure it to the wreath. 

 It is well on it's way.

I readjusted the string on the letter D (our last name initial) so it would hang better. 

 I was going to add a bow, but I thought it looked too cluttered, so to hang it on our door I used the string from the letter D. 

 Just a dab of glue to secure the flowers and it is done!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the gorgeous teal/mint color of the wreath!  I think the burlap and touch of pink give it the 'just right' spring time feel.  It looks shabby chic too which I love!

The best part is that it only cost $8! 

I cannot wait for spring time to get here and it better bring some warmer weather quick!  Even if there is snow on the ground and it's below freezing outside, it can still look like spring inside! :)

$88 top for $2.98!

I love thrift store shopping and finding awesome deals, but what I love most is finding NEW items at thrift stores.  For example, this super cute top I found this past weekend at Value Thrift Store in Tulsa, OK. 

It is from White House Black Market.  I love that store but never buy anything because it's just a little too expensive.  This top was ticketed at $88 and had been marked down twice, once to $49.99, then to $29.99.  Well, lucky for me, it had also been marked down twice at the thrift store.  It started out at $9.98, then it was marked down to $4.98, but I purchased it for only $2.98!   WOW!

Now, it is not typical to find new items at thrift stores, but it is possible.  You just have to dig sometimes.  The Value Thrift Store in Tulsa is large, it took me about an hour and a half to look around.  What I love about this thrift store, besides it's size, is that they mark their items down.  I think once a week they go through and mark down everything before placing new items on the floor.  This not only helps the customer get even better deals, but they are able to have a good turnover on their inventory.  I really wish more thrift stores did this, because I think it keeps the customers returning more frequently because we know there will always be a change of inventory. 

I wish I could say I find good deals like this every time I shop in a thrift store, but unfortunately, I don't.  There are lots of times I walk out empty handed.  This probably happens to you also, but don't be discouraged, next time you might find a whole cart load of items! 

Happy New Year and Happy Hunting!

Christmas Crafts: $6 wreath

I've been getting crafty lately and I have some cute new projects to show off.  Here is the first one that I just completed today and it took literally 2 minutes (not counting the time it took for my hot glue gun to warm up).

The super simple, but extremely cute, welcome wreath only cost me $6 and like I said took no time at all to make!

All you will need is the welcome sign, a wreath, and a hot glue gun.  

 The welcome sign was only $1 at Deals.  They had some other cute decorations from $1-$5.

 

 The wreath was only $5!  They had gold and silver too at my local Deals store. 

 All I did was remove the ribbon from the sign (save it),  added a little hot glue to the back of the sign, and then stuck it on the wreath.

I used the ribbon from the sign to hang the wreath from my door hanger.  Easy as pie and super cheap! 

I urge you to check out your local Deals or Dollar Tree or whatever your 'Dollar Store' is called.  They have super cute decorations! I have some other cute projects I made using dollar store items, check back for those posts soon!

Thrift Store Finds- June 17

I love it when you find unexpected treasures at thrift stores.  I went to a couple today looking for a treasure chest (I have a feeling it's going to take a miracle to find one) for a baby shower I am hosting.  I ended up finding this gem out of the blue.  Best part- it was only $5!  They are usually at least $15-$30 at flea markets/antique stores and even more than that if they are decorated. 

I already have two old windows but I'm always looking for more.  This one has (ugly) paint on it, but I was able to scrap some of it off with my nail in the store so I knew it would come off easy.  My plan is to take the paint off and either use it to hold pictures like the other two windows I have or maybe hang it outside on my back porch.  I've been itching to fix up my back porch but I've got to be able to find the right pieces at the right price. :)

 

Then I found this cute little pitcher.  I've looked at these for years and for whatever reason never talked myself into buying one.  I see them at flea markets and antique stores all the time for around $10-$15.  I even saw one at this same thrift store before for like $2 and didn't buy it.  But I'm kind of glad I waited because this one was only 75 cents!  Yay! 

I like going to thrift stores during the week because they are usually not as busy as on the weekend plus it's a great time for new merchandise to be out.  Also, thrift stores often do sales during the summer months.  I think a lot of thrift stores get more donations because people often have yard sales during the summer and donate what doesn't sale, or they spring clean and make donations.  Plus, if the kids are out of school for the summer I know some parents take that as an opprounity to have help cleaning out the house!  

I've seen several sales the past few weeks like buy one get one free on books; National Geographic magazines 10 for $1; records 10 for $1; buy one get one free on clear glass; 50% off TVs and furniture.  Be on the lookout for sales like this.  Also, be sure to 'like' or 'follow' any thrift stores in your area so you can see any sales or discounts they have going before you head out.

Also, heads up that Hobby Lobby has rows and rows of merchandise for 66% and 80% off!  There were some really neat items, that I didn't need, for just a few dollars.  Lots of glass items, canvas pictures, metal signs, mirrors, all sorts of little decorations.  Take your time because there were items spread throughout the store.  

Well, I'm off to work on my window.  Happy hunting! :)

Branson Finds

Hey Y'all!  I had such a great time shopping with my mom today that I had to come home and blog about it.  I haven't blogged about clothes lately because I've been trying to save my money for our upcoming vacation, but today my mom and I took a day trip up to Branson, MO and I found some good deals.

I always check out any coupons before I head up to Branson because they have an outlet mall (Tanger Outlet) and there are always coupons to use.  If you join the Tanger email list, they will send you coupons all the time and keep you up-to-date with sales and events.  I recently received an email with 2 coupons- one was for 20% off a single item, and the other was for 20% off your entire purchase!  Now, of course it was select stores and there were restrictions, but they came in handy for me.

I used the 20% off my entire purchase at Harry and David- if you haven't been to one, I highly recommend it!  They have yummy gourmet treats (truffles, popcorn, jellys, jams, dips, candy, chips...I could go on and on) and can be a little pricey, but you get what you pay for.  I don't think I've ever had anything from there that I didn't like.  I didn't spend much but I saved $2.58 using my coupon.  I would tell you what I got but it's a present so I can't. :)

I then used my 20% off one item at a kitchen store to purchase a potato cutter that my husband and I have been wanting since we keep making so many perfect french fries. :)  I saved $4 on it- awesome!

I tried to use the coupon again at the Gap Outlet to get my husband a shirt but a restriction Gap had was that it couldn't be used on clearance items- oh well.  The shirt was only $7.99 a deal anyways if you ask me.

I have said before that I always shop the clearance sections first, and I'm getting to the point that I almost don't even look at the other sections of the store.  Doing this helped me to find a couple cute clearance items at Belk, TJ Maxx, and New York and Company Outlet.

I think my best (and favorite) find of the day was the very last place we stopped in- a thrift store on the way out of town.  I ended up finding 2 pairs of Lucky Brand jeans- like new- honest-to-goodness don't look or feel like they've been worn for only $4 each!  I have a hard time finding jeans the right length because I'm so short and these were the perfect length and fit like a glove!  It was meant to be! :)

Actually, I got them just a bit cheaper than that because as I was checking out I had $11 worth of stuff (my mom was getting some capris) and the girl was nice enough to let me do the '$10 grab bag.'  What this thrift store does is amazing, you can fill a bag with clothes and it's $10.  Done deal.  No questions.  As much as you can fit in a bag apparently.  I had seen the signs but didn't know the program worked for everything.  So, that was awesome and saved me $1.  I kind of wished I would have looked around a little harder. :)  Now, did I need two pairs of jeans...not really, but at $4, I couldn't help myself!  Plus, you can always use a good pair of jeans, right?

Another awesome deal I found was, well it was actually last night, was this cute dress at, of all places, Dollar General.  It was originally $15 but was on sale for $10!  It is super cute (the colors don't show up right- it is a gorgeous mix of teal and purple- two of my favorites) and I had been thinking I wanted a cute Maxi dress to wear on our vacation.  This is perfect and the price was even better! They had a cute black and white one too, but it was a different brand and didn't fit right.

I'm so excited about my finds today.  I couldn't wait to share.  Now that I have a few new pieces I can hopefully wait until our vacation to buy anything else.  We'll see how that goes. :)

Oh, and here's a bonus for you.  There was a 20 foot tall Optimus Prime Transformer at the Ripley's Believe It or Not.  A nice man that worked there told us that they had to pour something like 2 feet of concrete into the ground below it just to hold it up.  It's also bolted to the building.  Also, it's made entirely of car parts!  It's only been there for about 2 weeks so I'm sure this summer it will be a must see for anyone in Branson.  

Here's hoping y'all find your own amazing items and even more amazing prices.

Dollar Store Deals

A couple days ago Money Talks News posted an article about the 15 best things to buy at dollar stores.  You can read the full article here.  I'm giving my opinion on the matter because I do love dollar stores but sometimes the deal isn't a good deal.

These are the 15 things they suggested purchasing because you get what you pay for and why pay more when you don't have to? 

1) Greeting cards- I totally agree with this!  Often the cards are only 50 cents!  If you are like most people after your birthday or whatever, you toss the cards (hopefully in the recycling bin!).  Why pay $5 or more for a card when it's going to get tossed anyway?  BTW: I'll keep cards if something sentimental is written in them because I like to go back and read them. :)

2) Party Supplies- along the lines of greeting cards- this stuff just gets tossed after the event so might as well only spend $1.  For parties I like to get solid color tablecloths/plates/utensils and then spend money on the centerpiece.  BUT make sure Wal-Mart isn't cheaper -if you are already there- WM has party supplies for 97 cents- yes of course it's only a couple pennies, but it could save you the gas to drive to the dollar store.

3) Gift bags/wrapping paper/gift boxes- Again along the lines of party supplies and greeting cards, this stuff is just going to get thrown away- so why spend a lot?  I am a firm believer in reusing gift bags so getting multiple uses out of a $1 bag is a great deal to me.  A lot of times there will be 2 for $1 plain bags that you can fancy up with stickers/stamps/tissue paper.

4) Seasonal decor- Yes!  Dollar stores always have cute little seasonal items- just beware that the items might not make it through more than 1 season of use- especially if the item is outside.  But for $1....you've got to weigh the odds.

5) Reading glasses- ????  I wear contacts so I'm no help here....but I will say I've bought sunglasses at the dollar store before and they have been cute and served the purpose.  I'd much rather loose a $1 pair of glasses in the lake or river than a $15 pair.

6)Hair accessories- My 10-year-old self is screaming YES!  When I was little my mom would give me $5 to spend on whatever I wanted in the dollar store and most of the time I ended up with $5 worth of hair stuff.  From hair elastics to clips to bobby pins there is always neat stuff to pick from especially for little girls.  Plus, at only $1 who cares if it gets lost (like it inevitably will)?

7) Pregnancy tests- I wouldn't know at this point in life but I will say I've heard this is true and they are supposed to work just like the more expensive ones do.

8) Vases and decorative bowls- If you want clear, small vases then definitely hit up a dollar store.  Just don't expect anything too fancy.  This stuff is great for crafting.

9 and 10) Mugs/glasses/dishware- First place?  Camping trip? Crafting idea?  Then yes!  For anything else, probably not.  Yes, they function but probably won't make it through too much wear and tear.  On a positive note if you need just one or two pieces it is great because you can buy single pieces.

11) Storage containers- YES!  Have you looked on Pinterest lately for organizing solutions?  I bet at least 80% suggest buying storage containers from dollar stores. They will have a range of sizes and you will be able to organize everything in your home!  (Almost!)

12) Picture frames- Ummmmm.....maybe....I've bought picture frames from the dollar store before and they do function- don't expect anything too fancy.  These are your basic frames- great for crafting because you'll probably want to paint them.  Also, you probably won't be able to find any sizes over 8x10.

13) Candy- $1- need I say more?

14) Socks- One word: NO.  Maybe I'm just particular about my feet, but no.

15) Dish towels/wash cloths- Yes, especially if you are just going to use them for cleaning.  You won't care about getting bleach on these towels.

Some things I think should be added to this list....
Cleaning supplies- if you aren't particular to certain scent- most work just as well as other brands.
Craft items- I've found some cute items to use in crafting and they almost all will have those little marbles to put in vases or to decorate with.
Candles- Need non-scented candles or just a lot of candles for decoration?  They will have them in a variety of sizes.
School supplies- pens/pencils/glue/stickers/poster board, etc.  They'll have it.
Bulk items- you can buy in bulk from their website and have it shipped to the store for free.

So, moral of the story: don't be afraid of the dollar store.  You can find some great deals and save some money and that's always a good thing!
Now, excuse me as this has made me want to go shopping at the dollar store! :)

Christmas returns = sweet deals

Ah, January, the month of returns.  I don't know that for sure, but it sure seems like it for me.  It never fails that something I buy someone for Christmas doesn't work out or something I have received doesn't work.  I don't think anyone likes to take returns back into stores because you always end up spending more money than what you return.  That is a trick that the store uses to their advantage.  Trust me!  I've spent my fair share of years working retail to know that stores know you will spend more in the store when you bring a return in.  How many times have you walked into a store just to make a return and end up making a purchase too?  See...it's a nasty little trick.  Well, I'm here to prove that this little trick isn't always a bad thing.

Case in point: My trip to Ross today to make a return.  Unfortunately, two tops my mom purchased for me for Christmas didn't work out.  I went back to Ross to return them and received an in-store credit for $21.78.  Now, I did what you aren't supposed to do to save money, I walked around the store 'just looking' and told myself the lie we all do, 'Well I do have money to spend and it's not really like I'm using my own cash because it was a return.'  Riiiiight.

I ended up in the clearance clothing section, because being the thrifty gal I am, I hit up the clearance section first (even in stores like Ross).  I found some awesome deals...like under $3 for pants!  I tried on a few pairs that were on clearance for $2.49!  Crazy right?  It was fate I tell you!  I also hit up the clearance dresses and found more awesome deals.  The store had a good selection of clearance items, but you had to dig a little.  I ended up returning two items and walking out with four.

This cute black and white dress has a few pops of lime green (how fun!) and it was only $4.99!  I also ended up with three pairs of black pants- a pair of black jeans for only $2.49!!!  A pair of black skinny legging type pants for only $5.49!  And a pair of black slacks for $10.99!  

I ended up only paying $4.46 out of my own pocket (half of that was for tax).  Pretty sweet if you ask me.  January is a good month for finding clearance items.  It's the time of the year when stores do mass markdowns after Christmas.  Also, it's a slow time for retail which means the stores are usually less crowded, a little cleaner, and in a transition period between winter and spring which equals goodies for you!    
So, I did end up spending money while making my return, but I think it was worth it.  2 tops VS. 3 pairs of pants and a dress?  I'll say this one evened out. :)

Thrift Store Back to School Sale

A local thrift store, The Samaritan Shop (one of my favs) has been advertising their 'Back to School Sale' with proceeds going towards school supplies and other needs for local students. Since I'm an educator and understand what it is like for a student to come to school on the first day with nothing, I decided I better go check it out. Also, of course, I was in it for the great deals. The store advertised lower prices on clothing and then mentioned 'new' merchandise.
Now, the area of Arkansas I live in is often known as 'Wal-Mart Country.' The Wal-Mart home offices are located here. So, we have a ton of venders in our area and these venders often sell their items at 'sample sales' they have at their own facilities. But lots of times they donate their items. Well, the 'new' items the thrift store advertised were beauty/bath items that were donated by local venders (I am assuming).
So, to state it simply, aside from some great clothing finds, I got a boat load of NEW bath items for nearly nothing.

Here is my loot. Let me explain my great finds and deals.

So, to start off on the left-
Remington brand flat iron for $10- retail $37.99. I saved $27.99.
Remington hot rollers- I paid $12- retail $20.99. I saved $8.99.
There were a lot of shampoos/conditioners/conditioning treatments/hair gels/etc. I got two different sets of shampoo/conditioners from the brand L'Oreal (which I never buy because it is a little too much to pay). At the thrift store they were only $2.00 x 4= $8.00. Retail- $23.88 (at least). I saved $15.88.
I also bought 3 bottles of deep conditioning treatments (one overnight, one for colored hair, and one for deep conditioning). I paid $7.00. Retail- $23.22. I saved $16.22.
L'Oreal mousse (one of those things I always want to buy but never seem to) I paid $1.00- retail $3.47- I saved $2.47.
Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Flat Iron Spray- I paid $3.00- Retail $8 (at least). I saved $5.
L'Oreal Collagen Micro-Pulse Total Eye Correction System (anti-wrinkle/dark circle/anti-bag/puffiness cream)- $2.50- Retail $18. I saved $15.50.
I also got Zest soap (20 pack) for $5.00. Toothbrush (2 packs) for 50 cents. Toothpaste (2 pack) $2.00. Loofahs $1.00 each. 625 count Q-Tips for $1.00.

I know it's a lot to take it...it might seem like a waste but it is all non-perishable items that can be stored. I know I don't need 2 bottles of shampoo and 2 bottles of conditioner right now, but I will need them and it will save me from needing to buy them in the next few months.
If you ever stumble upon items like this for such a great deal, grab them up! Especially bathroom items. These seem to be the things that you all-of-a-sudden run out of and can't really go without. Food deals are often perishable or about to expire and need to be used quickly, so tread lightly and smartly with items like that.
I'm excited to try out my new items (like the deep conditioners and under-eye cream). If you live in the Northwest Arkansas area, I highly recommend you stopping by this sale.
As always, happy hunting :)