Deals and Steals

Over the past week I got to take part in two of my favorite events. Another swap meet organized by my homeschool group and the semi-annual Boy Scout yard sale. This was the second swap our group has held. Our first was just a few months ago and all who participated were itching to do it again. Hubby was out of town so I had to bring Sport and Spice with me. It turned out to be a good thing. Sport honed in on a Lego Technic set before it even made it out the box and Spice fed her shoe fetish trying on every.single.pair. of shoes up for grabs before finally settling on a pair of cowgirl boots. I was very happy with the box of items I came home with and even happier that I got rid of a large Christmas tree and two other boxes of goodies. It seems most of us always have the same goal...to go home with less than we came with. I don't think anyone left disappointed, there's already whisperings of making this a quarterly event, and there was plenty of merchandise left to be handed over to charity at the end of the night.

Still flying high from my swap finds, I woke up early Saturday to be among the first on the scene for the scout's sale. It really doesn't matter when you arrive though. They haul out new merchandise all day long. I am convinced by the time they finally get all of the donations unloaded and out for display it's time to start packing up and calling it a day. It is a shining example of American consumerism and while on one hand it makes me sick to think of all the waste, the bargain hunter in me is thrilled! I spent almost two hours at the sale and made three different trips to the checkout table (don't tell Hubby) and still did not see it all. I try not to spend too much time thinking about what I might have missed. Instead, let's focus on the good stuff - the loot I brought home! I spent about 20 bucks and came home with all kinds of goodies. Here's a sampling of the merchandise:


This sale has become one of my favorite spots for picking up cheap homeschool supplies. Every time I go I walk away with a ton of goodies - books, games, fraction tiles, wrap-ups, manipulatives...you name it, I've found it. This time around I hit the jackpot when I came across a couple boxes of books that obviously came from a teacher. I found just about every book in Scholastic's If You Lived...series. We have been using these daily in our history studies this year. My kids love them. A few weeks ago I forked over $15 for a set of 5 from e-bay and was pleased at the deal. At the sale I paid 50 cents each. There were some duplicates and I plan on putting them on e-bay to recoup some of my "high dollar" investment.



I also scored several titles from the Childhood of Famous Americans series. We were introduced to these this year by a friend and Sport just devours them. I have to hide them to keep him from reading them all in one day.



I picked up 5 brand new red mini bread pans that still had the tags on them. I will use them for handing out baked goods at Christmas. I spied a green set just like it, but it just didn't have the same pizazz.



I love the detailing on this bill organizer. It looks like a nice wood in the picture, but it's actually plastic. I will probably paint it once I figure out where and how to use it.



I couldn't pass up this bucket of 27 ceramic eggs in muted shades of green, blue, beige, and cream. I'll use them in my new apothecary jars come spring.



I spotted this little cabinet right off the bat and couldn't make up my mind about it. When it was still there two hours later, I figured it was waiting for me to take it home. I hope to update it somehow and use it on one of our mantles. Not exactly sure what to do with it yet, but my mantle will be in holiday mode for awhile so I've got some time to figure it out.



Aren't these the cutest flannel sheets? I picked up 2 brand new matching sets for the kids and a red flannel set (also brand new) for Hubby and I. The red doesn't match anything, but I thought it would be a nice cozy touch for Christmas.



And finally...this funky mirror was a mere $3! I am going to paint it and hang it in Spice's room as soon as I figure out a color. I would love to do it in a vintage pink, but her room is already pink so I'll have to come up with something else. It's a dingy rosy pink shade right now so it needs a little updating.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I know this post is kind of long, but nothing fires me up like a good bargain, except maybe an LSU game!