Apparently all the heady freedom of back to school week has warped my perspective. After my brief appearance at work today I stopped by my favorite thrift store. I found a belt for X, one of those ubiquitous braided leather ones that has no actual holes so that will make things easier for him. Hadn't really considered the differences in belt technology before... I found a great pair of shoes for X - barely worn ankle boots. And for L I grabbed the Phillip Pullman trilogy for a whopping $5.40. I love reading novels to the kids. We'll be taking a break from Harry Potter.
It's kind of amusing to look back a year or two, and I remember being at a bookstore and dithering over whether-or-not to purchase those very books. I was so proud of myself for the restraint, at the time. Now I almost feel guilty for purchasing them second-hand, because they aren't exactly necessary. (But awesome! Still trying to decide if I should see The Golden Compass film...)
My honey-do list today included getting replacement hinges for the bathroom cabinets. At Ikea.
Ikea is new to our part of the world, but mythological proportions in the collective consciousness of 30-somethings from back East who thrive on cheap furnishings. When it opened here, it was mobbed for months. I'm not much of a crowd person, so I avoided it for quite some time. Today, it was almost pleasant, meandering and looking at all the cool designs and vivid colors.
Other than the hinges, I was charged with getting a garlic press for my friend Nina. But I didn't make it out of housewares unscathed... I have been missing my kitchen shears for some time, and the empty hole in the knife block mocks me as I still reach for them almost daily. At $1.99, I doubt these will do much more than fill the void. But I bought them anyways. So there.
I wandered through the children's section and picked out a couple of small stuffed mice (one white, one grey) , $1.49 each. For absolutely no good reason. The kids loved them and treated us to a puppet show this evening. X named his Ruffles and L has yet to decide. Stay tuned.
After wandering the huge expanse of Ikea in my dress-up heels, I had some wicked blisters. By the time I made it to Returns, I was no longer in a great, expansive shopping mood. The line was long and my blood sugar low. Not a good combination.
The earnest "co-worker" in the unfortunate yellow polo was very sweet - looked at the hinge, vanished briefly, and returned with two replacement ones free of charge. Huh. Didn't see that coming. But it's Ikea, which is the Swedish version of Walmart, and it's easy to overindulge.
I limited myself to one cinnamon roll for the drive home. Mission accomplished.
Showing posts with label thrifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thrifting. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Big kids and little stuff
We live vicariously through our children, wanting to give them opportunities we weren't able to have. We try to direct them to things that interest us, in the hopes of having a shared hobby we can indulge in, together. Or, less flattering but more accurate, I just really like toys and am glad the kids are an excuse to have them around. Kind of like seeing a Disney movie in the theatre; you feel a tad creepy unless you are accessorized by pint-sized persons.
My downfall: miniatures.
I remember getting a zillion catalogs when I was little, and some of them were entirely dedicated to dollhouses and furniture. I remember turning the pages and looking at the pictures for hours, home decorating for tiny, nonexistant people. I didn't have a "real" doll house, other than a Weebles Tree Home I got long after it was developmentally appropriate, and some townhouse for Barbies that never amounted to more than a storage case with aspirations. So when my daughter was able to score a dollhouse made by my friend Sheila's dad, it was pretty gratifying. I even built another dollhouse from a kit, although it still needs trim and paint. But they are all mere vessels to holding all sorts of clever, tiny furniture and accessories.
What is it about things in the miniature scale? They are known to bring about shrieks and exclamations and words I rarely say, like "Darling!" I'm pretty opposed to crappy plastic toys as a rule, but if it's a teeny-tiny crappy plastic toy, it gets a pass... Storage issues are usually not a problem, and they have an added bonus of being small enough to get easily lost.
At the Salvation Army I picked up a Barbie dress set and the coolest popcorn set, complete with bowl, popper (with crank to produce lifelike popping noise and motion), and a 6 pack of diet soda. I couldn't NOT buy it; it didn't even occur to me. It was a buck. My daughter loves it; I came home last night to find a teeny little 6-pack ring carelessly discarded, capable of strangling miniature seabirds, and the dollhouse scattered with empties. Like Barbie on a bender. It was awesome.
Last fall I had purchased four super cool rooms of doll furniture and the Loving Family dolls they had at SA, and wrapped it all up for Christmas. Both kids play with it, for hours. It's much better now that I moved it up into their room (from our icky basement) and set it up in the sunniest window. Imagine, quiet play. It's a beautiful thing.
I guess I'm fairly unrepentant about shopping yesterday, partly because of the cool stuff. I must admit this year would be a lot harder if I didn't have the option of shopping at the Salvation Army basement of Cool and Random Bargains. Although, most thrift stores do have new items and closeouts from major retailers. If I was hard core, I'd have to say I could only buy reused items from thrift stores. I'm not capable; I don't have that kind of restraint. Especially if the stuff is little, and cheap, not to mention darling! Lest you think this is purely a girly thing, I must admit hours spent on Ebay finding an awful lot of vintage MicroMachine playsets and cars for my son. Even the cool firetruck that opens up into a city with parking ramp, collapsing bridge, and factory on fire still elicits an "Awww!" from me. By definition, though, I don't consider this a BIG problem. Nope.
In the interest of full disclosure, I spent $36.61 total yesterday at the Salvation Army. A pair of gloves for me, a pair of pj's for X, and a bunch of school supplies - hoping I can minimize the buying binge come Sept. I also scored three Klutz Press books/kits for $4 each, two for a niece that I spaced on her birthday, and one to put aside for to Christmas. And a Hotwheels scooter for X. This is borderline child abuse, as the scooter is really cool, but there is still snow on the sidewalks...
I did have a lot more in my cart at one point, and had seriously considered buying the 1/2 size air hockey table ($65!!!) but calmer minds did prevail, and I put back several toy vehicles, pillows, placemats and shirts. I know I sound like I'm rationalizing my behavior, which I am, so... there! It's what happens when my inner child takes my actual child shopping.
My downfall: miniatures.
I remember getting a zillion catalogs when I was little, and some of them were entirely dedicated to dollhouses and furniture. I remember turning the pages and looking at the pictures for hours, home decorating for tiny, nonexistant people. I didn't have a "real" doll house, other than a Weebles Tree Home I got long after it was developmentally appropriate, and some townhouse for Barbies that never amounted to more than a storage case with aspirations. So when my daughter was able to score a dollhouse made by my friend Sheila's dad, it was pretty gratifying. I even built another dollhouse from a kit, although it still needs trim and paint. But they are all mere vessels to holding all sorts of clever, tiny furniture and accessories.
What is it about things in the miniature scale? They are known to bring about shrieks and exclamations and words I rarely say, like "Darling!" I'm pretty opposed to crappy plastic toys as a rule, but if it's a teeny-tiny crappy plastic toy, it gets a pass... Storage issues are usually not a problem, and they have an added bonus of being small enough to get easily lost.
At the Salvation Army I picked up a Barbie dress set and the coolest popcorn set, complete with bowl, popper (with crank to produce lifelike popping noise and motion), and a 6 pack of diet soda. I couldn't NOT buy it; it didn't even occur to me. It was a buck. My daughter loves it; I came home last night to find a teeny little 6-pack ring carelessly discarded, capable of strangling miniature seabirds, and the dollhouse scattered with empties. Like Barbie on a bender. It was awesome.
Last fall I had purchased four super cool rooms of doll furniture and the Loving Family dolls they had at SA, and wrapped it all up for Christmas. Both kids play with it, for hours. It's much better now that I moved it up into their room (from our icky basement) and set it up in the sunniest window. Imagine, quiet play. It's a beautiful thing.
I guess I'm fairly unrepentant about shopping yesterday, partly because of the cool stuff. I must admit this year would be a lot harder if I didn't have the option of shopping at the Salvation Army basement of Cool and Random Bargains. Although, most thrift stores do have new items and closeouts from major retailers. If I was hard core, I'd have to say I could only buy reused items from thrift stores. I'm not capable; I don't have that kind of restraint. Especially if the stuff is little, and cheap, not to mention darling! Lest you think this is purely a girly thing, I must admit hours spent on Ebay finding an awful lot of vintage MicroMachine playsets and cars for my son. Even the cool firetruck that opens up into a city with parking ramp, collapsing bridge, and factory on fire still elicits an "Awww!" from me. By definition, though, I don't consider this a BIG problem. Nope.
In the interest of full disclosure, I spent $36.61 total yesterday at the Salvation Army. A pair of gloves for me, a pair of pj's for X, and a bunch of school supplies - hoping I can minimize the buying binge come Sept. I also scored three Klutz Press books/kits for $4 each, two for a niece that I spaced on her birthday, and one to put aside for to Christmas. And a Hotwheels scooter for X. This is borderline child abuse, as the scooter is really cool, but there is still snow on the sidewalks...
I did have a lot more in my cart at one point, and had seriously considered buying the 1/2 size air hockey table ($65!!!) but calmer minds did prevail, and I put back several toy vehicles, pillows, placemats and shirts. I know I sound like I'm rationalizing my behavior, which I am, so... there! It's what happens when my inner child takes my actual child shopping.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Putting the FUN in fundraising
I have two fundraisers today, one for each kid's school. Both offer an opportunity to dress up. At the kids' disco, yours truly gets to don the awesome Hello Kitty suit, complete with oversized head, girly-girl shoes. Tonight the St. Mark's gala has a pirate theme, so I'd been on a mission to accessorize accordingly.
It's taken several visits to thrift stores but yesterday I was able to score skeleton earrings, a piece of fabric for a sash, and the all-important parrot. I was able to stitch together some cool fabric for a headscarf, borrow a cutlass, and make some hoop earrings and a necklace of gaudy beads. Because we know that pirates are all about the bling... I felt pretty good about my outfit. I had given it some thought, managed to procur it only by borrowing and thrifting, and it was on the fine line between semi-slutty and fun. Until I tried it on.
Ah, well. I have a lovely, reversible bustier from my days of Renaissance Fest and Morris Men. It was to complete the look. Apparently I've been in denial about a.) how long ago were those erstwhile days and b.) how much poundage I'd acquired since then. Nothing like a body-image bitch slap to bring you to reality. Perhaps if I had much longer laces and a maidservant to wrestle me in - and didn't have that pesky need to breathe - I could have pulled it off. So I've had to develop plan B (more like DDD) and it's ...okay. Provided the lighting is dim, I remain standing at all times, and much wine is involved, I'll probably look pretty good.
Back to the main point of today: fundraising. That's a touchy subject in the world of voluntary simplicity. If we're cutting back and have more money, we should be able to honor or exceed our usual charitable giving. But we're in a cash crunch right now. We're still reeling a bit from our Florida trip, and have had a bunch of expenses come due simultaneously - seminars, registration for school, car insurance, credit cards. And the visit to the tax man wasn't exactly reassuring.
The kids disco isn't too much of a challenge - I bought a bunch of tickets to give away, but everyone seems to be busy! And we can spend some reasonable amount on snacks, face painting, and the all-important photo op with - ahem! - Hello Kitty. These are all experiences vs. stuff, and basically affordable. Bob is providing the sound system and music, and the kids are really looking forward to dancing and seeing their friends.
The tough part will come with the Gala tonite, and the silent auction. The catalog is filled with many tempting items that probably won't be cheap. There are a few experiences (gift certificates, tickets, etc.) and we'll try to focus on those. I have the impression that we're not the only ones cutting back this year, and I worry about how well the fundraiser will turn out. I'll sit down with Bob today and come up with a budget and some parameters. Of course the last time I tried that, I had a few too many martinis and didn't realize how many things I was bidding on and didn't I just "win" them all ! The gift certificates are still here, but now they've expired.
Aaaarrrrgh. Them's the breaks, matey!
It's taken several visits to thrift stores but yesterday I was able to score skeleton earrings, a piece of fabric for a sash, and the all-important parrot. I was able to stitch together some cool fabric for a headscarf, borrow a cutlass, and make some hoop earrings and a necklace of gaudy beads. Because we know that pirates are all about the bling... I felt pretty good about my outfit. I had given it some thought, managed to procur it only by borrowing and thrifting, and it was on the fine line between semi-slutty and fun. Until I tried it on.
Ah, well. I have a lovely, reversible bustier from my days of Renaissance Fest and Morris Men. It was to complete the look. Apparently I've been in denial about a.) how long ago were those erstwhile days and b.) how much poundage I'd acquired since then. Nothing like a body-image bitch slap to bring you to reality. Perhaps if I had much longer laces and a maidservant to wrestle me in - and didn't have that pesky need to breathe - I could have pulled it off. So I've had to develop plan B (more like DDD) and it's ...okay. Provided the lighting is dim, I remain standing at all times, and much wine is involved, I'll probably look pretty good.
Back to the main point of today: fundraising. That's a touchy subject in the world of voluntary simplicity. If we're cutting back and have more money, we should be able to honor or exceed our usual charitable giving. But we're in a cash crunch right now. We're still reeling a bit from our Florida trip, and have had a bunch of expenses come due simultaneously - seminars, registration for school, car insurance, credit cards. And the visit to the tax man wasn't exactly reassuring.
The kids disco isn't too much of a challenge - I bought a bunch of tickets to give away, but everyone seems to be busy! And we can spend some reasonable amount on snacks, face painting, and the all-important photo op with - ahem! - Hello Kitty. These are all experiences vs. stuff, and basically affordable. Bob is providing the sound system and music, and the kids are really looking forward to dancing and seeing their friends.
The tough part will come with the Gala tonite, and the silent auction. The catalog is filled with many tempting items that probably won't be cheap. There are a few experiences (gift certificates, tickets, etc.) and we'll try to focus on those. I have the impression that we're not the only ones cutting back this year, and I worry about how well the fundraiser will turn out. I'll sit down with Bob today and come up with a budget and some parameters. Of course the last time I tried that, I had a few too many martinis and didn't realize how many things I was bidding on and didn't I just "win" them all ! The gift certificates are still here, but now they've expired.
Aaaarrrrgh. Them's the breaks, matey!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Great job purging! Now let's binge!
Friday I wandered the aisles of the Salvation Army Store downtown. An upside of the downturn: they've inherited decent store fixtures, so everything is fairly neat and orderly. Too many clothes to go through, which is fine. A bit of disincentive is a good thing. They had lots of games , toys, shoes, etc. which was impressive for a Friday. (They generally have the new stuff out on Mondays and Tuesdays (you didn't hear it from me.) I picked up a couple of pairs of kids mittens, but didn't find anything else that met the new standards of need vs. want. And I had little or no cash with me, and they have a minimum for credit card sales, so I left with nothing. Nada. It wasn't as elating as I'd thought; for some reason it made me a little depressed looking at all the stuff, the assorted detritus of imagined needs and insatiable wants. Apparently it was enough to make me wax poetic. Sorry 'bout that.
Much of my weekend was spent mercilessly culling possessions - and it felt good. I rearranged the kids' room. I got rid of over half of my clothes, 4 crates of books, and assorted junk. The kids clothing will go to a swap my church is having on March 1st. Some books were donated, others will enter the stream of borrow/lend at our local coffee shop. I keep hoping that with less stuff to keep organized, day to day life will be a little easier. It's rather gratifying.
Today X and I did a few errands, then went to a neighborhood playdate. For some reason he wasn't into it, and we didn't last long. We swung by the Social Security office but the line was too long. I just need a replacement card, not to wait for an hour with a squirmy preschooler in a crowded office. Since we were downtown anyways... And since L has a birthday this week... And X wanted to help pick out a birthday present...
Insert your favorite justification here:
So back to the Salvation Army, although were supposed to stay upstairs in the secondhand store part. (Downstairs has more samples and closeouts, so aren't exactly used, and it feels like a cop-out.) For $3, a nice dart board. A couple of movies, a buck each. For $2 a playground for Littlest Pet Shop creatures. And a frame for $2, so I can start displaying some of that amazing kid art, rather than letting it accumulate in piles that get unintentionally ruined/recycled. But I draw the line at used stuffed toys, and we were in search of puppies although we'd rather have a real one...
Two cuddly dogs, $2 each. Two mini car sets, $2 each. A fully poseable horseback riding doll for a friend's stable, $3. A magnetic toy set for the preschool, $5. You should sense a theme... Such a bargain! I like to buy for others. But mostly I just like to buy. Admitting it is half the battle; I guess the rest of it is simply blogworthy.
I'm waiting for the guilt to kick in.
Much of my weekend was spent mercilessly culling possessions - and it felt good. I rearranged the kids' room. I got rid of over half of my clothes, 4 crates of books, and assorted junk. The kids clothing will go to a swap my church is having on March 1st. Some books were donated, others will enter the stream of borrow/lend at our local coffee shop. I keep hoping that with less stuff to keep organized, day to day life will be a little easier. It's rather gratifying.
Today X and I did a few errands, then went to a neighborhood playdate. For some reason he wasn't into it, and we didn't last long. We swung by the Social Security office but the line was too long. I just need a replacement card, not to wait for an hour with a squirmy preschooler in a crowded office. Since we were downtown anyways... And since L has a birthday this week... And X wanted to help pick out a birthday present...
Insert your favorite justification here:
So back to the Salvation Army, although were supposed to stay upstairs in the secondhand store part. (Downstairs has more samples and closeouts, so aren't exactly used, and it feels like a cop-out.) For $3, a nice dart board. A couple of movies, a buck each. For $2 a playground for Littlest Pet Shop creatures. And a frame for $2, so I can start displaying some of that amazing kid art, rather than letting it accumulate in piles that get unintentionally ruined/recycled. But I draw the line at used stuffed toys, and we were in search of puppies although we'd rather have a real one...
Two cuddly dogs, $2 each. Two mini car sets, $2 each. A fully poseable horseback riding doll for a friend's stable, $3. A magnetic toy set for the preschool, $5. You should sense a theme... Such a bargain! I like to buy for others. But mostly I just like to buy. Admitting it is half the battle; I guess the rest of it is simply blogworthy.
I'm waiting for the guilt to kick in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
