"Springed Up" Clearance Find

"Springed up"? I guess that probably isn't a real term, huh? Would it sound better if I said "Made Springy"? Or perhaps I should say "Brought spring-like features thereto"? 

Nah, I'll stick with SPRINGED UP! :)

Whatever you want to call it, that is what I did to a recent clearance find. Sit back and let me tell you all about it... :)

A couple of weeks ago I got the chance to swing by TJ Maxx. I was on the search for a fun new purse for the spring/summer. Mind you, I'm not one of those women that has loads of purses. You know the type - switches their purse out daily depending on their outfit, or the season, or the weather, or their plans or whatever. Maybe this is you. But, no, not me. I have one purse. ONE. It is black, leather and rather plain on the outside. But... it has lots of pockets inside to help organize all of my crap stuff. And I love it. LOVE, people. And I've used it every day for the past 3 years (give or take a year). Did I mention that I love it?

However, around Thanksgiving the straps finally started to give way and get all broken and crusty and worn. You know the look I'm talking about. Can we say "Ewwww?" So I headed out to Kohls and bought myself a new one for Christmas. But it didn't have all the same awesome pocketness of the old one. And for some reason I bought a RED one. Yes, red. Maybe I was caught up in the Christmas spirit, but seriously, RED?? For me?? Well, needless to say... it sat on one of our extra dining room chairs for about a month (with the tags still on) while I tried to convince myself to actually succumb to the change.

And it sat... and it sat...

Then in early February I cut off the tags in the hopes that would motivate me to make the changeover. Um.. yeah... no. It continued to sit there on that dining room chair for another month. {Note to self... it's time to host another dinner party}. But the damn straps of my beloved purse got worse and worse and I finally decided I just HAD to bite the bullet and make the change. But as much as I did KINDA like that "new" one, I just couldn't start using a dark red purse at the beginning of spring! Surely a fashion faux-pas!

{ok, yeah, maybe it was an ounce of denial}

So... {as mentioned way too long ago at the beginning of this post - wow, longest sidetrack EVER!}... I headed out to TJ Maxx a couple of weeks ago in search of a new purse.  And while I was there...

I wandered over to the clearance section and spotted this pretty thing...

Love the details on this tall pitcher!

I love the details of it - the texture of the handle, the rim and around the middle. They all add so much character to this plain, white, Ralph Lauren pitcher. And it is big - over 8" tall! But the best part...

Only $10!!

SCORE!! Only $10 for this beauty!! This was the second markdown so really a nice bargain. I snatched it up quickly and headed to the checkout (along with my new purse ;).

I immediately added it to my Spring-decorated mantle when I got home, but I have been thinking that it needed something more (despite all of its fabulous details). So today (while home with a strep-throat-laden SweetPea), I broke out my Silhouette SD and some vinyl and "spring-ified" it.

All "Springed Up"

What do you think???? I LOOOOOVE the font of "bloom" but I'm not sure if I like how the flower looks with it. I like the idea of a flower there, but I think the image I chose may be too heavy with that font. Perhaps something a little more delicate may look better? Then again, maybe the heavy flower adds some balance to the delicate letters. I'm just not sure... What do you think?

**EDIT - See my "Take 2" on this vase HERE



Linked up to these parties:
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Until Wednesday Calls

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This is through a website called "LivingSocial" (which is yet another one of those group discount sites). This is an amazing deal and if you ever shop on Amazon, I highly recommend taking advantage of it!! I sure did!!

Click HERE to get yours!

Score! at Target

Whenever I go to Target, I always make sure to go around the back endcaps. Why? That is where they put all the clearance items!! :)

Today, I came across 2 packs of toddler underpants for the Boogey. They were only marked down 30% but we were actually in the market for some new ones so I couldn't pass them up. Ended up being $15 for 20 pairs - not bad considering they are Hanes brand and Elmo designs. (And, yes, I realize it is pretty sad that I get excited about a good deal on underpants. Such is my life.)

But my REAL score was this...

A Black & Decker cordless screwdriver! With 9 different heads! And.... it's PINK! {Not that I am some sort of pink fanatic, but at least the Heela will be less likely to steal it!}

 And what makes it the best SCORE is this...

Yup! Less than $6 for this baby! 75% off !! Squuuuueeee! Love me a good bargain! There were quite a few of them - you may want to check your local Target to see if they have them there too.


(for the record, it looks like this same one is available at Lowes/Home Depot for about $11 - but only in orange - boooooring! ;).

Quick and Easy Teacher Gifts

My girls go to daycare - all day - every day. Needless to say, their teachers are saints! So we always try to give a nice little token of appreciation at the holidays. But, there are a lot of them and we just can't afford to do anything "big" when you have to multiply it by 8. (can you beleive some websites suggest one week's tuition?? Um, yeah, I don't think so!!!). So I try to think of frugal ideas every year that are thoughtful but won't break the bank.

Last year, I used coupons to score big Glade candles for $1 a piece. They were a huge hit, but were still nice to my pocketbook. ;)

This year, I happened upon some great aluminum water bottles on clearance at Michaels and scooped up a whole bunch of them. At only $1.50 a piece (50% off from $3), I thought they were a good deal. And I especially like the fact that they are "green". 

Shortly after I found the water bottles, I happened across these re-usable bags at Kohls - in the clearance section. They were marked down from $1.99 to only 79 cents! I grabbed every one they had. I really like the fact that they have snaps to hold them together when not in use.

The girls helped decide which teacher got which color bottle and SweetPea wrote each teacher's name on a circle we punched out of card stock and then taped to the bottom of the bottle.

 





Then we tucked the water bottle into a bag. Easy-peasy! :) I might tie a piece of ribbon to the top of the water bottle, but otherwise, we won't be wrapping them. I think they look fine just the way they are. :)

A Rainbow of gifts!

Not bad for less than $2.50 a piece total. And I am really pleased that it is a 100% "GREEN" gift!


What are some of your thrifty teacher gift ideas?

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

The other day I was able to make a quick run over to our local Habitat for Humanity Restore Store, "just to look" (or so I told the Heela). Truth is that when I had been there a couple of weeks ago, I had spotted a mirror that said "buy me!" but, alas, I passed on it. But... for 2 weeks it kept eating at me that I was supposed to have this mirror in my life. So... I finagled a trip over to the store "just to look" in the off-chance that the mirror would still be there.

When I walked in the door, the woman behind the counter told me to be sure to check out this weeks specials on the white board. Lo and behold, all "decor items" were 50% off. Decor included things like vases, dishes, pictures and... mirrors!! I told myself:

 "This must be a sign - this mirror and I are meant to be together!"

So I quickly made a bee-line to the mirror section, holding my breath the whole time. I could see that the pile of mirrors was much smaller than it had been 2 weeks prior and I had a sinking feeling that  ~MY~ mirror was probably gone by now.

But... it wasn't!!!

Holy canoli, spicy guacamole!

There it was, in the back of the pile... my beloved mirror. I checked the price tag and did some quick math in my head (see, being a CPA comes in handy all the time! hawhaw!).

Original price $45 --> sale price $22.50

Yeehaw! SOLD!

Let me tell you... this thing is SOLID! It is really heavy and well-built. It is HUGE, measuring 42 x 32 and s.o.l.i.d. wood. I kid you not when I say it weighs at least 50 pounds - no joke!! I think I am going to stain the frame a darker color to better match our bedroom furniture (since that is where this is going to go), but am still undecided if I'd rather just go the paint route. Isn't it great?

So hard to get a good pic of a mirror!

The back - all wood! And nicely wired

I like the subtle details of the frame

Thank you Mr. Jump!! (whoever you are!! :)

I also picked up this super cute, footed bowl - also on sale for 50% off --> so only $1!! I originally planned on painting it some color that would go better with our decor, but the yellow is kind of growing on me. Not to mention that I'm a little hesitant about painting ceramic. If you have any tips about how to paint ceramic without making it look... well... painted... please let me know!!

Aren't I cute??

Orig. Price $2 -- on sale for $1!! Score!

Don't you just love a good deal?? :)

Tot Swap!

Today was TOT SWAP day! 


(and, no, that doesn't mean you get to trade your tot in for a new one! LOL). 

Basically it is a huge consignment sale with clothes, toys, baby gear, etc. and it is held in my area twice a year - spring and fall. Each season, I am typically "good to go" with clothes for Boogey -- she gets lots of hand-me-downs from her big sis, plus I've got a really good "sharing" deal with a friend of mine whose daughter is sized in between my 2 girls.


But SweetPea is a different story. For starters, she's huge (read "tall") for her age -- she is not even 4 yet but needs size 5 clothes for length. Plus, I don't have anyone bigger/older than her to share with. (Well, that isn't entirely true... I have received a ton of stuff from my niece, but SweetPea won't fit in any of it until next winter). So, I basically need to buy an entire winter wardrobe for her each season. 

Enter.... TOT SWAP! I spent about 2 hours this morning sifting through the racks and racks of clothes and piles of books and toys...

(please pardon my crappy cell phone photos!)

And these photos only show about 1/2 of what they had!

 I ended up with:

12 long-sleeved shirts

8 pairs of pants

3 (2-piece) sweatsuits

2 pairs of pajamas

13 books

2 {super cute} mini rocking chairs

(Notice Milo in the upper left corner - he just had to get his cat hair all over everything as soon as it came in the house!)

Want to guess my cost for all that???

All told, it came to $97.52!!

Not too shabby!! If I break it all down into individual pieces, that works out to about $2 per item. Most of the clothes are either Gymboree or Children's Place so really not a bad deal. Plus they are all in realllllly good condition. Some barely look used (as many kids clothes can be).


Two of my favorite deals were:

Awesome fleece hoodie with matching sport-type pants - $4 for the set!!

This 2-piece set from Gymboree was only $5!!

And I just couldn't resist these mini wooden rocking chairs for only $2.

I initially planned on giving one to each kid to use with their Barbie dolls or small teddy bear or whatever, but I am now thinking I may need to paint one white and use it in my own decor... wouldn't it look cute on the mantle??

Look how {CUTE} I am! (and dusty! LOL)

All in all, not a bad deal for a winter wardrobe! She'll probably need a few more things, but overall I was quite pleased with my haul.

Patio Chair Score!

As mentioned in my post HERE, we scored ourselves a nice "new" patio table earlier this summer. And while the majority of the table could be serviced by the built-in bench on our deck, we still had room for 2 chairs on one side of the table. But being the cheapo frugal gal that I am, I didn't want to invest a ton of money in fancy patio chairs. So for about a month we made due with the plastic ones I bought years and years ago. 

To be honest, as far as plastic patio chairs, these ones are actually quite nice. Not your basic white shorties. But obviously not very ~classy~ either!

Then... Target had its summer gear clearance sale...

I headed over and sifted through all the mess that it had become in the hopes I might be able to find a couple of decent chairs. Well, by the time I got there, everything had been pretty picked over. They did have some nice looking wicker ones, but they wouldn't really work for our space. I mean, I really needed something that would work at a dining table -- not something designed for lounging around.

Then... suddenly... I spotted something...

 Hidden behind one of those big red Target wheelie bins (which was filled with small clearance items) I spied a BIG beat up box. It was a pair of cast aluminum, turning, tilting, rocking, suitable-for-dining chairs! And they even came with cushions!

(see Target Link HERE)

And they were marked down... 


wait for it...


 75% off!!


THe original price was $250 for the pair. I'll be totally honest and say that I would NEVER pay $250 for 2 patio chairs. (Hello, my name is Kyra and I'm a cheapo-aholic). But marked down to $62??? HECK YEAH!! 


I immediately called for a Target Associate and had them bring the box to the front of the store for me. And as soon as I got home, I set out to assemble them. Of course one of the assembly kits was missing some parts but a quick call to the manufacturer got a new one sent (FREE OF CHARGE :) within the week.

I am THRILLED with them! So comfortable and, as luck would have it, they match great with the color of the table! YAY! Not bad for $62 (for TWO motion chairs!)

Score! -- Leaning Bookcase

I've wanted to put some sort of shelving unit in our master bedroom (specifically on MY side ;) since we moved in. That way, I wouldn't have to cramp all of my crap treasures on top of my dresser. Unfortunately, there isn't much extra wall space in the room to have any sort of large bookcase. In fact, the only real space I have for something, is a nook less than 30" wide in between the wall and my dresser. Now, while I found plenty of pretty, tall and skinny bookcases... there was a problem.

Houston, we have a problem!

The problem is that there is a heating/AC vent... on the floor... right. in. that. corner. And since I obviously couldn't place anything on top of it, that ruled out nearly every one of my options. :(

BOOHOO

But then I thought.... why not get one of those leaning ladder-style bookshelves?? That would be nice and open on the bottom! So I searched the internet for one that was skinny enough to fit in the space but that didn't break the bank either. And even though I found a few that would work from a size perspective, the shipping on the darn things cost just as much as the item itself. Seriously???

So... as is pretty typical of me... I waited... and waited... and waited...

Until one day...

While perusing craigslist...

I found one! Local! Cheap! In the right size!

It was actually still brand new in the box and the seller was asking $40 for it -- even cheaper than any of those I'd seen online (without shipping). So I went out on a limb and offered $25 (knowing I would still pay $40 if she wouldn't budge) but... she accepted it!

~happy dance~

Apparently she had tried to sell it in a yard sale and had no takers, even though she had reduced the price from $40 to $35 during the day. I guess she just wanted it out of her living room by that point so she gladly accepted my $25 offer. Score for me!! :)

Here it is right after I assembled it and put a few things on it.

I need to spruce up all of my stuff a bit and go shopping in my house for a few more accessories, but not bad for a $25 brand-new shelf!

Grocery Shopping - saved 46%!

I usually go grocery shopping every weekend. Some weekends are a BIG shop while others are just the basics (milk, bread, produce). This past weekend, it was supposed to be a basics trip. Until... I saw THIS...

Well, who can pass up Double $1.00 coupons?? I mean, getting $2.00 off a product often means very cheap, if not FREE, items! Wahoo! So even though I've been dreadfully sick and felt like crapola, I sifted through my coupon pile, pulled out practically every $1.00 off coupon I could find and headed out.

I won't bore you with details, and I don't have a picture of my purchases, but I can show you this...

OOOOOHHHHHH, AAAAAAHHHHH, SQUUUUEEEEEE!

Love getting some good deals! Now you may be saying, "eh, yes, you saved $76 but you still spent 100 smackeroos". But keep in mind that I got some larger-priced (is that a word?) items. For example, 3 boxes of kitty litter, a bag of cat food AND an 18-pack of 'name brand' toilet paper. If you look closely, you'll see that I got 60 items for that $100.

For those of you who are mathematically challenged, that works out to $1.67 per item! Per item, people! Given that the total includes those big ticket items, that is pretty good if I do say so myself. Clearly, I got quite a few things for free. And it is a grand savings of 46%!! Not too shabby!

Of course I felt even worse by the time I got home, but it was worth it. I love getting a good deal. That is for sure! :)

I'm linking to the Cha-Ching Challenge!