Spring 2014 Consignment Sale

Today is the day I turn in our Spring 2014 Consignment Sale items.

My goals:
- To tag at least 50 items
- To make $100+

How did I do?
- I tagged 95 items!!
- We will have to see on the $100+

I learned a lot from the fall sale - Pre Sale Post and Post Sale Wrap-Up

This time I tagged everything in under 2.5 hours!
I made sure to tag all toys and shoes first as they sell really well.
Then I tagged all items $5 or more since I will make the most money off of them.
Lastly, I tagged my less expensive items.

I started tagging on Friday figuring if something came up I would have the weekend to work on it as well. However, a rainy day meant that I was able to get everything tagged Friday afternoon. Annabeth helped by "organizing" items for me.

Our 24 months and 18 months stacks! 

Our whole tote packed and ready to go! :)

I will update after the sale with what sold well, what didn't, and how much I made.

Frugal Friday 32

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- While traveling we stopped at Bob Evans for dinner. We used a coupon to get Annabeth's meal for free! Saved: $3.00

- We had friends stay the night this week. Often we meet these friends for lunch at Panera Bread but to save money (and sanity with two little ones) I found a Panera Bread Macaroni and Cheese recipe online. I won't say that it was exactly the same but it was very good. Even with the fruit and veggies we added to the meal we were all able to eat for around $8 - much less than eating out!

- I was able to purchase some very sweet spring items from a friend for Annabeth. I was able to get 10 pieces (including American Girl and Talbots Kids brands among others) for $20. We love buying used and we love helping out friends!

One of the many cute outfits we got!

Annabeth loved the hat that came with this one!

- I used up the last of my birthday Starbucks giftcards on a treat drink. Saved: $2.98

- I was able to sell two shirts on facebook. Made: $10

What have you been doing to save money this week?
Are you ready for spring? I know we are!

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"

Homeschool Spring Break!

Woohoo! Spring Break!!

We have been going strong with homeschool since the first full week of January and like all students and teachers we needed a spring break this week!

We are still doing our morning lesson of prayer time, ABC, letter of the week, and letter/counting review. I moved The Lord's Prayer and Bible Time from the afternoon to the mornings for this week so we can take every afternoon off school.

You  may remember that in January I made some homeschool goals for the semester.
Where are we now?
- Annabeth can count from 1-15
- She can read her letters A-S
- She can read a few numbers (2,4,6)
- She can tell the difference between numbers and letters if looking at a page

Although I had decided to take time off from some school this week, I still found myself spending 2 hours organizing supplies today. My best friend teaches Kindergarten and my Mama taught preschool - elementary and they have both given me a lot of supplies. I had organized some in January but brought a huge box home since then. Annabeth and I put in a lot of hard work today and are all organized!

Our two sets of drawers - all organized!

The left one is ABC/123 Books, coloring/art supplies, early readers, flashcards, and workbooks

The right one is preschool to 2nd grade workbooks/worksheets, games, and manipulatives

A close-up of the drawer labels

They are all characters from Little Red Riding Hood 

I thought this paper was so cute!

Annabeth did some sticker work while I organized 

Showing off her "Dada Kisses Picture" she made for Mark today 

Us Girls.

It may not be a sunny beach spring break picture

but it is a sunny schoolroom/sunroom picture and that makes me just as happy!

You may also enjoy: Why We Homeschool 

Four Generations of Lipstick Girls

A few weeks ago, I posted about Annabeth following a family tradition of being a Lipstick Girl.

This past weekend, we traveled to Evansville/Owensboro for my Mama's birthday. One of her birthday requests was to make a Four Generation Lipstick Girl picture.

Momaw, Annabeth, Mama, me, and Lu

Four Generations of Lipstick Girls.

Frugal Friday 31

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- We saved 15% on our grocery bill. Best deal: Special K Cereal Bars on sale for 2/$5.00. We had a mailed coupon for $1.50 off two boxes AND one of the boxes had an attached $1.00 off coupon. We were able to get one totally FREE!

- At our old house Annabeth had a very small room so we purchased a cheapie plastic three drawer dresser for her closet to store folded clothing. When we moved to the new house, I had visions of restoring an old piece of furniture. I wanted it to be white with pink pulls. We have spent months searching consignment stores, Goodwill, and garage sales and everything was either in very poor condition or far too expensive. Last weekend Mark and I had a date day and went antiquing. I turned a corner and there "it!" was! We did not want the bookshelf on the top so Mark was able to save us $25! We love buying used and local!

Annabeth's beautiful new dresser! We loved the claw-feet at the bottom!

- Every week I check Craigslist and our county's Garage Sale Facebook page for people searching for certain items. This week a lady was looking for a girl's crib set. We had already been discussing selling Annabeth's crib bumpers, dust ruffle, and mobile so I sold it to her. Made: $15

- Our sweet friends the Tames Family asked if we would like one of their train tables. We happily said "Yes!" because Annabeth has really enjoyed playing with train tables everywhere we have seen them. Thursday evening Brandi, Nat, and Wesley brought over the amazing table and a train! Free fun! Thank you Tames Family!

Our new train table. Feel free to come play with us! :)

Annabeth had to rush in from dance class to get back to her train.

She absolutely loves it. 

- In anticipation of getting the new train table, we took Annabeth to Target to get her first train. We had seen some neat magnetic-wooden ones on the website, however, I missed the note that said "Online Only." In the store, the only little trains were battery powered. So, Mark and Annabeth picked out a larger train made by Lego that she got to build. She had a lot of fun and thanks to a $20 giftcard FREE!

What a blessed week we have had!

Do you pass along old toys? Where do you sell toys your kids have outgrown?

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"

6 Year Anniversary (with my wedding ring)

St. Patrick's Day 2008. I spent the day shopping at Oxmoor Mall in Louisville and went in a jewelry store for the 1000th time since getting engaged the June before. I was "just looking." But then I saw IT. THE ring.

I tried it on. It fit perfectly. It looked perfect. I made a down payment.

That night I let Mark know that I had made the first payment on my wedding ring. We exchanged photos and sweet messages that night. The perfect way to spend a long-distance-St-Patrick's-Day with my German-Irish Mark Patrick.

Yesterday, my sister and I were shopping at Oxmoor at I realized the store is still there, in the same place. Naturally my ring and I had to take a photo to celebrate our 6 year anniversary.

I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and while this ring anniversary is special, I am looking forward to celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary in just two months!!

Frugal Friday 30

Happy Frugal Friday #30!

Here is what we did to save money/spend money wisely this week:

- Thursday evening Mark's parents invited us to spend Saturday at "Discover the Dinosaurs"  We were SO excited but I panicked because I ALWAYS want Annabeth to have themed outfits for every birthday, holiday, and event that we are part of. So, Friday morning we got up and got to work. We crafted a dinosaur shirt and matching bow all from items we had on hand.

- Mark and I have been on a mission to eat healthier and get into better shape. Combined we have lost more than 20 pounds this year. This past week we stepped it up by joining www.myfitnesspal.com. We have friends who have successfully used the app/online program for years and love it. We had talked about joining a gym or doing Weight Watchers but we love that this is FREE!

- Sarah and Bella came up for the day. One of my favorite consignment stores, Growing Spurts, has just moved to a new location so we went to check it out. I found an amazing tutu dress for Annabeth to wear this summer. Saved: $28.00

- A friend from high school was in from out of town. Instead of meeting at a restaurant for dinner, I made dinner at home. We had a casserole and mixed berries. It was nice to use things from our own fridge/freezer instead of going out and paying much more for dinner out.

- Annabeth and I enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather this past Tuesday. We spent the whole day outdoors: walking the neighborhood, digging in the dirt, playing with neighbors, and eating dinner outside. Free, wonderful fun.

What have you been doing to save money this week?

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"