When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was dress up. I remember one particular "bride's dress" that was made by draping a set of sheer curtains my mother was done with around my waist and over my head. There's something about dressing up that tickles most every kid.
With that in mind one year, I put together quite an ensemble for my young nieces. At a resale shop in our area, I found several fancy dresses, some white gloves, evening bags, high heels, and a couple of hats as well as some very cheap jewelry to assessorize the outfits. At the local K-Mart, I found two very inexpensive wigs--probably left over from Halloween. It all fit into one of those cardboard storage boxes you assemble.
They were delighted and played for quite a few years with those things. Alas, as all little girls do, they grew up and discovered their own fashion statements and put aside the childhood dress up fantasies.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Did you find a gift at a yard sale this year?
Hi friends.
Did you find a gift at a yard sale this year? There is still time to browse the sales.
A church in my area had a big group yard sale in their parking lot last week, and I was thrilled to buy 2 adorable picture frames that completely look brand new, with the original store price tags on the back.
Each one is decorated with blue flowers, one is white ceramic and made for a 3" x 3" photo size and one is faux distressed wood, for a 4" x 5" photo.
Someone I know is going to love receiving these, I hope, I hope.
The grand total price was $1 each.
Don't you just love a bargain?
Did you find a gift at a yard sale this year? There is still time to browse the sales.
A church in my area had a big group yard sale in their parking lot last week, and I was thrilled to buy 2 adorable picture frames that completely look brand new, with the original store price tags on the back.
Each one is decorated with blue flowers, one is white ceramic and made for a 3" x 3" photo size and one is faux distressed wood, for a 4" x 5" photo.
Someone I know is going to love receiving these, I hope, I hope.
The grand total price was $1 each.
Don't you just love a bargain?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Cleaning out the Fridge--Painful, but Worth It!
While I’m not the world’s best at cleaning out the fridge, I do manage to get the task done pretty quickly, which in my book is almost as good as doing it well.
Consider these steps (add to or delete, as necessary):
1. Remove food, including jars and jugs. Toss old or expired food in the trash. Put food you can still use in a cooler while you finish the job.
2. Remove drawers/shelves if necessary. Wash and dry. Be careful to not heat up glass pieces too quickly or they may crack.
3. Wipe down the interior with mild soapy water. Move from top to bottom to catch spills and drips. Use a non-abrasive scrubber if needed.
4. Clean drawers and shelves you removed a few minutes ago.
5. Dry the interior—bins, walls and permanent shelves.
6. Replace food, wiping jars and other containers that may have drips on them.
7. Clean out the freezer. Toss expired or freezer-burned food.
8. Wipe down the outside.
A couple of seasonal reminders:
Check the drip pan.
Vacuum the refrigerator coils.
If you wipe up spills as they occur (and teach your lovable husband and children to do the same), the actual cleaning won’t be nearly as overwhelming.
The good part is, once this chore is done, you’ll have all kinds of room in your fridge; you can fill it with wonderful holiday goodies!
What hints and helps can you add to speed up the process or just plain do it better?
Consider these steps (add to or delete, as necessary):
1. Remove food, including jars and jugs. Toss old or expired food in the trash. Put food you can still use in a cooler while you finish the job.
2. Remove drawers/shelves if necessary. Wash and dry. Be careful to not heat up glass pieces too quickly or they may crack.
3. Wipe down the interior with mild soapy water. Move from top to bottom to catch spills and drips. Use a non-abrasive scrubber if needed.
4. Clean drawers and shelves you removed a few minutes ago.
5. Dry the interior—bins, walls and permanent shelves.
6. Replace food, wiping jars and other containers that may have drips on them.
7. Clean out the freezer. Toss expired or freezer-burned food.
8. Wipe down the outside.
A couple of seasonal reminders:
Check the drip pan.
Vacuum the refrigerator coils.
If you wipe up spills as they occur (and teach your lovable husband and children to do the same), the actual cleaning won’t be nearly as overwhelming.
The good part is, once this chore is done, you’ll have all kinds of room in your fridge; you can fill it with wonderful holiday goodies!
What hints and helps can you add to speed up the process or just plain do it better?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Please Pass the Puzzle by Brenda Nixon
We all want to give good gifts that please our recipients. I know m
y daughters love to work on puzzles. In fact, around our home we have a joke where we excitedly exclaim, "Let's play a rousing game of . . . puzzle."
y daughters love to work on puzzles. In fact, around our home we have a joke where we excitedly exclaim, "Let's play a rousing game of . . . puzzle."Seriously, this activity is therapeutic and builds your child's eye/hand coordination and spatial reasoning skills. It is a brain food for young minds. If you want to discover more about the benefits of puzzles see http://www.puzzlesplus.net/benefits.htm. And consider gifting your kids - or yourself - with a puzzle this Christmas.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
2nd Hand Gifting - By Trish Berg
This week we are talking about second hand gifts. Onw year I found a cashmere swetaer just my daughter's size at the Goodwill store. She wore that for over 2 years and loved it.
But the BEST 2md hand gift place is FREECYCLE.com. You can register for free, sigh up to the freecycle in your area, and you get updates as to what people wnat to get rid of or want. (Offer or Wanted)
We got a beautiful 2 story dollhouse for fREE last Christmas for our six year old.
We got a free loveseat that has become our favorite sitting spot in the WORLD.
And we have been able to give away the toys and clothes and household things we have outgrown.
It is the PERFECT place to shop...it's FOR FREE!!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Santa's Bargain Basement
We all searched either our memories or shopped this year looking for great deals and places to shop, so we could share with you.
My advice shop garage sales and locate the "sale" places in your favorite stores.
Last year, at a garage sale, I found a new (tags still attached) black velveteen dress, stretchy fabric and floor length. It's not something I'll wear often, but it's classic, and I'll probably have it on hand for many years. $1.00! That's all!
The other bit of advice is to locate the sale bins, racks or aisles at your favorite stores. Warning though, even if it's a bargain and it adds to you clutter, it's not a bargain. Make sure you only buy items you can use or items that someone else can really use.
I recently found a box of bargain, new costume jewelry (any piece for $3.00) at an antique store. I found out from the owner, that the pieces all had some minor flaw--some only had a slightly different color bead, etc. I bought five pieces, kept a few and will gift the others. The flaws are not noticeable. One was a beautiful multi-strand, iridescent garnet-colored neclace. It is really stunning and goes beautifully with my black velvet dress for the holidays.
I stripped the spare bedroom manequin of her spring attire and robed her in the holiday garb so you could see. The hat is from the bin of play clothes that my granddaughters get to play with at Grandma Cathy's house. Happy bargain shopping.
Do you know of any holiday bagain places to shop? Let us know? Or we're always looking for useful, one-of-a-kind gifts.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Cookie Baking Day
I am a messy baker. My mother was too. Guess I inherited that gene as well. But I have found that if I insert a little organization into my holiday baking plans, I can get the mess over with in a day.
A few weeks before I plan to bake, I sit down with all my cookie recipes and decide which ones I am going to make for that year. The list usually consists of chocolate chip for my husband, green Christmas tree cookies (pressed butter cookies) for my Japanese daughter-in-law, cut out cookie shapes for the grandkids, Russian tea cookies for a son--well the list goes on according to favorites. It usually consists of about ten different cookie recipes.
Once I have my list, I write down all the ingredients I will need to purchase that I don't have in my cupboards/refrigerator. I shop for those needed items and store them away for the day I have set aside to bake.
As soon as breakfast is cleared away, I begin. By noon I look like the Rice Krispie Treats lady in the commercial--floured face and sticky fingers. I break for a quick snack and then continue until the last cookie comes out of the oven. By then, it is usually time for dinner which is either carry-out from a nearby restaurant or carry-me-in to the restaurant.
Cookies are stored in large plastic containers with a good seal and either frozen or stored in a cool place--like our garage. There are some advantages to living in a wintry climate.
A few weeks before I plan to bake, I sit down with all my cookie recipes and decide which ones I am going to make for that year. The list usually consists of chocolate chip for my husband, green Christmas tree cookies (pressed butter cookies) for my Japanese daughter-in-law, cut out cookie shapes for the grandkids, Russian tea cookies for a son--well the list goes on according to favorites. It usually consists of about ten different cookie recipes.
Once I have my list, I write down all the ingredients I will need to purchase that I don't have in my cupboards/refrigerator. I shop for those needed items and store them away for the day I have set aside to bake.
As soon as breakfast is cleared away, I begin. By noon I look like the Rice Krispie Treats lady in the commercial--floured face and sticky fingers. I break for a quick snack and then continue until the last cookie comes out of the oven. By then, it is usually time for dinner which is either carry-out from a nearby restaurant or carry-me-in to the restaurant.
Cookies are stored in large plastic containers with a good seal and either frozen or stored in a cool place--like our garage. There are some advantages to living in a wintry climate.
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