Goodwill Hunting Roundup

It's that time of month, again, when I show off my most recent thrifted finds.

So, without further ado...

This past month, my trips to Goodwill were minimal.  My only memorable trip coincidence with a promotion that Goodwill was running...bring in a bag of donations and receive a 30% off coupon.  *See if the thrift stores you shop, have email alerts.  Goodwill sends out emails with exclusive promotions, sales or giveaways. 

With my 30% off coupon in hand, I found some fun and incredibly reasonably priced things. 

First up, a brand new Clinique bag for $1.99. 

The best part, inside included a smaller bag.  The bright colors and flowers reminded me that despite the brutal winter we are having, spring will eventually arrive.  For $1.40, I couldn't pass these up.

Recently, Grace was introduced to chapter books and it was, as they say, love at first sight.  We devoured nearly every Junie B. Jones books.  As a result, we have been scouring Goodwill's collection of books.  Children's books are .59 cents.  We ended up finding 6 books for $3.54, a good deal but made even better with our 30% off coupon.  These books came home with us for $2.48. 

No trip to Goodwill is complete without perusing the children's clothing.  This time, I stumbled upon an Old Navy pea coat for $4.99 ($3.50 with the 30% off coupon).  It's way too big for petite little girl now. I figured, pea coats don't go out of style so it's the perfect thing to buy and save for her.

I spotted these brand new cowboy boots.  If Grace read my blog, she would certainly correct me and say that these were cowgirl boots.  Regardless, I wasn't sure if they would come home with us or not.  When Grace spotted not only the pink stars but the glittery stars, she was determined these boots had to come home with us.  The boots were $4.99, $3.50 using our 30% off coupon.

After any holiday, Goodwill is usually well stocked with donations of unused or unwanted decorations.  They are often marked down additionally, just to get them off of the shelves.  All Christmas decorations were 50% off.  When I saw these colorful glass bird ornaments, I couldn't resist...even though it meant I would have to dig out our recently stored Christmas decorations to store them along with.  With my 30% off coupon, this set of bird ornaments were .45 cents.

This midcentury modern styled cocktail shaker by Threshold, would not leave my cart, even though I really had no purpose or need for it.  No matter how much I tried to reason myself out of buying it, it still came home with me.  With my coupon, it was $1.05.

Thees party hats reminded me that before long, I'll have to start thinking of Grace's 6th (!) birthday.  Though I have been busy pinning ideas, I can't seem to decide on a theme.  Suggestions are welcomed!

What thrifty store finds have made their way home with you recently?

Take a book, leave a book.

Have you heard of Little Free Library?

They are tiny lending libraries, built by the community.  The concept, you take a book, you leave a book. 

You can either build your own 'library' or buy a box through the Little Free Library.  Of course, the blogger in me would love to build one of my own.

My favorite, bringing a bit of the UK to my own community, a Little Free Library inside of a red telephone booth.  

And, fortunately, in our community, the Little Free Library is also stocked with children's books.

The book lover in me would love to to see what books were left and loaned.

The only problem.

Riley, the Gladys Cravitz of the neighborhood, would scare everyone away with her barking.

To find out more information, visit Little Free Library on Facebook. 

*I am NOT being compensated by the Little Free Library.  I just discovered it and believe in it and wanted to share.

This is Paris.

We were invited to a birthday party for our niece this past weekend. Trying to figure out a thoughtful gift to give, I took into account her parents had their honeymoon in Paris. In a way, it almost seemed like Paris was the start of her own story. With that being said...

We bought the birthday girl, This is Paris, by Miroslav Sasek, a children's travel book.

Each page has a vintage appeal making it seem timeless and classic. You can't help but adore every illustration.

Paris is brought to life right before your eyes with each turn of the page. The quiet and beautiful details depicted in this book are memorizing.

Each page will delight you with something not only charming but interesting.

It's the type of book, that will promote a love of travel in your child and enchant their dreams with the beauty of Paris.

When I stumbled upon this free printable for a paper city of Paris, complete with street lights, Parisians, a patisserie, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Arc D'Triomphe, from Made By Joel, I had to include it along with the book.

Hopefully after the birthday girl reads all about Paris, she can act out a story of her own using Made by Joel's paper version of Paris.

We also exchanged some money for euros and included it in her birthday card with a note that reads: Hoping one day you will see Paris with your own eyes. When you make it there, use these euros to buy yourself something that will remind you of what Paris means to you.

My love affair with letters continues

This isn't my first post about letters and I am sure it will not be my last either. Monograms, letters and initials, in any form, will always catch my eye.

It came as no surprise to my husband when I stopped to look at some alphabet tiles, while walking through a flea market (I should mention, this won't be the last post about flea markets either). I held my breath as I looked through the stack, hoping I would find a g. Just as panic started to set in, there it was, a bright and cheery g. It reminded me of Sesame Street and sunny days. I had to have it. I don't have a good poker face when it comes to things I want, which is what makes me so terrible at negotiating the price with sellers, so when I was told it was only a dollar, it seemed too good to be true. The deal was sealed and the g was mine (well, Grace's).

When I returned home, g in hand, the task of figuring out where to put it began. I guess love of reading naturally comes hand in hand with the love of all things letter related. So, when I saw The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, which is the same color as the g I just bought, inspiration struck. I began rearranging Grace's shelves deciding to highlight some of Grace's favorite books and in turn providing a focal point for her new g.

The g looks so perfect against the simply designed, bright green cover of The Giving Tree. Just looking at that shelf brings a smile to my face.

I've decided, I am definitely going to start a collection of Gs for Grace.

Not even a week later, I was at a local thrift store and found a set of alphabet tiles, a whole set, for a dollar. Even though I wasn't sure what I would do with them, I couldn't walk away. So now $2 later, I have 27 letters (including Grace's g).

Is this an obsession OR is it just...