tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36583997849486259072024-02-22T04:15:45.012-08:00The Yard Sale GirlFinds and FindingsThe Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-64678919394426724632011-10-16T11:28:00.001-07:002011-10-16T11:36:00.565-07:00Snap Shots of Summer<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-M2AyXBkb7H0/TpsiOGL5aKI/AAAAAAAABLg/Z3j1WmE5di8/s1600-h/0387.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfmceXjqBMbOoFN0VC_N_Q-3Giex3HO1_YtGuCFom3k3Ng675toeFeAlDIB4OhRpswnNKKN-ViYdxbLGZpMKOf2ojizFIJ0tKol1Jnq98zm2jdoZ9vFD0urr8sjFm8ozIu3ns6KMF580W/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a> </p> <p>Swam  in swimming <a href="http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/falls.php?num=3993">holes,</a> stood under water falls, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kploessl/4253132804/">cannon balled off diving boards.</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rSsNE5UavrY/TpsiOwjwyUI/AAAAAAAABLw/r5c3uIlpwww/s1600-h/0109.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="010" border="0" alt="010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD-pbSCQk1SpvJ87_tx_L0jMtezAoGWq2jSGkqeZ1cSC_NBABXARSKcwjtKnOnTm6MqJ3-BU-14nQ2m0uefoQsEMTJkHzuZqFGVBDEWrSgg0uWHk_Z92qta9XRZ_Wr0IVT9bIoBVWlUAR/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a> </p> <p>Picked and ate gorgeous strawberries.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4OiO6Ezg2EE/TpsiPey0PRI/AAAAAAAABMA/G3tfGotiODI/s1600-h/DSCN30134.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN3013" border="0" alt="DSCN3013" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bqSVfknJ4tA/TpsiPgk_nMI/AAAAAAAABMI/7NIdPTu87bU/DSCN3013_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a> </p> <p>Bit the bullet, stopped procrastinating and obsessing over <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canning-for-a-New-Generation/120630437981957">how to books</a>, and finally canned some goods. No big deal so it turns out, and actually very fun; essentially the way most procrastination projects turn out. Ended up with strawberry preserves, brandied cherries, maraschino cherries, and pickles. The pickles turned out pretty stinking sour, but I’ve committed to working my way through the jar, and might actually be warming to their abrasive qualities.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHeuIeoW4a19zwoKhybM58iFQNtNAaSqG-6zCx0qspWAFNzyU6_KIiplo_OtkduDGbvrirVLXoMchIO8LAtiwPFdF2lnrF0tRn9lujqlGHw6fVSXyJbyqYjGswyBQfDC7Q8jCYDhq8qtX/s1600-h/DSCN2986%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN2986" border="0" alt="DSCN2986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslwYfu2b7lSwBYEj2FjXF6qnwLbRKU_AaRDlmXpGUIH9AwPin9vcoBREY9r5ynIhg9wHnUf0Le3DV0WoSMkZDr2s03dOpzy61GUYOaEpXxvZpKb9HTdQXQ7EriphU6nc65Z8T3StDa7gq/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a></p> <p>Ate more stunning berries. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdYv5Kk2EmC8Qo_5YZMz44qwDrQCO2C1eSK4uqsLWKlyaiuGxaDqLCcaXY9U0I2u_h91TKalIV0-kZuPuQCjptN5SyKHZfnl1UhiITEJ9-fGVX9S3AUbc-lYPt8NqD0j6EW2HPEdVoH-G/s1600-h/DSCN30507.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN3050" border="0" alt="DSCN3050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihDXte3bG-_prRgnlYmipywuxa735eLsK2qTqgXW9npH6HrMHGjrnMnXI-osUYfdmymFwdLSFgzLQN40kIYTobNNsNGV38wccevqjhIEoX7JVMqscnCoQ_SWowd1ItSLIyVxHw_mflS6d/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="207" /></a> </p> <p>Attended many a lovely garden party on the patio with our friends, but just as often with me, myself, I and a large glass of red wine and a good book. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LLJRYaZQIrk/TpsiQ1EAWTI/AAAAAAAABMw/wS2mQwkhCUY/s1600-h/DSCN30154.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN3015" border="0" alt="DSCN3015" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kiB5iX2xENVrrhKqCWewxRMAZHDN1dAaH21GqYNAlU5OO9DS5BKAODpPIpvtwNedu5Xv2psqN22saqyHdcm6udr9F-4JsNF3iCuKGqII5HWnpW90VYX2Qagm7thvVk7ZqWz9jeJcM79J/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a></p> <p>Cut fresh flowers. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iVqahMEwjhk/TpsiRdppHEI/AAAAAAAABNA/OvJpCqTo4Js/s1600-h/0507.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="050" border="0" alt="050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlx5v2i6ufFjBzOLQq6PXuvUi3YIFxiFliGcOmjUOJqWaG9BmNBl85wspHWSWAVg2if-h8Wh7kQD6_kSr-8O50UCKZoRyEtvs87w34fj2KdVFOg-pnY9EKPj9Ok_wB-HHK3e9JLtYtUc_5/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a> </p> <p>Enjoyed lazy sunny Sunday mornings <a href="http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/">drinking coffee</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.html">reading papers</a>, and gazing across the table at these two.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uhBqmZPXZgY/TpsiSEqeVlI/AAAAAAAABNM/LQ4xHHiTwGg/s1600-h/0664.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="066" border="0" alt="066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx55xYlKT4HB6xPpYhmtQ3Xco_Uyq2CHfiLBmhUmUw4HmfcOEvALmnTn6yC98rP7T7rVyD19y24rlaG8ECScUxYoGaAg85WMGMxsadc6CRnXgXsmwrOUjYOPS8rDIsxLYileBYK7iNIL1/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="262" /></a> </p> <p>Sailed for the first time…..in Iowa, on the scenic waters of <a href="http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/Saylorville/Boating.cfm">Saylorville Lake.</a></p> <p>Farewell to summer.  Welcome Fall. </p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:977e9637-e387-49bb-977d-d6c699481e81" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Summer+snap+shots" rel="tag">Summer snap shots</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/swimming+holes" rel="tag">swimming holes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/strawberries" rel="tag">strawberries</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Canning" rel="tag">Canning</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-51600961561509077472011-02-27T21:58:00.001-08:002011-10-16T11:32:54.823-07:00Thrifted Jewelry<p>Jewelry is one of my favorite things to buy at estate sales. Preferring to wear artful, original, handcrafted jewelry, it is basically my only option as far as affordability goes. I would love to buy new handcrafted artesian jewelry like <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/109639404291820852184/TattooPhotoShoot1?authkey=Gv1sRgCOeTuN6_n4GUHw&feat=directlink#5493792798873685106">this,</a> <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/40262635/modern-blue-topaz-eco-ring">this,</a> or <a href="http://www.shoptincture.com/necklaces.html">this,</a>  because there are some amazing amazing artists making incredible pieces, but because the materials artisans use  often aren’t cheap plastic crap, and their skills and time are valuable, their products are typically way out of my financial league. And don’t get me wrong their prices are very reasonable, especially compared to similar department store or chain jewelry stores, but those not quite as regrettable so are also way out of my range.</p> <p>Although I do give in to a hip pair of earrings or two from Express every now and then,  I try to limit my cheep store bought jewelry purchases. I would rather save that money for one cool piece from a local artist, and fill in my extemporaneous jewelry collection with thrifted pieces.  Here are a few I’ve found over the past few months.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithjxwBc9up4BK_kHMJin6FLYCa0z6Qi4JuDbWpjGOFkqrbGTmLB-6-RDQiC5bzYUbG0L_JgBTjZit_7EQsK1gg7CMlRtfK0acF3RZYD8_vetgg_RuWI9tzVdk_jOu-htlMtQIzoyOXgx3/s1600-h/Blog%252520photos%252520018.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Blog photos 018" border="0" alt="Blog photos 018" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PBoED1p6Qzc/TWs5a4-7F8I/AAAAAAAABNo/q3AdrnBRpls/Blog%252520photos%252520018_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="370" height="282" /></a> </p> <p>These earrings are my cheapest pairs at 5, 5, and 2 dollars from left to right. The first two were purchased at an estate sale of an eccentric women who had over 500 pairs of real gold and silver earrings in her modest house.  Both are real silver and the middle pair also contain real turquoise. The studs are little flowers pressed in to resin from Peru. Purchased at a yard sale from a wonderful new age women who insisted they were my destiny. Who am I to argue, especially for 2 dollars. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUfN_UzX37Sf2228xoNWMVG1c5VNjL44eMWh9Nmp7TEEqlhQkR2nXNQBu2HnNVCf9o6BhKXYxFmtWhdlRWHTiLZ2X7s1ZH6D6xpNq9Bim2f5YDNhGB14tZ7Xqjp3v-vMuyEKyj7Oz29H8/s1600-h/Blog%252520photos%252520023.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Blog photos 023" border="0" alt="Blog photos 023" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GWaSY_zAnUw/TWs5bokJdgI/AAAAAAAABNw/KCfDERL7uzA/Blog%252520photos%252520023_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="370" height="620" /></a></p> <p>My favorite necklaces have also been thrifted. The dark wooden beads are my favorite, followed closely by the grayish one made of some kind of seed. These necklaces all were thrifted for either 1 or 2 dollars.  Even Forever 21 can’t beat that. With thrifted jewelry I get quality unique pieces at unbeatable prices. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yTZTzhUs-8k/TWs5cBXHoWI/AAAAAAAABN0/IZD_a6rk-fc/s1600-h/Blog%252520photos%252520010.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Blog photos 010" border="0" alt="Blog photos 010" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L7NBih_Omkg/TWs5cXFzmuI/AAAAAAAABN4/htshPFZcfWQ/Blog%252520photos%252520010_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="370" height="282" /></a> </p> <p>This is real ivory carving from the 1920’s. It was purchased for 18 dollars at an estate sale this weekend. You can tell it is real up close by the variations and striations in its color   Real ivory is of course taboo, and for very good reason. I debated on weather or not to purchase it; the gentleman hosting the sale told me, to throw it away, and not get all of the use we can out of this piece would be disrespectful to the life lost. It convinced me to buy it, but I don’t know if he just helped me with talking myself into something beautiful.</p> <p>On the car ride home, I remembered the Apron Thrift Girl dealt with the same dilemma <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/apron_thrift_girl/2011/01/ethics-of-thrifting.html">on this post</a>. According to her post, eBay has banned the sale of ivory, which may be why I had trouble finding examples of this necklace to gage an estimated worth. I did find a plastic version on eBay listed at <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Vtg-Carved-Faux-Ivory-Rose-Pendant-Necklace-Van-Dell-GF_W0QQitemZ300523746164QQcategoryZ165893QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7398274942469124096#ht_3420wt_1061">45 dollars</a>, so I can imagine this could go for up to 100 or more, but really have no idea.</p> <p>Because it is so old, I don’t feel quite as guilty. For 18 dollars I just couldn’t pass up the stunning flower. There were 4 or 5 equally beautiful ivory roses priced from 20-30 dollars, but a tinge of guilt made me resist purchasing all of the items. I won’t be re-selling this piece, so I don’t feel the guilt of making a profit,off of a darling elephants tusk, but if I had bought them all I can’t say I wouldn’t have thought about re-selling them at 100 or more a piece, and then a stronger guilt may have set in.</p> <p>Exploitation of people, animals, and the environment happens throughout the globe, and on many ends of the consumer spectrum unrealized by most of us. There are many people much better than I researching what they buy. I do struggle though with what is right and wrong, and how I can economically and ethically make the best and most practical choices. If the necklace weren’t almost 100 years old, and also weren’t absolutely stunning, I may feel differently, but I feel good that realistically very little profit was made from its re-sale, as it was 1/2 off on the last day of the sale, and I will feel honored by and conscious of the animal when I wear it. </p> <p>Ethically I try to stay away from diamonds, mostly buy local, don’t shop at Wal-Mart, eat organic food when possible, mostly plants,  try to eat only humane meats(although my vegetarian friends might argue that is an oxy moron), buy and use eco friendly cleaning products, recycle and compost, car pool and drive a small car, but realistically I realize despite these modest efforts I am still extremely unethical in a lot of ways in my consumption, and am most defiantly not perfect in these efforts either.</p> <p>Striving to continuously to do and be better is always on my mind, but usually I come to the conclusion I will never be perfect in all regards. Personally, I believe re-use to be one of the best and easiest ways to be a more ethical consumer.</p> <p>However, I can do lots more, and am not sure if buying this ivory necklace is ultimately worse or better than some of my other choices. We all make hundreds if not thousands each day, without studying or fully realizing many of the implications of our purchasing power from where we do our banking to what kind of coffee we buy. It is practically impossible to accurately gage the outcomes of our choices …..but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. But it’s a struggle. </p> <p>What do you all think? What habits have you established due to your own internal ethics? What do you fudge on, and where also do you draw the line in your own lives? Do you ever feel guilted by other people to change your ways, or do you feel guilted most by your internal guide? </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:320b11a1-9d8a-4b0a-a3f2-094490ca578c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Vintage+Jewelry" rel="tag">Vintage Jewelry</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Vintage+silver" rel="tag">Vintage silver</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrifting" rel="tag">Thrifting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/The+Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">The Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ethics+in+consumerism" rel="tag">Ethics in consumerism</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-17831043629064994272011-02-21T17:43:00.001-08:002011-02-21T17:47:30.084-08:00Road Map Back<p> Hello all and welcome 2011….two months late. I’m ready for spring, that’s when it really seems like a new year! These red gardening clogs will have to do for now.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcn_W8FukzrM29MM6lnaoTm3kyJHZr8esuN6iRrhHlTO6ayB-_pHbEGVbJDXyQ-mN85LO0Wxu7PV3iXPoXZkHiSjUkcEXaFfL6mwE8HjAja8UpNKlPaZ076L0E8MeplGQcbi2DCUItBsX/s1600-h/0616.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="061" border="0" alt="061" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGmm3NtoyYZCD0Tzfw5xfzDEjXGIypbtFhPmSNs9gJUtVV7_sJXqzqcCq1lXfaku0uu_Bba-C7NnRomq0phaIuEKWNWEH0JPkTbsdqI29XMbpiWZUxomaIAWqyh5R9phqDEhDcZDc7rlO/?imgmax=800" width="504" height="383" /></a></p> <p>The completion of a New Year’s vision board is a better indication to me the new year’s started, and finally I finished mine up. Have you all made these before? A friend of mine told me about hers a few years back. Each year she and her friends got together clipped pictures from magazines, and planned out what they wanted the year to look like.  I do mine solo since it takes me two months. </p> <p>Last year, I created my first vision board. The humble collage of pictures clipped from stacks and stacks of magazines provided a surprisingly strong road map for the year. Pictures of pristine veggie gardens, stunning nature shots, gorgeous dinner parties, and relaxing patios provided a surprisingly strong unconscious reminder of what I wanted for the year, even though I never quite completed the board. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TWMUoq5jNbI/AAAAAAAAAwI/ZqZwO6-c0ZY/s1600-h/038%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TWMUpCbYZdI/AAAAAAAAAwM/AG19cAf6Dbo/038_thumb%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="503" height="300" /></a></p> <p>Sorry this is a crap picture cropped and zoomed from behind a persons head from another picture in my dinning room. I destroyed the board, so I could re-use the poster board for this year, and forgot to take a picture before, but you can probably get the idea. </p> <p>It hung half finished in my dining room, and in late December when I took it down, gazing at the pictures I’d chosen it was stunning how many of the “visions” came to fruition from the haphazard collage of seemingly random magazine pictures I’d deemed inspirational the previous year. The board had provided a visual to-do list, and unwittingly, I had checked off many of the items, without ever writing the list. </p> <ul> <ul> <li>Have a thriving veggie garden.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Take trips to beautiful places.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Spend time with friends hosting dinner parties.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Build a patio for relaxing on in the back yard. </li> </ul> <ul> <li>Start a blog to reconnect to writing.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Keep a clean organized house to better enjoy spending time in.  </li> <li>Live in the present</li> </ul> </ul> <p>That is how the list would have read, if I’d spelled the pictures I’d chosen out in words. It seems though ,spelling the list in pictures proved all the more effective. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TWMUpc4gT8I/AAAAAAAAAwQ/a0YPZVXBVpQ/s1600-h/03851.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TWMUp0g4AFI/AAAAAAAAAwU/Fdi9mXqGdys/038_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="503" height="382" /></a></p> <p>This year, more time and thought went into making the collage. Alex looked over my shoulder and said, “Wow, this looks much more elaborate than last year.”  </p> <p>This hadn’t been the intention, but I think because of the peculiar similarities between what was represented on the board matching up to the realities of the year, I looked forward this year to seeing a detailed reminder of what I wanted hanging on the wall.Originally I thought a vision board was a road map to the person I wanted to be, but wasn’t,  and perhaps that was why I was stunned by last years “progress.” Like I had “become” who I wanted without putting in a concerted effort. </p> <p>This year, however, upon seeing my latest vision board, my ashram/spiritual guidance group pointed out this board wasn’t a vision of who I thought I should be, it was simply a road map back to who I already am.  They told me, this board just sings to what you already are. A “remember me” board as they called it. A daily visual reminder to myself of who I am. The board gives me a road map back to myself for the upcoming year, back to my core being, and what sort of things to do to keep myself in mind instead of getting distracted by all of the things that aren’t me.  </p> <p>Do you all have things you do to remember yourself? What works for you?  How do you deal with distractions that shift you away from yourself?  What are your hopes and dreams for 2011? I’m so excited to travel the road back to me, and hope to see you on the road back too. Happy 2011 to us all!</p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b76531fc-d490-44cb-ab40-e3113a5654df" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Vision+Board" rel="tag">Vision Board</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/New+Year" rel="tag">New Year</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Remember+Yourself" rel="tag">Remember Yourself</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a></div></p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-5824727800812016202010-11-21T16:07:00.001-08:002010-11-21T16:27:45.679-08:00Our First Garden<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0Ce11JDI/AAAAAAAAAss/flW0aAEfiY0/s1600-h/0145.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="01" border="0" alt="01" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0C_ikw1I/AAAAAAAAAsw/ZXvCsXp5BXw/014_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Our first food garden proved to be wonderfully exciting, full of anticipation, and rewards. Not everything went as we’d planned; the cold wet summer in Seattle didn’t allow for the watermelons, cantaloupe, red bell peppers, and purple heirloom tomatoes that we’d ambitiously attempted. We however had a huge bounty of lettuces, tomatoes, strawberries, herbs, onions, peas, and carrots.  and were for the most part astounded at how easy it was to grow so much food. </p> <p>The four pack of early girl tomatoes alone, produced over 100 big red tomatoes, we made soup, pasta sauce, slow roasted tomatoes,  and countless grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. </p> <p>Below is our 2010 garden in review.</p> <p><strong>Fruits  </strong>                                                                                                            </p> <ul> <li>Strawberries </li> <li>Rhubarb </li> <li>Blueberries </li> <li>Figs </li> <li>Cantaloupe (Fail) </li> <li>Watermelon (Fail) </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyTL6pdXsQMDdte9CFo8wfjovNafQynTtzk2amNjNcGrag3K4j_CYkFlfOHAkhSFNQRZh3LJQyGAPn4stV6MiPUKnNaVgTB7MQf_q1EHph4KF5cu0w98WaOVacZoFuoX1ueIeNKz9JWDf/s1600-h/0324.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="032" border="0" alt="032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoczoAf6KrP_vHjCF41CIP-X7hoZ0RaKMV3ZMARGRucwqitOKq0_7eNFpvGPtsJK-otMlXbzFpZHoaM2hH2DyJOh25MEVmJIkaNgVAIkqLwHNrUrCxL2oamUz5F3Pgh2Gk4T2aHwWiL7A_/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="564" /></a></p> <p>Picking strawberries at their peak made a huge difference in flavor. It was truly incredible to eat a warm juicy strawberry fresh off the plant.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0EIrQhgI/AAAAAAAAAs8/8TznbfCs0YY/s1600-h/1234.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="123" border="0" alt="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboKBKNGAfpX37yrNyijm1v468J2cV4176OEOkLY4S_9dSs7p4u_m-12AgVsFeQVFWOA4-xNTlTysfqiyMUMCnxDhI2FGX1O5_i58rAyrQ-pWcZ4AQe95RwdbxU3OXhecXIWn45W_wEc6D/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>As you can see, the plants spread out immensely from their <a href="http://theyardsalegirl.blogspot.com/2010/04/our-garden.html">original starts,</a> and because strawberries are perennial, I will look forward to many warm luscious berries next season and for years to come.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UyneITyLUpGBZEtGBH3aU889mjRnWJyfoGcIcLxyEOu_29R5SzuiQ34GSXgjtURkcVVxoP2Ui6wHLblO9ZIqIJG16VOVRhhW7EfnEWbQH8R4SP0Pddm7BACOlr61VZxnvc-wdqxpqc1o/s1600-h/0524.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="052" border="0" alt="052" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBi9NTp3DtfIgUDZBfz7DKSV7lnYEkXBbiuxZOFbZVQ0-wgXC6ilXmTDIOt9qGdcBb-EaIr2OVTVlybpcTxmgMFZ2UVsoLH0M0nerDm36kCjsfF3SmynCKjnLMF5yXbI7CFoyQ7Ilb772/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>According to the lady who sold me this rhubarb start, I couldn’t eat the rhubarb this year, so I longingly admired it all summer, and am exceedingly excited to <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2005/05/rhubarb-better-late-than-never-and.html">make this</a>, <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/03/lot-of-rhubarb.html">and this</a>, <a href="http://www.notderbypie.com/rhubarb-curd-shortbread/">and this</a> next year! Rhubarb curd? I can’t believe I haven’t made some yet! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCxdEKCVgxczk8y6cQqJxDzuk11ndTP9CgfPoJjW4znExTKPzR0m4W4mMds1xTZH0wf23JEkOFWOIHfFFg6oaDXNDf4M8lZkLYnK2Nbivzjik4pDSvjtmoqhfLjaBInH-LVLcsVD0fGq-/s1600-h/0194.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="019" border="0" alt="019" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0F7-G63I/AAAAAAAAAtQ/uTwG8tMBRSA/019_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>These plump sun-ripened blueberries were enjoyed in thick Greek yogurt, once they had gotten so plump and juicy they just about fell of the bush from their girth. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0GEzKdyI/AAAAAAAAAtU/0XWMOkuAwsg/s1600-h/0284.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="028" border="0" alt="028" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0GmYhqDI/AAAAAAAAAtY/oVYKtmdt62M/028_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>The figs didn’t mature before the cold set in.  Better luck next year I suppose. Until then I will dream of exquisite  fresh figs plucked right from a tree in my backyard.</p> <p><strong>Vegetables</strong></p> <ul> <li>Onions (Red, Walla Walla) </li> <li>Garlic </li> <li>Shallots </li> <li>Carrots </li> <li>Potatoes </li> <li>Tomatoes (Early Girl, Purple (Fail), Yellow) </li> <li>Bell Peppers (Failed) </li> <li>Sugar Snap Peas </li> <li>Cucumbers </li> <li>Lettuces (Romaine, Merlot,Crocivencous, Baby Oak Leaf) </li> <li>Arugula </li> <li>Spinach </li> </ul> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbta9bbiJRstBE_nZSoZd7oTeCl1bNR_BCPaGYr4Dna9bqSH4kQKjPh_0wJDhylOq86Ipbfu2H-RZtd5ObJXdNV_HKzeh38IsNcbfPoqp4SrZMfIcCEjDGreDJZLlqIy-p7c5MGII4l9Q/s1600-h/0364.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="036" border="0" alt="036" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0HpGLrEI/AAAAAAAAAtg/MSZoWJU9Bo8/036_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="438" height="574" /></a> </p> <p>The sugar snap peas were eaten raw and in stir fry, and were so succulent and sweet. Our only issue with these was their growth spurts, next year we shall plan a trellis taller than 3 ft. more like 6-8 ft. These peas went crazy!</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYiSJIn52W4UxSdwmHaUNUG-RWlvB3Drwr4ewd4dlWdrSKUz_4psp0ylqlsLNZy5Iue-yhrXBzX5WKgSgfL8UAzxcfJX7moYV4yoXpyI_l3eOhnQriLGSucNo7sn1w-2EKnpnrb7Ixf2f/s1600-h/0464.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="046" border="0" alt="046" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUPgClYmXHgGMdTeChO_o74DJ_JXIvK1hMwDCMhIqot5AiZEk-ImE5sGzN4ivrU5mqknlOakerPY9dMNgRhpgEN_xtf8k7bF4Pb7bJtPOVzHiYmp-3DOABGYtraV6tICltFrXI_Nx1uOc/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>The lettuces were probably my favorite thing. Their taste was inexplicably unique and refreshing, I would often eat the tender leafs plain, right out of the garden, as I ambled by our beds each day.</p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOIYTwTy2v4rKjjX_rt4rOJSQS8v1wLoMSm__v5-oFZieNFIsMNaDiDZyDxNXJu7VeEdIQBjN0zi8cv_wXMAmFIEayeFxw-1vGsL2UGRD2pVr7PSzcudAsRULl4ZFlQIf4tAtda52Qk8z/s1600-h/0044.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="004" border="0" alt="004" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgHbhE1N365bcQrMt_Of8BAbYWWC6CgrGek1SxStHRyVjFHzc38QbQlThJt7ZvDQV96evczJfh-Ele1NmG_h6ran7jbkyh6mVJhHmIXg-edodpyFNo0IzPGU_-pIS6_7TnlAiogaJeaDB/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>This pepper was so promising. Alex and I pined over it for 2 months. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0Jx6VX9I/AAAAAAAAAt4/qDpUisrByjY/s1600-h/01611.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="016" border="0" alt="016" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0KYrne3I/AAAAAAAAAt8/04ZagKRQecc/016_thumb9.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a>  </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>About a week after this picture,  the perfect little pepper got moldy and rotted off the plant. Boo.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_iHSdlwqw-lxmppNLjVOd8F0P0nLs9tz_XePg9vgAs4d8zOtHYwPlDEeW3mggRDzjCixCpZXLwm3-KuouYKyOPCsC0ct1b65o_OO_QULHFZ4M0H2KYTgb3e73JRX2YY6V8mJBXgMqKguq/s1600-h/0595.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="059" border="0" alt="059" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0LdX8jNI/AAAAAAAAAuE/srVXY6CQvKY/059_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>The four little early girl tomatoes (center), and the purple heirloom (far right)still at a reasonable size. These wood steaks were practically laughable by the end of the summer when the tomatoes morphed into huge plants they toppled  in on themselves and made these seemingly ample steaks look like we had tried to corral our tomato plants with toothpicks.</p> <p>Our three little basils got too wet and cold during Seattle’s Juneuary, and later got over shadowed by the enormous tomatoes. Next year we will plant the basil later and not near the tomatoes. And perhaps we can make the garden fresh caprese salad we’d initially envisioned eating when we originally thought of having our own garden.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0LvfjT7I/AAAAAAAAAuI/PjNxSAIV6aI/s1600-h/0094.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="009" border="0" alt="009" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWrYUMrk8HCb4NPB1UMrB2U2Bv0QVjbMHxRKDZoMG8U2Z2DLSPy4y3AWtmMzY3_vn0CKoHoVILUtXy4vWopFkt46DNXdooxrIGROLNIlf3Lk5TOAiX2HjmhmjSftBI7GkFMCc-HTGLC-8/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Tomatoes as they started go crazy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0MV9GWPI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/M02FYX1GX0Q/s1600-h/0994.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="099" border="0" alt="099" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0MtyV8AI/AAAAAAAAAuU/moZYl-Ugj4A/099_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Alex attempting to tame the wild tomatoes.  </p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW45C5tc-b4HA6EHYcjEnQL9cXVrFCYJhv4QCUyGqNn95mQ-zLzQoUtv3QKmMBwjBKW2SqIGLvu6-uOhDmWxNV5PCqmn2AZ4jiZVTrlRfVMWLUluQwLFXRUT-4GWe82122uVNnsILtn0FR/s1600-h/0256.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="025" border="0" alt="025" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGpVrTirPNVeZDCm7Vhx_e_mrY-x5I5SE986yIpJkozkknP2eeIUAKtHcIog2pbfL3JBGe5LVpRpualVBdNcZKZQGEP2hAJoZU1LrA7x0X4vg4nBPI0ydtvByQo7hh_Wzc3zYoqSJryYD/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW45C5tc-b4HA6EHYcjEnQL9cXVrFCYJhv4QCUyGqNn95mQ-zLzQoUtv3QKmMBwjBKW2SqIGLvu6-uOhDmWxNV5PCqmn2AZ4jiZVTrlRfVMWLUluQwLFXRUT-4GWe82122uVNnsILtn0FR/s1600-h/0256.jpg"></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Tomatoes after I made an attempt to prune them back mid-summer. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0Sxx96IyRje8ScrHJ4HmGR3-6_HsB4d5RfCOOVk-Kka6x9kVFWyyJLcVE10LFRyquuZtsNqEeX6B_8Y_gN_TnD-11-ee3iy8qzU1Py-q1TA2K0BhyP9b0VGcwBIyfDrVroexkRPkTKOo/s1600-h/0114.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="011" border="0" alt="011" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTDwwl864Tzn_sUaQDdDGdcWDpK490ZnqM1wR_UpooC19cKchyVp3Hlf9smxJmabij6Hs2nNDronPnYkhNB-QGIlh272iYwXRpNWaHocjs59PNl5_RKB92DFQ3ZQ4BL034WJ2vxf9zGlK/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Very quickly the wild plants went back to looking like this.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7ksvDFrPUefLs4Wx15KZUMZ1O1PGYVrjLiLwo2IPts_v75JVRXIsBaQ5QHr4Zy9_gNhGL9DAdMWpilPKW21KRyXMETaQZb4yenmOZgr6vTzAHf-zaAmnxyEzeVsRXyiWyS9kEf1GSxp7/s1600-h/02511.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="025" border="0" alt="025" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0Pfmn7DI/AAAAAAAAAus/rW2mtAZvc9A/025_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>The yellow tomatoes weren’t near as prolific or wild as the early girls. We savored them on bruschetta for my birthday in August.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0PtkSUDI/AAAAAAAAAuw/MbZnqVifcwA/s1600-h/0224.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="022" border="0" alt="022" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0QUyo1dI/AAAAAAAAAu0/9H6rBEVeo-4/022_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="564" /></a> </p> <p>The red carrots were particularly tasty in the roasted root veggie medley we often make, and next year we plan to go exclusively with the red carrots, since orange ones are so cheap anyway, and the taste difference wasn’t as noticeable as with other items.</p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTmC8vr495xLjiF8az1ewDRviv2fWMUL9FowTxLcJQTqIRkp8whKd80qyCxazCIlcYzoPZdeoymJQ4cQZZSgQxAHb3_LLKRfJxa3b8EaDffv_eoNzkbmuC1FUFh41nJx3XSSly0RBRJFi/s1600-h/03615.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="036" border="0" alt="036" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRx4FepUmIMtwW5GuJ_I4Vr2BG7NtVM_kA7gMsRXqDSMXb_NjpzwzyRhld0cwA-bwPkmIQ7jFvNad5b877p6xr_sk3VjGn6998YgS75QGd0ext2d_ZJdqoALKpj58KbiOAsPCxGOP5NmAg/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Cucumber Blossoms, so precious.</p> <p> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0RcQu6KI/AAAAAAAAAvA/Psne36cK71M/s1600-h/0229.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="022" border="0" alt="022" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0RgGX8EI/AAAAAAAAAvE/wJ97vi8RzfE/022_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>One of the two large cucumbers that came to fruition. The wet, cold summer hindered the others.</p> <p>Herbs</p> <ul> <li>Basil (Genovese, Purple, and Thai) </li> <li>Chives </li> <li>Chamomile </li> <li>Lavender(Spanish, French) </li> <li>Sage </li> <li>Rosemary </li> <li>Thyme (Lemon) </li> <li>Oregano </li> <li>Tarragon </li> <li>Mint (Spearmint, Peppermint, Spanish, Curly, Chocolate, Ginger, Pineapple) </li> <li>Parsley </li> <li>Dill </li> </ul> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2nTYXOYCb7anZGKTv7ea2L7eKkG0hZ0BzqY9WSzNObWmPvA8Kujwo_y7y8pgK2w-lpXOf4Gr8n74ncOf7DDPj51IUkQDcdfNEnE4DKizkk-aMNf0a7UpdW_8ef7zx6OmxUjg2kuPEL0Y/s1600-h/0304.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="030" border="0" alt="030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyYPl1SlZ5p9k1PcUjQ1NQJzKn8O-vgpQrpOQPKVkdQEKVf-OYMoZ1AecN8m-w0wDJ7nbJIxKg0F7XECxkBzPPxkPEO6ogThQu22HgsXQuG1l2fkI4aEgEwpOIJXWak_bgh2E1MGMCL7p/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>The chamomile was so delicate and whimsical. I was lazy and didn’t use the little buds for a  homemade tea, there’s always next year, but I did very much enjoy its appearance.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0UFXPQGI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/9HgRFK1PGcI/s1600-h/0384.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs0A-kl95iteJY5uRriKrb39Wz02Qdg1-l5GuZ9vaDbocZW8vrZjX1Jvar8rySzmSzad0PZ9RFbd5FKZPMtg9bUSybXWHl057Rl5nw0b42YLAU4PKYBqhMEf3xQswJRAqSG5jAAaTOrDY/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>Perhaps I was  too busy drinking mojitos from all of this fresh mint to get too into the thought of chamomile tea. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2nTYXOYCb7anZGKTv7ea2L7eKkG0hZ0BzqY9WSzNObWmPvA8Kujwo_y7y8pgK2w-lpXOf4Gr8n74ncOf7DDPj51IUkQDcdfNEnE4DKizkk-aMNf0a7UpdW_8ef7zx6OmxUjg2kuPEL0Y/s1600-h/0304.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="123" border="0" alt="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-USqDRuZRXIvPybiR7TDWsO5pqgGjMl6_xL2lvRhAZ-d5TZKt2ECJLVixFvalFMuqnDwNOYaNE7a3vejDiuZxpXw7m26-7qGCbuNMMBt4Qjpqkia9CBev4pl5OwYR4S1aNhlsj_qXE3w/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="290" /> </a></p> <p>Pork tenderloin stuffed with sage. Mwa (Kissing my fingers)</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0VNvNkfI/AAAAAAAAAvc/ivxADk4JV7A/s1600-h/0534.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="053" border="0" alt="053" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0Vex0eHI/AAAAAAAAAvg/ilQfjIfK1ug/053_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>Lavender provided a lovely scent for the garden all summer long.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOm0V2VgIBI/AAAAAAAAAvk/iUB6x56QPTM/s1600-h/1254.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="125" border="0" alt="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvDqAlwBP6pRVeGDFZnygVdKM5b4UUJ4f777JWwb8UNQ7HBkLrRYrnb44_go10xMF4jL-zXSdjDtrJjtCO3LnWzicLMTyGLifL3fXdo3Bc42sLrCEV7KFhSbw9B3WzvqCPL1Sw1LQxUZj/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Our  little gnome, Peter, carefully guarded the garden and it’s bounty. Saving berries from birds, and lettuces from slugs. (Ok so we had to take extra measures like egg shells for slugs and netting over the strawberries for birds, but he sure was cute) </p> <p>Although Alex questioned my purchase of Peter, (one dollar at an estate sale) I believed him to be well worth his price. He passed on his wisdom of gardens past through little whispers to our plants. (Psst, Peter, next year can you whisper to my purple tomatoes)</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP2C0bgfZYd2dnDcIoxAj_AY6wbq_aaULspaqLQwrv5t0suosJvzJLvVCqLQwJ_mruy6lvtdtI0wdvgz_QF6ZFJuqsbaUxzjftSvt_PgqldsUikCH0yMxrJbwfvx0Sc61xCCfAWY4-JUS/s1600-h/055%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="055" border="0" alt="055" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY5a0Uoanf-T42VuEl5HRaQ9hOk10KKIUjOvU_wwqJSeXD14rhIVwHeWzG67mB4-cECka32omYUrD8F6-DTi2cDzXVaB3WYH2WS6CYUVxan8z2tE9k6y_XfeNJacZ34G1Ia3ERCzm6xpe/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="418" /></a> </p> <p>Next year we are excited to branch out, and also to master the usual suspects.  The cold wet winter ahead will be made bearable imagining the  fruits, veggies, herbs, and cute little garden gnomes to come in the spring. </p> <p>How did your garden grow? What worked and flopped? What should I look into growing next year? What are your favorite recipes from the garden? </p> <p>Get ready for the cozy fires, lovely books on the couch, hot cocoa in big mugs, movie watching, snuggling up and hunkering down to come. Happy thanksgiving, enjoy the bounty of food, family and friends as this growing season closes and we settle in for winter.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2nTYXOYCb7anZGKTv7ea2L7eKkG0hZ0BzqY9WSzNObWmPvA8Kujwo_y7y8pgK2w-lpXOf4Gr8n74ncOf7DDPj51IUkQDcdfNEnE4DKizkk-aMNf0a7UpdW_8ef7zx6OmxUjg2kuPEL0Y/s1600-h/0304.jpg"></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:7887ed85-e613-4f03-a902-a5a3949d8ae1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Urban+Farm" rel="tag">Urban Farm</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gardening" rel="tag">Gardening</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Small+Garden" rel="tag">Small Garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gnomes" rel="tag">Gnomes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rhubarb" rel="tag">rhubarb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sugar+snap+peas" rel="tag">sugar snap peas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/homestead" rel="tag">homestead</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/homesteading.+homestead" rel="tag">homesteading. homestead</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/first+garden" rel="tag">first garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/small+garden" rel="tag">small garden</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-79217470340242350632010-11-14T18:06:00.001-08:002010-11-21T16:21:35.077-08:00Thrift Share Mondays<p> </p> <p>A friend of mine described this blog as “Thrift Porn”  when asked to describe it to his wife. Although some bloggers might take offense to this reference, for some reason I loved it. And to put it in his terms, I haven’t been puttin’ out lately.</p> <p>I’ve been wanting to link up with <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/apron_thrift_girl/">The Apron Thrift Girl’s</a> thrift share Monday for a while, so here’s a collection of pent up thrift share Mondays, and if you like “thrift porn”, there are lots of other lovely pictures of thrift linked to her site every Monday. (Although she’s much more charming with words, and would probably not use the word porn in the same sentence with these other lovely people.)</p> <p>I may get some strange hits from the verbiage in this post, but I just loved his description so much I had to use it. This probably will be the last time I describe my blog as porn though because I do often use the word free as well, and the overuse of those two words might link me to some interesting searches.</p> <p>Getting to the goods. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_pdzrgsxKh-Yrx1z8PqZTCvLbMkNMcbdN5_UPbUek6bJIC_jPG1CtcPweq4aNNFfuP7sDT_mm1d1pz9tVL4Pz_k7eEObWBDISxWaKSAdiKVmTuA4QtIjwWe5hkFZbtHyWCgdvv_cjH0c/s1600-h/1036.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="103" border="0" alt="103" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOCVg-HWqoI/AAAAAAAAAsA/MdVDimPh04I/103_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Vintage Apron, Hand Embroidered tea towel, and embroidery thread bought at a church rummage sale about a month ago for one dollar total. Cute little old ladies in a church basement can’t be beat, thrift-wise, in my opinion.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqn4FZMKibGHui7P8NsR1BsPW9Ov42XL3LTBpGXUfC01UdWAEI06ZjnzZMdFsxS9M4kYFTSgfOdvDZ43IUze5Wfku__yCFw3wGAK9aSWWWHYhbF5NpkYpC5gJOLW4Pz-8t18Ub9FAYrfI/s1600-h/0416.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="041" border="0" alt="041" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zW41HdGdfE7ZgjfsKqKPiBnWgYkOzmS2d_pbQsAFzxf5okwj5-J_-m3F1kI552YKIiee0-Pw2DMUarYqMQ9kNMYfukrgCUVA9O7yGjl1fMf7j3ykQR2rCG5zE2CPCLnHRsjXB5gIGTqY/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a></p> <p>Goodwill run a few weeks ago. Sugar bowls, crock, syrup dispenser, old Sunset magazine, and cute little glass dome.  Total five dollars.</p> <p>The orchid was a birthday gift to Alex and I just thought it looked pretty in the picture.The coupons are for Meyer’s stuff. My mom sent me them in the mail.  Just used them yesterday on geranium scented shower spray; the delightful scent motivates me to clean my shower.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOCViH1MXXI/AAAAAAAAAsM/DB_CaXZPgDw/s1600-h/0844.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="084" border="0" alt="084" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOCVim_EXGI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/eDcahhoGMec/084_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="564" /></a></p> <p>Free post cards, I’ve collected from coffee shops for Alex. He wanted me to find a way to display them on his dresser, so I found this metal picture holder at a garage sale for 25 cents.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKNIOmgch0z9tBzDkqchmM3B4Rv4pO6HhYV4nRIhHujjvK06-10qHzNMgLI0tMxgjq_7Uu5hlWe93FAua6NqPX1zfINieJ2sJDe1YQkJCyIFIomc2Dk6J1ANPdx8m-2sKwEt6wNQ_cHdm/s1600-h/0554.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="055" border="0" alt="055" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5aVxstFrWxkDUksTQobWKqLioSDhCE30TpU6fwDt-yxSmiNRusBsmhVUudYGFzOFkaGHulgeFGvqEpvfw4oaeQFTUkRds4H1XW6yha8EBHFqJanurdm2gt3ec8tU97lj-wde_4Chtjre/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>This sideboard is a new favorite. I don’t hate the color as much as some might assume, but do think it will end up getting refinished because Alex can’t take the pea green. The pulls turn me off more than the color, so I will need to find some interesting pulls once it is refinished. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqBDtowkuYrlvaFZ4-rA1JvROOSIFxTWp35L2jPcoH_ypCkufveihYD6zQKu1TgngIjNBhTbkKOSxA0X2weTrmRqadl0a9dZk6biy6B1YcJyzhfAhBDMOhTY6FkKe62L5KsHbR7stCvHa/s1600-h/0684.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="068" border="0" alt="068" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjds5UocjTTL25c-8CbHMaEB9hAibxRTSKpiJsD6UWyD9diMC38Tf0Q-i_THGNnivdPByBrNis8SYBbvyKpKYWa3nqlL2TbmRjc6sqx70LytJzTqJzUkxUGPMjn4IfZ3A051-ClJkEuvRJ-/?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>It will provide a wonderful place to hold entertaining swag (extra glasses, plates, napkins, platters, candles, etc.) I’ve been stashing that stuff in an upstairs closet, and it will be much more convenient to have everything so close to the dining room.  Perhaps it may even motivate me to entertain  more. The cost was 60 dollars at an estate sale. </p> <p>The white platter is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankoma_Pottery">Frankoma</a>, bought at a yard sale for 2 dollars. Finally after searching for platters all summer this beautifully simple white one came into my world, and when I came home I discovered the Frankoma etching on the bottom and fell in love even more.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRFGiYsExWtzJSHsgooPjP_CO7UZY9GMBqElkt8O6lMLM5FzqbFG3zayqtIZ063EEqv9MUc9VRHUN6i2wZA0KaXrfkUaUOqPsh8DLMyoVW_8bU4-xhsibIWCFV-S9pS7o0t7oeZPEns3e/s1600-h/0504.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="050" border="0" alt="050" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TOCVl4lO-7I/AAAAAAAAAso/aD93CNdHRKI/050_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="326" /></a> </p> <p>I wander past the hundreds of shoes at “The Will” each and every time I go. I have yet to find a thing that is in my size and doesn’t smell like a gym loccer, so I  was therefore stunned to find the <a href="http://compare.ebay.com/like/260670629371?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=160942686557&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=WVI8&GUID=038566cc12c0a47a046787b7ff90aab3&itemid=260670629371&ff4=263602_304662">Red Earth Shoes</a>, that I had been planning to buy anyway perched on their racks in my size, in great condition and costing 6 dollars and 99 cents as opposed to the 100 dollars plus tax they cost new. I felt as though the thrift gods had shined upon me that day. Couldn’t have been more perfect.</p> <p>Hope you enjoyed the thrift peep show and happy Thrift Share Monday ya’ll!</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:6ac7ba08-c6c1-4a45-a921-5f8223e09dae" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrift" rel="tag">Thrift</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrift+Share+Monday" rel="tag">Thrift Share Monday</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hutch" rel="tag">Hutch</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Earth+Shoes" rel="tag">Earth Shoes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrifting" rel="tag">Thrifting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/The+Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">The Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Estate+Sale" rel="tag">Estate Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Goodwill" rel="tag">Goodwill</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-21542075616865126912010-09-20T20:51:00.001-07:002010-11-21T16:25:12.394-08:00HomeWhat is the definition of home? Is it a house ? Is it a specific person or people? Is it a town? Or is it simply a state of mind? <br /> <br />In my younger years home was an extremely static place, it did not move out of a 10 mile radius. It was my house with my parents, my bed, my food, and my cat.  Home was the small town which I spent all my early years discovering. The place where I knew every street, short cut, secret playground, and <a href="http://www.daylightdonuts.com/our_story.html">little donut shop</a>. I knew people and people knew me. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhSAKO5RFnOOFUVyGJ-f02ynA2BrrUfSsab33pHk5c5JfVUyDl1bhEteAuvYKC86AQ0dNRbmSd4dz8gPICM94rpB4-BTR-1qvvmAyPg2bznXBXvSc_-lv52EsSIZPkHptVXL7UVA8i2AQ/s1600-h/DSCN0285%5B8%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN0285" border="0" alt="DSCN0285" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgrnGmq7vI/AAAAAAAAAqE/BT4LnARM7t0/DSCN0285_thumb%5B12%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="429" /></a> <br />As years went by home became much harder to figure out, and the road home became an intermingled obstacle of highways and crooked roads which seemed so unfamiliar it was unthinkable to retrace the route back. <br /> <br />After moving to Seattle, getting divorced, and quitting my job, all in the period of less than a year, I felt lost. Where was I?  Who was I? And furthermore where, what, and who could bring me back home. (Iowa with all of my connections 10 years ago.) It was impossible to find this place without a road trip time machine. <br /> <br />In the midst of this all I had begun renting a room from a lovely lady, in a lovely house. Despite her warmness, her house was not my home. <br /> <br />To add insult to injury, my soul mate of a cat,Sally, who had shown me nothing but unconditional love and support over our 10 years together had decided moving to a house with a cat she didn’t like was the last straw in our relationship; she had taken to hissing at me as I walked into the room, and running under the bed when I tried to snuggle her. <br /> <br />The lovely little house I’d moved into was already equip with a full kitchen full of utensils, which for some reason really made me miss the spoons my husband had taken in our divorce. Stirring my coffee with those spoons had for some reason equaled home in my mind. <br /> <br />One memory in particular sticks out as the time in my life where I was entirely adrift, not tied to any place, person, or thing. The absence of secret playgrounds, short cuts, moms, houses, jobs,spoons,and husbands had left me hollow and aching for home. <br /> <br />I said to my new boyfriend, Alex, nonchalantly at first, “I think I want to move home.” <br /> <br />I’d been holding it together pretty good with all that had been happening, but in that moment,saying those words aloud, and feeling the impact of what they meant “<em> I want to move home”</em> made me lose it. It was the first time I had really cried in front of him in the 4 months we’d been together. <br /> <br />In the midst of my sobs which seemed to come from nowhere,“I said I think I should move back to Iowa, so I can be home again.”  <br /> <br />He held me, and said he understood what I meant.  I explained how it  seemed like everyone else in this life had dreams of grandeur; they wanted to accomplish great things, go to fantastic far off places, and amass an amount of amazing experiences, but all I wanted to do was be home. <br /> <br />I said how I wanted to bake a cake, spend time with my friends, play board games, meander in my neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon, go yard saling, and have a vegetable garden. I told him I just want a simple life with simple pleasures, but that I didn’t know how to get back there from here. <br /> <br />He wrapped me in his arms and said “Me too…..that’s all I want too.” For a moment I felt home. And I realized it wasn’t about Iowa it was about feeling home, I needed to figure out what home was for me, and let go of the rest. I needed to let go of what I thought I should be compared to other people, and just be what made me feel home. <br /> <br />It would be great to say that from that moment on, I was enlightened enough to follow through on that epiphany, but that was just the spark to an idea which caused me to go in search of home. Here are a few things I’ve found so far. <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCqLP9BVhpGduPjfJU88S7GZyOPwvk95cgHOSm5XaBJ0YeBSYzeOTUqqqOMY8ytO9bzvdRU76f8U3nmbIElkncC9Fw9GkzQvMS7MIuIrYGtgSNZrV6Jjjh1RuYTOIpoFkob1pgCWhH3qJ/s1600-h/0447.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="044" border="0" alt="044" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwZ4l3Z5BA21GuGho7OgmdvEI_oUZ3SpQLgmTH60agxnjQqmcVkGwVW-LmF13qu1D3EXpHLjdhz97lqyKmrQRpHs75jITwaJtrzlN0W_KBp7SOgoCeAInExESfHUi7tr51rL6gTiAugzH/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> <br /> <br />Home is baking a cake from scratch for someone I love. And home is also discovering after careful investigation that almost all items in this picture were found at yard sales or were hand me downs from friends and family. <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQO4TKeuyI_qb1v2_9n52_Jh6IiMMB8EeyT7uCJ1q7PvDBWZbROGZP8Zfi3TAbRqBlNYMNPKAcoErIrrnTnVdn6flGBRJmoZqK-fPVzmevVw2eKkjR48C7gYw5R91slTjdqmdAIdZhQMO/s1600-h/0354.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="035" border="0" alt="035" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgro2YrXUI/AAAAAAAAAqU/KlKLSaybFgA/035_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> <br />Home is reading a book on the back patio on a sunny day. <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgrpLb8pqI/AAAAAAAAAqY/z8QpzB7KZME/s1600-h/0054.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="005" border="0" alt="005" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9k4YVbu-_dTSKMugwRk-Fxg8gaMdY53SUWcJ_DA42KEL5Ao9WDdr7V09YJccQyuxs_-4rAkHO4ydKnvMLC6yATad-ObCPp4A1_jD03qF4DfzasToBly-q2kovgLyNwD45Ek2Z6V6ckiIN/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="531" /></a> <br /> <br />Home is a little flower from the garden in a glass vile handed down by my mom. <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgrp7EfKHI/AAAAAAAAAqg/ydGcE0GeBmA/s1600-h/0634.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="063" border="0" alt="063" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHc9uBCddrN3qrvTHaFsizx2OFlWfAUzaQcZoiatD9o8pf6Kz2xW3d9oLx3mYG1uZ7c2AP6ZOs91iz9gvyXPXrU9yNH8l6TQf-S7S2IAWjhpFDw15E6ssKFwsqfT7dqI5dhUN5KZLKp0B/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> <br /> <br />Home is little wild flowers planted by Alex on our side porch in the summer. <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgrq1mtgXI/AAAAAAAAAqo/afNCeScO8QU/s1600-h/2009062010.23.554.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="2009-06-20 10.23.55" border="0" alt="2009-06-20 10.23.55" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TJgrrChFIWI/AAAAAAAAAqs/ctOBoQFZBLI/2009062010.23.55_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> <br />Home is where Sally is. (And especially where she is and is not angry with me)  Home is mom, dad, brother, friends, grandma and Alex. But most of all it is me, and where I am when I am there. <br /> <br />Home is being grounded, slowing down, and figuring out what I actually enjoy in life. Home is making time for people I love, shooting the shit over a few beers,  and playing a board game on a Sunday afternoon. <br /> <br />Home is not who I am to anyone else, but it is who I am to me. <br /> <br />It’s taken a lot of work and thought to get back home, and these days I do feel home more times than not.  But every day the challenge is to check myself and ask, why are you doing that? Does this make you feel home, or are you moving away from yourself? <br /> <br />The cheesy saying written on many a wooden door sign, “Home is where the heart is”,  is true, except I would just change one word and say “Home is where my heart is.” And that is it. <br /> <br />That is all I have to do to get back home find my heart and my breath in each moment. Here’s to you all finding your way home to whatever, wherever, whoever and whenever. Welcome Home to us all. <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c874c55a-8b29-40df-b8f7-da2014309db2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Home" rel="tag">Home</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Way+Home" rel="tag">Way Home</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Finding+My+Way" rel="tag">Finding My Way</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mindfulness" rel="tag">Mindfulness</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Baking+a+Cake" rel="tag">Baking a Cake</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Slowing+Down" rel="tag">Slowing Down</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Growing+Up" rel="tag">Growing Up</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-4243497569322179592010-08-19T19:48:00.001-07:002010-08-19T22:25:06.607-07:00Cheap Thrills<p>For my birthday, I wanted to learn to surf. It is on the bucket list, and I have been planning to learn to surf on the <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannon_Beach_02.jpg">Oregon Coast</a> on my birthday since last year on my birthday. Time was scheduled off from work as soon as the new year rolled in. Picturing myself on  the surf board riding the waves has been getting me through many a day at my desk. What could be more glorious and satisfying than riding the perfect wave on my birthday.</p> <p>Throughout my life I’ve been conducting a random survey with most people I meet; at their slightest mentioned of Hawaii, California, Mai Tais or the ocean I prod if they have ever been surfing. Although, I’ve done my best to hide my Iowa naivety, when people mention the ocean I morph into the land locked kid who dreamed of the seaside. However, often despite my efforts to project on them what fun I think they must have had, people tell me how hard surfing is. “It <em>is</em> fun, but only once you do it for a while.” In fact although I hated to admit it to myself, when interrogated, most people admit to how miserable it was for them.</p> <p>Over the years, I’ve all but erased such warnings from my memory, and all I could think of was how sweet it would be to hang ten. Ready to surf, I looked up the cost of a lesson two weeks before my trip. 100 dollars. 100 more dollars if I didn’t want to make Alex watch me learn to surf. Of course I should have expected this cost, and of course I should have started saving last year on my birthday, but that’s just not the kind of gal I am. </p> <p>Also, because I did not plan more than a few weeks in advance, all of the camp sites were booked on Friday. We had to cut our beach trip short by one day, and would only be able to spend 1 day at the beach. </p> <p>In my previous life, most likely I would have stubbornly stuck to my plan. I would have been miserable because I didn’t allow myself enough time to be happy. I would have expected way too much of myself and of Alex. After remembering  many a botched, not so well laid out, stressful plans I had stubbornly proceeded with regardless of reason, I decided that instead of surfing, I could choose the quintessential surfer lifestyle, and enjoy a laid back day at the beach. I decided to let the waves crash in, and had a laid back cheap beach birthday.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TG3s-mHOtCI/AAAAAAAAApk/OjieqKF_-wU/s1600-h/0174.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="017" border="0" alt="017" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TG3s-9CJtwI/AAAAAAAAApo/EcL1oDE77MY/017_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Lessons learned while relaxing  and marveling at the ocean:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannon_Beach_02.jpg">A friend’s cast off trashy paperback novel about love, sex, and betrayal can be as  wonderful as a 25 dollar hardback hand selected from 1000’s of titles</a> </li> <li>Hot dogs cooked on a fire sometimes taste better than a white table cloth 100 dollar birthday meal </li> <li>Body surfing with my best friend and life love is exhilarating for no charge </li> <li>In the coming years, I will plan to spend many more days at the ocean (further in advance) </li> <li>Embracing the go with the flow surfer attitude makes me happier </li> <li>Stole this from my co-worker “ I don’t care who you are, or what you do in life; when you stare at the ocean, you cannot tell me you are not moved and that just for that moment that your life is not better” </li> </ul> <p>I’m ready to embrace the good stuff and get rid of the supposed to’s, the because I told myself I would, and I had to’s. Excited to make this year the most authentic and present year of my life. Ready to search for the things that cost less and satisfy more. </p> <p>Suggestions? Would love to hear what that means to you! Surfs up.</p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-50161385696381494722010-08-03T20:30:00.001-07:002010-08-03T22:20:18.146-07:00Poppies and Dahlias<p>Yesterday while catching up on my annual birthday month zodiac research, I discovered that the <a href="http://www.leo.arollo.com/">Leo power flowers</a> are poppies and dahlias. Of course.</p> <p>Ever since I first spied both of these flowers I’ve been mesmerized by their peculiar beauty, and drawn to them in a weird way as if they were a form of soul mate that I would like to share my life with. Sort of like how you feel about your favorite songs and books. Like they know you or represent you; they mean something to you on some weird emotional level. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TFje6FKouGI/AAAAAAAAAo8/UvtNyM9FlYA/s1600-h/109%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="109" border="0" alt="109" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TFje6dvZJ3I/AAAAAAAAApA/66t6K0ZHpyE/109_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>This little poppy coaster was purchased months ago for 50 cents at an estate sale, and it has been something I’ve enjoyed waking up to for no good reason ever since.</p> <p>Disclosure: Yes I am a little freaky mystical sometimes, one friend describes talking about stuff like this as coming out of the purple closet. I do know how absurd things like this seem, and I really have no science to back me up, but when I experience strong emotions to things for no reason it feels like it means something. Who knows what, but something. </p> <p>I didn’t grow up with poppies or dahlias in fact I didn’t even know that either existed until my early twenties.The first time I laid eyes on a poppy, their papery whimsical petals and wiry stems which seemed to defy gravity by supporting their big orange heads amazed me. They have fascinated me ever since.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TFje62mxETI/AAAAAAAAApE/J_zV6zEzkE0/s1600-h/091%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="091" border="0" alt="091" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqeIkFf5E45m_SpREbLMYKbDIs8RpMY4IcY7zFS2x-CDHeUIL21PskcvN5sir5Cw1-Zn3yrSGVWY7MbBiKUU1DsqSEK7b-nuLau7LrCyVi9EWgfO25FMgB-kwgjC0OzTP75w0CP0FUUkQ/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a>Over the weekend (Before reading about the Leo power flowers) on my normal thrifting rounds, I picked up this blue poppy table cloth, at “The Will” for 3 dollars and 99 cents, and although I have never seen a blue poppy, a quick search on Google revealed that they do exist in the Himalayan mountains. I shall dream to spy a <a href="http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pictures+Blue+Poppies&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=rtRYTISmDoi8sQPjlPjVCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDMQsAQwAw">real blue poppy</a> in person someday. The table cloth will suffice till then.  It’s simply lovely, and I can’t wait to have it as a guest to a backyard picnic.</p> <p>The first time I saw a dahlia was when my friend Robin brought me one at a dinner party 5 years ago. The flower’s complicated simplicity was contradictory and intriguing. It was like it was almost a rose, but was so much more complex yet more simple at the same time. I know that’s a ridiculous juxtaposition, but its what the dahlia is, complicated simplicity. Intricate close up and simple from afar. But beautiful from everywhere. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmG2T9DHe69KopNJTaossgpV7LeS1Kkhv42Vnwh081CG59lXiZ8lZ_jUnLZbYQthPrbDPY3n3o8llERsZ5Ha1U43cwd06rM7LmuE9SDCYA5JBVgwZwRWzrlAh7xIGF9vsJgPQr4Wq6UnQT/s1600-h/059%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="059" border="0" alt="059" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TFje8F6rmcI/AAAAAAAAApQ/gW7WioNNwao/059_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a></p> <p>This one dollar dahlia (Isn’t it wonderful how a few simple stems can be even more beautiful that an elaborate expensive bouquet) too was purchased prior to reading about the Leo flowers. </p> <p>Coincidence? Ok, probably, but it did freak me out a little. (In a good way) But mostly it made me excited for my birthday month and the stars aligning to Leo for their brief yearly stint. I’m excited to revel in the Leo days of summer. Looking forward to a great 28th year of life, and a wonderful August.</p> <p>Hope you all enjoy my favorite month of the year, the dog days of summer, and this time in Leo. Time to roar. (In a nice way)</p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-71447321977205528012010-07-21T18:41:00.001-07:002010-08-03T19:26:25.749-07:00Country Roads and Camping<p>This weekend we headed out for a bit of solitude up in the Cascades. Typically the sounds of the city don’t bother me too much, in fact I mostly enjoy the excitement they seem to represent.</p> <p>But last week I started to itch. Which manifested in a strong urge to kick a bus that honked too loudly(not that hard, but still), and the thought that maybe I should hurl an egg at the dumb motorcyclists who vroom their engines while passing by my house. Why do they have to do that?  We don’t think they are cooler or tougher, and in the words of Stephanie Tanner (yes Stefanie Tanner) “How Rude!”</p> <p>About every six months country road fever sets in. Making me want to drive down windy country roads with a bit of good music, windows rolled down, and arm out the window making wave motions. (A trick I learned from my high school boyfriend driving down Highway 69 in his red Cavalier convertible. If you stick your arm out the window while driving at a mild pace of 55 or so and make the motion of a wave/snake with your arm slowly you feel as if you are actually flying. It feels so free to be on a country road with a good tune, sunshine, and your arm “flying” out the window.)</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzeFB3IY3CoF8llEcleQ5FJYwhFwf7ZLqOZ3zeM1GtoNPWpEaOKEY92bmpJu1P0aXT6CLB3iN7eiDXMyBxfvJpLXrx2qdFSycQGrow9MjYtgv5Q4fn7eV5JqLZIB1PN13K_cF2HoUNIX3/s1600-h/0034.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="003" border="0" alt="003" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TEehxy1PJCI/AAAAAAAAAoI/9H9SCkZABwA/003_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a>28 dollars in camp ground fees, a tank of gas, and a bag of marshmallows/ dark chocolate bars and voila peace, quiet, and freedom the perfect two day summer vacation.  Picture taken at the top of a hike ending with an amazing Alpine Lake. Swimming was cold, yes, but certainly was wonderful.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TEehyYfXovI/AAAAAAAAAoM/MOfDqMScHe0/s1600-h/0674.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="067" border="0" alt="067" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn3B25hprVHA71YWenjoNHeAdbryEICaiCt2-GIj_PRGoQOriAv5WdMIxLtbZgX863KAe8omUWQ-Q4GUVRE2UaQIVguUawVkNK94VoXTujOb_Hh8-s_zWCIWI7G5Q9uZ8mNqwn3Rp82Yp/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a></p> <p>We found a few deals along Highway 2 as well.  Although small town thrifting was not quite to my taste, (i.e. 1990’s flower shams and faux country home sweet home coat racks) as Seattle, I still found a few fun items. </p> <p>Above is a photo book of Seattle from the mid nineteen-eighties. Looking through it, I fell back in love with my city and no longer was fighting urges to kick busses and egg Harley’s. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YaVbaAKA1vB2eL0wcsfYct0F2OmulG4KdALO1Kkths_xkjVjcmMDeHrw12IbQa8H1O5GFaasWD1mVqanHFKr7M51Diez3qnCXgSTPnQPbxOceLalEuTvKdE1F4IRKOtwd8OS0zLC75Az/s1600-h/065%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="065" border="0" alt="065" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TEeh0Tm0YGI/AAAAAAAAAow/WptZA6MOdCY/065_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a></p> <p>Normally I don’t buy things for the unborn children I may have in 4 or 5 years, but I totally loved these books when I was little, and have a feeling my brother, who’s five years older, is going to become a dad before I become a mom, and inherit all things saved for grandkids. </p> <p>He also had a great affinity for these little books. Although there is a story that’s been circulating at family holidays for most of his life about him telling a stranger he looked just like Mr. Grumpy which he doesn’t seem to appreciate, I know he will snap them up once a little one arrives.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCRo0e7LwrDHRriuov1fSp_cfZDC9w2VixPwNH_iEwOzRuzHU3mP6kbtnX1OW4mCMnf3q2GIQcE22aYEFObTyqx7QkpXZFFnCTc8sujIkyAwjKL4ljEX-4cxCqBpXy_yXQ7XwjftspFVO/s1600-h/0474.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="047" border="0" alt="047" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_g4SU9p-muqrnCIAzK2acf3QqLpPBpFCXWyp6zvlEFeoeIBJVF58T5AkCLExMhyg3GFWAd4ueRHEAzgcXpuWG8-FNG79Fq0-peCBesuWzlntcddvxmC26nktT8B7D1Z_fuGwfFBHKCDE8/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> Finally I found my very own cow creamers at a decent price, FREE! The nice older lady hosting the sale insisted that I take them at no cost, as she just wanted to get rid of things and it was the end of her day, and at eleven dollars Alex and I had the made the highest amount of purchases she’d had all day with our other loot.</p> <p>Initially I only wanted the lovely cow but the nice woman insisted I take the bull as well, and I am glad she did as they do make a handsome couple. </p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxYUaH0VpTPta48kxmoH2_IESPV7M1a1jbPKcfjSKgEH6bR8dKD2UykWbQF9j85u1Im2waDK8po1Ag2HJ1_Gamdj4SA9IGTCaeMcCMiYqjsMPrBXfc79ZZLqntIgLBnpt5hrtLS4oav7d/s1600-h/0536.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="053" border="0" alt="053" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3I9JvLrIvCIDNkSjNnm6kkajNQ6hznZiBaeAKaravZGnMfbUmvcb5d_Ko5OgRFPSIZawIasghGMjLC_EmDvpcwod1UYNa3D8W_nXTIVAL7Q5hSgA6fPsLDfANfDNAhxcSS4_Yhx14URqt/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a></p> <p>After mowing his mom’s lawn upon our return Sunday night, Alex brought me a gorgeous rose from his mom’s Garden. It looked just beautiful in the 16 cent glass jar I leave on my window sill for cups of midnight water. </p> <p>Great cheap summer weekend. Life does not get better! How are you all enjoying your summer days and nights? What are your favorite free/ cheap summer past times? </p> <p>Enjoy and drink in these juicy bits of summer!</p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-30512239713310315362010-07-07T18:07:00.001-07:002010-07-12T22:07:16.245-07:00Homestead Seattle<p>Last year I took Alex on a road trip to Iowa in an effort to show him my farmin’ roots, and how Iowans live off the land, to let him see self <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carlisle-IA/Butcher-Crick-Farms/296187926923">sustaining do it yourself kind of folk</a>. Like my tomato farmin friend Jennie Smith. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XDRCqVTcw4lXFDddu-FqJAL7EWsqqjuGV2uhE9URmyWlq0niZar1QQD3rbXDpYwWmfqVcIgDI6B2padpW96yA_o134w-DwvuvL2qMAvh32ZQUEVTZk-4vAclOOhcBlpsB3gLHYZia36A/s1600-h/DSCN04564.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN0456" border="0" alt="DSCN0456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IDJFknExvksImrb6PKXM5fktnasLwufJxF7_JnklF4ynJjlTRBGWdN6lcdXXNWcIYiASWz319mcuST7FmSASHBOrbiO6zGHxBhGC7ffOUHa0vnQvougdHf0ePOFyd-RvOElG8cKBFRWl/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Ok, so actually I didn’t grow up on a farm.  However, for at least four years of my childhood my backyard consisted of a large cornfield. This was until the mid 1990’s when the real estate boom hit and my small town turned into a large suburb, and my backyard turned into big two story homes.</p> <p>Despite the growth in my town, I grew up driving on gravel roads, seeing livestock, and the only traffic jams I experienced were due to John Deer Tractors driving down the highway very slowly.</p> <p>This particular picture is one of my favorite farms in Upper Iowa called <a href="http://www.seedsavers.org/Content.aspx?src=aboutus.htm">Seed Savers</a> which supplies many home gardeners with the seeds for their gardens and also contains the largest non-governmental seed bank in United States. It was created to “honor the tradition of preserving and sharing.” I love that, I also would like to preserve and share.</p> <p>It seemed like most of the adults I knew growing up did things like can, garden, raise chickens and cross stitch. I must confess, I did not always find these things to be “cool” hobbies. My grandpa George had a huge garden, and all I thought about it, until a few years ago, was how I wished he would stop trying to force his bounty of bitter radishes on me, and also that my grandmother would stop trying to make me eat her homemade sweet pickles, and that my parents would stop bringing me so many darned tomatoes in the middle of August. Why would anyone put the work into this stuff when you could just buy it at the store? </p> <p>The satisfaction one gets from tending to a plot of  veggies,  cooking, and consuming them in a meal was lost on me. I was such a moron. It took moving to Seattle and quitting my hectic job as a restaurant manager to really develop an appreciation for the slow homesteading arts and skills. It has proved to be one of the greatest and most rewarding pleasures in my life to have my own garden, and now I want to learn more.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFkKBm6C3BvYTxKi-3ovELSMYjaHEQt7IzvY-jJpDib8mxF8wjNecpOKS3s42Yk2fDFNtw50PF8170fO1jTmNiTztpVgFlUOAT3s3cuKFNgtvhNZnww2z8mOElazI2WRPHke7xQ9V8Me2/s1600-h/0604.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="060" border="0" alt="060" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWX38YLHuFQw9kkwHnfjyCWI09TYZJgYFdXgBbQBn28STxpM5cJUqtm1AkpO6FagYVttQC07G5ntiMmu6wANQGX2cdWf0E0TQw4zqkHmrJhNaktcos23m5XUtUzp4EzBwB1UKKKqwxo1P/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Last weekend while thrifting, it felt like I was being sent a message from the homesteading goddesses. First I found <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Living-Guide-Sourcebook-Stressful/dp/0553067966">The Simple Living Guide</a></u> at a yard sale for one dollar. </p> <p>Next, Alex and I happened upon a 40 percent off all used book sale at our favorite bookstore <a href="http://ravenna.thirdplacebooks.com/">Third Place Books</a>, which has a small homesteading section, and as luck would have it the three books that I thought looked interesting were all used! </p> <p>I picked up <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Made-Scratch-Discovering-Pleasures-Handmade/dp/160342086X/ref=reader_auth_dp">Made from Scratch</a></u>, <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Living-Couples-Search-Better/dp/0895872897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278548234&sr=1-4">Simple Living,</a></u> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ReadyMade-Almost-Everything-Do-Yourself/dp/1400081076">Ready Made’s: How to Make Almost Everything</a>, all for 15 dollars, and all hardbacks in mint condition! (Probably not for long, but still)</p> <p>I am simultaneously reading <u>Made from Scratch</u> and <u>The Simple Living Guide</u>, and am very much enjoying/getting a lot out of both.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjb9W__hyphenhyphenWlOWL3RxNFyViit5IwY_AKAY6yO-RsAkECJgZAeVa35UGqeBwNunsVwikIpkh7BjNYdTvMCY_B8SaewhyphenhyphenkmWw1Kro3WgmGQYKDUrw9dr7xEuHP-LrgISRCDL7riMp7KpB8rer/s1600-h/0094.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="009" border="0" alt="009" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TDUk1sSnyvI/AAAAAAAAAng/rNcjvKUJbsg/009_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>The girl in  <u>Made from Scratch</u> marvels at the wonders and work of growing your own food in her second chapter, where she attempts her first garden. I felt so connected to everything she was saying having started my own first garden this year. We made many of the same mistakes, lamented in the same way over the deep 20 year old roots of our grass and how hard they were to dislodge, and enjoyed many of the same splendors of seeing our first leafs, buds, and fruits.</p> <p>Just before reading this,I'd spent two hours dividing and replanting onions. Then however, I was able to cook and eat some of the bigger ones with our plump sugar snap peas in an amazing stir fry. After all the toil, I was able to enjoy and share the fruits of the labor, and it was well worth it. </p> <p>The meal tasted 100 times  better,and weather or not that was all in my head, it was extremely satisfying.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTL321eandoJ-tzryCOkz7mIIfarQzBOcsxBhrpU1P2VVi_UwvxMv2yaLnNkmkkg8IPu5Wo8RmF4XjTqSa-UYE-V_jzDrT2VtyZZD70kHz-1-rg8Z90c8fDaBuNuqJNH1rqAki28T4o59e/s1600-h/0384.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieW_Uo-2g14_hHy4ZU9tN8V3IuyuEWQsoZ_MR45VcPtHjCv2l8OdwRTKwIVVFL48h2Aj1Ti-0vkeAWyoO9arRjeUOJwA3gMB3YZuJxaA6SxzUAWruCIMYtGQ11ze4GqiEtErJgcLtWGJct/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Next up on the homesteading efforts, canning. Another sign from the homestead goddesses, this weekend at The Goodwill there was a brand new case of mason jars for 4 dollars and 99 cents, and with the 20 percent off coupon I had to made it even less.  Also, I picked up a bunch of old jars for 16 cents each, and will just have to buy fresh lids. </p> <p>I’m looking forward to canning something, not sure what yet, or if it will come from my garden, or someone else's, but that’s next in the quest at <strike>self sustainment </strike>doing a few more things for myself.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPAev495fV1XNz6IyoSOFAPsRrZBuIOCStSN9eZHhT5K2-1MQva-hEwlhewStAdCN3aJrkJ4QFS_D5NQE2UChTMZMlgZgDJO42i1DDXhL0B7K7zUaYcGh1I9NpHR3rHunUBYlhuK90icj/s1600-h/DSCN04544.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="DSCN0454" border="0" alt="DSCN0454" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TDUk3vi_D6I/AAAAAAAAAnw/_xACYEHmlhc/DSCN0454_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>Perhaps next year we will build an Urban Chicken coop. I was going through our pictures from this past year, and found a disproportionate amount of chicken photos in the collection. Mostly taken by Alex in hopes of having his own chickens to dote over. </p> <p>He almost has me convinced, and the homesteading goddesses which seem to be taking hold of my existence are gently pushing me in the direction of these little rascals. Still not sure about butchering, but fresh eggs would sure be nice in our Sunday French toast. </p> <p>Sewing, embroidery, soap making, and honey bees are also very intriguing. What are your experiences with these lost arts? Are you too  enjoying their resurgence? What do you do to keep your life simple? How do you take part in the moments of your life instead of letting them pass by? </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4fb2d896-0615-4c00-a059-cf664c0e407c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/homestead" rel="tag">homestead</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/homesteading" rel="tag">homesteading</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/urban+farm" rel="tag">urban farm</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/chickens" rel="tag">chickens</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/canning" rel="tag">canning</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/farming" rel="tag">farming</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/simplicity" rel="tag">simplicity</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-15343797663404336722010-06-30T18:20:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:11:06.836-07:00Don’t drive on by<p>Several times I’ve pulled up to  a yard sale, and seen only a few items and always think about driving by. Typically I stop anyway, and I’ve discovered often there are more items to suit me at these little sales than at the  HUGE SALES, I am headed to! </p> <p>Saturday was the perfect example of this. Driving around with my mom and dad we saw a sale, we pulled up to see that there was only 50 or so items laid out on a couple of card tables. My mom said, “Do you still want to stop?” </p> <p>“Hmmm, no” I said not wanting to let them down if it was a wash, but then I remembered the last small sale I had succeeded at and yelled at my already lost in Seattle dad “Wait, Wait, let’s stop.”</p> <p>It was an interesting family of three hosting the sale. Very cool Seattle people with an array of interesting items. These gardening <a href="http://www.gardenclogs.com/">clogs</a> are simply divine. The lady proclaimed that she had loved them so much she bought them at a sale even though they were one size too small; she had dreamed of gardening in them for years. Now I could live out her dream.</p> <p>The ones I got are practically brand new. They cost 2 dollars and were exactly my size. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCvtb0GlaXI/AAAAAAAAAms/5lo-eItSt4s/s1600-h/0354.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="035" border="0" alt="035" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCvtcQ7VUwI/AAAAAAAAAmw/mVnJzxy3h8c/035_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>My mom and I “staged” Sally in the shoes. What could be cuter than a cat in a big pair of red clogs. She wasn’t really having it though, not even a purple flower which she would usually devour, enticed her to wear the clogs longer than 2 or 3 seconds.</p> <p>She’s missing out I tell you because they are comfortable. However, I do have a new appreciation for people in movies who work with staging animals. </p> <p>Also I have a renewed appreciation for my mom how cool is she that I was all “Hey mom, would you help me? I “need” to get a picture of Sally wearing my clogs.”</p> <p>My mom says “ Sounds good, where do you want her? Do you think a flower would entice her? I will try to get my feet out of the picture.” </p> <p>My mom is great. </p> <p>We also found this cute little fish it’s used for squeezing a lemon wedge. The juice comes out of its mouth, and it strains out the seeds. I don’t know that I will actually use him, but I love him even if he’s simply for decoration.</p> <p>I may just have to use him because he looks fun, not because he’s actually a time saver. But I suppose its better to have joy then save time.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCvtcwTaqPI/AAAAAAAAAm0/BsRY2VUVTcg/s1600-h/0094.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="009" border="0" alt="009" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCvtdMgOrYI/AAAAAAAAAm4/nJXQo7d2ZnI/009_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Also this family had two 150 year old cheese graters that they sold me for one dollar. I’m excited to list them on eBay!</p> <p>Although sometimes it turns out when a sale looks like it has nothing it actually has nothing, more times than not, I will find 3 or 4 wonderfully unique items which I would never be able to snag at a HUGE SALE.  </p> <p>Someone would have already snapped up these delights before me, someone who wakes up much earlier than 10 am most likely. </p> <p>As for now I won’t just drive by, I’m going to stop and check things out. I suppose that’s  a metaphor of sorts for my life at the moment too, trying to not just drive by my life, trying to actually examine it for the bits of wonder it contains. Hopefully I’ll find something delightful.</p> <p>Happy fourth of July and Happy Thrifting !</p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1377bb59-c71f-4170-80f1-6370bca7cbc3" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale" rel="tag">Yard Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Garage+Sale" rel="tag">Garage Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gardening" rel="tag">Gardening</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/thrifting" rel="tag">thrifting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vintage" rel="tag">vintage</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/red+clogs" rel="tag">red clogs</a></div></p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-29017338213035130962010-06-24T18:56:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:14:45.523-07:00Little Garden that could<p>Upon seeing this in my garden everyone’s reaction has been along the lines of, “You do know that spreads like a weed and takes over the garden”  My response “One can only hope!” </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMtqsnGuI/AAAAAAAAAl4/gisZFYZIa34/s1600-h/0524.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="052" border="0" alt="052" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUIQDi8iSx6KaxEsN4yCjd_WqlXRRRJOH08iGpNU1hDOR_ziSHuxJL5AXWa1SFSXYxV_1YT4q0BjGBpu_K3tQSV4ATAJl4b3F6fPXspCllFeYgqHugIIbTxDtcK4d2mnozPv8NfwtxnDB/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>After making <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/03/lot-of-rhubarb.html">this recipe</a> five times already in three months I knew I either needed to start a rhubarb only savings account or had better start growing my own rhubarb. </p> <p>Since I am not supposed to harvest it for a year until it gets strong enough to take my abuse, I cannot vouch for it’s deliciousness. It has pretty much become the pomegranate in the Garden of Eden to me. I have to fight every day not to chop off these stalks and eat them right then and there. Maybe even sans sugar they look so amazing. </p> <p>The start for the rhubarb cost 6 dollars, and if it goes wild as planned its first crop should more than pay for its cost, save me a ton of money, and make my friends Keri and Nicole very happy to partake in its abundance as fellow rhubarb lovers.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMu0Lb2GI/AAAAAAAAAmA/cSsVHuyp65c/s1600-h/0384.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="038" border="0" alt="038" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMvY7P_HI/AAAAAAAAAmE/infILQ740NA/038_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="531" /></a> </p> <p>If I couldn’t eat these I may have boycotted gardening all together. So I did, as soon as they were ripe. And they were pretty amazing. </p> <p>Heeding a warning from my friend <a href="http://olaiyalandcatering.com/">Olaiya</a>, I  put up a cage over my <strike>four small plants</strike> strawberry patch so that birds and squirrels wouldn’t swipe my strawberries as I allowed each berry to reach its peak deliciousiocity. </p> <p>Alex is not a big strawberry man, which typically I would frown on, but in this circumstance I’m happyl to hog all of the delicious berries to myself. YUM. </p> <p>I plan to hog the next batch that I picked tonight in my morning yogurt. I think the strawberries have produced enough to equal their cost of 1 dollar per start. And they are perennial, so they will keep paying off year after year with delicious free bounty.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNQ2XBOyVU3dzFt_JfAAni7BLNlciM77nbl8jvRQqtn36Cf5WezAJ8hKTfJ_UYXx7YpLI2XuN-Z4-Qf0JWyWVejDlYFg34PFKuJpUSsMLWZ_3cDbIS5PrJnsQ1fG777vCzVNe7VcjLEFc/s1600-h/0364.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="036" border="0" alt="036" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMwv7L-HI/AAAAAAAAAmM/LdY5-kw__I0/036_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="531" /></a> </p> <p>These peas are just getting big enough to eat. Our start got a bit unruly, and Alex and I had to keep adding layers to our homemade trellis, (I did not include a picture as it is a bit unruly itself, next year we will make it more photogenic) </p> <p>The start is probably about 8 ft tall. We also planted peas from <a href="http://www.seedsavers.org/">seed</a>, and they are a more reasonable (3 ft tall) and are producing pods with the same fervor. </p> <p></p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJj50cWPH3YVUauhdE3Juwb1NoH7RFhenwyh_vG3Pe8Uxg8KQYi6Tj4E6OYF07N5w17pkfD0lfM_OoezZ_22FSl1BqLEaZNU9dnQ4x9Y1Ejq3gJ8Bk3noBBajRfo8B0jKdmwj0mbxnH09/s1600-h/0464.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="046" border="0" alt="046" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMxoM6-zI/AAAAAAAAAmU/E0HkcrdTVgc/046_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> <p></p> <p>This is our cash crop, it keeps producing and producing. Week after week, its been producing bowl after bowl of delicious salad mix. Enough that we haven’t bought salad mix at the farmers market in over a month saving us at least 5 dollars per week. </p> <p>Cost of starts and seeds around 10 dollars, we have already doubled our investment, and unless it gets super hot I expect my cash cow to keep producing scrumptious greens to devourer. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TCQMybD43pI/AAAAAAAAAmY/cwGf-9SfY0s/s1600-h/0574.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="057" border="0" alt="057" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Wntey2gfGMFWpPOIOuUrUInmACt03NHqiQHzI9PJ6nAZJPUlBrzBdJwa0ib5VJkK0_L7Au0hc_tsu-oDareRn-Y5GVc2Za19ScJz5xhSiOKxxlRdv97mMpmse4CuaTjY_fyhXc51RFbe/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a>We’ve also been enjoying the plentiful fresh herbs, rosemary, dill, oregano, mint, thyme, parsley, and chives. Looking forward to attempting chamomile tea from the buds that are appearing, and to attempting culinary lavender to make <a href="http://novice-baker.blogspot.com/2007/11/lemon-lavender-cake-real-deal.html">this cake.</a></p> <p>Next to come peppers, tomatoes, melon, and hopefully cucumbers if we ever get past this dreadful June-uary in Seattle. For now I am happy to feast on cool weather greens, but do look forward to caprese salad from our purple tomatoes and purple basil.</p> <p>What are you all growing, what’s your cash crop so far, what are  your go to garden delights, what recipes do you like to make with your garden?</p> <p>Any experiments that have gone well or not so well? Would love to hear your insights, I need all the help I can get with this garden. </p> <p>Also,does anyone can or make jam? What are your favorites? I want to get in to that later in the year? Any tips? Let me hear it ya’ll!  Enjoy the season whatever that means in your neck of the woods. </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:7cc45c7a-cbb4-4341-b8a4-1d8d303a257c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Garden" rel="tag">Garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrifting" rel="tag">Thrifting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thrift" rel="tag">Thrift</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gardening" rel="tag">Gardening</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Seattle" rel="tag">Seattle</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Jam" rel="tag">Jam</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-11164057549226552212010-06-20T00:53:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:16:20.571-07:00Self Help and eBay<p>First off, an apology is in order. I never intended to be gone so long. I love writing so much. The Yard Sale Girl Blog has really been a great creative outlet, and I’ve very much enjoyed every comment and interaction. It’s the highlight of my day to read comments and correspond with people about thrifting. </p> <p>May turned out to be a weird month. It would be nice to say I was so busy I just didn’t have time to write, but that is mostly untrue. Sometimes I just loose my zest for life, I’ve been trying to loose it less and less, but as I am sure you all know losing your zest sucks, and once you’ve lost it, it is extremely hard to find. </p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="020" border="0" alt="020" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSNNxQP1evzsP4J1MGnhCK21zjr5O9vsmB4PYZeB2sx04udLmgIk9HfknLb173VzbX-JNVS8rKHCmCCrbMYdQmvY26ArJ4LyEzk9kvrNW4b16QMAQe3qq2NAm7rgHeOIUmLMI-dQwNGxc/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></p> <p>(This is how I felt, not sure if that make sense but looking at this picture makes me feel how I felt.)</p> <p>A lot of stuff went on last month, but here’s what I believe really happened. I started reading a lot of other blogs, and got intimidated by their delightfulness. Here’s how it went/goes in my head, “Wow, these women are so much <a href="http://mabelshouse.blogspot.com/">cuter</a>, <a href="http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/">craftier</a>, <a href="http://puanani-puanani.blogspot.com/">cleverer</a>, <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/">wittier</a>, <a href="http://thehooligansmother.blogspot.com/">funnier</a>, <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/">such better writers</a>, <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/">faster</a>, <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/">more prolific</a>, <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/">thriftier</a>, <a href="http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/">more creative</a> and blah blah blah blah on and on sometimes I just won’t shut up to myself, and did I mention they are cuter, there are some pretty darn cute blogs out there. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3ItpjX5pI/AAAAAAAAAko/nPihNDk0xwA/s1600-h/0285.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="028" border="0" alt="028" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3IuPw8tkI/AAAAAAAAAks/tmBqdZBjknw/028_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> (Me)</p> <p>Sometimes I feel like they are reading my mind (if my mind was cuter and craftier) and writing the blogs in my head the day before I was going to write them, there in lies the problem with procrastination, no way to prove I thought of it first.</p> <p>I’ve spent these zestless days constantly thinking about writing, constantly dreaming up new adjectives to describe the wonderful deals, and treasures I’d found. I fantasized about sharing pictures of the lovely food to come out of my garden, about the beautiful dishes and pottery I’d found, the wonderful coupons/ deals I’d discovered,  and most of all I wanted to tell you about all of the wonderful thrifting adventures I’d had. However, I did nothing. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94eiuBuomS8HvtWNBlNsyZMcUZhHltxDJGPnKaNfNuZq67ONyO3Jls4VCqcpHwONhtqPUBxW9IAtB3rqgTG_hRTtS9IlNu3bD6JaW8Pab6lT0KqOS3FjKeaVjHB12FWx7anzbYm21NABB/s1600-h/0476.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="047" border="0" alt="047" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3IveuoGlI/AAAAAAAAAk0/500rYdtBuRM/047_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> (The most delicious spring greens from our garden)</p> <p>Instead I developed a plan to sabotage myself, constantly thinking of other things to do besides sit down with my lap top and write. </p> <p>This mean lady inside my head started bossing me around, she said “You probably should reorganize the top of your dresser for the tenth time, “ “Oh, and pretty sure you need to watch an entire season of Top Chef Masters,” and “Oh yea, every piece of laundry better be done before you write, and while you are at it, every cupboard, closet, and junk drawer needs reorganized as well because you know it will look great when its done, and you know no other cute blogger will come to your house and organize your stuff the way you like it, how could they possibly do that, you lock your doors now that you live in Seattle, and really, why would you want to be an active participant in the creativity circulating in your brain anyway, at least reorganizing is tangible and chances are no one is going to come in and tell you your drawer organizing just doesn’t cut it.” </p> <p>That lady in my head can be so demanding. She sucks all of my energy mental and physical. Every weed must be plucked from the garden, every speck of dirt must be swept from the floor, every grocery must be bought, every friend must be seen, every movie must be watched, and by the time I am done doing her bidding, it is just about time to start over with the first thing on her list.</p> <p>The things she says to me are the stupidest things, especially writing them out, I can now see how stupid she sounds, but I listened. I did her bidding for the last two months.  Finally I broke free of her oppression.</p> <p>To paraphrase <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/19884">Oscar Wilde</a>, through <a href="http://www.worldofmeditation.com/about/about.html">Subhan Schenker</a>, through me, I said “Hey silly Yard Sale Girl, stop trying to be somebody else, everyone’s already taken, you should probably just be yourself, since that’s really all you can be, and that’s great, beautiful, wonderful, authentic and fine oh yea and it’s your only choice so just do it” </p> <p>My long winded, not near as concise and poignant as the original, paraphrasing just proves the point, I have to be me. </p> <p>Ok Yard Sale Girl, you’ve had enough of what you don’t want (self criticism, procrastination, and envy of others) time to go for what you do want. It’s time to get back in the saddle, time to get back to the drawing board, back to square one, back on track, and all of the other idioms and clichés out there you are going to do them all, and do them like you, while being the best you, you can be. You go girl! (And yes I have to live with the fact that being me entails saying “You Go Girl!”  to myself to get out of a rut)</p> <p>Picture me doing the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPqhxegO_DM">cabbage patch</a>,and I am not sure why that paragraph made me feel like doing the cabbage patch, or why I think the cabbage patch is empowering in anyway, it just is, and that’s just me. I am embarrassing, sometimes simplistically trite, and I almost always use too many words to get to my point, but that’s me. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoNlSoiDZsktacoJQoq17fywDOL0YgoBrXH2w-YauZ5Lfb1yYwI8qDzVa-6r_qvEqvQHomyClJXwECDLUha66W8X9thNUork3SdgE6UgbdT0GFUTk8cGWt8VXVKBWPP1K2FPqAg3FodVI/s1600-h/0718.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="071" border="0" alt="071" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltblFJi5Ii5C47MEgiQWTsBSAbZwalsc4J1c3dXxPFRyeNNQnS-ZJIrzE8fjsrO0aJOYgdiwEZLe-6IztJmRB-u7ynxdBegzVq_wo9BZzJtefG97a8DvIh1pUOhDCDRdDp1YQf7IebGur/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> (Alex thinks this giraffe is something only I would like. I found it at The Goodwill for 1 dollar and 99 cents, and thought it was just about the coolest thing. It just felt like me, even if other people don’t like it it’s still me, and I can’t pretend it’s not.)</p> <p>Writing about this particular subject, eBay, I felt like <a href="http://lissylove.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/holden-caulfield.gif">Holden Caulfield</a><em> (phony)</em>. That mean lady kept saying, “What do you know about eBay anyway, you will never know as much as everyone else. You are an eBay dummy,” and on and on. Seriously, she’s so annoying sometimes. </p> <p>In the amount of time I’ve spent having these thoughts, I probably could have researched and written a book on E-bay for heaven sake, pull it together Yard Sale Girl!</p> <p>Anyway now that my self help blog is over, back to my thrift blog, and hopefully back to that regularly.</p> <h1>eBay </h1> <p>The long awaited,aka you’ve probably forgotten about it by now, second part to <a href="http://theyardsalegirl.blogspot.com/2010/04/collectables-part-1-and-e-bay-part-2.html">this blog.</a></p> <p>A few <strike>weeks</strike> months ago, I met with Paul to discuss his eBay adventures. He’s the husband of my friend Joni. I told her how I wanted to start selling on eBay and she said all casually “Oh my husband Paul’s done that before, and he loves to talk about it, would you like to meet him?”</p> <p>I was thinking,  “ Well ok so he’s done it before, so that makes him 10 times better than me.”<em> </em> </p> <p>I said, “Sure I’d love to.” Figuring he could at least show me how to find the right website. </p> <p>It turns out  that Paul’s somewhat of an eBay guru.  Really, he should be writing books on the subject. The best part was he was so kind. He was so generous and giving with his time and espousing his secrets.</p> <p>He gave me a good feeling about selling on eBay. He made me want to search for re-sellable treasures every day all day. I wanted to scour the planet for lovely little items like these.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3Iww39uqI/AAAAAAAAAlA/dfgJBtHSmTs/s1600-h/0856.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="085" border="0" alt="085" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEfdUk6Gpmndf2GOm1INY-IC2PBCqo-Dj7SC6ivLqVQXqChiebX-lh59nGPm3jwmyl3tJO29di-eiJchxExDwcgUUMbVQXwlBknvbXCoBsLhDjz_z9-s2cqHkDfcmg9VV-Bi5wiq2hz2w/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a>(I hate smoking, but LOVE this ashtray. It would be a great jewelry tray for someone. I already have several “cute little jewelry trays” so that is why I hope to re-sell it. It has a really cool marking on the bottom that I will need to research. I purchased this at The Goodwill for 3 dollars and 99 cents. That’s a lot for me to spend at The Will, but I thought I could maybe get 10 on eBay.)</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXFvL1n_dgBA9VVjnCnjGEkMLGQ3SIci_458QBdgIdCftbx4GMwYt2QOTpnNc5C3aCkH1YoHkJg-7_EWzSz3oQaxV-esRQBzwqnzB-VOnAxNG6vUVPAExzkUvjhT2V3CyPOoQlqyxG6pc/s1600-h/0884.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="088" border="0" alt="088" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3IyWBKWFI/AAAAAAAAAlM/XLHNr5q-Fco/088_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>(This tea set, below, was purchased at half price on a Sunday Estate sale. Not my style at the moment, but I do like it and if I could just get the original Estate sale price of 35 dollars on eBay I would be happy.)</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3Iy5cfWaI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/jwMMImJhm1E/s1600-h/0247.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="024" border="0" alt="024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKx7qdxZy1HsTn_onRVs5hHldfkIpyMyBRiDDhHOV73A9oSmcWmYm1PuRCRezFNUY77edG-zQxGti7m6DT7BJo7jBNRGA3Ic8y22YmSB44SVdyZwpKXa3giHb4uAVglM7Clt48KMhM2De1/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> </p> <p>Pauls made a lot of money on eBay, he was too polite to brag, but I have a feeling by a few of the things he told me about, that he’s made a pretty substantial chunk of change. Such as this espresso mill that he bought for 250 dollars and sold for 750 dollars.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3ucEvCzkWOPIt3nP6QIemLcVgAlxHZzS12eYisH8M2exuWrkYP9Qs5CCPKoXiuozp2JVBp93g7MJE36lLiiIPTZ7xI7QBiTAV7SF_81x-yfQN9AnKfxWIC_rMpuzsYlI_WZGXZbK8dBs/s1600-h/mill8.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="mill" border="0" alt="mill" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaAlji2Z3lAMll_p1EpNvht8CM-6RFlcBOZpPgzw6ImTR4RzhZ6HggN5VAePquvAydLz9j3a9xA8Q7W939_VS8Oa8J6J3IGwZo2hLrCTHP9s-A-LEDk3YcsQjwxxmlpUn446HTkSz1GF2/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="706" /></a> </p> <p>Here’s a few of the suggestions he gave me. These have aided in his tremendous success and luck with eBay, and also with re-selling in general.</p> <p><b>Suggestion 1. The Golden Rule</b></p> <p>Paul basically told me to treat others as I would like to be treated without sounding preachy. He said that he does not use big red letters on his posts saying YOU BETTER PAY ME OR ELSE, and when people ask questions about his wares, he answers to the best of his knowledge and thanks them for their inquiries.</p> <p>Even if he’s already given the info in the post, he answers the question anyway, and doesn’t say anything like “Look at the post”, as saying things like this can come off rude in an email. Even if the intention’s not so.</p> <p>Paul also guarantees his products, he will take them back if the customer is unsatisfied. He told me he has only had to do this once.</p> <p><b>Suggestion 2 List 5-10 items simultaneously </b></p> <p>This makes it easier for shipping and answering questions when your bids end on the same date, and you can ship everything out together, and answer questions for only a set amount of time. He has Fridays off work, so he likes to list one week and ship out the next week on this day. </p> <p><b>Suggestion 3 Do NOT let your bids end on a Saturday </b></p> <p>Try to think about when the most people will be checking the computer for items on eBay. Perhaps Sunday nights around 7:00 pm when people are wrapping up from the weekend. Or Friday afternoon when people are surfing away the last hour of their workday before the weekend. </p> <p><strong>Suggestion 4 Find your cash cow</strong></p> <p>Paul likes to find <a href="http://www.vitamix.com/household/service/timeline.asp">Vitamixers</a>, these little camp stoves and other vintage camping equipment. For some reason vintage camping equipment sells big in Japan, so Paul includes international buyers only on his camping gear.</p> <p>He knows he can always sell these items for a decent profit and also knows that they will sell.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3I01J7siI/AAAAAAAAAlg/fbiW5fBPewM/s1600-h/stove5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="stove" border="0" alt="stove" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBNJ4625c_DszHhvsmm3M8K2vKWNXUEFypwInzDH0CIplY8gGD2NN3__yszXPoE0KAlWC-VjfwZ9kyrAWU6uLTezcZmzZ5bvBtZKt1x2_zUrF8J2JmE3rIAUcYwqeKM5lNDgdz4Ly60qR/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="531" /></a> </p> <p><b>Suggestion 5 Use * in searching items</b></p> <p>If you cannot read the whole label or you think it might be misspelled. For instance with my delft bleau pot I searched de* bl* pot</p> <p><b></b></p> <p><b>Suggestion 6 Only look for things that have sold don’t look at what they are priced at look at what they sold for</b></p> <p>Sounds obvious, but I would not have known this and my guess is that others have made this mistake too.</p> <p><b></b></p> <p><b>Suggestion 7 Use – in searching items</b></p> <p>If you want to remove words from the search use the minus sign. Such as Fishing Reels-New. This will help you more accurately find products like yours eliminating certain categories, like used or new. </p> <p><b>Suggestion 8 Do NOT set a reserve</b></p> <p>As a non-gambler this was harder for me to come to terms with, but Paul’s evidence was irrefutable. He believes that the sprit of eBay is not conducive to the reserves. He thinks that the bidders should determine the prices, and that they are turned off by reserve prices as it takes away a bit of the fun. </p> <p>He showed me how things without reserve prices tend to sell much better than things that have a reserve. He believes in people and believes in the spirit of the bid. He says that he comes out by far ahead using this policy. He did admit some things he’d sold had not gotten the price he paid, but he really believed it was a huge advantage to not put a reserve on items, unless it was absolutely mandatory. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3I2GjkCVI/AAAAAAAAAlo/KTljMn8nicU/s1600-h/decoys5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="decoys" border="0" alt="decoys" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/TB3I2gA4pdI/AAAAAAAAAls/I900w-dUl-g/decoys_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a>(Paul took a risk buying these decoys, they were hand carved, and looked old, but had no artist markings, he didn’t put a reserve and didn’t get quite what he wanted out of them, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.)</p> <p><strong>Suggestion 9 Over share (I think I can handle that!)</strong></p> <p>Always give too much info about the product, explain each and every flaw, but back this up with great pictures, so that  they think “Wow, it is nowhere near as bad as they said it was.” For instance with that tea set one cup is cracked, so I would want to include that, and also show pictures. This is also important for your eBay rating, if you over explain on the front end your customers will be happier with what they get and are more likely to give you a good rating.</p> <p><b></b></p> <p>Here are some things I’ve found that I wish to list on eBay. I’ve set a deadline of July for myself to actually try eBay. I am slow at accomplishing things that really shouldn’t be considered accomplishments, but that’s me and I am learning to accept that.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQtAjsq5K043C8irE6MevXWER-Zf-R0nod1waVVNOLuSlihUB3Wc6-VY2Wy7SxOn0NtmcygDxGrA3vST1tLpNQYBdJ0prhCl1rC4J_U5fQNMJLkqWQ4WF-P3CLnHNqlu1gi3PvrwbSmRD/s1600-h/0805.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="080" border="0" alt="080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcr0izbxiCf51HGpC9ip7ckWVTlaW-ofcM1xGOvTuqdrOQz_gYkhz0Jf3WZMhyCtCGv8aanIzdHu-y560lgPyCWWuE8-DWDjS_sOu7t4DQm3WREY_KrXJFfY_W_DHdM6R4k0HJ77DBxAS/?imgmax=800" width="403" height="307" /></a> I took Paul’s camping gear suggestion, I love this little plaid thermos. </p> <p>I will let you know how it all turns out, eventually.</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e819d6bc-8f87-4f0c-8d49-4057d47a8afd" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/eBay" rel="tag">eBay</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/estate+sales" rel="tag">estate sales</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/yard+sale" rel="tag">yard sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/garage+sale" rel="tag">garage sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vintage" rel="tag">vintage</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/self+help" rel="tag">self help</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Oscar+Wilde" rel="tag">Oscar Wilde</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-4784431964331868242010-05-08T22:03:00.001-07:002010-08-03T19:25:47.228-07:00I am me because she was her<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ynorXfaxy7-Pg-LjqDfDR6FojibVRcZgFUmrmfj0Vtn4eWrCjZof6oPWpgFShwcJETrP7c1CYqZuy1i5RaEaKkHd_IMwgCkm7aCwYFCzbR7nO2beJXGI2cgjwFefd6lNW6CeRqNVUoCF/s1600-h/1371.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="137" border="0" alt="137" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S-ZB-ilJcvI/AAAAAAAAAn4/bT9vQVFqwj4/137_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="308" /></a></p> <p>My mom saved wine corks to make this bulletin board, mind you my mom does drink a lot of wine, still, very thoughtful. The pictures of her and my dad when they were young are my favorite. It is hard to see, but in the top right corner there’s a picture of my mom on her first day of college.  The look on her face indicates the possibilities of the life spread before her, and I find it incredibly telling that she has only a purse and a small suitcase to move into college. She was absolutely stunning, and could really pull off those short 70’s skirts. </p> <p>There’s a tiny picture of my parents wedding at the top. My mom made her wedding dress, and all of her bridesmaids dresses,  such a resourceful lady.</p> <p>For her honeymoon, she painted her apartment with my dad. My dad seriously LUCKED out marrying her. Not that my dad is chopped liver or anything, but give my mom a fresh coat of paint and a cute husband and she was as happy as if she had been given a huge diamond and a vacation to France. </p> <p>It is impossible to accurately describe what an amazing, talented, complicated, intelligent, resourceful, capable, and wonderful mother I have. My attempt will include a few anecdotes, mostly related to furniture, that may provide a small window to my mom’s multilayered  soul. I continue to be interested in and in awe of her talents and depths. </p> <p>While growing up, I thought my mom was like most moms. She got the milk, bought the shoes, cooked the dinners, drove the car, read the books, and gave the hugs. She sang funny songs with my name in them and I would roll my eyes at her silliness and untouchable cheerfulness, even when I was three. </p> <p>Over the years, however, it’s been revealed that my mom really is incredible.  During my whole childhood, she worked full time as a middle school English teacher, and always had dinner ready each and every night,and not like some of the “dinners” I create for my self like a carton of cottage cheese, I mean there was always a complete homemade meal with salad and cloth napkin. The laundry was always done, we always had help with our homework, and she never missed my swim meets, choir concerts, softball games, dance recitals  or whatever else I was into at the moment weather I was any good at it or not. (I especially respect her for the dance recitals as I was the most embarrassing dancer in the class, and it could not have been pretty to watch me do ballet) </p> <p>She also obtained her masters degree when I was 5 and my brother was 10….in her “spare time.”On top of all of that, my dad was out on the road for work three days every week,  making it that much more difficult to be the phenomenal mom she was.</p> <p>The most amazing thing to me about  her, was that she did this all with a smile on. She truly enjoyed our life. She never complained, she had a great relationship with my dad, and she seemed to even take time for her own hobbies and friends. She provided the perfect balance of parenting and having her own life, she cared about us a lot but she didn’t dote over us constantly. She didn’t obsess over my brother and I; she did not confuse her own being with our identities she let us be who we were, and she too was always a distinct Vicki, not just Andrew and Kelsey’s mother.  </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD50L4Vwu6IUq0z-McCeDxWwp6JYR5hgUTLwn5sWmnAE0hdLyNJNRECW_FUid-RQ23tVY-d0PwzctVaFrB19Gn57ku3fIy-b3oIC8XsjO_ru6FW4QTJcuY-kvsZ6ZEjTZjnTqS0GHWq0Ma/s1600-h/0514.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="051" border="0" alt="051" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt4MpzGiuSR6TiYE-QiALoS7MM8jk4iFcZghYEWOJ-OVIiP6Pk-RPS3DjNF3qvTV8x1WM9CIErTp4ODDlU1ZhzOkbvJB-oVt_sl_ZZFwJPQ4BWO98OU7zDUwY0qGcvNtwwKj0EIm9WJT-/?imgmax=800" width="404" height="603" /></a></p> <p>Moving on to the goods and deals. My mom had/has Pottery Barn tastes on a Yard Sale Budget, so she developed a keen eye for finding furniture that she could put work into, and turn to gold.  I may not have said so at the time, in fact, I am sure I did not say so at the time, but I very much prefer her refurbished goods over Pottery  Barn any day! </p> <p>My mom found this dresser at The Goodwill. I believe she paid 55 dollars, which was a lot. It was covered in 6 coats of teal, red, and black paint but she saw its beauty even through all of the chipped layers of paint. </p> <p>An important lesson my mom taught me about furniture and people, was to see through the layers of ugly paint. My mom never wrote people off, she didn’t judge people by the layers of ugly paint that life may have laid on them. My mom has always had many types of friends, and gave people a fair chance, she was willing to strip the paint to find the beauty. </p> <p>She taught me just because something was pretty, in style, and/or new didn’t mean it would last. Just because something/someone looked good,  it didn’t mean there was not cheap particle board underneath or just because something/someone might have needed a bit of work/consideration it/they could be worth it. She taught me to check for the value underneath the facade in furniture and people. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUYvEMxW7CTtyRl-VxTVygF5wO0LvEiTJEPBW-syDO8P1-UXLhLeN0lIEVgVFaBMDIBkCre0ibYm6FM6yFUdPtU38SrfSaSwAmQY6Az9A_TF3A700KtGwI7yiwj_I8h42HUo5erW8Za8L/s1600-h/03910.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="039" border="0" alt="039" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S-ZCAiS4FeI/AAAAAAAAAjc/-MbaCOCwUPI/039_thumb13.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="329" /></a></p> <p>An end table she found and re-did. I thought it was hideous when she first found it, and am so glad she bought it anyway, her wood refinishing on the top is simply divine. I believe she paid 5 dollars.</p> <p>The furniture my mom’s given me is much like her. It’s traveled with me through college, a move across the country and been through my divorce. The furniture and my mom have been loyal non-judgmental fixtures that have endured my many life changes and stuck by me unfettered. </p> <p>My mom and her furniture make me feel that no matter where I am, I am home. The furniture she’s given me is elegant, but non pretentious just like my mom. It is hard working and durable. Much of it has withstood decades of day-to-day existence. It has gone through many people and places and has re-invented itself through the years only to come out looking better than ever. </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YnKkY4dONVvdN_2YgckTsFQGAn5GMEUDbCXKN8nopHoZ960DL7O8Hk6_031Efk-QxZGdLe9_PAuZ_0sqmb8p5CUpZXVoVxu7JaiNHqJE3tRmRZ-9qdOzVBgPHSXfyxhizNKuHh911ECW/s1600-h/0504.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="050" border="0" alt="050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4LghW4pqwxiAYz2SBSK5NSGpkt7mcFrHNhDaAY_GdnzabUmBLIB2u54reby8gaXqjMaW4kn8hGX74pcixtKMqooD20N10edT_L_wGU-3wwgwB3EN1bo46QLRUsZ5ZpNoxockqsjKF4-P/?imgmax=800" width="404" height="532" /></a> </p> <p>An old middle school chair my mom stripped and painted. It is simple and modern. It cost 3 dollars.</p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="059" border="0" alt="059" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHDQUibbhpEK3ThpYqSRambaqMO9CFrStY4PW73NFwky3Tp6vmuPD1ipDLrRwGSLFheYbJp4R1e_eaVpac-V_IdE10zi1oP2O_vfNgCXP_xQNeZbMlURl4Zax_nZSg85_0yHYqXPUnLX6/?imgmax=800" width="404" height="308" /></p> <p>We found this at The Will together when I was in college.  It was 2 dollars, it did not look good before my mom painted it and refinished the wood, it was another thing that at the time I did not want. But mom you were right again :-) It is one of my favorites now.  </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZ4XpGJ2316kJu_4nGSaGlhHWmaDvthf1Ow2i_jG0tf6bbaI3HjC55aPf3eOBd7ONQTKEcGndsx2fuY1mZkuLgVsZVPMVDKas7NqLozn-8-vLslk9GwXTH7zQkCwJA-ur-GIr0F-Ucnbs/s1600-h/1516.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="151" border="0" alt="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zbl7-5h0r5uwt6HHMcP7UZzT-HS3eodt-0aPnkZ9V5zPczfLA_qOrkSngVhBn6Qdt9s3IX2oZl-m3NF7Au75FjJYxKNPRuvvebB3evyUbFnCUZ6uMVVskCUC0Ra8fVOcCZIjUq08_nwm/?imgmax=800" width="404" height="308" /></a></p> <p>This buffet table my mom gave me  is perfect for an entryway or a dining room. It was also not cute when she found it, but it will never leave my house now. Cost 10 dollars.</p> <p>For Mothers Day I wanted to try to do my mom a bit of justice and show her a bit of understanding. Mom, I love you, and you mean the world to me. Happy Mother’s Day! Mom’s everywhere, here’s to you! </p> <p>All of the complicated, hardworking, intelligent ladies out there who have raised this generation, and to those who will raise the next. Love and Hugs to you, Great Job, you have the hardest job in the entire world, and you do it with a smile on. You are truly Amazing!</p> <p> </p> <p>P.S  E-bay post still to come. Some life came up, and I’ve been away from the blog for a bit. </p> <p>I have returned and am back on track….although I vowed to stop saying things like back on track, I think I am. Talk to you soon. </p> <p> </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:45b19340-723c-4f24-9d0f-6846d9554f0d" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mother's+Day" rel="tag">Mother's Day</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Moms" rel="tag">Moms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Love" rel="tag">Love</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Goodwill" rel="tag">Goodwill</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/refinishing" rel="tag">refinishing</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-41109903252115982202010-04-20T17:46:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:34:30.891-07:00Collectables and eBay<p>Always, I’ve claimed, that I’m not the kind of person who would get into collecting; that tchotchke type knickknacks drove me nuts.  My guess, is this claim is a residual effect from my grandmother. She was/is constantly trying to <strike>pawn off</strike> kindly gift her painted bird house and lace doily collections. <br /></p> <p>Lately, I’ve seen people re-claim both of these and make them kitschy cool. However, I’m not cool in that ironic neo-homemaker sort of way (Although that is my ideal, and what I want for my life in the future) <br /></p> <p>Collecting did not seem in the cards as I had spent many years developing an aversion to collecting and collections. Just when I’d made up my mind, along came Wilber (this pig). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi75yBABLFvda0LL5YTL7f_zaaZTL2nkKmv4ujO6SbsECOn6YtEdd79Ss3cYQA14pz_AIhKjB3otOvPTX_vtHNqoONLoO5aF2bQnTyj9LmsKe8F_SV4n7daju4Qm6xy76xvQ4sMeLZgPMi/s1600-h/0446.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="044" border="0" alt="044" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K00hRnEI/AAAAAAAAAhw/G51vgEFGnwY/044_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="304" /></a> Wilber’s adoption started at “The Will”. (Another name for “The Goodwill”….I think my mom came up with this one or my dad started saying it when I would be looking for my mom, as in, I think she’s out cruising “The Will”) As you would have it, one lovely Saturday, because really aren’t all Saturdays lovely, Alex and I were cruising “The Will”; He was cruising for a pot to replace the plastic water bottle which had held our spare change. <br />The bottle had “mysteriously” disappeared!  Okay so I put it in the recycling bin….sue me for not wanting an old plastic water bottle full of change in the bedroom. <br /></p> <p>As we looked for the pot, we came across a suitable piggy bank, plain pink, but simple enough to suffice.  It however cost 8 dollars, and to top it all off, it had a tag from the original store which said 10 dollars and 99 cents, one of my BIG pet peeves at “The Will”. <br /></p> <p>It infuriates me when “The Will” charges almost as much as someone paid originally. Do they really think we should pay this much for a donated item? We should pay no more than double a yard sale price. Just my humble opinion. <br /></p> <p>We passed on the pink pig, but on our way home, we stopped by my favorite neighborhood antique store “Aging Fancies”, in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle. <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K1Y9PVkI/AAAAAAAAAh0/tE_1LK7T_Lw/s1600-h/0244.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="024" border="0" alt="024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN9Id0LBRGdzOwRR2sj-EI4fnyUiRR3vCTuLjcOBO7LehH8TtvNzGqeMgxpJQiSFUXGN4SsHLhWlm7MlkD-00w8YUKins4qyBG5PaOGE8X2kTWfPdBssBJ4jH4ZoghzuEUh52UPw6qlo0/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a>  <em>(The ladies love Wilber, and why wouldn’t they!)</em> <br />We spotted Wilber with his beautiful black and red stoneware skin. Gorgeous! We picked him up and fell immediately in love. The gentleman who co-owns the store noticed us swooning and said, “It's yours for twenty dollars", but since we’d just been at “The Will” this sounded high. We put Wilber down. The Clerk went on to tell us how this pig would be worth fifty dollars or more on E-bay, and that he was well worth his twenty dollar price tag. This was due to the fact that Wilber was a  rare piece of <a href="http://www.bmpcc.com/">Blue Mountain Pottery</a> out of Canada. <br /></p> <p>Although I didn’t plan to re-sell Wilber, his collectability became enticing enough to spend twenty dollars. I decided we would probably not re-sell Wilber, but buying him got me thinking; starting to hope one day thifting would turn into a source of income. <br /></p> <p>Before Wilber, I never thought searching for collectables could be interesting to me. I just wanted to thrift things that fit my style, and thought that the two were mutually exclusive. However, due to Wilber, I discovered, it was possible to find interesting and collectable items, which could also be fun to find.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWADh_HEuN0KKY8F-rWX2pdQ7VDr5oOn9gKGpWaYNmK-qxI8-jnodTkZ-yhKd0pzdk2dNk4WcWKDK5QEdAqKMTFwhC8QrzG9YTSRv2RLmvyXj3VmmhBV0RlVumo1xdS-vgu0i5hKA_IU6/s1600-h/0635.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="063" border="0" alt="063" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K2U31XCI/AAAAAAAAAiA/uMNkxVWuQEY/063_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a>  After adopting Wilber, I started becoming aware of things that might be collectable, and also were things I found to be neat. This pot was found at “The Will” for 1 dollar and 99 cents. Because its finish seemed hand painted, and it’s glaze did not seem manufactured, I picked it up to see if it had a stamp, turns out it did. For the price, even if it turned out to be nothing special, I liked it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ94XM2s8v7AzvhWOIgTYUrbYPyIGxHUQ_5ouU6zajp8li4wn5vhcz1NJMzM4BJ06d00c4tm9SInukhyj4E2TBYTRN-KHqBBav765GGnLBRq8EkYyk42aDdg1mgiXjDrI58T2UY5qXap79/s1600-h/0604.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="060" border="0" alt="060" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3M_3eMBNibloAkcjIy1r3jcWqxNjFRbwz2FzEfr7UeH9iyR2H7ApvNowsSKqgKR3IIZCd1fvN6y1ZLXvv7NiJjVGAUHYAH8ST2Bt4JKyFkUms1u7ODj_CVs0rOFtUO2YzX4v5ti9APv7/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> <br />I call Alex “The Bookie Monster”, and if “The Bookie Monster” had a girlfriend she would she would be called “The Dishy Monster” because of my love for anything that will fit drink and food.  Lately I’ve been trying to give all goods a test of what and when each item will be used. Now that I’ve decided I might start to re-sell, it is open season on cool creamers, and wonderful soufflé  dishes! <br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K4RFxdJI/AAAAAAAAAiM/6F598PkB2rU/s1600-h/0707.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="070" border="0" alt="070" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K425bkHI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/nkw1HzOWve0/070_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> <br />Found this at “The Will” for 99 cents. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPAgo_gk18y8xTesducA-cjqWmD1EkQFbrgoZnOf4mV-uW_JlLdxJ8t9Ze4ZjDIUqbLL1dOLpv1S0Y7TF_GXCAMRyfgKIK5mEcvm2D76GjIahsyHhqhp5QCAnS9fJqom885EipsfLnrJL/s1600-h/0744.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="074" border="0" alt="074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCAMs2hwKx2xm3jCLezPKG2zflblQGaj4cs4IQwIXGO8be6OWmwAdxvOtBYA6fmfY0TKaMHvWSRK9Cw_Ak-AAVLyc64M8p8Tr_yJVUzliroWb5oJeODXlIVVvwBHYZMF7Iv-uV0I7JgGO/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> <br />Not sure what this says, but it looks hand stamped, and not like it came from a big store. <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K6Jvk2PI/AAAAAAAAAic/195fYTB9TSs/s1600-h/0144.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="014" border="0" alt="014" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K6gwDLlI/AAAAAAAAAig/0_KSKCLe7iA/014_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> <br />This dish was 1/2 off at a Sunday Estate sale, 3 dollars.  I rarely bake a soufflé,and by rarely, I mean never, but I just might start! Or I will serve fruit salad in it or something. Although, I also never serve fruit salad. That just sounds easier and more healthy than starting to make soufflés. Or I might just take pictures of it and frame them.Whatever, I love it. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruHNXI1zICNY_NqPYwuvEb_s2ai8HZgyvMoNvi1JJVmUdYdLNjPuYwYUHSXsB6ytKOP-JYOzSZD6JpGLw0kpC45He9HeW58eOrqWBMCqFEQbBn7bPOaRFXARP6nWsUe7sevEq93IdNeBE/s1600-h/0154.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="015" border="0" alt="015" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S85K7bVLsNI/AAAAAAAAAio/6yXzZB0bENE/015_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> <br />Made by Clara in Portugal…love that! If I can’t afford to go to Portugal at least I can afford to have Clara’s pottery from Portugal. <br /></p> <p>So I’ve picked up a few things which it may be possible to re-sell. But how do I re-sell? What’s the best method?  There are a few things I’m considering eBay, a physical store, Etsy, and a stand at the <a href="http://www.fremontmarket.com/">Freemont market</a>. <br /></p> <p>All of these pose challenges and benefits. And considering I have about 4 items for sale having my own physical store and even my own one day stand may not be my most realistic options at this time. So I’ve started exploring eBay, and when I started exploring, I realized I know nothing.  Basically I feel like my mom if she were to ever go on Facebook, like….ooo how do I post a picture what is this tagging all about, I’m a novice granny at E-bay, so I started looking for help. <br /></p> <p>Insert eBay Paul! This blog’s getting awful wordy….imagine that me, using too many words, this is going to turn into a two part-er, because E-bay Paul's information is very valuable, and I think you might just be as interested as I was, but after my bloggy novel above, you may need a break. <br /></p> <p>Stay tuned for the riveting conclusion to Collectables and eBay. I will discover the revolver in the library with Professor Plum and all will be resolved in The eBay/Collectable mystery….ok maybe not that exciting, and you probably won’t be anticipating my second part, but I can only imagine you need a break from my run on sentences. See you next time for the highly anticipated conclusion to the mystery. Be ready as my investigative journalism takes you into the seedy underbelly and the provocative sexy world of eBay (Well maybe not, but there are some practical tips and techniques which would have taken me years to figure out on my own) <br /></p> <p>Would love to hear about your collectable items and your experience with eBay. Let me know your tips for finding collectables and or tips when using eBay.</p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3efe9778-d08d-4975-9d13-7a4dd9125f42" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blue+Mountain+Pottery" rel="tag">Blue Mountain Pottery</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Goodwill" rel="tag">Goodwill</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/eBay" rel="tag">eBay</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/knicknacks" rel="tag">knicknacks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Estate+sales" rel="tag">Estate sales</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-31937243369052972722010-04-12T19:19:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:27:00.939-07:00Our Garden<p>This weekend we installed the raised beds Alex made with his thrifted chop saw. Here’s a few pictures of our garden.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S8PUvBeBBMI/AAAAAAAAAf0/VEiEDNlzqwg/s1600-h/037%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="037" border="0" alt="037" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0SgkQD33NwEpHtHEJZPf2dWVu-aQ0jfcIKZJk1OIeNALVRUXuzPEI1w47dT00GQ7x8GhGfuqU3-gzWAC_fN3TJdk2pA6zYgkJjhBtUPV5xlwW7xwI2_xPRHdz49sx2FXXQj1T8x2ieON/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="308" /></a></p> <p>This is Alex and Sally checking out the progress on our seedlings a few weeks ago, we bought these planters at a going out of business sale for <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/urbanweeds-seattle">Urban Weeds</a> in Freemont, and although I love a deal, it was sad to see that store go, the guy who owned it was always so kind and helpful, and his plants were always top notch.  We bought our seeds last summer at <a href="http://www.seedsavers.org/">Seed Savers</a> on our Iowa Road Trip.<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S8PUwL1EDwI/AAAAAAAAAf8/Rw3nFCARRLU/s1600-h/138%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="138" border="0" alt="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Nc7iSKfmeIMvwcpfHzyg2NS8snU7ElnVaLQFyrz8UBqUZqjwQPzDKKRv7FPK9vC_hgyGCOsKU4AHm_wapBUCXBKUpW_TipuvDy8yfqJTrsUnLC78sC-WmMn9WtMagVickeAx_TgnsIUu/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="293" /></a></p> <p>My best friend Lindsey, who I grew up with, had a strawberry patch in her yard, and I remember highly anticipating it each summer. I can only imagine there will be equal amounts of anticipation this summer. It is doubtful these will produce enough strawberries to equal their cost, thriftwise, but the anticipation and excitement is worth the buck fifty we paid for each starter. The cast iron stick (?) came with the yard when we moved in and I adore it, although I am not sure what its original purpose was? </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S8PUw6MKIrI/AAAAAAAAAgM/Ni9sk1LxXw0/s1600-h/136%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="136" border="0" alt="136" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S8PUxdeCthI/AAAAAAAAAgU/-BvhSfykxQo/136_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="313" /></a> </p> <p>I think it is hilarious that this shallots name is Ambition considering my Mom, Boss, friends and many others have basically told me we are morons (in nicer words) for having a vegetable garden, and I do realize it would be much easier and probably about as inexpensive or less expensive to go to the store, and buy some garlic, carrots, onions, etc, but it is fun to me. Seeing plants grow makes me feel grounded, and aware. Feeling dirt in my hands is invigorating.  I was a landscaper for two years, have no dissolutions about how HARD this stuff is, but never got over the beauty and sensuality of the garden.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPhyPTRHUddtmXcWsc1s1S7VeqT61OWnwjoIsQWV1mCWaFSRDnVi2oibpq9uCFkeE8pom74ymw2n1SEkQaU6b5IBxQEiOnDmiHOIXNkOWrVSvFhVreG9PVckGElhhWb6QY0grSb7StIdw/s1600-h/148.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="148" border="0" alt="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvSeXvrNh44cVojGNByU59tYi_mJDAxyNn5Vy9jpREQcnjN_8Drg1bRRPa3CgxHMI5tEx53dNoHvUVcG0kziHwUjo2fMNC87fsHds0finL-rJ-eidon5dto1FUYCEt8UxYXUiyuvI7RGL/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a>(Alex made these cute wood markers out of old wood slivers)  </p> <p>Once I had a tarot card reading and she told me I was an <a href="http://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/reincarnation-the-35-steps/stage-5-the-old-soul/">old soul,</a> and although no one’s ever read Alex’s tarot cards, I believe him to be an old soul as well, so basically I attribute our love of watching plants to that. We wish to get back to the ritual and slowness of the old days, in fact this is probably something a lot of people in our fast paced non-stop society seek. For us it starts with a garden,a pot of tea, and a little back breaking work (that is not really the nice part….but you do sleep well after shoveling, planting, and wheel barrowing all day.)</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjjJeMnycjOxbMAaXv_r88NpJDhyphenhyphenTNwfAEb3c6NnuBE2FvTdd8E8_GZamOyipmsVZ8oXd84OU_WH4G-Yb5qTC-JKBzZVjD1-G-PVu-ZZ5CnMVrkh1T6ERPwknBPcTUNOsh1Zpmsch_klF/s1600-h/166%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="166" border="0" alt="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqwRY1lGfMwgss8hYApq34Va4ff4tWAuS1QEnuHkFODjlL7obwIMDxGxVDYWeSKhJ-viVy84NqQKUlT0KPo7JAFbZgDm2s3MoSxpppKJgULpYcnrEoSq1Ul9IuVz3-n67aA6KYD12W9Kf/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="603" /></a> </p> <p>What old time rituals do you find grounding? How do you reconnect in a world where things are constantly racing? Have you planted a garden before? What has been successful in your garden? What did you enjoy watching grow the most?</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e2588c54-a71c-44a8-bf20-1bc7abe0245c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Garden" rel="tag">Garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/little+garden" rel="tag">little garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/raised+beds" rel="tag">raised beds</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-19139559568181081122010-04-06T17:54:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:33:42.220-07:00True love<p>Last weekend, Alex and I went to the pre-festival Tulip festival in the <a href="http://www.tulipfestival.org/">Skagit Valley</a>.  Allegedly 75 percent of the nation’s tulip crop is produced here! It was like something out of a movie, sprawling fields of tulips, daffodils, and iris. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7vXthK6PJI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/emlqt4Doxjg/s1600-h/005%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="005" border="0" alt="005" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7vXuGde-bI/AAAAAAAAAeU/lrnqpuWu4hg/005_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a></p> <p>This is the kind of stuff that  makes me feel alive. That, and spending the weekend with Alex while finding good deals. I’m very lucky to have found someone who is so patient with me, as sometimes on a Friday night I will aimlessly wonder around the grocery store “Cruising for deals” as I like to call it. I just have a hard time believing that many 26 year old men enjoy such a thing. </p> <p>I was really embarrassed about this at first, and I would try to pretend like I just lost Alex by accident in the grocery store instead of me wandering off to see what items from my staple list were on sale. <a href="http://www.amys.com/products/category_view.php?prod_category=14">Amy’s soup</a>, <a href="http://www.mrsmeyers.com/CategoryDetail.aspx?CategoryId=7ba0d791-51ac-4e46-9261-9a2a00b88ec5">Myer’s Cleaning products</a>, and endless others. Sometimes Alex catches me in the middle of the grocery store gazing at laundry detergent deciding weather 1 dollar off is a good enough deal to buy 4, and he’ll say “ Hey whatcha doin,” at the beginning stages of our relationship I would say“ Oh, nothing”, but finally after enough times being caught gazing at the same cleaning products, I finally confessed that “I was “cruising for deals”.”</p> <p>Most men would not allow you to spend an extra hour or so at the store just wondering aimlessly, but I’m a very lucky lady to have found Alex. Now, if we spend less than 15 minutes at the grocery store, before we head to the cash register he says in his sweetest voice  “Do you need to cruise for deals?” </p> <p>Even better,this weekend, I realized that I’ve been forcing Alex to cruise for deals so long that he has finally started cruising for his own deals. It is really adorable, he has officially cemented his stamp on my heart. He was all over the deals this weekend. </p> <p>He scored us free bread for the week, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.ecometro.com/seattle/default.aspx">Chinook Book,</a> spend 5 dollars at Grand Central Bakery and get a loaf of free bread, Alex bought our weekly Saturday morning treats of coffee/tea and croissants, and we got some delicious free bread.</p> <p>Alex’s triumph of the weekend was a gently used Chop Saw from craigslist for 150 dollars off of retail price, we had to drive to Mt. Vernon to get it, but we were in the neighborhood looking at tulips anyway. He will be using the chop saw for a multitude of things including building our raised bed boxes for the vegetable gardens which we plan to fill with veggies this summer. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7vXutRHXbI/AAAAAAAAAeY/qpQugEHwOIk/s1600-h/065.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="065" border="0" alt="065" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7vXuz_bvMI/AAAAAAAAAec/5qafjTaM-aU/065_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> On Sunday he found out that <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/twice-sold-tales-seattle">“Twice Told Tales”,</a> a used book store in capital hill, complete with 4 or 5 beautiful store cats. (a personal favorite of mine in regard to many used book stores partially because Alex often likes to cruise for deals a bit more than I do in book stores and I need something to occupy my time while he stares blankly at stacks of Science Fiction like I do at cleaning products. And sorry to all of you who are allergic, but I love a store with a cat it’s just so down to earth or something) And unbeknownst to me he had done his deal research and found that they were having a ½ off sale on all of their hard cover books. </p> <p>Alex, or “The Bookie Monster” as I have deemed him because of his book reading and buying habits, found several titles he’d been searching  for, and I found the brand new Julie Powell book <b><u><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780316003360-4">Cleaving</a></u></b> in mint condition and paid only 6 dollars. Although not on sale, because it was a paperback, I also got Ruth Riechel’s first book <b><u><a href="http://www.powells.com/s?header=Search+Form&kw=Tender+to+the+Bone">Tender to the Bone</a></u></b> it was used and cost only 6 dollars and fifty cents. Both books I’d wanted to pick up if I ever found them on sale, so I was very excited he brought me to this book store. </p> <p><em>(I would, however, like to note that although these deals are good, the library is free, which is the best deal. However, for me having my own copy is important because I read books in the bath and drop them frequently, I also like to give my books away after reading them so that other people can drop them in the bath, spill coffee on them or whatever, but if you are not a mess like I am the library is the best option for a thrifty “Bookie Monster”)</em></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Have you all found anything thrifty and wonderful lately? What are your favorite thrifting places? Craigslist, E-bay, Goodwill, Yard Sales? Do you have any tips for “cruising deals” ?</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3dce1c8c-fbab-4a1e-989b-e63b81e019f7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Book+Stores" rel="tag">Book Stores</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tulips" rel="tag">tulips</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Skagit+Valley" rel="tag">Skagit Valley</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Washington+Tulips" rel="tag">Washington Tulips</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale" rel="tag">Yard Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/true+love" rel="tag">true love</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/deals" rel="tag">deals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Chinook+Book" rel="tag">Chinook Book</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-11151710168104382882010-04-01T19:01:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:30:56.852-07:00Taxes and Treats<p>The tax return is in and it’s time for some tax refund treats. I have been keeping my eye out for the perfect Goodwill wallet for months, and the task has proved impossible. Although I love buying things for a few dollars and even better for a few pennies, sometimes,  for sturdy staples a modest splurge is warranted. </p> <p>Because I don’t carry a purse, my wallet is like my purse, I carry it everywhere and I depend on it to hold a lot of coupons, quarters, and discount cards! After much thought I decided to splurge on a new wallet with real leather and not from a discount store. Here’s the wallet I have been eyeing for months. (my old one had been sewn back together by Alex two or three times, and the cardboard underneath the pleather was becoming  exposed) <i><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7VP3TKLIRI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/-NRO7PwjsAo/s1600-h/034%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="034" border="0" alt="034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd755wZpnrsI5YxNzg798kKDbhiIF90lo3qFB8fteOFD3EFqFu-n_M5ZoykVsFvFkFwxK1zOut-hSSjblvt9eC1EzioVoiT9GJTvBjWBdoiR4hvaLh3V-OewWWAe40TKmY-VXxtDcRCZjx/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a></i></p> <p>I just loved this wallet, and think it will last me several years. It is </p> <p>finely crafted and sturdy. It was on sale for 30 percent off when I first saw it at <a href="http://store.burntsugarfrankie.com/storefront.php">Burnt Sugar</a> in Freemont two months ago. Hoping it would still be on sale when I came back, or that it would even still be there, I was delighted when it was and now was 40 percent off. Patience is a virtue apparently.</p> <p><i> </i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3biEWFPMpTCYKp430biPqwDMkxejNeELafJ_7oLKhcjjWRNaXgDqaafvj4QkDx_bgcWN-Hd_VvL-LXCXf_vrxbvM9tvnsaNRk_FdHFVrekLPySDAV46L0wpyAMOWQLpaRFBy6SeCnYNf/s1600-h/007%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="007" border="0" alt="007" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiwuXlAjBAEDsoU_Z5dBq9f1nROZ2jqeVoZhDIeAn4d3q7J3fFskmMGfwohzLyHrsRgeMtQMIWmyC_1LFvvpK4oTQzaSSqXCINc1RXGD8LH3CWpcAoJX1Kzr8F4X8tRSStqkyoUJK_WJZ/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="500" /></a>Another treat was a trip to the Boutique store <a href="http://www.dreamfremont.blogspot.com/">Dream</a></a> in Freemont. This beautiful bohemian maxi dress (I only know that is what the dress is called because the lovely lady at the store told me so) will be my signature summer dress and for those who knew me in my jam band days it fits my personality to a T. The yellow beads are a vintage wood necklace found at an estate sale for 2 dollars.</p> <p>Since moving to Seattle, I’ve been coveting these beautiful scarves that seem to adorn the neck of every fashionable Seattleite.  I plan to make this a spring, fall, and winter staple, and may even wear it some chilly summer nights. It is so soft and elegant. I love it!<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7VP5IOQzOI/AAAAAAAAAdc/Pix5QDQZrvc/s1600-h/052%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="052" border="0" alt="052" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7VP5Td5QeI/AAAAAAAAAdk/htvcGitp7Aw/052_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> Even Sally looks regal and hip sporting this scarf. Although both these items were a splurge for me considering I hardly ever pay more than 10 dollars for my clothes, I got a 100 dollar gift certificate on <a href="http://post.thestranger.com/seattle/Shop">StrangerMart</a> for 50 dollars a couple of weeks ago and got an extra 5 percent off by signing up for their e-mail list. I would like to put in a plug for this Boutique!  The lady working was super nice, and sometimes at boutiques the staff can be a bit <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsMq17Nfo4_GNML1ej1XVEbg9mnKT6HdCl0Qxxlp8-R6aUejnEKrvPOc_sADqmSPb1YlmSzAkzMuQS9HK1uPUszo5wnK9yN54x1KAXsgN3kFzmk6mntPxTZ6DG3BZxdWb1__1DbF81c2F/s1600-h/056%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="056" border="0" alt="056" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S7VP63rr2DI/AAAAAAAAAd0/VVMeO8D4L14/056_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a>uppity, so I was pleasantly surprised. She sent me a personal e-mail from the store telling me how nice the dress looked on me, and thanking me for my purchases, a nice little touch. </p> <p>The owners of this store also own <a href="http://blissfremont.blogspot.com/">Bliss</a> and <a href="http://finchnsparrow.blogspot.com/">Finch and Sparrow</a>  in Freemont,and next time I treat myself I will be sure to stop back to these stores. </p> <p>Because I am used to buying my clothes at “The Goodwill” or on clearance racks, the prices were a little high for me, but the prices were no higher than normal stores like Banana Republic or J-Crew, and were less than stores like Anthropology. They had a great sale rack with items in the 20-40 dollar range as well. The clothes were different from the chain stores, and the service was fantastic, I was also the only person in the store, and did not have to vie for a dressing room which I love….that is one of my least favorite things about buying clothes at “The Goodwill” and the Mall.</p> <p>What do you like to treat yourselves to? Will you indulge in a modest splurge with your tax return? Hope that you find something lovely just for you that brightens your day, and will brighten it for many days in the future just as these sturdy staple modest indulgences will do for me. Happy tax season ya’ll!<i>  <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:6adaacf6-128c-4542-93d6-7b14ed1baa60" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Splurge" rel="tag">Splurge</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Dream+Boutique" rel="tag">Dream Boutique</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tax+Refund" rel="tag">Tax Refund</a></div></i></p> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-28753846683652655632010-03-26T16:00:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:28:44.483-07:00Good Friday<p>Yes, Yard Sales are my favorite, but <a href="http://www.seattlegoodwill.org/shop/stores/ballard">“The Goodwill”</a>  (as my friend <a href="http://olaiyalandcatering.com/">Olaiya</a> calls it, and I decided it was so cute that I adopted the “the” as well, and will from here on out refer to it as “The Goodwill”) is a close second. (Bare with my run on sentence style of over explaining; the style in which you can’t really figure out what the sentence, before I started explaining, meant in the first place.)</p> <p>When there is no time for yard saling, “The Goodwill” is really a quite delightful alternative. If my mom had a blog name it would be “The Goodwill Girl,” (and maybe someday we will join forces to dominate the thrift blogging world, she does have her masters in English…..oh yes and if my grammar is bad and my sentences are too long instead of thinking I’m dumb, just think of it as a way for a girl to rebel against her English teacher mom’s grammar oppression ;-) )  My mom has been taking me to The Goodwill for as long as I can remember. She taught me how to separate the junk from the good stuff; how to find the real wood that just needs re-done, and how to find the diamonds amongst the <a href="http://consumerist.com/2009/07/buy-tchotchkes-at-yard-sale-make-up-a-story-about-em-sell-both-on-ebay.html">tchotchkes</a>.</p> <p>Because I was headed to Portland for the weekend, Friday at Goodwill was a good substitute for Saturday saling. Here are some cool things I found that I love.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_mQpoKXpaxHkVCZJuDSncdF3G3BUTlSju24PzI0U2pm3nwIbzUWsxkAHPtcWfFLXFk2TB-P63CFUOrrmMp9cwMj69yHOu0LcBpynfjABPgNmkAxBs5pvlnwD8zL1Qb6XQ-hArxHoRJgP/s1600-h/021%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="021" border="0" alt="021" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVecaeI_0Oc1J7__2CSzJIsOJ_j7RM3T3JXuBcbAz4zHMoggHb-Xk9E3hzR7HL9aAPz2Ae5jdVKT5HIHpV8MG9msCL9Vq0sUONtRZ6EZTqAd9yVHCqe7JS5lUDz8STUb3dhEH3Zxz2IpK/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> </p> <p>Cute blue  flower bowl that I will put hair ties, chapstick, earrings, etc in on my bedside table. </p> <p>Cost was 99 cents, minus 20 percent because of a 20 percent off entire purchase coupon I had from the <a href="http://www.ecometro.com/seattle/Chinook-Book">Chinook book.</a></p> <p>                                                   <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEeB37UA_9Dv-JGnqmuXdeXbPauvKJH_caug4CnKaqlSciONuR2p7SW15Ry5uGWwtpvuQXHqIC4WxfMaiYaIyX5BE3HKtvAXVHlDLQvbqh38n8xbQ_5pdINT2cS3YtkOrU5dOmi-kjwM2/s1600-h/034%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="034" border="0" alt="034" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S608hYEwyCI/AAAAAAAAAfE/KD620b1GVRU/034_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> </p> <p>Cute little white Dansk bowl 99 cents and cool big tea pot so Alex and I can share a pot of tea instead of making it in individual cups. (For some reason saying to myself, and you all, that Alex and I will share a pot of tea just sounds so loving and wonderful. I hope to share many pots of tea with him and any one else who also enjoys the idea of sharing a pot of tea) Cost of tea pot 2 dollars and 99 cents.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S608iLV2zsI/AAAAAAAAAfM/b3YbdcG-x6k/s1600-h/046%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="046" border="0" alt="046" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nGIe2sj278CvRkpfz5fPQKWAGNFfn70L3tjmH5NfVWn89jMxL1O_7mKRmofHWJ0XqSZWOKTHeA8FQ9eCxm0ZxwBvooVUilONDaW_rvR04GbmEvJGirp4tdbb_OZkWTfgidr9Q4pg_hTl/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> </p> <p>My same friend Olaiya, Who says “The Goodwill”, loves these jar glasses. I’ve been looking for some tall drinking glasses, and really enjoy their simplicity, hominess,  and their elegant non-pretention. And at .16 cents a piece, I don’t think I could get a better deal at a yard sale! I did have to clean off old jam labels and scrub a bit of old dried jam off of the rims, but really that is what “The Goodwill” is all about. Putting a bit of work into the items that you find, and getting even more enjoyment out of them. <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S608j9WWMnI/AAAAAAAAAfc/2kRpTa0ubLE/s1600-h/026%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="026" border="0" alt="026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7dg5eg8MvvBoRYL5ovqWAiaJmzJk4xxUQZSOAl-2gFUsCgALLoznzNiGvkIcXfCqsdXSrdn4TsgHHMq4AI7p-o8M1E8RrAlKiakR-ARXqqPHyZ4v9oM2Wr0HAa-ahQXqF0t5uOATgQJ4/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="290" /></a> </p> <p>And just for you mom, two of those candle’s that you don’t light. They have a switch at the bottom, and they look pretty real. My mom has been trying to talk me into buying some of these for years…..yes years. So at 99 cents a piece I figured I would give my mom a bit of joy when she visits from Arizona. Perhaps I will set one on her bedside table, or enjoy a faux candle lit dinner with her. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_k3lMaW9vXT8/S608k8pPO5I/AAAAAAAAAfo/LrTQGH938vo/s1600-h/100%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="100" border="0" alt="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicN2cTyTDQAkQNb1QX1mLG9gzY_X74sPRZ-aRU5GmJuGve-CbYwuXnF8M3ioi0S-jokCFcWFz1kTUdeCB8w-u1c8yIZL1B5842pD7xR5j2HsFjBGHIm-le_KuKqo-lyaONN_7ODMgagWP3/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="500" /></a></p> <p>And alas the piece de résistance, this chair. Ok ok, so I am actually still making up my mind about it. If you could sit in it though you would understand, soooooooo comfortable. I think it is kind of like me, not quite cool, just about there, but doesn’t really seem to be bothered by it’s not quite coolness. So I relate to it that way. It is going upstairs in our guest bedroom…..perhaps next to my mothers fake candles, so she can have a reminder of me and my unwillingness to match my clothes and color coordinate my rooms. I think I like how the chair seems pretty stuck on it’s just about cool and fine with that kind of vibe…..is that just me performing transference onto a chair….I guess some people think their cars or computers represent them, well for me it is kind of cool Goodwill chairs, it is what it is. Cost 25 dollars. </p> <p>Pretty good day of deals, I got 20 percent off of all of those prices because of the coupon and ended up with some “Good” finds at The Goodwill. Have a great weekend ya’ll! </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c02e9cb0-8046-4078-928c-3637d6175854" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Goodwill" rel="tag">Goodwill</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/The+Goodwill" rel="tag">The Goodwill</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mason+jars" rel="tag">Mason jars</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vintage+chairs" rel="tag">vintage chairs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flower+bowls" rel="tag">flower bowls</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Olaiya" rel="tag">Olaiya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658399784948625907.post-27377519192062727612010-03-24T18:56:00.001-07:002010-07-07T18:13:21.321-07:00Spring Cleaning and Yard Sales<p> Spring has sprung! Finally time to venture out from The Goodwill and get back to my real thrift friend the Yard Sale. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBZ7ZnTpV5SaNP5GwNYKENQaxpnYRbGpw2b_TMUaGwEC6FL2DWM7ooDUk_LHd5JcnZc491UJj0kLd-l7Iyw_PA_VMGaDRRa2Peqf_d4RFomMYufrGE5XSYuTDsHv7spJTTdbkLbu06CNS/s1600-h/Flowers1%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="Flowers1" border="0" alt="Flowers1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCZcuRB1_NTfBjMm6X3tSYgbtDt97J3fzkszvjt_PhDhyOi8UuVi8yK7bXnswm74Hjcr_9zY4pIilR_IAS7YeFhcR9B3C8btxIY_uBtl5fVVxuxiXoQhitCuIIRR95aSAdDd3_HME5myX/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="313" /></a> </p> <p>Friday because of the amazing weather, our boss let us out two hours early. It felt like in third grade when the teacher let’s you out to recess on the first nice day of spring. Seriously I had to stop myself from running out the door of the office with my arms up in the air and face toward the sky. It could only be more fantastic if there were actual a set of playground equipment outside the office.Gleaming sunshine and ogles of yard sale signs. It is a wonderful life after all!  Windows down and glasses on, for reading addresses on signs as to not cause sudden accidents with my crazy yard sale u-turns. The first sign spotted, an estate sale, in the adorable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phinney_Ridge,_Seattle">Phinney</a> <font color="#0080c0">Ridge</font> neighborhood of Seattle. Jackpot……</p> <p>Ok not quite the big one, yes the sale contained some amazingly adorable things including a <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-DBL-HOLLAND-ELSIE-COW-CREAMER-RARE_W0QQitemZ200445802951QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20100304?IMSfp=TL100304203003r14575#ht_500wt_1182">vintage Dutch cow creamer</a>, one where the milk comes out the cow’s mouth, and also, some really beautiful inexpensive artwork. But the cow cost 10 dollars and the art all over 20 dollars. Sounds reasonable, if I hadn’t busted my entire 40 dollar thrifting budget with my friend Nicole last weekend at two amazing estate sales. After opening my wallet to reveal three quarters and some dryer lint I began to regret a few of my prior purchases. </p> <p>This weekend the quarter to fifty cent price range was about all I could justify. This is an absurd expectation at an estate sale, especially on the first day. I left much earlier than I usually would, typically preferring to hem and haw over cow creamers and cool art.Still in 3rd grader mode, I practically crossed my arms, stomped my feet, and huffed on my way out of the estate sale in unreasonable disappointment, mostly in myself for not thinking about future sales with cute cow creamers the previous week while I binged on antique silver demitasse spoons and crystal butter trays.Defeated and low in energy after my internal tantrum. I opted for <a href="http://www.herkimercoffee.com/">iced coffee</a>, driving aimlessly, and enjoying the sun, instead of thrifting. <br /></p> <p>Saturday morning I awoke refreshed feeling fortunate as I gazed out the window for round two of the amazing weather. The thrift gods were giving me a second chance at glory! After exchanging old CD's at <a href="http://www.sonicboomrecords.com/">Sonic Boom</a>, scoring $22 in store credit, purchasing both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Glee-Music-1-Cast/dp/B002NJ8X9G">Glee CD's</a> (don't judge), and buying a stash Tom's of Maine toothpaste on sale for $2.99 per tube, I was ready to find the sales!The combination of the sun and morning deals put me in an enthusiastic mood for saling,and to my delight,an infinite number of signs had popped up over night.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtf6Y2TaSfVTEcEU6xkW6ptRUZlCec9BUhnnhq2WOpwo_vST9ZQ38cwpndq7-RODl2V9cIZT9ZXFTHPhwJaVD3MZjDmEiT-UpZxHgnWjuNnsT9KzqZQdvEYMRaJpK6rK2g-6VvbWLPF-jf/s1600-h/photo+4+(1).jpg"><img style="display: inline" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtf6Y2TaSfVTEcEU6xkW6ptRUZlCec9BUhnnhq2WOpwo_vST9ZQ38cwpndq7-RODl2V9cIZT9ZXFTHPhwJaVD3MZjDmEiT-UpZxHgnWjuNnsT9KzqZQdvEYMRaJpK6rK2g-6VvbWLPF-jf/s200/photo+4+(1).jpg" width="250" height="184" /></a></p> <p>First sale yielded this lovely teak tray still in it's box for 2 dollars. The only thing missing was someone serving me breakfast on it. I tried to convince my boyfriend, Alex, Sunday morning to no avail, and am still hoping he'll succumb to the lure of its beautiful teak, but with my morning breath I doubt it. The opulent candelabra was 1 dollar.  It will be added to my collection of twenty or so gold candlesticks. Since subtlety is hardly in my vocabulary, the thought of this decadent candelabra next to my twenty sticks at my fantasy dinner party, I keep meaning to host someday somewhere somehow, was irresistible, especially for 1 dollar.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG1E_mLW2MbVg3x2Vsl_TMs8PICTdssN1oUrLUcJUi5aGwm-LjJC5XfVmp7GYOC3njz-bvgDnlKo1b1BljtyOTenIf-dxaRyxWtM3CoEp-vUjCc8RvY1MQ2xybaltf4L9m-NxKy6Puy2l/s1600-h/photo+5+(1).jpg"><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG1E_mLW2MbVg3x2Vsl_TMs8PICTdssN1oUrLUcJUi5aGwm-LjJC5XfVmp7GYOC3njz-bvgDnlKo1b1BljtyOTenIf-dxaRyxWtM3CoEp-vUjCc8RvY1MQ2xybaltf4L9m-NxKy6Puy2l/s200/photo+5+(1).jpg" width="250" height="195" /></a> </p> <p>The next sale was one of the best I've been to. First thing I spied was this Magnolia painting. Since moving to Seattle I’ve developed a Magnolia obsession. The first neighborhood I lived in Seattle was <a href="http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/washington/magnolia">Magnolia</a>. Also, the blooming Magnolia trees seem to signal the opportunities spring beholds, its beautiful white and pink blooms are devastatingly beautiful. Especially because in Iowa they typically bloom for a day or so before a late frost comes and all the blooms fall off.</p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_OP5tJSTkkDqGmkPj8n2vCxKUEQr5czpY0PnnFfdeuVDQmEQnnVHLCyS2yUk4uC1gvFp8zQU-qTlOkB5EaEqb4YJDjYgZgYg0nlGC_P0AogxFMuL-Y9OkGTSESoMw1I5BuMIp9xJAmFG/s200/photo+(1).jpg" width="250" height="196" /></p> <p>With a 10 dollar original price I skirted the painting knowing that I would regret it later.I had set an arbitrary amount of no more than 5 dollars per item. If you can say one thing about me, it is that I am stubborn regarding arbitrary meaningless ideas I set forth, and I then regret that stubbornness later. I really wouldn’t want to ruin that by buying myself something that I adored and made me happy for ten dollars.After reluctantly side stepping the painting, these lovely yellow  stoneware mugs priced at 3 dollars for all 8 popped out at me. I quickly carried them to the cashier, starting my protected pile, so I was free peruse the goods without someone else snatching my selections. After asking if the lady if she would watch my new treasures, she kindly informed me all items were half off.  I made a lunge toward the painting to stake my claim as soon as the word half came out of her mouth adding the painting to my protected stash of cast off delights</p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0SvtRPFenerdCirsAZhjyp8ExUFsrffIEDLxZyGC8PplXwSWI7wjGFI799U-np0R-HRbwisO9e_H2RJ_44cgTZS_J6Jrv_soxScwRWH8Zr1VP9GC-zMewuW1Zd0KUGAfSOO7QYBkjAJ7/s200/photo+(2).jpg" width="250" height="192" /></p> <p>As I took one last lap, the lovely women hosting the sale watched as I eyed these fun and playful paintings. At 3 dollars apiece I knew I could only justify buying one. While attempting to find the one Alex would despise least, pretty sure the weird red bird painting would be the one I would select with the elephants coming in a close second, the delightful host implored, "I'll give it to you for $1." This being a deal I could not pass up, I preceded to take the red bird away.  "No no, you must take all six for for 1 dollar,” she insisted.</p> <p>Well all righty then. I scooped up all six deciding not to kick this gift horse in the mouth by asking if I could take just two. So I made off with six original paintings for 1 dollar.Alex says we can only keep one.  I will sell the others at my yard sale, and most likely turn a big  profit (relatively). Or I'll find friends who also have a strange taste for yard sale art as well to bequeath them to. Or,wouldn’t they just look adorable in a children's room.....minus the fact I have zero  children, and six paintings….whatever less than 20 cents per painting, no buyers remorse. </p> <p>……my best friend Lindsey turned out to be that very lucky friend and also enjoyed my 20 cent bright animal art. She took three, but I have a feeling Jeff her boyfriend moving in with her in August might, like Alex, only allow one of these 20 cent delights in the house. But since birds of a feather flock together (especially weird red birds), I have no doubt Lindsey can pawn…..I mean kindly gift the other two paintings to a friend with similarly eccentric taste in colorfully weird animal art.</p> <p>Totals for the day: Teak Tray 2 dollars+Candelabra 1 dollar+ Painting 5 dollars+ Mugs 1 dollar and 50 cents+6 Original (strange yes, but still original) works of art (ok work of art might be a bit much….but whatever) 1 dollar = 10 Dollars and 50 Cents Triumph! Only 50 cents over arbitrary budget, and most items were of the useful and un-ridiculous sort (at least to me). Happy Spring!  I wish you all sunshine, blossoms, and yard Sale bounty in this upcoming season! </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a97a4911-0adf-4865-ab52-28271b5ac712" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale" rel="tag">Yard Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yard+Sale+Girl" rel="tag">Yard Sale Girl</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Garage+Sale" rel="tag">Garage Sale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stoneware" rel="tag">Stoneware</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/teak+tray" rel="tag">teak tray</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/thrifting" rel="tag">thrifting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Goodwill" rel="tag">Goodwill</a></div> The Yard Sale Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616751016757191441noreply@blogger.com5