Last week was almost MY last week!  After three straight days of shopping, the walking nearly killed me.  Two of my cool and crazy cousins came to visit, and Thursday noon through Saturday evening, all we did was shop!

Well, not all . . . there was the talking . . . and the eating . . . and all the laughing.  Not much sleeping though & all that walking . . . yikes.  Hubs said it didn’t kill me, it did me good.  Okay, yes, I’m still alive (barely) but my new best friend is ALEVE!

We ladies are three of a kind, so we set out to visit as many thrift and 2nd Hand stores as we could find.  My area is chock full of em’ so no problem.  And we got some deals!  Can’t remember theirs (or even all of mine) but here are some of the things I found. Milaca Discovery Thrift was having their “Third Thursday Sale”, where each month on that day, everything is 30% off EXCEPT furniture which 15% discount.  Last month, I purchased a beautiful wooden  bureau (for $63) so I didn’t buy big this time.  The cute strawberry themed items @ $2.50 were all I left with.

Our local Family Pathways in Princeton, was where I found the vase, cup & saucer and these fun foam stamps..  Plus a glass casserole w/lid, a chrome wine rack, and a couple of miscellaneous things.  FP has “color tag sales”.  On our visit, green tags were 20% off; 40% off on yellow, and 60% discount on lavendar tags.  I spent around $9 for all my items.

Princeton Used Clothing Center  also has toys and household items.  And I recently started volunteering for them, so we had to stop in.  They were having 50% off on hardware items, and any clothing or fabrics, etc. was $3 a bag for all you could get in one.

No kidding, I got everything pictured for $3 . . . the clothes and the beautiful table cloth. There is absolutely nothing wrong with anything.  No spots, tears, nothing.  It’s all washable.  The slacks also have a casual accompanying blazer, and the pieces are inter-changeable.  Love it!  It’ll be great for the wedding I’m attending in November.  The table cover will work for several different holidays and occasions.

At the Elk River Goodwill  it was twenty minutes to closing when I discovered a 10 books for $2, green tag sale.  I used my time wisely!   Picture books, funny quotes and sayings, decorating books . . . wow!  All hard-cover except one.

At a local “Thrift with a Twist”,  my cousin Robin pointed out a sandwich cooking gizmo.  Brand new with a little spatula and instruction booklet, she said it was perfect for me . . . easy, fast and step by step directions.  (She knows I hate to cook).  I bought that and a set of 4 glass mugs for $5.

My final great find was at “Savers”,  the pitcher below.  At $5.99, this was my biggest expenditure, but hey . . . it matches those $2 glasses from a recent garage sale! The ladies come up every summer and we always have a blast.  But in planning for next year, we decided to

• Day one – shop
• Day two – relax, gossip, talk design and decorating
• Day three – shop, eat out

That way I won’t have to take so much ALEVE.

Hey, what fun finds have you come across lately?  Share with me.  You can email any pictures.  My address is on the About Page.

As always, try not to stress out, just get going!

Later – Cheryl