Dress Up Bag

One of my favorite things to do when I was little was play "dress up".  If you knew me back then you were likely introduced to my massive closet stuffed full of dress up clothes in the playroom which produced hours of endless fun.  My dress up collection came from a variety of places and sources, a decent amount being from garage sales. 

This weekend my best friend and her adorable family are coming for a visit.  They live in North Dakota so we don't get to see them much.  As I was putting together a few little gifts for the kids I came up with the idea of a "dress up bag" theme for the little girl.  First thing was first, the bag.  I bought a reusable shopping tote from Menards and then headed over to Hancock Fabric Store where I purchased 1/4 yard of fun fabric to sew over the print on the bag.  Over the next few weeks as I stopped at garage sales, I kept my eyes open for costumes to fill the bag with.  I was pleasantly surprised with what I came up with.  After a quick run through the washing machine the dress up bag was filled and complete.  My frugal find, bag and costumes included, came to a grand total of  $4.25.   

A Dime a Dozen

A dime....ten cents....10 pennies... call it what you will but year to date, a dime seems rather insignificant.  Have you ever stepped over a lone dime on the pavement not giving it more thought than you would a penny as you pass it by? Let's just say after a weekend of garage sales, my hope in the value of a dime has been renewed.

For the past few years my Mom and I have attended her town's annual garage sale weekend in May.  This year on a cold and rainy Friday morning we started off at 7AM and in the span of the following 5 hours went to 53 plus garage sales!  


A few highlights from my day were a pampered chef pizza stone for $2, a picture/sign for the living room doorway for $1, and some fun kids costumes ($1.75 total) for a dress-up bag I am making for a friend's daughter.  In addition to the "normal priced" items,  I came across 2 clothing pieces marked at a dime each!  My first find was a fitted cute flannel print long sleeve which will be perfect for a fall afternoon.  My second find is what I would call an original "vintage"cotton dress great for these upcoming summer-like days ..... I will never look at a dime the same again!  

Redecorating Underway

We have lived in our house for a little over 3 years now and for the most part all the rooms are decorated with a few exceptions, one of which being our bedroom.  As of recently it made my "to do" list so I was pleasantly surprised to come across a comforter set at a garage sale on Friday that was just my style.  The set includes the comforter, bed skirt, 2 pillow shrams, and 2 decorative pillows...... all for a grand total of $7!  An additional bonus is the wall color matches so no painting is needed plus the curtains that came with the house which I have since taken down and tucked away match as well. My plan is to keep my eyes open this summer as I garage sale and pick up a few decorative item and pictures to match.  I am hoping to redecorate the room for less than $25 total.  With my new comforter set I am well on my way! 

And so it begins....

Well here we are, entry number one.  After months of throwing ideas around of what my blog would be about an idea sparked.  Let me back up to this past Friday.  Bright and early my friend Leah and I ventured out to our first garage sales of the season.  Let's just say we had a very successful morning and as I sat in the living room with all of my "new" items spread out before me I felt energized and excited.  That evening as I was showing off all of my morning finds to my husband, Paul, he looked at me and said "You should blog your garage sale deals this summer."  Just like that the light went on and the blogging wheels in my head began to turn.  My intent for this blog is to share about something that has become somewhat of a hobby - finding a great deal.  Whether that be a garage sale treasure, a thrift store find, or a personal penny pinching tip it will likely find it's way to my blog entitled "The Frugal Find".  Here we go.....