Unexpected Thrifty Treasures

What time is it?

It's Thrifty Treasures time! If you love hunting down a good bargain, then Rhoda's party is for you! Check her site out to see what amazing deals she scored over the weekend. It's a party over there!

I didn't really have any intentions of hitting the yard sale circuit this weekend, but my kids made me do it, I swear. So the treasures we found on Saturday were certainly unexpected.

T was off this weekend and I was doing my best to keep everyone quiet so he could sleep in. It was only 8:45 am on Saturday when the girls staged an Ultimate Fighting match in the upstairs bathroom. Michaela Byrd (19 m.) wanted to wash Natalie's face with the wash cloth, and Natalie (3 and 1/2) was insistent that she do it herself. This led to a wash cloth tug-of-war with shrieking, kicking, and flailing limbs.

I am certain that a WWF recruiter would have signed them immediately after the show.

T can sleep through just about anything, but I didn't want to push my luck, so I literally grabbed the diaper bag, threw some shoes on the girls, and rushed them out the door. It was Natalie's idea to visit the yard sale across the street. She was hoping to find a play cash register to replace the one that was secretly given away to a Freecycler while she was napping lost.

We went to the grocery first to get some stuff for last night's cookout. On our way back we passed a sale that featured a round, black wrought iron patio table and four chairs. I really really want a patio table, as we've been borrowing one from T's parents, but I was just sure they'd be asking some exorbitant price, so I drove by it at first.

Lesson learned. On a whim, I circled back and got out of the car to check it out. It was marked "Free" and the woman in front of me had just claimed it.

Major. bummer. Natalie and Michaela Byrd found a 25 cent Madeline VHS movie, so we brought that home with us. Not as great as a patio table, but it will do a better job of keeping them out of my hair when I need to wash dishes.

I did end up checking the sale across the street from us out in the afternoon. Natalie wanted to buy one of their fold up cots, which she insisted was a beach chair. From our front window, I saw Mr. and Mrs. R drag a large fake ficus tree out onto their lawn. I told T that I would be bringing it home with me if I could get it for a couple of bucks, knowing that was wishful thinking as they usually run upwards of $100 or so.

Mrs. R had it marked at $3, and as it was later in the day, she accepted my $2 offer and even threw in five or six canisters of newish Play-Doh. Natalie was thrilled, and forgot all about the cots. Mrs. R and I bonded over our mutual disgust of the icky house next door to me. We are both so pleased with the progress that the new owner has made, and can't wait to see who moves in when he flips it. I will have to share the rest of that story soon!

Best of all, the ficus was already wired with Christmas lights and will be so cute lit up for the leadership party I'm hosting for my MOPS group in the next few weeks. It's pictured here on our new deck. T said I can't bring it inside because it is so big...it's much taller than I am, and I'm five-six and a half.

Question: Do you have any faux plants in your home? How would you use this tree? It needs to be "repotted," for sure.

{Happy Thrifting!}

**Please be sure to check back in tomorrow morning for an Announcement and to see who won the Giveaway for my Decorating Dilemmas Party!**