Vacation Road Trip Finds...

Today - day 5 of our 'staycation' - was supposed to find us at a tourist attraction.  We headed out - saw a sign for a great restaurant that we remembered...

 and next thing you know...

...down the road from the restaurant we turned into a thrift shop 

and stuff jumped in my cart.  

So much for said tourist attraction - never made it there!

Thrift Shop Hubby Tip (if your hubby loves thrift shops - you can ignore this): 

  This shop was great for us.  My Love enjoys taking photos.  And right outside the door 

of this shop were some great photo ops... some farms, fields, cows, flowers...  

He did his thing and I did mine.  And later - we'll each have show and tell! 

New Cottage Porch Furniture...

Today is day 4 of our week long staycation at our summer cottage.  

We spent it getting new furniture for the porch...

Photo compliments of My Love

 I am smitten with this so cozy wicker 'end of season' find from Pier 1. 

(If you're a detail person - you may have noticed 1 chair is minus a cushion - it's 'on order'.)

Goodbye aluminum seating... you served us well. 

Tomorrow we're planning an actual sight-seeing day.

  What do you do on vacation?

From Immodest Maxi Dress to Modest Maxi Skirt...

One of my finds on my recent thrifting trip was a knit fabric maxi dress.  

It was the sleeveless - elastic across the bust kind.  But the colors were wonderful.  In fact, as I walked around the store with it hanging on my shoulder - 

several people commented that those were 'good colors' for me.  

So for $5 - home it came.  I figured I could transform it into a skirt.

Step 1 - cut off the elastic top.

 Step 2 - lay another maxi skirt, that fits, on top for a length estimate... 

 chop some more off the top of the non-elastic skirt portion.

 Step 3 - sew a large running stitch all the way around the top 

of the non elastic skirt portion.  

(tip - I sewed 2 running stitches - one between each side seam.  This made it easier to work with.)  

Pull the back thread of the running stitch to gather the fabric 

till it fits into the elastic portion.  Stitch together - 

with skirt inside out and right sides together.

 Step 4 - The elastic portion was just too deep for my waist - 

so I sewed it in half.  

(folded it down and sewed it onto the seam where the elastic portion meets the bottom part.) 

A new upcycled maxi skirt for me!  In great colors!

  (Sorry - the colors in this photo are very off...

nighttime indoor photography at its finest.)

A Soothing Bath...

Today begins our first day of vacation - at our summer cottage... 

and I have a raging ear infection.  

So what's girl to do?

Mount Gretna, PA

 Draw an inviting candlelit bath and soak the pain away...

 Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.  

Feeling yucky but blessed  - to have this little home away from home.

Romance In the Office...

The other day I walked into my cubicle at work and found this 

handpicked wildflower bouquet.  It made my day!!!

 I happen to work for the same company that My Love does.  

On his bicycle ride to work - he spotted some flowers

 and took the time to pick them...

...AND then arranged them in a lunchroom cup in such a way 

that they would stay standing.  I was most impressed.

Normally I work from home and he goes to work.

But a thunderstorm took out my computer equipment

 so I'm needing to work at the office while it is fixed.

Apparently working with your spouse has its benefits!   

(Yes - that's a decorating magazine in my temporary cubicle...)

Thrifting Trip 2014...

I just completed a 2 day thrifting trip with a group of sweet and Godly ladies.
(Sorry, there is not 1 single picture of me. I'll have to do better at that...)
 

This year we got smart and took along a trailer...

At lunch time - it became our  'picnic table' - 

right smack in the middle of a thrift store parking lot...

 Someone decided we needed to make a stop at
 Sweet Frog in beautiful downtown Lewisburg, PA...
(A frozen yogurt joint - but they have a non dairy option that is wonderful!)

Ten hours of shopping later we arrived at a cabin where we spent the night. 

While these pictures are lousy - 

I'm including them to prove we did see a bear.  

He gave quite the performance and stayed around for a while.  

Breakfast on day 2 was buffet style... scrambled eggs and all the trimmings.

We're talking ham, onions, peppers, cheese, pepperoni and salsa for wraps...

Before we hit the shops - we had a morning devotional 

on the topic of 'gifts that God has granted to us'.
  What preciousness as we went around the table and shared

recent gifts we each noted from the hand of our Father.  

An exiciting find on the way home was this lovely

 sofa in great condition.  Cost?  Just $50! 

Of course we had to load it ourselves.  (not a problem...)

 I was intrigued with this beautiful church...

 ...and then discovered it has been revamped into

 luxury apartments called 'The Sanctuary'.  Love!!

Our trailer fastly became a key commodity...

These girls knew how to strap 'em in and tie 'em down!

My favorite find of the trip?  

70% dark chocolate for 79 cents at a discount grocery store.
(Not what you expected I'm sure.)

I'll share more finds in future posts.  But let me just say -

there's nothing like girlfriends and some time away.

  Any bargains we found were just a bonus!

Too Much Spinach? Freeze It....

A recent grocery store purchase for me was this huge box of organic spinach - 

for $1.99.  It was almost the only 'greens' option to I bought it. 

(I shop a discount grocery store and have to take what is available on that day.)  

But this is too much for just the 2 of us.

 Thankfully, I stumbled upon the idea that I could freeze some of it.  

So the 'extra' got a good washing...

Then a quick 20 second or so dip in boiling water 

(to blanch it and keep it from discoloring)...

Then another quick dip - this time in cold water...

Then drained.

All ready for the freezer and future recipes...

And a fringe benefit - that big plastic container is

 helping to organize my under sink detergents.  

Yes, it was that big!

Always thrifty!

Grocery Bargains at Dollar Tree...

I don't promote everything at Dollar Tree to be a bargain.  

And I don't go 'grocery shopping' there per se.  

But I do drive right past on my way to the grocery store - so I often stop in.  

I have often pretty much ignored the food section - 

figuring the package sizes were just smaller and that's what made them $1.  

But... look what I found...

Tried pricing herbal tea or canned black beans lately?   

This tea is GOOD!   And yep - only $1.  

And $1 for a bag of dried black beans?  Yes please! 

Don't be afraid of dry beans - they are a thrifty shopper's best friend. 

They cook right up in a crockpot - 3-4 cans worth from one bag.

Source

To cook dry beans - I basically just rinse the beans and throw them in the crockpot. 

Then fill it pretty far with water.  Turn on low overnight - they'll be done in the morning.  

(Freeze them for later use.)

If you need more detailed instructions - there are many websites (just search 'dry beans crockpot').

Here is one site for you.

Thrift Shop Displays....

Just sharing a few of my recent dress rack top displays from the thrift shop...

This vintage office theme on the men's rack seemed to be a hit.

(Loved that picture frame.)

None of these are particularly summer looking - but there is a metal 

birdhouse in this one.  (Most of the summer colored items were already used in other displays.)

 See how I move things around.  That taller flower arrangement 

didn't sell one week - so I reused it in a different grouping 

the next week.  As of today... it still hasn't sold and is in yet another display. 

The leather journals in this grouping sold immediately.  

I asked the lady if she'd mind putting them back for the picture. 

This one had a bohemian flair to it.  Gotta love boho!

Thanks for visiting!