This weekend's loot

Saturday morning I set out to yard sale but didn't have great expectations. I didn't get going until after 9:00, which for me is a late start. I like to get out of the house by 8:00 at the latest to get to some of the early ones when they first start. (It's a race to get the good stuff first you know!) I had my 2-month old nephew overnight Friday to Saturday and didn't count on him cooperating so we could go. So I had just planned to bum around the house with him and the kids all morning.

Kat took it upon herself to crawl under the baby toy with her cousin and take over the job of entertainer.

When he fell asleep after a bottle right before 9:00, I made a last-minute decision to take my chances, buckle up the 3 kids and go!  I didn't have a game plan though. Usually, I write out my list of stops and route the night before. This week my only plan was to head to one sale I saw a sign for up the street and then just drive the loop around town hoping to see more signs. Well the little champ stayed out cold and I continued to see signs all over town so we ended up yard sale-ing for almost two hours and had a fairly successful morning.

First, here's the list of loot for the kids:

• A few baby toys with buttons, lights and noises for $1 each.
• A Telling Time puzzle game to help teach the kids about clocks and time. $2.
• Net for covering a Pack 'n Play to keep out bugs when baby naps on the go next summer. $1.
• Set of 4 hardcover Mary Poppins books. $2.
• A Fantastic Mr. Fox book - a good chapter book to read to Kat now. 50c.
• Another Arthur book for our collection - my kids LOVE Arthur. 50c.
• 2 giant Magnadoodles for keeping the kids entertained in the car. $1 each.
• A small play kitchen full of toy food, including lots of the nice wooden ones, dishes etc. $5.

We had a bigger kitchen for years and gave it away this past fall because it took up so much space and the kids rarely played with it anymore. Of course they've been asking for another one ever since. I'm so happy to find a small one that includes lots of accessories and storage space for so cheap. It remains on the porch until I make space in a bedroom, which will be a challenge.

And here's the loot for me:

12-inch cast iron frying pan. $1.
I know cast-iron is great/best for cooking certain things, but what? And I'm supposed to keep it greased when not in use, right?? Anyone with care tips and recipes so I can put this thing to use - please share!

Earring holder. 25c.   (Outlet cover in pic for scale)
A quarter, now that's what I'm talking about! I remember growing up I could go yard sale-ing with just a bag of change. What's up with everything costing at least $1 at yard sales these days?? ;) I'm cheap.

This tacky little piece caught my eye because I've been looking out for things to corral all my jewelry that has overflowed out of my jewelry box into my dresser and into my bathroom built-in. This ladder will be very functional and with a little TLC, has the potential to maybe be cute? I'm going to clean it up, find a way to break off the gold cat, then find a little bird to glue on top instead. That should do it. I'll post an after pic when this little project is complete.

Speaking of corralling jewelry...

I got this jewelry tree at Bernat Antiques a couple weeks ago. I went in to ask about this big tree branch thing I'd seen on display in the first booth that I thought would make an awesome jewelry tree. Turns out it wasn't for sale but for the shop owner to display jewelry for sale. I was so bummed but looked around all the shops to see if anything else was available for holding jewelry and came across this downstairs. It's not old or unique but I liked it and its helped eliminate some of my jewelry piles.

Back to this weekend's loot:

Pair of craft birds (feather covered foam). 50c.
Nothing exotic but I couldn't pass up a pair of cute cheap birds! To see my other bird treasures, view my previous post.

I originally put the birds on a table on my porch but the kids wouldn't leave them alone so I've since tucked them up onto the outside edges of a high shelf in my dining room, at least for now. It's getting too cluttered though. Hmmm...upcoming project to replace this old shelf with two ledge shelves I have that match the wood frames on my picture/plate wall.

Set of 4 herb salad plates. $2.
I think I'll display these in my dining room, or at least the Basil and Lovage ones. If I decide soon not to hang the other two (or lean them on the ledge shelves once up), I'll pass them on to a friend who is looking for china to break for a mosaic stepping stone project.

Now I need to get into a different kind of yard sale mode. We are having a yard sale at our place this Saturday, July 9th, along with my neighbors and in-laws. I don't have as much as much stuff to sell as I have at my yard sales in years past because I have proudly not collected or hung on to things I don't need anymore. I have been pretty good about purging things throughout the year by giving them away or dropping them off at Sally's. And that's a great feeling. Except when you find out your pregnant and already purged all your baby stuff. That's not such a great feeling. Thankfully God is always faithful to provide all of our needs and in the past couple months people have literally given me all the major stuff we'll need.