Thank you, Good Will!

Last year I pre-purchased soccer cleats for this year, having found them super cheap. Fall soccer starts and oops - we can only find one of Lindsay's cleats for this year and the other is no where to be found. I hate to spend the $ again especially on something that a kid cannot possibly wear out, so, a trip to Good Will was in order - take my chances on finding a cheap used pair. I loaded the van with my growing give-away pile from the garage and Caroline, Kate and I went to Good Will and made our donation. Just as I was pulling out of the drop off area, I saw a woman pull up with her van and start to unload a crib mattress. My eyes perked up! Our crib mattress has seen better days, the vinyl cover was cracked all over, probably from being stored in the blistering heat of the garage for a few years before being used again! I literally covered the thing in duct tape to keep from having to buy a new one - they aren't cheap! So, I asked the woman if she was donating it. We talked and tried to find the unload helper guy to ask if she could donate and then I could buy it of it was against policy for her just to give it to me. He was nowhere to be found so she said "you can just have it!" FREE. Nice. The duct tape one was OK but kind of weirdly bumpy in places. This will be better, of course! We go inside and go straight to kids shoes to hopefully find what I desperately need. Wahoo! A pair of size 13 Adidas soccer cleats. $2.99. Score!!! We stay in shoes for a while because, Caroline is trying everything on, and we see some roller blades just the size for the girls to use. $5.99. Super fun! We wander around the store, because, you never know what you are going to find there. Well, low and behold, I see a Baby Bjorn carrier. We have one but it is old - it was old when it was a hand-me-down given to us when we had Lindsay and had truly seen better days. This is one of the newest ones. $5.99. Wowza!!! I love my sling but a Bjorn adds versatility with the babes and Daddy can use it. Anyway, a new kitchen rug for in front of my sink, some beautiful wood candle pillars, a black bread basket that matches my kitchen, and a truly horrid mushroom needlepoint (I was after the frame for a project I learned about HERE) and I think I scored!

I love thrift stores. I need to go more often. The blog I referenced above, Joys of Home, has has great decorating ideas and almost everything she gets is from thrift stores or the dollar store. Consider me converted!