Thrifty Finds: Neighborhood Garage Sale!

This post almost started like this:
THE DISASTER: I cannot find my camera cord....

And then, right after I typed that, I got up, walked right over to where the camera cord had most definitely been sitting the entire time I looked all over the house for it. "It's this brain of mine..it's got a mind of its own!" (If you can name that movie, I will think you are SO cool!)

Sorry, I realize this is a strange start to a post about garage saling, but it's my blog and I'll start the post how I want! :)
Anyway, you may or may not know that I am a thrifty girl. Yes, I did mention my Trying to Save a Buck Series (which *cough* has still yet to appear on this blog...), but my love for thrifty finds goes much beyond cheap groceries and meals.


I will admit I really enjoy shopping in thrift stores (GASP!). In fact, just this morning, when Bitty and I wanted to get out of the house, where did we go? Salvation Army. True story. It wasn't always this way... My mom and sister have been a thrifters for years, but in all honestly I use to think it was kind of gross. Maybe some of you can relate to that feeling.


Even when I was in college and single. I remember one particular incidence, where I was wearing a grey fleece Gap sweatshirt my mom had bought me at Goodwill. I was in front one of the groups of lab students I was TA-ing , and this cute girl said, "Oh, I have that same sweater in cream! It is SOOOOO OLD, but very comfortable!" (in her defense she was a very sweet girl, and didn't mean anything by the SOOOOO OLD part, except for the fact that she had gotten it several years previous).

And I just said, "Mmm-hmmmm...it is comfy" instead of "Yeah, it probably is old, but I wouldn't know, because my mom got mine at Goodwill." I loved that sweater by the way, and I still wear it in the winter.


Anyway, then I got married, graduated college, had a baby, started reading blogs, and started going to the thrift store for fun while my husband was at school or work, and the rest is history.

Oh my, this post is so long already! Can you tell I sort of struggle with finding the balance between making this blog personal enough to be interesting and succinct enough for people to read without falling asleep? I do. And this post is erring on the "personal" side. Oh well.

And finally: the purpose of this post: Garage Sale Finds!! I went out with my sister Caroline this weekend to her neighborhood garage sales and we had so much fun, and bought so much stuff! Here's the proof:

Here's our Nester-inspired view-from-the-trunk shot:

Caroline's loot:

She got so much stuff, all for under $30! The big highlight was that big brassy chandelier! She's been looking for new (cheap) lighting for her entryway for a year or two, and it was so worth the wait...that soon-to-be beauty was only $2!! I also love the giant candle sticks! If I wasn't already out of money by that time I may have fought her for them!

She also hit the jackpot with children's books (we found a sale of a former elementary teacher cleaning out her book stash!), some kids clothes and shoes, that big plastic storage thing, and other cute whatnots.

My Goodies:

I spent just over $20 on all of my finds combined. Most of the things I found were for my little boy. Here's the rundown (left to right):

tricycle: $3
green Gap tent (in the bag-like new): $5--a splurge, put away for his 2nd birthday this fall!
Scattergories: $1
Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 AND Premiere Elements 2.0: $2--I know those aren't the newest versions, but for $2 I'm okay with that!
dark red necklace: $1necklace display: $0.75--ya know... in case I decide to start selling jewelry...
toddler bed rail: $3 (saw one at the Salvation army today for $8!)
3 square hanging picture frames: $0.25
tension rod: $1
brown baby sandals: $0.50
toy cars: $0.10/each
toy dinosaurs: 3/$1small basket: $0.50
shower curtain hooks: $0.50
small hammer: $1 (I think...)
elephant flashlight (that makes an elephant noise when you turn it on!): $0.10toddler camp chair: $2

Ta-da! It was so fun.

What thrifty finds have you found lately??