Tuesday treasures

Today marks a special day in the Bowers' household. Today is our Texa-versary! We have lived in Texas for 8 years now, and I have grown to love it here. I still miss having family nearby; all of my family is on the west coast, and all of my husband's family leaves on the east coast! There are many things that scream "TEXAS!!" to me, and I love almost all of them! A few off the top of my head are BBQ, TexMex, (diet) Dr. Pepper,  bluebonnets, Rangers Baseball, swimming 8 months out of the year, and one of my all time favorite things: garage sales!

I am fully aware that there are garage sales in every state (or maybe most states...), but here in Texas is where I learned to embrace the treasure hunt that is "garaging". We've already talked about the fabulous thrift stores that are available in my area, but garage sales are a whole different ball game. They can be found almost year round, and as always some will be duds, some will be like a mini Walgreen's in someones garage, and some (the best ones) will be hosted by a sweet little old lady trying to make a buck off her house full of goods.

Those are where you find the treasures. Estate sales being the best of those. (Tangent. Estate sales are bittersweet. Something so heartbreaking about hunting through a house full of someone unknown persons things. Anyone else get those sad pangs when hunting estate sales? Just me? Ok, then.) Anywho, on any given weekend you can hop in the car, follow the neon signs, and start hunting.

I haven't been able to go in a long time, summer has been busy and hot, and it just hasn't been in the cards. There are few things more painful to a die hard thrifter than driving past a million garage sale signs and not being able to pull over! Ha! This weekend I put my foot down and said, we are going! So me and my oldest hit the road. Only to find that no one was having a sale! Murphy's law of course. After finding a few duds (you know what I'm talking about, very few items or mostly clothes) we stumbled upon an estate sale. Jackpot. We had a good time searching the house, commenting on the layout and rooms (one of our favorite things, my girl and I love different houses in all the different styles and shapes), and digging through piles of Christmas decorations to find the hidden gems.

We didn't find as many things this week as we have in the past, but each thing we found is special. (That's also a key in garaging, don't bring home more junk, or you'll just clutter up your house! I try to be very intentional in what I bring home.) Without further ado, this weeks finds.

A handful of wooden spools in some fantastic colors. {$2.50}

A huge jar chock full of brand new "everything" nails for my husband {$2.00} He loved it! And this was only one jar of maybe 50. Each filled with a different type of nail or screw that some man had carefully collected and organized.

 This last purchase just confirms that when you hunt you have to look everywhere! I was shuffling through a stack of frames propped in a closet and when I happened to look up I saw a plastic bin marked "hangers $1". My heart skipped a little because it was full of wooden hangers! I know these bad boys go for at least 5-6 bucks a piece and I can't justify spending that on a hanger. $1 is much more my price language! I ended up getting 12 of these clasp ones, and 2 regular wooden hangers for Keith's suits. I won't keep them all, but what a fun gift it will be to give a cute piece of art and a fun wooden hanger to hang it up. Best part? Easy to store!

These wooden hangers came in a variety of shapes and colors, all vintage and all wonderfully crafted. {$1 each!}

I've already put my favorite hanger to use. I loved the dark wood of this, and I can't wait to hang it up.

I can't wait for the next free Saturday when I can head out again! And when school starts up, I can be a true die hard and head out Friday mornings. I love garaging!

Crafty Couponing

Many of us are familiar with couponing to lower our grocery bills but how many are familiar with couponing to lower your crafting bill?  We LOVE to craft, clearly, but what we love even more is to get a great deal!  I hate to pay full price for anything because I know I can usually find a better deal somewhere else.  So today I would love to give some tips and tricks we use to save on our crafting budget.

Know Your Stores
First, it's important to know your crafting stores.  Depending on where you live will depend on what stores are available to you.  If you are fortunate enough to live near at least 2 craft stores, than get to know them.  Don't be shy about walking around, knowing what product they carry, the prices, etc.  We are super fortunate that we have Hobby Lobby, Joanns, Hancocks and Michaels within a 30 mile radius of each other.  Each store may carry many similar items but they each have their unique products that they focus on.  If I am primarily looking for fabric I will head to Joanns, but if I need wood products my focus would be Hobby Lobby or Michaels for Scrapbooking.  And Hancocks would be for more specialty fabric.

Coupons
Next, make sure you are on their mailing list, if they have one.  Joanns will mail you their flyer every week which is usually loaded with at least 3 coupons.  They also run Coupon Commotion a few times  a year where their flyer is loaded with 2 full pages of coupons!!  Let's say you make it all the way to the store and you forget your coupons...not to worry!  Download their app and they will all be available at the touch of a finger.  Joanns and Michaels will not only accept their own coupons but those from other companies, like Hobby Lobby.  Last but not least, you can also have coupons texted to you, usually weekly or bi-monthly.  Sometimes you can even stack coupons.  Let's say you have 40% off one regular priced item coupon, everything else you are buying is already on sale AND you have a 15% off your total purchase coupon!  SHUT UP!  Most stores will not allow you to do that with sale or other coupons but Joanns and Michaels will let you do that.  Hobby Lobby will not honor other stores coupons but you can also find their coupon on online.

Pay Attention to Sales
Thanks to technology we can find out in an instant if what we are looking for is on sale.  Before taking that trek to the store look at the sale ad first.  Most of the time I plan my visits around what's on sale and when my coupons can be used.  If what I am looking for is not on sale this week, chances are it will be next week.  If my coupons will be better utilized next week, like I have a percent off of my total purchase, I will most likely wait and purchase my items the following week.

Internet
Last but not least, the internet can be your most valuable tool.  If you need to buy in bulk, search online for your item first before going out and buying 10 little bags of the item you need.  Make sure that your price will be cheaper than that of buying from the box stores.  Also, never hesitate to search for a coupon to that website before checking out.  Retailmenot.com is a great resource for looking for any coupon to any online store.

Remember, NEVER pay full price unless you absolutely have to!  There's nothing better than seeing that you saved way more than you spent.
Happy shopping!
~Shellie

The Fall is Coming!

Since we are new at this type of business we failed to remember that when the seasons change, we must be ready for them! We have been reminded that we need to begin putting in fall and winter decor into our shop. It took my brain a few days to wrap my head around this concept.  My littles haven't even started school, but I've already begun preparing for Halloween!  Ahhh!

This got me thinking,  how prepared am I? For the fall, winter? For the zombie wars? For whatever comes my way? I admit I am not as prepared as I should be, for any of it (unless there's a 24 hour craft-a-thon, then I'm pretty sure I have enough supplies for that).  But lucky for us we can always start now.

A few of us here at GM have begun using an amazing new budgeting tool called youneedabudget.com.  I heard of it last year and decided to give it a try. We were chronic checkers of the online bank account but we never remembered that this bill would come out or that we had written this check. YNAB has solved most of those problems.  And the great thing about it is that you can have it on your phone too!  I only update my budget/register once a week(mainly 'cause I'm lazy) but you can do what works best for you and your family.  I think the best thing it has done, for our family, is to show us where our money goes, maybe where it shouldn't go, and where it can go. This in turn allows us to be prepared for those moments that sneak up on us.

Anytime I can save money, I'm all over it! When my grandma came home with a ton of shopping bags saying "there was a sale!" My grandpa would reply "oh great, we're saving money to go into debt." Very wise words.  This taught me that we should only spend money when we have it. But what about when we need to buy something,  like food or clothes. Do we always shop around or do we do what's convenient.  In working on my budget I've seen a trend that helped us cut back on our grocery bill. How many of us forgot that we needed a gallon of milk and sent our spouse to get it? This has happened to us many a time but what I didn't realize was that those late night runs were costing us hundreds of dollars because of the extras we inevitably bring home.  This got me thinking, again, on where we spend money when it's not needed.  I quickly found that culprit too! It's those dang big box stores like Target or Walmart!  Now, I love me some Target! But why do I need to buy 3 new beach towels, an outfit, a pillow, and a new lamp when I came in for 5 grocery items! I know that yall know what I'm talking about! So for this reason,  I avoid it like the plague! It's hard but shopping at my local grocery store, Aldi, or even the Walmart Market has saved us a ton of money. I try and limit my big box store runs to once a month and then I watch my budget as I head to the checkout.

Ok so moving on, let's talk food. How much do you have in excess? Do you have enough food for a week, a month, a year? Whether or not you're a believer in food storage,  I believe that everyone should have about a months supply of groceries on hand. Whether or not the apocalypse happens, we all know that getting sick, injured, lazy, busy, etc. happens. This is why having extra on hand is great for those times we didn't make it to the store. We will then spend less money eating out and more on saving for a new car,  vacation,  house, etc.  However,  if you are into food storage,  I recommend Shelf Reliance. They work with your budget and ship it to you. You don't even have to remember to buy it! I love it! Find a local rep in your area to learn more.

I hope you've enjoyed this weekly installment of deep thought.  I hope this has helped give you ideas on how you can better be prepared for your path ahead. And if you have a great idea that has worked well for you, please share it with us!  We would love to hear from you!

To prepared success!
~Shellie

Poppin' tags...at my favorite thrift stores

I love to thrift, LOVE it! There is nothing quite like the thrill I feel when I find something I've been needing (or wanting) at an incredible price! Probably over 70% of my home decor, if not more (I'm too lazy to check, ha!) is thrifted, and you can't even tell! I find my second hand treasures at many different places. Beside the obvious garage sales, there are a handful of thrift stores in my town that I try to frequent on a semi-regular basis.

I encourage you to hunt out some thrift stores in your town, you may be surprised at how many there are! And if you're in the local area (Arlington, TX) then you are in luck! Because I am going to link to all my favorite treasure spots here for you!

1. Kiddo's Kloset (2223 W. Park Row Dr. Arlington, TX 76013): It's not a thrift store, it's a kids and women's clothing resale shop, but it's definitely my favorite place right now! I always find amazing clothes for my oldest (9) and they are constantly having great sales. You can sign up for emails and they will let you know what the deal of the week is. Totally worth a look if you are in the mood to save a buck (or $20) on some brand name clothes for your kids!

2. Thrift Town (1517 E. Abram St Arlington, TX 76010): Don't be fooled by the janky exterior. This place is a gem! Super clean (as far as thrift stores go) and very organize. I never walk out of here without a treasure or two. I'm always finding empty frames begging for spray paint for .69! They have a great selection of clothes, and are always having sales on top of the normal weekly color tags at 50% off.

3. Dollars and Sense thrift and gift (2401 W Pioneer Pkwy, Pantego, TX 76013): Small, but clean and packed full of stuff. I can always count on walking out with a squeal worthy steal when I leave this place. They have a little bit of everything, and just expanded their furniture section. Also, the proceeds from this store benefit a local private school for children over the age of six with Downs Syndrome. Shopping for a good cause AND saving money? Win/win!

4. Salvation Army (1301 E. Abram St. Arlington, TX 76010): Absolutely THE place to go if you are in search of furniture! This is the closest one to my house, but any Salvation Army family store I've ever been in always has a great selection of furniture to choose from, and generally always good prices!

This is seriously just a sampling of the many places around town, but those are my favorite! Here are a few more that may be worth checking out if you have time time:

1. Collins Park Thrift (817 E. Park Row Dr. Arlington, 76010)
2. Veteran's thrift (1304 W. Arkansas Ln, Arlington TX 76013)
3.The Estate Warehouse (3008 W. Division Ste B, Arlington TX 76012): LOVE this place.
4. Nu 2U Resale (2400 W Pioneer Pkwy, Arlington 76013)
5. Texas Thrift (2100 S. Cooper Arlington 76013)
6. Goodwill (1100 W. Arkansas Ln. Arlington 76013) My least favorite, but no list is complete without it!

There are two more, that I've seen driving around town, but the names escape me, and I can't find them on Google! I guess those are meant to be saved for another post, another day! There are also numerous ones outside my city limits, that's the beauty of living in a metroplex, lots and lots of thrift stores to choose from!

I hope this helps you get started on a new thrifting adventure. You never know what treasures you will find, so ditch the kids (it's easier to dig without them, let's be honest) or pack some snacks to keep them busy, and head out to find your next great steal!