Harry Potter Challenge Update!
Um… so I not only met my goal, I surpassed it!!! YIPPEE!
After two amazing yard sales, a couple great weeks on e-Bay, selling my kitchen cart to my friend, (thanks Rose!) and receiving a check from a survey company I am a part of, my new total is….
Dah-dah-da-DAH! $457!!!
Wahoo!!!
Our goal was $300, so we passed it by a long shot and I still have a little over a week to add to it!
We are so excited because this will give us the freedom to splurge a little bit– mind you we still plan on packing on our water, snacks, and splitting meals! This way we can also purchase a few souvenirs for gifts for family members for Christmas gifts too!
Whatever we have leftover is going to our new tires fund!
Thank you all for hanging in there with me and rooting me on! I appreciate all your support!
Check out some of my highlights from the last few weeks!
Bought this little Ralph Lauren dress for $.50 at a yard sale and sold it for $5.50!
This is my old keyboard from college days, sold it for $25 at a yard sale!
These were dress pants from my closet that I wore when I student taught! They so didn’t fit me anymore and sold for $3.99! I didn’t think they would sell at all and had them in my yard sale pile with a price tag of $.50! Its amazing isn’t it?
This little jumper is GAP and I got it at a yard sale for $.50 thinking it would be cute for fall for Molly. Well, Nathan thought it was ugly, which made me a little sad, but she does have a ton of cute clothes, so I posted it! It sold for $5.00.
Remember the cropped pants I wore for WIWW that I got at a yard sale for a dollar? I wasn’t sure about them and went ahead and posted them. I sold them for $11.50! YES! I’ll take $11.50 for a pair of pants I wasn’t sure about!
Even though I passed my goal, I still enjoy updating you all on all the fun sales I’ve made! I’ll keep posting now and then with updates on my e-Bay adventures!
“She does him good and not harm…”
“She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:12.
Many of you have heard me speak before to the power of the romance novel and how it can pull us away from doing good to our husbands. As Proverbs 31:12 clearly states, we are to do them good and not harm ALL the days of our lives. So even if you are waiting for your husband at age 15 or at age 32, this verse still applies to you. Beyond the obvious application of this verse to our marriages, this verse also applies to marriage with Christ. We as Christians are the Bride of Christ! Marriage on earth is just a reflection of our marriage to Christ eternally! So again, even if you are not married, this applies to you! This applies to all of us as we strive to bless and love our husbands/future husbands with our time and conduct, and how we honor our Savior and King with our lives!
When I saw this today, I wanted to jump up and shout AMEN!! (But baby is napping, so this post will have to do!) I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t tell you that I used to read Christian romance novels back in my teenage years. I was even part of this book club where I got a new Christian romance to read every month! I didn’t realize then the affect these books were having on me– you have to be so careful with what you allow in your mind and in your thought life! So often, Christians do the same things as non-Christians, they just slap the word “Christian” on it and call it good! Well folks, that’s not good enough for me, and I hope its not good enough for you too.
In Matthew 10:16, Christ himself says this to his disciples as he is sending them out to minister to the masses: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Use your brains people; be discerning. You know that even with the title “Christian” (or even some classics!) you don’t have an excuse if the book is causing you to stumble in your thought life or becoming an escape from the reality that God has given you.
I highly encourage you to go to Courtney’s Women Living Well Blog and read/watch this. Her guest poster Joy Eggrich puts it out there in a fresh way that can get us all thinking about what we allow into our lives that distracts us from God’s purpose for our lives. Check it out!
What Molly Wore Wednesday!
I didn’t get any pictures of myself these past couple weeks– I blame it on the fact that Nate was gone at church camp and I didn’t have anyone to look good for! 
BUT I did get a few good pictures of Molly’s adorable outfits!
Monday– Here’s my favorite summer outfit we received at a baby shower:
The necklace was from a local parade; Molly won’t go anywhere without necklaces these days!
Tuesday–this one is a great play outfit!
Top: B-day gift
Leggings: hand me downs
Sunday– After she ripped out the adorable little yellow bow I put in her hair:
I love this dress! I got it at a yard sale! I think I’m going to continue to use it in the fall, just with red leggings underneath and a sweater on top! It’ll look like on of those longer tops– I hope!
Tuesday: This outfit is a combo of two b-day gifts. One friend gave us the top and skirt, the other gave us the awesome black and white striped leggings!
Here’s a picture of the whole outfit:
I’ll try to get pictures of me next week, promise!
Have I Forgotten How To Craft??
Its been sooooooooooo long since I made time for crafting. What with the crazy summer schedule and the time I spend selling stuff on eBay, I have not made a craft in over a month! I sat down the other night and broke out my scrapbook supplies and pretty much forced myself to scrapbook. This one page took me almost two hours– that’s how rusty I’ve gotten! But it turned out way cute!
I made a page of some pics I took of Molly on Christmas Eve! I’m getting low on craft supplies with the nearest craft store being about an hour away, so I had to get creative on this one!
Here’s my title, I used a regular old pen because I’m pretty much out of stickers and my crafting pens are all used up! I think it works though.
I love this picture! I made a little elf hat, though it kind of looks like a birthday hat! The pom pom is made from pieces of white cardstock all folded and crumpled.
I made these embellishments from scraps I had!
Turned out cute!
Harry Potter Challenge Update!
I had a great week with Ebay!
I also have a new best seller!
These bad boys were my hubbies in his teen years! They are Oakleys and in my opinion, way out of style! He has polarized lenses now in his Oakley regular glasses, so he doesn’t need these anymore. They sold for $15.50, even with scratches on the lenses!
This skirt sold for $4.24. Its Lands End and way cute! I bought it for $.25 at a yard sale!
This one surprised me. Its DNKY and it was mine. I had it in my yard sale pile because I didn’t think it would sell on e-Bay. It sold for $2.99! Crazy.
This was mine as well. Its an Old Navy maternity top. I think anything that doesn’t fit well post-partum shouldn’t be kept for pregnancy… just a thought. I was amazed at how the bidding just kept going on this shirt! It sold for $6.50. You know, I think that’s about how much I payed for it when I bought it new!
Another surprise, this sweater I got at a yard sale for $1. It didn’t fit, so I posted it not thinking it would sell because its not a name brand. It sold for $5.50! Seriously E-bay, I don’t get it!
This is a Gymboree little girls shirt. It looked like it had never been worn before! I got it for $.25 at a yard sale, it sold for $2.99.
I also sold an old navy top, a pair of Gap kids jeans, and another Gymboree yard sale shirt, and some other stuff too. I sold a lot its hard to remember!
Craigslist helped me sell the rocking chair I fixed up. I know you all think I’m crazy, but it just wasn’t working for me. I discovered that there are some things that you just can’t fake. An awesome rocking chair is one of them. I sold it for $30, so I made $6. Oh well.
If you know anybody who needs a stroller, keyboard, or kitchen cart I’m trying to sell those still and would love the word to get out! I’m charging fair prices I think…. hopefully soon they will sell!
Let’s talk totals.
Half.com: $0
Craigslist: $6
E-bay: $46
Added to previous total: $142! NICE! I’m so excited!
We have about a month to go until our trip. I’m hoping if I can finally sell some stuff on Craigslist and have an awesome yard sale, I should be able to meet my goal in time! I’ve also still got some great stuff on eBay right now. This is just so exciting to see God providing for us! Its all Him people. He makes every sale.
Look What I Did!
Okay, so when we first bought our house, I was way pumped that there was a laundry line in the back yard! Being the super frugal gal that I am , I used it in April, and my stuff got pooped on by the birds living in our ginormous backyard tree. So– my frugal efforts back fired as I had to rewash everything!
All the little baby birds have gone now, so I thought maybe I’d attempt it again!
So far, we are poop free! YAY! I skipped using my dryer and saved some moolah. There’s something about old school homemaking that just tickles me! I really love it.
What We Wore Wednesday!
I took WAY more pictures this week! This is good because some of the stuff I wore, I think I probably shouldn’t wear anymore! HA! That’s what pictures will do for you!
Here’s Thursday, I went to a new store called “Real Deals”with friends in a neighboring town, it was so cute! Got myself some deals there as well!
Pink top: Old Navy
Gauchos: JcPenney years ago, I NEED TO STOP WEARING THESE!
Necklaces: Yard sale finds!
Tank: JcPenney years ago!
I flet terrible this day because for the past week, Molly wasn’t sleeping very well=Mommy not sleeping very well. Here’s what I actually wore most the day!
Top: Old Navy
Tank: Target
Lounge pants: Target MATERNITY! They are so comfy, and you can’t tell they are maternity, can you?
Here’s what my sweet little non-sleeper was wearing…
Outfit: Grandma!
Friday: I went to a book club with friends. I really struggle to accessorize well, and tried combining tow necklaces for some color.
Here’s a close-up of my necklaces:
Both are vintage and purchased at yard sales. My dress is Old Navy.
Molly is wearing a cute little hand me down tank and jean capris!
Here is MY FAVORITE OUTFIT! I am so proud of myself for putting this one together!
Jeans: Awesome $1 yard sale find! They are Silver Jeans!
Tank: Target (so proud of myself for buying something not basic!)
Under tank: JcPenney (Yes, I wear this a lot!)
Sweater: GAP bought on clearance years ago
Necklace: yard sale!
This outfit was not very flattering at all!
Capris: Yard sale
Top: Old Navy
Never wearing that again.
This outfit I was proud of from a cost stand point.
Shorts: O’Neill yard sale find $.50
Tank: Old Navy $2 tank sale
Sweatshirt: $1 yard sale find!
Total: $3.50!
I thought it had the “cute mom” appeal! And for $3.50, I’ll wear it again!
Fun Mommy Freebie!
I just ran across this super cute freebie from the money saving mom and had to share it! I signed up even though I’m not pregnant at the moment– I’m sure I will be again at some point!
Its a tee-shirt that says “I love my baby bump!” What I don’t love is the post baby squishy tummy I can’t get rid of! HERE’S THE LINK!
The August Grocery Challenge…
As you all know, Nathan and I are taking a trip to Universal Orlando in September to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for our anniversary! We are theme park junkies and are so excited!!
We are going about this trip as frugally as we can and I have been selling stuff on e-Bay and Craigslist and have also been planning a yard sale to raise our goal of $300 for food, spending money, and money for our babysitter. (Yes we are leaving our baby at home! AH!)
We are also trying a couple of other things to stretch our budget. We put in place a no spend month for August. Anything that isn’t in the budget does not get purchased. We trimmed extra stuff out of our budget like date night to save a little extra.
My hubbie and I also decided to cut back our grocery budget significantly. I usually get $50/week. For August, I get $30. Yup. So far, so good! I’m using our pantry as best I can and planning my grocery trips a little neurotically so I know I can make it under $30. It takes more planning and thought, but I still think its do-able! Right now I’m under budget by $3. I hope that lasts!
WE HAVE A WINNER!!!
The winner of our Hand Crafted Joy giveaway is….. Doodlebug’s Mommy! E-mail me at racheldowd07 at gmail dot com so we can send you your cute little owl!!
To the rest of you who are super bummed because you didn’t win, visit Hand Crafted Joy and you can buy something adorable for your very own! Seriously, you will be the most popular person at all the baby showers when you show up with anything from my sister’s shop! Mommies can’t wait to see what sweet little things they are going to get when Lizzy shows up to their showers. I know I get excited too! Such cute, precious, one of kind baby things you’ll treasure. We certainly treasure ours.
Thanks to my adorable little sister for sponsoring this giveaway. She’s the best!
