Corked Check In - Week 3

Um, very spendy week, but I stuck to my rules of everything being consumable or used, so, yay, me!

I started off mid-week sending my 97 year old Grandma flowers.  It's always a little let down after the holidays and all the busyness of company and the WI winters can be kind of gloomy, so I sent a bouquet to her.  I wrestled with myself about this, wondering if flowers were consumable or not, so did a quick check online.

"Consumables are products that consumers use recurrently, i.e., items which "get used up" or discarded."

Grandma got her flowers.  Cost:  $63.28

This week my Aunt Leslie sent me some books my Aunt Joyce had sent their Mother years ago.  I had grown to love Aunt Joyce before she passed away and seeing her notes to my Grandmother was touching.  I had read 1 of the 4 books in the past, but I will most likely read it again.  I will enjoy reading the books knowing both women had read them as well.  This was such a nice gesture by my Aunt Leslie who could have just as easily tossed them or donated them somewhere.  Cost: $0.00

I had ordered some new undies before Christmas and if a positive review was written, they sent you 6 more pair for free.  I actually did like them, although my rear end has gotten larger since the last time I ordered any, so I needed a larger size.  So if anyone needs some undies, I have six new pair that need a home if your butt is smaller than mine.  Cost:  $0.00

Saturday came and I took 2 outfits from Elle that had never been worn, 2 dress shirts of JR's that no longer fit and 2 cane chairs to the thrift store for donation.  Of course, I had to peek inside and I happened to hit the jackpot. 

I got:  Craft beads to play with with the kids.  I loved that they were red with Valentine's Day coming up and the bracelets were made of glass beads that I can take apart and make new jewelry out of.

Link N Learn with vibrant colors to learn, to help build fine motor skills as they make necklaces, belts, snakes, designs, whatever; to count; sort; practice patterns; etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Elle has played with them almost non-stop since I brought them home and I am going to start counting the times I have picked them up off the floor as exercise.  

3 white tiny bowls.  I have to admit, I have a bowl fetish.  I love bowls in all different sizes and need to stop myself from getting too many all the time.  These small white bowls are perfect for snacks for the kids and at 25 cents, I am not concerned if they break or not.  Bonus:  Not plastic.

A pastry wheel for a quarter. I didn't know what this was or what the shellfish knife was, but they felt good in my hand and I do love gadgets.  I thought the shellfish knife was for cutting grapefruit, actually, and am going to try it for that, if not, I will bring it back to the thrift store because we don't eat shellfish.  I love google, by the way.

I also picked up a glass baking loaf pan with lid, which I LOVE!  The less I have to use plastic wrap to cover leftovers, the better!

I can't go to the thrift store without looking at the books.  For 50 cents and no pressure to return at a given date, I snagged this story set in the 60's.  That was such a tumultuous time in history and since it was a New York Times Bestseller, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

 Who doesn't need a wand???

 I got another little bucket, this time for a quarter, but it IS plastic.  We only had one bucket in the sandbox and with 3 little ones out there some days, it was worth the price.

For $1.50 I picked up a matted picture frame.  I have had this idea that I am going to scan old pictures, convert them to black and white and hang them up all over the cabin.  Someday...

Thrift store total:  $11.25

Minus donating: 2 chairs, 2 shirts and 2 children's outfits

But wait!  We aren't done yet! Saturday afternoon JR and I drove to Bastrop and he dropped me at Goodwill.  I get so much pleasure from going there and although their prices seem high compared to our local thrift store, their selection can't be beat.  

I always start off by looking at clothes for Elle because although her Mom dresses her to the nines, I like her having play clothes here to get dirty and destroy, if the need be.  There is no sense paying top dollar for clothes the children grow out of in 6 months, in my opinion, especially when I let her jump in mud puddles and splash in the pond in her clothes.  

I found the CUTEST knit leggings and a sweet pink dress which I plan to use my cutting machine on and add a design to, maybe.  I also found 2 shirts for Elle to goof around in, but the long sleeve shirt had an ugly bow on the collar and I removed it.  $2.99 each for the leggings and 1 shirt, $3.99 for the dress and long sleeve shirt.  

I know, I know.  We have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc., etc., but DVDs call to me.  My sister, Alison, was telling me about The Gruffalo this past week and there it was.  I actually got excited!  If you have never seen it, look it up, it is so very, very cute.  Elle is also a huge fan of Dora.  We have quite a few from my sister, Andrea, and from DVDs I have purchased. All the kids choose them over and over again.  I love when they shout out the answers when Dora asks questions.  She makes them think and try to figure things out.  $3.99 each for the DVDs.  Last, but definitely not least, the book Snarlyhissopus.  It is darling!  99 cents.

Grand total:  $24.83

Goodwill has a lot less bang for your buck than our local thrift store, but truthfully, where can you buy 4 articles of clothing, 2 DVDs and a book for under $25?

We are all running out of vitamins over here, so I hopped on the internet and started researching.  We were using Dr. Fuhrman's brand of vitamins for years, but they are SO expensive.  Even though they are whole food vitamins, they are not organic and the more things I can get organic, the better I feel.  Our bodies can only handle so much junk before things start breaking down, so I do try to be good.  I fail quite often, but I try.  I came across the Garden of Life brand of vitamins, especially the RAW version which uses less heat to process the capsules, is organic and has a ton of great reviews, so I ordered all 3 of us some for a bit of assurance.  

Total:  79.24

And that is it.  I can honestly say I am tired of shopping.

Grand Total:  $178.60 ALL used or consumable
Minus: 2 wooden chairs, 2 men's shirts and 2 children's outfits

Feeling Okay.