Recycled Patio and Garage Sale Finds

Check this out, my peeps! This is the ultimate in reusing and repurposing. Katie has created a patio out of stones from an old barn foundation. She had to carry them barefoot, uphill both ways, and through the snow! Great job Katie ;)

She also make a planter out of an old treestump (how creative!) and furnished her beautiful patio with lots of garage sale finds.

Speaking of garage sales... boy did I ever hit the mother lode. I went out garage saling on Friday morning. I had mapped out all the garage sales I wanted to hit and when you add in the others I just happened upon, I hit about twelve to fifteen. Most of my luck was at the first few though. Then on Saturday, we went to my mother-in-law's fiftieth birthday party, but stopped at a couple garage sales near their house.

When we were a few blocks from the party, that's when I saw it. It was surrounded by a golden glow and angels were sounding their trumpets, beckoning me to come in closer for a look. It was a church flea market. I dropped off hubby and baby and headed straight back to the flea market. (And then I saw another garage sale so I had to stop there afterwards). Pfew. I made quite the haul this weekend.

At the flea market, they had clothes for ten cents apiece. Yes, for a mere fifty cents, I got five things for Joel. None of them will fit him now, however, how could I pass up ten-cent clothes? And they weren't nasty either; they were completely hole and stain free!

Other things I got include

• a kiddie construction hat for a dime
  
• four children's books for a dollar
  
• a baby carrier, new in the box for five dollars (the Sears $35 price tag still attached)
  
• two wool sweaters for felting for 50c each
  
• some red and black fabric like T-3 has been coveting lately (yes, girl, I found some too!)
  
• a chrome over-the-door rack in it's original box for five dollars (I actually just bought one of these online for Joel's room, and was excited to see this one for our bedroom door)
  
• a small enamelware pan just like I got last week, but this one only cost 50c. I am so addicted to enamelware. I wonder if Enamelware Anonymous exists for people like me who hoard the stuff.
  
• one of those red and blue toys with the yellow shapes that push down through the matching hole. I had one when I was little, so I had to get it for Joel. Who can pass up such an educational toy for 50c?
  
• a short sleeved polo for 25c
  
• a baby girl's binky set and receiving blanket, still brand new and unopened for 50c each
  
• several toys, all still brand new in the package which I'm hoarding for gifts over the next few years, including a jumprope, sidewalk chalk, action figures, rattle/teether set, wateringcan and sand scoop, and bathtub boats, for a total of $3.60. I hope Joel never stumbles upon my stash of gifts in the laundry room. Meh. He probably won't. Why would he ever go in the laundry room? That's a room kids avoid like the plague... the perfect place to store gifts!
  
• unopened birthday napkins, 25c
  
• an OSU longsleeved onesie, 12 months, for a dollar

One dollar. Geesh. I'm feeling guilty about that. I had previously set my limit at fifty cents for any article of clothing for Joel (except coats). I'm thinking of lowering my limit to a quarter. If I do that, though, thrift store shopping is pretty much out of the question. It's hard enough to find stuff at thrift stores for fifty cents. It's nearly impossible to find stuff for a quarter, at least around here. Prices at thrift stores are getting outrageous. Even at some garage sales, prices are getting outrageous.

For example, yesterday someone wanted twenty dollars for a beat-up plastic riding firetruck. If it was metal and an antique, twenty dollars, sure. But plastic? Um, no thanks. Five dollars, maybe. Three dollars, sure. But twenty? She must have been on crack.

What is your limit? Where do you draw the line? Talk to me, people!