For the love of Saver's

Monday at Saver’s is super sweet. Its dollar day and the customers here offer some good old American competition. Unlike Goodwill, if you don’t get to Saver’s early, all the good $1 stuff is gone. I arrive at 9:20 and the store is packed. The sound of hangers scrapping across metal racks of clothing is non-stop and there’s already a line of people waiting by the cash register to check out; a reminder I need to get here when they open next time.

Today, I drive to 56^th and Thomas, my old nanny stomping grounds. I was a nanny in Arcadia for 10 years and this neighborhood is like my second home. I can imagine the families I worked for donate used clothing to their local thrift store, so I should find some great stuff. Yellow tags are $1.00.

These New w/ tag TravelSmith trouser jeans are for the professional traveler. They don't wrinkle and are made out of durable fabric. They're not that fashionable (obviously), but like Lands End or L.L. Bean, they have an impressive following.

Do not be fooled by fakers. These Seven jeans fooled me once. Notice, I did not say Seven for all Mankind because these are not what they appear to be. Seven's, from what I understand, were made by Mervyns. Enough said.

Life is good. Heavenly! Gracious! A gorgeous Banana Republic black wool fully lined dress in perfect condition. I will never understand the size 0 woman (how do you do it?), but bless your heart and I hope you buy this dress.

A huge fan of Jennifer Lopez, I am. Why? I'm thinking about that and am not really sure. I think it's because she doesn't fit the mold. Yeah, I like that - and I want this skirt - really bad.

It can stretch with my belly, it's a great color and the fabric is so fun, but $12.99? I'm torn, but in the end, I place it back on the rack. Please, please don't tell Jennifer.

My J. Jill crush has found my again in the form of a cornflower blue size 16 cotton dress. It's like new and perfect for the artsy fashion conscious woman.

This gorgeous skirt is labeled Cordelia and I love it. I've never heard of the brand and for $7.99, I'm not sure I should risk it. I've had too many "what if" items that haven't sold.

So, I pass on this beauty. I come home and look it up at Cordelia Lifestyle.com and guess what? This skirt sells new for $425.00. Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose. Does anyone have a hanky?

So, I do a bit more research on Ebay. Cordelia is not just a high-end store based in L.A., but it also sells at Anthropologie chains all across Amercia. A skirt like this sells on Ebay for $50 to $70. Just another kick in the gut, but I'll get over it.

I find a gorgeous Tommy Bahama Size 14 Silk skirt. It's so light and airy and going right in my stash for summer sales.

This lovely Liz Claiborne skirt is not a yellow tag, so I'll pass, but the price of the original tag catches my eye. I pause for a moment. $118.00? Really? I'm so spoiled. I get everything I want dirt cheap.

Why are clothes so expensive? What a public service I offer to consumers of the world. Next week, this skirt may sell to me for $1.00 and I'll sell it to you for $9.99. Isn't America great.

I'm in love with this DKNY skirt because it has a hint of cashmere running through its fabric veins and anything that has any cashmere is a sure sell.

I just like this skirt. Funky, vintage and a strange woman staring back at me. What does she know about me that I haven't figured out yet?

It's so crowded in this crazy-house thrift store and I haven't seen any empty shopping carts. I'm carrying about 40 things on my one arm now trembling arm. Doesn't anyone see I'm pregnant? Nope, they don't. I'm still at that stage where I just look really fat.

CP Shades! I hold you dear to my heart. I used to nanny for the sweetest lady who shopped at CP Shades all the time. A saint she was, because she gave me all her hand-me downs. I set trends at ASU, wearing my expensive organically-dyed clothing. $5.99 for this little gem is worth it.

Ann Taylor? Could you be anymore beautiful?

Another faker to mention. Studio M sure sounds a lot like BCBG Max Azria, which sometimes sells under the label Max Studio.

I think this suspicious Studio M sells at JC Penny.

Where as the real thing, sells new at Nordstrom for $198 new.

Aren't they cute?

My last mention is this Baby Phat drama-drama shirt. Now, I love Kimora and she's really something special, but this shirt, with its bling-bling weighs about 50 pounds. I can only imagine the postage!

Happy Saver's Shopping to those of you who are ready to brave the masses. Email me your stories of dear trash and I'll post them for others to see.

Sometimes You Fall In Love

It was 9:30am on a Friday.  After taking the baby to the doctor for double ear infections, Mr. Right and I had gotten a very late start to our garage sale day.  We pull up to the first house and there it is...

"I have to have that birdcage!"  I jump out of the car to see a $10 price tag.  I'm amazed!  It's 9:30, all the good deals should be gone by now, right?  Even though I think it's a great price, I still try to negotiate.  "Will you take $5 for the birdcage?"  "No, it's my brothers and $10 is the lowest he'll go."  I'm reminded that their must be a published book about having garage sales that says, "if you don't want to negotiate on your prices, just say the item belongs to some random family member and that they live in some foreign part of the country so you wouldn't be able to contact them to lower the price."  because I hear this response quite often.  But, regardless of non-negotiation, I have to have it, I'm in love.  So I shell out the 10 big ones and Mr. Right packs it in the car.  After a few lonely weeks in the garage I finally had the chance to paint it with my favorite Rustoleum heirloom white and then added a little Ralph Lauren faux technique, smoke, to age it.  I love the way it turned out.  Here it's pictured with my latest finds over the past month or so.  Mr. Right did a little photo shoot this weekend so I had him take a big family pic of all my latest acquisitions.  I'll be posting some before pics, as well as the prices I paid, all week.  

Now, the hardest part is finding a place for all my new lovelies!  Happy Garaging.  Love, Kelly

Thankful List

I’m grateful:

• Payson did the dishes tonight

• when I need help spelling a word, I can ask Chandler for help and he always knows the answer
• my dogs have only chewed up half of my patio furniture
• when I asked Kelly to edit my book she believed in my enough to say yes
• the flowers the counselor planted for me on my birthday are in bloom
• for washable markers
• Reef lost his last bottle and is forced to take a sippy cup
• the counselor is so tall
• scorpions hibernate in the winter
• the counselor is such a great dad

• for Thanksgiving leftovers, especially the marshmallow yams my mother-in-law made
• Arizona has sunny skies in the winter

• angels are real
• my sister Becky jumps up and down with joy whenever she sees me
• my children love to swim
• for dreams, wind chimes and sourdough bread
• my sister Anna in cosmetology school practices hair and make-up on me
• Mayer plays so sweet with Reef

• my dad taught me how to play tennis
• for friends from my mission
• the counselor only loses his temper when Phoenix Suns are losing
• my house is clean enough for today.

I’m Thankful

I’m thankful for my dear friend, Laura, who gave me this antique window a few days ago.  I had made this 2.00 book wreath by following a tutorial here and wasn’t happy with the way it looked hanging on the wall.  When the window arrived I knew just the place to put my wreath.  Thank you so much Laura.  I’m also grateful for my beautiful, healthy family, friends, good neighbors, and the many blessing I enjoy each day.  I hope you have an incredible Thanksgiving and remember all of the blessing in your life.  Love, Kelly

Disappointments of the Week: A is for armpit

My Ebay disappointments are usually pretty painless, but I came across these 3 despairing articles of clothing in a 10 minute time period and practically needed CPR. The earnings could have been impressive, should have been in my top sells of the week, but I had to pass due to unfortunate armpit circumstances. Oh, the heartache.

This Lacoste Large Pink Shirt sells new for $88.00. I found it at Goodwill on 1/2 day for $3.00. What luck! What joy!

And then, like a slap in the face, I spot these ugly yellow sweat stains locked up and sealed in the armpits. The stains are subtle, but they're there alright. Any decent woman would pass on this shirt. Selling it on Ebay would result in negative feedback for sure. Tragedy.

I have a love affair with Eileen Fisher. Her items are so elegant for the everyday woman. This sweater sells new for well over $200.00. For $3.00 at Goodwill, I'm willing to take it home, wash it up and get it ready for listing.

I don't mind the work, I have a great fabric cleaner for just about any stain. But it doesn't work on holes. I swear this poor thing looks like its been dragged around like a child's baby blanket.

This lovely Tommy Bahama XL Women's shirt is something special. New, it sells for well over $100.00

But barely-there armpit stains break the deal once again. What horrible life-crushing deodorant does this type of damage? I want to know. It deserves to be punished.

What’s for dinner?

Here’s a way to keep the kids and hubby from constantly asking "what's for dinner?":  write out your menu for the week. Our family plans the week’s meals on Sunday night. I usually grocery shop on Monday, so I can buy all the ingredients for the week at one time (I'm all about saving time). Recently, I purchased this lovely chalkboard hanging  for 1.99 at Goodwill. All it needed was a little update.

First, I took it all apart and sanded the edges. What looked like black paint was actually really dark green. 

I sprayed it with Rustoleums Heirloom white

Then used an aging technique I learned here

I picked out some scrapbook paper and a fun font (carnival) and printed the “Menu” on my computer.

Using Rustoleums chalkboard paint, I refinished the chalkboard (it had a big scratch on it)

Finally, I put it all back together using hot glue.




I love how it turned out, but because I already have a Menu board (see picture below)




I’ve decided to give this one away. That’s right! Laura and I will be doing a super duper giveaway in December. Look for details coming soon. Hope you enjoyed! Love, Kelly

Are you a Twilight Nerd too?

What is it with middle-aged moms and the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer? I’m qualified to discuss it; after all, Edward Cullen has been the screen saver on my computer for over a year.

I read Twilight when the book first came out and really liked it, but it was Twilight the movie that turned me into a freak.

I first saw it with the counselor, who unlike many begrudging husbands, was actually happy to go. He suspected Twilight had just enough blood and guts to keep him entertained.

The movie started and we sat side by side, hand in hand. When Edward Cullen first walked onto the screen I was paralyzed. The counselor tried to release the blood-stopping choke-hold I had on his hand, but he couldn’t reach me. Once I came too, that was it. I was in his lap for the rest of the movie.

I took the sunny boys to see Twilight a few days later. They were beyond thrilled. I’ll admit it, I acted about their age the second time I saw it. We sat glued to the screen, anxious to see where the plot took us; overly laughing at the humorous parts and gasping at the scary scenes.

The counselor purchase Twilight the DVD for me when it came out. I watched it a dozen times with my boys. First I’d watch it from Bella’s perspective, then from Edwards. I’d watch the movie focusing only on Edward’s expressions, replaying scenes over and over again. The way he seemed so sad was such a turn-on. What was wrong with me?

What was wrong with millions of other moms who had completely lost their minds to Twilight?

I read blogs, articles, reviews; anything I could get my hands on about Edward. He was the ultimate bad boy and actually loving him could get Bella killed. And I condoned this relationship? Clearly it was dysfunctional, but I wanted more.

The idea that I had to wait for a year for the release of New Moon the movie almost put me on medication, but I barely survived and here I am to tell you I loved New Moon.

I attended the pre-screening with my sister, Becky and 400 hundred other moms.



I am proud to say I was not the only mom to shriek with joy when Jacob took his shirt off. And when Edward first walked onto the screen, my growing baby kicked me with surprising force. Let’s just say, my body was a bit tense.

So I give New Moon a standing ovation.
If you’re a Twilight nerd too, give a shoot out and leave a comment so we can bond.