12 Years Ago Still Feels Like Yesterday

I was married 12 years ago and it still feels like yesterday.

This weekend, the counselor and I, with Princess Peanut, made our way up to Sedona.

It was so fun, hanging out with our daughter.  

I love how she looks at him, already such a Daddy's girl.

We nibble on Rocky Mountain Chocolate

walk downtown

and finally eat gourmet Pizza.

The counselor wasn't surprised when I wanted to do a little trash shopping too.

Small town thrift-ing is always worth it.  Sure, I find the classic "oh my" items.

Shirts with too many smiles.

Animal prints gone wild

Camoflauge in poor taste

Dancing Valentine frogs

and the beloved Grinch Waffle Iron (I seriously considered buying this)

But, if you're willing to look through racks and racks of clothing,

 (including shirts like this "She's All That" shirt.  Who wears this?)

 you'll most likely find some great trash.

Anytime I find Gap Plus Size Jeans, I snatch them up.  

These were $4.99 a pair.

Eileen Fisher gets my blood pressure rising.  

Why?  

Because the clothing is superior and it's a great resale item on EBay.

These Eileen Fisher pants for $3.99 have me panting (get it, panting).

 A closer look shows some pull in the fabric.

  

I'd rather find a defect here at the store then at home after I've purchased it. I won't be selling these pants on EBay.  I pick myself off the floor and keep on looking.   

Horny Toad is a favorite label of mine, but I'll pass on this peach-colored XS shirt.  

Even at $3.99, I doubt I'd get much more then that on EBay.

Johhny Was.  This label is somewhat new to me, but I think these pants will do well.  For $3.99, I pick them up.

You know I love Jam's World. 

These pants would be great, but not if the stitching's coming undone in the rear-end, another bummer (get it, bummer).

Look who I find just around the corner.  My trusted husband has pulled out a lawn chair and is lounging in the book section with the Princess.  What a man.

I take Princess Peanut with me.  Maybe she'll bring me some good luck and she does.

Flax Pants

Dereon Jeans for $5.99 ( I just love Beyonce)

Johny Deep T-shirt (I just sold a Johnny Deep T-shirt last week to someone in France)

A Chico's Denim Skirt

Plus a Deisel Denim one too.  

For $3.99 each, these are super finds.

And on and on

Honorable Mention:  These Spandex Tropical print Pants.  Like I said, sometimes you have to dig through some questionable trash to find the good stuff, but it's worth the journey.

Special find: I have an idea for this $9.99 bird painting within a painting.  Isn't it awesome?  I'll keep you posted on that jazzy project.

I'll be keeping track of my re-sale numbers for the trash I found and how much I make re-selling them on EBAy.  I think I'll pay for the trip with just the money I make off this Sedona Thrift Store.

Let's do it again next year, honey.  I had a great time.
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This Weeks Garage Sale Finds

This week's garage finds were all about BIG impressions. Although I did pick up a few little things...Like these urns: 4.00 for the stone one on the left and $2.50 for the metal one on the right. The iron stone bowl was just .50. But mostly it was about a few LARGE items. Can't wait to show you what I'll do with this metal scrolly door...I love it so much, it's kicking off an entire redo of my entrance way. It was $40.00. How about this gorgeous dining table with 6 chairs...

It also came with this china hutch...
Can you see all the dust and dirt on these pieces? These were being stored on a back patio with 3 huge dogs. The only casualty was 2 corners of the hutch...

I will have to use my very best restoration skills to fix this one. You won't believe the price when I tell you what I picked the entire set up for... Are you ready?... $50.00. These people had no where to put the set and just wanted it gone! This one will take some work- I don't have a place for the table or the top of the hutch, so those will go in the estate sale- If I can get them cleaned up in time. So, another great weekend. How was yours? Love, Kelly

Sugar

Does anyone remember this scene from the movie Baby Mama?

Seriously, one of the funniest clips I've ever seen in a movie.

This weekend, I lived through my own, but certainly not my first Baby Mama experience.

I hear the water running, peak in the bathroom and gasp.

It looks like Reef is up to no good, doesn’t it.

The question runs through my mind "What is he covered in?"

What type of horrible mess will I see just around the corner by the toilet?

And then I realize he's covered in chocolate.

And thank heavens because he's already licking at his wounds.

This is what happens when chocolate chips collide with a two-year old.

Lucky for me, the mess isn’t too bad.

But wait.

What’s this.

Just after I clean up, I hear the water running in the bathroom again.

I walk in and this is what I see.

It looks like Mayer is up to no good.

The question runs through my mind again.

Plunger in the sink?  Brown milky water?

Oh my!

But it appears Mayer has been helping the counselor dig in the garden

And now he's taking the opportunity to rinse his muddy hands off in the sink (only the drain is clogged and he needs some major Mom intervention).

Am I upset?
Considering it's not what I thought it was, I help clean up without even raising my voice.

Despite these close encounters of the messy kind, the weekend is full of hugs

and plenty of baby sugar.

Just ask Little Sis, posing on her own vintage sheet table cloth.

Watch out!  She drools, but even that's precious.

She's all ready for some sweet sugar from Chandler,

Mayer,

and all her brothers.

I hit the Pottery Barn "trash" jack pot with these $3.99 chairs from Goodwill

and my $12.99 Pottery Barn toy box?

and my Pottery Barn baby mobile I bought off Ebay for $10.49.

This weekend I'm happy my sugar came from babies, chocolate and Pottery Barn.  Considering the alternative, I feel pretty lucky.
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Estate Sale!

No project to show you today as I've been asked to help prepare for an estate sale. A sweet family will be moving out of state and they have a house full of beautiful items they must sell. Take a look at this beautiful queen bed with nightstands...An office wall unit...
and executive desk...These are just a few of many, many amazing pieces and I wanted to give the My Dear Trash readers a sneek peek. If you live in the area we'd love to see you. We'll be posting more pictures, the specific address and the gate code on Thursday. I will tell you, the house is located in the exclusive Arboleda gated community in North Mesa- zip code is 85213. Hope to see you there. Love, Kelly.

The Art of Blogging (it is an art, isn’t it?) with YA author Elana Johnson

Blogging is an interesting world, one I enjoy visiting as often as I can.  Most of you who read this blog are bloggers yourself.  I’m a huge fan of your blogs.  There are down right cool.

I love Young Adult Author Elana Johnson’s blog.   

Why?   First of all, she’s hilarious. Second, she always has something to give away. I’m not talking esty.  I’m talking knowledge.

This week she’s featuring tips on how to grow your blog readership.  Now that’s something most of us want to know.

She writes:

1. "To have friends, you must first be a friend." This philosophy (which I'm sure your mother said to you as often as mine did to me) applies to blogging. If you want more followers, follow more blogs. 9 times out of 10, you'll get a follow-back.

2. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Yeah, we're taking a big of wisdom from Disney today. If you leave sincere comments, you'll most likely get the attention of the blog author. They're most likely go to your blog. They'll most likely follow you.

3. "The pen is mightier than the sword." Dude, if you want more people to follow you, give them what they want. Politicians tell the voters what they want to hear. Popular kids flatter the right people. So it is with bloggers. Give people good content, and they'll be yours forever. (And, uh, for the official record, the same is true in writing. Give readers a gripping story, and they'll read your books forever--and tell their friends.)

4. "If you build it, they will come." Let's face it. Blogging is WORK. If you think followers are just going to fall into your lap, you're wrong. If you think you're going to get a buttload of comments overnight, you're wrong.

It. Takes. Work.

*cue personal story*

It's February 1, 2010. I'm at Olive Garden, ordering desserts for myself and six or seven of my writing buddies. My treat. Why? Because I've just hit 500 followers on my blog.
 

I have over 1400 now. Just a short seven months later. That's a whole lotta followers in seven months. I felt like it took me half my life and liver to get 500. Why?

Because I worked my freaking tail off. And I didn't stop. All through the winter and spring, I worked. I left comment after comment. I followed blog after blog. I built it. They came. I'm still building it, day by day, post by post, email by email. I don't anticipate stopping.

Building a better blog is work.

*end personal story*

So there you have it. Each day this week, I'm going to leave you with my dirtiest, darkest secret for how I've built my blog into an online platform. I'd tell you not to tell anyone, but hey, I'm posting it on my blog! Tweet away!

Thanks, Elana.  Great tips and personal story.  Seriously, these ideas work.  If only I had more time in the day.

It’s difficult to balance writing with mothering with EBay with shopping with making chocolate chip cookies with nursing with kid’s homework, but sharing comments and becoming a follower of others blogs is the best way to get followers.  I also believe in the philosophy of sharing.  If I have an idea, story, photo, etc. that might help, brighten, enlighten or just plain make someone laugh, I'll write it on my blog and most likely read something charming on your blog too.  If you are not a follower of My Dear Trash, please become one.  That will give me the opportunity to visit you at your blogspot.  Thank you for sharing part of your day with me.  Keep up the great work and thanks again, Elana.

Click here to read more cool tips Elana's writes about on her blog.

Trash to Cash Wednesday

What is this a picture of ?Trash? Good Trash! This is a tractor lawn mower grass catcher. My father in-law was headed to the dump with this. Mr. Right grabbed it up and we sold it for $80.00 on craigslist. Making money off trash is fun, but saving our landfills is even more rewarding. Here's something else we sold on craigslist this week; I picked up these two barstools for $5 each at a yard sale...They were really dirty and pretty banged up, so I gave them a good sanding and a coat of Rustoleums Semi-Gloss black.

These sold this week for $40.00. Not bad. Let's take a look at my ebay top sellers for the week...

I picked up this Ralph Lauren size large peach cotton sweater for .50 at a yard sale. It sold for $10.50Laura recently sold a life is good t-shirt on ebay for over $19.00, so when I found this Good Vibes by Life is Good size small gray shirt at a yard sale for .50, I thought I'd give it a try. It sold for $10.60- Another label to be looking for.Leather always seems to do well on ebay. I'm not sure if people still wear it, or if they use it for crafts and such. Either way this Old Navy size 12 black leather skirt sold for 12.50Polo by Ralph Lauren size large navy knit dress sold for $15.05

Here's another Ralph Lauren sweater. I bought this at the same yard sale as the peach one- this too was .50. I planned on putting them in a lot, but when reading the fabric tag discovered this one had cashmere in it and CASHmere always means CASH. This Women's Ralph Lauren size large black cashmere sweater sold for $32.00. Seems like things are really picking up on craigslist and ebay. Customers are gearing up for back to school and the holidays so if you've ever thought about starting to resale, now might be a good time. Here's my weeks totals:

Ebay Profits: 449.60

Craigslist Profits: $120.00

Costs: 51.00 (clothes), 68.97(ebay fees), 21.69 (paypal fees) 10.00 (cost of craigslist items)

Total Profit: 417.94

Everything I earn is now going toward a new computer! For a mere $2500.00 I can have the most up to date Macintosh computer that will help me make even more money on ebay and craigslist. Only $2082.06 more to go! Love, Kelly

It’s Just Trash, But It Makes Us Happy

 Goodwill had another Grand Opening this weekend.   

The glorious even took place at McKellips and Center in Mesa, AZ.  It was a full house.  I love Kelly’s description.

“It was a complete frenzy. People were loading their carts like everything was free. I asked one of the workers if there was a special sale- 50% off tag or something. "Not on a grand opening," she stated. I watched as customers loaded avocado colored mixing bowls, rusted iron pans, ice cream shaped dessert bowls and metal pineapple tchotchkes into their carts.”

Now that’s some really great writing, Kelly.  

Seriously, I know it’s just stuff, so why do we do it.  Why does it make us so happy?

Is it the thrill of the hunt?

That fact that its one of a kind?

Are we really that sentimental?

Do we love it because its cheap (sometimes)?

While shopping with Reef and Eden, I took some mental notes of the trash that made other people happy.

A gray-haired man with an English accent walks up to his wife and says “There’s nothing in this store I need but this Cheshire cat.”  He then proceeds to hold out a small glass figurine of a sleeping cat.  His wife’s mouth turns up as she smiles. “That is just lovely,” she says lifting the cat out of his hand.  Watching this intimate expressions of a loving relationship made me ponder growing old with the counselor.  I had a moment; right there in the place mat aisle.  I thought about how much I love the counselor; how I want to go shopping with him when we get old because we will get old and then I teared up all because of a Chesire cat.

Image found here.

A young man rushes to his friend in line, holding onto a record album.  This kid is cool, with his low ride gray corduroy pants and Justen Bieber hair.  He's also a hippie, wearing some sort of vintage concert t-shirt.  The cover of the record album is intriguing;  something I would enjoy looking at for sure. “My mom’s going to flip.  She has all Jethro Tull albums except for this one.  I can’t wait to show her,” he says to his "just as cool" friend. I think about my own sons, how they get excited to show me projects they've worked on from school.  I hope they still think I'm cool and are excited to share things with me when they are teenagers.

 Image found here.

A young woman looks through the bedding sheets, pulling at each one in order to find the size tag.  She says to her friend “Not only is it a California King, but it’s a pillow top.”  She's obviously frustrated at her mattress, but interrupts mid-sentence almost in a screech.  “Oh my gosh, look at this.  They're violet and Egyptian cotton.”  She pulls a pair of mattress sheet off the hanger, delighted she found just the right size.  Her reaction is similar to someone winning the lottery.

Reef finds a Lightening McQueen big wheel.  Just as he reaches to take the steering wheel, another toddler races over to him screaming and crying.  His mother, just steps behind rushes to his side.  “You said you didn’t want it,” she says to her child, pulling him away from the car.  “Oh, was this his,” I ask, ready to tell Reef he needs to share.  She looks at her son.  “Do you want me to buy it for you?” she asks.  Surely, he’ll say “Yes”, but he shakes his head back and forth.  “No,” he says and they walk off, the mother shrugging her shoulders.  Funny thing is Reef didn't want to play with it after that.

A father shopping with five teenage girls sees me struggling with a purchase and offers to help me carry a large white Pottery Barn-like toy box (I bought it for $12.99) out to my car.  I comment on how lovely his daughters are.  “You have five girls,” I confirm, telling him I have five kids too; four boys and finally a girl.  “I had a son once,” he says and the mood quickly changes.  “He died when he was nine months old; that was about 14 years ago.” He offers a meager smile.   I look at this man, the lines on his face and the grays sprouting through his black hair.  I feel sad and want to say something to this stranger that shows how I feel, but all I can do is look at the lines around his eyes.  The pause is too short.  He smiles and wishes me a nice evening. 

I have a donation to drop off when I see a familiar face.  I’ve never introduced myself to this woman, but I’ve seen her around town plenty of times.  She’s tall, surrounded by children and has a pink flower headband peeking out from behind her ears.  She’s loading an amazing vintage dresser into her van.  I push my stroller up to get a closer look.  “You know, I’ve seen you like a hundred times, but never introduced myself.  I’m Laura Lofgreen and I love this dresser you found.”  Her personality is a warm hug and we’re instantly friends.  “So, I was in line early this morning and ran straight to the furniture section when they opened the doors.  I paid $30 for this,” she informs me.  “I’d love to feature you on my blog,” I say.

A woman in front of me writes a check for her purchase.  I wait patiently, but already know I’m in the wrong line.  The other cashiers ring customers up in no time, but I wait.  Reef eyes the snack stand near the cash register and ask for Cheetos.  Surely, I’ll only be in line for a few minutes.  I try to distract him.  The orange-stained fingers and the partially-hydrogenated oils, UGGHH!  I don’t want Reef to have them, but he’s not giving up easily.  This is taking forever.  Something needs to be verified in order for this woman’s check to be accepted.  Reef has been so good; not a whine, not a demand, so I give in.  His Cheetos are just about gone by the time it’s my turn in line.  Darn check writers.

Image found here.

I know it’s just stuff, but it does make us happy; doesn't it.
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