Sunday, February 28, 2010

Need More Yardsalequeen?

I have a little secret - I've been twittering for a while. I don't quite understand it but if you want to follow me on Twitter, here's my info: Yardsalequeen.com Twitter I honestly don't understand how it works or how to communicate to others using it. Oh well. I even got a book out of the library on how-to twitter, but it confused me. I really need to find a twitter book written as if they are talking to a 5 year old.

And today I set up a Facebook group. I don't totally get how Facebook works either. So this will be an adventure - join the group at Yardsalequeen.com Facebook Group

And lastly, I may be appearing via Skype on a morning tv show appearing this week somewhere in the USA. It's not nationwide, but it's still a big city. Luckily, I don't know anyone who lives in this particular city so I shouldn't be worried. I mean, really, what can go wrong on live tv? Oye. It's not 100% definite, but just in case, I broke out the Clairol yesterday and the Crest Whitestrips. Now the big problem is how do I place the webcam so it doesn't show clutter? Now that will be a challenge. No way is my computer area being shown, if it did, there would be a knock at the door and it would be a crew from Hoarders TV. And does anyone know how much downtime is involved in liposuction? It may be a little too late for that.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Recent bargains and buys



here's a few things I bought this week:

$3 each - 2 like-new pillows, case is zippered which is nice
$1 - box of break your own Geodes (will probably put on ebay)
$1 each - two bottles of some allergy/dust mite spray. I saw on Amazon.com it sells for $16.99 a bottle. Will use.
.25 package of suction cups with hooks
$2 vintage sweater - labels says Made in the British Colony of Hong Kong. that will go on ebay eventually.

And I did some grocery shopping. Total before coupons was $60.08 and after it was $15.41. I bought a lot of gum and Ortega taco seasonings. You know those commercials for the new Trident Layers gum where people talk about being paid with gum instead of money? Well that could be me, I could pay people in gum. The trident gum is 1.49, so after my .75 coupons are doubled, its free. I bought a bunch of Trident .75 gum coupons on ebay. So I will be swimming in gum and taco seasonings.

The irony of this is that today I bought gum on eBay. But not the trident layers. Jacob's latest obsession is with screamin' sour gumballs that one gumball machine in Lusby has. So hopefully within the next week, 100 sour gumballs will be arriving at the castle. With shipping, it was $13.98. So if he was to buy 100 sour gumballs at the machine, at .25 a pop, it would be $25. So I am *saving* money by getting them on ebay.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Yardsale shopping update



I was putting up some ebay auctions tonight and found the picture I took on Saturday of my buys. Gotta run, gotta get more auctions running.

I heart Lindt Truffles



I had lunch with a friend the other day and we stopped by CVS. I noticed that Valentine's Day stuff was 75% off and the Lindt truffles caught my eye. I cleaned them out actually. You can never have enough Lindt truffles. It killed me because I know I had a $1 coupon for Lindt sitting at home, but oh well. The 3 cardboard boxes held 12 truffles for $2.25 and the tin held 17 truffles for $2.49. So the tin was a much better deal but they only had the one. And for those keeping track, no - I haven't started my Alli diet yet.

I did go to one indoor yardsale last Saturday. I had Jacob with me, so it was a quick shopping trip, I wasn't able to spend hours and hours casually inspecting every doohickey and knicknack and deciding whether I wanted it or not. I took a picture of my stash, but I can't find it. Maybe it accidentally got deleted.

Bought a .50 ink cartridge (will recycle it at Staples for a $3 credit). a new $2 Maryland Blue Crabs t-shirt. I've not been to a game yet, but if I ever do (like for instance if I win tickets) I can wear my t-shirt. a Budweiser beer tap for $3 - some are very collectible, the one I bought apparently is not one of those and I got a .25 Sugar Bear ornament.

And last but not least a new in box Graty for .50. The sidekick of the Slap Chop. My goal this yardsale season is to find a Slap Chop for $1 for Jacob. I did buy an imitation one at a yardale in the fall, but I'm sure an actual Slapchop will be a much higher quality product. haha. Jacob loves the Slap Chop commercials. And no way will I spend $19.99 for one. So far we've used the Graty to grate some playdough.
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I was mesmerized the other week about seeing some ultra cheesy magnets at Walgreens. They looked so cheesy that I took pictures.

Friday, February 19, 2010

$7.20 for a broken dryer


Remember last September when I was so proud that I semi-decluttered our garage and got rid of 8 old car batteries, a broken lawnmower, a really heavy riding lawn mower engine and other miscellaneous junk? Here is the posting to refresh your memory

Well today I realized decluttering all that stuff was stupid stupid stupid. When will I learn that decluttering is evil? haha. Back then, I used a local business that will come to your house to pick up scrap metal, old batteries etc and cart it away for free. Well today, I found a local place that PAYS you for that stuff. Makes me sick to think I could have gotten $8 for EACH of those old batteries! And they pay $6 per 100 lbs of scrap metal. I don't want to think about how heavy that engine was.

DH was off today and I suggested we find the scrap metal recycling place and take our broken dryer. Its actually pretty close and I got $7.20 cold hard cash for it. There's our dryer pictured above at the bottom of scrap metal mountain.

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My infamous David Cassidy coat only sold for $38.66. After I give my sister half for a finder's fee, that will barely put a drop into my Botox fund. So now I'm thinking instead that someone here should buy my Waterford Crystal Christmas ornament that I have currently listed for only $149.00
You better hurry up and bid before someone else gets it.

David Cassidy horse coat - less than 6 hours to go

Hey, just a quick reminder cuz I know you want to bid, my David Cassidy jacket auction is ending in less than 6 hours. So you better get your bid in now before its too late.
You're welcome. All proceeds will go to a good cause, my Botox fund.

David Cassidy coat auction

Monday, February 15, 2010

Got my fingers crossed

that school will be open tomorrow. It seems like forever that they've been off. Jacob's last day of school was Feb. 4th. Feb. 5th was a Teacher Work Day, so no school. The week of Feb 8th closed due to snow. And today was a holiday.

I need some me time. I do not understand how homeschoolers do it. And I don't want to learn. haha.

I have three $8 Walgreens Register Rewards that expire this week so I definitely plan on doing some Walgreens shopping.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day - look at my lovely red flowers



I haven't killed off my .99 Lowes Black Friday Poinsettia plant yet, so today they are doing double duty as a Valentine's decoration.

Looking forward to buying some clearanced Valentine's Day stuff - the stores should be loaded. With schools being out all last week, I'm sure a lot of Valentine's parties got canceled etc. But my favorite holiday, by far, for buying leftover candy is Easter. Mmmmmmm Cadbury eggs.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Top 3 Classic Sites: Ebay, Craigslist and Yardsalequeen

We did some errands today in beautiful downtown Lusby (Walgreens, Giant, hair cut for DH, lunch, and library) and while at the library, I picked up this latest and greatest David Bach book "Start Over, Finish Rich - 10 Steps to Get You Back on Track in 2010.

And lookie what I see on page 171:





So if I am counting correctly, that makes 2 David Bach books that has yardsalequeen.com mentioned in it. The first one was Go Green Live Rich. I knew about beforehand since the publisher sent me a free copy. The one I saw today was a nice surprise. David, where's my free copy of Start Over, Finish Rich? Don't worry, I didn't deface the library book with a purple marker, it's photoshopped.

Friday, February 12, 2010

A Serious Lack of Shopping this week

I had a serious lack of shopping/acquiring this week - school was out the entire week due to snow. And when schools are closed due to inclement weather, so is my fav thrift. And Jacob is not a good shopper - he doesn't like to spend hours strolling thru the aisles of Walgreens, CVS and grocery stores on a daily basis - go figure.

I did go to Walgreens today to get my free 8 x 10 collage (they have a deal today only at walgreens.com - for a free 8x10 collage - use coupon code VDAY at checkout and mark that you want to pick it up at your local store so no shipping. Total cost: 0.00 It will be a Valentine's Day gift for DH. Because I'm generous that way. I used a bunch of my favorite Jacob pictures. Like this one:


And this one. It isn't the best color-wise, but it's a classic. (I resized the pic for privacy reasons. And FYI, I do not condone peeing in the Bay, so do not write to complain.)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

David Cassidy Moving Sale Coat for auction





I finally got a bunch of ebay auctions running - one of which is the coat my sister bought for me at the David Cassidy moving sale back in September (and she gave to me over Christmas).

Here is the link, don't let it get away, so you should probably place your bid now before you forget. David Cassidy's wife coat auction I plan on splitting the money with my sister, so make sure you bid very high.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Not Sitting (or walking) on the Dock of the Bay



Since I canceled our free hotel night for Saturday night - I was able to change it to last night. I was 200% sure that school would be canceled for today and DH didn't need to work today.

The restaurant/bar at the hotel had half priced appetizers during the Superbowl so we just ate a bunch of different appetizers for dinner. Went swimming yesterday and this morning. Didn't do any sitting (or walking) on the dock of the bay though, didn't want to accidentally do a polar bear plunge.

Since I've been cooped up in the house since Friday, it was nice to get out and not have to deal with snow. The above picture was taken this morning - our view out the window.

The below pic is of the little boardwalk they have - where they have weddings.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Yardsale Special for Today: Free Snow


Come and get it while it lasts - bring a truck, bring your shovels and feel free to take away as much as you want, free of charge. Because I'm generous that way.

I really wanted the weatherpeople to be wrong about this storm because we were scheduled today to be lounging by the Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa's indoor heated pool right now, or perhaps drinking a free diet pepsi while sitting on the dock of the bay. (My 4th and final free hotel night was supposed to be for tonight - but it ain't gonna happen. They were very understanding about it when I called to cancel and I did get it rescheduled. But of course next weekend being Valentine's Day, we can't do it next weekend (limited amount of comped rooms) and my DH is working every weekend this month.

Took this pic yesterday, before the real snow starting falling. Yes, the white thing was originally a shower caddy in it's previous life (bought at a yardsale for a quarter), I bought it with the intent of using it as a bird feeder.



And today we got these crappy starlings out in full force. I'm not a fan of the starlings.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

I would like to say I've been away for the past week - like on a cruise or on a thrift shop adventure throughout Europe - but I can't. Just not a whole lot happening here at the castle during the past week.

It snowed all day last Saturday, so that meant - of course - that schools were closed on Monday. Schools opened 2 hours late on Tuesday. It snowed about 2" Tuesday night (the roads were wet in the morning) so that meant schools were closed again on Wednesday. Today was the first full day of school this week. And tomorrow is a Teacher's Planning Day - so no school tomorrow.

Then the weather people are all working people up into a frenzy about some weather event supposedly coming tomorrow and Saturday. I think it would be so funny if we just got rain. Majority of people in Maryland are big wussies when it comes to snow.

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I bought myself a *new* coat today (pictured on right) - I spent a whole $8 for it. It's quite a change from my old coat (pictured on left), don't you think??? The color looks off in the picture - the flash made it look all wonky. Plain deep colored red. Coat on left is a London Fog with recently broken/unfixable zipper. New coat on right is a Liz Claiborne with removable wool lining with a zipper that zips.

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I had a good grocery shopping trip last week using coupons (no chicken paws purchased, by the way):



Most of those $1 coupons were for Chobani Greek yogurt. They were on sale for $1 and I had a bunch of $1 coupons (bought on ebay). It is the best yogurt ever. Except for the honey flavored one - too blah - no taste at all.