Nabisco Ritz Crackers - downsized

Yesterday was Festivus - a beautiful holiday for airing grievances. (Personally I think everyday should be Festivus)  Well I'm a day late but here's a grievance.   Have you noticed as I have, that Nabisco Ritz Crackers have downsized their box? A box used to contain 15.1 oz and now it's 13.7 oz.

Bah Humbug!  And Merry Christmas eve everyone.  And belated Festivus. 

Money Article in All You Magazine

Back in July, I was interviewed for an in All You magazine. I remember the writer saying the article would not appear until sometime in the fall.  So since I have a subscription to All You (free with my coke rewards points), I've been checking every month but nothing.

But then just the other day,  the January 17, 2014 issue showed up in my mailbox with "How to Raise Cash in a Flash" article and knew that was it.

So I turn to the article and read the first page.  Nope, don't see yardsalequeen mentioned anywhere.

So I go to the second page and read thru that.  Still no yardsalequeen.

So I get to the final page and STILL NO YARDSALEQUEEN!  What's up with that???

Then I look again - why there it is!  Yippee!!! I found it - what do you mean you don't see it?  It's right there in black and white in -4 font size.

Just get your magnifying glass out.  I can't wait to count how many millions of people this will bring to the website.  

New actual blog post

It may seem like I haven't blogged in a while, but I was trying something new. I haven't forgotten about you my dear blog readers. Instead of this old fashioned way of blogging, I've been trying to send my blog posts telepathically. Did you get them? I've sent you a ton of messages. I said I was busy buying stuff at the thrift stores and wished you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

I do miss this old fashioned way of blogging though, so I think I will start writing more regular blogs posts soon.

DIY Project Completed - Old Sewing Machine table refinished

So you may have been wondering where the heck have I been? Well no where exciting really, just the usual thrifting, yardsales and junk like that.

Since my last posting, I did complete a project. Remember back in January, when I had my first thrift store buy of the year $5 Sewing Machine Table? Well since I bought it to refinish and give to my mother as a gift, I figured I'd better get it done before Christmas.

Here is another picture of it with different lighting


And after:

And my after picture is not 100% done (but close). I have since put some clear protective polyurethane (or whatever it was) on it.

I'm so glad to get this project done. As much as I like how it came out, I really hate the work of refinishing.

Oprah Winfrey Biggest Yard Sale Ever - I am taking credit for it!

Oprah recently announced on Twitter that she is going to have the biggest yard sale ever and guess what? I'm taking credit for her decision to have a yard sale. I know it can't just be a coincidence that she and I both appear in the June 2013 issue of Essence magazine where I gave some awesome advice on how to have a successful yard sale and get rid of clutter. And then shortly thereafter she decides to have one??

Now I'm just waiting for her people to call my people so she can fly me to her estate so I can take command of the yard sale situation for her.

Oprah - I'm waiting!!!

Loreal and Flower Ass

I think I may need a retail intervention. Been spending way too much shopping retail. Just look at my receipt from the other week. Did I really need Loreal and Flower Ass? No, but I bought it anyway.

I love Dexter on Showtime - but -

am I the only one who thinks the writing and scenarios these last few episodes have gone downhill??? For instance in the episode the other night when Dr. Vogel got the knife and Dexter ran in to hug her. Did he not think that her son who was there just a second ago could be ready to get him too? And when Hannah took Harrison to the emergency room, did she not think to throw on a ball-cap, wear a pair of glasses - you know anything to hide her identity??? And of course, it's ok for her to sit outside on the patio for anyone to see her.

I had to get this off my chest. We will go back to our regular programming about junk and stuff and yardsales shortly.

Oprah, Denise Richards and me

What do we have in common? We were all interviewed for articles in the below pictured magazines. Why neither one of them has contacted me to do lunch, I do not understand. Maybe I should take matters in my own hands and have my people call their people. I'm still catching up on things I should have mentioned long ago. The articles were in Essence magazine 2013 (article starting on page 83) and First For Women Sept 2, 2013 (article on page 93). These issues are no longer on the magazine racks, but maybe you may spot them in the doctor's office waiting room. Or for sale at a garage sale for a quarter (I always see people trying to sell magazines at a yardsale. Tip: If I see old magazines for sale at a yardsale, I always look for old issues of Domino magazine to sell on eBay.)

Summer Trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota (vacation??)

Back in June, my entourage and I took a trip to Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Some people would call that a vacation, but when you are doing a roadtrip to visit relatives, it's more like a trip. A vacation is when you fly or cruise somewhere warm and have beverages with little umbrellas in them.

Well we did a bunch of stuff and I took a bunch of pics. I will try to get some sort of order.

My mother-in-law took me to a place called the Yellow Barn.  It was a barn full of stuff for sale.  What was unusual about the place was that it was a combination thrift store/golf driving range/ and bar for old men.

Outside of the Yellow Barn

Old men enjoying themselves at the bar.

Somewhere in some small town in Wisconsin

At a park across the street from our hotel.  Did not use El Stinko's facilities but I don't think they will ever be sued for false advertising. 

While in Minneapolis - I saw this and yelled PRINCE!!!! ooooh oooooooh!

Jacob sporting a .25 Twins (TC is for Twin Cities) hat - purchased the day before at a thrift store. There were some pretty good thrift stores in Wisconsin and I found some good buys including a vintage blue portable typewriter that is destined for ebay.    That is one advantage over flying, you can haul back as much junk as your car can hold. 

My mother in law's friend's antique store.  When visiting the metropolis known as Siren, Wisconsin, I highly recommend that you visit The Grey Parrot Antique Store and if you see the owner - a lovely lady named Peeta, tell her the yardsalequeen says hi. 

The Grey Parrot - a small cute shop with a ton of stuff crammed in. 

Including a grey parrot, of course.

We stayed at two different hotels while in Wisconsin - The Lodge at Crooked Lake was one of them.

The had a huge pool, but the temp was sorta chilly.  I asked one of the front desk clerks if they ever raised the temperature up a notch or so. Her response was, and I quote "We don't like to dick around much with the temperature". 

Lots of dead animals as decor.

This is as close to camping as I will get. 

One day we went to a cheese festival at Burnett Dairy .  My kinda place!  At the festival, they had lots of free samples, bands, contests, and lots of cheese etc.  They even had samples of the cheese that they make that is $49.99 a pound.  I guess I am not much of a cheese connoisseur because I would take some fried cheese curds over $49.99 cheese anyday.  

Best part of the dairy festival was ....drum roll ... they had a yard sale!  Well sorta like a yardsale at least.  The dairy place also owns a hardware store and they all sorts of stuff for sale at 75% off.  Yes, even at a hardware yard sale, I can find stuff that I needed to buy and come home with me.

And in Wisconsin, I hit a few yardsales. 

From the looks at that warped table, I'm guessing it wasn't their first yardsale. 

Stuff in the barn was for sale too.

And even did a little bit of retail shopping. The small town had a Ben Franklin.  The owner explained it had gone out of business years ago but someone new purchased the trademark name and opened some stores back up.

Unfortunately I missed the Thrift Store Party that was being advertised in the newspaper. 

Nearby small town of Minong Wisconsin is home to the Jack Links jerky company.  We found the store that sells all the factory seconds and overruns.  Nothing but second best for my husband!

Carts o' jerky. 

Also went to a Muskie (fish) festival.  Apparently it's a fish you don't eat.  So it wasn't like they were selling Muskie fish fries or anything.  It was in the town of Hayward, Wisconsin.  That was a cool little town. 

Time to make the candy in Hayward.

Thrift and antiqes store in Hinckley, Minnesota.  I think I bought a small Christmas troll there for my collection.

Brat Sale

I hope you enjoy this picture.  We probably got undiagnosed Lyme disease traipsing thru the weeds for this photo shoot.

Day trip to Duluth Minnesota.  Lift Bridge is in the background. 

Pool at the second hotel we stayed at St. Croix Casino.   Because a family trip isn't complete unless we stay at least a  few nights at a casino. 

Chillin in the Leinie Lounger. 

St. Croix Casino in Danbury, Wisconsin.  Not St. Croix in St. Croix.  boo hoo.

On the way home.  My Chicagoland contesting friend Susan hooked us up on the VIP floor at the hotel near her house thru a contest she had won.  











here's a little video I took while standing underneath the Lift Bridge in Duluth while it was lowering.




 By January, I hope to post about our trip we took in August.  

David Cassidy Saratoga Springs upstate NY moving sale re-visited

David Cassidy was in the news recently when he got pulled over in upstate New York for a traffic stop which resulted in a DWI - see newstory here. He has had trouble in the past with alcohol - so I want to publicly state that if he needs a designated driver, I can get that arranged. My sister, who lives in Saratoga Springs NY can be at his beck and call, if I give her the word. She is always hauling my mom to the Saratoga Raceway and Casino all the time anyway, so she won't mind having another passenger to drive around.

Well seeing David in the news again made me remember that our four year anniversary is coming up. It will be four years next month that I got to rummage around in his stuff and bounce on his bed - at his moving sale that was held in a vacation rental home in Saratoga Springs NY.

So in-case you didn't read my blog back then, here is a blast from the past:

Craigslist ad

One of my purchases plus pictures of moving sale

David Cassidy Moving Sale pictures

Me in my Sexy David Cassidy owned hat In this blog post, I alluded to a rumor I had heard but I didn't come out and say it since it was a rumor. Well now I will say it: the rumor was that David was getting divorced. In the article I read today, when he got pulled over, he was with his fiance.

I know how to stretch a dollar

I saw this bit of news on the news-scrolly thing on Good Morning America the other day and I thought, I can be of service! Philadelphia, I'm here for you. Don't squander your jackpot of 50 bucks, I can stretch those 50 bones and make it seem like it's $100.

My ugly green colored hallway cabinet

As you may know, I love storage. Because storage is stuff that can be used to store even more stuff. Look for me on an upcoming episode of Hoarders. Just kidding. I don't answer the door when I see the Hoarder's camera crew on my front porch.

Here's what I purchased last week for $15. Some dead person's ugly green cabinet. The front door opens and it has a shelf inside. I am confident in saying that it belonged to a dead person because I bought it at a yardsale at an assisted living community. Once a person goes to the big yardsale in the sky, their family takes what they want and leaves the rest. The remaining stuff gets sold and the money goes to activities etc for the other residents.

I plan on painting it, so here's the "before" picture. But until I paint it, I put it in it's new location to see how it would fit. I hope to have it repainted before the end of the decade.