The Royal Wedding April 29 Celebration

Today, April 29, marks an important date in Royal Wedding History. It will be remembered as the day when a regular commoner married into royalty - in 1989. Happy Anniversary to the happy couple - me and Mr. YSQ. Mr. YSQ bestowed me with flowers and a luncheon at a fabulous place. I was surprised that we were able to get in for our luncheon, EVEN WITHOUT RESERVATIONS! The restaurant name escapes me at the moment, but I think it's something like Crimson Friday. Just give me a moment and the name will come to me.

Today starts the beginning of the three weeks of gift receiving. Boom, boom, boom. Anniversary, birthday, Mother's Day.

I thought I had a wedding pic saved somewhere on my harddrive but I can't seem to find it. Instead I will do double duty and share a belated Easter photo from pretty much the exact same time period (I worked part-time at a one hour photo place that did Easter Bunny photos so I got the pic for free - of course). I had awesome 80's hair.



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Tomorrow promises to be a busy morning so I need to go and plan the agenda for the day.

p.s. Oh I just remembered the restaurant name. How silly - it's not Crimson Friday. It's Ruby Tuesday. Only the best for the Queen! ;)

April 29 - great day for a Royal Wedding!

Just one more day until the big festivities celebrating the Royal Wedding. Cuz you know I will be celebrating. Even Mr. YSQ will be celebrating. It really will be a big deal here at the castle. Check back tomorrow and I will tell you how we plan to celebrate.

Pollen season here at the castle:


And my latest Walgreens find: clearanced shaving cream for .57 a can. Actually my sister spotted it when we were at Walgreens in New York. So the other day when I returned home to Maryland, I checked my Walgreens and saw they hadn't put clearance stickers on them yet, but they also rang up at .57 a can!

Best piece of yardsale literature (this week) and GROSS used cars

Here's the issue of Woman's World where you can see me on page 24 (you can browse it while standing in line at the grocery store). They wrote that I've saved more than $10,000 by shopping at yardsales. As usual, I was misquoted since I'm pretty sure I said "one MILLION dollars" in my best Dr. Evil voice.

Among some other updates, guess who won $100 for promising not to drink and drive the other week? moi. I won't say I was lucky since I do have a method to my madness when entering a contest where you fill out an entry form.

Finally here are the pics from the doll hoarder indoor estate sale I went to a few weeks ago. Nope, didn't buy any dolls. There were tons more that I didn't take photos of. The sad part I think is that the woman who owned all these dolls died over 5 years ago and it was the husband who recently died, so that was the reason for the estate sale. I can't imagine a man living amongst all these dolls. If those had been my dolls, Mr. YSQ would be on the phone getting a temporary dumpster to be delivered before I even got cold.










And lastly, Pennsylvania has some Gross used cars (do you know how long I've been trying to get a picture of this?????)

I am back

Well I am back in town. So I do have an excuse for not blogging. Went to visit family in upstate New York for spring/Easter break. Well since it's upstate New York, calling last week "spring" is just wishful thinking. Yes, I saw snow. It was dirty nasty snow, but it was still snow. And Jacob got more use out of his winter coat. So I should look on the bright side, yes? And I got to declutter my house a little and delivered the matzos, oven cleaner and the Libman mop my mom wanted me to look for. I gave the mop to my mom as an Easter present, because I'm generous that way.

But upstate New Yorkers are a hearty bunch. It can be 40 degrees and raining buckets, but thankfully their garage sales still go on!

I gotta go catch up on some tv watching and do some relaxing tonight. Since relaxing is not what vacations are for (they are for "doing").

ttfn

Long delayed weekend update

Let's see, what's new and exciting in the life of YSQ?? Ummmm...let's see, I have some breaking news - I bought some stuff. Been going to some yardsales. Haven't bought a new car yet, so instead I just went and spent $250 on two new tires. Today was a very soggy day, but luckily there were two large indoor yardsales that I went to. Bought another Pulp Fiction Kangaroo for $2. After the yardsales today, I even went to a local hole in the wall bar called the Solomon's Island Tiki Bar. I've mentioned it before here on the blog a long time ago, it's a local bar that throws a big grand opening party every April. Thousands of people show up out of nowhere. And I think the ladies room only has 3 toilets.

As usual, I had my ulterior motives for stopping there today. Yesterday and today, if you signed up to be a designated driver, you're entered to win one of many cool prizes that they will give away on Monday. And just for signing up as a designated driver, I got a free Bud Light can koozie to keep my beer cold. I'm joking, I don't need to keep my beer cold (since I drink rum and coke). But honestly I was given a free Bud Light can koozie for being a designated driver. And I did actually walk thru the bar, but didn't recognize any drunk friends needing a ride home so I left since I did what I came to do (sign up to win prizes). And I stopped at their Tiki Tobacco shop and got some free empty cigar boxes. But it's really crappy weather today for their opening weekend. Here's some pics from today:




I missed seeing the Clydesdales. Oh well, I saw them the last time I went to Busch Gardens. I remember that trip, since I almost got bounced out of the free tasting room (even though typically I don't drink beer, I *will* occasionally choke it down if it's free).

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Look for me in an upcoming issue of Woman's World Magazine The date on the cover should say May 2, but it will be out next week sometime I think. I was interviewed for a yardsale article a while back. I have no idea what I said in the phone interview. I hope they can edit it to make it sound like I'm not a total idiot. I've also been doing a few newspaper interviews - newspapers in Missouri, Virginia and North Carolina. I really should update my Media. Oh well, someday.

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Here's a pic of some eggs I bought. Yes, they got wedged in the minivan's sliding door.

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And there you have it - all the exciting news that's been happening lately.

Oven Cleaner, a Mop and Matzos

I like a good old fashioned shopping challenge - you know when someone asks you to keep your eyes peeled for a specific hard to find item. But geez, my most recent shopping challenge was way too easy. During my weekly phonecall with mother, she told me she had been looking all over for two things - Carbona Oven Rack cleaner and a Libman mop with the felt mop head and couldn't find either. She told me if, by chance, if I was able to find them to get them and bring when I visit NY later this month.

All it took was a quick trip to my local grocery store to find both. I used $2 off coupons for the rack cleaners and the mop was on sale too. My grocery store has a deal this week that if you spend $25, you got a 5 lb package of Matzos for free. So the Matzos will be going to NY too - I will give to my niece as an Easter present since her boyfriend is a Kosher Vegan Vermonter.

The thing on the left hand side of the cart is the hand held grocery scanner - if you are not self-scanning your own groceries you are living in the stone age!

My Versace and Prada Yard Sale Buys

I went to a small community wide yardsale this past Saturday and bought the stuff below. I even did a youtube video since it's been a while since I made one. The chrome towel bar is going in my bathroom to replace the wooden one I installed 3 years ago - they don't last due to the moisture. The chrome one will look nicer and goes with everything else in the bathroom.

One thing I steer clear of at yardsales is designer handbags at yardsales since there are so many counterfeits. And since I have the most awesomest handbag ever, I won't be shopping for another handbag for YEARS. But sunglasses are another story. The seller was an older woman who knew exactly what she paid for each pair and she didn't seem like the type of person who would be buying knockoffs at the fleamarket. Plus, these sunglasses just looked expensive, nice case, even the nosepads have the name on them. I may resell the ones with the lighter lens since if I'm wearing sunglasses, I want the lenses to be dark. They were $10 each.

I'm still alive!

why the hell is time going by so fast??? Crap, I haven't even shown pictures of the doll hoarder yardsale I went to last week. I neglected to give you all an April Fools joke. I'm slacking! I went to a couple of good sales today. And will post a real blog update too.

Just an update on my awesome white trash birdfeeder stand - note: do not spray paint the hooks green, use hunter orange or some other bright color instead. Cuz when the superhuman squirrels knock the feeders off the hooks, it's hard to find green hooks on the ground.

ttfn

Like a blind dog in a meat market

I stopped into my favorite thrift today and an older customer standing next to me said "it's like a blind dog in a meat market". Basically what he meant was that all of us customers were just fumbling around, bumping into everything and smelling/touching everything. Yep, that's about right.

Here's what I bought for $2. A set of brand new melamine dishes by Thomas Paul. I thought they were too big to be dinner dishes but that's what they are. If you like them, you can buy your own set for only $40 on Amazon (I'm keeping mine.) $10 each for melamine plates?? Yikes!!!

I won FIRST PRIZE in the Academy of Country Music Awards contest!!!!!!!!

A while back I entered an online contest sponsored by Dr. Pepper & Arby's to win a trip to Nashville to attend the Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony. It was right up my alley, since walking the red carpet, posing for the paparazzi etc, is the sort of thing as yardsalequeen, I am used to doing constantly. Well guess what??? Today I got notification that I won FIRST PRIZE!!!!!!!!!

And as a First Prize winner, here's what I won. A t-shirt. Then I saw an envelope and it felt like there was a gift card inside. Nope, I also won a 5 free song download. "Congrautlations" to me. It was the grand prize winner that got to go to Nashville.



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I go to the doctors later this week for a checkup so I've been walking on our dining room treadmill. Everyone has a treadmill in their dining room, right? I despise running, so I only use it for walking. I've been doing more walking than usual (my normal walking routine is from the parking lot to the store and from the store to the car) so my doctor better be nice to me. 95 minutes spent walking today with NO buying of anything! That has to be some sort of personal best.

Ta-da! My re-purposed swing/glider bird feeder revealed!

And here it is, in all it's glory, is my new bird and/or squirrel feeding center. I love how it turned out. And the best part, years from now when maybe it gets rusty or falls apart, I'm sure I can find a cheap replacement at a yardsale. Heck, I see an old dirty swing sitting on my neighbor's porch right now so there are tons of them around. Other benefits: it's portable so I can move it if I want to rake under it or move to a new location. When it rains, I won't worry about it falling over, like those stupid shepherd hooks seem to do. You may have noticed my new suet feeder is not in the pic, I plan on putting that one off our deck since it doesn't create a mess, like sunflower shells do. There is still room for more feeders and I will probably rearrange them from time to time.

Here's a reminder of what I started with (my old rusty swing with missing back, cushions etc)



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No yardsales yesterday so no yardsale bargains to talk about.

My DIY Repurposed Glider Patio Swing Makeover into Birdfeeder Station

Today was the day I planned for my glider/swing makeover into my birdfeeding station. So it's 95% complete - the only thing left to do is fill and hang the bird feeders. Once I get the bird feeders up (and before it becomes covered with bird poop) I will post an "after" picture.

So here is the official "before" picture, taken in it's natural habitat. Notice the missing back, missing cushions and rust.



Step 1. Removed the swing part. (On the unused part, I tore off the rest of the fabric and will take the metal to the metal recycling place).

Step 2. Used a wire brush and scrubbed the rusty parts to get the rust flakes off.



Step 3. Dug around in bathroom closet to find my unused metal shower curtain hooks. Spray painted them green. Ever since I bought my awesome shower curtain, I didn't need the hooks anymore (but of course didn't even consider throwing them away). The shower curtain hooks are what will hold the feeders onto the frame. At first I thought about buying "S" hooks at the hardware store, but then I checked the price. For a big S hook, they wanted $1.59 or so EACH. I don't think so.



Step 4. Spray painted the swing frame green (I used some expensive Krylon Fusion paint which I had on hand. I bought several cans dirt cheap at a yardsale). The fusion paint is for plastic but it said it was good for metal and wood etc. Notice my current bird feeders in the background. Ever since I decided to make my bird feeder station, I've neglected filling the feeders.




So here is my "before" pic of my current birdfeeding situation mess. (yes, the squirrels opened the light green birdfeeder on the left).


Stay tuned to see my new birdfeeding station complete with birdfeeders.

Got my gutters decluttered

Yesterday was a rare day, I spent an entire day at home. No Walgreens, no CVS, no trip to the Post Office, or grocery store, nada. But I did manage to spend money.

The castle's gutters needed decluttering. Badly. The castle is multi-leveled. That's a fancy way of saying part it's part one story and part two story. It's the two story part that needed the work of a professional. (Yes, I love going up on the roof of the one story part and cleaning the gutters!)

The last time I was quoted a price for gutter cleaning it was $100 (didn't get it done, I just asked a handyman who was doing work at a neighbors for a quote). The second floor gutters hadn't been cleaned in many years. I called a company that advertised $65 gutter cleaning. I figured it would be $65 and UP, but on the phone they said it was a flat $65 and they would clean up the mess and be there the same day. And they were. Sorry for rambling on about gutter cleaning but I am so happy to find a gutter cleaning place who doesn't get scared off when they see how tall our house is. There's no way I would walk around on the roof of the second floor part ...and then stand near the edge and actually clean the gutters??? No way. With their leaf blower they even cleaned the leaves off the back deck which was not even part of the mess they created with the gutter junk. Sorry I don't have pics to show, I didn't want the gutter guys to think I am weird.

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The other day I was at one of my favorite grocery stores (the old Food Lion) and on the way home, I passed a storage facility place and saw cars parked up and down the road and people milling around. So it dawned on me - storage auction!!!! I hit the brakes. Unfortunately I was too late and missed the auction but I did pick up a schedule for future auctions.

Speaking of my fav grocery store, here it is on a typical busy afternoon.


Oh and I got some good news today. It may be good new for you too (if you are a Walgreens addict like me). The manager told me that the store is being re-done on the inside - no more tall aisles filled sky high, it's going to be "low profile". So they will be doing a lot of clearancing over the next several weeks. I don't know if the change will be in all stores nationwide or what. So your mileage may vary.

Decluttered Christmas Tree

So here's what I decluttered the other day - donations ready for pick-up by AmVets. I even asked if they wanted old computer monitors and they said yes. I love that they pick up right at the door and leave the tax receipt. No lugging stuff to the thrift store. I declutterized our Christmas tree, some clothes and miscellany. I think I bought the tree at 75% off clearance at CVS several years back (regular price $59.99, YSQ price: $15). It was pre-lit with clear lights, which worked great, but the tree itself looks nothing like the photo on the box. The tree had lots of big gaps in the branches and overall so-so. So this past January I bought another clearance Christmas tree also at 75% off (so about the same price as I paid for the other one). But it's a Rite-Aid Christmas tree with colored lights. I doubt it can be any worse than the other one. I'll know once December rolls around again, which will be here before you know it.

One thing I always do is go over all junk mail pretty thoroughly. Cuz you just never know when a good coupon may be hidden somewhere. Last week in the weekly sales ads, there was a separate coupon for Ace Hardware. But the coupon wasn't good for last weekend, it was good for THIS weekend (Fri, Sat, & Sun). So I'm sure many people saw it and just threw it out or set it aside but then forgot to use it. The coupon was good for 50% off one item (less than $30). So I bought the below birdfeeder (suet feeder) not for $24.99, but for $12.49 plus tax with the coupon. I have an Ace Hardware store close by so it's not out of my way to go there. I was able to find a second coupon so today I bought an 8-pack of suet blocks for $3.99 (not $7.99) PLUS I found a dollar bill on the floor while shopping! And I know a lot of people didn't use the coupon since when I handed the cashier the coupon (today was last day to use it), the cashier had to consult with another cashier on how to type it into the cash register. I have a ton of birdfeeders (most from yardsales) but every once in a while it's nice to get a spanking brand new one that I don't need to clean out someone else's rotten birdseed out of.



So pretty much my goal in life is not to pay full price for anything if at all possible. Just the other day, long suffering Mr. YSQ was lamenting the fact that I never buy him his favorite Dove Chocolate Easter eggs until Easter is over. (Duh, winning!) But I was successfully able to prove him wrong this year (and that's what marriage is all about, right?) Here is my evidence:



Dove Chocolate bought the other day for Mr. YSQ for .06 (it was on sale for $3, minus $1 coupon that the CVS coupon center printed out for me combined with the $2 Facebook CVS candy coupon.)

I did hit one yardsale yesterday but it wasn't blogworthy to talk about.

Here is a TV

or this other tv




Feel fee to disregard this post. We are thinking of buying this tv so I wanted to do an affiliate link for myself, so that way when if we buy it, I will get my kick-back and I'll use this link to buy it. Just wanted to make 200% sure I'll get my kick-back.

My Future White Trash Birdfeeder Stand

Pictured above is our old falling apart deck swing, AKA my future birdfeeder stand. It originally came with a canopy for shade, which I think lasted one year before the fabric started disintegrating from the hot summer sun. So that got taken off. Then the cushions started falling apart so those got thrown away (I modified other outdoor cushions for it.) Then finally the fabric on the actual swing started decaying so I tore off the fabric on the back part since bits and pieces were falling off and making a mess. I figured someday we'll spend an hour or so and take it to metal recycling and maybe get $3 for it. But then it dawned on me that it would make one helluva bird feeder stand. I just need to remove the swing part. All those swirly things at the top will be able to hold a ton of different type feeders. And since the frame is sturdy, it won't start leaning like my current shepherd hooks do under the weight of 8 lbs of sunflower seeds. So stay tuned, this is the "before" picture. And I plan on spray painting it since there is some rust going on.

I am a surprised that a few of you actually liked that old wheelchair! Yes, I agree, it would be a neat thing to have as a spooky Halloween decoration or part of a haunted house display. Personally I don't have room to store it. Plus, they wanted like $35 for it. For $35, I could buy 70 .50 items at a yardsale :)

Now here's something I wanted to buy but didn't. I just loved this coffee table but I have no room for it and it needed to be refinished. But it was solid wood from Lane, and had an awesome Mid-Century modern look to it. It was $15.



Instead, here is something I bought. An empty box for .25. It's small and doesn't take up much room. I sort of have a collection of vintage bathroom products. Funny how it has laxative action. I guess somehow years ago, nose and butt problems were related.



Still no new car for me. I swear, we have definitely spent more time looking at new cars than we did we bought our house. (We spent a grand total of about 8 hours house hunting before we bought our house). And geez, once those car dealers get your info, they call every other day wanting to help you.

I am on a drug, it's called Yardsale Queen.

Well no yardsales today, but I did go to an outdoor shopping venue that wasn't even a flea market. More like a monthly outdoor craft show with high prices. I bought nothing.

Speaking of not buying things, here are some things I saw at one of my thrifts recently but didn't buy. I am very disappointed in this store lately, it is getting overly crap-filled with high prices. For instance, shoe prices used to be .50 or $1. (I once bought a very nice pair of Dansko shoes for $1 there and re-sold them for $100+.) When I recently checked their shoe prices, on some I saw a $9 price tag. For a pair of nothing special used shoes. No way.

They had a very old wheelchair (who would buy something like this?? I mean, if you needed a wheelchair, you wouldn't use one that was built in 1940 (or whenever). And I don't see it as being something someone would buy as a collectible.)


A shelf for your monitor. I bet the company that makes these is out of business.


$5 for an 'NSYNC bear. $5??? I wouldn't buy it if it was .50.