Back to School and Christmas shopping at Kohl's

It's August and the other night I managed to get some back-to-school clothes shopping done and some Christmas shopping done all in the same trip.

In an ideal world, everyone on my Christmas list would love to get yardsale purchased Christmas presents from me. But as we all know, this is not a perfect world and some people - people who I am actually related to - enjoy receiving gifts that were purchased new in a retail environment. Can you imagine??? Most times I compromised and they get both. Something new and something that has a history.

I am happy with my Kohl's shopping trip the other night. This is what $16.98 got me - 8 beach towels and 2 pairs of shorts for the boy. Or should I say teenager. He is growing as I speak and this was probably one of the last times I get to shop the "boys" section of Kohl's, rather than adult male section. By breaking it down into two transactions, I saved more money since I could use the "save $10 off a $30" transaction coupon that I had PLUS an additional different "save $10 off a $30" transaction that the cashier gave to me. And no, those are not lady-like coral colored shorts for Jacob. It's a pair of manly salmon colored shorts for Jacob.





Some of the towels will go to sister (who has a pool) and my sister in law (who likes going to pools). Last summer I remember my sister complaining that all her beach towels were all threadbare and needing replacement. And since neither one of them visits the blog (it would cut into their CandyCrush time), they will be surprised.

Tomorrow I will show you my "new to me" ugly green hallway cabinet furniture thingy.

The Holy Grail of Foods - Lucky Charms Dehydrated Marshmallows

I am having a busy summer, so my blog posts have been few and far between but I have to brag about a recent purchase. In a store. Yes, you read that right.

I found and purchased bulk dehydrated marshmallows - the kind that are in Lucky Charms. No more buying boxes and boxes of Lucky Charms just to throw away the yucky cereal part for the glorious dehydrated marshmallows! I had to travel out of state to find them, but I think I have purchased enough to last a while. They may not be the ones that are in Lucky Charms but perhaps the Malt-O-Meal brand equivalent instead, but they taste just as good.

Life is good!

A Royal Baby picture

All I hear about on the news recently is about the Royal Baby. The media is in a frenzy for a picture of the royal baby. Well here you go! A picture of the heir to the yardsalequeen.com empire - taken several years ago. You're welcome.

Busy summer - here are some random pics since June

Just wanted to pop in and say that I am still alive and buying stuff. Here are some random pics from the summer in no special order.

Will write more with details and more pics when I get a chance.

Indiana woman beaten during garage sale robbery

Horrible story about a woman in Indiana being assaulted and robbed while she was setting up for her garage sale. Passing this along to get the word out and hopefully they catch the asshole who did this.

Avon woman beaten during garage sale robbery - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Let's Revisit May - The Band Perry

I guess I failed to blog about my volunteer work last month. It's when I helped to quench the throats of thirsty concert-goers - when I did volunteer bartending at The Band Perry concert. I've resigned myself to the sad realization that when the concert venues feeds us our free dinner pre-show, the shrimp salad wraps are gone forever. So sad.

As our bartending stand sold out of beer, it got closed up early and I was able to enjoy the show. Here's some pics and videos.







The song list that I got off the stage:





Here's the opening act, who I have named the Grumpy Guitarist, as he warms up prior to the show.

It's almost June, so let's revisit April - trip to Baltimore Aquarium

I forgot all about my trip to the big city last month with the boy. Acck...maybe I should say teenager instead. He had some random day off from school for some reason or another so I figured it would be the perfect time to use my two free tickets to the Baltimore Aquarium .   He remembers it back when we used to have a membership there when he was younger and we went several times. (From a monetary standpoint back then, it was a better deal to buy a family membership if you planned on going there more than twice a year, than pay individual admission fees.  Plus at the time, they threw in an extra 3 months, so ended up with a 15 month membership.  So we got our money's worth.  I am sure as a loyal blog reader of mine, you remember my awesome posts from 2007 which I talked about the aquarium). 

I know better than to go during the summer during crowded tourist season,  but at least then you don't have to deal with bajillion school field trips.  But overall it wasn't that bad.  We got there around 10:30am (Baltimore is about 1.5 hours one way from the castle) and we walked around the aquarium for about an hour.  We got our hands stamped and had  lunch at Bubba Gump - seeing all those fish in the aquarium made me hungry for seafood. And we walked around all the shops at the Inner Harbor. By the time we got back to the aquarium after lunch, all the field trips had left for the day.

At the McCormick spice store in the Inner Harbor, I was drawn to their vintage spice tin collection display. Which was not for sale.

Review of Totino's New Pizzeria Rolls

One of my favorite foods (besides ketchup of course) is pizza in any way shape or form (well I do have some limits - example - you'll never find me partaking of an olive, goat cheese and spinach pizza). So when I got a chance to review Totino's new flavors of pizza snacks for free and I would be given a prize pack for myself courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark, I said a big "yes please!" I was told to try all 3 new flavors which are Cheesy Garlic, Chicken Parmesan and Meatball Marinara. Unfortunately since it's such a new product the two grocery stores that I routinely shop at (Food Lion and Giant) does not carry them yet. But I was able to find 2 out of 3 flavors at another grocery store chain (Safeway) further away from the castle. They come in a 40 count package. I tried the Cheesy Garlic and Chicken Parmesan. The store either did not carry the Meatball Marinara flavor or else it's a popular flavor because I could not find them anywhere.

My favorite was the Cheesy Garlic because the cheese was actually stringy when melted (which is a good thing). They are full of cheesy, oooey gooey goodness. For those people who do not enjoy cheese - what is wrong with you?? It's good just as they are but I think they would also taste great with a tomato dipping sauce. The Chicken Parmesan didn't taste very chickeny to me, the ingredients list chicken but it must be very finely chopped. It still tasted good, but just not as I expected them to be.

As far as I know, their new line only comes in the big 40 count package. I like their smaller boxes (the 15 count snack) and would like be more likely to buy them if they came in the smaller boxes rather than the big bag. Full confession - I buy the smaller boxes - which is supposed to be 2.5 servings, but I can easily eat an entire box at one sitting. Even though they are called a snack food, I eat them as a lunch. I don't think of snack foods as something that should be warmed/cooked.

If you "like" the Totino's facebook page Totino's on Facebook, from time to time they have limited time coupons that you can use.

Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills and Totino's through MyBlogSpark.

Me and Oprah Winfrey in June issue of Essence magazine

Yes, you read that right. Me and Oprah are in the June issue of Essence magazine. But we are a few pages apart. The clutter article is on page 83 if you want to leaf thru it while standing in line at the grocery store. I am glad that the article was not on the reverse side of the two McDonald's coupons that are on page 87 because I plan on cutting those babies out.

I was on the radio CJAD in Montreal today for a talk about garage sales. Ahhhh Montreal. That reminds me of a girls trip to Montreal taken years ago (pre-marriage). Met some cute French guys and ate a lot of croissants. Double yum. Montreal is just a quick 3 hour drive up the highway from upstate New York.

My Big Announcement

Ok, here it goes. My big announcement. Today is the 20th anniversary of my 30th birthday! So feel free to call in sick for work, take a vacation day and/or celebrate any way you see fit.

I know you are in disbelief - and thinking that must be a typo. How can it be the 20th anniversary of my 30th birthday since I am so young, vibrant and energetic?? Easy - just living the good life! Better living thru yardsales!

And incase you would be so inclined to send a gift to commemorate the event, what I really would like is a ticket to go see Ellen DeGeneres for her 12 Dsys of Giveaways this December (so that gives you some time to acquire a ticket for me).

What happened to April???

Well here it is May already - and so sorry for the lack of posts lately. I know I know, a day without a post from me is like a day without sunshine.

Anyhow, I will be back soon with a BIG announcement on Monday so I will definitely be posting again soon.

Scored some good buys today including vintage Mego and Mattel action figures from the 70's for .50 each.

Oh, I don't want to tire myself out so much so I will end this now. I'll be back on Monday.

Nobody wants to buy your pee stained mattress

If you are thinking of trying to sell your pee stained mattress at a yardsale, save some time and don't bother.

I don't think I specifically put that on my yardsale tips page but I guess I need to.

p.s. my apologies for not posting a picture of actual pee stained mattress. I did not have my camera with me this morning and haven't figure out out to download pics off my $2 semi-smart phone.

Update on the exciting world of Yardsale Queen

So before March ends, I figured I'd better at least grace my blog with my presence at least once! So to quickly update everyone on my status, here goes. I've been busy, as usual. Buying stuff and more stuff.

And in sad news, my local fav grocery store fixed their prices. There was a glitch on certain items in the store which made certain things cheap. For instance, certain brands of laundry detergent were ringing up at $1 a bottle (when it should have been $2.99) and another brand that was ringing up at $1.72 instead of the normal $6.89 price. I think I'm the only one who realized it. I am still in mourning. I was a dreaded shelf-clearer many times over and over. And I did donate a lot to the local no-kill animal shelter since laundry detergent is always on their wish list.

The past few days there was a ginormous multi-day estate sale going on, so I went to that and took pics. Didn't buy anything too exciting there. For a 10 bedroom, 11 bath house (plus a urinal) the most exciting thing I found was a $1 purchase on a vintage tin of bandaids for my vintage bandaid tin collection.









The house is so damn big, it's tiring for me to think about what a pain in the ass it would be to maintain. Or say if you forgot something, how the heck are you go to remember where you last put something? Who wants to clean 11 toilets? Not me.

This Valentine's Day, get her what she really wants

The Clipper Coupon magazine came in yesterday's mail.  I always look thru it since sometimes there are some good restaurant coupons in it.  Well this issue is Valentine's related with a cover that says "give her what she really wants".  Can you guess what the woman wants??? Maybe like a day of pampering at the spa?? Or just some time to relax? Maybe, or maybe not. The answer to the age old question of what women want, is answered below.



I went to a nice event a few weeks ago - a work party held by my husband's work. It was held after hours at the Smithsonian Institute Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. As I've said before and I'll say it again - I love me some nuclear power. Hoity toidy food, open bar, music and Imax.   Plus I got to spend some alone time with the Hope Diamond - without having to be amongst the riff raff and the commoners. Now if only I had thought up a way to lose the security guard.









Nice little bauble:
















Similar to what I like to wear around the castle:


 Ohh spooky how the dinosaur has so many ghost bubbles surrounding it.




And now, drum roll please...... the answer to age old question "What do women really want???"

The answer is:  bathrooms, countertops, kitchens, carpeting and sinks.