Mrs. Roy's Great Deals Day

Mrs. Roy went thrift store shopping today and snagged some GREAT deals.  Check this out!

Mrs. Roy picked up this Cappelli purse for $3.50 - it looks brand new and Mrs. Roy can only find one on EBay that is starting at $6.

And this gorgeous woven lined jacket for 50 cents.  Yep, 50 cents!

 

And these cute Thomas the Train plates and bowls for $4.00 total.  On Amazon, one plate, one bowl and a tippy cup sell as a set for $15!  Mrs. Roy's grandsons are going to love coming to Grandma's house and eating out of these!

And this great vest for 50 cents!

And these gorgeous shoes were $4 a pair.  The ones on the left are Coldwater Creek and the other ones are Via !Sola.  Both of them look brand new and Mrs. Roy has no problem wearing second-hand shoes as great as these!

And this Jansport Auburn sweatshirt was also a deal at 50 cents; Mrs. Roy's boy is a big Auburn fan and he will look really good in this sweatshirt that will keep him warm now that he's moved north for his new job.

Of course, the problem with thrift store shopping is that Mrs. Roy sometimes ends up buying things Mrs. Roy would have been perfectly happy not owning except that they were such a good price.  There must be some balance in there somewhere and so that is why Mrs. Roy has opened an account at a local consignment shop.  Mrs. Roy is presently selling four pairs of jeans bought for $1 each at yard sales that didn't fit Mrs. Roy or the granddaughters or daughter when they got home, a Tommy Hilfiger suede jacket bought for $3 at a yard sale that also didn't fit, a handpainted jacket bought for $3 at a thrift store that Mrs. Roy thought about keeping but decided to make a nickel or two instead, a name-brand jacket given to Mrs. Roy that didn't fit, a skirt bought for $1 that didn't fit and a suit that Mrs. Roy can't quite squeeze into anymore.  Notice that most of these items were sizing mistakes and/or related to Mrs. Roy's increasing width - something better not mentioned. 

So, Mrs. Roy's way to shop is to find a great bargain and then brag about it!  Thanks for coming along.  Seriously, though, buying used is good for Mrs. Roy's personal economy, good for the environment by eliminating packaging and the need to produce new goods and Mrs. Roy can bless her family with great bargains.  And the consignment store donates unsold items to charity after 90 days so it's all good. 

Life is so good.

How Much Stuff Do You Have?

How much stuff do you have?  Mrs. Roy means really - how much stuff do you have?  Are you one of those folks who just knows all the drawers and cabinets and tabletops are full or are you one of those folks who knows where everything is all the time?

A few years ago, Mrs. Roy ran across Flylady.net, a great organizational website.  Flylady really changed the way Mrs. Roy looks at things, especially the question about how much stuff we have.  Flylady challenged Mrs. Roy to go through the house and gather like items.  Mrs. Roy had cleaning supplies in every bathroom, the kitchen, the laundry room and the garage.  When it was all gathered, Mrs. Roy discovered she wasn't going to have to buy any cleaning supplies for a long, long time.

The same thing happened with scissors.  There were some in the kitchen, some in the bedroom, some in the living room end table drawer, some in the sewing box, some in the bathroom.  Once they were gathered and put in one place, finding a pair of scissors became a non-issue.

How many extra bars of soap do you have sitting around your house?  Are there some in each bathroom and maybe some in the laundry room cabinet or the linen closet?  What about shampoo and other personal products?  What about tape?  That stuff gets stuck everywhere - and Mrs. Roy's not talking about the adhesive, either. 

The benefits of this exercise are many.  First, if you designate one place for each item, you will always know where to find it.  Second, you will save money by not buying duplicates of things you already have.  Third, you will cut down on clutter all over the house.  Fourth, the peace of mind of not having to search every drawer in the house for the scissors or tape will be wonderful.  Fifth, you will save time by not having to hunt so you will be able to spend more time doing things you enjoy.

So, how much stuff do you have?  Start small; designate a place for the scissors and gather them from everywhere.  Next might be ink pens or cleaning supplies.  Just keep breaking it down and do one or two items at a time; soon you will know exactly how much stuff you have and that will save you time and money every time.

Life is good.

Goodwill Toward Men

Mrs. Roy has been reading a great blog recently that has shared a series of posts called Goodwill Toward Men.  Mrs. Roy loves her reminders of worthy causes and practical ways we can help those around us, not just during this Christmas season but all through the year. 

As Mrs. Roy tries to walk in His steps, it is a joy to find others following the same path.

Mrs. Roy's Holiday Treat Recipes

A month or so ago, Mrs. Roy promised to post some favorite holiday recipes, so here they are.  Fill up those cookie jars and Enjoy!

Rolo candy

Place small pretzels on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. They can touch; it doesn’t matter. Put one rolo candy on each pretzel. Put the pan in the oven at 250 for about 4 minutes; just long enough for the candy to get soft but NOT melted. Remove from the oven and push a pecan half into each candy. Put the entire pan in the frig for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process; then they are completely hardened again, you are done!

Acorns

Use bite size Nutter Butter cookies and Hershey kisses. Melt a small amount of chocolate and dip the bottom of each kiss, then press onto a cookie. When they have cooled a little, put the rest of the melted chocolate in a zip lock bag and cut a small corner off the bottom. Squeeze small drops of the chocolate onto the other side of the cookie to resemble a stem.

 Magic Squares

Melt 1 stick butter in a 9 X 13 pan. Pour in 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs and stir together and press out to make a crust covering the whole bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup coconut and 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips over the crust. Then pour one can of sweetened condensed milk over the entire pan. (Or you can pour the milk in first and put the other stuff in afterwards; either way works). Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until the edges and coconut are browned. Let it cool completely and cut into squares. You can make small squares because it is very rich!