Thrifting day with Julia!

today, julia and i had our second thrifting adventure! we decided we would look up a few thrifts local to goodwill and see what we could find. we had a pretty good day overall. it's been awhile since ive blogged but i thought it would be fun to share our adventure!! we planned to hit up smithfield, ri area...but we saw a facebook post from co-op consignment in putnam, ct and knew that HAD to be our first stop! they got some stunning vintage glass pieces in. we ended up picking up this adorable clear fairy light for our good friend (they have the most amazing indiana glass pieces in that we were drooling over!!) this is always one of my favorite places to shop--the owners and employees are all great, the store is clean, and there is always something new! i go there at least once a week and almost always pick something up!!

next stop brought up into chepatchet, ri to the twice blessed thrift shop at the union church. it was clean and well organzied. it was a super cute little building that was easy to navigate. prices were very good. Julia got a cute little basket and i got a victoria secret pj set. lady running the show was very lovely!

stop number three was another church...the church mouse thrift shop at the episcal church in smithfield. this one was a bit smaller and had mostly clothing but did have some super cute kitchen items and a little gift like section where the employees were with some gorgeous mouse cards that the lady who was there made herself! staff was friendly and were happy to explain anything we had questions on! julia got a uconn shirt...i picked up several cute items including some toms shoes and a pampered chef stoneware but im in the middle of a giant clean out and i didnt want to pick up to much today. prices were decent, a bit higher than a typical church thrift but very reasonable (i think shirts were $4 and dressy jackets $8)

from there we headed further into smithfield stopping at the pal humane society thrift...they closed in 15 minutes, we looked around the frist few aisles but the lady told us she wanted to close early because it was going to rain and not so kindly asked us to leave (just as i was picking up some books to buy!) so we liekly wont be back...got some quick lunch at mcds ($6 value menu for the win!) then headed to our main event, which was goodwill. i like this goodwill because it feels cleaner than the others (maybe its because its newer??) it tends to be hit or miss for finding goodies, but we did good today! julia found a few nice tops and a photo frame and i hit the toy motherload (and couldnt pass up an adorable rae dunn canister set!)

overall, we had a great day! we found a few new places to visit and got some fun items to enjoy!

Happy birthday, Grimace!!

 Today Boss babies number 3 & 4 had dentist appointments. number 4 has some funky dental stuff going on--but took all the poking and prodding (and removal of his spacer and bar) like a champ & number 3 had a clean dental bill of health so I took them to mcds in sturbridge for a treat. Both boys got a grimace meal with the promise that they will share their shakes with their mother. I liked that you get to choose between a big mac and nuggets (my kiddos are....well, kids...so they got nuggets). In addition, you get a french fry & a grimace shake. The shake is SO good. It's like a berry vanilla and a fun shade of purple! It was lunch time on a summer weekday so the place was SLAMMED--the manager running around like crazy was wonderful. She was jumping back and forth and making sure people were being taken care of. The young guy taking order was customer driven--he was very nice to the grouchy man who yelled at him because his food was taking 15 minutes--and then hand delivered it to his table when it was ready. he also came out to the lobby to make sure everyone who was waiting was good. We waited a bit but had a really good experience. side note--i filled up my SUV for $3.19 a gallon at that newer station on 131! there was one cheaper one--the older getty station near big bunny--but its a harder in and out. It's worth nothing since gas in my town is currently $3.79. 

baby boss #3 gives his shake feedback! 👍

waiting for food :) 

excellent ebay buyers

 Update on the usps case...I opened it on the day they instructed...the item started tracking again the very next day!! I guess it was found and sent along. I had JUST refunded the buyer (you have to have either sent a refund or a new item if filing a claim....). I was a bit stressed as it was a pricey item. I messaged the buyer right away to let her know it was en route...and the first thing she asked was "how do i pay you!" she was possibly the sweetest customer I've dealt with! I told her to wait until it arrived safe and sound (which was today!). With in 20 minutes of the delivery notification I got, she had messaged me, gotten my paypal, AND paid back the refund! She went above and beyond to make sure I didn't end up with nothing from the sale & im so grateful! great buyers are worth their weight in gold--this transaction could have easily been a disaster for me (and the amount covered lunch for Chantelle & I at olive garden!). 

first usps claim

 Today I had to place my first USPS claim for an item lost in transit. It's giving me flash backs to when I had to do a UPS claim for a damaged item. OH THE HOOPS. It was an expensive item I was selling with my partner (business partner yall chill) so both of us had money just sitting. My label came with $100 protection--but it was a facebook label. And facebook marketplace has ZERO seller support. nada. nothing. zilch. I sent so many messaged that the bot that was replying to them refused to reply any more. I broke the bot....no human to be found. So I called UPS and they said open the claim anyway so I did...but they sent the claim paperwork to facebook and it HAD to get filled out...so call back I did...and got them to send it to me directly...lots of back and forth (I needed a UPS account...so I made one...then the system said my number wasnt valid so I couldn't file...then the CS rep gave me an email to send it to....) back and forth for months...I FINALLY get confirmation than my claim is approved and the check is getting sent....TO FACEBOOK! I've never gotten on the phone so fast. I got ahold of someone who was able to cancel it and get it sent to me. I wait two weeks...no check....so I call back...the very nice guy had changed all the info....but NEVER SENT THE CHECK!! So finally finally...this other very nice guy promises it'll be sent tomorrow...swears on his life and invited me to call to check up on him the next day. I did not do that...but a week later I had my check...claim filed before Christmas....check received in APRIL. So the motto when dealing with the UPS is dont give up! (and I'll still use them over fedex any day!). So the point of this little story...pray that the USPS is more efficient. The paperwork was easier anyway...long reign the united state postal service. 

Todays yard sale adventures

 I've been excited about today for weeks--Woodstock town wide yard sale. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans--rain starting around 10. So it's moved to next week, but the southern Baptist church was still having one, along with the church on main st in Danielson so we headed out. Got a few neat odds and ends at each (including some Boy Scout stuff for my troop leader friend who is always looking for pieces for both his collection & to give out to troop families who can't afford uniforms). We decided to drive around and see if we could find some yard sale signs--and signs we found! We ended up finding about 4 other yard sales...an unlikely occurrence, but I purchased items at every sale! Found some of my favorite things to find (princess house heritage for my mama, brand name clothes at great prices, books, & Disney!). As we were headed home the sky opened up and the rain came down--so we had some good luck all around. Very pleased with the day! 

Life update (years later...)

 So I was chatting as I do most days with my friend Link (shout out to one of the literal best line buddies!). And he was like "hey you should blog" and I remembered I have a blog...so a lot has changed. I no longer work at McDonald's. I stay home with my kiddos & sell on Facebook eBay poshmark & mercari. Hubby has been kicking butt at work, giving me a little freedom to learn and explore. And the ability to do all the concerts (upcoming: pop 2k tour, hanson at Foxwoods, and 6-yes 6!-pentatonix shows). I have a lot of projects going on at all times (my business partners aka Earl & Troy and I love storage unit auctions--a lot of work but always unique!). My current project is a huge lot of vintage strawberry shortcake & barbie & the last of a storage unit of books. First two were yard sale scores, last one was a gift from an awesome lady who is always saving me bubble wrap & boxes! I've sorted the books into list yard sale & donate and sorted strawberry shortcake into little lots for eBay. I need to photograph and list the books and sort barbie stuff still--it's a lot of work but it's fun & interesting. Beats flipping burgers anyway! 

Update to my whirlwind life

 

Hey all you cool cats & kittens!!!

So its been a hot minute. 5 years actually. A lot's changed, a lot's stayed the same (I still do influenster!). My wonderful new-ish friend reminded me I had this blog. And I thought it'd be fun to jump back in. I like to write (am I good at it? debatable....). So what's changed: I still love a good deal. I don't coupon as much (I'm getting lazier as I get older it seems...), but I love to find clearance and sales. I'm still a sucker for trying new products. Influenster remains one of my favorite ways to do that. I've started focusing on selling online--I'm digging ebay, poshmark, and mercari. Starting to get into shipping with facebook market place. I've been able to grow that enough that I've been able to switch to part time at work and be home more with my kids (still four boys--no, we aren't trying for a girl). I've started collecting my little ponies again. Still a concert fiend--this past year has been awful for that. I've made some amazing friends in some unique ways. This blog will still be very random--it's been suggested I write pieces on reselling, on ponies, on music...I have lots of ideas but no idea where I want to take them just yet. If there's anything you'd love to read about, please comment and I'll get to it! For now...hang tight & stream Pentatonix's the lucky ones!