Thrifty

So, it's last Friday at 8 am, and I've dropped the kids at school and I'm taking the ol' minivan for an oil change. As I'm driving, I see a sign off to the right - a big huge sign - stating - no, screaming, "GARAGE SALE TODAY!" I bet my tires screetched as I pulled into the nearest parking lot to turn back around.

Lo and behold, it was the sale I had been waiting for, watching for - the seemingly unadvertised annual sale at the convent.

I pulled onto the grass, where the cars were already lined up. My heart aflutter, I called Melissa - at home and on her cell - to tell her to meet me right away. I lined up. in the rain.

I went back to the car to look for a shopper bag and some rain gear. I had my sewing bag, which I emptied, and a broken, fuchsia, child-sized umbrella. I had to take what I could.

I ended up in line behing a woman who said she had on her running shoes so she could 'knock people down'. She was drinking a red bull and smoking a cigarette. She wore a poncho because she needed her hands free. I thought, "oh my god. where am I???"

The sisters showed us mercy and opened the sale 15 minutes early, due to the rain. There were people and umbrellas and nuns everywhere. It was madness. But even though my glasses fogged up, I got some good stuff:


oh, not these - I bought these at a local thrift shop last week (but aren't they great?):

These were marked as "dusters" - I had no idea what that meant, so I bought all of them. It turns out, they are unfinished women's housecoats, but more gown-like and sheer:

Of course I washed everything:

This was my real score - yards and yards and yards of vintage flannel, in two patterns:

Plus I also bought bags of scrap fabric, which I've already started putting to good use; two awesome paint by numbers; and a couple of new globes (to add to yet another of my collections - but more on that tomorrow).

Good stuff huh?

xoxo