A lovely new organic market opened across from the public market in our city. As a promotion, I got a postcard from them in the mail yesterday. For 30% off…. ENTIRE PURCHASE. I think my husband was a little scared by how gleefully I clutched that piece of paper. It felt like a present! I’m pretty certain they didn’t anticipate someone filling up a cart or two of groceries and then presenting that postcard, but I read it 47 times and there is no fine print! I am working really, really hard at reigning in our grocery budget (a post for another time), and this will go a long way towards that goal for this month. Yay!

Looks like I covered all of this week’s sage finds highlights on Monday! Instead, I’ve got my swap bounty to share, finally, after bringing a camera cord home from the office…

Last Sunday I hit a Swap-n-Bitch at a local bar (the same bar that’s hosting a “Make a Monster” event for kids tomorrow that we can’t wait to attend) which was about 80% women’s clothes and 20% men’s, household, and three enormous trash bags of fabric one woman happened to bring. Yes, I got a cute blue shirt and a green sweater I can wear to work, but oh, the fabric!

Not sure what my favorite is… the green flannel alligators? The white quilted swiss dots? The light blue with milk and cookies print? It’s a real nice pile for fun kid-directed projects like the treasure pouches and doll dresses we’ve been creating lately. All that I got rid of four Envirosax of my own clutter!

Then, Monday night the local Holistic Moms Network chapter hosted a kid’s clothes swap. I brought two Envirosax of the 6-9m clothes we just put away and came home with 22 items from 12m - 5T.

My favorite here is the 18-24m Mini Boden navy & white striped shirt w submarine applique, I think. Or maybe the french blue and white Hanna Andersson pants? Either way, I got lucky. On both accounts, and for free. I think if I could go to a swap every 2-3 weeks, I would be beyond happy and my house would be so clutter-free!

Because of a favorably located meeting this morning, I had the opportunity to make a few stops and still make it to work on time. First, I ran into Target. Over the weekend, my husband brought home a big bottle of our laundry detergent that, I noticed, happened to be on 30% clearance.

I thought perhaps I would find a few more bottles at that great price, but I’ve also been hearing about some crazy good finds (A color printer for $20? A double stroller for $30?) so I basically cruised the clearance end caps in a few departments and found something fantastic! We’ve had a Panasonic cordless phone set we’ve loved for years but have always wanted a 3rd handset. I found this:

The original Target price was $119.00, the clearance price was $29.99, and when I paid I got a $5/$50 coupon that printed with my receipt. (You can get the same phone for $71 at Amazon right now, if you’re in the market. And unfortunately, the laundry detergent has mysteriously returned to its normal price.)

My next stop was our local department store, where I happened to be about 4th in line for the big cosmetics class action settlement. I got my free Clinique and I was out of there to a neighboring Children’s Place where I returned some holiday sleepers we got as gifts for a larger size. (Why am I buying 12-18m items for my babies? Where has the time gone?) I owed them $0.43 in order to get the sleepers in the patterns I wanted.

I was happy, for obvious reasons, but also because I had three really painless transactions for things I could really use. I got $200+ worth of merchandise for $30.42 (or $25.42 if you factor in the coupon that printed), too. If you have the discipline not to blow your budget or buy things you don’t really need, it looks like Target stores are indeed full of good finds.

I love Isabooties. They’re machine-washable, soft, vegan, and adorable. I have two pairs in a larger size that P wore, but wanted a set for the little boys to keep their feet warm (and their socks on) in the winter.

I have a million eBay email alerts running at one time. Things I have and want to sell, to see how many are listed and what they are priced at. Things I love that I want more of or need to replace, in case someone lists some. And then a simple alert, just for “isabooties,” hoping to score a pair or two or three for less than  $29.00 (retail)!

I was delighted this morning to get my alert for a variety of sizes and colors at $12.00/pair!!! I have no experience with the seller, so of course buyer beware, but I know I will be ordering 3 pairs today.

I had some errands to run yesterday and P (our 3.5 year old) happily came along with me. One was to take advantage of the coupon and Tom’s of Maine deal at Walgreens. P needed a new Silly Strawberry toothpaste anyhow and we seem to go through a tube of toothpaste every 6 weeks, so having a few extra on hand (and for an end total of $2/tube) seems pretty reasonable.

We stopped at two garage sales on our way home and got some really nice things! One of the few plastic toys I’ve found that are durable and not too intolerable are the baby toys by Leapfrog, so to pick up the Learning Drum for $2 was a treat. P selected the Thomas puzzle set (3 49-piece puzzles and a story book) for $0.75. Not pictured, because at the moment I can’t remember where I stashed them, are two adorable Aborsba girls outfits that are in perfect condition. I’m adding them to my HUGE resale pile because I know I will get more for them at the consignment store than the $1 I paid for both. Throw in the teething toy and we paid an even $4 to our neighbors.

Down the street, I grabbed a bag full of work clothes for $10 –  2 pair of pants, 2 awesome cotton sweaters (always a plus for those of us allergic to wool!), 2 button down shirts and 4 knit shirts — in that pesky size 14. Someday I’ll be a 10 again, but until then I’m not going to spend a lot of money on clothes.

The real pick-up for Saturday was at the farmers market, though. Some Whole Foods marketing folks were there putting $30 off coupons on cars. We got to talking to one guy and he handed us a whole stack! Now, you have to spend $50 to get $10 off and $100 to get $20, so 7 of those coupon (expiring 10/31) would be a little excessive for most families. Not ours! I work a few blocks from the store, so it’s not out of my way to visit frequently, and if I am in for our regular grocery purchases, the formula we special order each week, and a little stockpiling, I will use them all, for sure!

My husband’s cousin happens to own a quilting shop near us, so I piled the kids (and the sitter) in the minivan today and went to check out some fabric in person. The Amy Butler print I loved so much was too light in color and the print was huge, so I knew I was going to pass on that. I found a fat quarter of something I really love, but they no longer stock it. Of course, the exact amount I need is for sale right now on eBay for a great price, so I think it’s a sign.

What do you think?

This weekend, we’re buying a used triplet Runabout stroller.

They are an ugly industrial grey with bright blue seat covers. Ugh. Fortunately, a fellow triplet mama has an Etsy shop, Tip to Tip, where she sells the custom seat covers she designed. I want to select my own fabric and have a few front runners:

Echino birds (too hipster?)

Amy Butler leaves (too grown up?)

Michael Miller peapods (too literal?)

Organic Mod Green Pod Kids (too… not yet available for sale, unfortunately)

What’s your favorite? Anything else in blue or green that is stroller appropriate but not too old or too young?

Since I last posted a victory shot, I hadn’t had the best weeks at rummage. Until today. I went to a handful of sales this morning, but then around 2pm one of the babies was fussy and the rest were asleep, so my husband suggested that I take R out and hit some garage sales. Who was I to argue?

I noticed some late posts on craigslist in a neighborhood adjoining ours so I headed out that way. I stumbled across a few signs for a sale on my way home so I decided to stop. I was so tentative, based on what I could see from the car, that I left baby R in his infant seat with the minivan door open, assuming I would take a peek and then come right back (he was about six feet away from me, don’t worry). I was so very wrong…

The family having the sale has one child, a boy. They were parting with his perfect condition size 4-7 clothes for $3/bag. I grabbed the infant seat from the car and started making piles. I took about half of the clothes! I got 7 pairs of pants, 2 button down shirts, 3 pairs of pajamas, 2 long sleeve t-shirts, 2 pairs of cargo shorts, 1 sweat suit, and a pile of underwear, for $7, or less than a quarter a piece. All brand names: Gap, TCP, Gymboree, Ralph Lauren. I spent another $1 on a much-needed twin Ralph Lauren Home sheet set that will fill out the used Pottery Barn Kids odds and ends we use in our older son P’s room. They threw in some vintage fabric, of the type I collect, on top of everything.

Also inbound this week was the first of our 4 Halloween costumes. Our precocious P decided he should be the big bad wolf and his brothers could be the little pigs. I’ve won 2 on eBay, one which arrived yesterday.

Baby Gap, size 6-12m. If you happen to have one laying around, or a wolf in 3T, I’ll take them off your hands

I made out well at the rummage sales today, so I thought to myself if people can post their victory shots from CVS, why not from thrifting or yard saling, too?

Here is my bounty:

• Anne Klein driving moccasins, soles appear unworn, in my size, $2
• Converse One Star sneakers, soles appear unworn, also in my size, $3 (I will be swapping out the laces, though!)
• 6 books including 2 Eric Carle, 1 Richard Scary, and 1 Sesame Street, $2.25
• 1 Old Navy lounge set, $2
• 1 Pottery Barn throw pillow with down insert, $3
• 5 Lamaze baby toys, including 2 desperately needed carseat clip-on toys, $5

I spent more than I usually do, but these were all things we definitely needed. Except maybe the pillow which, like picture frames, is a weakness for me. Oddly, I encountered no boys clothes, which is generally the bulk of my purchases, making it a really unusual week for sure. I never buy more for myself than for my boys!

I conservatively estimate the retail price of these items around $180 ($40 for the green shoes, $30 for the sneakers, $30 for the books, $20 for the clothes, $25 for the pillow, $35 for the toys). I paid $17.25. Not too shabby. I just tossed all of the Lamaze toys into our frontloader with a drop of method free & clear laundry detergent and a bunch of white vinegar, and now they’re drip drying in our bathroom, good as new!