Category Archives: Shopping

Show & Tell ~ Napkin Rings

For Show and Tell today I’d like to share some of my napkin rings. I’ve always enjoyed using cloth napkins and napkin rings when we have friends over. I have some of my collection with me at the condo in California. Some of the rings I collected before Dear and I were married. We bought two matching antique silver ones when we were in England together with a Christian Rock Band Tour before we were married.

 

The ceramic white and blue are Dansk rings that I picked up at Goodwill. The pearl ones I got at clearance from Target. The dark bronze swirly ones were a gift from my son and his wife for Christmas. The silver with the scrolled design are antique sterling silver ones we bought in England in 1974. The snowflake ones I bought at K-Mart Christmas clearance 90% off. The 4 seashell ones are antiqued pewter that I bought before we were married.

 

It’s always fun to change up my table settings with all these great bargain napkins and napkin rings.

For more Show and Tell head on over to Kelli’s at There’s No Place Like Home.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

WFMW ~Holiday Shopping Carnival

Ok I’m gonna so cheat this week and use my Holiday Shopping Carnival post for WFMW! Enjoy the shopping tips.

 Chili at Don’t Try this at Home is hosting a Holiday Shopping Carnival. Below are my suggestions for some fun gifts with links to where you can purchase them. Enjoy my little shopping post!

I think every blogger who takes a lot of pictures for their blog with their digital camera needs this great Gorillapod flexible tri-pod! You can order it from Amazon.

Aren’t these napkin rings sweet and festive. You can order them from Sur la Table, one of my favorite kitchen stores.

How practical is this for anyone who drives. Gas prices are crazy and this gas gift card would be something anyone would like. You can get them at your favorite gasoline provider.

 

This one is so much fun. Look at this cake pan and look at the marvelous cake you can make with it! You can order this at Sur la Table under bakeware.

Anyone on your list who has enjoyed Jan Karon’s books will love her latest book if they don’t have it already. Order it from Amazon.

I hope these items will help get your mind working for some creative gift giving this Christmas.

I Timothy 6: 17-19 ~ “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with every thing to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

To see more WFMW around bloggy world click here.

Ellen B. and Lana G! ~ Traditions

Whenever there is a holiday where stores remain open and we are both in Washington Ellen B. and Lana G! go shopping at the Bellevue Goodwill Store.

Lana picked me up at 9 AM and we headed south on the 405 Fwy.

Lana heads to the book section while I make a return.

Our cart is beginning to get filled. My first find were 4 Riedel wine goblets for $1.49 ea. (but because it’s Labor day they are 40% off!) That was a steal…

The cart is full and it’s time to sort through and leave behind whatever we aren’t thrilled with.

This was my stash…

So here’s the fun part of our shopping trip. Lana is paying for her stuff. Whoever’s bill ends up being the most gets to buy lunch for both of us, too! Lana usually wins and gets to pay for lunch.

Oops this time I spent $5.oo more than Lana so I get to buy lunch.

We were so excited to find a Russian deli close by.

We bought piroshky (Cabbage and Mushroom)

The borsch was lousy 😦  but we ordered a hot pastrami sandwich with it and that was great!

Another successful Labor Day Shopping trip for the girls in Washington. Blessings on your day.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Works For Me ~ Goodwill

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bargain hunter. Goodwill in Washington (not California!) has been a very good shopping friend of mine. I have found countless treasures there. Today I’m sharing one of my daughters prom dresses that I purchased at Goodwill for $7.  She’s the one in the metallic grey dress. Now some kids probably wouldn’t do this but she bragged about the cost and where the dress came from to all her friends. The necklace and earrings that she purchased cost more than the dress! When I wanted to give up shopping at Goodwill for lent Katie exclaimed, “Now what good would that do?” So y’all shopping at Goodwill works for me, it might work for you, too.

 

Just yesterday my daughter and I went to Goodwill and I found all 7 of the Chronicles of Narnia books for $1.49 each. They are the Full-Color Collector’s Edition. So Goodwill works for me for clothes, books, housewares, purses, etc. etc.

Now go on over to Rocks in My Dryer to see more handy dandy tips!

Works For Me ~ Cool Grocery Shopping

Time for Works For Me Wednesday again.  I’m not a one stop grocery shopper. I might stop at 3 stores in one shopping trip. In Southern California it will probably be Von’s, Ralph’s, and Trader Joe’s. I keep a soft-sided cooler in my trunk and throw a camping ice pack in it. Any frozen items I buy at store 1 and 2 go in the cooler so they stay frozen. I also add all the other cold items. This way I don’t feel like I have to rush home before I get all my shopping done.

I also have a stash of paper bags reinforced with plastic bags to use for Costco stuff when I shop there.

This works great for my shopping habits hope it can work for you…

Now if you’d like to see some interesting ideas from other people go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Show and Tell Friday ~ Rescued Mirror from Babushka

  ” Show and Tell Fridays “

 

My brother had odds and ends from old bedroom sets from our grandparents. When he was moving his household goods to Dallas from Los Angeles several items were destined for Salvation Army. I grabbed this dresser mirror before it was donated. After bringing it to our new little condo we contemplated what we’d do with it. I found the shelf that the candles and sign are on at HomeGoods one day. I hoped it was the right size for the bottom of the mirror. Whoopee, it fit well. Dear fastened it to the bottom of the mirror and we hung it on the wall in the dining room. It gives our room more depth and the shelf is nice for candles to add a nice glow during entertaining. Heritage rescued and now enjoyed.

Go on over to There’s No Place Like Home to see more “show and tell”

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ ~ John Piper

 

Yesterday I went to the dentist. My dentist is a sweet lovely young lady but I do not like going to the dentist! They put this thing in my mouth to hold it open and I thought I was going to die…I couldn’t flex enough to swallow.

I, being the shy person I am, pulled it out of my mouth and handed it to the dentist and said, “This isn’t working for me, I’ll just open my mouth wide for ya!” Since I made it through the appointment without crying or passing out I decided to reward myself with a trip to my favorite store in Washington, Goodwill. What’s the point of this story… “wait for it.”

Goodwill has afforded me many books I wouldn’t be able to pay full price for (at least in the quantity that I hoard books) Yesterday I gleaned several good books. One of them was Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper. I just have to share part of his Acknowledgements with you. It’s something we can all identify with if we belong to Christ.

I owe the writing of this book to Jesus Christ. He died in my place, the righteous for the unrighteous. God counted him, who was sinless, to be a sinner, so that in him I, who am a sinner, could be counted righteous. He opened the blind eyes of my heart and brought me to faith and repentance. By his Spirit he has come to live in my heart through faith, and is slowly working his character into my stubborn will. Not only that, but this Jesus Christ created the world, including me, and holds it in being by the word of his power. Every breath I take, every beat of my heart, every moment of seeing and hearing, every movement of my mind, is owing to the sustaining grace and creative power of Jesus. All other acknowledgments and thanks are secondary and dependent on this one.”

I actually had bought and paid full price for this book in Camarillo 2 weeks ago. Before I cracked it open to read, I found out one of the ladies in my Bible Study group was going to be baptized. I decided to gift the book to her for her baptism. A book called Seeing and Savoring Christ seemed like an appropriate Baptism gift.  I’m “tickled pink” that I got to replace my copy today at a bargain price. I also picked up 3 devotional books by Hannah Hurnard and a book called “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew ~From Fox Hunting to Whist ~ the Facts of Daily Life in 19th~Century England by Daniel Pool. Ahh, but I digress…”all of this is secondary and dependent on this one.”

Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the fistborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Blessings on you as you See and Savor Christ today!