A. I would buy a pair of shoes that was well-made, and very cute, and blew my budget to heck, leaving me feeling slightly ill...
or
B. I would feel totally defeated by the prices of shoes that fell into the well-made category, and would resign myself to buying a pair of cheapies from Target or some other such store, again feeling ill from knowing another purchase was imminent after the low budget compromise shoes fell to pieces.
Either way, I left feeling ill, so it was a lose/lose situation. Not these days, not since I've reformed my shopping habits. My little princess girl is starting kindergarten on Monday (sigh...) and she needs shoes desperately. So, I took my allotted $35, and set out with one of my boys, to see what I could get done.
Instead of a sick stomach, this is what $35 got me!!
A spankin' new spring form pan to make the chocolate peanut butter pie we've been eying for awhile... in the hopes it tastes as yummy as my Great-grandmas!
Lovely little violet Birkenstock clogs for the schoolgirl to be...
A very breezy and deliciously green J Crew dress for mommy, so she can also look lovely on the first day of school...
A precious patchwork Naartjie top for the little lady...
A second pair of shoes for kindergarten, made from recycled tires, and recycled AGAIN, by us!
A little Lands' End daisy skirt with built in shorts, for little girls who adore cartwheels and skirts, a potentially embarrassing combination.
A pair of Keen back to school shoes for big brother...
A precious Hanna Andersson fall jacket, which, sadly does not fit the girl-child, but happily, will fetch mommy a nice profit on ebay, hence-forth paying for the majority of these purchases...
A splashy, bright, new with tags Gymboree bubble skirt...
A new with tags Gymboree Watermelon Picnic outift...
And one cute little gift for the aspiring student...
It will also get you a plate of delicious, homemade blueberry scones. Well, in our family, the early bird's are the ones who get the Blueberry scones. They are the fuel of choice for our crack-of-dawn Goodwilling adventures, and are generally eaten, warm and crumbly, while driving to our first stop.
Goodwill Blueberry Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon-ish of lemon zest (grated)
1/2 cup (1 stick) of diced, chilled butter
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat your oven to 450. Mix together your first 6 ingredients. Add in your diced, chilled butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter. Mix until the butter chunks are pea-sized, and well coated in flour.
Add your yummy blueberries, then gently fold in your buttermilk, to avoid squishing your berries. It's okay if a few squish. You may need to take off your rings (unless you want them permanently adhered to your fingers) and finish mixing your dough by hand, it will be pretty stick upon finishing, but should still form a nice ball.
Roll your dough out onto a floured surface, working quickly so the butter pieces don't soften too much (chilled butter gives your scones texture), and form a rough square that's about 1/2 inch thick...
Cut the square into four smaller squares, then cut each square in half diagonally to make triangles (tradition scones are shaped this way). Each small square will look like this...
giving you 8 scones total
Using a thin spatula, transfer your scones to a lightly greased cookie sheet, and sprinkle the tops with raw, or organic sugar. Pop em in the over for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, and serve.
Clean up!
HOW do you do that? I've never been good at 2nd hand stores, i think I need your system.
ReplyDeleteI have made it a pastime! I try to go 3-4 times a month, and I leave bright and early. I have a well mapped out route, that is fuel efficient, and a checklist of things I need. I usually only stop at Goodwill and Savers, and I do believe there are Savers in Canada as well! I usually hit up 4-5 stores, and spend about an hour at each one. It's a full day, but it's great fun, and it's totally worth the savings, esp considering we have 5 kids. I think what I've learned is that I never dismiss a section, I fly through EVERY item in the section I am browsing, and that's where you find the hidden gems. :) Whew, what an answer!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Missy Jill, I've never had any luck at Goodwill. I'm impressed with the springform pan too! Is there a certain day of the week that is better than another? I can't believe you found items with the tags still on them. I am totally impressed and can't wait to see what you get next week.
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