Sunday Sales

Getting something for a great deal or on super-sale is definitely one of my favorite feelings in the world. I always feel so frugal and resourceful! Ever since my mom starting seriously cutting coupons and planning out shopping trips to spend as little as possible, I hate paying full price for anything. It's not that I'm cheap (ok, maybe a little) but I spend a lot more time weighing my decisions - to buy, or not to buy. I have to really, really love something to be willing to pay full price (if that's anywhere over twenty.) Of course I have my weaknesses... dresses especially. Somehow $50 for a dress isn't as bad as $20 for shoes? I'm not sure... Anyway I found plenty of sales today and just had to share (I'm rather proud when I manage to save a bunch.)

This pair of Keds was originally $50 but I paid half that! I love Keds because they're soooo comfy, not to mention they look sort of like (use your imagination) these Sperry's that are $75. I've been jonesing for a pair of Sperry's forever and these are close enough for me to be a very happy camper.

(via: Keds)

This graphic eye mask from Urban Outfitters was marked down from $22 to only $4.99... sweet! Sometimes my room gets blindingly bright in the morning so I've been wanting a cute eye mask for a while, however I couldn't justify spending tons of money on one (I mean, my arm can do the same thing for free, right?) Another feeling I love is finding something you want/ need at a price you can actually afford.

Normally I can't get out of Urban Outfitters without emptying my wallet but today I left with three things for less than $15 which is probably the least I have ever spent there. Needless to say, I'm very proud.

Recent Thrift Finds

Not too long ago I went to an estate sale with my mom. It was the first one I've ever been to (which is really surprising, actually) and I absolutely loved it! An older couple had owned a four-unit apartment building but never rented out the units - just filled them with collections of stuff! How awesome is that? The estate sale was held over three days and advertised to have thousands of vintage apothecary jars, furniture, electronics... a little bit (or a lot) of everything. As we wound through the units I couldn't help but notice that each was equipped with a vintage stove and kitchen set, all in different colors and all so kitschy and charming (: Here are some of my findings of the day!

I bought all of this, plus an amazing glass Mrs. Butterworth's bottle from the estate sale for only four dollars! I was beyond excited. I had been telling my mom the day before that I really wanted a fish shaped Jello mold and it just so happened to be the first thing I found at the estate sale... What luck!

I swear my slide collection gets bigger every time I leave the house. There's something about them that I just love... I like to try and piece together the stories about them, or make up things about the people who were taking the pictures. My favorite slide here (and possibly out of all my slides) is the one in the middle. Probably because I have no idea what they're doing! They just seem to be enjoying themselves and being curious the way kids should be.

What is it about vintage scissors/ tools that I just can't get enough of? 

Another Jello mold that I scored for a dollar at Urban Ore. If you live anywhere near Berkeley and you've never been to Urban Ore you're seriously missing out. It's a giant warehouse filled with furniture, housewares, electronics/ music, hardware, a huge selection of miscellaneous doors, and an outdoor area of bathtubs, fencing, and really anything you could ever need. And all of their inventory is donated so the prices are amazingly low! Urban Ore is a local treasure.

Finally a stack of books that was entirely free! No price is ever better than that. Top to bottom: Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward (1942), The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (1955), World Guides: Italy (1965), Twenty Stories by Steven Crane (1945) and The Fondue & Buffet Cookbook (1970). Underneath those are several travel guides (Canada, Mexico, Southern California and Oregon) and Southern Living's Annual Recipe publication from 1988. All of these were found in the book bin at a recycling center in Albany.

Happy thrifting!

Country Style New Years

It's become a tradition over the past six years or so to drive up to the Central Valley for New Years. We spend the evening with my Great Aunt and Uncle and have a big dinner (fried turkey, normally; cioppino this year) and a huge breakfast to ring in the New Year. Every year, for reasons even I don't understand, I dread going. I guess it's just that a long car ride + an uneventful evening = a seemingly unpleasant trip. But every year I end up loving it. I spend at least an hour walking around the house taking pictures, reminiscing about all the summers I spent there as a child. No matter how much I pretend to hate going, it always feels like home when I'm there. This year was especially fun because my mom took me to the Feed & Seed to try on cowboy boots and then to some of my favorite antique shops (who knew a little nothing town like Oakdale could have some of the best antiques?) I scored an adorable vintage Valentine's Day card and a Brownie Holiday Flash circa 1960! 

Aldous in her car seat... what a cutie!

  

Black walnuts tree; I love the way the branches look.

China Doll - I remember when she was just a puppy... I think it was 1999? 

The beginnings of cioppinno...

Delicious pot o' crab!

Finished product... steamy cioppino!

My Brownie Holiday Flash! (Sorry for the poor quality... taken with an iTouch.)

Christmas Time

Christmas is a really huge deal in my house. It begins weeks before Christmas when we get the tree - it's a whole family affair. My mom and I decorate our house with tons of silvery, wintery decorations and plenty of glitter. Then on the 23rd we make sauces for tamales and my Grandma dedicates some time to slicing cheese into perfect-sized slivers. We wake up ridiculously early on Christmas Eve and run to La Finca for fresh masa. Since I was little I have loved carrying the bag of masa (a whopping 25 pounds!) because it's so warm when we buy it. It takes a few hours to whip out four dozen chicken tamales, and about two dozen sweet tamales. This year my dad, step-mom and little brother stayed with us so in the evening we drove around looking at pretty Christmas lights with Kai while Santa dropped off gifts at the house. The look on his face when we got home to a living room full of presents was priceless. 

Tamale ingredients: Chile verde with chicken, melty cheese, and sweet masa (for cinnamon-pineaple sweet tamales!) 

Steamy tamale time! Yummy yummy.

Gumdrop candles in the windows - so cute. The "curtains" were my brother's creative discretion (:

Ginger bread houses are so lovely... don't they just feel like Christmas?