You know I love a thrifty deal

I can't help it. I have gotten to the point that if I can't find it gently used or have a coupon for it, it kills me to buy it. I have also been taught by my dad that you buy the best quality that you could afford. So for me, I would rather wait and wait for that quality to creep up at a great price then run out and buy brand new of cheapo crud. I will search and search for what I am looking for until I go nuts. I just do.

Anyway, this last weekend was the best. I've really gotten into trying to be self reliant. Don't ask me why but I have. I don't really know how to can but I do know what you need to do it. I ran across a yard sale that was selling canning stuff. The lady that pulled up right before me bought all of the jars, pectin, and lids/rings CHEAP! Bummer! I mean really cheap.

Side note: I also went to a thrift store while my mom was in therapy last week and ran across two boxes of jelly jars for $5 total! I was so excited! They were $.25/jar in perfect condition and just put out on the shelf according to the date of the tags.

Back to my excitement. The lady at the yard sale was also selling those big canning pots with the jar rack and a strainer thingy. And she sold it to me for...$2.00! I was so excited. It also made me feel good when I bring it back to the car and Gunnar goes, "Oooh mommy, I like that!" So I don't know how to can but I am slowly collecting the "stuff" to one day do it (really what it is, I just don't have time or energy to do it this year).

Gunnar insisted on having a picture with it. Not sure why but he is mildly obsessed with the strainer though.
Right after this find, we were headed to another yard sale that advertised a rug that I wanted. They advertised it for $20 and it was a little lighter than I would have hoped but at that price it would work. For 4 years I have wanted a rug for the front room but was too cheap to pay the price for a new one. I couldn't bring myself to doing it. I just couldn't. The bummer thing about the sale is that it had been going on since the day before, so it may not be there anymore. I was willing to take the chance. As we neared the place, I could see it layed out. I was so thrilled. I was even more thrilled to see that it was marked down to $15. It was in perfect condition. The owners redecorated and could not find another spot for it. She said that they tried really hard but it didn't work any where else. I was also really excited to find that the color was darker in real life. It was the perfect color for me. I was a very happy girl. Now that obsession is over. That afternoon, we were headed to a free carseat safety check in Meridian at the Baby Daily. The best part is that I called in earlier in the week for the FREE booster seat for the first 100 checks. Oh ya I was stoked. I looked up the brand of the booster seat and it retails for $100. Seriously!? Gunnar was getting to where we could get away with one of these. Plus free, I would save it if he wasn't.

We did learn that our carseat in the car was the cleanest that the lady had seen. We also learned that we had it installed perfectly tight (she was impressed) but did not install the tether at all. We also learned that our carseat is 3 years expired! Oops! Not the best. Thank goodness for that free booster seat.

We heard about a new food storage store in Meridian called Food 2 Store, so we checked that out as well. I found free water barrels a while back and we needed a pump to get the water out if the need arose. They were really reasonable and I was really excited for another food storage resource. They are a great compliment to the LDS cannery. They carry a lot of what the cannery does not. What I really like was that they had freeze dried meats, fruits and cheese among other things. Can't wait to get more from them.

On the way home, we stopped at my mom and I's (is that a word?) new found snow cone place. On Karcher next to the farmers market place, we noticed a drive up coffee shop thing that advertised hawaiian shaved ice any size for $1. We finally gave it a try and fell in love! It truly is $1 for any size and it is the best shaved ice. And, we swear, they don't dilute the syrup much. It is so yummy and concentrated and they don't scrimp on it either. So on our way home Jeff, Gunnar and I stopped for a snow cone. We are now one short of getting a free one. You only have to get 8 punches for a free cone so that is a thrifty deal indeed and they are soooo good.

Saturday was a really fun day. For $20 everything was perfect.