Thrifty Treasures

I'm a huge fan of yard sales and thrift stores and sometimes I find some really great treasures.  We had a townwide yard sale recently and for around $30 I came home with a car loaded down with bag after bag of lovely new-to-me things.

The main things I wanted from this townwide yard sale were winter clothes for Goose (who is notoriously hard to buy for), a heavy pot to use as a water bowl, and a new coffee mug.  After a couple of hours of browsing and without even hitting half the sales I got everything I needed and more.

The best buy of the day was by far a huge dollhouse for the girls.  They don't need any more toys and I am extremely unpopular for always tossing old ones without asking them, but for $5 there was no way I could pass this thing up.  It even came with a bag of furniture.  It's been almost a week and Bug still rushes inside to play with it every day.

I also got her a Monster High car that was in brand-new condition for just $1.  She has a Barbie car that she's been using for years and it's seen better days so this was perfect for her large collection of dollies.

Anyone that knows me already is aware that I LOVE books.  Old books, new books, children's books, any kind of book has my attention.  So when I heard there was going to be a library book sale happening I made sure it was the first spot I hit up.  I think altogether I paid about $3 for all of these.  When I got home I realized I already owned Three Cups of Tea but it was still so cheap that I don't even care.
My brother and his wife are expecting a baby next year so I have made it my goal to be Awesome Book Aunt and build their library up with cute books and classic books. 

Goose already has a winter coat but this white one is so soft and fluffy and I could just see her wearing it and running her fingers through it.  She loves soft things and refuses to wear anything that isn't comfortable on her sensitive skin so for $1 this was a great unneeded but totally wanted present.  It had a $4 price on it but there was a huge stain up the sleeve that the owner hadn't noticed so she knocked it down to $1.  I brought it home and sprayed with some Shout and it came out looking brand new.

And since I can't forget Bug (who also already had a winter coat and did not in the slightest way need another one) I picked up this one from a slightly more expensive sale.  It was $10 which is still a steal from what the original price would have been.  It also comes with a muffler that still has the tag on it.  It's slightly too big on her right now so maybe she won't need it until her current coat is too small which means I didn't buy it for nothing.

I love buying my girls new clothes, espcially since they are at a size where finding nice used ones is getting harder and harder, but I also love coming across some great cheap things to help our seasonal clothes spending.  I got Goose a bag of leggings, pajamas and some plain-colored cotton tops that I know she will get great use out of this winter!

Goose and Bug Adventures- Heron Pond

Heron Pond, located just west of Vienna, is one of the easiest hikes we've done this year.  The terrain is flat and the paths are large.  This would be a great walk for people who aren't use to hiking.
We convinced a couple of people to join us on this trip.  My mother and Goose's best friend both came along for the ride and I'm hoping we turned them into adventurers like we are!

When you first enter the trail you cross a large bridge and it's beautiful rippling water on either side of you.

As you travel along you stay right beside the river for a while, turning with the water until you come to a fork where you can choose to continue on the trail and hike for as long as you want or you can go out onto a floating bridge and go right into the middle of the swamp.

We chose to do both paths.  First we went down the regular hiking trail where you come to a State Champion tree.  The girls were disappointed that the tree is a champion because of its girth and not the height.

After we turned around to head back we did the swamp bridge and it cheered them up a lot.  They loved that you go directly into the middle of the swamp until you can no longer see land around you.  It really feels like you are in the middle of nature, more than if you were on a paved hiking trail.

This was the farthest we've traveled for a trail so far and overall they enjoyed it.  They're already asking when we can go back and try one of the longer trails.  I had fun, but I like the scenic trails a lot more.  I want big rocks and mountains and hills to climb rather than easy breezy trails.

Nail Polish Coffee Mug

I've seen this craft everywhere lately and wanted to try it since I love coffee mugs and I have been adding a lot to my collection lately.
Since it's almost Halloween I really wanted to try a themed mug so I bought orange and black nail polish to try. 

What you need:

-White mug (I bought mine for $4 at Wal-Mart but I think going to a yard sale or Goodwill would be a better bet)
-  Painters tape
-  Nail polish
-  Deep bowl
-  Sealer (next time I'm going to look for a spray sealer instead of this one because it made the cut super slick)
 

Fill the bowl with water and tape around the rim of the cup.  You don't want polish or sealer where you put your lips.  Drip however much you want of each color into the water.  Do this quickly!  It starts to firm up after just a few seconds.  Dip the mug into the water being careful not to get any inside.  Pull it up and turn it upside down to dry.  I let mine sit for a few days just to be extra-careful.  Once it's dry cover it with your sealer and peel the tape off.  Make sure you let it dry a few more days before giving it a good handwash and always continue to handwash every time you use it.

As you can see the paint was lighter on the sides because I dipped it at a tilt so they didn't get much color but I love it like that.  I love all the layers and colors it made. 

The downside to this craft was that when the mug is filled with hot water the nail polish smell continued to stink up the room and I could not stomach trying to lift it to my lips to drink.  So to solve this problem I would continuously fill it with water every time I used my Keurig.  I'd turn it on, fill it up with the largest setting, set it off to the side until it cooled, and then drink my normal coffee out of a different mug.  After a week or so of doing this two times a day the smell disappeared.

Now I have a super cute and cheap Halloween coffee mug to only bring out once a year and cherish!

Goose and Bug Adventures- Bell Smith Springs

We've gone to Bell Smith Springs before but it was very confusing with all of the trails branching off from the main one and after about a half hour the girls were finished and ready to head home.  After that they had zero desire to go back even though I tried to tell them that this time we would go slow and not leave until we felt we had adequately visited the trail.
After forcing them out of the car we set off and the first thing we came across that they really enjoyed was a staircase leading down below the cliffs.  It pointed us towards the creek where we traveled parallel to it, snug in between the water and the high rock walls.

Goose loved the Natural Arch section of the trail.  She thought the tree growing out of the middle was beautiful and informed me that this was her new favorite trail.

There's a really gorgeous staircase on the other side of the trail that we didn't get to visit this time around but we had already been there a while and our feet were wet from crossing the creek to get to the arch so we decided to go home.  Next time we'll visit the staircase!

Goose and Bug Adventures- Rim Rock

In my first Shawnee National Forest post I mentioned a couple of our favorite places to go hiking but there are so many more in our area.  Every time we find a new one we decide that it's our new favorite.

One of my top places to explore is Rim Rock.  Rim Rock is located just a few minutes down the road from Garden of the Gods so the last time we went we did both of them the same day.  It was a hot and sweaty afternoon but the girls loved it.

As you enter Rim Rock the first thing you notice are the lines of giant stones all over the hill.  This area was home to an ancient Indian wall that was built somewhere around 1,500 years ago. 

The highlight of Rim Rock is without a doubt Ox-Lot Cave.  The viewing area on the way to it is beautiful and my girls love running back and forth on the deck.  To get to the cave you have to do a bit of work.  There's steps leading down from the main trail and you have to squeeze through a very tight crevice between two rocks.  Then there's some rocks that are occasionally slippery you have to get past. 

The cave is so large that I can't even fit it into the frame of my camera. 

The last time we hiked at Rim Rock we bypassed the main trail and took a side trail back to the car.  It was a great decision because we saw so much more scenery and were under the cliff's instead of just walking through trees.

The only downside I've noticed at Rim Rock is that it's not near as popular as some of the other trails.  The first time we went this summer there were zero cars there and it wasn't until we were almost back to our car that we saw someone else out there.  That's a little scary when you're alone with two little girls.  But out of all the places we've visited this summer Rim Rock is my definite favorite.  I think it's the prettiest and the hiking is more strenuous on the lower trail which is something I like.  My kids loved going through the tight squeezes and climbing the steps. 

Goose and Bug Adventures- Garden of the Gods and Giant City State Park

My girls have recently discovered that they are hiking junkies.  They want to go every week and they argue over whose turn it is to pick where we go.  Luckily we live right smack dab in the middle of a huge protected forest so there are no limit to the places we can visit.
A couple of the beautiful places we've ventured lately include:

Garden of the Gods

This area is most known for Camel Rock but there are a ton of breathtaking views all along the main trail.  I think Garden of the Gods is the most well-known area in the Shawnee National Forest but it's honestly not my favorite.  It's gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but it's always packed to the gills with visitors and there are usually a handful of falls off the rocks each year by people who don't believe in staying away from the edges.

Giant City State Park

We've been here twice this summer and really enjoyed it both times.  The trails are wide and we managed them with no problem and if you are lucky enough to come in the Spring it's easier to go off-trail and into the hidden nooks and crannies.  Our second time back was during the heat of July and it was too green to get far off the main track.
The first time we went this year was for a school field trip and our guide was really great.  He told us a lot about the history of the area and that the reason it's called Giant City is because of the huge stones that are lined up like skyscrapers.  So when the first settlers wrote home about it they described it as a 'giant city'.  The more you know.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them without my children in view so I will make sure and take more next time we visit.

Booktubeathon

If I'm going to go all in on readathons then I might as well just do all of them I think.
I mean, normal people read until their eyes hurt, right?
Readathons are fun because I enjoy the challenge aspect and I like searching for books that go along with them.  Even if I don't actually end up reading them (and I didn't with the last one but I still read a ton of books so I'm okay with it), it's just exciting to see a happy little stack of books on my dresser that are waiting for me to read.
Booktubeathon is starting in a few days and even though I work every day that week they're short shifts so I'll still have lots of time left over to read, read, read.

The Challenges:

1) Read a book with blue on the cover
     I just checked out two new library books that both have blue on the cover so I could go with either one.   The Other Daughter is shortish and is a historical fiction which is a genre I normally fly through.  The Truth According to Us is on the longer side so I don't know if I want to use it for the readathon or wait until it's over.  It really just depends on my mood.  Sometimes picking a book is based on how I feel at that moment.

2) Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name
      I think I'm going to go with Cry Wolf because the book was a quarter and I want to read it and ship it on out.  Also it looks short.

3) Read someone else’s favorite book
     There's not many people I talk to in person about books so I don't actually know anyone's favorites but I do know my mom loves Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston books.  She's the one who made me start reading them and I enjoy them a lot now, too.  So I'm grabbing Brimstone.  I know it's part of a series and I've read a couple of them out of order already.  They are usually pretty good as standalones.

4) Read the last book you acquired
     Going to kill two birds with one stone and use my book from the first challenge for this one, too.

5) Finish a book without letting go of it
     This might be a readaloud with Bug since we read together all the time or I might pick up My House in Umbria if I have time because it's a tiny slip of a book.

6) Read a book you really want to read
     The easiest challenge for me.  I'm finally going to read A Thousand Splendid Suns.  I've been putting it off for ages since it's the only Khaled Hosseini book I haven't read yet and finishing all of his books makes me hurt.  It's time though since I want to do a reread of all of them in a row one day.

7) Read seven books
     I'm going to hold off on naming a book for this since I will be busy with work and I don't want to commit to another book.  There's a couple of library books en route to me that could work for this or I could just use the ones Bug and I read together.