Friday finds

If the boys are with me on the thrift store rounds, I am limited to walking by the furniture directly to the toys with a quick stop by the books on the way out. I was only able to notice this jacket — purple corduroy? in my size?! — because it was on the rack nearest the toys. If you are a thrift store regular, you are familiar with the color discounts. Each week or day has a different color 50 to 75 percent off. (Or maybe that is just our stores?) Excellent way to keep the store inventory fresh. So while the jacket was $6.99, that day's color was orange making it 75 percent off. I did a little happy dance out the door with my new $1.75 jacket. 

I only got to one thrift store during the annual summer trip to Memphis. (Maybe next summer, Mom and I can take a day to really explore. Seems most of the thrift stores are located on Summer Avenue.) This vintage orange clutch was marked $9.99. Again, it matched the color tag on sale, making it 50 percent off. Still a bit pricey but I kept it in my hand as I walked around. At the register, I was told it was not on sale BUT it sure shouldn't be marked 9.99 either. I may not buy a clutch for $5 but I sure will take it home for $1. And the clerk went ahead and gave me the 50 percent discount. Score!

So now me, my purple jacket and orange clutch need a fun place to go this fall. 

Find anything good recently? Doesn't have to be a thrift store find — maybe you fell in love with a book or movie? A new restaurant in your town? Please share!

Worth the trouble?

Last month I brought home some garden tomatoes from Mississippi. 

So many that I thought filling the freezer with tomato sauce was a great idea. 

Three hours later I had one messy kitchen. 

What was I thinking? That it would be a fairly easy project?! For one thing, all that work and time resulted in one measly cup of sauce. Now granted, it was a really, really yummy cup of sauce (recipe from Smitten Kitchen) that Chris and I enjoyed for dinner. The boys wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole, but that's nothing new. It was my first time making sauce and I had no idea that once you get rid of the juice and seeds, there's not much to a tomato. I give myself an A for effort. And the permission to keep enjoying the stuff from the jar.

Random Thoughts No. 22

Will is now a big fan of Battleship. He wanted to rush out and buy the board game after playing at a friend's house. We're not rushing out to buy anything these days so I suggested he might get lucky at the thrift store. It took a few weeks, but he did finally (finally!) find the game (and actually batted his big brown puppy-dog eyes at someone who was eyeing the same game to secure it. Hoping he will only use his power for good in the future!). Between visits to the thrift store, we went old school and printed the game off the computer. I love Cathe's vintage printable at Just Something I Made.

Will (and his daddy) is also a big fan of Minecraft now. I was wondering when the obsession would come to my house. You build things with blocks. For my Lego-lovin' household, it was not a matter of if, but when.

At this moment Joseph is watching the Nova episode "Lizard Kings" on Netflix for at least the sixth time. I can't complain; it is educational. And it inspired a visit to our zoo to see the Komodo dragon there.

Good reads: I found these recent articles on parenting worth sharing ...

Spoiled Rotten Why do kids rule the roost? by Elizabeth Kolbert/The New Yorker
My kids are going to start helping more around here! As soon as I make their breakfast, fold their laundry and cater to their every demand.

Phases and Moments by Kara Gebhart/Huffington Post Parents
Because this parenthood ride is up and down and when you're down, you need a reminder that the ups are coming. I've read this again and again.