The Toy Box Years: Thrift Store Finds

The Creators of the Toy Box Years

The creators of the Toy Box Years are my two beautiful daughters and wonderful, handsome soldier husband.

"Nani" (our oldest) is a 11 year old 6th grader who loves Taylor Swift, ballet, books, fashion designing and sewing. Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and it changes daily to anything from "an artist" to "a teacher" to "a singer/dancer". Nani is also currently fighting a battle against brain cancer -- recently diagnosed in June 2016.

"Nudgie" (our youngest) is a very smiley, very happy, very giggly, very spirited 8 year old 3rd Grader who's favorite toys are anything that gives mommy an anxiety attack - ladders, stepstools, the climbing wall at the playground. Like her sister, she has a love of reading and coloring, loves gymnastics and still provides mommy lots of snuggle time!

"My Marine" is my high school sweetheart. We've been married over 20 years and met when we were 17. (You do the math....) His favorite toys are Blackhawk helicopters, the lawnmower, our steam cleaner, and microbrew beer bottles. My husband is also my hero in that he proudly serves his country as a Blackhawk crew chief (hence his favorite toy!). And need I say that there is nothing hotter than my man in uniform!

All About Me......

Once upon a time I had a career and worked in the corporate world. Once upon a time, I dreamed about leaving that all behind to follow my true calling -- being a wife and mommy.

The first part of my calling was fulfilled in 1995 when I married my Marine (now soldier) and my love. Little did I know that being a military wife would change me in so many ways and that because of that, I would have an extended family all over the world from Japan, to California, to North Carolina.

The second part of my calling took a little doing, but I finally achieved that dream in 2004 with the birth of our first child, followed 4 years later by her baby sister.

So now, when someone asks me what I do for a living - I simply smile and say proudly that I'm following my calling - I'm a mommy and a wife -- and I couldn't be HAPPIER -- I'm living in the Toy Box Years!!

I love our local thrift stores. There's three within a few miles of each other and when I have the time and am by myself, I have been known to hit all three in one day. This was true the other day when My Marine took the girls for the morning so mommy could have a little break.

And my hunting found some GREAT deals!

A set of embroidery hoops that I can use for some upcoming crafts I have in mind. TOTAL - $1

A set of 6 coffee mugs from World Market. I just LOVE the polka dot pattern and these are no longer available through World Market. So fun! TOTAL - .49/each!

I've also been wanting new dishes, but didn't want to pay full price for them. So I was thrilled when I found this set of Crate and Barrel dishes - set of 8 dinner plates and set of 8 dessert plates. TOTAL - $4

Two sets of Lakeshore wooden puzzles - Opposites and Big and Little. The best thing about these was that even though they were exactly the same, the prices on them were different. One was .99 and the other was marked $1.99. I brought that to the cashier's attention and she gave me the lower price for the 2nd one. Score! TOTAL - $.99/ea.

An almost complete set of Junie B. Jones books. There's a few titles missing, but those I can add using my credits from Paperback Swap. (If you don't know about Paperback Swap, click on my link and check it out! It's AWESOME! If you choose to sign up, please feel free to use me as a referral - booklover1212) - TOTAL $2.00

And my biggest find was this magnetic board/game from HABA. I did a little research and found that on Amazon, it's retailing new between $38/$31. I got it for $1.99!!! I'll be saving this and the puzzles for Nudgie for Christmas.

I also picked up 3 pairs of my favorite Old Navy jeans for $1/ea. Didn't get photos of those.

I just LOVE thrifting! It's like going on a treasure hunt! So....do you thrift? And if so, what's the best deal you've found?

7 comments:

Julie Danielle November 12, 2011 at 8:06 AM: What great finds! I love those cups. I love to go to thrift stores too. So much fun!
LeeanneA November 12, 2011 at 8:29 AM: OH great finds! Love to see what other people find - I am addicted to garage sales and thrift shops! I did my whole classroom from garage sales!
http://kreativeactivities.blogspot.com/2011/07/classroom-tour.html
Have a look!
Natalie PlanetSmarty November 12, 2011 at 5:12 PM: Wow, that Haba game is a great find! I don't really go to the thrift stores but love garage sale finds. Our best one was a set of wooden blocks for $5 that are going for $50+ new. Needless to say, they were as good as new :)
Sara November 13, 2011 at 11:05 PM: You have some seriously amazing thrift stores. LOVE the polka dot cups.
MaryAnne November 15, 2011 at 1:31 PM: Those are some fantastic finds! II love a good thrift store!
Personalized Sketches and Sentiments November 27, 2011 at 1:45 PM: Great finds! I love the puzzles, Haba game, and especially Junie B. Jones books! (haha I loved reading them way back when I was volunteering at our youngest's elementary school library).

I still have a number of our kids' toys set aside for when our future grandbabies come to visit :o)

Blessings & Aloha!
OurWanderingAdventures December 13, 2011 at 9:20 PM: Oh my what awesome finds!!! Great job!!! I wish i had a friend locally that loved thrifting as much as I do :) For now, I am teaching my children how to hunt down a good find!