A Life to be Thankful for! Day #10

This thankful post is going to be a two parter....what I am thankful for and a recent experience that shows how awesome it is!

Today I'm thankful for Retail Therapy!  Okay corny but it is something I very much enjoy.  After being at home five days a week with tiny people I love to get out and go shopping on the weekends.  Normally it's Gregory, my step-mom and I.  We have a great time using coupons, window shopping, buying stuff for little man, currently Christmas shopping, yard sales (yes it is still shopping even if it's just in someone else's yard!), Good Wills (Where I still can't get over being able to buy a pair of pants for $3) and Peddlars Mall (where I LOVE to just browse old things and find some of my own treasures!).  This is my relief....to shop!  I don't get out much during the week because we don't live super close to stores and I don't want to waste a bunch of gas to just run out somewhere.  So as a way to release at the end of the week; I go shopping and retail therapy is something I am very thankful for. 


Thriftn'
    This past weekend I did some great coupon shopping at the Meijer and it was a successful trip where I was able to use some coupons and get some great deals.  But Sunday......ahhhh...Sunday I had a phenomenal day of retail therapy!  One thing that I absolutely LOVE to do is get a great deal and this past weekend I did just that.  If you have been reading my blog you will know that my husband just started a new job on Monday.  One BIG reason he got this new job is because along with many other negative aspects; his old job rarely gave him a full forty hour week...and this past paycheck from his old job had a mere 28 hours.....YEAH!!!  I was not happy!  That being said my spending money which is already barely there was almost non-existent.  The only reason I ended up with any spending money at all was because we managed to stay $15 under our grocery budget and I ended up with $20 left over in our gas budget which I may actually not have even had gas in my car if it weren't for my husband taking in our aluminum cans.  The shopping I did at Meijer with my coupons (because they double any coupon up to $ .50) got me some lotion we needed, toothpaste for Gregory and a couple of other toiletry type items...I was super happy with the deals I got with my coupons.  So come Sunday when we decided to go to a Peddlars Mall (I had been wanting to get to some Peddlars Malls for a while, especially since seeing all the awesome finds my fellow bloggers have gotten) I only had $16 and I still needed to get the Sunday Newspaper so I could get my coupons for the week!  So with just $14 to spend I figured I might buy something but mainly just browse which I enjoy too.  However I was so excited to come home with a few items and I want to share an awesome item my step-mom got for Gregory at the Peddlars Mall as well! 
.....I am not new at Peddlars Mall shopping but my eye is not as great as some of yours are.  The items I purchased are functional but not the kind of stuff that need work.  I'm sure there was plenty of that there but I'm still working on finding those perfect little refurbishing jobs!  I want to do it but I'm a newbie!  Plus...again I was very limited on the budget.  I saw plenty of other things I wanted but had to stick to my $14. 

(This is a simple wicker picnic basket but I love it.  I didn't buy it for a picnic but maybe one day I'll empty it out so that I can use it for that.  I actually bought it to store my knitting stuff in and it works perfect! $6....no I'm not kidding!  I was so excited!)

(These are knitting needles that are attached together instead of being separate needles.  I'm not 100% what these are used to make but intend to find out.  The reason I bought it was because I was thinking this is what you needed to be able to knit hats and head bands....I'm still not sure if that is true.  So if you know...PLEASE fill me in!  I got this for $3...I'm not sure how great of a deal that is but I do know regular knitting needles are at least $8 but I think it's actually even more than that.)

(Okay so this is a purchase I made because we needed one and I saw it so I bought it.  I got it for $1.75 and I don't know if that is a good price but since it was on my mind I went ahead and got it because I have found in my recipe challenge that having one of these mess strainers may be helpful!)

This last part is not a purchase of mine....I mean come on I only had $14 to spend at the Peddlar's Mall.  My step-mom spoils Gregory beyond measure but hey so do I!  I LOVE this piece and am super excited about it!

It's a Vintage Samsonite overnight bag which just so happens to be the perfect size suitcase for Gregory.  However since it is vintage even empty it's heavy for Gregory!  

I couldn't believe when we opened it up; it's in pristine condition!

I'm not a fan of leaving Gregory overnight; that is why it has only happened once just two weeks ago but it sure will be fun to pack this little bag the next time he does!

Inspired by Thanksgiving