Chasing Pennies

The phillips family did a bit of shopping (just a bit...no groceries however) this weekend and I thought some might be interested in my finds.

Below is $216 worth of clothing from Gymboree:After sale prices were taken and after redeeming Gymbucks earned back in early December, I paid only $48 for these clothes. That is some big time savings. The majority of these clothes are for next fall/winter.

Evelyn accompanied me into Gymboree while the boys stayed behind in the car (why do I know this will be a life-long pattern for our family?). Some wise person planned the layout of Gymboree stores with mommies in mind when they chose to place televisions and small chairs in the backs of all their stores. Thank you, to whomever developed this shopping strategy.

Miss E. was happily watching television with some other little girls while I browsed the sales racks (with one eye on her and the other on the greatly discounted price tags). I soon heard a very familiar voice insistently saying, "El-lyn's dress. El-lyn's dress."

I walked around the clothes rack to find my daughter angrily pulling on a dress a fellow shopper had in her hand.

The shopper didn't find it terribly amusing when I attempted to explain that my 20 month old has a keen eye for fashion and thought the dress the lady was holding was actually her dress, because Evelyn happens to have the same one at home.

Although this lady was not impressed by Evelyn's (or "El-lyn" as she calls herself) ability to take charge of a shopping situation, I was incredibly proud. Black Friday should be a really fun event with her in a few years.

Gymboree was not the only place where I was able to score some good bargains this weekend. The fine department store of Harolds is closing their doors forever and today was the last day of their clearance sale. Although I typically do not shop in Harolds (the prints just have never looked good on me for some reason) I decided to take a peek inside since everything was marked down to 90% off original prices.

There were only two racks of ladies clothing (everything else was GONE) remaining and the majority of it was unfortunately fabric prints that I could never pull off.

However, I did find this skirt for $2 (normally $90):


And this dress for $30 (Normally $300):

At the moment I am not entirely sure as to where I will wear the above dress (anyone planning a cocktail party soon?), but I really could not pass up a $300 dress on 90% clearance. After I pulled this one from the rack, the lady behind me took the last three dresses. She is planning on selling them on EBay for the original price.

While looking at the two lone sales racks, the older gentleman next to me turned and asked, "Your 23, right?"

I really had to fight the urge to answer, "Why, yes I am!" and instead went with the more subdued answer of "I used to be."

Apparently he wanted to know if the skirt he was holding was something a 23 year old would like. Although sporting a wedding ring, I doubt the 23 year old he was shopping for was his wife or his daughter.

Wonder if that 23 year old knows that her gifts are coming from the 90% off rack?

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Tomorrow I will be back with this week's menu and a report on whether or not we have spent any extra money on groceries since my shopping trip last Sunday.

Also, I have decided that I need to be honest and reveal what the inside of my purse look like. For someone with a strong need to keep things organized and orderly, my purse is a disaster. It is quite comical what I am toting around on a regular basis. stay tuned.

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On a serious note, there is a family in need of prayers for their baby girl. I have been reading Kelly's blog for quite some time, starting mainly because she is a fellow Arkansan and I felt a bit nostalgic reading about her love for the Hogs and talk of my home state. I have followed her blog through a struggle with infertility and then through her much-desired pregnancy. She delivered a sweet baby girl on Friday. Unfortunately the baby is in critical condition and is in need of some serious prayers. Check out her story and send up a quick prayer for her little one.