The Dr. is in.

So yesterday I talked about my love of bargains...how getting a good deal just makes me feel good. Well, yesterday afternoon I had to run out and pick up a few items...milk, snack bags for lunches and a card. So I headed out to the bargain stores. I got what I needed...and a few other items at the grocery outlet that were so well priced I had to get them NOW...yogurt, 6 for $1.49 and 4 lbs. of bananas for $1.79...NOW because at the grocery outlet you just never know what you will find. And if I say, "Oh I'll get those later in the week.", more than likely they will be GONE. So I have learned to seize the moment as far as some of these bargains are concerned. It doesn't measure up to some people's philosophies of spending for this week only. But it works for ME. And I have to figure out what works for ME...and for my family...and this is what seems to work. I can't seem to get a handle on planning this week's meals ONLY, buying for this week's meals ONLY and storing for this week ONLY. For me, I like to have something in stock. I try to plan my meals...and I am getting better with that. But there are times when schedules change, times change and something or other comes up and I just need to be flexible and make something else for that particular night. And that's OK with me. I like order...and a plan...but I don't want to be a slave to it....so stringent with no room for flexibility. SO...I buy things when they're available! And eventually they will get used!

However, I didn't begin this post with the intention of discussing food, again. (Is this becoming a problem? Am I obsessed? Oh dear....). What I wanted to tell you about was the great bargain I got on the way HOME from the outlet store.

I decided to stop at my favorite thrift store on the way home. I'm trying to keep my eyes peeled for a stool to put in my kitchen. I need somewhere to put Rosie kitty's food! I have it on a chair right now...but Reggie, our dog, seems to think I've got it there as an appetizer for HIM. I figured if I put it up on a stool then he could no longer help himself thankyouverymuch.

So I stop. And I go inside. And I begin to make my usual sweep. Quick browse through cookbooks...nope, nothing I can't live without. Back around to the furniture area...darn. No stool. Oh well, maybe in a few days. And let me just say...a few weeks ago they had three of the CUTEST stools I've ever seen. And I wanted them SO BADLY. But...I was thinking to purchase them for a future home...a bigger home...but this is not in the cards right now so I've been trying to refrain from buying for a house I don't HAVE yet. I simply don't have room to STORE it all. I need to have a garage sale of my own as it is! The kicker? They were only FIVE DOLLARS EACH. Cute. Sturdy. Affordable. But...nowhere to put them. So I practiced restraint and left them there. And now here I am, a few weeks later, in need of a stool. Call me Murphy.

Anyway, I continue my sweep around the thrift shop...and I decide to peruse the women's clothing area. I looked and looked...but saw nothing that I would wear. Cute stuff? Yes. But for me? No. Move on...into the kitchen "department". I LOVE this area. I've purchased some great things for my little house in this department. But...not this day. There's nothing I can't live without. On I go over to the FREE book section. Scan and scan...nothing is jumping out at me. And I'm about to leave when I think, "You know...just take a peek through the shoes and purses." I mean, you never know what you may find, right? So I go through...scanning the shelves...seeing cute things but nothing I need or want when all of a sudden I come eye to eye with these:

A pair of men's Dr. Marten's in my husband's size. The price? Are you ready? Are you?

Look close...and you can see that I paid $3 for these shoes. THREE dollars. Three.

Now I know they're a bit scuffed on the toes. And this picture really makes them look extra scuffed. For whatever reason they don't look that scuffed in real life. But other than that, they are in great shape. The soles are perfect. But I don't think Dr. Marten's soles EVER wear out anyway...

I tell ya...it made me happy to find these shoes. I wasn't quite sure if my husband would wear them as he is a skate shoe kinda guy. But I took a chance...and he actually liked them! Better yet. $3 well spent in my book.