Event: Mystery Authors Book Signing
Tonight, Salt & Pepper Books in Occoquan, VA, hosted a Mystery Readers' Event featuring the authors Krista Davis, Avery Aames, Lucy Burdette, and Sheila Connolly. The store is primarily a cookbook shop, but they also have a nice selection of novels, particularly mystery ones, that have a food focus -- think the mysteries with recipes in the back. The four authors were there promoting their food-related series: Davis' Domestic Diva series set in Alexandria, VA; Aames' Cheese Shop series set in Providence, OH; Burdette's Food Critic series set in Key West, FL; and Connolly's Apple Orchard series set in Granford, MA.
In addition to signing their books, the authors had free goodie bags for all attendees, and Salt & Pepper provided refreshments -- cheese & crackers, juices, and delicious cupcakes.
Read on for photos and lots of details!
HAUL: Bag Book Sale
I've become a regular at the bag book sales at my local libraries. (For more info on the sales, check my first bag book sale post from September.) I don't even bother to go to the first two days of the book sales, when the books are sold individually, and only go on Sundays, when the books are sold by the bagful.
The sale today was $3/bag, which is still a great deal, but "pricey" enough that we don't get as many people driving in from places like North Carolina (yes, really!) to buy whatever books they can grab to re-sell on Amazon.com. While there were a fair number of people at the sale, the pushing & shoving was at a minimum, and there weren't many "take every book on the shelf" types, which enabled all the customers to take more time and care in our selections. I managed to cram a total of 48 books into my two bags, plus I picked up another 2 at half-off their sticker prices. (All the branches usually have at least some used books that aren't included in the bag sale; at this branch, the ones that can't be included in the bags are half-off their sticker prices on the bag day.)
The Goods
I was so excited about my haul that I forgot to take my customary stacked books photo, which is a real shame since it took me quite some time to stack all 48 books! Luckily, I snapped a pic with my webcam for Twitter; I apologize for the low resolution.
48 books
2 half-price books
All in all, I came home with 50 books for $8.50, which works out to an average of $0.17/book. Not the cheapest per book average I've gotten so far, but a pretty darn good deal nonetheless!
Continue reading for all the details on titles and how much I saved on each book.
HAUL: $30 at Village Thrift
Apparently, I've been to Village Thrift at least once each week for the last 10 weeks. I guess my Foursquare Village Thrift mayorship is well deserved! Today was discount day, with three tag colors 50% off and 2 tag colors 33% off. I think I wound up buying more 33% off items than 50% items, but they were all still good deals. Two of the items I got today were brand new, with the original tags still on them, including a pair of pajama pants that I had considered getting my husband for Christmas, but decided against due to their cost. They were a fraction of the original cost at the thrift store!
The Goods
Dress
Sundress
Dark boot-cut jeans
Black Bermuda shorts
Black and white striped shorts
Blue flannel penguin pajama pants
I snagged a total of 6 items for $30.07, which averages out to $5.01 per item.
Continue reading for all the price and brand info.
HAUL: $7 at Village Thrift
I've gotten into the habit of going to Village Thrift, my neighborhood thrift store, once a week, usually on discount Sunday or Monday, just to see if there's anything good. Some days I'll score a big haul -- $50 or more -- but other weeks I'll pick up only a few items (or none at all). Today, I only got a few books and a tank top.
The Goods
Blue tank top
3 books
I picked up 4 items for a total of $6.70, about $1.68/item.
Continue reading for the individual prices and other details.
HAUL: $4.50 at Dollar Tree
Some of the products at dollar stores are low quality, but others are the same products you'd buy at other stores, but for less. I usually check for books, which are a great deal at $1/each, and greeting cards, which are always two for a dollar.
The Goods
7 greeting cards
1 hardcover book
That's a total of 8 items for $4.50, or about $0.56 per item.
The Details
- 7 greeting cards: 7 greeting cards for $0.50/each, compare at $1.50 to $3.00 each
- The Prodigal Mage by Karen Miller
MSRP: $24.99 | PP: $1.00 | Savings: 96%
HAUL: $75 at Village Thrift
Due to its proximity to my house, Village Thrift has quickly become one of my favorite thrift stores. In the past several months since my first visit to the store, I've tried to check in once every other week or so on half-price Sunday or Monday. Last night, I scooped up one of my smaller Village Thrift hauls, but nabbed the priciest single thrift store clothing item I've ever purchased.
The Goods
Black tank top
Purple V-neck shirt
Purple long-sleeve shirt
Plaid shirt
Brown satin jacket
Wool coat
Lilly Pulitzer jeans
Dark gray jeans
2 books
In total, I scored 10 items for $74.50, which is an average of $7/item.
Continue reading for all the price and brand info.
DEALS, Deals, and More Deals
As we get closer to Christmas, stores are offering more and more discounts, deals, and special offers to entice customers. this year, there are more Christmas-focused pre-Black Friday deals than ever before, with stores in a never-ending competition to snag the most customers and the biggest profits during the most shopping-focused time of year.
Some pre-Thanksgiving deals have already come and gone, and the Black Friday deals are too numerous for me to detail here. Instead, I'm simply listing some of the current offers that I find to be the best deals / the ones I'm most likely to use myself.
Because there are so many deals this time, I'm putting them all below the fold, so to speak. Click through for all 8 deals, which include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Sears, Target, J.Crew Factory, Snapfish, and Bath & Body Works. Happy shopping!
DEALS: November $5 MP3 Albums
Amazon.com offers a variety of $5 MP3 albums each month; the November ones are now up on the site. In addition to 100 regular MP3 albums, Amazon.com also has 102 holiday MP3 albums for $5/each this month.
A sampling of the 202 albums currently available for $5 each:
I bought the Hotel Café's Winter Songs album in CD form two years ago; it was pretty much all we played on the drive home from a Christmas visit in New Jersey.
HAUL: $24 at Salvation Army
After my trip with Emily to B-Thrifty yesterday, I made a solo trip across the street to Salvation Army to take advantage of 25% off everything for Customer Appreciation Day, which is every Wednesday. My previous visit to this particular Family Store was just a quick trip to check it out, so yesterday was a more thorough visit.
The Goods
Pink/orange tank
White knit sihrt
Navy blue hooded shirt
Fuchsia hooded shirt
Fuchsia polo shirt
Plaid button-down shirt
Periwinkle cardigan
White cardigan
Altogether, I scored 8 items for $23.54 (after taxes); that's an average of less than $3/item!
Continue reading for all the nitty-gritty, like brands and prices.
HAUL: $30 at B-Thrifty
My friend Emily hadn't used her Groupon to B-Thrifty yet, so today I met up with her at the store for B-Thrifty Groupon round #2. William had purchased a second Groupon voucher for me on the last day it was available since I had enjoyed the first trip, so I was planning to use that today.
When Emily and I arrived, I checked in via my new foursquare account and tweeted that I was in the store. The B-Thrifty social media team were excited to hear I was back (they had liked my first B-Thrifty haul post) and Celina, their web manager, tracked me down while I was sorting through my finds and presented me with $25 B-bucks... what an awesome surprise! (You can check out a photo of me with the B-Thrifty store manager on their Facebook page.) I was able to put the certificate to use right away and only spent about $5 out of pocket. Emily also did well, spending about $5 beyond the $35 value of her Groupon.
I also remembered to sign up for a BiP membership today, which will get me 30% off on Thursdays (although it can't be used in combination with the Groupon). I have a feeling I'll be back soon!
The Goods
Argyle cardigan sweater
Ivory angora cardigan
Tan silk/cashmere sweater
Pink knit shirt
Lavender knit cardigan
Ivory knit cardigan with pockets
Rose pink polo
Turquoise striped tank
Multi-colored belt
That's a total of 9 items for $33.91... but I put to use the $25 gift certificate B-Thrifty gave me, and paid only $3.91 (plus taxes) out of pocket. That's probably the best deal I've gotten so far!
Continue reading for all the details.
Categories
- About the Site (5)
- Complaints (2)
- Confessions (5)
- Deals (11)
- Events (2)
- Freebies (17)
- Hauls (38)
- Missions (3)
- News & Links (6)
- Outfits (3)
- Playlists (1)
- Shopping Tips (3)
Topics
Filter Posts
Archives
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Apr | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
Favorite Sites
- Amazon: All Free MP3 Albums
- Amazon: All Free MP3s
- Amazon: Free Rising Artists MP3s
- Books on the Knob
- Freecycle
- IKEA Hackers
- Through the Looking Glass