Yard Sale Finds

Every year our neighborhood does a community yard sale. In the past I have set up tables and priced my treasured items and then stood outside for hours trying to make a deal with countless numbers of individuals. One year I had several of my friends come join me and bring their stuff along for the selling fun. (That really was the best year as far as fun goes.)

This year I closed the garage door, put on a baseball cap, tossed the little man into the stroller and off we went to make a deal from the other side of the table. After a few hours of walking and a trip back in the van for pick up, I came home very happy with my stash.

There is something for everyone.

A new (to us) movie for the girls to add to the 100 we already have.

Three chapter books (never opened) for the big second grader and a “learning to read” book for the Kindergartener for a total of $1.00.

Here’s an awesome “big boy” tool bench for the little man.

My little "butterfly" tripped over my (okay… Dada’s) tripod the last time I was taking jewelry pictures and she bent the one leg beyond repair. I had to return the one the kids got him for Father’s day since he didn’t really like the legs. So, how lucky was it to find one made better for much less money???? Now I can start taking jewelry pictures again and list more items on my website.

I scored this chandelier for just a $1.00. I have a plan to paint it and turn it into a candle light for the patio.

I was going to use this one that I took down out of our dinning room during the makeover (No, I didn’t forget and yes, I will post about that soon). Anyway, now I have a bigger one for more light and a second one to use somewhere else. Hmmm????

This coffee table was easy to get home. We carried it across the yard from next door. She made sure I had a plan to refinish it or paint it or something. (I always have a plan) I want to change the height (or length) of the legs to make it a little taller and use it for a kid’s table outside. It’ll be great for guests and parties. The table they have now fits about one and a half kids yet I have squished 3 around it.

Isn’t this a fine set of wood working tools? Ya never know when I might pick up a new hobby. I have tons of free time.

What would a long weekend be without a trip to the home improvement store? After collecting all our yard sale finds I had to get some paint and some wood to complete all my “plans”. I also persuaded Hubby to purchase several kid size chairs for the new table. They’re on sale…it’s a bargain… right? That’ll cover what I’m doing for the rest of this weekend and the next few blog posts.

So, do you yard sale? Are you a seller or a shopper??? What are you doing with your long weekend?

Back to blogging and Oglebay

It’s been a crazy few weeks here sorry for the interruption. We had a long weekend trip away with Grandma, then home for four days. Just enough time to do laundry and repack for a vacation at the beach. Then we were gone for another 10 days. I came home to a mountain of laundry and just four days to get ready for school. The kiddos still had one more summer activity to attend and I had to shop for school shoes.

Now with one more little birdie out of the nest and off to Kindergarten and the big girl loving second grade I guess I need to get myself back to the blog (among other things). I’m still trying to adjust so be patient with me.

I’ll tell you about the beach trip soon. First let’s go back a few weeks to the resort weekend with Grandma (aka Mimi).

Mimi wanted to have a trip with the kids so after some thought we came up with a plan to go to a local resort. It’s not far from where we live and could be a day trip. Since the kids love the novelty of staying in a hotel and after the fun of our February trip we planned a stay at the lodge for a long weekend and made a mini vacation out of the trip.

We went to Oglebay in Wheeling WV for three nights. I had been there before but not since high school. Boy, things can change in a hundred years. It was the perfect place for a family getaway. Not too long in the car, which is good being that the kids start asking if we’re there 2 minutes into the drive. The whole place was full of kid and adult friendly fun. Never a dull moment.

The whole stay put me in mind of scenes from Dirty Dancing. It was picturesque from every angle and there were events and activities all day everyday. The 1700 acre estate turned resort has a spa, a golf course, driving range, tennis courts, riding stables, hiking trails, an indoor and an outdoor pool, mini golf, a playground, pedal boats, fishing, a mansion museum, a glass museum with glassblowing demos and workshops, and a zoo with a train. On top of all that they also plan daily activities in various locations throughout each day. They offer tiny tot book break for 5 and under, story hour for kids 5-9, art exploration, bird watching, butterfly watch, nature walks, culinary demo/workshop, tea time, wine tasting, a light show on the water fountain and an evening campfire complete with s’mores.

If you stay at the lodge most of the activities are free for the guests and they have a trolley to take you from place to place that runs through the park all day long. And you get to start your day with an amazing breakfast buffet. The rooms were small but had everything we needed. We did have to request a refrigerator but it was delivered in minutes and came to us already cold. The lodge was rather large but the way things are laid out and with so many trees around you really felt like you were in a small country estate. The lodge rooms open inside to the main hall to go to the event rooms, restaurants and the indoor pool. Each room also has it’s own door outside to a courtyard. This was great for the kids. I could open the door and they had so much extra space to run around while we got ready to go or had an evening cocktail on the patio.


Our fisrt day we started things off with the zoo. After checking out the meerkats and the reptiles we went to feed the goats.

Although that was exciting, we moved on to see what else was to encounter.

I have never seen a black swan before.

Yes, they were really that close. I did not need to zoom in for the photos.

There were planty of other animals too. Zebras and Otrich to name a few. After we walked through the zoo we decided to ride the train through for a second look.

Little man was thrilled to be on "Thomas".

The girls were happy to be sitting down.

The next day we hit a few of the other activities. I quickly decided to move the blonde up front with me so I could keep a better eye on her.

Note to self... Never give a long metal stick to a two year old. ALSO, never give a rock hard ball to a two year old.

While Mimi and the little man took a nap Dada took the girls fishing. My big girl caught her first fish like a pro.

My other cutie looks a little concerned with her catch. Nonetheless there were some perturbed fishermen that didn't get such nice trophies. (They did get the left over bait.)

On our last day we strolled the gardens and visited the mansion.

It was a very busy three days.

Thanks for the good time Mimi!!!!

Where to go and what to do???

Summer time is generally when most people plan to take a vacation or an extended weekend trip away. Some like to do the beach thing and others prefer the mountains. So are you a sand and surf kind of person? Do you like the feel of sand between your toes? Does the smell of salt air make you want to jump on a boogie board and hit the waves? Is your idea of relaxation sitting in the sun, flipping through a trashy magazine?

Maybe you would much rather head for the hills. Do you want to be surrounded by trees and listen to the sound of trickling water cascading down the mountainside? Would you like to spend your time climbing over the rocky hills or meandering through the woods or chasing butterflies in the garden?

Maybe fishing or hunting is your game (pun intended). A shopping spree doesn’t sound too painful to me. There’s always Europe. If you like that sort of thing. I mean it’s just a bunch of old building and history. (Yes, that was sarcasm) Some people really enjoy the details of architecture form eras gone by. Some people find history fascinating believe it or not.

So what do you think? What is a good plan for a vacation? Are you a summer traveler or do you yearn to hit the slopes? Do you need to travel far from home? Or do you like to uncover the secret treasure in your own zip code.

I recently spent some time at a resort very close to where I live. Close enough that it could have been a day trip but for the fun of it we went and stayed for three nights. Every since the February adventure the kids have been asking and asking to spend the night in a hotel. It turned out to be the most fun filled, activity packed weekend I can remember having in a very long time. (I promise to dedicate a special post to tell the whole story soon).

Let’s get back to your thoughts for now. What is your idea of relaxation? Where is your dream vacation? Do you have special packing tips? Any helpful hints for the novice traveler???