There’s an app for that…

I know, I know…

I’m totally late to the be jumping on the  smart phone bandwagon. As per usual with any kind of trend, I resisted at first but now I’ve fallen for them hook, line and sinker.

Just to give you some perspective, these were the phones we were using:

And this is what we have now:

I think saying we got an “upgrade” would be putting it mildly. My old phone didn’t even have a camera.

Dave got his first and I was like, “I don’t need that. Just give me something that makes and receives phone calls,” but after about 569 times of me saying, “Can I see your phone for just a second?” Dave told me to get my own I decided that maybe it would be nice to have one for myself.

Do I need a smart phone? No. But it sure is handy.

And just for fun, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite apps so far.

1. Craigslist – I’m a big fan of Craigslist, but always struggled with the fact that I just didn’t have time to sit down at my computer and keep browsing for what I was looking for multiple times a day. Often by the time I saw a posting for something I wanted, somebody else had already taken it. This app lets me save searches on my phone and then notifies me whenever something new is posted.
   
   Right now I’m looking for a double stroller and I love that in just a couple of minutes I can go into my Craigslist app, check out all the new listings and email the person right from my phone if I’m interested!
   
   I think there are several Craigslist apps out there but this is the one I use.
   
   
2. Garage Sale Rover– I was seriously practically giddy when I realized I was going to have this on my phone, just in time for garage sale season. This app lets me:
   
   a. Search for garage sale listings in my area.
   b. Save listings in my phone and view them separately.
   c. Search for sales that have items I’m interested in {like baby girl clothes}
   d. Gives me the shortest possible route between all the sales {to maximize my time and gas!}
   e. Launches turn by turn GPS to tell me where I need to go when I’m driving to a sale.
   
   For an avid garage saler like me, this is soooo worth it!
   
   
3. Mars Hill Church – Dave and I used this app in the car on our trip to Chicago. Rather than surf the radio when we got bored, we pulled this up and listened to audio of several of Mark Driscoll’s sermons {The Peasant Princess – good stuff} It gave us fodder for lots of good discussion and helped us make the most of our car ride!
   
   

 

Of course there are about 80 bajillion other applications out there and I’m sure I’ll find more to love as time goes on. So tell me…have you jumped on the smart phone bandwagon and if so, what are your favorite apps? I’d love to know so I can download some of them myself!

Stuff and Nonsense

It’s been one of those ridiculously crazy busy months here that makes me feel like I hardly have time to stop and catch my breath. Which I guess sort of explains why I’m taking advantage of this rare quiet moment and sitting here in front of the computer instead of cleaning bathrooms like I should be.

So what’s been going on? I’m glad you asked ;)

• Lily started walking! Just for a little background, she turned 18 months on Monday…just started walking about a week or so before that. Definitely “late” by normal standards. But the doctor wasn’t worried about it, so neither was I. Well, ok…I was kind of worried that she wouldn’t start walking by her next appointment and then the doctor might be worried, and if the doctor was worried, then I would definitely have been worried. So, fine. I was worried. But she’s walking now, so it all worked out.
  
  
• Speaking of turning 18 months, we had her pictures taken today – can’t wait to see them! We got some shots in her Easter dress which is just almost too cute for words:
  Have I mentioned how much I big puffy heart LOVE little girls and their foo-foo dresses? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
  
  
• I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to garage sale season. I love it almost as much as I love foofy dresses.
  
  
• You know what else I’m looking forward to this season? Flip flops. I don’t care what the chiropractor says – I live in them in the summer. And I found a super cute tutorial for making flip flops with interchangeable straps. Are those not the funnest things ever? I might try to make some…maybe…
  
  
• You know who doesn’t like flip flops?
  This little goober. I tried some on her that I bought at a garage sale last year and she gave me a big poochy lip and kept pulling at the strap between her toes. And they’re just the sweetest little sandals, she would look so cute in them **sad face**
  
  
• Dave’s parents came to visit last week and we so enjoyed having them here! I think this is my favorite picture of the week:
  She wanted to “read” with Grandpa. She just melts my heart. Love her!

That’s all for now. I’m going to go try to think of an excuse to put off cleaning the bathrooms :)

Happy Thursday!

Photo Booth Friday

It's Friday!!!No, we're not experiencing a cold snap -- Lily's just sportin' some of her new duds that I found these past couple of weeks. Is that coat not the cutest? I found it at a consignment shop -- somebody else paid a lot of money for it last year at Baby Gap but it only cost me $9.99! I've been scouring garage sales all summer trying to find a deal on a winter coat -- so I was super excited when I saw this and knew I had to get it!

It goes great with these jeans that I found at that same consignment store, tags still attached! The original price was 25 buckeroos -- but I got them for 50% off the consignment price -- $4.00! And those shoes, barely worn were a garage sale steal at only $1.00! Don'tcha just love finding a good deal?

I'd say it makes for a very....

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Have a great weekend :)

Big Bad Bargain Hunter

There are so many things I love about this time of year, but one of my all time favorite activities that starts in spring and goes till fall is GARAGE SALING. I love garage sales! And I consider myself fortunate to live where I do because the people in my town love themselves some garage sales too. Of course the bad thing about going garage saling in a town where garage sales abound is that people take these things very seriously.

You could meet a woman in the grocery store and think her to be a sweet friendly soccer mom but reach for the same Baby Gap outfit as her on the $0.50 table at a yard sale and you’ll find out that Xena the Warrior Princess is hiding behind that jogging outfit and tennis shoes. And whatever you do, do not be late! If you don’t get there on time YOU WILL MISS OUT. Stuff goes fast.

I’m nowhere near that serious about it, but nevertheless, it’s still fun for me to go check out all the “junk” that other people are selling, and there’s nothing quite like the thrill of finding that great sale – the kind where everything is priced right and they have exactly the items you are looking for. I’ve managed to outfit Lily very stylishly thanks to the cheap deals I’ve found at garage sales.

So I was pretty excited yesterday when I saw a garage sale advertising tons of baby items, including BRAND NAME girl clothes sizes 0-12 months. Right up my alley.

I was so eager to get there and to GET THERE ON TIME for heaven’s sake!

What’s that old saying? “The hurrier I go the behinder I get.” Yeah. This is pretty much how it all went down:

• I leave 15 minutes early, priding myself on my punctuality.
• Backtrack because I remember I need to stop at the ATM.
• Accidentally try to stick a Cold Stone Creamery gift card in the ATM machine.
• Get frustrated when machine won’t take said gift card and try to shove it in the slot again.
• Realize my stupidity.
• In my haste, type in the wrong pin.
• Lock up the ATM machine.
• Wait 1 minute for the machine to reset itself.
• Get cash.
• Check the clock – still 10 minutes, plenty of time.
• Hear a fast song I really like on the radio and unknowingly speed up to the match the beat of the song (I have a very bad habit of doing this – driving fast to fast songs and slow to slow songs. As you can imagine, I am a delight to follow).
• Pass a cop and automatically check the speedometer only to realize I am going over the speed limit.
• Wonder if they will accept, “The song made me do it,” as an excuse for speeding.
• Sigh in relief when I don’t get pulled over.
• Turn the corner and witness someone else getting pulled over.
• In my distraction, miss the road I was supposed to turn on.
• Convince myself that I can go “the back way”.
• Get lost in a subdivision.
• Turn around and go back to the main road only to realize that I have now forgotten the name of the road I was supposed to turn on in the first place.
• Call Dave to have him check the name of the road.
• Accidentally run a stop sign while leaving Dave a message with my cell phone.
• Realize that I have done all of this right in front of yet another police officer.
• Unbelievably still do not get pulled over.
• Check the clock, I am now 5 minutes late.
• Find the road I’m supposed to turn on.
• Turn the wrong way.
• Drive 5 blocks before realizing I have turned the wrong way.
• Turn around and FINALLY FIND THE GARAGE SALE. Fifteen minutes late.

Luckily, there was truly a TON of baby stuff and so many cute girl clothes and it made my somewhat treacherous drive there worth it.

***Do not worry, Lily was safe at home with Daddy during this escapade. And I’m really not a bad driver. Really.***

A few of the goodies I got:

Brand new summer outfits, tags attached for only $1.00!

Brand new sweaters, tags attached for this fall for $2!

Shirts for $0.50!

My favorite -- this hat for next winter for only a quarter! You can't beat that!

As a side note – our church has a ministry called Wee Ones (click on the name to read more)We collect new and gently used baby items for moms in need. It has been a really great way to reach out to a lot of women in our area who are genuinely in need – both physically and spiritually as each woman is provided with a Bible and has a chance to hear about Jesus along with receiving much needed items for her children. If you have a garage sale and have any leftover baby items, we’d be happy to take them off your hands and give you a tax receipt for your donation to boot! Let me know!