Books, books and more books!

I could lie and say we were celebrating Earth Day by reusing and repurposing.

The truth is I just had a little extra time on my hands and the thrift store was nearby. And the truth is I really had no business shopping since we had just had a garage sale last weekend to try to declutter (ha!) and get rid of unwanted furniture, toys and other stuff.

My excuse is that I wanted to freshen up my kids' bookcases with a new stock of books. My kids really do devour the hundreds of books that we have. A book is often the first thing they reach for in the morning and usually the last at night. Though they definitely have favorites we read again and again, I enjoy their look of excitement whenever I come in with a new armload of books. This time, they were right there beside me at the store, helping me choose books to put into our stroller basket. Here they are, enjoying their latest batch of books, a total of 16 for $6:

I used to buy my kids' books all new until I discovered how much quicker and cheaper I could plump up their bookcases by going to thrift stores and buying a bunch of great books all at once. Honestly, we discovered many entertaining books we otherwise wouldn't have by browsing the stacks at our local bookstore.

We are lucky

We are lucky. Our local thrift store often has classics, favorite character stories and the ocassional vintage gem, most in good to great condition. The problem is that the store is so good I rarely leave the store with just books.

Today,

Today, I took home an old wooden bowl whose imperfection drew me in, a cute white shelf and a purple painted stool/drawer, both for my daughter's room. Oh, and a book for myself, "The Accidental Tourist," by Anne Tyler, which I've always wanted to read. All cost a grand total of $23. My husband, bless his heart, walked out of the store with his arms full of my thrifting goodies, laughed and said, "Looks like we're ready for our next garage sale!"

laughed

I do love that man!