Clearance ....Your Best Friend!

Welcome to Thrifty Sissy!

Since Christmas is over and most of us can't think about another minute of shopping I want to say I totally understand. My sentiments exactly but now is the time to strike while the iron is hot.

Do you remember just a week or so ago when you were running the streets trying to get your shopping done? Do you remember saying that you would not forget Christmas is coming again?

Well now is the time. In the next week or two those crazy retailers will be trying to make room for Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day and you guessed it...swim suits. Oh my word! It unnerves me. As soon as we are finished with one event they are wagging the next one in our face. But that's the retail business. If you ain't selling something you are outta business. LOL.

But as thrifty folks we can beat them at their own game. We can shop the after Christmas sales and be ready, set and go for next year. Now I realize you can't buy all your gifts off the clearance rack but what about those teacher's gifts, secret pals or friend's gifts? Yesterday I was at Joann's and I overheard one Mom saying she was getting a bunch of notepads of the clearance rack for her children's teacher's gifts next year. As she was grabbing all there was on the rack I heard her tell her friend they were only $.63. Oh goodness! Next year those puppies will be $3 or $4 dollars. What a savings!!

All those cute stocking stuffers are marked way down too. So we have to think outside the box and save some dollars. You will be so thankful next year when you are already prepared and you can take the money you were going to have to spend to get yourself a holiday mani/pedi. LOL!

Happy "clearance" shopping to you all! Have a wonderful, safe new year too!!

Very Merry Christmas Home Tour

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I almost let it slip up on me. Every day I would tell myself I would take some pictures and write a little about our Christmas home decorations but sure enough here it is a few days before the wonderful event and I am just now writing this post. But never mind the excuses. LOL.

The real challenge for me is to use what we have stored in the boxes in the attic instead of running to every store getting new stuff. Really, Thrifty Sissy can't do that but it is tempting when you see all the "new cute" stuff. Then you open up your boxes...and well it looks pretty pitiful. LOL.

So let's start in the dining room. Since tartan is all the go this year I covered the table with an old Martha Stewart cloth from too many years ago but it works. Then I found those tartan chargers at the Goodwill dump and almost had a come apart. My old favorites, the reindeer plates from early 2000 at Pottery Barn. The three trees are from Target. All they need is a fluff and they are ready to bring the table to attention. Add a little garland, some ornaments and we are ready for dinner. The tartan napkins we are great gift last year. On the buffet is a few brush trees and wicker cone trees with garland. Garland makes things blend for a very small cost. I picked up the silent night mugs at a yard sale and the hot chocolate sign was a 90% off deal at Hobby Lobby.

As you get to the kitchen area the table has a green and white polka dot cloth from a summer yard sale. I added the red placemats and metal chargers with the Dollar store plates. The hurricane is filled with a ornament garland. Those green topiaries are the staples are our house I use them to decorate in every season. The top of the fridge gets a little house with some greenery to make it cozy. On to the bar that divides the kitchen and living room. You have to have some sort of little tree with cookie cutters and whatever is left over to add some pizzaz.

Our tree is on it's last leg and every year we say we will get a new one next year and forget all about it until it's time to decorate it.. LOL. The white/gold ribbon is from Hobby Lobby's 90% off shelf. I changed the topper this year. I found the old top hat at the Goodwill dump and decorated it with red ribbon streamers coming out of it.

The mantel is pretty simple. Just the old trusty reindeer some greenery on one end and I did splurge on the red lantern which is holding Mrs. Claus on the other end. The Christmas tree garland came from Christmas Village.

The entry hall has Santa ready to greet all who enter. The cute little framed crosstitched Merry Christmas is also from the Goodwill dump.

Well that's the Very Merry Christmas tour from our house. We want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too.

Living Room Wall Update

Good morning to all of you thrifties!!

It's a wonderful day at our house. Since we have had the same picture on the living room wall for about ten years we decided to do an update. But trying to decide what to replace that picture with took some time. Especially when you are cruising around Pinterest home decor it's easy to get bogged down with all options.

So I had to think long and hard to make some kind of thrifty decisions. My annual trip to Christmas Village this year started my plan for the wall update. One of the booths had signs with writing on them and I was taken with the Holy Spirit sign. I splurged a little but it was still cheaper than any one I had seen at other shops....$29.00. But it expresses my heart's desire so I opened the wallet and brought it home.

A few weeks later I found the big clock face at the Goodwill Outlet and bought it home for less than a dollar. I guess that makes up for the price of the sign. LOL. The small gold framed pineapple picture was a gift from a friend. Now that fixer upper sign, well again I had to open up the wallet because I really like the show and the Gaines family.

Since I am one of the few "old Mt. Juliet people" left standing, no question about buying that sign for the wall update. It was a little pricey but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go for it. The larger gold framed metal cross was a design I created from Goodwill Outlet things.

All totaled it was not my most thrifty update but if you only update every ten years or so it's not real bad. LOL.

Y'all stay thrifty and have a great week!