Fedor Emelianenko ‘Boot Camp" Road Trip!

Fedor ‘Boot Camp’: MMA Legend Leads Training Class in California M-1Global.com

You are probably asking your self what does MMA Fighter Fedor Emelianenko have to do with yard sales?

Well, it's about passion and doing things we love to do. I am passionate about my Saturday mornings and finding the perfect wow factor. By doing so I fulfill a passion and by saving money, we can do things that we normally wouldn't do or afford to do. Like this boot camp with Fedor for instance.Tito and I are 2 of the 50 people attending this Sunday! Tito is so excited ,I don't think he ever imagined meeting him. He has Fedor t-shirts and a necklace. Yeah I know- kind a creepy with the whole necklace thing.  

The moral of this story is to follow your passion and try to  to cut back on expenses. It wouldn't hurt going to a few yard sales to save money.Who knows maybe one day when the opportunity presents itself, you can fulfill a dream or two, or three.

How a Hair Barrette taught me a Lesson

 On one of my yard sale haunts(oh look Halloween is in the air, I meant to write hunts) on Saturday I came across a former store owner getting rid of  left over merchandise. She was just starting to display her items. I am a natural "helper" as I like to call it, or a control freak, depending on how you want to look at it. I asked if I could open the  large package of barrettes ,she welcomed the idea. Being in retail from the age of 15 , I neatly placed them on the table methodically displaying the barrettes for the next customer to admire. I asked how much , she responded a $1 . I happily dug into my coin purse when she had a revelation and said, 50 cents for helping me. As I continued digging she thought it over again and said for you 25 cents and take two! I was surprised and grateful. It really got me thinking how when we give of our time to help someone it does come back to you. It's the little things in life, a small token of appreciation goes a long way.

How I "stuffed" 52 Items into 2 grocery bags for just $10.00

Let me explain, twice a year a local church in San Diego has a great rummage sale. It's a typical rummage sale with nick knacks ,clothes and basically anything and everything you can imagine. 

 As soon as you walk in a group of little Ladies eagerly hand you a brown paper bag  with the words "Here's a bag- fill it up for just $5.00 ". At first the customers think they mistakenly heard something else and ask "Excuse me,anything"? The ladies  nod enthusiastically saying yes anything.

 My first year , being a novice to this whole rummage sale lifestyle, I grabbed a bag and went straight for the clothes finding a few brand named pieces . I'd walk with a skip to my step and a  "I found a bargin" swagger .I'd made my way to the register with about 10 items clutched to my chest. I was  thrilled with the savings and  the notion my money was headed to a mission in a Third world country warmed my heart .Plus by reusing the the grocery bag I waaaaaaaas green! All was good in the world and I was scoring good karma points.

As the years past I became an expert of "rolling up" the items . I can now strategically place about 20-25 items in my grocery bag! I had watched my ex-husband years ago place  clothes in a suitcase in this" rolling up" manner. I figure it was a military thing or something he learned in his travels. It's funny the things we remember years later. 

Grocery bag

Grocery bag filled willl rolled up items


I made at list of the items I purchased all for $10 (  I ended up with 2 grocery bags) 

• 10 skirts
• 2 pairs of jeans
• jogging outfit
• 39 blouses/shirts

I was amazed and definitely wowed by the name brands:

• Banana Republic
• Chico's
• Eddie Bauer
• Daisy Fuentes
• Liz Claiborne
• Karen Scott
• Calvin Klein
• Old Navy
• New Port News
• Forever 21

I'll share more pictures once my son shows me how to use my camera. Sad, really. I can run a company yet can't take a good digital picture and download. It's been added to my bucket list. Really.
  

A Life of Blue

I really enjoyed the "A Life of Blue" blog. It's given me such inspiration in finding furniture pieces @ the yard sales.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

I love this picture I found @ last weeks yard sale. It's a reproduction of Pierre Auguste- Renoir "Woman Arranging Earring" . Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style It was only $3.00 ! The  seller explained her Mother purchased it when she was a young girl. The seller appeared to be in her 60's. I found several places on the Internet selling reprints.

Woman Arranging Earring

MY FUTURE TATTOO

A picture of my future tattoo! Hey, maybe I will be on the next episode of L.A. Ink ?????

It’s edgy, pink and dear to my heart.

The Wow Factor- Earth Therapeutics-Eye * C * U Eye Care Unit for 50 cents!

This was a nice little treat for 50 cents. I found it retailing for $9.99 plus shipping and handling .Yeah!

Health and Beauty Accessories - Natural Products - Retail - Earth Therapeutics-Eye * C * U Eye Care Unit

The Wow Factor- Seacret Nail Care Collection-

Ok, so the package was a little dented on the top right, however the contents untouched and NEW! All for only $2.00 I googled as soon as I arrived home and found
Seacret Nail Care Collection  which retails for $49!

Setting intentions to the Yard Sale Gods

I AM SO EXCITED! Tomorrow is Saturday which means my only get away for the week. A two hour pleasure that is all mine….yard sales! Yeah me! This is where I began putting my intention out to the Universe and cry out to the yard sale gods to find certain things. At times it works, other times I have to wait months. It worked on the time I asked for a crimper iron for Julia my eleven year old. A local beauty supply store wanted $30 for a crimper! I set my intention days before and low and behold on my next yard sale run, a woman was selling her brand new crimper for $5! She intended on using yet then changed her mind. That was my WOW factor for the week! Setting an intention can happen in all factors of our daily lives. Be it asking the Yard sale God for a cost cutting purchase, the parking Gods for the great parking spot in a crowded mall or your God for help. Try setting an intention and see what happens!  

This picture by Photographer Greg Williams reminds me of our lives as a blank slate then us "adding" an intention to fill our lives with clairty and color.

Yes, the“ Rachel’s JunkintheTrunk” is on my business card.

Yes, the“ Rachel’s JunkintheTrunk” is on my business card. I thought it was cute! No? My kids just rolled their eyes. A pretty normal occurance in my house. The ol’ rolling of the eyes routine.

Testing out email blogging...what a concept!

 

 

 

Rachel

 

 

Golf

Here's my first WOW Factor item. 

 I found these items at last weeks yard sale.

 Yes, folks golf balls. Tito is really into golf so he "scored". In fact, he is so into golf he is working on getting his PGA card. It's been a dream of his for years. The seller explained how the balls were a gift and she doesn't use this particular brand. I said Tito really doesn't have a choice, he will have to play with whatever balls he gets! His brand is "cheap" and $3.00 for everything is our kind of  brand!

How I Became a Yard Sale Junkie

It began several years ago when I took my boyfriend Tito to work one morning. It was bright and early as we drove to the golf course. We are definitely not"morning people" or this super power couple energized by Starbucks .Neither of us said much as silence shouted in the the cold November air. Thoughts in my head whispered " Who gets up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday"!? Once Tito exited the truck , I slid my junk in the trunk to the drivers side and headed home. Little did I know, one sign would change my Saturday mornings for years to come. It wasn't a spiritual awakening with angels singing & harps playing in the background. Yet, a synergy of sorts. There displayed so proudly stood a YARD Sale sign. I followed the arrow leading me "right" to the house. I was amazed by the gently worn designer labels and "still" in the  package items .I wondered why would this perfectly sane woman was selling unopened, new & up to date items. Being an ex Home Depot employee, there wasn't much I haven't seen or heard, so I asked. She explained how she changed her mind during a redecorating extravaganza, therefore displayed before my eager eyes was the extra. Luckily I had grabbed my wallet before leaving  the house a made my first purchase. The rest, as they say is history. It's going on four years now. I wanted to start blogging about my adventures, show pictures & give tips on finding the "wow" factor. You will be amazed how a simple wow at a yard sale can set the pace for your everyday life. Aren't we all just wanting to be wowed in all factors of our lives?