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December 30, 2010

I love me some bargains!

A'salaamu aliakum ya'll. I had just went to our local Salvation Army Thrift store today; Wednesdays are half-off days and I loooooove getting cheap things cheaper! Well half-off on shoes and clothing but really in our house, the only thing we go through faster than clothes is food (oh and breakable dishes!) so I am always up for a bargain.



Footed pj's by Carter's. I love all of their clothes; these aren't those nasty blanket sleepers but thermal-fleece and oh-so-soft. :-) $1.50 a pair, retail about $9 each.

Alhamdulillah all the winter shopping for kids had been completed (coats, snow boots and snow pants (for the 2 younger ones) so this was really just a see-what-they-got kinda thing. Oh and the kids are out of school this week for the winter holidays, so I had all 3 girls in tow; Aaminah (napless but wonderful alhamdulillah), Zainab (who is great to distract the 2 1/2 yr old bundle of energy) and Hafsa, the responsible one who can search out her own clothes. Supposedly. ;-)


Super-cute dress by Gymboree for next year (5T size). Embroidered with ballet slippers and crowns in pink thread and has pretty pink ribbon in front. $2.50 in EUC.

I also knew A needed ALOT of winter shirts. See, there is this phenomenon alot like the "freshman 15" called the "no longer single 7". We have both gained about 10 lbs (well I'm actually an overachiever, maybe a couple more on my end....his, too, truth be told!). Anyway he really didn't have anything suitable for jumuah or even casual clothing.


The white with blue stripes is pretty thin but will be good next spring/summer. The darker plaid is the brand new one.

I hit the jackpot! I think I ended up getting A 2 sweaters, 2 nice cotton button-down shirts, and probably 6 pull-over type shirts for casual wear. And get this: the MOST expensive thing (which is the dark blue button-down that was brand new, with tags) was only $3.00. Yes THREE dollars. Cha-ching for Bank of Jeanna. Then, I unfortunately went by the little girls' section; Aaminah needs NO clothes but she is my only little girl and it's just so much fun. At $1 or $2 a piece, I admit I buy when I shouldn't, astaghfirallah. I comfort my guilty concious by giving away what she outgrows to others in need.


A's stash. I had already folded them and didn't have the heart to re-do them. But I'm sure  you all know what men's shirts look like!
 I also look ahead. If I find a cute dress size 6 super-cheap, I'll buy it now. Modesty NEVER goes out of style and we do not feel Aaminah is too young to be modest. I think it can be confusing for kids to dress in spaghetti-strap dresses and short-shorts to only be abruptly switched at some magical age. Alhamdulillah we try to be modest in all our manners, dressing included.


Love ponchos; this one from Gap in EUC. Paid $3.00 for it. Belle doll also EUC only $1.00 Poncho is for next year and the next 2 after it!

As soon as I get home, I usually throw all the stuff I find in the wash. With the bedbug scare we are having in the US I don't wanna take any chances. Of course, I don't wash it in hot water so I guess I'm just giving them a little day at the spa but I still feel better. :-)

I had picked up a really cute dress at the store. Light blue with black polka-dotted ruffle and co-ordinating sleeves. Bright, "bling-y" bow on the front, some random words. I didn't really read it, thought it was cute and she loooooooves shiny things. Like a magpie, only slightly less loud. :-D Here is the back of the dress.
Exhibit A: Cute coordinating cuffs and bottom trim with adorable bow. Nice yeah?
I had just gotten this cute little dress out of the nice warm dryer so I could hang it up. When what to my wondering eyes should appear.....but the funniest quote I am sure ever graced the front of a TODDLER'S dress. Oh and it makes NO sense.

Exhibit B: Front of dress, lots of words but who's looking closely?

Can't read it? Too small? No problem, here's your close up shot:

Exhibit C: Speaks for itself. LOL
"Relent peachy". Uh yeah, ok.... "I grant your wish by all means..." ?????  "Your cheerful smile always brings happiness. Please do not lose beautiful heart."

So not sure what country this came from but something tells me it was designed by a non-native English speaker. Anyone else with me? LOL Anyway hope ya'll thought this was as funny as I did. Cute dress, but now it's consigned to housewear for life.

Oh I also got Aaminah a really nice Calvin Klein coat for next year. It's a down-filled, knee-length quilted coat with faux-fur cuffs in a light cream color. Sooo pretty. The down was kinda messed up inside (where it was washed and all got slung to one corner) but I read a tip saying dry these type of things with a tennis ball in the dryer and it will settle it all out. For $2.50 I think I'll try it! I forgot to take a picture of the coat and am far to lazy to get up now so :-(

I spent about $43 dollars on all this plus got 5 books. The little town where I live is fairly wealthy and I love the fact they will spend $$$ on clothes I can turn around and get them for pocket change almost.

Ma salaama ya'll, I'm up too late and exhausted. :-)

17 comments:

Stacey said...

MashAllah great finds, I love getting a good deal, I think we would have a lot of fun going shopping together lol.

Umm Aaminah said...

I realllly love to bargain shop and since I moved here, I lack a good partner in crime. Hmmm too bad you don't live in MA or I don't live in .... um I think Canada?? Right or wrong? :-)

Mona Zenhom said...

Great stuff! Lol @ the engrish writing, we get a lot of that here. Cute stuff, mashaAllah. The little poncho is adorable. I love bargains too.r

Stacey said...

Yea I'm in Canada, oh the damage I could do in the States, that would be fun! Have you ever seen those coupon mom videos on youtube? I'd kill for a CVS here.

zanjabil said...

Oooh great finds!! I love me some thrift stores too. I miss the 1/2 Wednesdays...since we moved the the next state, I have yet to locate a Salvation Army.

Um Zakarya said...

Assalamu Aleykum sis,

Oh MASHALLAH, I want the same poncho for myself :)
And lol at the broken English, even the frenchy me could figure out something is wrong about it lol.

MaryAnn said...

As Salaam Alaikum,

That is one of the things I miss about living in the States...I always loved going to the thrift stores and Goodwill...there is a ton of good stuff there...and you got a ton of good deals :) I love the PJs and the poncho....so cute, MashaAllah.

Anonymous said...

Salam
the little pochos is tooo cute!!
I'm sute your little ones will look super awesome with the new stuffs

HUGS!

Rene´s Bare Essentials said...

salaam alaikum!

I love thrift shops! Our daughter is 4 1/2 months and we buy most of her toy/clothes etc from a second hand shop they have here in madrid. Everything is in great condition you would never know its second hand! I wish they had some shops for adults but so far we could only find it for kids.

Rene´s Bare Essentials said...

wow, carter clothes for $1.50? Im starting to think the second hand shop we go to isnt much of a bargain lol. Pants start off at $5 and shirts/sleepwear is around $10/$15. Toys are around $10. We did buy a really nice bouncy chair (hangs on the door frame) for $30, original price $70 but still seems a bit steep..... I miss the U.S., have you ever used freecycle.com? You get free stuff all you have to do is pick it up! My sister has picked up some really great stuff (beds, toys, etc)

Umm Aaminah said...

Salaam my sisters! I never know if people come back to check the comments but I always like to respond (when I remember!).

Mona, I've heard Egypt is great for the engrish (from Ange's blog mostly lol).

MC, never seen the coupon mom vids; I'll have to check that out.

Zanjabil, I know once I moved to MA from TN I didn't know where any thrift stores were! But Salvation Army has better discount, half off weely where Goodwill is only last weekend of every month. :-)

Um Z, I know I want that poncho too!!! It's so cute, soft and warm, and stretchy too for comfort!

Maryanne, anytime I've went overseas I always hit the thrift stores first to avoid costly purchases that weren't just for pleasure (like a swanky shalwar kameez or something).:-)

Ria, thanks! Aaminah enjoys picking her clothes now and has taken a dislike to the poncho. :-( LOL but I'm sure I can get her to wear it eventually. lol

Rene, I know the prices were crazy! Of course that was on 1/2 off day but one pair was marked $3.99 reg and another (same diff design though) was $1.99. Go figure!!! Guess depends on whose pricing that day.

The re-sell stores here do tend to charge a bit more but I guess it's their overhead and not having a charity status like S.A. or Goodwill. I go to resell sometimes but I have to be a little pickier. Enjoy dressing your beautiful baby girl!!!!

Happy Muslim Mama said...

Assalam-alaikam Dear Sis,
Well done, I love a good bargain, and the pj's are just lovely.
You really have to hunt here to get a bargain in the charity shops, but I wish you could see the boot fair's here, you would go crazy - they are only held in good weather, so I am saving my spare change in a little pouch for then.

*Muslim mama* said...

what anice blog you have

Umm Aaminah said...

Umm S, I loooove "yard sales" as we call them in the states. It was actually a 4 generation family tradition with my grandmother, mother, sister, myself and usually one or two of our kids. :-) We all followed my sis; she had a nose for great bargains!

Muslim mama, thanks for stopping by!!!!

Anonymous said...

as salaamu alaykum....now you make me want to go to my local SA to find some bargains....my husband already thinks I spend too much, always talking about the deals I got...lol *sigh*

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HijabiMommy said...

i love bargains, too!!! that poncho is adorbs! and LOL at the grammar/spelling mistakes. :)

S!lent.Sp!r!t said...

Salaam Aleikum Um Aaminah. I am also a new Muslim (relatively). I loved your posts as a simple mother living in the US. Keep it up, it has been a long time since your last post. We want to hear more about your life and your struggles and successes :).

I am also beginning to start a website to help new Muslims find good support from fellow New Muslims, Old (pardon me saying) Muslims, and interested people. A sort of small, social, personal yet anonymous (if they prefer) place to meet, greet, and get help in whatever areas you need.

All the best. my gmail address is intrus . I would love to hear from you or any other new Muslims that you know.