Beautiful Autumn Idyll

Ah home life.

Little girl dresses and little boy sweaters drying on the clothesline. Fresh from our garden peppers in our crock pot. Little tomatoes ripening in the windowsill. The sound of happy children playing tag with their new dog in the backyard. The windows open to chill and freshen the house air.

And a free hour spend decorating our mantle for autumn.

This is the good life.

What's for dinner: Crockpot Sweet N Sour Tofu & How do you like them apples?

My Mom brought up bags of apples that she picked from my brother's apple trees. I don't know what to do with all of them and I just won't can them.

I might try storing them for winter.
Or freezing apple pie filling in bags.
Or making freezer applesauce.

This Swedish Apple Pie sounds great for dessert tonight and no need for a crust.
Any more ideas?


Tasty sounding vegetarian crock pot recipes have been few and far between when I've searched for them. So far, the only thing I'm consistently successful with is vegetarian chili which I don't make often because Little Guy won't eat a bean to save his life. I was so glad to stumble upon a blog devoted solely to the use of a crock pot for a whole year. How great! I'm so making this Sweet And Sour Tofu for dinner tonight.

Plowing Through the Yuck.

The whole family has varying degrees of colds and yuck. After I got everyone out and off this morning I resisted cancelling any appointments today and crawling back into bed. Instead I went to Walgreens and stocked up the free after rebate deals and some of the XCEL laundry detergent. It smells nice so I'm going to try it. While I think that making your own laundry detergent is great, I don't bother when I can find jugs of it for $2.50 or less. Last week I used a Walgreens Snuggle coupon combined with a MFR coupon to get the 40 count box softener sheets for $1.60. I cut them in half (they are very potent) and now I have 80 which makes my cost per load .02 cents. That's not bad for name brand softener.


And now I have to get back to my chores- I know that we may be worse off in a few days and I will be glad I got my jobs done today. Sigh. The good thing about cleaning the house every few days is that it doesn't take long to spiff it up again. First I'm going to light that Yankee Candle I bought last week (with a coupon) and put on the Fiddler on the Roof Soundtrack CD so I can set the cleaning mood. Then I'll don my apron and get an empty laundry basket and get to work putting away toys for vacuuming and sweeping. What do you do to get yourself ready for chores?

I'll just hope company ignores the sippy cup spill stains on the carpet until we have a free afternoon with the carpet cleaner.

Garage Sales with my Girl

I took Big Girl to a few garage sales late this morning. The pickings were slim but the bargains were nice.

Big Girl (dressed in a pink sundress, pink tasselled cowgirl boots (Goodwill $4), and a big fluffy pink bow) brought her allowance and big hopes for toys galore.

I didn't find much but this is my list:

3 vhs tapes- Rescue Heroes, Rudolph Sing-A-Long, and Veggie Tales Larry Boy - .25 cents for all three
Gymboree winter shirt for Big Girl - $1
Hartstrings sundress for Big Girl- $1
Kid's Headquarters short, top, and bandana set for Big Girl- $1
Cherokee button up for Little Guy- .60 cents
Children's Place sweater for Little Guy- .60 cents
Class Club sweater vest for Little Guy- .60 cents
2 woven placemats to put under the dog's food/water bowls- .25 for both

Big Girl found a toy watch, a metal basket with hearts, a sand box tub, a small stuffed animal, and a pumpkin shaped basket. And she still has a dime in her purse.

I just thought it was amusing.

I'm in line last night at a busy store (it was right around 5pm when everyone is off work) and I've got a fist full of coupons.
To be honest I bought things I didn't really need- like two bottles of Endust cleaner- just because they were .69 cents after coupon. So, I wasn't feeling all that great about my cart load. Plus they didn't have the one thing on the shelf that I went into the store in the first place for.
My original total before coupons was $32.50. After coupons it was around $19. To be honest, my first thought when I heard my total was disappointment. I was hoping it would be less.
But right after that hint of disappointed I heard the "ahhs", "wows" and "you saved thirteen dollars" from the cashier and the two groups of people behind me. And then the lady next to me asked if I did the coupon game and I said no. Then I told her about the "All You" magazine for sale and she hunted it down right after I pointed it out. And as I was leaving she told me again how impressed she was. It sort of put things into perspective for me.

One other thing I've taken to doing is sharing my coupons while I'm in the store. If I see someone pick up something that I have a coupon for I ask them if they want my coupon. Not one person has turned me down yet. In fact, I've had many people thank me gleefully.
Last week I printed out extra $5/$25 coupons for Save-A-Lot and handed them out at the store because I wasn't going to use them. One lady thanked me all the way to the parking lot.
I love doing that. It's my way of spreading a little goodwill.

And now I must vacuum.

Garage Sale Finds this Morning.

My main goal was to buy some cheap movies to entertain the kids until we get used to less tv.

I bought:
On VHS (cheaper than dvds)
Caillou the Explorer (Little Guy loves Caillou) 1.00
The Sound of Music (can you believe I've never seen it?) 1.00
Sleeping Beauty 1.00
Mulan 1.00
James and the Giant Peach 1.00
NIP Singer Holiday Hobbies and Crafts (Free box)
Buns of Steel 3 (Free Box)
Kathy Smith's Ultimate Stomach and Thighs Work out (Free Box)

A cd rom Sabrina the Teenage Witch game for older girls (Free Box)

A Home Interiors Fruity scented candle (.50)
A pretty tin with a peacock on it (.10) ( I have a thing for tins)
Hardback copy of Madeline's Rescue
Polly Pocket stable with horse (.75)
Polly Pocket Fashion Bedroom (.75)
Assorted Polly Pocket figurines and doo dads (.25)
A small barbie figurine on a horse (.10)
Pirate Rubber Ducky (free with purchase)

A shoe box full of fancy handmade bows. (originally marked .50 apiece. I took the whole thing for $6

A small container of ribbon spools. (.50)

A Halloween themed candle holder (.50)

I only went to a few but I'm most excited about the videos and the Polly Pocket sets. Yay for garage sales!

First Day Without Direct TV and Tivo

And I think I'm having withdrawals.

The first thing I do in the morning after Hubby and Big Girl leave is turn on a show for Little Guy and do my computer stuff. Sigh.

Our broadcast is such poor quality. We're watching a Sesame Street video and he's coloring a page at the table.
I'll get used to it. Being uncomfortable is good. Change is good. Saving money is good. Right?

Hubby found a website called Hulu where you can watch and subscribe to many shows. They even have movies online.
He has a whole system planned for us where we can watch all this stuff that I don't really understand. It involves memory sticks, wiring cables, and using our rabbits that I can't follow just yet.

Both of our Rabbits we found in the boxes (they have a white rabbit on the cover) at Thrift stores for $7 and $5 each. If you're going lo-tech like we are you might pick one up if you see it.

Any interest in a detailed blog about how my Hubby is going to hook us up so we don't suffer without DTV and tivo? Because he can explain it much better than I can.

Freebies

Gain Detergent Sample

Greenies for Dogs Sample

Cesar Dog Food Sample

Sunsilk Hair Care Samples

Playtex Gentle Glide Sample

A short break from my to do list.

Little Guy is snotty so I rescheduled his gymnastics class. Instead I put him in the stroller and we walked the dog all around the neighborhood. Whew. If I can keep this up I definitely won't get a treadmill.

I assembled my crockpot chili with green peppers from our garden and beans and tomato sauce that I cooked and froze a few months ago. I also threw in some tvp with the rest of the mashed potato water that I saved from last weeks tofu parmesan (very eh) with mashed potato side experiment. I'm going to try Hillbilly Housewife's Bread Machine Corn bread to save time tonight.

I've been thinking about doing the $45 Emergency Menu from the Hillbilly Housewife website. I know there's no way that I can duplicate the $45 dollar amount- grocery prices have risen too much. Also, I have to substitute veg. hot dogs and tofu for meat hot dogs and tuna which would increase my costs. But, I think once I clean out the fridge and freezer a little more this challenge will be very appealing.

Happy First Day of Autumn!
Tomorrow we'll be baking fall themed sugar cookies. I'll have to make the dough tonight.

What's for dinner: Look in your freezer

This picture is from this post. Still having camera difficulties.

I was blanking this morning which is when I normally figure out what to make for dinner. I quizzed Hubby on his cravings relentlessly until he got annoyed. Sigh.
Not wanting to turn to a meal out when I have all day to prepare a meal, I turned to my freezer for inspiration. My normal fall back is spaghetti but we had that last week and my stock pile of cheap ragu sauce is low. In the freezer I found an opened bag of garlic toast. Hmm. What can I make that isn't spaghetti? Then I found a frozen bag of snap peas that I got on sale fresh for .99 cents a few months ago. In the pantry I had half a pack of linguine noodles. In the fridge I have parmesan cheese, carrots, onions, milk (from powder) and saved chunky potato water from last weeks mashed potatoes.
I'm making linguine primavera.
It's still noodles, but it's not spaghetti.
I'm also going to whip up some banana bread and some sweet potato muffins to pop in the oven tonight while I am heating up the garlic toast. That way I only have to heat the oven once and breakfast for tomorrow is ready.

Lunch is peanut butter spread on toasted cinnamon bread (.99 cent clearance at Save-A-Lot- bought two and froze one loaf), grapes, lemonade and goldfish crackers.

Tomorrow we're having crock pot chili and corn bread since we're going to be busy tomorrow.
Whew. Now I don't have to think about food until Wednesday.

Frugal Dog Ownership

We are really enjoying our new dog despite the extra hair and the frequent doggie bag pick ups from the yard and walks.

I went online to order a id tag for her and the cost of shipping was more than the price of the tag. My neighbor told me to just go to Petco and buy one from the engraving machine. It was still $7.50 but cheaper than ordering online and I didn't have to wait to get it in the mail.

It's also very beneficial for me to take her for walks. I'm rethinking that treadmill desire since we're doing a walk or two (or three) around the neighborhood every day.

While I know it's not a good idea to switch your dog's food around all the time I couldn't help but sign up for coupons and freebies from dog food companies. Dog Food companies are a lot like diaper and formula companies. They want to get their product into your hands so you keep buying it.

So far she's working out great and giving me a great work out. What we'll spend in lint rollers for doggy hair we'll make up for in kisses and food spill detection and clean up. Everyone with toddlers should have a dog at their disposal for meal time. In fact, Little Guy is staring to get upset that the dog eats food that he sees as his since it has dropped from his plate onto the floor.
He had quite a fit this morning over his spilled Kix balls getting slurped up by a happy Abby dog. Like we were going to put the spilled cereal back into his bowl. EWWW.

Entertainment for Less

Over a year ago Hubby and I decided to downgrade our Direct TV package to the basic (cheapest) family pack for twenty dollars less a month. We missed it a little but we soon forgot what we thought we were missing. (Ok, I still miss Jon and Kate plus 8).
We also reduced our Netflix package from fifteen dollars to ten dollars a month. We didn't miss the extras at all.

So, it's a year later and we've decided to get rid of both of them. We've found that using the library to get movies and free redbox rentals is more than enough for the occasional movie night. Our tv is on PBS most of the time anyway. We can watch most shows (like Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Fringe) on the internet at the network web page so we won't miss anything. We will have to put up with a bit of advertising but it's worth it to us.

After we cancel DTV (did that today) and Netflix (will do that soon) , we will be saving almost $50 a month. I will miss Tivo but we'll live and probably be all the better for it.

FYI- when my Husband called DTV to cancel they offered to reduce our package price by ten dollars.

Enjoyable Cents Saving and Preparing for Winter.

I spent part of my day today cleaning out the fireplace and filling it with limbs and twigs from our backyard.

I know it seems silly because the wood won't burn long but at least it will keep us a little warm and stretch our pricey (and chemically) fireplace logs that we bought last winter when our electricity when off.

I also started making a pile outside where we can grab more as needed. It's a meager start but it's something and it's free for the taking. Dryer lint works well as a firestarter. I've started keeping a few balls of it in an old egg carton in the laundry room.

Too bad we don't have any dried buffalo chips so I could pretend I was a pioneer woman. Because that would smell so good.

I also spent a little time helping Big Girl write a thank you to a little girl who sent her a Princess and the Pauper dvd. It's actually not sickly sweet like you'd expect a Barbie movie to be. Good day so far.

Frugality Lessons Found on Youtube

I loved this six part series on Tightwads featured on Youtube.

In some ways I need to be a lot more like them by saving resources and finding ways to make more money. In other ways I am glad that I can let go a little bit and that saving money is not the main focus and drive in my life.

Luvs + Beechnut Rebate at Save-A-Lot.

You have to pick up the rebate sheet in the store. Mine was on a tear pad by the diapers.
Buy a jumbo bag of Luvs and six jars of Beechnut baby food from Save-A-Lot and get a $3 rebate.

I used a coupon for the Luvs and a $5 off $25 coupon for the Store printed from Money Mailer.
I'm still planning on potty training Little Guy soon but I couldn't resist this deal.

The Parenting Files: The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Sorry about your brush, honey. Oops.

The Latest Dish- It's a dog's world.

I spent some time yesterday and today shopping for stuff for our new dog. It's not as exciting as shopping for a new baby but I'll take thrills where I can find them.

I either hated all of the plastic dog food bowls or didn't want to pay ten dollars and up for big ceramic ones. It occurred to me to look at normal people bowls to see what I could find for a dog bowl. Cheap (but nice) ceramic bowls were .50 cents. Fifty cents for a cereal bowl when you can pay five dollars and up for a plastic dog bowl. Give me a break!
Nonetheless, none of the ceramic people dishes were right either. Until I stopped by the dollar spot section of Target and found this ceramic bakeware pan with flat sides(and a metal holder) for $2.50. Inspiration hit and I got out my sharpies to personalize her dog bowl. Voila!

Wordless Wednesday: Our new family Member

Abby dog comes to live with us tomorrow. Poor cats.

Chilaquiles

Got a handful of tortilla chips or a few stale tortillas sitting around your kitchen? Make some chilaquiles.

Ingredients:

Diced Onion to your taste- I use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup
Handful or two of corn/tortilla chips or toasted (until crisp) and cut up tortillas
3-4 eggs
salt and pepper
Queso, Monterrey jack or cheddar cheese
Salsa


Fry the onion in a little oil until mostly translucent. Toss the tortillas in the pan and while they are cooking beat the egg and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the beaten eggs and gently stir into onions and chips. Stir occasionally until the eggs are done. Top with the cheese.
Add spoonfuls of salsa as desired.

You can also add cumin, green chilis, tomatoes or whatever else you have on hand.
These are great with Spanish rice and served in warm tortillas. Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

What's Brewing Around Here

I have been mulling an idea around for a while and yesterday I discussed it with hubby. I am so frequently overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we own and the constant to do list that I am ready to take a big step back and simplify our lives for a while.

We haven't worked out the details yet but it looks like six months or so of a fairly restrictive budget with almost no leisure extravagances or fun money. I'm not ready to do this for a year but six months at this point almost seems necessary. I don't feel like I'll be giving up much since we've already bought most of the kids Christmas presents and I have a stockpile of sale gifts in my basement. The things I think we'd miss most are spur of the moment trips to the drive thru, yard sales and Goodwill sprees. Those same things that we'll miss are things I need to let go of the most.

My house is a mess because we have too much stuff and not enough time to tackle it.
I am overwhelmed and annoyed by the mess everywhere so I get out of the house and end up bringing more home. I don't cook every meal so we end up eating fatty restaurant food and paying too much of hubby's hard earned money out. We all need a break.
It will be hard I know. But, in many ways it will make our lives so much better. More time together. More time to clean and declutter. More homemade meals. More simple living.
Just more.

What's in a Name?

I got this from Heather. Blame Her. ; )


Your real name: Jenny

Gangsta name (1st three letters of your real name plus izzle, favorite ice cream & fav type of shoe): Jenizzle Spumoni Flip Flop

Native American name (fav color, fav animal): Periwinkle Marmoset

NASCAR name (1st names of grandfathers): William Clarence

Dancer Name (fav perfume/scent, fav candy): World of Your Own Reeses Cups

Soap Opera name (middle name, street you live on): Dawn Oak

Star Wars name (1st 3 letters of middle name, 1st 2 letters of first name): Dawje

TV Weather/Anchor name (5th grade teacher's last name, major city that starts with same letter): Henson Houston

Spy name (fav season, fav flower): Autumn Deptford Pink

Cartoon name (fav fruit, article of clothing you are wearing now): Peach Capris

Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, fav tree): Cereal Mimosa - now that's just dumb

Super Hero name (2nd fav color, fav drink): Kelly Green Cherry Coke

Witness protection name (parents' middle names): Warren Fay

Goth name (black, name of one of your pets): Black Chloe Belle

Movie Star name (1st pet's name, 1st street name): Kizzy Bishop

Iraqi name (2nd letter of first name, 3rd letter of mom's maiden name, 3rd letter of dad's name, 1st letter of a sibling's first name, last letter of mom's first name): EENSA

Rock Star name (1st pet, current car): Kizzy Pilot

Join in! I'd love to read yours.

Gone to the Dogs

We've been dogless for two years.

I spent part of my morning looking at shelter dogs with the kids.

Anybody have any advice for a particular breed that would mix well with small kids and cats?
I want to make sure we get the best little guy for our family.

**It looks like we'll be putting my dog wish on hold for a little longer while we straighten out our to do list. sigh.**

Save some dough- Make Croutons

I almost threw out half a loaf of bread this morning because the top had developed little mold spots. But inspiration struck and instead I cut the top of the bread off where the mold was and chopped the rest into little cubes and put it on a cookie sheet.

I melted a few tablespoons of butter, added seasoning, parmesan cheese and poured it over my pan of cubes. I gave it a good stir and popped it into the oven. 300 degrees- stir at 15 minutes (this is when I sprinkled sesame seeds on it) and then cook for 15 more. Turn off the oven and leave the croutons in there while the oven cools down. My oven is dinging.
Yum!

Wordless Wednesday: How I feel today.

Garage Sales and Lunch with the Kids.

I had $20 when I left the house this morning. Now I have about $4 and some change.

Little Guy and I hit some garage sales today.

We bought:

A vintage My Little Pony- .10
A Mini Hot Wheels race track with a tiny car- .50
A Hot Wheels truck- .10
A Christmas stamp and ink pad .10
2 romance paperbacks (everyone has a vice)- .50
Heloise's Kitchen Hints & Florence Brobeck's Family Book of Entertaining- .40
A Scooby Doo summer short set for Big Girl- .50
An Old Navy skort for Big Girl- .50
A cute Copper Key Valentine's shirt for Big Girl- .25
TKS cotton knit sweat pants for Little Guy- .50
A kid's karaoke keyboard with microphone and chairs- 3.00

Not a great haul but I can so easily see where I could be getting great deals for Christmas and birthdays if I just went to garage sales all the time (with a list!). I go to maybe 15 all year.
I saw so many kids books (.10 to .50 cents) that it makes me sick to think of the new books I've ordered from amazon and scholastic.

Then we picked up Big Girl from school and we treated ourselves to Chinese food.
So far it's been a good day and I still have some change in my pocket.

Today's Offerings- Rebates

Hunts Ketchup

Land O Lakes Half Stick Butter

What's for dinner: Cheese 'burgers' and Tater Tots.

A weekly menu just hasn't been working for me because there are always bits and pieces of leftovers that I need to work in to use things up and our schedule isn't predictable enough.

The best I can do is two days ahead.

Monday- Boca Cheeseburgers and Tater tots. We have bunches of boca patties and cheese slices from our Costco stock up. I found some burger buns and tots in the freezer. Hubby brought in two fresh tomatoes from our garden and we'll have those on our burgers. No muss, no fuss and it's kid friendly. For dessert I have leftover ginger snap bars.

Tuesday- We don't have a lot of time for cooking dinner. We're having leftover pizza that I whipped up Sunday night and whatever side dish I can whip up. Maybe just grapes or applesauce.

Wednesday- If I have no other leftovers or produce to use up, we'll have spaghetti, canned veggies, and garlic bread from the freezer.

Frugal Kitchen- Ginger Snap Bars

Someday I will write a blog about all the things I've tried and the pantry items that have become staples since I started my frugality blog- but, not today.

Hubby and I were at Trader Joe's and I wanted to buy him a container of ginger snaps but they were $3.99. I told him I'd whip him up a batch of cookies when I got home. I use Recipezaar so often I should probably just get rid of my cookbooks. I found this Good Old Ginger Snaps recipe
and made ginger snap bars in an 8x8 pan. I used a cup of whole wheat flour and a cup of white. They turned out great and the taste is divine.

Bread Machine French Bread

When we're having spaghetti or we're just running low on bread I whip up this loaf in my bread machine. It's easy, tasty, and cheap.

French Bread- 1 pound loaf
Into your bread machine (in whatever order your bread maker calls for) dump:

3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
2 cups white flour
3/4 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. active dry yeast

Optional- I sometimes add a 1/2 tsp. of sesame seeds for a hint of nutty crunch. Don't add much more than this or it makes the loaf dry.

I bake the whole thing in my bread machine on the light bread setting but you could whip up the dough in the machine and then form into a loaf and rise.

Wal-Mart Frugal Mom Videos

Have you seen these videos made by frugal moms on Wal-Mart.com?


I watched these in the kitchen last night while I assembled dinner.

Tea Query and Diaper Coupon Giveaway.

I have a ton of tea bags in the pantry. What else can I do with these besides make hot or cold tea?



I am not buying any more diapers for Little Guy. After we're out of our supply, we're going cold turkey and doing commando potty training. I'll send my Huggies and Pampers coupons (and Luvs if I have them) to the first person to comment here. Make sure that you specify that you actually want the coupons.

K-Mart Coupons

My K-Mart is doubling coupons today up to $2.00.

Guess where I was this morning?
They had decent toy clearance too if you need to get some birthday gifts or Christmas stock up.
I almost bought a little Mariposa doll set because they are so cute. But, since I'm already done Christmas shopping for my kids, I put it back. I got Garnier Fructis shampoo for free since it's on sale for $2 and I had a $1 coupon. I'm donating it. Pepsodent and Aquafresh are .79 cents a tube. I bought the last Pepsodent on the shelf.


Also, if you spend $20 on Huggies you can get a free $4.00 Wonder Kids t-shirt. Look for the pull off coupon by the diapers or kids clothes.

I still spent $79.00 on things I didn't need right away. It's easy to get carried away with good deals. If I really needed that money to pay bills, I'd be upset with myself. But, instead we're all stocked up on shampoo, detergent, deodorant, face wash, pull ups, pepsi, ziplocks, toothbrushes, pain relievers, and juice. I also got one Christmas present and a shirt for Little Guy.
My original total was $160.00.

What's for dinner: Lentil Rice Burritos

I'm making this Lentil and Rice taco/burrito filling right now and it smells and tastes so good.

I think I'll try her Cheap Cake Recipe for dessert too.

Thanks, Gayle!

*The lentil burritos and cheap cake were both great. I will be making them both again.

The hardest part of frugality- Saying No to Wants

Sigh. Hubby has been at me lately for spending too much. He's right. I've gone crazy the last few weeks ordering cds from Amazon, buying books at Barnes and Noble, buying bulk food that we don't need right this instant. Although it stung when he looked up from his bill paying to gripe about my crazy spending, I know he's right. It's one thing to feel frugal because you used a coupon or got something on clearance. It's quite another to skip buying altogether. The not buying part is the hardest for me. Gulp.

I have a free 2009 calendar sitting in my desk already. It's small and I don't really like it, but, will it do the job? Yes.

As much as I want this Gooseberry Patch calendar- I'm going to pass.

Coffee Clearance at Target

Do you drink coffee? My Target had all kinds on clearance today- Folgers, Starbucks, Maxwell House, etc. I was tempted to buy some but I don't really drink much coffee. More for you.

While you're there don't forget to pick up some Pop-tarts or Cheez-its for the $5 gift card and Kelloggs rebate. If you find the specially marked packages of Raisin Bran you can get a free book after mail in with the purchase of two (no receipt required). Take some coupons with you and you can really make the most of your purchase.

Big Boy's Bedroom Makeover.

Last month we gave away all of our baby furniture and bedding. The loss of the crib left a big hole in Little Guy's room. And it was time anyway to update his room.
I found him the striped comforter and pillowcases at Goodwill. I gave them a good wash and put them on his bed. The comforter is reversible too.



I found this white and black hutch at Goodwill on sale for $37.00. It had sticky black splotches but it came clean with some soft scrub and elbow grease. I decorated some discolored areas with leftover dinosaur stickers. My Mom brought him the framed dinosaur stamps yesterday. I bought him the red Sheriff nightlight and wall hanger at Goodwill for .99 apiece. They were still in their packaging. The Peter Pan doll came from a doll store in Italy by the Piazza Navona. If you flip it over it becomes Captain Hook.

I didn't really need this big Teddy Bear with the red and white bow. But, he looked so cute and he matched the room. So, I pulled him out of the stuffed animal bin (with his tags still attached- Gund) for $3.00

I need to hang his curtain (a dark blue valance with dino footprints- Kmart clearance) and his sheriff hanger and I'm done. All his 'new' decor cost less than $70.00. Now his Big Sister wants me to help red0 her room.