THE Mirror

So today I was up early again (yup, the rooster) and I got an early start to painting. Because of my work schedule I only have until Thursday to finish up the trim work. My husband and I work a week and then have off a week. During our "on" week, we manage a retirement community and live on site. We are provided a small 1 bedroom apartment, housekeeping, meals and of course pay. Sound awesome? It is! The only draw back is that when we are working, we are on call 24/7. Our office hours are 7:30am - 9:00pm but if something would happen overnight, we are there.

We start our week of work on Friday and work through the following Friday. We leave for our apartment on Thursday afternoons since it usually takes about an hour to two hours depending on traffic.

Getting back to my story...I got a jump start to painting and decided I wanted to go shopping. We live in a fairly rural area so there are two places to shop. One town is about 1/2 hour away and the other is about 45 minutes away. Today I went to a place called Altoona. Altoona has Goodwill (more about this later), Target and TJ Maxx - three of my very favorite places to shop.

Why is Goodwill a great place to shop? Because I make money every time I go! I have sold on ebay for many years. If I had to guess, it would be about 7-8 years now. I find things at thrift shops and then turn around and list them (after they have been washed) on ebay for a profit. I have sold a coat I purchased for less than $10 for over $400. I mostly sell clothing and anything else I know I can sell quickly and for a profit.

At any given time I have between 10 - 150 items on ebay. It truly depends on how busy I am on my week off and what I find.

Today I found a bunch of plus sized sweaters by a company called Quacker Factory. Quacker Factory was started by a great lady named Jeanne Bice. She sold her line on QVC and almost all the clothing was holiday themed. Sweaters for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Fourth of July, etc. The more "bling" they have on them, the better they sell on ebay.

I also found a few things for me. I purchased an Express short sleeved top for $2 and a pair of Gap pants for $4.99. These would have cost almost $100 in the mall and they look brand new.

I spent about $50 total and plan to make about $200-$250. This pays for the rest of my shopping day and then some!

Then I went to Target. We are working the 1/2 bathroom and I needed a toothbrush holder, cup & soap holder. I didn't find anything I loved. I really need to love something to pay $15 for a toothbrush holder. Seriously, $15 for a toothbrush holder?!? I was able to pick up a few fun decorations for my husband's birthday which is right around the corner.

Lastly I went to T.J.Maxx. This particular T.J.Maxx use to be a "runway store" which means they had the fancier designers. They still have great designer pieces (I have found Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, etc) and you never know what you will find. I was rounding the corner when I found the PERFECT mirror for the 1/2 bathroom. It is gorgeous and it matches the rest of the bedroom/bathroom perfectly. It was $80 which is a bit pricey for T.J.Maxx but I had to have it. Photos are below.

The rest of my day was spent hanging with the hubby. We touched up paint together and laughed a lot. True love!