Church Spring Tea Photos

Yesterday we had our annual Spring Tea at the church. I am not a tea drinker. In fact I kind of hate it. But, I wanted to show support so I went. 

I sat with some friends and had a good time. I even sipped a bit of tea (which tasted like mud).

I was asked to make the cookies and cupcakes for the tea. I love decorating cookies - it is so relaxing. 

Here are some photos which were taken with my phone (which means they aren't of the best quality).

Some of the four dozen sugar cookies: 

I made three different flavors of cupcakes. 

Death By Chocolate: 

Strawberry Vanilla: 

And Gluten-Free Lavender:

Some of the photos I took while at the tea: 

 

 

Recent Ebay Sales - 5/10/13

Ebay started this new thing on May 1, 2013. All non-store sellers get 50 free listings a month. Basic store sellers get 150 free listings and premium store sellers get 500 free listings. 

I have a premium store (the cost is about $50/month) and so I get 500 free listings a month. I'm pretty excited about this. Usually all my items are listed as a 'fixed price' which means there is no bidding. If the person wants the item, they can buy it immediately. 

I didn't realize how much I missed auctions. They are a lot of fun and I had a few items go for more than I would have listed them for as a fixed price. 

1. Calvin Klein striped jersey dress, sold for $20. 

2. Bose speakers, sold for $60. These had a crack in one of the speakers which is why they didn't bring more. 

3. Talbots light blue linen dress, sold for $30. 

4. Ralph Lauren embroidered mini skirt, sold for $38.90 with four bids! I would have listed this for under $30 so I was pretty excited for the extra cash. 

5. "346" by Brooks Brothers madras plaid dress, sold for $47.22 with sixteen bids. Somebody really wanted this dress! I would have listed this for about $25 if I didn't get those free listings. 

6. Crocs black ballet shoes, sold for $21.50. I purchased these off the Crocs website a few weeks ago for $15 plus free shipping. I was going to keep them and then I realized I had quite a few black ballet shoes. I love when I make a bit of a profit on something like that! 

7. Vera Bradley cosmetic trio set, sold for $20 within hours of listing. I got this for FREE off the VB website last week. If you purchased over a certain amount (I think it was $100?), you got them for free. I'm going to sell the other items I purchased since I got most at a fantastic deal. 

8. Tahari black velvet dress, sold for $25. 

9. Talbots wool skirt, sold for $20 within two days of listing. 

10. Ralph Lauren navy blue jump suit, sold for $56. 

11. Anthropologie "Gregory" brand vest, sold for $20. I purchased two of these off the Anthro website for less than $10 a piece. I made about $8 on this piece. Not a lot but enough to pay for two t-shirts from Anthro which I kept ;) 

12. Banana Republic silk wrap dress, sold for $23. 

13. Talbots silk butterfly print skirt, sold for $30. 

14. Brighton bird necklace, sold for $35. I purchased this necklace from a thrift shop in New York about 6 years ago and I paid around $5 for it. I wore it several hundred times since then and I was ready to let it go. 

15. Sterling Silver lily pad ring, sold for $20. I got this one from T.J. Maxx a few years ago for $10 on clearance. Again, I wore it and was tired of it. 

16. 10K white gold ring, sold for $60. My hubby purchased this for me and I have no idea what he paid. I wore it just a few times and it was just sitting around. 

17. Talbots knit blazer/jacket, sold for $29. 

18. Calvin Klein jersey dress, sold for $24. 

This last item is still on ebay and it ends tonight. Right now there is a bid of $34.99. I sell mostly woman's clothing and shoes. I can go up and down the aisles at the thrifts all day and know what sells. 

Occasionally I find something that is out of my comfort zone. This was one of those items. It is a wood nursing stool. Ummm...what? LOL. 

So I whipped out my phone and used the ebay app. Goodwill wanted $4.99 for it. I saw they were selling for a lot more and purchased it. 

It was super easy to list since it was new in the box. And so I'm going to make an easy $25 or so. Awesome!

Just blogging...

I just realized I hadn't posted in awhile. 

My father-in-law is back in the hospital. He has been having trouble breathing and so the hubby took him into the ER yesterday. They admitted him and will keep him for a few days while they run tests. 

__________________

I have also been catching up on my veggie resolution. I have tried...

Week 11: mushroom - actually not that bad. It kind of tasted like dirt. LOL. 
Week 12: chick pea - I'm not sure this is a veggie but I tried it. And didn't like it.
Week 12: grapefruit - even with a ton of sugar this is kind of sour and gross.
Week 13: cantaloupe - not too bad. I think I have tried this before but it wasn't something I ate regularly.
Week 14: tomato - why would someone eat these? It would ruin the salad or sandwich. 
Week 15: honey dew - not something I would ever eat again but it wasn't terrible. 
Week 16: pear - I forget which variety. It was kind of grainy. Not my favorite fruit by far. 
Week 17: fig - I'm also not a fig fan. 
Week 18: squash. I had this dried and salted. It wasn't that bad. I may eat this again if I can find them dried & salted. But honestly it just tasted like salt (which I love). 

I am still a few weeks behind but I am running out of fruits and veggies at my grocery store. I need to visit a fruit stand soon.

____________________

I had some blood work done last week. My levels are looking good. Just my iron is ever-so-slightly low but nothing the doctor was concerned about. 

____________________

I have been walking more often. My knee is still bothering me on and off. I had two knee surgeries last year for those that didn't know. I take Advil and it usually helps. 

I also just purchased a Tony Little Gazelle from someone on Craigslist. It was barely used if at all. My hubby offered the seller $20 and he took it! This retails for $200 on their website. I have been using it since Sunday. It is super fun - kind of like a new toy for me. 

____________________

Tomorrow I am making 4 dozen sugar cookies and 4 dozen cupcakes for our church's woman's tea on Saturday. 

I am going although I don't like tea. They are going to have punch (and I will probably just drink water). It should be a good time to mingle with a few of the church ladies and two of my church best friends are going to be there. 

I will post photos of the cookies & cupcakes tomorrow. 

____________________

Well...that is all. You are all caught up in my (super boring) life. LOL. 

A fun song

I have been watching some of the "TED: ideas worth spreading" episodes on Netflix. 

This song was featured on one of the episodes. I love it. It is short and has an adorable dog in it. :)

Recent Ebay Sales - 5/4/13

Happy Saturday! 

The weather has been gorgeous here in PA- high 60's and sunny. If it was like this year round, we would never even think about moving. 

I have been walking and shopping. The nice weather makes me want to be outside.

Here are a few things that have sold recently. 

1. Vintage "Maya De Mexico" 1950's circle skirt, sold for $130! 

2. Maggy London black jersey halter dress, sold for $23.

3. Jones New York plus-sized dress, sold for $32. 

4. Tibi green, pink & white printed strapless silk dress, sold for $43. 

5. J. Crew wool skirt with a velvet ribbon trim, sold for $40. 

6. Anthropologie "Market" brand lounge pants, sold for $22. 

7. New Talbots printed Bermuda shorts, sold for $20. 

8. Juicy Couture printed strapless swimsuit, sold for $40. 

9. Lot of 27 DVD movies, sold for $45. These were just sitting around my house. Since we have Cable and Netflix, we don't really watch DVDs any more. 

10. Laura Ashley corduroy purple dress, sold for $37 within two days of listing. 

11. Sweet Pea printed nylon top, sold for $21 and it is now on the way to England. (Shipping to England for this top cost about $8)

12. Anthropologie "Floreat" black & yellow sash dress, sold for $36. 

13. I still have a few nail polishes left over from my Big Lots purchase months ago. And they are still selling. This lot of 3 cost me 75 cents (each was 25 cents) and it sold for $7.64. Just a few left to sell! 

14. Isaac Mizrahi for Target cream lace skirt, sold for $18 within a day of listing. 

15. Talbots long black linen sleeveless dress, sold for $20. 

16. Worth off white a-line skirt, sold for $28. 

17. Ann Taylor LOFT summer floral dress, sold for $20. 

18. Anthropologie exclusive "Plenty by Tracy Reese" dress, sold for $30. 

19. Ann Taylor black & white printed dress, sold for $21. 

20. True Religion brown button down shirt, sold for $20. 

21. CAbi brown floral a-line skirt, sold for $23. 

22. New Balance men's leather shoes, sold for $34. I purchased these on ebay for my husband. They didn't fit and we re-sold them. 
 

23. Eddie Bauer long plum-purple floral skirt, sold for $21. This skirt cost me just 20 cents at the thrift!

My new favorite app

I am one of those people that wants recognition when I do something - especially something I don't want to do! My love language is "words of affirmation".

Exercising falls under the category of something I don't every want to do. It takes time, it is usually boring and I am usually exhausted when I am done. I have very little energy anyway so I am not keen on using my energy on something I hate. 

Enter my NEW FAVORITE APP: 

MapMyFitness

It is a free download for your cell phone. It is super easy to use. Once downloaded, you click "run" and then "start". 

It immediately starts to track your walking, biking, hiking or running. And...here is the part that keeps me motivated...it posts it to your Facebook account. 

If I know people are "watching" me on Facebook, I walk a bit faster and a bit longer. I am now accountable to something. Here is what it looks like on my Facebook account:

You can also log into their website to track your progress, see how many calories you burned and do a bunch of other things. 

 
   And another view. 

 
Love it!