Goodwill Goodie Makeover ~ Before

In between cleaning the entire house and loads of laundry today, I'm trying my hand at another Goodwill Goodie Makeover.  Once again it's a bit windy outside, but the painting went well and I even attempted 2 colors of paint.  I'm letting the cutting board dry and then will move onto distressing it.  Here's the before photo ~

By tomorrow it should be finished!

$316.72 of Dancewear for $15.00

Last night dance classes began again for my DD.  I hadn't gotten around to trying on her ballet slippers, jazz shoes, or tap shoes from last year but thought that all should still fit (considering we had purchased all a bit big).  It's a good thing she tried them on before we left the house!  The ballet slippers and jazz shoes fit wonderfully ~ the tap shoes were another story.  For those of you that haven't been graced by a dancer in your home, dance shoes run differently than regular shoes.  You absolutely can't guess what size to purchase ~ you need to have the dancer try them on.  For instance, DD's ballet slippers are a size 8,  jazz shoes are a size 5.5, and the tap shoes were a 2.5.  I could have been in a panic ~ we needed to leave the house in 10 minutes to make it to class and the closest dance supply store is over an hour away.  That's when my thrifty shopping came to to the rescue.

Last year while shopping at Goodwill, I came upon a tub overflowing with brand-new tap shoes.  The excitement was almost overwhelming!  However, after inspecting the top few shoes it became clear why these shoes had been donated.  There were no taps.  Tap shoes and taps can be purchased separately ~ I'm not sure why a person would because it is a costly option.  So I began to walk away, but something made me investigate that tub further.  I started to remove the un-tapped shoes and about half way through the tub found a shoe with taps.  My excitement began to grow once again.  After removing one more shoe,  there they were.  Pairs and pairs of shoes with taps!  Not only tap shoes, but jazz shoes as well.  It took time to sort and find the correct pairs ~ about half were missing the mate.  When I was finished, I had before me 6-almost new pairs of tap shoes and 2 pairs of jazz shoes.  The taps were size 4,  2-size 5,  size 6,  size 7.5, and size 8.  The jazz were size 6 and size 7.  I purchased every pair,  plus 2 leotards that I had found.  The total bill was $15.  If I had purchased everything new,  the bill would have been $316.72.

I came home, disinfected the shoes, washed the leos, and put them away in a tote.  I thought that these shoes would last for several years of dance ~ not so lucky.  Discovering that DD's tap shoes were too small,  I pulled out the tote and took out the size 4 tap shoes.  After all,  that would be the next logical shoe to fit.  They weren't even close.  So onto the size 5 shoes we went.  Once again, these weren't fitting.  We even tried the other pair of size 5 thinking that a different brand may run bigger ~ couldn't even get her whole foot in.  Out came the size 6.  Finally we had a winner.  In 4 minutes, DD had went through 3 pairs of tap shoes that I had planned would last her at least 2 years.  Was I ever thankful that I had purchased all 6 pairs that day!

Thanks to Goodwill, DD was able to tap away at class last night.  Added bonuses are we won't be making the hour long trip to the dance store this week, I still have 2 pairs of tap shoes and 2 pairs of jazz shoes in storage, I can re-sell the shoes that don't fit, the money I paid to Goodwill goes to a good cause, and I have $301.72 still in the bank.  All this for the few minutes it took me to sort through an overflowing tub of shoes.

Harvest Memories

From the looks of the fields, it won't be long before harvest starts. Harvest always brings back memories of riding in the combine with Dad, sitting in the tractor with Grandpa, and tagging along when Mom took supper out to the field. She always had 3 little farmers that had to have their supper out there with Dad. It was so much fun to be eating out of cake pans and sneaking sips of pop from Dad's bottle! Mom's cooking never tasted so good. With Dad retired from farming, it makes me sad that my kids won't be able to have those experiences. Those were some great family bonding times.

The bus couldn't get us home fast enough when Dad was out in the field.  Before we had homework, it was straight out to the combine.  Once homework hit, it had to be completed first.  Dad's combine wasn't one of these new ones with the built-in buddy seat.  We had to take our turn and squeeze in between Dad's seat and the door ~ just enough room for our little tushies to fit.  There was a metal "shelf" that encircled his seat that not only provided a place for us to sit, it also served as a bed.  I could never make it more than 2 rounds before I was lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of the crops being harvested.  Dad always kept a Pioneer Seed sweatshirt and vest stored there ~ perfect bedding!  I don't ever remember being woke up and taken out of the combine, but somehow Dad managed to get me out and down the ladder so that Mom could take me home.

When it wasn't our turn in the combine, we would keep Grandpa company in the tractor.  On nice days, he would let us play in the grain wagon and in the corn or beans.  What fun that was!  Corn and beans would mysterious find their way into our pockets, shoes, socks, and toes.  Being a mother now, I know what it was like for Mom to be doing laundry only to have corn or beans spilling out from everywhere.  When Dad came into sight with a load ready to dump, we would scurry like mice out and down the ladder and back into the tractor cab.  One of my favorite memory of Grandpa is when he would take out his handkerchief and make me a baby-in-a-cradle.  To this day, I still don't know how he did it.  Grandpa's been gone for 23 years now, and I'm so thankful that I was able to spend so much time with him during harvest.

Dad retired from farming 13 years ago ~ most of the tractors have been sold as has the combine.  That was a sad day when the John Deere left the yard for the last time.  Thankfully we all did get one last ride with Dad as did the grandkids.  A few tears were shed ~ farming was my Dad's life and it had provided a great childhood for us.  Now that chapter had ended.  Harvest time has never been the same out at Dad and Mom's; but the smells at this time of year, the crispness of the air, and the turning of the crops bring back childhood memories that can never be retired or sold.  I wouldn't trade growing up as a farmer's daughter for any other life ~ it was the best!

Goodwill Goodie Makeover ~ After

The first attempt at a Goodwill Goodie Makeover has been a success!  I'm so pleased with the results and can't wait to dive into my stash of finds.  However, I'm afraid that this is going be addicting!  So here is how both pieces turned out ~

It's been a beautiful day here on the farm and the kids have been entertained with our 4 week old kittens.  This gave me plenty of time to finish up this project and do a couple loads of laundry.  In fact, it is so nice outside that I was able to paint out on the deck and enjoy the weather too.  Fall is definitely in the air!  This is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I think this week I will be busy baking pumpkin bars and banana bread.  Oh ~ and trying another makeover!

First Attempt at a Goodwill Goodie Makeover ~ Before

Today I have been trying my hand at some Goodwill goodie makeovers.  It's my first attempt and I think it's going quite well!  I'm not ready to show the after photos yet ~ I'm hoping by tomorrow the painting will be done and dried.  I prefer to paint outside and the wind isn't cooperating today, so it's been slow going.

Here are the 2 goodies that I have been working on ~

I'm painting both flat black and then plan on distressing.  So far so good!  Keep checking back to see the finished result!

Here I Go!

Welcome to A Bushel and A Peck! 

Let me introduce myself ~  I am a Iowa girl through and through.  I was raised on a small family farm in north central Iowa and stayed in Iowa to attend Central College.  My DH is also a Iowa farm boy who attended the University of Northern Iowa.  We have been married for 13 years, all of which have been spent here.  Being able to raise our DS and DD in the heart of the midwest has been a blessing.  Four years ago we were able to purchase our dream acreage and have been busy working on it ever since.  I love being able to "prim" it!  I am a SAHM and our children are in 5th and 2nd grade.  God has been so good to us!

I have been so inspired by the many blogs that I have followed that I finally decided to give one a go myself.  I love primitives, Americana-style decor, and making our house a home.  When I'm not busy with the kids, you can find me tweaking and rearranging!  I invite you to join me on my adventure through heirloom treasures, Goodwill goodies, and the journey God has set out before me!