Ebates…A Way to Make Money While Doing Your Holiday Shopping

Thanksgiving just came and left.  There were so many things to be grateful for, especially my wonderful family. 

Even my sister from San Diego (www.sandwichemporium.com) and my cousin from the Philippines were able to celebrate the festivities with us.

During the visit my cousin told me about a wonderful site called Ebates.com.  It is a shopping portal that gives you cash back for shopping at major retailers like Toys R Us, Macys, Dell Computer, Target to name a few.

Since this is now the gift giving season of Christmas and Hanukkah, discovering this site was such a blessing.  I am planning to buy gifts for those I love, so why not make and save a few extra bucks while buying the items I was already going to purchase?

So far I have made $41 cash back from items that I bought in the last couple of days.

 There are still a few people on my Christmas list so I know I will be going back to Ebates again!

Soon there will be presents under our Christmas tree from Santa Claus and the family!

Happy Holidays!

(Note: Ebates did not ask me to mention them in my blog.  I added them on because I think it’s great to get cash back!)

 

 

Cyber Monday is Family Day in a Restaurant Owner’s Household and Time to Find Our Christmas Tree

As many people sit in front of their computers busily looking for bargains on line, we are spending our time together as a family.

I mentioned in a previous posting that Mondays are golden in our house! We love Mondays! If you are a restaurant owner’s family you typically live for Mondays since that tends to be when Skappo is closed and the start of the “weekend”. Our weekend is just one day, Monday, but we are happy about it.

This Monday is a beautiful, crisp and clear winter’s day. It is too awesome a day to just spend indoors so we are looking for a Christmas tree.

We will be making some new decorations out of self drying clay that will be painted and varnished.  They will join the many ornaments that came from Michael’s days as a young boy.

Mondays are very important for us to bond and spend time together.  The biggest advertised sale day of the year is not going to stop us.

Cyber Monday is great, but we noticed from past years experience that the “deals” can be found more throughout the year rather than just one day.

For instance, the computer I am using now was purchased for almost $100 cheaper than the advertised “door buster” Cyber Monday price.

Also, some retailers, like Staples or Best Buy, have their Cyber Monday deals from Black Friday onward so you don’t have to just shop on one day.

Still, I am happy for my many family and friends who are shopping today.  They will be helping many retailers and our economy as a whole.

And who knows, maybe when the kids go to bed tonight I might find myself in front of my computer taking part in the last minute Cyber Monday frenzy.

Happy Cyber Monday to you all!  May you buy and save a lot!

Vintage Estate Sale Find of the Week– Early 1900s Antique Gentleman’s Wardrobe Cabinet that I Refinished and Updated Do It Yourself Style

I love vintage, estate and thrift shopping. On a weekly basis I would like to feature my favorite “find” of the week.

In a previous blog I mentioned my life as a treasure hunter. I crave for my vintage fixes.

This week I am presenting an antique gentleman’s wardrobe made in the early 1900s.   I do not have a before picture, but when I found this cabinet the varnish was faded, discolored and scratched, and the original bronze fixtures were painted black.

This was a weekend do it yourself project where I sanded the wood down to remove the old varnish.  When I got a smooth texture I put 2 layers of cherry stain varnish finish (It is a product that has the stain and varnish combined).

I removed the black paint that covered the bronze fixtures with turpentine so it’s beauty could just be enhanced.

This project took about 3 days because I had to wait until the cherry stain varnish dried before I could put a second layer.

I consider this piece to be one of my great finds.

I really believe that if you know what you are looking for you can make someone’s trash into treasure! I feel like that about life too…you can make a challenge into a blessing…it’s all perspective.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness!

 

Vintage Estate Sale Find of the Week– Early 1900s Antique Chair

I love vintage, estate and thrift shopping. On a weekly basis I would like to feature my favorite “find” of the week.

In a previous blog I mentioned my life as a treasure hunter. I crave for my vintage fixes.

This week I am presenting an antique chair made in the early 1900s.  It is made of a rich cherry stained wood and has vintage wheels on the bottom.

The side is carved simply giving it an elegant yet rustic feel.  It is very comfortable and can fit adults and children alike.  Eventually I would like to reupholster it by myself.  I am now sourcing easy, do it yourself, reupholstering instructions as we speak, and I will write about it in a future post.  If you have any interesting links on home reupholstering please send it my way.

This was another piece that I purchased to sell online, but once again I fell in love with it and decided to keep it.  Pretty soon my house will be covered with all my “treasures” and I will have no choice, but to move to a new house or sell my vintage finds!

I really believe that if you know what you are looking for you can make someone’s trash into treasure! I feel like that about life too…you can make a challenge into a blessing…it’s all perspective.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness!

 

Vintage Thrift Shopping Find of the Week – Kina Lillet French Robys Professional Framed Poster

Kina Lillet French Liquor Poster by Robys 1937

I love estate sales, vintage and thrift shopping. On a weekly basis I would like to feature my favorite “find” of the week.

In a previous blog I mentioned my life as a treasure hunter. I crave for my vintage fixes.

This week I found an authentic Kina Lillet French poster by Robys.  This is not the typical poster shop print but the high-end art grade printing that was professionally framed.  This is a large piece of art that is 29 x 32.5 inches in size.

I was thinking of selling this poster, but it makes me smile too much.   It greets all visitors at my front door.  The colors are so vibrant and I love the “joie de vivre” (joy of life) of the subject.

Coincidentally my husband Michael has always wanted a vintage French liquor poster.  He was floored when he saw this beauty hanging from our walls.

In another post I’ll show some of the items that I have brought home that Michael has not loved so much, but will tolerate because of his love for me!

I really believe that if you know what you are looking for you can make someone’s trash into treasure!  I feel like that about life too…you can make a challenge into a blessing…it’s all perspective.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness!