Thriftstore Treasure!

(Or, Why You Should Go Thrifting in a Rich Neighborhood)

I popped into the Goodwill in Folsom on a whim, thinking it would be nice to get some "new" clothes for work. After browsing the pants and skirts, I breezed by the dress rack when a flash of red satin caught my eye.

I pulled it out of the rack for a closer look and nearly fell over. Yes, the tag is still attached. Yes, the tag says Ralph Lauren.

It didn't have a special Goodwill price tag, so I double-checked with the lady at the register. She confirmed that it was $5.99. I nearly fell over again. It sells for $169.00 (gasp).

This led me to a flurry of questions. Who would give a brand-new dress to Goodwill? How on Earth could Ralph Lauren charge $169 for an unlined dress? Why didn't the people at Goodwill mark it up?

But most important--do I have it altered and keep it (which costs me money) or flip it on eBay (which makes me money)?

What's your vote? Keep it or flip it? Comments, please...

EcoSMART Winner!

Congratulations to Irene, who won the EcoSmart Value bundle giveaway! The Safe Patio Value Bundle is coming your way.

Thanks to everybody who entered!

EcoSMART Value Bundle Giveaway: $25 value!

It’s tomato time! And where there are tomatoes, there are tomato worms. These little turkeys will take a bite from all of your delicious ‘maters if you don’t exterminate them--but how?

Earlier this year, I tried some products by EcoSMART and was impressed. The active ingredients in their products are essential plant oils, which is just perfect for the BrownThumb house and all associated critters.

They make an organic weed killer and organic pesticides. I used the Garden Insect Killer on my tomatoes and was thrilled with the results. The bumblebees are still buzzing around, but there are no tomato worms to be seen.

The Giveaway!

EcoSMART is offering one BrownThumbMama reader a value bundle to try at your house. Choose from one of these:
Safe Home Value Bundle
Safe Plant and Garden Value Bundle
Safe Picnic Value Bundle
Safe Patio Value Bundle


How to enter:
•    Leave a comment and let me know which value bundle you’d choose and why. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

For bonus entries (leave a separate comment for each one):
•    “Like” BrownThumbMama on Facebook (Let me know if you already do.)
•    Subscribe for free by email or RSS. (If you already subscribe, let me know.)
•    Tweet about the giveaway and post the link to your tweet.
•    Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall or blog.

Contest will be open until 7pm PDT on Friday, August 27, 2010 and I’ll announce the winner on Saturday. U.S. only, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Winner will be chosen at random.

Why Didn't I Think of That? Wednesday

Each Wednesday I'll share a tip to make your week go more smoothly or just make you say "aha!" 


I'm usually late on my spring cleaning, but I generally get around to it before the summer is over. The aftermath of all that cleaning and vacuuming leads us to today's tip.

Time to clean the vacuum brush? Use a seam ripper to easily cut through the thread, hair, and string that gets wrapped around the brush.

When to Harvest Spaghetti Squash

The spaghetti squash are going berserk this year. There are at least six growing on one plant! Even though they started growing at about the same time, they aren't all ready to pick yet. Here's what to look for.

The skin should be a deep, golden yellow. See how the one hiding in the back is still pale? He needs to stay and grow a bit longer.

When you've found a likely suspect, double-check that it's ready by trying to pierce the skin with your thumbnail. Then use your Felco Pruner to cut it off with an inch of stem attached. (Yes, the Felcos are a bit expensive, but they are sharp as all heck and cut through *everything* like butter. I love 'em!)

Snap a picture, sit back with your Moosewood Cookbook, and get ready for some good eatin'!

Asking for Freebies and Discounts: It Never Hurts!

Afraid to ask for a discount or freebie? Don’t be! You may be intimidated at first, but everyone is being thrifty these days and most people will understand.

Here are some goodies that have come my way this past week, just by asking and/or being a willing recipient. Give it a try—you might be surprised what will come your way.

A truckload of nicely decomposed horse manure for the garden. A friend is taking riding lessons and asked the ranch manager what she charged for it. She was happy to scoop up a huge pile with the tractor and give it to me for free.
Approximate value: $30

Another friend was cleaning out his parents’ backyard. They cut down a tree and since they don’t have a fireplace, he gave us the wood.
Approximate value: $10

We went on vacation to Fort Bragg, and I was unable to find a decent hotel on Priceline or Kayak. When we got there, the Holiday Inn Express was the best-looking place around—but it was $50 more than I planned to pay. I asked the front desk clerk if he had any specials or discounts, and told him my price range. He knocked $40 off the rate and we had a wonderful place to stay!
Value: $80 (2 nights)

A work friend and I often swap gardening stories, trying to figure out what to do about bugs, and sharing our harvests. He gave me a bunch of seeds to try next year, including purple bush beans and sugar baby pumpkins.
Approximate value: $5

Total for the week: $125

Not bad, huh? Do you have a freebie story to share? Tell us in the comments!

Rough Day at Work?

Remove shoes.

Enter backyard.

Apply "garden" liberally to soles of feet and palms of hands.

Return to house only when inhabitants threaten to riot for their dinner.

Reapply "garden" as needed for speedy, lasting relief.

Why Didn't I Think of That? Wednesday

Each Wednesday I'll share a tip to make your week go more smoothly or just make you say "aha!" 


Keep blue cheese (tightly wrapped) in the freezer. It will still crumble up easily for salads and won't stink up the fridge.

Seed GROW Project: Relief from the heat

Previously, on Seed GROW Project:

[You'll have to imagine the sound effects from 24, since I fought with Blogger for an hour and couldn't upload the WAV file.]

Last month, my nasties were baking in the sun. They had barely grown since Jackjack showed them off in the picture above.

This month, they still aren't much bigger but one of them bloomed for me. See that teeny little orange spot on the left? Yep, there she is. Hooray!

I'm hoping the straw will keep some moisture in the soil to give the nasties and cukes a bit more oomph. There's also a big bucket of compost tea cooking up in the backyard to help them out.


Tune in every first Sunday for updates on my seeds and visit GROW to see reports from across the US and Canada.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.