MelissaStuff

I have been so busy lately that shopping - let alone consignment sale shopping - has just not been on my radar. But the one sale I am making time for is the Just Between Friends - Ft. Worth sale. It's Texas' largest consignment and maternity sale held in the Will Rogers' Memorial Center  - Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall. This year's sale will be held Thursday, September 3, 2015 through Saturday, September 13, 2015, so there's plenty of time to schedule a shopping trip (or two)! If you are a first-time parent or grandparent, you can sign up and  get a free pass to get in to shop early . Or you can consign or volunteer, both of which will get you in early as well. But here's the deal - not only will I make time shop consignment, I will also make it a priority to make time to sell consignment. Let me tell you why. #1 - It forces you to take the time to clean out closets, toy bins, under beds and the backseat of the car. It's so easy to get busy and put t...

With all the boys in my house, we're rough on swimsuits . . . and I'm not a huge fan of the typical character suits. With sadness this week, I had to put my absolute favorite swimsuit (with matching sun guard) in my consignment pile. It's a 3T and my littlest one is wearing 5s now. I just couldn't stretch it to make it work any further. You can imagine how excited I was to find that the site they were purchased from - Cabana Life - which can be pretty expensive was having a 60% off sale with the code LDAY15 ! Hurry, it's ending soon but the suits are fun, bright and well made especially if you have fair-skinned littles. They also have girls, women's, coverups and more. Note shipping is $9.95 so not cheap but still a good value for what you are getting - and the code isn't good on items already on sale. Enjoy! Can't wait to see what you get.

I love consignment sales. There's just something about not wasting items and getting incredible deals and finding new things. Thursday, April 4 the JBF McKinney sale opens up to the public. There are some incredible deals to be had there. I found this brand new Rangers tank top for just $6. Supporting the @Rangers and shopping some great #jbfmckinneydeals pic.twitter.com/7QyQhpgGrJ  — MelissaStuff (@melstuffblog) April 1, 2014 And the best deal of the day this child-size Schmidt Classical Guitar for my boy who has requested a "real" guitar for his birthday . . . online you can buy it for $100 - $200. I paid just $15!! You can shop Thursday, then on Friday the half-price sale is held where you can get even more AMAZING deals.  I'd love to know what you find . . .  

This week I had the best time when I went to a special Black Friday preview at Grapevine Mills Mall. We started by having dinner and drinks at the AMC theater there - that's right a full meal and bar at a movie theater. They did an awesome job and I would absolutely eat there again in the future. (If you know me well by now, you'll know I was quite impressed by the fact that the server checked the glasses for spots before filling it for me . . . and actually rejected the first glass and got a new one!) From there we went on a highlight tour of the mall. They've updated their bathrooms in the food court and Chili's Express has a whole new look to it. Several of the stores have new glass fronts and updated lighting. Several more will be updated or even moved to larger locations in the mall early next year. The Nike outlet store is actually an outlet and had some good deals on workout clothes, Nike brand clothing and shoes. There is a new yogurt shop - Wild Berry...

I was able to go shop at the pre-pre-pre-pre-sale at the JBF Mckinney/Allen Consignment Sale this week. Ha! It's like a kid in a candy shop. I loved every minute of it. (If you missed my tips for shopping consignment , check it out before you go.) This sale is the biggest sale JBF Mckinney/Allen has ever had. In fact, they've grown so big that next year they're moving to a new location. I found some amazing deals - DVDs for a $1, belts, socks, underwear, and black shoes (5 pairs, I think!) It was fun just to walk through and see everything that was available. Here's a little of what you will see . . . There are shoes literally stacked on top of each other. I found brand new Stride Rites for $8. Some great play shoes with lots of wear left for just $3. Games - board games, video games, toys, puzzles, books. This is the place to buy all of those things that get lost, broken and used up so fast that paying full price is a waste.  There's an ent...

So . . . if you hadn't heard  . . . we're going on a cruise in October. A Disney cruise. And my best friend is a little bit nuts and talked me into having a theme at every meal where we dressed like different Disney characters. In the process of planning, I lobbied for a "Villain Night" and she gave in because she loves me like that. Over the last couple of months I have been on the search for the perfect outfit - dressy with a splash of evil. Something different, a bit edgy. Something that will be bold and look good at the same time. When I was contacted to try out Novica - a company that partners with National Geographic to bring unique items from artisans around the world directly to your home - I had a hard time deciding what to choose. They have home decor, jewelry, clothing. I must have looked through the website for a couple of hours all told. In the end, I found myself drawn to this piece: This jersey vest, called "Sumatra Night," is made...

This shirt arrived in the mail from Resurrecting Vintage this week. While our whole crew is planning Disney outfits, my husband has been the sole hold out. He isn't dying to plaster Disney all over himself, and yet he doesn't want to be the only party pooper either. So when I saw this shirt I knew this might be a perfect solution. Sold on Etsy by Resurrecting Vintage this is a red and black vintage Mickey shirt originally sold by Disneyland in the USA. This is actually a picture of him in the shirt and he loved the softness, the relaxed broken in look and the  not-so-glaring look. I'm actually excited that it won't shrink or distort in proportion when I wash and dry it. Now if I can just find about 6 more just like this . . .

So, my blog has definitely taken a back seat for the last few months or so and it's time for that to change. We are completely, ridiculously, overwhelmingly planning for our upcoming Disney cruise with our kids. Personally, I think I feel like I should keep myself busy so I don't have time to wonder about how vacation and kids can go in the same sentence . . . but it's been fun and we have found great deals along the way, as well as some unique, handmade items that might not be quite bargains. Here's a quick preview of some of the things to come in the next few weeks -

Went to this sale yesterday and it was amazing! Lots of samples, overstock and even full outfits with minor damage. These outfits retail for $65 so getting them for $5 is CRAZY awesome. Check it out if you can fit it in this morning.  

Great offers on pjs today.  $8 for top and pants or a 3 pc set of thermal pjs . Or for $12.97 you can get a pair of character pjs AND a robe ! They come in sizes 4 to 12 and have everything from Disney to Angry Birds and My Little Pony. Use  Ebates  and earn an additional 5% cash back. New members will get a  $5 bonus or a $10 gift card  on top of the cash back when you spend $25 or more in a single transaction!  Thanks Couponing to Disney!

Stopped in our local mall yesterday just to see what was on sale, and lucked into some AWESOME deals on shoes. Children's Place had the majority of their shoes (excluding sandals and flip flops) on sale for just $4.99. I got dress shoes, school shoes, and some adorable deck shoes for all three of my boys. Then we went to Gymboree just down the way, I figured I was full up on shoes. But they had up to 70% off with an additional 25% off everything in the store. I got a pair of hightop canvas shoes with flaming basketballs on them for just $3.85! And another really cute pair of white canvas shoes decorated like baseballs for around $8. If you need shoes, you need to go by these stores this weekend.

$40 for $80 in Designer Swimwear Ugh, trying to purchase a swimsuit after kids is a challenge to say the least. If you're dragging  one or more children along with you . . . it's a recipe for disaster! I found this site and was thrilled with how they help you find the right bathing suits just for your body type. Some of the suits can be a bit pricey but with this deal I would definitely spend the money to have a suit I feel good in.  And if the suit arrives and it doesn't fit or you just don't like it on you, Swimspot has a great exchange policy - it's FREE! So try as many suits as you like until you find the perfect suit for you.

This was my Kohl's receipt for my shopping trip yesterday! A couple of times a year I stock up on clothing for all of our family members during peak sale times - April is one of them! Knowing I would be making some money from consignment sales this week, I went ahead and spent more than I usually do in one shopping trip . . . but you can tell from my total saved that I got some GREAT deals. Right now both in store and online Kohl's has their clearance marked down to 80 - 90% off . I was able to get 4 Valentine's placemats for $.79, some Crayola Model Magic for $.79, underwear and socks for about $1 each, UT jerseys (and they had Cowboy jerseys - not sure if they were the same price) for $4.50. I could go on and on. I will be hitting the 75% off sale at Divine Consign in the morning, but it was fun to pick up some new stuff today for consignment sale prices! If you shop through   Shop at Home   or   Ebates   you will get cash back and an additional $5 for...

I should have shared this with you earlier, but I almost died this morning when my car had a blowout on the highway while I was driving over 70 mph in the fast lane with no shoulder . . . so my day hasn't quite gone as planned. But before the day is over, I wanted to make sure you saw that Children's Place is running a special today where you can get 15% off and FREE shipping on any purchase. I picked up an adorable little t-shirt for just $3.39! How fun is that? Go through Shop at Home and you'll also get an additional 8% back! (If you are new to Shop at Home, you'll also get a bonus $5 just for signing up.)

**Warning: This is a video of how to wear this shirt, so the model is not full clothed throughout.** Yeah!! This Undercover Mama deal ran for just a couple days last week and everyone loved it. I'm so glad that Plum District brought it back so more people could take advantage. I can't say enough good things about these tank tops. They're extra long, super soft, make great layering tanks even if you're not nursing and with this deal SUPER affordable. For $15 you get one tank top and have $5 left over towards a second . . . and if you sign up for a new account through Plum Distric t right now, I'll send you a $5 off code to use on that purchase. And if you send me your purchase confirmation email , I'll send you $10 more!

$15 for an Undercover Mama tank top In August of 2010 when I was still in the throws of nursing, I reviewed these tank tops . . . and can I tell you I still wear it?! I'm NOT nursing anymore, but it's the perfect tank top to wear underneath that shirt that's just a little lower than you want or the wrap around dress that won't stay closed.  The unique way the shirt is made means there are no extra straps to contend with. And the shirt has withstood over a year of repeatedly being worn and washed.

Ruelala is offering 30 days of FREE shipping right now. I used them fairly extensively over the holidays to purchase gifts . . . and every single one of those gifts was bragged and bragged on. With FREE shipping , this is definitely the time to try out a purchase from RueLaLa !

My aunt is a connoisseur of awesome old items . . . and sometimes she'll even part with a few of them. If you're interested in items like these: You can get 5 0% off at the Vintage 2010 - Lady MoMo Etsy store when you mention the MelissaStuff blog !

You can get incredible deals on the latest, trendiest jewelry when Charming Charlie’s has these kind of sales.

One of my favorite stores - The Boy's Store - is having a special sale. Get an additional 30% off any purchase when you use the code NewYear at checkout. You can read more about the Boy's Store in the review I wrote last year.