Rummage Rumble

This week we emerged back into the world of actual shopping. I am my mother's daughter this way: real, store-to-store shopping for things besides food and gifts feels like too much work for me, except in one instance: when it is secondhand and CHEEP CHEEP. Then it feels like: Yay! (Enter Kool and the Gang song here.)

In this tradition, I hesitantly bought Lena a pair of shoes at Marshalls only to find two cuter pairs for CHEEPer at Milk Money, a kids consignment shop in Montclair. For those of you who feel that secondhand shoes cross the comfort line, my husband shares your concern but I don't. There are too many cute, unused shoes to be rescued, especially the European ones! And for me, how else can I find Doc Martens for $5, priced by Toms River's finest volunteer grannies?

Our week of actual shopping culminated in today's Volunteer Nurses' Association Rummage Sale in Far Hills, which is a HUGE, circus-sized rummage sale; for bargain hunters, it's the megachurch. The rules seem to be you go early, with big bags, and no complaints.

For our third foray to VNA, the Bean was lucky enough to meet up with her friend, M, and they played lustily in the sunshine. Meanwhile, parents and babies shopped, because babies, alas, are too young to make genuine claims on their options to "shop" vs. "sit and eat finger food mushed into the blanket!" Soon enough, they got to do that too.

With the help of K. and J., who hopefully found what they came for, I was able to find a stack of planters to dress up our under-CHEEP-renovation backyard, and larger-sized clothing for the Bean. She, on the other hand, turned down an offer to visit the toy tent, so her simple day of play and picnicking must have--and why wouldn't it for anyone?--been enough.