Don't Forget to Check!

I know it seems I have totally abandoned this blog. I haven't forgotten, just been busy keeping Stroke Of Grace (my current stroke recovery story) up to date, working on my fishing my latest book project, Harvesting Hope from Heartache (a devotional that primarily focuses on the fruit of the Spirit), and adding a lot of ideas to my InnerBeautyGirlz page and many other boards at Pintrest, what I really came here to be sure you knew about!

From Quotes & Thoughts

I'm really excited about this new, ever-growing, visual resource, especially the recent recipes where I learned about how to make your own mineral makeup or how to really whiten your teeth! :) Please let me know if you try these (or any others) and what you thought!

Intentional Kindness

I'm guest blogging on the topic of Inner Beauty as a monthly columnist over at Glory and Strength. This year we are looking together at characteristics that set a woman apart as a Christian, as found in Galatians 5:22-23.

Drop by Glory and Strength and click on "Growing in Glory" to find my latest reflections. This month we are talking about Not-so-Random acts of Kindness. Here's a little taste to get you started. (And don't forget to keep reading to the bottom of this post to grab a great discount and free gifts code for Affordable Mineral Makeup too!)

We all love a feel good story, like the one from Bloomington, Illinois, where 142 Starbucks coffee patrons paid for the customer behind them in the drive-thru line... This must be what it means to exhibit kindness through the power of God’s Spirit, right?

Perhaps random acts of kindness capture a small picture of God’s mission for His people, but really such actions only begin to scratch the surface of God-driven kindness. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong or unkind with blessing others in these random ways, but is that what it’s all about?

There are lots of good people out there who could easily offer random kindnesses for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with God. If I’m looking to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus, what sets my actions and attitudes apart from any other philanthropist?

Please come read more about kindness here. In July I'll be tackling "goodness." :) I would love to hear what you think "goodness" means as I'm putting together my next article. Won't you please leave my your thoughts in the comment section here?

------- Sponsorship Message and Coupon Code -------

My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers. AMM does NOT contain harmful bismuth or other skin irritants fillers, talc, nanoparticles nor micronized minerals. Our soothing line will not clog pores, contains natural SPF properties, helps calm irritated skin with its zinc content, and is water resistant.

For a limited time [please visit "discount codes" to be sure you are viewing the latest promotion], get 4 FREE GIFTS, valued up to $40.69, AND take 25% OFF every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
hotdeal611

Don't forget to claim your FREE GIFTS!

With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) receive FOUR wonderful FREE gifts of one 30-gram sifter jar with your choices of product - up to a $30.79 value AND THREE samples of your choice of makeup - a $9.90 value, all FREE with your purchase! To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selection in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.

Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) If you remember to list my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section when you place your order, I would appreciate that too. Thank you for your business and support!

Three Gifts

For a limited time [please visit "discount codes" to look for current promotions], take 25% off every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
threefree511

But wait, there's more! FREE GIFTS!!!

With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive three wonderful free gifts, in ADDITION to your 25% order savings:

One Mini Kabuki Brush ($6.49 value)
AND
One 10-gram sifter jars with your choice of product (up to a $19.79 value)
AND
One 20-gram sifter jar with your choice of product (up to a $25.79 value) with your purchase!

To redeem the free gifts worth up to a $52.07 value with your $19.95 purchase, use the above coupon code then please list your requested free product selections in your ORDER COMMENTS (not added to your cart!) when you place your order.
Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.

Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) If you remember to list my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section when you place your order, I would appreciate that too. Thank you for your business and support!

-------------------------

My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers. AMM does NOT contain harmful bismuth or other skin irritants fillers, talc, nanoparticles nor micronized minerals. Our soothing line will not clog pores, contains natural SPF properties, helps calm irritated skin with its zinc content, and is water resistant.

Not Anonymous

There's a great discount code at the bottom of nearly every post. If that's what you are looking for, scroll on down to the sponsorship message. :) For anyone who wants to know my heart, here's today's post:

The most frequent comments I receive to this website are posted by some kind person named, "Anonymous." Anonymous seems to love my page. Sometimes she posts 30-50 times in any given week.

Strangely enough, most of her posts are flagged by my filters as SPAM. I wonder why? Perhaps it's because Anonymous loves to post a ton of links with her comments, often to websites that are anything but beautiful.

Perhaps it is because some of Anonymous' other posts seem like they could be from a real person with real desire to interact, but because she doesn't log in through an account nor is she willing to sign any name other than "Anonymous," I really can't bring myself to approve her comments even if they might be legitimate.

In God's eyes, no matter how small we may feel, God never sees us as Anonymous! He not only knows if we are real people rather than computer programming, He knows every detail about our lives, even the number of hairs on our heads. He know the beautiful places in our hearts, the ones that sometimes we can't even see for ourselves. And He knows the broken places, the ones He longs to redeem and repair.

To everyone reading who is not named Anonymous, I really would love to hear from you - real, living, breathing, beautiful women. If you don't want to use a Google account identity, could you please at least sign your first name and give me some reason to believe you are actually interested in communication? Otherwise I might think you are a random SPAMbot going around saying, "Great post!"

If I can't figure out that you are a real person who has actually read the post where you are commenting, I won't approve your comment. I love knowing friends and forging relationships, but I need some help from your end because I have no desire to friend any computer program even if she does have a fun name like Anonymous. ;) It makes me very sad to ignore anyone who just might be real, so please don't leave me guessing.


----- Affordable Mineral Makeup™ Discount Offer ----------

My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers.

For a limited time [if this offer has expired by the time you read this post, please visit "discount codes" to look for current promotions], take 20% off every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
flyinghigh311
(This week in 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.)

With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive three free gifts with your purchase! Your gifts are three 5-gram sifter jars with your choice of product (up to $23.37 value).

To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selections in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately. If you could also leave my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section, this will help identify me as your consultant when your order is fulfilled.

Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link rather than on the main company page so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) Thank you for your business and support!

New You

Yup, it's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts saying goodbye to the past year and preparing for a "fresh start," piling up New Years' resolutions that will mostly be shattered before February even gets here. We hope to wipe away past failures and replace them with victories, but my friend, in our own strength, we can never find lasting change.

I know this blog has gotten a little soft in content the past year or so, mostly being a collection of advertising and sales links. I've been rather "burned out" on beauty blogging the past year, focusing on many health issues. Recently I've gotten excited about this blog again and want to breath new life into my posts here. I'm not promising anything spectacular or earth shattering, but I am hoping to refresh my efforts at deeper content this next year. I'm starting by taking this moment to really bring us back to the original heart purpose of this blog, my desire to bring glory to God as we celebrate the beauty He sees in us as His handwork.

As we revel in the joys of womanhood, what real change can we seek in the new year? If anyone reading does not know with certainty where you would spend eternity if you were to die today, let's start right there. This week we have celebrated Christmas, the coming of God to earth as a fragile Baby. If that were the whole story, it would be a sweet tradition and nothing more. Thankfully that Baby came with a purpose. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Do you ever feel lost? He came to bring purpose to your life, and to mine!

Over 2,000 years since His birth, there is still more factual, historical evidence for the person of Jesus Christ than even remains many United States presidents. There is no question that He was (and is!) a real person, the question is what you believe about who He is? If you say He was a "good man" or a "good teacher" then I must challenge your beliefs. He claimed to be God! With this claim there are only three options:
- He either is who He claims to be (and thus, so much more than just a prophet or another good teacher)
- or He was delusional, truly believing Himself to be God and so deceiving not only His followers but Himself (and thus certainly not a "good teacher" I would choose to follow)
- or He was intentionally lying about Himself (and absolutely knocked out of the "good man" category).

Who do you say Jesus is? I say He is my Lord and Savior. The one and only Living God, who was tempted in every way as I am, yet lived a sinless life, being crucified to pay the death penalty for my own sins. Again, if that's the end of the story, it's a sad one indeed, but as promised from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve first made a choice for sin, He has power over life and death and the grave could not hold Him! It is in His resurrection that I find true hope and peace.

Still questioning? Then here's a realistic New Year's resolution for you. Challenge God to make Himself real to you in 2011! He promises, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you are looking for real, lasting change for 2011 and beyond, here's your answer. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

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That's the heart of what this blog is all about ladies, the kind of content I want to bring you more of in the coming year! To keep this blog live, I do have to pay the bills too. So, here's a "word from our sponsor". ;)

This is a great one you won't want to miss. In a nutshell, you spend $16, take 25% off that total AND receive an additional $14 in free gifts! Keep reading for details. :)

Place any Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order of $15.95 or greater from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through December 31, 2010 and receive 25% OFF your entire order AND Get *TWO FREE GIFTS* when you use COUPON CODE:
newyou1210

Free Gifts (while supplies last):
*New sleek black Mini Kabuki brush ($6.49 value) AND
*5g Sifter Jar with YOUR CHOICE** OF PRODUCT (Up to a $7.49 value)
(**Indicate your choice of product in your order comments.)

Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! Simply place your order through my website at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and enter newyou1210 in the coupon code field when you checkout. Offer valid through 12/31/2010. Enjoy! :)

Mineral Makeup Sale!

Place any qualifying* Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through December 24, 2010 and receive 30% OFF your entire order AND Get A Free Mini Kabuki brush ($6.49 value, while supplies last) when you use COUPON CODE: hohoho1210

(*Minimum Qualifying Order Value $15.95)

Value of a Written Word (and 25% Savings)!

When was the last time you took a moment to put pen to paper and actually write a letter, even a brief note, to someone? In this digital age, it's easy to overlook the value of the gift of time and personal touch, but doesn't it make your day to open your mail box and find someone has done that very thing for you?

Tomorrow is Letter Writing Day (possibly established originally in Japan, where the beauty of written language is still a literal art form). In celebration, Affordable Mineral Makeup™ is offering you 25% off every order you place in the amount of at least $15.95 from now through Dec. 10, 2010. When you place your order at www.InnerBeautyGirlz.com simply write the code:
letterweek1210
in the coupon code field at checkout. You will also receive a sweet free gift ($6.49 value) with each order!

You know that verse about, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? Here's a paraphrase I like, "Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get" (Matthew 7:12, The Message). So While you are waiting for the mail to come and your makeup to be delivered, why not take a moment and drop a note in that mail box for a friend?

More about the beauty of words can be found today on my friend Holley Gerth's website. Well worth your time to read.

Another 20% Discount!

Place an Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order of only $10 (or more) from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from Now through November 12, 2010 and take 20% off your entire order AND get a free gift* when you use coupon code dogpatch1110 at checkout.

No limits! No exclusions! Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! :)

* With every order, we will include a new sleek black Mini Kabuki brush, regularly priced at $6.49, FREE WITH YOUR ORDER!

If you would be so kind as to please be sure to enter the catalog portion of our website through my direct link at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com (especially if you leave the website then come back again later to place your order) and to also place my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section of your order to let the company owner know that I'm your consultant, I would greatly appreciate your assistance in assuring I am able to continue servicing your Affordable Mineral Makeup™ needs in the future. Thank you so much. :)

Save 20% on Mineral Makeup + GIFT!

Place any Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) order of $10 or more from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through November 5, 2010 and take 20% OFF your entire purchase when you use coupon code eggme1110 at checkout!

But wait, that's not all! (Can't you just hear my infomercial voice?) With every order placed using this special promotional code, you will also receive a FREE Mini Kabuki brush with a retail value of $6.49! :)

No limits or restrictions. No exclusions. Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! Simply place your order and enter eggme1110 in the coupon code field when you checkout. Enjoy!!!

When you take advantage of this great deal, if you would be so kind as to be sure you are always entering the AMM website directly through the "shop" button on my consultant page at InnerBeautyGirls.com and that you leave my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section when you make your purchase, I would greatly appreciate it. This will help assure that your order is credited to my account and that I am able to continue servicing your Affordable Mineral Makeup needs in the future. Thank you so much! :)

SWIRL Your Savings

SWIRL is a new website I've just discovered. They offer high end designer items at "deep" discounts. (Sometimes that means a $400 wallet is "only" $150 now - still far out of my comfort zone! But it can also mean a $100 pair of earrings sells for under $20, so it's worth keeping an eye out for offers that fit your style and budget.) The catch is that quantities are highly limited.

New items come up for sale on a daily basis and each sale lasts only 72-hours (or until sold out). Honestly, my desire for inner beauty means I'm fairly picky and found many of the clothing items distastefully immodest in today's offerings, but I did spot a few cute items I would gladly wear.

I would love to invite you to check out SWIRL for yourself. Once you become a registered user (it's free!), you can invite your own friends and will receive $25.00 for each one who uses your referral code then places her first order!

According to the website I followed to explore the SWIRL for myself, promotion code 20OFF829 will get you $20 off your first SWIRL purchase if redeemed by Sept. 30. A great way to use this code is to watch for a $19.99 item then only have to pay shipping on a product that originally retailed close to $100. :) (I have yet to validate the promo code as I haven't placed an initial order myself yet, but I've used other codes from this friend's blog before and have always found them to be reliable, so I'm fairly confident in passing it along to you now.)

natural deodorant

I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but as I have been searching for the past few years, I'm thrilled to find a link to making homemade, natural, and supposedly quite effective, deodorant. Anyone ever give anything like this a try? Here's the link I've found so far, but I would love to hear other recipes, tips or links from you!

Piggy Paint 2-hour sale!

I just heard that Piggy Paint is hosting a 2 hour sale, starting at 7:30 CST. Save 25% off your entire order with coupon code FBFANS25L, good 7:30-9:30 PM CST today! Piggy Paint is a truly oderless, non-toxic, water-based nail polish. My husband can't stand the smell of tradition polish, but I can open this and apply it right next to him and he doesn't mind at all. Great colors too!

I have to say that it isn't as durable as I would like it to be, so I apply it just before I want to wear it and only plan on having it last for one evening. But since it gives me an option to wear polish again, I don't mind that. And it is a great product for kids too, "as natural as mud." :)

I hope anyone interested in this one is subscribed to my blog, because if you aren't you will probably have missed out by the time you get to read this. :( (If you aren't subscribed yet, please take the time to follow my blog now.)

Savings Code! :)

10% off your entire Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through Friday, April 23, 2010. (Offer expires at 12:01 a.m EST Saturday 4/24) Use coupon code: earthday2010

With Thankfulness (and free makeup drawing)

I know this year my blog has mostly been sale spotlights, product information, and not nearly as much inspirational content as I would like to be sharing. In many ways it's been a "survivial" year for me due to ongoing health struggles, weekly hospital IV treatments and endless medical tests, appointments, bills, paperwork, phone calls and more.

There are days that I'm tempted to feel "poor me," but in all honesty, I am overwhelmed with just how blessed I am. I hope you don't mind indulging me in my list of beautiful blessings. At the end, I would love it if you would post yours as well. And if you stick with me to the very end, there's a special money saving blessing posted for you as well. ;)

- I have a God who loved me so much that He paid the ultimate price, the death of His only Son, to make me His child! (If you want to know more about that, please email me and I would love to share this beautiful story with you in more detail!)

- I live in a free country where I am a able to speak or post whatever's on my heart and (at least for now) to share my faith openly without fear of criminal pursecution.

- I have a loving husband who is faithful to me and support through all the "better" and "worse," the limited "health" and the frequent "sickness." (Watching friends go through widowhood, diviroce, and entended/unplanned singless, I do not take this blessing lightly at all!)

- I have three loving, healthy, beautiful children, blessings profoundly poinient to me after infertility and losses.

- We share the joy of homeschooling and I don't have to send my sweet treasures off into someone else's care for the larger portion of each day.

- My parents have lived less than 10 minutes away from us for over 2 years now and we are so thankful to have them near!

- My parents-in-law are also delightful people we are very blessed to have involved in our lives, living only an hour away and seeing usually on a weekly basis.

- We just enjoyed Thanksgiving with Rick's brother and family and my brother will be bringing his family to Reno for 10 days at Christmas. :)

- We have a church home where we truly have an extended family in Christ and can both give and receive ministry there.

- My husband is currently employed (again, something we don't take for granted) and we are blessed with health insurance that has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of treatment for me this year.

- There has been groundbreaking research in medicine this year that may be life-changing not only for me, but for millions around the world. Thank you www.wpinstitute.org!

- I have new glasses and can see again!

This is just the tip of the iceburg in my thankfulness list, but my point is, even when things are hard, just stopping to take a moment and actively seeking the good can surprise us with beautiful realizations of all we have. I truly would love to hear what you are thankful for right now. If you are struggling and can't find anything to list, please share with me how I may be praying for you as well. {{{hug}}}

Please share this post with your friends, because if I have at least 10 commeters post and join me as blog followers before the end of November, I will draw one name in early December and contact you to request a mailing address where I can send you some free makeup! :) (Don't forget to leave me a working email address when you post. If I can't easily contact you, I'll have to pick an alterate winner should your name be drawn.)

One more thing to be thankful for:
Affordable Mineral Makeup™ has dropped prices, making our line even more affordable than ever before. All 5g jars are now priced under $7, even our exclusive lines! Order directly at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com

I will also be placing my final Gurrlie Girl order of the year on Dec. 1, so if you are looking for beautiful, inspirationa jewelry for anyone on your list, please let me know before the end of the month. http://jenni.saake.gurrliegirl.com

The Body Shop Grab Bags

I guess you could say I'm "advertising for the competition" tonight, but when I see a great deal that excites me, I can't help but want to share it with my friends...

The Body Shop is currently offering holiday Grab Bags that promise to have at least $50, and up to $75, worth of products in each bag. They are selling for $15.

I am a member of eBates, an online shopping rebate program. Right now eBates is offering a 10% rebate for all The Body Shop purchases made through their link.

There is a limit of 2 grab bags per customer. If you spend $50 on their website, standard shipping is free. But then I happened across the coupon code WEL103 that gives FREE shipping on any size order.

I placed my order on my Discover Card that is currently offering a double cash back bonus for online puchases between now and Christmas! So, my total for 2 grab bags (anywhere from $100-$150 worth of stuff I can use for the Christmas gifts) cost me just $32 and some change (I did have to pay sales tax, thus the $2+). I'll get 10% of the $30 purchase price back from eBates, and get cash back rewards from Discover too, so in the end I'll have spent around $25 for the whole thing!

The Grab Bags go fast, so if you are interested you can use the free shipping code of WEL103 and go right to The Body Shop's website. Or you can stack your promotions like I did by joining eBates through my link (we each automatically get $5 into our eBates accounts if you join and make a $20 purchase through their links within 90 days) to take advantage of your 10% rebate too.

As for credit cards, I go to the Discover Card website on a monthly basis and check what special offers they have going. While we always get cash back on our Discover purchases, most of the special extra rewards are not automatic, but can be easily requested on the credit card website through opt-in options. It's well worth the minute it takes me to log in, look around and enter the extra programs that often offer additiona 5% cash back or something similar.

Hope this gives someone a fun Christmas. My eBates referal link is http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=dlY13lnuPOHMBICJyYWAUg%3D%3D if you need it. :)

Mineral Makeup for Your Birthday

Affordable Mineral Makeup™ wants to celebrate your birthday! Email birthdayclub@affordablemineralmakeup.com with the following information to join the free birthday club:
Name
Date of birth (do not need to include year)

On your birthday, be on the look out for your birthday gift from Affordable Mineral Makeup™. :)

Save 10 Give 10

From now until midnight (EST) Labor Day Monday, Sept 7, 2009, you can get 10% off your entire order of Affordable Mineral Makeup™ at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com by using coupon code laborday09 at checkout. But the good news doesn't stop there!

You may or may not know that Affordable Mineral Makeup™ donates at least 10% of all profits to a variety of organizations and causes. Typically it is up to the company owner, Tara Burner, to decide where she will direct these donations, but for this special sale she will allow you to specify where the donations from your sale go, from among a pre-selected group of charities, simply by writing the name of the organization you have chosen in the comments section when you place your order.

It's a win-win with a 10% savings for you AND a 10% donation given to the charity you select. Your organization choises are:

Way FM ~ Christian radio
Compassion International ~ releasing children from poverty
Heifer.org ~ helping end hunger
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital ~ finding cures, saving children


In review, go to www.InnerBeautyGirls.com where you will "Shop" through the link toward the bottom of the page. Once you have everything in your shopping cart, head to check out and use coupon code laborday09 to get your 10% off, then in the comments section type in the name of one of the above organizations so they will receive the same amount you just saved as a donation from Affordable Mineral Makeup™! (If you don’t list one of these companies, Tara will pick one and still donate on your behalf.) If you get a chance to drop me an email at InnerBeauty @ AffordableMineralMakeup .com or leave me a note here, I would love to hear what charity you selected when you placed your order as well. :)

So go, shop, save and help now! :)

Frugal Fashion Fashionista

Twitter led me to a fun blog today, called Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. (Note for my friends facing infertility: Yes, there are many child-related posts on the BB&B blog, but also several topics that do not involve motherhood.) Today the blog owner is featuring a Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show, highlighting how to put together great outfits on very small budgets through yard sale and thrift store finds.

Well, since my mom calls me "The Yard Sale Queen" and my husband says I should write an ebook on successful yard-saling (both how to host one and how to shop them), you can bet I got excited to find this post! The wardrobes these ladies have put together for a handfull of change is amazing. Makes me want to make a run to Savers and see how many cute outfits I can put together for $10! Who says Frugal Fashion can't be fun?

Because I'm still wheelchair bound, I don't suppose today's a great day for me to try to model any of my super-saver fashions for you. :( It's pretty hard to find anything that makes this heavy black medical boot with 2-inch wide Velcro straps look too attractive (and it certainly wasn't a discount purchase at the price of the ER and orthopedic specialists), plus it is incredibly hard to change clothing around! So since I can’t show you my finds, I will share with you a couple of fun shopping stories instead.

As newly weds we lived on a TIGHT budget; down-to-the-penny tight. After rent and utilities we usually had only about $100 a month for everything else from food to toiletries to clothing. So by the second year of marriage, when I was very much in need of some specific clothing items, I just had to make it a matter of prayer and wait to see how the Lord would provide. I walked into a department store that I normally wouldn't have even stepped foot into, but that day I decided to go in just for fun. I happened upon a clearance rack and found that the store was offering additional discounts on top of the clearance prices that day.
I don't remember all that I found, but I know the purchase included 4 skirt, 2 of them suit-style and 2 more casual, some blouses and some much needed under garments. The suit-skirts alone had been originally priced at about $65 each, and I walked out of the store with the entire purchase for around $32 after tax! Since I had received a $50 birthday check earlier that week, all I could do was thank the Lord for His amazing provision.

A similar experience happened when I was in need of a formal dress for a business occasion and we didn't have a lot of wiggle room in the budget. I went straight to a high-end department store in town, sought out their clearance rack, and ended up walking out of the store with a $120 evening gown that fit me like it was tailor made for me, for only $24. What made that shopping trip even more exciting is that I was spending a $25 gift card that we had won as a promotional gift when the store had it's grand opening a few months earlier, so the dress literally was FREE! Moral of these stories is not to be afraid of pricy stores as long as you are willing to stick to the bargain and clearance racks.

My wardrobe is at least 50% made up from thrift store or yard sale finds under $6, often just $1-2. Sometimes I need to make minor repairs like replacing a button or taking a 50 cent risk on the hopes that I will be able to remove a stain, but usually I can walk out of a thrift store with items that are perfectly wear-ready, just no longer wanted by the previous owner (maybe a size, style or color she didn’t like or couldn’t wear?), sometimes even still with the original tags in place! On several occasions I've found beautiful dresses at yard sales in new or next-to-new condition that would retail for $60-$200 but are being sold for $5-10!

My favorite yard sale finds have actually been kitchen appliances and house wears. One was a nearly-new drink maker I had drooled over in the past but been unwilling to pay $200 for and I picked it up for $8. Another was a crystal punch set that matched my grandma's antique cake plate - I paid about $10 then priced it on eBay when I got home and found it selling there for around $300. My mom spotted a china tea service at a thrift store and when she told me about it we looked it up on eBay and discovered the creamer alone was reselling for $60 so she turned around and went back to spend her $40 on the entire set!

Speaking of eBay, it’s worth keeping your eyes open for deals there as well! We received two plates and one mug from the china pattern we had registered for as wedding presents. Call me old fashioned, but yes, I still love setting the table with fancy dishes for holidays and special occasions. So about 10 years after our wedding, still with just those three pieces of China sitting in our cupboard, we went on eBay to see if we could pick up additional pieces at an affordable price. Nope, each place setting there sold for about what it would cost at regular retail and we weren't interested in spending that kind of money for china! But we kept the search on a watch list just to see what might happen.
One day we saw our china pattern listed as an estate sale in a set of 14 place settings and multiple serving pieces. The starting bid was equivalent to only about 3 full place settings at individual pricing. Yes, it was used, but in excellent condition, so we placed a bid and kept our eyes on it over the next few days. Because it was such a large set, there only seemed to be a few interested bidders. We decided what our maximum investment we were willing to bid would be and we jumped in again in the last moments of the auction (yes, I'm a self-admitted eBay sniper) and placed our final bid, then walked away from the computer so as not to be tempted to overbid.
We came back a couple of minutes later to find that we had indeed won the auction! We sent our payment and received our china quickly thereafter. Then we turned around and re-listed several of the place settings individually (we certainly didn't need 14 place settings in addition to the couple of pieces we already owned!) and re-sold everything we didn't need, one place-setting at a time. In the end we kept a full service of I believe 10 of everything for ourselves, also acquired all the serving pieces we had never had before, and not only fully paid for the entire purchase by reselling our additional pieces, but actually made a few extra dollars in the process - better than free! :D
Moral here is to know your market and be willing to think a little bit outside of the box. We had seen a consistant market for the individual place setting of this china pattern so we were willing to take a calculated investment in bidding for more than we knew we could use because we had valid reason to think we could recoop at least some of that money through resale of the items we would not need.

OK, so I promised a picture for the fashion show and here it is, even if it is a year old. ;) No, not a deal quite comparable to the other finds showcased by other bloggers here, but not bad for a Sam’s club clearance at only $7 for the blouse. And the brand new necklace I bought at half price using my Gurrlie Girl consultant discount, so it was $7 as well. Makeup also at consultant discount (though already an amazingly great price to start with) through Affordable Mineral Makeup™.

God created us as beautiful women. He longs for us to see ourselves as beautiful through His eyes. He also delights in abundantly providing for not only our needs, but the desires of our hearts when we trust His to help us feel beautiful through Him!

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:28-34 (NIV)