Sunday, November 20, 2016

Elvis has left the building - Twice!


As expected November has been a super crazy month with our business.  We have signed a lot of contracts and this year will be a much better year fiscally than last with 2017 looking even better with all the business that we have already secured.  Hubby gets back today from a four day business trip and Buddy and I are missing him.  We just have to survive the next three weeks then we have two weeks of downtime as we always keep the last two weeks of December clear of appointments for a break and visiting with family.  That doesn't mean no business will occur, only that it will occur at a much slower pace.

November also means my annual hunt for vintage Christmas goodies to add to my collection, and this year it meant also buying items for resale.  In my next post I will share my personal collection finds (some really great ones!) as I have to photograph them.  So far I have made $50 after expenses on my "money on the side" venture buying and selling vintage Christmas stuff.  I expanded it from just ornaments to include records.  Last year I bough this Elvis Christmas album for $1 and sold it this week for $5, bought another for $2 and sold it for $6.50.  Not a ton of money but it takes about 30 seconds for me to list and the buyer picks it up so no packaging, way easier than buying and selling on Ebay or Etsy.  People are nostalgic at Christmas so I am going to start collecting Christmas records year round to sell.  This week I also found a 1963 Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas Album for $1 and sold it for $5.  Records are easy to store and usually much easier to find than vintage ornaments.  I have to say I love this little side business, so fun to hunt for vintage Christmas even if it is not exactly to my taste, I can now buy for others.

Every single piece of Christmas vintage I have put up for sale on the 24 hour bidding site has sold with vintage glass ornaments being the most popular.  One lady who bought some of them told me a horror story of her tree full of vintage Christmas ornaments crashing over last year and she lost most of her collection.  These funky 1960s vintage blue ornaments I found for $1 and sold them to her for $10.50.  I listed at them for $8 and the price got pushed up by several collectors.  The original boxes help even if not all the ornaments are there.  If I didn't already have so many great ornaments I would have kept these.

I have decided that any monies from this little business venture are going to our one night stopover at London Heathrow.  The hotel has been paid for by points, I just need money for shuttles and a meal out in a 17th Century pub within 10 minutes walking distance of our hotel.  We land at 2pm and take off the next day at 6am so after flying for 15 hours (2 flights) I think that is about all we will be good for.  We could take a cab to Windsor and see the exterior of the Palace (I love castles, could care less about the Royal part) but unfortunately the last admission to the interior is 4pm and we just won't make it in time after dropping our luggage off at the hotel so I don't think it is worth paying all that money to get there, best left for a future trip to England.  Public transportation would take much longer and is not that close to our hotel so likely we will stick to venturing out by foot. Still doing research on things close to Heathrow though as would like to see more than just a pub if we can.

I continue saving for our trip to Greece and last week got one more component booked, a flight from Athens to Santorini.  We could have taken ferries at half the price but that would have meant spending a pre-ferry overnight in the not so picturesque port of Piraeus and I would rather spend a full 3 nights on Santorini so bit the bullet and bought the ticket.  Our trip has been firmed up - 3 nights Santorini, 3 nights on the smaller quieter island of Naxos and 3 nights at the end in Athens.  I am so glad I get to return to Greece and share the experience with hubby but June is still so bloody far away!


While hubby was away I managed to clean the house from top to bottom in preparation for the decorating to begin next weekend.  I do a massive clean now and then again on January 1 after everything is put away, with only spot cleaning and bathrooms the rest of December.  Yesterday Mom and I even managed to do a small amount of Christmas shopping.  I am one of those people who absolutely loves thrift stores but hates retail shopping.  The idea of spending 3 hours at a mall just about kills me so instead I try and get this shopping done in 1/2 hour increments.  We buy for our four kids, each other and for both of our Mothers.  The money for the shopping has been saved, now I just have to get it done.  I do have several online gifts picked out, just need to review them with hubby before ordering.

I still have not found anything to wear for the Christmas party we are invited to so that will be my next thrifting focus as it is only two weeks away. Worse case scenario I will wear a dress I own already but buy a sparkly scarf to go with it.  I have found a couple of great outfits but wouldn't you know it nothing in my size. #first world problem

I hope all of you in the USA have a great Thanksgiving weekend and the rest of you have a great week!

18 comments:

  1. I love vintage Christmas items. A dozen ornaments in a box are selling on our Swap and Shop for up to $50! Like you I love thrift but hate mall shopping and find the crowds at craft sales overwhelming.

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    1. Yes, I am not one for crowds either. $50 is higher than antique store prices! I am selling reasonably prices just to move the stuff, can't make money if it doesn't sell!

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  2. I remember my selling experience with Mom's extra things I couldn't find a place for in our combined condo. I felt so tied down with people wanting to come and look, and then not buy. Not having to ship things is a big plus for you bot time and money wise. We are going to the new Costco in Bellingham today, second day after the opening. I would like to pass on it, but our neighbour friend really wants to go so we'll battle the crowds and lines. The paper said that 1000 people entered in the first hour of the grand opening yesterday. - Margy

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  3. Love those beautiful ornaments! Going to the mall makes me anxious these days. I had to go to Nordstrom Rack yesterday for Crocs for our son. Long story, but his favorite beach shoe. He won't wear flip flops. I don't understand it. Anyway, he's between sizes (from youth to Men's) & is a giant hassle to shop for. It made me so anxious to go inside. I used to love shopping! Now I can't get out quick enough. I grabbed the shoes (after trying on, of course, & getting a 10 year old to shop for shoes is like wrestling a slippery alligator), & bolted for the cashier.

    Can't wait to hear about your Greece trip. Sounds fabulous!!

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    1. Shopping with kids is always stressful, especially when under the gun to find something specific. I can't wear flip flops either (can't stand anything between my toes). Is that it? Nike makes decent beach slides that will last several years for next time, even if he grows a bit

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  4. One of my clients got some vintage ornaments I'm going to look at them, and possible pay a few.
    Coffee is on

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    1. They are so pretty, just pack them carefully each year!

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  5. I want to go away in 7 weeks time and haven't even found a flight yet....I loathe the planning part. I wish someone would do it for me! xxx

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    1. Use google flights: https://www.google.ca/flights/ then figure out which airline has the cheapest that way and contact the airline to book directly, it really does work! If I was closer I would come over and get it sorted for you :) I used to manage a Thomas Cook location here in Canada

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  6. I tend to shop online as I absolutely hate going to the malls. Almost impossible to find a parking space and the crowds!! Ick! Instead of being fun it's hard work and my eyes start to glaze over at all the shiny stuff!

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    1. I do a fair amount of online shopping too - as hate going to malls plus our towns don't offer as much unless I drive to Nanaimo 1.5 hours away and even then, I can do much better online. I hear amazon prime is going to start offering online movies in Canada soon (or hubby tells me) so we will likely get that and downgrade our cable package even further. I would cancel it but hubby won't let me lol.

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  7. Congrats on the bonus business. Lots of work I know but well done.

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    1. It is so nice to know that we have a solid Spring which is usually a slower time for us. Also nice to know we have Greece at the end after over-work ourselves :)

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  8. Is it an age thing do you think this horror of shopping? I can't stand it either, however I do love planning my trips away. We are in the process of planning a big trip starting on 1st Feb and I find it all great fun. I'm back off to Greece too but not until mid August. I have a lot of vintage Christmas decs but I use them all lol. Good luck with finding a dress I never see anything in the charity shops near me.

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    1. I think it is the frugalista thing:) At a certain age you trade stuff for what you really want in life and in our cases it is travel. I ended up doing some online shopping as it is so much more painless. Still working on the dress, no time to go shopping!

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  9. do you list the items on a website? Then which one is it? It will be great to buy vintage ornaments without having to deal with the crowd. We already ordered books from Amazon, which are not to be found in the stores.

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    1. Its a local 24 hour bidding site here in Comox on Facebook, there might be one in your area :)

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