It is time for a winners round-up.  Thanks so much for entering contests at My Red Apron and keep coming back as more are soon to hit our blog.

NutraSalt Winner:

Christina S

January 27, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Texas BBQ- I would use it on Steak to bbq over the grill.

BeemsterLite Cheese Winner:

Country Bob’s Sauce Winner:

I wanted to get this up yesterday so badly but I was down with a migraine and it wasn’t pretty.  So a day late and a few dollars saved you still get to see my latest treasures.

My first find was a Diana Buchman sweater with the tags still on priced at $175 on sale at the Salvation Army for $1.25! The sweater is basic black and it made a great gift for a friend since I can’t wear wool unless I want hives.   This picture really doesn’t do it justice. Sometimes it pays to stop while you are on vacation and out of your area.  I am sure we will drive this back way to Chicago more often just because of the conversation I had with the great sales lady!

The other things we found at this location were new DVD and CD wire mesh crates which were brand new for $3 (I got three of them) and a sharp knife for $.50.  We had brought a block of cheese along on our vacation and forgot a knife so we found a nice one so we didn’t wind up stopping to get a new one.  Hey you have to wash it either way.

Next we stopped at a small thrift store in the burbs of Chicago and I got this great Maggie Barnes jacket which would retail for around $75 at Catherines.  I paid $.50 and gave it to my friend to wear with that great sweater!  She was so excited and I was thrilled to give it to her.

But my favorite was purchased this week at the Goodwill locally.  I got a Franklin Covey laptop bag.  This will surely come in handy for Boy Scouts which I grab my laptop for each week and when I travel to Mexico in 2 weeks for that mission trip.  I searched online to see it’s value knowing either way I got a steal but was in shock to see comparable bags at $169.  I paid only $2.  For Christmas I got my son a Swiss Gear bag at Walmart for $40 and it is pretty basic not much compared to my new “used” bag.  Here are some pictures of all the pockets and such it has way more than a standard laptop bag.

I saved at the very least $432 over the retail price.  The items I purchased were either new with tags or so gently used you can’t tell I didn’t buy them new.  If you don’t shop at thrift stores you might want to find an afternoon and give it a try.  Be prepared for digging and really looking items over but it pays off.