Sourcing eBay Inventory

I've had many people ask me where I source my eBay inventory, so I thought I'd put together a quick list for everyone. My experience is mainly with clothing, but all of these can be great resources for other items as well.

The Quest for the Perfect Summer Handbag

I'm always looking for the perfect bag. And I'm picky. Super picky. My friends have called me obsessed and maybe a bit compulsive, any perhaps they're right. We all have our own little quirks, right?

The list of must-have qualities for my summer bag is quite specific. It has to be functional. Nothing fussy. Not too big, but definitely not too small. Room enough for everything (water bottle, keys, phone, wallet, tablet, snacks, and a book or magazine). It needs to be lightweight. And washable! I don't like carrying my leather bags in the summer, so I typically go for something more casual like canvas or nylon.

Here are some of that bags that have caught my eye this year...

How I turned free items from a garage sale into cash!

Sounds like one of those late night infomercials, right?

But it's not. I "flip" items I find through thrifting (garage sales, Goodwill, thrift shops, etc.) on eBay for a profit. It's how I can help support our family and still be a stay at home mom. No shame in that. In fact, I'm kinda proud of making a profit from the "junk" that others throw away.

"I See the Farm Animals" Emergent Reader Book

I just finished another emergent reader book that I wanted to share! This one features the sight words I, see, and, the. Animals are Dandie's favorite thing, and I know she's going to love this one when she sees it. Can't wait to show her! Dandie has been working hard on learning her first sight words. It's so fun to watch her as she learns to read. And she's so proud of herself!

Here's a page from the book:

Click here to see the entire book.

I Like Fall! Emergent Reader Book

My oldest daughter, Dandie, doesn't have school on Fridays, so I was hoping to sleep in this morning. Hoping. Yup, didn't happen. As usual, the girls were up at the crack of dawn. 5:43 a.m. to be exact. Sigh.

And what does Dandie want to do on her day off from school? School. And not play school, either. I know I should be overjoyed by that, but I honestly did not have anything prepared for homeschool this morning. So I fed the girls breakfast, made my coffee, and finished up an emergent reader book I started last night while I ate my breakfast. This book is about fall (since Daisie has been working on the letter f this week), and uses the sight words I, like, see, the (sight words both girls are learning right now).

Click on photo for link

Letter F Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

I firmly believe that learning occurs in all environments, not just in the classroom or around the dining room table doing worksheets. There are so many teachable moments in everyday life; we just need to take advantage of them!

Since my oldest is in kindergarten, I have a lot of time to spend one-on-one with my youngest. We've been doing some homeschooling, loosely following This Reading Mama's Pre-K Reading Curriculum. (You should check out her site if you haven't already! She has lots of great literacy resources for preschool and elementary ages.) This week is the letter f, along with sight word the.  Here is a quick grocery store scavenger hunt activity I created to go along with the letter f theme.

Letter F Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

Canning Salsa

My house smells so absolutely wonderful right now! Cumin, roasting peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions...mmm.  Today I'm using up some of the last of my tomatoes and peppers from the garden to can salsa. Making your own canned salsa isn't rocket science by any means, but there are a few rules that you must follow if you want to avoid any foodborne illnesses. Here are a few things that I've learned along the way.