It has been a most unusual and busy week.

One Local Summer: Weeks 9 & 10
While I have no pictures to share, I made Bok Choy and Chicken and Pasta with Lentils and Arugula. We loved the first recipe and I managed to cook rice without it burning! The second recipe was surprisingly filling and very good, even though I don’t particularly care for arugula. My husband has an aversion to lentils that stems from my mother-in-law serving them too frequently during his childhood. My youngest didn’t like the arugula so I might try spinach in place of the arugula but I’m not sure about the lentils. Any idea for substitutions?

Buy Nothing Challenge-Week Three Confessional
I spent three days in a row last week with my kids in tow hunting down an outfit to wear to my cousin’s wedding reception. I had been trying to put something together for the last month but it all came down to the wire this week. Everything in my closet that fit was suitable for fall and winter and with the forecast at 90 degrees, I wasn’t wearing my favorite chenille sweater and black boots.
On the first day, we hit every thrift store in the area and came up empty-handed. On the second day, I found a 3/4 sleeve white blouse at a thrift store for $3.50 (1/2 off) that I was hoping to pair with a black tank top and a black and white skirt that I had visually imagined but had not found. The black and white floral skirt materialized at a discount store and was on clearance for $20. I tried on 8 dresses and several skirts and this was the only option that didn’t make me look like I was trying to be 18 again, make me look like a cheap floozy (what’s with all the plunging necklines?) and didn’t suffocate me. I still wasn’t sure if the blouse, skirt and my tank top would actually work and wanted a Plan B in place. I stopped in at a plus-size consignment store and told the store clerk what I was looking for. We both flipped through the racks at a maddening pace as my kids were burned out from shopping as was I. After countless trips back and forth to the dressing room and other customers helping out with suggestions and opinions, I ended up with a classic black lined linen sleeveless dress that zipped up the back and smoothed out things like a dream. It was $24. I was a bit more than I usually spend on a used item but it was a quality brand and something that I can dress up or down with a few accessories. The white blouse/black tank/skirt combo looks cute but really casual and I tried the white blouse over the linen dress but it still wasn’t dressy enough. On the third day, I stopped in at another consignment store in search of shoes and found a slightly sheer white/gray/black pattern top that was the missing element to go over my dress. I used a the store credit I had on file and for $5 got the top and a darling pair of earrings. I ended up buying new black heels for under $20 and my oldest spotted a little black purse at an impromptu visit at a thrift store for $4.
New purchases for this week:
Skirt: $20
Shoes: $19
Outfit and shirt for my youngest for back to school: $12
Crockpot for a wedding gift: $40 (also had to purchase gift wrap and card)
We ate out once this week.

The Garage Sale
After finishing the whirlwind shopping trips, my motivation went up a notch and I filled two more large boxes of stuff. Without being asked or prompted, my youngest cleaned out her room of a number of toys. Many of the items were favorite things of both of my kids. My youngest said her sister told her she was too old to play with those toys anymore and my youngest was growing tired of playing with them by herself. I asked about keeping them for when friends came over but my youngest said even some of her friends were saying they were too old for some of those toys. She kept a few of her favorite ones. I didn’t get around to taking pictures of all of the stuff but I’m happy to report an entire corner of my basement is cleared out and we can see our old faded blue sofa once again.
A few of my husbands co-workers joined us in for the garage sale. The turnout was lower than I had hoped but we got some foot traffic from the farmer’s market across the street. My friend Selena stopped by during her trip out and we had a good visit. I ended up buying a clothes drying rack for 50 cents, a nightstand for my side of the room for $5, a puzzle for $1 and a lady closing up her sale early gave me some free clothes for my niece. We made $49 and my youngest made $27.50 (my oldest didn’t want to earn any money from the sale). We had planned to try to sell our old dining set there but decided a different venue would be better. Everything after the sale was donated to a local thrift store.

Family
My cousin’s wedding reception was fun, loud and hot. The banquet hall had no air conditioning and only one box fan to keep the place cool. There were no doors or windows that opened. I saw my uncle and aunt who I hadn’t seen in at least 5 years and visited with some of their relatives and friends who have known me since I was in diapers and couldn’t believe I was married and had kids of my own. My cousin made a lovely bride and her husband is a very nice guy. I’m not much of a dancer but my husband and I danced a slow number and I danced to “Stayin’ Alive” with my dad. My dad and I are cut from the same cloth and the two of us together trying to dance was rather comical.
On a sad note, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law whom my husband and I are close with are going through divorce proceedings after being together for 10 years.

Friends
Last weekend, I went to my friend J’s son’s birthday party. I invited my oldest along but she declined with eye rolls and a quick giggle, saying that a toddler’s birthday party wasn’t her thing. My youngest had a friend’s birthday party to attend in the same time frame so I went stag. I got to see my friend N’s new son, who was too stinking cute for words. I stayed after the rest of the guests. While we cleaned up the party remnants and after her son went down for a nap, we talked for a good five hours. I couldn’t remember the last time I had talked to any of my old friends for that long. It was a wonderful heart-to-heart and we found that many of our common interests are still there and our friendship might flourish in a new direction that I didn’t think would be possible after so much time and distance.