Sneak Peek: Just Between Friends of Marysville - Mount Vernon consignment sale!

Remember when I told you that the Just Between Friends of Marysville / Mount Vernon spring sale was coming to Skagit County? Because of how much money I save by shopping at these events, and in turn consigning my kids' outgrown clothing, I don't have to shop at retail stores at all through out the year! Woop woop!  Today I spent **3 hours** pouring through the pre-sale to find the best deals on clothes for my kids, and tonight I'm going to give you a sneak peek at what you can find at the sale this weekend!

 Quite adorable! They staged a few different items to make it look like a nursery right by the cash register.

 Most JBF sales provide the big blue IKEA bags for you to use while shopping, but this time around JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon had shopping carts! Quite handy when you have a pre-schooler tagging along and you can (ahem) let then Netflix binge while you peruse the racks. No shame here.

 Sports apparel is always a favorite! I picked up Seahawks and Oakland Raiders sweatshirts.

 So cute! Tons of well made and like-new handmade items.

 Have your pick and find the best deal!

This may have been one of my best steals. 3 excellent used condition Bum Genius 4.0 cloth diapers with inserts. These retail for $20 each, and after 5 years of cloth diapering 3 kids, with many of my originals still in rotation, it was irresistible to snag a pack to freshen up the stash for Holden.

So what did I come home with? Even after shopping at these events for the last 5 years, I was amazed at how low the prices were.

There ya have it!

This sale is on now through October 1 at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon Wa. See full details here.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Just Between Friends of Marysville - Mount Vernon. 

No other compensation was provided. All opinions and photography are my own.

Omaiki Mini-Ö Newborn Diaper Review

Are you thinking about taking the plunge for cloth diapers with your newborn? I've used cloth diapers exclusively for all three of my kids and each time around I've learned something new. Holden arrived this summer and while he was over a pound heavier than his sister before him (and over two pounds heavier than his oldest sister), we still had a good run at newborn cloth diapers and I wanted to share our experience with Ömaiki Mini-Ö newborn cloth diaper.

They come with an adjustable waist line that uses aplix ("Velcro" style) closures, which is helpful for the wide range of belly sizes that newborns may have. The diapers two sets of rise heights, also perfect for snapping down to a smaller size if necessary.

The Ömaiki Mini-Ö diaper is an all-in-one style cloth diaper in which the absorbent insert lays flat on the inner part of the diaper, but hangs loose so that washing and drying are less energy intensive. Most AIO cloth diapers get a bad rep because although they are a completely enclosed one piece (making them very easy to use, especially for those not accustomed to cloth diapering), they take more water to completely wash and more dryer time to fully dry. This design that flips the insert out, but keeps it connected to the diaper, aids in faster turn around time on this diaper. And that's a big help because as you know...newborns used A LOT of diapers! The absorbent insert fabric is bamboo viscose with organic cotton, with a polyester topper to wick away moisture quickly. Bamboo is by far my preferred material of choice because it is so absorbent and retains a lot of moisture. 

"Little" Holden was born weighing 9 lbs 9 oz and was my biggest baby. With my daughters (7 and 8 pounds, respectively) it took a little bit of time after birth for them to really seem like they fit into even newborn cloth diapers, but this guy wasted no time. However, because of his larger size at birth and very quick weight gain, we used these diapers for a shorter period of time than I would have expected to use had it been for my girls. Such is life!

At about a week old and roughly 10 lbs, Holden fit into the diapers quite nicely. The rise of the diaper didn't interfere with his umbilical stump healing. Because this diaper was developed for newborns, his skinny newborn legs were wrapped perfectly with no leaking.

The Ömaiki Mini-Ö diaper fits babies from 5 lbs through 3 months, however in our experience Holden fit the diaper most comfortably through about 12 lbs (which was one month of age). 

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was provided. All opinions and photography are my own.

Sneak Peek: JBF Everett - Monroe Fall 2017 Sale!

As you know, The Pierogie Mama loves her some Just Between Friends (JBF) sales and today I made the trek from Skagit County down to Monroe for the Just Between Friends of Everett - Monroe sale at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.  I lived in Monroe until last year and part of my heart still lives with the community, and I also know where to find a good sale! Friends, I drove over an hour to go. This one is good!!

Just Between Friends is a nationwide consignment event that takes place several times per year, typically in the fall and spring.  At "JBF" you'll find everything you need for maternity, baby and child through teen. Local families consign their gently used and new items for 50-90% off retail prices. It's my favorite place to shop because I can get everything they need for each season for literally a fraction of the price of what I'd pay at the store. Not to mention, children outgrow clothes so quickly that it makes financial and ecological sense to buy used.

Today I got to shop at the pre-sale event (find out how you can shop early for the next sale!), which got me in the door before the public sale opens tomorrow. Consigning and volunteering is where it's at! But don't despair, there is SO MUCH inventory at this sale that there are thousands of amazing finds waiting for shoppers through this weekend.

This is one of my favorite games to play with myself - how much did I pay? The approximate retail value of this lot is $263, I'll post the answer at the bottom of the post!



Here's some snaps of what I found today. 

 Can I just pause for a minute and say THANK YOU EUNICE (the owner of JBF Everett - Monroe) to have a designated space where you can unload everything that you've found, lay it out and decide what you'd like to keep and price check? I pulled out probably a dozen pairs of leggings from the racks and was able to set them out to get a better look at prints, compare sizing and prices before whittling down to how many I wanted to take home with me. This scatter brained mama thanks you!

 This isn't me, this is my friend Monica :) She is a proud mom of twin boys and it was her first JBF sale! When she came home she sent me a text that said "Man I got so much stuff. I spent 145 dollars and I got 9 pairs of shoes, 1 rain jacket, 3 hoodies, 2 nice sweaters, 3 sweats, 5 long sleeved tops, 6 jammies, 1 button up, 5 books, a gallon sized bag of hot wheels and 6 plastic dinosaurs. I think I did okay!" Yes Monica, YES YOU DID!!

 This is a great sale to stock up on holiday jammies and outfits!

 All kinds of strollers - I saw quite a few double strollers at this sale.

 Babywearing! Did you know that JBF inspects most items for safety and recalls?

 Not only can you find gear and clothes for every age, but toys are a huge part of what families are consigning too!

And there you have it, my friends! Be sure to head out to the sale today through September 16th. You can find all of the details at http://everett.jbfsale.com/ and on their facebook! 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Just Between Friends of Everett - Monroe. 

All opinions and photography are my own. No other compensation was provided.

Answer from the first picture on the blog: I paid $116 for 13 items! The baby swing was $45, and brand new they retail for over $100! 

Meet Courtney, the new owner of JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon! (Giveaway)

Friends, did you save your back to school shopping dollars for the fabulous Just Between Friends consignment sale that is coming to Mount Vernon this month??! I am a huge fan of these sales, I try to hit up each one of them during sale season because you just never know what great deals you can find. The most local one to me, JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon, is coming to the Skagit County Fairgrounds this month and I am pumped to shop and consign!

In the last year you may have noticed that a new face is heading up this consignment sale. Let me introduce to you the new owner of JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon: Courtney Evans! Read on for the Pierogie Mama exclusive interview to learn more about the mama behind the scenes.

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The Pierogie Mama: Courtney, this the second sale you are hosting for Mount Vernon, but this is your second JBF business! Tell me why you love JBF and what made you want to add Marysville - Mount Vernon to your territory?

Courtney Evans: I started with JBF as a consignor. I was drawn to JBF because of the convenience and values each sale holds. I participated in a consignment event where we had to hand write all of our tags, and then for the register they took the tags and hand added it with a calculator. First it was the longest 2 weeks of my life having to write all those tags! Second, once I picked up my unsold items, I had no idea what sold and how much to expect in my check. When I found JBF I was amazed at how it was all online, easy to use, and I could track what was selling. Then one day I was playing around on the computer and read that JBF is a franchise business. I was talking to my husband about it and he was SO encouraging! He just kept saying, "You'd be great at that! You should do it! What are they going to say? No? Then you'll just keep consigning and doing what you're doing." So I took the plunge and pulled up the JBF application process, and you wouldn't believe who filled out most of my application... MY HUSBAND! I had originally applied to start the Marysville Mount Vernon territory, life had other plans for me and I ended up taking over the Issaquah territory in 2016. When I caught wind that Marysville Mount Vernon was up for grabs in the Spring, we jumped on it. I grew up in Marysville and worked in Mount Vernon for years, my husband grew up in Arlington and currently works in Mount Vernon. So we have a deep connection and ties into the area. Anyone up here can attest that the small town feeling you get when walking around town and chatting with members of the community, and that feeling is honestly the reason why I wanted to add the Marysville Mount Vernon sale.

TPM: That is awesome, Courtney! It's great to not only have your hubby behind your dreams but for it to work out so well for your family and timing as well. Since you already have ties to the area, give us some Skagit love - where is your favorite place to eat and park to visit? Is there somewhere you want to visit but haven't gotten a chance to yet? 

CE: I absolutely love to take my kids to Jungle Playland, especially when they have the spray park going! As far as parks, I haven't explored many yet.. If anyone has recommendations, I'll definitely take them! As far as places to eat.. there are too many to limit! I'm such a foodie, and a sucker for good sushi, Mexican, or pizza!

TPM: I have yet to visit Jungle Playland but I know it's a ton of fun. One of my favorite local parks has been Donovan Park off Old Highway 99 - it's just down the road from me and the perfect summer oasis for the wide shallow creek. But now that summer is at a close and colder weather is upon us - you'll find me and my brood at the Childrens Museum at the Cascade Mall more often! My favorite pizza place is (whispers) Costco. My middle child, Ruby, loves her some Costco lunch! ;) But if you were to ask me where I would want to go for lunch it would either be Calico Cupboard or BowEdison for a date night with the hubs. 

TPM: Ok so back to the sale - the JBF consignment sales are awesome because they are a franchise system so the formula is very similar across all of the sales.  As you mentioned before, the biggest difference you'll find with JBF from other consignment events is that when you consign your tagged items are able to be sold at any JBF event whether you're in Washington or Florida. Your sales are uploaded online and everything is super easy to track and that's what gave me the comfort of knowing my hard work and childrens items are going to be valued and taken care of by the sale I take them to. The JBF owners work with their consignors to help price items fairly to get the shopper the best deal and the consignor a great payout for their items. What have you seen as far as how much shoppers are saving and how much a consignor can expect to make?  

CE: My favorite part is checking out the receipt once the shoppers check out. At the bottom of our receipts there is a line that says, 'You paid x amount of dollars per item'. This is so fun to me, it's a visual way for shoppers to SEE the savings! As for the consignors, our average consignor check is over $250! I don't know about you, but there is A LOT I can do with $250..

TPM: I am pretty sure that all of my consignment check gets recycled into buying clothes and other items for my kids at the next JBF sale, which I absolutely love. I know that by closing that loop I'm saving myself money on what I buy but I'm also keeping those funds local by purchasing another family's consigned items. That makes a tangible differences versus taking our dollars to a large corporate store. 

TPM: What are some of the items that shoppers can find at JBF sales? For those families who are going to consign, what are items that shoppers always look for? 
CE: Shoppers can expect to find EVERYTHING they need to raise a kid under one roof. From maternity and baby equipment to Juniors and prom dresses. If there is something you are looking for, it'd be silly to pay retail, when the odds of finding it at our sale is HUGE! For the families that are tossing around the idea of consigning, if it's time to purge your house, do it! Make some money on those items your kids don't use anymore! We make it so easy to participate. We offer multiple consignor 101 parties on Facebook, that you can watch live or come back when it is convenient. These parties will take you step by step of the tagging process. If you find that you are stretched for time and just don't have a way to tag, we offer personal tagging. We have taggers that will do the hard work for you, and you STILL cash in! There is some cost involved with having a personal tagger, but in the end you will end up making money for less effort than trying to do a garage sale. 

You can find us on Facebook @ JBFMarysvilleMountVernon, 

and we are newly on Instagram @JBFMarysvilleMountVernon

When you shop at this event, be sure to track her down and say hi! Keep reading because we've got an awesome giveaway for ya... two prime time shopping passes to get in before the public on Wednesday September 28 from 3:00 - 8:30 pm! You can purchase these tickets as well.

Stay tuned for a follow up blog post showing you what I found at the presale and what you can expect that weekend!

Just Between Friends of Marysville - Mount Vernon

Fall 2017 Sale

September 28 - October 1

Full sale schedule here

Skagit County Fairgrounds 

Entry-Form

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Just Between Friends of Marysville - Mount Vernon. 

All opinions are my own. See giveaway details for rules.