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!
Country Inn & Suites is celebrating because they've opened a new hotel right within walking distance to Disneyland! Check out our visit to Disneyland and read all the way through to learn how you can enter to win a free nights stay at any Country Inn & Suites location!
I'm sure that most of us growing up, Disneyland was the ultimate dream vacation for any child. My biggest excitement was seeing my favorite Disney movie characters in real life, in their environments and getting to truly interact with them. The second most important thing I looked forward to were all the different amusement rides. It was a great mix of thrill or adventure.
My family of origin took us to Disneyland once during my childhood and the rest of our family vacations were mostly road trips around the Western US, sprinkled with a few visits to our family in Poland. My husband's family, on the other hand, visited Disneyland almost annually as their budget for family trips. So when I married into his family, the love of Disney was set in quite early.
A photo posted by Bianca @ The Pierogie Mama (@thepierogiemama) on
My husband and I took two trips to Disneyland before having children. What a different experience it is go to to Disneyland and experiencing it as an adult! We got to zoom through the park, not a care in the world how long the wait lines were, stay up late for the fireworks show and didn't worry about character signatures and rode the coolest rides.
Then, my sister-in-love moved to the San Diego area this year and the whole family collectively gasped - we can go to Disneyland when we visit her! This past November the four of us flew down to visit her family and play at the park for 3 days, which we spread out over a week. Now getting to experience the magic of Disneyland through our daughter's eyes (aged 4 and 2) was something my husband and I will never forget. This time the priorities were very different; find our favorite characters to get signatures, ride only a few of the age appropriate rides and just simply look to soak it all in. There is so much to see in the details at Disneyland if you aren't distracted by rides! Pirated of the Caribbean is one of my favorite things to see at Disneyland because they have done such a great job at temporarily making you forget where and when you are. It's easy to get swept up in that creaky boat in the Louisiana bayou, duck your head in the midst of a drunken pirate canon ball brawl and yo-ho-ho with Jack Sparrow.
Some of our favorite memories were watching Penny and Ruby meet Elena of Avalor. It's a relatively new show and that day happened to be Princess Elena's first debut in meeting her friends at Disneyland. We also got to see an extended preview of the upcoming movie Moana (in the old Bug's Life theatre, so there were ocean sprays, smells and wind gusts!) and we had a caricature done of the girls at Fisherman's Warf. One night my husband and I left the kids with their grandparents and we went back for some night time roller coaster rides on the Matterhorn and Big Thunder.
As I mentioned before, Country Inn & Suites just opened up a brand new hotel that is within walking distance to Disneyland! With 174 gorgeous rooms that have family friendly open floor plans, spa-inspired bathrooms (for mama to relax after a day of chasing kiddos, duh), a 24/7 gym, free breakfast and an outdoor pool with views of the Disneyland fireworks, it's an easy sell for me! By saving a little bit of extra cash on transportation, parking and one meal of the day being covered, you now can shamelessly indulge in those delicious Dole Whips outside of the Tiki Room! Not going to lie, I had at least 3 a day while we were there because I was 8 weeks pregnant with #3 and that was about all I could stomach at the time!
And when I talk about saving a little bit of cash, how does one night free at any Country Inn & Suites location sound to you? That would put a little extra change in your pocket for your next vacay, right? So here's the deal - follow the rules at the bottom and you'll have your chance to be one of my readers to win this awesome prize!
To enter the giveaway:
1. Watch this short video on the all new Country Inn & Suites in Anaheim location and leave a comment below telling me one interesting thing that she said. Include your email address so that I can contact you if you win!
2. For a second entry (first option must be completed!), visit the Country Inn & Suites website and tell me in a separate comment which location you would stay at if you won.
2/1/17: The winner is comment #47, which is Sheila P! Check your email!
Giveaway rules: This giveaway is sponsored by Country Inn & Suites, not by The Pierogie Mama. The contest is open until 1/31/17 and the winner will be contacted via email only. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email in order to claim their prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. No purchase is necessary to win, but if you do want to enter you have to play by the rules described above. The comments must be relevant to the question, otherwise they won't count. If you don't provide an email address, I don't have a way to contact you. Good luck and I can't wait to see who wins!
Did you know that The Pierogie Mama is moving to Skagit County? It's true! I am so excited to be moving back to the part of the state where my husband and I first met and fell in love. We have been working to get back up north for almost 9 years and the time has finally come!
And I know if you ask Sheila, the owner of Just Between Friends Marysville-Mount Vernon, she may have a different answer, but I'm kind of feeling like the upcoming Spring 2016 sale is kind of a "Welcome Home" party for me. Am I right? Ok, maybe I'm just dreaming ;)
If you've been following along with The Pierogie Mama over the years, you'll know how much I really really love the Just Between Friends Sales. It hits all of my major categories - saving money, saving the environment, supporting local families. Let me tell you how:
By shopping at Just Between Friends Sales you are saving upwards of 50% off gently used children's and maternity clothes, toys and gear. For the last 4 years I have adapted my shopping style to saving the bulk of my kids clothing purchases to happen at JBF sales, which usually occur in Spring, Summer, Fall and Christmas. Just Between Friends of Marysville - Mount Vernon is the newest JBF franchise and already ramping up for their second event, from April 29-May 1, and it's already a really exciting event! Consignors from Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties are all bringing in their gently used items to sell at this crossroads event and you will not believe what amazing deals you'll find.
Purchasing pre-loved clothes and gear not only saves you moolah, it also saves the environment. When you reuse clothes and gear, you are lessening the impact on the environment. Those clothes are being saved from the landfill and you're also lessening the demand for new textiles to be created. This creates a smaller carbon footprint for your whole family!
You support local families when you shop at a Just Between Friends Sale. Sheila and her family are based in the area and she loves connecting with families! Each of the consignors, like I mentioned before, are coming from about a 50 mile range area to bring these clothes to the event. When you buy a toy, pack of books, Ergo carrier or a super cute outfit at JBF event, you are putting money right back into our community!
Disclosure: Thank you, JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own. The Pierogie Mama is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Confirmed prizes will be saved at the"will call" table at the JBF Marysville - Mount Vernon Spring 2016 event.
I recently asked online "How many outfits / clothing items are necessary for children? How many shirts, pants, shoes, jackets, special occasion outfits do you try to have per season?"
My hands down favorite answer came from a friend; "When it's time to get dressed - never enough. When's it laundry time - too many."
Truer words have never been spoken!! But in all seriousness, it's really hard to balance between enough clothes versus feeling like you're prepared for anything. I personally have a ton of totes packed away from Penny, expecting to be able to use them on my second daughter Ruby, but Ruby hasn't even gone through half of them because of their size difference. Because I hate the look of overstuffed drawers so much is just sitting in storage for a someday baby. But, if you've followed The Pierogie Mama for a couple years you know that I've been cashing in on Just Between Friends consignment sales for purchasing the clothes that we're needing for the following season and consigning the clothes and toys that we are done with.
So what did my sample of moms respond with what is their perfect balance of "just enough" clothes to get their child through a season?
7-10 shirts
3-4 pairs of paints
2 dressy outfits
5 pajamas
2 weeks worth of underwear and socks
Seasonal items: one rain jacket, one warm winter jacket, a couple pairs of swim suits, a pair of sandals and sneakers.
It can seem really hard to limit clothes, especially when the outfits are so cute! But considering the cost of brand new clothes and how quickly children outgrow them it doesn't make sense to have a huge investment in tons of different outfits once your child has outgrown the super messy stage. Babies are an exception because pukes and blowouts can happen at any moment and I've been there when it's outfit change #7 of the day!
This fall I've been taking a close look at what clothing items we have for the girls to last us through the rest of the year. I've still got a ton of items left over from Penny that were meant to be passed down to Ruby; more than she will ever wear. Mason Jar Values, another local blogging mama, shared her ingenious way to give the perfect balance of how to organize her children's handmedowns. "Once sorted, if they don’t fit in the drawers, we don’t keep them, passing on the goodness." -Rachel, Mason Jar Values
So smart! I utilized this idea and now we have neatly organized drawers and I've set aside two piles - clothes to pass on to friends and clothes to consign.
This Fall, just like you'll find me several times per year, I'm shopping at the upcoming Just Between Friends of Everett/Monroe consignment event for babies, children and maternity. I love shopping there to fill in those gaps for the upcoming size for Penny and where I don't have quite enough for Ruby. In sales past I have saved as much as 72% off retail on my whole purchase! That is huge when you are buying clothes for each season!
I also encourage you to go through your stock pile of clothes that you might be saving for your "someday baby" and glean out the outfits that you may not use again or bring down the quantity. Consigning with JBF is totally worth it because you get 60-75% in return for your consigned items, which is a lot more than many other consignment options. I've consigned 3 times and each sale I bring home at least a couple hundred dollars. The process is also very streamlined; so once you get your items tagged ahead of time it is about 30 minutes to drop off your items and about the same amount of time to pick them up at the end of the sale.
So mark your calendars for the upcoming JBF Everett/Monroe Fall Sale Event, and keep scrolling down because I have another surprise for you... Thursday Oct 1 2015 12:00p - 7:00p *Prime Time Shopping* Limited tickets are available
12:30p - 7:00p Pre-sale for consignors (free entry) 1:00 - 7:00 Pre-sale for first time & expecting parents, grandparents, foster, military and teachers Reserve here 1:30p - 7:00p Free entry with donation of NEW socks and underwear (4T - teen) to benefit the charity event. 2:00 - 7:00 Public Sale Day 1, $2 entry or get a free pass
Friday October 2 20159:00a - 3:00p Public Sale Day 2, free admission!
Saturday October 3 2015 9:00a - 5:00p Public Sale Day 3, free admission!
5:30 - 7:00p HALF PRICE PRESALE! Get your early access ticket here Sunday October 4 2015 8:00a - 2:00p Half Price Sale - all items without a star are 50% off!
This is an abbreviated schedule; please see the full event schedule here. Just Between Friends of Everett/Monroe wants to get 4 Pierogie Mama readers in early! Check out the giveaway below and enter to win some pre-sale passes. Please see giveaway regarding full details; passes will not be mailed to you.
So tell me - How many outfits / clothing items do you think are necessary for children? How many shirts, pants, shoes, jackets, special occasion outfits do you try to have per season?
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by JBF Everett/Monroe. All opinions are my own.
The Pierogie Mama is not responsible for prize fulfillment.
