Having My Cake and...

Christy over at Thrifty and Thriving is hosting a contest to see who among us has snagged the best clearance deal. Oh sister, it's me. Do I love clearance? I live for clearance. I literally have a route - driving around town from one hot spot to the next, digging through all of my usual piles, searching out my next treasure. My friends will tell you - I find good stuff.all.the.time.

Planning parties and events for a living, I have a perfect, work-related reason (this is what I keep telling myself) to collect these found treasures. You never know when you'll need that rusted bird cage, or when a very old, child-sized wheelbarrow (first time ever typing that word, ever) will come in handy. Can a girl ever have too many cake stands? Nope. Thankfully, I now have an entire room devoted to my found goodies. Does it look like a made-for-tv movie of  Hurricane Katrina devastation? Yes. Does my chest get tight in panic-attack-fashon every time I think about the disorganization in that room? Yes. Does Todd tell me that he's going to submit my story to the A&E show "Hoarders"? Yes. Do I want to hold a garage sale to get rid of any of it? Oh hell no.

So, in the spirit clearance - I'm entering the contest! I've never entered a bloggy-contest before, but being so near and dear to my heart, this time I just must. Plus - what better way to show off my latest gem?

You may or may not be familiar with the brand. I, personally love it and just about fell over when I saw these sitting there at Tuesday Morning. For those of you without a Tuesday Morning, it's like a HomeGoods/TJ Max/Ross/ect etc - the kind of store you go to alone, so you can slowly and carefully pick apart each and every square inch of the store. As I moved the giant, hideous, ceramic flip-flop-shaped chip and dip bowl I saw them. The very ruffles I'd seen before in magazines, and blog posts, the very ruffles I've lusted after for a long long time. The very ruffles I've searched Ebay for.

"Flirt" Ruffle Plates by Potluck Studios.

Sure, I don't have a real reason to own them, not at the moment anyway. I can't plan a party with two measly plates. Sure they will find their way into "the room". But there are only two left...and you have always wanted them Michelle. Just flip it over, just see how much they are - maybe they'll be cheap. Keep in mind that this brand is sold at a cute little upscale shop in Seattle, a set of 4 is $40.00. At Tuesday Morning they won't be that much - but they'll still probably be more than I want to spend.

$0.69

Boo.Yeah. Done and done. Best clearance deal ever.

I even discovered that only having two perfectly pretty plates isn't a bad thing at all! It's the perfect excuse for the two of us to enjoy a perfectly pretty day together outside!