I might as well be...

Dutch!

Yes, I am a thrifty, bargain hunting woman, and my dear husband is 50% Dutch, his grandparents both from Holland. To many of our friends, he is known as The King of Free, and on our nightly walks around the apartment complex, he's always on the lookout for good finds in the garbage.

I am not averse to dumpster diving; I practically grew up looking for great bargains. Most of my clothes during my wee-munchkin years were hand me downs, mostly out of necessity but also because of my mother's frugality. In Japan, it was a well known cultural fact that the Japanese throw away to buy new. It's actually taboo to keep a set of dishes if one piece has broken. So we would go "gomi" (garbage) hunting and found some beautiful pottery and dishes;)

Now as a mom myself, I am on the lookout for bargains. Most of Abigail's toys (swing, jumperoo, play mat, piano, Fisher price home) were from (you guessed it) craigslist. And the last week I have been an e-bay addict, on the lookout for inexpensive winter clothes. We don't have winter here in Texas, but I don't want my daughter to freeze the three weeks we are home for the holidays! Can I rationalize spending an arm and a leg on new winter clothes and jacket she'll only wear for 3 weeks? Of course not:) And by the way, I have found quite a few winter clothes for her on craigslist, the sale racks and on e-bay:)

In the end, it's really a stewardship issue, in my conviction, because if I spend less on myself and our wee daughter, we'll have more to give back to the Lord. Because after all, it's all His anyways.

So that said, I am proud to announce a few of our more recent dumpster diving finds. Yes, we were on a walk about a month ago and couldn't resist. We found a dresser with a broken drawer that Rodney fixed in about 10 minutes. And we found a toy chest. The lid had water stains from a leaking fish tank, which we left in the garbage. But we decided it would be a refinishing project. Rodney sanded the top, I stained it, and Rodney painted on the lacquer over the last few nights. It fits perfectly into our little apartment. And now we have a perfect home for all of Abigail's toys.

So even though Irish and German blood course through my veins, I'm still a good match for my Dutch hubby:)

Abigail, this will be your first piece of furniture for your room when you are too big for your nursery...And it is a perfect match with the rest of our guest bedroom furniture. Amazing!