Yard Sale Treasure of the Summer

Yesterday my middle daughter found a treasure while garage saling.  Part of garage saling is knowing what you're looking for and seeing it underneath dirt, marks, and even paint.  My middle daughter is my shopper.  She loves to shop in stores and she loves to garage sale with me.

We drove quite a ways out of town as we followed signs to a yard sale.  The family had bought an auction lot in order to purchase a dining room set and was selling the rest of it off at this yard sale.  The homeowner said she'd definitely make enough from the yard sale to cover the cost of the lot and pay for their dining room set.  Well, she didn't realize what one of the things from the lot was and how much it would matter to a little girl.

My daughter brought me a doll as I was looking through the movies.  I thought, "Really?  Another doll?"  I am skittish about dolls or anything that has any stuffing and I can't throw into a washing machine to make sure it was clean.  I told her to go ask the lady how much it was.  She told her it was $1.  Okay, I told her.  That will be fine.  It had marks all over its hands and several black marks on the face.  The arms and legs were dirty, but it wore a cute cheerleading outfit.

When we got in the car, my daughter told me she was sure it was an American Girl doll.  I told her we'd check when we got it home.  I cautioned her not to be too hopeful that all the marks would come off.  We'd have to work at it when we got home and see what we could do.

After one more yard sale, we headed home.  Immediately, Sami brought the doll to our kitchen island for surgery.  She took off the doll's clothes and threw them in the washing machine.  I sprayed the pom poms with Lysol and set them on a towel to dry.  We got out the baking soda and a damp rag to begin the cleaning process.  We worked away and got the marks off the face.  The green mark on one thumb wouldn't completely go away.  But, the legs and arms cleaned up.  We brushed the hair (and sprayed it with Lysol).  She was thrilled.

I went online when I discovered a marking that said "Pleasant Company" on the back of the doll to find out if it was an American Girl doll.  Yes, indeed this doll is an American Girl doll complete with an American Girl outfit.  Outfits run between $30 and $40 on their own.

My daughter found a treasure that she is very happy with.  She didn't mind the elbow grease and was very happy to help me.  She has been generous and is sharing it with her sister.

Yard Saling is fun because you never know what you're going to find.  My daughter definitely learned that yesterday.

I am thankful for this blessing for her, but I am even more thankful to see how she is sharing it and how she is simply excited about it rather than bragging about it.