Recipe for a no-spend Nancy Drew costume: Pleated skirt, oxford cloth shirt, cardigan with an N “monogram” (printed from the computer), knee socks, flashlight and handy notebook for clues. I also had a rare Martha moment and made Miss C a Nancy Drew button pinned to the right side of her sweater (which you can’t see in the photo) with a small picture from the cover of Nancy Drew’s first book. I went to Walgreens in search of a magnifying glass but they had clear customizable buttons with pop-out covers on clearance in the picture frames section. That moment of inspiration deserves some sort of mommy badge for creativity, especially since I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet.

I know, I know Nancy Drew would probably never wear fuchsia knee socks but Miss C is not a plain white knee sock kind of girl. Besides, pink leopard or peace sign theme knee socks don’t exactly scream girl super sleuth. And trust me, I know screaming. I have two girls.