Nifty Thrifty - May 20, 2015

Lately my kid has been exhibiting some behavior that just isn't in any of the blogs/books about CP. I don't want to get into it too deeply (yet?) but I will say that when I tell people "She has an unusual form of cerebral palsy, and you can't assume that all people with CP are the same," I am not kidding. So she's been driving me pretty much up the wall and I desperately needed a break. Enter Amy and a short thrifty day (I took the subway in both directions so we had less time than when I subway it up and get a ride home).

We went to two stores. The infamous favorite doggie-kitty-prices-are-so-low store and a Value Village. As ALWAYS AND FOREVER, Value Village continues to destroy clothing by stabbing price tags on plastic cords into the worst spots and making holes. But on the other hand, as I've noted, VV doesn't have consistent "all of these things are the same price" pricing, so the treasure hunt aspect is fun.

Not shown: I was actually mainly shopping for my husband (HA, SURE) but I'm not posting pictures of what he kept. Men are hard to buy for and of course it's hard to buy clothing for someone who isn't present - fit and style are so personal. But I took some risks. I bought him three shirts and a pair of shorts. One shirt he rejected from the picture I sent him after I'd already bought it. I lied - I'll show you that one:

OK, to be fair, I knew it was silly and I knew it wasn't entirely his style but I had hoped....  And then his emailed reply came too late for me to do anything about my purchase. So Amy bought it from me to gift to a more suitable recipient.

(I also did not buy him this one:

...which was an 80s Esprit shirt that was adorable....but I knew he'd never actually wear it. But SUMO WRESTLERS PLAYING TENNIS OR SOMETHING WHAT?)

Of the two shirts and the pair of shorts that I brought home, he only rejected one shirt and that is because *sigh sigh sigh* it had a tiny hole on the neck, just below the collar in the back. It looked like....a Value Village hole! I don't blame him for rejecting it, I'm just pissed that I didn't notice before I bought it - and the shirt itself was otherwise perfect. But for $4, he kept a pair of Eddie Bauer shorts and an Izod shirt. Not too shabby.

Here's what I got for me...

THE COAT OF MY DREAMS. There is a story about this and the story is that THIS is the coat that I wrote about in the previous post. I never forgot about it and I actually found it on ebay in a better size, but the price just wasn't right for something that was more of a novelty to me. When I walked into the store this time around, I went over to the coat rack to see and.....IT WAS STILL THERE. And it fits...enough. And it was $2.50 (it was in a section where prices are a bit confusing and subjective, so I asked and that's what I was told by the woman who sort of runs the place and I said "OH!" and she said, "Oh, wait....yeah, $2.50" and I said HOORAY). I have already twirled around the house in it many times. It's by True Meaning, which apparently is a schmancy brand to start with. I may someday splurge on the proper size but for now, this is happymaking. 

Amy found this for me and it's a smiiiiidge too small but you can't actually tell when it's on, I swear (it's very stretchy). It's BCBG/Max Azria, which, again, is apparently schmancy. It has the dry cleaner's tag in it and the care tag says "Dry Clean Only" but it's polyester. I'm washing it on delicate. Or maybe doing Dryel or something similar. $2. 

Ann Taylor Loft foofy skirt. The waistband is actually very cute but I couldn't be bothered to fix it for the picture. $2. 

Tommy Hilfiger jean shorts. $2.

J Crew "Boy Shirt" that I think will be very cute over a tank top. I think this might have been $1.50.

Love love love this yoga shirt but, well, I don't know what it says on the side. But it's from a high-end brand (it's part bamboo!) and it's so soft and comfy and fits so perfectly. Can you translate it? $1.50.

And then this is from Value Village. It was 20 cents and I bought it because those are my initials. HA. Turns out it's the logo of a Chicago bank, of all things. There were about 10 of these mugs in pristine condition but I don't really even need one mug...

Lastly, and not the best picture - sorry not sorry - an H&M shirt that was 75 cents because it was the half-price color of the day. It's purple and basic so even though you can't try things on at VV, I took a chance. (I haven't yet tried it on but it's probably fine.)

And for the kid....

Value Village! $2.50. Children's Place shirt.

$1.50. Evy of California shirt which apparently is also higher-end children's clothing. I didn't care about that, I just loved the skull.

Another near-perfect Children's Place shirt for $2.50. I asked my daughter what the design was. "Dragon!" she said. Close enough.

And from the doggie-kitty store, shorts for 75 cents.

It's such a rush going thrifting, isn't it?

First Thrifting Post of 2015 - April 17, 2015

How can this even BE? Have I really not had a good, intense, thrilling thrifting adventure at all this calendar year?

Truth be told, I know I have popped in and out of a few small thrift stores since January, but I bought so few things that I didn't take pictures or post or anything. Don't cry, it will be OK. (Actually I'm sorry I didn't purely because I use my blog as my own personal catalog of when/where/why I bought my wardrobe for reasons ranging from "Hey, I haven't worn that in a while and nearly forgot about it" to "I want to resell this piece - how much did I pay for it?" to "WHY ON EARTH did I buy this?")

In any case, yesterday I did escape to thriftland and managed to hit two stores on my quest to fill in my daughter's summer wardrobe a bit. I actually also went into a Goodwill with high hopes. Hopes that were dashed by the absurd management of the children's clothing section - two racks against a wall, with the one holding girl clothing so high that I (I am on the taller side) had to stretch to reach it, and no rhyme or reason for the order of the clothing on the rack. I'm not asking GW to arrange by size (though other stores manage it, but whatever), but perhaps by season? By pants vs. shirts? It was just a giant mess, with tiny onesies next to skirts for teenagers. I bought nothing.

But I did buy things at the two independent stores I love and adore. Things for her and things for me. Let's look at the things for me first, shall we?

Hard-to-photograph Merona (Target) dress that actually fits beautifully. Looks like it's made from a higher-end fabric than it is. $2 I think.

Fanciest purchase of the day! Lucky cropped jeans. Specially priced at $5. Fit adorably. Can't wait to wear these when this rain moves out.

Abercrombie jeans because I have another pair and I love how they fit. They're too long but have that frayed/cut edge that I actually find very charming. $2.

Tommy Hilfiger shirt for breaking out of my t-shirt rut. $2.

I was worried this Apt. 9 shirt would be too old-ladyish because it looks that way on the hanger (and in this picture) but I swear, it's not. It's great. Very flowy and cute and again, NOT A T-SHIRT! $2. 

But, I mean, I need T-shirts. Forever 21 (just like me!). $2.

And Target sometimes does clothing so well. I liked the flowers. The shirt is more gray than brown, trust me. $2.

So hard to photograph, so nice in person. Nine West black tank-top-swingy-shirt-thing. $2.

And then the things for my daughter:

Levis that I think might fit her now. Old Navy shorts that...I think might fit her now. (She's tricky.) 75 cents each.

These will probably fit her in the fall. Old Navy, Crazy 8s. 75 cents each, I think? (All kid clothes at one store were 75 cents, at the other they were 85 cents because $1 plus random daily 15% discount, and I can't remember which I bought where.)

I mean....I couldn't leave this there even if it's too big. 75 or 85 cents.

Super soft and nice Gymboree sweater for the fall. 85 cents, pretty sure.

Children's Place t-shirt that will fit her now. For some reason this was marked up to $2, which is fine just confusing. 

Cupcakes! OshKosh. 85 cents, I think.

These were 75 cents each and might be too small for her, maybe, but seriously. SERIOUSLY. 

Gymboree shirt in perfect condition. 85 cents, I think.

And finally, the non-clothing items. $1 for Liz Phair, $2 for the Wii game (still shrinkwrapped). Notice that I didn't buy any books! Ah, how much I've changed....

Also, I tried on, swooned over, sighed about, and then put back a super-cute green blazer/jacket that was just the tiniest bit too small in a way that would've been problematic. I've found it online though and might splurge on it....

Mini Thrifting Trip - October 1, 2014

This trip was mini in a few ways.

I don't really need more clothing right now, my closet is bursting and needs to be emptied not filled.
My kid does need more clothing so I had to buy small things. (MINI getitgetit?)

My phone's camera hates me and so the pictures are not the best. But I found some cute things for both me and the kid all at the two stores we hit. (Three if you count Goodwill - I bought a copy of 13 Going on 30 for $3 there because I gave in - I watch that movie every time it is on random TV so I figured, might as well just own it. It's so damn cute...)

The save-the-animals store!

Really, this was the best thing I bought all day:

Yes, that is two boxes of little plastic lobster gems. It was $1 for the two (they seem to have originally been from the Target Dollar Spot) and I LOVE THEM. They're just so cute and...lobstery. Every time I send a package, someone's getting a lobster, I think.

As for the rest, I did buy things for me. I couldn't resist. But you should have seen all the things I put back! So clothes in my kid's size are 50 cents, clothes in bigger sizes for kids are $1, the skirts were $1.50 each, the owl shirt for me was $1.50 too, I think, though I'm not actually sure.

My kid probably will never wear this poncho (I put it on her when we got home, she took it right off) but LOOK. PONCHO. For 50 cents. Had to have.

I love Halloween, I love cheap clothes, I love this shirt that I got her for 50 cents. Also she's a fan of the peace sign. I call it a win.

Just a cute little sweater. NBD.

This Gymboree shirt looks like it was never worn. It was "specially priced" so it was $2 instead of $1. That's fine. It's so cute.

Hello and goodbye, cute pants. These are destined for resale at the upcoming consignment store. For $1 each, I took a risk.

Plain black skirt for me.

Ridiculous, almost-too-small Banana Republic skirt for me. BUT SO CUTE. I just...lost my mind and bought it. I'm hoping it will work with the sweater I bought (see next pic) and some brown tights.

TERRIBLE picture of amazing deep green sweater with boat neck. Just trust me. I think this might've been $2? I also think it does sort of match the skirt. We'll see.

I shouldn't have bought this and yet OWLS and PUNS and HALLOWEEN - of course I should have... $1.50.

Then we went to Value Village. Not anything particularly exciting this time around (although I do like VV's new tag system - bar coded and much more clearly color coded as well).

This sweater was so cute and also a half-price color. 75 cents.

HELLO KITTY. I couldn't resist. $1.50.

$1.50. I think it will fit her next year.

Limited Too sweater that I hope will fit her. Half-price, $1.25.

And my other favorite find:

This was $3.50. It's a Nino Bossi purse and I guess that means it was expensive at one point? I can't find a thing about this style (looks like a sweater/knit) anywhere so if you've seen it before, holler. I bought it because it was a) cute and b) fancy. Also I needed a new wintery purse.

And that's it!

All I Post Anymore Is Thrifting Posts and I'm Sorryish - July 7, 2014

I have so many posts in draft form for this blog. Blood and guts and my heart spilled on the screen. And that's just it - I simply haven't yet felt comfortable enough to be like some of the bloggers I admire and SPILL THAT for random people. The few regular readers. The possible chance that I'd get picked up by some mean site or go viral for good or bad reasons. The potential for family members to find this. (I think one of you already has, hi.) The voice in my head telling me I can't write for shit. All that.

So instead I am giving you another thrifting post. If you're wondering why I bother, well, I do actually still use these posts to go back and see what I've bought/what I have worn. I am trying to use them to help me weed out the stuff I bought "for only a dollar!" that I never use that's taking up space.

I had my delightful day of escape on Tuesday. No special sales, no special reason, just wanted to hang out with my friend. We went to two thrift stores and that was it. And Starbucks.

Store one was the animal store. Nothing was more than $2. I was more restrained than usual (trust me, I was) and put a few things back that were just eh.

Look - I tried to take nicer pictures this time. And I LOVE this dress. It fits me really nicely and it sort of flows out at the skirt. This picture makes it look frumpy but I feel really cute in it. I just have to find a reason to wear it. I think dresses are $2.

Wait. I bought a plain black T-shirt what? $1.50

I didn't know how to set up a cute photo of jeans so I gave up. They're Old Navy and they were $2.

An Old Navy sweater because I am forward thinking. $1.50?

This blueish American Eagle top is cute but I really loved the buttons on the sleeves (which you can barely see in this picture) and the color (which is lighter blue in person).

Yes, another brown sweater. Wait, this isn't the last of them either.

I know it's a black T-shirt but the scoop neck is different!

My friend found this for me. It's American Eagle too and the clouds are embroidered.

I shouldn't have bought this, but I couldn't make myself put it down either. So I did. And it's cute so there.

My kid's size clothing is still 50 cents per piece. If she ever gets bigger, it will go up to a whopping dollar, but for now it's pretty awesome.

And more 50 cent things.

The only book I allowed myself to buy. I had the paperback version of this long ago but I was really happy to find a great condition hardback. Adorable. $1.

Not shown: A Lionel train T-shirt for my husband.

And then the other store. What you won't see is that I accidentally bought an Alabama Tide shirt thinking it was something else. It was $3 and fit really nicely but I have no interest in college football (and I'm mad because I put back a BUNCH of things to save money including a mug tree that I wanted to make into a washi tape holder and I'd rather have had that). SO. I sold it to someone for $5. And that covered the two sweaters below - all sweaters were on sale for a dollar:

It's Old Navy and is browner in person.

Gap, and it's really really really soft. And less boring on than it is on the hanger.

I also bought two nifty mugs for a quarter each - one red and giant, one light green and squared off - that I plan to decorate and resell or gift.

And that is that.

I do hope to someday get back to writing meaty interesting posts about things like my kid and cerebral palsy and my life.