Dress For a Bargain

Summer, or should I say "Wedding Season" is such a great time of year, but Weddings are generally notorious for requiring lots of mula. Gifts, travel expenses, clothes, shoes, etc can really add up. A great way to dodge some of those costs is to...you guessed it, Go Thrifty! It really IS possible to pick up a nice outfit second hand. Just check out the dresses I scored for the 2 Weddings I attended this summer. The orange one, which is made by Nine West I picked up for $2 (no, I'm not KIDDING), and the black/pink dress, made by Nicole Miller was a whopping $4. I don't normally dress up too much, so I have to admit that I was a bit nervous to wear both of these. The orange one is well, VERY orange, and the black/pink one was very tight and strapless. I wasn't sure if I liked the pink, but I went out on a limb and had a great time! I even received a handful of compliments both nights, boosting confidence in myself and my choices!

I also made gifts for both weddings, which saved us even more money while adding that special handmade touch gifts from registries lack. Registries can be helpful; when I got married we had a one, but for the Thrifty Challenge, using a registry at a department store is against the rules!  If you have a wedding coming up or even Christmas, check out their registry or wish list and try to create something on their list.  Depending on the couple (and if they'd be offended that you thrifted their gift!), you can also try to find something in line with their registry second hand. It's taboo/tacky in some circles, so be careful!  When in doubt, just give money - you can't go wrong with that!

Cute Fall Jacket Score!

click picture to enlarge for detail

Living in Central NY, I can always use a new coat! Especially a fall coat. The falls up here are kind of unpredictable - it's known to snow on Halloween once in a while. So you can't just get away with wearing a wind breaker, and you probably don't want to break out the North Face yet either. We have all winter to wear the same black fleece as everyone else (you know the fleeces I'm talking about).

This I found for $8, not too shabby. I probably have enough jackets/coats/fleeces to last my entire life, so even if I wasn't pledging to buy used for a year, I still couldn't justify buying another coat new. Used? Definitely! Especially since a coat like this new would probably be $60 and up. I love that this one has soft flannel inside and a sweatshirt-like hood. Good sized pockets, and it's tapered sort of like a pea coat so though it covers the behind, it won't make it look massive. Definitely a score! Oh and the picture makes it look denim, but it's not. Though, I'm not sure what you would consider the material.

Giant Dry Erase Board score!

My husband told me to keep my eye out for a large dry erase board. He works out a lot at home and wanted one to display different rounds, exercises, PRs and other scribble notes. Brand new this size, they can cost anywhere from $20-70. Whuddya know, I ran across one just days after his request! The one I found has a heavy-duty oak frame and metal hooks on the back for hanging. Paid a whopping $4. I'd say that's a pretty darned good find!

Antiques Roadshow Primer - Hardcover Book score!

If you're reading this blog, chances are you also enjoy the show on PBS called Antiques Roadshow. Well, I came across this handy book on my Thrift adventures this weekend! How appropriate a find, don't you think??

It's an Introductory Guide to Antiques and Collectibles focusing on 11 major areas--including Furniture, Painting, Silver, Jewelry, Porcelain, and Toys--the primer addresses the essential things buyers and collectors need to know, covering vital details for each category, such as shapes, styles, and patterns, provenance, periods, and motifs. A 32-page full-color section amplifies each chapter by illustrating numerous examples of styles and techniques, and individual items are fully identified, often with their appraised value. Above all, it helps even first-timers to answer the two key question every collector must face: Is it old? Is it valuable?

Picked it up for $1.99, can't beat that!

Picture Frames are Expensive

Antique frame I found for only $1! (photo inside is from my Wedding)

But not for the Thrifter! I love browsing the art/picture/frames section of the local Thrift Store. 1. Because you never know when you might find a Rembrant, or at least something cool to hang up in your home. and 2. Because they usually sell them for around $1-$6 no matter what size.  Have something large you need to frame? Before you drop $30 or $40 for a brand new frame, hit up the Thrift Store. Even if the frame you find has an ugly portrait of its previous owner, undo the staples and insert something nice.  SO many stores are peddling items that "look" worn or antique...why? Because it gives them character, personality, uniqueness. Skip the middle man - save yourself some money while potentially finding some cool art by checking out some thrift store frames!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

I haven't shared a footwear find on here yet, so I thought I would share this! Check out these bad boys, genuine leather cowboy boots, size 8, Dexter brand. Circa the late 1970's (I'm guessing). In beautiful condition, showing *just* enough wear to give them that vintage broken in look.  They actually caught my eye because I've been wanting to get some cowboy boots for my front yard- I think they would look cool with some flowers in them! But they ended up being WAY too nice for that. Total price? $7! Oh and sorry- they've already been spoken for! Just another reason for you to get your butt out there to the Thrifty to find some awesome vintage fashions!

Book Odds & Ends

I recently picked up 6 books for a total of $8. Usually hard covers are $2, and paperbacks $1 where I shop. Don't get me wrong, I love the library, but you can't argue with books this cheap - they never have to be returned and you can loan them out or let them sit and look cool on a shelf and read them whenever you get around to it, for as long as you want (which, from experience, the library frowns upon). And speaking of loaning them out, you will notice that there are only 5 books in the picture, that is because I let my Mom borrow The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Books pictured are: Listening Is An Act of Love, From the StoryCorps Project, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Couldn't Keep it to Myself and I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (picked those up because She's Come Undone by Mr Lamb is one of my all-time favs.), and The Mother's Encyclopedia - Expert Advice on Child Care and Family Living (for when the time comes!). Oh and I can't forget to mention the little wooden school desk I picked up for $5 a couple of years ago. It's a great little table for our entry way - it holds all of our miscellaneous mail, newspapers and other junk (not pictured) really nicely! The books alone new would retail for over $90. The desk? No idea, but it's worth a lot more than just $5 if you ask me!

Nice (bike) Rack!

Speaking of my Mother and her thrifting, the other day, she presented me with this Allen bike rack she found for only $ .99 Cents "amongst the random things at the thrift store like walkers for old people, I don't think they knew what it was!" I just did a quick search and new and used something like this ranges from about $30-$100+ - Great find, Ma!

Thrifty Home Brew

I was born to a mother who was and still is, addicted to coffee and thrifting, so it only makes sense that I would follow in her footsteps. Little did she know, I would take both to a whole new level!   The husband and I have gotten into roasting and grinding coffee at home, and so where did I turn to to find the items needed to start this new hobby? Yup, you guessed it! The local Thrifty Shoppers and Salvation Armies.  Above are 4 items I recently picked up for a total of $10.  All but the grinder were brand new in their respective boxes! The thermos, I'm guessing retails for $15+ (it's Gevalia, so whoever donated it got it from some sort of rip off coffee club) but I paid $1, the small french press I got for $3 had the original price tag still on it of $13.95, the hand grinder was $3, which I located at Smith's Restaurant Supply new for $17.64, and the 8 cup Bodum french press was $3, which retails for $32 on Amazon.  If purchased "new" all 4 of these things would have cost me $78.59!

I also picked up a couple of glass canisters to store the "green beans" (unroasted coffee beans) for $1 each.  Of course I didn't find these items the day I decided I wanted to start my collection. It does take time and patience to find specific items, but in time I almost guarantee you will find what you are looking for, at fractions of what you would pay in stores.