A Sweater by Any Other Name...

You may call them 'Cosby sweaters'.  You may call them 'Ugly Sweaters'. I call them 'Sweaters My Parents Wore in Family Portraits in the Late 1980's".  

I also call them 'Sweaters Worn by Friendly Middle-Aged Airport Shuttle Drivers', because I totally matched outfits with the shuttle driver on our way back from the airport this Holiday season. Yes sir, you get an extra special tip for your fabulous taste. 

Whatever you call them, these colorful, comfy, patterned sweaters are fun and easy to thrift. 

All sweaters above were purchased at different times. The green and Off-white sweaters came from Value World. The blue is from Goodwill As-Is and the red is from a church rummage sale. The red sweater was just $.50 (see more in an old post here). I know the green one was $1, because I just bought it a couple weeks ago.

What's up with Urban Outfitters selling these things for too many dollars? I love them, but I won't spend that dough.

Look!    Look!    Look!    Look!


They are perfect for SF weather, but I recently moved to LA (surprise)! I need to get some wears in before the warm weather hits.

What do you call these sweaters?

Take a Chance with Wrinkled Dollars

So much to blog, so little time.

I'm spending some quality time with my good friend Jenny, AKA my thrifting-partner-in-crime. We have a full day of thrifting tomorrow, which will include another adventure at Goodwill As-Is. Exciting.

The other day I checked out Thrift Town for the first time. It is HUUUGE! I was a little overwhelmed. My first impression was positive: large selection, decent prices, discount sales and a dressing room! I noticed that they also have sections called "better clothing", which I assume means nicer brands. The housewares and furniture were impressive. I need to explore more. Jenny and I will be going back tomorrow for the 50% off sale! Hopefully it is not too picked over by the time we get there.

Have you ever been to a Thrift Town? What do you think?

I wanted to take a quick second to show you this skirt I bought at Value World for $.50 ($1.00 with 50% off coupon).


Something about the pattern attracted my attention. I second guessed myself before buying, but eventually decided to give it a try...for 50 cents.


I like it paired with this knit top, a birthday gift from my mom from F21.


It is easy and fun to take a chance on an item when you are only spending wrinkled dollars. I'm not sure if this skirt is a wow-er, but I did feel good about the outfit walking down the street. I guess that's all that matters.


Maybe I felt good about the outfit, because I was wearing my favorite boots. I love my boots.

Time to rest. Bye.

Two Tops for $Three!

I've been in San Fran for almost a week.

I like change. Change is good. That being said, I can see why some do not. With change comes an inevitable grace period of discomfort. During this time nothing feels familiar. You have to test the waters, see what makes sense, figure things out. Im in that stage right now; smack dab in between excitement and scared sh*tless. Beyond this time of uncertainty is new confidence and growth. I look forward to being in that place, but at the same time I'm doing my best to embrace this fresh feeling that will quickly fade.

So now, how about some wrinkly clothes? I bought both of these tops at Value World (in Michigan) with a 50% off coupon.



You may recall another lace top that I recently featured. I donated that one back to the cause, because this one is long sleeve and therefore I like it better. There really is no need to keep both.



I was nervous about the weather in SF, but so far I am pleased. My preference is to layer and feel cozy, so the chill suits me quite well. Plus I like to wear boots, scarves and hats.



Speaking of hats, I bought this one for just $1 at the 'Hoosier to Hoosier Sale' last fall while living in Bloomington. It is really soft cashmere. I wear it a lot.

Missing you, Hoosier to Hoosier Sale.



You've all seen this cowel about 1MM times and I posted about my black cords before too. You can't see them, but I'm wearing my $.25 shoes.

Next post will be about a sweet purse I found at a Goodwill As-Is store; my first SF purchase with wrinkled dollars. Stay tuned.

used jewelry: stories you can wear.

I'm not consistent with Jewelry. I go through stages. I remember a couple years ago I was really into earrings and I NEVER wore necklaces. Now I rarely wear earrings and I love long necklaces. I haven't worn many bracelets over the years, but now I'm all about them, and watches. Ah, the circle of trend.

It is for that reason, along with the fact that I don't trust myself to take care of expensive jewelry, I enjoy buying or 'acquiring' used jewelry. I say 'acquire', because some are from my mother's/grandmother's/friend's, etc jewelry box. Those are extra special.

I'm attracted to unique pieces, usually something with a bold statement. Estate sales are the best. I have found some pretty cool things. To locate an estate sale in your area, go to craigslist, click on garage sales and search for key word "estate". It is that easy. Or, you can just search key word "jewelry" and see what pops up.

Below are some that I bought or 'acquired' this summer (everything else I have is already in San Fran).



Jewelry can tell a story. Clothing can too, but I feel like jewelry more so. For example, the bracelets in the first photo I bought from my parent's neighbor whose boss bought them for her in Vietnam. Some pieces have a story that you will never know, like the elephant necklace I got at the Disabled Veterans thrift store. Last year I bought a gold locket at Value World with a very old faded photo still inside (not pictured). I love the mystery.

Usually items like those pictured above can be purchased from $.50 - $2. Very cheap for a one of a kind piece.

Do you buy/acquire Jewelry from Thrift Stores / Garage Sales / Estate Sales / your Mother's Jewelry Box, etc? If so, please feel free to share stories in the comments below.

Enjoy the week!

Floral Maxi Skirt

I'm back from a week long visit in Connecticut; my dad and I drove out last Sunday. I spent two days with a friend and the rest at my gram's. My brother also flew in from Los Angeles. He drove back with us on Saturday. Fun times had by all. Now I'm back in Michigan for a couple weeks before the cross-country road trip to San Fran.

I've been thrifting a lot, trying to take advantage of the cheap Michigan shopping while I still can. I bought this Maxi Skirt at Value World with their awesome 50% off coupon. It was originally market $2.40.



The coupon is still Valid, but no longer available online. Sad. I've been searching for it in local shoppers, mailers, etc, but no luck. Yesterday, while at Value World, I told my little sister that I was only looking, because I refuse to buy anything full price when I can get it 50% off. Some guy overheard my whiney complaint and offered me one of his extra coupons. I accepted and enthusiastically thanked him! Maybe I should whine more often, or maybe not. I think I do my fair share already.

Can you believe just after I wrote the above paragraph I checked the Value World website and the coupon is now available? Good news! It wasn't yesterday, but it is today. Maybe they weren't getting as much response. I don't care, just glad it is back.



Maxi skirts are easy to find at thrift stores, just go to the skirt section, squat down and see which skirts are touching the floor.



The fanny/waist Pack I'm wearing is from Urban Outfitters a few years back. I just recently took it from my mom, she was going to sell it at our garage sale. We'll call it a free acquisition.



Quick tip, do NOT attempt to climb while wearing a Maxi Skirt. I almost bit the big one yesterday while jumping off a cement post. The end of my skirt caught the top of the post and I took a 90 degree dive to the pavement. Luckily no permanent injuries.

Thanks to my brother for withstanding the mosquitos to take photos of me!

See y'all later.

$.69 Belt from Goodwill Outlet & Value World Coupon

I spent a good two hours at Value World today. They have another awesome coupon - 50% off your entire purchase. That is a massive discount, especially when you consider how low their prices are to begin with. Good stuff. I'll be checking out another location tomorrow.

I saw one of these phones (clear Conair) at Value World today. Growing up I always wanted an extra phone line in my room with a phone like this; one that glowed and lit up when it rang. Ugh, if I had a land line right now I'd probably buy it just to fulfill a childhood dream. So cool.

Anyway, I got this belt (below) a couple months ago at the Goodwill Outlet when I was still in Indiana. If you missed my post about Goodwill Outlet Stores you can read about it here. Items are priced by weight - $.69/lb. Since I bought a handful of items at the same time I'm not able to report the cost with 100% certainty (they put your entire purchase on the scale at one time), but worst case it was $.69, because it definitely weighs under a pound.


I was pretty surprised when I found this belt, because in my experience cool stuff at GW Outlet is few and far between. There were two more bold wooden belts right next to it, but I handed them off to another shopper. Share the wealth, it is good thrifting Karma, ha.



This skirt was featured on a past post, here.



A simple outfit for a humid day. Despite the heat the sky was quite pretty.

Double Does # 3 - Costumes Revealed

Happy Monday everyone! I don't have much time to write today because I spent too much time creating these photos of our costumes from David's 30th Birthday Bash on Saturday.

So here's the big reveal.



I decided to go as Rosie the Riveter, because it was easy and inexpensive! In total I spent less than $5 for the entire costume.

1. Shirt (borrowed from Joe) - Free
2. Pants (purchased at Goodwill) - $2.15
3. Scarf (Cut from a blouse purchased at Value World) - $2.00
4. Tool Belt (borrowed from Joe's dad) - Free
5. Old Power Drill (borrowed from my parents) - Free

David (my brother, the birthday boy) went as...THE David.



His costumes are always impressive, but he may have outdone himself this time. What do you guys think, amazing huh?

We had a great time with family and friends.



That's my mom in the photo with us above. I think her costume deserves a mention. She went as "Mommy Dearest" - note the wire hanger. By the way, my brother and I found her dress at Value World for $3.00.


I have so many more photos, but I will refrain from posting a million.
BUT, here are (just) two more.

I also participated in Two Birds Inspiration Monday today, but only had a second to snap one photo.

Below is the inspiration image, miss Joey Potter (as I choose to remember her).


And below is my take. I don't have any high waisted Jeans so I just wore some flares. The rest was fairly simple, which I appreciated, because I didn't have much time this morning to think about my outfit. Thanks again Inspiration Monday for helping me get dressed.



Have a great week everyone!

Double Dose #2: Blue Shorts & Gray High Waisted Skirt

Yesterday was busy. David and I were out and about all day preparing for his 30th birthday bash. We passed a bunch of garage sales, but there was no time to stop. Although I did break for a church rummage sale. You could fill a paper bag (grocery store size) and pay only $3! I only managed to find a sweater cardigan and a scarf and they asked a $1 for both. Works for me.

I checked the weather before we left the house so we could dress appropriately. Unfortunately I looked at Bloomington instead of Livonia (MI). It was like a 20 degree difference. We froze, especially on this windy bridge where we decided to take photos.



This is a little bridge over a busy road so people can easily cross the street. It is difficult to find good photo locations is this area...



On Friday David and I did a little shopping at Value World, which is where we both purchased our feature items.

Blue Shorts
This is one of two pairs of shorts that David found. He tried on one and they didn't fit. Since they were both the same size he was going to put both back assuming the other pair wouldn't fit either. I was like "Whoa whoa whoa, you need to try those on too". He did and they fit. I've said it before and I will say it again, NEVER trust size when shopping second-hand. Try everything on! I've bought things that read 3 sizes too big and 3 sizes too small and they ended up fitting.


Gray High Waisted Skirt
This skirt was regularly $.80. Not sure why. Maybe it is ugly. I like it though so who cares. Something about the fabric and shape is appealing to me. I purchased it with a belt attached, but took it off cus I have other wide belts I like better. One lame thing about Value World is that they do not have dressing rooms, which means you have to guess or discretely try it on over what you are currently wearing. My advice is to always were a tank so you can take off your shirt and try on tops (without risking indecent exposure). Also, I'm thinking that a skirt may be the best bet for the bottom half because you can slip pants on underneath. Sorry guys, you are out of luck unless you want to throw on a kilt.

Usually I gather all of the items I'm considering, bring them to a mirror (usually there is one somewhere in the store) and try everything on at one time.

Taking photos with my bro is fun.



Check out this photo of me mid fall. Posing is dangerous. I was able to catch the railing before any major damage was done.



The party last night was fun. Look for photos tomorrow. I woke up this morning at 10:00am and everyone was still sleeping. DAV Thrift Store waits for no one (according to Joe) so I pulled myself out of bed and headed over. I'm pretty excited about a retro Lacoste jacket I found.

Now I'm just hanging out dreading the return to work tomorrow. Isn't that what Sundays are for? Ha.

Red Wool Pencil Skirt - $.90 Cents!

No activity to report this evening. I was suppossed to go thrifting with Joe's cousin Sarah, but I canceled so I could stay in with Annyong (my cat) who unfortunately is still not doing very well.

A little while back I mentioned how I bought a $.90 cent skirt. Well, here it is.


Red Wool Pencil Skirt: Not much to say about this one. I found it sifting through the racks at Value World. $.90 cents was the actual price marked on the tag, no discount. Gotta love Value World for their everyday low prices.

Is it a faux pas to wear wool in Spring? I'm not sure that I care. I figure as long as I sneak it in before April I should be okay. I really wanted to get at least one wear in before the weather turns and it goes up on the shelf until late fall.

I've been living out of a suitcase/laundry basket for almost 4 straight weeks and I'm on the verge of going nutso. Back to Bloomington this weekend. I will miss my family and friends, but it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and dress from my own closet. Most importantly (ok maybe not) I will be back for the 'first Saturday of the month' sale at Goodwill!

A pencil skirt may be the easiest article of clothing to find thrifting. If you are a thrift novice I reccomend making a pencil skirt your first conquest. Get your feet wet. There are soooo many in soooo many sizes and colors.

Thanks mom for taking my photos today!

In case you missed them before you can read about my top (here) and my scarf (here). My tights are from Banana Republic Outlet, probably at least 3 years back. My shoes are from Urban Outfitters clearance, $9.99.



Gonna stream something on Netflix now. Later.

$.64 Cent Dress!

Good News: I already have enough points to solidify a first place position in my work March Madness bracket tournament. Total winnings to equal $125.

Bad News: I just got back from taking my cat to the vet. She has a pulled ligament in her knee. Total $ damage (examination, ex-ray and pain meds) equaled $173.

Happy Monday, I'm in the hole $48.


Hi, I would like you to meet my bed head. These photos were taken after a 2 hour nap on Sunday. The nap was well worth the messy hair.



Striped Dress: I literally paid for this dress with change. It was only $.64 cents, I have witnesses! My best girl and her daughter were shopping with me at Value World a couple of weeks ago when I found it. I of course used the 50% off coupon. I don't know whether or not to call it 'vintage'. What's the criteria anyway? I can say it wasn't sold new in the last, mmmm 15-20 years? That is a guess, because the tag doesn't provide an clues. The condition is pretty sweet though and the striped pattern is fun!

I don't know, do you guys like it?

That's all I have to share. I need to tend to my poor cat - feel so bad for her right now. :(

25 Cent Shoes!

In the future I must remember that planning two consecutive days of brunch is not a good idea. We celebrated my father in-law's birthday this afternoon and I am still stuffed. Being stuffed means I have pretty much no motivation to do anything. Tomorrow I'm off to another brunch at the Breakfast Club. So, that's pretty much my whole weekend.

Last night I had a great time at a family wedding (congrats Nancy & Eric). I meant to take a photo of my dress, but by the time we got home all I wanted was bed.

Enough about food and sleep. Today's feature are these shoes I got for $.25!



25 cent shoes! I found these at the DAV thrift store. If you missed my raving love post about this place you can read it here. These shoes had a "G" marked on the bottom, which means they were part of the Managers SUPER SUNDAY Special. The inside has a pretty cool plaid pattern too. Other than that, I don't know much about them except they fit and are in pretty dang good shape. I usually don't have much luck when it comes to buying used shoes, but things are looking up!

I can't wait to check out the SUPER SUNDAY special again tomorrow.



Today my whole outfit is thrifted (excluding sunglasses, watch and unmentionables): blazer and cardigan from Goodwill, Pants from Salvation Army and shoes (of course) from DAV. I'm also wearing the DIY necklace I just made the other day.



Do you guys like these shoes? How cool would it be to go to the SUPER SUNDAY special at DAV and put together an entire outfit for $1.00? Hmmm, sounds like a challenge. I already have the shoes. I also bought a $.25 blazer (yet to be featured). I will have to think more about this and get back to you...

On Thursday I introduced Value World to some lovely ladies from my work. We scored some sweet stuff (using the 50% off coupon, of course).



While shopping I noticed the Value World Hall of Fame wall. I'm not sure what you have to do to get your picture up there. Maybe one day I can achieve that status.

One can dream.

Blue GAP Blouse

The weather is craptastic and my mood is not far behind.

Luckily I have a little cheeriness leftover from yesterday. Jill @ Spoils of Wear asked me to participate in Blogtrotting (a feature on her blog where she introduces bloggers). The post about me was published yesterday. Very cool, thanks Jill!

We had a vendor visit the office today so I had to dress all business-casually. Don't I look amused?!



During todays photo shoot I got about 20 photos deep before I realized my belt was not sitting right. Saggy belt. Gotta fix that.



That's better.



You can all wave goodbye to these purple tights, the stinking table in one of the conference rooms at work ripped a hole in them when I crossed my legs. That's what I get for being modest and lady-like.

Gap Blue Pattern Blouse: This is another find from my weekend thrift extravaganza. It is originally from GAP, but I found it at Value world. It was marked $2.40, but I had a 50% off coupon, which made it $1.20.

Loving this outfit combo cost.



The belt ($.99) and skirt ($2.15) are both from Goodwill.

I'm very excited to share my first DIY project (hopefully) tomorrow, come check it out if you wanna.