He took a jump of the tripod (I was being artsy, oops), and now he has a 3 week vaca at the repair shop :(. Oh well, we are lucky to have a runner up, and it isn’t too bad. Anyhoo back to business!
A few weekends ago it was chilly on Sunday, and I was not too bummed as I stated here it gave me the opportunity to layer 🙂 I bought this maxi dress a the same time I got this one, but I splurged because this one was a whole $3!!
This is what the top part looks like:
Kinda cute for three dolllaaaasss!
I have yet to brave this dress without a cardigan, but I swear I am going too 😉
WAAAAAHHHHOOOO!!! I scored BIG time and I am pretty dang proud of myself!
If I weren’t busy eating watermelon in my bed I would be doing the happy dance right now.
Where in the world did I shop you may ask, Garage sales! Usually I don’t buy clothes at garage sales, because frankly it is too much work. Driving around town finding the girl who wears your size, has your style, and is willing to sell her stuff in her yard (the chances are slim)….However, last weekend the local Children’s Home and Catholic Church both had big garage sales. I tell ya ladies this is the way to go.
I love big garage sales! They usually have a ton of families contributing= tons of great treasures. They tend to have blanket pricing which is how I scored all of these name brand clothes for a buck a piece. This specific church doubles as a school and had the items divided by room. The entire gym was clothes (I was in heaven). They also had a bake sale full of goodies, We were there so long I needed a snack break. Icing on the cake, I didn’t have to drive all over town trying to follow the little garage sale signs.
I am going to interrupt this blog post to thank my momma and my Tman for being such troopers during this shopping trip 😉
Anyone else hitting up garage sales lately? Tis’ the season!
Total Cost: $18.75
1. Blue Ruffled Top $1
2. Black Comfy Tee $1
3. Crisp White Button Up $1
4. Gold Necklace $ 0.25
5. Black Date Night Top $1
6. Blue Stoned Top $1
7. Pants Suit $2
8. Ruffle Purple Top $1
9. Black pendulum Skirt $1
10. Argyle Sweater $1
11. Bead bracelets $0.25
12. Flowy Flowered Shirt $1
13. Magenta Button Up$1
(check out the sleeve detail)
14. Watch Pack $0.25
(best deal of the day! Every nurse dreams to get 7 watch options)
I have literally taken a six month hiatus from shopping….. Terribly heart wrenching I know! Life has just been ridiculously crazy so my thrift shop addiction took a cruz in the back seat… Until the other day (happy dance inserted here) , I took my lunch break at one of my favorite little hot spots, Goodwill. It was like running into an old friend, loved it!
Below is the steel I found for $3. First off I inherited my love for paisley from my mother, but I think the colors make it fresh! After much research with my pal Google I feel very confident confirming I am in fact a cool fair skinned Chica. Therefore I found a hair color that is “supposed” to look great with my pasty white birthday suit and reaffirmed that I need to wear cool colors (ie jewel tones, greens, blues, purples)!
Fun facts of how I solved this cool vs. warm skin dilemma. Cool Skinned people’s veins are blue (check out your inner wrist) and they look best in crisp white and silver jewelry. Warmed skinned people’s veins are green (because they have a yellow undertone to their skin yellow +blue= green favorite part right there folks) and they look best in ivory and gold jewelry. BAM…. Ps I may possibly be on the people of Wal-Mart website due to researching via my iPhone in the hair color isle.
Woah, We have had a crazy couple of months and my blogging life got shoved to the back of the closet with all the other projects I love! Finally got it pulled out and dusted off, and hope to be back in action! We have soooo many exciting things going on and I hope to do some post about all of that excitement very soon!
Today I will start with my pair of small dressers the Ugly Duckling Twins! My grandma purchased these at a garage sale for $5 a piece, proof bargain shopping is genetic! They have been traveling around with me for the past 8 years, 3 states, and 7 homes, proof hoarding is genetic ;). The past couple of years has been hard on these girls and they needed a facelift! So I set them up on a date with my new boyfriend AKA the belt sander (best $50 spent this month), in love! My husband is concerned.
I started by pulling these ladies out on our patio and wiped them down. I didn’t get too crazy as I new my boyfriend would do the heavy work. I then unscrewed all of the knobs, pulled out the drawers, put my headphones in, and sanded away. I started with a course medium grit sand paper on the belt sander, then used a fine grit sandpaper by hand to smooth everything out.
Few rules I learned about the belt sander:
1. Course could sand the metal off a car in 2.5 seconds its a little extreme and leaves little room for errors
2. Sand with the grain of the wood
3. Sand off anything that is pealing, or it will peal later
4. Move the belt sander and try not to push too hard or you will leave grooves and dents
5. Let the sander do the work, and say good by to your bingo wings
Once sanding was completed I splurged and got paint and primer in one (antique white) for $9 a quart at Menards, worth every penny. I have been cheap for years buying primer then paint, and finally have learned it just isn’t worth it for most projects. I also had some Floetrol from a previous project, this stuff is fantastic. Some nice gentleman at Menards recommended it and I could just hug this guy. You just follow the directions on the container, it prolongs drying time, and helps paint dry without roller spots or brush strokes. With a brush I just painted away, pretty simple stuff!
Drawer Pulls
For the pulls I knew the old wood painted ones needed to go, and I love the look of the oil rubbed metal but hated the price $5-6 per pull, no way! I ended up finding these pulls for $2 on clearance, but clearly the color didn’t match my antique white pottery barn wannabe look.
I used the same technique for these that I used in this post. first I sprayed these with a layer of Rust-oleum metallic in Bronze. Then I went over it with a light coat of FLAT black, before it dries I use a paper towel to rub some off. I continued this technique until I got the desired affect. Here is the final project complete. I know I keep talking about these as a pair, but confession I still need to add the knobs to the second dresser. Their first new home will be on each side of our bed as night stands!
Can’t believe I forgot to mention I pulled off the retro legs and exchanged for these gorgeous things! I also Found similar dressers at pottery barn priced at $800-$1000 each!
My Project Cost: $91
Dressers $10
Paint $9
Pulls $48
Legs $24
Total Savings:$ 1500-1900
Ps Thank you to all of you, who have reached out and asked me to get my blog on again! It means a lot to know you guys miss it as much as I do!!
God Bless,
Cassie
Linked up over at one of my favorite Blog House of Roses !
also linked up with Shawna at Dakota Creek Chic for her first ever blog party!!
WARNING: I am by far not a trend setter…I live in South Dakota for crying out loud if I were to wear the latest runway trends I would stick out like a sore thumb. If I had to give my self a letter grade in this area I would say I am a solid B 😉 I am not in the buckle every week to get the latest trend but I don’t look like I belong on a street corner with a cardboard sign. However usually whatever I am wearing is gaurenteed to be affordable! Here are some of the places I score some bargains!
These places have a bad rep for being full of the unwanted. Which is half-true. No ones body is the same, and usually doesn’t stay the same size. Majority of the stuff I have ever brought to a consignment shop either doesn’t fit me anymore, or doesn’t flatter my body type or skin tone. It is just a matter of finding what styles fit your body best, and what colors look best with your skin tone. Bottom line I love shopping at these places because usually you pay pennies to the dollar. I also don’t feel like I need to hang on to something forever if I spent five bucks on it. Ever thought about refashioning, these are a great place to start. One of my favorite consignment shops has a dollar rack every time I go. That is cheaper than the GOODWILL!!! Some of my favorite items to buy at these places are: tops, coats, and the occasional pair of jeans. Don’t be afraid to bring your stuff in either most places offer a discount if you consign with them. Make friends with the owners and don’t be afraid to barter. Last month I got a pair of jeans the store had carried since last summer, I only know this because I stalked them for months. She knocked off 50%! I also figured out one day that nearly all of my items came from one chick, the owner offered to let me know next time she consigned. It is like having my own personal shopper, haha.
Goodwill Industries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I got out of the Goodwill/YMCA/Savers shopping for a while, but I am back and loving it. I have found that nearly everything in Goodwill is 3 bucks. After all this is where I found Sally . Most of my business casual work pants have come from these places. Nearly everything I get is name brands. Our local YMCA store even has %25 off the entire store on Tuesdays! The cheap just gets cheaper. This particular store is a love of mine, because everything is priced individually. So, once in a while you get extra lucky, and whoever priced an item had no idea what they were doing. It makes me feel a little guilty for about 25 seconds, but I am a loyal customer ;). Every area has their own versions of these stores look around and ask about their deals. I have scored a wool pea coat for $3 or spent $40 for a garbage bag plum full of name brand clothes.
I don’t care what anyone says this a diehard bargain shack! Don’t EVER pay full price for anything here, because it will be on sale next week. Plus they reward loyal shoppers with kohls cash. Usually you get $10 back for every $50 spent. Yep for you nonmathmaticians that is a whopping %20. I found this great Vera Wang Duvet there. I bought my sons winter jacket regularly $160 for $60. Regularly, they run deals where you get an extra percentage off clearance usually it adds up to %80 off the original price. They also carry some great kid brands. My son is tall and skinny, so it is hard to find pants that fit him length wise without him looking like Lil Wayne. If I buy their Skinny jeans they fit him like a boot cut perfectly and he doesn’t wear holes in them! I love buying kids pants, jewelry (less than 5 bucks!), and fun trendy tops and dresses for me here.
My husband hates this store, and finds the mannequins super creepy. A little true, but they have some crazy awesome deals. This is another place that you are a fool to pay full price at. Their clearance section is great, but always figure out when they mark things down. I have really found that this can be a hit or miss store, but swing by when you’re in the area. Last time I was there you got $10 back for every $25 spent AND their kids jeans were $10. I got some cute cardigans for less than $5.
I have strangely large feet for a short chick , horror stories from childhood big. My parents had this Large picture of me when you entered the house, I had my knees up to my chest, and the camera chick was on the ground near my feet. Needless to say it made my big feet look even bigger, and every friend that entered their house did not let me live it down. They have finally retired that picture, thank the lord! So I never find good deals on shoes at most stores I regularly shop. I do however really like the shoe carnival, because they always have this buy one get one 50% off. They have great prices and quality brands. I worked at The Buckle through college, and they carry most of the same brands the Buckle does for waaaay less. If you wear a size 6 you can totally ignore this one but for us 8 1/2, 9 girls its awesome!
There were several years of my life that anything I bought new was from Target. This was mainly because I could buy groceries, TP, Hair stuff, diapers, and my clothes all at one place. Yes walmart does have this, but it is just not the same! Their clearance racks are great. Again they usually have days they mark things down, so make some friends and get the inside scoop. Here is an example. I love buying accessories, swim suits, and shoes here!
For years my best friend and I have exchanged our old clothes, I really have the better end of this deal. Recently my sister and I have started doing this too. It is a great way to clear your closet for new items, and shop for free. You can do tons of different things a long these lines. I have even seen people do parties out of it with a group of friends. Plus that top you payed full price for 3 years ago that you best friend loved. It is way easier to give it to your bud than it is to throw in the donate box. Plus you can still visit it whenever you want. Sometimes we even exchange things back and fall back in love with our own items. Give it a try. There are tons of ideas out there for swap parties!
Regardless of where you shop have fun with it! Bring your smart phone, pull up pinterest, and search outfits for inspiration. Check out this article in the Times about when to buy on sale. So, what are your shopping tricks? Anyone started to refashion? It is on my list!
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