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.
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!
When I first found this diamond in the rough I insisted that I did NOT want to become a homeowner. My mom persisted that I should really consider this short sale townhouse. She won…It was kind of hot a mess when I first took the keys in hand, but after years of watching HGTV I was very excited. THEN reality set in, and I realized just how much work it is to “update” a home. Of course typical Cassie style I had about a million and sixty-two things going on at once.
Just to give you an idea, here is a list of things we have done in the last two years (I purchased this townhouse in December 2010): bought the townhouse, met the love of my life after sifting through the uh..nonkeepers, went back to school, finished a degree, got engaged, planned a wedding, planned a honeymoon, got married, transitioned into a new role at work, remodeled the townhouse, sold it, and bought our current home. Did I mention I am a mom… What a blur.
Yep makes me want to take a deep breath sit on my buns and relax for about 15 minutes 😉 Now you know why I have such a coffee addiction!
So my plan is to show you room by room what we started with, and what we ended up with. Keep in mind I bought this home, because it was a great investment. Our updates were not extreme, fancy, or custom. We knew we didn’t want to over do it, or it would just eat up the profit. We ended up selling it for $20,000 more than what I purchased the home for. Of course we had realtor fees, update cost, but we still made a great profit!
First room on the list, the heart of every home…..The kitchen.
Lets point out some of the great features in this kitchen..
Those shelves used to have bifold doors (yep pretty sure I took them down during my first trip in the house, you could not open the doors simultaneously with the fridge or stove.)
Not to mention those shelves were a little on the uuuuuugly, awkward side
The custom light fixtures ie the previous owners spray painted the brass fixtures with fake silver spray paint
The walls were very dark
Those miniblinds….Ugh after living in apartments in college I HATE plastic miniblinds
I added tons of clutter just to polish off the ugly 😉
Alright, so this lamp has a story, as with everything in my house! I have mentioned before I am a nurse that travels to patients homes, well one day my patient was not home, and I was out of town. So, I had to entertain myself for awhile (never a problem). This town has the cutest main street, straight from my dreams. It is lined with antique shops!!! Heaven on earth people. While in one of these antique shops I stumbled across this great lamp:
Isn’t it adorable. I toted this thing around in the back seat of my car, and drug it into every store that may have a shade. My son and I took her to the dressing room shade isle and found this great shade at target. I love that it adds some texture to the simple white base.
Now here is the best part! I went home and did some looking on the famous pottery barn website and came across this lamp. It is the same style as mine, but mine doesn’t have the silver base detail. The total cost of their lamp is $99, the shade is another $44, and the grand total is $143. Check it out here
Let’s just start by saying I love Kohls! They have beautiful, quality items for less. I got all of my son’s back to school clothes there. He is a slim kiddo, and they carry a number of lines that actually fit him well (ie no baggy gangster look). While we were on this shopping extravaganza I earned $40 Kohl’s Cash. When I went back to spend my 40 I scavaged the entire store and found this great Duvet cover:
Original Price: $269
I loved that it included my favorite color….GREEN! Now to the best part this gorgeous peice of art was marked down to $43…no that is not a typo.
My Grand Total: $3 (after kohls cash)
Total Savings: $266
I polished the look off with some great pillows I found at Gordmans. I spent $30 total for all four. The throw on the end is from another household favorite, Target. Any great deals you have found lately?
Total Cost: $29
adventuresofliving.wordpress.com 
