Category: thrifting

Spending Time In Kilgore

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

On Mondays and Wednesdays Jackson’s classes start at 8:30. Hannah’s only class that day starts at 1:00. Gavin will normally pick Hannah up on those days because he does some work in Kilgore. Yesterday he couldn’t so I decided to take Hannah later and do a little shopping while they were in class. Of course it was just some thrifting. I hit up Hope’s Closet first. There is one here in Longview and I can always find some good deals, but I really like the one in Kilgore. It’s smaller, cozier, still has good stuff and the staff is incredibly nice.

I went to Goodwill next. I’m not a huge fan of either the Goodwill in Kilgore or Longview, but I did find a few things.

I found these Dear John Giselle jeans in a color I don’t have. They fit perfectly.

I picked up two basic tees for myself and this Luckenbach shirt for Donny.

I also found Hannah and black crocheted poncho, pleated lined miniskirt and some Democracy dark plaid jeans. She loved everything.

I have been needing a trivet for the airfryer tray and I just love this one. It was only $.99.

I also found this 2015 Starbucks mug. I am not a fan of Starbucks, but I really loved this mug.

I washed it and had my coffee in it this morning. I also picked up this wooden tray for my candles because the plate I had just wasn’t large enough.

The tray was $4.99 and the mug was 99 cents.

I rushed to the school to pick up the kids and they were with their advisor registering for next semesters classes. I can’t believe it already that time. I had some time to kill so I went into the art building to see the new exhibit they have up.

This is my hair stylist. Her friend is the artist.

I love this little truck that I see all over campus.

It was so dreary yesterday and it looks like the same forecast for today.

Hannah and I always say that this particular spot is Fall.

Remember the tent bed I got for the cats that only Monkey slept in for ONE night only. Well, I put it outside and covered the extra entrance with a heavy curtain. Milo has claimed it now. He got out of it last night and O’malley climbed in.

As soon as O’malley got out Milo excitedly climbed back in. Cats are funny creatures.

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Random Saturday Goings On

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Normally we have a relatively quiet Saturday. We keep errands to a minimum and just spend time at home. Today, however, that was not the case. I noticed that we were very low on coffee so that meant a trip to Walmart. I like the Great Value coffee. It taste just like Folgers and comes in a big cardboard canister that can be recycled. But before we went to Walmart we stopped off at Hope’s Closet. Hannah was with me and we had planned to go earlier in the week but never made it.

She found these cute boots that were brand new. They are so her style.

She also got these pants that will fit into her wardrobe perfectly.

I picked up this olive green sweater. Not shown is the Nautica sweater I picked up for Jackson that he actually liked.

Walmart was PACKED!!!! It felt like we were playing Frogger ,or as Hannah described it as Crossy Roads, when we were trying to get from one aisle to another. I have been having menopausal symptoms that were not fun so I did a little research and decided to try this. I will make a doctor’s appointment if I feel like this isn’t working.

Hannah needed some candles and while we were looking for those I picked up some incense cones to use in the holder I bought by mistake.

I’ve never bought the Mainstays brand, but at least they are made in India.

We we got home from Walmart I got a text telling me that my Michael’s voucher expired today. I checked at it was a $10 one. The kids are always needing art supplies and I knew Jackson needed ink for one of his classes so off to Michael’s we all went. I think that everyone in Longview was also wanting to go to the same place. It doesn’t help that TJ Maxx is right next door. The line of cars turning in when we were leaving was crazy.

The one thing that I HAD to do today was grocery shopping at Aldi. I did not want to go. When we drove by it didn’t look very crowded so I took a deep breath and headed out. I was so wrong because there were SO many people shopping. I did however find some fake Poppi that I can’t wait to try.

And I had never seen these before. They are so good and gluten free.

I have to be so much more careful and read ingredients. This morning I woke up bloated with all my joints hurting. I could not figure out what in the world was causing this until I realized what mistake I had made. The past two evenings I had eaten lobster bisque soup for dinner. I actually know how bisque is made and it’s made with a flour base. I just wasn’t paying attention. Tomorrow I’m going to make a big detox salad and lentil and carrot soup to see if I can get rid of all the gunk.

After I settled in at home I started searching for shoes that I have been wanting to get for Fall. I had the exact shoes I was looking for in my head but couldn’t find them anywhere. I wanted a medium brown corduroy footbed clog. I found some that were the right color from Birkenstock but they were suede and if I was going to pay that kind of money I wanted what I wanted. I finally found them.

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These are exactly what I had pictured in my head. I ordered them immediately and cannot wait until they arrive. I ordered them 1/2 size bigger than I normally would so I could wear them with socks when it gets cold. Do not judge me! LOL

And I will leave this post with the bad little kitten that climbs everything.

Just look at that face. She knows.

Nickel Book Sale

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For the month of November the big thrift store near our home has a nickel book sale. They bring out bins and bins of books. I decided to go see what I could find. I had the kids with me so I couldn’t really sit and dig through everything. I did find two book.

I always buy chicken, but run out of ideas on how to cook it. Hopefully this will give me some ideas. The other cookbook is from 1974 and is so interesting. There are so many recipes that I want to try.

Hannah and I found this cool horse. I didn’t really have a place for it, but Hannah said that it would go perfectly in our house because it’s colorful and weird. Then she added but it’s weird in a good way.

I was debating if I should remove the base and hang it on the wall, but in the end, I decided to put it on our hanging shelves.

Anniversary + Shopping With the Kids

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Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. We had been planning on going to Judd’s Downtown. I woke up with a killer headache which was the precursor to the virus Donny had. I knew on Monday that I wasn’t feeling well and by Tuesday morning it had hit me full force. I ended up staying in bed most of the day with the occasional dragging myself to the kitchen to take aspirin and get drinks.

This morning I woke up still feeling a little rough, but by the time I went to pick up the kids I was feeling better. We decided to hit Hope’s Closet to see if Hannah could find some pieces she needs for her Halloween costume. While they were looking around getting what they needed I found two cute sweaters.

This one is more brown than it came out in the picture. It’s thick, boxy and so comfortable. It’s going to be perfect when it stays colder.

This cardigan will be perfect for the mornings and evenings now. It’s still hot in the afternoon hours. I need to go through my winter clothes that are still boxed up. I have decided to pare my winter wardrobe down and get rid of the black and most of the grey that I have. I just don’t like wearing black. I think, on me, it’s too harsh. I’m not a fan of grey anything. I just think it’s a sad color and prefer the golds, oranges and greens.

I actually picked myself up a couple of items at Walmart. I needed some smaller claw clip since my hair isn’t ultra long anymore. I always prefer this brand because they stay put without slipping. I also found the ideal nail polish color. I love this brand because it dries so fast and I only paint my toenails because I use my hands too much for polish to stay on.

Now we just need to find the rest of Hannah’s costume, get the fire pit cleaned up and we’ll be semi ready for Halloween.

Retail Fatigue

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I do not like shopping. I find this ironic because I worked in retail for so many years. For many years I worked as a retail manager/buyer for a large company. I knew how much the actual cost of an item was and how much we actually sold it for. It would blow your mind to know what the actual margins are. I honestly could not wait to get out of that job. When we would get large orders, the off gassing of the dyes in the clothing would give me sinus issues and headaches. One time we got a shipment of specialty shirts and they smelled so bad, like dead fish. I called the company and they told us to just spray them with febreze and let them air out. Like what??? They sold after about a month of airing out, but I can’t help but think of what awful chemicals were uses to make these garments.

This past week I had to go out shopping for Donny’s father’s day gifts. We don’t really do anything big for each other on these days, but I did want to get him something. I knew he needed tshirts because his were looking a bit scruffy so I headed to TJMaxx. When I walked in it was SO crowded and the place was a mess. I turned around and walked out. Burlington is in the same strip mall so I walked down there to see if I could find anything. It was surprisingly clean and I did find a Tshirt and some snacks. That was enough for one day. I was exhausted just from going into 2 stores. Jackson and I did finish his gift buying in Walmart which wasn’t too bad.

He ended up with 2 tshirts, a ceramic coffee mug and some snacks.

Now here’s the funny part. I can go to thrift stores and estate sales all day long. Doesn’t matter if they are crowded or a little messy. I’m 100% up for it. I’d say that 95% of my clothes are thrifted. I just feel better knowing that I’m recycling and these garments aren’t ending up in some land fill. Jackson and I are working on a little project and needed some 4X6 frames. I headed to the big thrift store around the corner and picked up two for 3 dollars total.

I never look through the clothes at this one, but I had a little extra time and decided to see what they had. I found these super cute Kancan boyfriend jeans for 4 bucks.

I’m still looking for some denim shorts. I saw some cut off shorts at Walmart for $24.98. People, please!!!!! Buy thrifted jeans and cut them off yourself. That’s over 20 dollars you’ve saved.

I also found this cute vintage vest that I can wear over a tank top. I will always and forever buy my tshirts and thrift stores and estate sales. This one says “for everything there is a season” and It’s in excellent condition.

If you want to pay full price, that’s your choice. I saw a quote that really spoke to me. It said, take a look at everything in your house. That was once money.

I Feel Seen

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home life, thriftingLeave a comment

If you read here you know how much I love our backyard, especially the tree line that acts as a natural privacy fence. It is lush and the trees curl over making a great hiding place/chill out place for our chickens. It’s like you are in a little forest.

We had to disconnect part of the lights because of the chickens heat lamp that is in their coop.

Yesterday I was at the kitchen window and looked out. I thought our yard looked different, then my brain registered what I was seeing. The tree line was disappearing.

I immediately called our landlord. She doesn’t own the house directly behind us, but owns the white house next to it. We are friendly with the neighbor who lives there. Our landlord had no idea what was going on. I told her that I had seen a dumpster in their driveway so maybe they had moved. She didn’t think so, but something was going on. I walked over to the house and knocked, but no one was there. I opened the door to the dumpster and there was a lot of household things in it. As I was walked over to the white house to find out if that neighbor knew anything Trent, the neighbor saw me and came out. I asked him if he knew what was going on and he told me that the neighbor had died and that the daughter now owned the house. He gave me her cell number.

I took pictures for Donny because when they were cutting everything down they were just leaving it in our yard.

Today it got worse. The lawn crew was out there bright and early this morning and Donny went to tell them to get all of the branches out of our yard. They did but not before cutting every single bush, plant and tree down. It’s awful. Our whole backyard is now exposed. Before it was so nice to not have to look at the neighbors behind us. Now the whole fence is naked. When I went out to feed the chickens her two young girls were leaning over the back fence just staring into our yard. Not only is their no privacy now, but we are going to have to put up more chicken wire along the back fence so the chickens won’t jump over.

While I was out there I noticed my string lights that I had attached to our tree were down.

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They had cut right through the wires. I did call the owner and tell her what had happened. I also asked her why she had everything cut down. She just said, Oh, it had gotten overgrown. No shit, It’s a natural privacy fence. Donny assures me it will grow back some and we are planning on planting a new fence in the spring, but until then we’ll just have to grin and bear it.

Jackson asked if we could go to the thrift store today so I figured some second hand retail therapy might help. We went to Goodwill first. Ours is not that great, but I did find these plant stands for $1.99 each that I’m going to use out on the patio when it warms up and we can plant again.

We also went to the big thrift store where I found one of the two cookbooks that have been forever on my wish list. Yes, I know I could buy it new, but finding it secondhand is so much better. Plus it was only 50 cents.

I also found this 1979 bread cookbook that I am going to love cooking out of. The Julia Child book is the one I was the most excited about though. Now if I could only find the Jacques Pepin’s Le Technique. One day.

I also picked up this vintage whisk. I use a whisk everyday and I just loved this little guy.

Cooking is definitely my therapy.

Cream Cheese + Mini Thrift

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Frugal Life, Recipe, thriftingLeave a comment

Today I made cream cheese from scratch. It was SO easy! There are only 3 ingredients: whole milk, lemon juice and salt. That’s it. Here’s how I made it.

Pour 4 cups of milk into a heavy pot. Heat over low heat and stir, stir, stir. You want it to get to 190 degrees.

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Once it has reached 190, take it off of the burner and pour in 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice. It should start to form the curds. If it doesn’t add a little bit more juice.

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Stir it around and then let it sit for about 5-10 minutes to cool off a bit.

Next put a dish towel in a colander, set it in a bowl and pour the mixture into the cloth. Let it drain and then give it a good squeeze. I made the mistake of squeezing it dry. Leave a little of the whey water in it.

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The above picture is before I squeezed it out. Once you have it squeezed, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. (you can also add anything else you like in your cream cheese) I used a little blender and blended it for a couple of minutes.

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It was so good. I ate some on a skinny everything bagel. It just tastes so much fresher and not a chemical as the store bought cream cheese. The longest part is just getting the milk to 190 degrees.

Jackson and I had not really had a thrifting date in a while. When I picked him up from school on Wednesday he suggested that we hit 2 of our favorites. We didn’t find anything at the first one we went to. The second one I found 2 books that I really wanted to read. The hardbacks are only 50 cents so I didn’t feel bad about buying them. I also found 3 cute little mushrooms that I’ll use outside once the weather is better.

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I also picked up a shower caddy. I have never bought one before because our shower head is above the shower insert and it’s not level all the way down. This caddy is the exact one I would have bought if I thought it would fit, but I didn’t want to pay 30 bucks for a brand new one only to find it wouldn’t work. I was surprised that it works really well and I only spend 4 dollars on it.

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I can’t wait to reorganize the shower now.

Little Thrifting Trip

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I spend most of the morning cleaning out the bathroom cupboards, so I really needed to just get out of the house for a little while. Hannah had had a late night so Jackson and I decided to hit our 3 favorite thrift stores.

At the first one, I saw the Koi fish picture that I really liked, but had no wall room for. I think if the next time we go back and it’s still there I’m going to get it. I just love the colors and the frame is fantastic.

They also had some cute little tiered trays and mushroom birdhouses. The birdhouses were heavy, even though they looked crocheted. I passed on them because I really just don’t have the room for either of them, but the prices were really good.

I love the next store we went to. They have a good selection of books with a little sitting area if you decide you want to sit and read.

Jackson always likes to try to find vintage toys and he wins the prize for finding the creepiest thing we have seen in a while.

This creepy doll was SO heavy and floppy. It was just so weird.

The last store we headed to is very close to home. It’s huge and you always have to dig a little bit, but I like that. I had been looking for a square picture frame for a picture I found of my mother and her friends having a coffee get together. I lucked out and found a really cool frame.

How fancy do they look?

I really like the craft aisle. This is where you really do have to dig to see if there is anything worth buying. I found the coolest molds. I cannot wait to make some faces for different projects.

When I was going through old photos a few days ago, I realize that I’ve always been a frugalista. Many moons ago when I lived in Bermuda I bought an old, cheap, paint chipped off Moped. The newer ones were a lot more expensive, but I knew I could fix this one up. It started off orange, well at least where the paint was still on, and all of the stickers were rubbed off. I spray painted it Navy blue and went to the scooter shop and bought new stickers. That little moped looked brand new.

And just because, here is Figaro, a monkey who lived outside my apartment.

Pillows

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Yesterday when Jackson and I were leaving our favorite thrift store I saw two pillows. They weren’t with the other pillows. They were on a shelf and I stopped to look at them, but Jackson was already headed to the door. I told myself that I absolutely did not need any more pillows.

Well, I kept thinking about them. They were only $2 each, had zippered cases and looked to be pretty high quality. I knew the chance of then still being there was pretty slim, but I drove over anyway just to see.

Sure enough they were still there.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the designs are appliqued on.

Then when I was checking the inside tag to see how to wash them I found out they were from Crate & Barrel.

I googled how much their pillows are and they run about $60. Not a bad find for four bucks. I’m surprised they were still there because the rule of thrifting is, if you find something you really like but don’t get it, it won’t be there when you go back. I lucked out.

i also found the perfect picture for the little frame I picked up yesterday.

My mom is on the far left. I have no idea where this was even taken, but I thought it was so cool.

Treasures

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Today Jackson and I decided we needed a mom and son thrifting trip. Donny has asked me if I could make a quiche for dinner since we have so many eggs. Well, of course I can. Only problem was that I needed a deep dish pie pan. So off Jackson and I went to find one.

We normally have our three staples we always go to, but today I remembered about a store named Treasures that I went to about 5 years ago and then it just fell off my radar. I didn’t find the pie plate, but I did find some goodies. I hit the jackpot at the second one we went to and a few more things at the third and fourth.

Let me show you.

i got a cotton tablecloth for the outdoor dining table. I found what I actually went looking for, a deep dish pyrex pie plate and the best baking cookbook ever. I CANNOT WAIT to start delving into all of the recipes.

i hate paying full retail for ceramic pots so I’m always on the lookout for them when I’m thifting.

i picked up this heavy bad boy for 4 bucks. I love jewel tones so I grabbed this little frame for $2.

I don’t really need any more summer clothes, but Born Again thrift store always has such cute clothes and I found this chambray lined skirt and cute tank dress for a steal.

And Donny got his quiche.

It was really good.