Category: thrifting

A Little Procrastination For The Win

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Because the weather is calling for rain on Thursday, yesterday was the only window I had to get the yard mowed. I couldn’t think of anything I would rather not be doing. Luckily Hannah was awake so I talked her in to driving into Kilgore with me when I dropped Jackson off. Thrift store visits were promised.

We arrived in Kilgore at 9:50. The thrift stores didn’t open until 10 so we had a few minutes to go visit the Shakespeare Garden that I had noticed was in bloom. If I were a student here and had time between classes, this is where you would find me sitting on a bench reading.

I would love to have a space like this at home.

There are twinkle lights around the fence and solar lights throughout the paths that I would love to see lit up at night. I bet it’s just magical. They have added a free little library.

I picked up a book by one of my favorite authors.

It came with a bookmark that is just so cute.

It was finally time to hit the stores. The rule of thumb is that if you find something you want to buy you must try it on. Then you need to ask yourself if you really love and will you wear it. Hannah had several things at both stores but after trying everything on she only came away with 2 items. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love to see what treasures people find. Here’s mine. (I never show what Hannah or Jackson buy unless I specifically ask them and in this case I didn’t)

The only non clothing items we bought. The food container is to replace the one that Donny accidentally dropped at work and it hit just right and shattered. The frame is made of metal and Hannah really wanted it for her room. We just need to cut our a cardboard backing for the glass.

I had in mind what I was looking for. I needed to some summer shirts to fill in my wardrobe.

A good off white sleeveless basic.

Do I like shopping at Target? No. Do I love their Universal Thread V-neck tees. Yes. They just fit so well. I have several that I’ve found at this particular thrift store.

A good basic brown tank. Do I have 2 more brown ones, yes, but they are all in different fabrics. I love brown. It’s my wardrobes black. I don’t like wearing black. It looks very harsh on me. I really think it just stems back to owning an embalming service and having to wear black all the time.

This is my favorite shirt out of the bunch. I normally do not like stripes, but I think because this shirt has vertical ones I like it better. It’s loose and airy so it will be perfect for Summer.

Red tags were 50% off so these were only 4 bucks. I love light colored jeans in the summer. These are cropped and slightly distressed so they are going to be a good addition.

Last, but not least, I found this great belt that I wear slouchy around my hips.

But Stacy, you just bought a brown belt. Yes, I did, but this one is a completely different brown color, has silver embellishments and I can wear it different ways.

I bought 6 items so when I got home I went through my closet and chose 6 shirts that I haven’t worn in forever and I just didn’t love the way they fit. They will be getting donated.

And because I am documenting my outfits of the day, this is what I wore.

Ugh, I need to clean Jackson’s mirror. Because it was 65 degrees I chose my wide legged cropped jeans, a linen shirt and by Born clogs. It’s a simple outfit, but Donny said, “oh you look fancy”. What he really meant was that I didn’t look like a hobo. I’m trying here.

After mowing the lawn (I did change into my holey tank, running shorts and Crocs for that) I was exhausted. It may have been cloudy, but the weather turned up and it was almost 90 with super high humidity. I haven’t really cooked an honest to goodness meal since I was sick. I’ve been working into getting back into the kitchen and actually enjoying making meals. Night before last I roasted a chicken with carrots and onions and made mashed potatoes. Not a grand meal but it was good. It’s hard to get motivated when the kids are seldom home during dinnertime.

Last night I baked some french bread and made crawfish etoufee. It was so good and I’m really sad that we only had enough leftovers for Donny’s lunch today.

Donny stepped in the night before to carve the chicken because that is not my forte.

French bread is one of the easiest breads to make and it’s perfect for dipping in the etoufee.

I don’t use one recipe. I just kind of combine several. Etoufee is also so easy to make. I believe that the secret is in the roux. It was delicious and I’m bummed that we all ate most of it last night so there weren’t any leftovers.

Now I’m going to go see if I can figure out what is happening to one of my cucumber plants. It’s turning yellow. I didn’t see any bugs but I think I need to take a closer look. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Frazzled

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A new semester started at Kilgore College. They have some classes that run for 8 weeks and some that run for 16. Jackson has 2 that run for 8, but one is online. Anyway, I had asked him what time his class started and he told me the same time as the last one. Okay, perfect, 11:30. He texted me his schedule, but I didn’t look at it because he had already told me the times.

Yesterday I decided to have a slow morning since we didn’t have to leave until 11:05. I took a shower and had just gotten out and was in the kitchen eating a banana. Jackson walks in fully dressed with his bag. I said, You’re ready early. He said, yeah, we have 10 minutes until we have to leave.

Excuse me, but it’s only 9:22. Then he tells me that his class starts at 10. This is the class where I just stay in Kilgore because it doesn’t make sense to drive back because it takes 20 minutes each way. And that’s hitting all green lights. To tell you that I have never gotten dressed so fast. I threw on the bare minimum of makeup, took my hair out of the towel, grabbed a clip for it and we rushed out. We left at 9:37 and got there at 9:58. When we got there I realized that I had left my phone at home. I was not going to just sit in the parking lot so I just told him that if he got out early to just wait.

I actually did find some cute things while I was there.

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Even though I do not like wearing black, I tried this on anyway and it is so cute on. Plus Donny and I are planning to go on a mini vacation next month and I think it will be perfect for dinner or something.

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A pretty top from Maurice’s made it into my cart.

I know that a lot of people don’t like to buy shoes from a thrift store, but when they are in excellent condition I definitely will. I just wipe them with alcohol and give them a spray of Lysol and they are good to go.

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Excuse the unmade bed, I was in a bit of a rush. I have been wanting some huaraches. Growing up in Corpus, we used to go to Mexico and get them. I was so happy when I found these and they are so comfortable.

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These are Pali Hawaii Jesus sandals. They are going to be so great for summer.

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A little ceramic cup to hold either my makeup brushes or cotton rounds. I haven’t decided yet.

I did get a book.

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I was 20 minutes early and so far it’s pretty good.

And because we are always having to run to Michael’s for art supplies, this time I actually remembered that I needed to get some french hooks for a pair of earrings that had broken.

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I need to give them a good clean, but they actually broke over 20 years ago and I have just kept them because they were some of my favorite earrings. Better late than never.

Thrifting Tuesday

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Since the kids weren’t hanging around with their friends after class I had an hour and a half to kill in Kilgore. Of course that means hitting the two thrift stores that are not far from campus. I found some pretty good things today.

I’m pretty sure this bird pitcher was not intended for watering plants, but it’s perfect for my propagated ones and the seed trays.

Makes topping these off so much easier.

I have been looking for a pottery mug for a while. I browsed the World Market website because I had seen some there before that I liked. Then I found this one. The lid was taped down so I couldn’t see the inside. It has a removable tea infuser.

And it’s from World Market.

I burn soy candles because they burn so much cleaner. I picked up three of these candles for a song. They are brand new and soy.

I think they came from the same place as the bird pitcher because they had the original handwritten price on them and the writing was the same.

My woobie (coffee tumbler that Donny named) was getting pretty worn out. The seal was on its last leg. It was over 10 years old so it has lasted. I found a brand new, exact one and couldn’t be happier.

I also picked up some jeans and a workout shirt. I have these same jeans in the cream color and I just love them.

I got more seeds started and finally found a place for my sun and moon.

I hope tomorrow is a pretty as today was. I need to get my watermelon seeds in the ground.

Just Goofing Around

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Donny and I had some time to kill in Kilgore. I had seen this cool antique shop on my Tiktok. I knew it was in Kilgore, but I didn’t know where. Well, as we were driving into town I saw the sign for it. I pass it every time I drive into Kilgore. Like it’s right there off the main road. We decided to stop in and see what it was all about.

It’s called Relictivity. It’s a huge warehouse that has so many fun things to browse through.

It’s not booths, the couple that own it curated everything in it.

The husband said that they just started collecting items until they had enough to fill up the store. We almost bought this wrought iron moon trellis. It was tucked into a corner. When I got it out to look at it I noticed that one part of the iron had come loose and that the legs of it were different sizes because I looked like one had rusted part of the way off. I still really like it, but it was $44.99 and I’d have to get the one part welded. I’m still thinking about it though.

We still had a little bit of time so we drove next door to Atwoods which is a general store/farm store. We picked up a new garden hose and a watering can. I have been using a plastic water jug and the water just comes out too fast.

I am bummed that I didn’t wait and get a metal can, but this one works well so I guess it’ll do.

We didn’t really have any afternoon plans so I found an estate sale that was going on it’s second day. Normally everything is almost gone by then, but we decided to go check it out anyway.

I did find a rubber mallet that I need for my rings. It’s a little crusty, but once I clean it off it will be perfect.

I saw this lantern that I thought was so cool. I had never seen one like this before. The bottom looked like a tin can. When I did a Google image search that’s exactly what it is.

It was a fun day to just mill around doing nothing. The weather was perfect.

Oh, and the kids and their friends went to Dallas for a concert so I took the opportunity to deep clean Jackson’s room. It was so dusty it was causing his allergies to flare up. I cleaned every nook and cranny out. I washed his curtains, bedding and shampooed his carpets.I filled up our trash can and had to load the back of my car to take the rest to the dumpster at Donny’s work.

He was so appreciative and no more allergies!

Finding A Unicorn

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I had some time to kill in Kilgore on Thursday. I love Hope’s Closet. It is one of my very favorite thrift stores. We have two of them in Longview, but they just aren’t as good as the one in Kilgore. I wasn’t planning on actually buying anything I just needed to fill some time and this was a fun place to do that. I had walked around the store with nothing really catching my eye. There were some ladies looking through some carts that were just sitting in the middle of the store. I happened to glance in one of the carts and that’s when I saw them. Now, I have been looking for these particular glasses for a very long time. I NEVER see them in the thrift stores and when I find them online they are way too expensive for me to justify buying them because we have some very nice hand blown glasses but they do not go with our vintage dishes.

The first one I picked up didn’t have a price sticker. I just knew they would be pricey because these vintage glasses are hot right now. Imagine my surprise when the next one I picked up had the 69 cent sticker. Y’all, I got all 7 for under 4 dollars!!! Like what????? Finding something that I have been wanting for so long and at that price was unbelievable.

They were made for each other.

These are our other glasses that I still love and still use.

A dear friend who has since passes away gave me a set of them. I love the bubbles and the imperfections in them.

Oh and I took this picture of what looks like a portal that was on my closet door. It was the sun reflecting off the inside of my lamp. Looks cool though.

A Little Shopping Time

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I decided to take most of the day off. I don’t have an actual “job”, well at least I don’t get an actual paycheck, but I take care of everything around our home. Monday I had deep cleaned the house. Yesterday I did mountains of laundry.

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I thought after all of that I needed a little break. I have been looking for a frame for Hannah’s Girl with a Pearl Earring adaptation that was one of her art projects. I had found several, but the frames ran vertically instead of horizontal. I could have changed the hanging mechanisms, but since the ones I liked were all professionally done I really didn’t want to mess with it and have it fall off of the wall. Today I hit the jackpot and found exactly what I have been looking for.

I just had to take the backing off and her picture fit perfectly.

It’s big and I have hardly any wall space left. I took down my jester picture and I think it looks mighty fine in its place.

I couldn’t not find a place for the jester so I moved some things around and now he’s in the dining nook.

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I picked up a few more things from the thrift store while I was there.

I couldn’t pass up this wooden shelf. I needed one for above my nightstand and this one was perfect.

I also found some cute shirts in my Fall colors.

Both of these look grey for some reason but they are actually olive green.

I absolutely love this mustard yellow blouse.

Couldn’t pass up this candle. I have a couple of this brand. It’s made here and the smell is amazing.

Donny needed me to run to Office Max to pick up some desk calendars for his work. I needed a new planner. I’m so picky about my planners. Office Max had no cute ones and they ones they did have were SO expensive. I walked down to TJ Maxx and they had no good planners either. Books a Million is in the same strip mall so I checked there and I did find one I loved but it started in July 2025 and ran through December 2026. I cannot stand to start a planner in the middle so that was a no.

I decided I would go check in Ross and no matter what, I would have to just take what I could find there. Ross is where I got last years planner that I absolutely loved. I found the exact same brand!!!!!

This is 100% my favorite planner.

This is the brand and you can’t beat the price. All-in-all it was a good day to get out and get stuff done. It was also in the mid 70’s. I don’t think we’ll get to wear any of our winter clothes very much this season.

Oh, and my second daughter let me know last night that she thinks she was a ghost baby because there are no pictures of her when she was a baby. I sent her over 20 this morning and have so many more. This is one of my favorites.

It’s hard to believe that these little pumpkins have kids of their own now. Dang how time flies!

Spending Time In Kilgore

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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

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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.