Tag: thrifting

Finding A Unicorn

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

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.

Day #55 – Kitchen: Ambient Lighting, Helpful Hints, New Curtains

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Yesterday I thrifted the new lamp for the kitchen. I also went back that same day and picked up this owl light. It used to be a wax melt warmer in it’s heyday, but since the bowl part didn’t make it to the thrift store, it’s now just a cute little owl light.

It’s made a huge difference in our night time kitchen.

Since I had moved the elephant lamp to the top of the cabinets, I put the little lamp I got yesterday in its place.

I was getting tired of the battenburg lace curtains on the dining nook’s window. You can see a part of them above. I remember that I had seen some lace ones at the thrift store while I was shopping yesterday. I grabbed Jackson and we went to see if they were still there. They were, but I knew I’d have to cut them off to get the right length. I cannot cut a straight line to save my life. Low and behold, right next to them was a lace tablecloth. I knew I could make this work better. I just folded it in half and draped it over the jute rope I had been using for the curtain rod. Curtain rope?

So much better because more light gets in. I would have never put anything curtain-wise if we hadn’t put the chicken coop right in front of the window. I’m using “we” loosely here.

I do think the creamier color is just better suited more than the stark white.

Since we have such little space I needed to ways to help with some of the issues I was having. I hated the recycling just sitting on the table until someone decided to take it out to the bin.

I just put a washtub on a plant stand and now we just carry the whole tub to the bin.

I use a new kitchen linen everyday. It would either pile up by the sink or pile up on the washer until I did the next load. It would drive me crazy.

Just nail a basket to the wall and problem solved.

I’m pretty sure I have the Chicken Fried Rice recipe in one of the other blogs. I made it again tonight because It is just that good. Gavin, Hannah’s boyfriend, had dinner with us. I doubled the recipe and we have leftovers to eat on tomorrow. I’m already thinking about it.

Now I’m going to go finish cleaning the kitchen and then finish reading my book. It’s so good and I now I want to read all her other books.

Day #54 – Fall Prep + Thrift Haul

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Because the heat index was supposed to hit 105 today I decided to get an early start on prepping for our fall garden. Technically, this is Donny’s garden. Mine is at the end of the front flower beds, but I guess we are now sharing the big enclosed one. It was a mess! We had neglected it once we realized that our huge tomato plants were only going to give us the two tomatoes we had already picked.

I just knew I was going to find a snake, I didn’t though. It took a lot of elbow grease and sweat but I finally got it cleaned out.

I did keep two of the most promising looking tomato plants. They have some blooms on them but if they don’t look like they will be growing any tomatoes, they’re out.

I had a HUGE weed pile and luckily was able to fit it all in one of those big yard waste paper bags.

After a much needed shower we had a unexpected, yet wonderful, rain shower. It cooled things off considerably. I decided I needed to get out of the house so I drove around the corner to Big, our favorite thrift store. I actually took my time today because the kids were busy doing something or other and wanted to stay home.

I have no idea why this is so blurry, but it’s a gray tank top type shirt. It’s the kind I just love to wear on hot days.

Another wonderful blurry pic, but it’s a lacy tank top that will go perfect with this gauzy peasant skirt I have.

They were just putting this out and I grabbed it because it will be perfect for fall and winter. It’s by Steve Madden, in excellent condition and I just love it. Especially because it was only 4 bucks.

Cute little candle holder.

I needed a small lamp because I love the ambient lighting I’ve been seeing in kitchens lately. Of course it was too big to go on top of my cabinets so I just switched places with a smaller one I already had that did fit.

I finally found a butter bell! I have been wanting one for a while now but I just didn’t want to pay full price. The color didn’t come out right, it’s actually mustard yellow which fits perfectly in our kitchen. It was on $2

I love background instrumental music. I found this flute album for 50 cents and it’s beautiful music. (I already tried it out) The kids get restless when I’m looking at book so today I got to peruse the bookshelves to my heart’s desire. I found some good ones, I think. I have already started reading Big Woods. When I was ready the synopsis I saw that it’s set in Longview. I’m 42 pages in and don’t want to stop reading it. I googled the author and she wrote Hunting Wives. I haven’t watched the series on Netflix yet. The funniest part is that it’s about Longview. I found it in a Longview thrift store, but it’s from Eastlake Public Library in Eastlake Ohio. So bizarre.

Now I’m going to clean up the kitchen and get back to reading.

Day #49 – College + Thrift

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Today was “orientation” for incoming freshman. It was basically following signs to make sure everyone had their ducks in a row and could start their classes later this month. Jackson really didn’t have to be there (we didn’t know this) because he had completed everything. Hannah was in the system but we could never pull her up. They took car of that and we just need one more thing for her to get completed. Such a weight taken off. They are both excited about starting and everyone at registration were so nice.

Kilgore is such a good junior college. I’m glad they are both going.

We were all having so much fun we decided to go thrifting. Both the kids love to do this. Actual retail stores overwhelm us all, plus we love the thrill of the hunt. We first went to Big (gifts of grace).

I found these two wonderful smelling, never used candles and this table runner. The candles were $2 and the runner was $3. I always like to know what people pay for things. I’m nosy like that.

Next we went to Goodwill. They are right by each other and right around the corner from our house.

I found this cute shirt that I’m sure I’ll be wearing quite a bit. It was only $4.99

Jackson was finished shopping for the day so we dropped him at the house and Hannah and I went to relish (born again thrift). We have nicknames for the different shops. This one has always smelled like relish to us. They must have changed the Scentsy scent because this time it smelled like caramel.

I found this taped up case with some cool charms and beads. I needed some beads for a project and this was only $2.

I’m always needing this sized frame. The two of them were 50 cents each. I loved this vera Bradley pattern and needed a new wallet. It’s in excellent condition and was only $3.

We found this cute backpack for Hannah. It was only $10 and it”s in like new condition. She did get a few more things at the other shops, but I really only post what I get because they like to keep their stuff private. I just need to wipe this down before I give it back to her.

All in all it was a good day. It even rained and stayed cool-ish. I will take any break from the heat in August.

Retail Fatigue

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

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.

Fun Finds

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Donny called me this morning and asked if I could run by a thrift store and find some Christmas CDs because they needed them at work. Why yes, of course I can.

Jackson wanted to come with me and here’s a few things we found.

I like to collect art. I always feel bad when I see a art project that I know someone has worked hard on and then somehow it ends up at a thrift store. I found this small painting that, I think, looks like sailboats. Bonus that it’s yellow, my favorite color.

We found this guy. Is it a frog? Is it a monster? Who knows? It’s weird and funny and is now my spoon rest.

A house hippo is supposed to bring good luck to your home. I finally found one that I really liked.

And I found all the Christmas CDs, the only real thing I went for, plus a Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Ethridge for me. Fifty cents a piece isn’t bad.

We also saw another balloon.

I have now officially finished all the Christmas decorations. I remembered I had picked up some Christmas albums at an estate sale several months ago.

Jamming to Perry Como puts me in the Christmas spirit. There’s nothing better than old Christmas music, especially playing on my 70’s stereo.