Thrift store shopping - It ain't just dead folks' clothes.

Thrift store shirt and thrift store jeans. Holla!

I may have blogged on this topic before, but I'm not sure. You're going to have to bare with me; we're working on week four of illness in this house!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty appalled at the price of clothing. I don't pay full-price, but even at that, the sale prices aren't much better! I try to buy off-season, from garage sales, on clearance, or...MY FAVORITE...shop the thrift stores!

Thrifting isn't just for Halloween costumes, you guys. Every time I go, I walk away with name-brand (and often high-end) merchandise for a fraction of the cost (I could totally write commercials, no?). Anywho. Our little girls and I went on a thrifting excursion. We spent about an hour at the local Goodwill and came out with a few great items!

My oldest girl got a Gap dress and a classic Ralph Lauren dress and some like new Keen sandals ($50 new). I walked away with Old Navy jeans ($35 new), a Lands End Canvas dress ($60-80 new), and two more summer dresses. My middle girly got a sweet Disney brand princess shirt. We also picked up some other random stuff ~ thermal coffee mugs (you know those are probably marked up about 900% in the stores); a gum-ball machine; a nice metal basket; and a random piece of Pfaltzgraff that the two-year-old picked out. :) All of that - $46 and change (plus priceless memories made hunting for treasures with my girls). It's really important to me to teach them that God wants us to be thrifty with the monetary blessings he's given us. Showing all of our children that shopping at thrift stores isn't just something that needy people do, it's something that frugal people do and it helps us use more of our money to spend, save, and give elsewhere to the glory of God!

We don't have to get back-handed by retail price tags. Here are some helpful tips that I like to keep in mind while perusing the racks at thrift stores (because some stuff there is past it's prime):

1. Label Shop - Items with designer/higher-end labels are generally well taken care of.
2. Know when the sale days are - some stores have them and some don't. If you can find 50%/75% off days, you can score AMAZING deals!
3. Look for thrift store coupons in your local sales flyers - some of the independent shops do this.
4. Check all items for stains, holes, pilling, missing buttons, etc. 
5. Don't buy just to buy. Make sure everything you buy is something you'd really use. If it looks like something you would have donated yourself, leave it on the rack. There are plenty of items that look more worn, but there are many awesome like-new items as well. Sometimes you'll luck out and find items with tags still attached! Sometimes 
6. If you find a lot of pants in the brand/size you're looking for - venture to the other aisles. Chances are someone with your taste (who's your size) dropped off the motherlode and now it's your lucky day! Check it out!
7. Don't write off used housewares! Lots of good things in that department (barely used pots and pans, pretty dishes, mugs, specialty pans, crockpots and more). 
8. Be sure to check the book section! Lots of great books (including kids books) for under $1 usually.

Happy thrifting!

Thrifty Business

I'll be the first to tell you, I turned my nose up at thrift store shopping as a new wife; I wanted new stuff - shiny, I get to break the seal on the package, fresh out of the box, never used, new stuff. As a new mom, I wanted my kids to have brand new, never worn, tags on, no possible unknown kid germs, new attire and toys. Now, there's nothing wrong with buying things new. However, if picking up second-hand, gently-used or refurbbed items is in the best interest of your family then don't hesitate for a second! 

We could buy all new stuff, but it doesn't make sense to if we can find something just as good second-hand. In fact, I think it makes shopping more fun. I have a really hard time shopping retail these days. I can pick up an entire season of clothing for all the kids (and some for the parents) for under $100 at a thrift store. Try that at a retail store. With even kids jeans marked at $40 in retail shops, I would have a hard time getting one season's clothing for one child for $100. I picked up bags and bags of maternity clothes for about $65 at thrift stores recently. That's the price of one pair of maternity jeans in a retail store, ladies! Additionally, I know there are some things we just won't find in a thrift store or at a yard sale and will have to pay more for. Saving on everything else makes these purchases a little easier to digest.

If the only time you set foot in a thrift store is to find attire for a costume party, you really need to give it a try. You will more than likely find all the brands you love. It's not all out-dated, torn-up attire, friends. I most always find great stuff. I'm a big label-checker; it's not because I need to carry a certain label for status, it's because I know some clothing lines are crafted more carefully than others and will ultimately hold up longer (especially when handing clothing down from kid to kid). And, besides, it's fun to take a garment home for $2.99 that you know once hung on a clothing rack for $50 or more. 

So, if the thrift store gives you the queasies, just try it! I doubt you'll be sorry. The worst that can happen is that you walk out, wipe yourself down with some hand-sanitzer and forget the whole experience. Besides, working to be frugal for your family is extremely important and part of your job as a mom and wife. This is just another little thing you can do to get there. 

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^{This post is listed on the Time Warp Wife's Titus2sday blog link-up. Please head over to Darlene's site to check out all of the awesome blogs linked up today!}

Newsflash: Thanks to an 80's movie, YouTube and too few hours in the day, I cut my own hair.

I had a Molly Ringwald moment on Friday night. Remember the 80's flick, For Keeps (yes you do), where a pregnant Darcy Elliot Bobrucz (Ringwald) goes into the bathroom and chops off her own hair? I SO did that! I always remember seeing that scene thinking, "I wonder how she knew what she was doing?" Of course, I'm sure some Hollywood stylists whisked her off to a salon when the cameras weren't rolling, but still.

I didn't really cut it in a fit of hormonal rage or anything, it had just been a while since I had a haircut - like 5mos a while - and I couldn't seem to find the hour to go get it done. This is coming from someone who used to get her hair cut, colored and brows waxed every 4-6wks. Now, my stylist is a friend of mine and she's the only one who's touched my hair for about four years. I knew that if I really screwed my mop up that I could take it to her, plead temporary insanity, and she'd get it all fixed up for me. In an effort to save time, though, I started YouTubing yesterday afternoon. I was surprised to find A LOT of tutorials on cutting one's own hair. I started with the basic "how to cut your own hair" search and, then, considering my super-thick wavy hair I started searching on how to cut layers and thin out hair. I know.

After the kids were sound asleep, I started chopping and thinning. I probably cut three inches off the main part of my hair and five off my bangs. Surprisingly, it turned out fine! Does it look like my super awesome stylist did it? No. Does it look like someone cut it blind-folded? I don't think so, but that's the beauty of not being able to see the back of it. My husband liked it, which is a good sign. And, no, he wasn't just being nice because I'm pregnant and we all know frowning on a pregnant woman's appearance in any way is like spitting on a fire-breathing dragon. He had to trim one little piece I missed in the back; but, other than that, and the insurmountable amount of hair that this experiment left ALL OVER THE BATHROOM FLOOR AND SINK AND BATHTUB (I don't think they don't show that part in For Keeps), I think it was a success! 

I also feel somewhat liberated. This is one more little thing I can do that saves my family time and money...until I have a little slip of the scissors and have to seek corrective action from my stylist friend that is. Hopefully I won't have to write that post any time soon, though. PS. I've been waxing my eyebrows for about a year, too, but that didn't start out as well and that's for another post. :)


PPS. This post is linked up with Titus 2sday over at Time-Warp Wife's place! Click here to hop on over and check out the other super awesome link-ups featured today.

PPPS. If you are inspired to cut your hair upon the basis of this post or your findings on YouTube.com, I'm totally not responsible for the outcome. That's why I left no tutorial here. :)

Finally, a photo wall...sort of.

We've been married for the better part of a decade now. In the months preceding our knot-tying, I was eating, sleeping, and breathing all things Better Homes and Garden and HGTV. One of the things I remember seeing early on and thinking, "I'm so doing that the second we get settled in our house." was a photo wall. Well. It's funny how things happen. We bought our first house and gutted the entire thing. Putting up new drywall, rebuilding bathrooms, and refinishing floors was top priority - a photo wall was not. Once we were all settled in our newly rehabbed home, we were tired. And we had a baby...and another on the way. The photo wall never happened and, I supposed I didn't really care at that point. We moved to our next home 10 days before baby #2 was born. I know. I was dilated to five at my check-up the day after move-in weekend.

Thankfully, we didn't need to gut this house. There was some re-doing to be done, but nothing as serious as the first place we bought. Now that we've finally settled in (some four years and almost three babies later), I have a photo wall (sort of). In a perfect HGTV world, I would have taken the entire wall and made a huge collage of frames with exquisite B&W photographs. The reality is...my attention span is a little too small for that these days, so I improvised. I saw this pin on Pinterest and it inspired me do something similar...something less committal...in our family room.

I sped on over to Ikea, picked up the necessary frames and shelves and went to work. Okay, I'm lying, my mom went to work. Handy Nana is my personal shelf-hanger. I did get the photos and other decor together though - settling it into its final arrangement for now. I like this set-up because I don't have to commit to it. I can switch the frames, the photos, the other decor without having to patch a billion bajillion nail holes in the wall. I also love it because I found that little heart up there for .50 at Target after Valentine's day. It matches the frames and the rest of the room perfectly, fits just right, and did I mention it was only .50? It is nailed in as is the small mirror, but they are teeny tiny nail holes. I bought the large poster frame featured in the original pin as well, but it was too much to all go over our love seat. So, it's now on display in the other room. If you want your own photo wall, go check out this pin for additional arrangement ideas. God bless the people who pre-figure these things out and post them for the rest of us. :)

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This post is linked up to Mommin' it Up's Pin for the Wednesday blog carnival. 

Head on over to check out the other awesome pins posted by Mommin' it Up followers.

Budgetized Living Room Re-do!

I'm pretty sure my home decor spending has surged a little since I started Pinteresting. It's not that I'm blowing a bunch of money just for the sake of having new things, but I've noticed that our home was lacking in personality in a few areas and quickly become pinspired to make some changes. The first makeover was our family room, but that's another post. The second makeover was our front room. This room has been a formal living room, an office, and now a cozy living space which really equates to a lot of things. Sometimes it's a reading room, a room for quiet talks with our children, a blog-writing room, a nap-on-the-couch room, a room for the Christmas tree, a room to admire snow or falling leaves from the large picture window, or a room just to sit...and daydream.

I got the re-do pinsperation from this post. I still like the seagrass baskets used in the original pin better than what I picked, but, we're looking at about $6 a box or $15 a box. Plus, I'm allergic to seagrass. ...I know. I didn't want to spend a fortune on this re-do, so I scouted out some cheap(er) lamps that were still big enough to fill the space. I found these cutesies at TJ Maxx for $25 ea. I thought that was a steal (ok, not a thrift store or garage sale steal, but a retail steal) because comparable lamps are more than that for the base alone (then another $20 or so for the shade). I think the shade is a nice contrast with the wall without drawing too much attention away from the print.

When I was thrifting for some maternity threads last week, I picked up a few old books (to add to those I already had in this cubby). The books were .29 each, I believe, and make a nice filler for that space. I think the color of these books coordinates with the over-all warmness of the room, as well.

In addition to the books, I picked up this mosaic hurricane candle holder at the thrift store for $1.99. There's no candle in it, but it ties things together and balances out the overall display. I *did* have matching mini-hurricanes that I pitched in a fury of de-cluttering a month or so ago. It always works that way, doesn't it? 

The shelf itself is the $69 Expedit shelving unit from Ikea, in black-brown and turned on it's side. Here's a note, if you buy these shelving systems make sure you get the bins that go in them AT IKEA. They fit best. I got similar bins from another retailer for another shelving unit we have and they are too small (read: they work, but they don't look right). 

I also picked up a pair of grommet-style 84" drapes at Target for under $9, two panels included, on clearance. They are black/tan/gray stripe and match the room perfectly. I'm super pleased! If you've ever bought full-length curtains, you know that they are about $25 a panel from a discount store and can be much...much...more from specialty stores.

The print I hung above the shelving unit is a printed photograph displayed in a Ribba poster frame from Ikea, with matte. Overall, I'm super pleased with how this room turned out. Just a little change in decor and a fresh coat of paint has warmed up this room to be the perfectly cozy multi-use room that it is.

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This post is linked up to Mommin' it Up's Pin for the Wednesday blog carnival. 

Head on over to check out the other awesome pins posted by Mommin' it Up followers.