Thrifting Thursday (Thrifted This Week)

I haven't done a Thrifted Thursday post in a while. But that doesn't mean I have not been thrifting! One of my very best friends is a teachers assistant, and has recently lost more than 50 pounds! I am so proud of her, since I have been her coach and support system (and biggest cheerleader). Because she is still losing weight while working- and taking care of a husband and 5 children, I told her I would hit the thrift stores to help supplement her wardrobe. She hates to shop, plus their extra income goes toward Christian school, and she does not like putting outfits together either. So I GLADLY took on the chore.  I even laid out all the clothing I bought her in outfit sets and took photo's on my phone, then when she received the packages, I texted her the pictures and told her how to wear everything.  They are very basic, so I won't share here, but she was thrilled, and has gotten many compliments. Which have given me many offers to become a personal thrifter. Haha!
Here are some of the things I thrifted this week.

Turquoise printed button-down.
Liz Claiborn

Black & White Striped Button-down.
I wanted to copy this look.
American Living

Cable knit Sweater-Vest
Gap

Gold Lurex Cardi Jacket
Chico's

Cotton Cable-knit Sweater
Banana Republic

Knit Tank
Puella

Basic Long Black Cardi
Gap

Navy Cardi w/ Black Embroidery, Merino Wool
Banana Republic

In addition to these things, I also thrifted a few things for my kids, a pair of G1 Paperboy wool shorts that I need to dry clean, and a red necklace. I will try to photograph those next week.
Have you been thrifting lately?

Thrifted OOTD

I did not get to do my usual posts this week, due to crazy kid schedules. Happy, but crazy!
I have been searching for blouses to wear under sweaters and blazers, and in the last few weeks, had success. I found 3 or 4 good ones.
I based this outfit on the shoes, since I really wanted to wear them!

Blazer: Thrifted (including the pin!)
Blouse: Thrifted
Jeans: Anthropologie, AG Farrah Skinny
Shoes: Malbec Heels
Earrings: Anthropologie

Time to tell me what you all have been up to this weekend. Anything fun?

Catch-Up

Here is an outfit from last week that I really should include in my thrifting post, but it is so cute, I wanted to share with you.
This is a prime example of how you can thrift current trends with a little patience and a good eye. I wanted a polka dot-ish blouse, but didn't want to buy a new one. This one looked like it would work, but had enormous shoulder pads in it. I got it for such a good price, I thought it was worth the risk. So I brought it home and removed the shoulder pads and washed it on delicate, and now have a cute trendy blouse for pennies. I also thrifted this Gap card, and the red belt.
I wore this to Bible Study last week. If any of you have done a Beth Moore Bible study, then you know how intense they can be, but this one is fabulous! It is the new James study, and I am sucked in. It is very well written.

Shirt: Thrifted, brand unknown
Sweater: Gap, thrifted
Pants: Anthropologie, Dixie Trousers
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Nine West, Nuncio
Necklace: Bakelite Pendant, thrifted

Thrifting Thursday (Home Edition)

Hooray for having Thrifting Thursday ACTUALLY on a Thursday this week! Even for you East Coasters, I am two hours under the radar!
This week, I am featuring my guest room for Thrifted Thursday. I have been working on this basement room since we moved in, and believe me it has been a mess!  This room was previously a storage room, with black and white tile floor. When we looked at the house online, we asked the homeowners if we could re-carpet the entire downstairs area to make it more useable. This room does not have a door, just a doorway. So I put up a tension rod and heavy black out curtains. Everyone who has stayed here loves it down there. It is cooler than the rest of the house, and since there are no windows, and I put up black out curtains, it is very dark. My friend John called it the "Cave". He wanted to move in! ;)
I had most of the components, but I was really lacking a dresser for storage.  I wanted something I could paint a vibrant color, so I started thrifting for one. I hit a few stores, over the course of a few weeks before finding this:

In great shape, but needs a little love.

I found all but the yellow in the mis-tint basket for $1.00.
How could I decide from these beautiful colors?

I removed all the hardware and sprayed it matte black.

I then spray primed the drawers and dresser.

Then brushed on the yellow.

I decided to go with the yellow because I really wanted to paint a desk or dresser this color, after pinning this.

I found this really cool painting at a thrift store in Virginia for about $1.
 But it was in a cheap frame, so I took it to Hobby Lobby for a new one.

These little birdies were at the antique store,
just waiting for me to come by. It was about $8 for all 4.

I scored the bed on Craigslist back home,
intending to use for Madison, but it was too big for her room.

A work in progress.

And here is the final result. Almost entirely thrifted.

This picture is taken from the doorway. You can just see the curtain in the side of the picture.
Bed: Craigslist
Sheets: Kohls
Duvet: Anthropologie (sale room floor!)
Throw pillows: Anthropologie
Quilt: Thrifted

Lights: Yard Sale, $1 per
Side Tables: Thrifted for $70
Settee: Jay's grandmother had it when HE was little!

My bff likes a body pillow, so the grey pillow in the back is for her.
It just has a Target velour cover on it.

Dresser: Thrifted at Habitat for Humanity
Lamp: Antique store in North Carolina
Vintage Fashion Painting: Thrifted at Goodwill (my kids would not let me walk out of the store w/out it!)
Tall Urn: Gift from Heather

Jay got me that lamp while he was traveling. My uncle re-wired it for me. It was a duct-tape job previously.
This is the painting from above re-framed. A standard white frame with a white mat heavy-weighted.
Really makes the colors in the painting pop.

Vintage Mason Jars: Thrifted at a Disabled American Veterans store (my fav)
Chair: Thrifted in Virginia

Table: File Cabinet
Bookshelf: Antique store

We have already had several children visit.
So I stocked up on basic toddler toys at Wal-Mart.

Thrifted pot.

My books from when I was younger.
I LOVE stacking things on books. I do it all over the house.

Well, there is your Thrifted Thursday. I hope something you saw gave you some new ideas!  I love this room so much that if there were a second bathroom in the basement, I would move down there!

Thrifting Thursday-Thrifting For Children

The past few week I have been focusing on thrifting for my daughter Madison- who suddenly has no winter clothes (hint: I didn't shrink anything in the wash.), and was mostly in desperate need of church clothes and long sleeved tops.  So she is my feature for Thrifted Thursday.  Everything you see was thrifted with the exception of her headband, tights and the converse. All the rest of the shoes and clothes, including belts is thrifted.

Childrens clothes are the easiest to thrift- and many times the most needed, since they are growing so quickly no one wants to spend a ton of money on clothes for them. Madison LOVES when I find treasures for her, and since I haven't spent too much, I don't worry about whether she likes it or not.  Also, I do look for better labels, because they generally hold up well, but it is not a necessity in something that won't get every day use.
I hope this gives you an idea of what to look for when you go thrifting!

Thrifting Thursday- Thrifted This Week PLUS Hints & Tips

When I talk to people about thrifting, the biggest obstacle I encounter for why people don't like to thrift is cleanliness. (Followed by, "I never find anything.") I understand that. I am funny about cleanliness too.  I happen to be one of those freaks who actually enjoys laundry, so having to clean a clothing item is enjoyable to me.  However, I am the worlds worst for remembering to take things to the dry cleaners.  Luckily, there is a dry cleaner in the same shopping center as my husbands office, so he takes things for me.
While we were in Denver, I thrifted this beautiful dress for $5.

Cold climate dress (clipped to polyvore.com)
Jay had it dry cleaned for me when we got back, so I got a dress for about $14. I don't always spend money on dry cleaning. In fact, I dry clean only a few things from my closet.  Even things that say, "dry clean only". See here:

Source: someecards.com via Debra on Pinterest

Fairly true in my case. Depends on how much I love it.
Most of the time, I check the fabric content, and figure out how to wash it in my washing machine.  I always decide if I am willing to take the risk on damaging it.  Next case in point, thrifted this week:

Moth Sweater Dress

Velvet Touch Sweater Dress

Generic Sweater Dress

Eva Franco Fluttering Pencil Skirt

Vintage original Lacoste/Izod sweater for Zach

The skirt and one of the dresses was dry clean only. I checked the content, and washed them on the handwash setting in my washer on cold. Then hung to dry.
Pretty much any thing can be cleaned. If it can't be. I don't buy it- in any department.
And because I am a little obsessive, I keep these in my car:

I use the wipes if I buy something I want to clean right away,
and I use the sanitizer every time I get back in the car.

If I buy something hard, I usually put it in the dishwasher to sanitize. If it is fabric, I use the washing machine. If it is upholstered, I either clean the entire thing myself with upholstery cleaner, or call a service person to clean it. Such as my awesome blue velevet sofa:

What is the best thing you ever thrifted? Do you have any tips for cleaning unusual items?