Day 5 - JACKPOT

I totally hit the jackpot in SLC on Thursday. Here is what I scored:

(Dress, vintage: $6)

(Sandals: $2)

(Pink flats: $4)

(Black heels, vintage: $4)

Love them all. PS- Do those sandals remind you of anything...?

MIA "Cajun" perhaps!?! I almost bought those 4 months ago at Nordstrom rack for $50!!!!!! Oh the joys of thrifting.

Day 4 - FAIL!

TODAY....

I had a moment of weakness. My anthropology class was canceled, so I had the option of going home or killing time for an hour while I waited for my next class to start. And I figured since I skipped class all day on Tuesday, I should probably go. SOO.. I went to TJ Maxx. It's just on the outskirts of campus, and I have been thinking recently about how I need more tights... HELLO! You can't buy tights at a thrift store! Can you? I doubt it.

WHO AM I KIDDING -- This was premeditated. I was gonna go whether my class got canceled or not.

Anyway, I got 4 (red, black, and 2 blacks with pattern) pairs for $15 and I feel like that's pretty reasonable. Some pictures for your viewing pleasure:




Cute, right? So there you have it. Again with the alcoholic analogy (I'm beginning to convince myself I really have a problem), everyone relapses. But I am not getting discouraged! Going up to SLC in a minute to pay homage to the thrift gods.

PS- Still no word on that Chanel bag :(

Day 3

It has been sooooooooo cold (snow yesterday!) and winter has got me feeling a bit of the blues. You know what that means.. it's time to hit the racks!!! Making a trip up to SLC tomorrow to hit up some of the best thrift stores in the state: Name Droppers, Decades, downtown and Sugarhouse D.I.s, etc? I need to find more too. ALSO -- visiting Krystle and shopping for decorations for my kitchen and living room, they both need major makeovers. More on that to come.

AND, I found this vintage Chanel (real/fake?) purse on Craigslist today for $15! I emailed but with no response yet. Hope somebody else didn't snag it first.

Day 2

Another bad idea when trying shop strictly at thrift stores/not spend money in general: online window shopping. Just as painful, if not more, than walking through the mall (because the online mall has all of my favorite stores!) Perhaps it's just a bad habit I need to break -- but it's easy after a long night of serving, and coming home with $50+ in cash, to go straight to my computer and commence the relaxation technique known as retail therapy. (Even easier to justify spending $20 dollars on a new pair of shoes from Urban Outfitters. --> "I still have 3 more nights of work this week, and one of them is Fri night, which ensures me $100, blah blah blah.")

Here are tonights lustful desires:

(Urban Outfitters, on sale @ $49.99)


(Anthropologie, on sale @ $99.95 - eek!)

(Forever 21, $24.80)

Yes, I have shoe issues. I'm aware. And, I can already tell that this little experiment is going to do phenomenal things for my self discipline.

Outfits 1 & 2

The aforementioned belt and purse (both from D.I., 3$ and 2$ respectively. [Don't you love that tassle?!])





My 2 new pairs of shoes - last "new" purchase, ever. (I didn't cheat, read the last post. [The flats are a royal blue, btw, the pic does not do them justice.])





The finished products!!! More outfits to come as I continue on this nifty, thrifty journey.... :)

Day 1

So this is the first day of my little experiment and I ALREADY almost slipped up!!! I decided I needed a break from writing my paper and went to Payless to go pick up these shoes (for a second I thought this might constitute breaking the rules but decided against it because I ordered and paid for them weeks ago.) So, there I am, in the mall, going all withdrawlly because I know I can't buy anything, and of course that fact makes me want to buy something even more. So I walk as fast as I can past Gap and Banana Republic trying not to even look at those beautiful winter coats in the windows. Note to self: Don't go to mall. It's like putting an alcoholic in a bar and telling him not to drink! Bad idea.

So I guess those 2 pairs of shoes will be my last "real" purchase for a while. And I think I can deal with that - they are both super cute and I'm very happy with them.

Thrifty quote of the day:
"You wanna get it Granny, while it's hot... You think it's trash canny, but it's not!"
-Jack White, Rag and Bone

PS - I thought of an exception to this venture of mine.. CHRISTMAS! I can't buy people Christmas presents from D.I. That's just cheap. Although I might try to make some crafty things for as many people as possible. We'll see.

And so it begins...

As I was sitting in church today listening to discussions about provident living and self reliance, I started to feel guilty (as I always do in those lessons) for my sins; or particularly about the debt I've incurred. As I shamefully lowered my head, I noticed the cute cute bag I had bought from DI the night before. Spirits raised, my eyes moved up to meet the cute cute belt I had procured during that same outing. That's when it dawned on me.

WHAT: An experiment. Only shop at thrift stores for clothes. (Including shoes, accessories, furniture, books, luggage, you name it. Basically everything except FOOD, makeup, stuff like that.)

WHY: Because I am bone broke, thrift stores are the coolest places to shop anyway, it's good for the environment and for the soul. Also, to have something to blog about because my life is kind of boring.

WHEN: Starting immediately. Going forever (at least a couple months, or until it proves to be ... impossible..?)

HOW: Just shop at thrift stores. duh.

WHERE: Most likely D.I. and Savers. Although, if they don't have something I feel that I REALLY need... I might include ebay or etsy. and / or drive up to the American Fork / Sugar House D.I.'s.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. An expedition like this have never before been attempted. Anything could happen. I might go cold this winter due to lack of fashionable outerwear options. I might smell weird. I may start a new trend. I might look like your grandma. I might buy a Louis Vuitton wallet for only 25 cents and sell it online for 50 dollars. (OH WAIT! ALREADY DID THAT!) I might meet a really hot guy at a thrift store and marry him. I may save millions of dollars and open my own thrift store/clothe the naked with thrift clothes. I might even end up spending more money out of sheer over-zealousness about posting a new blog. Whatever happens, you have my word that I will not cheat. And if I do, amen to my soul.