lunch time prize

today was just like any other day at the office. came in at 8, had a parmesan bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, talked with coworkers, and oh yeah, worked. before i knew it, it was lunch time! we don't have any food right now at home to make lunches with, so i went out to lunch today. i chose panda express, which usually is a good decision, but today it was not that good; the rice was hard and the chow mein was mainly onions and celery.

i ended up finishing my lunch, filled up my diet coke for the rest of the day's work, and started to head back to the office. i went a different way than i usually do for some reason, and as i was driving back, i noticed the area seemed familiar. i realized it was because i had been to a thrift store around there before. (is it a little sad and pathetic that i know possibly every location of every thrift store in orange county? maybe. but i don't really care. when you find as good of deals and as many as i do at thrift stores, it's worth it). i saw i had extra time before i had to be back from lunch, so i stopped at the salvation army to see what wonderful treasures i could find. the anticipation and excitement of walking into a thrift store is like a drug to me. when you first start thrift store shopping it's not that addicting, but over time you cannot stop and it becomes the only place you want to shop at.

as i began looking around my excitement started to deflate as i was finding nothing. the salvation army does have really good prices, better than goodwill, but they do not have as "nice" of a selection. i started to think i would walk out empty handed, until my hands and eyes laid sight on a black, gray, and white houndstooth skirt hanging on the rack. i pulled it out and ran my fingers along the extremely soft wool material and up to the tag to see where this adorable skirt came from. ann taylor loft. that's where. at one time this skirt was probably around $70, and now it was going to be mine for hardly anything. i was so excited and so thrilled that i had found such an adorable skirt for such a great price. i quickly made my purchase only to find out that the price was going to be HALF of what the tag said! SCORE!

i got in my car and hurried back to work so i could show off my new thrifty find to my coworkers. they probably all think i'm crazy because i am so obsessed with thrift store shopping, but i don't care. at least i look cute doing it :)

new thrifty finds!

today i had jury duty, which despite popular belief, really isn't that bad. i was released from the courthouse at 12 and called patrick only to find out he was going with his parents to the citadel outlet mall in LA, so i went along. patrick found some cool vans for $20, but the whole time i was looking in these outlet stores all i could think about was how i could find much better deals at thrift stores! so, we get home, and patrick went off to class for his first day of school. this meant i was on my own for the evening. my mind could only focus on one thing - goodwill. i figured, "well, hey, since patrick spent $20 today, it's ok for me to go spend money on amazing deals at goodwill." this was all it took, and off i went to my neighborhood goodwills. there are 2 or 3 goodwills nearby our apartment that i frequent quite often. tonight i decided to go to 2. i am going to tell you about my finds in the reverse order that i found them, because my find at the first goodwill was my favorite :)

these shoes are one of the good deals i found tonight. they are steve maddens and hardly even worn. and the best part is...i got them for a fraction of the cost that someone else paid for them!

the first goodwill i went to tonight had, for me, the most exciting find. in this particular goodwill i look through the clothes first while glancing at the shoes that are in the racks above. i went down a few isles, only to happen upon these beauties. their perfectly pale pink color, glossy luster, and fun detail on the toes won my heart over and i had to have them! i saw they were a target brand, which at goodwill means that shoes from there always are the same price. however, i just wanted to check and make sure because you never know when someone is going to make a mistake. so i flipped the shoes over and there was no price tag! for a fraction of a second i thought maybe there was a chance i could get a better price than the normal goodwill target price. but it was too obvious they were from target, so i gave up on that idea. i didn't really care about the price so much because, regardless, it would still be a good deal and i would still buy them, but i just like getting the best deals i possibly can :) so i was ready to check out and i went up to the register to tell the checker that there is no price. she looks at them and then tells me a price that is HALF what i was expecting to pay! "i'll take them!" i said! i was so excited! i am in love with them and have already started planning out what to wear with them to work tomorrow. gosh, i love goodwill.

addicted

for those of you who know me, well probably for those of you who have talked to me for even a few short minutes, you know that i am ADDICTED to thrift store shopping. i can not stop. it drives patrick crazy, but i can not help it. any time i have even a few extra minutes to spare, my mind day dreams off into the wonderful finds that might be waiting for me at any thrift store, well goodwill, mainly. i can not stand the thought of there being an amazing deal at a thrift store and someone, other than myself, finding it.

i have actually been thinking a lot lately about starting a business where i re-sell great finds at thrift stores! i think i could really excel at this, the only problem is i have NO idea where to start. i have never sold anything online, so i do not know how to go about doing this. if you do, please help me!

because i am so proud of all the great things i find at thrift stores, i want to share a few of these amazing deals with you! here are just a few samples....

on my way home from work today goodwill randomly popped in my head, and, lucky for me, there is a goodwill on my way home! what a coincidence! (there are actually a few on my way home) i found this wonderful purse, brand new, originally from target that sold for $40.00 and i got it for $4.99! what a steal! i am obsessed with it.

in our engagement pictures i even featured a few of my thrift store finds. this dress and belt were both from second hand stores. the dress is michael kors and i got it for a fraction of the cost!

this shirt is one of my favorite shirts. i love all the colors and how i can constantly switch up the outfit that i wear with it because of this.

this super awesome retro blazer i found at goodwill. i am also obsessed with it. i guess i'm obsessed with all the finds i get at thrift stores, but you know what i mean.

this vest is another wonderful thrifty find. it is probably patrick's favorite piece of clothing i have. this just proves that you don't have to spend a lot of money to look great for the hubby :)

ok, i honestly LOVE this dress. originally from J Crew, i got it for 8 bucks! such a steal!

i not only have a passion shopping for clothes at thrift stores, i love all of the random accessories i can find. this old school camera is on a shelf in our apartment and adds such a great touch to our mid century style.