Get to GW!

We all know that Christmas stands for more than gifts, but let's add that Christmas is a time for odd, unusual and unwanted gifts. Say your Aunt Mary gives you a lovely sweater. The only problem is that it doesn't fit or it has a delightful elf pattern on the front. What do you do? There is just no regifting this sweater, so off it goes to Goodwill. Another scenario, you already have a several scarves in your wardrobe, so you donate the ones you don't care for. My point is that in January, unwanted Christmas gifts pop up at your local Goodwill. They don't have to be ugly, unusable or pathetic. Someone made the choice to weed out and make a donation. Perhaps you will be the donator, perhaps you will be the lucky individual that finds a great deal on a discarded gift. Keep your eyes open in the upcoming month!

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Another great giveaway from Pinterest Told Me To!

http://pinteresttoldmeto.blogspot.com/2013/12/on-12th-day-of-christmas-shay-and-i.html?m=0

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Anatomy of a thrifted Christmas outfit

The holidays bring many occasions which require dress up/ church style clothes. Both daughters have performances at school, and I prefer they wear different dresses each time. Holiday/special occasion dresses can be very expensive. However, if you start perusing the racks early, you will find something. This is the ensemble for my 4 year old. She loved it and so did I! Cost effective and cute are always popular in my book.

 

 

 

 

Total-$15.39

 

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Get outta here!

So, I saw these while shopping in the Stillwater GW.

 

Gorgeous grape colored Hanna Andersson clogs, size 35. Admittedly, they are too big for my 9 year old, but I wasn't passing these up! I will store them til they fit. Looking at Hanna online, I found these.

Price $68! Oh, my... I didn't and wouldn't pay that. So, instead I paid...

Mary Jane clog picture courtesy of Hanna Andersson

Other photos are mine

 

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Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men (And, women!)

Happy holidays! I was fortunate enough to be able to hostess a table at my church's candlelight Advent luncheon. What this means is that I had to provide decorations, glassware and tableware for 8. Yikes, that's a lot. Luckily, I had several settings of 2 patterns of basic white plates already in use, so dishes weren't a problem, or were they? My dining room wall is a canvas for white plates, all shapes and sizes. Nearly all were purchased at my favorite Goodwill in Wichita, Kansas.

 

I had a good look at my wall and decided to pull down 8 mismatched plates, why be normal? Next, I needed water glasses. Luckily, I was able to borrow them. I then remembered I needed bread plates and glasses for the sparking cider we serve. I had already acquired 4 hand painted china plates purchased from the Wichita Goodwill.

I also had 4 glasses that I though would be cute for the cider. These glasses were made by Anchor Hocking since the 1950's and are in the "Boopie" pattern. My daughters like to drink there juice out of them. They're sturdy so I don't mind. But, I didn't have the full 8 I needed. Enter The Stillwater Goodwill. The previous week, I had been down the glassware aisle. I certainly don't need glasses, but when I'm shopping I try to get a good look at everything. I saw they had identical Boopie glasses. I didn't buy them, didn't need them. Fast forward to Saturday, now I need them. What were the odds they were still there? What were the odds I could find 3 small, hand painted plates. My daughter and I hop in the car to see if I can find something, anything to add to my place settings. We head to glassware. Sitting on the shelf are the 4 identical glasses. I grab them and run to the cart, mentally prepared to fight whomever tries to wrench them out of my sweaty hands.

We move to plates. There are several pretty floral saucers, but that seems to be it. Saucers would be weird, so I pass. Finally, realizing that I will have to go somewhere else for plates, I get down and begin lifting up all of the plates so I can just make sure I haven't missed any. Lo and behold, I find not 1, not 2, but 3 adorable floral plates that will fit nicely with my existing plates.

I am mentally exhausted, at this point and we go home, very satisfied. The next day, I arrive at church, with several boxes of items for my table. I have the setup in my mind, now it's time to get to work. I arrange candles, ornaments, small Christmas trees and my place settings. I arrange my thrifted damask napkins in their thrifted, beaded napkin rings. I put chunky candles in my thrifted lead crystal candleholders.

 

 

It's then I realize, that without Goodwill, my table would have been skimpy and not too exciting. As it was, there were oohs and ahs from the church ladies over my use of the antique glassware and china plates. I beamed with pride not only because my table looked great, not only because of the nice compliments but mostly because I had shopped at Goodwill and had saved a fortune. It goes to show that shopping at Goodwill will produce cost effective and lovely decor for any season.

 

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Fabuless finds!

 

 

 

 

Jeans are my uniform. I'm a mom, so they fit the bill perfectly. I can dress them up or throw on a sweatshirt and call it good. I will pretty much wear any brand, as long as they are cost effective, or um, cheap. I frequent Goodwill because I can almost always find something good. By something good, I mean a brand name that I wouldn't be caught dead purchasing retail. Jeans can be expensive, very expensive. From a fashion standpoint, denim is a statement. With a fancy logo on the back pocket, you are showing your friends, family and fashionistas just how much you care about the way you look and what you spent. Sure, I want to walk into Nordstrom, plunk down my hard earned cash, and walk out with 1 pair of jeans. Not only am I handing over my money, I'm leaving with designer jeans and a bag full of guilt. I just can't bring myself to do that. With 3 kids and all of their activities, food, gas etc. that money needs to go somewhere other than my wardrobe. Therefore, I scour the racks at Goodwill, in hopes that I find an amazing deal. Sometimes they are few and far between but one day, I hit the jean jackpot! The Stillwater Goodwill yielded Hudson, J Brand and Not Your Daughter's jeans. I grabbed them and threw them in the cart, hoping they would fit. I've had my eye on some Hudson's for quite some time, so I was crossing my fingers they would fit. Thankfully and luckily, they all fit. I must admit, I splurged on the Hudson's and paid $14.99, a price I was completely fine with, as I know that I will wear them frequently. The J Brand jeans cost $6.99 and the Not Your Daughter's Jeans cost $4.99. Clothing is expensive and many times, fabrics don't last through all of the spills, stains and tears that occur. Why not buy clothing from Goodwill? You can find a great bargain and designer label jeans with money to spare.

Hudson jeans photo courtesy of Hudson

Not Your Daughter's Jeans photo courtesy of Herberger's

J Brand Jeans photo courtesy of J Brand

Remaining photos are my own

Purchases made at Stillwater GW

 

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Nordstrom giveaway!

One of my favorite bloggers is giving away a great GC to nordstrom for $500! Pineterest Told Me To is a hoot to read. Written by a shopaholic, Sheaffer, post all kinds of outfits that she replicates using Pinterest. While some of her outfits are quite spendy, this girl reports Nordstrom sales quicker than the blink of an eye. If Nordstrom isn't in your budget nearly everything shown can be duped, either using GW or Old Navy. Click on the link for her giveaway.

http://pinteresttoldmeto.blogspot.com/2013/12/on-1st-day-of-christmas-cyber-monday.html