retail therapy

recent purchases: 2 black & white print dresses, dark teal jersey dress, black pencil skirt, ghost world comic, giraffe print heels

I went to Fantagraphics, the comic book store that shares a space with Georgetown Records, with a friend from work. We met up to check out the button maker store in the neighborhood and popped in to look at comics and I ended up picking up a few things, including Ghost World. I've been meaning to read that for ages. Also, I recently scored a way marked down basic black pencil skirt at Target (it has a cool zipper detail on the pocket) and picked up a few dresses and some shoes at the thrift store.

thrifting time

I've been thinking about doing a series of posts on thrifting. I'm really just in the gathering my thoughts stage of that right now, but I want to branch out and visit different thrift stores and write up what I consider the most useful tips and tricks for scoring at the thrift store. I fall in and out of the habit of thrifting and I feel like I'm about to start a major re-dedication to the good deal. 

These were taken the last time I went to my lovely local Value Village, which I often stop at before or after work. Everything I am wearing, minus tights, glasses, and umbrella, is thrifted and I think they were all purchased at the Redmond Value Village. Not bad, eh? I have used that backpack to death this summer, camping, hiking, any time I'm going to be outdoors or need a change of clothes basically. The boots are staple for me, and have almost been worn to death. I'm looking to replace them because they are on their last legs but I'm pretty sure I've had them for at least three years. The dress is a little nineties floral thing, something that can always be found for cheap at a well-stocked thrift store. I've picked up many of them and they are versatile. And the jacket, boy that was a score. Vintage Levi's denim jacket, all beat to shit all ready. I love the crap out of this thing and have added considerable wear to an already well-loved garment. It's amazing how easy it is to put together an all thrifted outfit when probably half your wardrobe comes from the charity shop.

dress, boots, jacket, backpack - all thrifted, tights - target, umbrella - ebay, glasses - joseph marc

thriftscores: dishes

I went to the thriftstore recently and found a BUNCH of really great stuff. I've been paying a lot of attention to the homegoods section of my local Value Village because lately they've been having some nice stuff. It's always one of my stops and I often find silly mugs, but lately I've been finding some incredible dishes.

First up is this absolutely amazing tray and dish set with orange flowers. Oh man, I saw this and my heart about stopped. I snatched it so quickly because seriously, how had no one bought that already. It's by Schmidt Porcelana out of Brazil and I think it's vintage though I'm not sure. It certainly looks it. I'm guessing it's some kind of hors d'oeuvres serving set and I almost just bought the large one (I'm planning on using it in the kitchen to hold commonly used spices and condiments) but I couldn't bear to break up the set so I bought the six little guys too.

Next are these adorable mini Pyrex baking dishes. They are SO small. The little red ones are probably about 2 inches square and the blue rectangles are like twice that. I love the solid color look on these Pyrex, instead of a pattern. I think it's kind of neat.

Finally, here are some of the fancy dessert plates I've been collecting. I like pretty mismatched dishes but in this case I've been buying twos. I kind of like the set of six I've collected, they look rather nice together.

I also bought a dress to alter and a few chairs. Hopefully I'll show you those soon.

thrifty fun

lace shirt - target, jeans - uo, shoes - steve madden, purse - thrifted coach

Last week or something, I went vintage shopping in the U District with my awesome former co-worker Allison. I didn't find anything I liked (at least not anything that fit), but it was so much fun hanging out with her. She got some really cute stuff, like amazing petticoat she blogged about a few days ago and the cute skirt she's wearing in the photo below. We also went to Value Village the next day, where I found a pretty silk dress for my mom, some plates, and a few hangers. Super exciting, right?