Thrifted Office OOTD & things I've left behind

Brrrr!  Once again Mother Nature has thrown us a curve ball. I've had to crack out the sweaters as the temperature has been dropping to the freezing mark at night.  How is the weather where you are from??

Here are some pictures I had on my old iPhone.  

This is a thrifty outfit - the pale pink cardigan is part of a vintage, cardi and skirt set from Ports.  I don't know if Ports is still in business.  They sold high-end clothing back in the 80s. The skirt and cardi are made of virgin wool - it's just warm enough, but not too warm, to wear in an overly air-conditioned office in the summer.  I believe I paid about $4 for the set, so the cardi was $2.

The blue Reitman's tunic was thrifted for a few dollars.

I collect these vintage, multi-strand chokers.  I usually pay about $3-$4 for them at thrift stores.  The silver necklace underneath was a $5 clearance find from Bianca Nygard.

I'm particularly fond of the following find.

It's a vintage Capezio bag!!   I thrifted it from the Goodwill by the Pound in Minnieapolis.  If you are a hard-core thrifter, and you haven't been to a Goodwill clearance....ya gotta go!! They charge about $1.60 per pound for clothing and purses - prices vary by region though.  I paid about $1 for this purse.

I try very hard not to bring home too much clutter.  I know I am a clutterbug, and I like my knickknacks.  Sometimes things will catch my eye at the thrift store.  Instead of buying it, I'll take a picture of it.

Et voila!  Here is a terrifying glimpse of  a collection of things that caught my eye.  Proceed with caution.  

Pig shaped creamer.

Vintage nursery decoration.

It hurt to leave this cannister set behind.

Mint condition cannister set!!

This bear would have done well on eBay.  I used to buy things from thrift stores and resell on eBay - but I don't do that anymore.

Souvenir Koala bear

Wah! This vintage shirt has Parisian, night life scenes!!

Once I described this coin bank to my (Scottish) step-son, he insisted I buy it for him (which I did).

Hmmm.  I think there is stereotyping going on here.

OK, these candlesticks came home with me.  They are clean and elegant - and I think they'll look FAB with my white collection.

Fine, bone china candlesticks.

This is another souvenir item that I would have sold on eBay.

Irridescent chicken!!  Wwah!!!  It's so kitsch (forget the statement I made about clean, white candlesticks!!!).  

It hurt, but I left this behind.  I hope it found a good home.

Hmmmm, I really liked this elf, sugar bowl too.  But it stayed behind.  Dammit!!

Vintage, made in Japan.

Gah!! I fell in love with these velvet, wingback chairs.  But my garage is already full of chairs and furniture that is going to be refinished or repainted.  So they stayed behind.

This collection of pastel colored dishes was delicious.  But I have no need for them. Gah!!

Well, these are the sorts of things that I love to look at in thrift stores.  I'm glad I kept my resolve and that I didn't buy these things, as they would have added a significant amount of clutter to my house.  Remember kids, you don't want to end up on Hoarders. 

happy thrifting ;)

Thrifted OOTD and random flower pots and things

Hello friends! Happy Tuesday!!

Well I'm happy to report that we've transitioned to Stage 4 of Spring here in Northwestern Ontario.  This means I'm at the "don't wear skirts that will fly over head in gusty winds" sartorial stage. 

I'm experiencing pangs of regret over a few things that were purged during my spring clean.

This is one of the things that I had gotten rid of.  It was an old parka, but it still had a lot of wear in it. 

My trusty parka.

It was a tough item to get rid of because I thought I'd need it again in the future.  But I hadn't worn it in a few years, and I was determined to only keep things that I wear.  

Hey, check out my garden purchases!  I bought these plants a few weeks ago.  I haven't planted them yet because the weather occasionally dips below freezing.  On cold days I bring them inside.

Cherry tomatoes!!  We've already picked seven ripe tomatoes!!

My stepsons said that this strawberry was shaped like a bum.

It was delicious!!

You know when you find something coolio in a thrift store? Then you put it in your cart.  Then you are surrounded by envious people who immediately compliment it?  They wish they had grabbed it first.  I called this "thrifter envy". Witness my $10 wrought-iron, planter. It's going to hold the strawberries.

What a thrifty find!!  Three heavy-duty flower pots for $15.

Yes, you can find nice shoes in thrift stores!

Clarks strappy heels for $10!!

Never worn!!

This outfit is mostly thrifted. 

Shopping at Value Village, woo-hoo!!

Loft jean jacket (outlet, $30), Banana Republic t-shirt (thrifted, about $3), vintage drop-waist skirt (thrifted about $3), Birks (ancient).

Liz Claiborne silk scarf (thrifted $3), necklace (thrifted, $3).

I purchased this linen jacket (Liz Claiborne, $10), a whole whack of fabric, a bottle of perfume and some jewelery from Value Village.

Am I focused or what?

I wandered into a nearby Salv Army, and found this delicious lovely.

Hello vintage Hawaii!

Sadly this dress is nowhere close to fitting me.  I washed and dried it and I'm hoping to get some kind of DIY inspiration.

I kept perusing the rack, and I found another, larger dress. This one has the same lovely bodice, but it's a maxi dress.

Oooh! Its made from barkcloth!!

I tried it on, and instantly felt like a Polynesian princess. Sadly I couldn't get the zip up, so this is another dress I can't wear.  I love the way the bodice fits - I could salvage material from the skirt to add more material to the back.  Or I could make this into a maxi skirt.  One thing is for sure, these dresses are not leaving my possession.  I absolutely love the hibiscus print and bright colors.

The helpful whippersnapper behind the cash register saw the blue dress and informed me that there was a matching men's shirt.  Be still my beating heart.  I calmly asked where it was, and he was kind enough to nip off and get it.  

It fit perfectly!!!

Closeup of the selvage.

Here are some knick knacks that caught my eye.  I spent $4 on each item.

The Tiki vase came home with me.

Seashell teapot, made in Japan.

This seashell teapot was tempting. But I left it behind.

This teapot did come home with me.  It's only a few inches tall.  Judging from the crazing and discoloration inside, it was actually used to brew tea.  I was enchanted with the idea that this small teapot was used to brew a cuppa or two at a time

Then I wandered over to the craft section. Jackpot!!

These vintage zippers came home with me for 50 cents each.  The zipper pulls definitely look different than modern zippers.

I found not one, but THREE, red Pyrex bowls!!  I bought the best-looking one.  It cost $5.

Glossy red finish!!

I carefully washed it (no dishwasher for this bowl!!) and now it's on display with the rest of my Pyrex and FireKing. Hopefully I can reunite it with the rest of the set.

Apples and Pears. This oversized rayon shirt is too short for a dress.  It was about $3.  

I have a confession to make, this shirt was in my purge pile - but at the last minute I hung onto it.

I think it looks FAB over a t-shirt and shorts.

happy thrifting ;)

Too much!! Sping clean fling

There comes a time when a seasoned thrift shopper, eyes their overflowing closet, their packed drawers (hee, hee) and various piles of clothing and comes to the conclusion that it's time for a spring clean.

Mind you, it's not exactly springy weather here in Northwestern Ontario.  We are experiencing stage 3 of Spring. Which means we alternate between stunning, sunny, bare leg days and blustery, light snow or sleet.

This is my dog Sugar.

She is enjoying the springy smells.

Dressing for our climate requires the Weather app, and an uncanny ability to predict what you might be in the mood for in a week. A typical day involves layers, that are added or removed as the temperature and precipitation dictate.  Of course this means that I need a LOT of clothes. I mean, heck, if you have to wear 6 or 7 articles of clothing at once, you need to have variety...am I right?  Just nod yes.

Nod 'yes' Sugar!! Cmon, nod 'yes'!!

Ideally I'd have a large closet, and I mean a really LARGE closet. One that would resemble something from Clueless, with one of those drycleaner-like, conveyor belts. Unfortunately that isn't the case. I have a normal sized closet. But I am happy to report that I am able to store a whole whack of Rubbermaid totes, full of clothing, in my garage. 

Still there are problems.  I have a LOT of totes - filled with lots fabulous clothing.  And because I have been hitting too many thrift store sales, the amount of clothing I have is out of control.  So I've spent the last week purging my collection. It's not easy to weed through clothing - but I gave myself the goal of getting rid of a third of my hoard collection.  

A third has to go!! Just not the leopard print skirt :)

After a few days of weeding I've become remarkably ruthless. Plus I've been labelling the totes with descriptive labels such as, "floaty dresses", "wool blazer, including fabulous powder blue skirt set", or "thermal underwear and really warm fleece sweatshirts".   This means that if the capricious, bastard weather gods decide to favor us sun-starved, northerners with sunshine, I can pop into my garage and pull out a tote labelled, "floaty dresses".  If the weather forecast calls for 50 km/hour gusty winds, then I can pop into my garage and pull out a tote labelled "skirts that won't fly over my head in the wind".  Ahhhh, being organized is bliss, innit?

happy thrifting ;)

My pants were half off!!

Hello friends!!  For the first time in 2015, we experienced temperatures in the double digits (without a negative in front)!! That's right it was a balmy 16 degrees Celcius here in Northwestern Ontario.  The strange thing is that there are still banks of snow sculking about in the shadows.  But rest assured snow, your days are DONE!!  Well, at least until the next snow storm, which let's face it, could happen next week.

Meanwhile, here are some pics that I took last month. It's another thrift haul from the Salv Army. They've been killing it lately with amazing sales.  The pants were 50% off, and I scored.  The nice thing is that this was a weekday sale, and I got to shop in an uncrowded store. It's nice to leisurely peruse the aisles without constantly bumping into people.

Banana Republic flares

Ann Taylor lined dress pants

Wierd label, wide leg pants

Vintage, mint condition lime-green pants!

Whew! I totally scored with the pants.  I'm really loving wide legs and flares lately - so these pants were a great find. They varied in price from $2 to $8 each. It always pays to try stuff on, as the Ann Taylor pair were a size 4, and I am definitely not (nor will I ever be) a size 4. But after eye-balling them I tried them on, and lo and behold they fit! Huzzah!

Due to recent donations I made to the Salv, I had in my possession a coupon for $10 off a $25 sale.  Witness what I used the coupon for.

Old school black and gold Adidas.

Crisp Jones New York dress shirt.

Open-knit American Eagle sweater.

SQUEE!! More powder blue!

Le Chateau flowy t-shirt

Aha! Fur collar - I always wanted one of these!!

Nicely made bling, Monet and another great label.

Well, my closet is now full to the bursting, and I must purge some more.  I've decided that since I have everything I need (and more!), I cannot go shopping again until September. So far it's been a couple of weeks - and I've resisted a few sales, but I'm holding firm.

happy thrifting ;)