Thrift Store Thursday: Black and Cream Giraffe?

This outfit came in at under $7 before tax.  I kid you not.

Love the print of the skirt. It's giraffe....maybe.

 

 

The top is from The Limited. I loved the neckline and am amazed that it covered my bra straps.  When I saw it on the hanger at the thrift store, I liked it but was sure I would have to get a special bra to wear it with.  "Why is it so much trouble to be a woman?" I thought to myself with a sad inward sigh. I was wrong, though (about the top anyway- I stand by my comment that  it is a lot of trouble to be a woman).   This makes it even more perfect as far as I'm concerned.  Price? $3.50.  The skirt is from the Merona line at Target.  While these skirts are reasonably priced at retail, it makes it all the more sweet when you find one in mint condition for $3.00 at the thrift store. I'm a big fan of animal print.  Okay, I'm not actually sure it is animal print.  It kind of looks like giraffe, but it's black and cream.  Either way, I love it.  It's hard to see it, but I am also wearing a fabulous green enamel flower pin I found for $1 on the cowl of the blouse.  I have a collection of pins and am trying to wear them more often. 

 

Kim

 

 





Thrift Store Thursday : Anniversary Shoes

If you would have told me that a year ago I would be buying shoes at a thrift store, I would have thought that meant that I lost my job at some point between then and now.  Rest assured, I am still gainfully employed, but since then I have found many a great pair at my favorite thrift store.  I found these great Jones New York heels for about $8 this summer.  They looked like they had barely been worn. I love these because not only are they a little sexy, they are super comfortable.  You don't believe me, right?  They really are.  And I am a person who gets extremely crabby if my shoes are hurting my feet. I'm not sure why they are so comfortable.  They certainly don't look like they should be.  I have worn these to church and to the theater (Spamalot! - I definitely recommend it!) and out to dinner and a movie to celebrate my eleventh wedding anniversary.

You can almost see them here.  Our ten year old took this picture of us before we went out on our anniversary date.

 

Kim

 

 



Bistro Set Take Two

We bought this little bistro set four years ago.   We had a small deck area where we needed some seating. It was lime green when we bought it.  Weird, I know.  Most bistro sets like this are black.  When we got it home, I promptly asked my husband to spray paint it black because of this.  Unfortunately, that did nothing for it.  It sat on our small deck for four years and was never used. I always like the flowers on the back of the chair, though, and the price was right.   This set was about $70, if I remember correctly.

 

Sad, old bistro set

 

Fast forward four years. We now have a larger deck my husband built that attaches to the small deck area we had before.  I decided I could revive this set for more much-needed seating.  Rather than ask my husband to spray paint it again, I decided I would do it myself.  I found some bright, cheery chair cushions that were on clearance at Wal-Mart.  I decided to spray paint the table and chairs with two different colors from the cushions.  My husband looked at me like I was nuts when I told him I was going to paint the chairs a different color than the table. I reminded him that he is color blind.  Really.  Like he flunked the test with the numbers and the green and orange dots.  He came around when he saw the end result.

 

 

 

Happy, new bistro set

 

I used Krylon's Cherry Red and Blue Ocean Breeze.  I was so happy with the results and the fact that I didn't have to buy new furniture.  I love this more than anything new I would have found!

 

 

Kim

 

 

 



Thrift Store Thursday: Not Your Basic Black Pencil Skirt

I bought this black skirt this summer for about $6. 

There are many things I love about it.  Here are just a few:

1. The price, of course
2. It's a basic that can be worn with all kinds of things
3. It has some stretch to the waistband.  That's always a good thing.
4. The detail at the hem

As the title suggests, it's more than just basic.  It has this little pleating around the hem which makes it just a little sexy-secretary-esque (I make up words sometimes.  Just go with it.)

You can see that detail a little better here.

Even though I got it back in June, I hadn't worn it until September.  It seemed more like a fall/winter item.  I wore it to church last week.  Can you see my awesome Sofft shoes?  I wrote about those on my other blog.  You can find that here. 

I probably wouldn't have tried this skirt on in a department store because:

1. Too expensive - It would've have cost a LOOOOOOT more.
2. It wouldn't have wowed me on the hanger.  The effect is much better when you're wearing it.
3. I would have been drawn to a lot of other stuff in a department store like the things I already own.

Number three on that list is one more reason I like shopping at the thrift store.  The selection is limited, so you find yourself trying on things you normally wouldn't.  Sometimes what you're drawn to becomes all you own.  It's good to expand your horizons.

Kim

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce

A co-worker of my husband's owns what used to be an orchard.  He hasn't kept it up since it wasn't profitable, but there are still a number of trees that are producing.  This week this is what he gave my husband on Thursday.

Free fruit?  The answer is always yes.



These apples are on the smaller side, but they pack a punch in flavor.  I knew it was time to get out the crockpot and make some applesauce.  After searching Pinterest for a recipe, I noticed they all had pretty much the same ingredients.  So I just peeled and cut up 20 apples, dumped in some white and brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a bit of water.  I tasted one of two of the apple bits to see if it was sweet enough.  Tasted good to me, so I popped on the top of the crockpot and let it cook on low for about six hours.

I actually could have just eaten this with a spoon.  I always use a crockpot liner.  These things are one of the greatest inventions ever!

 

We had a football game to go to but when we got home the house smelled amazing.  I mashed up the apples with a potato masher and then ran them through my food processor.  Ta-da!  Homemade applesauce.

 

We'll leave one out to eat and freeze the rest.  We have a food saver that vacuums all the air out of bags and seals them.  This has been a great investment.  We use it for when I make a big old pot of soup or lasagna.  Half of it goes into the freezer for a quick meal at a later date.  My husband had the brilliant idea to freeze more liquid-y things in containers first, then pop them out and vacu-seal them.  This is great because you don't have to worry about the liquid getting sucked up into the machine.  So I put the applesauce into these two little containers.  Once they're frozen, they'll go into a food saver bag to be vacu-sealed.

 

 

These containers were what my deli lunch meat comes in at Aldi.  I've been washing them out and saving them.  They are perfect for freezing things that are made in big batches into reasonable portions.  I used them for the salsa we made and then froze a couple of weeks ago. I also use them when I make a huge batch of refried beans in the crockpot.

Now I only have to do this about ten or fifteen more times to use up all these apples.  Hmmm.  Maybe I better get back to Pinterest to find some other recipes.



Kim