.... The Florida Experience...

We arrived in Florida on Saturday, March 26th.  It was a long but pretty smooth and when we got here it was beautiful, sunny and about 85 degrees.  Ahhhhh...  The nice weather continued on Sunday and then the bottom fell out and it has rained every day since.  That left my sister and me to find other ways to entertain ourselves.

Lisa was in the condo with my parents while I took Will to The Alligator Farm for the afternoon.  She happened to see someone carrying fabric down to the trash room.  It was interesting so she struck up a conversation thus finding out that he, the man with the fabric, was doing redecorating for his wife and they were throwing some items away.  When I got back Lisa and I went down to the trash room... and look what we found!  All for the grand total of ZERO DOLLARS!  My advice to you all... never ignore a good trash room or trash area.  You simply cannot imagine the great stuff people just throw away! The lampshades and the frames are mine and the fabric and ferns are Lisa's.... we make a great team!  Too bad we don't live closer because we could put together a killer shop I am certain!

Here we have two large pieces of nice fabric, two cool lampshades in great condition with pickups, two cute white frames perfect for framing a cool piece of fabric or wallpaper and a nice faux fern!  All for free!!!

I know you are all interested to know what fabulous items Lisa brought in her bag-o-bargains from the Salvation Army in Gainesville.  She has determined that a shop in Gainesville that receives overstocks and sell-offs from Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters takes their clearance to the Salvation Army on a regular basis.  I believe that is every Wednesday morning.  That can be key in the thrifting hunt, to know when local boutiques bring overstocks and leftovers in to consign or donate.  If you ask the staff usually they will tell you, especially if you are in often and they recognize you as a customer.  Here is my photo compilation of all the great stuff.  Each item was $1.69 or $2.99!

Free people sweater and Hei Hei pants outfit total:  $6.50

Odille jacket and Elevenses pants outfit total:  $6.00

Free People top and Santuary pants, outfit total: $5.30

LA Made dress:  $3.50

Maeve dress size 2 (too small) $3.50

Silence and Noise top and Elevenses pinstripe pants, outfit total $4.45

We the Free dress:  $3.50

Elevenses pants: $1.69

Elevenses pants and Little Yellow Button top, outfit total: $4.25

 So what do you all think?  These are some great items and some good deals and I have Lisa to thank for that!  She is an awesome personal shopper and I got to be the beneficiary of her fabulous shopping not to mention an entirely new summer wardrobe with barely any money invested!  As my son Will would say, "Sweet!"

The week has been rather rainy here so instead of a trip to the beach during a thunderstorm we, Lisa and me, went thrifting and look what I got!

Those are two really neat pieces of art.  The covered bridge I liked because of the colors.  The red, blue an green really pop in person.  It was only $7, but an original and I liked it!  The one on the left is a signed piece the artist is V.S. Maris and it is dated 1967.  It is a really nice textural oil, kind of impressionistic.  I looked up the artist online but could only find the name and that he is from New Jersey which we surmised because the frame had a lable from a Red Bank, New Jersey frame shop.  I will let you know if I find out any information about the artist and if it is worth more than the $39 that I paid for it.  Either way it looks really cool.

Well, that is all I have for you today.  The weather here in "The Sunshine State" is supposed to be sunny tomorrow and improving through next week so here's hoping the predictions are true. Enjoy a lovely evening. 

Favorites and Finds

Hello!  Today was my day to get out on my own, without my constant companion Will.  I dropped him off happy to spend the day playing with his pals at Miss Colleen's for the day and I drove the hour to Broad Ripple.  I had a 2:00pm appointment at A-Do Hairdesign for a haircut.  I will tell you all about the goings on at A-Do later in this post. I arrived in Broad Ripple with 2 1/2 hours to spend scouring the racks at both Rag-O-Rama and The Toggery for resale bargains and to stop by Girlie Chic Boutique to check out their sale rack.  It was a lot to do in just a couple of hours but it was successful and did yield a number of great finds. I have lots of photos to share today so I will get on with the information toot sweet! 

For those of you haven't been to Broad Ripple in a while or maybe ever this is what the main drag, Broad Ripple Avenue looks like from my car.  The street is lined with bars, restaurants and boutiques as are most of the side streets for blocks and blocks!  It is a great place to hang out, shop, eat, etc.... as a younger woman I was a regular at many of the bars, now I would throw the age curve off!

East on Broad Ripple Avenue

First on my list was Rag-O-Rama.  As you can see from the picture inside it is a large open space, with women's and men's things, vintage and current and "party wear"!

Inside Rag-O-Rama, lots of rounders!

You have to be willing to look through the racks, but you will find some great stuff.  Today I found a JCrew mustard colored 100% cashmere tunic sweater for $16 and, the find of the day a pair of J Brand jeans Lovestory fit brand new for .... wait for it, $14.50.  Here is a photo of me in the jeans and on the Anthropologie website you can see them http://www.anthropologie.com  click on denim on the menu at the left.  There they are for $187!!!!!!  I can't believe it!  I am telling you all, this resale thing is the B.O.M.B.

Mustard cashmere tunic for $16

J Brand, Lovestory denim for $14.50!! Are you kidding!!!

Nice fit, too!

So I left Rag-O-Rama and headed on over to my favorite shop... The Toggery.  I think I have mentioned before that I not only purchase from The Toggery, but I also consign with them.  I have for over ten years.  I left with a number of great items and left some good ones too.  I used their "shop for free" option where you use the money from the sale of your items to buy items in the store.  It is a great deal!
At The Toggery you receive the same dollar amount in store credit as you would if you took the check. This varies from shop to shop.  I took a few photos inside so you would be able to see the racks and racks of fabulous items available.  The staff at The Toggery knows me and I enjoy visiting with them.  Lynn always says hello when I see her and Veronica and I usually have a few laughs about the goings on.  I have found so many amazing items in the shop over the years I can assure you they know what they are doing.  There is NO JUNK!  It is all excellent clothing and while not every item is "my style"  the shoppers range in age from seniors to young teens.  Everything is organized by size and color, especially tops and pants which is a huge help.  In the close up of the rack I can spot two Anthro tops right in the middle of the picture.

Inside The Toggery!  Rack after rack of wonderful stuff!

purses, and small home decor, too!

See, right there is the Flower Seller top from spring 2009 Anthropologie.

  I tried on a lot of things and came home with a couple of great finds see the items below.

These Bertie sandals were at Athro for about $98 last summer, I got them for $14!

Wednesday brown knit cardi for $16

Jcrew Cashmere tunic sweater for $18

Tabitha cardigan from Anthro for $26!  I looked this up on Ebay and it is selling for $99-$109!

fei top, $10

Trinity top from the 60% off rack, would have been about $10 but I didn't purchase.

Sparrow sweater from the 30% off rack would have been about $17, but I left this as well.

Milly dress that was $16!  Cute but I can do better.

 

 

I was able to get to A-Do on time for my appointment.  I walked in and was met at the front by Erin and Courtney.  They are some of my favorite ladies and we always talk about our latest shopping expeditions and what is new at the salon.  A-Do just opened a new boutique and spa called, Adorn, in the building just to the south.  It is a lovely cozy space with black lacquer floors and tones of gray and white on the walls.  I have not had the chance to enjoy the spa offerings, however that is on my list of things to do this summer.  They have a variety of products and unique home and and decor items.  If you are in the area stop in and introduce yourself.  The staff is amazingly friendly and would love to see you.  I spent some time in the chair with Jennifer snipping away at my rather unruly thick hair.  I like it short and funky.  Those are the only guidelines I give her.  I trust her implicitly with my hairstyle, especially that it will be a bit ahead of the curve and not "Mommy-like".  Jennifer and staff had recently been to a hair show and she decided to stay with the asymetrical cut which was showing as a "new look" for fall!  Woo hoo!  As you can see by the pictures I love it!

  And there is Jennifer, the magician (ess) in the photo with me.  I cannot tell you how much I look forward to my visits to A-Do.  I recommend it to all my friends looking for a fun salon with a talented staff.  They are all wonderful.  I have been to other stylists as well as Jennifer when she was not available to something came up with one of us! 

All in all it was a good day in Indianapolis.  Now I must get myself and Will ready for our trip to Florida on Friday and Saturday.  That's two days in the car with octogenarian parents and a 4 1/2 year old lest anyone be too jealous!  I will post from the condo in Florida when my sister Lisa, arrives with my bag o' bargains from Gainesville.  Enjoy the next few days! 

A Word About Ebay

People ask me all the time if I shop on Ebay, and the answer is yes.  I enjoy Ebay and I have been able to suss out some very good bargains using the site.  I have gotten burned a couple of times, but only a couple.  The one that stands out most in my mind was a pair of "Prada" casual shoes.  It was early in my use of Ebay and I didn't think much of the fact that the item was shipping from China.  When the shoes arrived they were NOT Prada casual shoes, rather fairly good knock-offs.  I am not a fan of the knock-off!  I was disappointed in the shoes and in myself for falling for the scam of it.  I made a promise to myself never to purchase anything that is being shipped from China or Singapore. I just don't trust that it is going to be the real deal.  That may be naive but I haven't had that problem since.  I most often find that Ebay is a great resource when shopping consignment.  I can look up a designer, or a specific item to see if the price I am noting in the store is a good value or not.

So let's talk buying on Ebay.  I am not telling anyone what to do and do not take what I say as total truth.  These are my experiences.  I try to stick with sellers that have had a lot of feedback, new sellers can be problematic, not bad, but problematic. Once I purchased a sweater from a first time seller and it took no less than 6 weeks to receive the sweater... from Illinois!!! I live in Indiana.  The seller just didn't have a good system.  Free shipping is another biggie.  I always add the shipping cost to the cost of the item whether I am bidding or using the buy it now option.  If I think I can do better at local consignment or a similar item on a sale rack I let it go.

I have a particular taste for expensive shoes... Chie Mihara, Prada and Marc Jacobs to be specific!  These I approach differently.  I WILL NOT go over $125 for a pair of shoes, especially shoes that have been worn a couple times and most times not over $50 unless I have been stalking a specific style.  On these type of items I use the proxy bid feature.  I plug in the absolute highest dollar amount I would be willing to spend figuring in the shipping if necessary and let it ride.  This way I don't get sucked into the "it's only one more dollar or only five more dollars, cycle"

As most of you know I love Anthropologie clothing.  I track Anthropologie items on my Ebay watch list.  This is particularly effective if there is a piece that "got away" a season or two ago.  I get the best prices when someone lists a heavy sweater in July or a sundress in November.  Makes sense doesn't it shop for items in the off season.  Cardinal rule of the bargain professional.

I rarely bid on items that have a reserve.  The only time I have was when I was bidding on a piece of furniture and as it turned out the price went so high so fast it was out of my reach nearly immediately.  Most sellers set the bidding to start fairly low $.99 isn't odd... but this doesn't mean that the item will sell at a low price.  I have seen bidding begin at $.99 and end over $200! Most items begin between $9.99 and $19.99!

As a resource Ebay can't be beat.  I have looked up an untold number of items on Ebay to determine if the cost that I am contemplating is, in fact a good deal or if the item I am contemplating is the real thing.  I have looked up purses, designer dresses and art work just to name a few.  It probably won't be a surprise to any of you that my sister is also a bargain professional.  We often play the "who got the best deal" game and usually she wins.  Lisa, my sister lives in Gainesville, FL which I have come to believe may be the thrift/consignment center of the universe.   She will sometimes call me from one of her favorite haunts asking, "Are you online right now?  Could you look on Ebay to see what a (fill in the blank item) is going for?"  She is very good and unbelievably lucky... you simply have no idea!  She once purchased a pair of barely worn, sliver, Louboutin kitten heels at The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Gainesville for $1.98!!!!!  They would have been $4.00 but she had a 50% off coupon!

The real deal for $1.98!!!!! I believe!  I believe!

I bow down in awe of her powers!!!!   I will tell you all about some of her scores in later posts and since I am going to Florida at the end of this week (woo hoo)  I may ask her to do a guest blog post for me.  She tells me she has a bag of Anthropologie and Free People items gleaned from the same Salvation Army Thrift Store!  I am soooo freakin' excited about it!  Silly isn't it? It's a sickness, really it is.

Enjoy the evening...

May Be a First...

So friends, this may be a first for me, but hopefully not a trend.  I had a very hard time finding anything really inspiring at Anthropologie today! I know!  I am as shocked at you are.  I tried on a heap of stuff mostly from the Sale room, since that is the affordable area but nearly came up empty.  What I had wanted to do was find an outfit that I could translate into room decor, perhaps I thought about it too much and what I ended up coming home with was an outfit based on my existing home decor, orange-y red and gray!  I will add some other accessories to this in order to make it less one dimensional,  but mostly it is orange and gray.

my orange and gray kitchen is now an outfit!

To this I would add a chunky wood and silver necklace and sliver flats in order to bring in more elements of a kitchen.

(  See below post for these items.) 

I really like the top.  It has some hippie chick detail and was on sale at $19.99!  The gray pants were the steal of the day.  They were originally $88 and today I found the last pair marked down to $9.99!  Yes!  They must have run very large because these were a 6 and trust me, I NEVER WEAR a 6, in anything!  But they fit and were cute and gray is a departure from the standard khaki and we all know how I feel about following the standards.


I also tried on a couple other things none of them worked for me which was a disappointment because I really hoped they might work.  The sweater especially, the dress I had an inkling would not be terribly flattering and it was not.  But ya know how it is.. sometimes you just have to see for yourself.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  See you all on Monday!

I wanted to love this but the sweater was just unflattering.

  It was a Med., my usual size and still huge.

This dress has a ton of volume, but the arm holes were very small and I have pretty thin arms. This was a 10, my usual is an 8 and I can't imagine that I would have been able to get my arms comfortably into an 8!  Fail!

The silver shoes.  Originally $24 at The Gap, on sale for $12 plus extra 10% making them about $11 with tax!  I have these in blue also.

The necklace. Originally $198 on anthropologie.com , on sale for $59.99!

Connection!

This morning as I was getting dressed and putting together my outfit, I somehow remembered a television show, maybe on Style Network that used contributor's favorite outfits as inspiration for room makeovers.  Trust me, I have no idea why I would have been thinking of this, except that I was looking at the colors in the shirt I had on and thinking that I have been really into the color gray as a neutral with pops of bright color as accent.  I wear that combination a lot and I have recently,in the past 6 months or so, used that equation in my home decor.  Examples you ask, in my kitchen I have varying shades of gray punctuated by shots of an orange-y red

My kitchen color scheme... taken in October, note the pumpkin and spiders....

and in the bedroom I have begun the switch to use gray with shots of spring green!

The curtains are green as well, and I want to paint the walls gray, sometime!

A good look at the colors close together.

  I love the use of gray like this... it has a very modern edge but is a bit midcentury retro as well.  I can't tell you how much this describes my own personal aesthetic from my clothing right through my house.  I am drawn to anything with a retro feel vintage clothing from the 50's and 60's; which I wear from time to time, home accessories; aluminum bar wear and bakelite anything and color combinations in fabrics and wall options.

I think today I may run a few errands, stopping at Anthropologie in Indianapolis along the way.  I am always inspired by the clothing and color options in the store.  The prices can be less inspiring as they are often much higher than I wish to spend, but as I have told you... if you are willing to wait it out the stuff can be had a significantly lower prices and let's just say, never count out a good run through the sale room.  I am planning to look there and then show you all how I might translate an outfit into inspiration for a room.  If you love it on you... you will love to look at it in your home.  Color is king!  We should all love some of it!

Local Thrift Report!

This late afternoon post is just a super quickie!  I ran into Trinity Mission Thrift here in town this afternoon and spotted this FANTASTIC inlay dresser.  Usually the inlays on these things are a wreck and not worth the trouble to fix, but this is different.  The inlay is in beautiful condition and the top has just a bit of watermarking. The price on this piece is $50!  That's it!  I do not have anyone looking for a chest of drawers at the moment but someone ought to snag this charmer while it is still in the store.  Just FYI for all you thrifters out there! The thrift store here in town and in Lafayette, IN has a website!  www.trinitymission.net  Click on the Thrift Stores tab at the top of the page and you're off and running... or rather thrifting, that is!
Happy St. Paddy's Day!

front (best I could do in the store)

inlay detail quite lovely

view of top damage that is really not so much!

Broad Ripple Bargains...

Good day all!  I mentioned the other day that I would do a post about bargains in Broad Ripple.  While there are many upscale and pricey boutiques there are also a number of ways to bargain hunt.  Believe me I have tried them all.  Today I am focusing on  the resale/consignment shops.

  As I have said The Toggery is my favorite.  You can go to their website here:  www.toggeryresale.com.  They also recently added a Facebook presence which is helpful since they will post some of their particularly high end offerings there.  I have taken clothing of mine there for years and love to purchase as well.  You can find great bargains any day of the week.  Here are a few of my past finds... these are no joke.

Marc Jacobs skirt $20, retail $100+

Chie Mihara shoes, barely worn $16!  Retail @$350

Orla Kiely bag with matching wallet and makeup bag, $60!!!  retail $300

Iconic Anthro skirt by Elevenses, $18!  retail $88

  The shop itself is well organized and spacious.  They carry everything related to personal style clothing, shoes, accessories and even some decor. At The Toggery there is always something on sale.  Be sure to check the posted tag colors for additional markdowns.  The tags represent an extra 10%, 20%, 30% and 50% off the marked price.  The rack that usually stands just outside the main entrance is a must see!  The outdoor rack almost always has some $1, $5 and $10 items... and these aren't reject items!!! I have found Anthropologie, DVF, and Tory Burch on that rack!  The staff at Toggery are awesome.  They are more than willing to help you put an outfit together or be on the look out for a particular type of item you may be currently hunting!  Opens up a lot of possibilities, doesn't it.  ... and don't forget the "shop for free" option where you bring in the clothing you are tired of or thought you'd love and didn't, consign it, then use the money you get from the sale to shop in the store for new stuff you love.  It is a vicious cycle, but it is soooo much fun!

Also on the consignment front in Broad Ripple is Rag-O-Rama  www.ragorama.com.Rags takes clothing on the spot and offers the consignor a flat dollar amount for the things they are interested in selling.  There are always two options:  cash on the spot (lower $$) or in store shopping credit (higher $$).  The consignor is then able to take the cash or or the store credit.  This place certainly has a bit of a younger vibe, but that never seems to stop me.  There are a number of  rave appropriate party wear for the kiddos, but if you go past those things at the front directly to the rounders you can make a quick sweep of items. A word of caution, patience is a virtue at this shop.  There are vintage items mixed in with gently worn items and items that are new with tag so it takes some time to sort.  I have found Marc Jacobs shoes, Joe's Cigarette jeans and more Anthro items.  While this is on my regular list of places to shop, I don't go as often as some others.  They too, have a Facebook page you can add to your "likes" and look for their specials as posts.

Newer to the scene is a men's consignment boutique, Designer Men's Room visit them at www.designermensroom.com. Designer Men's Room first appeared as a "you might like" on my Fagebook page.  I added it to my "likes" and now receive posts that showcase things like Prada belts, Zegna ties and new Allen Edmonds shoes.  I have only been in the shop once and plan to take some items in to consign in the near future.  On first glance it is compact and organized.  They have a number of very high end items for men.  I stopped by during the no man's land of  "everybody is sick of winter clothes but not yet taking spring and summer clothes"  so the selection was most likely not at it's peak.  I will be there again next week so I will assess a second time then!  I definitely see the possibility since men's consignment is not as plentiful as women's.  I have not purchased from them yet, but hope to find a great item to show you soon.

Ideas....

Hello my friends.  This will be very short today... Will and I went to Lafayette today to grocery shop, yep, you guessed it.  Living here and grocery shopping in Indianapolis or Lafayette is a little like being The Ingalls family "going to town"!  But don't get me started on the whole "in town" thing.  It has been one of my pet peeves since moving here.  Apparently the idea that Crawfordsville is a place capable of having an "in town" was lost on me from the beginning, but around here those that live about three miles away from what was once, I am told a thriving downtown/courthouse square area refer to where they live as "out"... as in  "We have always lived out" and they ask me, "Do you live in town?"  This drives me nuts!  It seems so archaic and foreign to me!  Plus what I really want to answer is, "No we don't live in town, we live in Crawfordsville!"   Anyway, I digress... we made it to the grocery and I added a stops at one of the Lafayette area Goodwill stores, and an antique mall called "Leaping Leopard"... while neither yielded any grand finds it was fun to stroll through and look at all the things at the antique mall.  I am on the prowl for a midcetury or minimalist type of chair to put with a desk and possibly a small-ish round table with metal legs.  We shall see if these items arise or if I must wait until garage sale season.  Not that far off, you know.  I am looking for partners in crime for garage sale adventures so let me know.

Now for my idea.  I have had a few friends ask me about my jewlery display in the bedroom.  It is super easy, super fast and turns your collection into usable artwork.  Here is what it looks like in the bedroom.

Jewelry frames

I have a number of large statement type necklaces and they really don't fit in a drawer, plus once I put  them on the wall I found that I wore my jewelry much more often and wore different pieces instead of the same ones over and over.  It is an easy project.  All you need is a frame (vintage or not), some batting that isn't too thick, fun fabric, a staple gun or heavy duty tape scissors and your choice of pins... hat pins, straight pins etc...

1.  Take backing out of frame
2.  Cover the frame backing with the batting and secure it with a bit of tape at the corners.
3.  Cut the fabric to fit over the frame backing with batting be sure to overlap the edges enough that the raw  
     edge does not show under the inside edge of the frame.
4.  Secure the fabric with heavy duty tape or a staple gun.
5.  Push the fabric covered backing board  into the frame.
6.  Hang frame on the wall if desired or use an art easel.
7.  Arrange the pins inside the frame so that each piece of jewelry has enough space.
8.  Enjoy your new artwork!

A couple more pics of mine!  Not that you can't do better.  I have had mine up for a while and though I love this method of display I am really ready to choose some new fabric for a couple of them.

Have a good evening all.  I am thinking about a post about thrifting and bargain hunting in Broad Ripple for tomorrow so stay tuned!