Tag Archives: Looking Fly on a Dime

Months of Thrifting!!!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by TheHealthyHappyTeacher

YES, I know it has been a while since I have done a post on thrifting. BUT, I had some free time on my hands today and I’m still on cloud nine after finding out I passed my comprehensive exams yesterday 🙂 SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I had to not only take pictures of some of my thrifted purchases, but find pictures I’ve already taken on my computer to post 🙂  My thrifiting goddess Patrice  decided to do a second installment of her thrifting 365 challenge and I jumped right on it. Because of her thrifting tips I am able to find and spot great pieces, great quality, and popular name brands. I’ve also perfected finding great vintage pieces on ebay. If you are hesitant about thrifting I suggest you check out my “blog roll” and click on the non-health and fitness related blogs. So I present to you some, not all, of the great finds I have purchased from October 2011 until present.

Some of my great ebay finds:

I fell in love with this dress. I sent the seller a message and made a deal with her. If you see something you like on auction send the seller a message and make an offer. You can see me rocking this size 8 dress here Never in million years did I think I could get down to a dress size 8 but look at me now 🙂

I fell in love with this dress also 🙂 I wore this to work one day at my last job and my head was twenty times larger from all the compliments I received. Of course I made the seller an offer.

Yep, I feel in love with this one too 🙂 I’m always falling in love with a pretty dress. I made the seller an offer on this as well!!

I actually didn’t have to make an offer on this one. My old college roommate had a similar dress on her blog and I fell in love with it. I was shocked when I came across this one while trolling on ebay. Check out Ivory’s blog please!! She is my fashion idol and has a killer style!!

Of course ebay is not the only place I do my thrifting. One of my best friends introduced me to Moms Flea Market in Millbrook, Alabama. This is were I scored some great shoes in my size as well as a shirt dress I thought my friends was going to rob me for; LOL!!!

I love, love, love, love, love, did I say LOVE 🙂 this jacket. I already had the PERFECT coral and chocolate top to wear under it and some chocolate slacks.

The dress I almost lost my life for 🙂 I told my friend if it didn’t fit I would acquit. WELL, it fitted like a glove and I told her she could not have it. BTW, this dress is a size 8 🙂

This suit actually came from a different flea market in Prattville, Alabama. I only paid $3 for it.

Of course ole faithful Faith Rescue Mission has still been good to me. I scored this nice Ann Taylor skirt!

I paired this skirt with a cute matching sweater!

I found the perfect Ann Taylor sweater at Faith to wear with these slacks.

Sweater Old Navy and shirt New York & Company

Even though Faith does not sell matching sets together (mean face) I lucked up and found the matching pieces.

And last but not least here are some of my favorite Goodwill finds.

Scored my second pair of BCBG shoes. Remember I gave the first pair away because they were not my size.

The shoes were perfect with these Liz Claborne slacks and Banana Republic top I scored at Faith.

I LOOOOOOOOOVE these Ann Taylor slacks and this jacket. Both were great Goodwill deals. I am obsessed with jackets and blazers also 🙂

Scored this entire 3 pc suit for $8. It screams “I’m almost officially a school teacher!!” So ready for May 12th to officially become a teacher 🙂

This Parisians skirt with the New York & Company shirt (still had $28 price tag on it) made my horrible day the best day ever 🙂 I cannot wait to wear both of these pieces as a school teacher 🙂

I so love these shoes and cannot wait to wear them. They were practically new.  I already have the perfect dress for these shoes.

Some sweaters my mom picked out for me!! My mom is still the best dress lady I know so I don’t mind it at ALL when she buys me clothes and shoes.

And these clothes/shoes were not thrifted but given to me by a great friend and my mother.

Sexy black dress with tags still on it was given to me. The crapping lighting and my camera didn’t do this dress justice 😦 It has a simple yet chic detail on the front.

My friend also gave me these HOT Steve Madden peep toe heels (as well as a few more shoes)!! As you can see by the dirt these have been broken in 🙂

My mom gave this dress to me and the price tag is still on it. I have some HAWT red shoes I will be rocking with this dress.

I had a lot more pieces I could have post but I will save them for a another time. I know my thrift post are long BUT I get excited about shopping at thrift stores like it’s Saks Fifth Ave 🙂 I have been scoring a lot of Ann Taylor and New York and Company lately. Well until next time I hope you have enjoyed my thrifting adventures. The great thing about thrifting you can reinvent your style and look!!

#HealthyMakesYouSexy

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Thrifting Fun

Posted on September 27, 2011 by TheHealthyHappyTeacher

 

 

I know it been a while but this has been one crazy month for me!! Football season and my birthday has worn me out as well as school. WELL, my thrifting shero has decided to extend her “Thrift Shopping ONLY for a YEAR!” I am soooooo all in because I’m already hooked on thrift shopping and LOVE IT!!! Make sure you check out her blog and show her some love; Looking Fly On A Dime!! My former college roommate and dear friend also is a savoy thrift shopper and her style is SOOOOO amazing. Show her blog some love as well. Her name is Ivory and she has the most creative style and I LOVE IT!!!  Now let me get back on the subject at hand since I’ve bragged of my favorite bloggers 🙂

SOOOO, my bff and I hit up Goodwill twice in one week during our lunch breaks. If you live in the Montgomery, AL area the one on Air Base Blvd is my favorite so far. I spent a weekend going to a few thrift stores in Prattville, AL and I was VERY disappointed 😦 Not going to bash them BUT the clothing selection was let’s just say 1980s. HOWEVER, I did luck up and find these HAWT BCBG pumps I had to give away because they were not my size 😦

THESE shoes made me sick; LAWD!! I just could not leave them there and I ONLY paid $3.00 for them. Apparently the person who purchased them was not a heels wearing type of gal because they had tons of gels insoles in them. I’m happy to say they went to a nice home.

 

 

Next, I hit up this nice little store that sells jewelry for $1.00 called Cheapskates. It is located in downtown Prattville right as you are going around the curve. I found some nice earrings there.

Since my hair is so short now I’m obsessed with really big earrings. The lady who owns Cheapskates is very friendly too.

Now let’s move on to the clothing finds 🙂

The first day we went to Goodwill they had a 15% discount on all ladies clothing; YES!!! A sale on already cheap clothes #winning

This cute mock neck top still had the original Stein Mart tag on it.

I fell in love with the details of this top

BUT, my favorite piece was this CUUUUTE jacket. This jacket can be dressed up or down.

I just love this jacket

I love the back details as well.

I paid $3.99 or less for all my great Goodwill finds.

Moving right along to that weekend I hit up my other favorite spot Faith Rescue Mission. Funny thing is my mom called me while I was in the mist of shopping to tell me Sears was having a great sell. I turned my nose up and said I’m at the thrift store; LOL!!!  I racked up that weekend. Faith Rescue Mission on E. South Blvd is my favorite location if you are in the Montgomery, AL area again. They have a white board up stating what the deal of the day is as well as which color tags are on sale. The place plastic tags on the inside of the clothes. I can’t wait to say how much I paid for my finds 🙂

I found this LOVELY DKNY blazer first: LAWD!!! I knew there was a matching long skirt to go with it BUT I had no luck finding it and BELIEVE ME I tried hard to find it.

Since winter is around the corner I will be wearing this great find with some nice slacks. AND you will NEVER guess what I scored this for? It had the color tag of the day so I scored this find for $1.50; YEP you read that right $1.50 for a DKNY blazer.

Next I spotted this cute blazer. I literally have a closet full of blazers BUT you can never have too many right 🙂 I loved the colors and have the perfect shoes to make the colors pop!!! I ALSO paid $1.50 for this one.

The next section I made my way too was the slacks. I desperately needed new slacks since all my old ones were WAY too big.

I was able to wear the cute pink Goodwill top with these slacks and got tons of compliments 🙂

These capri pants were HEAVEN!! They fit me like a glove and I wore some “statement shoes” to make the colors pop. I scored these pants for $2.00

These are the front of the pants. I lucked up and found the perfect shirt to wear with these capri pants while not trying to find a matching top.

Lucked up and scored the perfect shirt to wear with these slacks as well. I love the satin/silk look of these pants.

 

I know linen season is over but I wasn’t going to let these stay in the store.

These slacks fit very nice as well.

My next stop was the skirt section. I was still on the hunt for the matching DKNY piece 🙂 However, I found the most adorable skirt and later found the perfect top to wear with it on a different visit.

I just LOVE the colors and details of this skirt. The size tag was actually ripped out of it so I tried it on even though I knew it would fit. I FELL IN LOVE again; LOL!! This skirt is so girlie and cute. I layerd a shirt with both colors of the skirt and wore my mustard heels with it. The skirt stops right at my knees.

This cute skirt is an Old Navy skirt. It was long on me and a little to big in the waste but I love it; very comfy.

Scored this 100% silk Talbots top that I will be wearing with the gray and black satin/silk looking slacks

 

Wore this cute New York and Company top with the cute capri pants. My shoes and accessories made the entire outfit look expensive. I felt good saying it was a thrifted look 🙂

My total tab on my Faith Rescue visit was $38.91 for all 12 pieces. YES, 12 items of clothes for under $40 bucks. I made sure to call my mom and she stated “well go ahead wearing those dead people clothes!” LMAOOOO, my mom is a hoot.

On my quest to find jeans on a different visit to Faith Rescue I came across this VERY NICE TOP.

I paired it with the khaki shirt with bright colors.

 

My ONLY gripe with Faith is they do NOT sell matching sets together. I need to ask why because it takes away from jackets that are meant to be worn with certain skirts and pants.

On another Goodwill visit I scored this suit for $7.00

 

I also lucked up and found an almost perfect fitting pair of Chaps jeans.

And finally found a pair of GAP jeans I could actually fit as well

I had to break down and go to CATO’s and get a couple of more jeans. It’s either hit or miss with me and jeans or slacks and I wasn’t having a lot of luck thrifting for jeans.

 

YES, this was a long post but like I said I have been busy busy busy and I will not be slowing down until this school semester is OVER!!! SOOOO, if you are like me taking your life, looks, and health back I again HIGHLY recommend you give thrifting a try. I am blessed to have a lot of clothes but I also had to get rid of a lot due to me losing weight. Some of my pre-weight gain clothes are even a little too big. It was either learn to sew, pay for alterations, or buy new clothes. Any excuse to go shopping right ladies 😉 I hope you like my great finds and I’ll be updating my blog again this week with a health related topic. Feel free to share, spread the word about my blog, and let me know you were here.

 

#HealthyMakesYouSexy

 

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My First Weekend of Thrift Shopping Only!!!

Posted on August 12, 2011 by TheHealthyHappyTeacher

Last weekend kicked off my style transformation. I was so excited to see what goodies I could find while hitting up the local thrift stores. My first stop was at the Faith Rescue Mission. I honestly didn’t have any expectations about Faith one way or the other. The reviews I read on The Thrift Shopper were not nice at all. The store was actually well organized and neat. The building is old so first impression about the cleanness of the store will not be great. But, I’m not going to bash the store because I found some great treasures. My first stop was at the handbag section. I did not see anything that really caught my eye but I did find a cute small orange straw purse.

My next stop was the dress racks. Everyone who knows me KNOW I :::HEART::: sun dresses. Right out the gate I spotted three dresses I fell in love with.

I love this orange dress. It can also be washed and dried on the “tumble dry low” setting. I hope I get to sport this on a evening out with friends or someone special 🙂

This cute little black and white dress is actually a size small. YES, I was bold and bought it anyway 🙂 I washed it, hang dried it, tried it on and it fits great. This is not a work friendly dress since it is a little short and the front is slightly shorter than the back. The waistline hugged my waist perfect and makes me look smaller.

This cute black and khaki dress is an Old Navy dress. It stopped right below my knees. It hugged me perfect in a classy way. I received great compliments from my co-workers. I enjoyed their reactions when I told them where it came from 🙂

After finding these wonderful dresses I made my way to the skirts, pants, and jeans racks. I didn’t see anything that caught me eye so I checked out the shoes then the shirts. I did see a couple of pair of shoes I liked but these size 10s I have was not going to squeeze in them; LOL. My eye instantly caught this adorable red shirt.

***tear*** this shirt swallowed me so I have to give it away 😦  It is a 1x. I know you are saying heffa how you go from a small to a 1x? HEY, it looked smaller on the hanger than it actually was.  I will sure hate to part ways with it but it has to go ***pours out a little water for this cute shirt’s departure***

The last cute treasure I found was this black and white wrap top from CATO

My mission is to find a HAWT black pencil skirt to rock this with. Of course I will be on another thrift store hut for that.  My total bill came up to $19.96 I most definitely will be back shopping at the Faith Rescue Mission. The cashier also told me how to check for the deals of the week and how they color code items that are on sale.  Looking Fly On a Dime also gives great tips about thrift shopping and looking for additional discounts. Her blog is my thrift shopping Bible!!!

My next stop was bright and early Saturday morning at Santuck outdoor Flea Market. This happens on the first Saturday of every month except for the coldest months of the year. I was let down by Santuck. It was way too much of the same things being sold and the jewelry selections were blah 😦 I haven’t been to Santuck in a few years so I was so excited about going. I didn’t stay long because the Alabama heat and humidity kicked in before 8:00am. Here are the few pieces I did purchase and they all were $1 each.

After a shower and wardrobe change my last two stops were at Goodwill on Air Base Blvd and Atlanta Hwy. Both stores were well organized, clean, and pleasant to shop in. HOWEVER, the Goodwill on Air Base was bigger and had a better selection and quality of clothes. The staff was also very friendly. There were so many cute items I found I had to limit myself to three dresses. I put myself on a strict budget that weekend and I didn’t want to over do it on my first thrifting outing.

This cute sheath dress in an Ann Taylor dress. I received soooooo many compliments for this dress and made jaws literally drop when I stated where I got it from. It is a dry clean only dress but ummmm yeah I never follow the cleaning instructions 😉

I sooooooooooooooooooo fell in love with this dress as soon as I laid my eyes on it. I envisioned myself wearing it with my black leather Liz Claiborne knee boots. I cannot WAIT to wear this during the winter. The dress is not really thick but of course tights will be worn under it. I also love how the sleeves flare at the end.

My final purchase was a cute blue Express dress. The style and cut of this dress is not work safe 🙂 so it will be a “we be clubbin/freakum” dress!!! Also, need to work on my tiny gut because this dress leaves NO room for error.

Back of dress

Bottom of dress

Overall I will say my first weekend of thrift shopping only was fun and successful. My total cost for my Goodwill purchases was $13.oo My next stop will be in Pratville and Millbrook. I most certainly will be shopping at the Goodwill store on Air Base more often. I cannot wait to post the pictures from my next shopping adventure 🙂

Make sure you say hi to let me know you stopped by my blog

#HealthyMakesYouSexy

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