Friday, August 31, 2012

Re-Purposing The 'Rex

Oh how I love my Pyrex collection...so vintage-y and colorful. When I open up my cupboards in the morning, seeing the pretty 'rex just makes me smile. For me, I like to put my collection to work, carefully though. I do have one piece has seen no action, my chartreuse rimmed teacup with the copper Pyrex stamp on the bottom. I am not a tea drinker and its just not big enough to hold my coffee.



I found its purpose the other day when my package from Lauri's Etsy shop, Superior Body Products, arrived. I have ordered Lauri's *amazing* lotion bars for almost the past year. But this time, I also ordered up a Lavender and Geranium bar of soap.

So this amazing smelling soap shows up and I realize that I have no soap dishes! Hmmm...what's a thrifty gal to do but re-purpose something, right? That little Pyrex teacup worked perfectly and is now perched right next to the sink displaying the purple bar 'o soap.




My kitchen now has this lovely earthy lavender smell and I have prettied up the sink area with the Pyrex teacup.



FYI...The lovely Lauri has no idea I am doing this post. But when I find good Etsy shops with wonderful products, I just have to share! Check out her shop here, the lotion bars are to die for!

So friends in Pyrex, how have you re-purpose your 'rex? Share below or snap a picture and post it over at the Facebook page :)
.
.
.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Patience My Young Jedi

If you asked me what the most important quality of a thrifter is, I would say patience. You can find cool thrifted stuff everyday, but might pay too much...or you can get too eager and buy a bunch of junk you don't need, that will just end up cluttering your home, for cheap.

Case in point, my husbands man cave. It has been sitting, devoid of use, for the past year. We had been wanting to furnish it and already had a TV and coffee table, but no couches. Did we 'need' another place to watch television, no, we have a fully furnished family room upstairs. But, it would be nice to have an area for him to call his own. What I am getting at here is that we weren't in any hurry to run out to a big box store and overpay for seating...patience!

Patience paid off last weekend! I was cruising Craigslist the week before looking for a small kitchen table, when I cam across a listing of a woman who was selling a whole house of furniture in anticipation of a big move. There was a lovely set of Jonathan Lewis designer couches she had for sale but was asking far over our price range. I emailed her to inquire if she'd be willing to let them go for less and she wasn't. No problem, I can be patient! I kindly asked that she email me if she changed her mind and we'd be there with cash in hand to pick them up within 24 hours. A few days went by and she emailed me that she would accept our lower offer...WOOT!

I have purchased from Craigslist before, but never furniture, so I started to get nervous. What if we got there and the couches smelled like smoke and cat pee? What if mice were living in the bottom? Well, we showed up at her house and it was immaculate. She was single, no kids, non-smoker, and no pets! The couches were a year old and had been Scotch guarded. She was making a big move to Florida and just wanted them out of her hair.

Here's the final purchase...I mean, steal!


Sure, there are those one-in-a-million pieces that come along that us thrifters will splurge on, but in almost all scenarios, patience while thrifting really pays off.

Share a time in the comments when patience really paid off for you while thrifting. Any epic scores you can think of?

Better yet, share a picture over at the Facebook page so we can all rave over your find!
.
.
.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Snag It Saturday! Cashmere

There will be a new feature here at The Thrifty Picker, Snag It Saturday, where I will offer some of my best finds at bargain prices!

Today's bargain is this NEW with TAGS mens SILK and CASHMERE sweater from Banana Republic, brown, size XL. Every man needs at least one cashmere sweater! Am I right ladies? They are so versatile. He can wear it to work, for a night out, to church, or to mom's house for Sunday dinner.

Here it is:



Here are the deets: 87% silk and 13% cashmere, dry clean only, approximately 22" pit to pit and a 27" sleeve.


Better scoop this sweater up ASAP, because at 29.95 including FREE US shipping, someone is going to snag this one fast!

To purchase, just email me at TheThriftyPicker@hotmail.com or message me over at the Facebook page. All transactions will go through PayPal.

Stay tuned...next Saturday I will be offering NEW Armani Exchange for your man!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Pea In The Pod

I lamented a few posts back about ugly and weird fitting maternity clothing. After searching the internet, I came across some stylish mom-duds at A Pea In The Pod, and we have one here in town. Oh, the clothes are so darn cute, but they rob you on the pricing. So, I promptly put APITP on my BOLO list.

Can you believe on my first thrifting trip after doing so I found a cute shirt from 'The Pod? Yep, here it is:



They wanted $59.50 for something similar on their website but I got this little number for $3.59!

I also have a wedding coming up and know that by that point none of the dresses in my closet will fit. On the same trip I found 'The Pod shirt, I also found this:


A cotton/spandex, forgiving fit, black dress...for a buck!! The gold tips on the tie-sash give a bit of interest and it goes nicely with the House of Harlow look-a-like necklace I bought from Tabitha over at Cheap But Chic on Facebook.


I am trying to decide what color purse/shoes to wear with this classic dress. Any suggestions my friends?
.
.
.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Preggo Lady Thrifting

I am starting to thrift for maternity clothes and I've got me some questions my fellow mamas!

My preggo sickness took a few hours off the other day, so, of course, I headed to the good ole G-dub. Man I missed that place. The parking lot was practically full and people were finding bargains right and left for back-to-school. I found the maternity section, picked out a couple of items that looked like they had a cuteness factor to them, and headed to the dressing room.

First, I tried on a shirt. Um, it was ok, but it had this low scoop-neck thing going on. I moved on to the next shirt, same ta-ta issue, and the next too. Then I tried on a scrub top for my part time gig. Now, normally scrub tops are pretty modest, but this one had a low v-neck thing going on. Ladies, let's be real here...in a short time my ta-ta's will be wanting to bust out like Christina Hendrick's from Mad Men, so a low scoop neck seems a bit impractical. What the heck y'all???

Ladies, I ask: What is up with the scoop neck, preggo shirt, ta-ta thang!?

I gave up on the shirts and moved to the jeans. They had a nice wash to them, a good length, and they were skinny leg jeans. Mind you, I was trying on my usual size. I pulled them on and turned around to check out my tushie in the mirror and was horrified. The badonkadonk of this pair of jeans was sagging down to the back of my knees! Ack! I figured it was a fluke, so I tried the next pair and they had the same ass-dragging look.

Ladies, I ask: Is this what maternity jeans are supposed to be like? Will my ass swell to twice the size of a Kardashian?



Please share your favorite maternity brands so that I can add them to my BOLO (be on the look out) list! Post your suggestions below or over on the Facebook page.
.
.
.