Thrift Shop Thursday!!
Do you remember a time when you
really, really wanted a special
brand name pair of shoes...
Or...
Maybe it was a popular hair style...
feathered hair...
Later, it was the spiral perm...
Does that ring a bell??
As a young teen there were a handful of
must-haves that I felt I absolutely had to have...
That feeling of "wanting the latest and greatest"
coupled with the actual reality
of obtaining those fashion trends
were two very different things...
I think for me it began in Jr. High...
Coca-Cola clothes were on point... and I had
one very cool sweatshirt...
and then,
there was the pair of jeans...
those expensive...
"everybody has them..." brand of jeans...
I never owned a pair.
No one in our family wore $99 pants,
let alone, a single pair of jeans
for a growing teen...
for a growing teen...
Nope, not going to happen...
I knew better than to ever put those jeans
on any wish list.
I can say that as much as I may
have longed for mountains
of designer purses and clothing...
I was never trendy... I tried... but fell way short...
Feathered hair...it's not for everyone...
I could maybe pull off one brand-name fashion
a season...
However, my fashions depended largely on
my baby-sitting income.
Even when I baby-sat every weekend...
There just wasn't enough to make my
1980's fashion dreams a reality.
(In hindsight, that was probably a good thing
15 year-old kids don't have the best fashion-sense in general.)
While I may have hoped to be trendy...
and ultimately to be more
like one of the "cool kids"
...my baby-sitting budget had very different
ideas about how all of that would turn out.
Fast forward to my adult years...
Older and so much wiser... (maybe)
As a stay-at-home mother of two children...
I found myself again... really, really wanting something...
...only this time, it was home decor items...
I think I may have gone to at least
a half dozen neighborhood soirees...
(I could have been more...it was definitely not less)
Darling home parties, selling all the latest home decor trends...
Super-cute cake plates, and wire serving baskets...
candle holders for your fireplace, tables and even as centerpieces...
The kinds of things mom's on
a tight budget can only dream about...
I mean really, I was the perfect mark of these
shiny magazine parties...
Parties held in spotless homes, with no toys scattered about...
All my mom friends were there...
wearing our most fashion-forward, non-mom clothes...
...The evening out was complete
with fancy appetizers and fun cocktails...
I was a marketer's dream come true... Truly.
Me, the mom who had once
longed to be a fashionable teen...
was now hot on the trail of these fancy home trends.
As I casually flipped through the magazine pages...
making a mental list of all my must-haves,
I daydreamed about
having lunch with my mom friends
serving sparkling cocktails from my very own wrought-iron,
Jeffersonian silver serving tray...
Until I looked at the prices...
Oh, my... grocery list!!
My home decor party wish list was long
and my "stay-at-home mom budget" was short...
I can say, I was able to happily squeak out
a few key purchases here and there...
but, for the most part I had to say
goodbye to the many items that I had eyed.
It was a little...just a little, like reliving those Jr. High
days again... (sigh)
What does all this have to do with Thrift Shop Thursday?!
Well, guess what I've been picking
up lately at the thrift store??
No...not 1987 Guess jeans
and not Swatch Watches...
(although I may linger a moment to fondly reminisce
when I see those items... glory days...)
I am finding ALL the
Southern Living At Home *retired*
home decor pieces...
Yes!!!
Bit by bit and piece by piece...
All my left behind wish-list items from
parties of long ago...
I am scooping them up at the thrift store!!
I spy hard-to find pieces, all the time.
Guess who wants them??
Folks on eBay!!
Am I trendy??... nope, but I am clever... and thrifty.
If having a budget has taught me anything...
it's that all the things I ever thought I wanted so badly or
wished to have...are just that... simply things.
Having a budget and having to say no to some wants and
wishes has kept the value of "things" in
perspective.
At the end of the day...
at the end of a life... what matters most aren't the
things we decorate with or accumulate,
It's not about what we wear or how our house looks...
It's about the moments and memories we make.
The best things in life...aren't things.
Having a budget has taught me
how to stretch a penny and to
transform items into beautiful foundations
for our home...
Furniture I could never have afforded
from designer boutiques...
I make it happen, with paint and stain...
I am able to save a bundle.
I never want to choose between taking a vacation with
my family over owning an expensive
piece of furniture...
I save where I can and still try to achieve my
home decor goals without breaking the bank.
It's two-fold for me...
I know that even if
I had a bazillion dollars in my budget...
I would never be comfortable
paying too much for anything.
Knowing the value of money and what an item is truly
worth depends a lot on the buyer... and to me, paying
too much for anything... 1980's jeans or an antique dishes...
takes the fun out of it for me.
There's a lot of satisfaction in making
over furniture, and in finding treasures that I once admired
through the pages of a fancy home decor magazine party...
Either way, I have found value in being a savvy shopper and
a do-it-yourself-er.
It's okay with me if I'm a little behind
the fashion trends of today...
I can patiently wait...
when my budget and know-how
meet the thrift store cast offs...
that's when the magic happens.
It's okay with me if I'm a little behind
the fashion trends of today...
I can patiently wait...
when my budget and know-how
meet the thrift store cast offs...
that's when the magic happens.
One of my favorite retired item finds is this...
A Dress-Me-Up Plate,
from the Southern Living At Home Collection.
I found an extra one for you!! That's right... you can win
it and be one of the "cool kids" at your next get-together.
Be sure to sign up with rafflecopter below...
Vote on what you think was the best trend ever!!
This prize is perfect for parties, it can be written on...
(I use colorful Sharpie markers and wipe clean with a Magic Eraser)
the Dress-Me-Up Plate is perfect for:
Happy Birthday messages
Menus
Quotes
Buffets
Cheese Plates
It's so versatile and you can change the ribbon to suit your party.
A truly great piece to include when your busy making
memories sharing celebrations with friends and family.
This plate is in Excellent Used Condition.
One (1) Dress Me Up Plate will be given away.
Contest ends at 12:00 noon EST. Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
Visit Blue Ribbon Kitchen Page on Facebook and SHARE
this Thrift Shop Thursday post on Facebook
To learn more about the drum table make over,
Click Here:Drum Table Makeover
Until next week...
I'll be the "fashionable" mom
you see sifting through treasures at the thrift store...
You'll know me by my
feathered hair...
;) Karri
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