Cincinnati Thrift Store Sales Now on Cincinnati Thrift

Woah, that's a mouthful!

But it sure is exciting!

All greater Cincinnati Goodwill Thrift Store sales
will now be listed on the right sidebar.

 

Look for this image.

And click it!

Did you know that all Greater Goodwill Cincinnati Stores have the same monthly sales?

I had no idea!

The link also provides a list of all participating thrift stores.

And even a coupon!

Get excited!

If you would like to have your thrift store sales listed on Cincinnati Thrift email Amy at CincinnatiThrift@gmail.com

 

Lunch Break Unbroken

Some things in life never change. 

 

Like lunch breaks. 

 

It has always been a magical part of the day to me. 

 

Elementary school was all about lunch box trading. In middle school, one of my friends would buy flavored water and we'd all take "shots" from the cap followed by the phrase "Hit me again, it's been a long day." True story. In high school, we tried to cram as many seats around our usual table before promptly being scolded for doing so. Such rebellious youth.  In college, I was surrounded by some of the most talented, funny people alive. Most of my breaks were spent simultaneously laughing and trying to keep food down.

Typical lunch time at Stephens College with the HILARIOUS Amy Jo.

And look, I'm even wearing one of my favorite thrifted pieces - a locket.

And I can't mention college lunch time
without thinking about Dana Gutierrez's face. 

 

This was a sandwich break before the STL Zoo.
She took that bread to comedy level filet minion, if you know what I mean...

And now THE FUTURE.

Or as some people call it, the present.

For about a year now, Cory and I have worked at the same company.
Although we work in different departments,
we manage to take lunch together about 95% of the time.  

Of course, I'm all about a thrifty lunch. 

 

My favorite breaks involve a lunch box and lying in the grass.
As you can imagine, our attempts at napping are often spoiled by the families of ants that inhabit the park.
I think most of this could be solved if we simply used a bigger blanket.

After Cory took this photo, he said it looked like my feet were glowing with the light of God. 
I prefer to think of them as nuclear feet - like I stepped in radioactive material and then went about my day.
Either way, this photo makes them look deformed. You're welcome.

LOFT cardigan $4.49, St.Vincent De Paul on Glenway.

 

Ralph Lauren leopard print sweater shell. $1.99 Goodwill in Burlington, KY. 

Cory really should have told me how jumbled my shirt looked here...

 Pants, Gap brands outlet in Hebron, KY $9.99.

I hear this pose makes every outfit look better. And I'd have to agree.

Bon Nuit!

Accidental Glamour

 

Have I ever mentioned how weird it is
to have a million photos of yourself taken?

Because it is.

Inherently weird to me.

I think it stems back to childhood.
Like most, my parents would chronicle every first day of the new school year.
Didn't we all whine and complain?

And now outfit documentation is a thing! I.E. much of this blog.

So is this a paradigm shift in the case for vanity? 

 

Yeah, probably.

But I'm claiming this blog in the name of education and thrifting good-will.
These are real applications of my thrifty excursions and how pieces can work in your life.
Or not work, depending if our styles cross. 

This is what you call an accidental glamor shot. 

It's also Cory's first snap.
Or maybe I should say click since it's an iPhone.
A magical Beyonce-like wind blew up and gave my hair some life.
I have no idea what I'm doing with my hand but it turned out pretty. 

Because most of my photos turn out like this....

 

Eyes closed, mouth open, unnatural pose.

Seriously, why would a human twist his or her leg like that?
And don't get me started on the hand growing out of my stomach.

Welcome to real life. 

Now back to regular thrift programing.

 Necklace, $3, Goodwill in Blair Nebraska.
JCrew Tshirt, $2.50, Snooty Fox in Hyde Park

 

Purse, this weird second-hand store in Newport that no longer exists. $5

Shorts, Loft, $29, from last season.
I bought them during a retail therapy lunch break. It was one of those days.

Until next time, Bon Nuit!

Cincinnati Thrift on Air!

In case you missed it,

 

check out myself and Phylicia Wilford from Black Girls Thrift Too on WCPO's "A New Day." 

Sorry for the creeper cam -- hopefully I'll have a better version soon!

Bon Nuit!

"A New Day" Airs Tomorrow at 11 a.m. on Channel 9!

Tomorrow is almost here!

In fact, tomorrow is tomorrow!

If you missed last Thursday's post,
I had the opportunity to put my thrifting knowledge to good use. 

Phylicia of Black Girls Thrift Too and I took part in a five minute segment on thrifting in Cincinnati.

 And yes, she's as fun as she looks.

If you tune in Sunday she'll entertain your thrifted pants off!

"A New Day" airs Sunday morning  at 11 a.m. on WCPO channel 9 Cincinnati.

Don't they have a beautiful set?

 The lovely Jennifer Moore (middle) interviewed us.

Her easy-going nature helped me relax and hopefully made me avoid any deer-in-the-headlights faces.

I do know that at one point I scratched the right side of my face with about four fingers on my left hand.

Pretty sure it was as awkward as it sounds.

I guess we'll find out Sunday!

 

Getting miked on set by one of the crew members.

The same guy operated three cameras at once. Super impressive!

I must admit that I struggeled with outfit selection.

 

After an hour of trying outfits, I decided on a look that would be safe for TV.

Not that I have any real knowledge or experience on the matter....

Zara Blazer, thrifted at St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $5.99. 

Purple t-shirt, $3.99 Goodwill

J.Jill Jeans, St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $4.99

Purse, St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $4.99

Necklace, Blackberry Exchange in Columbia, MO $3

The shoes I bought at Target 10 years ago.

The embellishments are actually vintage clip-on earrings, a gift from my mother.

It's hard to tell from this angle if I made the right outfit call. What do you think?

Whatever the outcome, I had an amazing time! Thanks WCPO!

And thanks to my über supportive fiancé who played the part of entourage/photographer.

He captured all the shots above. Thanks Cory!

Don't forget to tune into Channel 9, ABC tomorrow at 11 a.m.! 

Are you as nervous to watch recorded me as I am?

AH!

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Coming to a TV Near You!

 

Teaser! Teaser!

This morning I filmed a short segment on thrifting for "A New Day" on WCPO Cincinnati.

 

As you can see it was very well lit. 

 It's me, hanging out in Studio B.

I love rhymes. 

Tune in this Sunday, September 1st to  at 11 a.m.
to watch "A New Day" on Cincinnati WCPO ABC Channel 9.

They'll be more behind the scenes photos soon. 

TEASE TEASE TEASE.

Kitchen Décor

I'm no chef. In fact, Cory does 99.99% of the cooking in our family.

I say 99.9% because he's tried the few meals I know and vetoed them all. Not that I'm complaining...

 But where I DO contribute is thrifty kitchen décor.

 

Matching glass canisters. $5 for a set of two at Goodwill.

 

Beer growler reused as a container for rice.  A glass vase ($2) re-purposed as a straw holder.

Straws are one of my favorite luxuries. Not to mention they make every drink more fun! You have have to hold onto some childhood wonder, right?

 

Paper towel holder. $.50 Goodwill. Coffee saver, $3, Burlington Thrift Store.

Set of four valances purchased from St.Vincent De Paul on Glenway. $2.50 

They perfectly match both the grey and the red wall colors.

 

Fell in love with this needle point the moment I saw it. So happy and '70s. $2.00 at Goodwill.

 

Obsessed with anything '60's and yellow. This potholder was in PERFECT condition. $1.99 at St. Vincent De Paul.

 

Speaking of yellow...

 Not to be dramatic, but this scalloped trim table cloth is EVERYTHING.  $3.00 at Goodwill.

Family artwork is always a great way to add to a space.

As a renter, we have to work with existing paint colors.
Luckily, this painting was the perfect fit.

All the artwork was created by Cory's grandmother, Nana.  Thanks Nana!

Until next time, Bon Nuit!

This is like Forwards for Blogs, Right?

You guys know I'm a little bit slow. 

So it took me a couple week to get on this "Five Things" business that's going around the blogs.  It sort of reminds me of chain letters or email forwards but what the heck.  Ally from Fever Thrift was kind enough to think of me, so I'll give it a shot.

Five things I'm passionate about?

1) Family (friends included!) You guys are swell. Keep it up.

2) Writing. Not to get cheeche (Cheesy + Cliche = Cheeche) but it's what I love.

3) Human Rights. Gay Rights. Lady Right. Rights of any kind.

4) Thrifting. Don't work all day just to blow your money on a mall t-shirt.

5) Joan of Arc, Helen Keller and Kanye West. They're my inspiration crew forever and for always.

Five things I want to do before I die?

1) Run a Marathon. I started training a couple years ago and three weeks in I fell roller skating and burst my bursa sack. Classic Amy.

2) Have a national writing presence. I don't even care which nation, just one of them.

3) Own a dog. Run with that dog.

4) Fall from the sky (on purpose).

5) Live to see gay marriage legalized in every state.

Five things I say a lot?

1) "So close."

2) "I feel..."

3) "Ouch!" - have I mentioned I'm clumsy?

4) "That's sexist." I enjoy a good rant

5) "BUT REALLY?"

Five favorite movies?

1) Midnight in Paris

2) Being John Malkovich

3) Rocket Science

4) Zoolander

5) Anchorman

Five favorite thrifted items?

1) Clarks sandals

2) Pressed flower frame

3) Faux pearl necklace with flowers.

4) YSL leather and brass belt

5) Our first couch. Bought at a Missouri Goodwill for $39.

It made the 4 mile trip from the store to our house like this.
And yes, everyone was pointing and laughing at us. :)

Bonne nuit de Cincinnati Thrift!

Curtains and all their Drama

We live in a beautiful old house built in 1912.

It has lovely features like a large foyer, high ceilings, and wide windows. They're not only large, they are some of the largest I have ever lived with, and are wonderfully blinds-free. Not since college I have lived without blinds, and my solution back then was buying an entire bolt of blue jersey for a dollar and using fabric ducktape (yes that's a real thing) to get them to stay.  It looked slightly better than it sounds.

So with Cory's blessing, I took the creative freedom reigns and began the hunt for curtains. Of course, I wanted to thrift them. I had previously purchased a brand new Target curtain to spice up my cubicle, so I figured I wouldn't have too much trouble. BOY WAS I WRONG.

The biggest obstacle of thrifting curtains was the need for four matching panels. The windows are very wide: they required 100 inches of fabric to be fully covered. Because of this I couldn't get away with one panel per window.

The stock that I did find was boring and overpriced. $20 for used beige Target curtains?
NO THANK YOU MA'AM.

Weeks of unsuccessful thrifting forced me to move on. Finding fabric and making my own panels came to mind until I discovered how  insanely expensive fabric is these days. For the amount of fabric I would need, the end cost would be $30 in fabric, plus all the time it takes to sew them. I've just recently gotten back into sewing ( formally an 8th grade pillow/purse/jeans-to-skirt maker). My skills are pretty dull and I knew if I was going to spend that kind of money, I wanted them done right.

TJ Maxx and similar stores had great prices ($12-$30 for a pair) but a terrible selection of colors. More beige curtains? THE WORST.  I had the urge to throw paint on them.  Color is a serious need in my life. If you have doubts of this ask anyone in my family about my middle school/highschool bedroom which was modeled after an Indian circus. My family just recently painted over the muti-colored stripes, and thus confessed how hideous they thougtht it was. Even my sweet grandma labled them "very unique," which in kindly South Dakota talk means "the worst color combination I've ever seen." :) Love you grammy!

I finally purchased panels from West Elm, a home furnishing company.

They are more gold than yellow, but look great with our decor so I'm happy.
Also Cory and I were tired of looking. ($39 per panel)
When I first started looking, that felt like an outrageous price
but similar curtains are selling between $50 - $100 per panel.

HERE COMES THE THRIFTY PART

With all this fabric cost, I wanted a super cheap way of tying them back.
Being a renter, I try to be mindful of marking up the walls. 

My solution: Curtain Ties!

Add caption

Remember 2 years ago when arm candy was raging? Well, I found a use for all those bracelets.

I think it's easiest to use bracelets with closures as opposed to ties.
Don't forget to be mindful if you're using delicate fabrics,
you don't want to snag beautiful curtains!

Bon Nuit!

Reuse, Redesign, Repurpose: A Desk Part II

 

 As you can recall from Reuse, Redesign, Repurpose...Part I 

I was making over this lovely desk.

 

 

Before:

After:

You may also recall, painting it turned out to be a bit of work.

 

So all that effort and there's still two large cracks that render the bottom unable to hold any real weight.
That makes it a little more difficult to use as a writing desk (I have many non-leather bound books).

So now what?

 

What if it was re-purposed for the hallway?

 

Above is a view of our foyer.  It's surprisingly large for the size of our house.
Before the desk, I had a bookshelf there, but it didn't quite fill up the space like I wanted.

Most of the accessories seen here are second hand. The frame (left) was $3.50 at Snooty Fox. The lamp was bought as part of a garage sale pair ($5 for the set) then spray painted sliver and given a new shade ($5 from Target). The mail sorter (right) was thrifted for a mere $.50. The thrifted white bowl for keys and what-not was $1. The middle photo in frame is actually our holiday postcard ($.30 each including postage) in a thrifted frame ($.25).  The bottom silver Target tray was $10 new and disguises the large crack.

I should mention that these items were not purchased during one shopping trip or even within one year. It takes time and energy to find useful, useful gems. If it wasn't challenging, everyone would do it. That's why mass production exists, for the ease of consumer access. And also, probably to make someone money. 
Sorry choir, I'll stop preaching now.

 

This knob is so cute. I'm also a big fan of wear-and-tear.  It says "Hello! I've been loved!" and I like that.

 

The final texture.

 

Someday, there will be a photo in this frame and its life mission will be fulfilled. Today is not that day.

 

Yes, those are real, tiny pressed flowers between glass.

 

This lamp used to be matte-brown. Adding a bit of shine really made it modern.

 

 Isn't this an adorable mail sorter? Cory found it, so I can't take credit.

The color/texture combo really helped warm up the stark white of the desk.

Until next time, Bon nuit!