Thrift Story

I was so excited for the day! It had finally stopped raining (for a miracle two days in a row) and I was able to dispel my cabin fever with a road trip to Waterville, Maine for a Lunch Date with my BFF from Boston. I made sure to leave early enough so that I could  a.) make an emergency mini-cupcake delivery at the school for my daughter’s “school birthday” and b.) schedule in a little thrift shopping!

Simply Seconds Clothing Consignment shop sits on the corner at the stop lights in Madison, Maine. I had stopped there once before and since then had heard some really great things about the little store. One of those great things being that she carries Coach Bags from time to time (pfffft! who wouldn’t love to score one of those babies) ! Alas, the Coach bag of my dreams and I were not united that day. The visit was not a bust though. Interestingly enough I noticed that a very intriguing sale was taking place. Yes, indeed. THE BUSINESS, itself was for sale! Now, I’ve always got my eye out for a Sale…and I must admit…I took a thoughtful moment and walked down that road….you know the one? The “Me – as a Diverse and Independent Small Business Owner Pursuing Community Outreach and engaging in My Creative Passion” Road. Sigh. It was a short walk. That road currently leads to Nowhere for me, BUT that is not to say the very same Road couldn’t Lead you right to your Niche. I love Madison! It has a great sense of community and commerce. It is a bustling small town with lots of traffic both local and passer-by. The store also has a convenient commercial location at the intersection and within walking distance of several other commercial buildings (One Stop Shopping – Gotta Love It). There is also Tons of space inside this building. Dotti, the owner, does a very nice job with her displays. I really liked how she had each rack organized with signs on the top indicating sizes/styles. It really stream lined my shopping and allowed me to save time. There is room to spare for organizing in that store! What Fun! Less than 20$ allowed me to purchase a super cute flowing American Eagle shirt with a very bohemian feel and a white cami to wear under it, as well as a Aeropostale T-shirt (in like new condition) and Umbro shorts (in like new condition also) for Him. (where for art thou… CoachBagofMyDreams?)

Suffice it to say, I think somebody could do very, VERY well with this little store at it’s current location. Did I mention the Jr. High and the High School are up the road? Potentially endless clientele with proper marketing and inventory (and in case you missed the above hints let’s spell it out,  C-O-A-C-H…)there are a few other Brands that would do wonders and lots that Dotti already carries, American Eagle, Holister, Old Navy, Gap,  Aeropostale, Nike, and More. Remember it’s a Consignment Store, so maybe it’s time to clean out those closets and see what kind of a deal can be made?? Maybe, just Maybe, you’ll see a SALE sign that really catches your eye and before you know it, you’ll be strutting your stuff right down “diverse and independent small business owner with community outreach and creative passion” Road!  Work it! Own it!  psssht!  You’ve totally got this!

For More Information visit Simply Seconds Clothing Consignment on Tuesdays Thru Fridays from 10am. – 430pm and Saturdays 10am.- 3pm or call Dottie McBreairty at 207-431-2377

It has been SUCH a rainy week! The kind of rain where you don’t even want to get out of the car because you’re just gonna’ get soaked. That being said, I was bummed because I was really looking forward to doing some Thrifting while I was in Farmington, but the rain washed out my plans.
I just wanted to get home. However, just down the road from “home” is one of my favorite local thrift stores (having received Honorable Mentions in previous posts) The Economic Ministry.
Now the rain, as I’ve mentioned, was poo-ing on my day since I wanted to shop, but didn’t. I was thinking I could stop at The Ministry, but I ALWAYS go there, and I was feeling kind of BORED with that, and then…THEN, I remembered the adorable boots that the neighbor girl had on….! Where do you think she scored those babies?! Yup. The Ministry. So, I figured, what the hell…Just a QUICK stop…a Quick browse…You never know. Doris and the Girls working there are always putting out new merchandise and I mean, Always. So, I did. And Voila! Instant Mood Enhancement…Rain Clouds over my head- Be Gone!
I was able to find my son a totally cool Tony Hawk t-shirt (.25), my daughter an adorable one shoulder summer t-shirt from Gymboree (.25), and for myself, a great Danskin athletic shirt in bright red (easy to see while riding my horse) Bonus: it had those cool thumb hooks (love those…wonder if they have a name?)($1.50) also, a blue Ralph Lauren t-shirt with orange polo pony applique (another huge equestrian fave) ($1.00) AND a sweater ($2.00) for my current favorite Thrift Craft : Leg Warmers to wear under tall boots.( Note: This can be found on Pinterest. And I will add it here as well. Just as soon as I figure out how to do that..:/ LOL)

OH! Here it is!

http://pinterest.com/pin/355573333050133533/

My total cost = $5.00 AND I was there for maybe, 10-15 minutes tops AND never had to wait in line OR pay for shipping.
Thrifting! Save Time – Save Money
BE HAPPY!

Had to go to Farmington yesterday to take my Kitty to the vet.  He was admitted and had to spend the day, and luckily I brought my computer and about five bucks. Before heading to the library, I decided to get a little thrift fix at the Farmington thrift store on Broadway.  I’ve never much liked this thrift store–it smells like moist dog, its not very organized, and the behind the counter people are not really that friendly, but I was looking for something specific and I thought I had the best chance of finding it here.

Redneck wine glass

I was looking for clear glass candle holders.  My friend Gretchen crafted me up a redneck wine glass for Christmas and man!  Those things are worth recrafting and so simple. Just epoxy the candle stick holder to the bottom of the ball jar, and cheers!

To make a medium-sized story short, I didn’t find the candle stick holders, but I did find these wicked cool blue sneaks. I’m a little leery of potential germs when I thrift shop, but for four bucks, I thought I could figure out how to kill some germs. With a little alcohol and baking soda, they’ll be new to me. Happy thrifting!

I was in a bind.  I waited until the very last minute to put together my outfit for Santarchy Skowhegan.  I had a nose from the Coplin Co-Op and antlers from Reny’s, but I put the rest of the outfit off until the morning of.  I really needed a jacket because, unlike the rest of our Maine winter so far, it was supposed to be cold that day. LB says, “Well, we can stop at the Solon Thrift Store on the way over…”  Brilliant!

I did the best I could with what I had at home, and off we went, putting all our faith in one single stop at one single store.  Not only did I find the perfect jacket, brown, fuzzy collar, warm, I also found ribbons for my reigns.

Beginning of the night...

Merry Christmas!

Went to the Eco Min out in Salem the other day because 1. my friend OneThriftyMomma inspired me to go and 2. I need two Santa suits by December 17, for Santarchy Skowhegan.  I found these–a gift for a new friend in the making and this possible Santarchy suit ingredient. A buck for both.

BUT the craziest thing that happened, and it seems like crazy stuff always happens at the Eco Min, is that this man walked in and his friend told us he was 96!  A 96 year old thrifter!  We smiled across the racks at each other. I would have taken photos, but it came out in his friend’s conversation with the entire store that the old man couldn’t hear a thing so organizing it would have been interrupting the moment.   I hope I’m still alive and thrifting at 96.:)

For a good time, get together with some girlfriends, some wine and cocktails, about 10 loaves of bread, and 10 bags of old clothes. Our second annual swap was again, a success.  Highlights…Tra trying to swap a sex toy, Liz trying on fake boobs, Jenny scoring a good luck job interview outfit, Stiffy’s chocolate wine, and really, 10 loaves of bread…

new jacket for Jenny

Tra in her new fab polka dot skirt

Not quite her style but funny to try on...

Old leather suit top--a must have this season

Liz is very excited about her new work out clothes!

So I collect things from thrift stores that I think could be cool or useful some day.  After a while, this thrift stash builds up, starts to take up space, and proceeds to drive me a little nutzo.  Solution:  time to consign.  My stash was a small collection of vintage finds.  I wanted to take them to my fav consignment store in Portland, Material Objects, but getting stuff into Material Objects is like getting into college. Application, interview, etc.  Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little.  You have to have an appointment and you can call 207-774-1241 to make that happen. I didn’t have an appointment.

Find, Portland, Maine

To Find I went. They are a “clothing exchange and style gallery.”  Now Find is a pretty great place, but it is, to be honest, really expensive for a second hand clothing store–unless you consign there. The deal with Find is that if you want cash on the spot for clothes, they’ll give you 30% of what they think they can make on your stuff. Or, if you want in store credit, they’ll give you 50%.  For my measly little bag of clothes, I earned $70 in store credit. This translates to a couple pairs of really nice jeans,  or a few shirts, or one excellent score (jacket, boots, bag) and I’m psyched.  I’m liking Find more and more.

Steph found this awesome bomber while we waited for my clothes to get sorted.  Find is at 16 Free Street in Portland, Maine.