It’s another very, very small but mighty thrift haul this month. My husband took me on a ‘thrifting where the rich people live’ date in Rockville and I ended up finding one AWESOME item.
Target Pride Rainbow Dress, $11.50
You guys. It’s a RAINBOW DRESS! I love rainbows and have been extra obsessed lately (and have been working on some different rainbow themed stained glass projects). This shirtdress has a fit-and-flare shape and buttons all the way up. It’s a large, which really means anything nowadays, but it fits with some extra room to spare.
My dress is missing the matching tie belt, but I’m totally okay with that. I like it flowing free without the belt and also like it with a non-matching belt (I’ve tried a woven straw belt and a leather belt so far).
I was so excited to wear it that I threw it in the wash as soon as we got home, let it air dry over night, and wore it the next day for errands with my sweetie.
Apparently, I don’t have enough crafts in my wheelhouse… so I decided to learn something new (again). On a visit to our local Michael’s to pick up some ribbon, I happened upon a gorgeous embroidery kit in the Johnathan Adler collection area (this one). So, I figured I’d buy it for some mindless fun.
But when I got home, I realized it’s NOT an embroidery kit – something I know how to do – but a punch needle kit. I’ve never punch needled before. In fact, I didn’t even know that punch needling WAS, but I figured I could probably figure it out.
And I did. But with no help from the kit instructions. Instead, I watched a couple YouTube videos so that I could figure out how to thread the punch needle and then how to make the pretty swoopy carpet-like bits on the front of my project.
The kit is made so that you keep the completed project on the hoop, but I thought it would look more finished if I framed it in an old picture frame and had the beading hang outside of the frame. It wasn’t really harder to do that. I basically had to get the iron out to get rid of the circular hoop crease in the fabric, wrap the fabric around a photo mat, and then stretch and sew it into place.
Here’s how it turned out:
Isn’t it the cutest?! I love the way the rainbow punch needle loops came out and the pretty matching colors of the beading. It was a good task to do when I wanted to keep my hands busy and just kind of let my brain rest for a while.
And it looks great in a dark little corner of my den.
All in all, I really enjoyed my little visit into punch needle art and I’ll be on the lookout for some additional patterns that I might want to try!
I’ve been wearing Birkenstocks for decades. I had the Payless version of their Arizona sandals in high school (which I covered in red glitter throughout college), and I still remember the excitement of being able to afford my first pair of real Birkenstocks when I was in my 20’s.
They’re one of those brands that I’ve always felt good about buying because they have a reputation for quality. Sure, they’re expensive… but the sandals tend to last FOREVER. So, it’s worth it to me.
While I do purchase some Birkenstocks directly off the brand’s website, I try to buy secondhand when I can. So, when I saw a pair of brand new in the box Mary Jane wedges on Poshmark, I went for it. I ended up paying about $140 after tax and fees, but they were $170 on the Birkenstock website, so I took the small win.
They arrived. They were perfect and so incredibly comfortable. And I was happy!
But then, after wearing them only a handful of times I wore them to Jack’s middle school graduation.
I didn’t do anything crazy – I walked from the car to the school, sat on bleachers for the ceremony, walked back to the car, and then out to lunch. But when I got home, I was completely shocked.
There were HUGE cracks running through the cork wedge… on BOTH shoes. One was much, much worse… but they were both literally split through the middle. For a pair of shoes that retail at $170!
I’ve owned plenty of Birkenstocks over the years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. At first I was thinking maybe I could fix it and I watched a bunch of YouTube videos that basically convinced me that… um, no. I can’t.
I absolutely loved the dang shoes though and was considering re-purchasing them. But, I just can’t justify that price if this was just going to happen again. So, I contacted the Birkenstock customer service to ask if this is a defect/known issue.
Their first response sounded promising. They said they wanted to evaluate the shoes and asked for photos, along with proof of purchase. I sent the photos and explained that I didn’t have a receipt because I didn’t purchase the shoes directly from them. Then I received this response:
“Proof of purchase is essential for the evaluation process, and without it, I am unable to assess your wedges.”
That was it.
No comment on whether both wedges cracking after only a few wears was unusual. No explanation of whether they’d seen this happen before. No acknowledgement that this might indicate a manufacturing issue.
Just… nope, we can’t evaluate them.
I completely understand having a proof-of-purchase requirement for warranty claims or replacements. But I wasn’t just asking for a replacement. I was asking a simple question that never got answered: Is there a known defect explaining why a $170 pair of Birkenstock wedges cracked after only a few wears??
Instead, I was left with two cracked shoes and no information. And that’s the part that’s frustrating. Good customer service isn’t always about giving someone free stuff. Sometimes it’s simply about acknowledging a problem, answering a reasonable question, and helping a loyal customer understand what happened.
I’ve been buying Birkenstocks for years because I believed they were built to last. Now I’m left wondering whether these wedges were just a fluke, or whether I should avoid this style altogether.
Either way, it’s hard to justify spending that kind of money again when my experience ended with cracked shoes and a customer service conversation that went nowhere.
