Category: Thrifting Fun

While I’m still organizing my thoughts to share all about our amazing week in Tucson, I wanted to show you a few items we thrifted while we were away! I love thrifting on vacation because it is a great way to score unique souvenirs. Thrift stores are cheaper than gift shops, way cooler than anything you’d find at a chain store, and every piece comes with a little story.

Check out what I thrifted in Tucson:

Utah t-shirt, $4

My husband actually thrifted this t-shirt for himself, because we love visiting Utah (see any of my Kanab, UT posts) and he liked the design and colors. However, he’s a 6’4” giant with a long torso, so when he put it on and raised his arms, he looked like Pooh Bear with his belly button out! So, I decided it would work perfect for me with a little snip-snip to crop the length. It’s super soft and now fits in a boxy, oversized way on me, so that’s a win.

Grand Canyon sweatshirt, $5

This sweatshirt had the opposite issue – I love the design and softness, but it’s a bit more fitted than I prefer. I tend to like my sweatshirts super oversized for peak house-goblin comfort. I loved everything else about this though, so I decided to buy it for $5 and cut off the bottom waistband (it felt a little restricting). That was the perfect move, because now it fits a bit baggier at the bottom.

Cotton tiered shirt, $5.50

I feel like I willed this skirt into existence. I’ve been casually searching Poshmark for a 100% cotton tiered skirt that I can pair with a sweater and cowboy boots in the winter, or a tank top and sandals in the summer. This one is exactly what I was looking for and a pretty shade of blue, so it was an easy decision to bring this one home with us.

Vintage skirt, $5

This vintage “made in India” skirt has a flowy shape, two layers, and tiny little bells on the waist tie. I think it’s super cute and would have totally purchased it in the mid-90’s, which is when I’m guessing it was originally sold. This one will also look cute styled with a sweater and boots for winter, or a tank and sandals for summer. I also think this could be easily styled for work with a simple blouse and cardigan, so I’m excited to try all the options.

As always, we stayed in a VRBO with a washing machine. So, we were able to get everything laundered before packing it in our suitcase to come home!

As the year winds down, I can’t help but look back at my thrifting adventures – both the wins and the ‘oops’ moments. While I still make a thrifting mistake here and there, thrifting is a pretty low-stakes (and low-cost) way to experiment and see what actually works for me, my closet, and my home. So, let’s dig into my thrifting winners and losers of 2025!

Oh, and before we get into it, I pulled out any secondhand items that were not thrifted, such as those from Poshmark or Consignment shops, so this is a purely THRIFTed wrap up…

My Favorite Thrifted Home Items for 2025:

• Handmade “Trip Around the World” quilt, $15 – January 2025
• Vintage Woolrich wool throw, $19 – October 2025

I didn’t do as much *home* thrifting this year, but these two items were welcome additions! The handmade quilt was just $15 for countless hours of the maker’s time. While these handmade quilts can go for quite a high price, I try not to be fussy about this kind of stuff and use things as they are intended. This one has migrated around the house and has been used in our den and even on the laundry room floor for our rescue dog to snuggle on while we are out.

Same goes with the wool throw – yes, it’s gorgeous and vintage. But it’s also a blanket. More specifically… my car blanket. I leave it in my car to cover the leather seat when Cooper comes for a ride and also have it as ‘just in case I break down somewhere and it’s cold outside’ insurance.

My Favorite Thrifted Clothing Items for 2025:

• Everlane sweater, $7 – Arizona Spring Break thrifting, April 2025
• Acme cowboy boots, $25 – Arizona Spring Break thrifting, April 2025
• J.Crew Tulle skirt, $3.59 – June 2025
• Gap flutter sleeve blouse, $4.87 – June 2025
• Vintage Allison Smith skirt, $7 – June 2025
• UGG Endell Boots, $24.79 – July 2025

Quite the ‘classics’ mix for this year’s clothing favorites! Looking at it as a gallery, each item mixes and matches well with each other and could totally be a capsule collection. Lots of natural fibers with the chunky cotton sweater, flutter sleeve blouse and vintage skirt. The tulle skirt was a great addition to my tulle collection and has been worn both styled for work and styled for the weekends. As for those cowboy boots – I mean DANG!? They were such a great vintage score and souvenir to bring home from Sedona, Arizona. Those UGG boots filled a hole in my closet, as I didn’t have any actual *winter, snow boots* and were perfect for the chilly, slushy, snowy days we had a couple weeks ago.

And here were some of my 2025 mistakes that I will learn from:

• Merona Cardigan, $5.50 – January 2025
• Sage Collective Joggers, $5.50 – March 2025
• Cotton dress, $10.99 – July 2025

Ok, first of all… this cardigan is ugly and I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it. This got re-donated. For the joggers, they were a size too big, but I bought them anyways because they were cheap and I figured they’d be comfortable. Instead, the crotch bagged down to my knees within a couple hours of wearing them and I felt like MC Hammer.

While I like the pattern of the cotton dress, the top/bust area just fits me kind of weird. This one has been sitting in my sewing pile for a couple months, so I need to decide if I’m going to turn it into a skirt… or just re-donate it. All in all, not too many losers this year. YAY!

I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures we find in 2026!

I’m sharing my December thrifting finds early this month, because I don’t anticipate having any additional time to get out and about. As it is, I had a wonderful day at one store and came home with a few winners!

Talbots cardigan, $8.99

Now that it’s chilly outside, my store has a ton of sweaters. Like three full rows of just cardigans. So, it’s a bit annoying that they have all started creeping up in price. This Talbots cardigan seems to be very well made with no pilling or issues, so I didn’t really mind paying $9 for it. I’m currently without a striped cardigan, so this one will fill a hole in my closet.

J.Jill cardigan, $8.99

Speaking of cardigans, I also found this pretty lilac one from J.Jill. It’s classic in its shape, but a bit longer than currently fashionable. Or, is it about to be in fashion again? I don’t know. I just know I like it, and I don’t have any similar colored cardigans. I basically throw these on over t-shirts most of the year, so when I find a nice one, I wear it until I wear it out.

 Calia hoodie, $10.29

I’m pretty sure this is the CALIA soft scuba ¼ zip pullover from Dicks Sporting Goods (retail $88). It’s super cozy and still for sale online. I like that it’s kind of ‘less casual’ kind of material with a funnel neck (rather than a hood), so you get all the comfort of a hoodie, but it looks a little more elevated on Teams calls. It’s also a bit boxy and cropped, so it looks really cute with joggers and leggings. I immediately washed this and have already worn it a half dozen times. It’s fabulous!

Vintage skirt, $6.29

I’m a big believer in ignoring size tags and this skirt proves that is a good idea because it’s tagged as a Small Petite. But it fits my not small, not petite body just fine! It’s a 100% cotton vintage skirt and exactly the kind of skirt I love to pair with a tank top or graphic tee shirt over the summer. Love it!