November Thrift Haul

While I did stop by the thrift store a couple times this month, I didn’t actually end up thrifting anything. However, I DID get super lucky at my favorite consignment shop when I went to pick up my unsold items and my check. Spoiler alert, I basically spent what I earned, so it’s like I traded clothes (which is fine by me!).

Let’s take a look at this month’s secondhand scores:

Elieen Fisher Stand Collar Coat, $65

Did I need another coat? Um… no. Can I resist a designer coat that fits me perfectly and is fantastically lightweight but warm? Also, no. I love this classic black coat with an adjustable drawstring in the waist and nice, deep, fleece-lined pockets. I decided it was well worth the $65 to me and was pleasantly surprised to see that the original retail price was $368.

This will get lots of wear this winter and I like that it’s a bit longer for a warm booty. I also like that this coat is perfect for layering, which means it will most likely come with us on our next vacation.

Current Air duster, $28

This fun duster/kimono-type thing called to me from across the aisle. It was stuffed in with the size small dresses, but I was intrigued by the metallic gold accents. Rather than being a size small dress, it’s actually a “one size” duster from Anthropologie (retail $120)!

I tried it on over my tee shirt and jeans and kind of love it, so I figured it should come home with me. I like it as a duster with the outfit I was wearing, but I also think this will look cute over shorts and a tank top in the summer, or even as a swimsuit coverup.

Heritage Boot Co, “Bandito/Bandita” Cowboy Boots, $81

These are the absolute jewel of my secondhand finds this month. Actually, this year. Or maybe even my entire life. I’ve been casually stalking similar boots with the brown over black leather look on Poshmark, but hadn’t pulled the trigger because it’s hard to tell if something is real leather, or the condition of the inside from a few photos.

I was checking through the shoe section and saw one of these boots shoved over to the side. I squinted closer and liked what I saw, so I carried it around awhile and eventually asked for the other boot so I could give them a try. They fit like they were MADE for me. I did a quick brand search on my phone to make sure they were worth the $81, but the wifi was terrible, so I took an educated chance on them since I love them, and they felt very well made.

Imagine my shock when I did my research later that night and found that the Heritage Boot Co has just one store in Austin, TX and all their boots are completely handmade. NO MACHINE was involved to do this intricate tooling, it was all hand tooled! I found the men’s version of my boots on their website and they sell for… $1,695. HOLY GUACAMOLE! So yeah, I’m not sure which rich lady wore these a bit and then dropped them at the consignment store, but I’d really love to be her friend and take her hand-me-downs!

My 2025 Black Friday Shopping Watch List

While I’ve never been one of those wake-up-early-and-camp-outside-a-store people for Black Friday, I am quite the internet deal finder. So, each year I make myself a little ‘watch list’ for items that I want to purchase utilizing those Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals.

Here is what I have on my watch list this year:

  •  L.L.Bean Slippers: I love L.L.Bean slippers and have been wearing them for decades. My latest pair of moccasins are nearing the end of their life, even with replacing the interior fluffy insole a few times, so I’d like a new pair. I usually get the Venetian style, but I’m thinking this year I may mix it up a bit with either the Women’s Mountain Slippers, Boot Mocs ($89.95) or the Women’s Wicked Good Slippers, Boot Mocs ($120). They are both pretty pricy, so I’d love a good sale!
  • Dog Hoodie: Here’s the thing, Ollie is NOT a dog who enjoys wearing clothes. However, Cooper might be…! Jack and I have been eyeballing this dog hoodie and if it drops in price a little, I’m going to buy it. And yes, I will absolutely post a photo of how cute it looks on Cooper. So, maybe I need one for Ollie too, so they can match?
  • Nespresso pods: I love my Nespresso machine (blog post here) and I always keep my eye out for pod sales. I already receive Nespresso emails, so I’ll be sure to do a quick check to see if any good deals pop up.
  • Hulu Subscription: We got a Black Friday deal last year, which gave us a subscription to Hulu for $1 a month for a whole year. I’m hoping they are running another great deal this year so we can keep up with our Hulu shows.

Are you planning to do any online Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping?

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Gluten Free: Quickie Taste Reviews

I mentioned back in August that I was going ‘low gluten’ in my diet to hopefully help with some issues I’ve been having with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE). I *finally* have an appointment with an allergist later this week, so fingers-crossed that they can do all the tests on me to figure out what’s going on with my body.

Since June I’ve been trying out lots of different Gluten Free foods and baking mixes. I gave some of my initial feedback in my August post, but I’ve tried a bunch more options, so I thought I’d do some quickie taste reviews.

For my Gluten Free shopping, our typical store of Aldi is relatively limited when it comes to GF options. I have been making a special trips to Wegmans (baking mixes, pretzels, cookies, noodles, breads), Walmart (baking mixes, noodles) and Giant/Martins (baking mixes, noodles) which have bigger selections to choose from. The Wegmans is not convenient to our home, but there is one by my office – so I make it a point to go by there after work to load up!

Muffin Mixes:

  • Bettergoods Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffin Mix (Walmart) and King Arthur Gluten-Free Muffin Mix (Wegmans) – both of these are really delicious made with 1-2 smashed bananas and some dark chocolate chips. Both of them pass the ‘wow, they taste normal!’ test and my husband and I really like them.
  • Krusteaz Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Crumb Muffin Mix (Walmart) – if you like cinnamon coffee cake, this gluten free mix tastes practically identical to the filled-with-gluten version!

Brownie Mixes:

  • Miss Jones Double Chocolate Gluten Free Brownie Mix (Walmart) – this is the only gluten free brownie mix that I think tastes just as good as the ones that have gluten in them. It is thick and fudgy, and I’m pretty sure if I didn’t tell my kid these were GF, he’d eat the whole pan without questioning them.
  • Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Gluten-Free Brownie Mix (Giant/Martins and Walmart) – our preferred brownie brand is the Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix that we get at Costco (it’s four bags in a huge box and lasts us forever), because it’s so fudgy and yummy. I was super excited to try this GF version and they tasted good… BUT I had an EOE flare from them. So, while they do taste good, I can’t recommend them because I’m not sure what in the ingredients caused my flare.

Other Treats:

  • Krusteaz Gluten Free Meyer Lemon Bar Mix (Walmart) – Krusteaz does it again with this lemon bar mix… it tastes just like the kind that contains gluten!
  • Bettergoods Gluten Free Brown Butter Pecan Cookie Mix (Walmart) – I  picked up a box of this mix at Walmart (which has an impressive selection of GF mixes) and it was just ‘meh’ when I made it. I even added some dark chocolate chips to fancy it up a bit, but this mix was underwhelming.

I’m about 90% sure that gluten is one of my triggers (there may be more), so I’ll be continuing on this low gluten/no gluten journey for a while. If you’ve gone gluten free – either by choice or necessity – what are your favorites? I’m taking snacks, baking mixes, bread items that don’t taste like cardboard, etc.