Tag: thrifting fun

My Arizona Spring Break Thrift Haul

We just got back from an amazing spring break trip to Arizona, and I’m working on putting together a series of blog posts to share all our adventures. But while I’m organizing my thoughts, I couldn’t wait to show you something fun…

Let’s talk travel thrifting!

One of my favorite things to do on vacation (besides eating all the delicious food and seeing the sights, of course) is checking out local thrift stores. It’s the best way to score unique souvenirs that actually mean something. They’re usually way cheaper than gift shops, way cooler than anything you’d find at a chain store, and every piece comes with a little story. Also, my husband is super into it too… so it’s a fun family activity for us.

So before I dive into our adventures visiting the Grand Canyon, hiking the Granite Dells and the fact that it SNOWED one day and we were in shorts the next, let’s check out some thrifted treasures!

Zara skirt, $3

I found this new with tags Zara skirt and was intrigued by the parachute-type material, stretchy waist and deep pockets. It’s marked as an extra-small/small, which is ridiculous because it fit my body just fine. Apparently it sold for $69.90 at Zara, but all skirts were just $3 at the Prescott thrift store. Everything was priced so cheap there – my husband bought 2 tee shirts for just $1.50 each!

Anyways, here is the skirt on me:

It’s flowy and comfy and I like it a lot. My original thought was that I’d hem it a bit shorter, but I may wear it a few times at its current length before I make my final decision.

Vintage skirt, $7.29

I accidentally overpriced this on my Instagram share, but found the receipt while typing up this post and it was actually less than $8. SCORE! And yes, I know that this skirt leans a little hippy-dippy. Mid 90’s Joules would have LOVED this skirt and honestly, so does 2025 Joules.

Here it is on and I ended up wearing this outfit for our travel day from Prescott to Scottsdale to the airport and to home.

This skirt is just so eclectic and lightweight and I love the different fabrics. It’s a vintage brand, so probably from the mid-90’s and I can’t wait to it with tank tops and graphic tee shirts this summer!

Vintage skirt, $9

Yes, I was on quite the vintage skirt kick on this trip. This one is another vintage label – most likely from the 1980’s or 1990’s, with a gorgeous flow and pretty detailing. It’s a smidge loose in the waist, but that’s an easy fix.

Here it is paired with a graphic tee:

I love the mix of soft and tough! It’s such a pretty color in person and the fabric is super soft but thick enough that it has a bit of weight to it. I do feel like this one could look quite dated depending on how you style it, but I really like it with a graphic tee shirt. I’m looking forward to experimenting with styling this one with other items in my closet soon.

Everlane sweater, $7

You guys. I’m OBSESSED with this sweater. I love the long cuffs and the stripes and the chunky 100% cotton knit. I’ve actually eyed this sweater on the Everlane website, but it’s $110 so I hadn’t pulled the trigger. I was concerned that the medium would be a little too fitted, as I like my sweaters oversized, but it’s actually pretty fantastic:

It looks pretty darn cute with the skirt and I’m sure it will look fabulous with jeans and joggers too. I almost hope we get a few more cool days before summer hits so I can enjoy it, but I’m sure future Joules will appreciate it when she re-finds it in the fall too!

Acme cowboy boots, $25

One of things I was *hoping* to find while thrifting in Arizona was a pair of authentic vintage cowboy boots. At each store, I checked both the women’s and the men’s sections, because I actually prefer the fit of men’s boots (they are wider and you can stick some big, fluffy insoles inside and wear comfy socks). Each store had a couple pairs (at least), but they were all either in terrible condition, the wrong sizes, or marked at $50 or higher.

And then, at a Goodwill in Sedona, my husband pointed me towards these! Vintage leather Acme cowboy boots for just $25!!!

And they looked kind of terrible:

But I had hope that they just needed some love. And conditioner. So I grabbed some boot conditioner and mink oil at a local boot store and went to work. First, I scrubbed all the dirt and yuck around the edges with a scrubbie and water. Then, after letting them dry for a day, I massaged on some boot conditioner and let it soak in. Then, I gave each boot a really good rubdown with mink oil and let it dry for an hour or two. I buffed it down and then gave it another coat of mink oil. One more buffing. And BAM.

Gorgeous and the perfect amount of worn/broken in! I kind of wanted to wear them home on our last day, but they went into the suitcase for the ride. In order to finish preparing them for real life, I just need to add a pair of squishy insoles (which I have already) and also throw on some comfortable socks!

We had so much fun with our Arizona vacation thrifting and I can’t wait to wear all my new treasures. And once again, staying in a VRBO with a washing machine is so helpful. I was able to launder all of our new finds before packing them back in our suitcases to bring them home!

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March Thrift Haul

This month’s thrift haul is a mix of secondhand finds – from both thrift stores and consignment shops. With spring on its way, I’ve packed away some of my heavier sweaters and have been looking forward to wearing skirts and dresses WITHOUT tights in the near future! My thrift finds reflect that with some in-between season clothes.

Let’s take a look at this month’s finds:

Sage Collective Joggers, $5.50

These joggers were new with tags and I found them on the ‘extra 75% off’ clearance rack at one of my favorite consignment shops. I wasn’t familiar with the brand, but I did some google sleuthing and it looks like they are sold at Nordstrom Rack. They are super comfortable and incredibly soft with nice, deep pockets, so for less than $6 they are a fantastic addition to my telework outfits!

Athleta cross-over sweatshirt top, $7.50

This was another item from that super sale rack. However, this one has certainly seen some wear… so I would not have purchased it if it were not as cheap as it was. With that being said, it’s super soft and warm with thumb-holes and for less than 8 bucks, it will certainly get lots more wear in my closet. This is another great telework top and also a comfy top to throw on for outdoor walks. Eventually, when it gets even more worn-looking, it will be demoted to bedtime wear and I’ll use it as a pj topper (until it gets thrown across the room when I overheat halfway through the night).

Lauren Ralph Lauren skirt, $23

Another new with tags find from the consignment store! This one still had the Macy’s retail tags for $155 and it was marked at $23. Not quite thrift prices, but quite a bit of savings. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to add the animal print to my closet, but this print is a pretty classic brown and black version that I anticipate will go in and out of style over the next couple decades. As it is, I think it will get enough wear in my closet to make this a good buy.

Charlestown Shoe “Federal” Boot, $7.50

The extremely luxe leather on these blue booties initially called to me. I didn’t recognize the logo, but there were a few clues that it was a higher end brand:

  1. The logo was embossed on a leather insole – cheaper brands don’t typically use leather insoles. They also tend to stamp print their name/logo, rather than emboss it.
  2. The leather is SO NICE. It’s a thick and chewy leather with the blue stain going all the way through.
  3. Someone had spent the extra money to add on a protected sole on the bottom of the shoe.

Also, the embossed logo tickled my brain as being vaguely like Tory Burch. So I took a quick photo of the logo and the shoe and ran it through Google images to track it down and found:


There you go — a gorgeous and well-made pair of booties to add to my collection! They were marked at $14 at the thrift store, but purple tags were half off… so I got them for just $7.50.

For those of you who are ‘secondhand shoe curious’ I’m planning to write up a quick shoe cleaning/care post early next week!

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February Thrift Haul

Yay, it’s thrift haul time again and this time I’m asking for your help! But before we get to that, let’s start with the haul. This month, I had two opportunities to go thrifting – the first time I found one sweater, and the second haul was a little more exciting. Let’s check them out.

Land’s End Drifter cardigan, $5.99

Here’s the first sweater I thrifted. It’s a Land’s End Drifter sweater, which my research led me to believe that “Drifter” is their brand that is specifically 100% cotton sweaters. Which is exactly why I picked this up! I’ve been trying to add more natural fiber sweaters to my closet and this 100% cotton version is the perfect amount of chunky, but not super oversized. I’ve already worn this a few times and I LOVE it!

Smokey Bear Bandana, $1

This vintage bandana was too adorable to pass by. Based on internet research and hand-feel, it appears to be cotton/linen and could have been printed anywhere from the 1960’s – 1990’s. I just think it’s awfully cute, so I had to have it. I’m not sure if I’m going to wear it in my hair/around my neck, tie it on the handle of a purse, or just put it somewhere and admire it. But it’s much more than $1 of happiness, so I’m calling it a win.

MCM California Pottery 2-tier tray, $4.49

You guys, I am OBSESSED with this yellow swirly tray. It has the makers mark “MH 73 USA” on the bottom and rather than meaning 1973, it appears that this is a California Pottery MCM tray from the 1950’s or 1960’s. Which is no surprise, because I LOVE MCM pottery and décor. My initial thought was that this will end up in my office, because it looks so cute with my wallpaper, but it may move around the house a bit before it finds it’s home.

Okay, now the fun part – I picked up both of these dresses over the weekend, which means I have 7 days to decide if I’m keeping them or if they will be returned. I did a little styling video here that you can check out if you’d like to help me decide:

Nordstrom Rack linen dress, $14.99

The first is this linen dress with a drawstring waist from Nordstrom Rack. It still has the Nordstrom Rack tags attached (with the price ripped off), so it’s brand new. I found it on their website and it looks like it was sold the summer of 2022. Anyways, It’s super soft linen and I really like the drawstring waist. I’m thinking this can be a good addition to my closet for summer weekend wear and for work with a cardigan. So, leaning towards keeper for this one.

Soft Surroundings wrap dress, $19.99

This one I need your help with! It’s a wrap dress from Soft Surroundings and it is nice and swishy with pockets. I don’t love the beading on the neckline, but I’m thinking if I keep the dress I may just remove it. I also styled this one in the video. Let me know if you think I should keep it or return it for someone else to enjoy!

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