Two weeks ago I had an opportunity to go to the lovely city of Birmingham, Alabama to attend a Pre-K conference. The conference was quite informative and taught me some new tricks to keep up my sleeve for the classroom. The women who were presenting are seasoned educators that really know their stuff. If you are a fellow teacher and want some fresh ideas you can check out their blogs here:
Kathy Griffin (No, not that one. Can you imagine? Ha!)
So, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? I went thrift store shopping, y’all! I got turned on to Goodwill and thrift store shopping when my mom talked about going with one of her good friends and would always scored some awesome deals on Polo shirts for my dad and brother and usually found some really good things for her classroom. Well, wouldn’t you know that this friend my mom goes thrift store shopping with was the other teacher that went to the conference. And isn’t it so convenient that she used to live there and knows about virtually ALL of the good thrift stores.
I’d been going to Goodwill and another thrift store called Here Today, Gone Tomorrow in Louisiana and always found books that were on my TBR list. I love to read, and I love the public library, but I really love to own my books. And when they’re $1.00-$2.50 at thrift stores, I can’t help but to “splurge”.
However while I was shopping in Birmingham, I was able to get much more than just books! I’m so excited about my fun finds!
The first store we went to was called America’s Thrift Store.
It was huge and had rows and rows and rows of clothes, books, shoes, toys, knick knacks, and I didn’t even attempt to look at the furniture section. I knew I’d want to leave with something, and there was not room for furniture.
But at this particular store I found two pairs of shoes.
The leopard flats are originally from American Eagle. They have a few imperfections but ultimately looked like they had hardly been worn. I’ve been wanting some for a long time but didn’t really want to shell out the money for the high price tag of the ones I really wanted. And these were $3.00. I mean…how cute, right?
The sparkly ones are Mossimo brand from Target. They too had been worn very little. The soles are thick like a flatform and are white. They had a little dirt on them, but nothing a magic eraser won’t fix or even a good scrubbing with some soap and water. I also have been wanting some of these types of shoes for a bit of a casual, comfortable shoe to teach in, and I wanted a piece that could maybe take me into the athleisure trend that’s happening right now in fashion. But I wasn’t so sure it was really my style since I’m a little more dressed up with my work wardrobe at my current school. But then these were staring at my all sparkly. I instantly got all the heart eyes for these, and I couldn’t say no to the $2.50 price tag. $2.50 guys…$2.50. Why aren’t you all thrift store shopping?
I had some fun trying on some gems while I was browsing the clothing section. Check out this dress that I believe any of the Golden Girls tossed out. I secretly loved it and had it not been a bit big, I probably would have bought it and found the perfect pair of sandals to go with it. Oh, and removed the giant shoulder pads. 🙂
And then I found this cute little animal print dress that was by Calvin Klein. But it didn’t fit either. Would have made a really cute dress or swimsuit cover-up for someone.
After all that shopping we got pretty hungry and went to The Cheesecake Factory. And if you’ve never been there, just do yourself a favor and go. I can’t believe I’ve lived 30 years without eating there. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but we ate there twice. The first night I got the original cheesecake with strawberries. I believe it’s call the Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake. It was amazing. But the second time we went………………………..
Yep. That one. The Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake. Listen, I love chocolate, and I love cheesecake. So this was sort of like the best choice I could have made.
After the conference was over, my mom and I decided to stay one more night and do a little more shopping. We were only able to go to this place, The Foundry. This is where I found most of my treasures.
I found some great coffee mugs. I didn’t have any need for them, but I thought they were particularly funny and snapped some pics to share with a few friends.
Any Scandal fans out there? Mrs. Susie thought this one was funny.
Apparently having a coffee mug from the King of Sweden isn’t that cool or else it wouldn’t have ended up here, right? I, on the other hand, thought it was very cool and never would have given it up.
And this one was just too cute. I should have bought this one.
I also saw this gorgeous piano. I love pianos. The picture didn’t pick up how bright and pretty the gold screen was.
I also got these candle holders with a marble base and this milk glass vase. I brought them home and cleaned them up a bit, but the candle holders are going to need a lot of TLC if they can be salvaged. But if not, they were only about $3.00 a piece. I loved the gem-like cuts on the vase. It only set my back $.29!
Then I found the coziest sweater there ever was and it too was $3.00. If only winter would show up in Alabama so that I could wear it more than once or twice.
Mom picked out this cute grey cardigan that I wore with a scarf I picked up at the other thrift store we went to. I love the bright colors against the black.
Then I found this….
You know that scene in Beauty and the Beast when the Beast shows Belle the library and she’s in awe because, well, because it’s awesome? Well, this was pretty close to that for me. I don’t know that man, but he wouldn’t move so he made the shot. 🙂 I picked up several books here along with a few from another thrift store we went to called Vapor Thrift Store.
This is where I went wrong shopping at multiple thrift stores for books. I ended up with duplicates. I posted about it on Instagram just the other day about how I felt like I had made a thrifting rookie mistake.
This one is full of dog-eared pages and highlighted passages. I love when I find books like that.
I NEVER find Dave Ramsey books at thrift stores. I was so excited to get my hands on one. Who couldn’t use a bit of financial guidance?
This is just one that’s been on my TBR (to be read) list for a while.
I’ve never read this author before, but when I read what each of these was about, I knew I needed to buy them. The Senator’s Wife only ended up being $.85!
I have the first book in this trilogy. Did y’all know Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling?
Another from my TBR list.
This is what I’m currently reading. She’s hilarious! I’m really enjoying it so far. It is also thrifted but not from this trip.
We were pretty exhausted after that, but we pressed on in the name of shopping. We hit up Belk in Alabaster and Walmart too. Then we grabbed some Chick-fil-A and headed back home.
I think we did enough damage. There was more in the back!
My sweet Mama.
Am I part of a small group of people who likes to thrift or are there more of you out there? And are there any other book worms? Have you read any of these books?
I realize thrift store shopping isn’t for everyone. Some people think it’s gross, but I don’t think so. It certainly doesn’t hurt to get a deal on a great pair of shoes, a cozy sweater, and some super affordable books. And if you’re one of those who loves the thrill of the hunt for something, thrifting is your game.