The Peda's Finds

Sickness and work have overwhelmed one or both of us friendzies for the month. Hence the posting delay. But here we go with our first official "guest finds" post! Sarah Jane's sweet cousin and her husband have been out and about thrifting around Central PA and found a couple of great, non-clothing-related steals! First:

Here, Brian is modeling skis and poles found at the Blue Mountain Thrift Store. Poles = $6, Skis = $8.

And their second frugal find:

Dresser and mirror from SalVal for $79. And in great condition, Erin tells us.

Awesome finds, Erin and Brian! And to all of our frugal friends out there, keep the pics coming our way (frugalfriendzies@gmail.com) so we can feature YOUR thriftiness too!

New Year, New Ideas

Welcome to the new year! If you haven't committed to a great resolution or goal yet for this year, we (of course) would suggest you consider a thrifty challenge of your own. With that spirit in mind, the Frugal Friendzies want to extend our blog posts to you, our loyal fans. We have decided to include our readers' frugal finds along with our own. SO, send us what you've got! We want to hear from you!

You can reach us at frugalfriendzies@gmail.com. Send us pictures, and any information you'd like us to share regarding your finds. We'd love to see what you can come up with, be it clothes, household items, gifts, or something totally and completely unique! Only rule is it all HAS to be second hand, naturally. ;)

Ready? GO! We're excited to show off as much thriftiness as we can this new year.

~The Frugal Friendzies

The Real Deal

Here it is, fellow frugal folks! The link to our debut on local television: http://www.abc27.com/Global/story.asp?S=13727094. Enjoy reading snippets from the interview and watching the segment that aired on TV this week.

May our story inspire you all to more frugal endeavors! Happy Holidays!

~The Frugal Friendzies

News! News!

Attention all Frugal Friendzies fans in the central PA area!!!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 22, ABC27 News will air an interview of the Frugal Friendzies on the 5:00pm news! Tune in to see us talk about our blog, our challenge, and our love of thrifting! 

And if you happen to miss the segment, ABC27 tells us that the clip will be available online for viewing on Dec. 23rd. Make sure you check it out!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Thrifting!

Love,
The Frugal Friendzies

Home for the holidays :)

A thrifty blog shouldn't look shabby! So, to spice things up, here are some fun pictures of our latest finds. And the best part for these besties: Sarah Jane's "home" for the holidays and we can thrift together for the first time since we started this in September! : D

Just a nice, basic GAP T-shirt. Can't get enough GAP!! Especially not for $2.99!

Henry can't keep his paws off of good deals either. ;) What you can't see in this pic is the cute, rope-like detailing along the bust and necklines. SalVal find for $2.99...and it's Ann Taylor!

This long sweater has the label torn out, but it is soo warm, soft, and light that I think it's cashmere! SalVal for $4.00!
The pants are actually a chocolate corduroy, and are from The Limited originally. Super warm, which I need for winter.
Only $4.99 at the Salvation Army :)  Btw, as always, both pieces were in perfect condition.



tag of above pants





Got this super velvet coat at Salvation Army for $24.99. The tag was ripped out though, so I
don't know the brand :(





Franco Sarto large purse/carry-on sized bag. Totally like-new condition!!! Salvation Army for $5.99.




My (Sarah Jane's) beauteous sister Rebekah got this cute and warm BMoss sweater for $4.00 at Salvation Army.





Rebekah also got this vintage 80's cashmere sweater for $2.50 at SalVal.




My (Sarah Jane) brother Ben got himself a vintage sweater for $4.00 at SalVal.







Found this wallet (in unused condition!) made of Eel skin at Salvation Army!!



Wet Seal hot pink pumps, $7.99 at Salvation Army.



My (Sarah Jane) Mom even found a cute new sweater (Relativity brand) for $4.99 at SalVal.

 

Fun little Christmas find. These gold nesting boxes (perfect for gift giving OR decorating!) were $0.49 for all four at SalVal.

  

We are having so much fun being together for the holidays, not to mention winning over family members to the idea of shopping at thrift stores!

Black Friday at the thrift store!

This Black Friday Salvation Army had a 50% off sale. Yay! People were literally leaving the store with arms and carts full of huge bags of clothing and what-not. I (Sarah Jane) also braved it and did a little shopping myself. Got a few sweet deals, and here are the pictures to prove it. The tag says the original price, but I paid half that because of the sale.

Tulle brand long sweater, tags still on, paid $1.75.

Gap brand super soft striped sweater, $1.50

close up of the tag

Gap brand jeans (these go for at least $50 new, by the way) $1.75.

New York and Company wool dress coat, $7.50. This was my best find.

Gap brand black cardigan, $1.50.

Forever 21 super cute shirt- $1.50

No label shirt- $1.50.

By the way, any spots seen in pictures on the clothes are from my camera, the clothes themselves are in very good condition.

November's Find of the Month- Gucci!

This month's find absolutely proves that anything is possible at a thrift store. I (Sarah Jane) found a genuine Gucci purse in great condition for $11.00 at a local Salvation Army. If you didn't know, Gucci's go for upwards of $1000 new, and are usually found used on ebay for anywhere from $150-$500. This is a designer brand celebrities choose. Here are some pics I snapped with my phone.

Yesiree looks like the genuine article to me, the GG design is even, and the label "Gucci" is everywhere, on the hardware and on the fabric inside.

*One quick tip when shopping for purses especially- if you're not sure whether it's the genuine article or not, always count on designer arrogance. If it's the real deal, it should say the brand name on the inside tag and on the hardwear (the metal buttons) at a bare minimum. Brand names cost a lot more but are usually attractive because they're a status symbol, so companies are proud to slap their label all over their product. For example, if a purse looks like it's Coach brand and even has C's all over the outside, but inside just has a blank tab where the Coach label should be, it's a fake.

This Week's Finds

With all of this thrift store dieting, I (Adele) am quickly accumulating a complete wardrobe. My closet is really stuffed! (Yes, yes, I must work harder at weeding out in the near future so that others may have the luck of finding MY great cast-off clothes at a local thrift store!) So lately, my shopping has been "slowing down" as I really don't need to buy a lot of clothing. I've been trying to focus on filling in some wardrobe gaps with nicer/dressier shirts, well-fitting khaki and non-black dress pants, and skirts beyond the basic black. I've also been making some headway on Christmas gifts, but I can't post those pics for fear of the recipient(s) seeing them ahead of time!

Lately, I've been having the best luck at consignment shops. I'm still giving the good ole SalVal and Goodwill a chance, but this week I didn't happen to find anything I needed at those thrift stores. I hit up three consignment stores successfully, though! So, I'd say this week turned out rather frugally! But I'll let you, dear reader, be the judge:

Ann Taylor Loft. It has a turtle neck and, though the picture doesn't really show it, it has little puffs on the bottoms of the sleeves. Thought it would be a fun, basic shirt to add to my "dressier" collection. Snagged this for $10.

For those that know me best, I am a self-proclaimed Gap-a-holic. I *heart* Gap! So when I found this purple Gap henley for a mere $6, I HAD to have it.

Calvin Klein jeans. Like-new condition...I couldn't find ANY evidence that they have ever been worn before. Retails for $50 a pair. Got these for $14.

Another sweet dress shirt find! This blouse is Worthington brand (JC Penney).  I was drawn to the unique sleeves (shown above up close) and the lovely purple color. At first I wasn't so sure it was "me," though. But THEN, I realized the price -- $2.50. SOLD.

[Even Henry is impressed with the awesomeness of thrifting! ;)]

These tweed pants are H&M brand. For me, they replace an awesome pair of pants I had to part with because they were too big. :( This "new" pair is brownish in color and, as you can see, has some lovely stitching detail. I LOVE the straight, wide legs and linen-like feeling they have. I also love that they only cost me $13.50.

New York & Company Stretch "dressy" shirt. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, but once I tried it on, I found it to be very flattering. The sleeves are wide and flowy, the waistline hits just right, and there's a lovely tie in the back that extends from the black waistband. But perhaps the most attractive aspect of this shirt is the price. $3.00. Yep. Three. Dollars. Yay.

Here you can see the shirt's pattern a little better. Black and white is SO easy, and SO chic. You can accessorize with practically anything when you dress in neutrals, so I find a moderate amount of black and white to be a budget-friendly choice in my wardrobe.

Ok, this shirt is already one of my favorites. Banana Republic. Jewel green (picture doesn't do the color justice). Fun neckline. The comfort of a casual cotton T-shirt, yet stylish enough to be dressed up. All for a mere $2!

Here's another "dressed up" version of a cotton T. The brand - The Limited. The fun ruffles are understated enough for me not to feel like one giant frill. The color is a nice, neutral oatmeal. Even the sleeves are detailed nicely. Got this one for just $4.25.

Random find of the day - $3 gold hoop for my cartilage piercing. I have needed a new, quality hoop for a while now, so it was nice to come across this.

Also picked up a few decorations today for a steal. The grapes are actually a set of 3 individual floral picks for use in a  wreath (or whatever!). They were $2. I love them because they're versatile throughout the seasons and they've got frosty beads on them. It's the little things...

This is one of the Christmas wall-hangings. I just loved the vintage-y-ness of them!

Here's the other wall-hanging. Got both for 6.50. *smile*

This is a Pier One pillow that I've seen in the retail store many times and always wished I could buy. I just couldn't justify spending $35 on one pillow. Just my luck, I didn't have to after all! Though priced at a hefty $18, this pillow IS in perfect condition and has been the object of my affection for quite some time. The "expense" was worth it for me. :)

Here's a floor lamp I snagged when it was on sale for $18. It's wrought iron, and the shade is still in the packaging. Now I have to decide a) where to put it, and b) if I should paint it. Opinions??

A close-up of the lamp base. Lovely, isn't it?

Just one more post to prove that the title of thrift store "diet" may just be misleading. The Frugal Friendzies have found themselves fattening up their wardrobes, expanding their clothing choices, and in no way noticeably depleting their checking accounts. I guess the "diet" really lies in the fact that we're supposedly limiting our shopping choices, but in case you can't tell, we sure aren't feeling deprived!