I’ve been posting over on Instagram lately, under the handle @yogapantsatlanta. All my posts there are pictures of myself dressed in clothes that have been purchased (mostly) from Goodwill. A friend dubbed my feed as the “Head to Toe Thriftshow.”
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Sweater and tunic from Goodwill
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$15 Coach boots
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Gap, Loft and Splendid, all from Goodwill
The Goodwill is my #1 place to shop for clothes. However, my closet is not the only place that’s filled with all things thrifted. Our home is a haven for decor and furniture bought on the the cheap.
Behind my adorable son (posing as his realization of Sirius Black from the Harry Potter series) lies our living room. Almost everything you can see has a thrifty history. The couch – $80 on Craigslist. The side table – clearance at Target. The light-colored tufted chair is from a local consignment store. The leather chair and the rug are from Craigslist, too. Don’t get me started with the lamps and the throw pillows…
Every room in our house repeats this pattern. I’ve snatched up dressers, bed frames, lamps, tables, bookcases, original art, baskets and all sorts of decor items from Craigslist, consignment shops, Goodwill and even straight off the street. I have absolutely no shame in my game when it comes to getting a deal.
The buffet table at my 40th birthday party is another great example of my thrift gone wild. The table was spread with an Ikea tablecloth, highlighted by folds of a silky golden bedsheet (Goodwill), tulle from the Dollar Tree, and chunky gold glitter from the $1 bin at Target. Regrettably, I was too busy having fun at the party to take a picture of the spread, but here are some of the thrifted elements of the “tablescape”:
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Dollar Tree napkins embossed with a personal monogram press that I got years ago.
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Large ($40 retail) hurricane bought for $7 at Goodwill, and repurposed as a vase.
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Slate sign – $3 at Target, with a $30 bouquet that I scored for $9 b/c a few roses had some brown petals.
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All candles from the Dollar Tree, crystal candlesticks bought for $10 from a FB exchange group.
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Silverplate champagne bucket < $30 at a flea market.
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$10 domed cake plate. The painting behind it is a Goodwill find. So is the black coffeemaker next to it.
One more picture – I can’t stop the humblebragging!! One of my all-time favorite finds:
I found this monogrammed cup, all tarnished, for $4 at a St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift Store. I took it home, polished it, and checked the bottom for any marks that might indicate if it was silverplate, or what. Turns out, it isn’t silverplate. It’s. Sterling. Not only that, it’s a handmade mint julep cup by Scearce Jewelers in Kentucky. Each President since Truman has received one of these as a gift from the company! These cups are presented as trophies, gifts to dignitaries, and one was even ordered by our ambassador to England to present to Kate and William’s Prince George! They are a fine traditional gift (think of the Derby!) and sell for $850 each. Check out out: Scearce Jewelers
So, yeah, I think I’m winning at this thrifting thing.
There is a downside to thrifting. One must have a passion for the imperfect – that champagne bucket has marks from Goodwill’s liberal use of packaging tape to apply its price tags; if you were to lift the dome on the domed cake plate you would see chips all along its edge; the napkins are not thick and cloth-like; the flowers had to picked over; one end of the rope handle on that hurricane had to be jury-rigged back into place. One must be willing to make do, and trust that no one pays that much attention to the details of things. I’m not obsessed with making myself and my home look perfect – what a dismal fate! Rather, my goal is to make things as presentable as possible with the maximum amount of fun, and the minimum amount of dollars.
Tell others about this stuff:
Benign Neglect 
