Thriftanista in the City

Unique Thrift Stores had a $10 bag sale again . They give you a bag when you enter and you fill it up with merchandise from the floor. I had a great time at the last one and went on a thrift diet in preparation for this one. I had not been thrifting since the Black Friday haul ! I was ready for a thrift adventure. After much stuffing and re-stuffing and a bag burst, I was able to to score 5 purses, 2 pair of jeans, a blouse, 2 skirts, and 2 dresses for $10. designer "inspired" Tod's handbag Why did I thrift it?  It has gorgeous color and nice details and even stitching. It's a pretty bag with a vibrant orange color. I couldn't tell if it was real or fake. I was too focused on thrifting to research but once I got it home...FAKE! It's cute though. Not sellable but cute enough for me. vintage Coach shoulder strap purse Why did I thrift it?  I want to sell it on eBay. It's cute and I'll keep it if I had to but I bought it specif...

Chicago has amazing food and this is one of the reasons why I #LoveThisCity. Dining out is one of my favorite things to do (other than thrifting). That's why it ended up on the Christmas to-do list I created. I get to spend less time preparing food and more time enjoying it..Merry Christmas to me! As an added bonus, the entire family can indulge in a food experience that I'm not likely to recreate at home. Possible but not likely. Therefore, our foodie adventures are priceless! wearing the vintage coat with lion collar faux fur...Rawr! There are so many restaurant choices in a variety of price ranges and to suit every palate. There is great food all over this city. Over the holiday, we were led to an old favorite and a new one! After a fun trip on the Holiday Train, we stopped in at one of our favorite restaurants -- Ethiopian Diamond . A 15 year old fixture in the Edgewater neighborhood located on Broadway St. The food is fresh, authentic, and delici...

I'm still enjoying the holiday. Indulging and enjoying the time with family and friends. I'm sharing with you the most viewed posts of 2012. The #1 post just happens to be my favorite thrift finds of 2012. As I look through this post, I have to say, I would never wear some of these outfits today (I'm looking at you 2nd most viewed post). Fashion fickle that is me. 10.  Ruffle Bib Dress features all thrifted everything including a fabulous pair of Stuart Weitzman floral pumps 9.  DIY Maxi Skirt to Flouncy Tunic an easy no sew "diy" and wardrobe expander 8. Thrifted Treasure: Thriftanista in a Trench one of my favorite thrift finds and unsold etsy item. I think it's in need of a DIY. Stay tuned... 7. Thrifted Treasure: H&M Sweater Dress of all the stuff I've thrifted, this is probably my husband's favorite :) 6. DIY Mullet Dress a too long dress shortened to show the gams! 5. Style File: Statement Necklace ...

I've been a fan of the military trend since the Balmain jackets came on the scene. I like structured clothing and bold details. This recent thrift find from Savers did a great job of giving me the look for quite a lot less! I wore it to ChicagoNow's holiday party with the red snakeskin print peplum blouse thrifted a year ago. Best .65 cent find ever! The jacket was the perfect accompaniment. I didn't want to take a big bulky coat with me even though it was friggin cold outside! Yeah, I know. It's Chicago and it's winter. I'll be all adjusted by spring. Anyway, it's cold and I wanted to wear a jacket I could rock indoors that would have just as much pizzaz as my blouse. This military inspired jacket has metallic cold gold accents all over, small fabric covered buttons, and an awesome back vent that reminds me of tuxedo tails. Mission accomplished. I have a "prop" today. I'm waiting on a call from my partner in crime...

I'm popping back in to post a giveaway! I was gifted a $25 Peapod gift card and instead of keeping it for myself, I'm gifting it to one of you.  Are you familiar with Peapod, the online grocery delivery service? Orders can be placed seven days a week for delivery as soon as next-day, or up to two weeks in advance. It's a great service especially if it's freezing cold outside and you've already been to the store once this week but you forgot several items necessary to cook any of the meals you planned. Surely, I'm not the only one this happens to. To enter, complete the rafflecoptor form below. Good Luck! Btw,  you can save $10 on a Peapod delivery through 12/29/12 by entering PEAPODCOOKIE in the promotional code box at checkout. Limit one offer per household. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid only on orders totaling $100 or more.

The weekend before Christmas is here and I'm looking forward to prepping for the holiday and accomplishing everything on my to-do list: Christmas Holiday To-Do List watch all of my all time favorite Christmas movies. eat lots of cookies and candy canes pop into the thrift store briefly and hide the stuff I want to put in my bag at the $10 bag sale at Unique  happening the day after Christmas decorate our very first Christmas tree wash the locs and do pipe cleaner curls (last time was over 2 year ago!) wash Violet's hair *whimpers* listen to This Christmas (Donny Hathaway version only) repeatedly watch Violet's reaction to the decked out tree (hope it's more than a blank stare) dine out drink several glasses of wine, liqueurs, and cocktails of various colors. finish up my Christmas DIY gifts shhh...no one tell my Mama what her gift is write my business plan (serious procrastination going on) ...

I thrifted these  jeans because I love all animal prints. I can't resist them. The turquoise snakeskin print was just too awesome to pass up. I knew I would turn them into skinny jeans. They were total mom jeans. High waisted, tapered, and butt flattening. It was really easy to skinny them. This also works on wide leg to straight leg. If you go from a wide leg to a skinny leg, you may run into some fit issues in the crotch. Fixing the crotch gets complicated.  Working on these skinny jeans reminded me of my youth. Back then, I would make ultra skinny jeans sans sewing machine. All hand sewn! I can't imagine doing that now.  I'm thinking about wax coating them next. What do you think?  I wore footless tights under my pants and they pulled my pants down and created a lovely crotch pooch. I'm trying to hide it from the camera. Much better! Not really. I just wanted to make sure you were still with me. :) ...