Thriftanista in the City

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile . All opinions are mine alone.  Having #MyDataMyWay means lots of audiobook downloads while working on diy projects. I'm currently reading Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty and covering up stains on a tee with magenta sequins.

I'm not much of a fast fashion kind of girl and $15 (retail not thrift) dresses aren't how I want to build my closet. Every now and again, I come across a flimsy dress that captures my heart. That would be this semi backless cutie from my last Goodwill thrift haul .

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. The scented sachets diy is  inspired by   Love2Love fine fragrances.  Find more great Mother's Day gift ideas by following  #L2LMom on Twitter. I have a vintage purse in my closet that was given to me by my mother. She inherited it from her godmother who passed away. When I opened the purse, it smelled like her perfume even though the purse is at least 40 years old. I had not seen Godmother since I was a little girl and the scent made me think of her immediately and remember the brief moments I was in her presence. Fragrance can invoke feelings and memories long forgotten which is why it makes such a great gift on Mother's Day and what I'll be giving my mom. While at Walmart, I was drawn to Love2Love 's fine fragrances. The pretty bottles with the whimsical petal shaped caps are very vintage romantic.

Happy Earth Day! If you're a thriftanista then you are already contributing to the earth's well being. Of course, there's more that can be done. Did you know 85% of unwanted clothing, footwear, and household textiles are winding up in the trash? Only 15% is reused or recycled. Here's what can be done within the realm of fashion to show your support and love of our environment.

When I found this orange skirt last year during my Atlanta thrift haul , I had no idea that I would actually be living here. Funny how life works. The skirt had a huge, sporty pocket on the front that I removed immediately and made it more functional in my closet. If you haven't noticed, I don't really have an athletic side.

You may or may not be surprised to know that I'm an urban girl. I'm not into backpacking, camping, and roughing it. I've never had an interest in safaris either. Big uncaged animals? No thanks. Too much nature for me. I was a little scared during my first and only safari especially when our car drove too close to a herd of elephants. I'm glad I had the experience but it's not something I necessarily need to do again. I'll wait until V is old enough to beg for request it. Given her love of animals, we'll definitely be seeing the Big 5 again soon.

While hanging out at the airport on my way to Uganda, I spotted a woman in a gorgeous african print blazer. I made a mental note of the design just in case I got my sewing mojo back. A few days later, my sister in law introduces me to her custom ankara outfits and pulls out this jacket.

I'm back but I'm very tired. My BFF was kind enough to donate a guide to thrifting - the lazy girl way. Venita is a New Orleans born, Chicago based traveling, cooking, reading, news watching, sports loving beer drinker - in fierce heels. Plus she's a seasoned thrifter. Enjoy. I'm lazy! Not in a 'I live with my parents and eat all of their food' kind of way. It's more 'I want to expend as little effort as possible'. It's why I wear dresses - not because I'm going for a super feminine look, but because I can get dressed in less than 2 minutes. 

My Mocha Fab  is back again with another guest post. This time featuring a Pinterest inspired thrift store outfit. Enjoy! Pinterest has definitely given my wardrobe and thrifting adventures their life! I’m a budding fashionista and thrift queen so to speak. I always find and pick great pieces but never seem to put them together in a WOW kind of way for myself. Then I see true fashion geniuses pull similar or the same pieces together, and I’m bummed I didn’t think of it. 

Before you put those winter clothes away and splurge on your new spring wardrobe, think about doing some simple DIYs to update your style for little to no money -- the thrifty way!

Hey there! I am the creator of Always PHREA , which is a lifestyle blog that focuses on the young emerging leader providing them with resources to discover endless possibilities. I’m excited to guest blog for Thriftanista in the City, and I hope you enjoy it as well. You may visit my blog at www.alwaysphrea.com.   I will admit it. I absolutely love journals. I remember when I got my first journal while visiting Island of Adventures in middle school more than ten years ago. I have since purchased many different journals based on the themes. It’s a bad habit, but I love them. The issue is I will get ready to write in the freshly bound book of blank pages, but I have a difficult time finding a pen. I visited my favorite site – Pinterest to find a new do-it-yourself idea to keep my pen close to my journal. I came across a pen holder by Made to be a Momma . I was inspired by theirs so I made my own version of it.

I follow some pretty amazing refashion bloggers that know their way around a DIY and can turn old clothes or ugly thrift finds into fashion forward and stylish pieces. Some of my favorites are listed below. Enjoy! refashioned skirt from sequin dress

Hello Thriftanistas, my friend from My Mocha Fab graciously agreed to guest post for me today as I am still on vacation. She's a girl after my own heart as an entrepreneur, thrifter, and diy-er. Check out this super simple thrifted dresser and night stand DIY! Thrifting has become the new designer label. Goodwill and Salvation Army are the new Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. Everyone from high fashion divas to moms on a tight budget is getting their shopping thrills in secondhand stores. I confess, I’ve also recently fallen prey to the thrifting phenomenon. Not only with clothes but furniture too!