Author Archives: highplainsthrifter

About highplainsthrifter

Thrift-store shopper. Lives in & loves South Minneapolis. Blonde. Picture taker. Road trip enthusiast. Likes making things. Proud WI native. Classic rock is my favorite. So are nachos.

giveaway: win this set of vintage styling manuals!

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Morning dolls!

How ’bout we start this week off with a fun giveaway? This gorgeous set of Style Me Vintage books is chock-full of handy tips, tricks and how-tos for creating authentic vintage looks from head to toe. And the winner of the giveaway is going to receive all three!

♥ The makeup manual walks you through creating iconic looks from the 1920s through the ’80s, and uses muses like Marilyn, Madonna, Audrey and Twiggy as guides. The photos are just lovely and the tutorials are clear and easy to follow. I love the bonus section on how to do period manicure styles at home!

♥ The hair guide breaks down styles like ’40s-era Victory rolls, Marilyn’s hot roller set and Brigitte’s classic beehive with step-by-step instructions. There’s even a section on accessorizing your hair with scarves—for cute!

♥ And last but not least, the clothes guide is an educational gem that drops all kinds of knowledge on dating vintage pieces, reading labels and buying for quality. Chapters define what shapes, influences and looks dominated each era, ranging again from the ’20s to the ’80s. Outfit photos that illustrate “informal” and “formal” looks from each decade are supplemented with shopping lists, which I found super helpful for shopping my own closet. I also found the accessorizing guides useful when trying to identify what time period some pieces of thrifted jewelry I own was from.

To enter to win all three books, simply leave a comment on this post telling me who your vintage style icons are. (Bonus entries awarded for tweets!) I’ll choose a winner on Thursday night and alert them before I leave town on Friday.

Best of luck dearies!

xo,

Meghan

everything must go

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I watched the movie “Everything Must Go” today while I did a mega-purge of my thrifting room/office. It seemed fitting to watch a movie about a man who decides to sell off his life’s worth of possessions while I riffled and sorted through what seemed like an insurmountable amount of paperwork, receipts, clothes and STUFF.

The movie, based on a short story by Raymond Carver, stars Will Ferrell, so unsurprisingly, there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. But what I appreciated the most were the oh-so-accurate depictions of the crazies that rummage sales attract. You know, those people who hem and haw and haggle over the dinkiest 50-cent thing? If you’re a frequent rummage-r like me, you know exactly the kind of people I’m talking about. The flick also did an excellent job illustrating the liberation that can come from letting go of material possessions and extraneous clutter. I know I sure feel a lot lighter looking around my office now (three trips to the garbage can later) as opposed to this morning. And, the fact that the movie closes with one my favorite The Band songs was the icing on the cake. Anyway, I would definitely recommend watching it! You can see the trailer here; the movie’s also streaming now on Netflix.

Speaking of rummage sales, did any of y’all get out and hit the big neighborhood sales this weekend? I didn’t plan on going to any, but when I spotted a pretty floral upholstered chair in someone’s driveway while I was on my way home from Mighty Swell’s man sale, I had to pull a u-ey. I parked, walked to the sale, plopped down in the chair, felt satisfied, paid for it and hauled it back to my car in all of five minutes! Anyway, if you did get out there, what was your favorite find?

xo,

Meghan

clickin around, vol. 33

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♥ This plinko game creates poetry out of tweets from Fox News and the New York Times. Cool!

♥ Loving both of these summery cut-off makeovers. Since I live in dresses and cut-offs all summer long, jazzing up my shorts is probably a good idea.

♥ The vintage bathing beauty pics Cali Vintage dug up are so sweet.

♥ A toaster bag that turns out perfectly grilled cheese sammies? I need it!

♥ How did I not know about Retro Lush? Long may you live, Potion Lotion!

♥ I’ve been on a major chicken kick lately. Last week this super easy crispy cheddar chicken was a hit with my sweetie. This week, I’m living off to Iowa Girl Eats‘ mayo-less chicken salad. Bird’s the word this month, I guess!

♥ Anyone who’s suffered from a broken heart due to a vintage dress with a tiny waist will laugh at this.

♥ How completely charming are these pre-fab backyard office spaces?

xo,

Meghan

monday morning

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I spent some time on my deck this making a massive to-do list for the day in the world’s most adorable notepad holder. I found this needlepoint beaut at the Salvation Army in Austin, Minnesota for all of 50 cents and ever since it’s made writing out my daily to-dos a much more cheery experience. I love thrifting something that’s as functional as it is cute. And with all the craziness that’s happening in the next couple of weeks, I have a feeling this baby’s going to be getting a workout.

Since making this list this morning (which continued well onto the second page!), I’m proud to say I’ve crossed a good deal of my to-dos off, including doing my dishes, a task I successfully put off all weekend long. How were your Mondays? Sun-filled and productive, I’m hoping!

xo,

Meghan

P.S. If you’re sewing-savvy, check out the myriad of plastic-canvas how-to books on Etsy. There are so many kitschy cute projects out there!

i’m going to kansas city (and i need your help)

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In just two short weeks from today, I’ll be cruising down the highway somewhere in between Minneapolis and Kansas City with two of my best ladies. Our priorities for this trip are pretty straight-forward…thrift-store shopping and eating inappropriate amounts of barbecue. Since none of us has ever visited KC before, and since I know I have the smartest, most well-traveled readers, I thought I’d ask y’all for some tips. Do you know who has the best barbecue? Got leads on some dive bars we should for sure check out? Know of a vintage store I’d be remiss in skipping? What about thrifting? Where the heck should we go!? I’m all ears about it all, from hotels to shopping, barbecue joints to bars. While I wait for your recommendations to roll in, here are some musical gems about our destination for your ears.

Thank you SO MUCH in advance for your help!

xo,

Meghan

how to: make crepe paper bunting

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It seems like before any of our Mighty Swell sales, Rae and I are always finishing something up at the 11th hour. Take, for example, this bunting, which Rae whipped up out of leftover crepe paper that was lying around from our sneak peek photo shoot. I’m pretty sure our first customers were walking through the door while Rae was finishing up hanging it! Since we raked in a ton of compliments on it over the course of the weekend, I thought I’d have Rae share the how-to so you can make your own. It’d be a cute addition to any shower, birthday party or backyard barbecue, right?

“What do you do with a lot of extra crepe paper from a photo backdrop? Make a bunting to hang in the windows, of course. This simple decor came together in a snap, and the crepe paper looks lovely when light shines through it.”—Rae

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

♥ Rolls of crepe paper in several complementary colors—we ordered ours through Papermart.
♥ Yarn (we used white)
♥ A stapler and staples
♥ A pair of scissors

HOW TO MAKE

1. Cut a 2-foot long piece of paper off of the roll and fold it in half length-wise. Cut down the fold, so now you have two pieces. Fold both of the pieces in half and lay them on top of each other. Now cut those pieces into 3-inch strips. Since I wasn’t measuring (and was in a hurry) my pieces were quite irregular, but I think this added to the charm of the bunting! Repeat with remaining colors so you have piles of strips in every color.

2. Grab your yarn and stapler and start making magic! Cut a piece of yarn the length you want your bunting to be. Slip a strip over the yarn and staple just under the yarn (this way your buntings can be moved and spaced out. If you want them fixed, staple your folded-over strip right onto the yarn.). Repeat with alternating colors and voila—you’re done!

Many thanks to Rae for walking us through it step-by-easy-step!

xo,

Meghan

P.S. Yesterday was a happy day for Karissah, winner of the Girls Got Rhythm fest ticket giveaway. There’s still time to get your tickets online; a limited number will be available at the door tonight and tomorrow.

thrifting mission: find some new yoga clothes

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I’ve recently become addicted to grown awfully fond of practicing hot yoga at a wonderfully friendly studio in Uptown called Moksha Yoga. While I absolutely LOVE what it’s been doing for my heinie and my insomnia, washing my gross, sweaty gear every other day was a time-consuming drag. I looked online for new clothes for about a minute-and-a-half, but when I saw $48 shorts and $108 hoodies, I almost fell out of my chair. So, I did what I always do. Went to the thrift store!

Since the idea of sweating my tatas off in clothes that have already been worn by some other broad skeeves me slightly, I hopped over to the underground Target (aka the Target Basement) at the downtown Salvation Army Family Store, which is, if you’re not familiar, filled with brand spankin’ new merchandise. As expected, I found exactly what I was looking for. From roll-over top yoga pants to super light running shorts to tops to T’s to sports bras to plus-sized gear, this place has got it all. And everything’s super sensibly priced!

Here’s what $45 (three dollars less than the aforementioned shorts!) bought me…

Two towels (so totally necessary for hot yoga), a neon pink sports bra (the only neon color I can tolerate), THREE pairs of shorts, a raspberry colored cropped sweatshirt and an extra-long baby blue hoodie (because I freeze on my way home from class if I forget a sweatshirt). The bonus part is that five of the eight items I came home with are PINK. Yesssss.

I’m set for a while, I think, right? Thrifting mission: complete.

Namaste y’all!

xoxo,

Meghan

P.S. There’s one more day to enter the Girls Got Rhythm Fest ticket giveaway. I’m picking the lucky winner tomorrow after 5 p.m.!

giveaway: win a pair of girls got rhythm fest passes

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I have two passes to the Girls Got Rhythm Fest—worth $130—and I want to give ’em away to one of you. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me what act(s) on the lineup you’d love to see, along with your email address. As you can probably guess, I’m most excited to see Ronnie Spector, but I’m also pretty stoked to take in sets by the big-haired beauties L’Assassins, no-bullshit rockers Midnite Snaxxx, the reckless and wild and brilliantly named Hot Rash and…who am I kidding, I can’t wait to see ’em all!

This giveaway will close at the end-of-day Wednesday, May 9th. To be eligible to win, you must be 21+ (youngsters there’s an all-ages show just for you on Sunday and tickets are just $10!) and willing and able to pick up the passes from me on Thursday, May 10th.

Best of luck y’all!

xoxo,

Meghan

that’s a wrap

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And just like that, another sale weekend has wrapped. Thank you so much to everyone who came to shop and visit with Rae and me over the past two days. We are so grateful for your business and support.

xo,

Meghan

P.S. There’s a sweet little article & slideshow about the Summer of Dresses kick-off party in today’s Pioneer Press! Check it out if you’re interested…I promise I’m not that squint-y in real life. :-)

beginner’s tips for shopping at mighty swell

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Mighty Swell opens for the weekend in just a couple short hours (10 a.m. to be exact) and as always, I’m really pumped. We have some great new vendors for this sale including Honey Bunny and Spano Vintage—both gals brought in some truly drool-worthy pieces, along with some old reliable standbys like Pink Vintage, Bourbon & Lace and of course, me! Since I’m sure not all of you have visited the shop, I figured today would be a good time to share some tips for Mighty Swell first-timers.

♥ Come early! This is a no brainer really, but if you want to shop the biggest selection, come today, and come in the morning. Besides getting first pick and everything, you’ll also be able to  enjoy complimentary coffee and donuts from A Baker’s Wife. We typically get four to five dozen and holy smokes, do they go quick.

♥ On the flip side, if you hate feeling crowded, come later in the day (or tomorrow) when the shop is a bit more cleared out. It may be a bit picked over, but you’ll have plenty of elbow room to take your time going through the racks.

♥ Wear underthings you won’t be embarrassed being seen in. Our dressing room is a group one, and honestly, sometimes it can get pretty packed. And while some ladies don’t mind stripping down to their skivvies in front of strangers (more power to y’all!), if you’re on the shier side, rock some boy shorts or a slip or whatever makes you feel comfortable.

♥ Ask for help if you’re new to shopping for vintage or if you’re looking for something in particular. Rae and I know our inventory pretty well, and adore helping our shoppers find what they’re looking for. We also have tons of back-stock downstairs (and at home), so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, tell us so we can check our inventory!

♥ Bring a friend and make a day of it! There are so many lovely restaurants in our neighborhood including Colassal Cafe (home of the most delicious Brie-apple pancakes and biscuit breakfast sandwiches), Buster’s (great burgers and beer/cider selection) and of course, our next-door neighbors, Chris & Rob’s Chicago Taste Authority, known for their Chicago-style dogs, although I personally love, love, love their thin-crust pizza. Come shop with a friend and then enjoy a meal in the ‘hood!

I hope to see y’all there! For details on sale hours, visit the Facebook event page.

xo,

Meghan