Tag Archives: thrifting

heads up: second debut’s fur sale

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Just as winter’s icy chill starts to set, Goodwill offshoot Second Début is busting out their impressive collection of fur for a special sales event. According to general manager Kathy Cahlander, the 50+ pieces range in era from the ’50s to the ’90s, and every single one has been inspected and vetted by an expert from Rebnick’s Furs. “The quality control is excellent,” Cahlander promises. “Every piece is pretty fabulous.” Highlighted items include vintage shearling jackets, full-length furs, mink wraps, mink-trimmed swing coats, fur headbands and fox-fur cropped jackets. Prices range from $20 all the way on up to $400. Cahlander advises that shoppers get to the store early, as folks “come from all over” to shop this sale. You can find store hours and location info here.

Happy shopping!

xo,

Meghan

heads up: veteran’s day sales

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Here’s a quick round-up of thrift-store sales happening around town this weekend!

Savers
Tomorrow only, take 50 percent off all used merchandise.  Stores will be open bright and early at 7 a.m. all the way until 9 p.m.

Unique and Valu Thrift
VIP card-holders will get 50 percent off their entire purchases tomorrow. Stores will be open extra-long, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Hidden Treasures Thrift Store
Save 30 percent on anything in the store tomorrow (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Goodwill
In celebration of their new stores in Blaine and Rogers, shoppers at either of those two locations will save 50 percent on all blue, green and yellow tagged items. (I’ve had readers tell me they’ve found some sweet vintage at the Rogers location, FYI!)

Since I have to be to work at 9 a.m., I think I’ll most likely be hitting up a single Savers and then maybe a Unique over my lunch break.

Happy shopping y’all!

xoxo,

Meghan

heads up: calvary lutheran’s 9th annual rummage sale

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The Lutheran church down the street from me is holding their annual rummage sale this weekend. I made a quick pit stop there on my way to work and was quite impressed with theprices and selection. I scored a couple vintage dresses, a Minnesota state flag, a pair of beautiful gold hoop earrings, some mugs and gifties for Mighty Swell grab bags and a drying rack for dishes (my dishwasher kicked the bucket week!) all for under $8. The surprise find of the morning was this autographed, framed photo of Stevie Nicks I got for 50 cents. (50 cents!!!) The frame is fugly, but that’s an easy enough fix.

Anyway, there was a ton of stuff left this morning and they had boxes and boxes still to put out. If you’d like to check out this sale, here’s what you need to know.

Calvary Lutheran Church’s Ninth Annual Rummage Sale
Address: 3901 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis
Hours: Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to noon everything is half-price; from noon to 3:00 p.m. it’s $1/bag and $2/box; from 3 – 4:00 p.m. everything that is left is free. Proceeds raised go towards the church’s community programs, including Beechwood Inc., the Twin Cities Women’s Choir and Crossroads Community Organization.
Reasonably priced breakfast treats, coffee, soup, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches and homemade desserts are also available.

I’ll definitely be stopping back tomorrow afternoon to shop the bag sale and pick up an apple pie bar and cup of coffee. I hope y’all are having fantastic Fridays so far!

xo,

Meghan

heads up: choose to reuse coupon book

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Junk mail doesn’t usually make me squeal with delight, but last week, I got a direct mail piece I am pumped about—Hennepin County’s annual “Choose to Reuse” coupon book. This baby is packed with really, really, really good coupons for all my favorite thrifts, including Salvation Army, Hidden Treasures, East Side Community Thrift, Hope Chest for Breast Cancer, St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, the PROP Shop and many more. But that’s not all! (Goodness, I sound like an informercial!) The booklet also has discount offers at some of the best vintage shops in town, including Corner Store Vintage, B Squad Vintage, Rewind and record shops, like the Electric Fetus and Hymie’s. (A list of all the 80+ participating retailers can be found here.)

If you didn’t spot one in your mailbox last week (or if you’re like me and have already used up all thrift-store coupons!), download the entire thing here or pick up a copy at Hennepin County Service Centers, Hennepin County libraries and all Three Rivers Park District locations. And get on it soon—coupons are only good through the end of November.

Cheers to saving, y’all!

xo,

Meghan

heads up: vintage shopping galore this weekend

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{Junk Love founder Malia Schroeder}

Holy smokes!! There are so many fantastic thrifty/vintage shopping events happening this weekend, I thought I’d round ’em all up for ya.

♥ Junk Love: The brain child of Malia Schroeder and her mom, Junk Love is a semi-regular flea-market-meets-craft-fair type of event that promises a wide array of reasonably priced “junk” along with upcycled and refurbished goodies. This weekend’s sale, happening today from from 2-9 p.m., tomorrow from 12-9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., is supplemented with photo prints from Babes in Thriftland‘s Erin Foster and hand-printed clothes from Tipsy Kitty Clothing. Hop on over to their website or Facebook page to learn more.

♥ Bloomington Salvation Army Grand Opening: There’s a new Sal Val in town! Opening tomorrow, the Bloomington Family Store promises to have a large selection of designer labels, lots of new items, some vintage Star Wars collectibles, gold and silver jewelry and a pretty impressive collection of used fitness equipment, in addition to the usual clothing, house wares, furniture and home decor. Shoppers hitting the grand opening event are encouraged to bring a winter coat to donate to the nonprofit’s Coats for Kids campaign, which ends on Sunday. The store, located at 9728 Lyndale Ave. South, will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow.

♥ Twin Cities Vintage Clothing & Jewelry Show: I’m kind of embarrassed to admit I’ve never ventured out to a Cats Pajamas vintage sale at the State Fairgrounds, considering how much I love vintage AND the Fairgrounds. Their fall sale  is happening tonight from 5-10 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and boasts 45+ vintage vendors from around the region, including my friends at Greenwich Vintage. You can find them in the Fine Arts Building…just look for the handsome mustached gent and his massive collection of fab vintage woolens. Admission tonight is $7, tomorrow it drops to $5.

♥ Angel’s Attic Sale: Many thanks to my friend Meg, who tipped me off to this fund-raising sale, happening in Bloomington tomorrow through Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The promo website touts, “thousands of valuable, unique items at exceptional sale prices” including “furniture from many fine estates, more than 500 collectible plates, high-end art pieces, jewelry, household items, electronics, new and gently used clothing, toys and much more.” Looking through the sneak peeks they have up nearly maybe my head explode—so much good stuff! All proceeds raised benefit the Angel Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial support to adults with cancer and the families that depend on them. A $3 entry fee will be charged tomorrow, Saturday, only.

♥ Findfurnish Grand Opening Weekend: And, last, but certainly not least, this weekend, mid-century modernists Findfurnish will reveal their brand-new 4,000-square-foot vintage-filled playground. I’m really excited about this opening for so many reasons. Besides being a huge fan of Findfurnish’s rad mid-century furniture finds and their collection of sweet functional smalls, I simply adore Marie’s story and have so enjoyed watching her business grow. I can’t wait to hit up the preview party tonight after work and congratulate her this huge accomplishment in person. The studio, located in the Casket Arts Building in Northeast Minneapolis, will be open to the public tomorrow from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Please do check it out!

It pains me to say that I don’t think I’ll be able to hit up any of these events, besides the Findfurnish opening. Wah-wah. I’m heading up north with my sweetheart tomorrow morning for a day full of thrifting and a night of country music, which is pretty much perfection in my book. Since we’re going to see Glen Campbell, I’ll leave you with a vid of my favorite song he does, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”

I hope you all have wonderful weekends, my dears!

xo,

Meghan

recently thrifted

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Hi dears,

Yesterday I waited out a downpour to head out thrifting over my lunch hour. The rain was still coming down when I left my office. Futilely attempting to  dodge puddles in my flip flops on the way to my car, I stepped directly on what I thought was a rock…which actually turned out to be a little nail. (Nice!) Instead of turning back for the office to promptly look up “tetanus symptoms” on Web MD like most sane people probably would, I chanced it and continued on my way to Hidden Treasures Thrift Store. And boy am I glad I did. I scored majorly on clothes and found a lot of other pretties for my house. Here are a few of them.

An embroidered runner for my bedside table.


An illuminated beauty mirror from GE. An extinct, but oh-so-helpful beauty tool I plan on…spoiler alert!…giving as a gift.


A fancy frame that appeals to my equal love for hearts & flowers.

This adorable album for recording your loved ones’ birthdays and anniversaries AND storing the appropriate stationery. Fun!

I’m so smitten with the font used throughout the book. Even though I never plan on getting a tattoo, I have a slew of fonts picked out that would make for great ones, now including this one.

A cute owl for my bookshelf…or a Mighty Swell grab bag.

And last but not least, a dozen mint julep cups. As if I needed another reason to count down until Derby Day.

Not pictured: Some killer, killer blazers, a stunning ’50s red party dress I’d wear to every holiday party on my calendar until the end of time if it was my size, a set of butterfly mugs, some Pyrex, some sweet vintage stationery and a few other odds and ends. All in all, a pretty productive lunch hour.

Have you hit the thrifts lately? Did ya find anything awesome?

xo,

Meghan

first impression: ReSale 101 in Plymouth

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Yesterday, over my lunch break, I took a drive out to visit one of the newest thrift stores on the scene, ReSale 101. The shop, which opened on September 21, is a fund-raising arm of the Plymouth nonprofit, Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners (IOCP). Located  just off of County Road 101 in a brand-new building that also serves as IOCP headquarters, housing a food shelf and employment, housing, community and childcare resources, this shop is definite must visit.


At noon, the place was bustling. Friendly, chatty volunteers were busy putting out new merchandise and accepting donations (a staff of 100 volunteers run the place) and a handful of shoppers were perusing the racks. The overall feel is definitely more upscale than your average Salvation Army or Goodwill; more akin to a consignment shop than a thrift. Clothing was separated intelligently with special sections devoted to men, plus-sizes, teens and to my great delight…vintage.

Now before you start saddling your ponies for Plymouth, let me finish. The selection of clothing was sparse (less than eight pieces all together) and the majority of it I’d classify as too dated to be wearable. (Think high-collared maxi dresses and quilted housecoats.) That said, the overall assortment of antique-y otherthings including house wares, books, prints, knick knacks, et al was respectable. Items seemed to be in really excellent condition and prices ranged from good to reasonable to off-base. It should be said that if you’re into super vintage children’s clothing, there was a lot of it there. All of it in pretty great shape.

The prices overall are reflective of the edited, quality selection. Meaning, they’re definitely on the high side. The vintage clothing started at $10 and ranged on up to $18. Housewares were more sensibly priced as were the modern clothes and accessories. Deals are still to be had, though! Here are a few things I just couldn’t pass up.

A full set of vintage Libbey hostess glassware, in a fetching “Swiss Flowers” pattern.


Another crazy patterned caftan to add to my collection.

A fairly large crewel piece. How adorable is that flock of little puffy sheep?

Not pictured: A ridiculously awesome ’60s cocktail dress that photographs terribly on the hanger. Take my word though…it’s freakin’ sweet. Also, a cute little linked gold belt and a set of four boho-y metal chargers from India.

If you’re interested in checking out this thrift, here’s what you need to know. (Please note their hours are quite funky!)

ReSale 101

Address: 1605 County Road 101 N, Plymouth
Hours: Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: 763.489.7500
You can also follow IOCP on zee Twitter.

xo,

Meghan

P.S. Photos in this post were taken on my phone and edited with Best Camera.

recently thrifted, dressing room edition

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Hey lovelies!

I’ve been on a sprucing up kick around my house and I started with my dressing room. Here are a few things I’ve thrifted that have been put to work in this space. I got this solid wood shoe rack at the Salvation Army in Blaine for $2.50 on a half-off day. Originally intended to be  a plant stand, it works perfectly in this space, storing my heels.

This minty Formica table turned vanity has seen better days, but for $10 (plus four chairs) I couldn’t pass it up. The mirrored perfume tray is from the ’50s and was found at an estate sale in Superior for $3. The GE Make-Up Mirror I’ve had for too many years to recall where it’s from or how much I paid for it.

Any Wisconsin girl in her right mind would never pass this baby up…a moo-cow mounted necklace holder, from a Twin Cities estate sale ($1).

I bought house plants a few weeks ago, including these little succulents, and I’m doing my darndest to keep them alive. This Cracker Barrel jar, now a terrarium, was purchased at Salvation Army for $2.99.

How are you putting your thrifted finds to use around your home?

xo,

Meghan

labor day sales roundup

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Hey birdies!

It feels strange wishing anyone a “happy Labor Day weekend,” considering that the holiday is basically the death knell of summer. I intend to completely ignore the fact my calendar says September, and party through this weekend like it’s the middle of June. Part of my “party” agenda, as usual, includes a good amount of thrifting. If you, too, want to take a break from mourning the end of summer and do a little thrifting, Monday’s the day to go. Here’s a to-the-point roundup of super sales, happening around town.

Goodwill
50 percent off blue, green and yellow tags, and 50 percent off all furniture. Stores will be open on Monday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Savers
Take 50 percent off all clothing, shoes, accessories and items tagged “bed & bath.”  Stores will be open bright and early at 7 a.m.all the way until 9 p.m.

Salvation Army Thrift Stores
All clothing will be 50 percent off on Monday, and in-store specials (like 1/2 off all books, etc.) will be announced every hour. Stores open Monday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Arc’s Value Village Thrift Stores
All merchandise (except white & orange-tagged goodies) will be 50 percent off. Sale runs Monday from 9 a.m.- 7 p.m.

Second Début
All apparel will be 25 percent off on Monday. Both the St. Paul and Excelsior stores will be open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Unique
VIP card-holders will get 50 percent off their entire purchase. Stores open at 10 a.m.

Before you go, be sure to check out these pro thrifters’ top tips for surviving super sale days.

Happy shopping!

xo,

Meghan

heads up: there’s a new savers in town

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Exciting news friends!

There’s a brand new Savers store opening in Woodbury next week! And as someone who’s made some pretty big scores at Savers over the years, this news clearly makes my heart pit pat just a little bit faster. Another thing that’s got me jazzed about this store opening in particular? Savers has asked me to style up a little fashion show at their preview shopping party! (Such an honor, right? Especially considering I don’t and never will consider myself a stylist!) I’ve enlisted the help of my no. 1 business partner in crime and together, we’ll be dressing a dozen or so of their employees and a handful of kids that benefit from the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota (this particular Savers nonprofit partner) in some fun, affordable looks for fall. And boy, are we excited.

 I’m also delighted to be able to extend the invitation to the preview event out to all of you, dear hearts! The fun is happening on Tuesday, September 6th, from 6-8 p.m., at the metro area’s newest Savers, located at 8401 Tamarack Road in Woodbury. I would love to see all your beautiful faces there! You have to admit the opportunity to shop a thrift two days before it opens to the public is pretty cool. Plus, if you bring a gently used clothing item, you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift card they’re giving away that night. (Sidenote: If the sound of winning a Savers gift card sounds good to you, I advise to keep an eye on Mighty Swell’s Facebook page over the next day or two…they might have given me some extra somethin’ somethins’ to pass along to one of our lucky followers. I’m just sayin’!)

I’ll be back tomorrow with a round up of Labor Day weekend sales—there are so many good deals to be had it’s nuts!
I hope you all have wonderful evenings…

xo,

Meghan