Serendipity

My dad reckons that certain op shops sing to him some days, call to him, like the siren's song. He has no choice but to follow the heavenly sound and see what it's in store for him. As odd as that sounds, I think he's right. I've often thought to myself. "Hmm, better pop in to X op shop today because there could be something in there for me..." Happily, this happened yesterday. In hindsight, it was probably a little warm to be heading out with a 4 month old baby, but at least it paid off! (He was okay in the heat, for those of you about to call Social Services...). I had the feeling that I was going to have good luck in at least one of the Brighton Road op shops, and I was right. 

I had to flick through racks one-handed, thanks to a curious little fella who wanted in on the action. Our first stop was the Save the Children. They're dollar rack is now a two dollar rack (sign of the times, perhaps), but I found a Witchery olive green embellished cardie (to be modified!) that wanted to come home with me which was worth the coin. I picked up a few other things, but wasn't able to try them on, and was feeling a little frugal anyway. I decided to leave them on the rack for someone else (sometimes if I am undecided on something, I imagine that there is someone else out there who will be over the moon with the find, rather than just a bit happy and put it back). I found some dress and skirt patterns for 50c marked 'easy'. My sister and I have decided that we are going to learn to sew, so in preparation for our natural talent, I bought them, assuming we will be past  making pillow cases in no time (*cough cough*). 

Left one from RSPCA,
right from Normanville Opshop

We moved on to the RSPCA, which I have been itching to go through since they're makeover. Eh, it isn't really much different; a little more user friendly than it used to be, so good on them. I found a red and white striped jersey top that will be easy to feed in on their two dollar rack (it really is a sign of the times), but little else. Disheartened, and being nagged by a bored baby, I headed out the door, passing a crate of big old preserving jars on my way out. Since 3 seconds of pavement did the trick and junior was happily snoring away, I doubled back. Ten for ten bucks, with lids (should I ever come into a lot of free fruit that required preserving). In the process of organising our house, I thought they would be perfect for sewing bits and pieces (ha!), stationary and other such things. My SIL, who is actually in the process of becoming my legal SIL, has been looking for jars for wedding centre pieces, so it's a win/win situation (I'll just have little piles of stuff every where for one weekend in November). See? The RSPCA was singing to me; what makes it serendipitous is the jars had only just come in that day. 

 

No Brighton Road adventure is complete without the Salvos, which is a stone's throw away (the Vinnies is too far to walk to!). Well, someone in this store has delusions of grandeur! $14.99 for a worn Portmans peasant top is a bit nuts, as is $99 for a small framed Picasso print (you know, the ones you get from those "Haggle, haggle, haggle! Going out of business!!!!" frame shops). Other prices were fine, but someone there got a bit carried away. By this stage I was a bit tired, anyway, and to be honest, after going through my wardrobe recently, not overly pumped about adding to it. Still, I managed to find an adorable black trapeze top with a white lace collar for $6.99. It's Girl Express, which I wont usually buy from an op shop (or Tempt/Valleygirl), given new they don't cost much anyway, but it was so cute I couldn't resist. It's a massive store, but either I wasn't feeling it, or there wasn't much there (possibly a combination of both!). There were some nice shoes, but I couldn't bring myself to buy any (I have culled my collection recently, and it was really difficult to decide what should go!)

Untold treasures in the Transit Lounge

Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my. I think I'm in love. Yes, it's love. We only met briefly, but I could tell we were meant for each other...

A week or so ago I spied a store with awesome retro tub chairs out the front (orange and cream, of course), racks of clothes and a tantalising sign that read "vintage suitcases 1/2 price". The Transit Lounge was looking good even as I drove past at 60km/hr.  As I whizzed past, I made a mental note ("Squeeee!"), and had the chance to pop in today. I had my lovely O on my hip, who was nearing rope limit (regret of the day: stopping at the other op shop on the same road. Do not bother is all I will say about that place; conserve your op-shopping mojo for the Transit Lounge), so it was a quick stop. I'm looking forward to exploring it again soon (*cough babysitting offers for mid week welcome cough*), and once I have I will give a more thorough review. For now, I'll just give you my first impressions.

There's plenty of space, with a lawn out the front and a number of rooms, with - get this - a little cafe in the middle. And not you're usual "cuppa and a chat" deal; there's a coffee machine (around $3.50 a cup, I think. Not sure; I was distracted by all the pretty). They also have a small selection of food, should you find yourself peckish after hunting through all of the rooms. The staff are super friendly (a mother and son team, I think) and the cafe area is really inviting, with vintage tables and chairs to recover on. 

The clothing seems to be in good condition (a flying visit, as I said) and the prices are similar to Darlington Salvos, although these guys also have $1 and $2 racks and bins. I'm looking forward to digging through those when I don't have babe in arms. There are men's, women's and kid's clothing, as well as a good collection of handbags and kitchen ware.

What I really love is their front room, filled with vintage hats, homewares (desk fan, I'll be back for you) and other bits and bobs that are all reasonably priced and in good nic. 

The great news is, next week from Tuesday to Friday they are having a clothing sale. They're not usually open on Saturdays, but on 13th April they are having a furniture sale. Fortunately for our house, I can't make it to this one, but watch out, Wardrobe, because I'll be there next week! I'll fire up the camera for this one, I promise.

This place is certainly worth a look if you find yourself even close to the area. I think their tagline says it all, really: "Rest, restock, recaffinate". 

Shop here:
The Transit Lounge
104 Pimpala Rd
Morphett Vale
SA

Ph 7000 1270

www.facebook.com/thetransitlounge

Opening hours:
Tues-Fri 9am-2pm.

Say what?

Sorry I haven't posted for ages. I have had a few op shopping adventures, but as O grows, I find I have less time to fiddle around on the internet! I think he may be crawling soon, which means we are in the middle of rearranging our house and making it more baby-friendly (read: not so much of a death-trap). So, hopeless with posting, even worse with pictures. I wanted to show you the cute-as bunny top I bought, but I for all the stuff we've moved around, I can't get to it! Sorry :( The plan was to finish getting organised this LWE, but we scored free tickets to WOMAD, so that's gone out the window. Anyway...

Lately, I have been frequenting the Nu4u shop near us (new mum cabin fever is very real, and it's nice walk to get there), but I figure you must be getting a little tired of hearing how much I love that place. In an attempt to change things up a little, I headed to the other local op shop, the one on South Rd somewhere in the Uniting Church grounds. I say somewhere, because I didn't actually find it. Despite living so close to this place for so long, I have never made it there because the hours are  ridiculous. Yes, yes, staffed by volunteers, I know, but only open 9-12, twice a week? Pfft. I thought it was open on Wednesdays  but it's only staffed Mondays and Thursdays. I had a little nosy around the grounds and couldn't work out where it was supposed to be! Then I thought about taking a jaunt around the little graveyard, est 1846, but thought that might be a bit odd, so I headed to Nu4u instead.

But this post isn't about that store (although I picked up a cute tunic with sequin bunnies on it for $4.99. So freakin). I finally made it to the Christies Beach op shops. There are four: Castaways Recycled Fashion, Salvos Thrift Store, Vinnies Clearance Centre and a Save the Children. With tiny person in tow, we only made it to the first two, but it was worth it!

My sister told me about Castaways (cute name) ages ago, but I hadn't made it there til last week. It's a fantastic shop, with good quality items, mainly for ladies and kids. There are top brands (Cue, Veronica Maine) as well as the usual (Sunnygirl, Target, Kmart). The prices are very reasonable, but with everything 50% off at the moment, they are a steal. I didn't buy much, but only because half of it didn't fit. In the end, I bought a lovely pair of cream RMK heels, a very flattering black and white dress (but I'm going to take the sleeves off anyway), a button down knitted vest for O (I made him, I get to dress him, at least for the first few years) and a little toy. Not bad for $8.00. Whilst it's great that everything is half price, it's for a sad reason:  the shop is closing down as the new owners have jacked up the rent. Pretty rough, given it's a charity store. They're open for a few more weeks, and the lady said things will be even cheaper, so get in and and yourself something pretty for the change in your dash.

After making a cranky baby happy again, and after some lunch, we popped into the Salvos. This place is unique, as far as Salvos stores go. No-one has bothered to do this one up; it's still a bit shabby, and has the old "Salvation Army Thrift Store" shield as it's sign. Not very pretty, but oh-so-good for those of us who love a bargain. It's very well organised, and most of the prices are low: there's a dollar rack, and someone who works there gets happy with the black Sharpie, slashing prices from cheap to woo hoo! I only bought a couple of things, given I'm trying the "one in, one out" rule for my wardrobe, and I don't really have anything that I want to part with! I did get a pair of Sussan jeans for $1 in perfect nic (good bye, Dorothy Perkins jeans. You've served me well, but you'll be lucky to make it to garden rotation) and a casual cobalt blue Target shirt for $6.99 that I plan to wear with my tealy/greeny jeans (which, I'm sorry to say, I bought new last week. I want to say something about post-baby body bla bla bla, but in reality, I had a dream I was wearing them, and when I saw them decided that, yes, this is something my wardrobe needs. Now I'm searching op shops for tops to go with them...!).

We were tempted to pop into the Vinnies Clearance Centre across the road, but thought it might be pushing it with O (we were right. He was cranky by the time we got home and took some serious work to settle down. Still; worth it!).

If you are child-free, and have a whole day and some money to spend, I recommend hitting Beach Rd at Christies for op shops and lunch (hello, chicken burger at Cafe Blu'), and then, if you have any energy and/or money left, stopping at Savers on the way home. If the wee one(s) is with you, I'd say any combination of these shops is worth it. Plus, you can always go back the next day...

Nifty Thrifty

I’ve been reading the fantastic blog, A New Dress A Day, by Marisa Lynch. She started it in 2009 when, in a rut, saw Julia and Julia and was inspired. Rather than cook/blog her way through the next 12 months, she decided to create a new outfit every day of the year with a budget of $1 a day. Using anything from a sewing machine to sticky tape, she made good on her promise, taking before and after photos and describing the steps for each outfit. Marisa has the wonderful gift of being able to see beyond miles of taffeta and lace yolks and fiddling around to create fantastic, one-of-a-kind pieces that she actually wears (and more than once!).

Fast forward 3 years, and she is still creating great outfits and blogging about it, and has released a guide to following in her footsteps (which Santa gave me for Christmas), including hand and machine sewing basics, and how to dye fabrics, among other things. It’s lit a fire under me: I’ve started keeping an eye out during my op shop jaunts for anything that can be reworked into something more palatable  I’m finding it quite the challenge, as I've always skimmed over anything that isn’t immediately wearable. It’s a habit I’m trying to break, and sees me heading off to the change room with satin and sequins that previously would have elicited little more than a chortle from me.

I should acknowledge two things. Firstly, I seem to be good at finding very nice things in op shops, thank you very much, so why do I need to resort to buying ugly numbers to beautify? And secondly, well, I can’t sew. These two thoughts stopped me from buying a fantastic dress that simply needed a shorter hem when I was in the Salvos at Darlington the other week. However, I was in super-holiday-magic mode, reading my new book and itching to give it a crack. What I should have done is experiment on items that I was sending to the op shop during my big clean up, but my brain doesn’t seem to function well when I’m on holidays, so I hit up the nearest op shop for “what the??” to change into “woo hoo!!”.

Before

I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but my first attempt turned out quite well. For $5, I scored a retro Witchery dress: sleeveless, black, with two layers of lace over the chest/upper back and a pleated skirt (hard to describe, even harder to look at). But I saw a nice top lurking in that mess, and gave it a go. A couple of hours of unpicking later, I had separated the skirt from the top, and with some careful snipping, removed one of the layers of lace. The bottom of the top didn't need hemming, as enough of the stitching had remained intact.

After

I’m very happy with my new top, and have been bitten by the bug. I’m now in the process of converting a long peasant skirt into a dress, and have two more dresses lined up for modification: a lovely red patterned wrap dress with unflattering sleeves and hem line, and a beautiful pastel patterned sun dress that is several sizes too big. These are going to be trickier than seam-ripping and lace-snipping, but I’m hoping my delusions of grandeur are well founded… Wish me luck! Thanks for the inspiration, Marisa!

PS I know I'm seriously plugging her book, but Marisa Lynch has no idea who I am, and hasn't asked me to do it!

Read this:

www.newdressaday.com

New Dress A Day: The Ultimate DIY Guide to Creating Fashion Dos from Thrift Store Don'ts

Marisa Lynch

Ballantine Books (2012)

Hello, old friend.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we recently had a little trip away on the coast. On one of the days, in an attempt to help our tired little boy get some much-needed rest (his motto is, “Sleep is for the weak!”) , we drove the 30 minutes from Yankalilla to Victor Harbor (not misspelled for those of you not familiar with the place). No trip to Victor is complete without stopping at the Save the Children and the Lifeline in town (there is also the Whalers Emporium and the Savlos, but you need to jump back into the car for those two).

The Save the Children has been refurbished, and so have the prices! They aren’t through the roof, but they no longer have their dollar rack, if you get my drift. The new store is very pretty: light and airy, and well set out. The items are the usual mix of Target, Jay Jays etc, with some surf brands and mum brands (like Jacquie E) thrown into the mix. There wasn't much there for me (but I was feeling frugal, and more than just a little peeved at the jump in prices), but I bought O an adorable, brand new onesie with a pattern of vintage aeroplanes (his g-pa will get a kick out of it) for $2.00. The lady who served me was not impressed that there were new clothes going for so cheap, but she shouldn't be complaining: she just scored an awesome silver bracelet with Confucius on each section (dang! Too slow, Ali!). It’s certainly still worth a look next time you are in the area.

The Lifeline is still the same old store it was when we used to go there when I was in primary school (I only recently got rid of a Garfield t-shirt I bought from there when I was about 10 years old). I really should stop buying clothes for O, but they were the cutest little striped overalls for $2.50…! No buttons this time, but a recently-ish published book on baby food for 50c was the bargain of the day.

I also bought a pair of Jay Jays cargos, mainly because it went from 35 deg to 24 deg and all I brought with me was a pair of shorts and a sun dress. They are basically new, and only set me back $4. It’s a good thing I did get them, as apart from the cool change, my shorts were covered in baby vomit about 15 minutes later. A tank top with a big sequinned bow appliqué and a lovely, floaty sleeveless dress in pastel colours rounded off my trip down memory lane.

Probably the highlight of the day was the teenage girl snapping at her mum outside of Lifeline: “Can we just go before someone I know sees me!” I didn't even bother stifling my laughter. Her mum gave the predictable and not unreasonable response, “Oh for God’s sake, who are you going to see?”

If I didn’t have the two boys in tow I would have high-tailed it to the other stores, where I have had success on previous occasions. Anyway, we had to fit all of the stuff into the car (and then the house!), so it’s probably a good thing I stopped.

Addit: We ended up going to the other stores on the last day of our holiday, as we came home via Victor. The Salvos was a bit of a bust, although Nath bought a book (there's a surprise) and I bought a cool turtle whose head pops out of its shell when you press the shapes on his back. Its proved its $2 worth already, and O hasn't even played with it (hey - it's fun, okay!?). We went to the Whalers Emporium, too, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's no longer the pee pee soaked heck hole it once was. Helllloooo brand new patent leather wedges I've been searching for! I had seen some earlier that day in Betts (don't worry - just browsing!) for $89, not leather. Mine were $12. Game. Set. Match, baby!

Yankalillalove

On a recent trip to the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula, I kept a weathered eye out for nanna op shops in the local area. I expected to come across one or two church shops, maybe a Vinnies if I was lucky. What I found was pretty impressive: in Yankalilla (affectionately known as Yanks, Yankas, Yankastanka, Yankastankakanka, Yankastankaburninlove... You get the idea) there are five - count 'em FIVE - secondhand stores all on the same road, all within a stone's throw of each other. We managed to look at 3 of them before it became too much for the youngest member of our posse. There's a fantastic store filled with china, coloured glass, old tools, doilies, kitchenalia, costume jewellery and books with the tantilising sign: "Buy, sell, exchange". There were no clothes in this one (*sigh*) but I was on the hunt for some buttons for a craft project and found a bag of white and a bag of black ones that will do just nicely. I also bought a hand-embroidered cloth for mum (shhh), a book about a humpy, grumpy camel for O and a white – I suppose clip-on – collar with crochet detail for me. Not a bad haul for $8. I noticed that, generally, the prices on the china and glass were very reasonable. There were some very nice pieces, but there’s no point for us at the moment: babies and fragile home wares do not mix well, I’m told. I should mention, too, that the man who runs the place is very nice.

Two doors up is the Pharmacy Op Shop. I assume it used to be the local pharmacy many moons ago. It’s now a cute nanna oppie that seems to be small at first glance, but has 4 rooms all up (apparently they used to utilise the shed, too, but it was too much for the oldies who work there in the hot weather, the shop assistant informed me). I didn’t spend as long digging through this place as I would have liked, but on the surface it seemed to have a mix of nanna dresses and tracksuits, and a collection of Target and Valleygirl cast-offs. I got the impression that stock doesn’t really ‘move’ in this place, but I still bought a lovely blue and white floral pleated summer dress.

A few doors further up is Top Shop second hand store. We didn’t get to this one, so I can’t report back, I’m afraid. We did venture into the Meals on Wheels Variety Store just past Topshop, and what a hot mess that place is! Clothes are in piles on shelves and stuffed in overflowing cardboard boxes, there are shoes everywhere and the pricing seems to be haphazard. That said, there is a mix of quality items and junk, and the lady who was working that day was an absolute darling. She kept pulling things off shelves and showing them to us and saying how nice they were, not in a “buy it!” kind of way; she was just pottering around, really, and seemed genuinely excited by the stock on offer. I poked around for quite a while, with mental notes to keep an eye out for op shop spiders (a real phenomenon) and to wash my hands the first chance I got (done). My haul was a small one: a black lace wrap dress with a big ol’ skirt just made for twirling, a vinyl sewing and manicure pouch (which will be thoroughly cleaned and the contents discarded and replaced with what I already have. Ew), a jar of wooden buttons (I can’t seem to stop buying buttons, apparently) and a blue and white canvas belt that I plan to repurpose as straps for a dress (more on my new found love for clothing modification in a later post). This little collection was barely a blip on the fiscal radar at $4 for the lot. Oh, and it was all carefully placed in a reusable material shopping bag, which can be laundered when it gets dirty, I was informed (she really was my favourite shop assistant of the holiday).

Finally, there is a second hand furniture/bric-a-brac store in the same group (the pre-loved district of Yankalilla, apparently), but I’m not in the market for any more furniture at the moment, so we skipped it.

After all that hunting through shops, I recommend the Yankalilla Bakery as a refuelling station before heading into Normanville. There’s only one op shop there, but after the other five, energy and funds are likely to be low (as a general rule, I only do 3-4 op shops in one session, otherwise you find yourself coming home with weird sequined 1980’s satin numbers that you are SURE you can work with). This is another nanna one. They’re a tricky bunch, let me tell you. There are no prices on anything, so you either have to ask or take the leap that it will be dirt cheap. I suggest asking. They wing it at the checkout (if you can call a desk, plastic chair and a writing pad a checkout). I bought 2 dresses and a skirt for me (I’ll post about these separately, as they were part of my experiment in modifying op shop finds ala Marisa Lynch), a checked shirt for Nath, a toy for O and some preserving jars. Oh. And some buttons (ahem). When pricing the dresses, the lady held one up and said “ooh, that’s fancier. Better make it $5”. It was the oddest, most out-dated frock I’ve ever bought, but whatever. The shirt for Nath was priced based on the sleeve length (I’m assuming long sleeve shirts cost more), and the toy, which was by far the most valuable thing in the pile, was only $1. The jars were 6 for 50c and the buttons were free. I’m not sure if she ran out of steam, or if her shift was ending, but it was quite the random allocation of cost! Whatever the reason, I figure it all evened out in the end, so I was happy. Also, you know: charity.

So there you have it. Six stores worth the drive. If you find yourself at a loose end one day, take a drive to Yankalilla and Normanville. Go shopping, eat cake, walk on the beach. You’ll be home by dinner with change from a fifty, a swag of second hand goods and a smile on your dial.

Shop here:

Yankalilla second hand shops

Inman Valley Rd, Yankalilla

(various opening times)

Normanville Opportunity Shop

Just off South Rd, Normanville (next to the surf shop)

Open 10-4pm Mon-Fri. Not sure about Sat, sorry!

Eat here:

Yankalilla Bakery

South Rd, Yankalilla

www.yankalillabakery.com.au for menu and opening times.

Walk here:

Yankalilla Bay to Carrickalinga from Jetty Rd, Normanville

Stay here:

Yankalilla Bay Homestead

39 Jetty Rd

Yankalilla Bay

(very lovely!)

Addit: I should mention my op shop-hating husband skipped in and out of the stores with a pile of books under his arm. Insert raspberry here.

Confessions of a serial shopper

And cereal, but that's a whole other blog. So far in my quest to buy nothing new in 2013 I have had some triumphs and a hiccup or two. Not exactly a shining start to the New Year, but I'm still in the process of rebooting my frugal brain. I have to go from "Ohh. Yes please!" (insert cash register sound here) to "Hmm. No, thanks!" (insert sound of triumphantly sweeping out of the store here. Whatever that sounds like).

I'm not doing too badly, really. Last weekend I went shopping at Marion with a friend. Yes, we did go into real shops, not just the supermarket. There were some very lovely things, and of course, everything at this time of year is on sale. Seriously, stores dress their windows with little more than giant red and white “SALE” posters that can be seen from space… But I happily browsed. It probably helped that I am in the process of sorting out my wardrobe, which, for those of you playing at home, is unbearably large when spread out on the dining room table. But I'm still going to chalk it up to willpower. 

I had a little stumble when I went to buy an ironing board cover (I have never seen one in my op shop trawling, and I decided that my newly spray-painted - bright red - second hand ironing board deserved a brand new cover, especially given it didn't actually come with one). I found a tub that I mostly needed, but a little part of me wanted, because it matches the other things I have in our laundry. I could have searched for one of these in second hand stores, but what are the odds of finding it? Plus, I needed it sooner rather than later. Still, part of me feels guilty for buying it. I've decided to put that in the “could have done it better” category. I figure it’s like smoking: every cigarette you don’t have is doing you good. So, every time I don’t buy something, it’s doing me good. But like anyone quitting smoking, I have the occasional slip ups. Next visit to Marion, I’ll do better.

On the plus side, I had found a great toy box for $40 when I was there that would have looked quite nice in our lounge, but I walked away (the sound of me triumphantly walking out of the store was heard throughout Marion). Good thing, too, as I found a slightly bigger one in  Darlington Salvos  for $20 on the way home (as well as a lovely Cue skirt for $6.99. Ahem). It needs a little work (the top is musk pink vinyl with an embossed paisley pattern) but it’s just what I was looking for: strong enough to climbed all over by cute kids but with a lid that, if slammed, will result in an owie and not an amputation. It’s all you can ask for as a parent, really. Oh, and it doesn't smell funny. I’m planning to use blue paint that I already have for the bottom and cover the top with some Pooh bear material I have (pics to come). Sure, it won’t match the décor in our lounge, but what kind of house has kids stuff in chocolate brown wood with a forest green inset? A boring one, that’s what. Kids stuff should be bright and fun, and sticky hand prints should only add to the charm (or so I tell myself).

So this week I have learnt that the little mantras help, as long as I get enough sleep and exercise, and eat my fruit and veg... They came in handy about 4 times today when, in holiday mode, I considered a couple of new things to add to my wardrobe. Taking that extra moment to stop and remind myself that I am buying nothing new this year, and that I don’t really need it anyway, prevented my from adding to my pile of belongings.

So far, so… Well, pretty good. Blogging about it keeps me honest. Now if only the Ali Tally (of my daily chocolate consumption) on the fridge was just as powerful… *Sigh* One self-improvement step at a time. Maybe next year, when I have mastered the art of frugal/sustainable living, I can work on that. Or, you know, climb Mt Everest. Both are as likely…