I'm a little bit country!

What a find! A Stetson hat.

I was in one of my favorite thrifting spots. It was a rainy day with nothing much else to do so I was scouring the store from one end to the other. I know sometimes it can be a little overwhelming to enter some of these stores because they have so much inventory you can stand there and not even know where to begin. I tend to start in the front right hand corner and work my way around to the front left corner of the store. This can take hours or minutes, it depends on how hard you want to look. To find the real gems, you must take your time and look over items. You need to look high on shelves, low on shelves, end caps, display racks and even on the floor.

I found this hat sitting on top of a rack of men's clothes. I liked it and thought it would look good as a woman's hat. When I picked it up and turned it over, I saw the Stetson logo staring back at me. I was so excited! I turned the hat around looking for a price tag and you are not going to believe it but it was marked $6.00. Yes, that is right, only $6.00. I snatched that hat and held it in my hands for dear life. I could hardly contain my excitement at the register. I was trying to be cool and not draw attention to the fact this was a Stetson, half afraid the cashier would notice and say "sorry, this was marked wrong" or something like that. As I approached the register for checkout, the cashier looked it all over and even said" wow, this is a nice looking hat." I simply said "yes, I thought so too.". I paid for it and I was out of there. I called my husband from the car out is the store parking lots squealing with joy at my great find. Darn, he wasn't in his office. I would have to wait until he came home to tell him.

I had the hat at my house for a couple of weeks when I finally found the time to head to the local western wear store. It's not that close to me so it took me a while to make a trip there. I walked in with my newly purchased hat so proud. I was greeted my a young lady and I told her I would like to have my hat cleaned and shaped. She called for the gentleman I needed to speak to that would handle that. He came out, his name was Greg. I remember because it is my husband's name. I told him what I was interested in. His first question was, where did you get this? I was so excited to tell him I found it at a thrift store for $6.00. His eyes got big and he laughed and said "no kidding, you got a great buy." He went on to tell me he knows a lot about Stetson hats and even knew about the Stetson family that lived local. He said he could tell just by looking at the hat's logo and the style and colors used it was a vintage early 1970's hat. My face lit up! I asked him what he though the hat might be worth today. He said around $150.00! Woo Hoo!! I was excited to hear that. It took him no time at all to have my hat ready. When I went to pay, he told me it was on the house. He said my story of acquiring that hat made his day. That was a few years ago, whenever I look at that hat it still makes me smile.

So don't forget to look up, look down and look all around. Touch things pick things up and take advantage of the smart phone you probably have with you. I Google name brands all the time while thrifting.

Make it a great day!

Beauty or Beast?

Now I already know what you are thinking......wow, that purse has a lot going on. I know because that was my first thought when I saw it.

I was at one of my favorite thrifting spots, walking down the isle minding my own business. As I was approaching the racks of purses to my right, I purposely turned my head to the left as not to even look at them and be tempted to buy another purse which I do not need. As I am doing good , not looking, I start to smell leather. You know, like when you go into a leather shop? The smell of good quality leather fills my nostrils and I have no choice now but to seek out where that beautiful smell is coming from. As I start to look around, I see this purse and think to myself  Noooo.... not this one! I picked it up and touched it and smelled it. Yup! This was it. I was deflated but at the same time excited because the purse was only $4.99. Even at that, low, low price I momentarily had to think about it. It is not something I would normally buy.

Like I said, there is a lot going on here. I pulled out my smart phone and decided to look up the name inside the purse. that would be the deciding factor if I would part with my $4.99 or not. The metal tag inside said Colini Handbags USA. Ok, now I'm more impressed that is was made in the USA. I look up the brand and it is described as "creating dramatic and unique" handbags. These purses are not worth a fortune but a heck of a lot more that what I ended up paying for this.

Yes, I bought this purse, still turning up my nose at it thinking I would put it on eBay and sell it and make some money. Well...I never got around to that. The purse sat in my closet for months. One morning getting ready for church, I was wearing all black and decided I would try out this purse for an accent to my outfit. To my surprise, I had several compliments on it. I ended up using it all week and had compliments on it wherever I went. Now this purse that I almost didn't buy is one of my favorites because it is so different.

Make it a great day!

My how times have changed

Life is funny. When I was a teenager I couldn't wait to find a job and have my own money. I worked part time while in high school and spent all my money at the mall. I shopped at the Altamonte Mall and bought my clothing, shoes, and accessories there. Why go anywhere else? It was one stop shopping. I traveled long corridors going in and out of all the shops such as, Casual Corner, Foxmoor, the Body Shop, Baker's Shoes and lets not forget The County Seat for Levi's jeans. Yes, I know I am dating myself - as none of these stores exist anymore. I owned designer purses and designer shoes and had an outfit for every occasion. I don't think I was any different than any other typical teenage girl.

 As I got older, things started to change. I had kids and THEY become the priority. THEY now had the best clothes and accessories, not me. I wasn't buying those expensive clothes for myself anymore. Don't get me wrong, I was no slouch it was just a different way of living. Learning to use what I already had and being ok with that. This is where I started to get thrifty and creative.

Fast forward. I have now raised my children, an empty nester. I have become even more thrifty as we approach retirement age. In fact, I now love to go to thrift stores for two reasons. Firstly, it is the thrill of the hunt. On the one hand finding that big bargain, you know- the brand name expensive item for under $3.00. Secondly, I find myself feeling nostalgic as I see many items from my childhood. Glasses, plates, knick knacks. It just makes me smile. I can have hours of fun barely spending any money.

Make it a great day!

After much encouragement from family and friends, I have created my very first blog. I plan to blog about my adventures, mostly in the Central Florida area where I live. I also love looking for bargains and I am excited to share my finds.