Getting Thrifty & Healthy In The Kitchen

In my constant quest to eat healthier, I ran into a familiar foe. And the name of that foe is retail shopping.

It can be quite difficult to cut costs when it comes to food, especially when it comes to special-needs dieting. Of course, I'm an advocate for shopping sales and clipping coupons. But since joining Weight Watchers and having to be mindful of the both the contents of my wallet and my tummy, I've been thinking about how best to utilize my food funds.

Here are just a few tips on how I'm staying thrifty in the kitchen:

• Instead of going out to your favorite restaurant any time you get a specific craving, try making it at home. I can almost guarantee it will be cheaper when it comes to how many servings you can stretch out of a single recipe...and healthier since you can control exactly what ingredients to use. Those tofu lettuce wraps were inspired by the P.F. Chang's China Bistro menu. Only...I'm convinced mine were better at half the cost for double the servings.

• In addition to combining sales and coupons, plan your meals ahead whenever possible. If bell peppers are dirt cheap...consider how many recipes can include bell peppers for the entire week. Stir fry, stuffed peppers, pepper steak, salads. You'll never have produce rot in the fridge if you already have plans for it all week long. 

• Look for cheap recipes with ingredients you can readily buy. Everybody loves those Pinterest recipes, but if you can't find all the organic or ethnic ingredients at your local supermarket, you might want to reconsider the meal.

• Get to gardening. Tend that soil and grow as many fruits and veggies as you can possibly fit in the ground. And after all your hard work planting, pruning and watering, you'll hit pay dirt when that produce starts sprouting. 

• Experiment with different spices, herbs, vegetables, fruits and grains. I love cabbage with the combination of lemon and caraway seeds. And green squash stuffed with goat cheese and chopped mint is freakin' out of this world. Learn to love eating healthily and cheaply. 

Well, what are you waiting for?

 Tie on that apron and whip up something thrifty. 

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other...

I recently acquired a bunch of snapshots from Etsy, in the hopes of expanding my ever-growing collection of vintage photographs. I was pleasantly surprised by the lot: A handpicked selection of 25 photos of men, women, children, pets and houses of yesteryear, all gems every one. 

Many of the photographs featured a handful of the same family members in what spanned over a decade of time. But these two shots are really fascinating to me.

Just look at that sweet elderly woman, with her hand-darned pillow and floral printed frock, sitting pretty in that leather chair. Wait...

It's the same pose. It's the same dress. And it's obviously that same leather chair. But despite the same sweet ol' granny, check out all the differences. 

Isn't it odd that she appears exactly the same, but there are so many differences between the two photographs? 

It's a vintage photo hunt! 
How many differences can you spot between the two photos? 
Leave your comment below and let's see how many we can find. 

Bagels & Bargains: The In-Store Thrift Event

A lovely curated collection 

On Saturday, April 6th I was invited as a special guest to the Impact Thrift Store in Feasterville, PA.

Of course, I never need an invitation to feel welcome at Impact, as I'm recognized on the regular basis as "the thrift blogger" by a number of the employees.  Since interviewing the staff prior to the Impact grand opening almost a year ago , I thought I'd eventually be just another eager shopper scavenging for secondhand deals.  So, imagine my delight and surprise to be a blogger invited to another Impact in-store event.

I arrived at Impact at 8 am, when the 20 or so bloggers, crafters and invited guests walked through the doors an hour before the store opened. Given first dibs on the merchandise and fun prizes, we were all wide awake despite the early hours. In a partnership with Denise Sabia of The Painted Home crafting and design website, the Bagels and Bargains event featured curated items fresh from the Impact donation warehouse, 25% off coupons, craft supply goody bags and much more. And all of this swag was provided to promote the Impact ECOfest Home Show on April 27th, another event which I also plan on attending.  

But I couldn't afford to be distracted by all of the glitz and the glamour. I was in a thrift store, prior to opening. It was go time. 

I decided to skip the complimentary breakfast, for the time being. Instead I managed to politely socialize with other bloggers, photograph the things I loved and prowled the store for savings. And all the while I was fascinated by the fact that I hadn't seen it so desolate since my behind-the-scenes Impact tour. 

After stuffing a few small finds into my cart, we gathered around Denise for a game of The Thrifted Price Is Right.

Jackie Jardine, come on down!!! 

The rules were simple: The first person to shout out the correct price for some of her curated thrift finds was the winner.

And when the time came to price that lovely framed  photograph from 1902...you better believe I stepped up my game.

"$20!" 

I shouted and hit the price right on the nose, winning myself a $25 gift certificate. Man, let me tell you. It was almost like I won a car from Drew Carey...almost.

After a few more rounds of pricing and some raffle prizes, we were encouraged to roam around. The small crowd immediately swelled, gravitating to the selection of curated lovelies that Denise had handpicked. But I pushed forward as all of the stools and suitcases were grabbed, and got my fingers around what I knew I was meant to buy from the beginning...that very antique framed photograph that I had correctly priced.

It's the perfect addition to my collection of vintage photographs. 

I made several trips around the store, carefully searching each aisle for a hidden treasure. And it didn't seem like long before the doors were opened to the public, and our little private shopping event came to an end. But I was by no means, disappointed. I received a goody bag of paints and supplies that will soon come in handy for some repurposing projects in the works. I got a 25% off my total order coupon and won a $25 gift certificate. 

Of course, I grabbed a bagel for the road.

After thanking the hostess for her hospitality and saying my goodbyes to the staff, I drove back home with thrift scores in tow. 

It really was a great day, one that I needed. I met other bloggers with a similar passion for thrifting, won some prizes, got some much-needed repurposing advice from an expert in design, was again recognized as the girl behind Let's Go Thrifting. And on top of all that, I scored some sweet thrifted loot.

FREE! FREE! FREE! 

A little wicker and wood curio cabinet, a wooden owl pin, a vintage white doily, Sex In History book and the antique 1902 framed graduation portrait. And with the combined savings of the 25% coupon and the $25 gift certificate...not only was this all free...but I have $4 to spare in certificate spending. I went to the Bagels and Bargains event and actually earned thrift money!

Do I love being a thrift blogger, or what? 

We Came. We Saw. We Thrifted.

"Susie" by Goddard, Museum Print Edition

This past Tuesday, I decided that I needed an entire day of thrifting. So after mapping out a trip to three thrift stores in the Souderton and Montgomeryville area, I  hit the roads with a friend and without a budget in mind.

The first stop was The Care and Share, which is literally a shopping plaza of thrifting. Each thrift store within is conveniently divided by departments. Of course we browsed the books and oohed and ahhed at the vintage furniture.

But it was in the variety thrift shop of The Care and Share that I scored this lovely "Susie" print which now sits atop my dresser.

6 records. SIX. Guess how much! 

I'm not sure I can decide on my favorite find of the day, but I can definitely pinpoint the cheapest. I salvaged this vinyl playlist from the Care and Share Thrift Outlet, where ya gotta dig for the treasures:

24 Groovy Greats LP

Blondie: Autoamerican LP

Iron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP

Carole King: Music LP

The Kinks: Low Budget LP

Stevie Nicks: The Wild Heart LP

All six albums for $1.50!!!

Ooooooh, a pretty peacock.

The cheapest find of the day did have a close contender. While I love, love, love this turquoise necklace and bracelet set from the Salvation Army, this skeleton key tray was one hella cool find...on sale for 39 cents!

Like my newly acquired vintage art, this tray is staying right on my dresser. 

Now, isn't that dreamy? 

I wasn't necessarily looking to spruce up my dresser, but that's exactly what happened. What I was really hoping to find was a nice addition to my Spring wardrobe. But instead I got a pile of tunes, a colorful costume jewelry set, vintage decor and... 

Freud for me and The Doors is a gift.

...a few good books. I rested my favorite coffee mug on top, which wasn't thrifted but a thoughtful gift that I love. 

I scored all this stuff when I was just looking for some clothes. But considering the quality of the haul and the teensy weensy price tags, I'm quite satisfied. 

Vintage "Susie" print: $2.25

Six assorted LPs: $1.50

Turquoise peacock necklace with matching bracelet: $5.00

Skeleton key tray: .39 

Paperback books: $3.00

Three yards of vintage fabric: $3.25

Wait a second. Where did the vintage fabric with the floral print go? Has anyone seen the fabric I bought for my photo backdrop? 

Oh, there it is! 

Silly rabbit, vintage is for thrifters. 

Well, my sister's dwarf bunny, Coco, has taken over my vintage fabric. I guess she's entitled. It is almost Easter, after all. 

What have you conquered from the thrift store?