❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

Things I learned this holiday season: People hang onto their Scrabble games and get rid of brand new, unopened Glee and Twilight games. At least that's what I found to be true at multiple thrift stores in Sacramento. When I decided to make Scrabble crafts for Christmas presents, I figured it would be easy to find an old Scrabble game at one of the many thrift stores I frequent. How wrong I was. I found lots of sad looking Scrabble Jr. games, but no actual Scrabble. In the end, I bought a new Scrabble game, paid for mainly with Shop Your Way points, so I still got a good deal. For my first Christmas craft, I made my mom a decorative picture, turning the Scrabble tiles into crosses. I used Super Glue to secure the letters into the cross shape. I immediately discovered that the glue bled onto front of the tiles, darkening parts of the light wood color. To remedy this, after gluing, I used a light peach nail polish to coat the tiles for a more uniform color. For the pic...

 Hi! I'm Chucky. Wanna play!?! For Halloween 2015, Aaron and I dressed up as the killer dolls, Chucky and Tiffany, from the Child's Play movies. A look into our respective closets and Halloween costume stash inspired the DIY Bride of Chucky Halloween costumes. Aaron already had the blue overalls from our Super Mario 3 and Princess Peach costumes , and I already had the motorcycle boots and leather jacket. Aaron gave me the jacket when we started dating over 11 years ago. Thrifted Chucky Couples Costume To complete our thrifted Chucky couples costume, we hit up a number of Sacramento-area thrift stores on the hunt for the two key missing ensemble pieces: Chucky's striped shirt and Tiffany's bridal gown. We found both items right away at Mary's Thrift Store in Citrus Heights, but we tempted fate and waited to buy them until we did a sweep of 3 Goodwills, 1 Eco Thrift, 1 The Thrift Store, 1 Deseret Industries and 1 Thrift Town to ensure we bought the best. What can I ...

Every Halloween I get a little more crafty and the house looks just a bit more awesome as my outdoor Halloween decorations grow in number and size. This year, I added the Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington garage, a large garbage bag spider for the porch, new garbage bag ghosts, a duct tape Ghostbusters logo ghost, a garbage bag grim reaper silhouette and tombstones made from political yard signs. The only outdoor Halloween decorations actually purchased this year included two packs of candy corn lights from Home Depot and a foam skull from the 99 Cent Store at half off for about $9 total. Here's the rundown of my decorations: Michael Myers: Old Halloween costume stuffed with furniture foam . Grim Reaper Silhouette : Black garbage bags. I looked at pictures and then free-handed it with scissors. Ghostbusters Logo: Duck Tape, cardboard and furniture foam . Window Lights: Repurposed Christmas lights passed down from Aaron's childhood...

If there's something strange, in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!  "I could make that!" It's a common utterance that either my husband or I make when browsing decor. This time, the self-assured proclamation came from my husband while we were browsing Halloween decorations at Walmart. The big-box retailer had a 3D ghost that stuck to windows with suction cups.  My husband is a handy guy who is more than capable of designing all sorts of cool things, from crafts to furniture, but he doesn't always follow through on his many ideas. I didn't put too much stock into his claim until he bought white and red Duck Tape for the project and got right down to work. Here's how he did it, and how you can create your own 3D Ghostbusters logo in 10 simple steps. Supplies: Soft foam (like furniture foam) Scissors Cardboard White and red duct tape Black duct tape or black craft foam Optional: Hot glue gun DIY...

So I was Googling "Nightmare Before Christmas decorations" for Halloween and came across a picture of a Jack Skellington garage door decal on Pinterest. My immediate California girl response was like, "That's hella sweet!" I clicked the Pinterest pin and found that the giant decal used to be sold on Etsy for $75. And I was like, "Dang. That's a lot of money. But it's still pretty cool. I bet I could make that!" So I did. Or at least, the thrifty version. Making Jack Skellington Garage Decoration  For my Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington garage decoration, I used 2 heavy-duty yard waste bags for the eyes. I could have used just 1 bag for the eyes, but I kept the bags doubled up; that is, I didn't pull apart the two sides. I figured the eyes would be a little sturdier and darker that way. I snipped and snipped to create the eye shapes. Once I had the eyes to my liking, I stapled the two sides together. I used Duck ...

Halloween, my favorite holiday season is here. The season where I get to turn my modest suburban home into a creepy attraction filled with dead bodies, goblins, ghost, and of course, Michael Myers standing watch at the window, day and night . Every year I like to add to my outdoor Halloween decor, but I like to do so without spending any money. This year's project: Upcycle political yard signs into Halloween tombstones! Beyond the  environmental reasons of turning trash into treasure, I love making my own decor because it fits best with my thrifty, low-budget lifestyle. I've also discovered that people love our homemade, upcycled and DIY decorations more than the store-bought decor. We get far more compliments and "That's creepy!" comments on the flying monster we assembled with a graduation robe and mask and gloves from the 99 Cent Store than we do the light-up Marcus the Carcus from Target buried in the front yard. When it comes to outdoor Halloween...

I've only visited Mary's Thrift Store twice, but I have a love-hate relationship with it. Located in a rundown shopping center next to a Dollar Tree on Auburn Boulevard in Citrus Heights, it's the epitome of a hole-in-the-wall store. Whoever runs it puts little effort into promotion, decor, customer service, organization and modernization. The employees barely acknowledge your existence until it's time to check out or you have a question. You won't find any social media for the store outside of a handful of mostly outdated Yelp reviews. The store doesn't offer much in the way of men's, children's, electronics or housewares. Despite all its lacking, the store has a great women's clothing selection. You just have to devote time to browsing. The clothes are somewhat organized by color, but good luck finding sizes. The store staples its prices onto the size tags of the clothes. Sometimes I'm able to read the sizes, sometimes not. It...

Chalk It Up is one of my favorite Sacramento festivals. The Labor Day weekend festival brings together local artists and musicians for a free three-day event that raises money for arts education grants in the Sacramento area. This year, Chalk It Up celebrated its 25th anniversary. It's been really cool to watch it grow bigger and better every year. This year I caught the last two bands performing on Labor Day, Honyock and Drop Dead Red . Check out the 2015 Chalk It Up pics below.  For more chalk pics, see my favorite selections from Chalk It Up 2014 . Honyock Drop Dead Red (Click to enlarge and flip through the Chalk It Up 2015 gallery.) ... Powered by Cincopa Video Hosting for Business solution.

Problem: White deodorant marks on clothes.  Solution: Foam from a clothes hanger. This is such a simple trick I wish I would have known years ago. Even though I saw this clothing hack demonstrated on TV, I still had my doubts about its effectiveness. But when I got "invisible solid" deodorant (does such a thing really exist??) on my Mr. T Experience tee, I remembered the hack and put it to the test. I used the foam from inside a dry cleaner's hanger. You can cut the foam off the hanger, but I really like this hanger, so I kept it on. To remove the deodorant marks, rub the hanger foam directly onto the deodorant marks. The foam acts as a magic eraser, and the deodorant marks really do just disappear. Problem: Pull tab of the zipper fly won't stay up. Solution: Ring from a keychain. Since most of my wardrobe is thrifted or from Ross, I occasionally run into problems with difficult zippers that refuse to stay up. Or maybe it's not the clothes...

After making fun word art and punny song graphics for my kitchen upgrade, I realized the space was still lacking something. There was a void above the top frame. I toyed with the idea of buying word decals, but then that would bust my zero dollar kitchen upgrade budget. Then it hit me, I could make an EAT sign with the cardboard I keep on hand for crafty projects and all the white shelf paper we have.

Decorating my kitchen has been a challenge. Just about every inch of wall space under the cabinets is filled with small appliances and kitchen doohickeys, leaving no room for adornment. Opposite the cramped counters lies one big, uneven wall with outlets right in the middle. When this house was first built, that wall had cupboards and counters, so it made sense to have outlets there. But when everything was gutted from the wall to create a dining space, the outlets remained. And not only are the two outlets smack in the middle of this blank space, but they are not even level with each other. Staring at the wall is a bit of a trip because from the ceiling line to the outlets, everything is just a bit askew. Since those outlets are the only sources of power on that side of the kitchen, the outlets are actually used quite a lot, so covering them up is not an option. When I first decorated that wall, I pinned up three red Ikea mirrors my mom had given me. I was never really crazy abo...

Oh new Macys sofa, how I love thee. Let me count thy ways.  Comfort is your name with cushions so thick and full. You brighten up the room, adding contrast to the red, black, white and grey. Pet hair barely shows on your light Tiffany Blue shade. And when it's time to remove the hair, a quick vacuum or sticky roll does the trick. Your pillows stay in place with Velcro so strong the dog can never climb atop. Your smaller arms bring more nap space to sprawl across your smooth, micro-suede seats. And even though you arrived with spots and dirt, I didn't mind the scrubbing work. Best of all, you cost just $40 and I sold my old, worn, pet-hair covered sofa for the same.  Like this? You might also like: Craigslist Furniture: Family Room Update.  Mid-Century Craigslist Scores

My obsessive need to match everything and have decor look just right is a blessing and a curse. I have a sharp eye for color and can detect slight variations in shades most people cannot. I excel at buying second-hand furniture and clothes because I can quickly spot imperfections in products, and I'm also able to easily diagnose how much work it would take to fix said flaws. For these reasons, I'm able to help others decorate, select furniture and clothes. But I also go a little nutso when things in my own home don't coordinate, are off balance or are otherwise just not right. A picture askew can cause me anxiety. I spend days rearranging ornaments on the Christmas tree. So imagine how I've felt having a cheap, brown cabinet in my red, black, white, tan and silver family room. When we moved in nearly two years ago, the cabinet was supposed to be a temporary solution to our smaller kitchen. We used the cabinet to hold the pantry food that didn't fit in the kitc...

So let me tell you a little story that may or may not be entirely factually accurate, depending on how well my memory has held up. I was 17 (I think) and in love with a band called The Ataris. The band's pop-punk tunes of crushes, heartache and life's complications just like so totally resonated with my teenage soul. The band was coming to Sacramento and my then boyfriend, or possibly "ex-boyfriend, but still friends," John and I were so stoked. I had saved up my money and then I got grounded, per usual. John went without me. Cue crushing of my teenage soul. I don't remember how I dealt, but I probably blasted The Ataris in my room and ranted to my friends on AOL Instant Messenger, in typical teenage protest. Whether from lack of funds, lack of ride or permission, missing any show sent in me a ranting Livejournal rage at that age, but this one especially stung. Fast forward in time and I kept missing opportunities to see The Ataris. I was devastated again ...

Generally, I like to say I'm thrifty, not cheap. I am a thrifty shopper, but I don't like to buy cheap quality clothes or furniture, for example. Sometimes, when it really doesn't matter, I am just plain cheap. When it comes to organizing my makeup, I'm cheap. I don't need my makeup organization to look nice; I just need it to be functional and portable. I don't own a lot of makeup, and I wear even less on a regular basis. My makeup organization goal was to create a simple system that would allow me to quickly grab what I needed from lightweight, portable containers. I've always kept my makeup in a narrow, plastic drawer from an organizational desk caddy I used in elementary school. The caddy fell apart ages ago, but I've put the surviving drawers to use for the past 20 years. I used to just toss all my makeup in this little drawer, but I got sick of digging around to find what I needed. To organize my makeup, I repurposed prescription pill bo...

I don't really have a bucket list. I guess I'm not a bucket list person. But I do have a concert list. I've been lucky enough to see most of the musicians from that list, but one band at the top of the list seemed out of reach. Until, in insomniac daze, in a quest to find an inexpensive adventure for our eighth wedding anniversary, I Googled "county fairs Northern California" and discovered THE BEACH BOYS were scheduled to play two Bay Area county fairs, and the Sonoma-Marin Fair included the concert and all rides for the price of $15 admission. I was so excited I nearly cried. I nearly woke up my sleeping husband.

Some people go out to dinner or to the movies for their anniversary, Aaron and I go thrifting. To celebrate 8 years of marriage, Aaron and I had some thrifting fun at Thrift Town in Carmichael. For our thrifting date, I wore my new black pencil skirt from Sears so I could try and find another shirt or two to go with it. Plus, when I'm trying on clothes, I like wearing something I can pull off and on easily. Those cramped dressing rooms get hot. For a new skirt, this was a steal. Shop Your Way Rewards sent me some surprise point money and also extended my membership in its free shipping program. I didn't have time to go to the store and letting free money go to waste is an assault on my thrifty lifestyle. So I did what I often do. I sat at my computer and searched until I found the item at the best price that had the best chance of actually fitting properly. I picked this pencil skirt because it's stretchy with an elastic waistband, has subtle polka dots on it, and with ...

In our camping chairs at CIP. Aaron and I are celebrating our 8/11 anniversary. That's 8 years married and 11 years together. Since the two anniversaries are just days apart, it makes for an extended celebration. And don't we deserve it! This year, our relationship anniversary fell on a Friday, and not just any Friday. It was the Friday that the Mr. T Experience played the free Concert in the Park. The Mr. T Experience is originally a Bay Area pop-punk band from the 90s that through line-up changes is now three-fourths a Sacramento band. If you heard the band, they might "kind of remind you of Green Day." But poppier, nerdier and more laser focused on songs about a girl. I love seeing MTX in concert, and I definitely have hometown pride that they are now a Sacramento-ish band. And that my friend Bobby Jordan is in the band.