❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

I am a bad blogger ... in my personal life, at least. I blog professionally for a number of companies, and my clients love me. I hit my deadlines, create engaging content, and drive traffic. I write for newspapers, magazines and online publications. I ghostwrite for doctors, veterinarians and lawyers. And when the workday ends (usually sometime in the wee hours of the morning), I just don't feel like writing about myself. I'd rather binge Fargo season 2 on Hulu than make my aching hands and wrists type another word. But I finished Fargo last night; the prescription pain pills for my arthritis and tendinitis are helping, and I did just have a birthday and score some killer thrifty deals. Plus, my friend Barry Wisdom, who passed away in September, was my biggest cheerleader for this blog; he helped me name it, and I know he'd want to me keep on writing on. And so without further pontificating, I present the revival of Thrifty Thursdays. For my 33rd birthday, I treated mys...

 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 ...

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...

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...

Happy Thrifty Thursday! Today's casual outfit comes from Thrift Town. If it seems like half my thrifty wardrobe hails from Thrift Town, it's probably because it does. I used to live mere minutes from the Carmichael location, so for a long time it was my first-stop, go-to store for clothes and more. Of all the Thrift Town scores, one of my favorites has to be these cuffed, dark-wash DKNY jeans. But as much as I love the look, quality and like-new condition of the jeans, they are not forgiving to that little more to love I'm carrying around my waist. To compensate for the tight waist-squeeze, I paired the form-fitting pants with this black flowy tank top that ties in the back, scored at a 99 cent sale. This top is all about comfort. I especially appreciate that despite the black color, it still keeps me cool, even under a hot sun.

If you snuck a look inside my closets, you'd find a lot of the same colors and prints -- blacks, reds, blues and teals, polka dots and stripes -- but one single style wouldn't be so obvious. I've got DIY punk rock tanks hanging alongside date-night blouses and character screen tees. And cardigans, so many cardigans. I like what I like, and I'm not easily swayed by trends. Some days I try and dress a bit more my age: blazers and blouses. And some days I really don't care if my "Muppets" Animal tank top is for a child; it's cute and I'm wearing it. On the most consistent basis, however, I would say my style is subtle rockabilly. I'm just too low maintenance to go full on victory rolls, eyeliner and heels on a regular basis. I'm a sneakers and flip flops girl who drools over pretty heels; I just don't love actually wearing them so much. Finding a pair of cute heels to fit my dainty feet is always a problem. Even with heel grips, ...

Being a responsible adult means choosing the practical, no frills bra you really need over the cute sundress, or even the oh-em-gee so cute polka-dot Tommy Hilfiger push-up bra with lace trim. I am a responsible adult. With mad shopping skills. For my birthday, Kohl's sent me a coupon for $10 off anything, no exclusions. Bless you, Kohl's. After browsing the bra section and wrinkling my nose at the weak-tea buy one, get one half-off sale, I sauntered over to the clearance intimates section and found a black Bali bra. Normally $40, it was on clearance for $12. After my coupon, I paid $2.16. That's what I call a score. I still needed a basic white bra, and I was also interested in a sports bra. I only had about $8 left from my original $50 birthday gift. I comprised between a sports bra and a white wire bra and got a Warner's brand wireless bra with lift, and good, supportive straps from Ross for $12.15 total. I can stomach going $4 over my birthday cash for suc...

When it comes to thrifting, I have my go-to shops, but I'm always looking for new stores to add to my favorites' list. My mom had scored some mega deals on collectible Sesame Street characters at Mary's Thrift Store on Auburn Boulevard in Citrus Heights, so on a Thursday, I decided to check it out. If only I had stopped by the day before. Mary's has day-of-the-week sales, and Wednesdays are half-off everything used in the store. The dresses that piqued my interest weren't covered on Thursday's sale, and I wasn't crazy about the sticker prices. The poor organization of the racks also kept me from taking many items back to the dressing room. I did, however,  walk away with one purchase for $4 and change. In warm weather, I'm all about the sundress. And I especially love the teal color and comfortable cotton of this Forever 21 halter. The dress is in like-new condition, and I know I'll get a ton of use out of it. Goodwill is not a store on...

Comfortable and cute are two words that don't go together often enough in fashion.   I have skinny jeans, that while my vanity loves the look, my gut hates the squeeze. Those skinny jeans and the like are the clothes that send me straight from entering the front door to exiting out of the pants and changing into lounge pants at lightning speed. I'm pretty sure 20 male comics have made jokes on the subject of a woman's rush to make the drawstring pant change.  But this thrifty outfit is so comfortable and stretchy, I literally did yoga in it earlier today. And if I actually had anywhere to be, I could totally pair it with heels to instantly dress up. The top is a 99 Cent Sweater Sale find from Thrift Town, and the jeggings are my newish pair from Ross . The embellished Rocket Dog shoes are probably 9 years old, a super great $10 clearance find from Famous Footwear.

When it comes to acquiring new furniture for the house, I have two rules I almost always follow. The new piece has to be free or under $11. Otherwise, I have to sell something I already have to pay for the new piece. And then it still has to be a stellar deal. For example: When I wanted a different chair in the family room , I sold our rocking chair (picked up for free, 5 minutes away) for $35 and bought this cushy, zebra print chair for $20. Because I'm diligent about following my self-imposed rules, I sometimes wait a bit to get what I want, especially since I'm picky and obsessive-compulsive about matching. Lately, I've been frustrated using with my hope chest as a coffee table in the living room . We use baskets and decorative boxes to hold all our stuff, but those storage containers take up a lot of space atop the chest. That's space where our feet and cups like to go. And even with the top of the chest cleared, we still have limited to spac...

Early Valentine's Day is the way to go. There's less pressure, no crowds and you don't have to pay jacked up prices. We went out on Thrifty Thursday, which is why this blog is coming a bit late. I was busy with my sweetie all day. We started the day with presents. Aaron had already received his main gift early: three small Venus flytraps. He has this thing for carnivorous plants. Plus, I'm always saying, "Feeeed me, Seymour!" because the hungrier I get, the harder it is for me to actually find and prepare food. I also gave him The Essential Weird Al Yankovik . Weird Al was one of his favorite musicians as a kid, and we saw him at the California State Fair a few years back. On my end, I helped Aaron out by pinning jewelry I liked and by browsing jewelry in store together. Better to be thorough than to be disappointed! I really wanted a right-hand ring, and not only did I get a sparkly infinity ring, but I also opened a necklace and pair of earrings...

I admit it. Sometimes I dig the prep look, especially when it's the preppy sailing style.  I also appreciate the simple sophistication a blazer adds to an outfit. My prep-inspired outfit was for a Saturday shopping date with the husband. I like to think that if I dress a little nicer, employees will treat me a little better when I'm out shopping, but this theory has yet to be proven. When you look as young as I do, employees have this way of ignoring you while offering assistance to customers who appear older. I guess adding a blazer to an outfit isn't enough to overcome my baby face. But I digress ... I paired this Jones Studio blazer from Thrift Town ($4) with an AB Studio top (gift from Kohl's), Merona skinny jeans ($12 Target), shiny black ballet flats (Payless) and shiny black Esprit hand bag (Thrift Town, $2, I believe).

This Thrifty Thursday, I'm thankful for sunshine, feeling (mostly) better and finding petites at Thrift Town. I probably sound like a shallow Buzzfeed article, and this complaint would definitely be filed under #firstworldproblems, but as a short girl, the struggle is real. Unless I buy petite-sized pants, my legs are going to be drowning in extra length. And finding cute, age-appropriate petite pants is not always easy. The petite section at department stores generally caters to older ladies. So whenever I find a pair of petite pants that meet the fit, style and price categories, I practically do a happy dance in the dressing room. These petite Style & Co. tummy-control jeans from Thrift Town hit all of the criteria, and I want to say I spent $4 on them a few years ago. These same pants were selling at Macys for an original sticker price of $50 when I bought them. Score! Although I can wear regular-size tops, petites definitely fit better. And this polka dot blou...

As luck would have it, I've been sick since my last blog post. My throat started hurting Thursday and when I woke up on Friday, it was obvious: I was sick. Luckily I had recently ordered myself goodies with Christmas gift cards and my first present had just arrived. So I spent the next few days playing Kirby's Epic Yarn on Wii and doing not much else, and that includes getting dressed. I've basically lived in pajamas the last week, so I don't have any cute, thrifty outfits to share. I've been coughing so hard I've thrown up in the disgustingly full kitchen trash, on my blankets, on my robe, and in the toilet I sure wish was cleaner. So really, wearing anything other than pajamas has been pointless. I'm a sneezing, snot-dripping, choke-coughing, disgusting body of germs. Although, I am starting to feel better. Still, there is that old advice that if you shower and get dressed, you'll feel better. I generally find this to be a lie, but after my sh...

In keeping with my resolution to blog more, I'm instituting Thrifty Thursdays, where I'll show off my thrifted outfits for the past week or any cool, new thrift finds. Last Thursday, Aaron and I ran a bunch of errands and whilst out, I picked up this red sweater with faux pearl buttons for $0.99 at Thrift Town. It's actually a truer, darker red in person, and exactly what I've been looking for, although in pretty worn and stretched out condition. I need to take the sleeves in so it looks less frumpy. I also picked up my first ever pair of jeggings at Ross for $11. They are so comfy and unlike the pairs I tried on at Target, I have no worry of flashing crack. Friday was date night. We finally made it to see Gone Girl at the $4 theater inside Sunrise Mall. Well worth the wait. For date night, I wore my new jeggings, paired with this striped, stretchy tank top from The Thrift Store (a couple bucks, I would guess) and my fuzzy cranberry-colored sweater that was a...