My thrift store adventures in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

By Tenisha Mercer
www.BargainistasATL.Blogspot.com

It's when you go thrift store shopping at stores out of town that you realize just how lucky you are to have so many thrifting options.

Atlanta, where I live, has tons of thrift stores and consignment boutique options - from the tried-and-true 'you never know what you're gonna find' Goodwills and the swankiest of the swank dripping with Louboutins consignment stores, to the, "Do I really want to get out of this car?" stores that make you second guess your decision to thrift there in the first place.

I wasn't sure what I was going to find when I went thrifting in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. recently.  The experience has made me appreciate thrift stores in Atlanta even more. 

For starters, the entire store was half the size of most Goodwills in Atlanta. No joke. And what was there, wasn't enough to write home about -- though I did find a cute pair of shoes and a dress.

Ft. Walton Beach may have sunshine aplenty and white sand kissed beaches for miles on the Emerald coast, but good thrift stores? No, ma'am, at least not in the tiny community where I vacationed.

Though I suspect that I'd have done better had I gone five miles down the beach to Destin.(Next time).

Inside, I felt like everything was a mashup - no color coordination or anything else at that Goodwill. It was rather dreary. I just knew I wouldn't find much of value here, but I did find a few things. 

What I picked up

Anywho, this is what I got:;

Don't let the wrinkles fool you; this is actually a cute dress from Willi Smith (TJ Maxx) that will be good for the spring.

New pair of Sam & Libby shoes with tags still on 'em.

If you live in a major city, be grateful. Thrift shopping could be a lot worse. I did have a blast in the sun, tho. My shorts are thrifted, below.

Thrift OOTD

By Tenisha Mercer
www.BargainistaATL.Blogspot.com

I'm a wake up and put on what I feel kinda girl -- I rarely know what I'm going to wear the next day until the morning of, even when it's thrift store clothing. This morning, I felt like bringing things up a notch for fall.

So I pulled out this thrifted trench from H&M as the basis for my (mostly) thrifted outfit. Everything except the dress and the scarf are thrift. While this outfit is a bit pricier, each of these items builds upon so many other things and are my wardrobe staples.

Here's the thrift OOTD breakdown. My dog, Teddy, wanted to take photos too, so here he is.

Dress - Target, $20 (old)
Trench coat - $10 H&M (Goodwill)
Scarf - $7 (Ross) 
Shoes - $17.99 (Purchase from a thrifter)
Bag -$65 (Michael Kors, Goodwill)

Thrifting for fall

By Tenisha Mercer
BargainistasATL.Blogspot.com

I love fall, because it's the time of year when you can usually find tons of knits in thrift stores.

And it helps that knits are super hot for fall -- from slouchy, oversized sweaters that have made a fashion comeback, to figure-forming sweater dresses -- you can find all of these items at thrift stores.

I refuse to pay $25 and up retail for slouchy sweaters when I know that I can find the same vintage looks at thrift stores for just $5-6 -- can you say, WINNING!

The weather was chilly and brisk yesterday - the perfect for warm knits. 

Here's how I styled my fall outfit yesterday for less than $25, which I got mostly from yard sales.

Animal print sweater: $2 (garage sale)
Scarf: $1 (yard sale)
Boots: $7 (Aldo's, Goodwill, purchased a few years ago)
Jeans: $14 (Walmart)

Hello??!!!

Don't you just hate it when this happens -- go to the counter at the Goodwill, see an item you want, and NO one is there. HELLO??!!

Can I get some help, please?

And you are dying to see how much those black boots (the ones on their side) over the counter cost? I waited a good 5 minutes and I was seconds away from walking behind that counter and seeing what size those boots were for myself .. and then someone showed up.

They were too small.