Merry Christmas Y'all!

I am spending time with my family for Christmas! I'll be back next week.

Love, Erica

Christmas Challenge! Day 22

As most of you know, I try to hit the gym at least 4 times a week. That is, provided it is not the week of a the biggest holiday of the year! Or, the week after... I'm just sayin'...

I buy ALL of my workout tops at GW. Yep, every one of them!

I typically only buy Nike brand. I love Nike brand tops because the material is far superior and it holds it shape and color. I have NEVER paid full price for a Nike brand workout top. Never. I could not pay $25.00 (or more) for a top that I'm going to wear to the gym and sweat in. These tops run around $3.99/each.

I've not been as successful in finding shorts that I love, but if you are looking for a "new" workout top, try GW!

Christmas Challenge! Day 21

Have you ever thought about buying furniture at Goodwill or the Salvation Army?

I had been on the lookout for gently used bedroom furniture for Elisan's room for months. I checked Craigslist everyday for new listings, looking for that perfect set.

I even checked GW frequently, but always came up empty handed. However, the Salvation Army in our area has a fabulous furniture area with entire bedroom and living room sets, including antiques, so I decided to swing in there one day to take a look.

I found this furniture set. It came with an amoire, desk and nightstand. It is Lexington brand and is solid wood. It is in nearly perfect condition. I am proud to say that we paid less than $300.00 for all of it!

Christmas Challenge! Day 20

I love jackets!

At the first real break in temperatures I begin to start thinking Fall wardrobe. Of course, you can't beat GW for the selection of jackets and the price is usually around $7.00.

Here are just some of the jackets I've purchased from GW.

I absolutely love the red jacket from the GAP. Love. It. I get so many compliments on this jacket. I also love the tan jacket from the GAP as well. It's my go-to jacket when I need to bring along an extra layer of clothes.

I l ike to wear the white Old Navy jacket with funky black graphic tee shirt. The white/black contrast is fun! The black short sleeved cropped jacket is by Papaya. It's really a nice piece of clothing.

And finally, the hot pink vest is great to wear with layered t-shirts or to the gym.

What I love about these jackets is that I didn't spend a fortune and I've had them for years and they still look great!

Christmas Challenge! Day 19

I was so excited to see the "boyfriend jacket/blazer" make it's way back into fashion. I've always been a fan of the blazer!

Granted, I don't wear my blazer with funky leggings or weird shoes, but I do love wearing it over jeans, a cami and cute patent flats!

I remember waking up early one morning with the boyfriend blazer on my mind. My immediate thought was to check out GW! Of course, not only did I find one, but I found several!

Here's the one I purchased for $7.00. It's NY&Co. brand, fully lined and in excellent condition!

Christmas Challenge! Day 18

Oooo, today I found something I'm excited to share!

We're going to Disney World in the Spring and I've been on the look out for a small, lightweight and durable swingpack purse or back pack purse to take on our trip. Today... I found what I was looking for!

I found this Kipling purse at GW today. It was priced at $3.99! I did my research once I got home and found the style here. It is the Kipling "Candy Top Zip Front Flap Pocket Handbag" regularly priced at $56.00.

As you can see, it is also convertible as a backpack or shoulder bag. Double score!

After our trip, I think I'm going to pass it down to Elisan. She is already in love with it!

Christmas Challenge! Day 17

Did I mention that I love the Salvation Army store? Oh yes, yes I do!

In fact, it is one of my favorite places to shop, but since there is only one store in my 20 mile radius, I don't visit it very often.

What you probably don't know is that the Salvation Army has HALF-PRICE days! Yep! They offer half price on items with certain color tags. They rotate the colors each week.

I got this Abercrombie and Fitch jacket for $6.00. It was priced at $12.00, but it was on half off. I love buying jeans there too because they price their jeans even cheaper than Goodwill. I've bought jeans there as cheap as $3.00/pair.

So, are you convinced that thrift shopping is worth it?

Christmas Challenge! Day 16

I began shopping at Goodwill about 4 years ago. I usually only shopped GW to look for clothing and toys for the girls.

However, when I began working out and losing weight I began shopping more and more at GW for transitional clothes. When I started working out I was a size 10. I needed clothes that fit me from size 10 to size 2 but didn't want to spend a fortune on clothes.

What I found was amazing! I found jeans that were barely worn. Or jeans that were "broken in" but still had a lot of life left in them. I found jeans in every style, color, brand imaginable. And because of that, I still buy my jeans at GW. Most jeans are priced at $7.99 and up to $9.99 for better brands. I tend to buy GAP jeans mostly because I like how they fit.

All of the pants shown in this picture have been purchased from GW.

In addition to jeans, I buy pants there as well. My favorite brand of pants is Express, Editor cut/style. I clearly would never pay $70 for a pair of Editor pants, but I'll pay $7-$10 for them! I've also found some really neat cargo pants from Abercrombie and Aeropostle that I love! Again, I would never pay the Abercrombie or Aero prices!

Christmas Challenge! Day 15

When I began this blog I contacted a few of my thrifty friends and told them that whenever they had a cool Goodwill or thrift store score I wanted to know about it. Today, I'm excited to have my friend Amanda guest blog today. Amanda and I have been friends since the third grade! She lives in Austin and has two girls just like me.

Amanda's blog is So Many Joys and she often writes about how to save money and time at home! Thanks Amanda for taking the time to guest blog on Goodwill Gal!

(In a Julie Andrews sing-song)
THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE FINDS

Goodwill Gal herself turned me on to thrift shopping back in my early months as a stay-at-home-mom. Oh, the carefree days of having just one (admittedly easy) kiddo. My sweet girl and I would browse for bargains at least weekly -- Goodwill, Salvation Army Thrift Store, and other bargain spots like Tuesday Morning and Big Lots, along with the children's resale shops.

For my thrifting orientation, Ms. W and I met at a Goodwill near my house, and she showed me to ropes, pointing out things to look for, just as she's doing on this blog. I remember she made a point of showing me a few "overpriced" items -- things that really weren't all that great of a deal. It's important to have an idea what things cost to keep perspective. For example, I hosted a church caroling party this weekend and wanted to have a few more holiday coffee mugs for the guests. I stopped at Walgreens by my house to see what they had -- three mugs for $2. Goodwill's (used) mugs were 99 cents each, even those with chips! So, not a good deal. I picked up three at Walgreens. For the party, I also wanted a few more appetizer-sized holiday plates. I have a pretty nice collection since I'll pick up a set of four here and there at after-Christmas sales. I knew that I could get a set of four on clearance prices for about $8. I spotted a cute set of reindeer plates that had at some point been bundled together but had come apart. There were only three in what should have been a set of four (or maybe even originally eight if all the reindeer were included). And the missing plate must have been the one with the sticker price. I carried them to the check-out counter to get a price check, and the cashier said she's say $1.59 for the three. SOLD! They are really cute and complement my mix-match Christmas plate collection nicely.

On this same trip, I made a quick trek through the kids' section as I always do. I have not been as successful (probably due to lack of patience) with clothing finds as Ms. W has. But this day, the "right" item jumped out at me. I am a sucker for smocked dresses. I found a sweet, hand-smocked toddler dress for my one-year-old for $1.59. I told a friend who used to smock dresses for her granddaughters about it, and she said "Some daughter-in-law didn't appreciate that hard work!" The dress will be adorable for Easter.



GOODWILL FOR COLLECTORS
I've never been much for clutter, so I'm not a collector of many items. But when we moved into our house, I did start collecting trivets to decorate the space above my cabinets and found Goodwill to be the place to look for those and other collector items. Soon after I started my collection with a set of three cast iron trivets from Southern Living at Home (about $30 if I remember correctly), I added to it with a few ebay purchases -- a few bucks each but the shipping is what got me there -- making each trivet cost between five and seven dollars total. Imagine my delight when I found this lovely for 99 cents! That's a Goodwill deal!

Thanks Amanda for sharing your awesome deals with us!

Christmas Challenge! Day 14

I bought the girls Christmas dresses about 2 months ago while I was at GW. The secret to buying Christmas dresses at GW is SHOP EARLY! When you notice the Christmas apparel in mid-October, don't hesitate if you see something you like, because by December the good stuff will be gone!

When I bought these two dresses I had about 6 dresses in my hands. It was hard to decide, but I ultimately decided on these two. My heart was telling me, "Buy all of them!" but my brain was saying, "Are you crazy?"

The short sleeved dress is from Charter Club, a store brand of Macy's. The second dress is from Justice, Just for Girls. GW typically sells their children's dresses for $3.99/each unless it is a more popular brand like Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, etc. Even, then, the dresses are still under $8.00.

Christmas Challenge! Day 13

I love shopping at GW for holiday wear for the girls. Most Christmas dresses are gently worn and are usually in great condition.

I bought this dress last year for Elisan. It is by Storybrook Heirlooms. It is very well made and I love the faux fur trim.


This year, Kyla is able to wear it. It looks adorable on her! Not only did I get a great deal at GW ($3.99), but I get two wears out of it!

This week, I'm going to focus on clothing! Should be fun!

Christmas Challenge! Day 12

Not gonna happen today...
I'm exhausted from Christmas shopping merriment...

Christmas Challenge! Day 11

Who doesn't love a cute antique planter figurine? I found this oh so cute little lamb several years ago.

One of my childhood treasures is a ceramic pony planter that was sent to my mother while she was in the hospital after she gave birth to me. I still have that pony planter to this day.

What I love about this lamb is it's beautifully painted face. So sweet and innocent. I bought this planter to go in Kyla's room when she was a baby. It's still sitting on her shelf (she's 6!).

I suspect when I redecorate her room after Christmas, I'll have to put the baby lamb away. But I enjoyed it while it kept it's place on her little shelf.

P.S. - I bought this planter back in the early days of my Goodwill shopping so I have no idea what I paid for it. But, I can guess that I paid less than $5.00 for it.

Christmas Challenge! Day 10

I always make it point to swing by the toy area of Goodwill while I'm there. I've come across some amazing deals on Fisher Price Little People, Loving Family and Littlest Pet Shop sets.

Aside from the large dollhouse, I spent less than $3.00 for each of these playsets. The large dollhouse was $6.00. Great deal if you ask me!

My girls still play with these dollhouses. They will set up a "village" and play for hours with them. Soon, I'll be paying it forward with these playhouses.

Christmas Challenge! Day 9

Do you love hats? I do! But, I don't like spending a ton of money on them.

In late Summer when stores starting putting their winter wear out, I found a really cute woolen military hat by Fox Racing, but is was $10.00. Okay, that's still cheap because I bought it at Ross Dress for Less, but still a little more than I wanted to pay for it.

So, I wondered what GW had in the line of hats. Okay, before some of y'all freak out about wearing a used hat... it's one of those things that you either 1.) Buy something that is capable of washing; 2.) Buy one that still has the tags on; 3.) Or, take your chances if it still looks new/unused. That's what I did.



The cream knit hat is from the GAP. The red corduroy hat is "Preston & York", a Dillard brand. The tan hat is an unknown brand but has a suede look to it. It's actually micro-fiber. And the gray hat is by Original Penguin. These hats look great on and I paid less than $2.00 for each of them.

Christmas Challenge! Day 8

One of the comments left on my other blog was by my friend Charlotte when she mentioned giving books a Christmas presents, because it is much better to own than to borrow from the library! I could not agree more!

Last year, in effort to get Elisan to enjoy reading more, I began buying her a book or two at Goodwill when I'd see them. Her homework assignment was usually to read for 20 minutes, but she'd often struggle with the books she checked out from the library at school. The books would either not keep her interest or the books would be a wee bit over her level of comprehension.

Once I got the girl started on reading books she enjoyed, I couldn't hardly keep up with her. She was devouring the books and wanting to go back to GW to get more books. As you can see, we've spent quite a lot of money on books from Goodwill. These are all the books that she's read. We're hanging onto them for when Kyla is ready to read them.
I've seen the price range on books from store to store. One store sells them for as little as $.59/each. I've also seen them as high as $1.29 each. Either way, that's still a great bargain, don't ya think?

The Goodwill stores that I shop have many, many chapter books for kids. It's a great way to buy the whole collection of series books as well. Elisan loves the "Babysitters Little Sister" series of books.

Christmas Challenge! Day 7

Week one of the Christmas Challenge complete! Whew!

I blogged about this GW purchase back in October 2006 on my blog "Haphazard Happenstances". Wow, I didn't realize I have been shopping GW for that long. I've surprised myself today!


Anyway, I bought this purse at GW for $5.99. (Funny how everything at GW ends in $.99.) I'm almost 100% sure this purse should not have been out on the store "floor", but rather in the auction area of the store.

Each week, GW holds auctions for the more expensive items. I've seen some pretty interesting stuff come through the auction area from collectible items, antiques, jewelry, clothing/purses, electronics and appliances. Every GW I've ever visited has weekend auctions. I've never participated in the auctions, but it looks like a lot of fun. It always draws a crowd!

On another note, I've only shopped the GW's in my 15 mile radius. I'm interested in venturing out after the holidays to check out the GW's in the "wealthier" areas of town. Is anyone up for a GW shopping trip with me?

Christmas Challenge! Day 6

Keeping up with the fitness/weight lifting...When Randy began his weight lifting program at home, he realized he needed a general utility workout bench. We looked online and realized that they were too expensive and he'd "make do" with what he had - which was some redneck rig that he had fixed up.

I decided to go on the hunt for a utility bench. Let me preface this... It's hard to go into Goodwill looking for something specific. It's not a department store where they have 5 brands and styles of the ONE thing you are looking for.


The hunt for the utility bench was a patient one. But, I travailed finally and found this utility bench for $5.99. Yep, that's right... SIX BUCKS!

Again, no brainer.

Christmas Challenge! Day 5

Today is my birthday! Whoohoo, 37!

I sure don't feel like I'm THAT old. Wow, time flies.

We've had a very busy day! So, here's a picture from the Christmas Stroll Parade in our hometown.



P.S. - That hat I'm wearing is from GW!

Christmas Challenge! Day 4

If you are a reader of my other blog "Haphazard Happenstances" you probably know that I love to lift weights. I even got my husband started in lifting weights as well.

In August of last year, we both read and began training via the book "The New Rules of Lifting" and "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". I love this book and I'm still using it for my lifting workouts.

As Randy progressed in his weights, he'd go to Academy and buy another set of weight plates. Let me just say, weight plates... or really just weights in general are stinkin' expensive. Usually you can expect to pay $1.00 for every pound of weight you buy.
So, when I found a 50lb dumbbell at GW for only $10.99 I knew it was a phenomenal deal. Especially since Randy was needing to bump up his weights. If you are into "pretty" then this dumbbell is not for you. But, for Randy (the redneck) it was perfect!

Great deal, no question about it. This was a no-brainer for me.

Christmas Challenge! Day 3

I love bags! I love, love, love them. I have a bag for everything - gym bag, ballet bag, soccer bag, etc. You get the gist.

So, I'm always scoping out the bag section of GW looking for a great deal.

I found this adorable backpack from Old Navy about two years ago. It was originally intended to be used as the girls' ballet bag and it served us well for one solid year. Then, once the girls decided they no longer wanted to do ballet, I asked Elisan if she wanted to carry it as her backpack this year.

This backpack cost $3.99 at GW (as do most of their backpacks and bags). I love the print on this bag - so girly - without flaunting glitter and glam. It's very roomy too!

Oh and don't be afraid to throw a backpack in the washing machine. And instead of drying it in the dryer, hang it to dry.

Christmas Challenge! Day 2

I'm not a decor kind of girl. I'm pretty simple and don't like a lot of clutter or knick knacks.

I like it in other people's homes, just not mine. So, because of that, I tend to stay away from home interior items. One... I don't know where to put it or what to do with it; And Two... it's just so darn expensive. Whoa nelly!

So honestly, for the good of my sanity (and marriage, b/c Randy doesn't like clutter either OR spending money on clutter) my home is decorated very simple. Sparse some would say... (Some being my mom!)

About 2 years ago I ran across this wrought iron two-tiered stand at Goodwill and decided I'd go ahead and purchase it. Again, not really knowing what I'd do with it, I figured I'd find a use for it eventually. Well, turns out, I didn't have a use for it for the longest time. I originally thought it would be great on my kitchen counter top, but it was too tall. Then, I thought I'd use it as a serving stand when we had guests, but we don't entertain that much. So, it ended up on the floor by my fireplace with no real purpose in life. That is, until Elisan began piling her books in it and so it has become a two-tiered book stand for Elisan's book (and a magazine or two of mine.)

What did I pay for this? $9.99. Not one of my finer moments in deal making history, but it was still a good price. The original price tag is still on the bottom of the stand. It sold at TJ Maxx for $14.99. Like I said, not the best deal all around...

I guess the saying is true, "You win some, you lose some."

Christmas Challenge! Day 1

Today marks the beginning of the 25 Days of Blogging Christmas challenge! For grins, I'm going to post 25 things I've purchased from a thrift store (price I paid included).

I bought this purse for $5.99 at Goodwill about 9 month ago. I love it. It's soft leather, gently used and it is HUGE. The brand is Gianni Bini and you can find this line of accessories and shoes at Dillards. (I have two pairs of Gianni Bini boots and I love them! That's how I knew that this purse was a steal!)


I found the same purse (in purple) listed on eBay for $85.00 (regularly priced at $229.00). Um... no thanks! (My purse if missing the nice hanging fob, but that's okay with me. It seems like it would get in the way...)

Until tomorrow...