$9 Jeans… Fantasy turned into reality for this bargain-hunter!

I thought finding cute jeans for $9 was something like finding a unicorn on my patio. Probably not going to happen. I kept hope alive and last Saturday was my lucky day at My Sister’s Closet here in San Diego.

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Okay, so maybe these aren’t over the top glamour-jeans but for $9– I’m okay with that. My original idea was to use these to make “distressed jeans”. I had a plan to use sandpaper, razor blades, a scissors and possibly bleach to make these a little more interesting.  I’ve worn them a number of times already this week and now I’m not so sure I want to ruin a good thing.  After all– fabulous $9 jeans… like finding a unicorn!

  • My Sister’s Closet
  • 8610 Genesee Avenue #200
  • San Diego, CA 92122
  • Phone: (858) 455-0045
  • Web:  www.mysisterscloset.com

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Item of the day : Stella McCartney Falabella Fold-Over Bag

Okay, I agree this is more than a “little” expensive. But it’s so pretty I couldn’t stop myself from sharing. Now if I could only find a suitable substitute. Anyone have ideas how to make that happen? Cheers and Happy Tuesday everyone!

Lovely Lilac Dress – $9.95 – what a deal!

Looking for something pretty to wear for weekend brunch? I found a fabulous lilac dress at my fave shop My Sister’s Closet in San Diego’s UTC neighborhood earlier this week for the bargain price of $9.95. (perhaps I need to branch out to some other neighborhoods to shop??!!) You can’t go wrong under ten bucks! This dress has lots of possibilites from casual weekend wear to office-appropriate. Lucky for me I have plenty of accessories to keep it interesting.

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margarita round up

Happy Friday! I thought these margaritas were so pretty!

steph's avatarstuff steph does

Margaritas are my favorite cocktail by far. There are endless variations and possibilities. The Margarita’s signature holiday is coming up this weekend, so its more than appropriate to link up a ton marg recipes to help figure out which one you want to whip up for Cinco de Mayo!

(if you follow on me on pinterest I’m sure you saw this post coming from miles away since I usually have a pinning marathon to gather up all my links for these round up posts. If you want a sneak peek into my future round up posts, follow me on pinterest!! )

margarita recipe round up

// 1. Traditional Margarita via Hispanic Kitchen // 2. Spicy Grapefruit Margarita via Bon Appetit // 3. Pomegranate Lime Margarita via lauren’s latest // 4. Raspberry + Key Lime Margaritas via Tokyo Terrace // 5. Pitcher Perfect Margarita via chow.com // 6. Classic Margarita via Readymade // 7. Strawberry…

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Happy Friday! I just had to share these lovely cupcakes. Considering I baked chocolate chip cookie brownies already tonite… Looks like I need a sugar fix. Oh well, cupcakes and brownies will give me more energy for thrift shopping Saturday. Cheers!

cobo0521's avatarOh, Courtney

I’ve been watching way too much Cupcake Wars lately and have had the cupcake itch for days! What cupcakes to bake?! Was the question. I figured, my favorite cake (vanilla), favorite frosting (cream cheese) and favorite fruit (strawberries) would do the trick to kick all my cupcake cravings!
Even more yum on the inside
I started off with the strawberry filling, you will need:

• 2 cups of fresh diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons of corn starch

Over medium heat, toss in your diced strawberries into a saucepan. Stirring constantly, you’ll notice the strawberries getting softer and forming their own little sauce at the bottom of the pan. Then add the sugar and corn starch, this will immediately cause the sauce to thicken. Stir until everything is blended completely, remove from heat and place strawberry sauce into a heat safe bowl. Set aside to cool.
Strawberry filling

On to the vanilla cupcakes! You…

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Who Doesn’t Love Helping Animals? And Shopping?

I just love the concept of this particular thrift shop– support the animals!

www.APRL.org

Tonite I stopped by the Animal Protection & Rescue League Thrift Store on Clairemont Mesa Blvd in San Diego. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had moved into a much larger store in the same shopping center. It is much easier to “shop” now and lots more room to move around and find things. The inventory has blossomed to include expanded children’s section, Plus sizes (a very impressive selection of Plus clothing I might add), nice home decor and they even have furniture now! I found a handmade Japanese tea cabinet for $250– it was a beautiful item and if I didn’t live in a small studio apartment I would have snatched it up for myself.

  • Animal Protection & Rescue League Thrift Store
  • 5583 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
  • San Diego, CA 92117
  • Phone: (858)541-0240

Not only have I shopped here but I’ve donated my “spring cleaning”/purge items here too. Like I said, I live in a small apartment and I feel it’s always good karma to donate things to support a good cause.

My big purchase tonite was a gray t-shirt that said “Friend Not Food” on the front with a picture of a pink pig– now I will have a cute new shirt to wear on our next casual Friday at the office. Cheers & Happy Shopping! Always nice to shop & support a cause.

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Worlds Largest Eco-Friendly Department Store

The United States is one of the highest “consumer” countries. Yes, we use a lot of “stuff.” Which makes the task of recycling even more important. Tonite I visited EcoMart— a department store of sorts dedicated to helping all of us reduce, re-use and recycle. They call themselves an “eco-friendly department store.” More like a fancy term for a thrift store that stocks everything perhaps?

This place was fantastic! It’s a huge space filled with everything from mountain bikes, surf boards, small refrigerators, furniture to designer handbags and shoes. I spotted a $70 mountain bike, a bathroom sink for $50 and a Coach bag for $35. By the way, the prices were more than fair. Dresses came in at $7 and a pair of designer heels $15. I found a vintage fur wrap for $100 in perfect condition.

All items were in really good condition too. The store is packed with stuff. I got there towards the end of the day and a few things were out-of-order but overall shopping was a pleasure. They even had newer flat screen computer monitors and flat screen TVs.

  • EcoMart – “Be Eco Friendly”
  • 8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd #A1
  • San Diego, CA 92111
  • Phone: (858) 292-2326
  • Web: www.eco-mart.us

Eco Mart will take a look at the stuff you bring in anytime and give quotes. They are accepting secondhand clothes, vintage items, furniture, appliances, musical instruments, sporting goods, toys… I could go on and on. Of course, the better condition your items are in the better price you will get. Be sure to also have warranties, paperwork and supporting documents depending on the item.

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The Thrill of the $2 Dress!

It was my lucky day on Sunday when I walked into 2Dollar Thrill in Ocean Beach… and walked out with a fabulous $2 dress! I was there mostly as a “looky-loo” and had a strict shopping list in mind– if I didn’t find what I was looking for no deal.   I’ve been in the market for summer dresses and casual jewelry and walked into 2Dollar Thrill seriously hoping to find a dress.  And wow– I found a really cute summer dress with a colorful flower print.  And at $2 how can you go wrong?

  • 2Dollar Thrill
  • 4871 Newport Avenue
  • Ocean Beach, CA 92107
  • Phone: (619) 222-2772
  • Web: www.2dollarthrill.org

Also, check out the cute beaded bracelet I found- also $2. My good luck… I walked out of there with a bracelet on my wrist and a dress– and spent a whopping $4.31 including tax. Bravo! For sure, I’ll be back!

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Girls From The Park Resale Shop

Need a little sunshine in your life? Maybe some retail therapy on a rough Monday afternoon? I found myself in the Point Loma area and in serious need of some retail therapy recently– on a Monday afternoon! Girls from the Park is a contemporary fashion resale boutique now located in Point Loma, California. They offer a great selection of gently used clothing, shoes and accessories by all of your favorite designers.

  • Girls From The Park Resale Shop
  • 3034 Canon Street
  • Point Loma, CA 92106
  • Phone: (619) 226-0043
  • Web: www.girlsfromthepark.com

A little about the “girls”– sounds like the shop name is a spin on the real life of the owners who grew up in the El Dorado Trailer Park near Lakeside, CA in the 1970’s. Per the store website “you can take the girl out of the park but you can’t take the park out of the girl!” I had to laugh when I read those words in a sea of pink on their website. Let me tell you– this shop was a true treat to visit. I found pretty shoes, handbags and several gorgeous dresses. A true shopping pleasure all at great prices! If you find yourself in need of some retail therapy in Point Loma– check out the Girls From The Park!! Bravo!

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$2 Dollar Thrill – Recycle It & Rock It!

Last weekend I found myself wondering– what can you get for a couple of bucks these days? Turns out $2 buys a whole lot of cool stuff at $2 Dollar Thrill in Ocean Beach. Everything from vinyl records to CD’s to cute dresses and summer tops. I’m not kidding… you really can buy a dress in this place for $2. A super cute dress! When I originally stopped by it was a sunny Sunday afternoon and I was post-beach and completely out of cash (bummer). An especially huge bummer because I spotted a super-fabulous dress and didn’t have 2 bucks in actual cash-only my debit card. (Ahh.. such is life) The good news– I’m planning a return trip next weekend and maybe I can do some damage under $10. Never thought I’d say that!!

  • $2 Dollar Thrill
  • 4871 Newport Avenue
  • Ocean Beach, CA 92107
  • Phone: (619) 222-2772
  • Web: www.thrifttrader.org

From what I was told, this is the place where the “left-over” stuff from their Pacific Beach store goes. I hear in Pacific Beach the items are priced at $6 (oh… guess this is the high price store-ha). So… recycle it and rock the look! Here’s to recycling and here are some of the cute things I found…

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