Archive for the ‘garage sales’ Category

22 Apr

Happy Earth Day…Recycle the Dream

Posted by Jamie Brazil in fashion, fitness, garage sales, skill building, women. Tagged: , , , , , .

Dreams come and go. I’ve cleaved to a dream of hiking the Mount St. Helen’s rim for a few years.   I’d also like to hikeMt.Fuji and Diamond Head, but the travel logistics are a little more complicated with the latter two.  But Mt.St. Helens seems do-able.

On Saturday night I chatted with two women who hike MSH every August.  They gave me some great tips, and dispelled any notions that I wasn’t fit enough to handle the rigors of the mountain.  They also gave me some great advice on obtaining a permit and finding a hiking group.

What they couldn’t do is help me break in my hiking boots.boots

Yeah, I’ve had a brand new pair of hiking boots sitting in my closet for a couple years now.  I bought them at a garage sale from a woman who wanted to hike the Gorge, but never quite got around to lacing up her dream.

I was absolutely positive I would… lace up those boots.

So yesterday I did.  And I walked my dog in those boots.  And I did the same thing today.  While the boots are a great fit, they still feel brand new. Stiff, with crispy laces.  I’m nowhere near ready to give up on this dream of hiking MSH, but before I go on any serious hikes those hard soles and suede uppers will need some serious workouts of their own.  Because my dream means I’ll be spending 12 hours in those boots!

So how about you? Do you have a dream you’ve been holding off on?  If you do, are you ready to be done with it, or take the next step?

16 Apr

Resolution 2013 Update: The Last Leg… and the 1970′s Owl Smock

Posted by Jamie Brazil in 2013 Resolutions, fashion, garage sales, vintage clothing, women. Tagged: , , , , .

owl2My self-imposed deadline (March 23rd) to “Shrink My Closet” came and went.  And I kicked butt that final week.

1. I donated four bags of clothes to a charity.

2. I took a bunch more to a clothing swap (I returned home with only one jacket… and I gave that away!)

3. I gave shoes to a friend who was thrilled to receive them.

4. And then I hauled an armload of hangered dresses and pressed shirts, plus a paper sack full of foldables, to another donation place.

5. Before I did all that, I swung by Buffalo Exchange and sold some clothes there.

My wardrobe is downsized and I’m feeling okay about it. So far.  But then there’s the garage… tucked against the back wall are two ginormous plastic storage tubs. My stomach drops every time I open those stupid bins. Guilt, remorse, fond memories.

Even joy.

There are Halloween costumes, aprons sewn by my grandmother, and a pair of really nice Cookie Lee designer jeans I no longer wear.  In those tubs, there are many clothes I still love. Yet they are in the garage, and I will NEVER wear them.  I don’t even cook, or know anyone who wears vintage aprons! owl1

But worst of all, there’s an art smock I’ve never worn. It has a couple holes in it and has seen better days. I bought it at a church rummage sale in Laurelhurst for fifty cents. The bright yellow owl-patterned smock that ties in the back is homemade adorable. When I went to pay for it, along with my other purchases, the elderly woman at the checkout confessed the owl smock was hers. She had this sweet, nostalgic look on her face. She smiled.  I knew that look. She was giving away something she loved, something with dreams and cherished times woven into its fabric memory.

I couldn’t buy it.  I insisted she must keep her smock and fond memories.

She’d hear none of it, and was glad to see that the owl smock was going home with someone who could appreciate it.

The owl smock went home with me. I’ve never worn it and feel bad about it.

And I’m thinking I’m about ready for an intervention to complete the last leg of my Shrink-My-Closet journey. That, and finding a new owner for the owl smock.

After all, it can’t go to just anyone.  There must be somebody out there who would love a well-worn, but still bright owl smock from the 1970s, right?

Comment below and you will be entered to WIN this owl smock!  I’ll draw a name on Friday.

 

3 Mar

Teensy Tiny Fashion Transgression

Posted by Jamie Brazil in 2013 Resolutions, collectibles, fashion, garage sales, vintage clothing, women. Tagged: , , , , .

teensy twinPart I:

Is it any wonder I get into trouble with my wardrobe? When it comes to clothing, I’m too quick to fall in love.  Especially when it comes to vintage!

So I might as well confess. I had a transgression last weekend.

The moving sale was too good to pass up and I didn’t.  Worse, I bought a too-small cardigan I will never wear.  Yet it was so exquisitely divine I simply couldn’t bear to leave it on the table, even if the chest only measures  32 inches.

The Angelon French-angora, lambs wool knit is an exclusive hand screen print by Darlene.  Who knew you could screen print wool? The floral pattern is bold yet delicate. And the tiny pearl buttons add a finished polish.

I know I’m supposed to be paring down my clothing, but I gave myself a full pass on the butter-soft Darlene cardigan that now teensy twin2hangs in my office closet like a  teensy-tiny piece of fashion art.

Part II:

In other closet news, I may have had a reversal on the beloved hoodie. I’m not sure.  The temps are rising, the daffodils are blooming, though there is still a chill to the air.  So when I discovered this J. Crew anorak I bought for the super-discounted price of $27 last fall I knew I had the perfect popover to wear walking the dog. There’s a hood and a zipper in front, but it’s not a knit.

What do you think?  Do anoraks count as hoodies?  greenanorak

19 Dec

Random Wednesday (Flamingo Re-homed)

Posted by Jamie Brazil in collectibles, fashion, garage sales, romance novels, shopping, women. Tagged: , , , , .

Welcome to random Wednesday.  I have no theme, no direction, and no plan for my post today… other than I’m just going to write what’s been goin’ on.

  1. Snow cancelled min-vacation to coast with hubby.  Bummer.
  2. We made the best of the situation by turning off computers, drinking sparkling wine from Trader Joe’s, and renting      movies.  Ate pizza, too.
  3. The next day we went out for Chinese food.  My fortune cookie fortune reads: “A new pair of shoes will do you a world of good.” The Universe has a warped sense of humor.  Shoes?!? Who is writing these things and why did I get that fortune?

    My fortune?

    My fortune?

  4. On Saturday, a couple driving an SUV honked at      us, then began waving wildly.  Did      we have a flat tire?  Was our      muffler falling off? My husband pulled over.  The people rolled up beside us and asked      if we needed our front fender fixed.       Cheap.  Really cheap. My      “accident” happened in  September,      at a garage sale (of course!), when I clipped a curbside basketball hoop.  The basketball hoop was fine, but the dent above the front wheel? A little larger than a gravy boat.   After we emptied our wallets, and scraped up the coinage in the console, this guy popped the dent with a rubber hammer and polished it up for $27.  In the parking lot.  In the rain.
  5. The tire went flat on Sunday.  Two screws.  In different spots. Darn. On the bright side, my husband dealt with it.
  6. I was asked to do a reading from Prince Charming, Inc. at a women’s group that meets monthly!
  7. Heard a romantic “how-we-met” story from a woman who lost her home to foreclosure.  Forced to downsize, she sold off her possessions. This guy kept  coming back, and back, buying up large lots at bargain prices.  A year later, she’s shopping in an  antique store when she comes across a booth filled with her old stuff… and the guy who bought it all. She tells him he should buy her dinner.  He does. They marry a year later.  And she gets most of her possessions back! Plus a wonderful husband! (I love this story!)
  8. Movie dialogue that resonated all too deeply  with me: “It’s everything I never wore.” (from Seeking a Friend for the End of the World)
  9.  I met a man who needed my lighted, animatronic flamingo more than I did.  “Mingo-Clingo the Flamingo” has been re-homed.

    Can I teach him to type?

    Can I teach him to type?

Now, off to go shoe shopping because my fortune demands peep-toe stacked pumps.   Just kidding!!!   How’s your week?

 

 

 

26 Nov

Black-Friday-Shopping My Closet

Posted by Jamie Brazil in diet, fashion, garage sales, shopping, vintage clothing. Tagged: , , , , , .

What I wanted was a new pair of pajamas.  What I had was a credit card bill reflecting last month’s expensive car repair, an overwhelmed closet in a spare bedroom, and a Lane cedar chest filled with clothes.

Retail shopping was not in my cards this past weekend.

Thursday evening, dishes cleared from the table, I tackled the cedar chest and closet. Summer clothes in one pile, winter in another.  These are the clothes I’ve been saving for someday.  Translation, when I lose enough weight that they fit.

The good news is a lot of these clothes are starting to fit, or I’m very close (like within 10 pounds) of wearing them.  The bad news is a whole bunch of them aren’t going to work at all.  Like the pants that zip up easily, are a little loose around the hips, but pull in the rise.  Or the snap-front denim shirt that fits perfectly – if I’m wearing a chest-crushing, boob-flattening sports bra.

By 11 p.m., I made the following calculations:

1. I’d gone through so many changes of clothes I’m pretty sure I burned off the Thanksgiving dinner calories.

2. There were two EMPTY moving boxes in the garage. Large enough to handle the castoffs, still small enough to fit in the trunk.

3. I had five *NEW* items to cycle into my wardrobe right away. 1960's vintage jacket with cashmere hat and plum leather gloves.

Here they are… the 2011 clearance rack Missoni-for-Target zig-zag pajama pants I intended to wear as palazzo pants (never happened), are repurposed back to pajama pants.  The J. Crew tweed Lady blazer, bought at a yard sale for $5, looks great over a silk shirt (but won’t work with a turtleneck yet).  Ditto for an embroidered vintage Anne Klein vest I’ve owned for more than two decades.  Last wearing, 1993… I think.   A less spectacular find was a brand new pair of fleece pajama bottoms, bought on a Black Friday sale a couple years ago.  Okay, so they are purple penguin pattern.  Whatever.  They’re still warm.

And finally, the piece-de-la-resistance, an M Missoni dress.  Truly a “someday” garment.  I bought it at a moving sale back in the summer of 2008 for $30.  Thursday night the dress fit!  No sports-bra required!

Then came Saturday… and a slight transgression.  A $5 vintage coat bought at an estate sale.  Oh well, ten steps forward and one step back?  A girl has to have some fun, and the trunk is filled with two boxes of clothing (and one bag of books) I’ll donate to charity later today.

 

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 117 other followers

%d bloggers like this: