5 Favorite Denver area thrift stores

(Is five favorites still a thing? I'm so tired, and it seems easier than writing something meaningful or intellectually stimulating, so yay for lists.)

I thought I'd share some of my trade secrets since a couple local readers (hi guys!) asked, so here you have it, my top 5 picks for thrifting in the Mile High city:

1. Goodwill Glendale (behind Super Target and, um, Shotgun Willy's in Glendale. Awful.)

This is the holy grail of the big blue G. A veritable smorgasbord of Target rejects and overstock, and guaranteed to be bursting at the seams with practically the entire displaced population of Mexico if you venture in on a 50% off Saturday in the am. Se hablo espanol. Not even kidding a little bit.

Totally worth the drive for: home goods, furniture (really, really great for furniture. The best I've seen in the whole Denver metro), Target overstock with tags still on and everything, women's shoes, home decor.

2. Saver's Littleton (Littleton Blvd. and Windermere)

My regular stomping grounds. Sign up for a Super Saver card and everything is 30% off on Thursdays. Bring something to donate and receive a 20% off coupon in return. Saver's is like Bed Bath and Beyond in that there is always a coupon you can use and you're an idiot if you don't have one. Seriously, I will bring in like a single outgrown polo shirt and some ratty jammie pants to toss in the bin and receive a lovely little green coupon in return. Simple.

Stokke high chair for $3.00. 

Good for: men's, women's and children's shoes (seriously, I've found multiple pairs of Sperry's, J Crew, Stride Right and Converse), toys (see Lightening McQueen) kitchen ware (pyrex, baking sheets, mixing and serving bowls), art and wall decor, and the odd piece of furniture, women's clothing and kid's clothing. The BEST selection of kid's clothing in town. Children's Place, Crew Cuts, Baby Gap, Carter's, Tea Company, Janie and Jack (occasionally) ... they have a huge selection. I've bought almost the entirety of our boy's wardrobes at this Savers.

3. Saver's Highlands Ranch (C-470 and, um, another street. It's next to Babies R' Us and Lodos)

This location is much nicer and newer than Littleton, but their selection isn't quite as good, at least for kid's clothes. It's still pretty good though. A decent women's selection too, and fantastic books and linens (curtains, fabric, etc.)

4. Goodwill Highland's Ranch (Broadway and County Line)

Another Super Target scrap heap, loaded with Nate Berkus, Dwell Studio and Threshold items still wearing their orange clearance tags, and home to the not-so-occasional set of pristine sheets in various sizes. Also great for curtains, pillows, linens, bedding, lampshades, frames, and some furniture. Their clothing sections are sub par, but their home goods more than make the trip down south worth it.

5. Goodwill (Hampden and I-25)

This is probably the most hit or miss of the bunch, but we did find our family room couch and recliner there for $30 and $35 respectively, and I've found a few other great pieces of furniture there in the past year (IKEA kids' table and chairs, radio flyer tricycle, patio chairs, coffee table). They have a great women's shoe selection as well, and a new toy section that is slightly better priced than going straight to the big box stores. Their seasonal decor (the store's actual decor, not what's for sale) is straight up traumatizing around Halloween (read: now) so consider yourself warned if your kids are sensitive to blood and gore and, um, severed limbs. Joey is still scarred from last year's trip around this time, so I try to avoid taking the kids to this location.

Hope this fuels a fun thrifting weekend for some of my Denver readers. Just leave anything with the initials J. Crew for me, m'kay?

Me and my spray paint labored all week

Well not the entire weekend. First we, as in the husband and I, not the Krylon and I, jaunted downtown Friday night to watch the notorious Rocky Mountain Showdown at the Bronco's stadium. CU (go Buffs?) vs. CSU, grain alcohol, public transportation, tailgating in a Prius, half nekkid fans everywhere, Oreo McFlurry at midnight.

I don't think there's anything more to tell.

Saturday dawned and I told myself, self, it's time to whip this house into shape. Get in the car, we're going to Saver's.

I was on the hunt for a bookshelf or low table to use the in kids' school corner, something to go on the wall over our bed, and a handful of other might wants and must haves. I try to have a list going in so that when I'm caught up in the moment of delight over a $2.99 price tag on some piece of ... something, I can reign myself back by asking "was this on the list?" or at least, "could this potentially work instead of something on the list?"

Never go thrifting unless you're willing to walk out empty handed. Otherwise, you'll be doomed to enter into the damning karmic cycle of what Dave affectionately calls "renting from Goodwill." I'll let you scratch your own pretty little head and figure that one out.

Bottom line, crap in = crap out.

So here's a few cute things I ended up with:

This little cutie was still sporting it's Target tags and rang up at 3.49 with my coupon (I am one hundred years old in this post.) because it was missing the shattered central mirror. No problem though, because Dave has put a moratorium on any more mirrors entering our house (also, our closet doors are mirrored. not my fault.) for the time being, and I was looking for a pop of color anyway. So

I unscrewed the backing, hit it with some turquoise spray paint, waited 4 minutes, smudged it, repainted, waited 8 minutes, and then screwed it back together. It looks awesome over our bed, and I swear it winks at me when I walk into the room.

Love love love our bedroom now.

Next up, while not a thrifted project, I got really grossed out about our pantry yesterday around 7 pm and started snapping pictures of it. I guess with you fine people in mind, but mostly to shame myself into doing something about it.

(forgive me, I'm 13 years old and I just learned how to make a picture collage:)

Horrifying, right? It's like Food Hoarders.

In my (our?) defense it was 60% spices, but I am still ashamed.

So I hit up the Dollar Tree this morning and found some not hideous plastic containers and, armed with my trusty can of white Rustoleum and some elbow grease, I emptied, cleaned, touched up and then re-stocked our closet of chaos into what Joey is now calling "the grocery store in our house."

Looking at these pictures, I see that he's right. We have food in abundance, enough that we can display it on shelves and actually take the time to make it look pretty, meanwhile the world is starving...I don't know, I just feel kind of crazy for caring what my food storage situation looks like in the face of poverty. I didn't mean to go there, I just think a lot about this post whenever I'm in my kitchen now, and it kind of makes me feel like an ass. A grateful ass, but still.

 Anyway, here's the big reveal:

SO MUCH BETTER RIGHT? And I didn't even mop the floor. I give it 4 days. But what a lovely and organized 4 days it will be.

Finally, the dirty dirty you all came here to read: the Whole 30. We're on day 4 and it hasn't been that bad! I feel convicted that potatoes - real potatoes, not the heinous sweet varietal - have saved my bacon this time around. It's like a whole other food group has been made available! (Hey, I'm Irish.)

So day 4, cravings are only minimal, and I have a decent amount of energy considering it's 3:45 pm right now. In about an hour I meet with Katie the thigh punisher, so I'll report back with any traumatic accidents involving my quads and the stairs. 

A quick menu recap: 

Breakfast: eggs with avocado and salsa

Snack: green apple with almond butter

Snack: (still breastfeeding, the proof is in the second snack...) handful of almonds and raisins 

Lunch: turkey rolled up in romaine leaves with mustard, raspberries

Snack: (DON'T YOU JUDGE ME) roasted golden potato cubes with olive oil

Dinner: Steak, bacon, roast brussels sprouts, green salad with o & v

Riveting content today. You're welcome!

7QT: Thrifting, non-pregnant nesting, and the epic saga of breastfeeding woes continues

Ciao, tutti. It's time for another rousing rendition of what's going on inside Jenny's nursing bra.

Just kidding.

Well, mostly. How about 7 quick takes mostly unrelated to lactation? Mostly.

1. I must have caught something from my latest re-read of the Nesting Place, because suddenly I've gone full on guerrilla mode on our humble abode and no piece of furniture is safe (nor is it securely in place) in this home. I hit up my favorite of favorites, my local Savers yesterday with all the bambini in tow, and out we walked with the coffee table-turned-crafting-space of my dreams, a standing floor lamp not from Target and not sporting an upside-down dog collar for a shade, and a giant ass Thomas the Train expandable play tent which has been journeying throughout my house over the past 24 hours and can be thrown satisfyingly down the basement steps at a moment's notice. Best $2 I've ever spent, I think.

2. Isn't this hideous?

3. How about now?

4. I'll tell you what, once I get going with a can of spray paint, I tend to get a little out of control. I'd asked a friend earlier this week to meet me after bedtime at our place for a little crafting and after I spied this beauty on Pinterest I decided there were enough droplets of turquoise paint left in the can to coat our wreaths. We also followed this simple felted flower tutorial and with our hot glue guns and a couple bottles of Stella, we had ourselves a good old fashioned girl's night in. The great news is that when we're both 65 years old, we will already have the template for what qualifies as a "good time" down pat.

I'm in love with this wreath. I'd like to take it out to dinner.

6. Speaking of being old and fabulous and domestic, would you guys like it if I did some kind of weekly or bi-weekly thrifting post? I know it's not the "tone" of this blog, per se, but I take so much delight in finding worthless crap and giving it a second chance at life. I also take joy in finding J Crew lovelies with the original tags still on, but that's not quite the same thing. So what do you think? Should I branch out from bodily fluids, Catholic apologetics and s-e-x and give you more frequent glimpses into the deep, dark world of my Goodwill addiction?

5. But let's talk about what you really came here to read about today: Nipplegate 2014. Let's start with the good news. The good news is that I have the very best hookup with the sweetest IBCLC on the planet, and after a 911 call to her voicemail earlier this week, she counseled me over the phone (in Target, obviously. My deepest condolences, fellow shoppers in the lamps and home goods department) and she was encouraging + compassionate and just the right touch of "well, 8 months is a fantastic amount of time to nurse, and if you want to to ahead and try the one-sided route, that's a great idea, and if not, that's great too."

(Basically she's the perfect combination of confidence, professionalism and compassion. If you live in Denver or the surrounding area and ever find yourself in need of such services, I'm happy to point you her way.)

This is an unrelated picture of a reindeer. Never will I ever invite the neighbors to the lame-ass birthdays we throw for our own toddlers.

The bad news is that while I was letting things heal up on the injured side, the uninjured workhouse, old right n' reliable, got an overuse injury or something and now I'm having a doubly uncomfortable time replete with all manner of unmentionable horrors (Dave already is aghast I've said so much on the blog. But you all are so helpful! How can I hold back?). The bottom line is that as of last night, I'd gone 24 hours without nursing or pumping on one side, and my supply is tanking. I'd all but decided we were officially broken up in the breastfeeding department but then around 10:30 pm I burst into her room in a fit of hormonal angst and dream fed her. So, I don't really know where that leaves us. She's probably taking 90% of her liquids by bottle now, but I'm resolved to keep nursing her first thing in the morning and last thing at night, if she wants and if my supply can rise to the challenge. Ugh, motherhood is just full of feeeeeeeeeelings and stuff.

Evie be like "I don't give a bleep just feed me. Anything."

7. Whichever one of you brilliant people recommended Peg + Cat is my very favorite, because my kids can count and add and subtract...and I've done nothing. Now this is my idea of homeschooling.

See you over at Jen's place.

It doesn't have to be perfect...

I'm re-reading the Nesting Place and I know, I know, everyone and their mom has heard about it and read it and implemented it but I'm just so stoked about how transformative it has been for my home decorating abilities. I would typically have modified that last sentence with some snarky little one off like "or lack thereof" but I'm newly convinced that I do, in fact, have some sort of authority in the style and decor world: namely, the mandate to deck my own halls however I see fit, using the resources and pieces I've been entrusted with.

I have a pretty distinctive style when it comes to home decor. I think it's best encapsulated by the term "minimalist chic" or maybe "timeless, bare ass walls and floors." The bottom line is this: I hate clutter, and if I haven't used something in the last week or so (and if I haven't seen you use it either, sweetheart) it's going to Goodwill. I've also been known to donate items of children's clothing simply because I'm tired of washing them. (When you outfit your young almost exclusively in thrift store couture, you can be ballsy like that. You're welcome.)

Imagine my surprise then when I found myself re-reading the it homemaking book of the summer and finding the following advice resonating within my soul: don't wait for the perfect house, don't put off decorating because you're renting, and don't use something you hate simply because it's on hand or "good enough."

Guilty, guiltier, and guiltiest, as charged.

But then she goes on to talk about her favorite activity being furniture rearrangement and my heart skipped a beat because me too! Second to dropping bags of s at the curb, building new rooms out of old pieces in new places is my favorite!

So as I drifted off to sleep last night I envisioned multiple rearrangements of our sad, sterile living room where little to no living was ever done and whose beautiful bay window sat unloved and ignored day after day. No morning coffees were being enjoyed on our single common area new furniture purchase: our pretty leather (okay, bonded leather) couch. No sunlight was being soaked up through that pretty window. I decided that all had to change.

It's a great window, amiright? And mama Mary deserves fresh flowers, even though a cat bit off her thumbs. 

So, when Evie bounced me out of bed this morning at 6:25 or so, (still riding the injury list in the breast-feeding department, fyi, but we're soldiering on) instead of moaning and dreaming of more sleep, I flew into the front room to start my extreme home makeover. A few minutes of pushing and sliding and a shot or two of espresso later, bam, the transformation was complete. And finally, after a year of living in our current rental (and we've just signed on for another year) I have a living room that I actually want to do some living in. It still wants a piece or two of art for the walls, and I'm not in love with the very expensive but very not-my-style Oriental rug we received as a wedding gift, but considering this was accomplished for the very low price of zero dollars, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome.

Mind you, I'm no photographer, iPhone enabled or not. I took not one single art/photo/crafting class in all my years of life. I mean I suppose there was mandatory art in elementary school, but I remember it not. Consider your eyeballs forewarned.

Family room/kiddie watching/reading/crafting area: airy and decluttered (and washed out. See above.)

Myquillen (no idea how that's pronounced but I feel like it might rhyme with Nyquil?) talks about re-purposing assigned spaces that you don't have a use for and lassoing it for space you do desperately need and I guess I'd already sort of intuited that because goodbye, formal dining room, hello mommy's office:

Everything be thrifted, everything be fabulous. (Oh, except the rug. HomeGoods 4 life.)

I especially love this little wall. I feel like it's the most (only?) pinterest-worthy space in my home and not that I give a particular damn about that (maybe a very tiny one), but it's nice to feel like there's at least one area you wouldn't really change, even if you had the budget to do so:

Check those wedding photos from Lucy O Photography. See that cute little Jude Landry print in that thrifted frame? I love. Also, globes. Probably the reason my 3 year old reads atlases for fun is genetic in origin.

She also talks about how beauty is not useless, or something to that effect. So fresh flowers, why not? Why is it better to spend $4 on yet another sisyphean gallon of whole milk than to buy a bouquet of slightly past their prime carnations?

Look how nice that looks! And that's on a dirty, hand me down kitchen table with a Bumbo in the background.

So at last we come to the piece de resistance, the formerly unliveable and unloveable living room. Let me scrounge around for a before (clearly not a home decor blogger; rookie mistake)

Sorry, I got nothing. So here's the after, anyway. Just picture the before as bland, couch shoved against the wall immediately facing the front door, and seating for only 3 very cozy adults.

Blurry front view.

Natural view with toddler photo bomber.

From the side 

Looking from the front door. 

So is it perfect? I mean, is it ever? Obviously I'd add some gorgeous, $600 window treatments if I could, and I'd love to have some non-religous art on my walls so that our neighbors don't think we're even bigger weirdos than they suspect, but for now, this makes me 100% happier than the old setup ever did, and I achieved it with no money and no time spent in Target. That's a big win in this mama's book, both from a budgetary and spiritual perspective.

Spiritual, you ask? Yes, because you see, (or maybe you don't, but I'm about to do a little confessing to you so pull on your stole) sometimes I shop out of a place of emptiness, and I don't just mean the bare walls kind. I mean sometimes I really, truly believe that something I find at Target or TJ Maxx or Nordstrom Rack is going to make it all better. Is going to make me feel happy/fulfilled/peaceful. So imagine my surprise at how incredible it felt to buy nothing, to grasp for nothing, to simply make do with what was already on hand...and to have it turn out so utterly to my satisfaction.

I think that's been my biggest takeaway from the Nesting Place: love where you are, and be grateful for what you have. And for the love of chevron and jute rugs, don't consign yourself to living in a half-assembled dump just because you're not commanding a Pottery Barn budget and dwelling in a 3,000 square foot palace. And if you are dwelling in a half-assembled dump? Or, say, a refuge camp? You can work with that, too.

Check this out:

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There's beauty everywhere.

Snapshots of a SAHM

This week. Oh, this week.

It's Wednesday, which is technically the halfway mark, but dammit, it's Thanksgiving eve and Dave got home from work early and I'm calling the game. Did you hear that, universe? I'M CALLING THE GAME.

So I'm nesting like a mother loving emperor penguin up in here, and every last thing that Target has to offer for under $10 is fair game. Fair game, I say. Get in my cart.

Some background information, before we go any further:

These are my exterior children, in race cars crafted from humidifier boxes. I was proud of myself on the day this occurred. (If you enlarge the picture to better glimpse my huge, pregnant upper arms, I wish you ill.)

 Before we go any further, this is what I look like right now. I feel like this excuses me from a whole host of  societal constraints and cultural norms. Like not photographing your nearly naked children in cardboard boxes and calling it a 'craft.'

Besides, we've been trying to eat well.

Heck, we even took a field trip to the aquarium after breakfast one morning. This fish may or may not be dead on my kitchen counter right now. My sister's fiancé abandoned him here to die before the holiday, so be it upon his head if Fire has passed into eternity.

But where was I? Oh yes, Target.

This, for the record, is what my local Target looked like at 5:45 pm this fine Thanksgiving eve:

That is a tent. With grown ass men camping inside of it, in anticipation of the EIGHT PM OPENING TOMORROW EVENING.

May God have mercy on us all.

Moving on.

Before hitting up Satan's giant red bullseye, I wandered into Home Goods where I snagged this pretty jute rug made in India for the reasonable song of $19.99:

How legit does my office look now? Practically business chic.

Target yielded these little golden beauties, confusingly titled "dimensional wall applications," which look kind of cool but make my husband a little nervous. For $9.99 I probably could have made them myself out of tissue paper, for that is their composite. But. But…I never would have. And thus ended every argument for buying crafty shit made in China and pre-assmebled at some big box store anywhere, ever.

And now, some gratuitous shots of my favorite places and spaces in the house right now:

My uncluttered and simple bathroom counter. Sparkling clean, thanks to the flip side of my nightly makeup cleansing cloth.

Our medicine cabinet, divested of all but the daily necessities. My mind feels cleansed just looking at it.

Relatively freshly manicured toes + this year's jingle jams from Costco + a new, fluffy bathmat that, as far as I know, has never been pooped on by a human being.

I hope that tomorrow finds all your turkeys trotting and all your Thanksgiving dreams coming true. And I hope that none of you are planning on doing a lick of shopping to mark the day. A pox on grey Thursday, and merry feasting to all.

(For whatever it's worth, I don't know what in the hell is up with the formatting of this post but I'm betting on all my shetland ponies that you people don't come here for graphics and/or design. C'est la computer illiteracy.)

Slowing Down

This past weekend saw lots of couch lying and bath-soaking on my part, with sprinklings of football and pumpkin carving. Pretty much the perfect recipe for fall, except that I spent most of it lying down watching from the sidelines.

Mommy crack.

This has been the easiest pregnancy so far, hands down, except for this past week, during which it has become painfully (ha) clear that I'm overdoing it, over extended, and over committed. When I realized sometime around 4 pm Friday that I can no longer comfortably carry either boy for longer than 15 seconds, it occurred to me that I'd better embrace this newfound infirmity before it progresses because 7 weeks is a looooong time for mommy to be out of commission.

After a glorious trip to the chiropractor this morning and lots of 'no's' to stuff I would otherwise have loved to accomplish over the weekend, I'm feeling less like I've been in a crippling car accident and more like I'm just 8 months pregnant. For the third time in four years. I always forget this part at the end where the gym doesn't soothe what ails me, but rather seems to inflame what aches me. Still, I am committed to the socialization of my pre-schoolers 90 glorious and child free minutes each afternoon between me and HGTV, so I'll probably keep going if only to creep along on a treadmill to the sound of bad pop music while my offspring learn important life lessons like how many consecutive loops of Cars can they rack up before the movie gets switched to some other animated masterpiece, and how many kids there are in the world named Hadley/Peyton/Hunter whose gender is a mystery revealed only by the sparkles on their footwear. Or lack thereof.

We've been doing lots of crafty things like shoving pipe cleaners in colanders, cutting newspapers into shreds with safety scissors, and gluing pieces of paper to other pieces of paper. Oh, and making lots and lots of buntings. To hang in every room. Pretty much 110% stimulating for all parties involved. 

Put a bunting on it.

One thing I am inordinately proud of is the slightly ghetto "Mass kit" I cobbled together via my favorite recycled retail establishment, which Joey has fallen deeply and profoundly in love with. 

I give him water to make wine with (he's a miraculous little chap) and rice crackers for hosts, and then he spreads his goods across the 'altar' of our coffee table and goes to town. 

Old liturgy of the hours book (breviary?), Spanish silver(!) 'chalices,' World Market coasters-turned-patens, and some assorted glassware for purification purposes. And of course Target RE brand altar clothes and purificators. Only the finest in liturgical vesting in this house. Bananas optional.

He begs me to read parts of the Eucharistic prayers to him and then he parrots them back and let me tell you right now: hearing a 3 year old solemnly intone "take this bwead, Lord" is the best thing you've ever laid ears on.

Stripes, the other liturgical color.

He is still not super engaged at actual Mass, but boy does he love calling the shots from his mini sanctuary in the living room. (Lest any vocational predictions arise, he also spends about 60% of the time he's 'saying' Mass talking about how he is going to be a daddy, so we're thinking he's got a Byzantine streak...)

Fr. Joseph and his faithful deacon, "Garry"

I'm trying to consciously choose what stays and what gives as we head into this most favorite of liturgical seasons (mine, anyway) and so far that looks like no gift-giving (aside from the bare minimum), no Christmas cards (in lieu of early January birth announcements), and a very limited social engagements calendar punctuated by the occasional dinner party, feast day celebration, baby shower and bridal shower. So far all my siblings and I have planned fall/winter weddings, which is both weird and fun, and that coupled with the 10 immediate family birthdays we have from September-January means crazy partying all yuletide long. So, let the games begin. I might be watching from the couch, and I might be planning to let my 3-year-old trick or treat in his Superman pajamas on Thursday night. In light snow. Lowered expectations, I've got 'em.

7 Thrift Takes

The other night while feeding the kids and early and ambitious dinner of gluten free grilled cheeses and uncooked green beans (I roll high and heavy in the culinary department), Joey looked up from his plate and nonchalantly stated "I'm gonna pop some tags, Mommy." before dropping his eyes back to his food. I guess that makes me an awesome parent? Or a really, really truly negligent mother, because this song is full of f-bombs. Now, in my defense, it was playing on constant repeat in every bar and restaurant in Rome for a good 2 months of this summer, so he heard it plenty without my queing it up on the Youtube, but still.

Poppin' taaaaaags.

What I really want to communicate to you, fine readers, is the deep and abiding love that I (and my innocent young children) have for thrifting. It's truly my competitive sport of choice in this season of my life, and the way my heart rate elevates at the mere sight of a "Goodwill" logo tells me there is at least a minimal amount of cardio benefit to be had.

Various frames, Goodwill via Target, $2-$4

Like any other sport, there are ground rules which are critical to the success and enjoyment of the game. Imma lay a few down for you, because if I've perfected anything over these past 10 months of purging, donating, purchasing, packing, and than hitting 'replay,' it's the art of the thrift.

Pottery Barn espresso cups, $.99, Rainbow plate, $2 via Saver's.

And so, here you have it:

1. Don't go in blind. This is the first and foremost rule of thrifting, and it is one I didn't fully understand until somewhat recently. Saver's is not Target, and the Salvation Army is not laid out by the same people who stock Anthropologie. 19 times out of 20, you are not going to happen upon some treasure ala Antique Roadshow that is beautiful/functional/valuable just because you happened to wander in to a secondhand shop. Oh no, no no. You need to have a vision, a laundry list of needs and wants, and one that is broad enough to leave room for interpretation but not so broad that you end up buying some crap that is probably only 20% marked down from it's original retail value. I call that getting swindled, and so does Joey. So do your research, make a list of what you're looking for, down to color and cost, and don't settle just because you find something that 'might do.' Trust me, once you get it home, it won't.

I went in looking for a couch, I left with a couch. Tan microfiber couch, Goodwill, $40

2. Which brings me to my next tip: if you don't love it, don't buy it. I'm not saying that piece of beat up furniture you're going to refinish has to be swoon worthy at check out time, but if you don't feel that thrill of excitement when you load that puppy into your cart, don't do it. You wouldn't do it at a full price store, so why would you do it when purchasing other people's discarded crap? If anything, be more choosy when you're thrifting; you can afford to be! At the same time, if you are conisdering something...throw it in the cart and drive around with it a while. You can always put it back (and I do this multiple times in a successful trip) but you can never wrest it from bargain grannie's fingers once she has snatched it up.

Espresso wine cabinent, new in box, Target via Goodwill, $30

3. Don't buy a brand you wouldn't gladly pay full price for. I heed this especially when clothes shopping, because it's important to value cut and quality above all else, especially when it has already been loved once by someone else. This may sound vain, but I won't even look at an item of clothing for myself if it doesn't say J Crew, Banana, Gap, White Black, or Ann Taylor. I have maybe strayed from this rule a half dozen times, and I can tell you, I've got a half dozen mistakes in my closet that never see the light of day. Don't spend your money on second hand 'value' brands, because it isn't a value. Not by the time it gets to you.

(For kid's clothing, my go-to's are Gap, Janie and Jack, Crew Cuts, Children's Place, soooooometimes Old Navy if it's in awesome shape, and Stride Right)

Espresso folding bookcase, Pier One via Goodwill, $15. Random gold mirror, $3.

4. Don't be afraid to take your kids. If I had to think about when I was going to get to a store without the boys, I'd do a lot of thinking and very little actual browsing. The awesome thing about a thrift store is that they are without exception interesting and engaging to little people. Most have a book section, some are even set up like a cafe with tables and coffee. And the toy section: it's a train wreck. So, I park my kids happily in the wreck and, keeping them in eye/ear shot, I shop. They play, I browse, and nobody raises an eyebrow. Because again, we're not at Target here. These teammembers are just trying to stay sober and make an honest buck, they aren't going to look twice at your kid digging happily through piles of grimy toys. Nothing a little Clorox can't handle...

Pottery Barn kids kitchen via Saver's, $8. Tea kettle and various kitchen tools, $.50-$2, Goodwill.

5. Use your imagination...but don't stretch it too far. This kind of goes hand in hand with 1 and 2, but don't fancy yourself some kind of avant garde hipster just because you're standing in front of a pile of 'retro' dinner plates and suddenly envisioning your kitchen looking like a loft in the East Village. But, do take risks. You can afford to be a little more interesting than usual, because if it doesn't work, you can usually exchange the offending item for store credit or simply re-donate it. I took a chance on a pillow that wasn't strictly up my alley and needed a little laundering, and now it's one of my favorite details in our living room.

I love you $30 Target chair, and your $2 World Market pillow pal.

6. Shop early and shop often. Do not make the mistake of hitting up Goodwill one Saturday morning every two months and thinking you're 'doing' this thrifting thing. Part of the reason I find some of the crazy deals that I do is because I go often. These days, that looks like once and sometimes twice per week, because we're trying to put an entire house together, and also because I'm gestating a Christmas turkey here and I need to get my nativity affairs in order. I definitely don't always find something, and I am NOT afraid to walk out emptyhanded, because I know that I could come back in 4 days and find something just perfect waiting for me. Timing is everything, and so is persistence. Find one or two or four stores in your area that you regularly see good merchandise at, and then hit them up. Regularly.

The beige wasteland that is our current family room: couch, kid's rocker (PB kids, $8), IKEA table set ($8), and lone wall decor, all thrifted.

7. Don't be afraid to bargain. While a thrift store is not a garage sale, it's also not the mall, and the employees and managers actually do have the ability to mark down your item if you can make a good case for it. If something is damaged, missing an element, or just plain seems overpriced, ask if they will come down in price. The worst thing you can hear is 'no,' and it's not embarrassing in the least. Because hello, it's a thrift shop. People made one teeny stretch of effort further and dropped their castoffs here instead of the dump. So ask away!

Dave calls this my "mirror mirror." Whatev, I love it. Saver's, $5.

The moral of the story is this: if you love fashion, design, or DIY, you need to accquaint yourselves with this way of life, because it is so much fun and it is so possible to do it well. If you're in Denver, I can point you in the direction of a few of the most lucrative hot spots, but then I will have to kill you ;)

Genevieve's nursery, in progress. Nate Berkus for Target curtains, $10 via Goodwill. Anthro pillow, $6 via Goodwill.

(hint, hint: Cherry Creek Goodwill. Super Target dumps their off-season merchandise there every Wednesday morning.)

Now get out there and start thrifting. And be sure to take thyself to Jen's on your way out.