mega barn with cara

number one on cara's perth to do list was the opshop mega barn in canning vale (33 bannister road canning vale m-s 10-4 for those of you playing along at home)



we had an excellent time bargain hunting together. although it can be quite overwhelming sorting through giant bins, i personally think it is the best value for money, as clothing is sold by the kg and ends up being between 65c-$1 per piece on average.

today was probably the best haul i've had, including some good brands (zara, seed, origami, laura ashley & pumpkin patch) and even some things for doug so i was well pleased with my day.

pay the mega barn a visit one day, if you're willing to dig, i promise you won't be disappointed. ♥

girls opshop day 2.0

another girls opshop day advertised on facebook to my friends, found just two of us hitting up the salvation army church opshop in morley. that was cool with us! my friend is new to this - and left so thrilled with her bargains and looking forward to our next day out.

finds of the day:
white 2 tiered plate - $3
2 italian made girls dresses - $1 each
all of the animal cookie cutters - $1
a beanie boo!!! (madeline was thrilled to pieces!) - $1
annnnd joseph managed to find lightning mcqueen boxers and another lightning toy car for 50c each

seriously. who wouldn't opshop?!

opshop rain hail or shine

we opshop rain, hail or shine... but today it was actually hailing as we got close to the mega barn for our first girls day out opshopping. i got sick of the constant comments from my friends that consisted of:
you got that from the opshop?
why didn't you tell me you were going?
how much was that? no wait, let me guess, a dollar?
can you please tell me next time you're going?

so i did. i made an event on facebook and invited about 15 of my gfs, told them that they in turn could invite anyone they wanted and made it happen. only 4 of them ended up coming cause the weather was craaaaaazy, but it was an excellent morning out (as usual, i mean seriously, what weirdo doesn't love to hunt for bargains) and i had a great time.

so did this monkey, who wanted to climb in all the bins and party... what a crack up. definitely my kid! ♥

flowergirl dress on a budget

maddie is going to be a flowergirl again in october! she is so excited and it's super cute... but what to do for the dress. aunty emily said she could wear anything we liked so long as it was navy blue... so i instantly thought of this gorgeous dress i picked up at the mega barn for under a dollar (see pic below). it originally had blue flowers on the bodice, which were coming off (some had been sewn back on, but not very well...) so i removed the rest of them. it left a little mark where each had been, but no worries about that! off to spotlight, where i picked up a pack of navy blue shiny beads for $3, a couple of hours later, one carefully sewn in each place... done! i am so stoked with the result... and 4 dollars later, maddie's dress is sorted!

hooray for opshopping! ♥

york salvos for the win

this is what $50 will get you if you op shop in york at the salvation army jumble sale at 71 avon terrace york: open monday, thursday and friday 9:30 (but sometimes a little earlier depending on who is volunteering that day) - until 12 noon.  plus as an added bonus, they have a "coffee shop" in the church hall monday and friday where the older (please let it be known that i did not say old) ladies who volunteer make excellent hot chocolate/ coffee and scones with jam and cream. totally worth the drive from perth, especially when my parents live half an hour away. 

but. back to the bargains... this week i was lucky enough to discover a genuine (definitely the real deal) mimco medium pouch (feast your eyes on the rrp here if you will) in excellent condition. i was so stoked. i have considered buying one on a few occasions but could never justify the price tag, so was beyond excited to find it. i did a little happy dance right then and there, a very dignified one in case the opshop ladies caught on and charged me more (who am i kidding, these are old ducks in a country town just over an hour east of perth) but i can happily report i paid a total of one dollar. that's right, you read that corrrectly, one dollar. the best bit? the link that holds the pull tab to the pouch was missing and the tab seemed to be missing... but it was inside the pouch! if you are an avid opshopper, you'd know this is a miracle and i am still getting over it. what a win!

plus, i also scored a mimco bag (also genuine) front and center in the pic above, for a friend who also loves (and can't afford) mimco. there are two pretty happy girls here this week. ♥

megabarn (and a new opshop!)

i dragged my poor father in law out to the magabarn opshop in canning vale (33 bannister road, at one end of the good sammys headquarters). it's funny, i can't see that many father in laws that would be excited at the prospect, but the two of us always have blast opshopping. as per usual i got a great haul and was well pleased, 27 pieces for $17.50, making them just under 65c a piece. inlcuded in my haul was even a gorgeous george brand dress with the tags still attached. boom.

but the most exciting bit was making a last minute decision (so last minute that it involved me doing a u turn on a main(ish) road) to see if a new little opshop i had recently discovered was open... it was! ladies and gentlemen, may i present the "blue sky opshop" located at 252 benara road, beechboro. it was small and packed with stuff, just the way i like it. i walked out a while later with a vintage blue dress from the 70s that looks like something my nanna would have worn. woop. i will definitely be checking that one out in the future.

cheers! here's to new opshops! ♥

best. day. ever!

today was seriously the best day ever! we woke up to see snow falling gently at our little basement window and i knew right then it was going to be an amazing day. with great restraint we only went outside for a few minutes, because we had something important to do... today was the day we were going to go and surprise my friend lisa reese, who had absolutely no idea we were even in america, let alone here in utah. it was so worth it. after checking in with her husband to make sure she was home (who also had no idea about this until last night, as i had been keeping it top secret with the help of her twin sister michelle) lisa (grinceri, who i'm staying with, yes i can see this is going to be confusing while i am here) drove us to her house, where we knocked on the door and waited. five years after we last saw each other, here i was ready with one of the best suprises ever. sure enough it was the best. she screamed, grabbed maddie, hugged me for dear life - and i cried. it was like something out of a dream and i am so glad that we made it happen. it had been far far too long that we had been apart and it was the sweetest reunion.

as the snow started again and lisa got her kids sorted (while probably still reeling from the shock) we madeline and i went out into the park area behind the reeses backyard to enjoy ourselves. i am so in love with snow that it's not even funny. the cold factor doesn't bother me in the slightest, i am so happy to be out in the open as it falls and makes everything white. it makes everything so quiet too and watching it fall is just so magical.

madeline in the snow. her christmases have truly all come at once. she seriously screamed this morning when she realised it was snowing outside and there was snow all over the ground.

ohhhhhhhh bliss.

lisa and i were mad opshopping partners in australia, so obviously a trip to deseret industries (or the d.i. as they call it here) was a must. it was the best day ever. pushing our carts around with our kids, catching up on the last five years - and really just being together. i can hardly believe we are in the same place!

andi and ella ♥

best picture ever on the best day ever. how happy i am to be opshopping overseas with one of my dearest friends!

lisa and i. reunited at long long last!

i am documenting this moment, purely because i know lisa will see this one day and laugh her head off. we stopped at hot dog on a stick after opshopping, cause lisa had a craving for it. she said and i quote "you can't get much more american than this." oh brandon laughed his head off later when we told him we had been there and told her that she ought to be ashamed of herself for taking me there! 

we also spent (wasted?) a few hours in the local target, so i could have my first u.s. target experience. it was great. i'm sold on it.

what a day. nothing in this world could ever possibly be better than doing nothing with your best friends. lisa i love you madly and i am so glad we have been reunited, this time in your home town. ♥

york salvos

another day, another awesome haul from the york salvation army jumble sale. this very overflowing ikea bag full of clothes and other stuff cost me $40... for so many things!

after all this time and so many opshops, this one is still right up there in my favourites and very rarely disappoints and it certainly didn't today! i was stoked. 

lunch with mum and the kidlets at my friends house after... best day this week! ♥

besties mega barn date

i went on a date with my best friend to the mega barn yesterday. it's been so long since we had time with just the two of us... but seeing as just the two of us doesn't exist anymore anyway since we had kids... off we went with our little boys. of course it goes without saying that they whined and messed about and (in my case) ran about the place but we had a good time. i got an awesome haul (i've not had a bad day at the barn yet, must be a good sign that i need to keep going on a regular basis) and we laughed and chatted and just generally had an awesome time! plus we may have even eaten hungry jacks on the way home, which is not something we do everyday and probably haven't done since we were teenagers... perfect bestie date. let's do this more often! ♥

on another note, same topic... how amazing is this lamp and shade that mum picked up as two separate pieces at her local opshop which now has pride of place in my room. on both sides... because there were two! the chances are so slim of something so glorious, but it happened and i am loving it. thanks mama!

handmade pillowcases

flicking through a few home magazines (and pinterest of course... always pinterest) i've come across numerous yellow bed covers and i am loving them. i was almost at the point of considering paying full price for one (anyone that knows me will be rolling with laughter) and then on a recent opshop adventure i discovered this beauty hanging out on the manchester rack just waiting for me to discover it. For just $10 it was a score... the only issue was that it only came with one pillowcase. so tonight i worked a little magic with my trusty friend my sewing machine and made it into two!

i had an idea in my head to simply pull apart two plain white pillowcases, then use one side (with the flap closure still attached) to sew to a piece the same size of the patterned fabric (i'd also pulled the other pillow case apart), making a standard sized pillow case. i don't have mad sewing skills, but thankfully it worked perfectly and i now have two pillowcases to go with my new cover! yay!

new bedset? $10. winning. 

so freaking hot!!

this weeks bargain buy - gorgeous mimco scarf
@st vinnies claremont - $2

statistically, right now - perth is having it's hottest february in something like 25 years! it's been over 30 degrees for something like 30 days, and it's looks like 14 days straight of 33+. it's hell.

so my fave facebook post for this week
needs no further explanation:

"jade loves that the old lady in the opshop only charged me $2 for that fab mimco scarf... i'm pretty sure it's cause she thinks i'm mental and wasting my money...
it's never going to be cold again!!!"

and i honestly wonder if it will!!

bindaring clothing sale

saturday brought another girly op-shopping day...
that's two in a row - eep!
lisa, dannielle and i headed to st. vinnies in nollamara
and osborne park
before heading off to the claremont showgrounds for my first time at the bindaring clothing sale!
massive-est op-shop i've ever seen for sure...
but lots of fun!
and... i got giorgio armani sandals - yep, i did. for $3!!!
they are freaking hot!
aqua havvies for 50c
a cardi for $5 and brown pumps for $3

plus... the hotdog (almost as good as bunnings)
and killer python on the way out made it all worth it!

all in a days work ;)

op-shop queen - out!

a showcase of wed purchases for mama!

copy of twtwb for domdom $1
cannot freaking wait for the movie

noughts and crosses
"black sheeps and white sheeps"
pretty much the cutest thing i've ever seen - $2

paper bowl - $2
have been dying for one of these since i saw them at oxfam
maybe i'll still get one - their colours are funky :)

yet another milkjug for mum's collection
50c

bluey-grey pashmina $2

and purchase of the day...
freaking awesome patterned pashmina for $2!

i heart st. vinnies!

i adore my wednesday treks to the local st vinnies in claremont!
check out the haul i got today :)

funky all shaped and sized glasses
from 20c - $1 ea

huge as hardcover copy of the secret garden $5
i collect these -
that makes 14 copies in total! :)
by far the best one i've found so far

awesome hardcover book -

to be made into a hollow book $2
(like the one my pip got for her bday from me -
the girl that makes them is a local...
check her etsy site out here)
make sure they have a funky title so they look better on your bookshelf!!

mini condura shopper tote for emsy :) $1

you're never too young to be introduced to handbags!!

double strand black glass bead necklace $2
about to be remade into bracelets with patron saint charms :)

amazing asian style frosted glass vase $3
(i let them keep the hideous fake flowers that were in it!)

diachrome glass pendants 50c each

good style of sunglasses - because i am sure i definately
don't have enough pairs yet... 50c

funky minature "virgin mary" terracotta style vase 50c

awesome "wild child-esque" brown school-ish shoes
exactly my size $8

st vinnies and i are the best of friends!

saturdays child is full of bargains!

saturdays child spent the afternoon combing through other people's pre-loved clothes at the gsi in stirling and dianella :)

bliss!

purple fitted t with ruffled neck $2.50

t for my laura - $3

bonds "babushka" wife beater - $1


funky orange target cardi $5

uber-cool purple crinkled scarf $2
amazing fitted stitched dress from flower - old school cool -$5
aqua green wrap around knit $2
incredi-cool black heels $7
map satchel (for chels' bday) $4

man scarf for doug $3.50
and a tie for the pink $2.50

days just don't get any better than this...