Nobody gonna BREAK-A MY STRIDE. (pt. I)

I have sooo many pictures, events, and other various miscellanea to post that I better get to steppin' before I (almost) completely forget and all of this becomes irrelevant. ENJOY.
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Since our early years in highschool, my sister and I have ascribed to the "buy used" lifestyle. Over the years, we've patronized nearly every local thrift shop we're come across, gone to flea markets almost every Sunday, scoured randomly located antique malls, and have been known to find gems in unexpected places. 


We've managed to pick up almost every possible thing used, ranging from adorable dresses, to flammable polyester.... well, anything, to practically all of Jaya's living room ephemera (we even got a small shout out from apartmenttherapy.com!).


Ahhhh... I'm taking longer that I thought to post what I want to talk about and now I'm just rambling. Allls I gots to say before I kill this baby (hahahaha! a joke maybe only Jaya will get. or anyone who likes "dead baby" jokes.) is: BUY USED WHEN YOU CAN. 

Just get it over with and given into peer pressure because ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT.


Now let's kill this baby.


PART ONE: The Flea Market Experience.


001/ Me, me, me: 
First, here is what I wore. And you have to trust me when I tell you that I'm not unhappy, but that's how I look like, ummmm, moooost of the time? I wished that I could've styled myself a littttle bit better (fix my shirt, pull down my chin, maybe smile), but you know what folks? IT HAPPENED. Deal with it. If you're curious about what I'm wearing, just click on the photo and BOOOM, answers revealed!

002/ Others first: 

I thought beyond myself (which is truly a concept when it comes to shopping) and got some clothes for my Etsy store, which, admittedly, is realllly lacking.

I was going to keep this red/gold glitter wrap dress for myself, but then I realized, "Hmmm, I already own a dress similar to this." But if it doesn't sell THEN IT'S MINE, allll mine.

Now this dress. I LOVE this dress. I love the color; I love the hand-sewn lace on the neckline; I love length and look of the skirt portion. Unfortunately, however, it's not my size. IT'S NOT MY SIZE! But I know in my heart of hearts some lady out there will just kill it, KILL IT, in this peachy number. 

003/ Now for the excitement: 

I went into this flea market looking for what I always look for: shirts and eyeglasses; instead, I come away a pair of slamming boots and an adorable white dress.

The dress looks really unflattering in this photo but, again, trust me, it's adorable. Yes, it does look like white Hefty bag with eyelet cutouts, but put a belt on and call it a day! And (again) I ain't angry. Hahahaha.... gettin' faced by my face! Ohhhh, face!

Now the boots. They are Guess by Georges Marciano and they are RIDICULOOOOUUUS. Am I right? Normally, I wouldn't look twice at this type of boot (the pointy toe made them questionable) but when I realized that they were my size I tried them on and YES.

I'm tired. I'll post a picture of how I wore my two new purchases on my next post. Outie 5000.

For Part Two, thrift store finds. YAAAAY!

Is It weird to be obsessed with a fictional bear? DON'T ANSWER THAT.

Smokey the bear. OMG, you are the best. Now I'm on a mad hunt for all things Smokey and will probably spend the rest of my life time cruelly setting myself up for disappointment and misery (again. sadface!) because I know that I will never find exactly what I'm looking for.

all found via google

Wait? What was that US government? YOU SELL THESE MOST FANTASTIC POSTERS (except the first one. The one I want the most, natch)?!?!?! You slay/Bobby Flay me.

"My Log Has Something to Tell You."

image via... the internet? I honestly don't know. SADFACE.

This photo of the Log Lady, from everybody's favorite show Twin Peaks, encompasses a lot of what I am loving right now -- wood anything (faux bois included), old lady sweaters, and Sally Jesse Raphael glasses. Okay, so the last thing might not be true but you better believe that after finding this photo, I'm HUNTING THEM DOWN. Is there, like, a poster-sized version of this photo anywhere or am I going to have to stoop so low as to go to Kinko's (IHATEKINKOS) to get this printed. How BOMB would this look with my wood/lucite/mirrored mess of a studio apartment? I'm just sayin'. Log Lady is my NEW THEME.

Knee deep in the best crap we can buy.

Jaya and I are on this constant and manic quest to find new and different thrift stores. It's like an addiction that we have to feed and fuel every couple of weeks.

It can be exhausting, frustrating, exciting, or ridonculously MIND-BOTTLING. We can either come away from the experience with some great, if not interesting, goooodies, or just achy feet and smelly, grubby little hands.

However, sometimes amongst all the rubble and rough we find little gems and diamonds that make the hunt and gather alllll worth it (save for the smelly paws: ugggh + grody x 430924809 million). Here are some of the best things we have found in the past few weeks. ENJOY.

I'm getting closer and closer to my "porcelain" (aka REAL) "baby hands" dreams. BABY STUMPS!

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Jaya found this very ADORABLE 45 LP holder. Some of the detailing is lost here, but there's embossings of cats playing flutes, windmills (HOLLA), princes, and rabbits in costumes.

---Mmmmmmmmm, DRAWERS. And yes, I do have enough pink, red, and purple pens to warrant (almost) individual compartments.