This is our third Thrifted Sister Challenge where my sister and I unite our thrifting powers, from two different states, and each create 2 looks with only $20 in our pockets.

This week’s 2 styles: A 9-5 look and a follow-up one for a post-work happy hour.

Also known as the one where we ironically thrifted the exact same shoes, 1388 miles apart.

9 to 5

Carin’s look: Express Turtleneck, $1, paired with my own jeans, Leather boots (made in Italy!), $3.99. Total: $4.99

Kelle: Damn, girl. You have that look-off-to-the-side look down. You look like a Blair model from the Sunday Value-Pak. 
Carin: Now that you say that, all I can see is Blair model. I hate that turtleneck now. My girls would say it looks like crust. And, it looks like you used some app on my chest. You’re right – this photo reeks of Blair.
Kelle: Hi, Blair.
Carin: This is a great example of thrifting too far. Your standard changes. I would have never bought this had it been at some retail store. 
Kelle: I know. I’ve done the same thing. Unless it’s something awesome and crazy like a faux fur vest or studded leather. I wouldn’t pay full price for a fashion experiment, but I might jump down the rabbit hole if it was a thrift steal. And just to clarify, Blair turtlenecks don’t qualify as a fashion experiment. See, we learned an important thrifting lesson today.

Kelle’s Look: Sweater (no tags, but it’s not acrylic, it feels nice and heavy and I love the little sleeve gathers that give it an itty bitty poof at the shoulder), $5 paired with my own pencil skirt; Black leather heels, $5 (these heels are one of my favorite thrift buys now–they go with everything, perfect height), Total: $10

Carin: Can you imagine where you’d be without your morning planning time? Without your new planner? You should teach some classes on Planning and Organization. 
Kelle: Oh, and I’d like to see yours, Miss Apple-Who-Fell-From-the-Same-Tree. I’ll have you know that I showed up to two appointments this week with five minutes to spare.

Happy Hour

Carin’s Look: Mint Cotton Express Tank, 25 Cents; J Crew Cardigan, $2.99; H&M pants: $2.99; Black Leather Bandolino Heels, $3.99; Neon Target Belt, 99 Cents; and finally, (drumroll), Black Leather Hobo Purse, $2.99. Total: $14.20

Kelle: I think it’s so nice that your airport opens up a runway for happy hour. Also, yellow belt pop of color for the win. This outfit is awesome. And you look totally confident wearing it.
Carin: Airport…that just made me laugh.

Teenage daughters capture great moments:

Kelle: Nice stance. So Lady Di of you.
Carin: I was rushing to meet important clients. 
Kelle: Does your business card say Blair?

Kelle’s Happy Hour Look: Striped Silk Blouse, $2.99; Mint Green Gap Skinny Jeans, $5 (I wanted these jeans when I saw them at Gap!)

Carin: I think it’s so nice that Heidi opens up her lanai for happy hour. You should seriously wear these pants every day. J Crew trumps Prairie.
Kelle: I should tell you that I almost didn’t buy this shirt because it smelled old and funky, but I washed it by hand with lavender soap, and now it smells like flowers. Also, this isn’t really a happy hour and I’m sipping straight olive juice from that glass.

Thrifted Sisters is back and now a permanent feature of ETST.
And not permanent feature as in “Oh, yay! Something new I started that I’ll forget about later,” but, like, actually real and permanent.  As in, I put it in my iPhone calendar next to Dash’s doctor appointment.

Before we go into this, let me say that my sister and I have been shopping together for years. What began in the 80’s as trips to buy matching purple double velcro tennis shoes eventually turned in to two grown sisters with different styles who sometimes need each others’ opinion but all the time need connection to make those many miles between us seem a little less. So we take pictures of shoes and skirts and glasses, model looks in dressing room mirrors and text each other “Which one?” and “What do you think?” Responses vary from a blunt “hideous” and “hell no” to applause and fist pump emoticons. Sometimes we go against each others’ feedback, following our own style and fashion riskiness, but either way, it’s always nice to shop together. It’s a sister’s rite of passage.

And for the record, I can’t tell you how many stone-washed denim jumpers with embroidered roosters I sifted through to find anything halfway decent this time.

Our 2 Thrifted Looks this week include a table scene for home and one clothing look–created, combined, for $20 or less.

Kelle: Are you sleeping?  And seriously, why don’t we serve water like this every day?  I vow to up my lemon garnishes.
Carin: If you think this one is bad, you should see all the shots that preceded this (we should include out-takes in one of these posts). 

Kelle’s Table Scene: 
Wood bowl: $3.99 (I almost bought one just like this a few weeks ago, brand new for $40), Pottery Mug: $1.99, Floral Embroidered Placemats and Napkin (set of 4 each): $5 = $10.98 total


Kelle: The mug has the perfect handle too–your whole hand can fit through it for a perfect 10.0 mug-hugging score.

Kelle’s Togs: 
Coral belted shirt dress…with pockets for the win: $9


Carin: Did your dog die?
Kelle: Looking down is the new looking up, okay? And what, no points for twirling?  I twirled!
Carin: Twirling indeed deserves kudos. I vow to twirl.

Carin’s Togs: Polka-dot sweater: $2.99, Tank, $1.99, Forever 21 Jeans: $1.99, Necklace: $1.99, Leather Moccasins: $2.99 = $11.95 total

Kelle: Dude, you set me up.  The boobs. The casual sipping. I’m going to give you huge points for the yellow polka dots though.  And your thrift shops have way better jeans than ours.  I’ve never found skinny jeans–all we’ve got are bad boot cuts and rhinestone pocket jeans. 
Carin: Set-up not intended…all credits go to my girls who took turns photographing. The casual sipping is practice for an upcoming happy hour I am hosting soon (hey, we should each plan a dinner party and post the process!). I was thinking your vignette totally trumped mine – it’s like a spread out of Real Simple! Love the wood bowl – I’m adding to my wanted list. And, props on passing up bad jeans. 
Kelle: Dinner party challenge accepted.  

Popina Swimsuit Giveaway Winner (loved reading all the kind things people have done and now have a nice stash pile of ideas for kindness…and kudos to all those amazing husbands out there takin’ nice care of their women)

Comment #641, Our Life Version 5.0
The nicest thing someone has done for me recently is sending me a genuine King Cake from Baton Rouge. I live in VA now but I am from Louisiana and miss eating a legit King Cake. My best friend from college days, sent one to us by surprise…right in the midst of me going through lots of testing with my current baby in utero (baby 4). Lots of testing, fears and concerns and prayers and the King Cake came in the midst of that. Loved. That’s how I felt.


Congrats, Our Life Version 5.0.  Please e-mail your contact info to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net with the subject line “giveaway winner”.

Alright, let’s have some fun.

New blog feature: the Thrifted Sister Challenge.

I’ve asked my sister to collaborate, A: because 2 sisters collaborating equals “Wonder Twins Power, Activate!” and B: because she is the Thunder of Thrifting, the Princess of Poppin’ Tags,  the Guru of Goodwill. Sister’s entire house is practically thrifted, and it looks nothing like Sanford & Son.  It’s beautiful. Because she has the magic thrift store eye. And because Midwest thrift stores are the bomb.

Since we’re already texting pictures of our thrift store finds and one-upping each other with how much we spent, it was time to bring it to the blog.  

The challenge:  With $20 in our pocket, we have to hit only one thrift store in one day and find two looks within a given theme.  This month’s theme:  Day & Night.

But first.  Some thrifty thriftin’ questions.

What do you look for when you hit a thrift store?

Carin: I usually go right to the furniture and housewares…if there’s a gem back there, it’s not going to last long. I like pottery mugs and hobnail milk glass, so I’ll do a quick scan through the dishes. Same thing with cocktail and pilsner glasses. After that I’ll look through the linens. A few weeks ago, I went specifically looking for a white queen duvet and actually found one –  nice cotton, too – for $5 with matching white pillowcases for $1 each.  Then I go to the clothes. When I’m really watching my money, I look for the sale colors (all the tags are different colors). One color is always 50% off and another is always 75% off. When I look through the pants, I always look for Express Editors. Sometimes I go in aimlessly, not really looking for anything specific. And sometimes I go in with something in mind; lately, I’ve been pulling up my Pinterest app and trying to recreate an outfit from my clothes board.

Kelle:  I scan furniture first, looking for quality pieces that might transform nicely with a paint job.  I found our high chair this way – a Jenny Lind style chair that became a beautiful dining room accent with a yellow paint job.  Next, I hit dishes in search of good mugs or single plates that will make a nice addition to a pretty mix-and-match table setting.  I look for picture frames (love oval or circle frames), vintage books and good records.  For clothes, I love to look for vintage dresses, blouses, long skirts and sweaters.  And if I’m in a really good thrift store, I’ll make sure to scan their jewelry.  I love finding some big funky grandma cocktail rings.

Best thrift store purchase? 

Carin: Probably a $50 couch I had in one of the nineteen places I’ve lived since my divorce. It had a nice low back and clean lines, and it was in great shape. It would have been worth having it reupholstered had I not ruined it by painting it. I’ve scored some great clothes, too – like my navy Banana Republic fitted crew sweater. Express Editor pants for work. Italian patent shoes. A down Patagonia coat. A fleece Patagonia vest with $13 in the pocket. Down bootie slippers from Restoration Hardware that had never been worn.

Kelle:  My high chair.  These gorgeous brown leather lace-up shoes that I wear in the fall. A floral blazer that I almost bought full price at Anthropologie just months before I found it in a thrift shop for $8.  My desk. Lainey’s lavender Hunter boots.

Dream thrift store find?

Carin: Something for my house. Like a Herman Miller Eames chair.

Kelle: A long Bohemian dress that’s hand-embroidered.  And maybe some cheap picture with a prized historical document worth millions buried behind the glass.

Advice for thrifters?

Carin: If you hate TJMaxx and Marshalls, you’ll hate thrifting even more. You’ll have better luck if you don’t go in looking for something specific. Go when you have a lot of time.  Thrifting can be a trap though, too. You can nickel and dime on stuff that looks great when compared to the rest of the stuff on the racks. But then when you get it home, you realize you would have never bought it had you seen it at Target or even some high-end store.

Kelle: Go without your kids.  Go with friends who don’t share your taste or else you’ll be trippin’ each other to get to the good stuff first.  And also: Be brave.  I actually love thrifting because it makes me explore crazy areas of fashion I might not be otherwise inclined to explore if I had to pay full price.  I probably wouldn’t attempt to rock a 70’s maxi dress or some funky faux fur if I had to splurge for it.

And our $20 Day/Night Looks…

Carin, Day:
American Eagle Jeans: $4.99
Eastland Loafers: $1.99
Striped Shirt: $0.99
Boys Wool Blazer: $ 0.75 (75% off $2.99)
Total = $8.72

Kelle: You kind of look like Billy Elliot.  
Carin: Well you dress like you think you’re on Portlandia.

Carin, Night:
Navy Button-Up: $0.50
Necklace: $1.99
Leather Boots: $2.99
Paired with own khakis
Total = $5.48

Kelle:  Who are you looking at?  

Kelle, Day:
White Zara Lightweight Sweater: $4.99
Pink Pleated Maxi Skirt: $4.99 paired with my own boots
Total = $9.98

Carin: Mom will be proud of the hemline and neckline…very virtuous. Very Proverbs 31.
Kelle: I know, right?

Kelle, Night:
Vintage Diane Freis Blouse (it has cougars on it and itty bitty shoulder pads!): $5.99
Paired with my own jeggings, heels and bling
Total = $5.99

Carin: Bloom: Memoir of a Geisha.
Kelle: Shut up.

Carin spent $14.20 and I spent $15.97 for a total of 4 looks and 2 Wendy’s frosties to go.

Fellow thrifters, what’s your best thrift shop score and dream thrift shop find?