de facto redhead

Shoes, American Eagle via Payless; tights, Secret; dress, Kensie via Liquidation World; blazer and tank, Urban Outfitters.

Earrings, Bitten; brooch and watch, vintage; necklace, antique mall in Alberta.

OK, I know you probably skipped to the pictures below to see my Thrifting Day finds from last Saturday, so let me just acknowledge that yes, I have posted this outfit on the blog before (here and here and here), with slightly varying accessories, tights, and footwear. Today was the first real “fall” day in Burlington, and I thought of this outfit right away – it just says “October” to me! I was also only at the store for three hours this evening, so I knew I could survive in these heels. Stiletto = polished and sexy, but chunky heel = comfort and ability to walk.

Fur cape with Kaufman Fur, Kitchener, Canada tag, $14.99, Value Village, Burlington.

Alligator-clasp purse, $5.99, Salvation Army, Hamilton.

So, as I mentioned, last Saturday, Erin and I spent all day touring the thrifting stores in Hamilton and Burlington. I picked her up at 9, and we sped off, honking the horn and laughing wildly (yes, this really happened). We started in Hamilton, and our first stop was Talize, where I bought the brown suede Liz Claiborne belt I was wearing yesterday (it was $4.99). Erin cleaned up at Talize, and actually took the plunge into used footwear, purchasing a pair of genuine Italian leather sandals for $9.99. I almost bought a pair of low-heeled navy T-strap shoes at our next stop, the Salvation Army, but literally decided at the last minute to put them back on the shelf. I decided that the fabulous alligator-clasp bag was more worth my money. I am in love. And I also think if I would have turned my back, Erin would have stolen this bag from me. Back off, ho!

We moved on from the Salvation Army into the detritus of deserted thrift shops. Almost every other place we tried in Hamilton was closed up! Tres stupide. We took a drive down Ottawa Street to check out what was going on at the street festival, but voted “non” for going in anywhere, and headed out to Burlington instead.

We made it to five places in Burlington, but the Salvation Army turned up nil, the Bibles for Mission was closed (at 3! Don’t they know we would have spent millions?), and the Animal Shelter shop honestly put up its closed sign as we walked from the car to the door (they shut down operations at 4, which was apparently 3:50 for them that day). Goodwill was annoying because the clothes weren’t organized according to size (Erin spent the entire time here debating whether to buy a ripped fur stole; decision, no, based on difficulty of repairs needed), and Value Village was a jackpot for me because it’s where I found the beauty fur cape that’s pictured above. I’m in love (again). Aren’t you?

Christmas is coming!

Yes, Christmas is, indeed, coming – in exactly 39 days! I have started my Christmas shopping, but since I obviously can’t reveal my purchases, I took the above picture of some Christmas gift tags I bought this year. Just over a week ago, Erin asked me to go with her to a holiday-shopping open house at Lulu & Lavigne Home Studio, in Hamilton, and with the lure of free cupcakes making me tear up Highway 403 in a fit of a blinding anticipation, there was no way I was missing out. My only purchase was the tags at 40% off, but I can say with confidence that Sweetness Bakery gained a new client because I ate two of their mini cupcakes at the event, and then bought four full-sized confections this past weekend (more on that later!).

Want some?

Staying on the baked-goods track, I made this banana-chocolate loaf (I hate that word) last week, and it was amazing! The recipe said to wrap the loaf overnight, and then cut into it the next day, but that author was crazy to think anyone (read: me) could resist something that looked like this, hot out of the oven. I sold all my bakeware at my yard sale in Edmonton, and I just recently acquired new pans, etc., so this loaf was me, back in baking action. Here’s what my counter looked like mid-bake:

You can check out the recipe for this Two-Tone Banana Bread here.

I got to enjoy the last piece of the bread on Friday, the day after Darcy left for the weekend to visit his friend in Houston, Texas. Yes, I had five days and four nights to myself, and I made them count. The first adventure of the weekend was actually getting Darcy to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which is in Cheektowaga, New York. The flight on Air Tran was so cheap in comparison to WestJet or Air Canada, there wasn’t really a question about choosing this airport/airline, so after getting through the border safely (I always feel so nervous!), we were early, so we went to eat at a local eatery Darcy had looked up – Charlie the Butcher. It was a great lunch!

The view at Charlie the Butcher.

The food at Charlie the Butcher: Beef on Weck, potato wedges, sweet potato fries, and a hot dog with a German name that I can’t remember. And yes, I know my hot dog looks pathetic, but the condiments were at the table, and I put them on after the picture was taken, OK?

After I dropped Darcy off at the airport, I made my way back toward the border, where I stopped at an outlet mall. I bought an olive-green corduroy skirt at Old Navy, but who cares about that when you can shop at Charlotte Russe! Oh my God, has anyone else shopped here before? I had only heard of it on the What I Wore Today blog, but didn’t know anything about it. The sparkle in this place almost made me pass out, and I felt like I didn’t know where to look because I wanted EVERYTHING! The clothes and accessories were also reasonably priced, similar to Forever 21, but all I took away with me was a tank top with metallic chains hanging on the front of it, and a bronzed metal necklace with brown feathers attached to it. I needed to restrain myself because Christmas is coming up, after all, but I will see you again, Charlotte Russe.

So this all happened on Thursday, and on Friday, I went on a thrifting extravaganza, going to every second-hand store in Burlington. I had such a great time, and I found not only Pyrex for my collection (you can check out my purchases on the Pyrex Collective here), but I also bought a creamy-coloured angora-and-wool winter coat with a fur collar at Goodwill for $14.99, a black cross-body purse at Goodwill for $4.99, and three belts of varying golds and blacks at the Burlington Humane Society second-hand shop for $1 each. Yay! These purchases, in combination with my U.S. purchases (Old Navy skirt, $5.48; Charlotte Russe tank and necklace, $16.80), bring my Tally it Up spending to $634.82.

On Saturday, I made my way into Toronto, where I met up with Caroline at her place. We went out for dinner at Ferro, where we split the Spinacce “insalate” and I had the Gnocchi Alla Napoli for my main. Oh, God, it was so good! Caroline, I’m coming to see you again today, OK?

After dinner, we had a drink of Baileys back at the apartment, and settled in to watch the second Sex and the City movie. We also settled in to…our Sweetness Bakery cupcakes! I told you I would mention them again, and here they are:

How amazing do these look?

Here we are, fake-eating the s’mores cupcakes. We demolished Caroline’s couch with their crumbs immediately after this picture.

That pretty much brings an end to my weekend, as Sunday I went out to the Freelton Antique Mall for a browse, but didn’t get anything for myself except for a couple postcards I plan on framing, and then on Monday it was time to head back to the U.S. of A. to pick up Darcy at the airport. Luckily, I had these friendly woodland creatures to guide me in times of crisis:

We had a serious chat about stores in the area, and one of them told me to go Hobby Lobby. I went forth with their blessings, and I discovered ample bounty. Thanks, Mr. Deer! (Along with Charlotte Russe, I now also love Hobby Lobby.)

Next up, I am heading to the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo this weekend!

As promised, here is Part 2 of the junkin’-junket weekend of vintage treasures:

So obviously these are not “vintage treasures,” but the stop at the St. Jacobs farmers’ market took up at least a couple hours, which therefore meant ample time to maximize my purchasing power. Darcy and I cooked up the homemade pasta tonight, and it was good, good, good.

This is my one and only purchase from the Stratford Antique Warehouse. It’s a reproduction of a map of Edmonton from 1907 that was co-published by the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and the University of Alberta in 1979. There were only 500 made, and I got one of them for $15, but why was it in Stratford? How did it get there? So many questions!

I spotted this sweater at a super-cute vintage clothing shop in St. Marys called Pass it On. It wasn’t priced, so I tried it on thinking I wouldn’t be able to buy it because it had this tag and seemed expensive:

When I was changing back into my clothes, I told my mom to go find out how much the sweater was – I thought it might be about $50, but the answer was $4.50! SOLD. I can’t wait to pair this sweater with leggings and boots!

I also spotted this pin, which wasn’t priced, either. It ended up being $2. SOLD. The owner of Pass it On noticed that it was a Sarah Coventry brooch, which is a brand I had never heard of before, but apparently there is a lot of this brand of jewelry out there because it used to be sold during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s at home parties a la Tupperware, PartyLite, etc. This information prompted me to check out my other brooches when I got home, to see if I had anything else SC, and just didn’t know it:

Nope – no other Sarah Coventry stuff in this collection!

This was my final purchase at Pass it On. For $5, I thought this overnight Jetliner bag was a steal!

I love decorating at Christmastime, and this record will make for a nice decor item, as well as satisfy another holiday obsession of mine – listening to Christmas carols! I bought this record for $1 at Eclectic Treasure in St. Marys.

On to Day 2 of the junket. This broom looks a lot bigger than it really is – it’s only about two-and-a-half-feet long. I have decided I am going to decorate my bathroom with an antique theme, so this is only one of the perfect pieces I found over the weekend. Lucky me, everything was half price at this particular vendor’s booth at the Aberfoyle Antique Market, and I bought this broom for $11.

Also bought, for $1, at the same booth, was this hanger. My coveted fur cape would like nice hanging on it. *Tear*

My first officially purchased Pyrex bowl! This was bargained down to $6 at Aberfoyle, and it’s the Horizon Blue pattern (with my St. Jacobs Bosc pears sitting pretty inside it!).

My second piece of newly acquired Pyrex! Technically, I didn’t purchase this because my mom bought it for me as a gift (for $10.95 at the Freelton Antique Mall), but it is part of my wares from the weekend, so I thought I would show it off anyway. This is the Friendship pattern, and I have decided to collect this size (two-and-a-half quart) of Pyrex bowl to place in a lovely display on the top of my kitchen cupboards.

Here is my collection of Pyrex bowls – the middle one is part of a three-piece set that was my great-grandmother’s. It’s the Butterfly Gold 1 pattern. Wheeeee!

Also purchased at Freelton was this vintage washboard – for only $5! I had been considering buying one earlier at Aberfoyle for $17, so I’m happy that I waited.

Another purchase at Freelton, and another purchase for this year’s Christmas decor. It was $3, and there were two, so my mom and I both bought one. We opened them, though, and one of them smelled OLD. Junkers and thrifters, you know the smell.

The last item purchased at Freelton, and, coincidentally, the last bought item of the day. This flour sifter was $3, which I thought was a great price. My mom bought one, too, but hers was in better shape.

And that brings me to the end of my buying bonanza. In there are some purchases for the Tally it Up total (the sweater, bag, and brooch), and I also bought an umbrella on the weekend at Wal-Mart for $14.68, so that brings my Tally thus far to $589.56. It would be higher if I had the fur cape…

My mom came down to Burlington to visit me this past weekend, and “junkin’” is a new word we discovered on Saturday and whose meaning is clear when I tell you all we did for two days was visit antique malls and Value Villages everywhere from Stratford to Toronto. While we were on our way into a Liquidation World in Mississauga, I yelled at my mom, “We’re on a junkin’ junket, y’all!” and that was pretty much the tone from Friday evening to Monday morning. Here’s what a junkin’ junket looks like, from beginning to end:

My car’s tires are known by all to leak air, so here I am, in a familiar pose to everyone who has travelled with me.

Here we are, back at the St. Jacobs farmers’ market. The picture doesn’t accurately show how HUGE these carrots were!

What if there was a miniature Jack climbing up these brussel-sprout stalks? What if…

Johnny Appleseed would like this picture.

I discovered I might love kettle corn a little too much because I think it made me ill on Saturday night. I believe this because I ate it before lunch, after lunch, before supper, after supper, and before bed, and I have felt ill after eating it in the past, but I didn’t want to believe I needed a self-imposed kettle-corn limit.

About to enter the Stratford Antique Warehouse. My mom and I thought it was high-priced in here, and I only bought one thing.

I wanted to buy this so badly, but it was $55, and I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that. Since I left the store on Saturday afternoon, I have thought about this fur cape constantly. Non-buyer’s remorse!

Waiting for lunch at Pathway Fish & Chips in St. Marys. We didn’t know what we were in for…

…Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper! This was one of the best meals all weekend.

Can you spot me among the clutter at Eclectic Treasure in St Marys?

The wallpaper in the front hall of the Freelton Antique Mall, a.k.a. the best antique mall my mom says she’s ever been in

I also regret not buying this Pyrex warmer set. My mom has a new obsession with Pyrex after reading this article in the Toronto Star, and she has been busy seeking out where to find it, cheap (this set was only $17!). Her zeal effortlessly rubbed off on me this weekend, and I am also hooked on a new blog she recommended, The Pyrex Collective.

This item presents an odd mixture of non-buyer’s remorse and practicality. I REALLY wanted to buy this (why it was only $18, I have no idea!), but I have absolutely nowhere to put it, and it doesn’t match with any of the colours in my apartment. I think this sense of futility has placated me in a way the pass-up of the fur cape has not, which could have had infinite uses. I WANT THAT CAPE!!

Here is the upper-level view of a portion of the Freelton Antique Mall. What treasures to be found here!

And there you have it – Part 1 of a storyboard chronicle that details my weekend with my mom. Part 2 will be revealed tomorrow, when I show you my wares. I wish I was gearing up to display my fur cape. But I won’t be. Because I didn’t buy it. Because I’m DUMB! Argh!!!

Has anyone else out there heard of this glorious offer from P&G? It’s called the P&G brandSampler, and mine just arrived today! I’m pretty sure I was put on the brandSampler trail by Bargain Moose, but I can’t quite remember, and maybe that’s because my mind was busy being blown by what I perceived to be unbelievable free samples.

What the P&G brandSampler does is provide you with the chance to try out some of their products absolutely free, and today in the exciting package that was wedged in my mailbox was travel-size Scope Outlast Mouthwash in Long Lasting Mint and $3 in coupons for Scope, Crest, and Oral B; mini-sized Secret Scent Expressions Cocoa Butter Kiss Body Splash; a full-size Febreze Set & Refresh Air Freshener in Hawaiian Aloha scent; a one-load sample of Tide Acti Lift; and $2.75 in coupons from Pantene.

All you have to do to get the brandSampler is register, answer a few questions about your shopping habits and household-product use, and then choose which samples you want to receive. I’m not sure if you get everything you sign up for, because I thought I checked the Head & Shoulders sample, but beggars can’t be choosers, after all! The Scope and Febreeze samples are no longer available, but the others I mentioned are, as well as a Crest 3D White Whitestrips Advanced Vivid sample. (I shied away from this one like a frightened animal, after repeated use of Crest Whitestrips about six years ago has left me terrified of the singing-and-sensitive-teeth reaction I had and still continue to have in the way of a phantom-limb-type sensation. *Shudder*). However, I do suggest trying out what’s left of this cycle’s P&G brandSampler before more of the products run out!

I have had some other samples arrive in the mail lately, and these include: travel-sized bottles of Pantene Fine Hair Solutions Flat to Volume Shampoo and Conditioner; a single All-Bran Bar, Honey Nut Flavour, plus a $0.50 coupon; and one Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheet. I haven’t tried the shampoo and conditioner yet, so no review there, but I did give Darcy the All-Bran Bar in his lunch a couple weeks ago, and he liked it enough to encourage me to buy a box of them. So, the $0.50 coupon was put to good use! I also used the Purex Laundry Sheet today, and while I thought it was strange that something resembling a fuzzy Bounce sheet could wash my clothes, as well as soften them and guard them against static, I was too curious NOT to try it. The Spring Oasis scent smelled great, and the clothes seemed to be clean when I pulled them out of the washer, but Purex didn’t send a coupon, and my mom told me she’s noticed the expensive price of the Purex Laundry Sheets at the store, so I’m doubtful about actually purchasing them. The sheet was fun to use for the novelty of something new, but as Darcy has said a few times, is this product really saving me anything? The sample’s tagline says “Laundry Simplified,” but I don’t exactly feel exhausted (or confused) after pouring soap into the washer, and then taking a Bounce sheet out of the box, so unless the cost of the package of 24 sheets in the store is less than a bottle of Purex 2X Ultra Concentrate and a box of Bounce sheets (my chosen brands), and would last longer than both, I am not sold. Besides, the Purex soap I DO use often goes on sale – I just bought a 40-load bottle at Sobey’s for $3.99 two weeks ago.

What are your thoughts? Have you received any good samples lately?

*ADDENDUM* I was just going through my coupons, and it turns out Purex DID give me a coupon for the 3-in-1 laundry sheets. It’s for $2 off the starter kit or a refill pack, but I still don’t think I’m convinced. Here’s the link to the free sample if you want to try it our for yourself:

http://www.trypurex.ca/en/survey/

(Or me.)

I like deals, bargains, and saving money in unexpected places. Anyone who has kept up with my blog knows this about me. And so, a few months ago when my mom recommended signing up for the e-mail newsletter from Bargain Moose, I was optimistic, but not overly excited about any immediate deals. How great could it be? Fast-forward to the present, and I am now checking my Bargain Moose newsletter every day! And, if I miss a couple e-mails because I’m busy, I save them all because each one is worth checking out. The whole point of Bargain Moose is to let you in on sales, coupons, and freebies that are available in both the virtual and bricks-and-mortar retail worlds – in other words, sales, coupons, and freebies that you might not otherwise hear about, including “exmoosives,” promotions that are exclusive to Bargain Moose subscribers. Anna, the woman behind Bargain Moose, is Canadian, so all the deals she posts apply to and are valid in Canada, and she often features Canadian companies.

I have told a few friends about Bargain Moose, but I get the feeling my suggestion was given the brush-off, as in “Oh, there’s Carla again, going on about her bargains,” because no one ever told me they took advantage of anything Bargain Moose had to offer. Don’t you know I badger because I love?

So far I have used Bargain Moose’s tip-offs to get a free appetizer and meal on a night out with Darcy at Milestone’s, a percentage off one of Darcy’s recent Kobo books, a $25 discount off a purchase Darcy just made at newegg.ca, and 50% off a gift I bought at simplycolours.ca. I am racking my brain for more examples, because I know I have used Bargain Moose more than these four times, but my mind is failing me. Dumb mind. Pretty bird.

Anyway, the point is, if you like to save money, sign up for Bargain Moose’s daily e-mails! I truly think there’s something for everyone’s greedy intentions of keeping their money to themselves. For example, today’s deals included the newegg.ca discount code I just mentioned, a notice about reduced tea prices at mightyleaf.ca, 15% off at silverjeans.com, a “bogo” type deal at Bath and Body Works stores, an Always/Tampax free-sample kit, a free gift with minimum purchase of Melissa and Doug toys at Mastermind Toys, 20% off back-to-school clothes at Purl Mama, free shipping at Bluenotes, and a free photo album with minimum purchase at kodakgallery.ca.

For more discounts, I also use save.ca, which sends grocery-store coupons right to your door. Where do you like to find your deals?