First year. Second hand.

January 1st was the final day of my personal challenge to only shop second hand for the 365 days of 2016.

To be completely honest, I had some rule breaking moments.
Twice this year I bought bridesmaids dresses. The second dress I did try to find on eBay , with no success. If you happen to be in a wedding with a common style from Davids Bridal, the odds of finding it on eBay can be surprisingly high. Worth a shot.
In connection with those dresses, I also bought the shoes for those weddings. Again, first attempt was to buy them second hand, but with specification on color and style, I had no success.


My primary shopping spots for 2016 were ThredUp (13 referral credits earned in 2016 equaling $240!!!THANK YOU!), Poshmark, and Goodwill. If we happened to be out of town and had some time, we always looked up the nearest Goodwill. I've learned a lot about the pricing structure of various Goodwills over the year. They're not all the same. And sometimes a name brand item (Express,Ann Taylor, etc..)will be tagged as "boutique" which will roughly double the price. At our local Goodwill this typically means $9 for a shirt, $12-19 for a dress.If the name brand is not caught during pricing, you can get a steal of a deal.

ThredUp continues to be the most successful second hand shopping platform for me. The consistency is unbeatable and the quality is always exactly as promised. They are really starting to explode and I'm currently on a waiting list for a bag to send in clothes!!! Never expected that to happen.
It seems like shipping is taking slightly longer, but that could have just been because my last order was over the holidays. Whatever the case, it my #1 recommendation for online shopping. (Link in side bar)
This what my typical ThredUp savings are per order:

Poshmark is a community of sellers and because of that your experience can vary. The only negative I've seen was when I bought shoes and the seller never sent them. There is not a way to direct message them at that point in the sale, but you can comment on the item. About a week into things, the seller assured me the item would ship the following day. It never did. I gave them 2 weeks before I canceled my order. Getting a refund wasn't an issue, because payment is not released until the item is marked at received by the buyer. I haven't had this happen again, and most of the sellers are extremely nice. Most of the time a hand written note is included even.

 I decided not to stick as strictly to the second hand challenge this year, but I do think I will have a hard time going back to "regular shopping".
 

Selling to second-hand websites? Worth it??

I was really hoping I had as many positive things to say about selling as I did buying on these sites.

But alas.....not so much.

I sent off my first bag to ThredUp a few weeks ago (ok, many weeks ago...the turn around time on them is pretty slow right now) and received a whopping $4.25.

You can only see what they accepted from your bag, not everything you sent. Honestly I forgot most of what I put in there but I do know there was several clothing items and 3 a pairs of shoes.
They only accepted the shoes. Which surprised me. I made sure to include the clothing brands I knew were popular on there (Ann Taylor and the like).


Around the same time I posted some clothing items on Poshmark.
You would think a NWT J. Crew skirt would sell for $30...... spoiler alert. It hasn't. Neither has the other items I've posted.
I'm not giving up yet, and I have lot of things I still want to post on Poshmark.


Yerdle has been pretty successful. Easy to post. For the most part it doesn't seem like people are looking for big names or brands. But Yerdle dollars aren't redeemable in the real world. So you're obligated to use the dollars you earn in the app to buy things.
Unlike Poshmark, Yerdle doesn't take a percentage but the buyers do pay shipping and a processing fee.

In the end, they all have their pros and cons. But as a person who's most likely to shop, ThredUp has proven to be 98% successful for me. Great size accuracy, extra measurement info, and clothing in fantastic condition.


Mercari is my next adventure in second hand shopping.
So far the buying process has been great. And the 2 day shipping is a nice perk.


Coming up soon:
-IHG stay review on two different coasts.
-Using our 1 year IHG certificate on a resort stay.

Updates on ThredUp, Yerdle and Poshmark

What can I say? I am in love with the sites in the title.



Shall we start with the favorite?

Our poor mailman must be convinced that I'm addicted to shopping on ThredUp. In case you didn't know, every package from ThredUp comes in a branded bag or box. No doubt who it’s from.

Thanks to you, lovely readers, using my referral link in the side bar, I have ordered a few...ahem... ok ALOT from ThredUp. Sadly they are no longer offer $20 both ways for referral credits but $10. Still, fantastic. I think I signed up when you could also use the credits towards shipping costs. I have heard that recently they've discontinued that. If you signed up back when it was still $20 but haven't used it yet, they're not reducing it to $10, so good news there!!! The accuracy of the measurements and dress/skirt lengths is EXTREAMLY helpful. And the packaging when you receive the items is always PERFECTLY wrapped. Never ceases to amaze me.  



Yerdle has been super successful for me in selling clothes. (I did send a bag to ThredUp this week but I won't know what they accept or how much credit I get for several weeks. Blog post on that in the future.) I signed up a few friends and accumulated a fair amount of "Yerdle dollars" (No value in the real world). Yerdle provides you with the postage via email to print and attach to your box or envelope when you sell an item. If you don't ship it out in a week, the transaction is canceled and the item is not relisted automatically. This happened to me on the buying end, and there was no way to contact the seller. A beautiful vintage dress I never got. Of course my Yerdle dollars were returned to my account. If you don't check your Yerdle emails or app notifications, you might not realize when you sell something and could end up losing a sale. So far, everything I've bought from Yerdle was a success. One seller in particular I've bought from on multiple occasions. Adding a seller to your favorites is a great way to see what new items they post and a real win win situation if you know clothes you've bought from them fit perfectly.  I don't know how often or how randomized it is, but I have received free shipping credits on my account a few times. They do expire and don't count for the up charge in bundling so watch out for that.



Ahhh Poshmark.

I’ve had only one minor experience with Poshmark, when I bought a shirt with my initial $5 sign up credit. I like that you can submit an offer on an item. Makes it a little different than similar sites. I only have one thing posted in my Poshmark store for sale, and it is because I wasn’t happy with the amount ThredUp would give me and it didn’t sell on eBay. I’ve lowered the price and it still has not sold. But hey, I don’t know why I ordered a J Crew skirt that small…..who is that tiny?!! Not these hips. Just saying.

 This week I’ve made two purchases via referral credit and I’m extremely excited about both. Honestly, I can’t give a real review until I receive the items. But I’ll post an update when that happens. The pricing on both items was fantastic and over all the experience of shopping on Poshmark is easy.



I like to think of it like this:



Yerdle= Goodwill

ThredUp= Regulated consignment with occasional sales.

Poshmark= Online shopping trying to look consignment but with prices set by the people who owned the items and might possibly accept less. Or might just over price them.



I’ve included referral links for your convenience in the side bar. Tee Hee Hee.





This is the referral for https://poshmark.com/   

Use the following code when you sign up VIA THE APP  JPHVZ

Continuing cleanser cleanse, and some alternative options.

Back in November I decided to challenge myself to 30 days of no harsh cleansers on my face.  Those 30 days have turned into 7 months. That’s right…. Nothing besides what I’m about to talk about has been used to wash my face.

(Link to original post)

During this time I did not stop using makeup. Yet I DID see a major improvement in my skin. I clearly have to use something to remove my makeup, and being the lazy person I am, I opted for wipes. I went through a few different brands and did like these
LINK

With a good coupon I think they’re an excellent option.

For slightly less (Walgreens and Ulta for price references) I discovered these fantastic wipes

LINK

Of course they use coconut milk and anything related to coconuts I’m in love with.

And that’s a segway to my next discovery.

I was already using coconut oil (make sure it’s not the cheap stuff, that will clog your pores.) to remove any extra makeup left over after using wipes. So I thought, there is surely a way to use this for my entire face. And that is when I discovered coconut oil scrub recipes on Pinterest. There is about a million and I would to tell you I have made them all….but I have not. So far I’m loving a simple mix of coconut oil and sugar.

Here is a link to my board on Pinterest with some recipes to get you started.

The need for a “soap product” still existed in my life, and I instantly knew what route to take. Our local (I use that word loosely as we live in the middle of nowhere) flea market has a fantastic lady that makes her own soaps with a base of palm, olive or coconut oil.
Her Facebook link

We already had a habit of buying her bar soaps so I decided to use that (in conjunction with the scrub I made) for my face since I knew the exact ingredients and process.

I have seen a major difference in my face since I started this process.

I have gone into Sephora in recent months, not wearing any makeup and received compliments on my skin. I’d say that is a major success.

A new look at the world of glasses. (Pun intended)

Since I was about 13/14 I have worn glasses, then a couple years ago contacts as well.
Up until this year I did not have vision insurance and as you know, glasses are not cheep.
Maybe you've heard of discount sites for glasses and been skeptical. After all, who wants to buy something that they're going to wear everyday without trying it on first?
Or maybe you're the type of person who likes a brand name on the side of their glasses. It's ok, you don't have to admit it out loud.
For the second time I have had a fantastic experience with Zenni optical.
The home of glasses starting at... DRUMROLL....$6.95
Nope. Not missing a digit or two. And yes, that includes the lenses.
Crazy right?
Take a look at these two pairs of glasses. Which were from Zenni optical for under $20 and which were from BJ's at a discounted price of $160 before lenses?

The answer to which is from Zenni?
The second pair.

Personally my insurance only covers contacts or glasses,not both for the year. So I picked contacts.
I'm super happy with my new glasses and it took less than two weeks (comparable time frame to when I've ordered in store before). At a great price point, you could even get multiple different styles and even prescription sunglasses.

Ebates (my best friend when shopping online) is also offering 4% back on any Zenni purchases.

Also if you're doing any shopping online today, they are offering double percentage back at many stores.

Product review time! Entering the world of eye cream.

Last week the makers of Valentia True Glow Eye Cream reached out to me so I cold test their product. I love testing products. And I love giving my opinions. Don't we all?

What really stuck out to me when I read up this was that it is vegan friendly and 98% natural ingredients. Even though I have dark circles and redness under my eyes and near the bridge of my nose,I typically used concealer to cover it up. This stuff changed the game. The cream has a mild tint to it and had a way of almost acting like a concealer. Totally unexpected. 

It wore fantastic under my foundation,it did actually seem to firm up my skin somehow and I was really tempted to use it on my entire face. I used some leftover (one pump is more than enough for both eyes) for my nose and saw great results in taking care of the redness.  I don't always notice the tingling feeling when I apply it but sometimes I do. I love feeling stuff work its magic!

As someone with skin that tends to have an extremely oily reaction to heavy products,I was worried when I saw this had a lotion type consistency. But it soaks in super fast and I have yet to notice any extra oil in that area.  

I feel like this bottle will last me a very long time and so far, I'm really enjoying it.

* Disclaimer
I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review of the product. All of my opinions are that of my own. I was not paid in any way.

Home sweet Pinterest home

I am sooooo guilty of a Pinterest addiction. I am also guilty of starting a home decor project and not finishing it.
I have finally been stubborn enough about my latest one to finish it. Our living room feature wall.



    It all started a few weeks ago I picked up some amazing clearance finds at Target. These awesome multi-picture frames. (Also another 5x7 frame that is no longer on their website)

Did I pay those prices?
Who do you think I am?! Of course not. Clearance at my local Target brought them down to $3 and $5. SCORE.

For prints I tend to order from Snapfish. The coupon codes are always fantastic! Plus Ebates is offering 10% back currently.
Example of some pricing with coupon codes

I then headed over to Tj Maxx clearance and found some adorable wood letters that even had holes in the back for hanging. Made hanging them up super easy.
But I needed an "&" for between the letters. I looked no further than Pinterest. A quick search for "printable free wall art" and a trip to Dollar Tree for a cute 4x6 basic frame.
Here is the site I printed my "&" from
http://smittenonpaper.com/blog/free-download-wall-art-collage/

I also LOVE this site for free printables!
http://chicfetti.com/free-printables/
I used this site for a cute monogram wedding planner cover and also the same graphic I used for our wedding shower cake inspiration. Just took the store making the cake the print out and they copied and printed it like they would typically print a picture on the cake. I've also used cute decor printables for other rooms in our house.

With the help of a couple pre-existing wall art pieces,this is the finished project!