Frugal Friends

By now you've seen we can be quite successful finding great pieces thrifting, either online or in person. But I haven't shared all my tips yet to coming home with amazing pieces you'll love and at the right price. 

By far, the best tip for in-person shopping is to go with a friend who knows your style. Thrift store racks can be chaos, and it can be easy to miss a gem by moving too fast. You and your shopping buddy can keep an eye out for each other's tastes. My dear friend T knows that I love anything with bold print (especially animals!) and I know that she prefers anything in 100% cotton and handbags that are iridescent. She's been the person to find over half of my in-person purchases.

This week, we went to Capitol Hill Goodwill, and she spotted this patterned sleeveless blouse for me. Is it circles? Is it diamonds? Yes. 

The double layers keep it from being sheer. I will like this sleeveless for warmer days, or layered with a flowy sweater for cooler days.

 

And, of course, the price needs to be right. This Rose + Olive blouse was in excellent condition for $15. It was hard to find an exact "new" price, but similar blouses by the brand on Poshmark have reference prices ranging from $35-50, so I'm pretty pleased.

On the same outing, at Lifelong Thrift, I was super excited to find this adorable little llama planter by Kikkerland.

 

Originally sold for $18, this little guy was priced at $5 and its color tag was on discount, so he came home with me for just $4. He's now with my growing collection of plants and will eventually hold a succulent.

So, if you're having a bit of a dry spell seeking those special finds, gather your treasure hunting buddies and try again!

From Carrot Scraps to Pesto

Have you ever purchased whole carrots, or received them in your produce delivery, tops and all, looking like a Bugs Bunny cartoon? 

I routinely do, and when scanning through Cooking Scrappy by Joel Gamoran, decided to try his recipe for Radiatore with Carrot Top Pesto.

The recipe calls for both carrot tops (stems and leaves) and basil (stems too!), as well as almonds (in lieu of pricey pine nuts), and garlic. 

You pulse all of these in a food processor until well chopped.

You then slowly drizzle in olive oil, pulsing a few more times, and season with salt to taste. That is the basis of the pesto. 

Then, when you go to make it a pasta sauce, you thin the pesto with pasta water. This is well known trick for pasta chefs; the starch in the water will help create a smooth sauce. 

You will also add a healthy handful of parmesan. Fresh grated not only tastes great and blends into the sauce better, but buying a block of cheese leaves you with just a small plastic wrapper vs a large shaker container. And if you get a rotary cheese grater, you can feel like you're at an Italian restaurant. :) 

This Zyliss grater quickly delivers fresh grated parmesan on demand. 

The verdict: I'm glad I tried this recipe,  and I'll make it again. Small bunches of basil can get quite pricey, where the carrot tops are free and would have otherwise gone to waste. I wouldn't do much more than 50% carrot tops vs basil or the flavor is a bit grassy.

Overall we saved the following waste:

• Carrots tops
• Basil stems
• Pasta water
• Parmesan cheese container