Eco-Friendly Shopping through Langley and Anacortes

My dear friend A and I took a much needed long weekend/girls trip up from Portland and Seattle respectively, to Anacortes. On the trip, we realized we've known each other for exactly 20 years, and what a fun way to honor that friend-iversary!

Our B&B check-in wasn't until 4pm, so we had plenty of time to slowly meander our way up there. We started with taking the ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island, and then stopping in the first seaside town, Langley. What a gem! If you're seeking a day trip from the Seattle area, you can easily hit this adorable town, full of cute beach-themed shops, boutiques, and galleries. 

Here we ended up at Star Store, a "natural market and fashionably fun mercantile", and I fell in love with these LOVE bags. They have two styles, a stiff tote (which can stand on its own) and a flexible chico bag (which easily collapses into its own pouch for portability). These bags are made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, washable, and will save you bag fees at the register! They come in fun prints like the kitties and sandpipers shown here.

 

 

The next day, our B&B host recommended we head to Commercial Ave in Anacortes, which is a several blocks-long strip of shops and restaurants. At the north end of the strip is the historic Marine Supply & Hardware store. While it still houses some marine supplies, it also now contains Alley Cat Antiques.

Antique stores are such a great way to find unique treasures - especially if you are a collector or seeking something nostalgic. While not as great of a steal as thrift shops for generic items ("I want a serving bowl"), these stores will have curated pieces and harder to find older brands ("I want a carnival glass bowl").

Just a few of the great pieces from Alley Cat: this Lladro statuette of Girl and Piglet.

Display case upon display case on Fenton glass bowls, in every color under the sun.

 

On the marine supply side of the store were these fun candles, made from upcycled beer bottles. Not only is the bottle upcycled, and but the candle is made of soy wax, made in the USA, and donates to Support the Troops. 

 

We worked our way down Commercial Ave, and entered Pelican Bay Books and Coffeehouse. They not only have a sizeable collection of used books in all categories, but they also have a cozy fireplace, coffee shop, and piano ("for skillful playing" only). We took a load off from the October rain, and enjoyed a nice beverage while perusing the stacks.

They had nostalgic collections, such as vintage hardcover Hardy Boys (for $5 per book).

As well as anthologies like this collection of Lewis Carroll complete works for just $11.

Moving on to Ink & Wool, a shop that features locally made artisan goods, as well as sustainable goods. I enjoyed the feel of these flannel cloths that are designed to replace paper towels and more.  They're super soft, and at only $16 for a 6-pack, you'll be hard pressed to compete with washcloths or tea towels.

And they come in super cute prints like rainbows and mushrooms.

Once we left Commercial Ave, we spent the rest of the weekend hiking, eating, and laughing with new friends made around the breakfast table at the B&B. We left the area rested, rejuvenated, and impressed with the options to buy used, upcycled, recycled, and antique.

Spotlight: Fremont Vintage Mall

I don't explore my own city enough, often falling into a routine, and visiting the same places over and over again. So when I had a staycation day last week, I visited an oldie but goodie: the Fremont Vintage Mall. 

A short explanation in case you are unfamiliar with thrift vs consignment vs vintage and other types of stores: They are all great ways to recirculate second-hand items. Thrift stores get their products donated to them, and because of that, they are the least controlled for quality and least curated. Think of thrifting as where you can often get the best prices but have to wade through volume. Consignment stores purchase their inventory, so they are more likely to search for items of higher quality, both in terms of condition and meeting a certain bar for theme or brand. Vintage is also very curated, and tends to also represent a specific time period. Vintage and consignment will often have higher prices than thrift, but you'll be more likely to find that treasured or collectible item. 

In the case of Fremont Vintage Mall, it is a collective of 40+ vendors, so you'll see a broad variety throughout the store, but a distinct personality in each section of the store. Here are just some of the amazing items I spotted: 

This awesome vintage Jessica McClintock wedding gown for $85. 

Look at that detail!

These panda and fox flats. So fun!

They even fit. I may have to go back and retrieve these!

For the local sports enthusiast, a vintage Husky mascot. Collectibles was a big theme at the Mall, ranging from sports memorabilia to military patches, to silver spoons and lunchboxes. 

Now that record players are back in style, you should check out their sizeable record collection. (They also have cassettes and CD's if you are rocking the Walkman.) Most vinyl ranged from $.99-$5 each. 

They had several pieces of this vintage Amish design Pyrex as well as many popular designs of china and crystal. 

And the famous turtle lamps. These same lamps are going for $80 or more new, so $48 is quite the deal on this guy. You know your end table is looking for some style!

Or, if classic is more your style, they had multiple Tiffany-style lamps, including this one with built in porcelain sculpture. 

While I'm kicking myself a bit for not bringing home the cute fox shoes, I did bring one item home: this sassy lady fabric. It was a section of over 4 yards for $16, which is a pretty decent price (about the price of the cheapest cotton fabric at Walmart and 50% less than the cheapest at Joann's). 

So, if you're looking to break out of the rut at your regular thrift shops, head on over to a vintage shop, on you may find some unique finds, or even that piece to complete your collection. If you're looking for the Fremont Vintage Mall specifically, it's in the heart of the Fremont shopping district, but keep your eyes open; it's in the basement level, so you're looking for a door that takes you downstairs vs. a storefront. Happy shopping!

Birthday Treat with a Vintage Twist

My dear friend, Tatiana, celebrated a birthday this week. She is a mushroom hobbyist, taking awesome photos of mushrooms on her daily walks in the fall, including the famed red "Mario" mushrooms.

So when I saw a recipe for a yule log with meringue mushrooms growing on it, I just knew I needed to make it for her birthday. Something I didn't have was any way to transport a cake. I'm not much of a baker, so I just don't have these things.

Fortunately, the Value Village near me has a quite a good selection of housewares, and I found a vintage Tupperware cake taker for just $4.99. And since blue tags were half off that day, it came home with me for $2.50.

If you are newer to thrift shopping, most of the larger chains like Value Village and Goodwill have a color system for their tags which helps them rotate their inventory. They have 4 or 5 colors of tags, and one color each week is at a steep discount. Over the course of a month, all of their inventory has been offered at a sale, and whatever isn't sold moves on to outlet stores or recycling.

Similar cake carriers go for about $40, for either the vintage Tupperware or the new model, so this felt like an awesome deal!

Now to bake the cake. Fortunately, my mom is a more experienced baker than I am and was available for a baking date. Yule logs are a fair amount of effort to make so we settled on a "stump" instead of a log, using frosting to make a bark-like texture and tree rings. This also fit perfectly on the base of the cake taker.

We finished off the cake with "mushrooms" made from meringue and dusted with cocoa powder, and "moss" which was actually a sprinkling of matcha powder. 

 

This cake taker ended up being the perfect solution, with the sturdy base, and the lid providing enough room for the mushrooms. I was able to transport the cake around town safely, with no frosting smudging. 

Happy Birthday, Tatiana!

Fabulous Fail

Sometimes, your best thrifted DIY intentions fail you. After two months of frugal, patient shopping, crafting, painting, sewing, and jewelry-making, my Halloween costume was a huge flop.

Literally. After a couple wrong cuts, the top of my dress lost all structure and became floppy.

So, all of a sudden, I'm a day away away from Halloween, and no costume, and I still want to keep my two priorities:

1) Save $$.
2) Reused, recycled, or borrowed.

Thank goodness, Goodwill came to the rescue. I'll follow with a picture of the final product after Halloween, but I've decided to go as punk Eleven from Stranger Things. That's her in the middle:

(Image borrowed, copyright Netflix)

The good news is these are pretty normal clothes, so I only needed two items: white sneakers (how do I not have these?) and an over-sized black coat.

Here's what I scored. Like-new Nikes, a deal at $15. That logo's from the '70s, so someone had them stashed in a closet for a very long time. They fit great, so I'll incorporate them into my weekend wardrobe.

This wool blazer. New with tags, that shows it would have been $175! Now I got it over-sized, but it turns out it's exactly the right size for T. Not only did I get a screaming deal for $20, but T will get to incorporate it into his regular wardrobe.

$35 for a Halloween costume, where we can reuse everything? That's a Halloween Treat.

Reuse: Vintage Pearls

We all know I have an interest obsession with thrift stores, but we haven't yet talked about vintage or antique stores. What's awesome about these stores is, not only are you reusing items and getting a discount, but each of these has a potential amazing history.

If you're lucky, you'll find a store where the proprietors know the story of the items. If not, you can imagine for yourself: did this watch get passed down from fathers to sons over generations? Was this dish used by a grandmother for years for holiday dinners? Is this pop culture memorabilia that had cultural significance in the 1950s?

All re-use shopping is a little bit like looking for a diamond in a hay stack, looking for that great treasure. Don't shy away from hole-in-the wall shops.

I found these lovely peach and dusty purple cascading pearl earrings at a small house converted into a store on Vashon. If you haven't visited Vashon before, it's a cute little island just a 15-minute ferry ride west of Seattle.

These were a steal at $10. Having found comparable earrings on Etsy anywhere from $20 to significantly upward of that, I enjoyed some savings as well as imagining who may have loved these before me.

Earrings: $10
Comparable product: $20+
Savings: $50%+