Salvaged Jeans

Somehow I manage wear holes in my jeans on a regular basis. I'm sure it has plenty to do with being on the carpet with my kids a good portion of the day! Sometimes the rest of the jeans are wearing out too, so the hole isn't that big of a deal, but a hole in a pair that still had plenty of wear remaining, and I am super bummed!

Patching a hole from the inside never looks right to me, and just patching the one little hole would have drawn attention to the fact that it was there even more so. When I was doing an internet search about patching jeans, I came across several different "patchwork" styles (for examples look at various designer brands, Hot Topic, ArtFire, and even eBay).

I decided the patchwork look would be easy enough for me to make, but I still wasn't sure that I could pull it off style-wise! After getting the advice of my fashion-loving sister (who happens to live in Miami), I decided that I really liked how my "new" jeans turned out!

After getting ideas from some different websites, I ended up using a pair of my daughter's jeans for inspiration also.

I really wish I had done a better job documenting the process along the way because it was so easy! I had a very small (less than 1 inch) hole in one knee, but the other knee was thin also, so I realized I needed to reinforce both sides of the pants. I have saved every worn out pair of jeans we've gone through, and was finally able to put them to good use!

I cut a bunch of square-ish pieces from different wash jeans, then pinned them onto my jeans to see how it would look. I even worn the jeans while I was pinning the pieces over the knees because the knees were fairly stretched out, so leaving them flat would have made the patches not end up sewn on evenly.

I used my sewing machine and stitched around each patch, and then helped tease out the material to create more of a frayed look. This ended up being kind of an extra step, since I sewed over top of these when I patched the jeans.

The most time-consuming part of this was sewing the patches to the jeans, but it was so worth it because I love the finished product!

My husband took a bunch of pictures for me one evening, and he had fun getting me to pose (something I feel extremely awkward doing!). I wanted to do a whole second-hand "salvaged" outfit for you...I think I got everything from Goodwill over the past 2 or 3 years. The jeans are Gap (paid $2.50), the sweater is j.Crew ($3.50), and the books are knock-off Uggs (less than $5).

What do you think? Do you like the patchwork look?

I'm linking up with these partys...check them out!


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Secondhand Spring Clothing

Now is a great time to start looking around at resale stores for spring and summer clothing! (And of course it is also a great time to look for end of year clearance sales on winter clothes for next year).  Many of these places are beginning to put out the warmer weather styles now, so the selection is really good.

We walked into Goodwill the other day just to take a look around and I ended up finding 2 things for myself within the first minute of browsing...I love it when that happens!

American Eagle shorts for $3.50

and a skort (I didn't realize it was a skort until I tried it on!) for $3.50.

That's a lot of plaid!

Goodwill is also my favorite place to shop for jeans. I have gotten to be pretty snobby about the jeans I get now...usually Gap (some American Eagle) and always $5 or less!

Sometimes it is frustrating to go into a thrift store and only see "junk", but sometimes you can get a little creative and turn that junk into something you can really use! My favorite Goodwill transformation is this mirror.

Have you found some spring clothes secondhand lately?

My favorite place to buy jeans

I picked up 3 new pairs of jeans yesterday, 2 pairs from Gap and one from American Eagle.

Cost if I had bought them new: probably upwards of $75, if I found a good sale

Cost at Goodwill: $5 each, $15 total.

The Goodwill here in Middletown doesn't organize by size any more, which makes it more challenging to find something that fits, but not impossible. I love looking for jeans at Goodwill; the selection is huge, there are many different brands, and you can't beat the price.

My method is to keep the looking quick; I flip through the jeans looking for brand names. If its a brand I'm looking for, I check the size. I try to grab 5 or 6 pairs to try on, hoping for one or two of them to fit. I got lucky yesterday finding 3 at once! I am a quick shopper, so it only took me 10 or 15 minutes to get in and out, since I knew what I was looking for.

Have you found any great deals on clothes at Goodwill?

Craigslist Find: Phil & Teds Double Stroller

When I found out that we were expecting our second child at the beginning of this year and realized that our kids will be 21 months apart, I started thinking about the (dreaded, in my mind) double stroller.

I had some pretty firm ideas about the kind of double stroller I did NOT want; specifically, I did not want to be trying to turn a ridiculously long gun-boat like the front-back doubles, or trying to navigate small corridors in stores with a super-size double-wide.

I was thinking that I had pretty much ruled out all of my options at this point! But then I remembered reading an author on Prayer of Hannah talk about a stroller called Phil and Teds, which was a different kind of double stroller. I began my research!

The first thing I found out was that this stroller is SUPER expensive! As you can see from the Amazon link to the left, a new stroller (with the doubles kit) is about $540...and that is across the board no matter where you go. We decided that we wanted to get our stroller for no more than $300...so obviously buying new from a retailer was not going to work.

I started looking at eBay, where I have had success in the past finding things that are normally expensive at great discounts. After searching for a few weeks, I found that new P&T were going for at the $420-$500 range and used P&T were still expensive, usually the $350-$450 range. This still seemed like way too much for a new stroller, and most of all, way too much for a USED stroller!

Next, I started looking at Craigslist. In the months that I was checking, there was never a stroller offered less than 30 minutes away, with most being in the Philadelphia area. We live close to an hour from Philadelphia, but I still saw this as our best option, considering the cost of shipping!

The interesting thing I found was that strollers were routinely MUCH less expensive offered on Craigslist! I think this is probably because of the auction nature of eBay; once a person started bidding, they were often hooked on getting that particular stroller, and could have ended up paying more than they originally intended. This is why I think it is so important to have a maximum price in mind before you start looking someplace like eBay or even Craigslist! The majority of the strollers I found on Craigslist were still above my price range, and every time one in the price range appeared, it was snatched up before I could get it.

I ended up checking back 2-3 times a day, looking to see if a new stroller had been posted. Maybe this seems a little too time-consuming, but since I new exactly what I was looking for and was firm on the price, it was easy to disregard any items that did not fit and just check back later. Last week I was so excited to hear back about a stroller that was priced at $285! The whole ride to see the stroller, my husband and I talked about being willing to walk away from it, and we decided that we would not buy it if there was a mechanical problem. Otherwise, we were prepared for somewhat worn and used condition.

We ended up with this beauty:

It is a used stroller for sure; the treads on the back wheels are a little worn, and there are a few stains and scratches, but you could never tell from this picture! I put it to work this week with my daughter in the back and our friends' little boy in the infant seat and it was amazing! This stroller is so easy to push (even with 2 kids), it folds up very small and it lightweight. I am 6 months pregnant and have had no trouble getting it in and out of the trunk of our car.

I should add that the way I am using the stroller in the picture is not technically how it is intended. There is a carseat attachment that you are supposed to use to secure the infant seat, but because of my Graco carseat's styling, I found that it sits quite securely as is. Also, I had to lay the main seat down slightly to use the infant seat. This works fine because my daughter is smaller, but could be a little tighter with a larger child.

If you are in the market for a double stroller, I think this is by far the best option out there! And the great thing is that you can find this stroller used for less than $300. I love the versatility of the stroller - as a single, and multiple double configurations! If you have any questions about the stroller, please feel free to contact me!

To see all of the ways this stroller can accommodate 2 children, visit Phil and Teds or check out this You Tube video! I was in no way compensated for this post or in contact with Phil and Teds. If you know someone at the company who would like an enthusiastic spokeperson, please send them my email!