Those who know me know that thrifting is a long time guilty pleasure of mine. I love finding those unique gems on the rack amidst all the crap. its like a treasure hunt and I dare say I’m good at it. So I guess it was fairly unavoidable for me to carry this over to shopping for my Lil girl, from toys to gear to (especially) clothes. Since she grows out of things so rapidly and constantly gets so dirty, thrifting makes more sense now than ever. I love to have a wardrobe full of fun stuff for her to wear, and I certainly love spending next to nothing.
Kids consignment sales, freecycle, craigslist, trading with other moms and a myriad of thrift stores have all been sources of great gems for us. She enjoys the adventure of accompanying me on these endeavors. A few weeks ago, while I was revelling in the victorious discovery of ideal gently-used sandals that were just her size, the gal was frolicking with a brand new friend. A bigger kid of course, a boy around 5. I had overheard her encountering him near the drapery, my heart filling with pride as she used her polite introduction talk.
“Hi, I’m Lilah. What’s your name? Nice to meet you. Play with me?”
Not bad for a brand new 2yr old. She is so friendly and articulate, when she wants to be.
Before long they were ‘building a city’ using tiki coasters and marble chess pieces. At least, that was what she kept proudly proclaiming over and over while they stacked and arranged and spread things out. Then they took turns spinning eachother in a swivel chair. And just as I was discovering the most awesome and colorful little cabinet for her bedroom bookshelves ever, the buddies were playing ‘basketball’ by tossing a styrofoam bird head into the basin of a mint green vintage toilet.
you can’t get experiences like these just anywhere.
Over a month ago, we happened to find ourselves at the Goodwill in Eagle Rock at the beginning of a lucky special: all childrens clothes were $1. It was Monday morning and nothing had been picked over. We got an insane amount of stuff that day including an ungodly amount of unique, well-made dresses I haven’t even delved into yet. A bounty so cheap it almost felt illegal.
Today ended up being one of those days the gal wanted to twirl in a dress throughout the house like a crazy person. I found this one in the stash at the back of the closet and she was psyched at the idea of trying it on. The sunglasses were by request also. Every once in awhile she can be quite a diva.
Sure she seems rather overdressed for the occasion. If you can call a day of the typical chaos, dirt and grime of toddlerhood an occasion. But for $1, who cares! She started dramatically singing at the top of her lungs immediately after this shot.
