Stacey Nguyen 
Miraculously, I avoided Black Friday shopping altogether this year. While you don’t see hordes of people trampling over each other to clear out 80% off retail sales anymore, I still feel overwhelmed at big-box stores during peak holiday business hours, even in my sleepy part of northern California. I wasn’t going to subject myself to … Read more
I consider myself a pretty discerning thrifter, but I let things slip through the cracks from time to time. Sometimes, I’m so eager to pick up a cool thrifted find that I don’t pay attention to the actual item I’m buying. (Especially if it is very inexpensive!) During a thrifty adventure one sleepy Saturday morning, … Read more
I’ve resolved to thrift for Christmas gifts this year. After years of burning money on Black Friday impulse buys from online sales, I’ve decided that I want to pamper my loved ones with thoughtful, high-quality gifts this time around. I’m trying to make Thriftmas happen this December: No more flimsy polyurethane “leather” handbags and threadbare … Read more
No, I don’t have a reading journal for school — I’m just a grown woman who really likes to document her literary escapades. At the end of last year, I channeled my inner geeky fourth grader and started keeping a reading log in a slim Stalogy B6 journal that I’ve since adorned with obnoxious Arthur … Read more
I know I’ve become a small-town mouse because a trip to Modesto is a big city excursion for me. As much as I love shopping around the thrift stores near me, I also like to venture out of my tiny nook in the Central Valley to explore secondhand shops. I typically visit Mad Monk Vintage … Read more
It’s been a minute since my last Bay Area thrifting trip — about a year, to be exact. Since I have fantastic thrift stores near me, I haven’t felt particularly inclined to make the drive up to the South Bay. Still, it’s always a fun time thrifting in the Bay Area since there are simply … Read more
In the early days of the pandemic, I found a knockoff Prada(?) faux leather bag at Goodwill for $4. After a few solid years of use (and many compliments, I might add), a handle ripped off, and I was forced to search for a new neutral-colored leather bag. Cute as it may be, my giant … Read more
Hands down, one of my favorite things about living in the Central Valley is the Great Valley Bookfest. I came across it while coming back home from a date a few years ago, and I’ve been making an active effort to attend every year! (Is my blog becoming a case study of life in the … Read more
Once I fall in love with something, I fall in love with it hard — attribute this tendency to my Venus in Libra, if you will. I absolutely went bonkers with all things dogs once I became a pup parent. If you sift through my belongings, you’ll find wallets, purses, totes, and miscellaneous tchotchkes with … Read more
I’ve been an avid secondhand shopper since, well, forever. I grew up piggyback riding my dad at the West Wind Capitol Flea Market every weekend and later discovered the magic of thrift stores and consignment shops in college. On my first day of college, I wandered downtown Berkeley on a breezy June afternoon and discovered … Read more
