Jbgetthat’s Weblog

My younger sister and her boyfriend seem to go to more costume/theme parties in a month, than I’ve ever been to in my life…they’re just those kind of people. This week, she came down to Burbank for a visit (she lives in San Francisco) and made time to hit up one of her favorite costume shopping spots: American Way.

This local thrift store has been around for as long as I can remember. It is located on Magnolia Blvd between Hollywood Way and Buena Vista. It has a huge inventory of used clothing all priced just right. Everyday they have specials, and I have gotten things for as little as $0.50. If you haven’t been shopping at American Way, you should…and if you feel like thrift stores are icky, then get over yourself, take a day off from being a snob, and find a treasure hidden in the many bins of handbags, or scarves, or ties…

My sister and her boyfriend quickly made it through the store, found what they were looking for (1980’s attire) and went to their party dressed to impress. They only spent about $20 total. The people who work there are friendly and amazingly patient considering that they spend much of their day organizing the clothes after people have rumaged through everything. The only down side is that there is no dressing room. I figured out how to eliminate this as a problem many years ago…here’s my trick:

Go to American Way in layers of clothing…have on a small undershirt, and tight fitting pants or shorts. The other option is to wear a loose fitting long skirt. When you’ve found something to try on, slip it on over your shirt/shorts, or under your skirt…true, everything will be a little bulky, and you won’t be able to tell if it fits perfectly until ou get home…but when the price is $1.00, this kind of test drive should do just fine in order to make a decision. If this sounds barbaric and oh-so-wrong, then maybe thrift store shopping isn’t for you…but if you do decide to give it a try, you’ll be made to feel “normal” when you notice that EVERYONE around you is trying on clothes the exact same way.

So, if you have a special event coming up that requires specific attire, try creating an original ensemble. This will save you TONS of money, and you’ll get points if you’re New Year’s Resolution was to be more green this year (recycle-reduce-reuse!)

Lately, Kate and I have been spending many of our weekends tying up loose ends with justBurbank.com preparing for the launch. Last weekend Kate looked at me with puppy dog eyes and begged, “can we please get away from our computers for a bit and go out?” I reluctantly agreed that it was time for a field trip, and last Saturday we found ourselves at Target, one of our favorite shopping destinations.

Target seemed like a good place to go, since not only could we get a few groceries, stock up on mother’s day cards, and get a few trinkets for an upcoming baby shower…I could also get a few things for the office. Little did I know that within minutes of entering the store, we somehow migrated to the Garden section. Without planning this at all, we ended up filling up 3 carts with plants, soil, and decorative pots for Kate’s sadly under landscaped backyard. We got so jazzed about the idea of gardening and fixing up the back yard we didn’t even look at price tags. We also found a “Drought Resistant” section that was full of plants that would be perfect for the area around Kate’s pool that didn’t get any water from sprinklers.

Preparing ourselves for the worst, Kate pulled out her credit card ready to spend what she thought would surely be at least $1000. When we were done ringing our 3 carts in, the bill came to…$320!! We got enough plants to cover her garden, 6 really pretty gallon pots, and 12 bags of soil, and even remembered to get mother’s day cards, for only $320. Unbelievable.

The rest of that Saturday we spent gardening, planting all our new plants and flowers. This was an ideal break from our work, and it gave us a great workout. The whole project, including shopping time, only took about 5 hours.

Now when people come over to the house and ask Kate, “Where’d You Get all those flowers? Did you have a landscaper come over? Did your gardener do this?” She can say with pride, that she got a great deal at Target and did all the work herself (with a little help).

I highly recommend checking out Target’s Garden Center if you’re planning on bringing a little more Spring into your yard this year. The prices were right, the Drought Resistant plants will save you money in the long run, and the rest of the flower selection will make you smile. So get out there Burbank, beautify your yards, and get a little exercise this Spring by fxing up something that’s probably been on your To-Do list for way too long.