Acrewd Guide to Thrifting: Bayou Style

To continue with my ongoing series in the Acrewd Guide to Treasure Hunting, I want to go through my most recent trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and tell you how my previous advice of incorporating a buying trip into everyday travel as well as doing my research helped me find some great fashion treasures along the way.

Patrick and I had a wedding to attend in Baton Rouge, and this alone was exciting as it was my first trip to the bayou and I love spending time with my new family. Once we decided to drive instead of fly, I was on Google Maps immediately looking at routes and different cities to hit along the way. I knew we wouldn't have much time so I needed to narrow my search to get the most bang for my buck on our stops. I decided the best prospects between Atlanta and BR would be Auburn, Montgomery, Biloxi and New Orleans. Some of the reasons I chose these are because they:

• Are a relatively larger city
• Could be considered a college town
• Represent a variety of wealth and incomes

These are the factors that I often look at when considering a place to stop and thrift. Antiquing has some additional factors, but I will probably wait until later this year when I make a trip to the antique stores in December to write about those.

Then I took to the Yelp reviews to start narrowing down. Searching simple terms like "thrift stores" or "second hand" in each city brought up exactly what I was looking for. You can use any review board you like but I find that Yelpers have been very accurate in the past I'm pretty loyal :) This helped me narrow it down to a few cities and stores to visit in each, time permitting. It was soon apparent that New Orleans would be the one city I could not cut for several reasons.

1. I've never been there! Going on a buying trip has its purpose but you should never forget that it should also be fun. The reason I enjoy hunting for unique fashion items is because they are literally EVERYWHERE and if you're searching the vastness of everywhere, well then you might as well enjoy the ride.
2. Many of the stores had ratings - and good ones. It's one thing if you love to shop at a place and want to tell others about it. It's a whole other thing if you take the time to type up reviews about it. And there were plenty. This shows that the stores must be pretty damn good and that this is a community that thrifts.
3. The best rated stores were concentrated within a short distance. This was especially important as we had to keep on schedule to make the rehearsal dinner in time. Also great if you want to park one place and be able to walk to many shops / sight see / eat.

In the end, we were only able to make it to NoLa and it was well worth it. We spent a few hours in the city stretching our legs and shopping Magazine Street, snapping pictures and having a quick lunch at Byblos. The best shops, IMO, were definitely the Bloomin' Deals Junior League shop and the fabulous, wish I could shop here every day, Buffalo Exchange. I scored an awesome dress from Tibi, some new Stuart Weitzman perforated leather heels, and a gorgeous wool holiday dress from Banana Republic. I'll be posting new items to shopacrewd.com soon, so make sure to stay tuned and sign up for our mailing list to get the newest updates!

Here are some pictures from the trip, including some favorite items I found:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jalapeño bacon cornbread is my contribution to dinner.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday y'all!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my beautiful sister today!

Photo credit: the super talent known as Loren Hoffman and edit via instagram

DIY: Chair Covers

This month I resolved to complete some of the do it yourself projects that I've been contemplating. Moving and finally having the space to do so was a huge motivational factor, but even more motivating was the state of my kitchen table chairs after several years in storage. One word: Yuck.

I was racking my brain on how to clean the dingy, stained upholstery and restore it to it's original color when I realized that I loathed said color. It was plain, boring and just not mine or my husband's style. So I got on the internet machine and found a tutorial and went at it! Here's how it turned out:

Following the steps of the tutorial, I began by removing one of the covers using a flat head screwdriver and pliers. If you have any fabric on the bottom to prevent fray, try to preserve this as it will already be cut to size to re-use (something my wonderful husband Patrick had to point out to me after I mangled the first one). Then take this piece of fabric to your nearest fabric store (I chose my nearest Hancock but any will do) and used it as a pattern to measure 4 seat covers. I picked an outer fabric as well as a lining one for extra cushion and to prevent any dye from bleeding onto the cushion. I bought about 1.5 yards each and bonus points to me because they were having a 40% off sale from the clearance rack. Here's a shot of the outer fabric pattern:

Very different from the plain cream originally on it, but when I saw how easy this whole process actually is I can't wait to change again when the mood strikes!

Now, use the chair cover you removed as a pattern to cut the new covers from. I used a rotary cutter and pad but scissors will do for those who are able to cut in a straight line (I'm challenged). Remove the remaining chair covers as you did the first one.

Place your first cushion in the middle of the cut fabric and place the wooden bottom on top. Another genius Patrick tip: FLIP the wooden board over. This was crucial for us as some of the screw holes were stripped on the original side. I marked the spots for the new holes on the flipped side and got to stapling! My first tango with the staple gun which made this extremely exciting! Staple down each side and work with the corners to get rid of pleats (or to get them to look how you want). Then reattach the seats to the chair frames, and voila! New look for under $40!

Check back this month when I post a few other Pinterest inspired pieces of artwork that I'm attempting!

Leave your thoughts in the comments :)

Live Instagram Roadtrip

Taking a drive with the better half from Atlanta to Baton Rouge and documenting along the way. We hit up some great thrift stores along the way. Getting some ideas for my next installment of Acrewd's Guide to Thrifting...

Join the road trip by following @acrewd on IG!

Vintage Glamour: The Scarf Edition

I've always admired a lovely scarf. Looking through old photographs, this item was a staple of every fashionable womans wardrobe. Tied in a little bow, draping loose around a collar, tied around one's hair or tucked into a shirt - these were little statements of glam that no one went without. They are still around, but long forgotten are the days when the outfit was incomplete without one. I love them for their feel, for the light airy texture and the pop of color they provide. Plus the knot provides a perfect resting spot for another favorite piece: the brooch.

If you're also nostaligic for these beauties, then I'm ready to make your day! Several new scarves were added to our inventory. Just brouse the Vintage Category of the shop to see some newly added items!

Love the ensembles above? Find them easily in the store:

       

        

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

by: Heather

Cleaning is always an adventure for me. We all have our own way of straightening up, and mine only makes sense to me. My method involves making things look way more disorganized and messy than when I began--chaos before order really. I usually end up taking everything from its stored space, reevaluating if it's needed, and then putting it away again - and it often takes hours. But it offers so much entertainment!
While organizing my office space and continuing the never ending task of unpacking this weekend, I re-discovered so many treasures that inspire me in shopping. One in particular is a fabulous purse that I recall made my heart race when I found it hidden in a display case in a Salvatoin Army. It's truly one of my favorite finds.

Ivory with a metallic shimmer, pleated button close front, and a handle made in the form of a gold panther. Something about it plucked all my heartstrings the right way. With an upcoming trip to Vegas at the time, there was no question that this purse would be mine. Ah, the times we had together were priceless and I took her out on so many trips until she got tossed from one suitcase into another and was lost  for a time until now.
I'm sure some will find this purse as nothing special while others will love it much like I did. That's the beauty of fashion hunting in the stores that I do - I get to determine the item to treasure. I could go through my closet and I would  be hard pressed to tell you where I picked up several of my regular retail items, but I can tell you in such detail the story of coming across this thrift find. And that's why I love doing this.

Below are some pictures of my treasure. I used her to set up my photographic stage and in a few outfit posts :) Keep checking back to the products page as new items will be added this week, and prices are being reduced on several items!