Phoenix in the springtime looks nothing like this poster, but I must have it.  I have no idea why a born and raised Kentucky girl like myself loves Phoenix so much (probably because we only visit in the spring), but I do.  This was our third visit in 4 years.

One of the reasons why I find blogging exciting is the opportunities it sometimes provides to meet new people from various places and be part of exciting things.  When I knew I was going to Phoenix I decided to see if I could meet with a Phoenician blogger and have them show me around a few thrift stores.  This is how I ended up spending a short afternoon with Carrie Wheeler of Cracking Good.  Her site is informative and fun to read with a lot about Phoenix, some fashion, and a little bit of gardening.  All favorites.  It was nice to leave the kids with Mr. Denizen for a couple hours and pretend I wasn’t in fact on a family vacation and hadn’t spend the first three days in a car parceling out snacks, then in a pool parceling out sunscreen, and in a hotel room parceling out threats if they didn’t go to sleep.

We met at a little cafe called Two Hippies Breakfast Joint where I enjoyed the biggest chili dog I think I’ve ever had.  Then we walked to three different vintage shops, all which I think pretty much blew the socks off of the vintage shops that I have around here.  I wish o’ wish that I had more time and money to spend at all of these stores.

Check these out, all within walking distance:

Hollywood Regency Vintage, inside Zinnias (a flea market of sorts that was also awesome)

724 West Indian School Road

Blueberry Deluxe

702 West Montecito

Retro Ranch

4303 N 7th Avenue

I tried to visit my favorite Thrift Shop on Monday shortly before we left Phoenix and they were not open.  Sad.  My thrifting adventures this time in Phoenix ended with only a pair of clip on earrings, but, having met Carrie and discovered a whole street of vintage goodness…I really think we need to return to Phoenix sooner than later.

A couple other noteworthy places that are not thrift related…Makutu’s Island was an indoor playground big enough for adults to play in with their children…although my daughter gave up on us after a while because we were too slow, AND I absolutely loved the Great Arizona Puppet Theater (it required no physical activity).  Coincidentally, we timed our visit right along the celebration of the National Day of Puppetry.  We saw two puppet shows, won a door prize, and bought my daughter a toy marionette lion which she promptly tangled.

In the days before we both had kids my sister and I used to spend whole days thrift shopping Salt Lake City.  Now, such an excursion requires me to bribe Mr. Denizen into letting me leave him with the kids all day on a Saturday.  He’s a good man.

I went with my friend Jen.  We saved the best place for FIRST!

Decades, vintage thrift store.  This is the best vintage thrift store I have ever been too.  I’m not kidding.  Between the (much appreciated) organization, reasonable prices, enormous and lurking but friendly gray cat, and charming store owners, Justin and Jack, Decades is an extremely fun place to shop.  I was determined to buy myself the perfect vintage dress, because I don’t usually treat myself to anything over 10 dollars, and after trying a few on…I found it!  And it was only $17!  I also bought a sweater for $5, and a damn hat (see pictures) for $17.

Store owner, Justin Ferguson, graduated from The University of Utah with a degree in Political Science and English.  After working as a costumer for several local theaters and Ballet West for 8 years he decided to pursue his love of all things vintage and open a store.  And boy are we glad he did!

Another store that I would like to individually spotlight is Retro Rose, on Broadway.  It’s one of the best antique stores I have been in, also with reasonable prices.  The most exciting part of this store is that it’s organized by color!  It’s a visual buffet that proves to be very handy when you are looking for something specific.

Other places to visit:

Deseret Industries, in order of preference, are:

Dowtown, 131 East 700 South. There were a lot of old lady clothes, which means, my kind of stuff!

Sugarhouse, 2234 Highland Drive.  It has three floors.

Welfare Square, 751 West 700 South.  Justin recommended this one.  He said it usually has a lot of good stuff, but we weren’t too lucky that day.  We also had low blood sugar and weren’t playing our best game.

The Assistance League, 2060 East 3300 South. It’s small but always cycling new things in.  Their prices are reasonable and they have half price colored tag days…my favorite.

Thrift Town, 3330 South 1300 East,  They also have half price colored tags which is especially great for stocking up on kids clothes.  I bought my daughter $40 worth of clothes (some things were less than a dollar), which equated to her entire summer wardrobe!

I love Salt Lake with its multiple taco stands, historic buildings, and angry eccentric people (bums).  Thrifting, as well as the yard sales there, certainly beats the pants off thrifting in my town; but I’m still glad I live in Utah County, where the bums, if any, are cheerful.

I am very excited to say that my kitchen make-over has been featured on Fresh Nest Design.  I have known Erin since high school and we even shared a college roomate for a while. Anyway, that’s my claim to blogworld fame.  

Go check it out!

I visited Rae in St. George, UT with Jenny this weekend for two days. After looking around some consignment shops without much luck I was excited to return to familiar hunting grounds. Upon walking through the doors I was met with a strange sense of dejavu and then it hit me, I came to this DI on my honey-moon! Yes, that’s how deep it is folks. 8.5 years and still going strong! And my husband and I still like each other too.

Mr. Denizens grandparents live in Phoenix. We have gone there a couple of times, both in the spring, which have led me to shouting “I love Phoenix!” on occasion. He reminds me that I have never been to Phoenix in the summer and would change my tune if I did. Then I say, the thrift stores are still open in the summer, right…and they are air conditioned!

I found this little store a few years ago on our first visit and went back the second time and it was still just as awesome! Simply titled, Thrift Store. Have you ever dreamed that you are in a thrift store and you are finding one amazing thing after another AND they are all half price? And have you woken from that dream only to realize that your clutching hands are empty? You haven’t? Well now I feel embarrassed.Anyway, THIS STORE IS THAT DREAM! They have a great selection and great prices. On top of that, monthly, on the third Saturday, everything in the store is half off! During the week there are other sales like, all shorts or men’s clothing 1 dollar, and so on, depending on the season.

If you are a resident of Phoenix, or just visit there often, you should subscribe to the calendar via the link provided. Aside from rent and paying one full time employee (all the others are volunteers) all of their profits go towards the Arizona Animal Welfare League, a no-kill animal shelter.

And yes, they do have air conditioning.

Mr. Denizen (I’m not sure he approves of me calling him that) and I visited Boise this weekend for a little relaxation and a Jason Mraz concert. Within a block of entering the city I spotted a thrift store! I would have pulled over immediately if it weren’t for Mr. Denizen and the fact that it was already 8 o’clock. In our search for dinner, which turned out to be Jack-in-the-Box (I am not ashamed), and driving about to find our hotel, I spotted three more thrift stores! I bet you can guess what we did the next day…