Apron Thrift Girl

Giveaway - 2 Tickets to The Apple Pushers Film

The Apple Pushers Film

Would like a chance to see the film The Apple Pushers?

Head on over to Flavorstitch for more details.

“The Apple Pushers, written and directed by Mary Mazzio, narrated by Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, and underwritten by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, follows immigrant street vendors who are rolling fresh fruits and vegetables into the inner cities of New York (where finding a fresh red ripe apple can be a serious challenge). These pushcart vendors, who have immigrated here from all parts of the world for different reasons, and who all have sacrificed so much to come to this country (a near fatal crossing of the Mexican border, as an example) – are now part of a new experiment in New York to help solve the food crisis and skyrocketing obesity rates in the inner city.” The Apple Pushers website.

Shoppee App Review & Giveaway

Shoppee - Smarter Shopping Made Easy

Last Fall when Dave and I sat down to reexamine our monthly expenses, food was what we spent the most on after rent. Living an organic, holistic and gluten free lifestyle doesn't come cheap in our daily lives. Although I will add that this is an investment in our bodies and our future and so for us it's worth every penny. Dave is in his 40's and I am in my 30's and we aren't on one single prescription drug and we are rarely sick. I feel that both of those facts help with our healthy diet.

So how does one stay frugal and healthy? It's an ongoing challenge. I have to shop smartly and I achieve this by using the Shoppee App. I know that many of you are Amy Dacyczyn fans and still remember her infamous Price Book. I myself had one up until this last year but I always found it tricky to use and cumbersome.  Trying to juggle shopping with children and writing down prices and ounces was just plain difficult.  Thankfully price books can now come in the form of an App. I researched for the best app on-line as well as looking at the apps themselves on my iphone.

Shoppee was the closest thing to Amy's price book that I could find.

I now use it every time that I shop whether it is on-line at Amazon, at Costco, visiting the Grocery Outlet, ordering from Azure Standard or shopping in our local grocery store. Finding the lowest price is one of my key goals when buying food.

 
Here's a screen shot from the Shoppee App website. You are able to look at individual stores to see what items that you have purchased there, the size and for what price.

This is my favorite screen because you can bring up an item such as milk and make a direct comparison on price and size.

From this image you can see the price of milk per gallon. Both Aldi and Coscto are the same price while milk at Giant Eagle is the most expensive. When I am adding new items that I purchased under the individual store item, I'm able to type in information in the Notes field. I will often add that the price is a Sale price.

My favorite store in all of Sonoma County is a fabulous local company called Oliver's Market. When something is on sale at Oliver's it isn't just 25¢ or 50¢ off but sometimes it's as much as $4 off. A few times a year Oliver's sells Napa Valley Organic Oliver Oil 25.4 ounces for $7.99. This is an amazing price. I'm able to go into Shoppee and see that most stores sell this size from at least $12 and more. This tells me to buy and stock up for at least 4 months.

This app can be useful for any size of food budget. The App is only $1.99.

When I contacted Shoppee to let them know that I wanted to write a post on their fabulous App they generously offered me 10 apps to giveaway to my readers.

This app is for anyone with an iPhone or the iPod touch. It should work on an iPad as well but it will be a small screen.

Would you like to win one?

Please share your a tip on saving money while grocery shopping.

If you'd like some extra entries please comment separately for each one to let me know that you:

• Stumbled this post
• Tweeted about the Giveaway
• Shared on Facebook
• ReBlogged about the Giveaway

I'll announce the 10 winners next Thursday, January 26th.

**Amazon Affiliated Link is included in this post which helps support Apron Thrift Girl

Shabby Apple Apron Giveaway

   

Today I'm offering a giveaway from Shabby Apple, a fabulous website featuring flirty, stylish dresses a woman can wear just as comfortably in the office, at a family dinner, or on a date.

Shabby Apple was started because they saw a need in women’s fashion that was not being met. A need to make women feel feminine and beautiful for what they wear, not what they bare.

Shabby Apple is a fashion company for women, by women, and of women.  Because serving women and families is a core value at Shabby Apple, they devote a certain percentage of our net proceeds to charitable causes serving women and children. How fabulous is that?

If you'd like to enter to win an apron from their website then, please head to their Facebook page and "like" them. Then come back over to ATG and leave a comment.

Shabby Apple is also giving ATG readers a 10% off coupon to use on their website. Just plug in the code apronthriftgirl10off when you check out. Just in time for last minute Christmas presents.

***Shabby Apple has asked that this drawing is open to US Residents only.

The drawing will take place this Wednesday. Good luck!

ATG Readers Survey

little parcle of vintage wonderment for one lucky winner

A year ago I sent out my first ATG survey to learn a little about my readers. This helped me in the direction of taking my blog from hobby blog to creating a business out of Apron Thrift Girl. My readership has grown so much in the last year and I'm ready to take it to the next step.

I would love to know your thoughts about Apron Thrift Girl. I have ideas on the direction I want to take but I'd love your imput.

We are in this together like a team or a community. I want to write what you'll be interested in reading of course. I've written up some questions and I'd love it if you'd take the survey. Please leave a comment when you've taken the survey and I'll draw a winner next week for the vintage craft supplies.

I'm going to be switching announcing winners to my Facebook page rather than the blog since I often forget about including it until the post has been published.  So please make sure to check over there next Friday morning.

Thanks so much!

Click Here to take survey

ATG's Featured Sponsor and a Giveaway

I wanted to introduce ATG's newest Featured Sponsor: Katie Jean.

About Katie: "Through her travels to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan, Katie has been inspired by artisans’ handiwork at home and around the world.  Her mother was the one to teach her the love of fabric and sewing.  Her desire to create using vintage materials didn’t blossom until her third child was born, when she stitched her first handkerchief to an onesie to make a baby dress.  Katie’s flair is in taking her beautiful collection of vintage linens found at estate sales and thrift shops from around the country and refashioning these treasured pieces into items that will be enjoyed for generations anew.  Each whimsical creation is made with a special vintage touch from the past with a look to the future.Today, her collection has expanded to include girl’s aprons, eye pillows, purses, and cozy blankets."

I'm so excited to introduce you to Katie. She's an incredible crafter and designer. Please take a moment to visit her site and her store.

The Giveaway

Katie has offered this sweet vintage Apron as a giveaway for you today.

To win this lovely Apron simply leave a comment. I'll choose a name next Wednesday. There's also one more day to enter the Jeweler's Loup Giveaway.

If you'd like another entry to win Katie's Apron, leave a separate comment to let me know that you are following Katie on Facebook.

If you'd like an additional entry, leave another comment to let me know that you are following Katie on Twitter.

Good luck!

Vintage Notions Giveaway Winner

Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman

Now for the winner of this amazing book:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

13

Timestamp: 2011-01-18 22:06:08 UTC

adriann humphrey is lucky number 13.

Thanks to all who entered this giveaway. I loved reading each of your entries. I hope that many of you will be able to start working on your Lost Art goals this year.

Make Share & Winners

I wanted to congratulate the winners for the Jeweler's Loupe:

Here are your random numbers:

35	3	13	

Timestamp: 2010-10-28 13:00:25 UTC

Kristen Little Faces Looking Up Holding Wonder Like a Cup

Rebecca Johnson

Alyssa Clever Penguin

Thanks for entering and taking part in the giveaway. I have a box of these loupes so I may do another giveaway before Christmas.

********************************

My usual crafting day on Monday afternoon didn't happen this week. We are in Operation House Clean before my mother-in-law arrives next Tuesday for a month.

I'm sorting and cleaning and organizing. And preparing for a booth for a Waldorf Winter Faire next month. So much to do.

Did you make something this week to share?

Make Share is very similar to Thrift Share where I begin a post with sharing something that I made and you all get to finish the post by linking up and sharing what you have made. There's a few guidelines -

• at least one item used in your project should to be 2nd hand.
• Link your Make Share post back to ATG.
• Post a Make Share item that you made on your blog or website.
• Link to your individual post on the item that you made using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Make Share regularly, I'd love it if you'd add this button to your side bar

Jeweler's Loop Giveaway

One of the best tools a Thrifter can use on the job is a Jeweler's Loop which is why I'm giving 3 away today. I carry mine with me everywhere whether I'm thrifting at yard sales, thrift stores or estate sales. I use it mostly when I'm looking for gold or sterling. I also use my loop when hunting for vintage designer jewelry such as Miriam Haskell.

If you would like to win one simply leave a comment. I'd love to hear how you will use the jeweler's loop while thrifting. Also, what's your favorite jewelry brand to scout for? It can be modern or vintage.

For extra entries you can do any of the following: (make sure to comment once for each item that you do)

• Become an ATG Facebook Fan
• Become a Flavorstitch Facebook Fan (if you adore food)
• Follow ATG on Twitter
• Post about the giveaway on your blog (please include a link and share it with me so that I can visit your blog)
• Follow Flavorstitch on Twitter (more food stuff)
• Stumble this post
• Post about the Giveaway on your Facebook page

Winner will be chosen next Tuesday. Good luck!

ATG Garage Sale Pack Giveaway

Tomorrow we celebrate National Garage Sale Day. Of course many of us don't ever need a special day to host a garage sale or even an excuse to go to one. It's fabulous though that articles are written and media stories are highlighted about the art of thrifting. To many of us thrifting is second nature. To others it is an idea that they find hard to grasp. Some people can't comprehend the thought of buying something that someone else has used or worn. I still remember my in-laws in England trying to understand why I would wake up at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning to drive to a field full of cars and cow patties to walk around and buy things out of people's car boots (trunks). To make it worse I talked about how much I paid for something when I saw them next.  Do any of you do this? Someone compliments something that you have and you can't speak quickly enough to share the price and where you found it?

I'd like to suggest that National Garage Sale Day is a time to really share our love of Thrifting/Picking/Junking with the people around us. Share your love of thrifting and show people that there is another way to buy things. My close friend wants to buy a couch from IKEA. I'm probably being a bit obnoxious to her when I begged her to not buy her new couch and instead buy a used couch on Craigslist that someone originally paid $3,000 for and is now selling for far less.

One of my reasons behind Apron Thrift Girl is to share my experiences that spending less on things doesn't mean living in scarcity or to be surrounded by cheaply made furniture and appliances that break when you look at them. My sofa is made by Henredon, is down filled and completely luxurious. When I found it at St. Vincent De Paul's Thrift Store I googled the name since I had never heard of Henredon. I found a forum where someone asked "should they buy a $4,000 Ethan Allen Couch or a $10,000 Henredon one." After I read that it took me less than a minute to reach the cash register and pay $145 for the couch. 

Let's think about tomorrow as our Thrifter's New Year where we reaffirm our reasons behind thrifting.

• To Share our finds with others and influence friends
• To be the greenest we can in the earliest form of recycling that there is
• To fill our homes with high quality items for far less than their retail price
• To teach our children that the "thrift dollar" goes further than the retail dollar
• To buy something worn or tired and give it a new life with a "re-do"
• To find patience and know that practically everything shows up 2nd hand in time

To celebrate National Garage Sale Day I want to give you a custom designed Apron Thrift Girl Garage Sale Pack. We're not talking about fluorescent price stickers or masking tape to stick on items but instead Price Tags with color and style.

Click on the link below to download your very own PDF file of the Apron Thrift Girl Garage Sale Pack.

Download Atg-Garage Sale Pack

It comes complete with a number of large signs with arrows. Simply fill in your address along with the dates and time with your favorite Sharpie.

There are different sized price tags. The larger ones are meant for items such as furniture or expensive items where you might want to add some written detail. Use a hole punch and a piece of embroidery thread to attach the tags.

Our own Garage Sale is going to be in a few weeks and I'm already preparing and pricing. If you are local and want to come on by just let me know.

Have a fabulous Thrifting weekend.

xoxo

Selena

an introduction ~ flavor stitch

When I returned home from Washington I was very excited to see a parcel from Pamela's, my favorite gluten free company. Followed closely by Udi's. Who was I to say to no about doing a review on brownies. I realized that day that in the last few months Apron Thrift Girl has really taken the path of focusing on Thrifting, Collecting and ReSelling. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't mention food here but since I have had my food blog sitting and waiting for me for six months, maybe it was about time that I used it. What do you think?

This was my first post, written last February. I had arrived home from Blissdom with a renewed energy for blogging.

February 22, 2010

Flavor Stitch

Welcome to Flavor Stitch. A food blog dedicated to the artistry of flavor and taste. Many of us have rediscovered the very essence of food. A journey for the many Chefs, cooks, bakers, farmers and those dining on and preparing our own food have embraced the stitching of flavor into this tapestry of our 21st century diet.

I welcome you to my new adventure in flavorful food.

I am my father's daughter in so many ways. My dad tends to leave a lasting impression on anyone he meets. He adores and loves food.  He wakes up thinking about food, flavors and how they intermingle.  He plans his daily meals in his head while lying in bed in the morning. My mother has kindly catered to my father and his obsession with food for forty-nine years now. She also likes food but she doesn't let her life revolve around food like my father has, and like I have.

I too adore food. I love how walking into a room and catching a scent of a food that I haven't tasted in fifteen years will bring back a wave of memories and emotions. I love how the chemistry of food can create a perfect cookie with the ideal amount of salt & sugar. I embrace the Autumn when pomegranates finally come back in season after too many months away and I can enjoy them on a weekly basis until they once again disappear. Food is simply my life.

Flavor Stitch will offer a combination of recipes, stories about food, photography, giveaways and the romance of food. Food should leave you inspired as it dances across your senses.

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Today I've written a food review for Pamela's Single Serve Brownies as well as a small giveaway.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new blog. It won't get enough attention of ATG until school begins (21 days and counting) but I figure that I had better get going on it since I have a ticket to BlogHer Food '10. I should at least arrive there with a working food blog, right?