Feels Like Home.

Putzing around town and decided to hit up this consignment shop upon the most excellent recommendation of L (who, when she told me about it, was wearing a wondrous hat from the place). My first thought about seeing it was it does more than feel like home: it looks the home. Feels Like Home is a tastefully set up joint inside a house on 37th street. There are pretties strewed outside, shoving curiosity upon you as to what lingers within. It's set up like a home (shocking) with little bedrooms, complete with beds, furnished with bedspreads. The closets even have some dresses in them. Feels Like Home felt like a very classy home that just happened to have price tags on everything. There were gnarly clocks, impractical hats, baskets, jewelry, home furnishings, and the like. When I went there today, there was a sale going on. The employee was helpful and friendly, even though she informed me that what I thought was a orange tag was a peach tag, so what I thought was 50% off was only 20% off.
I still got it.
Weirdest thing found: Nothing too bizarre, since it was a classy joint.
Organization was nice; the rooms were a bit crowded, and it was hard to get to everything without a minor catastrophe upon you.
Prices: Consignment level prices. The sale helped, but (from a bona fide tightwad's point of view) it wasn't cheap. So, if you're looking for a classy second-hand shop, for all intents and purposes, Feels Like Home does the job.
Exotic meter: Low on exotic; this place is just plain homey.

Find of the day: This all leather and be-elephanted purse caught my eye immediately. I couldn't stop wanting it, so I got it. I'm a bit ashamed and horrified to admit I paid $10 for it. But. I mean: Elephants. Leather. Spacious. Exotic. Must-have.

VoA Thrift -- Katie

Here's how it went down: a certain Sarah arrives at my door and whisks me away to "a place with a sign". The sign turned out to be... The Volunteers of America Thrift Store. It had the most character out of any thrift store I've been to.

It was vibrant, to say the least. Display bookshelves had lyrics written on them. The dressing room had a chalkboard floor with words written all over it. There was a mannequin in the window with a tinfoil bikini. All of this was promising.

My load included:

A 50¢ Fleetwood Mac Vinyl ("Mystery to Me"), which I decided to buy because of the amazing album art.

50¢ for two bangles that were NOT (I repeat: were NOT) sticky to the touch.

~$1 for an Aeropostale long-sleeve Henley shirt that makes the word "frugality" come to mind.

I probably would have come away with more, but racks didn't follow sizes; as a smaller person, it's a pain to wade through pleated slacks that someone's grandmother wore twenty years ago (bless her heart).

It's worthwhile, especially since everything was 50% off. Clearance at thrift stores is a little heaven on earth.

There's treasure everywhere

First victim: A thrift store in Sioux Falls I have (shockingly!) never patronized.
Volunteers of America is located at 217 N. Nesmith Ave. in Sioux Falls.

Greatest feature: VoA was loaded with totally excellent features: first off, they have decor, which is refreshing. They obviously took time to spray paint the baskets wondrous colors and make darling decorations on the walls. I approve. They have a grand selection of wedding dresses (not from the 17th century!) and all under $100, along with many attractive formal dresses. They plug in all plug-in-able things to make sure they work, and they wash all their bras and undies before reselling them in a very righteously painted dresser.

Weirdest thing found: The righteously painted dresser chock full of used bras. And a gypsy Barbie they refused to sell.
Organization: Set up well.
Contents: Shoes! Appliances! Wonderful mugs! Kitchenware! $1 racks galore!
Price: Perfectly acceptable. Those smashing boots were $1(courtesy of a store-wide 50% off sale).
Exotic meter: Multi-colored walls bumps up their exotic meter to moderate.