New York - Thrift adventures

I have been meaning to post the details of my vintage/thrift shopping day in NY but it has been hard to find time with work, kids, and the beautiful weather outside that keeps calling me.

The more I waited, the more harder it was to also remember the details. I tried to trace our steps as much as I can and hopefully I remember it all...

Some notes up front:
- I went to this shopping trip with two of my cousins and they live in Brooklyn. They know their way around, so it was easier.
- We (I) used Yelp iPhone app extensively. We had a plan to start with, but we found many other stores by searching on the go...
- We covered areas that are outside of Manhattan since I would be able to do that by foot the next day.
- We had a car and drove between areas but walked between stores.
- Thrift shopping apparently does not start until noon... We came to find out quickly. Make sure to check the store hours in advance and start late. Also there are a lots of stores that are closed on Monday and/or Tuesday. Our shopping day was a Wednesday.
- Wear comfortable shoes and clothes that can easily be changed or wear a tank top under your clothes so that you don't have to go into the dressing rooms.
- None of these stores knows who I am and if I did not buy something from a store that does not mean it is a bad one.

Since the only store that we could find that opens up before noon was in Staten Island, we first headed there. You have to pay for the toll, just FYI. You can also take the ferry since this store is very close to the ferry station. The store opens at 10:30 am.

Everything goes clothing
140 Bay St
Staten Island, NY 10301

This store is not very big but it had a great selection of skirts and coats. It is also very reasonably priced. I bought 2 skirts. Both of them needed some work with buttons and hooks. After they were dry cleaned and fixed up, both looked awesome... $14 in total.

Then we headed back to Brooklyn. Since we still had time, we sat down in a cafe right across the Rosebud vintage store and had yummy pastries and coffee. The owner was very helpful, even called the store owner to see when she was going to open.

Rosebud
726 Franklin Ave

(between Sterling Pl & Park Pl)
Brooklyn, NY 11238

This is a really small store and it is not thrift. It is more vintage. They had cute stuff but a little too pricey for me. I did not get anything there.

Then we drove to the next general area and parked the car close to Dolly G's.

Dolly G's
320 Graham Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Another small, vintage store. I did not get anything from there also. Then we walked to Atlantis Attic which is around the corner from Dolly G's.

Atlantis Attic
771 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

This was a quite large thrifty store. Lots and lots of stuff. Lots of shoes also. I don't know if I can ever bring myself to buy shoes from a thrift store. I ended up finding this pretty silk shirt made in France and three belts. Total $25.

Then we walked down the Graham Avenue (opposite direction from Dolly's) and got in to one of the stores on the right. It is a small store but again very cute stuff. I cannot remember the name, which is a shame, and it was not in our list.

I bought this polyester dress for $18. The skirt is pleated and I already wore it two times (opera and fancy dinner with friends) with black patented belt.

From there, we walked back to the car and drove to Williamsburg area. We first stopped by Monk Vintage which is one of the most packed thrift stores I have ever seen. It is just packed with stuff..

Monk Vintage
496 Driggs Ave
(between 10th St & 9th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211

I had great finds in this store also. A beautiful jean dress that fits me perfectly, a scarf and black and white sweater (I do not have a picture of that). I think I paid $35 in total...

Then we walked to;
Buffalo Exchange
504 Driggs Ave
(between 10th St & 9th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Guvnor's Vintage Thrift
178 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11227

Both were good. My cousin got some things but I did not get anything...There are a lot of stores in this area in walking distance. Yelp helps tremendously.
In one of the stores that we found through Yelp, I found this beautiful scarf. One of the most expensive pieces I bought, a whopping $20. Just perfect for this summer...

We had a late lunch at Crif Dogs when we wanted to a little break...

Crif Dogs
555 Driggs Ave
(between 7th St & 6th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Let me tell you something, one of the best hot dogs that I had. Maybe it was because I was starving. It was the perfect quick lunch, we got back out there to sift through more clothes.

More staycation fun...

On another day of our staycation, we got kids new bikes. They still have not mastered to ride them without the training wheels.
We are trying a new method that is recommended by the bike shop. They have removed the pedals and kids try to stay on top of the bike by using their feet. Sude made lots of progress but they still need practice time. They practiced at our school's parking lot...

We got to sit at the back of the car and sip coffee...

Of course that was short lived and we got ousted from our spots pretty soon...

Staycation... Cowboys stadium...

This spring break, we decided to stay home. Especially since my husband has been travelling extensively for work for the last couple of months.

We decided to explore different things around where we live and just take it easy, sleep in, go out for long lunches, and spend lots and lots of time together as a family.

The first day we had decided to go see the new Dallas Cowboy's Stadium. It was a sunny but cool day, perfect for sight seeing.

The stadium is just amazing. And the tour was very nice and informative.
It took around two hours to complete the tour and kids seemed to really like it too...

The artwork is also amazing....

From the stadium, we headed to lunch and had delicious frozen yogurt outside for dessert. Yummy...

Trip to NC...

Last weekend my husband and I spent the weekend at Charleston, NC (Kiawah Island to be exact) for a company gathering. It was a short trip; we left home Saturday morning and came back on Sunday afternoon. The main purpose of the trip was a dinner party on Saturday night.
It was nice to spend time alone without the distractions of daily life, thanks to my mom who was taking care of the kids...

We had lunch at La Tela... It was the best pizza that I ever had...
I mean, it was that good...
And the interesting thing was the pizza did not even have any sauce or cheese. I still think about that pizza almost every day...

These were the appetizers that we had...

And look at that pizza and the handsome guy behind it...

For the rest of the day, we walked at the beach, sat in the hot tub and took a nap... What a wonderful combination...

Then we got all dressed up and headed to dinner...

I bought that top a few weeks ago from BCBG on sale and it worked out great...

Trip to Taos: What to see around Taos

On our trip to Tao for skiing we also took some time to visit historic sites and museums. On the days that we skied, we were done by 4:00 pm and made a point of visiting the town.
One of the afternoons, we visited the Pueblos. This is one of the longest continuously occupied villages in US.

Then we went to Rio Grade Gorge Bridge which is just totally incredible. It was so windy we hardly walked to the middle and ran back to the car. I still cannot imagine how that bridge was built. It is incredibly high...

We enjoyed our nights by trying many different restaurants and visiting cute shops around town.

I forgot to mention that we rented a house in Taos instead of staying at a hotel. It was so much more roomy and comfortable than a hotel room. We burned logs in the fire place, made s'mores, and enjoyed the coziness and comfort of this little home.

The last day of our trip, we headed to Los Alamos where Atomic bomb was invented and tested.  We visited Bradbury Science museum which is a great museum for both adults and kids. It is free and it has very nice exhibits as well as engaging games and puzzles for the kids and adults who want to be kids again... ;-)

From Los Alamos, we headed to Santa Fe for lunch. We had a great Italian lunch before we headed to the airport. What a great trip we had... It was a good balance of skiing and sight seeing. We will definitely be back next year...

Trip to Taos: Beautiful ski days...

At the beginning of the Christmas break we headed to Taos, New Mexico. We have been there few times in the past to ski and we thought it would be good for the kids to improve their ski skills. This time, we decided to fly to Albuquerque which was much better than driving for 12 hours. The drive from Albuquerque to Taos is still another 2.5 hours but that was not too bad compared to 12 hours.
Also the view of the sun set was just gorgeous.

The next day, we headed to the slopes on a beautiful day. Kids spent the day at the ski school, my husband and I hit the slopes, and my mom enjoyed the ski valley.

How cool he is by the way? He got lots of comments on his goggles...

Me and my flower pants...

We love skiing together. It was such a nice day...



Grandma with her stylish hat, having lunch with us...

At the end of the day, we picked the kids up for the last hour and skied together. Sude did pretty good but Korman was still too scared. We decided to keep them in the school one more day since the weather forecast was not promising another sunny day.

The second day was a total blizzard with snow fall and wind. Kids were able to go to ski school since it was at the base but we decided to hang out at the ski valley and just enjoy the fireplace at the restaurant, have a long lunch, hot chocolate, and watch the kids.

The third day the weather cleared up and it was another sunny and beautiful day. We decided to keep Sude with us all day and she did awesome. She's got such great balance and pretty much no fear. She was even able to ski down some blue slopes.

 
We had hot chocolate and got some toe warmers for ourselves...

Had hamburgers for lunch an just hang out. Korman also did great and we got to ski all together at the end of the day.
I think next year, after a day at the ski school, we can ski all together as a family...
How exciting....