When I was a kid my mom and grandma would take me and Sarah to thrift stores every few months. I thought it was amazing. The clothes were so cheap! I still have some great finds from those days- the best being a Beastie Boys License to Ill sweatshirt my mom found for like a dollar that I still wear. In college I realized that not everyone shopped at thrift stores but I wasn't ashamed, just bummed at how crappy NYC shops are (and expensive!). I would go nuts when I was home. It was such a relief to see cheap things again.

Now that I am in LA a lot I have really grown to appreciate their thrift stores. The awesome one downtown that even has excellent furniture (my friend Jessica got an adorable loveseat there once, Kathleen has outfitted several music videos there). There are so many awesome furniture spots there but the same furniture goes for like three times as much here. Gag.

Well, some things never change. My friend Lisa is a big time fashionista and clothes horse and once a year she cleans out her closets (sometimes more than once a year) and I get some awesome stuff. I spent about 2 hours tonight going through four large garbage bags of stuff. Some of it was jcrew and anthropologie WITH THE TAGS STILL ON. I found stuff for me, Kelly Lynn, Erika and Sarah. So much stuff! I've been getting her hand-me-downs for about 10 years and they're still the clothes I get the most compliments on when I wear them. It's just true that she has excellent taste.

I hope that I am never such a snob that I start turning down awesome cheap and free things.