Old Navy Spring Haul [Old Navy: Colma]

The Old Navy store in Colma had some very inexpensive items in stock this past weekend.  I snatched up the following four items.  I'm particularly excited about the first two, as I've grown tired of wearing the same jeans, corduroys, cardigans, and camis all winter so am trying to infuse some pops of color in my otherwise bland wardrobe of solid colors and stripes.

 Twisted Cuff Seed-Bead Bracelet

Original: $12.50

I paid: $1.18

Tiered Gauze Skirt in purple floral (buy here)

Original: $26.50

I paid: $2.91

 Khaki Pencil Skirt

Original: $29.50

I paid: $2.91

Girl's Skinny Jeans in tigris (buy here)

Original: $19.50

I paid: $10.08

Long story short, the store had a crazy sale where all women's clearance bottoms (jeans, pants, skirts, and shorts) were a flat $6 each.  I also signed up for an Old Navy card and got an extra 20% off my entire purchase as part of their current promotion.  

If you're considering signing up for an Old Navy card (which, btw, also works for Gap, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta), I would only recommend getting one if you routinely shop at any of those stores AND you are positive that you will (1) not shop at those stores more often now that you have a store card, and (2) pay off your card every month and not rack up any retail debt.  After all, the best deal you can buy is to not buy anything at all.

Springy Scarf [Old Navy: San Francisco]

Scarves seem to be in season year-round, so this patterned lightweight scarf in a nice coral color will likely do double-duty in both spring and fall.  I got this one from Old Navy in downtown SF for a mere $4.89.  Originally $10.00, it was on clearance for $6.99 and then an extra 30% off all clearance items.

I saw that the same extra 30% off clearance sale was going on at the downtown SF Old Navy yesterday, so you might want to check it out while you can.  Or you can wait it out some more until clearance items get an extra 50% off. :)

If you're shopping online, you can use the coupon code BRONGAP20 to get 20% off until Wednesday.

UPDATE: Use code ONBOGO to Buy One, Get One 50% Off until Sunday.  My scarf is currently available in a very pretty green:

Women's Jersey Sheer Burnout Scarves

Don't Give Up [Goodwill: San Francisco, Clement St.]

When you're trying to shop lean but maintain some standards of quality, it can sometimes feel like an uphill climb. There are so many things working against you.  It's more convenient to buy something off the rack right when you see it, rather than wait until the price drops or you find a cheaper, similar product elsewhere. There is near-constant pressure from ads to buy the latest and greatest things brand new.  When you narrow your price range, you also narrow your options to choose from.  You'll repeated have to walk away when something doesn't fit the bill for one reason or another.  It can be tempting to just give up.

I feel this way sometimes when I read or hear about fabulous finds people have found from unlikely sources such as thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales.  This especially applies to thrift stores, since I don't make it a habit to check out local garage sales and have yet to set foot in an estate sale (though I still want to!).  So I tend to have high hopes upon entering a thrift store...but more often than not, I leave empty-handed and disappointed.

With this in mind, I now shop at thrift stores only when it's convenient.  On Friday I went to the bank and decided to check out the Goodwill store across the street, since it was right there and I had time to kill.  Now, I've been to this store 3 times in the last 6 weeks and each time I didn't find anything to buy.  So why should this time be any different?

But lo and behold, I made two purchases I am really happy with:

Aqua Short Sleeve Shirred Blazer (buy here)

Original: $88.00

I paid: $4.49

 Elastic striped belt with chain (no label)

I paid: $1.99

Blazer and belt together:

Despite my admonition to know your labels, I actually had no idea that Aqua was a Bloomingdale's brand until I did a search for this jacket.  Beyond that, I was surprised to find this exact blazer still available online for the retail price!  I had assumed this would be a style from a past season and thus unsearchable on the internets.  Judging by the wrinkles, I'm guessing someone didn't follow the Dry Clean Only directions and the jacket shrunk in the dryer.  Oh well, their loss is my gain!

So if you feel like giving up on a certain store or method of saving money, DON'T!  For every time you find an amazing deal, there will be many times you won't find anything.  But when you do find something that's a homerun, the strikeouts are totally worth it!

Free Song: "Barton Hollow" + 9 live tracks by The Civil Wars

Yes, more free songs from The Civil Wars!  You can download the single "Barton Hallow" here, which is the title track from the album and is awesome.

A free album of 9 live tracks is also available from the same link.

Live at Eddie's Attic: Track list

1. If I Didn't Know Better
2. 20 Years
3. Falling
4. Poison & Wine
5. Tip of My Tongue
6. My Father's Father
7. No Ordinary Love
8. Girl with the Red Balloon
9. Dance Me to the End of Love
10. Falling (Demo) [Bonus Track]

NOTE: The WXRT offers require an email address, which will be added to their newsletter mailing list.  I suggest creating a separate address for freebies and then unsubscribing from mailing lists if the emails get to be too frequent or spammy.  

If you don't want to provide your email address, you can download the Live at Eddie's Attic tracks from The Civil Wars website.

[EXPIRED] Free Song: "20 Years" by The Civil Wars [Amazon.com]

My boyfriend recently introduced me to The Civil Wars.  This band remind me of Eastmountainsouth with their haunting, folksy duets.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Amazon has a free download of "20 Years," the first track from The Civil Wars' album Barton Hollow.  Free songs from popular artists typically don't last long on Amazon, so get this one while you can!

[EXPIRED] Free Song: "I Should Have Known" by Foo Fighters [Amazon.com]

Click here to download an mp3 of the Foo Fighters song "I Should Have Known." Comes courtesy of Amazon.com and is free for a limited time.  This song is from the Foo's new album Wasting Light.

Be sure to click around Amazon to find other free songs.  Here's the full list of free tracks.  Today I downloaded this song from Brandi Carlile and this one from Wye Oak.

Mark My Words [SFPL: Friends of the Library]

One of the major benefits of living in a big city is an extensive public library system.  But that's not what I'm here to talk about.  Instead, I want to share about a program run by the SF Public Library called Friends of the Library.

The SF main library devotes a little corner by the Grove St. entrance to its Friends of the Library store.  They sell books that have been donated and the money goes back to the library system.  From their website:

Friends of the San Francisco Public Library supports the free public libraries of San Francisco.  We provide funding and conduct advocacy and outreach to ensure that all people have equal access to the information, resources and support that our libraries provide.  We believe that libraries are anchors for thriving neighborhoods, and that an excellent library system is critical to the health of our city.

I'm all for getting deals on books from used book stores (especially local ones like Green Apple in the Richmond District), so even better if the money contributes to the greater good of the city and its denizens at a time when respect (and funding) for libraries seems to be declining.

As an example of the deals you can find, I was hunting for this book which retails for $35 plus shipping and is nearly impossible to find used copies of.  You can imagine my excitement when I spotted it in the Friends of the Library store for just $7!

(Ugh...apologies for the bad lighting!)

As with any store, there will be some overpriced items but deal-hunters should be used to keeping their eyes peeled for treasures overlooked by everyone else, right? :)

Free Song: "Rolling in the Deep" by John Legend (Adele Cover)

Click here to stream and download John Legend's cover of the Adele single "Rolling in the Deep."  It's a hot song right now and John Legend gives it a totally vibe take by singing it a cappella.  (NOTE: The recording is unedited so there is at least one instance of a swear word.)