Opshop Finds! What I Bought In November (And How I've worn It)

I did a little more shopping this month! Everything aligned for me to have some time to visit my favourite local opshop, and I couldn't resist picking up a few bargains. I went for a browse, hoping to pick up some necklaces, and found some great ones. I also got super lucky to get a dress I'd had my eye on that sold out last year!

Surprisingly, despite our annual girl's Christmas shopping trip falling on the black Friday weekend, I didn't buy anything for myself in all the sales, just finished my Christmas shopping for everyone else. The thrifted pieces are all I bought for myself in November.

What I Bought:

• thrifted gold large double circle necklace
• thrifted orange bead statement necklace
• thrifted purple wooden bead statement necklace
• thrifted Kmart short sleeve godet skirt linen blend dress in fuchsia

With the dress being just $1 and the necklaces being $2 each it was a bargain of a monthly haul, at just $7 in total!

Why I Bought It:

I got pretty lucky to pick up all these pieces at one opshop one morning! As I expanded on in the video, I'd gone looking for some necklaces and they had quite a few I liked, but I picked just the 3 as I felt they filled gaps in my wardrobe.

Had a browse of the clothes too while I was there and was so thrilled to find this fuchsia Kmart dress! Kmart also made a blazer and shorts in this material and colour last year that I still see pop up on Instagram now and then. This dress was everywhere in spring/summer last year, and has even been re-released this year in a different colour, so I'm so glad I got it for just $1! The size tag was cut out and I didn't have a chance to try it on as I had my little one with me and he was getting impatient as I browsed so it was so lucky this fit when I got home and tried it on. For $1 it was worth taking the risk on. The couple of times I've worn it has confirmed how perfect it is for hot days, really happy with this dress.

How I've Worn It:

I knew I was going to wear the dress with some of these necklaces - even the volunteer checking me out at the opshop commented how nice the colours were together! The linen blend dress is a bit of a pain to iron, as expected. It's lovely to wear though and I know I'm going to get a lot more use out of these pieces in future too.

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What's In My Bag: #ItsInTheBag Donation For Share The Dignity

It's that time again! Share the Dignity is asking Australians to give back at Christmas and fill up a bag with some essentials and perhaps an extra special item or two to donate to a woman in need at Christmas time. This is the fourth year I've participated with #ItsInTheBag, it's such a fun thing to get involved with. I've shared how you can get involved below too, as you can start dropping your bags off to Bunnings this weekend!

This year I've packed a bag for a local woman in need to make her feel special at Christmas time. And I picked a nice big bag so I had room for a few extra pieces for her.

What's In My #ItsInTheBag Donation For 2021:

The past couple of years I've done a mums and bubs bag to help out a new mum in need. This year, I decided to go back to basics and just fill up a similar bag to what I did the first time I donated in 2018. This bag will be given to a local lady in need at Christmas time. Maybe she's homeless, maybe she's fleeing violence, maybe she's just having a hard time making ends meet and has reached out to a charity for help. Whoever she is I hope that this bag helps her see she's loved and worthy, and brings her a little joy at Christmas time.

This bag has all the basic essential hygiene items and a few extras. Things like tissues, a face mask, wipes, hand sanitiser, hand cream, a necklace, a journal and some pens. And I hope whoever receives this likes coconut, as you can see I ended up with a bit of a coconut theme going on! Almost everything was on sale. I stock up in advance, and don't shop all at once. Half price sales at Woolworths on beauty products are good for this, to add a little extra to the grocery shop, and the bag itself was a $8 bargain at Kmart with lots of room for everything.

What To Put In Your Bag:

Other Ways You Can Participate:

If you're in Australia:

• Don't have time to shop, or ideas for what to put in a bag? (It kicks off this weekend!) You can sponsor a bag on the Share the Dignity website.
• If you can't make it to Bunnings between the 19th and 28th November, why not see if any local charities near you are collecting anything similar? A thoughtful bag of essential hygiene items is likely to be well received. Maybe your local library is already collecting such items, or your local food bank would appreciate some donations.
• Maybe you just can't stretch to something like this at Christmas time - there's always the sanitary items donation drive later in the year.

If you're outside Australia:

I've seen this idea by other names in other countries too - blessing bags, kindness bags, etc. You can research and see if there is anything similar where you live.

More Ideas For What To Put In Your Bag:

• Mum and Bub Bag 2020
• Mum and Bub Bag 2019
• Woman in Need Bag 2018

I'm not sure how many times you need to do something each year before it becomes tradition  - but I'm glad I can do this for the fourth year in a row and that I have the avenue on this blog to share the donation drive with a wider audience. It makes me so happy when friends or family want to include things in the bag or have even put their own bag together to donate. My mum helped me with this bag, the little pouch was a great addition!

 

I plan to do this next year as well - are there any little extras you think I should include that I haven't this year? Or anything you considered a must-have when you donated something similar?

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