This Just In! A Must-Have Guide To Thrift Shopping In New York

Earlier this month, Toshiba's hottest new blogger Monroe Steele published Thrift and the City, a pocket-sized guide to thrift shopping in New York City. In its 13 jam-packed pages, Steele explains not only HOW to shop for vintage and second-hand goods, but WHERE to find the best deals.

With phone numbers, addresses, and websites at your disposal, mapping out your thrifting route becomes a lot more manageable with Steele's guidance. From the six shops in the "Thrift Corridor" (where you'll find Vintage Thrift) to the Angel Street/Housing Works/Pippin trifecta in Chelsea, Steele has sifted through the second-hand racks again and again to give you a heads up on the best locations for finding designer and vintage diamonds in the rough.

Think it's going to be more than a hot minute before you make it to the Big Apple? That's okay, too — the guide offers plenty of tips for shopping thrift and vintage no matter where you are located (Here's a hint: thrift and vintage are not synonymous!).

With Thrift and the City in your arsenal, you can feel comfortable slipping on your highest heels and letting Steele do the legwork for you. For a more personal experience, the powerhouse blogger also offers tailored thrift shopping tours.

Thrift and the City: A Guide to New York City Thrift and Vintage Shopping is now available for e-purchase. The file is both downloadable and printable for your convenience.

Thrift Store DIY: Painted Vases

It's a good time of the year to be a florist; with warmer temperatures finally settling in, spring buds are beginning to show their true colors, and Mother's Day — not to mention wedding season — is just around the corner. Over the next two months, fresh flowers are sure to be in high demand.

But what do you do once things really begin to heat up and all those blooms begin to fade? You could stash those rather average looking florists' vases at the top of your closet until next season — or you could turn them into something fabulous to admire all year round.

We figured you were more of the creative type, so we've dug through the blogosphere to bring you a few fantastic and super simple DIYs to upgrade your vase game. First up, Eden does  enamel over at Sugar and Charm. We tried this with regular latex paint HERE and it came out amazing!

A mercury glass effect is surprisingly easy to achieve — as the ladies at The Thirteenth Blog demonstrate — with masking tape and a little mirrored spray paint.

We're loving these almost-neon coral milk glass vases from PimpelwitStyling. The instructions appear easy enough, but you'll have to make do with the photos because this little lady sprechen sie Deutsch.

Lastly, the folks over at Better Homes and Gardens have gathered 30+ ideas for Mother's Day arrangements. We're particularly fond of this lace rendition, as well as the pitcher, old bottle, and mortar & pestle versions.


Need a few extra pieces to round out your collection? With their bulky size and seemingly limited use, it's no surprise that we see our fair share of vases. From simple glass forms to Waterford crystal, there's bound to be one or two that are just the right shape and height — and price!


Do you have a thrift store DIY? Share your brilliant ideas with Ashley at vintagethriftnyc@gmail.com.

*Please note that some DIYs may render your vase unsafe for human consumption. Remember: Painted surfaces are not food friendly!