If you follow my Instagram @batmom8503 you’ll see I’ve stepped in front of the camera!

I’ve decided to show more of my family and the way we live because it’s a bit unique.

I’m a vegan home chef. I cook vegan meals for my family. I serve them a small piece of protein (fiancé cooks that he’s a chef too!) we are minimalist and we live on a budget.

We have mimosa taste on an orange juice budget and that’s fine!

I want to share that!

You can live a phat life on a skinny budget and I’m going to show you how!

I run a family of four with a budget. However just because we live on a budget doesn’t mean we aren’t fashionable.

One way we stay fashionable is by Thrifting!

What is Thrifting?

Thrifting is shopping at thrift stores!

My family loves to pile in the car and search for thrift stores to shop at.

Every town is a new adventure. My oldest daughter and I are really into vintage fashion.

Brooklyn and I create mood board before shopping so we know exactly what we want.

We keep an out for trends and try to find pieces that can be worn over and over.

I love searching for finds at thrift stores because I use fashion as way to express myself.

but keeping up trends can be costly.

Not when you’re Thrifting!

Over the weekend we found these Michael Kors jeans for $14.99!

We also say these incredible Steve Madden pumps for $9.99 (They weren’t my size so they had to stay behind)

I don’t buy anything that can’t fit either me our Brooke.

We LOVE clothing! Brooke and I would play dress up all day if we could:

But there’s a few issues with that we’ve discovered.

Number 1: we live in a small house!

We honestly just don’t have the room to house the kind of wardrobe me and Brooke would have if we could.

Also.. Shopping is awful for the environment.

I mean I didn’t want to be the one to say it but.. it’s true! You can google for yourself if you don’t believe me..actually Brooklyn brought it up on a car ride.

She said

“Mom, I saw this YouTube video that said we’re not going to have any water if we keep using straws! Also we’re killing the planet with shopping. If we thrift store shop we can save the environment because we are NOT shopping at big stores and it’s SAVING the earth! The more we buy the more the earth dies but if we can donate what we have now and just shop at thrift stores that’s easier… we can do it mom!”

When she put it like it kind of excited me!

It gave me ideas to want to spice up our wardrobe without breaking the bank.

We’ve always been great at thrifting.

We thrift for cosplay.

We thrifted and find whatever we need to suit any occasion.

We had just donated lot of our clothing to declutter or home and organize our space.

We’re trying to Marie Kondo our lives and adult up or place and adult up our wardrobe.

As a family we decided we would spend $25 a piece each shopping trip to find just the staples we need to spruce up or wardrobe.

Last weekend was our first official trip!

Our first thrifting haul: Goodwill, Hillcrest Ca

We had an impromptu stop at The Goodwill, in Hillcrest California.

We had beach day eating and shopping prior shopping to our budget decreased but I was NOT going to pass up a thrift in Hillcrest.

I told everyone had a budget of $40 just see what we could find.

Honestly we loved this store!

The colors were so bright. The store was rainbow colored coated. Which is awesome!

Hillcrest is an LBGTQ community in San Diego and we love and support that🙌🏾

There was something for everyone in the family!

Brooke fell in love with these handbags from Mexico!

Christy found a chicken..

I found a blouse that I completely fell in love with and began to style in my head immediately and well.. Chris didn’t fair too well this trip.. he had to wrangle Christy so they waited in the car for Brooke and I to finish shopping.

We spent $33 and got all this:

A pair of dark denim high waited bell bottom from “Forever 21” $6.99 a boho dress for the summer $4.99

Brooke took the blue handbag before I could get a photo🙄 it was $2.99 these handbags were $4.99

The shirt of my DREAMS was $5.99 and I can’t wait to wear it to brunch! in my head I styled it 4 ways before ringing it up so it know it was the one.

I love the piping around the collar and the fact it’s a sheer top gives it so much versatility. I can wear just a black bra underneath and be daring or I can wear a black camisole underneath and be conservative. Rock it under a blazer with a pencil skirt or pair it with ripped jeans, and red ballet flats.

I already know this is going to be one of my favorite shirts of summer.

You’re going to be sick of seeing this on my Ig 😅 apologies it’s sooo cute!

Brooke is pairing the green shirt with her bell bottoms and tan purse.

Brooke is trying to channel hippie Coachella vibes all summer and bring that into her 8th grade year.

We found a little shirt for Christy $2.99 we couldn’t pass up it was actually a really great haul.

Summer 2019 style on a budget

This is my summer mood board:

So far I’ve got the vintage style T-shirt and high waisted shorts off my list thanks to Apple Dabs giving me an awesome shirt.

And Charlotte Russe went out business I scored $2 shorts🙌🏾

This last Thrifting adventure I found that $5.99 and I already knew I had the perfect pair of shorts for that shirt!

This summer I’m slanging LEG! I’m normally in jeans and T-shirts but it’s too hot! It’s time show some thighh!

I alway cover the top if I’m showing my legs so I think sheerness of the top keeps it sexy but the length of the sleeve and color give you a conservative feel.

I think this might be my favorite shirt..

And it was only $5.99!

Thrifting is fun!

What I love that most about Thrifting is it opens up these creative channels.

You see yourself in these new pieces that have these spectacular past lives.

I love the fact these clothes kind of get a second chance at life.

I don’t think being fashionable or knowing fashion comes from being able to spend the most on label.

I think it’s how you pull together looks. How and outfit makes you feel.

I think clothing is your time to take the stage and shine. You show the world exactly how your feel when you’re dressing and thrifting is setting the stage. It’s picking the props for the set of life.

I love it!

Do you Thrift? Are your thrifting for the environment? Your budget or hobby? Some even thrift as a job!? I did love to hear more from you in the comments.

Thank you for reading