Hi friends! My name is Meredith, and I'm very excited to do a guest post for Marissa while she's on tour (I am so jealous!) Marissa and I became friends several years ago, and by that I mean she used to graciously drive me the five minutes between home and church every Wednesday for Starfire. Eventually these five minute commutes evolved from just two lefts and a right to a bonus hour parked in the driveway talking, laughing, telling secrets, the whole bit. In short, Marissa rocks and I'm honored to be here.

Riss and I share a love for second-hand goods. I have not always loved second-hand goods. I admit that there was a time in my life when I would have given my left arm for a pair of Abercrombie cargo pants. I used to think Hollister was a lush coastal community populated by blond boys and girls in breezy tank tops and barely there cut-off jeans. You know how vegetables in the supermarket are intermittently sprayed with water? I figured that Hollister was the same way, but with tanning oil and virgin pina coladas. I was completely under the spell that better clothes meant a better life. The blessing in all this, is that my mother would have NONE of it. She has been buying my clothes second hand since I was fairly young. I didn't realize that was where my clothes were coming from until I was ten. And then… I hated that I was wearing second-hand stuff. I would berate her for embarrassing me and buying us other peoples garbage-clothes, as I liked to call them.

I don't know when the change came along, but around fifteen I started to tag along with my mother to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. It turned out that if you were patient, you could find some Abercrombie at Goodwill. It also turned out that if you kept your mind open, you could find some real treasures. To make a long story short… my mother and I do a good amount of our bonding time at Goodwill. The majority of my clothes come from thrift stores. I love sifting through all the clothes, adopting old coffee mugs into my colorful collection, fastening worn leather belts to my waist and wondering who wore them and what kind of work was done in them. Thrifting is my very favorite kind of recycling, taking old clothes to new places, and, this is a big one: it is much more ethical than purchasing brand new clothes made in sweatshops.

Pictured below are some of my favorite treasures; a set of gold bangles, gold metal earrings engraved into feathers, engraved & etched bracelets, and a brown stone with a gold chain. All of these were purchased second hand at the Goodwill where I live in San Luis Obispo. I post these and other clothes I find on my blog, missgoodwillhunting.tumblr.com.

I hope that Marissa has inspired you to go to Goodwill for more than just your Halloween costume and a cheesy Christmas sweater. It really is a recycling and fashion re-invention adventure each time. Cheers!

- Meredith