My Review & Experience Using THREAD UP

Have you guys heard of THREAD UP? It's an online thrift store that you can sell your clothing to. The basic idea is that you order a clean out bag and then you bag up the items that you don't wear anymore and send it to them. They then go through your items and keep what they can re sell and give you a credit. A credit that you can either cash out or use to buy items from their store. 

I had a closet full of items that haven't fit for over a year, so I decided to try out THREAD UP. I got my clean out bag in and got to work. THREAD UP specifically takes high end brands and clothing of the best used quality. For the full list of brands they accept look here. 

I ended up sending in quite a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some dresses after checking the brands they accept. 

Once they get your bag it takes 15 business days for them to process the bag and credit your account. One negative is that it takes quite sometime for everything to be processed. I finally heard back about my bag on 11/11. 

Once you sign up for an account you get 40% off your first order, which is pretty nice. I think Thread UP is a great way to recycle your clothing, and buy items that are no longer in stock or available. 

So what was the outcome of my polka dot bag? 

I received the email that my bag was processed, they send you a link so that you can see what items they accepted and what they didn't. Out of a total of 15 items sent in only 2 items were accepted. This was a bit of a bummer, I have expected that more of my items would be accepted since they were all brands they currently accept. However, this wasn't the case and only two pairs of jeans in excellent condition were accepted at $2.65 for both pairs!

This pricing was also a let down. I understand this is a second hand store, but I could have sold my clothing privately and gotten at least $5 per pair out of the denim. I do not feel their buying rate is good at all, especially when I see jeans on their site for $10 and up. It just doesn't make sense. 

I think as a buyer ThreadUp might be a good option to buy items that are discontinued or no longer in stock. But, as a seller you just will not make much off your items through ThreadUp to make it even worth it in my opinion. 

That being said if you want to try THREAD UP for yourself? Use my referral code and get $20 when you sign up! Sign up here.

READ | What Keeps You Up At Night by Pete Wilson

If you've been hanging around this blog for any amount of time you know that I'm a big fan of Pete Wilson's books. I've read all of them since the release of his first book Plan B. I've had the honor of being apart of his book launch teams the last two books. His most recent book is What Keeps You Up At Night which came out earlier this Spring. 

How to find peace while chasing your dreams is the tag line of this book, and as we explore many different themes in this book one repeating theme in this book is that of fear, and how it holds us back. Holds us back from pursuing God, and how it holds us back from pursuing what God's placed on our hearts. 

When I first read this book earlier this year my husband and I were praying through some tough decisions in our life. Many of them required steps of faith, and reading this couldn't have come at a more timely reminder that God loves us and he's for us. He's the giver of life and the author of dreams and plans for us. 

I also love the author explores leaving things (our dreams and plans) open to the Lord and what he'd want to do. We can't hold tightly to things, that's not what God calls us to do. He often calls us to step out in faith, action and see what he does with it.

It's so comforting and eye opening to me when you realize that you don't have to do anything but trust in God and have faith. And he works out the rest. Take yourself off the hook, out of the equation and just let God work. Have faith and be obedient to Him. 

Wow! That's so freeing isn't it? I hope you'll be encouraged to read What Keeps You Up At Night, it's a great book full of wisdom and encouragement for your faith walk. Pick up your copy here. 

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Disclosure: I received a copy of the book as part of the launch team to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. 

Pumpkin Cookie Decorating Party

A few weeks back while Ava's was on Fall break from school we hosted a cookie decorating party! Something fun and low key for her to invite some friends over. I really wanted to plan some fun activities for her while she was out of school and this was perfect. 

I made an apple cider/coffee bar for the mamas + the littles. We had some simple snacks for the kids in addition to our cookies. 

I baked all the cookies and whipped up some orange frosting since we were decorating pumpkins. 

Each kiddo got to decorate three cookies and take them home in a goodie bag. We also decorated some pumpkins with stickers for them to take home as well. 

This was a super simple event that you could do any time of the year. You don't even have to make anything from scratch if you don't want to. Just use some store bought sugar cookie dough and pick your frosting. This is the perfect thing to host with little kids because it's so fun and who doesn't love getting to take cookies home?! 

What are some of your 'go-to' events for getting little kids involved and excited? 

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Check out Holiday Hostess Gifts That Will Get You Invited Back

by Glam Editor at Mode

N O V E M B E R Goals.

For me November officially kicks off the holiday season. Truth, I'm fighting the urge to start decorating for Christmas. I know, I know there's a lot of nay sayers about that, but I can't help it I just love Christmas and everything about the season I want it to last forever. 

Maybe we could call it Thanksmas. 

A little October goals recap first;

We did make it up North to the pumpkin patch which crossed off two goals pumpkin patch & escape to the mountains. I finished my Christmas shopping for my kiddos, and I read 1 new book. I can't wait to share my review of the book. I did not however finish the board and batten project yet. Ya'll this is taking me longer than it should. Every time I think I'm going to start it we get busy with other things and I forget all about it. So seriously, this month I'm gonna finish it.

Onto NOVEMBER Goals;

01. Pick out tile, door pulls and paint for our kitchen reno: We're planning a kitchen reno early next year. This month I want to nail down all those items and start saving up for the cost of it early. 

02. Read 3 new books: I've got so many on my list and with the holidays coming I really want to spend some time reading and relaxing. 

03. Host Thanksgiving: This year I'm hosting at my house. I can't wait to menu plan and get all the details together.

04. Continue running + add HIIT 3x/week: This is my new workout routine I've started and I'm loving it so far. With the temperature cooling down it's been perfect for running.

05. Start Christmas shopping for my Husband: So excited to get his gifts done early before December.

06. Plan Zane's Birthday Party: He's turning 3! Holy moly, I need to start planning. We're doing a super hero theme, and my parties always start with the invitation. I've narrowed down a few. 

So tell me what are some of your goals for the month? I'd love to hear them. Is goal setting ideal for you? I've been really loving monthly goals the last year and a half, it's helped keep me focused. 

What If We Gave It All To God?

I've been really challenged these last couple weeks in my prayer life, God is always teaching me new things. So today's video chat is just about the challenge he's given me in this area. Let's jump in. 

What are some areas of your life you feel challenged to give over to God? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.