Best of Guest Blogger: A Few of My Favorite Goodwill Finds

Hi! My name is Apollina from Apollinas.com and I am so excited to do a guest post for DC Goodwill! I am a long time Goodwill fan. Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money, we lived off of food stamps hand-me-downs. Being someone who’s always valued personal style and a sense of fashion, I had to become creative and resourceful at a young age. I got my first job as a maid at 13 and was able to stretch my hard earned dollars while shopping at the neighborhood Goodwill. Although I went through some crazy style phases- pineapple print pants and lime green moo-moos with butterfly appliques for example – Goodwill was always ready to satisfy my every fashion whim, at a minimal expense. Now that I have a more refined eye and more demanding tastes, Goodwill is still a valuable resource for unique and treasured finds.

My two favorite things to hunt for at Goodwill stores are jewelry and glassware. One of my favorite necklaces which I wear almost every day is one I bought from Goodwill. Actually, all of my favorite necklaces are from Goodwill. It’s amazing to me how many things I’ve bought from department or jewelry stores that have come and gone and the necklaces I have from Goodwill from years ago are the ones I still wear, and probably always will. Here are some of my favorites:

I love this one. I’ve had it for at least 8 years now. It has this beautiful clasp that you can wear either in the front or the back.

This one I wear almost every day:

And these two are fun and unique; I wear them at random, usually as a last minute thought:

The gold leaf didn’t have a chain when I found it. It was just so beautiful and intricate I had to have it! You can just find the best jewelry! I can go crazy in Goodwill and not feel bad because I’m never going to spend a fortune but I always leave with one.

I also have many mismatched glasses in my cabinet and most all of them are from Goodwill. Whenever my boyfriend comes to my house he threatens to throw them all away and get me new matching sets! I would never let that happen because my piecemeal glassware collection is something I love and treasure! Like Goodwill itself, my cabinet may not be particularly organized or tidy but it is full of unique, special, once-loved items that are still relevant and useful.

Apollina is a DC attorney who moonlights as a blogger, design enthusiast and confection stylist. She is the woman behind Apollinas.com, a mixed content blog designed to reflect our mixed content lives. Apollina’s desire is to inspire those who believe in pleasing aesthetics and delicious food – mainly of the sweet variety. She loves to experiment with high fashion designs and high sugar content. The Stella Cake was the first of many couture confections to come. She also likes to articulate certain truths of which we are all aware but maybe haven’t yet reflected upon.