Psst- We’re bouncing around the West Coast this weekend with a talk and signing in Portland on Saturday at Rejuvenation at noon (for more info call 503-238-1900). Then on Sunday we’ll be in Palo Alto at 11am at the West Elm on 180 University Avenue (RSVP here). Parking isn’t enforced on Sundays so you can park anywhere, or you can purchase a visitors pass at Palo Alto Civic Center and park in any of their lots all day.
There are two irrefutable facts about me. 1) I tend to fall in love with rappers and 2) I’m a fool for a good thrift shop. So when those two passions collided in the form of this Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song called Thrift Shop, the Internet at large was quick to clue me into its awesomeness, which started around the fall of last year and continues well into 2013. So to anyone who commented/tweeted me the link, thank you for giving me my official jam of 2012 and 2013. The clip below is the clean radio edit of the song (if you’re on a smart phone click here to watch it) but here’s a link to the official non-clean video (warning: it’s a bit, um, saltier).
And now that the song is starting to get some radio play (seriously, they’ve started playing it here in Richmond!) it gave us an idea. As J-Boom and I pulled into a thrift store while it played, I was like “Ooh look at this, it’s so meta, a song about thrifting is playing while we’re going thrifting.” And then John turned to me and said “We should do a Macklemore Thrift Shop Challenge.” And boom. Just like that I fell more in love with my husband.
Here’s the deal. This “Challenge” is basically an excuse to all (virtually) go thrift shopping together and share our spoils, plus there’s a scavenger-hunt-ish element tossed in for good measure. So it’s meant to be a nice low pressure Friday fun-fest. And just like our little Pinterest Challenges, if you’d like to partake and blog about it, we’ll do a little linky thing next Friday so everyone can share their favorite finds. There are just THREE things you gotta do to play along (well, four if you count blogging about it later, although of course you can play along even if you don’t have a blog).
Step #1. Go to a thrift shop with – just as the chorus of the song says – “$20 in your pocket” and take a picture.
Step #2. Spend that $20 any way you’d like and photograph your spoils. They can be home related, fashion oriented, kid focused, anything. And you don’t necessarily need to make them over or repurpose them at all (although that’s totally allowed too!). It’s just an adventure in seeing what people all across the country (the world?) can score with a twenty at a thrift shop. And if you don’t find enough items to spend the whole twenty, there’s no pressure to buy weird things to meet that number, so it’s more of a cap than a you-must-hit-this-exact-number thing. This isn’t The Price Is Right.
Oh yeah, and we’ll reveal our spoils with everyone else next week…
Step #3. Find one item (or more) referenced in the song and snap a pic. Here’s the scaveger-hunt-ish element that we tossed in because we’re weirdos. And you get bonus points for doing something ridiculous with the item in the photo. After all, Macklemore has some pretty great confidence when he’s rocking those footy pajamas.
If you’re like John and have a terrible time deciphering rap lyrics, we’ve listed some of the items you could hunt for here: clothing with fringe, an all pink outfit, moccasins, a velour jumpsuit, house slippers, a brown leather jacket, a keyboard, a kneeboard, shoes with velcro, luggage, a plaid button up shirt, flannel zebra jammies, PJs with built-in socks, a telescope, and of course… a big a$$ coat.
Feel free to interpret the scavenger hunt items as literally or as loosely as you’d like. The point is just to have some good clean thrift shop fun. Happy hunting! We’ll be back next Friday with a rundown of what we found, and we can’t wait to see what you guys score as well.
Viva la thrift shop!
=From London says
Hey! – That’s my old coat that I gave to the store!! :))
nicole says
LOVE this song, LOVE your blog. will be making the trek up from eugene for the portland signing tomorrow (chance to see you guys, pick up the book, AND ogle sexy rejuvenation fixtures? i’m in.)!
oh, the whole album is pretty rad if you haven’t heard it already. maybe not so clara-friendly, though…
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Nicole! We love it!
xo
s
Jessica says
Sa-weet! I now have a new thrifting theme song! Can’t wait to see everyone’s haul next week — this is going to be EPIC! Oh, and the only thing better than the pictures would be if you guys made your own Macklemore thrift music video! (hint, hint!) :)
Emily says
I’m so farking excited!
…
I just heard this song yesterday defs thought of $herdog.
Katie says
My husband and I have been quoting this song since I first heard it about a month ago. We are in love. We’ve downloaded the full album and it’s pretty darn amazing.
Our favorite – trying to find someone with “the Velcro’s” when we’re out and about.
Challenge accepted.
Erika Robillard says
I love that you posted this today while you are in Washington since Macklemore is a local! Wish I could have come and met you guys today! Silly work getting in the way! Someday I will be a lady who lunches and attends events to meet her favorite bloggers! :0)
Allison says
How am I just now hearing of this song? Seriously, first timer here. Already stuck in my head!
Marci says
this is seriously the greatest post EVER! and how fitting that you do it while visiting Macklemore’s Pacific Northwest home!!!!
Lizbeth says
Oh, tags will be popped, indeed. Well played, YHL!
Catherine says
LOVE IT!
I brag to my friends about introducing Sherry to “Thrift Shop.” I’m not 100% positive that I was the first to email you the video, but that’s how I tell the story. (I almost brought it up at the DC book signing, but I felt too dorky… But now I wish I did. We could have chatted about our love for Macklemore and his brilliant lyrics!) Now I’ll also brag about my tangental connection to this challenge, which is f*cking awesome, btw. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Darlene Griffin says
OMG!!!! This is my new favorite song! I love thrift stores and now will be a able to hum this little song as I shop for your challenge. Now all I have to do is find a twenty lying around…
Alisha says
HAHA! This video clip totally clarifies my friend’s Instagram post last night of graffiti on a band poster depicting a woman wearing a fox carcass reading “WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT WEARING A FOX FUR SKIN?!” Totally assumed it was an anti-fur advocate. Woops.
Amanda says
Um, HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS? I’m obsessed. And totally excited to head to Goodwill tomorrow with my $20. Game on! :)
Shanna says
I love your challenge (I tend to be the type to talk about how little, if anything, I paid for something rather than some exorbitant price), and it’s caused me to listen to this song all day! :) You may have seen this already, but I thought of you when I saw it: http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/grand-taxonomy-of-rap-names.
YoungHouseLove says
Off to check it out!
xo
s
kellye says
“…..our moms are reading.”
Guys, when you said saltier, I was not expecting the F word over and over and over. Put me down as surprised you posted that video.
YoungHouseLove says
The video we posted was the clean radio edited version (it’s all bleeped out) which they play on the radio all the time here in Richmond. Ellen Degeneres actually just danced to that version of it on her daytime talk show today! The other one we linked to was the original non-clean version (but we added that warning for folks, so they’d know). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Chelsea says
Favorite song or as I like to call it “theme song to my life”. The majority of our house is thrifted/craigslisted (kinda the same, right). I can’t wait to participate in this challenge…even in the current snow storm here in VA Beach! Woo!
One man’s trash, that’s another man’s come up…holla!
Chelsea says
Also, check out this link if you’re into a cappella. One of our favorite a cappella groups covered this song! Going to see them in Richmond in February, btw. We’ll be thinking of y’all while we’re there!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!
xo
s
Katie says
challenge accepted! never heard that song before but after a few replays on youtube just now, I had to download it on iTunes :)
Georgia says
This is so awesome! I’ve been trying to work up the courage to brave the salvation army store here in Singapore, and this may be just the excuse I need! Although not sure about finding that big ass coat there…
Jenni says
I LOVE that song – thanks for sharing. Back in da 90s my little bro was the only one around who thought it was awesome to buy his clothes exclusively from thrift stores. His prom tux was a powder blue leisure shirt he picked up for $10. another major part of his wardrobe came from our long-deceased uncle’s closet. He smelled a little musty, but overall he became super cool among the kids at his school. So funny.
Brenda says
This is f***ing awesome. :) What a fabulous idea you guys, I love this song and I love a good thrifting challenge!
Sadie says
Same Love by Macklemore is my all time favorite song! Speaking of amazing white rappers…do you listen to Atmosphere? If not, go listen to them RIGHT NOW.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh thanks Sadie!
xo
s
trish says
Sherry I love the look on your face in the big a$$ coat. You are hilarious. I can imagine the stares you got at that thrift shop…..or maybe not! So funny!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, a few folks were just staring at me like “what?”
xo
s
Kim says
This challenge is genius. Have a good weekend. That is all.
Lindsey says
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I thought my head was going to explode when I saw the title of the blogpost. And then it only got better.
Katy says
I just had to say that this is one of my favorite posts. It almost made up for missing your appearance in Tacoma today. :(
We love Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in our house. I highly recommend the rest of their album as well.
LauraC says
So wish I could have seen you today (was totally planning on it) – you’re in my hometown!!! But yesterday I came down with the flu/stomach bug/somethingorother, and I didn’t think it would show my appreciation to go passing that around. But since I never thought I’d ever get to meet you (and I did last year in Portland) I’m going to assume there will be another chance (still want my book signed!). After all you have book #2 to write, right?! Hope you enjoy your brief foray into T-town and catch a glimpse of Mt. Rainier (sun’s out today)!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks LauraC! I know we’ll meet someday! Hope you feel better asap!
xo
s
Jen says
Um Yeah, I lurve this song! I made myself a Macklemore Pandora station a couple of weeks ago and have been rocking it 8 hours a day since then. I think I may go thrift shopping this weekend…
Amanda says
I’m so faaarreeaaking pumped for this!!! Amazing challenge. Amazing. Still deciding whether to look for something impressive for $20 or the most ridiculous thing ever. We’ll see when I walk through that thrift shop door…
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
Just showed this video to my husband after he came in from a long workday. He said the video just made his day better an wants to go on the thrift store hunt with me.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yessss!
xo
s
Nat says
It’s posts like these that solidify why I love this blog! Totally just had an impromptu jam session on my couch while watching the video. John Wayne ain’t got nothing on this fringe!
:)
Susan S. says
I’m in the getting rid of instead of adding phase of the moving process, so I’m bummed that I can’t play this go round. What I can do is add a new white rapper to your playlist– if you haven’t heard him already. Being in the UK its hard to tell what’s crossed the pond. I’ve added three links to give you a nice mix of his songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIhgVhTmrks&list=ALHTd1VmZQRNp6NxKENLlBIMWubqz4Neoi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o38QCTzWxe4&list=ALHTd1VmZQRNp6NxKENLlBIMWubqz4Neoi
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Susan!
xo
s
Kristan says
Hilarious! I actually did rock grandpa cardigans and a big ass coat from the thrift store in high school. And now almost everything in my house is secondhand. At last a rap tribute to thrifting!
Abby says
Someone may have already sent this link your way, but I saw it and thought of you all…in case you’re ready to move on. :) https://www.jossandmain.com/Aspire-Greyhound-Statue~EHQ2030~E3008.html
YoungHouseLove says
So handsome.
xo
s
Brooke Roy says
I swear that old Hawaiian shirt he has on in the video is one that I finally convinced my husband to get rid of after being in his closet for 20+ years.
Heather says
We just rocked out to this song tonight. My almost 2 year old was loving it (me maybe more). Wish I had some good thrift stores around to participate. Even my husband, who thinks my obsession with your website is borderline unhealthy, thought this idea was f*$%ing awesome!
Suzanne from www.smallchangesbigimprovements.com says
This challenge is my new reason for living!!!!! And now a great way to get throught the work week- Friday linky party!
Tami O says
We totally need to make an instagram hashtag for this. Like #YHLThriftShopChallenge or #20bucks or #macklemorechallenge or #yhlthriftshopscavengerhunt
That way, those of us who never update their blogs can still join in the fun!
Annie says
Sherry: You look so pretty in that color!
Wendy B. says
This is such a fun idea, Thanks John! I can’t wait to see what everyone finds! Funny, I heard this song on the radio for the first time ever this morning… LOVE IT!!! So.. after following the link to watch the video, I got lost in youtube for awhile and found this Thrift Shop Parody:Broke Dads & Baby Macklemore http://youtu.be/G-VEShIj1cQ
Have a Great weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahah!
xo
s
Jamie Yost says
This is BRILLIANT! You guys are awesome.
Julie M. says
Please tell me you’ve heard this version of the song. Alex is amazing, and you can understand all the words. Take a listen. Hope you love it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGdfSm3tsdo
YoungHouseLove says
Cool!
xo
s
Christina says
My husband volunteers at the local thrift store and they give 50% off to volunteers; should I do this challenge with the discount or without? (I’m so lucky, this doubles my thrift store purchase power! :D)
Claire says
If you haven’t heard their performances on Ellen and/or Jimmy Kimmel, it’s worth looking up on youtube.
But best of all, is their Same Love video.
Philip says
Hey, so first off I want to say that this challenge sounds pretty awesome. But I really wanted to comment about the little detail at the very beginning of your post. The moving of the Portland, OR book signing event from 6pm to noon. I am not entirely sure how much, if any, part you guys have in deciding the times. However, it’s a huge bummer for my girlfriend who reads your blog religiously and has read literally everything you have ever posted on this site. She’s been looking forward to this event for months. But now she can’t attend because it is suddenly happening in the middle of a workday for her instead of 2 and a half hours after she gets off of work. I’m about 1,000% sure there’s nothing that can be done about it at this point but it just seems pretty lame to change the time at the last minute like this. I at the very least hope that you two personally had no say in the matter. I will be there (as it is my day off) to get your book and get it signed for her and hope to get a nice longer message to make up for her not being able to be there herself.
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry Philip! Of course we have no say in the matter (we just show up where they tell us to) but we don’t actually recall that time moving (we’ve never had any Saturday night signings since the people who plan these things believe people have things to do and wouldn’t come). So as far as we can remember (again, there are 25 of these events so it’s hard for us to keep track) the signing has always been planned for noon. There’s a tour schedule page on our blog that folks can check for details and it has been listed as noon for at least three months now (we haven’t edited that page in that long) so perhaps before three months ago the wrong time was listed, but for months it has been listed as noon. Again, so sorry for any disappointment or confusion.
xo
s
Allison says
Not even kidding you, I sing that song so often that my 9-year-old is so sick of it. You can actually hear his eyes rolling when I start to sing it. But the (almost) 3-year-old tries to bust out a big bass voice and sing, “This is freaking awesome.” (I cleaned up the lyrics for home singing. Heh.)
Shawna says
How have I never heard this song before? I live in seattle, and the goodwill outlet (where macklemore filmed part of the video) is one of my favorite haunts. And the crazy thing is that I just found a pair of Minnetonka moccasins there last week. New favorite song. Thank you!
Brenda says
Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing. Makes me want to get my thriftshopping on!
S says
Oh, man, that video was freaking awesome! Thanks.
Julie says
I TOTALLY had that jacket!! It even had the little loop and button closure. I’m thinking 6th grade-ish?? Although I think you wear it better than I did :) Great finds!