BNNM: How to buy a pre-loved present

Hello lovely ones,

One of the biggest challenges when participating in the BNNM is trying to stick to it when other things pop up. Birthdays usually mean the purchase of a gift for a friend. You couldn't possible give your friend something second hand. That would be tacky. They wouldn't like it right?

Wrong.

Yeah yeah yeah....it's the thought that counts blah blah blah. But seriously buying a good present is a skill. You have to think about the person, their interests, what they have, what they don't have, what they like and of course the budget.

On my last birthday I received perhaps the BEST present I have ever gotten. My friend Moala sent a big box with me as I made the move to Mildura and I waited to open it when I got into my new house. With each item I picked out of the box I thought "Yes! You know what I like!".

I think if someone gets you something that let's you know that they know what you like, then your job is done.

Wrapped beautifully in some newspaper ;)

Instead of buying tissue paper she wrapped it in this beautiful scarf.

Loads of gems inside. This vintage buckle bag, AMAZING glasses and one of the many fab pieces I got.

Moala works at a radio station in Sydney so she gave me some CDs she scored from work. YAY country music ;)

Five gifts that won't break the bank but still mean a lot

1. Photos of special moments. Many people take loads of photos but hardly anyone ever prints them off. I usually go to my local opshop and find a beautiful frame and fill it with a special memory.
2. Cook breakfast, lunch or dinner. You have to eat right? Why not spoil them with something you made.
3. I personally love letters. I cherish all my 3 shoeboxes full of high school moments and memories on each page of scribbled handwriting. The conversation was riveting. Who loved who, who wore what, who kissed who. But that was our youth. We were still innocent, calling our friends houses for a three way chat and collecting tazos. We were still listening to Rick Dees and recording our favourite songs onto tapes. Now days kids get texts and pictures. Just not the same. Write a letter to your friend and fill it with special moments or special nothings that will one day mean something as they open it up 10 years later. I scanned all my old letters I got from my BFF and made a photo collage for her birthday. She loved it!

4.Vintage bags. While some people get all freaky when it comes to second hand things, most people cannot turn down a beautiful vintage bag. There is usually 1 or 2 quality bags when I visit a second hand store and prices start from around $5

5. Pick some flowers. It's spring. Go for a walk and pick some. My Mum has been filling our house with loads of flowers from her morning walks. She put some in my room when I went home for the holidays and it was so nice. Get an old glass jar and tie and ribbon around it. People love flowers.

What about blokes? Wash their car. It's a nice gesture and it leaves them with one less thing to do.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

Buy Nothing New Month is back!

Hello lovely ones, How are you all? I'm sooooo excited (even though I am a little late) to announce that Buy Nothing New Month is back HERE . Ever since I took up the pledge last year I can gladly say that those habits I formed within the last October, have stuck with me throughout the entire year.

 My wardrobe is now 90% chock a block with thrifted/opshop one-of-a-kind pieces and I just can't stop encouraging others to do the same. On my trip to New York and Vegas in July, nearly all of my pieces were sourced from second hand stores and I even managed to shop in some over there ;)

 I take extra care to turn off all the lights, recycle and I always think before I spend my hard earned money. I save for things I need because I really hate unnecessary bills. Even though these are simple things that we all should already do; the truth is that most of us don't and being mindful of my purchases helped me to unconsciously be mindful in other daily tasks.

 So I know you think a whole month (well it's less now) feels like an almost impossible task to buy nothing new, but in reality it really is only a few days. Just do it! Be responsible and accountable for your finances. Put your credit cards aside or better yet cut them up and if you really need it you can get another one.

 Buy nothing new.

 Buy what you NEED.

 Buy local.

 Buy smart.

 If you are currently buying nothing new please let me know. 

I would love to share your experiences and or blog posts on here.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

BNNM Round Up!

Dearest Readers!

I just wanted to let you know that I have officially wrapped up BNNM as we head into November (oh my goodness that is crazy right?"). Today I am getting ready to fly out to Samoa for one of my college friend's wedding. We used to live together in college although with jobs and moving interstate, we haven't had much of a chance to catch up since we left. So I am very VERY VERY excited to get a whole week with them.

Even though BNNM is over, I am still in that same frame of my mind. I haven't even been shopping for this trip. My suitcase is filled with my vibrant op shop finds, some of my old faithful relaxed summer gear and a few dresses that I purchased from Forever 21 when I was in New York earlier this year.

My cousins and I headed out to the big Savlos store yesterday and we filled a  big bag with clothes and it was only $20. Our next challenge we are doing as a family is an Op Shop Christmas gift exchange. We don't really want to be caught up in the chaos that is 'Christmas Shopping' so we decided we would start now and look for those special 'one of a kind' pieces that the receiver would totally love and appreciate.

Even though the official month is over I think I am going to start it again in December because I think that is the time of the year when unnecessary spending begins. I have found a lot of amazing things in second hand/ thrifted store during the month and I haven't had a chance to photograph them all. But I guess I can let you know and perhaps you might keep an eye out and start noticing such things on your next trip to the Op Shop.

Favourite Finds

1. I found these really amazing (brand new) white linen baskets. I found two, so one sits in my room with all my clothes that I don't hang up (yeah its pretty much a handy place to chuck clothes) and the other is in my bathroom holding all our towels. They are so useful and at $20 a basket, I think these were the winning purchases of the month
2. An amazing amount of funky clip on earrings. They are so bold and pretty and I just love them!
3. Really great quality leather bags. I have never been one to spend loads on having a different type of bag for each outfit, but after the challenge I found that if you dig past the cheap plastic handbags you can find some really lovely bags
4. Vintage frames. I am obsessed with photos and I also think that spending $6 upwards on cheap mass produced frames is a rip off. When I moved during the mid year I went to the op shop and brought a bag full of different frames. Some were beautiful and intricate and they vary in size and colour but after doing this, I don't think I would ever go back to buying frames straight out of a store. There's so many old frames, why not use them?

What I've learned

1. Sometimes it's hard to resist the natural urge to buy something because it is marked at such a low and amazing price. But you have to ask yourself "Will I wear this? Will I use this?" because if you a buy a whole lot of things that you don't need, you are really defeating the purpose and are buying for the sake of it. You are just not doing it in a retail store.
2. Enjoy the search! Sometimes I walk away with nothing but I know that I will find something special next time. It is part of the fun and when I go shopping with my sister and cousins we always yell out from the other side of the store "Do you like this?"
3. Giving back is half of the fun. My niece and I went through our belongings and found stuff that we didn't really need anymore and we donated it to our local Vinnies store. I think it is so important to teach our kids that there is not an endless supply of toys, clothes and food (contrary to what they see and receive) and that there are many people in Australia and world wide who are not as fortunate as we are. Many people don't get enough food each day, many people are cold and homeless so it is important to remind them of how lucky they are but more importantly of their responsibility to help their fellow man.
4. I have received items for a reader who wanted to contribute with some of her favourite items and I am in the process of getting together a package for another reader. So it has started a lovely incident outreach to people world wide (my gift came from a reader in Sydney and I am sending a gift over to UK).

Donated back :)

 This has been a pretty rewarding experience and a total WIN/WIN.

Thank you to all those wonderful readers who supported me with this challenge. All your comments, feedback and contributions really made this experience memorable.

I have a few more outfit posts scattered around on my sisters camera but I will leave you with a BNNM outfit that I wore to my beautiful friend Mata's 21st birthday. I was wearing a borrowed black City Chic lace top (it belongs to my sister) and a lovely bright floral skirt that I found in Meekatharra. It was too small in the waist and it was long so I cut the waist and re-hemmed it up and added elastic and voila! It is one of my most favourite skirts.

Jizzane, Theresa, Mata, Jenny & Mele

For the next week I will out soaking up the sun in the South Pacific so I don't think I will be posting much. But as soon as I get back I will share my photos with you!

Big Love,


Falala Mele xo

BNNM Jersey Boys Outfits x 4

If you are a regular reader then you may have heard me rave on about the show "Jersey Boys", sorry to those loyal readers....just letting you know I am about to talk about it again. I will keep it brief and just say that I had to go and see it again because it was my cousin Niva's birthday and she so desperately wanted to see it.

I wasn't sure if it was possible, but I walked out of the show loving it even more. I am one of those people who really enjoy watching people react to things that I know they would enjoy and this was no exception.

In honour of BNNM I asked my sister and two cousins to try and source their outfits from a second hand source rather than spending up big in our local shopping centres for an afternoon out in the city.

My cousins and sisters have been on board with BNNM but they haven't had much of a chance to document their finds and or outfits.

But because we all managed to wear NOTHING NEW we had to take a few shots.

My sister Theresa is wearing a borrowed dress (it's mine. I got this from a free pile that was in a second hand shop. Its fabric is stretchy and it is a wrap around so its super comfortable). Jacket is borrowed but it is also second hand. I wore this jacket the last time I went to see Jersey Boys.

I am wearing a dress I found in Nowra. It was $3.50 and I liked the colour and cut of the dress. The flowy bottom makes me feel like a lady :P I picked up these delightful glasses for $2 at St Vinnies as well as my bag (although you can't see it) and I'm wearing my old faithful boots. 
Can we all take a moment to drool over my cousin Niva's dress? This is the birthday girl and she wore a dress she found at the local second hand store. I LOVE the colour and cut. Doesn't she look divine? This is something different for her but she was so delighted to receive compliments from strangers admiring her dress. I can say that this challenge encouraged us to try different things we wouldn't normally consider wearing.
Tashia also found this coloured floral blouse and I think this set her back $2. She wore her basic black shorts with those pretty beads. We all smiled as we strutted through the city knowing that our outfits were unique and under $10. Who would have thought that BNNM would feel so damn good!

My other cousin Natasha (the one in the stripes) is super keen to bring along her best friend Joan on our next second hand shopping adventure. People seem really amazed as to what we find and how we wear them.

Today is officially the last day of the challenge. I think I have a few more posts to upload on the BNNM challenge but I wanted to say thank you to everyone who left comments and or inspired me to continue with the challenge. It truly was so much fun and even though the challenge is officially over I still have many amazing second hand finds ready to go with my on my next trip to Samoa (only 4 days to go >,<). I can't wait to show you them!

Niva, Natasha, Tashia, Joan & Mele

Here they are again <3 Joan, Natasha, Niva, Theresa and Tashia

We finished off the day by heading to Star City for some delicious dinner and dessert. By the time we left our tummies were full and it was just the right temperature to wind our windows down and sing on the top of our lungs to The Wanted and One Direction... LOL! You can only get away with that type of music when you are with your girls.



Big Love,

Falala Mele

BNNM ootd

Just a quickie.....I hate this photo....but I am really in love with this blue jacket I found at my most favourite little opshop here in Nowra. It is much smaller than many of our local stores but sometimes you find the best things there. So this jacket has small white polka dots on it and even though it is made with a stretch fabric it still looks a little tailored and I have worn it a few times to school and around town. Its comfy and it can dress up even the most casual outfit.

It was $2.50 and I have already worn it like 5 times! This is one of my favourite things to wear at the moment. Leggings, shoes and shirt are all old items in my cupboard.

I can't believe BNNM is nearly done. I went shopping with my friend today (well she went shopping and I just helped her out) and I think she felt bad for me and offered to buy me something. She is going to see Janet Jackson on Wednesday.

Janet has been one of our childhood idols so I am so glad that she gets to see her. As for me...I am trying to win 2 tickets to see Kings of Leon. I hope I win! I am also trying to compile all my BNNM stuff together and get my package ready to send off to the UK. I promise I haven't forgotten. I will post it before I leave the country!

I have so much to do right now. I am helping my sister with an assignment and I am getting ready to fly out to Samoa next Saturday. My friend Lyna (I lived with her during college) is getting married. I can't wait to soak up the sun with some more of my college girls.

Hope you are well.

Big Love,

Falala Mele xo

BNNM exhibition meet

Last Thursday I met up with my friends for the post-America exhibition. My friends did a variety of water colours, photography and film based on our exciting travels. Sadly I my photo book had not arrived and I didn't have time to print off anything to display either. How sad! But it was good to catch up with my lovely girls.

Do you remember Rhianon? She is my Second Hand/Thrift store Queen. I told her about the challenge of BNNM. I think she said she is going to enter. Look at that AMAZING jacket!

Lastly Emma and I. Sorry this is the best outfit post I could find. All second hand or old. I missed Harlem so I thought I would wear something that made me feel like I was there again. Which reminds me. I still have so many OOTD posts from my trip. I will put up my Harlem ones later this week! Hope you are all well (p.s. my reader said she wanted to participate so its full steam ahead at paying it forward!) I will also keep you updated when I post the package.



Falala Mele xo

BNNM update. thank you AMRA!

Hello lovely ones, how are you? I just wanted to share something with you all. Last week some time I received an email from Amra. I had never spoken to Amra before but she informed me that she was a reader of the blog and that she really liked the whole Buy Nothing New Month challenge. She asked if she could send me a few items.

 I was so touched by her kind gesture. She wanted to contribute to the cause by sending me a few thrifted items that she thought I would like. I really wanted to send her something in return to say thank you, but she insists that her cupboard is full and that I pay it forward to someone else. I have already contacted one of my readers to see if she would be interested in me sending her something. I hope she agrees to it because I would like someone else to experience the generosity and kindness that was bestowed upon me.

 What makes this even more special is that Amra gave me things that were special to her. She wasn't just getting rid of old stuff. She gave me this beautiful vintage bag that she bought in the US (she thought I would love it since I have a new found love for that place) and look and the belt, she picked that up in Japan a few years ago. The dress reminded her of an old favourite teacher and since I am a teacher she passed it onto me. Words cannot express how wonderful you are Amra. Your beautiful card is sitting up on my bookshelf and I promise you I will snap a few pics when I wear these wonderful items.

I started this challenge because I thought it would be fun to see if I could do it, but I have gotten so much more out of it. My friends, family and I are much better and buying things we need rather than buying what we want. I enjoy saving money and finding beautiful and unique clothes and household items. I enjoy telling everyone around me to join the challenge and I really enjoy hearing their stories about what they have found and what they are planning to donate to second hand stores (yes they all have been cleaning out their closets and cupboards and donating them to the stores in the hope that someone else might find it useful). I am also enjoying what other fellow bloggers from all over the world are wearing from second hand/ thrifted stores. I will eventually post up links to their blogs. This has been so much fun and Amra, you have topped it off. THANK YOU once again.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

BNNM ootd.3

Hello lovely readers. just a super quick post. These photos were taken a week ago when my sister, cousin and friend decided to pay the Minchinbury Salvo stores a visit. It is really big and we had fun trying on heaps of stuff. They walked away with one or two items....I think they chose stuff that they really needed and didn't buy for the sake of it. I didn't buy anything but my sister found this awesome oversized jumper...(I'm waiting for her to wear it so I can borrow it!) and it was only $5!

I wore my opshop/thrifted skirt $2.50 (it has a matching jacket aswell) with my old singlet and black shirt....just something casual...but still....nothing new...so I'm going good guns at this!


Hope you are all well,


Falala Mele

BNNM ootd.2

Hello Readers!
Here is another BNNM outfit. During this month I am not buying anything new, but I am also opting not to wear any new purchases (most of which are items from my recent US trip). So this ensures that I am wearing my old and opshop/thrifted items and therefore I can share with you what I have found recently.

I am a total sucker for polka dots. Something about wearing them makes me feel like I have be swept back to the 1950's. This skirt also has a matching top (I love finding old suits because you get two different outfits out of them. I don't usually wear them together but I find they are bold enough to stand out as the feature of the outfit).

I have also found some amazing clip on earrings! I must remember to take some photos of them because they are (well I think they are any ways) really cool!

I have found some really amazing stuff in the smaller opshops. Some of the bigger ones are visited more frequently and I sometimes walk away with nothing (I only buy stuff that I really want. This ensures that I am not just buying stuff because the price is so soooo good).
At one stage I was also walking away from items over $3. But now I look at the item and think "What would you pay for it if it was in a retail store?" So I find that I still walk away with a unique item at a quater of the cost than what I would usually pay.

Skirt: $2.50 (opshop) Shirt: old  Glasses: .50c (old) Earrings: .50c (opshop)

Big Love,

Falala Mele

BNNM OOTD .1

Hello friends! How are you all? I'm happy that I finally have some time to start posting my BNNM outfits. So most days it has been pretty casual, but I am either wearing my opshop/thrifted finds or my old faithful clothes that have been sitting in my closet for a while.

 I have had a few fruitful visits to my local second hand shops. and have walked away with many wonderful finds at AMAZING PRICES!!! My Mother, cousins and friends are all eager to go treasure hunting with me and my cousin Tashia who was featured in my previous post here, said "Going into shopping centres is not same anymore, I don't find it interesting shopping in them, it's not fun and everyone ends up wearing the same thing". I have to say that I agree whole-heartedly with her!

Throughout this challenge I haven't really found it hard not to buy anything new. There was only one item that I really wanted. It was a gold thick rock chain, and the price was reasonable ($10) and I walked away from it....(slowly), but as for clothes I look at clothes in retail stores and find them even more ridiculously priced than ever before. I also haven't seen anything that I have really WANTED.... I think it may be a different story if I was in America (I seriously fell in love with Forever 21 clothes and prices) but the stores in Australia are in some serious need of inspiration >,<

ANYWAYS, back to my outfit....apologies for the lack of a full outfit shot. My sister has her camera with them on it and I only had a few on my camera. I found this cute dark blue polka dot top for $2 and it was fairly cold so I just wore my old back leggings and a black sweater. It was pretty basic and simple. But that is how I like it. I finally had some time to meet up with some of my college sisters. It's been nearly two years since graduation and it becomes increasingly hard to catch up.



Jenny and Theresa are wearing their second hand jackets. Jenny paid $2 for hers & Theresa found hers at Vinnies for $2

This is my girl Amy, we studied the same course so we were in all our classes together.



Out of the 6 girls here, 5 of us are teachers.

After dinner and dancing, it's time for fun and games at Cronulla Beach.

Stay tuned as I will be posting more BNNM outfit posts, I will also be featuring some of my favourite blogger thrifters and I also had a wonderful email which I will tell you more about in my next post.

I hope you are saving money, reusing items, buying less and making the most of what you have, while looking like a BOSS!

Big Love,

Falala Mele



BNNM Kick off! Out in Sydney with nothing new on.....

Helloooo Readers! How are you all? I'm very excited to have started October with the Buy Nothing New Month challenge. I'm happy because I have had some time to visit so local Opshops and I have found some wonderful pieces that I'm excited to wear. This weekend I had some long overdue family time. We spent it on the Sydney Harbour celebrating my little cousin's 21st birthday. A very fun Aqua Latino Cruise. My cousin Tashia decided to join the challenge as well. So we both sourced our outfits from second hand stores and old items we had in our cupboards. On occasions where we all meet up together us girls usually meet up for a little shop before hands, but Sia and I were ready with our second hand finds!!!


I found this amazing top only a few days ago and it cost me a whole $2.50. I loved the colour, the collar and the texture of this piece. Its definitely a bold piece and I basically kept everything else very simple. Red for some contrast and boots for some height (I'm a shorty) and attitude. So my bag, and blouse were thrifted. Boots and black slip dress were old. So that's my first outfit....nothing new.... my next few outfits will probably be casual. I hoped you liked my first BNNM outfit. If you are inspired to see what you can do with your old and second hand items, please forward me your pictures to my email address and a link to your blog so I can share it with my fellow readers.

Tashia's dress was $3.50, her amazing green blazer was $2.50 (she sourced her items from Sydney's midnight markets (second hand items galore!) and she had those shoes sitting in her cupboard (she has a serious retail problem so I think this is a good challenge for her). But doesn't she look amazing!

Tashia & I in our second hand outfits <3

 How beautiful are my cousins? We had so much fun together!! I hope you are all well and that you are saving some dollars by buying only necessary items and having fun sourcing items from second hand shops. I have found some wonderful clothes and household items already. I will try and share them with you if time permits.

Until next time....have an amazing week!


Big Love,


Falala Mele xo

7 reasons to buy nothing new!

Bonjour ladies....just wanted to share with you my first challenge I have chosen to join.
 I often see some of my favourite bloggers participate in challenges and I always thought that I would like to do something like that one day..... Well while browsing Fashion Hayley I came across something that I really want to do.... Its Australia's Buy Nothing New Month this October and I'm really excited about it!

Growing up I never had ANY MONEY!!! So now that I am older, I just refuse to pay absurd amounts of money on anything really. I shop second hand for 7 reasons:

So here are my 7 reasons why you should also join in

        and BNN this October

1. the cuts of vintage clothes are so flattering
2. the colours/patterns are the bomb
3. its like a never ending treasure hunt
4. no one else will be wearing your shit!
5. it's good for the environment 
6. it's so damn cheap (WIN WIN!)
7. You could win some money whilst saving money! I think its for Australian residents only :(

On my last visit to the Salvos store in Young, they a $2 garbage bag special....YEYAHHHH my favourite.... I haven't had a chance to wear any of my finds...but as soon as I do, I post them. I am also encouraging all my friends and family members to join the challenge.

I know some of my favourite bloggers a thrift store QUEENS so if you wanted to join the challenge and make it a little more fun maybe you could email me your outfits so I can share them on here with my followers for Buy Nothing New Month in October 2011. I am also wanting to make a video or something so if you are keen....HOLLA!!!




Big Love,


Falala Mele xo