Skirting the Issue

I found several skirts while thrifting the last the couple of months, but since many of them are are lightweight, I haven't taken them out for a spin yet.  I put one on the other day, and you could barely distinguish between the skirt and my legs. Time to break out self tanner.

A poly blend-no wrinkles!

Cotton with a slight bit of crinoline

Linen Blend

I guess I have a thing for black and white prints. I bought them all at different times, and then when I was organizing the closet I realized that I had three pretty similar skirts.  The weight is different on all of them, but just the color makes me want to wear them in the summer months versus winter.

I just need some time out in the sun so you can tell I have legs....

Top: 212 for Kohl's --$3.99

Middle: Jones New York--$8.99-half off=$4.49

Bottom: Talbots--$6.99-tags still on-$69.99

Girl's Day

After starting my day out right with a Zumba/Hula class, my daughters, my granddaughter and myself spent the whole day out shopping. One was looking for some separates for work, the other was looking for a swimsuit and I was basically just along as the driver and lunch-payer.

After we hit one mall and Kohl's to return some items, we headed off to Arc's Value Village as we had several bags of items to donate.  We received a coupon for 25% off, plus a bonus 200 points for my rewards card.

My youngest found a lot of stuff (she is like a small, even after the baby) so there were a lot of choices for her. My eldest found a pretty scarf she is going to try and make a handkerchief top out of. She is also quite thin, but was blessed with the chest I had before surgery, and is very concerned with proper coverage. If I've taught them anything, it was 'keep the girls covered'.  We even found a little romper for Coco.

I didn't score a huge haul, but I did find 2 pairs of shorts with the tags still on, an animal print sheer tank, a red satiny blouse with elbow length sleeve, a pair of sandals and a retro print scarf.

After leaving the thrift store, we hit up another mall to look for shoes.  We didn't have any luck with that, but we stopped for a quick snack-and a snap of Coco. Sigh-she is the most beautiful being. I heart her very much :)

We had a lovely day with a lot of laughter....and very little bitching (wink, wink).

Sunny

I have a hard time wearing yellow. It is clashes with the undertones of my skin.

But every once in a while, I luck out and find the right tone that works for me.

You know how I love polka dots!

I found this blouse on a trip to Arc's Value Village about 6 weeks ago. It makes me happy. A little piece of sunshine filling my day.

I think I need to buy some daffodils now

The snow is finally gone!!

I had a good shopping trip today.  My husband and I finally decided on a locale for our 25th Anniversary trip.  I found several dresses, a bathing suit and a collapsible sun hat.  Only 8 more months! Ocho Rios, watch out!

I hope everyone has a joyous Easter. 

Dress Barn Yellow Polka dot blouse--$6.99 @ Arc's Value Village

Orange/yellow bracelet--$1.25 @ Arc's Value Village

Purple faux croc purse--old, from Kohl's

For the Love of Shoes

I know it sounds like a cliche`. All girls like shoes. My oldest daughter isn't overly girly-she prefers jeans and sweatshirts to dressing up-but she loves shoes. My youngest thinks she has flair to spare, and loves shoes (more specifically: boots). Most of my girlfriends love shoes.

And shoes that I would most like to own are far out of my league. Those beautiful Blahnik's, Choo's, Miu Miu's, Louboutin's............I mean, they are works of art! But that sad truth is I only have a beer budget and Grey Goose dreams.

I have large feet. Not like basketball player size 15, but a 9-1/2. I don't often find nice shoes in thrift stores for my size. I find tons of 7's that are the most adorable ones that want to jump into my cart, but I must break it to them gently that I would need to remove my toes for them come close to fitting. And I like my toes.

Last weekend I introduced a friend of mine to Arc's Value Village. I myself had only recently tried them myself.  We had a fun day of thrifting and a wonderful lunch at PF Chang's.

I wasn't having a lot of luck finding clothes that I wanted. I did find a dress and some shorts, but to my amazement: shoes. As in 5 pairs. 1 pair has never been worn, 3 have very light wear and 1 pair are nicely broken in.

Back row: Bandolino, Cole Haan, Born

Front row: Bare Trap, Naturalizer

My hubby was none too happy. Apparently he feels if you get a pair of shoes, you need to get rid of a pair. I think he was dropped on his head as a child. 

We stopped at Turn Style Consignment after visiting 2 Arc's Value Village locations. Kelley found 2 pairs of shoes and a pair of cropped pants for work. I couldn't find anything for me, but I found something for my love bug!

Children's Place 'fur' coat-tags still on

It was a really fun day with a sweet friend.

Cole Haan Nike Air pumps-- $36.99 + 25% off with coupon. Retail around $125-150

Bandolino faux alligator wedge--$28 + 25% off with coupon (never worn). Similar about $48

Born sandals--$10.49. Retail around $100

Bare Trap sandals--$7.49. Similar retail $40-50

Naturalizer slide sandals--$6.49 + 25% off with coupon. Can't find comparable-guessing $40?

Children Place jacket--$7. Tags on but price torn off. Guessing $25

I think Coco will look quite cute in it next fall!

**UPDATE: hubby says he WAS NOT dropped on his head. He just thinks like a 'normal' person.

Spring Weather Separates

The weather is warming, a little.

The snow in these pictures are gone-it will show up in a few more posts as I took several pics on one day. While we had a couple of very nice days last week, we are back to more normal temps this week-ranging between 40 and 55 degrees.  Time to shed heavier layers and start wearing lighter weight options.

I have a lot of black in my wardrobe due it's slimming effects, but also because it is a good neutral. It goes with just about every color in the closet.

This is the softest shirt I have ever worn

Perfect for my office, which is way too warm all the time

In addition to the blouse above, here are a few items that I found while thrifting a couple of weeks ago.  The scarf doesn't have any tags, but it reminds me of one my Mom wore back in the 70's.  The baby blue cardigan is deliciously soft and has become one of my favorite things I have found. The fabulous t-shirt reminds me of my teenage years in the 80's. I love it for the gym.

                      

     


Black A.N.A. blouse-thrifted $1.29
Black and white striped Merona skirt-clearance $7.98
Black Peep toe Merona shoes-sale $18.99

Blue polka dot with red trim scarf-thrifted $1.29
Baby Blue Designers Originals sweater-thrifted $1.29
Grey L.O.L. Vintage crop t-shirt-thrifted $1.29

The items thrifted for $1.29 are from Arc's Value Village that has a different colored tag sale every Sunday where all clothes with that color tag are, you guessed it, $1.29. The blouse was $6.99,                                                              the scarf was $3.49, the sweater was $7.99 and the crop tee was                                                            $5.99.

Sunny and Bright

While we here in Minnesota are always complaining this time of year that the winter was sooooooo long and horrible and that we just want to see grass, hear birds and wear something other than tights, wool socks, down parkas and long underwear.

Happy to report that all this snow is now gone!

The truth is,we have had a pretty mild winter this year.  We did have many cold snaps, but our winter was not too bad. Last winter-that was bad. Huge amounts of snow, blizzard conditions, horrible icy roads. And it snowed in May. That was a bad winter.

Trying to wish spring here, I pulled out some sandals, a lightweight bright blouse and my favorite thrift purchase ever-a pair of white Ann Taylor jeans. The are the best fitting jeans I have ever put my booty in. They are the curvy fit and I think I want to wear them every day.  The pants had the tags on when I bought them. so I went to the website to check on ordering another pair-gah! $89! Which is what the tag said, but sometimes 'retail' isn't 

'real-tail'.  I couldn't bring myself to spend that much right now-but maybe when I win the lottery ;)

Ann Taylor Jeans-$20 Clothes Mentor

Apt 9 blouse for Kohl's-thrifted $5.99 Goodwill

Kate Spade bag-thrifted $8.99 Savers (I don't think it is real-but it's cute!)

Sandals-Target (old) gift

Pink and Brown

One of my favorite color combos is pink and brown.  I was so happy when I spotted this on the rack at Arc's Value Village. Not only is the color combo I like, IT IS POLKA DOTS!

Why yes, that IS a really big skillet

Polka dots just make me happy. I have been enamored with them since I was young. Remember that fabulous dress Julia Roberts wore in  "Pretty Woman"?

I found a very similar dress for a special event-unfortunately I couldn't find the shoes :(

I liked the randomness of the polka dots on the shirt-a little more casual and fun. 

For a pop of color, I pulled out my yellow purse.  My youngest daughter gave it to me when she was done with it. I don't think it is a real Guess purse, but that doesn't matter to me-I just think it is pretty. 

I included an "artistic looking off into the distance" shot. I hate my profile and I look terrible in pics if I'm not smiling)

I like the little detail on the sleeve and the band around the neck

And for some reason all the comments on my previous posts have disappeared. Since I'm soooooo not techie orientated, I have no idea what has happened.


Shirt: no tags thrifted from Arc's Value Village $6.99 half price-$3.50
Jeans: Lauren Conrad for Kohl's-old
Purse: Guess-gift

Thrifting Heaven

Living in Podunk like we do, we must drive to the big cities so see some thrift action. Really, 25-35 miles isn't so bad considering we have to drive 10 miles just to get some milk.

We have a radio station in the Twin Cities that is talk radio, but not your normal talk radio.  MyTalk 107.1 is an entertainment station. They talk TV shows, movies, music, strange news. Pretty much Pop Culture. They have spoken of Arc's Value Village for as long as I have been listening to the station. They are all in the Twin Cities metro area, which means a drive.

They opened a new store about 27 miles from us and I took a wander up last Sunday. I hit the jackpot, baby. For about $83 I got a couple dresses, many tops, two jackets, 7 pieces of jewelry, the shoes posted in my last post, some baby clothes for CJ, some books and a blue vase for my desk at work (a place that is stuck in the 70's, but that is a different story).

Today my youngest wanted to go see what it was all about.  She took over my job as Office Manager when I went to the 'Mothership' of our employer.  She is a young, single Mom (both kids and a grandchild are under our small, small roof) who doesn't have much money to spend on herself, so she had thrifted since she was a teen.

I love to find different pieces of jewelry. 

Just a pop of color is sometimes all you need to make an outfit

Cleaned and ready to be worn, including a Lane Bryant dress, a Limited tank and a Style & Co top

Some of the lighter stuff-Style & Co, Merona and Jones of New York

Every week at Arc's, there is a colored tag sale for 50% off everything with that color.  On Sundays, they pick another tag color and all the clothes with that tag color are $1.29. A BUCK TWENTY NINE!!

My daughter got some Limited pants, a Banana Republic blouse, an Old Navy skirt and a Gap sweater. The sweater was $6 but the other three were $1.29 each.

We had a fun afternoon out scooping up deals and treated ourselves to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Mmm, probably won't be going there again anytime soon. Our food came before our drinks, there was tomato on my sandwich when I asked for no tomato and then our desserts took about 15 minutes to get to our table. AND it was horribly expensive. 

I'm off to eat my piece of cheesecake-it had better be good!

If I had a dream closet......

....it would be filled with shoes.  My Pinterest shoe board is filled with items I will never be able to afford nor wear comfortably.  Admit it-we would all like some Louboutin's or Manolo's. But who could wear them in their everyday life?  Not me. I have stood too long on concrete floors, had two children that made me go up a half size, and am carrying about 40 pounds too much on my frame.

However, my favorite shoes are Kitten heels.  A cute heel which gives a little height but is comfortable to wear all day-just not on concrete floors.

I scored a great haul at my most recent thrift store adventure. I was a little disappointed in the shoes though.  Maybe people with 9-1/2 regular width shoes don't donate a lot. Maybe there were tons, and since I didn't get there until an hour after they opened-they were all gone.

But I did find these beauties.

Hello my lovelies

I don't know this brand, but I'm not brand conscious

If they were worn, it must have been on carpet. You can see the price written on the bottom

They fit like a glove. They look like they haven't been worn.  They will go with so much in my wardrobe.

Sometimes you may not find everything you are looking for, but when you find something like this, it is all okay.

Black and White.

I was so excited.

 I have been using a homemade "dress form"-a pillow case stuffed with batting on a broomstick. It isn't great, as you can probably imagine.

I had been looking for a dress form for quite awhile.  There are the expandable ones from several places-JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon, Overstock.  I wanted something nice to put clothes on to photograph and also use for sewing, but I wasn't sold on the adjustable kind as I had read many reviews and decided it wasn't really what I wanted.

I found a place that sells ones that are fiberglass and have padding and a nice jersey type cloth cover.  They have nice bases and a plug that goes in the neck.  It was cheaper than the adjustable ones, and looked much nicer.

I apparently didn't measure myself properly as it is way too big.  I have contacted the company twice and haven't heard back about how I can return it.  It is very nice, but my clothes won't fit on it.

Sigh.

Since my clothes don't fit, I had to use my old method for photographing my thrifty finds.

I found this dress at Goodwill for $5.99.  I love the graphic print and slight retro vibe.

It is one of my favorite thrift store finds yet!

Here's hoping I can get the dress form issue resolved and have one that works!

Good Times with Great People

About 16 months ago, I got laid off from a job I was sure I was going to retire from. 120 of us were told that Monday morning that we no longer had jobs. It was a scary day. This was the third lay off that had happened to our family in 8 years.  This is not what we had planned. This was messing up our future we have been planning since we got married. This just sucks.

The day I lost my job, I posted it on Facebook, hoping that I may get some support from my friends, but it led to much more.

The next day I received a phone call from the daughter of one of my friends.  She had just been promoted in her company and her position was open. Did I want to come in and interview? Um, yeah!

One week later I was in a new desk at a new company and planning my new future. I loved that job.  I looked forward to going to work every day. I had wonderful co-workers, worked in a beautiful environment and laughed all the time.  Fast forward to this past October. I was asked by the CFO if I would interested in taking on more responsibility. They had an opening at the "Mothership" of the company I worked for. It is so close to my house and I was happy to show them I was up for the challenge. The hard part was leaving the job that I loved and people I cared about.

Last evening was the Holiday party for the former part of the company I work for.  My youngest daughter took my job when I moved to the new location, so I went as her "date".  I had so much fun catching up, laughing and eating wonderful food.  

 Me and my baby

Fun, fantastic people

Big, happy smiles

Old Navy dress: $6.99

Merona Pumps: $7.58

Green Bracelet: $2.99

Thanks you so much for including me in your night of celebration of a great company and the friendship of so many wonderful people.

Mad about Plaid

I had an awesome thrift shopping excursion last weekend.  I hit up 5 different stores and walked out with dresses, skirts, tops, sweaters, purses, scarves and some books.

While I am waiting for the weather to turn a little nicer so I have room to take photos outside, I will continue to show just the items I picked up.  Our house isn't big, and with 4 adults and a baby here, there isn't much space that isn't taken up with toys, playpens, laundry and outerwear!

I love wearing skirts almost as much as wearing dresses, but I sometimes run into an issue with what to pair them with. I never seem to have luck thrifting for outfits, but occasionally I will unknowingly find separates that will go together.

I posted a black sweater last Sunday that I bought at one store and here is the skirt I found at the third store I visited. They went together really well and is the perfect work outfit. 

This is a Chaps buffalo plaid skirt that I found at Goodwill for $4.99. It is the correct size so I didn't need to make any adjustments and it doesn't appear to have been worn very often.

I wore the black sweater, some black tights and my tall black leather boots and some simple earrings.  It was easy to change out of when I had about 3 minutes to change into my workout clothes for Zumba.  My legs still hurt.

Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and are headed to their couches soon to watch the Superbowl.  Go Seahawks!!

Time flies when you're not looking

Sometimes life just gets in the way, doesn't it?  I started to blog many years ago as a creative outlet.  It was about cooking and the simple things we like to eat, along with just things that happened in life.  Somehow I fell out of love with cooking.  I don't know what happened.  It just seems like such a chore.  In a way, I think it is because no one seems to appreciate it any longer. With 4 adults and a baby in the house, we are going different directions at all times.  We rarely get to sit down to dinner anymore since 3 of the 4 of us work different hours than the rest. It just doesn't fulfill me like it used to.  I do feel great once I have talked myself into actually preparing a meal, but the effort it takes to get me there just exhausts me.

I'm hoping that with this new blog, I can find some kind of passion for something again.  I have always loved clothes......and shoes.....and purses.  My favorite era for clothing is the 1950's and 60's.  I feel that I should have truly been an adult at that time.  Women were stylish, the clothing had great form and who doesn't want to play cards and drink martini's in the middle of the day?

As I am starting out, I will post pics of thrifty items I find.  Some will be what I have found at thrift stores, and others will be some great deals I find on clearance.  I want to get some time under my belt before I start styling the pieces (I have "styled" a couple pieces when I first started this blog).  I just need to gain some confidence after reading so many great blogs and seeing what appears to be natural talent.  I will also ask questions and opinions to help me find my voice and to honestly ask for help.  Many times I find things I love, but have no idea to wear with it.

For my first find, I present 

It is a Sag Harbor black sweater that I picked up for $4.99 at Savers.  I'm limited on my photo editing tools, so it looks a little washed out. Trust me when I say it is not faded at all.  It has this cute little bow on the collar and it is one of the softest sweaters I own.  I paired it with a pair of black and grey pants and a pair of black booties.  I'm looking for some bold colored earrings or a bracelet to wear with it to add a pop of color.  I didn't want to interfere with the cute bow with a necklace.

And a side note: I did spell "Trys" incorrectly in the name of my blog.  I just liked the way it looked, rather than being grammatically correct :)

Happy Sunday!

Thrifty Thursday

I know lots of people do Thrifty Thursday on the Blog land. There is #tbt on Facebook.

I have a thrifted outfit that I really like. It has the 60's vibe that I really like. My hubby calls this my "Peggy Olson" outfit.

The dress I found at Saver's for $7.99 and the shoes were $5.99 and I got 50% off because of a sale. The cardigan is one that I have had forever.

I just found a red belt to wear with it and the hubby really likes it as it gives me more of the hour glass figure and he thinks it is sassy.

I hate how my selfies-in-the-mirror turn out, but I was at work and snapped it while I was still 'fresh' looking :)

It wasn't meant to be

I had gotten an email from Savers that on Wednesday there were having a sale for club card members. 25% off $25 or more and 40% off $40 or more.  I really didn't need anything and really shouldn't be spending any money.  I picked up a few skirts and some pants and hit the dresses. I found one that I fell for. I mean hard.  It was a green nubbly material and from the 60's.  It still had a tag on it regarding the material. It was my size. I had my doubts.  I always thought that the sizes from that era were sized on a larger scale. My Mom said she wore a size 8 back then but it was actually a 12 in today's sizes. I couldn't even zip the darn thing.

It had beautiful beading around the neck and sleeves. It came about an inch above my knees. The bottom picture is pretty close to the actual color. It is hard to get a good photo in a teeny tiny dressing room. I didn't use a flash because I didn't want to be that crazy lady in the dressing room!

I was so heartbroken, I just left the store.

Some day I will find a real vintage dress I can buy. Until then-I hope you find a good home, pretty green dress.

Honestly, I only stopped in to browse.....

I was going to Joann Fabrics to pick up some muslin and a pattern for a shirt.  All the patterns I had many years ago are long gone-and way out of style.  I had a coupon for 40% off 1 full price item, plus a 25% coupon off of my total purchase.

However, Savers is right next to Joann's so I stopped there first. Sigh. Not good for the pocketbook. Huh, pocketbook-sounds like my Mom talking.

I found some books for the soon to be born granddaughter and was just browsing around.

I found patterns hanging on the wall in plastic bags. There were 4 patterns in each plastic bag, and they were stapled shut with a price tag.

Now, to be honest, most of them I won't use (the bags were so tightly closed, you couldn't see what was in each one). I did find three that I will try to use to make for my vacation to Portland, OR in the middle of August.  The Simplicity one shown directly above-oh my goodness, I love it!  I love 60's fashion. The pattern was listed in my dress size, but being that it is probably 40 years old, I don't know how it will correspond to current day.  The pattern is cut out and doesn't look to have been used a lot. It is such nice, heavy tissue with bold lines and the directions are so clear.

There is one for a longer tunic top that I want to try to go with some leggings I bought and another for a simple pullover top.

I couldn't stop myself from running through the apparel and shoe department. Darn it-of course I found things.

I found a denim Tommy Hilfiger dress for $10.  I usually try to only buy clothes and shoes when they have their 50% off sale, but it looked brand new.

I thought maybe I should take a little, teeny bit in by my natural waist.  One thing made me quite sad-I can see how much weight I have gained. I have had a stressful past 8 months, and I have always been a stress eater. This is visible proof that it has gotten out of hand. It is the motivation I need to get back to the gym and for making better food choices.

I also found a couple pairs of shoes. The black ones are a half size larger than I normally wear, but they were so comfy and they look brand new. When I turned them over, there was very little dirt and no scuffs or gouges. The brown ones have been worn a bit, but are in good shape. They both have chunky heels that work better for me. I'm not entirely graceful and my feet always hurt in stiletto's and pencil thin heels. 

I also found 2 more dresses that I like that will be great for vacation. So easy to throw on and go.  Those will show up later.

I've wasted my day (well, not wasted as I did learn quite a bit from watching some sewing Youtube videos) and now need to go sit at the machine and do something.

Have a great weekend!