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).

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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!