Friday Finds

Aaron has created a monster.

Yes, I will blame him this time.  You see, despite the fact that I have far too many clothes already, it was still his idea to stop by Goodwill.  Who was I to say no?

Okay, I can't really blame the poor guy for creating something that wasn't there.  I've always loved to shop and can really never get enough of it.  So now I channel it into thrift shopping, where the cost is low and good things can still be found!

Here's what I found:

An Old Navy cardigan in the perfect shade!

Another Old Navy Gem- perfect for Spring/Summer

A tan blazer! I've been looking for one for so long!

Yet another striped shirt from Land's End.  I can see this becoming a favorite!

Have you ever tried thrift shopping? If so? Are you hooked?

I am....

My outfits Monday

I've been going through a closet overhaul lately, deciding what to keep, what to show a little more love to and what to get rid of.  

So, why not show you what I've been digging out of the worm hole I call my closet and wearing?

(although, I realize now that some parts of these outfits may need to be changed or altered before they are worn out in the public again)

I finally found some yellow/gold shoes!!

Scarf: Maurices, old

Cardigan: Old Navy, new

Skirt: Thrifted, Goodwill

Shoes, Dr Scholl's: DSW, sale

A bit blurry because it was taken on a phone :/

Scarf: Boutique

Shirt and Quilted vest: Fred Meyer

Grey pants: Ross, purchased last week 

Shoes: Ross, old

I LOVE the prints on these scarves.

That's it for now...until next Monday...maybe :)

Thrifty finds...it has been awhile!

Last weekend, my sister and I went to a couple antique and thrift stores.  I didn't find much on that trip -besides a bracelet and a look-alike doll, but it reminded me that I haven't shown you recent purchases in awhile.

What was I thinking?

So without further ado:

The finds :0)

A compact mirror...love all the bright colors!



A cool watercolor (?) of a girl standing on the edge of a rock
...for only $5!! But the frame MUST go!



A cute eyelet top(picture it with skinny jeans and boots)
from Goodwill!



Polka dot skirt from Goodwill..only $4

Yellow/turquoise bracelet on the far left from an antique store

And last but not least...the Happy meal Whitney!
I didn't buy her but my sister and I cracked up
and snapped a picture!

So that's if for now.  I've been trying to stay away from Goodwill as I've noticed the clothes I find and purchase from there are usually (but not always) the clothes I seem to get tired of the fastest.
Although, now that I think of it, I may head there to day.  You know, just to look.
What can I say? Old habits die hard...or don't die at all.

Thrifty thursday- take 3!

Last weekend we went to visit some friends- for the boys to go (as my friends little boy says)"biken ridin," and the girls to go a thriftin'.

I was psyched to explore a bigger town's thrift stores, especially after seeing some of my friends awesome finds.

But you know what?

It just wasn't my day for thrifting.

The only thing I bought that weekend was a new watch from Target.

That's kind of thrifty.....cuz I didn't spend a lot of money....right?

However, I wasn't too sad because I was given this A-MAZ-ING clock pendant by my thoughtful friend Jessie.

I was shocked she was okay with giving it to me, but more than okay with accepting it because
I've been on the lookout out for something like this!
Thank you, Jessie!

But that's not all.
 We came home and the next day I felt this need to visit our local Goodwill.

Believe it or not, I found more than one thing I wanted to purchase.

However, I managed to talk myself out of 3 of the 4 possible purchases.

This is what I came home with this retro- inspired top from Banana Republic:

On the hanger it looks a little granny-esque but I really liked the style of it.

Not so sure 'bout those buttons.

What shall be done?

Say hallo to my little friends.....

Today marks my three week mark of no purchases from Goodwill.

And this was done with very little strain to my emotional state.

However, to let Goodwill know that I still enjoy all the good memories I've purchased from it, (wish they just gave me this stuff sometimes) I thought I would share with you a couple pictures of my one and only, non-clothing purchase.

Everyone, say hello to my itty-bitty 25 cent port/liqueur/not-so-much-booze-in-this-glass glasses.

(not so sure what their official title is- other than cute little glasses I wanted.)

Aren't they cute?

And for the grand total of $2 I couldn't leave them there on the shelf.

 So I pushed an old lady over to get them because she was reaching for them.  Then I felt bad and let her get up before I reached over her for the other 3.

Just joking, but I do love them a little too much and wonder what I really would've done if that scenario really played out.

I really do wonder.

A penny saved is a penny earned

So after I went back to the dark side and started shopping again, I felt like the sky was the limit.  I went to several full price retail stores after the "initial purchase" at Goodwill in search of things from my Fall wish list.

The surprising thing is that each time I went into a store, I came out empty handed- even at Ross Dress for Less. 

What has changed?

Well, it seems I'm finding it really difficult to justify buying clothes at full price when I know I can find it cheaper at a resale store....or Goodwill OR tweak an existing article of clothing in my closet into what I want OR buy something from Goodwill on the cheap and tweak it.

The possibilities are endless!

(this does not mean I'm swearing off full-priced clothing, just probably buying less of it)

In fact here's a dress I picked up at Goodwill not too long ago:

Dress: Thrifted from Goodwill

Cardigan: Old Navy

Belt: Wal mart

Shoes: Payless shoes

Did I forget to mention?

Did I forget to mention that I placed myself on a self-imposed, no-shopping-for-clothes-for-30 days challenge?

No? 

That's right.  Maybe it was because I secretly felt I would fail (as I do most challenges) and didn't want you to know.

But because I am nothing but discreet (ha ha) I tell anyone who will listen, well....anything.

So I felt I should tell you that I made it to 15 days of no shopping and then cheated, or quite literally, stopped the challenge.

The most asked question is "What did you buy then?"

Answer: A grey. menswear inspired vintage Givenchy vest at Goodwill for $2.99!!

That's right folks!  Givenchy for only $2.99!

(are there enough exclamation marks in those last two sentences?)

I think it was well worth the challenge-breakage.

I will incorporate the vest- which means a picture of the said vest- into an outfit after I both drop it off and pick it up from the dry cleaner's.

Stay tuned!

Day 14- Kayla says..

....copycat an outfit!  Really?!  That's pretty much all I do, so ....okay!

Well...I'm a huge J. Crew fan and have been since high school (trust me, even though it doesn't look like it, that was quite a while ago.....)

In fact, when the new catalog from J.Crew comes out and settles in my mailbox, then reaches my hot little hands, well let's just say I can hardly concentrate on anything else.

Needless to say then, my outfit inspiration comes from a recent J.Crew (I'm not that knowledgeable/stalker-ish that I remember whether it was Spring, Summer or early Fall....sorry...((sniff...))

Anyway, here's the inspiration picture:

and here's my take on the whole matter:

So first, I placed the belt on the outside of the cardigan, like the picture above- except I don't have a cute, skinny belt. I need to get one.

Check.

Then I started leaning towards.....

.....the belt being inside the cardigan? 



Cardigan: Old Navy; Top: Old Navy; Skirt: Goodwill
Necklace: Maurices; Shoes: Target



So I'm really not sure how I would like to wear this ensemble.  All I know is that I do like this look and will be sporting it again!

P.S. I just snagged this skirt at Goodwill for $2.99! 

Neutral base with a POP of color- Day 13

I feel like so many of these challenges would have been a bit easier if I only had a turquoise necklace.  I can't tell you how many times I thought just that: "If only I had a turquoise necklace."

Well I don't have one yet, but trust me....I've been on the lookout.

In case you were wondering, these are what I've been ogling and googling a lot lately:

(my husband may become jealous soon..)



via





via



Today's outfit is no exception.

It is as neutral and blah as I could think of and I know a turquoise necklace would've been that "pop" the outfit needed.

Instead I turned to a scarf and turquoise earrings as my pop of color.



Scarf and Cardigan: Maurices; Earrings: Local store;
Tank: Romy; Skirt: Goodwill



In the end I generally don't love it.  I don't even know if I really like it.

I kind of look like my Kindergarten teacher from over 20 years ago and I KNOW I don't like that.

Sorry Mrs. M.



Day 6- Think outside the box

It is now day 6 of the 21 day challenge (15 days to go!).  So far I 've been having a lot of fun with the challenges and have picked up some really good ideas from fellow bloggers.

For today's challenge we were asked to think outside the box and wear something in an unconventional way. Wear a skirt as a dress or a shirt, a necklace as a bracelet, etc.

So I started thinking....I've seen these great ideas to make men's dress shirts into skirts.  I've also had a shirt lying around that doesn't fit my husband and have been contemplating using it to make a skirt like this:



via



or maybe like this:



via

But I didn't have time for that today.  However, I've also seen the idea to simply tie the said shirt around your waist to make a skirt, like this:

via pinterest



And that is what I did.  So I started with this:



And ended up with this:



Denim jacket: DKNY from Goodwill, Tank: JcPenney's from 6 years ago, Shirt: Geoffrey Beene



Not too shabby! I don't honestly think I would wear this again, but I also don't think I ever would've tied one of my hubby's old shirts around my waist without this challenge either.

Now I'm off to actually go make this shirt into a skirt!

Have a good day!

Thursday finds- take 3

Last week my mother in law and I went to my favorite resale shop AND to Goodwill.  I mean what would a visit to another town be without heading to the ol' Goodwill?  Besides visiting with people you don't get to see much.....it would be sad. 

Anyway, we both secured some pretty good finds ( I would say more so at the resale shop this time) but I didn't have much time to share them with you.  No time like the present, right?

So at Goodwill I found this simple, navy Eddie Bauer top for only $3.99.  You may not believe me, but I've been looking for a long sleeve, navy top for a while. 

 Maybe it found me.Maybe it was meant to be?

I know, I know...not too exciting.  But hey, not everything purchased can be outstanding. 

 The same goes for this next top.  It's nothing amazing, but again something I've been on the look out for.

Coming up next is a fuchsia cardigan from Victoria's Secret for (you guessed it) $3.99.

  From there we moved on to the resale shop where I love to take my old clothes and get new ones. 

Here is where I really ( I feel) scored.

At this shop I found an Ann Taylor Loft sleeveless shirt I had eyed on their website a while back.  The only problem with it at that time was that it was a little more than I wanted to spend on a sleeveless top ( I think $45 or something like that) so I waited for it to go on sale.  It was gone before I knew it.

Fast forward to last week.

I saw the top.  It saw me.  Love. At. First. Sight.

It fit but I wasn't sure about it....there was something different about it.

Then I just unbuttoned a few of the buttons and voila!

At $12.50, I was sold!

KA-CHING!

Oh!  Here's the little lovely now:

The reason I adore this top so much is that I can mix and match it with so many things I already own*. I have a bright yellow, fuchsia and navy skirt AND cardigans in the same colors...so there you go.

Win, win and win.

Then I stumbled upon this top. 

It's print caught my eye....I'm pretty sure it is little coffee beans. 

Here's why I like it: I LOVE coffee.  With the ties in front it's kinda sexy librarian.  Sexy because the ties untie for a completely different look.  As the lady at the shop said, "it puts the shh in chic." (Tricky play on words, that.)    

Also It's a little unexpected and quirky...a little like me and maybe that's why I liked it.

And it was only $12.50.

(Did I mention I didn't even have to pay for either of these due to a store credit I had at the store? No?  Ah! Well I did now.)

And last but not least was the final purchase of the day.  We went back to Goodwill to look at something I had scoped out earlier.  While that something turned out to be a bust, I managed to get something else I'd been looking for, a jean jacket.

Really, it's another simple thing I've been looking for, but not one I owned yet.

For $4.99 I do now.

Here 'Tis:

So the grand total of cash out that day was

(DRUM ROLL PLEASE)

$12.97. 

Not too shabby in my opinion.

Not too shabby indeed.

But wait!  There's more!

Today I had a little free time on my hands to I went back to the said resale shop AND goodwill again. 

(See here for my confession of shopping too much)

I won't drag this out too much longer but last week I saw some linen Calvin Klein pants and thought I'd go back today to see if they were still there.

They were.  I got them for $18.00.

Pricey compared to Goodwill prices, but still way cheaper than what I would get them for at a department store......right?

Then I found some dark trouser jeans ( I've been looking for these too....) that just happened to be Ann Taylor Loft again.  Again they are now mine for $9.00.

Finally I found a cute, roomy top by Liz Claiborne.  I'll admit it's price wasn't great at $24.80...but I liked it and will wear it a lot at work.

 

Grand total today?

At first it was $51.80 (yikes!)

But then I still had $14.24 left over in credit and $5.00 discount

So the total for today = $32.56

(less than the pair of Ann Taylor loft pants would have cost at full retail price!)

Clearly I'm on a shoppers high, but it's time to bring it down a notch people.

I'm going to lay low as far as thrifting goes for a while.

Now I'm going to concentrate more on actually putting together and wearing all of these clothes I have.

Don't cry for me, it will all be okay.

Trust me.

*I'm really trying to mix and match more of my clothes.

Instead of buying one article of clothing then running around trying to find something to match it I've started trying to match the things I'm thinking of buying with things in my closet.

Question: How long did it take me to figure this out?

Answer: A LONG TIME.

Thursday(Friday) finds- take 2

I had a brilliant-brain-storm-idea (yes!one of those ideas...the big kind) the other day. 

You see, I says to myself ( yes I said "says") "Self- wouldn't it be kinda' fun to do a theme type thing on a set day, like "Wednesday wants" or "Friday favorites?""

From that sprang an idea:

Friday finds (ta-DA).

But then the plot thickened...and when I say that I mean a problem arose.

You see, I usually have Fridays off to go a-hunting, but tomorrow?

Well tomorrow I gots to work (phlegh!)

But I didn't let that little obstacle stand in my way...

So, I stopped by the local goodwill today and did not return home empty handed. 

Here are my Thur-Fri finds:

I have a thing for Ann Taylor Loft AND black AND this type of fabric, so I made it mine for only $3.99.

The only downside is that it is made with a wool blend, so it's a bit too hot to wear yet, but come fall......

 Then I came across another black dress.  This is from J.Jill and usually runs over $40.  It's comfy and roomy, really more of a lounge around dress.  At $3.99, who cares?



This is an awful, blurry picture that makes the dress look like a shirt...but it's not all that bad!  Trusst me!



And remember how I was on the hunt for a blouse a lot like this?

First of all, I found one pretty close. 

But, I must confess two things: A) I did not find this today and B)  No, it wasn't at Goodwill, but another small store, Rue 21.  And while I'm confessing (again) I paid more than $3.99 for it.

 

It even came with a cute, woven belt.

My name is Whitney....

....and I have a shopping problem. This is my first time admitting it out loud.

-whew- I'm glad to get that off my chest!

Now I can go buy something else to put back on my chest.  I joke. I joke. Why go buy something else when I probably already own it?

However,with that intro I feel I should stress the fact that I am not a member of Shopaholics Anonymous.

Not yet.

I honestly didn't even know if it was really a thing until I googled it to see if it was real.

It is.

When I confessed my shopping problem to Aaron (a real shocker coming from someone otherwise flawless) he snorted and said, "You? A problem?!"

Real sarcasm at its finest, people.

It's like he knows me or something.

I guess of all people, he should know the truth.  After all, he sees the stacks of bags filled with clothes that I bring home and then he sees the stacks of bags filled with clothes that I get rid of.

What can I say in my defense?  I heart clothes.  Simple as that.

Maybe I should consider joining Shopaholics Anon.

Maybe.

But until I commit to anything else, I wanted to share with you some of the screamin' deals I came home with yesterday.  They are too exciting for me not to share with you!
TOO EXCITING!!

You see, even though I do love clothes and shopping, I don't really like paying a lot of money for them. By reading numerous fashion blogs, I've come to realize that you can still look fashionable with both new and new-to-you clothes, like this girl.  With that being said, I've learned that clothes come in all shapes, sizes and prices and to shop the sale/clearance racks at dept. stores, consignment shops or re-sale(with a few base rules: stainless, washable, no lingerie, etc.)

So yesterday I started at Goodwill.
Let the games begin!

Why Goodwill? I was looking for some vintage lace.  I've been cyber-stalking a lace blouse from Anthropologie for a while, but can't justify spending that much money on a shirt you can see through, or any shirt for that matter. I thought it would be cool to find the afore mentioned lace and make it on the cheap.

However, I did not find any suitable lace that resembled what I wanted.

 

This is what I wanted: the Wreathen Blouse - $78



I did find some other fun things that I couldn't resist.

First is this charcoal gray shell with a simple embellishment around the neck and arm holes.  I thought it was a good basic that could be dressed up or down, worn alone or layered.  At $2.99 I felt it would be foolish to leave it. I got it.

Up next is this kelly green wrap-skirt that had me at hello.  With the subtle wrap and slight drape, it kind of looked like something I would find at Anthro. Again, at $2.99 I made it mine, ALL MINE!



HELLO! 



Then I found this other skirt.  I wanted a long, light-weight skirt that would go with various tops for service and have been too lazy to sew one.  At $2.99 and being very neutral in color, I snagged it.

At that time, I also saw another top with dark blue stripes that would've complimented the green skirt so well, but it was 10 sizes too big and I wasn't so sure I could make anything new out of it, so I moved on. 

Due to the fact that we live in a small, low-income town, the shopping is limited.  I was still in search for the said lace top that may resemble the Anthro top.

So from Goodwill, I went to Ross, Fred Meyer and K-mart.

I know those aren't usually store names that leave people all hot and bothered, but you learn to not be a clothes snob and suck it up.....in the name of fashion of course.

At K-mart I found this retro, flowy, summery dress.  I thought it would be cute paired with either a baby blue or coral cardigan. 



Dress: originally $18 (still a deal)- on sale for $5.39



I found this at K-Mart too! 

I used to have a shirt this color in the 7th grade, but wore it out because I wore it so much.  I've been trying to replace it ever since.  So when I saw this color and cute keyhole cut out in the back I snatched it up.  It was originally $14, but I only paid $3.59. It is now the "official replacement shirt" and will be perfect for lazy days around the house.....or going out to eat.

That's how we roll here.



For some reason I couldn't get that big blue-striped shirt I mentioned seeing before at Goodwill out of my head.  All I could think was, "Maybe, just maybe I could do something with it."  I had to find out!

So I headed back.....

After all that it was a bust.  Upon closer inspection the shirt was still far too big and far too stained, breaking the no stain rule.

However, it did not stop there.  For some reason I had a little look-see around and landed on two more objects of interest.

First up:

this black/white polka dot shift dress. 

It's too short to wear alone, so I will  A) wear it over leggings or B) cut off the lower portion and make it a shell.  Either way, $3.99 for a shell/shift was worth it for me.  And I love me some black and white and polka dots, at that!

And last, but not least, I also found this breezy, summer top with vintage appeal at the bottom from Eddie Bauer at $1.99.

(it's a bit wrinkly because I forgot to hang it up...oh and by the way nothing is $1.99 at Eddie Bauer!)

Ahh!  What a (shopping) day it was!  I managed to score 3 tops, 2 dresses and 2 skirts for only $23.93!

There.  Now do you believe that:

A) I'm truly a shopaholic or

B) shopping on the cheap is flippin' awesome?!!

Me too(?)