Saturday, January 21, 2012

Saturday Thrifting

Today was my haircut day, which on its own its always a good thing.  The thing that makes it better is that the thrift store is right around the corner.  Yay!  My appointment finished up right as the thrift store was opening, so I had a few minutes to poke around on my own.  Right away I found a cute little Converse One Star denim jacket.  So I grabbed it.  $6.29

 The picture really doesn't do it any justice, but it is so cute!
 Close up of the top.
Pocket detail.

Next I ran into a very cute top.  not something I would normally pick, not because I didn't love it, but because it's a bit more girly then I tend towards.  i.n.c. international concepts.  100% silk, sleeveless.  $3.59

 Here it is!
And the print, which you can barely see in the other picture.

My last find was a NWT pair of jeans from The Loft.  Bootcut, love em. $8.99


There were a couple of misses, unfortunately.  A green top that was cute on the hanger, but a bit to juvenile when I put it on.  A NWT pair of grey Old Navy cords.  They fit very strangely in the seat.  :\  I hemmed and hawed over another pair of jeans as well, but I decided that I'm not going to buy anything I don't love.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Goodbye New Kitchen Table and Chairs....or not?

The hubs and I started saving for new furniture.  It's time.  After our last move, things started ... disintegrating.  Patches peeling from the arms of the couch (hidden under pillows) a crack in the leg of our kitchen table, the movers lost a couple of pieces of the hardware from our bedframe (but we didn't see it till 2 years later when we took the bed apart to have the carpet cleaned) and their "fix" has compromised the integrity of the frame.  *sigh*

We were fortunate in that we found ourselves in a place to be able to start saving for it.  Until about 2 weeks ago.  My oldest son needs some extensive dental work.  NOW.  Nearly 2 grand worth.  (That's the part that's not covered by our insurance!)  Very unexpected.

Goodbye furniture fund.

Feeling a bit deflated by the loss of my new kitchen table dream ( I want REAL furniture, grown up stuff!) I engaged in a pity party.  It was small, I promise...my kiddos dental health is far more important to me!  I started looking around online and for some reason, I decided to look on Craigs List.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me <before> I didn't have money to spend, but it didn't.  In the past week, I've found at least 6 different things I'm in love with.  3 dining room table sets (one that I've seen at the store costing well over 1500 bucks) for $150.00.  In beautiful condition.   I've seen others in the same price range that aren't my style,  but with a bit of sanding and some stain could easily be pieces I love.  I've been drooling over 2 dining room hutches for roughly the same price and one that was stunning, as is, for 50 bucks.

Obviously, I can't afford anything right now, but I know where I'll be looking as soon as I can.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Daily Declutter

This weekend I spent some time thinking about the things in my closet.  Things I love, things I want to love, but can't, things that don't love me.

Today I decided to take a (small) step and unburden myself of two items.  I bought both of them on clearance and I loved them both when I bought them.  The first one is a dress.  It's an adorable Columbia dress, great for the summer, light weight, breathable and yet, I'm giving it up.  Why?  Well, when I first bought it, it looked great on, but somewhere along the way, my body shape changed (my health/weight journey) and it made me look frumpy.  I'm sad, but it's in good condition and I'll find a new home for it.  It's going into my consign/yardsale  bag.


Pretty summery print in tan and orange on a white base.

Regrettably, the second piece I'm parting with I loved from the start, but it never loved me back.  I wanted it the second I saw it and I grabbed it for an absolute steal.  Light green, hooded, with cute detailing.  Columbia, long sleeve hooded tee.  Not once have I worn this and felt like it was flattering.  I keep trying and keep getting disappointed.  I think the combination of the not well defined shoulders on the top plus my own rounded shoulders allows for it to slip into some ugly positions.  Add to that the small v-opening at the neck which gives it a chance to slide up constantly and ugh.  No good.  So, with a heavy heart, I'll release this piece from my closet as well.  Of to the consignment bag it goes.

 Wrinkly but in great condition
See the cute detail on the back?!  Waaah!  :o(

It leaves me wondering...am I not meant to wear Columbia clothes?  I have a Columbia jacket which I adore and it fits well and is comfortable and well made, but maybe the pants and shirts and dresses just aren't for my body type?  I wonder if I should keep trying them out.  Perhaps if I find them in the thrift stores or on sale for a price I just can't pass up.  For now, I guess I won't go running out to buy any (unless it's outerwear).

Monday, January 16, 2012

Intro to my (lack of) style

Eventually it had to come.  The day I'd try to blog about my style.  The truth is this...I live in jeans and tee shirts.  That's it.  Short sleeved tees.  Long sleeved tees.  Boot cut jeans, skinny jeans, jean capris.  I pretty much only wore my Chuck Taylors or Running shoes up until recently.  I bought a couple of pair of ballet flats and a single pair of boots.

I've promised myself that over the course of this year, I'll transform myself into someone who has a casual style that doesn't revolve solely around tee shirts.  (I'm not throwing away my Animal or Smokey the Bear tees--forget about it!)

When I hit the thrift store last week I found two shirts and I love them both.  I didn't take pictures in the grey one, but I will.  Each of the shirts are a jersey/tee fabric, but neither is quite as basic.  (Thank goodness)  Today I wore the black one.  Originally I had it on alone, but it was showing quite a bit more than I had intended so I wound up tossing a burgandy cami on under it (layering by accident?).  The black top has kind of puffy sleeves and a bit of stitched detailing under the chest.  Put it on with my capris and boots.  There you have it.

Oh.  Right and a necklace.  Because I'm trying to fancy it up.  I think this is one of two necklaces that I own.  And I don't like the other one.  So, yeah.  Hehe.


Forgive my modeling skills.  I've spent many years hiding from cameras so this will take some getting used to!

T-shirt--Design History- thrifted
Tank--Mossimo-Target
Jeans--Elle-Kohls
Boots--Union Bay--NEX

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Daily Declutter and Discard

It has occurred to me that calling this my daily declutter/discard may seem a bit misleading, but I promise, though I'm not photographing every single thing I discard, I am faithfully getting rid of something each day.

I ran to Target (I've got my eye on some clearance stuff, I'm waiting for it to get one more markdown!) and as I passed the Dollar Spot I spied some little plastic baskets with handles.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them in some of the local dollar stores, but always in colors I'm not so fond of, so I pass on them.  This time though, they had black.  I grabbed two of them for use under my kitchen sink.  Yay!

I collected all of my cleaning supplies (the ones in the kitchen, at least) and stuck 'em into the basket.  It's not particularly rigid, so I was able to comfortably fit what I had in there.  I ended up only needing one, so I've got one free to use as I see fit somewhere else.  I'm toying with the idea of sticking plastic grocery bags in the other one, since those seem to multiply and take over my under the sink cabinet space.


(In the basket, Magic Eraser, feather duster, glass cleaner, Simple Green, air freshener and a Sham Wow {hubby made that purchase!}.)


My discard for today is a dog waterer.  I bought this one gallon waterer for the little princess after her big sister passed away a few months ago.  For some reason, she's terrified of it.  It's been sitting there since I bought it.  I wash it and put fresh water in it and she won't touch it.  She drinks out of a tiny plastic leftover bowl instead.

I'm adding this to my box of items to consign or yardsale.  It's nice to have a designated place for things I don't need/want/use anymore.  It feels liberating to trash the stuff that's taking over and to know that I'll be finding a new home for the better stuff that we just don't want or need.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Thrifted Styles for Kids?

As I've mentioned, I have two boys.  They're 9 and 10 and don't care a lick about fashion.  Still, buying clothes for them can be a challenge and it gets pricy.  They grow fast, they're tough on clothes and they may not care too much about fashion, but I still want them to look decent.

Generally speaking, I get them jeans from Old Navy when they do their $10 kids denim sale that happens in August.  They begin their life as new school clothes and what happens from there... who knows.  This year, my oldest got all 12's in August.  He tried them on, they fit, well.  We were happy.  By November they were snug, but still wearable.   December?  Not so much.  We were seeing sock on a daily basis.  With no sales on jeans that I could find and not being thrilled with the lower priced choices, I wondered if kids clothes in the higher sizes made it to the thrift stores.

I'm guessing that those of you more familiar with thrifting already know the answer.  It's yes!  I had some good luck finding 2 pair of jeans in a size 14, that were stylish and in great condition.  Seams in tact, zippers working, no wear at the knees or scuffs at the leg openings.  Sold!  Washed up and ready to wear, no more high waters for my kiddo.  Each pair was 3.59.
See that little lump under the covers?  That's my pooch, deciding her comfort was more important than my picture.  She's a princess.

Anyhow, the color in the pic is a bit odd, but the bottom pair is nice and light with fading and a boot cut.  The top pair is more charcoal than that washed out black that the pic shows.  They're a straight leg and a slimmer fit.

I wasn't looking for shirts, we have plenty, but I took a peek, just in case.  The store I was shopping had almost nothing in larger kids sizes (strictly speaking of shirts now).  Tons of toddler sizes though.  I will, of course, check again the next time I'm there.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Thrifty Thursday!

Today was a busy day for me.  I dropped the hubs off at work (we share a car and I wanted it today) and got the kids off to school.  I feel like my whole morning was spent waiting to get to the thrift store.  My dentist visit was painfully long!  As my x-rays were being done and the cleaning was happening I kept thinking of what goodies I might find when I finally got down to shopping.  Hehe.  My teeth look great though.  Totally worth the wait.

I'm mostly looking for cardigans and sadly there were none to be found today.  It's okay though!  I scoured the whole store and kept an open mind.  I did find a khaki twill peacoat that I loved, but it felt a little funny buttoned.  I think the button placement gave my chest an odd look, so I passed on it.  I also found a cute short sleeved tapered jacket with a darling kick pleat in the back.  But it was too big.  *sniffle*  I tried it on with the hopes that it might be workable, but no luck there.

Enough about what I didn't get!  As I was checking out the skirts I came across a cute black running skirt.  I've been wanting one, but I really don't want to pay full price.  I was pretty excited to find it, but I felt a minor bit of hesitation regarding used workout wear.  Don't ask me why, I'm not sure.  I decided it was worth it and started to check out the seams and do you know what I found?  Tags!  Yay!  Brand new running skirt for less than 6 bucks (TekGear-$5.29).  Can't beat that.

I tried to be a bit more adventurous with tops, but I'm afraid it didn't really happen.  I wound up getting a black top(Design History $3.59) and a grey one(Old Navy $3.59).  *ahem*  I had a couple of light multi-colored button downs in hand and I chickened out!  I should have grabbed one of them, but there's always next time.


I'm supposed to be working on my personal style, I'm hoping that perhaps I'll be inspired by some accessories or layering pieces somewhere so that I can do something less basic with them.  I'm open to ideas (hint, hint).  :D

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

First Real Declutter

I decided to make the hall closet my first decluttering project.  I took some pictures of the before. They're scary and I'm ashamed! 


That closet is literally right beside the front door when you walk in.  Every time one of us walks in, we close the front door and open that one.  Shoes get kicked off, yoga mat gets tossed in, sometimes the boys throw their socks in.  Gross!  I'm just tickled that all of the coats get hung up.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but under that pile of shoes is an actual shoe shelf.  Fat lot of good it's done.  On the left side of the closet, a hanging shoe bag.  Empty.  Completely empty.  *sigh*

After about an hour or sorting and cleaning, I can happily say, it's nice and tidy.  Ta Da!
Obviously, you can see in the pictures, I didn't add anything.  No cute baskets or tags.  My guys won't notice or use that stuff, so basic is best around here.  I took advantage of the hanging shoe bag and put everyone's flip flops, my ballet flats and lawn mowing shoes in there.  That cleared up a TON of floor space.  The remaining shoes are those that are being worn at least a couple of times a week.  Yoga mats and blocks made it up to the top shelf, dumb bells tucked away on the floor to the left, easy to access, stretch bands on hooks above the weights.  My coats on the left, his on the right, the boys keep theirs hung up in their room.


This decluttering resulted in some trash (as I'm sure you guessed from those before pics).  I pulled both of my sons ponchos.  Both were ripped at the neck enough that it was kind of a waste to keep them(that's the blue and beige you see in the pic).   To the pile of things headed for the trash, I added a pair of my youngest sons ripped jeans and a stained shirt belonging to my oldest.  Sadly, last week our Keurig died after more than 2 years of dedicated service to us.  That, too, joined the pile of things to go. 
It felt great to get this done and I'm pretty happy overall with the accomplishment.  It's small, but it's a start.

After all was said and done, I did some laundry and found a few items that, while in great condition, just don't fit my kids anymore.  I pulled those aside for either consigning or donating.  When I cleaned the closet  I also pulled a small tote bag that had a Happy Bunny graphic on it.  It was cute, but I never used it.  Not once.  In 4+ years.   That was also added to this pile.
So, there you have it.  My first decluttering!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Allow Me to Introduce Myself!

Okay, I'm new to blogging, thrifting, organizing and style!  Kind of a recipe for disaster, since this blog is about about organizing and style (by way of thrifting), don't ya think?  ;)

So, the basics, right?  Well, my name is Nicci and I'm a SAHM to two sons(9 and 10).  My husband of nearly 12 years is in the service and is a year away from retirement.  We're deciding where to live when it's all said and done.  Very exciting!  I'm a bit of a pack rat and clutter is my nemesis.  I recently lost 70 pounds and now I'm trying to figure out my personal style.  Before the weight loss, my style goal was pretty much to hide and blend into the background as much as possible.  My nature is shy, but I'm trying to find my way into being a bit more present in my life.

Chances are you won't see fantastic before and afters of my sprawling well decorated home because, well, it's neither sprawling nor well decorated.  My goal this year is to declutter on a daily basis.  I'd like to get rid of one thing (toss, donate, sell?) each day.  I don't know if it's a realistic goal or not, but we'll find out!

Additionally, I'm going to start thrifting.  I had made this decision sometime in December and thought it would be a good goal for the new year.  As much clutter as I have, I still don't have everything I need.  Be it clothes, kitchen ware, things for my boys or maybe even some creative organizational ideas, I'm hoping to find it via thrifting.  Or bargain hunting, I'm okay with that too!  ;)

Thanks for taking the time to read along and I'm looking forward to starting (and documenting) this journey!