So, yeah, I kind of messed up my plan to be a better blogger this year, huh? I have excuses, I'll even share them with you! I was super sick and off my game for nearly 3 weeks in February, barely came near the computer. When I got right, I had a week of catching up to do before I got the worst ear infection of my life at the beginning of March. I was given no pain meds and wound up tethered to my bed for a week!
*sniffle* Feeling sorry for me yet? Haha, I didn't think so. ;) So here I am, with very little to report on the style front. Unless you want to hear about my sick wear which was very uninspired. No big shock there, hehe.
So, my news now is this, I'm writing another blog, I'm going to keep this one up and running and will update anytime I have something to say about thrifting/style/organization but for now, there won't be much going on there, since the Hubby is officially unemployed, as am I. Scary. Anyhow, there's no money to be thrifting for fun.
For the time being I can be found over here. I'll be blogging about living on unemployment benefits (hopefully) until jobs are found. :) Wish me luck!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
January is nearing it's end!
Can you believe it? The first month of 2013 is nearly over already! I shouldn't be surprised, the days and weeks seem to evaporate lately.
All in all this first month of the year has been a good one, busy, but good.
Style wise, I'm no closer than I was at the beginning of the month to my goal of getting some new stuff and trying it out. I did go scouring the clearance racks a few days ago at Target. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did get a few ideas. I still have 6 days left of the month to try out one of the trends I've been stalking, so I may still make it. I have a picture in my head of what I'd like to do, if it comes to pass, I'll post a pic and you can see!
I haven't even been in a thrift store this month, but I'm hoping in February I'll make it. There's one near the salon I frequent and I have an appointment the first week of the month, so, I'm pretty sure I'll get a few minutes to poke around.
I don't know that organizationally I had any real challenges this month and that's a good thing. I think my goal for the next month will be to evaluate my master closet, it's the one closet that is kind of disappointing. I need to sort through whats in there and find a way to make it neater. It will be a minor challenge, but nothing I can't handle!
All in all this first month of the year has been a good one, busy, but good.
Style wise, I'm no closer than I was at the beginning of the month to my goal of getting some new stuff and trying it out. I did go scouring the clearance racks a few days ago at Target. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did get a few ideas. I still have 6 days left of the month to try out one of the trends I've been stalking, so I may still make it. I have a picture in my head of what I'd like to do, if it comes to pass, I'll post a pic and you can see!
I haven't even been in a thrift store this month, but I'm hoping in February I'll make it. There's one near the salon I frequent and I have an appointment the first week of the month, so, I'm pretty sure I'll get a few minutes to poke around.
I don't know that organizationally I had any real challenges this month and that's a good thing. I think my goal for the next month will be to evaluate my master closet, it's the one closet that is kind of disappointing. I need to sort through whats in there and find a way to make it neater. It will be a minor challenge, but nothing I can't handle!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Settled In Full
So, with the new year and the changes it has brought, the focus of my blog is a bit more broad these days. Of course, I'm still trying to find my style and get organized, but I also need to sort through my financial house.
It's been an ongoing battle, finances. Once upon a time I was good with money and good at saving. As I aged and many things in my life changed the grip I had on my finances slipped away. Bad decisions, unfortunate situations and a million surprises all contributed. So, for the past few years we've been working on being better, doing better and fixing our past mistakes. It's more important now then ever, because the future is so uncertain. For the last 15 years, even though times were rough, we knew he had a job and we had a place to live. Now, with less security, it's imperative that we focus on how to make life work with the resources we have.
Yesterday, I received in the mail, a settlement offer for one of the bills I've been paying. I've been paying it religiously, for a good long while. They have offered me, in the past, settlement offers and I've wanted to take them, but never had the money when they made the offers and of course, they always have a time limit. This one, like the others has a time limit and it's short. I have less than 10 days to make the decision. Because I have paid so religiously the offer they made this year, is much lower than last years and it seems possible that I can get the money to them. This would free up a few dollars per month going forward and that certainly is a good thing. I have a couple of questions about whether or not they can, or will, sell the "forgiven" portion. If they do that, what's the point in taking the offer?
Either way, I'm on the fence about this. I'm guessing that with the amount of interest that's been paid as I pay this off, they've recovered more than the original amount I owed. If I don't take the offer, I'll be paying it off for another 2 years (interest charges and low monthlies are killers!), I believe that it will show as "settled in full" on my credit report which some would argue is bad for my credit, but honestly, it's in shambles at the moment now as it is, I can't see this making it worse. We'll see how it goes.
It's been an ongoing battle, finances. Once upon a time I was good with money and good at saving. As I aged and many things in my life changed the grip I had on my finances slipped away. Bad decisions, unfortunate situations and a million surprises all contributed. So, for the past few years we've been working on being better, doing better and fixing our past mistakes. It's more important now then ever, because the future is so uncertain. For the last 15 years, even though times were rough, we knew he had a job and we had a place to live. Now, with less security, it's imperative that we focus on how to make life work with the resources we have.
Yesterday, I received in the mail, a settlement offer for one of the bills I've been paying. I've been paying it religiously, for a good long while. They have offered me, in the past, settlement offers and I've wanted to take them, but never had the money when they made the offers and of course, they always have a time limit. This one, like the others has a time limit and it's short. I have less than 10 days to make the decision. Because I have paid so religiously the offer they made this year, is much lower than last years and it seems possible that I can get the money to them. This would free up a few dollars per month going forward and that certainly is a good thing. I have a couple of questions about whether or not they can, or will, sell the "forgiven" portion. If they do that, what's the point in taking the offer?
Either way, I'm on the fence about this. I'm guessing that with the amount of interest that's been paid as I pay this off, they've recovered more than the original amount I owed. If I don't take the offer, I'll be paying it off for another 2 years (interest charges and low monthlies are killers!), I believe that it will show as "settled in full" on my credit report which some would argue is bad for my credit, but honestly, it's in shambles at the moment now as it is, I can't see this making it worse. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Organizing an Unseen Mess
Today I decided to tackle a mess that I don't really see. My kids have one of those cube set ups in their room. Before we moved they had 2 and the bins were all cute in a checker board pattern. Once we got to the new place, we appropriated one for our hallway and the boys were left with one cube shelving unit and all the bins. Here's how it looked. Not terrible, but I knew what it looked like inside.
(Please try to ignore all the cords off to the side. hehe)
The movers had chosen to just stuff a lot of the small stuff the kids had into these bins and then stuff the over filled bins into a large moving box. Ugh. Anyhow, I dealt with a bit of it, but not all of it. Emptied it out and here's how it looked.
Not very pretty.
We went through and wound up with a full trash bag of stuff that needed to be tossed and a small bag of toys that will be donated. I also found they had quite the candy stash.
In the end, after about 40 minutes of emptying and sorting, here's what we were left with.
Much better :) Yay for getting things done!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Recent Trends I'd Like to Try
Chevron stripes. Sequins and sparkle. Color pop. Animal prints. Lace. Layering. Scarves.
That little list are the trends I've been most recently eyeballing. It seems that it would be simple enough to just go out and buy one of this and one of that and give them a try, but I'm a chicken! I'm afraid I'll do it wrong, or look like I'm trying to hard, or worse look like I'm trying to hang on to my 20's way to long after they were over. Hehe.
I think what I might do, though, is commit to giving one of these things a try per month. Each month, I can bite the bullet and if it doesn't feel right, small loss, if it works out, I've added a good piece to my wardrobe. Which, by the way, is in need of help. I've noticed (when I went to look for certain things) that I got rid of quite a few items recently that I didn't like, which I now think could have been used as building blocks. They might not have been perfect on their own, but I probably could have made them better with a little work. I also noticed that since I put a halt on my shopping (thrifting included) a few months ago, most of my clothes have gotten one heck of a work out. I mean, a lot of it will need replacing soon. Not really thrilled with that. It's okay though. I'll consider it a challenge and it will hopefully give me something to blog about along the way. I know I've been rambling on recently with no apparent point.
So, there you have it. Once trend a month to build my wardrobe and my confidence. Now to figure out which to start with....
That little list are the trends I've been most recently eyeballing. It seems that it would be simple enough to just go out and buy one of this and one of that and give them a try, but I'm a chicken! I'm afraid I'll do it wrong, or look like I'm trying to hard, or worse look like I'm trying to hang on to my 20's way to long after they were over. Hehe.
I think what I might do, though, is commit to giving one of these things a try per month. Each month, I can bite the bullet and if it doesn't feel right, small loss, if it works out, I've added a good piece to my wardrobe. Which, by the way, is in need of help. I've noticed (when I went to look for certain things) that I got rid of quite a few items recently that I didn't like, which I now think could have been used as building blocks. They might not have been perfect on their own, but I probably could have made them better with a little work. I also noticed that since I put a halt on my shopping (thrifting included) a few months ago, most of my clothes have gotten one heck of a work out. I mean, a lot of it will need replacing soon. Not really thrilled with that. It's okay though. I'll consider it a challenge and it will hopefully give me something to blog about along the way. I know I've been rambling on recently with no apparent point.
So, there you have it. Once trend a month to build my wardrobe and my confidence. Now to figure out which to start with....
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Organizing On A Budget
When I look around the web for organization ideas, I frequently find myself on pinterest. The thing that strikes me most is that there are so many beautiful ideas for organization, but so few that seem budget friendly. I know there are lots that have items from the dollar store, which makes it less expensive, but looking at some of the pictures, they've purchased 20 of this item, 10 of that item, 12 of these and 5 of those. It adds up. I don't know about you, but I just don't have the cash to spare these days. Of course, I still want to be able to organize and have it look at least a little bit nice. Using matching boxes and tubs would be great, but its not in the cards right now. So what's a girl to do?
I'm going to closet shop and see if that gives me any options, the biggest problem with this is that after 2 garage sales and a massive purge, I'm not sure I'll have anything left that isn't already serving a purpose. Hopefully I can find a few things that will inspire me, if not then I'm left with a couple of other options. The first one being, live with things as they are, neat and tidy. The second is that I can try my hand at thrifting some storage options (my biggest issue here is that I sometimes can't see past what something is to what it could be.). Last option is use the little bit I have left on an Ikea gift card to pick up a few small organizational items.
My goals are to better organize my little pantry. To give you an idea of how big that space is, the door is 18 inches wide and standard height. Obviously it's slightly more roomy inside, off hand I think there are 5 shelves. To add some small storage both bathrooms (the master bathroom is the one most in need of this) and to give my little laundry room a greater sense of purpose. Hehe.
Not really wanting to spend too much cash right now, I'll probably go with a combination of 1 and 3. Who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and give all 3 a whirl!
I'm going to closet shop and see if that gives me any options, the biggest problem with this is that after 2 garage sales and a massive purge, I'm not sure I'll have anything left that isn't already serving a purpose. Hopefully I can find a few things that will inspire me, if not then I'm left with a couple of other options. The first one being, live with things as they are, neat and tidy. The second is that I can try my hand at thrifting some storage options (my biggest issue here is that I sometimes can't see past what something is to what it could be.). Last option is use the little bit I have left on an Ikea gift card to pick up a few small organizational items.
My goals are to better organize my little pantry. To give you an idea of how big that space is, the door is 18 inches wide and standard height. Obviously it's slightly more roomy inside, off hand I think there are 5 shelves. To add some small storage both bathrooms (the master bathroom is the one most in need of this) and to give my little laundry room a greater sense of purpose. Hehe.
Not really wanting to spend too much cash right now, I'll probably go with a combination of 1 and 3. Who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and give all 3 a whirl!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Picking a Style or Switching It Up
So, do you use thrifting to keep up your style or do you use it to help you try out new styles without paying a fortune for it?
I keep telling myself that I'm going to use thrifting as a way to try new colors and introduce a bit more bold, but so far, I've been fairly unsuccessful. Not because those things weren't available at my local stores, they were. I just seem to lean towards neutrals. Over and over again. The closest I got was a dark pink/purple t-shirt that had an ever so slight puff on the sleeve. So slight that you couldn't really notice it. And it was a t-shirt, which is my staple.
Honestly, the most bold and colorful thing I thrifted in 2012 was my makeup bag. Which I love, but I can't wear.
I know going in to the store I should have a good idea of what I'm looking for. About half the time I'm on target with that. Or maybe I'm half on target all of the time. I can go in and know I'm looking for tops. Or prints. Or core pieces. But I can't seem to go in and say, I absolutely must leave with a red top and something with print. I think it's because I feel it's force. On the flipside, if I don't force myself to try out this new stuff, I'll never really commit to being more stylish! Ahhhh! What do do what to do.
I'll keep my eyes open to see what's popular this year and I'll try and go in with a more focused approach. I am always looking for cardigans (I never find any in a size or style that flatters) and I'd like to find scarves. Everyone is wearing scarves now and I'd like to try it out, but not at $20-25 a pop. So far, no luck there.
I have gotten a couple of great core pieces (brand new jeans, khaki skirt, khaki shorts and a jean jacket). This makes me wonder, maybe I've got this thrifting thing backwards? Should I shop the thrift store for the core pieces and leave the accessories and fads for other stores sales? I hadn't really considered that before, but it seems like it could be a possibility.
I keep telling myself that I'm going to use thrifting as a way to try new colors and introduce a bit more bold, but so far, I've been fairly unsuccessful. Not because those things weren't available at my local stores, they were. I just seem to lean towards neutrals. Over and over again. The closest I got was a dark pink/purple t-shirt that had an ever so slight puff on the sleeve. So slight that you couldn't really notice it. And it was a t-shirt, which is my staple.
Honestly, the most bold and colorful thing I thrifted in 2012 was my makeup bag. Which I love, but I can't wear.
I know going in to the store I should have a good idea of what I'm looking for. About half the time I'm on target with that. Or maybe I'm half on target all of the time. I can go in and know I'm looking for tops. Or prints. Or core pieces. But I can't seem to go in and say, I absolutely must leave with a red top and something with print. I think it's because I feel it's force. On the flipside, if I don't force myself to try out this new stuff, I'll never really commit to being more stylish! Ahhhh! What do do what to do.
I'll keep my eyes open to see what's popular this year and I'll try and go in with a more focused approach. I am always looking for cardigans (I never find any in a size or style that flatters) and I'd like to find scarves. Everyone is wearing scarves now and I'd like to try it out, but not at $20-25 a pop. So far, no luck there.
I have gotten a couple of great core pieces (brand new jeans, khaki skirt, khaki shorts and a jean jacket). This makes me wonder, maybe I've got this thrifting thing backwards? Should I shop the thrift store for the core pieces and leave the accessories and fads for other stores sales? I hadn't really considered that before, but it seems like it could be a possibility.
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