Wow...Really?

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!

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....

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!

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.

Style in the New Year

Part of my goal in starting this blog last year was to find some personal style.  I've made some small steps, but I've still got a long way to travel.  I have a hard time seeing past single items.  I rarely see clothes in layers.  I see a v-neck sweater and I think..good with jeans.  Done.  Then I look around at style blogs and see people with 3 & 4 layers of shirts, plus accessories, bags and shoes to match and realize how far I still have to go.

There's nothing wrong with my casual t-shirt and jeans style, it works for me and the life I live.  Carting kids to school, cooking dinners, going to doctors appointments and the grocery store don't really require an involved wardrobe, but I'd still like more from my clothes.  Or from myself, I suppose it's not the clothes fault I haven't got it all figured out yet.  Hehe.

One of the issues that I seem to constantly struggle with is whether or not an outfit or style is too "young" for me.  Now, I'm not even bordering on old yet (I'm 36), but some of the fashions out there that are really cute, seem to be designed for someone much younger than me in mind.  It could be my imagination or it could be that I just see them in photos of women who look very young.  For instance, skinny color pop jeans.  They're everywhere!  I can't turn a corner without running into someone wearing a pair, that being said, I'm not sure I've seen anyone over 30 in them.  If I have, then they were very young looking!

Another issue with some of the more popular styles is that I don't ever seem to look right in them.  I'm talking about maxi dresses.  I've tried on a dozen of them and I'm always left feeling short and dumpy.  The seem to be better suited for wearing to bed then for wearing out once they're on my frame.  Maybe a maxi skirt is the way to go instead?

So, my options are to keep dressing the way I do and feel moderately dissatisfied with it or I can go outside my comfort zone, be uncomfortable, but slightly adventurous.  One thing I do know is that I won't be able to figure out these outfits on my own.  I'm going to be looking high and low for inspiration(pinspiration, really, since that's where I'll be starting my search)  It'll be slow, maybe one outfit a month, but that's probably a good pace for a fashion noob like me.  :)

Goals Moving Forward

Every new year we put a lot of pressure on ourselves (most of us anyhow) to do better, be better, look better and I'm no different.  I find it so easy to see all the places I'm lacking and start making promises to fix them.

I'm not sure that I want to make resolutions this year.  It feels a bit daunting.  Somehow, calling the things I want to do "resolutions" makes me wonder if I'll reach the finish line.  Is there a finish line with resolutions?  I suppose they should be ongoing things.  I don't really know.

I think I'll just have goals.  Things that would be nice to see happen, but my world won't fall apart if they don't.  I might even have a lot of goals, but that's okay, because nothing is going to go wrong if I don't reach them.  Goals don't expire in a year, they can go on (unless, of course, there's a time limit, haha) and on.

Here we go, goals that I'll be starting now and continuing til I see fit.

365 days of fitness.  This sounds like a bigger deal than it is.  I'm going to make it a goal of mine to get some sort of activity that will help me and my family stay fit for just 10 minutes a day.  It can be planned (like a hike or a run), it can be unplanned (an impromptu game of tag at the park), it can be boring (jumping jacks and sit ups) or it can be a blast (color me rad {did this over the summer with my son, what a good time!}).  I don't expect huge changes at 10 minutes a day, but it will keep all of us thinking about our health and fitness and that can't be bad.  And if I miss a day?  So what.  I get to try again tomorrow.

Photo a day challenge.  This one is inspired by fat mum slims blog and photo challenge.  The hubs and kids got me a camera for Christmas 2011 and it hasn't gotten nearly the use it should.  I figure with this challenge I may just learn to use my camera more and how to use all its neat little functions.  It'll likely be a slow process (the learning) but that's okay.  I love that the photo challenge has prompts on what subject to take pictures of, this takes the burdon off of me, which is good, because I'd probably wind up taking pictures of the same things over and over.  Again, if I miss a day?  No big deal, the world doesn't come screeching to a halt because I haven't taken a photograph.  I will be posting my pics here.  Maybe daily, maybe weekly.  I suppose it depends on the kind of time and motivation I have.

Making thrifting a reasonable part of my life.  I don't want to get into the habit of shopping just to shop but when it comes to thrifting, that's exactly what I did last year.  Sure, it didn't break the bank, but I think, moving forward, I'd like to thrift with more purpose.  I need to organize less than I did when I began this blog, but my personal style hasn't really gotten much better, so thrifting is still a great way to work on that.  I am still looking for things for my apartment as well, so I'll keep updating as those things get found.  :)

Cooking at home 6 days a week.  This isn't that much of a challenge, really.  I normally do it and plan to continue to do so, I'm putting it here because from November through the years end, we ate out a lot.  It was mostly due to the move, the holidays and being frazzled, but it's all done now and I think it's important to get back to normal.  Or whatever normal is around here.

Read a book a month.  This is a very small (almost lame, it's so small) goal.  I have always been a reader, I love it, I preach it to my kids, but for some reason I haven't been doing nearly enough of it.  So, I'm going to try to make it a goal to read one book a month (at least) this year.  Get back to doing something I love.  It'll make me happy and that bodes well for the fam.  :)

That's it.  Nothing earth shattering, nothing scary, just a few goals to make my life more enjoyable.  So what about you?  Any personal goals, resolutions and promises to fill?

Only A Week To Go

This move has been hard on my sleep schedule! I'm glad it will be done in a week. Today we got over to the new place and turned in our signed lease. The movers will be here on Friday to pack, though we won't be moving in until Tuesday. This weekend will probably feel pretty long without all of our stuff to fool around with. I was reading over the terms of our lease and found it funny that they mention avoiding buying second hand furniture. They're trying to avoid bedbug outbreaks, of course, but I still found it amusing as I was reading. I purchase plenty of second hand items, no furniture as yet, but clothes for sure. I suppose they'd frown upon that too. Speaking of second hand...I think I'll be hitting the thrift stores after the holidays to find some new bits and pieces to make the new place feel like home. I'm mostly going to be looking for frames and glassware, stuff for shelves. I don't want to assume I'm going to be able to make purchases, of course, because I really don't know what our financial situation will be. If the hubs hasn't found work yet, even if I've managed to find something, our income will be meager. Ideally, if he does find work, I'd like to put together a nice set (of mismatched,hehe, is that really a set?) white dinnerware. Oh, and speaking of jobs, I'm going to HAVE (yay!) to hit the goodwill for some interview clothes. As it stands now, I've got nothing but jeans, t's and workout gear.

2 Weeks Plus a Few Days

That's how long until we move to the new apartment. Every time we move I forget. I forget that no matter how ready you think you are to move, you just aren't. Financially, emotionally, physically. At least I'm not. Ever. It's funny, because I always believe that I've got everything under control. And then along comes that moment when I realize I was just kidding myself. I had that moment a couple of days ago. Even though everything is moving forward, I'm just not ready. This move is the same as all of the others in many ways and it's so different in others. This move signifies the end Dave's military career. 20 years and now it's done. It signifies a choice that we made, not the Navy, to decide where we live. There's unlikely to be an opportunity in a few years for us to pick up and start again. This. Is. It. I'm terrified. Fortunately, he's not. Which is good, because one of us needs to be able to remain rational. It can't be my job, I can't handle it. He's going back to school and will be looking for work. I, too, will have to look for work. I've been a stay at home mom for 11 years. I didn't work during my pregnancy either. 12 years since I've worked. I worry. My oldest is autistic and being available to him, the school, his teachers has always been my goal. This will be difficult now. Not impossible, of course, but more difficult just the same. Both kids will (next year) have the same schedule, but for the remainder of this year it's different and neither gets bused. Right now we live close enough to walk one and drive the other. At the new apartment we will drive both to different schools, next year to the same school with the same hours. This will hopefully make it easier to find work. Not having to work around the hours of 2 different school schedules. I hope. On the plus side, I think I'll be having another yard sale. I need to get rid of a few more things that just won't fit at the new place and I really don't want to get a storage locker. So, I think maybe the weekend after this one coming I'll give another one a try. It's also giving me a really great opportunity to really purge the house. Closets, garage, everything! This is good because I can certainly tend to be a bit of a pack rat. I want the new place to be as free from clutter as possible. That would be ideal, so going in with less is the best way to start. Frugality is going to be a necessary part of every day life now, which is good. Having everyone on board with that is really exciting to me. In the past, I've felt like I've been only half on board with being as frugal and thrifty as I want to be, so that will be a nice change of pace. That will also make it easier for me to blog about being thrifty (and organized!) since it will be necessary, not just kind of a hobby. The one thing that breaks my heart the most though, is that the move is costing way more, up front, than we realized. It's pretty much going to eat through everything we have and that means the holidays are going to be very, very rough. :( I'm hoping the kids can enjoy the spirit of the holiday (which they always have) even when they know presents will be lean. It's tough, but they're good boys and I have faith that they'll understand.

A Couple of Thrifted Finds

While my mom was visiting we took a day to spend together, just the two of us girls. It started at The Good Will Store, headed to a consignment store and then an Antique Mall. We had lunch and hit up Marshall's and Old Navy. Apart from just having a fantastic time shopping and goofing off with my mom, I found a couple of good deals. Sadly, my skill at picture taking hasn't really improved much. Heh. I have been wanting (for a couple of years now) this shirt from Target, it's a One Star, long sleeve, button down top. Simple, but cute. Initially I wanted it in blue. I am pretty confident that it was 29.99 when I first decided I loved it. Now, it's 22.99. I can't explain why, but the price just rubbed me the wrong way. And that was before I began thrifting. Well, my hesitation paid off, I found one at the Good Will in my size, but in a different color than I'd have initally chosen. I didn't even care! It's a very light pink, I can wear it on its own or unbuttoned with a tank under it. I love it!

I was also able to find a 3/4 sleeve striped top from Banana Republic. It's a soft tee shirt with tiny button details on the sleeve. Very casual and easy to wear in the fall. It's got a wide neck, cutting almost to the shoulders, boat neck? Is that what it's called? I don't know. It's cute, it fit and I like it. :D

 I know, it's all wrinkly in the picture because I was too anxious to get the pic after I'd washed it.  I'm lazy like that.  Might explain the disappointing photography skills, eh?

My last great find of the day was a little LeSportSac make up bag.  This little bag is 20 bucks new and I got it for less than 3.  It's practically brand new.  In fact, I'd guess it had been used once.  Love it.  It's funny, because when I saw it, I hemmed and hawed.  I need a new make up bag, mine isn't really coming clean anymore and I've been turning my nose up at the $10 + pricetags of the new ones.  But for some reason, I couldn't commit to this initially.  Finally though, I did.  And I'm glad!

At this point we moved on to a local consignment shop.  I wasn't impressed with much of what they had.  It felt as though very little of it had been cleaned prior to being brought in.  Very disappointing.  Left with nothing.

The antique mall was fantastic and I would have left with about anything in the store, loved it all.  But since I'm moving soon, I would like to wait before picking up any of those fantastic items.  Gorgeous chairs, handmade doilies, cake plates, crystal items.  Looove!  Favorite thing there?  !940-50's style short white gloves with teeny button details.  If I could have them, I promise I'd wear a dress and do my hair every day!  ;)

Unplanned Hiatus...Oops

Honest.  I hadn't planned to stop my journey.  Thrifting and decluttering are things I'm still thinking about daily.  It's funny that I think about it all the time, but I manage to forget to do the actual blogging.  Go figure.

I've decided to broaden my focus here.  I'm going to thrift, declutter and find my personal style (both on my person and in my home), but I'm also going to share my opinions on things I try.  Be it visits to local places or products I've tried.  Seems like that will give me a bit more opportunity to blog.  Sometimes I don't have a chance to go searching around the thrift stores or I'm not up for decluttering.

We're moving soon.  In the next 2-5 months.  Needless to say, that means some major decluttering going on.  I'm trying to plan a yard sale.  It's hard though.  I've never had one before, been to plenty, but never held my own.  I don't know what my old stuff will be worth to anyone, if anyone wants it at all.  I don't want to overvalue it and not sell anything nor do I want to undervalue it and cheat myself out of a few bucks.  I read that 70% off of the initial value is a good starting point.  I assume that's for stuff in great condition.  I have items here that are still perfectly usable, but not as pretty as they once were.  I'd still like to see if I can get a couple of bucks for those things.  Not surprisingly, I'm also worried about selling something and finding out later that I needed it.  Wouldn't that be a pain in the rear.  I'm fortunate to live in pretty much the perfect spot for a yard sale, so if I can make it past the planning stages, I know I can at least get people to stop by.

Hmm.  For now, I guess that's all I've got.  Promising myself I'll be diligent about blogging moving forward.  Yay me!

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.

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.