Mother's Day and Weekend Fun

I hope your Mother's Day went well and your Mothers felt appreciated and loved, just like any other day. And doesn't my mom look fantastic! She has a great fashion sense and I love her top! It's from Talbot's in case you're interested:)

So I may have gone a little overboard on the thrifting Saturday. I love a good deal and it was so hard to pass up on awesome finds. I found the most amazing dining room set that was danish modern and was big enough to help fill a void in our ginormous dining room, but it was a little out of our price range and I had no way to transport it:( C'est la vie!! But I did run away with a brand new pair of Paper Denim Cloth jeans, a yellow Jcrew dress, a NWT Target skirt from Goodwill for my Mom, a crocheted blanket, a ton of pretty fabric, 2 Pyrex mixing bowls, chambray skirt, and more crap. I didn't spend a lot of money, but damn!! Tons of stuff! Thrift stores are becoming my crack or something!!! I will stay away until my trip to Kansas. I heard the midwest thrift stores are amazing!!

My outfit today was for a low key Mother's Day and I just wanted to be comfortable for all the running around we'd be doing. I ended up meeting my parents at church and enjoyed a fun service which was lead by the church's youth group. Then it was time for brunch, so we decided on a yummy place call No Frill Grill and enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast, while discussing the Betty White SNL episode (mainly the muffin skit) and we all laughed our asses off. Later on, Zach and I took his mom to Chilies for lunch (her pick) and since I had brunch I wasn't too hungry for lunch so I decided on a yummy Electric blue cocktail that didn't have enough rum in it. I hate paying $6 for a drink and they splash it with liquor instead of the suggested amount. I guess they were saving all the liquor for the rest of night:( Oh well. And then on our way to the grocery store we took a detour to a duck pond for my outfit photos.

Top, H&M ($5) Jeans, Thrifted ($4) Wedges, Payless ($10) Scarf, Target ($4)

Summer Memories Revisited

Summer time thrifting is definitley taking me back to my childhood, where my mom would take my sister and I to grab an arm full of summer time play clothes, since we'd be playing hard and getting dirty. As of right now I am in need of some new (to me) clothes since currently I have about 4 summer dresses, 1 pair of shorts, and a few light weight skirts. And since today will be spent thrifting and maybe a pedicure, I'm planning on wearing something easy and breezy for the warm summery day. I found this dress at Ross last week for only $10 and I was instantly in love with the print. It's perfect for a day like today!

Oh and remember the good ole days in the summer, where you'd meet all the neighborhood kids and play into the dusk? I do, and those days are the most precious in my memories. I loved having that freedom to explore, have fun, and catch lighting bugs. Friday evening was one of those nights. A group of friends decided it would be a great idea to grab a kick ball and play at a middle school in our neighborhood and it couldn't have been more fun. We even encouraged other families to join in the fun and it was pretty fantastic. Kids playing with adults is always good for a laugh, especially when they kick your butt! I only wish I had my camera to capture that evening of fun.

Dress, Ross ($10) Belt, Target ($3) Sandals, Ross ($13) Bracelet, Co-worker ($3)

The Art of Rummage

Rummaging is probably one of my favorite hobbies (and Zach's least favorite hobby). I tend to find such neat things just waiting to be grabbed and saved from a distraught future of dusty antique stores and cluttered thriftstores or even dumpsters.

For example, this really cool looking Thomas O'Brien table was just sitting by our dumpster. I was on my way to grab it when Zach said, "What are you doing? We don't need that!" I tried to support my argument for needing a cohesive coffee table because we are currently using 2 Ikea side tables pushed together. He didn't buy it. So there it sat destined to be picked up by yesterday's garbage truck. Just as it was about to be whisked away, I claimed that little bastard as my own and took it up the fire escape. And now it sits in my dining room waiting for some TLC and a good wipe down. And there's the story of my new coffee table.

It's also the story for much of my life. I love to own second hand stuff (especially if it's free) and it just makes me feel more proactive about supporting Green Friendly environment.

And now on to my outfit. Much like most of my outfits, this is almost completely thrifted. All but the shoes at least. Something about used flip flops just doesn't appeal to me for some reason. I'm weird that way I guess:) Well, obviously this isn't an outfit I'd wear to work, but rather for a walk with the pup and husband. Oddly enough we ended up at a cute little Italian restaurant that allows dogs to sit on the patio, which was fun.

Blouse, Thrifted ($3) Skirt, Thrifted ($3) Necklace, Swap (free) Shoes, TJMaxx ($20) Belt, Thrifted ($7)

And Now for Something Exciting!!.

You are not going to believe what I did today!!! I wore a dress as a blouse and it was revolutionary!!! hehehe...just kidding, but remixing this dress has been a priority of mine, since my summer/spring wardrobe is seeming more and more lackluster lately. I guess that means I just need to get to the thriftstore and start buying more crap:) Anyways, this dress has been one of my favorite pieces for the last month. I think I've worn it five times now! I was trying to go for a 70s inspired look today, complete with vintage wedges (never worn!!!) along with my vintage pleated skirt.

And some bright colored accessories really pulled it all together. The yellow bracelet is for the flecks of yellow in my dress (very hard to see) and then the sage belt just added a bit of contrast to my otherwise black and white outfit.

And for tonight's plans!!! I am excited to announce that I will be spending my evening watching a mini marathon of the Rachel Zoe Project with my friend 'D' while munching on food and looking at those trashy star magazine (we all have our guilty pleasures, right?). Have a fun Cinco De Mayo!!

Dress, Little Ocean Annie's ($12) Skirt, Thrifted ($2) Wedges, Thrifted ($7) Bracelet, Antique ($4) Sunnies, Forever21 ($2)

Is She Wearing Any Clothes?

This dress is one of my latest thrift finds from Friday night and I was completely smitten by the print. It kind of reminded me of a green version of the Dynamite dress only with a poofy skirt (which I love!) I can't wait to start remixing this dress for kicks and giggles. And speaking of giggles, my coworkers were giving me the strangest looks when I came into work this morning. Since I was walking in 80 degree weather I wasn't wearing my cardigan when I came in and as I started getting my stuff together at my teller station my friend finally asked "Are you wearing a shirt?!!!" As if I'd materialize my naked at work nightmare ! Apparently, since our teller counter is so high all you can see are my bare shoulders! Hahahah!!! It was pretty funny, but I promptly put on the cardigan so customers wouldn't get the wrong idea:)

Oh and I was walking a different way to work this morning when I stumbled across this door to an old run down office building. I couldn't get over how vibrant it was against the other grey concrete buildings. I almost forgot about it, until Zach and I decided to drive to Panera and we passed by said door.

We got out and started snapping pictures and I wasn't even nervous about being in front of a bunch of people. This was one of my first photo sessions that was right out there in the open with people driving/walking by! I don't know why I get so shy, but today was kind of a break through for me.

Dress, Thrifted ($7) Heels, Target ($5) Cardigan, H&M ($5) Necklace, Consignment ($14)

Art Everywhere

Last night was one of the most splendid nights I've had in a long while. It was full of whimsy, art and wonderful people. Since Ghent has a very large art population (an artist I am not, but know plenty of them) we were instantly aware of a huge art instillation going on right in our our backyard. Basically, since the economic downturn, we've experienced a lot of business closings in our downtown area, so the empty store fronts just stood as a reminder of hard times, tough luck, and just plain ugliness. This was rectified by a fun project to help the aesthetic of our downtown area, while bringing attention to buildings that are actually for lease.

Our neighbors are wonderful people and activists in our area, and created the most wonderful space that would bring an awareness to the growing homeless population in our city. It's quite sad and I have wonderful conservations with the homeless population on a daily basis. They almost all have jobs, but are just down on their luck. It's quite expensive to live here, and I'll be the first to say that if I didn't have Zach or a caring family, I'd probably be living in a shelter, making the money I make. It's quite depressing for people trying to make a living and not getting anywhere. Anyways, their window display was of a makeshift room with a bed, nightstand, and chair and they've created a living exhibit for people in the city to take turns living in throughout the next couple of months. It's a wonderful idea and sparked a lot of curiosity from city leaders and city dwellers.

They also used the window to draw people as they walked by since they needed something to do.

Here are a few pictures that exposed the creativity that resides in our little city. The talent that pours from this city, just makes me proud to be from Norfolk.

Oh! My Feet!

The week has brought about a change in my activity level, when it comes to exercise. I started walking to and from work and now I am trying to experience a whole new lifestyle sans car, which is great since my car is out of gas and my inspection is expired. It also means having sore feet for a while. I walk about 2 miles a day now and I may have to invest in a good pair of walking shoes and not my cute wedges.

Anyways, my feet were killing me yesterday, but I still needed to take my outfit pics and walk Starla. It was so beautiful outside and I was so stoked to put on my springiest skirt, since it was finally warm outside to do so. Truth be told, I have had a hard time trying to piece this skirt with other things in my closet, so I kept it a little neutral with interest in the textures. I paired a laced shirt that mimics the floral pattern on the skirt, and then added my brown accessories and finally my favorite shrunken blazer.

Although, it was a lovely outfit to walk around in, I think next time I'll have to get some shoes that are function then fashion:( hehehe... And then tomorrow will be my day to get a pedicure, for sure! I deserve it, what with all this walking.

Blouse, Thrifted ($2) Skirt, Thrifted ($2) Ralph Lauren Belt, Thrifted ($4) Wedges, Thrifted ($6) Blazer, Thrifted ($2) Liz Clairborne Sunnies, TJMaxx ($10)

Holy Moly! This outfit was frickin' cheap! I mean inexpensive:)