why i thrift.

So. I get pretty passionate about a few things, and one of them is personal style. I'm a big believer in putting time, effort and thought into how you look everyday because I believe that how you choose to present yourself to the world speaks VOLUMES about who you are as a person.

Because my personal style is so important to me, I have developed quite an, um, fondness for shopping. I love clothing, accessories, shoes, make-up and all you can do with them! I'm a pretty artistic person and because don't always have time to sit down with a paintbrush and canvas as my creative outlet, I have found that I can funnel some of that creative energy through the way I dress.

In order to keep my individuality and to be able to constantly satisfy that part of me that wants to be creative with my personal style and use it as a way to express myself, I have had to really stop and look at how I shop, and had to be very intentional about the way I do so. One of the biggest intentional choices I have made in the past year is to start doing as much shopping as possible at thrift stores. And as I have become a more avid thrift store shopper, it has become something in which I very strongly believe. I no longer do it just because I can find some good deals, or because there are really great unique pieces in thrift stores. There are SO many more reasons why it's important to me. And this post is going to be the first of many where I hope to start sharing this important part of my life with y'all.

But for today, I just wanted to show you why it TOTALLY pays to thrift. I don't know how many of you go to your local thrift stores or buy clothes from them. But I do know that I personally know a lot of people who have attached quite a stigma to shopping at a Goodwill or something similar. And I used to be the same way. Promise! There was a time when I only shopped at the mall and you would have had to have paid me money to get me to go in a thrift store. But after some time and after a good bit of heart change, I realized I was TOTALLY not above wearing someone else's clothes. And that I am no better than the people to whom I'm donating clothes. And I'm doing a lot of good for society and the environment by helping produce less waste when I buy re-used clothing. And I'm doing a lot of good for my family when I'm saving money on clothing. And when I spend less on clothes, I have that much more to put toward things that are more important.

But anway. Enough preaching. Here are some pictures of some stuff I wear that's either vintage or thrifted. Please excuse the quality - I took them with my iPod!

So here's an outfit I wear pretty regularly. This is a vintage 80's shirt from Goodwill for $3. And I've had at least three people ask me where I got it.

Can you guess what was thrifted here? If you guessed the dress, shoes and purse then you're right. I got them all from Goodwill together for $10 total. The dress is a Target brand, which I normally don't buy at thrift stores, but it was in perfect condition. This goes to show, though, that you can find a wide range of items.

Here is a vintage 80's sweater I got at Goodwill for $3.79. It's still in excellent condition and it is totally my style. Finds like these are why I thrift. Because I know I'm not going to find them anywhere else.

So if you've read this far, I am not at all trying to sound all braggy-braggy. I'm not trying to be, like, "Look at me! I buy used clothes and that makes me better than all y'all who don't!" I'm really just trying to share something with you guys that's important to me and help y'all understand WHY it's so important. And maybe, just maybe, if you've never tried it...you might get the guts to do it. Because, if nothing else, I think it's a ton of fun just to go try on some of the crazy clothes you might find and get some good pictures! And Nate and I like to go on the weekends together and see what kind of random things we can get into. Because you really never know what you'll see or find at a thrift store.

And if you're interested in more information, here some links you can check out:

The Tyranny of Trends (a great article on fashion, trends, and the impact on society)

Adored Austin (one of my favorite bloggers who is a serious thrifter)

my edit. (another of my favorite bloggers who is thrifting inspiration)

Thank y'all for reading! And please leave comments! I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject. And any questions you might have. I want to keep this topic going, maybe even start a "Thrifting Thursday" or something. Who knows? But only if I feel like it'll go somewhere! It's kind of a leap from the personal blogging that I've been doing, but it's something that's been on my mind for awhile now. So FEEDBACK PLEASE AND THANK YOU! :)

fill in the blank friday - five!

Well, today was the last day of our summer program at school! And while I'm very excited about having some time off, I have to say I'm pretty sad about seeing some of the children go. Not all of the kids who were in the program are going to be returning to the school, so I probably won't be seeing them again. They'll be going off to other schools. And a few of the children who have been at my school will now be going on to public school or to classrooms for children without disabilities. Sooooooo...even though I'm really going to miss them, it's pretty awesome that they're getting to take this big step! And it really is what we ultimately want for all of our children - to be able to move on to an environment where they can be fully included.

Anway. It's FRIDAY! And we all know what that means - filling in the blanks! So, here we gooooo...

{photo by Caroline of Coeur de La Photography}

1.   My go to outfit for a dress-up occasion like a wedding is   a dark purple Taylor dress that I absolutely love and look for any excuse to wear.

2.  This week has been    very full. And revealing. And major.

3.  When it's dinnertime and I'm feeling lazy I'll usually eat     omelettes. Or grits and salmon patties. Or a big salad.

4.  My favorite pair of shoes is   probably the boots Nate got me for Christmas last year. Or my new chucks.

5.  A random item that I own that is completely unnecessary, but that I could never part with is      this vintage glass decorative piece that belonged to my grandmother when she was alive. It's pretty cool, but it looks more like a marijuana smoking device than a vase.

6.  My favorite person is    well, obviously, the husband. ;)

7.  If I were going to write my own blank it would say   "What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning? What are you going to do tomorrow morning?". 

If you want to join up, go here to 'the little things we do' and follow the instructions. And have fun! :)

 

Oh, and answer my fill in the the blank in a comment, too!

it's my birthdayyyyy!

Well, not technically. It was actually on Monday. But I've been busy. I don't have much time right now. But I just have to stop by and say that I am SUPER excited for three reasons.


ONE.
Nate got me a great new leather purse. Pictured here:

 
TWO.
I got some new birthday chucks from the parents!

THREE.
I got a ton of money to use on new books for my nook. The first book I'm getting ready to start reading is "The Happiness Project." A few more I bought are "One Thousand Gifts," "Still Alice," and "Pictures of You" by Caroline Leavitt. If any of y'all have read any of these, let me know how they were or what you thought! I'm pretty excited to get started on them!

PS.
Look at these awesome birthday cupcakes Nate's mom made me! (I LOVE penguins, btw.)

And the great card that came with them and surprised the mess out of me with confetti!

Basically, I'm having a pretty great birthday week.
More in-depthness to come soon. Promise! :)  

all about me.

So, I won an award from the lovely Taylor over at Duely Noted which requires me to tell seven things about myself. This post has been in draft form for quite awhile now because I've been a little busy with other things and because, well, it's been really hard to come up with seven things that I don't think are going to bore y'all to tears! I haven't decided who to pass the award on to yet, so for now here are the facts about me.

1. I absolutely HATE veins. They gross me out to no end. Which probably has something to do with the fact that I don't handle blood well. I know it's our lifesource. And I know they pump that lifesource through our bodies. But I really just don't care. I hate that I can see mine straight through my skin. And I do not enjoy when they stick out and you can feel them poking through. Ew ew ew ew. EW.

2. I watched the Kay Jewelers commercials until I was 21 years old without realizing the connection between kisses coming from their jewelry and the word 'kiss' starting with the letter 'k.' (Yes. I do teach your children.)

3. My all-time favorite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany's. I have watched it so many times I've lost count. I've never read the book, but it's on my list. And I've heard it's quite different from the movie, so it should be interesting!

4. I have always been a really picky eater. I've slowly started to branch out, but it's taken a lot of time. It's like I get scared when I go to try new foods and start to have panic attacks. Really weird. Anyway. Until I was 19 years old, the only kind of sandwich that had touched my mouth was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Which, might I add, was the ONLY thing I ate for lunch all the way from kindergarten to middle school except for the days we had pepperoni pizza.

5. I was adopted. When I was an itty-bitty little baby. Which I think is pretty cool. And makes me special. And makes my family special. And makes Nate and me want to adopt just that much more. I think adoption is a pretty wonderful thing. :)

6. I am NOT a morning person. I try and try and try and try and try to be. But I'm not. I will get up early when I have to but it is entirely out of duty and not at all out of joy. Don't get me wrong, I wake up and know that each day is a blessing and approach it that way, but I just need some time to get going because I also understand that sleep is a blessing too. This is something I really want to change about myself.

7. I'm addicted to lists. To-do lists. Grocery lists. Christmas lists. Wish lists. My Barnes and Noble wish list for my Nook has over 100 books on it. And our Netflix DVD queue? 224 movies. And how many of those is Nate responsible for? Probably about three. I understand that there is no possible way for us to watch all of those movies any time in the next, like, ten years. And I understand that I have a problem. But my lists calm me. And they make me happy. So I will probably keep making them.

Okay. That is all. The next post is going to be one from the trust30 challenge because I need to get back on track with that.

And so I don't feel like I just rambled incessantly about myself, why don't you leave me some random entertaining tid-bit about yourself? It'll be fun! And it'll be nice for us to get to know our readers a little better! :)