06.19.12

I haven't posted in a VERY long time, but I thought I would start back since school is out and I have some more time on my hands. I've decided to go with a new format for each post - a picture from each day and a post to go with the picture.

I've recently started decorating our house, which has been a ton of fun. And it's been really nice to finally have somewhere that feels like home, somewhere to make OURS. We've moved around A LOT the past couple of years and haven't been able to plant our roots anywhere.

I went thrifting yesterday, which is one of my favorite ways to spend the afternoon. And I found a couple things for the house. Along with a pretty awesome shirt. One of the things I found was this pitcher, which has initials carved in the bottom, which makes me think it was handmade. We have this huge bookshelf from IKEA that is a pretty huge disaster zone right now and it looks perfect on one of the shelves. And it is slowly turning into something we can stand to look at every day.

It's the little things that make a house a home.

thrifting thursday - wearing nothing new.

Hey guys! I just finished packing the last of our twenty-five shoe boxes and my hands are killing me from all the rubberbands I had to stretch. So I'm just going to share this pretty awesome TED talk the wonderful husband found the other night.

Watch. Enjoy. Take something from it.
And please let us know what you got out of the video! I'd love to talk about it.

thrifting thursday - born to be "thrift-y"

Hey guys! Long time no see! :) I'm finally starting the new thrifting series, which I am pretty excited about. I thought a good way to kick it off would be with a guest post from my friend Jessie over at Aimless in Wander. We went to grad school together and I thought she had great story connected to thrifting, so today she's going to share it with y'all. Hope you enjoy! And don't forget to stop by her lovely blog and say hello! :) 

My story of what it means to "thrift," why thrifting is so important and how it has changed my life and can change yours, begins with my mother in 1984, the year I was born.

My mom raised me to "thrift"....
She was a single parent my whole life and so of course, we didn't have much money but she wanted me to have cute and comfy clothes to wear as a child, and stylish, trendy clothes to express myself with as an adolescent and during my teenage years…..just like any parent would want to do. She would find higher end thrift stores that had seasonal sales and wait until they were doing their 50% off sales in preparation for closing until the next season's opening. The one store that we shopped at all my life (and still do to this day) is called "The Children's Exchange." They sell second hand clothes for men, women and of course, children and over the past 8 years, they began selling second hand household goods and furniture as well. They have been open in Columbia for 25 years and have changed locations about 5 times that I can remember, but the same ladies have always run it. They have watched me grow up and been there through good times and bad in me and my mother’s lives.  One of these particularly good times was May 2010, the month and year that I got married.  One of the women from the Children’s Exchange, Liz, had worked in her uncle’s florist shop as a young girl.  In as much, she has a plethora of knowledge about flowers, arrangements and has her own beautiful garden at her home.  When she learned of my upcoming nuptials, she asked who was doing my flowers. When I informed her I planned on doing everything for the wedding myself (as we were on a tight budget) Liz offered to designed and create the flower arrangements, bouquets and boutonnieres for my wedding…for free. She even took me, my mother and other members of my wedding party to a local florist wholesale shop (where she had connections) to help advise me on what flowers to choose and so forth.  I offered to pay her for her time and skills in doing all this, but she refused repeatedly saying she just wanted to be part of my wedding after being part of my life for so long. Below are some pictures of my bouquet, arrangements and the bridesmaid’s flowers.

 

Over the past 4 years, my mother has become what I officially call, a “Goodwill Huntress.”  The things she finds at Goodwill are AMAZING! It sort of became her therapy to go every day after work to our 3 local Goodwill stores in search of those “killer” items. She’s got it down to a science, spending about 30 mins or less at each store each day and I could write a book telling you all the awesome stuff she’s found. I haven't had to go shopping for new clothes or shoes for about 2 years...at least! Every time I need a new piece of clothing or shoes or something for the house or even if my husband needs something new, my mom always seems to have this knack for finding it in a few days at one of the locations. 

I, like my friend and fellow blogger Stephanie, don't like to wear what everyone else is wearing. I hate buying clothes from places where things are produced by the thousands and I know I am going to see this same shirt on someone at the grocery store.  Heck I work at a child development center where our staff numbers top off at 17 people and I have seen people more than once walk in wearing the same shirt or with the same purse over their shoulder.  Yikes.   

By shopping at places like Goodwill, or your locally owned thrift or second hand stores, you can make your own style, on your own terms, with your own budget. Not to mention the added bonus of not adding to the carbon footprint by supporting big business fashion factories (but that’s another blog post…) If you are like me, you don’t need your style choices validated by seeing on TV or in a magazine that what you are wearing or decorating your house with is “trending now” or in a Kardashian’s living room….blah blah blah…

You, dear reader, spin your own wheel of fashion and design destiny each time your step into an ambiently lit thrift store ready for “the hunt”….and if people are lucky enough (and savvy enough,) they will join you on your journey.

 
Closing thoughts before you turn off this computer and run to your nearest treasure trove…..Even now at Goodwill, my mom knows many of the employees by name (just like at the Children’s Exchange) and one night a few months ago when I stopped by the Goodwill because I saw my mother’s car there, she introduced me to some of the employees who passed by and they were all very excited to meet me and went on and on about how much they loved my mom. It was a touching experience. Not only can thrifting change our lives, but by thrifting, we can change someone else's life too, in so many ways.

Happy Thrifting!

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 - EIGHT!

1.   The best thing I did all week was    find out that I have the chance to help a child whose family is in desperate need possibly get some clothes and food.

2.   Sour gummy worms     make me super happy.

3.  Pets are   one of the greatest joys in life.

4.    The love of God and the chance to share that love with others   is the best thing about my life.

5.  With the cooler weather I am looking forward to   wearing scarves and boots, curling up with a blanket and a good book, hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows, crisp leaves, football and fall traditions in the cool autumn air, and CHRISTMAS!

6.  Something that's on my "wish list" right now is    a white oxford shirt, some great brown loafers, and a cool knit hat.

7.  This weekend I am going to    be working on getting more stuff for our giving project, be working on stuff for school, possibly going to some yard sales, going to church, and who knows what else yet...  All with my wonderful husband! :)

Coming up!
I'm pretty excited about the latest Goodwill haul I made, so once I finish washing all the stuff I got I'm going to be sharing. I'm getting more passionate about thrifting, so I want to try and share more of that with y'all.