Sunday Style - A Bold Print

I'm getting more daring with my style choices as I age!!  When I'm spending less than $5 for each piece of my wardrobe - why not take a chance!!

This skirt was one of those bold choices!! This winter, I picked it up at my local Salvation Army for just $3.99.  I had to wait a few months to finally wear it, but it was worth the wait.  

I paired the skirt with a simple J Crew chambray  and vintage leather heels also from Salvation Army.    The heels are just soooo fun.  I'm always on the hunt for vintage shoes, but I rarely find them in my size!!  These Italian leather heels were steal at just $4.99.

I also added one of my favorite necklaces and bracelets, gifts from friends.

My outfit total is just $12!!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Nikki

Thrifted Style - Big Red

I love bright, bold colors and red is one of my favorite go to colors.  This outfit has lots of RED!!

This past year, I've been adding bold color to my wardrobe by finding pants, shorts, or skirts in hues that I wouldn't normally wear on my bottom half.  When I found these red pants, I was excited to give them a try.

These pants are casual enough that I could wear them everyday all day, but I think they can be dressed up a bit.  I found them at my local Salvation Army Family Thrift Store for $2.49 (1/2 price tag).  My blouse is from Tommy Hilfiger and my sandals are Keens also thrifted from SAFT.  

This outfit is so comfy - I ran errands, went to a homeschool co-op and then to work.  I was tempted to put it on again the next day too, but I didn't!!

I was finally able to do something with this hair of mine that I can seem to fix-a simple braid tucked behind my ear.  I did it on the first try.  I was so happy to show it off to the family.  They weren't as impressed as I was!!

My whole outfit from head to toe was under $10!!

Be Thrifty!!

  

Sunday Style - A Jumpsuit

I have been on the hunt for a jumpsuit for several months.  I've tried on several.  My biggest complaints they were too short, too tight in all the wrong places, and just fit badly.  Since I have a long torso and long legs, it is very difficult to find a jumpsuit!!  I found several on Target's website and order a fews.  With free shipping and returns, it was easy for me to order options and return the ones I didn't want back to my local store.  I finally decided on this one!!!  The hunt was over.
I don't normally buy something that isn't on sale, but I had been saving back some money specifically for a jumpsuit, so I went for it!!

Even though my outfit isn't from a garage sale or thrift store, I had to share!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Nikki

Friday Finds

One of my favorite thrift stores in KC is a little Family Thrift Store at Bannister and Blue Ridge.  It's been one of my favorites since I moved to KC in 1998.  Our first little rental house was just a few miles from here and I would shop at the near by Aldi and Price Chopper and I think that is how I stumbled upon this little hidden treasure!!

It had been several months since I had visited Family Thrift, so this week I had a chance to go and check out the deals!!   Today was manly a baby girl clothing day, but I did find a few other fun things.

What little girl doesn't need a ballet skirt??  

$.99

 Tea is an expensive brand sold in places like Nordstrom.  I have a found a few other Tea items at thrift stores and they hold up well in the wash.   I can see pairing this with jeans or a pair of cords.

$1.48

Children's Place Summer Tank

$.75

I'm always on the hunt for Scrabble boards.  Since Christmas, I hadn't found a single one until today!!

$1.98

Oilily is a European brand that you don't find secondhand very often, except for Ebay.  On Oilily's website, this would have cost me about $60.  I love the mix of patterns and the hidden little deer in the dress/tunic print.

$.99

Skirts! Skirts! and more Skirts!!  

$.99 for the top skirt

$1.48 each for the bottom two skirts

Love classic movies

$1.98

This is my absolute favorite find of the day!!  This vintage dress is absolutely gorgeous in person.  I'm a sucker for vintage. When I sent a picture of this to mom, she said this is a totally Annie dress and I have to agree!!  And my little curly haired girl will look adorable in this dress!!

$.99

I also hit Maj-r Thrift in Grandview.  I don't always like their prices, but they always have two tags for 50% off and two tags for 75% off and that's what I usually look for.  They also text me sales and special offers.  Today I was able to use to use a 50% coupon on one item - yippee!!

Ann Taylor Loft Blouse
$4.99 (50% off)
Love the shade of gray of this blouse.  It's very full and flawy!!  Can wait to dress it up!!

Embroidered Dress
$1.49 (50% off)
This dress is sooooo stinkin' cute!!  My daughter is going to rock this dress.  I wish I could find something like this for me!!

Vintage Fishing Basket Purse
$4.99
This purse is sublime!!  I'm always on the lookout for vintage/unique purses and this purse is both vintage and unique!!  The coolest features is the adjustable strap.  I'll be carrying this a lot this summer!!

Happy Thrifting!! 

Sunday Style - I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

This outfit makes me feel girly!!  I love the design of the daffodils, they almost seem real, only on a jumbo-tron!

I picked up the skirt at Goodwill a few weeks ago.  I had been looking for a midi length floral skirt and this one was perfect.  It's a tad big around the waist, hence the belt!!

I told my photographer, my son Jonathon, that I was going to attempt to twirl.  It's a lot harder in heels while trying to get the perfect shot!!  Here's what we got!!

To complete my outfit, I added my faithful Talbots beaded sweater, black belt, and heels.  My entire outfit is second hand and came in at under $10.

Be Thrifty and Enjoy Your Sunday!!

Thrifted Style - A Bit of a Stretch

I met up with a couple of my girlfriends from college for lunch and decided to wear something a bit different for me.  One of the fashion trends I've been seeing on some of the blogs I follow is combining a graphic tee with a full skirt.  Not sure if I'm pulling it off well, but it was fun for me to change it up a bit.  Jen and Angie are big country music fans, so I picked a fun CMA t-shirt!!

Live From Nashville T-shirt - $.99

Vintage Polka Dot Skirt - $3.99

Born Sandals - $2.99

Straw Purse - $2.99
Braided Belt - $1.99

Chaps Denim Jacket - $2.99

Total $14.94

Happy Thrifting!!

Sunday Style - My Favorite Style of Dress

When my boys were little, I didn't wear dresses.  They were too fussy to try to wrangle three little boys in.  I opted for pants and very few skirts.  In recent years, I have rediscovered dresses.  The silhouette of this dress is my hands down favorite style to wear.

The neckline is flattering, the length is appropriate for me, it has pockets, a defined waistline, and some fun details.  I picked up this dress at my local Salvation Army for $5.99.  I knew it had to be an expensive brand because of all the attention to detail.  When I got home, I looked up the brand online and found that it is sold at Nordstrom and dresses start at $69 - SCORE!!  

I paired it with a $4 leather jacket I found on an online garage sale, $1 garage sale heels, and a necklace/earrings set I picked up several years ago at Charming Charlies.  My outfit cost around $25 from head to toe.

The dress features an exposed zipper in the back and a sewn in black bow belt. 

On a side note, I spent 20 minutes trying to do something fun with my hair.    I attempted a bun, a low pony tail, and slicked back and to no avail!!  My something fun ended up a middle part instead of my normal side part!!

Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Mother's Day!!

The Sweetest Gig

In the fall of 2013, Salvation Army Thrift Stores conducted a photo contest.  Customers could submit photos of outfits purchased from Salvation Army.  I submitted three photos.  Many of you voted for me multiple times and I ended up winning 1st and 3rd place.  I won a $100 gift certificate to the store of my choice, I was able to purchase a new pair of running shoes, I desperately needed.  Then for 3rd place I got a $25 gift certificate to Salvation Army.  I was beyond thrilled!!

Then in December, Chris, the organizer of the photo contest asked me if I would be interested in blogging for Salvation Army.  I was blown away!!  I had been toying with the idea of blogging, but just hadn't taking the plunge.  I felt like this was a perfect option for me - I could get my feet wet in the blogging world, write about something I love to do, and not feel much pressure.

January 2014, our blog was launched https://familystoreskansascity.wordpress.com.   My first article was Mad for Plaid.  I spent hours editing and re-editing, taking pix, and perfecting it.  I was so nervous to finally submit it.

And the rest is history, so they say.  A few other girls have joined our team and it's been amazing to see what has transpired in a year and a half.  Our Facebook page has grown to almost 10,000 followers and now we are posting blog entries every week!!

Then last fall, our local Salvation Army representatives were recognized by the Salvation Army for their social media presence. Corporate was blown away by what our little team could do through our Facebook page and blog.  It has been such a cool little part of my life!  I am thrilled to be a part of this team and that all our hard work is paying off - Corporate is happy, patrons are happy, and I'm ECSTATIC!!

Last Saturday, we had an online Fashion Show at our Overland Park store.  We were excited to get to meet customers, help them shop, and hand out information about our blog and Facebook page.  Gretchen (another SA blogger) and I also created a display to show customers transformations of items purchased from Salvation Army.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I had a text from Gretchen saying we were featured in Friday's KC Star - what!!??  Wild!!   I had been pretty calm the entire week, but on the drive over, the nerves hit.  I just started praying and praising God for the opportunity.  I am thrilled that God is using one of my talents in a way I never dreamed of.

We had a lot of fun meeting customers, passing out our NEW business cards, taking pictures, and finding some amazing bargains.  Every time I walked out onto the floor to talk to customers, I would come back to our display with an arm full of items!!  Part of the incentive for customers, was if they let us take their photo to post on our Facebook page, they would receive the items they modeled for 1/2 price.  We had a couple of ladies who dressed from head to toe, including shoes and accessories.  Their outfits were less than $20!!

Overall, the event was a huge success.  We are excited to try to have a few more this summer!!  Stay tuned for more to come!!

Be sure to check out our Facebook page at Salvation Army Family Stores - Kansas City and our blog at Cents&Sensibility

Sunday Style - Easter

When it comes to family photos, holidays, or special occasions, I love for my family to dress in coordinating or matching outfits.  I'm a scrapbooker, so I like to have pictures be as cohesive as possible!!  When the boys were little, I would buy them matching outfits.  I loved how adorable they looked!!

Then one year when my oldest son, who was about eight, said he didn't want to dress like his brothers EVER again!!  That broke this momma's heart, but then I asked if he would be okay with coordinating with his brothers and he was down with that!!  I saw it as a win for momma!!

The next Easter, I let Thomas pick out what he wanted to wear first and then the other two boys didn't care what they wore, so I picked out their outfits.  Then Tommy and I just picked clothing items that coordinated with the boys.

Now that we have a daughter, it throws another wrench into the plan.  Also, we now have boys in various sizes.  What's a momma to do!!??

This year, I picked Hope's dress first and then mine.  Polka dots with black and white should be easy to work with and it was!!  We had most pieces for the boys on hand, but we needed to purchase a couple of ties, pants, and shirts. The tan pants we bought for the boys last year were too little.    So I picked up those items at Kohls.  I had my heart set on at least one of my boys wearing a bow tie, but they were soooooo expensive!!

I found my dress at Salvation Army Family Thrift Store this winter.  Thrifting tip - buy out of season.  Most people aren't looking for spring/summer dresses in the dead of winter!!  I love polka dots, so this was an easy pick for me!

This dress has pockets!!!  I also love the contrasting striped belt.  I did have my mom stitch the v-neck a little higher up, which was a pretty easy fix (at least for her!!).

I paired my dress with a trusty denim jacket, brown leather wedges, and a fun garage sale necklace.

Enjoy your Sunday!!