Thrifted Style - Hello 40!!

I wanted to wear something fun at my 40th birthday party and I was beyond thrilled when I stumbled upon this gorgeous vintage dress, while helping some friends shop at my local Salvation Army Store.

This dress is SO me!!  It's black and white, it's vintage, and it has polka dots,  stripes, and butterflies!!  I was in LOVE!!  It also fit perfectly!!  I think it was made for me!!

When I got it home, I noticed some staining on the skirt and I decided to soak the dress over night to see if I could get the stains out.  When I woke up the next morning, I was mortified to see that the black from the bodice had now bled all over the skirt.  I was sick to my stomach.  I tried a few of my laundry tricks and nothing worked.  I let it air dry and then I got on Pinterest to see if anyone had an ideas.  I found a few options - color safe bleach and Carbona Color Run Remover.

The Carbona Color Run Remover (around $3) was absolutely amazing.  I followed the directions and within minutes, my water was black, but not my dress!!  I did a happy dance!!  I decided that the former owner had dyed a strapless bra and then sewed it into the bodice of the dress  and I didn't take into account all the dye that was not rinsed out properly.

My friend, Jenelle rocked out my hair, makeup, and nails.  I felt like a million bucks in my $5.99 dress.  I added a pair of  $3.99 shoes, and $1.99 purse!!  A total of 11.97!!

I will be wearing this dress for years to come and think fondly about the first night I wore it!!

Sunday Style - Transitioning a Dress from Summer to Fall

My favorite season is fall!!  I love pulling out my boots, sweaters, pumpkins, and hot coffee.  When September comes around, I have to fight the urge to pull out my fall wardrobe immediately.  I've learned to keep just a few things in my closet that I can pull out at a moment's notice to add a layer to a spring or summer look.

I picked up this fantastic Chicos dress at my local Salvation Army for just $5.99.   This dress is like butter.  It is so light and flowy.  This is an easy dress to wear all year round with the right accessories.

I simply added a thrifted denim jacket,  Crocs wedges and then a fun pair of leather earrings from Nickel and Suede.  These earrings are amazing!!  They go with everything and I'm thrilled that they still look good with my short hair!!  Once the air turns colder, I could change the shoes, by adding boots, a sweater or cardigan, and some heavier jewelry or accessories.

My total for this look is around $30 including my earrings.  

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Cutting It All Off

I have been growing out my hair since January 2012.  It has been a LONG and at times, exhausting process.  You can check out my first thoughts about hair here.

I have had long hair, short hair, curly hair, and straight hair.  I have had haircuts I've absolutely hated (circa 7th grade photo) and haircuts that I adore.

Since I've been married, my hair has mainly been on the shorter side.  Then after having kids, it has been even shorter.

My sole purpose of letting my hair grow this time, was to donate my hair to Children With Hair Loss by my 40th birthday.  I chose CWHL because they DO NOT charge their clients for wigs, they work mainly with cancer patients, they accepted color treated hair, and most importantly, they only needed eight inches!

I had no idea it would be such a process.  Most mornings, I dreaded fixing my long hair.  I had aspirations of doing all these fun and exciting things with my long hair, but it either ended up straight and flat or in a braid of some sort.  Curling and fun up-dos just were NOT going to happen.  I seriously tried and tried and tried, but my hair wouldn't do a thing!!

The last few months, I have been sick and tired of my hair.  Everything I tried to do to get my hair to grow faster didn't work.  I was also picking up my hair on and in everything!!  My hair was falling out by the hand full.  And when I'd leave the house, I felt like I'd look in the mirror and say, "This is as good as it gets!!"

I knew exactly what haircut I wanted - a PIXIE!!  I got my first pixie cut when I was about 34.  I loved it!!  It was easy to fix and maintain.  This time, I wanted a little more length in the front.  A little more asymmetrical, which is a bit scary for me.  I've had one asymmetrical haircut and I didn't really like it, I felt like I could only wear my one way.  I finally decided it was worth the risk because if I didn't like, I'd just cut it a bit shorter!!

I also wanted to play with my hair color a bit.  I haven't played with my hair color much because when I have in the past, I haven't really like the results.  I finally decided to take another risk by adding a bit of bleach to my hair.

My inspiration photo for cut and color was this photo of Shailene Woodley.

I was able to donate four small eight inch ponytails!!  I was thrilled when I heard the snip, snip of the scissors!!  When I filled out the paperwork, I was excited to make my donation in honor of my friend, Denise.  Denise lost her battle with breast cancer in May.  I hadn't even thought about that being a possibility until I saw it on the application.

I loved the way it turned out!!  This hair cut is so me.  I'm not a long haired girl and I'm totally okay with that!!  I still want to let the front grow a bit longer, but I can actually wash, dry, and fix my hair in less time than it would take me to try to style my long hair.  The color in the front is still a work in progress, I am wanting it a bit more blond, but it will take a little time, since I've never had bleach on my hair.

Have you ever for went for a dramatic new look??

Sunday Style - Mexican Princess

This will be my last Sunday Style with my long hair!!  Things have been so crazy lately that I haven't been able to write as much as I would like!!  Hopefully this week, I will get a couple of posts up.

I picked up this vintage handmade dress at my favorite little thrift store Family Thrift.  I have found so many treasures there over the years and this dress in on that list.  This dress was handmade in Mexico and each panel appears to be hand embroidered and then sewn together into a dress.  It is just the coolest dress!!  It is feminine and flowy.  I picked it up for a whopping $3.97!!

I did try to belt the dress, but I just decided to go for the whole tent dress look and I just think it makes the dress shine.

I added a necklace from my grandmother and a fun pair of thrifted vintage inspired wedges.  This look comes at just $5.97!!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Sunday Style - The Perfect Shade of Blue

I picked up this top for $3.99 on one of my recent thrifting hauls.  I love the color of blue - it reminds me of a peacock.  I'm quite fond of peacocks!!  Now that I see the pictures, I should have totally worn my peacock necklace, it would have matched perfectly!!

I wish I were a better model. I'm not good at posing and when your thirteen year old son is the one taking the photos, there isn't much coaching going on.  I'm not courageous enough to try new poses and then when I do, I look silly.  I don't like how this blouse photographed.  It's sticking out in weird places and that's hard to see that when you are looking through the previews.  It's not until you start editing photos on your computer, that you see all the  flaws.

I paired this amazing blouse with a simple Ann Taylor black pencil skirt I found at Salvation Army, a Chicos bangle thrifted by my mom, and pair of Chaps heels that I found on clearance from Kohls.

The total for this outfit is around $25.

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Thrifting It Out with Some Girlfriends

I want everyone to like thrift store shopping like me, so I invited a girlfriends out for a few hours of shopping therapy!!  

My friends Tasha and Tiffany met me at the Belton Salvation Army Family Thrift Store.  Tasha brought her cousin, Bree, along with her daughter.  I asked each of the girls to give me a list of three things they were looking for.   I also gave them my top ten thrifting tips.  Last winter, I wrote an article for Salvation Army with my tips.  You can find them here and here. 

Here is a condensed version!!

1. Make a wish list. I keep mine on my phone - items for my house, my kids, and me. You also carry swatches of fabric and paint, or pictures of items you are trying to match/coordinate with.

2. Go with a friend!! It is fun to help each other find items. Sometimes friends can also convince us to try on something that we may not want to!!

3. Thoroughly check your items. Check the condition of items and the care info before leaving the store. When trying on items, take a 360 degree view in the mirror. Then check seams and inspect for holes.

4. Be a good patron. Get to know the employees at your local Salvation Army Family Store. There are some pretty amazing people that work there.

5. Give back!! I try to go through my clothing monthly to see if there is something I can weed out. I also do this when I am putting away seasonal items.

6. Shop for seasonal items year round. I tend to think of what I want to have for the next season.

7. Think outside the box!! If I see an item I am not quite sure about, I will carry it around the store with me to think about it. Then I try it on and decide if I love it!! 

8. Size does not matter!! Do not stick to your usual size. Remember items have been worn, washed, and may have shrunk or been stretched out.

9. Shop with your eyes and fingers!! I tend to start in a section and just visually browse the row as I go over items with my hands. I am attracted to pattern and texture, so when I find one or both of those things, I stop and examine the item closer to see if it is my size, a flattering shape, and/or in good condition.

10. Be open to surprise! If you are a newbie to the world of thrift stores, plan a time to just browse the store with no expectation of buying anything.

The girls had a great time and found a few things on their shopping list.

Then a few days later, I met up with my friends Debbie, Jenelle, Alex, and her daughter Phoenix.   We tried a little thrift store tour of three shops in the same vicinity.  We hit up Salvation Army Family Thrift at 115 & Metcalf, City Thrift on Antioch, and Goodwill at 135th & Metcalf.

Again, I asked each of the girls for three things they were looking for.

These girls could shop!!  I was blown away at the deals they found.  They were each thrilled with how much money they were saving.  I was even able to find a few goodies - you can find them here.

One of my ideas for the future, is to offer my services in taking a group of ladies out to a variety of thrift stores and help them navigate the thrift store world.  I asked these ladies to give me some feedback on how to get this service started.

Thanks ladies for your encouragement and feedback!!

Let me know if anyone would like go shopping with me!!