Your Trash, My Treasure

2011-07-06T19:30:00.001-07:00

Well I'm pretty sure this will come as no surprise to anyone, but its time to say adios. Your Trash, My Treasure has been a lot of fun and I've really enjoyed those that I've gotten to "know" in this blogging world because of it. Since having Britt and the fact that I no longer exclusively thrift for clothes, this has made posts scarce for the past year. I would try to keep the fun alive if it weren't for one reason that continues to pester my heart. And that is the matter of time. I have only so much of it and to be perfectly honest, I don't want to be on the internet any more than I have to be. I am always wanting to find more ways to invest wisely with my time, whether spending time with Jesus, with my family, or with my sweet precious college girls and blogging is just no longer a priority. SO - that being said, I love you all and have had a ton of fun peeking into your lives. Thanks for being supportive as I tried to be thrifty. I still am - I spend more time in a Goodwill than I do any other store!:) If you want to catch up on more of my personal life, you are more than welcome to stop in at Miller Time. Thanks and adios!!!

2011-06-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few items I picked up from the Goodwill the other day. This little pail was $3 and matched my bathroom perfectly. I love the light teal inside and the Le Bain saying on the front, which means The Bath in French.:) Super cute and perfect for a wastebasket.
I found this little guy for $3 and it went perfectly with my mercury glass and glass candlestick theme that is going on on top of my mantle at the moment. These suckers can run pretty pricey in the department stores but I've been able to find all my candlesticks at thrift stores and have saved a ton of money. It just takes longer to get your collection going.:)
THis little dude though was my FAVORITE find of the whole trip. I loooove coral but its SO expensive!! This would probably cost $20 plus at Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware. And i got it for $1.80. Boom.

2011-03-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I found this little number a couple months back - when I was way preggos actually. It was so hard thrifting for a body I didn't have, aka no watermelon strapped to my front, but I thought this was an interesting piece and even though I wasn't quite sure what it would look like on (since I didn't/couldn't try it on), I bought it anyway. I think it was $4.

It has drawstring sides and its a bubble dress that can be adjusted according to how long/short I want it to be. Super comfy too.

I wore it the other day with this sweater. Oklahoma is in the bipolar stage of weather, but then again, when is it not, and so that means I have to layer.

Just got back from LA and super excited to show you what I scored there at the local thrift stores!

2011-03-10T12:47:00.001-08:00

I hit the JACKPOT at the Goodwill yesterday. It was one of those days that I left thinking, "What if I hadn't gone??? I would have missed SO much!!!" Yeah yeah, I know. I wouldn't have known what I had missed if I hadn't gone, but still... it was a good feeling.

Ok, lets start with the first item that is probably only exciting to me. And lets make a long story short and just say that I've been wanting one of these, because I decided about 4 weeks ago that I wanted a place for my recycling in my kitchen and the only place I knew to put it, was under my sink - where my trash was. So, I debated, but decided to that I could move the trash out from under the sink and get one of these thingys. Little did I know, that they run at least $45 and up. LAME. So guess what I found? A beautiful stainless steel one for $22. It had a dent in the side, which I promptly popped out and it looks and works perfectly.

Ok, this little silver cup was $1. And there were three. I bought some at the Goodwill about a year ago - 5 of them, got them home and realized they leak, (during this party) These are sealed through and through and for $1 each, I couldn't pass up their shiny beautiful selves. I think they are cute for holding flowers or a bunch of pens.
This little seashell pillow was $3. One of the shell buttons were broken, which I super glued and you wouldn't know the difference. I thought it would look perfect on our bed.
Which is does.:)
Isn't it cute??? I thought it deserved three pictures.:)
Remember this guy? From here?
Well a couple weeks ago I found this sucker - for $5. It's an original. And super cute. And has teal and blue - perfect for Britt's room.
I put it here because I wasn't sure where else it would go.
Well then I found this. FOR $10!!!! It's this cute little villa ocean scene, with again, teal and blues and I knew it was meant for Britt's room in an instant.
I wish the colors popped out more in the photo - cause they are so bright and cheery.

Well I think I'm going to put all three above the crib. We moved the crib down a little which made our hanging of the one painting off-center. So now I have the other two to fill it in! Super excited to have 3 original paintings all for the grand total of $55.

And last but not least, is this wreath. I had seen it at Target, for $40. Yeah, not gonna happen. But for $15, I'll totally buy it. There were some slightly bare spots where some had chipped off, but overall you couldn't tell.

I think it looks so fresh and springy on the front door!!

2011-03-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Ok. Its been awhile. AGAIN. And I can't promise it won't be another 2 months before I post again but I thought for those that are still willing to read a rarely posted on blog, would be interested in seeing the shoes I have scored at the thrift stores the past couple months. Even though I'm not doing only used this year, I have NOT stopped thrifting. I just don't go as often. An infant really does slow things down.:)

But here are some of my favorites - which I can't take credit for. My sister, who is a half size bigger than me, and WAY better at thrifting than I am, got me these for $5 at a Goodwill. I buy her shoes if I find a pair that are a tad too big and she does the same for me when they are a tad too small. So I scored a pair of BCBG shoes - which you've seen here for those who remember. I LOVE the peep toe and the stencil cut out flowers. They are SO springy and fun.

These I found for $3 at a Goodwill and they are Ninewest and barely look used! I love the slightly higher than kitten heel and snakeskin pattern. On top of looking good and being way cheap - they are super comfortable.
I just got these 2 weeks ago and have already worn them twice. And I don't get dressed up much these days so that's saying something. They are neutral enough to go with almost any outfit.
These were $5 and are a Target brand - also found at the Goodwill. They are great cause of the tan/neutral nude color that will look great with TONS of things. And they are kitten heel and great when paired with dark skinny jeans and a flowy top. I love them.:)

Jessica Simpson shoes for $3 at a Salvation Army in Virginia. I actually have had these for almost a year now and haven't worn them. I blame that on being pregnant through the summer though.
The coloring in these pictures didn't turn out super great - they are a deep pink. Super fun, I'm just not a big pink person so on top of carrying 30 extra pounds on my belly, it was hard finding an outfit they would go with this past summer. Hopefully I'll have better luck with them this upcoming season.
Another find by my amazing sister (I told you she's a better thrifter than me) These black leather boots, MADE IN ITALY. No joke. I think she said they were $9. Score! I LOVE them. I didn't own a pair of black boots until now so they were a perfect addition to my already massive boot collection. Rachel was so sweet to give them to me.I love the shiny black, buckles, low heels and slightly pointy toes. All around a serious steal.
I googled Charles David Roberta boots and they seem to range between $75-$100. Nice!

These I spent the most on - $20 at Salvation Army. Ouch. But I knew if I wanted a nice pair of boots, I'd pay that in stores and I needed a brown pair. These are Brazilian brown leather and I wear them ALL the time.

They are really comfortable and were perfect with almost every outfit. I don't regret spending $20 on them, although they are probably the most expensive used clothing item I've ever bought.
These were shoes that I found that were too big for me so I bought them for Rachel. They were from Bass and looked brand new. $3, can't beat it.

So clearly, it pays to shoe shop at thrift stores. There are plenty of days I leave with nothing, but overall, I've gotten some really good finds.:)

2010-12-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

Heres the finished product of Britt's nursery! I thought I'd post pics since all of her furniture is used/Craiglist, excluding the chair, which we got from Ikea. Even the painting, paper lanterns, fan - its all either from something I already had in the house, or from a garage sale of some sort.

I LOVE how it has turned out. Simple, bright and clean looking. We haven't spent a ton of time in there since she is sleeping in a bassinet in our room right now, but I'm excited for when she officially moves in.

The mirror and dresser came from the same antique shop. I painted them both and added new hardware to the dresser if you didn't remember. I LOVE the way the mirror turned out. I love the hugeness of it and the teal color.

Her crib was off of Craigslist too if you remember from my earlier post, oh a couple months ago.:) And that is the painting I found at the same antique shop that I got the dresser and mirror.
One of my friends gave Britt these initial blocks as part of her gift and they matched her room exactly! I love them!
Hope you like it!:)

2010-12-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Britt Louise is here!!! She arrived Monday, November 29th at 10:58am, weighting 7 lbs, 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. She was delivered via c-section since she was a complete frank breech and just refused to turn around for us.:) But its okay... she is here is and absolutely perfect. Eric and I are so in love. I'm recovering well. We were discharged 48 hours after delivery and got to go home and settle in. She has been absolutely incredible at getting on a schedule all by herself. She is a champ at breast feeding already and is SO patient in learning the whole process. Being a mother, all 5 days that I've experienced, has been one of the best experiences of my life. I absolutely LOVE it.

I am so sorry I've been so delinquent in posting these past two months... well lets be honest, since getting pregnant. It was a difficult ride for me. Between being incredibly sick for the first 5 months, all the traveling we did over the summer and into the fall, and then I slipped a rib and have battled excruciating pain for the past 1 1/2 months, spending a TON of time and energy on trying to get her to turn since we found out she was breech at 32 weeks, I really lost motivation to blog. Somedays it was hard to just to do life. I have thought of you often and have felt guilty at times for being more diligent, but knew I needed to do what I needed to stay on top of my health and sanity. So thank you for your patience... its been much needed and much appreciated.

Love you all... thanks for sticking with me.:)

2010-10-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Okay so this isn't my favorite shot of me. I feel rather large in this picture, but then again, I guess I'm getting rather large these days.:) Its kinda my job at this point. And check out that every growing belly button. Oh yeeeeahh, thats sexy.:)

The shirt is a tissue thin long sleeved shirt I got from Goodwill awhile back for like $2 but its really the heels that are the amazing part of this outfit. I can't take credit for them. It was my sister that found them at a thrift store and sent them to me cause they weren't her size. But they are BCBG and TOTALLY adorable! Aren't they precious??? If my sister had a blog about all her thrift finds, you would all be reading hers instead of mine because she is a WAY better thrifter than me.

Happy weekend! We have Eric's brother, sister-in-law and their little girl coming into town from PA! I'm so excited!

2010-09-30T13:32:00.001-07:00

I found this little tank at the Goodwill yesterday for $2. I'm running out of summer shirts that fit my belly that aren't t-shirts. So for $2, I took it. It's long and light and really comfortable.

The little ruffle in the front is cute. I layered it with another tank cause I felt like it needed something underneath and it dipped a little low with my new assets that I've been growing along with a belly.

The weather is cooling off and soon I'll see what I have in my fall waredrobe that that might fit me... hopefully it'll be feast over famine.

2010-09-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a shirt I wouldn't have bought had it not been for my best friend Sam. Which is funny cause she's not a crazy over the top thrifter. My other best friend, Lindsay, totally is, but on this particular day, we were all thrifting together. Sam, living in L.A, knows all the designers and spotted this tank for $2, and being a C&C California brand, would have regularly been about $40.

Its cute, but not my typical gray, white or black shirt, so I felt daring in buying it. Today was the first time I wore it. It's perfect for my big belly! Long enough to wear with leggings, it was light and comfortable.

Thought I'd include a couple pictures from lastnight as I made dinner for us. Eric LOVES to snap pictures of me while I'm fiddling in the kitchen, or right when I wake up... both make me feel slightly uncomfortable until I realize I can always delete them later.:)

And this one would not be complete without me stuffing my face, a regular occurrence these days.:) Actually, this is really me just eating a deviled egg for a snack. I'm trying to eat more protein to cut out my chances of toxemia, or preeclampsia.

2010-09-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

I bought this dress at the Salvation Army at the beginning of the summer and am just now getting around to showing it to you all.:/ Its super comfy, was only $5 and was previously from F21. Its been great in adapting to my growing gut, er, belly.:) I tend to wear flowing clothes or ones that don't show my shape and so this is a fun change to strut the preggo label.:)

I haven't been thrifting in a while and I'm starting to get frustrated with my lack of comfortable/stylish options that my closet is offering me. As sad as I am to see the summer come to a close, I'm even more sad about the fact I think I'm going to have an even harder time dressing this fall/winter.
I did just got two bags of maternity clothes from ladies at church which I'm SO grateful for. I haven't gone through them yet so I don't know if there is anything I can wear, but anything is great at this point! Only 12 weeks left to go!:)
Oh and by the way, HOW BOUT THEM REDSKINS????:)

2010-08-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

So this is the lowdown on the nursery. Below are the nurseries that have inspired the look I'm going for (simple, white, romantic, and also neutral friendly so I can reuse things incase we have a boy in the future). And the below those pictures are the items that we've collected to use for her room. It'll be so fun when its all together!!!

This nursery is so beautiful. This was what first inspired me to do all white. I love love love the crispness and yet romantic beauty of it. Source here.

This nursery is from Life In the Fun Lane. Holly is such an inspiration to me. I absolutely love her approach to decorating and her nursery is no exception. Her little girl Wren is so lucky to have such a cute room! This room helped me see that I could do light blue as an accent color and it still be very girly.

I can't for the life of me remember where I found this one. I think I just googled white nurseries and found it somewhere out in the world wide web.:) I LOVE the huge mirror mirror and the modern crib. I wanted something more along these lines but settled with what I found on Craigslist cause I wasn't willing to spend $250-$350 on a crib.

This one, along with having a lot of white just had a lot of elements I loved. I've always loved canopies even though I don't think I'll be doing one for Britt - I don't know, maybe I'll change my mind. But I just think its so classy and I love the neutrals paired with the white. Source here.

So since I got pregnant basically, I've been trying to find a dresser on Craigslist or at a thrift store that I could use as a changing table. I don't like the look of a changing table (I'm way too picky for my own good) but you have NO idea how hard it has been to find smallish dressers that are big enough to hold a changing pad and yet wasn't too big. I finally found one that was tall, long, wide and cheap enough for me to buy.:) This cute little one was $70, more that I wanted to spend since I am going to be redoing it (it'll be white), but after looking for 5 months, I figured it was the best that I was going to get. I'm just excited have one now!!!

I found this painting at the same place I found the dresser. I instantly fell in love with it and knew I had to have it for Britt's room. The baby blue will match her bedding perfectly and for $45 for an original piece of art, I was sold. I think it might go above her crib, but I'm not sure yet.

We are going unconventional and doing an armchair as opposed to a rocker. I just couldn't find one that wasn't over $500 that I liked!!! So I've talked to a couple moms who have done this as well and I'm hoping Britt won't mind.:) I figure if we HAVE to have one, I can always buy a cheap one from a thrift store and paint it.
This is Britt's bedding. Its just white with a baby blue stripe around the border. I love it!!! And I know I can use it if we ever have a boy.:)
This is the crib we found on Craigslist - $100 and it converts into a toddler bed. I got the mattress with it to!!!

And there is a big mirror I found that we'll be hanging in her room, but I didn't take a picture so you'll just have to be surprised.

Thats all for now!!! I can't wait to show you when its all put together!!! Have a wonderful Saturday! We are clearing furniture and closet space in Britt's room so we can set up her crib and get started!!!:)

2010-08-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

Welp folks, I've done it again. Run off and not posted for a million days. I'm truly sorry. You're never far from my heart and since getting pregnant aka puking my guys out, and getting out of the habit, its been really hard to stay on top of it!!! And I really haven't done much thrifting due to the fact that I just don't know what to buy!!! I am definitely on the up and up with the sickness though, so lets pray it stays that way.

My boobs got too big for most of my clothes prior to my belly getting in the way, which was really frustrating.:) I know I'm probably the ONLY person on the planet to say that, but I really don't mind being smaller chested and every single sundress of mine turned me into a whore, rather than a nice lady in a sundress. So. Its been a challenge finding things at thrift stores, but I will admit that its been mostly my stubbornness about not wanting to buy new clothes that I won't wear much after the pregnancy that has kept me from finding things.

As most of you probably know by now, we are having a GIRL.:) I am SO SO SO excited. I was completely convinced it was a boy but now, I'm so completely in love with having a girl that I think it would be hard to be immediately excited if she popped out a boy.:)

Her name is Britt Louise. Not Brittany or Brittanica (yes, someone has actually asked me that) - just Britt. Eric's middle name is Britt and Louise is my mom's middle name. I absolutely LOVE that she is named after her daddy and Nana.:) I wouldn't have it any other way.

On top of being a horrible thrifter/blogger, these are my first belly pictures. I really have only popped out the past couple weeks and felt like there wasn't enough to show before, but I promise to be better at all of the above. I am 24 1/2 weeks today and can't believe I have another 3 1/2 months to go but at the same time, can't believe its only 3 1/2 months before she's here!!!
I found this dress at the Goodwill the other day for $4.50. I actually think it might be a bathing suit coverup. Well, not anymore.:) Its super comfy and perfect for a growing belly. I love that it doesn't have a tie in the back. I personally don't like tiebacks - it SCREAMS maternity to me.
Overall update: met with my midwife for the first time yesterday (I just switched from a doctor to a midwife, which also switched me to a different hospital) and I LOVE her. She is exactly what I want and talking with her actually made me excited to give birth. I'm naive, I know.:) I've gained 12 lbs which is just so weird. I haven't weighed this much since my Jr. Year of college so its definitely a funny feeling.:) I am getting more and more uncomfortable sleeping - its been rough the past couple nights. I'm convinced it has more to do with our bad mattress that it does me being pregnant, but I'm sure the combination doesn't help.

Okay I think thats all for now. We are starting on Britt's room this weekend and I'm SO excited. I ordered her bedding yesterday and it got me SO excited!!!:) Love you all (for those who still read this, and thanks for your patience with me!!!:)

2010-06-30T06:01:00.001-07:00

Goodmorning loves!!! Its Wednesday - hump day for most of you but for me, its my LAST DAY OF WORK and the day before we find out WHAT THE KID IS!!! AHHHH!!! I am beyond excited!! This week is SO fun!:) I will of COURSE post on Friday after we find out if we will be having a daughter or son. I am almost positive its a boy - but I also wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong. I mean, come on, we have a 50/50 chance.:)
Both of the items I'm wearing are thrift store finds. My absolute FAVORITE item to wear these days are these denim shorts I found at Salvation Army for $7. Yeah, a little pricey for a thrift store, but not when they're from LUCKY!!! I loooovvve them. I am wearing them as much as possible before my belly gets too big and makes me put them away.
The rugby shirt I'm wearing I got at the clothing swap I talked about a couple posts back. So it was freeeee. Its a Volcom shirt - which is just nice to have name brand stuff where the quality is a little better.
So excited about tomorrow!!! I'll keep you posted!!!

2010-06-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Yay for dresses and skirts ALL summer long!!! I found this skirt at the Goodwill about 2 months ago but haven't worn it yet. Because it hits mid calf and is on the flowier side, I felt like a simple tube top would go well with it. Well what do ya know but if you where a tight shirt, your belly looks bigger!!!:) I don't mind - its fun to feel healthy and pregnant!! I think The Kid (thats the official name until we find out the sex and pick a name) is finally moving enough for me to feel it!!! Its hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure its the Kid, not a gas bubble.:)
Again, sorry for the bad pics. I don't know whats up with either of my camera's, so I'm waiting for Eric to get home tomorrow so he can figure it out and fix them!! The skirt, if I'm remembering correctly was $3and is a navy blue and white strip if you can't tell what color. Its cinched on one side of the waist, so it gathers in that one area in the front on purpose.
There this itty bitty bump!!! One week till we find out if its a he or a she!! Can't wait!

2010-06-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well hello my long lost loves!!! Boy have I been a horrible blogger and you have been extremely patient and gracious followers. The past couple months have been pretty difficult and discouraging. As thrilled as I am to be expecting a little one, since finding out I was pregnant, I haven't seemed to shake these no fun pregnancy symptoms. I am FINALLY, as in the past 2 weeks, feeling less nauseous and not throwing up as much. I am still SO tired and am now beginning to regularly feel weak, light headed and like I'm going to pass out. It seems to be one thing after another. It really has taken a toll on me - being sick for months is something I've never experienced before. It was definitely an adjustment to allow myself time to rest and relax, even though I was still working part time and doing college ministry. I am grateful to be feeling even the smallest bit better.:)

But here I am, well enough to say hello and post again. I really have missed you. (I apologize for the bad pictures. Neither of my cameras were working properly this morning and so the iPhone stepped in to save the day)
This dress was actually FREE. I know. Nothing is free these days. And in a round about way, it wasn't, cause I had to drop off a bunch of clothes I didn't want, so I could get bags of clothes that other people didn't want. All that to say, I got it at a clothing swap. It was a community event in which if you drop off 3 bags, you got to fill 3 bags of clothes that you wanted. It was so fun!!! I just crammed stuff in them because theres no time to try the stuff on - you just take what you think looks cute and then wait to find out if it looks cute on you when you get home.:) This dress has POCKETS. LOVE IT. Its an Old Navy dress.
I tried my hardest to show you my bump. HA! In otherwords, my LACK OF BUMP. I will be 4 months pregnant this Saturday and I have got NOTHING to show for it. I'm not complaining, but people are starting to think I've just been feigning sickness for the past 2 1/2 months. I promise its legit. I do have sonogram pictures to prove that there is a child in somewhere in there.
I am hoping to post more often now that I haven't been spending the majority of my days kneeling in front of my toilet. THANK YOU for your patience with me. I'd be super surprised if you haven't given up on me since I've been gone so long. But for those who are still here - you are precious and beautiful to me. And I can't wait to start scouring thrift stores for pregnancy clothes.:)

2010-05-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I realize I have been completely MIA for the past month. And for that, I really can't apologize. It has absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the fact that I have been spending the majority of my days either beside the toilet, or in bed fast fast asleep. Being pregnant has been no easy thing here in the Miller House.:) Yes - I'm HAVING A BABY!!!!!! It has been the most wonderful and traumatic 10 weeks of my life for quite some time due to how incredibly sick I've been. It's been pretty miserable. After throwing up 7 times in one day, I caved and called the doctor for some medicine, which is helping a bit. I'm still extremely exhausted and want absolutely nothing to do with any sort of meat, but I am praying that in the upcoming weeks it will slowly subside.

And because of that, I have either done VERY little thrift store shopping or just have had no energy at all to look cute, post pictures and talk about it. My productivity has decreased tenfold, which has been pretty difficult to deal with as an over-productive busybody like myself who needs to always be doing something. Resting is NOT my forte.

Below are pictures that have NOTHING to do with this blog, except for our poor poor very well used, well loved Honda Accord was treated very badly by the tornado that hit Oklahoma this past Monday. Eric was and still is out of town for a couple weeks, and had his car with him, but this car was sitting in the driveway when hail, the size of softballs came flying from the sky. I'm not going to lie, I was CRACKING UP while it was happening. I couldn't help it!! I was standing in my neighbors garage, ready to hop into the storm shelter if needed, watching the storm with several others, when the hail came. And if you've never seen softballs and baseballs fall from the sky, ITS COMPLETELY INSANE. It was just so absurd!!!! I watched my car windows shattered, and the street lamps break and fall to the street, and these balls of ice just smash into bits as they hit the pavement. I just stood there LAUGHING at the craziness of it all. Not a normal reaction, I know, but what was I going to do??? Run across the cul-de-sac and lay on top of my windshield so it wouldn't break??? DUDE - I would have died. The next best thing was to laugh. So laugh I did.:)

And after it was all done, I ran inside to get my camera so I could document. Here are the pictures of the craziness.

I'm not promising that I'm back up in running like normal - I'm still puking and taking 3 hr naps when I get home from work, but I wanted to break my silence and share our good news (the baby) and our bad news, which will hopefully soon turn into good news (the car, which will hopefully be a new car soon).

I love you all and treasure the fact that you if you read this, you are a true follower. Thank you for being patient with me and not yelling at me to come back.;) I have missed you.

2010-04-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

So this shirt is from the Goodwill and was $3. I love how thin and long it is. I'm wearing it with leggings cause its still chilly out in the mornings!! I can't wait for completely warm weather where dresses and skirts are the only thing that I wear. I LOVE it when its HOT.
I leave for a trip to Virginia on Thursday. I'm SO excited!!!! Two of our good friends from college are getting married and I'm SO excited for them!!! I love VA in the Spring and especially when I get to see all my JMU friends. Eric will be flying from his trip directly to VA to meet me there. I can't wait to see my mom, dad, sister and brother. I miss them all the time.
Hopefully I'll be able to show you a couple more things before I leave. I do have a dress I'm contemplating on wearing for the wedding. I bought it only cause it was $4.50 but I think I need your opinion. So maybe we'll take a poll.:)

2010-04-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Okay so I've been super lazy again. I have clothes to show you, but everytime I put something on, I don't love it, or I just think, "They don't want to see this." Like this J.Crew short sleeved shirt. White, boring, nothing spectacular about except for the fact that I got a J.Crew shirt for $2 instead of $18.:)

Here I'm wearing it with my black boyfriend blazer, which was $7, but you all have seen this before.
And then there are these. My galoshes or rainboots or gardening boots or whatever you'd like to call them. You see, my lovely wonderful dog Ellen, chewed my last pair to bits. I'm sure you all remember this event, where Eric's dress shoe just didn't make it through the night so you can imagine what my cute red white and yellow pair of wellies looked like when I came home from work and found shreds scattered through the backyard.

So I found this black Target pair (and I had been wanting black because then they'll go with anything, and because I'm boring like that) for $9 but I just didn't feel like they were special enough to share them with you all.

But then I remembered I had bought this jacket for $4 a couple weeks back and had never gotten around to sharing with you!!! It's the perfect spring coat and the sleeves can be rolled and buttoned up to make it even springy.

It came with a belt, but I like it better without it.

Ahhh, so finally something worthwhile to show you.:) I hope you are having a lovely Saturday. The hubby is gone for a couple weeks and its rainy outside which has given me the excuse to stay in my pajamas for as long as possible.

2010-04-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, I think I have a thing for white. Oh wait, we already knew that. I don't know why I'm drawn to it. Its the first color I go to in a thrift store. Isn't it funny that garments are color coordinated? I find that its sometimes a lot easier to rifle through stuff in a thrift store than it is in a lot of department stores. If the thrift store has done it right, garments are normally organized by color and style, and sometimes size. Makes flipping through shirts really easy. So yeah, first its the white section I go to, and then the gray section. I NEVER go to the pink and rarely the red.

I love the neckline on this shirt. It has this small yarn that has been coiled into small circles to looks like flowers. And there are "buttons" that are crocheted.

The sleeves or straps or whatever are gathers and slightly puffed, giving it a girly feel.
And then this is one of the items I got at F21 this past week with my gift card. I've been holding onto it and haven't even stepped foot into the mall since December of 09 and so it was fun to browse. Although I think I really am ruined for life. I could only shop in the clearance rack!!! Everything felt SO expensive hahaha! This sweater, which I've been looking for one like it forever, was only $9.50!!! Oh and the shirt was $3.
Its long in the back which I love.

Happy Friday!!! Enjoy your weekend and hopefully sunshine!!!:)

2010-04-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

So here are a couple of my treasures that have been redone and found places in our home. Remember these?

Well, now they look like this. They hang in my bedroom, so I wake up to them every morning which I just love. Excuse the no curtains/curtain rods. I'm currently changing them out. I just love the way this turned out!!! And see that little bit of the dresser underneath the frames? Well the debut of that beauty is coming soon. Ordering and installing the hardware is the only thing that is keeping me from showing it to you.

I also finished this. I just LOVE pedestal coffee tables and this one is no different. It came in its natural wooden state, and I knew it needed a loving coat of white to make it glow. I love it to pieces, but I think our space needs a rectangle or oval coffee table. So alas, its for sale.:)
I made this springy centerpiece out of shells from when we lived in Florida, a white serving dish and some white candles I had around the house.
I can't wait to paint our living room. Its slowly all coming together!! Its feeling so springy at home I just love it.

2010-04-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

So, got this shirt yesterday. I saw it on my way to the check out counter at the Salvation Army and just picked it up and bought it. Didn't even try it on. It just looked flowly, breezy and completely comfortable. And I was right. Its all of the above. Oh and it was $2.

What isn't so great about this shirt are two things. First being that it came with sequins, clear ones, but sequins none the less, all over the embroidered part of the shirt. I am NOT a sequin fan when it comes to normal, every day shirts. Dresses and shirts for going out are fine, as long as its done tastefully. I just feel Bedazzled it I'm wearing sequins on everyday clothes. So, when I saw it, I knew I'd be ripping out every last one of them, which I did last night while watching Hancock with the hubby. It didn't take horribly long cause they were all sewn on by one long thread so I just snipped it in a bunch of places and just pulled it all out.

The other thing that was wrong with this shirt, with no fault of its own, was that by the time it got to work with me this morning, it had egg all down the front. Yes, egg. I know! SO RUDE! Well the fact is, is that I got too greedy and hungry that I decided to eat my egg/turkey/cheese muffin that I make myself every morning. I usually wrap it up in foil and eat it when I get to work. Nope, not today. I was just FAMISHED or so I thought and this also happened to be the morning that I was also a little rushed and didn't let the yolk cook all the way, and I threw it on my english muffin, swaddled that thing in foil and ran out the door. I'm about to enter the highway when I take my second bite, and look down to see that I had egg yolk dripped all over the front of me. Jeans, shirt, seat belt. The works. Peeerrrrrfect. Thanks to Shout Wipes and mad skills with driving with my knees (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. Especially when driving on the interstate like I was) it is almost completely invisible and back to its sheery beautiful state of being.
Speaking of invisible, I think I look like a ghost here. (Ya like that transition, eh?? Eh??) Clearly I'm a little over-exposed on my lighting. Or just part angel. Guess you'll never know.

You all have a great day. Beware of under cooked egg yolks.

2010-04-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

This entire outfit is actually from the thrift store. I was trying to figure out the total cost of the outfit this morning, and I think I came to the conclusion that it was $16 total - shirt, jeans and boots. Pretty crazy eh?:) I went to Forever21 the other day, to use my giftcard, don't worry:) and I could only shop the sale rack!!! I think I'm ruined for life! When I know I can buy a shirt for $1.50, its really hard to pay $25 for one.
Its the tissue thin, linen babydoll shirt that is making its debut today. It was $1.50 at Salvation Army a couple weeks ago, I just haven't worn it yet. But I think it'll be a staple this summer as its super lightweight and of course, WHITE, so it goes with everything. I'm likin' this one a lot.:)
Ta-ta for now!!!

2010-04-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am SO sorry for how delinquent I've been recently!!!! I'm not sure what it is, I've just been in a funk! I could give you plenty of excuses, like how Eric and I have been working none stop it feels like on the house, I've been painting quite a bit of furniture and I've just been super tuckered out recently!!! I'm blaming the incoming Spring and weather changes. Although I'm not complaining in the least. I'm loving it being warmer.
Today feels like a spring day in OK. Warmer, but has the nippy wind that just makes the day a little too blustery. I got this sweater/shirt a couple weeks ago actually, during one of Salvation Army's 1/2 off days. I'm loving its mustard color.
For a buck fifty, not too shabby.:)

2010-04-02T07:59:00.001-07:00

Hiiiiiii!!! I know I know I have been SERIOUSLY MIA. And for that, I apologize.

I swear I haven't forgotten about you all, nor did I run off on a F21 or Urban Oufitters shopping rampage and am too ashamed to admit that I caved. I haven't caved. I just haven't been treasure hunting in what feels like FOREVER. And so I didn't have anything to show you!!! I'm trying to not go as much. Like as in once a week, as opposed to 4 times.:) Its not cause I'm spending too much money, HA! I just can't handle that many clothes! My closet is full!!! So, posts will probably be a little bit fewer. I just can't keep up this pace all year long. Soon Eric wouldn't have a closet, and believe it or not, that boy has a closet full too.

But I am going to the Goodwill right after I'm done here and then heading to the gym. So I thought I'd show you my black gym top that is Target brand that still had the tags on it that I got a couple weeks ago. I'm normally a yoga pants and t-shirt kinda girl, cause I think gym clothes are often VERY ugly. And I feel like the tops are always too short. But this one is: black, long, spaghetti strap, and racerback. Check, check, check, and check. Oh, and $2. Check.

Happy Friday and I promise to return with many treasures!!!:)

2010-03-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

These are just a couple items I've picked up over the last couple weeks. The pj shorts above are from Goodwill, but are Target brand and still had the tags on them! They were $2 and I don't know about you, but I LOVE light cute shorts to wear to be in the summer. I'm not a huge fan of slips or nightgowns because I tend to get tangled up in them. These are perfect.

And the capri sweats below are Soffee, are super comfortable and were only $1.50 on Salvation Army's 1/2 day. Perfect for working out and bumming around the house. They've become my go-to the instant I come home from work. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I'm home, I am most definitely in sweats and a t-shirt. I walk in the house and immediately change.
And there is a wonderful giveaway going on at Dreamy Whites!!! Head over there to check it out. That is if you like absolutely beautiful duvet sets in soft gorgeous colors.:)

Happy Friday!!!:)

2010-03-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this jacket? Well I finally got it altered. And even though the $7 deal was no longer a deal because altering a blazer is no cheap thing, it was definitely worth it and I'm sure still less expensive than buying it new.
I'm feeling like I'm gonna be using this a lot. I can throw this puppy on with practically anything.
Another chilly day... I'm having to remind myself that it is still March, so I should expect it to be 80 everyday. I'm just dying to wear dresses with no sweaters and flip flops instead of boots!

2010-03-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

So Eric's car got broken into lastnight. That has nothing to do with my outfit today, its just been bugging me. Thankfully they left my car alone which had cash in the glove compartment and Ipod adapter. I'm just glad Eric was home. This would totally have freaked me out if he was gone. They did take his flying gear which costs over $1000. Thankfully its Air Force issued and we are hoping they will replace it no problem, but I'm sure it will take a ton of paperwork before we get reimbursed.

Moving on to treasures that haven't gotten stolen. (wow, quite the transition eh?) This one is a L in womens, but don't put it past me to wear mens shirts. I do. I have. But this one is from Gap and is from the ladies section. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be able to wear this with a bunch of stuff.

It got cold again. So we are still rockin' the boots.

2010-03-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

I would have showed you this sooner, but we spent all weekend painting our kitchen cabinets. I'm pretty stoked about them. They're gonna look FAB-ulous.

I found this on Sunday at the Goodwill. A new one had opened up right down the street where we go to church and so I begged the hubby if we could go. We actually got some friends of ours to come with and had a wonderful time roaming around looking for treasures. I found this for $3 and really really love it. It isn't a brand name that I recognize, but I don't mind. I love that its gray and white stripes and of course, loose and has 3/4 length sleeves.

This reminds me of Amber.:) She is actually sporting an off the shoulder look in her latest post and she totally rocks it. I think this shirt is meant for that, but I don't think I can pull it off.
So this will have to do.:) But its 70 degrees out today!!! Yippee! I think Spring is FINALLY on the way.

2010-03-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie. I'm pretty excited/proud of this one. When I was at Salvation Army this past Wednesday, I decided to peruse the skirt section. I have bought long skirts before at a thrift store and turned them into strapless dresses. And thats what I had in mind for this skirt that was as homely as it could be. The elastic was pretty tight and so I knew it would work as a dress. But then I got an idea! I loved the trend that came out last summer of the short floral flowy skirts that girls tucked t-shirts into and put on a belt or just had an elastic waist - they were super cute but I just never bought one. Probably because I knew they were a trend therefore didn't want to spend the money on one unless it was super cheap - which meant my place of shopping was F21 but theirs were all too short for me. A girls gotta cover up! So anyway, thats what I decided to do. Crop that sucker!

Pretty hideous eh? Ahh, the potential in things that no one else sees. All for a mere $2.

Hahahaha, I look like a homeschooled mom. And I can say that cause I was homeschooled.:) Betcha ya didn't know that about me, now did you?
And off came about 10 inches, with room to hem. I was too anxious to show you that I didn't iron it out once I sewed it. So here she is!!

Yay for cute summer skirts! I could have worn this yesterday cause it was so warm out, but now its SNOWING today on the first day of Spring! Craziness. Happy weekend though!!!

2010-03-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

I got this little number for ONE STINKIN' DOLLAR!!!!! Yeah thats right.:) I'm not sure if its meant as a pool cover-up or just as a cute cotton black dress, but I'm thinking I can use it for either. Its super comfortable, and the elastic around the top is really tight, so I have no worries of it falling. I love the little gathering around the empire waist - gives it a girly touch.

Ps - sorry about my smudgy mirror! I just windexed it too! Goes to show you my windex skills - NOT THAT GREAT.

2010-03-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Annnnd this is what I'm wearing today. Please don't judge. I know its a big ugly baggy sweater but its SO comfortable and its cooooold outside (said in my best whining voice ever) I am a sucker for baggy sweaters that just engulf me. And if they're ugly? All the better.
This one happens to be from L.L.Bean - so who knows how much the original owner paid for this shindig. I bought it for $2.50. And in my opinion, was a very well spent $2.50. I don't think I could have spent more though.
I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday - almost the weekend!!!!

2010-03-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

I had a shirt on this morning to show you but my camera is just being really funny at taking pictures right now! I don't know whats up with the lighting in my bathroom these days to make it so difficult to take a clear picture, but just is. So, here are some shorts I bought the other day that I am SO excited about because they are LINEN. I love linen. Especially linen shorts cause I'm not the biggest fan of shorts due to how uncomfortable I tend to be in them, but these? Ahhhhhh. They feel like I have nothing on. In a good way.:)
They are a grayish/blueish/greenish color. Perfect to go with lots of stuff. And of course came with the perfect price of $3. They are origninally from F21.
Get excited!!! Today is Salvation Army's EVERYTHING IS 1/2 OFF DAY!!:) I'm hoping to hit one up during my lunch break and another one after work.:) Can't wait to show you want I find.

2010-03-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely friends!!! I'm happy I have something to show you today - I feel like I have all these treasures that I want you to see, but they are summer pieces that I haven't been able to wear yet, and I know I could throw on an outfit and take a picture just so I have something to blog about, but I feel like the point is to see how thrift store finds work in the reality of life. So, rest assured, there is plenty to come, but we just have to be patient with the weather to corporate with us.:)

This tissue thin 3/4 sleeve shirt was $3 and perfect for spring outfits. And you can never get enough thin white shirts in my opinion. Its super comfy and I barely feel it on.:) I can wear this with shorts and skirts no problem, as well as under sweaters. Totally versatile, therefore, I love it.
One of the big scores of yesterdays thrift store shopping were these boots. They were $9 and looked naturally wore-in as if they were suppose to be that way. Real (and soft) leather and a nice neutral color. I'm more of brown boots girl, but these being more of a nude color is good cause I know it will go with tons of outfits.
I'm sorry for the horribly blurry photos. Not quite sure what was up with the camera this morning, and I was too much in a rush due to poor time management to fiddle with it too much.:)
But you get the idea.:) I almost didn't get them since we are leaving boot season, but I seriously can't get enough of boots. They are just perfect for fall/winter!!! And I'm thinking I have a couple more chances to wear them before it becomes too warm.

2010-03-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

So I saw this little ditty about a month ago at the Goodwill. Looked at it, almost bought it, but then decided that since I wasn't sure it worked, I'd just leave it behind. Well, it was still there on my next visit and I was like, "Either I can spend $9 and get a freaking sweet chandelier, or I can save my $9." I bought it. And it worked.:) So today it got a makeover. This is the best before pic I got before I sprayed. It was just that ugly brass. Yuck.

Here it is undergoing a facial.

And here she is all dolled up in the office (hoping to one day be the nursey;)

I bought crystals YEARS ago to go on another chandelier that I found at a flea market that is WAY to large. It has 16 light fixtures!!! This one is just 8. So this one was perfect.

I'm pretty happy about it. I love love love chandeliers and when they come in white and crystals, makes me even happier.

2010-03-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

Not TOTALLY sure as to why I felt the need to take so many pictures of this outfit but I just kinda like it. Its the shirt that was recently extracted from the horrible grasp of the thrift stores, restored to my loving and much more appreciating arms. CLEARLY I should have owned it. Couldn't just LEAVE it there! The jeans are from a thrift store in L.A but I got them last year. I think I posted before that they were bootcut but I had them tailored to skinny. Which I'm about to do to another pair of jeans that I want made into boyfriend/cropped jeans. A tailor can do wonders. Especially one that is good and cheap.:)

Hopefully this week will be one of the last that I'm rockin' the boots. I'm SO ready for flip-flops, sandals and heels!!

I love navy and white together - the nautical theme. Love stripes and 3/4 sleeves, and of course, a $3 price tag. Too good to pass up.

Happy FRIDAY!!! Yippee!!

2010-03-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

So I found these the other day at Goodwill. And I was drawn to their gloomy appeal - overcast England dreary days, was what came to mind when I saw them.:) And I figured if I ever got sick of them, (because I get bored VERY easily with my decorating) I could always use their frames for some sort of project cause they have such pretty detail. I just couldn't stand the old musty "gold" look the frames were going for. I knew where I wanted to put them in our home - in the" hallway" leading to the office (I say "hallway" like "hallway" cause its hardly a hallway. Man if you say it that many times it sounds really funny. But anyway, our hallway is as long as you'll see in the pictures below. It can barely be called one. But I don't know what else to call it. Unless we wanted to go with 5-feet-of-carpet-and-wall-space-that-leads-us-from-the-living-room-to-the-office-area. And that just doesn't do it for me.) So here they are. All ready to get glamed up.

So they got an upgrade. (sorry for the yellowish pics. I wanted to show them to you and I literally took these pictures 2 minutes after I hung them and it was in the evening with no natural lighting.)

Oh, and they were $4.50 a piece. Score.:)

I have some absolutely AMAZING finds that I cannot WAIT to show you!!! Coming soon.:)

2010-03-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Soooo can you tell I love maxi dresses yet? Yeah, kinda obsessed. And I'm not completely sure as to why, but I think its the fact that I don't really love shorts and I'm so sick of wearing jeans that by the spring, all I want to wear is a dress. And my compromise is a long dress that I can throw a light sweater over and voile! I'm warm enough and springy enough. This cotton, dark teal dress was a whopping $5. Its SUPER comfortable. And....

It has POCKETS!!! Which just completely make a dress for me. I would have bought a wedding dress with pockets if I had thought of it back then. LOVE them!

PS: If you love jewelry, then head over to Ambers Notebook - she is giving away a beautiful necklace!!

2010-03-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

I've been dying to show this little beauty off - I just haven't had a chance to wear it! It was almost 70 degrees today!! WOOHOO!!! And one of my friends birthdays, so out to dinner we went and I got to wear this! Love gray, love loose, love sheer so its a winner in my book. Oh, and love $3 shirts. Which is was.:)

I hope you had a lovely Saturday!! Have a wonderful and restful Sunday!:)

2010-03-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

We received the Sunshine Award!!!:) Hope, over at Hope Chella was SO kind to award us this, and you NEED to go to her blog and check hers out - her pictures are completely stunning. I can never chose my favorite.

I am passing on this award to these lovely bloggers who are such an inspiration to me:

Perfect Imperfection - whose home and life on her blog are so inviting.

A.Co Est 1984 - always has GREAT fashion ideas and also makes her own jewelry!!

Living My Story - who is an inspiration to me as a military wife and a wonderful mother.

Blueprint Bliss - has wonderful design ideas.

Life in the Fun Lane - if I could be someone, it would be Holly. She is incredible and she allows to step into her home and life everyday.

Traveling Russells - dear friends who are giving their lives to children in Nicaragua.

All About Transparency - for her realness and honesty about the struggles of life and being in the military.

Rachel Marie - for being so much like me I feel like we would be instant friends (aside from the fact that we already are in the blogging world:) if we didn't live half way across the country.

I love you all and you have become very dear to me. Thank you for bring sunshine in my days.:)

To accept you must:

1. Post the logo on your lovely blog.

2. Pass it on to other bloggers who bring sunshine into your day

3. Link the bloggers to your blog and make sure they know they received the award!!

2010-03-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

I am wanting to do something like this in our bedroom. Right now I have nothing hanging and it makes me sad. Isn't it amazing how empty frames could be so stunning??? My only problem, or question, is what color to paint them. The walls are a creamy white, our bedding is white, the curtains are a funky black and white damask and our bed is a HUGE black four poster bed. So pretty much any color will do. I want romantic, comfortable, but not girly. Any suggestions??

I found these at a couple different thrift stores. I think I need to find some smaller ones to fill in spaces. And this isn't how they will be arranged, this is just how many I have.

2010-03-04T19:09:00.001-08:00

Look at what my wonderful hubby just bought me!!!:) I have a $5 watch from F21 that I grabbed over the summer when I was coordinating a wedding and knew I would need to know the time while running around trying to get the bride down the aisle at the right time. Its silver and then when I saw Suzy, had ordered a beautiful watch over at ASOS, I hopped on there and saw this watch, I begged Eric if he could buy it for me. I have always wanted a gold watch and it soooo pretty! I LOVE IT! Thanks babe!

2010-03-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

We woke up to this beautiful sight that Ellen, our rottweiler, had left us a couple nights ago. Its a good thing Eric wasn't sworn into the "No New, Only Used Club". I think it might be hard to find him a nice pair of dress shoes. Dang it Ellen, those weren't cheap.

2010-02-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

We went out to one of my favorite pizza places tonight with some friends of ours. I found this thin baggy sweater the other day at Goodwill for $3 and couldn't resist its baggy comfy goodness. I wore it with some skinnies to balance it out and a pair of snake skin flats to jazz it up. Being 5'2" and 105 lbs lends itself to getting easily overwhelmed by clothing and during the winter, I have a hard time wear heels unless they are boots. I think I see myself wearing this quite a bit. I have a tendency to buy baggier over fitted. I think its the boho in me calling out.:) This was definitely a good $3 buy.

2010-02-27T07:04:00.000-08:00

Ok. So, I'm about to get real with you. Like, really real. What I'm about to tell you is my ultimate LOW of treasure hunting. I have never done something this... low before. I really can't come up with a better word for it. It was bad, and the bigger problem, you might ask? I'M PROUD OF IT. Yeah. You'll see what I mean, but I definitely will need to know if I'm the worst person in the world or if I have some what of a reason to be proud of my conniving ways.

So heres what happens. I go to Goodwill yesterday, where I got a lot of fun stuff, which I'll show you later, but I bump into this absolutely ADORABLE antique desk, with no real comestic damage, just needs a paint job and some wood filler. For $35!!! And then I notice right next to it, this absolutely precious wooden high chair. Look - isn't it SO CUTE?? It needs a paint job too, but it is so cute!

And thats $15!!! So I tell myself, " Self, you don't need both. Just get the highchair. Its $20 cheaper and even though you don't have a baby, aren't pregnant, you should clearly buy the highchair." COMPLETE logic, right? Ugh. So I do. I buy the high chair. And I'm glad I did. Cause its cute. And hopefully one day I'll have a cute little kid to put in my cute little high chair.

Anyway, I leave Goodwill, drive the 15 minutes to get to the gym on base, get on the elliptical and get my work out on. I had gone exactly 1.29 miles when it dawns on me. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING??? If I had seen that little antique desk for $35 on Craigslist I'd be all over it like white on rice - so WHY in the WORLD did I not buy it??? It took me about 0.04 of a mile to figure out I was an idiot and I hopped off, ran out the door and jumped into my car. If you've ever driven on a base before, you will know the EXCRUCIATING slow speed limits you are forced to abide by. And they'll getcha if you're just a couple over too. Anyway, I make it out of base and floor up Air Depot Road, praying, no PLEADING with God to let it still be there. I have my seatbelt unbuckled and I fly into Goodwill the second I pull into the parking lot - run to the back of the store and come to a halt. There is a lady, WITH A CHILD, (I not only wronged another human being but I wronged a child as well) standing in front of MY DESK. I immediately duck into the book sections and make it look like I'm the most interested person in children's books there ever was, the entire time staring her down. And then I watch her, as she proceeds to then get on her cellphone and hear her say, "Yeah, its really cute. All wood.... Do you want me to wait here and you can come look at it?" I'm assuming she's talking to her husband and I start to panic. Desperation overwhelms me. And then I do it.

I go to the front of the store - AND I BUY THE DESK!!!! Right out from under her nose!!!! The cashier lady already knew me from my multiple purchases the 1/2 hr prior, knew I had a discount card and knew exactly what desk I wanted when I told her I wanted to buy the $35 desk in the back. So she rang me up right there and printed me off a SOLD sign, gave it to me and told me to go put it on the piece. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I am a horrible horrible person.

I proceed to walk back and she's still on the phone. I bend down next to the desk and whisper, "Excuse me" and she turns around to see me putting it on. And then she says into the phone, "Oh, welp, nevermind - its sold." And then I go on to APOLOGIZE to her. Not only do I steal from people but I LIE as well. I wasn't sorry!! I was ecstatic!!!

And here is my prize. Isn't she so precious? Do you see why I don't feel bad? I know the exact spot I want to put her in our home.

So that is my story. I hope you don't hate me and quit reading.:) I will have some fun finds for you later!

2010-02-26T12:49:00.001-08:00

I am SO giddy and just about to jump around the room right now cause I just got back from the Goodwill and have a MILLION things to show you!!! Not all clothes, but I did pick up two adorable shirts that I'll hopefully share with you later on this weekend.

But first, I want to share two thrift store items that were SENT TO ME!!! One item was from my sister, who is probably the BEST thrift store shopper ever. Seriously, if she had a blog, you'd read hers instead of mine. And the second item was from my wonderful friend Holly, who is pretty much the best gift giver EVER. I'm really not exaggerating. I have received the most thoughtful gifts from her through out the years, and this is just an example of her amazing ability to find items that she knows you will love.

This is from Rachel. It is brand new - still has the Old Navy tags on it. I wasn't a regular Old Navy shopper prior to this extravaganza but I think this is super cute! I love it.:)

I love the little pinstripes. Its a grayish/purple hue paired with a cream. LOVE IT.

This is from Holly. The fit PERFECT. They are also brand new - still had the tags on them, from Gap. Skinny cropped pants and they are so so precious. I can totally see myself wearing this all the time in the Spring.

Thank you Holly and Rachel - you are the BEST!:)

2010-02-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

I found this little beauty the same day as the dress below. It was a good day. Except for the fact that I also donated some items to the Goodwill when I was there to shop and my $15 camelback water bottle was in the bag. I loved that water bottle. And $15 is EXPENSIVE in my book, especially for a water bottle.

But, the clothes I scored were almost worth it.:)

2010-02-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Isn't this SO pretty??? I found this yesterday for $5 at my favorite Goodwill. Well, it was $4.50 for me cause I have a discount card which gets me 10% on each item I buy. Yeah yeah, I have a discount card at Goodwill, laugh it up. BUT ITS THE ONLY PLACE I SHOP!!!! So there.:)

I could totally wear this to a summer wedding - which I have a couple of this year. The outer shell of the dress is this flowing thin material that overlays a navy blue lining. Its super comfy and really light. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

2010-02-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well this isn't really a furniture/home improvment blog, but is about finding treasures that have been used, worn, and then cast aside by others, and resurrected by me.:) So I thought I'd share with you some of the pieces of furniture I've done over. As most of you know, my ENTIRE house is full of Craigslist, thrift store and garage sales (can't wait for the Spring for them to start up!) - I even bought my car off of Craigslist. Our new Pottery Barn sofa that we are waiting to be delivered is the only new piece of furniture that we will own.

Well, I've always tried to spruce up whatever I've bought in some way, but I have been completely inspired by Holly, over at In The Fun Lane. I swear I'm her twin that was lost at birth. No, unfortunately, we look NOTHING alike - she's BEAUTIFUL. BUT - she has a love for old furniture, great deals and WHITE. Her home is so so beautiful. Seriously, you will be SO inspired by her style and completely convinced that white is absolutely gorgeous. Anyway, I've been wanting to redo pieces and sell them for sometime and she was the final clincher. I have learned so much from her!

So, a couple weeks ago, I started working on a dresser that I use as a buffet table in our living room. I loved it but I needed to repaint it as it had a bunch of scrapes and nicks. It used to be natural wood grain and I painted it bright white right when I got it off of Craigslist and then this time around, I used a creamy white/ivory. I sold it to the nicest lady who is expecting TWINS this passed weekend who was looking for a dresser for her nursery. I LOVED that it went into a nursery. So here are photos of the dresser and nesting table that I sold this weekend.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And then I found this little cutie at a consignment shop a couple weeks ago, which I primed, painted and went at it with some sandpaper and voile!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Can't wait to show you more - I have several pieces in the garage I can't wait to start on!!:)

2010-02-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

So I haven't bought any of these recently. But they are all thrift store finds. Except the boots. But they're old. And cheap. But I love them. Obviously cause I'm wearing them in ALL of my shots it seems.

The gray skinny jeans are some of my fav. I wear them often. They were actually found in a thrift store in L.A. while I was visiting my sister there last year. They were boot cut, and I had them tailored to skinny, cause I'm a skinny girl all the way. Not in the never-gain-weight-kind-of-way. Cause you should do that from time to time. Especially if you're preggos. Which I'm not.

Okkkaaaay, moving right along. The tank and sweater are from here, in Oklahoma. The sweater is actually a L, which I love cause I love loose fitting light sweaters. They're just so perfect.

And there's Husband in the background. On the phone with Delta, trying to figure out why his itinerary was showing completely different flights than what he booked. Never a good thing. Please don't comment on the fact that he's completely bald. He isn't. Well, almost. But he shaves it all off every couple days and I love it. And he's just a TEENY bit sensitive about it.:)

Ta-ta for now!

2010-02-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm SO excited!!! I went to two different thrift stores during my lunch break today (this is getting so out of hand, its just SO FUN!) and started to worry that the shirts that I wanted yesterday, wouldn't be there when I went back after work. Especially after seeing Ambers shirt here, I reeeeeally wanted to get the shirt below. And I did!!!! Its so light and breezy, I love it!

I almost didn't buy this even though I was going to yesterday, but then I was convinced myself since it was only $2 instead of $4. Its comfy, long and gray. Perfect.:)

I tucked in the shirt to show you the leather belt I scored for $1.5o. Its so great! A natural camel color and has these really fun gold buckles, which you can see on the pic below.

I love 1/2 off day!!! I have other treasures I found that were clothing, that hopefully I'll show you tomorrow.

2010-02-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

I would have had something to show you today if I hadn't gotten greedy. I was in line, ready to check out at a local thrift store, when the lady told me that tomorrow is 1/2 off day. Yep, back on the rack they went. Why spend $7 when you can spend $3.50?? So tomorrow lovelies, I will show you my two shirts that I (hopefully) will buy for a complete steal.

I warned you at the beginning I needed help.:)

2010-02-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

So its not my favorite. But it was $3. And warm. And pink. And I wanted to save my F21 gift card for something I wanted, rather than needed, cause giftcards are PRECIOUS these days. The Pink Party was a success though and you can read about it here. I paired my pink cardigan with my pink peep toe flats that I bought in L.A. 2 years ago when I was amiably walking to a bagel shop for breakfast and my sandal decided to SNAP right in two and therefore I was left with one sandal and one bare foot, walking on LA's sidewalks. It was gross. Thankfully, there happened to be a TJMaxx directly across the street from the bagel shop. What was even more ironic was the No Shoes, No Entry policy that was plastered on the stores doorfront with a cop sitting right inside making sure we were all dressed properly. Upon entering, he promptly told me I needed a shoe. All I did was hold up my broken sandal and say, "I know. I need a shoe." He let me in. And I walked out with these cuties.

Pink cakeballs, pink roses and pink daises. It was lovely! Even for someone who isn't in love with pink.

2010-02-12T04:42:00.000-08:00

The sweater is from a thrift store, but I got that a couple years ago. Whats on display today is the tank that has this fun graphic. I haven't even take the time to figure out what it actually says. Hopefully it's nothing vulgar. I got the tank at Goodwill for $2 and love it cause its really really long. The back is pretty cool too.

I tried to give you an idea of what the back looks like. I'm a sucker for racer back tank tops, so I was excited when I found this. Do you know how extremely awkward and difficult it is to take a picture of your back by yourself?? Its not easy, I'm telling ya. On a side note, dang I'm pale.

Still no luck on finding something pink. I'm hitting up a consignment shop today, so I'll let you know if I find something.:)

2010-02-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Can we please talk for a second about how absolutely amazing my Biblestudy girls are??? They read my blog and what did they get me for a late birthday present, but a FOREVER21 GIFTCARD!!!!! I'm SO excited! I am going to try one more thrift store to find something pink before caving into F21, because really thats what this journey is all about. Needing an item and actually seeing if I am capable of finding, or if the thrift store is capable of providing, something that I actually NEED. So, I'm not giving up YET, I just wanted to give a shoutout to my girls for looking out for me.:) Love you!!!

2010-02-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

I need something PINK!!! This Sunday, for Valentines Day, I am hosting a Pink Party. There's only one rule - everyone is to come dressed in pink. Which will be especially fun for me since Husband HATES wearing pink. He lived in a house with 12 other guys in college and they used to have these dance parties. They would all somehow coordinate their outfits for every party, and at one point, it was the "Super Prep" outfit party, where they all adorned pink polo shirts, complete with the popped collar, khaki cargo shorts and Rainbow flip flops. He bought his shirt at Goodwill and promptly threw it away the minute the party was over. I haven't seen him in pink since. And that was in 2003.

Its now 2010 and now its me that has a problem with pink. I don't own a single item of clothing that is pink. NOTHING in my closet is pink. I'm not opposed to it - I just don't buy it! I told ya, I'm a white, black and gray girl!

I have been to 3 different thrift stores, and have scoured their pink collections. Let me tell you - its bad. Hideous. I'm getting worried that I might have to go to Target and spend the remainder $8.48 on my gift card to purchase a pink t-shirt that I probably throw away the minute the party is over. Man, Husband and I are more alike than I thought...

So, I got online to get inspired. And to also just make myself feel better cause online shopping, even if you don't buy anything, always makes me feel a little better. Here is what I would purchase if I could.

Ahhhhh, LOVE that skirt! Its so precious!

The above are J.Crew.

Reminds me of my New Years Eve dress doesn't it? I don't love it as a shirt, but I would wear that before anything that I've seen at the Goodwill.

The above are F21.

The above are Urban Outfitters.

2010-02-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

We been nominated!!! Amber, from Ambers Notebook, was SO gracious today to nominate Your Trash, My Treasure as an inspiring beautiful blog. It made my day!!! This is such a brand new blog and journey that I'm on and I am so touched that there are people out there that love reading about this adventure! Its a joy to me as I treasure hunt, because I feel like I'm bringing back little treasures to show you all. It makes this process SO much more fun and definitely more worth it. Amber just has super cute outfits, flowers for every week and is so easy to connect with even though you've never met her! She shares her style with you and if you're a F21 and Urban Outfitters girl like me, you will love and be inspired by her ideas about how to wear, shop and look for new hot trends. Check her out!

And I just snuck this in, a day late, but I was suppose to write 7 random facts about myself... still getting used to this whole blogging world.:) So here we go.

1. My legs are so short that when I sit on a handicap toilet, they don't touch the ground.

2. My husband was my first and only boyfriend. And we never broke up. Kinda crazy, but I love it.:)

3. I love love love the cookie of an Oreo. And hate hate hate the icing. I scrape it off and throw it away.

4. My first baby doll was African American. I picked her out myself.

5. I try to, as often as I can, wear a shirt to bed and then incorporate it into my outfit the next day. It makes me feel like I never got out of bed in a small way.

6. I planned my wedding, for 200 guests, in 6 weeks.

7. Its not really random cause its kinda my whole life, but I love Jesus a whole lot.

If you want more random facts, you can visit 25 random things about me.:)

I want to pass on the Beautiful Blogger award to these blogs. They are so fun to read and make my day a brighter place.

Rachel who always has a good book recommendation.

Taylor for being so inspiring with decorating, even on a budget.

Whitney who makes the mundane, witty and worth reading.

Nicole who's poetry is an window of her soul.

Suzy at inspires me that I can dress like a celebrity, regardless of the fact that I shop at Goodwill.

You are all such a joy to me! Have a wonderful night!

2010-02-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry its been a while friends! Life has been a little busy and I haven't had the time to go treasure hunting. I've been actually doing a lot of it, but for our house instead. We just decided to NOT move to Norman, therefore, I can actually DO all the things I've been wanting to to our house. We just bought a new sofa, I'm SO excited about it!!!

But today, I did find time to go to the Goodwill. And I found this dress. SO awesome. Considering the fact that I coveted this dress at Target all last summer. I think my little sister has it too. (We own about 6 of the same dresses from Target. Thats the only reason I can think of as to why its good we don't live in the same state.) But this dress was 5 buckaroos, rather than the $25 it was in the stores. Goodwill comes through again.:) Sorry for all the construction in the background. I have been painting pretty much everything in my house for the past 2 weeks. Its great fun!:)

2010-02-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

My very own piece of NEW clothing. Don't worry - I used a giftcard! I wouldn't give up that easily! Let my 4 followers down? Never!:) No but seriously. I wouldn't.

My sister gave me a $15 Target giftcard and I used $6.52 of it on this sweater. It was just too perfect to pass up. I could see myself wearing it with everything. I'm really trying to save all gift cards for the summer because my real weakness is summer dresses. I can't stay away from them no matter how hard I try. Its ridiculous. But alas, the lightweight drapey sweater won out. Hopefully I'll get another giftcard before summer rolls around to buy at least one dress. Whats the one article of clothing or accessory that you just can't seem to get enough of?

What does Daisy Fuentes do anyway?

2010-01-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

Cause this shirt is from her line, which I think is at Kohls. Was she a model? An exercise guru? For some reason I remember her hosting America's Funniest Home Videos - am I totally wacked out or is that right? Anyway, the shirt is long and comfortable, 3/4 sleeves (which I'm a sucker for) and was $2 so I'm not too concerned about what made Daisy famous. I've never bought anything of hers from Kohls, but then again, I never buy anything from Kohls. Vera Wang has a line there, and I think every other celebrity, including Avril Lavigne, Fergie, Ashley Judd has makeup, along with... the Baby Phat designer, whats her name? But I can't ever seem to find anything I like! Does anyone find things there? If so, what am I missing???

Ice? Yes please.

2010-01-28T05:41:00.000-08:00

Well nothing of this outfit was from a thrift store except the teal shirt underneath. Sorry I am not showing it to you in its fullest capacity. It made for a nice tank under my sweater though. It was one of the items I got from Good will this past weekend.

On another note, Oklahoma is expecting a large ice storm to hit us at any time today. Its hilarious how freaked out people get. In general. Not just here in Oklahoma, although they seem to be above average. The governor declared it a state of emergency. YESTERDAY. More than 24 hrs prior to any precipitation falling from the sky. Hahaha, apparently, according to Facebook, everyone and their mom was stocking up on groceries and the like as well. One girl said that everyone was preparing for the "Y2K, er, I mean ice.":)

I can understand some what of the craziness though. The last ice storm that hit, 2 years ago, knocked power out in like 30% of the State and a lot of people didn't have power for almost 2 weeks. It was bad. So, I think people are scared it'll be like that again.

I on the otherhand, just don't want to go to work this morning, so I was hoping for somewhat of a freezing rain to have already begun. I'm slightly procrastinating in getting ready... hence the 8am blogging....

Shopping in the L department

2010-01-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

This creamed color lightweight sweater was from a treasure hunt at one of the local Goodwills this past weekend. I actually found quite a few items there that I'll be showing you soon, I just haven't photographed yet. This sweater was a large, (not normally the size area I shop in, but I have recently begun to - cause I like big shirts.) I paired it with my Rich & Skinny black jeans and black open-toed booties that Eric thinks is absolutely ridiculous.:) I love walking out of the bedroom in something I KNOW will get a reaction out of him. He's very traditionl, so its not that hard to get a laugh and a "Oh gosh - thats.... interesting.":)

Ahhh J.Crew

2010-01-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

So I found this J.Crew top - and yes, its a turtleneck. We've had this conversation before, haven't we? The one about how I own entirely way too many turtlenecks for a 25, er, 26 year old? (Just had a birthday and its the first one I don't want to talk about.) It's slightly disturbing. I am CONSTANTLY reminded of that movie with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton (love her!), what is it? Dang... what's the name of that movie??? Somethings Got To Give maybe? Anyway, Diane Keaton wears a turtleneck throughout THE ENTIRE MOVIE. And Jack is like, "Whats with the turtleneck?" In which she replies something cute and sassy which I can't remember, but ever since then I've been super self-conscious about how many turtlenecks I have and how often I wear them. I'm 26 and I already dress like a 55 year old! Anyway, I swore off turtlenecks ago, oooh about two weeks ago, and then what did I find but a lightweight J.Crew stripped turtleneck. And for $4. Can't beat it.

Although I do slightly feel like an inmate in it....

2010-01-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile - I apologize. I went skiing. In the Rockies. So ya can't blame me. Thats way better than thrifting. BUT LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!!

I have been wanting a mens (or womens) tux jacket and I found one! For $15 bucks! I found this cute little consignment shop today and EVERYTHING in the store was 50%. Otherwise, it would have been a little pricey for my liking. I'm SUPER stoked about this find though cause I was literally thinking just today (prior to seeing the store while driving by and slamming on the brakes so I could make the right hand turn into the the parking lot) "It would be great to find a tux jacket. That will probably be tricky - not many of those trampsin' around central OK." And here I am. Standing in my bathroom taking pictures for you. (and the black blurb next to my leg is Ellen's bee-hind when she decided to wander in, wondering what the heck I was doing.)

I took about a million pictures cause I'm realizing just how hard it is to take pictures of yourself when you're attempting to demonstrate the amazing purchase you are wearing.

I find myself very amusing when I'm like "OH MY GOSH!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FOUND THIS!!!! LOOK AT THIS NAMEBRAND!!! AND IN OKLAHOMA!!!" It's like I've never been in a thrift store or found anything slightly useful and that the people of Oklahoma are completely void of style. I mean seriously, I practically did all of this already, except I slapped a title on the blog and decided to be super extreme about. And I definitely know some super trendy people who are native to this great state, as to whether or not they give their leftovers to Goodwill is another question. So - this is a pledge to simma down.:)

I got religion.

2010-01-11T20:21:00.001-08:00

Can you see what this is??? It's True Religion jeans. So wonderful. So beautiful. Not that I own any, or have ever owned a pair, or plan on it (only because I'm WAY to cheap, not because I don't like them. Heck, hand-me downs are WONDERFUL! I got a pair of 7's from my generous friend Taylor and I love them to great!) BUT - this gives hope to a doubtful soul such as mine. If there are True Religion jeans out there to be bought, in OKLAHOMA, then there HAS to be items of clothing that are not only wearable, and my style, but are brand name.

I take 30 minutes in the dressing room to try on one item.

2010-01-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

And this is why.... I seriously act like I'm out in life with my garment-of-question on. It's ridiculous. And if you put a video camera in my dressing room (beyond the fact that would be way creepy, and totally illegal) you would get quite the production. I dance, talk to myself, view from all angles, lean up against the wall and just stare at myself, and as you have now seen, try on sunglasses and take pictures. IT'S TOTALLY WERID! I know! But as I have stated before, I need help. I have to be convinced to buy something I'm so stinkin' cheap. And thats my convinced/not so convinced method.

I bought this sweater, from Gap for $4 (No, its produced by Gap, I didn't get it from there). Not bad. It's not amazing, but I'm realizing I can't be super super picky. I mean seriously, I've got slim picken's here in the grand state of Oklahoma.

Disclaimer: can we talk about the fact that I kinda look like I have a belly in the above photo?? No, I'm not preggo's. I arch my back and jut my stomach out when I stand (It sounds so wonderfully lady-like and feminie when you put in on paper, doesn't it? NOT.) So yeah... that's where thats coming from. No bun-in-the-oven.

And yes... this is the same thrift store I went to the other day. Yessss... it was for the $1 Thursday. I HAD to go! I mean, who could pass that up?? Which ended up to be a complete disappointment because all the items that you're allowed to choose from are on the DISCOUNT RACK. Another term for that in the thrifting world is JUNK AND ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING RACK. So, not such luck with $1 Thursdays.

And this is me this morning. It was 5 degrees, not including the massive gusts of wind this blessed state bestows on us, so I thought a nice warm sweater would be perfect for today. It was!

I have a cheap demon sitting on my shoulder...

2010-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

THEY SELL BRAS AND UNDERWEAR!!!! And here's proof. I mean, I already knew this, but seeing it in actuality is just disturbing. Especially since I am now a frequent visitor of thrift stores. Thank GOD I thought of a loop hole for that one prior to making this challenge for myself. I probably would have quit the whole year entirely.

I was pleased to see some familiar brand names as I pawed through stuff. I tried on about five things and came away with one. Not a ton of selection, but its okay, I expected this. Another problem I ran into, is that I overheard an employee talking to a customer about how every Thursday at this particular shop, they have $1 Thursdays. Anything you can fit into a shopping bag, you get for one buck. So naturally my overwhelmingly cheap demon that constantly sits on my left shoulder, in it's parental voice said, "You know what to do. Put it all back. Come back on Thursday. Why spend $10 when you can get ALL kinds of stuff for $1?" And then my reasonable, logical, frugal just not stingy, angel who sits on my right shoulder said, "Seriously? You're buying ONE SHIRT. FOR FOUR DOLLARS. Buy it. Now. And MAYBE come back on Thursday, cause there's no use buying someone else's trash when it really is trash." I bought the shirt.

Here is what I was shopping in, which is also what I wore to work today.

Here's what I bought. It's like a game!!! Find what's missing game!!! Can you see it?? My turtleneck of course!:) I purchased a Target brand, plain black light knitted sweater for a grand total of $4.32 that looks almost exactly like the one I was wearing. Which isn't too odd for me anyway. I have this horrible tendency to purchase variations of the same piece of clothing, and regularly in the same color: gray, white or black. I'm a horrible stylist.

Here goes nothing.

2010-01-01T11:15:00.001-08:00

And here we begin.... my journey of nothing new and unused. I am actually really really excited about this. For those who have not heard - I have made a New Years Resolution. It is my first resolution - EVER. And no, its not to work out or eat healthy. My resolution for the year 2010 is that all my personal purchases (for further explanation, click here) has to be recycled. Not actually recycled recycled, but that nothing I buy can be new. Garage sales, thrift stores, consignment shops, hand-me-downs, they are now my only venue of shopping. I will purchase nothing out of a department store, which means, sadly there is no more Forever21 or Urban Outfitters.:(

I have had some questions and want to make it clear as to how extreme this challenge is. It's not for EVERYTHING I purchase all year. It's what I buy myself to WEAR. Shampoo, deodorant, coffee mugs, groceries (yes, that has been asked if I will buy recycled) household items - all those things can and will be purchased new. I understand some people's confusion as to far I will am taking this. I am already a Craigslister at nature. My car, couches, TV, four poster bed and pretty much everything else in my house is off of Craigslist or some garage sale, BUT that is not what this challenge is. Its personal this time.

So this blog is designed solely for the purpose of allowing me to show you the treasures I will find, the hardships of searching for items that I need, and to just share the experience with others of only buying used.

So here are the rules:

1. Any undergarments will be bought NEW. Hygiene is still important to me, regardless of bending the rules a bit.

2. Anything I would wear or purchase in a store, such as purses, scarves, coats, boots, jeans, tank tops - anything must and will be purchased used.

3. Giftcards do not count. I am allowed giftcards in department stores. I just can't use my own personal money to make those purchases.

4. Giftcards and gifts are TOTALLY welcome.:)

I have included a photo of my dress from lastnight cause it was a hand me down from my sister. I thought starting the new year off with my resolution was only the right thing to do.:)

I'm excited you've enjoyed me on this journey!