Blazers and Bubble Necklaces

Another symptom of my lack of creativity, is when I find something that works, I stick with it...

So much for "having more fun with my clothes"

Its ok. Baby steps.

 

One of these days I'm really going to have fun and try some COLOR!

Terrifying.

 

Blazer: Target (old)

T-shirt: Thrifted

Pants: Thrifted

Bubble Necklace: Wet Seal

Belt: ? (old)

Shoes: DSW  (last year)

 

Thrifty Outfit Post

My first outfit post!

Some of my favorite blogs are the fashion blogs where every day girls have pictures of themselves in cute outfits. Outfits normal girls can wear and afford. It gives me inspiration.
Some of the styles out there are way out of my comfort zone, but how cool that they have the confidence to have fun with what they wear, and then to post it on the internet where everyone can see. This is my goal. To have more fun with my clothes.
(Don't worry, I have bigger goals in life)

Confession: I have a TON of clothes in my closet.
Phew, that felt good. Now that I have that off my chest, I can also confess that I STILL stare into it thinking "I have NOTHING to wear".
Seriously.
What is that about!!??

I can go shopping, need to buy more hangers because of my shopping spree, and two days later stare into my closet completely stumped...and proceed to put on one of my go-to outfits.
B-o-r-i-n-g.

I've decided that my problem is that I have so much, I don't know where to start, so I just play it safe. This is why I like to read blogs and scan Pinterest (aka, internet "crack")
I get ideas, go to my closet, and try to recreate what I saw with what I have.
Doesn't work as well as I would like...I still shop for more.
=)

 

I don't pretend to be fashion forward...cause I'm not. But I love clothes, I love fashion, and mostly I love shopping. Mostly, mostly, I love thrift store shopping!

 

Its like a sport for me.

The hubs thinks of it as more of a disease...probably because he has to pay for it.

 I tell him I'm saving him money, I could be shopping at Nordstrom's =)

 

Of course, there are rules to thrift store shopping.

 

Rules:

 

1. Don't purchase underwear at a thrift store (this is a great rule)

2. Shoes are ok, but they need to be inspected. Nobody wants to end up with some kind of foot fungi.

3. Commit. Look through everything! If you just scan, you will miss the good stuff and never go back.

 

I recently went to Savers with my mom and found quite a few things.
Here are some pictures of my almost completely thrifted outfit...almost.

 

 

Jeans: Gap-Thrifted

Blazer: Thrifted

Belt: Thrifted

Shoes: Nine West-Thrifted (no fungi)

Racer back tank: Forever 21 (old)

Bubble necklace: Wet Seal

Gold "B" Necklace: "Push Present" from the hubs for 10 hours of labor =)

Bulldog: Craigslist (Yep, even our dog is second hand) 

 



Boogers, spit up and poop - oh my

Someone said to me a few weeks ago, "don't be one of 'those moms' who post things on facebook about their kids poop"
Well, I've done one better, I'm blogging about it!
 
Oh well.

Before I had Brody, I couldn't handle the sight of boogers. Mine were the only ones that didn't make me gag.

 

Have you ever seen a mom take her bare fingers and grab her child's snot right off of his face?

Aw, what a good mom. How sweet. That's dedication....
No, that's DISGUSTING!!!

Dont do that!!!

 

That's what I use to think anyway. The first time Brody had a huge booger (didnt know 3 week olds could have such big boogs!) I tried to suck it out with that booger sucker thing. It was working! Score!!

 

Then, it got to the edge of the inside of his nose (tmi yet? Then I suggest you quit reading now) and wouldn't come out any further with just the sucker (stupid piece of junk!) So, I just went for it!!

I GRABBED IT WITH MY BARE FINGERS!!!

I felt that I had "arrived" as a mom.

 

Normally I love putting pictures on my posts as a visual to what I'm talking about, but in this case, I'll spare you and just post cute pics of Brody.

 

 

You're welcome.

 

Next, there is the issue of spit up. I have a "spit up baby"

Have you heard of those? I had heard stories of such babies, but never experienced one for myself.

 

I have now experienced such a baby.

 

This kid will eat 4 ounces and spit up what looks like 5.

That's impossible!!!

But he does it.

 

I feel so blessed, because it could be worse.

It doesn't seem to bother him. He doesn't have colic or gas issues that cause him to cry inconsolably.

He's gaining weight.

 

So, I do laundry and try not to complain.

Lots and lots of laundry.

 

 

 

And finally, as requested by The Best, 
The Poop Story.

 

I think every mom probably has one of these. Its a right of passage or something.

 

I was across town (far from home) at Savers, and while in the book section, my son started to grunt...loudly! Anyone within 15 feet of us could hear him and there is no mistaking what he's doing. I smile awkwardly as the two people standing within earshot try to avoid eye contact with me and pretend they don't hear my little tiny baby making a really big poo.

 

I still needed to go to Walmart, so I decided to change his diaper in the dressing room.

I went to pull him out of his stroller and as I did, I felt something soggy on my fingers.

I look at his back and you guessed it!

Poop everywhere!

 

It was up his back, in the car seat, all over my fingers...everywhere.

Well, good thing I have a nifty diaper bag full of things to handle a situation like this...

 

I start to undress him, only to find that the outfit I chose for him that morning had to go over his head...which meant all the poo that was on the bottom of his onesie, ended up on the top of his head. I thought poop was everywhere before... nope, NOW its everywhere.

 

So I lay him down, grab the wipe box as I prepare to give us both a "bath" right there in the Savers dressing room. As I open the wipe box, I'm completely mortified as I realize... 

I forgot to refill it!!!!

I had 3 wipes, for a 20 wipe job.

 

 

This is when I started to panic.

 

I did my best. I get most of the poop off of his bum and his face, but with only 3 wipes, I had to improvise and use whatever I could find.

 (No, I didn't use any of the clothes from Savers...although I thought about it)

I used the outfit he had been wearing, but that was pretty much covered already.
I used his burp rag, his blanket...and as I discovered when I got home later that day, my jeans.

He was far from clean.

There was still poop in his hair, on top of his ears, all over my hands, the car seat...

Did I mention there was poop everywhere?

 

We still had to go to walmart.
 

However, it being walmart, I knew I wouldn't be judged =)

 

 

 

But seriously, with this smile, I'll pick his boogers, clean spit up off the couch and

he can poop on whatever he wants.

 

Kidding.

No he cant. That's gross.

 

Project #2

Chair number two!

 

Remember this guy?

 

 

Why is this chair male, you ask.

No idea. Just is.

 

With this one I had to use some liquid sander stuff. I don't mind sanding, its kind of therapeutic...kind of... but I don't have a sander, so the liquid stuff works.

Unless you want to restain wood, you probably don't need more than the liquid sander, but don't take my word for it. I'm an amateur.

It removes dirt, grime, grease and the clear coat that would keep the new paint from sticking.

Peeling: not good
Also, there is Liquid Deglosser. I haven't tried it yet, but I hear it works great.

 

My tools:

 

TSP (liquid sander stuff), Gloves (cause the liquid sander stuff is no joke!),

Paint brushes to brush on the primer, which I forgot to take a picture of. I used Kilz Original

Oil-Base primer (fyi, use a cheap paint brush to put this stuff on, it doesn't wash out very well and I end up throwing the brush away), and then the spray paint.

 

Sometimes I like the brushed look and sometimes I like it to be a little smoother. For these chairs, I chose spray paint for a smoother look. Be careful though, it will drip if you spray too much. Its best to do about 3 thin coats. However, if you're impatient (like I am) and you spray it too thick, you can keep a paintbrush close by to wipe up any dripping.

 

Safety first!

I told you, the liquid sander is no joke!

 

 

Casualties

 

 

Primered!

I kind of like it like this...

 

After this, I used a staple gun to staple the new fabric over the old cushion, which was my favorite part of this whole project...not sure why.

I like the staple gun.

 

I have AMAZING brother in laws who helped me screw the cushion back onto the chair and

Wah-lah!

(still not sure how to spell that)

 

Done!

 

 

Done again!

 

 

Staged =)

 

For sale!

 

Short hair vs long hair

There are many big decisions to be made throughout life. School, marriage, career, children... which comes with a whole new list of big decisions to make... and for us girls, there is the decision of what to do with our hair.

Oh. My. Gosh! If this isn't one of the most annoying things to have to mull over in life, I don't know what is.  

Should I cut it short. Should I grow it longer. Blonde. Brunette. Curly. Straight. Up. Down. Should I wash it today. Do I have time to wash it.
Hat.
 

The list goes on and on and its something we as women/girls have to face every single day. I'm guessing that if I were to take a poll, 90% of you would say you would love to just shave it off! Yes? Maybe its just me...and Brittany Spears.

 

About 5 weeks ago, I made what, to me, was a very big decision. I decided to chop it all off!

 

Before:
 

I don't have many pictures loaded onto my new computer, so these ones will have to do.

(This was when I was about 7 months pregnant...who needs a plate?)

 

I have wanted to cut my hair for about 10 years now. I love long hair so much...on other people. My best for instance, she has awesome hair! I secretly hate her for it.
Kidding, fella!! Love you...and you hair.

 Anyway, I think my face looks better with short hair. I know this, because about 5 years ago I went pretty short. However, it wasn't short enough, so instead of looking like Meg Ryan, I looked more like a redneck with a mullet. I don't have a picture to show you. Sorry.

 

 

This is what I wanted to look like

 

This is what I felt like

 

Egh!!

 

What was SJH thinking by the way?

 

So 5 weeks ago, I decided that I hated my hair so much, it didn't matter how bad it might look short, I couldn't possibly hate it more than I already did. Even a mullet! 

 

So, I cut it.

 

After:

 



People should not take pictures
of themselves while driving

I LOVE IT!

 

Very NOT mullet-ish, right?

 

Little plug for my hair guy, Chris (602-384-3730)

He is amazing! I've been going to him for over 5 years now (yes, he is the one who gave me the mullet, but it was my fault. I didn't let him go short enough)
I can bring a picture to him of a style I like, and even with my curly, thick hair, he has made it happen every time.

Love him.

 

I love how easy it is.
I love that its off my shoulders and now Brody cant spit up in it.
I love how much less shampoo I use.

 

I feel like I have a "style" now. Before it felt so boring to me. I wore it the same way every day because it was easy.
Now, I feel like my outfits even look cuter because of my new hair! =) 

 

I'm even thinking about going shorter!

 

P.S. Excuse the Miller Genuine Draft t-shirt. I bought it at Savers for pajamas...its comfy. =)

 



 

 

Kindness And My Home Away From Home

Where is my "home away from home" you ask?

 

 

Two words: SUPER CENTER

Or is it Supercenter? Either way, I do find it to be super.

 

The hubs makes fun of me for this all the time.

Say what you will about the COMPLETE lack of etiquette and pajama wearing redneck types that shop there. The convenience of getting everything I need (except produce...don't buy the produce!) in one stop, is well worth the sites and sounds that may come with shopping there.

 

 

 

I'm from a really small town and growing up, the only, ONLY, place to shop, was walmart.

I guess there is a little bit of nostalgia in it for me.

 

Anyway, I made my weekly run and was pleasantly surprised by how kind people were. Not that they are typically unfriendly, but today I experienced what I felt was a more than usual amount of kindness.

 

First, a women offered to watch Brody so that I could use the restroom. The large stall was occupied, so I had to wait, she noticed this and offered to watch him for me. So nice.

No, she was no wearing pajama bottoms and her underwear were not peaking out of the top of her pants. She was very kind and I appreciated the offer.

 

Second, I was loading my car after I had finished my shopping, when an older man noticed the car seat and my full cart of groceries and offered to help with loading everything into my car.

(and no, he did not have a mullet)

 

I was so moved by the kindness of these two that it inspired me to blog about it.

It also challenged me to take notice of people around me.

Its so easy to get caught up in my own little world.

 

 

 



Project!!

I've started a project! About a year ago (I'm somewhat of a procrastinator) I bought a few chairs with the intention of refurbishing them. I'm not particularly good with this kind of thing, but there is only one way to get better, right?

I found one or two at a consignment store and another at Savers (my favorite place to shop these days...however, I have an issue with them as of late. That will be another post) I will post about each chair as I go. I only have one done so far.

The problem with this first chair is, I forgot to take a before picture. Duh.

 

Here it is already painted...

Before, it was an old wood (not in a good way) color. Someone had already refurbished it once and chose to use stain over paint...I think. That's what it looked like to me. Either way, it was bad. The cushion was a pastel checkered material. Also bad.

 

I bought some material at Hobby Lobby (LOVE), covered the country checkered stuff and

WAH-LAH

(is that how you spell that??)

 

I love the script look that is popular right now. Its so classy and goes with any color you might have in your home. Makes a good accent piece.

Does it sound like I'm trying to sell it? I am. =) The hubs thinks I should start doing this as a kind of a side business. He has given me a little bit of money (sounds like I'm a 5 year old) to purchase things I want to refurbish and then sell. He's excited to see if I can turn his $350 into $600.
Really, he just wants me to make it big in Hollywood so he can quit work and play golf every day. I think he's hoping that if that falls through, I can make it big selling junk I find at yard sales.


Next, this guy.....

I'm excited about this one, mostly because its so ugly, anything I do to it is going to be an improvement!

 

Yay for projects!!!